Temper your Eidi with generosity

With the colourful, cheerful and kaleidoscopic canvass of Eid having begun to spread itself out in our lives, the question that is being asked relates to the sighting of the Eid moon. Will it be sighted tomorrow (Monday, 29th of Ramazan) or the day after (Tuesday). If public opinion and perception is any indicator, a popular view being expressed is that Eid will be on Tuesday. There is a lot of familiar conversation on this subject. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

The three-day official Eid holidays have been announced — Monday to Wednesday. That's it. Unofficially, it could stretch for the week and once again popular opinion believes that routine work will really be in place on Oct 30. There is a very strong emphasis and belief in holidays that we demonstrate. And quite obstinately and merrily we adhere to it. It is this faith in holidays that is a very abiding aspect of lives, our collective psyche, as it were.

There is a very strong case for holidays on such occasions, argued one colleague who very appropriately pointed out that "Pakistani society is very much traditional joint family based —where get-togethers on such occasions are common, and binding. To this end, holidays are needed, and if these don’t come officially, employees tend to go for the earned leave option."

So, while one waits for the sighting of the Eid moon until tomorrow evening let us look at the holy of month of Ramazan that is steadily moving towards its end. What was Ramazan-2006 profile like? A general impression appears that this was a "trouble-free, in fact peaceful Ramazan" .That not just in Karachi, or the province of Sindh, but even in the country it has been a rather quiet Ramazan, and people have gone about their Ramazan worship with traditional solemnity and devotion.

Like in previous months of Ramazan, this time too there has been a visible and sustained emphasis on various forms of charity that have been witnessed —people have given to the less fortunate or the poor in all forms of charity that Islam encourages —and calls upon the faithful to fulfill their moral and social obligations to their deserving brethren. Whether it is Zakat or Sadaqatul Fitr or other forms of financial assistance, people have given to institutions and individuals generously —and in fact this month of Ramazan is amongst those occasions when Pakistani society puts up its caring face, and displays a generosity of heart. Little wonder then that the number of institutions in the health and education sector are growing in number, as well in size.

Ramazan 2006, as if carrying on a tradition and furthering a trend has once again reinforced the point that the mosques in the city were always, packed to capacity as it were — leaving cynics and skeptics somewhat baffled at the phenomenon. What does this prove? There is much to contemplate here. It is said that the Taraveeh prayers also had more people’s participating this year — whether they were for the short duration Taraveeh or the month-long prayers.

With television having expanded its canvass in our lives, more channels are now focusing on the Ramazan theme, with longer hours being allocated for the Ramazan and religion. Therefore, Ramazan-2006 saw more people devotedly praying and seeking the mercy and blessings of the Almighty — in mosques, colorfully illuminated, especially in the last 10 days of the holy month — or in the confines of their homes.

In what one could regard as a rather disciplined month, where faithful fasted and prayed regularly, it was also a period that saw more and more families going out to shopping centres, plazas and bazaars. The first fortnight was low key and the profile was modest and mild. But the second fortnight stepped up the momentum, and at this point in time, large crowds are witnessed. Significantly, the authorities have taken adequate measures to maintain law and order — and special police camps have been set up, in noticeable number, which have given to the public a sense of protective cover. I have this feeling that the overall comfort and security feeling that families and women have had in some of these shopping plazas has come from the fact that these places at peak times, are restricted only to families. This strategic move has produced a congenial atmosphere for families — remarked one housewife.

Let us also acknowledge here the pleasant surprise that Karachiites have got this Ramazan. I wouldn’t say no traffic jams at all, but believe me I heard numerous people contend that they have not encountered any traffic jams that ruined their day or their deprived them of their Iftari!! There have been a few photographs in newspapers, showing traffic jams —but they don’t tell the whole story. I believe that the concerned authorities and the traffic police need a pat on the back. There is no such thing as brickbats all the time. The effort that the traffic cops have made brought good results in many of the bazaars — and the return of charged parking on a small scale, (experimental basis) is also a welcome sign.

Of course, there are issues like those of street crime and the dengue fever, to name a couple that have been doggedly with us in this month. It has, therefore, kept us on our toes, and, of course, scared. The issues grew in such proportion that it drew the attention of the prime minister. And for street crime, he was here in town to take up the issue and has finally set a 15-day deadline (expiring Nov 1) for the local police to contain the problem. And on the dengue fever challenge that the city is fighting in Ramazan, he had a high-level meeting in Islamabad on Friday, the details of which are known.

I am inclined to agree with a religious friend of mine who observed that the end of the month of Ramazan also brings not only a sense of inner fulfillment, but also a sense of sadness -- the farewell to Ramazan -- a period of worship and discipline that slowed down the pace of life, and enabled us to ponder over questions and dimensions that otherwise get trapped in the monotony and dreariness of daily living. He has always believed in the spiritual power that the tranquility of this month brings even to a city like Karachi and its streets. Have you seen how quiet and deserted become the noisiest and messiest of streets at Iftari time? Have you noticed the family togetherness and community closeness that gets generated in a month of Ramazan in this society — especially in the middle class families?

So as this Ramazan in October becomes history, it is time to wish readers Eid Mubarak with the hope that Eidi should be tempered with generosity and compassion to those who come to your door.

Advised out

THE Lahore High Court’s decision annulling the appointment of 16 advisers of the Punjab government, and the meeting of exiled former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif in London on Thursday remained under discussion in the political capital of the country during the last week.

The LHC verdict, which embarrassed the government as well as the illegally appointed advisers, was appreciated by the people. However, the affectees were disappointed, especially because the judgment came close to Eid, dampening celebrations. Whether a chief minister is competent to appoint advisers or special assistants for himself or the government has been a moot point for several years. Under the Constitution, only the prime minister has the right to appoint five advisers for himself. He/she can also have some special assistants. However, many chief ministers have been appointing advisers despite opposition from political parties.

Advisers normally do nothing except receiving salaries and other benefits conferred on them. Their status is always equal to that of a minister and thus they get all that a minister is entitled to. Un-elected people the government wants to oblige for political reasons are appointed on such posts.

When the late Ghulam Haider Wyne was elected Punjab chief minister, he appointed a number of advisers. They had no power and no work to do. Once they held a meeting with the CM under the leadership of Pir Yaqub Shah to request him that they should be given some duties so that they could justify their salaries. The request was not granted.

The matter was raised in the Punjab Assembly when Mian Manzoor Wattoo was the speaker. However, no ruling was given on the legality of the appointment of advisers. Interestingly, when Mr Wattoo himself became the chief minister after holding the office of the speaker for eight years, he too appointed himself a number of advisers. Once a journalist asked him why he had not settled the controversy in his capacity as speaker, the leader from Okara quipped: “Had I given a ruling, how would it have been possible for me to appoint advisers.”

The present government took some legal steps to appoint advisers. But, unluckily, this government transgressed its powers by appointing an army of advisers and special assistants. Everybody willing to switch his loyalty got the office virtually the next day. The appointments were used as a bait to lure the power hungry in the opposition ranks to the ruling party. The LHC order, it is expected, will put an end to this unenviable trend.

According to a report, the advisers have already drawn their salaries for the current month and are still using their official cars. Let’s see how the court enforces its writ.

Political circles have conflicting interpretations of the London meeting of Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif. Some say that the PML-N leader has made it difficult for the PPP to strike a deal with the government. Others think that cosmetics aside, there is not even the slightest change in the PPP’s stand on any important issues, including the formation of a grand opposition alliance comprising the ARD, the MMA, the PONM, the Awami National Party and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, or the launching of a movement and quitting the assemblies.

The PPP has reservations about sitting with the MMA and these persist even after the London meeting. The PPP is also not in favour of quitting the assemblies immediately. It wants to use this card only if Gen Musharraf tries to get himself re-elected by the present assemblies – the election of the president is due in November next year.

Unlike the PML-N, the PPP also doesn’t want to launch a movement against the government. It wants a smooth transition to democracy, without risking any interruption of any sort. The PPP’s stand on a deal with the government is quite interesting. Recently, Ms Bhutto had admitted that back channel contacts between the government and her party were going on, although there were “stubborn differences” between the two. But, at the London meeting she said if the government was in contact with some of her party legislators, it did not mean that a deal was in the offing. Some say that contacts with the party legislators could not be called back-channel overtures. But what will Mr Amin Fahim say now that his leader is admitting that such contacts are on?

It may astonish some to know that only two days before the London talks, a senior PPP leader had told a couple of journalists in Lahore that President Musharraf was holding meetings with the NAB officials to discuss modalities for withdrawal of cases against all PPP leaders, including Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, Jehangir Badr and others.

He claimed that the cases would be taken back in a few weeks. In return, he said, his party would have no objection to Gen Musharraf contesting the election of the president for another term if he lays off the military uniform. Also, the leader said, after an understanding between the two sides, Ms Bhutto and Asif Zardari would be able to return to Pakistan before the elections. He said he had informed Mr Zardari that an important leader of the ruling PML had met Mian Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in London to discuss the possibility of cooperation.

The leader wanted to be quoted for all this. However, he reviewed his request when he realised that the ARD would be the first casualty of the ‘disclosure’. Under the circumstances, the claim made at the London meeting that no PPP-government deal was in the offing appears to be just a smokescreen. The two sides are in contact and discussing the terms of “cooperation”. The moment they reach some understanding, new political alignments would emerge.

Opposition parties have been demanding that the general election should be held under the supervision of a government of national consensus.

Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani’s Iftar party for journalists, which was also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, was yet another important event in the city this past week. At the dinner the PM implied that a new setup would be in place to supervise the polls. He said he would be contesting for an MNA’s slot from a constituency to be identified later. The sentence means a lot. Under the amended Constitution nobody in the caretaker setup will be allowed to contest election. And if Mr Aziz wants to, this simply means he will not be part of the interim setup. And once the prime minister steps down, the entire cabinet has to go.

In other words, while ministers who are members of the upper house of parliament may be included in the caretaker setup as they are not to contest elections; others will have to quit before the polls.—- ASHRAF MUMTAZ