| October 11, 2006 | Wednesday | Ramazan 17, 1427 |
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N. Korea conducts N-test
Free and fair polls
Craving for democracy
PTV sehri transmission
Remembering Tabish Dehlavi
KaraFilm festival
Police force
Concern over harassment
Matter of fact
MQM in Punjab
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
FOR years schemes have been hatched for Bundal Island. The last CDGK administration even signed an MoU to establish a ‘Karachi Technology Island City’ on a part of it (Dawn, Oct 8). Most recently, the federal government announced last week that it will ‘gift’ Bundal and Buddo Islands to a major developer from the UAE to build a ‘model city’. An official was quoted as saying that “it will be just like another Dubai”.
To be like Dubai, Karachi — or any part of it — would have to be a fraction of its current population, be able to sweep all its economic, infrastructural, political, ethnic and religious problems under a rug, and it would have to be following a visionary master plan for development.
Instead, we have a patchwork of local and federal authorities elbowing each other for a piece of the pie that is Karachi. There is little or no coordination between them -– beautifully demonstrated in this instance by the chief minister’s statement in last Sunday’s paper that he knows nothing about this project. A private developer is about to spend $43 billion in his province -– probably the largest single investment in the province’s history -– and somebody forgot to inform the chief minister.
This is not an isolated oversight. There are all sorts of projects being hatched and foreign developers wooed to execute them, without any coordination with adjacent authorities and without any regard for existing zoning and by-laws. There are numerous examples. The CDGK has turned developer and plans to build a multi-storeyed tower in the Civic Centre parking lot. The proposed Karachi Elevated Expressway, which is being pushed through against the objections and protests of numerous citizens and stakeholders, will cast a permanent pall of pollution over the Shahrea Faisal, the only decent thoroughfare in the city.
Last but not least, the DHA plans to privatise the entire stretch of Clifton beach into residential developments and amusement parks. In the supposed interest of attracting investments, foreign developers are seemingly exempt from the Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations 2002.
The members of the architectural profession in Pakistan, who we represent, are concerned that such uncoordinated and haphazard development will yield a colossal mess for the future generations to unravel. The various authorities that administer Greater Karachi are proceeding with projects that are not part of any comprehensive master plan. The purpose of a master plan is to address the needs and requirements of the whole population of the city and to cater for housing, employment, utilities, transportation, health, welfare and recreation.
Early in his presidency, Gen Musharraf had the foresight and vision to realise the potential of Karachi and launch the Tameer-i-Karachi programme. It is time for the president to again take a leadership role in the best interest of Karachi. First, the various authorities must be merged into a Greater Karachi Municipal Authority whose development must be guided by an overall master plan.
We need to make a clear distinction between the ownership of land by federal entities and its administration and development. Second, foreign developers must not be given a carte blanche to do as they please. We are not some banana republic that we need to invite foreign developers to tell us what we should have. The developer is here to make money, not to do us a favour.
SHAHAB G. KHAN,
S. AKEEL BILGRAMI,
EJAZ AHED
Karachi
NORTH Korea conducted its first nuclear test yesterday at 1035 PST, thus ascertaining itself as another nuclear-capable state in the comity of nations. The US tested its maiden nuclear device in 1945 and used it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki within two weeks. Russia, the UK, China and France followed by India and then Pakistan joined the club in 1998.
The latest development in Korean peninsula will surely destabilise the whole region. It would trigger a chain reaction that will engulf Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Russia into another nuclear race.
As Japan is already a nuclear-capable country in the ‘basement’, South Korea and Taiwan would want to join the club giving China the licence to improve its own nuclear capability. This, in turn, would give India the excuse to build and improve its own programme. Pakistan will have to take reciprocate measures for its own safety.
The US is in a tight situation right now. No one would want to create a rough nuclear state if severe sanctions are imposed on North Korea through the UN.
And the Americans certainly can’t attack nuclear North Korea which has capable delivery systems that can also hit the US. With lingering problems in Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran, the US needs to re-think its position.
YASIR HAYAT KHAN
Nowshera
I AM writing this with reference to the nuclear test conducted by North Korea. Interestingly, their test is being opposed by those who already have weapons of mass destruction. If every country is so committed to world peace, then why doesn’t every country jointly diminish their weapons, particularly the US?
America claims that North Korea is a threat to global peace. My answer to that is that America has already disturbed world peace, and as far as East Asia is concerned, there are already US soldiers deployed in South Korea which means that the region is already being bothered.
After this nuclear test it might not be easy to conduct peace talks with the North Koreans, as it is not easy to shake hands with clinched fists.
But North Korea and the other countries in the region should keep in mind that dialogue is the best way to resolve any crisis.
ZEESHAN SWALAHEEN
Karachi
THIS refers to a news item , captioned ‘Musharraf expected to hold fair polls: US’ (Oct 4). According to the report, the US ambassador said that President Gen Pervez Musharraf was expected to hold a free and fair election in 2007 so that Pakistan could be put on the path of ‘full democracy’.
But the ground realities are quite different. The country is being ruled by the army and its allies -– bureaucrats, feudals/landlords and others. The rulers regard Pakistan as their conquered territory and think they have every right to rule over the subjects. The poor masses are economically deprived, illiterate/ignorant, sick and infirm.
The American ambassador may not know that the voters in rural areas have no choice but to vote as dictated by the landlord. As an example, take the case of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz who has no constituency in Pakistan, but has been elected to the National Assembly from Sindh.
He does not know the people who voted him, nor do the voters know him. But they voted him because the influential ‘pir wadera’ of the area had asked them to do so.
The situation in urban areas is no better. Here too the powerful lobby gets the votes under threat of dire consequences. Last, the ghost of Stalin, who once famously observed that “it does not matter how many people vote, only who counts them” is always there.
There is always a ‘pre-poll’ rigging. This is going on for the last six decades. Thus the status quo is maintained by the ruling class. Now their third generation has come of age and are in assemblies. A free and fair election in Pakistan could only be possible when the army stops interference in civil government and all the fortresses of feudalism are abolished. A free and fair election in real sense can bring real democracy.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
I OFTEN come across locals at social gatherings who are curious about Pakistan and its people, and why democracy hasn’t taken root in 58 years of its independence as compared to India.
Some of them are surprisingly well informed about Pakistan’s politics by keeping abreast of events through articles and letters written by learned writers in Dawn.
The general impression they gather from your opinion column and letters to the editor is that the Pakistani people are frightfully dissatisfied with any government that comes to power, be it democratically elected or through military take-over.
They ask, “So what type of government do Pakistanis really want?”. I reply, “Democracy, of course”. Then some wise guy points out that Pakistanis had democracies before and popularly elected prime ministers and legislatures up to as recently as 1999, but they turned out to be corrupt and feudalistic, giving the army no option but to boot them out.
Now this makes it very difficult for me to explain to a people whose psyche is programmed for democracy; a people who deliberately kept religion separate from affairs of state for 200 years and consequently now rule the world; and, most importantly, a people whose founding fathers named their country, The United States of America and not The United Christian States of America.
I, therefore, ask critics of Genl Musharraf to name their preference for a president and prime minister for Pakistan should elections be held right now. Would they rather bring back Nawaz Sharif, or Benazir Bhutto, or Asif Zardari, or some maulana to power? A list in order of preference may please be given.
I don’t know if there are any other able contenders in the field. Should there be any, please name them. It will be of immense help to me in justifying my arguments for restoration of democracy in Pakistan.
ZIA REHMAN
Georgia, USA
WHY is ‘tawwaf’ of the Kaaba being done clockwise, instead of the prescribed counter-clockwise direction?
This is something strange I have been observing since the first day of Ramazan during the ‘sehri ‘transmission on PTV-1. I wonder if anyone at the PTV has taken notice of this absurdity. It shows lack of quality control.
I even made a comment on the PTV’s website about this matter but nobody has taken heed of it and the situation remains the same.
This is a very unfortunate act of gross negligence on the part of the PTV management, and especially the producer for the ‘sehri’ transmission. I would request the authorities concerned at the PTV to correct the mistake immediately.
RAJA SHAHID NAZIR
Khushab
THIS is with reference to Meesaq Husain’s letter ‘Remembering Tabish Dehlavi’ (Oct 5) in reply to S.M.R. Hasan’s letter (Sept 24). The former has not read the letter carefully. The latter did not write Masood Tabish (Dehlavi) announced or raised the slogan ‘Pakistan Zindabad.’ He only used the word ‘manage’ and he was right. In fact, it was Tabish’s idea that Ansar should raise the slogan, which was neither in that original text nor in the translation. We should be very careful in handling historical events. I’m writing this letter to set the record straight.
In fact, the British government had announced its intention of granting independence to India by June 1948. Which was then one year away. On June 3, 1947 the viceroy, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Sardar Baldev Singh were to broadcast their speeches. The occasion was the declaration of the British government’s transfer of power plan. The viceroy himself had vetted the speeches. The translation of the speeches was to be broadcast by Masood Tabish, Ansar Nasri and Shakeel Ahmad.
Ansar himself cherished the memory with Sabih Mohsin, who has written in ‘The Quaid’s historic broadcast’(Dawn Magazine, June 23, 1995). “When he (Ansar) was on the last part of the script, the door (studios) opened very slowly. Newsreader Masood Tabish, now poet Tabish Dehlavi, walked in noiselessly, placed a chit on Ansar’s table and walked back in the same manner. He glanced at the chit, only two words were written on it: ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. Perplexed again, Ansar looked towards the large glass window in the operators, booth.
Masood Tabish, who was there with Shakeel Ahmad, signalled to him that he must say these words at the end. Not knowing what had actually happened but trusting his colleagues, Ansar Nasri wound up the translated version of the Quaid’s speech with the thunderous ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.
Masood Tabish too narrated the same incident on a number of occasions (Jung Midweek Magazine, 1995). He had also mentioned it in a long interview recorded in his lifetime by Radio Pakistan and a foreign radio Urdu service in which he justifiably claimed that he had announced many historical news events like the failure of the Shimla conference, Germany’s and Japan’s defeat and death of the Quaid-i-Azam and Liaquat Ali Khan. The interview was also reproduced by Raaz Muradabadi in Nazre Tabish (Jan 1999), a magazine which paid tribute to Tabish when he was decorated with the coveted award of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz.
It may be recalled that Masood Tabish, Ansar Nasri, Shahid Ahmad Dehlavi and Shoaib Hazeen were very fast friends and they never had any professional jealousy, though they were in the same business. Shahid used to call him ‘Taboosh’ (Hurriyat, Oct 26, 1964). They had very warm and strong ties throughout their lives. Leaving Shoaib Hazeen, all three had relationship with each other but they were not cousins as mentioned by Messaq Husain.
I fully agree with him that the arts councils of the country should include these three outstanding personalities in their calendar of activities.
ASIF ALI KHAN
Karachi
I WHOLE-heartedly support the call of Hasan Zaidi (Dawn, Images, Oct 1) in favour of institutionalising film festivals in Pakistan, in general, and at Karachi, in particular.
Going a step forward, I would like to suggest to the authorities concerned that at least 50 per cent of the revenue collected through entertainment tax generation from cinema-houses should be diverted towards establishing a ‘festival city’ within the next two or so years. This festival city complex should have three to five auditoriums with a varying capacity of 200- to 600-audience attendance.
Weeklong non-competitive film festivals from film-producing countries of parallel cinema should be held round the year except for December. Contemporary and classics should be rented out from the British Films Institute Library.
Aesthetics of the films should be described by an expert before the screening to be followed by a question-answer session after the end of the films. In this direction, seed has already been sown by the organizers of KaraFilm Festival. Now, it is up to the decision-makers to make best use of the harvest.
In addition to these, on the recommendations of the KaraFilm Society Select Committee, Pakistan should have a constant presence in leading international film festivals through shorts, documentaries and feature films made by upcoming younger generation based on sensitive and thought-provoking subjects.
This is one of the most effective ways to project a soft image of tolerant, creative and artistic Pakistan. Without drawing a parallel, if the barren lands of Sharja could make a place in the world cricket map, why can’t talented boys and girls from Pakistan, full of enthusiasm and bubbling with ideas, make waves in the world cinema?
NAQI MUSTAFA
Karachi
OUR so-called police force recently gave me another jolt. I was buying groceries with my mother at Karachi’s Anarkali Bazaar near Block 16, Federal B Area when a clash broke out between two men.
It was a small clash for an unknown reason and in Ramazan such incidents are unfortunately many. It was both surprising and frustrating for me to note that among the spectators at this fight were two policemen.
Not only did they not take any kind of action in order to control the situation, but after a few minutes they drove away on their motorcycle with a strange smile as if the public disturbance was none of their business.
What else can I say in this regard but: “Hats off to our great police force.”
SANA JAMIL
Karachi
THIS refers to Prof Kazi Kadim Hussain‘s letter ‘Concern over harassment’ (Sept 18). The writer instead of addressing the question of harassment of academics has given a catalogue of development and expansion of the university over the last 30 years. Here under reference are not the construction of buildings and laboratories and opening of new departments and faculties but the attitude of the administration towards teachers and their right of criticism.
As a matter of fact, universities are not known by their buildings but by the research work of academics and quality of teaching. Unfortunately, the standard of higher education in our public sector universities is declining gradually.
This is because of the mismanagement of resource, bad governance, politicisation of teachers’ unions and favouritism practised by university administration to favour its cronies.
The reason for low quality education being imparted in our educational institutions is “attributed to poor governance, tinged with domineering feudal mentality that is characterised by harassment, intimidation, in-fighting amongst faculty members and courtier culture being promoted by the university administration to create its own constituency through the proverbial policy of divide and rule”’.
Such a policy has a very devastating impact on the faculty development. Hope efforts will be taken to forge unity so that Sindh University can emerge as one of the top-notch institutions of higher education.
MANZOOR ALI ISRAN
Shah Abdul Latif University
Khairpur
I agree with Roshaneh Zafar’s op-ed piece ‘How Hudood law is hurting society’ (Oct 7). She cites three instances from Islamic history which show that women’s opinions were valued.
I would, however, like to see the day when the equality of women and the equal worth of their opinions and testimony are accepted as given, without our having to go searching in history books to come up with precedents to support such assertions.
G. MOHIYDDIN
New York
I RECENTLY read a news item regarding the MQM setting up offices in Punjab and also the reaction of the Punjab government.
I request the MQM to leave the Urdu-speaking people of Punjab alone. They have lived in harmony with the other ethnic groups over the years and have adopted the local culture and language, unlike what we have seen in Sindh. So please stop fanning this ethnic divide at once and let the people live in peace.
CONCERNED
Karachi
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