| November 02, 2006 | Thursday | Shawwal 9, 1427 |
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Blaming Dr A. Q. Khan
Should death penalty go?
A visit to quake-hit areas
Pakistan embassy website
Religion and cricket
Indiscipline in police
Another blow
Water supply for Dhaman Sayedan
Another blow
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
THIS is with reference to the many articles and letters in Dawn on the subject of the new French law about the Armenian genocide allegedly carried out by the Ottoman Turks.
Without getting into the merits of the case, my question is why has the French government woken up to this issue nearly 90 years after it was supposedly committed? There are so many other problems of later times that still need to be researched and the blame apportioned.
Would it not have been appropriate for Paris to examine its own horrible atrocities perpetrated upon the Algerian Muslims during their war of liberation from French rule in the 1950s? Some French generals and civilians have actually acknowledged this fact but the official recognition and the war reparations are missing. Similarly, the genocide of the Bosnian and Kosovar Muslims by the Serbs in the 1990s is yet another subject needing a sympathetic consideration by the international community.
A far worse example is what went on in the Soviet Union during Stalin regime. Around the early 1930s, they had murdered seven million Ukrainians and sent two million of them to concentration camps. By the end of World War II, these camps had held 5.5 million prisoners. They also carried out genocide of two million Soviet Muslims, including Bashkirs, Chechens, Crimeans, Ingush, Kazakhs, Tajiks and Tatars.
In addition to these was the killing of two million ethnic Germans, mainly consisting of women and children as well as the violent expulsion of 15 million more Germans during which two million girls and women were molested. More recently, Moscow’s occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 caused death and injuries to two million Afghans and drove five million into Pakistan and Iran.
Thus, the focusing by the French on the Islamic country Turkey, to the exclusion of problems created by non-Muslim nations, appears to be politically motivated. Given the opposition to the entry of the west Asian state into the EU by the French people and many other Europeans, including Pope Benedict XVI, it is not hard to understand the reason for all this hue and cry.
One of the few benefits to accrue from Turkey’s tireless efforts to join the European Union has been to expose the exclusionist thinking of Christian Europe. The time seems to be coming when our Turk brothers and sisters would realise the futility of their efforts and, instead, may be advised to think of creating an Islamic Union (IU). This could include the regional Islamic countries such as Iran and Pakistan, as also the Central Asian Republics and the neighbouring Arab states.
The interest the US, Russia, China, India, Israel and other countries are taking in Central Asia due to the oil, gas and uranium resources shows the importance of the proposed bloc. Efforts should be made by Pakistan to help China and Japan patch up their differences even as the new Japanese prime minister, Mr Shinzo Abe, tries to undo the bitterness caused by his predecessor. They can then be invited, along with other Asian nations, to join the IU and form an Asian Islamic Union (AIU), which can later on be extended to include the entire OIC.
Initially it would be more of an economic community but after 10-20 years it could become a political union as well, when greater understanding and friendships have developed. This would be far better for the self-respect of the member-countries than feeling unwelcome in a grouping like the EU.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
A PAKISTANI official who wished not to be identified has told a briefing in Washington that Dr A. Q. Khan smuggled three or four P2 centrifuges to Dubai, which might have been transferred to Iran (Dawn, Oct 24). He did clarify that it is only “an educated and intelligent guess” that they may actually have ended up in Iran. It was also claimed that some of the P2 machines were sent to North Korea, too.
One cannot understand the wisdom of this revisiting of the A. Q. Khan case, coming on the heels of the volley fired by President Musharraf in his book, when it has been repeatedly asserted by Islamabad that the proliferation ring has been dismantled. Besides, as everyone knows, Dr Khan has been in solitary confinement ever after the Americans provided evidence against him.
The same official also said that the government could never allow a foreign agency to interrogate the nuclear scientist since he is considered to be a national hero by every single Pakistani. Furthermore, that Pakistan could let him be subjected to a polygraph test but the US had refused to supply lie detectors to Islamabad.
Another troubling thing is president Musharraf’s recent statement that Dr A. Q. Khan was no longer his hero (Dawn, Oct 16). This makes the whole issue even more mysterious since, in the light of the official’s claim, the general would be the only Pakistani thinking this way. Nevertheless, it would only be fair that, in deference to the national sentiment, our hero is not subjected to further mental agony by reopening his file.
Dismayingly, in the same day’s issue that revealed the president’s new opinion about Dr Khan, there was this report that the scientist has been shifted back to his home imprisonment in Islamabad from the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi. This, despite the fact that the doctors treating him were not satisfied with the pace of his recovery and had wanted him to spend another fortnight here to avoid any post-operative complications.
Many researches in the West have revealed that stress is extremely bad for patients suffering from cancer and their chances of recovery are considerably improved if they are enabled to lead a pleasant and peaceful life. Besides, someone has said that a nation survives till its heroes survive and a hero survives till his people betray him. Dr Qadeer Khan’s enormous contribution towards making our defence impregnable should not be forgotten and he should not be treated shabbily.
S. KARIM
Karachi
THIS is with reference to article ‘Should death penalty be abolished?” by Zofeen T. Ebrahim (The Review, Sept 7) and the rejoinder by Justice (r) Salahuddin Mirza (TR, Sept 22).
It is amazing how irrational and unfair the proponents of abolishment can be. If a person gets murdered, it is not he alone who suffers but his parents, siblings, wife and children, among others, are inflicted life-long pain and sorrow. Who will feed his wife and children? With so many people committing suicides in Pakistan (and India) due to poverty, she may also be compelled to join them. The offspring’s education, mental and physical health and the quality of life can never be the same. Who will look after his aging parents?
If a robber takes away a million rupees but is ordered by the court to return only a fraction, what kind of justice would that be? The same is the case with robbing someone of his life. Those who say there is no difference between a murderer and a government that takes his life in revenge very conveniently forget that the government would not be taking revenge but punishing a criminal, not an innocent person. In their eagerness to appear ‘civilised’ and ‘enlightened’, they are erasing the difference between a criminal and a victim. The judicial system can be improved to ensure that nobody gets capital punishment unjustly.
Justice Mirza has repeatedly termed our country barbaric and defiled. He has contrasted the convicts he met in Hyderabad jail with those in the Stockholm one, saying none of the inmates in the former admitted their guilt whereas all those in Stockholm did own up to their crimes. By that he has tried to prove we all are dishonest and cheats.
How about George Bush, Tory Blair and their many allies who have taken hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon due to their lies regarding the WMDs and hypocritical policies towards the Muslims?
Tony Blair and other western leaders have appealed to President Musharraf to have mercy on the British Muslim, Mirza Tahir Hussain, who has been awarded the death sentence. But, they had shown no mercy when half-a-million Iraqi children (according to Unicef figures) died due to western sanctions despite appeals to lift those restrictions and when Muslims are being killed in the Middle East and elsewhere.
NASEER SHAIKH
Karachi
OVER two months ago I visited most of the quake-hit areas of Muzaffarabad, Mansehra, Dadar and Balakot. I spoke to a large cross-section of affected people, visited several hospitals and camps housed in tents, run by NGOs and religious organisations.
Some handed over by Turkey. I also took several photos of the area and the affected people. My observations are that the progress of help and rehabilitation of the affected people by the government is very slow. This is mainly due to centralisation of all activity by the government with inadequate coordination or check on the pace of progress.
The government attitude and ‘red-tapism’ has further slowed the progress of resettlement. Most activity pertaining to relief and rehabilitation needs to be decentralised and the progress of work be measured by output and not by mere activity or number of persons involved.
Adequate and cheap construction material like stainless steel sheets and wood should be provided to the affected people within the area of destruction/resettlement at cheap rates followed by prompt provision of sufficient funds to each victim to speed up the pace of settlement because they themselves are very keen to rebuild and resettle their families quickly to save themselves from the onslaught of severe winter.
LT-COL ( r ) SYED JAMSHAID RAZA
Karachi
I HAVE been trying to access the website of Pakistan embassy in Washington DC in order to obtain information and apply for a national identity card for overseas Pakistanis. I regret to say that on each and every attempt I received a message that this site is temporarily unavailable.
I then tried to apply on line from the link on Nadra’s website.
This too failed and error messages were received.
Finally, I went to the website of the Pakistan consulate in New York and London but found the documentation required to apply for the card in the USA differed from that applicable to residents of the UK. Wonder why the difference?
Any comments from those in authority regarding my experience of these websites?
SULTAN AHMED
Kearny, NJ, USA
THIS refers to the article, ‘Bringing enlightened moderation in the Pakistan team’, by Mr Sohaib Alvi (Oct 25) and a recent statement of Dr Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the PCB (Oct 22).
The latter has reportedly asked the players of our cricket team to stop exhibiting religious beliefs in public and told Inzamam that there should not be any pressure on the players who do not pray regularly or any compulsion to do it. The chairman’s decision to delve into the religious life of the players is something unprecedented. While he is right in saying there should be no compulsion in religious matters, yet the views of two American experts about the value of religion and faith for enhancing human performance should be of interest for all.
To introduce the first one, Anthony Robbins, he has shown heads of state, royalty, Olympic and professional athletes, among others, how to achieve excellence. By age 37 he was serving as peak performance consultant for the executives of such organisations as IBM, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), American Express, McDonnell Douglas, the US army, professional sports teams and gold medal-winning Olympic athletes. He even taught people to walk barefoot on glowing coals. So, his words carry much weight.
He says: “ Religions throughout history have empowered millions of people and given them strength to do things they thought they couldn’t. Beliefs help us to tap the richest resources deep within us, creating and directing these resources in the support of our desired outcomes.
“In fact, there’s no more powerful directing force in human behaviour than belief. The people who have changed history — Christ, Muhammad — have been the people who have changed our beliefs.”
The other gentleman, Dr Wayne Dyer, is a well-known psychiatrist, and self-development expert. He writes: “I have seen people walk barefoot as much as forty feet on red-hot glowing coals without blistering. Before (doing that), they are trained in nothing more than faith. Their faith gives them the ability to concentrate with an intensity that can prevent their feet from blistering.
He further explains that when obstacles and struggles appear, we begin to process them in a totally new way -– a way based on faith rather than frustration.
However, players are cautioned that people from the tableeghi jamaat tend to excessively downplay the importance of one’s wordily occupation and needs of the family, saying Allah will fulfil these. However, it is also a religious obligation to meet one’s contractual conditions and family requirements, so a balance must be struck to make one the best player and the best Muslim. Those Sufis who follow at least the major rules of the Shariah and preferably have a good university or college education are usually the best people to learn from. But, this shouldn’t make the PCB try to force a Sufi on the players -– it should only be voluntary.
A MUSLIM
Karachi
WOE betides a nation when the fatal virus of indiscipline invades even the highest ranks of its police force — the guardians of law and order. If the report in Dawn (Oct 24) is all correct and an officer of the police service of Pakistan of the rank of DIG causes criminal cases to be registered against his own boss, the provincial Inspector General, then really drastic measures are called for.
This hopefully is in the process of being done and the results made known, since
in this case even SHOs and low-ranking staff are also involved.
One of the reasons why discipline has deteriorated over the years is because such things as ‘service pride’ are no longer the hallmark of the PSP. I remember the days back in the 1960s when the PSP Association used to organise annual functions at an all-Pakistan level.
The ‘Police Week’ at Lahore was a showpiece of decorum and command structure. It was West Pakistan at the time and there was only one Inspector-General (the late Mr S.D. Quraishi) whose word was law for all his DIGs from Peshawar to Karachi where I was.
The president of the PSP Association used the occasion to tick off officers guilty of indiscipline or misconduct. The PSP Association must be activated on an All-Pakistan basis and a sense of pride and esprit de corps reinculcated.
Mine of course are the views of an old-timer who would normally like to see an errant DIG demoted and ostracised. Younger blades in the service might on the other hand like to award him with an Oscar. To each his own, I suppose. It is all a question of service standards of which very little seems to be left.
S. ASIF
Karachi
DHAMAN Sayedan, once upon a time a small village, is on one extreme of the Rawalpindi city where Pindiites feared to tread even in broad daylight.
After democracy was restored in 1988 and the PPP took power on the debris of martial law, the Rawalpindi Jail was shifted to its present site to mark the departure of a military ruler who hanged Z.A. Bhutto in his hey days.
Adiala Road joins the sites of the two jails. Astride this historical road lies the unfortunate village named Dhaman Sayedan for whose residents a project of water supply was sanctioned in 1989, along with the shifting of jail.
The monumental jail, with its paraphernalia and residents, was promptly shifted to the new site. Adiala Road is now the ‘Adiala’ Highway. A jungle of concrete has come up along its length, but the water scheme of Dhaman Sayedan stands abegging in its completion.
The money has already been spent over a period of about 14 years by the rural development authority under the chief engineer (North) Punjab, public health department, but a drop of water has not reached the expectants standing in the queue since the end of the last military rule. This project has been the baby of district council since 1988. Now when the local governments have come into being, we thought that the district nazim, Mr Tariq Kayani, would give it top priority but he has gone away without completing the pending task of an eminent importance. Should we hope that the present district nazim will be able to see it through? In case nothing can be done by the local rulers, then at the least tell the people that the amount spent on this project in the last 15 years has gone down the drain.
BRIG (r) A.Q. ANJUM
Rawalpindi
WHILE Pakistan has been facing extremely difficult times due to unrest in the aftermath of Balochistan’s turmoil, another huge blow came on Oct 31 when 83 Pakistani nationals were hit by suspected American missiles at the time of Fajr prayers. “Without any witness and not for the first time.”
A simple answer that I seek is existence of solidarity and freedom of Pakistan?
As for how long an illegitimate and unjust government, a usurper of democracy can play with integrity of Pakistanis and human dignity, which are enshrined in Pakistan’s Constitution.
We must ponder for our survival, and probe all issues rather than closing our eyes to realities. Nature has its way of doing things and if today we didn’t pay heed towards our brothers, tomorrow it would be our turn.
ABID MINHAJ
Lahore
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