| November 21, 2006 | Tuesday | Shawwal 28, 1427 |
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The pride of Pakistan
Ban on Sindh TV
Projecting soft image
Low bank returns to depositors
Army man as VC
Sindh licence plates
Holding arts festival
Growing indignation
Water supply
Spelling blunder
Dengue virus
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 refers to Dr Mirza Ali Azhar’s letter under the above caption ( Nov 1). I consider the late ZAB’s name included among those who “provided strength to military rulers...” as most unjust. A man who organised a political party, gave a tough time to a military dictator and won an unprecedented majority mandate from the people in an election held by another military ruler should, certainly, not be equated with Sharifs and Chaudhrys who were the creation of the army.
If the conclusion is made on his ‘association’ with a military regime, then this is most unfair to say the least. First of all, unlike Sharifs and Chaudhrys, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was already prominent in politics, having associated himself with the opponents of One Unit, established with high-handedness, in 1955, even if we ignore his father Shah Nawaz Bhutto’s bold role to separate Sindh from the Bombay presidency. (Sindh was restored as a province in 1936). Besides, probably in July 1958, it was civilian president Iskandar Mirza, who had invited Mr Bhutto to join the cabinet, of course, in a military-aided take-over. Later, in October 1958, following Gen Ayub Khan’s full-fledged martial law, he was only retained as some other civilian cabinet members were continued, purely on a merit basis rather than opportunism, as demonstrated by the other two.
Mr Bhutto, in fact, occupies a unique place in Pakistan’s politics. Having departed from the beaten path of traditional floor-crossing by the so-called politicians, to retain chair of a minister in every government, no matter how adversely it affected democratic process, the first directly and constitutionally elected prime minister Bhutto launched a political party, on home-woven concrete manifesto to challenge the status quo and bring a change in the conditions of the working class people.
In this risk-related campaign to secure public support, he was threatened with all conceivable coercive methods and jailed to dampen his indomitable spirit of struggle and fearless leadership. Thus, he suffered a lot as a price for his adventure. This could be enough ‘kaffara’ for his association with the military rule of Gen. Ayub Khan. But what is discernible during his tenure as a minister of various portfolios, under that dispensation, reveals that he kept up his individuality, identity and independence in thought and action.
And, finally, it was this mindset of Mr Bhutto which compelled him to rebel and have his own way. This kind of move and initiative for the suffering people in a jagirdari-dominated society was first in the history of this country’s politics. And the crowning of this daring drive to a success and undertaking new reforms in almost every field of activity alone entitles the late Z.A. Bhutto to certainly a better treatment, much different from Sharifs and Chaudhrys.
Look at his patriotism. He could have easily entered into a deal, as others did, at the cost of principles, to save his life and move out. How cruel it strikes to bring down such a sincere leader like Bhutto with rare calibre, competence and integrity and make him sit with political pigmies. If you don’t know history, please don’t tear the truth of the case. Bhutto never colluded with generals. Yes, he confronted them.
As regards letter-writing with the generals, it could be the work of incompetent and opportunist class of leaders. But, has anyone ever thought why such a low-lying PR is indulged in? Because, the army interferes in political affairs so frequently and surely that the ‘hopefuls’ do not feel ashamed of non-political habits of inviting the generals to take over. If the army sticks to its mandated sphere of duty or to an honest broker, no one would look to them as saviours. Even if once only, the army plays a role of a fair referee to hold elections and hand over power to a winning political party, in case of an emergency, this flood-gate of political mischiefs would stop once for all. And this is how democracy would get birth and grow in this country and military and civilian collusion would end once for all.
Dr AZIZUR RAHMAN
BUGHIO Islamabad
PAKISTAN should be proud of Mukhtaran Mai. Who in the world has not heard her story and felt her agony and humiliation? These emotions are human emotions that bind people together. Whether we live in Pakistan, Ireland, or Mexico, we can sympathise with this woman. Not only do we connect with her pain, we admire her courage.
Mai shed light not on the prevalence of rape in Pakistan, but on the misogynist way of meting out justice. Yes, every country witnesses the rape of its women, and sometimes of its men or children. It is a reflection of that country’s value of human beings as to how prevalent rape is, how justice is carried out, and how victims are supported.
And, yes, the world should know about these human rights abuses. We should be aware of them and try to stop them. The world is a dangerous place, Albert Einstein said, not because of the people who do evil but because of the people who sit and let it happen.
The NGOs are trying to help. It is a shame that some Pakistanis feel that they are run by the affluent or that they work against Islamic traditions. NGOs that help women value human life, happiness, and dignity. These are basic human rights. Human rights, or feminism for that matter, are not western ideals.
They are humanitarian principles that have been upheld by people all over the world at all different times in history. Having lived in Turkey, I witnessed the dignity and compassion of Muslims. This compassion needs to be doled out bountifully and equally to all. President Musharraf must continue working towards human rights.
A member of the National Assembly from the MMA said they are going to create a free-sex society by passing the bill to amend the rape law. How ludicrous. Men had been getting away with rape; I’d call that free sex.
And, yes, all countries in the world have rape. We share this shame. But we will hold each other accountable to see that justice is dealt fairly. It is a start that you have removed the four-witness clause.
We hope you will go further. Human behaviour, and compassion, dictates that we want to see you succeed. Mukhtaran Mai succeeded in turning something negative into something positive. Pakistan can do the same.
JOAN DAWSON
Seoul, South Korea
THIS is with reference to the letter by Qazi Kashif Naeem (Nov 20). The letter writer justifiably questions the action against a popular Sindhi TV channel by a government that in his words is “engaged in the so-called tall claims of promoting tolerance and equality in society”. Pemra banned the channel on Nov 8 without giving any reason. There have been widespread protests in Sindh and elsewhere but the government has not taken back its orders so far, nor has it offered any explanation in the face of the Sindh TV officials’ statements that they were not in violation of any of the Pemra rules and regulations.
The government action is a matter of great concern for civil society as it is an attack on the freedom of the media. It would cause not only the closure of a TV channel, but also render hundreds of people jobless and silence a source of news, entertainment and cultural expression of a people.
The present ‘enlightened’ and ‘moderate’ government needs to give some credence to its oft-espoused principles and lift the ban on Sindh TV. It should also pay compensation to the channel for the lost revenues due to the wrongful action and provide security to its journalist from Dadu who had to flee his hometown to save his life.
AZIZ NAREJO
Corpus Christi, USA
PRESIDENT Gen Pervez Musharraf has called for projecting Pakistan’s soft image through sustained promotions. When will we learn from history? After spending millions of rupees and firing three public relations companies, we have not been able to even make a dent. In public relations, as in advertising, you cannot sell a bad product, unless you make fundamental changes in the product.
What is hampering our soft image? First, Pakistan’s economy, though better than in the past, is still not stable as you could see from our stock exchanges and by our issuing SROs frequently. The sugar crisis is yet another example and the list can go on and on.
Second, politically we are on a wet wicket as far as democracy is concerned. You can shout from rooftops that we are a democratic country, but are we? Leaving aside Pakistan, no western country believes so, even though we have an elected president and a parliament.
Do we have honest MNAs and MPAs? Only true democracy and sustained economy will bring peace and prosperity and thereby create more jobs. This will also eradicate lawlessness and bring in more foreign investments.
Lastly, if we are to get rid of our jihad image, we have to start with meaningful education by reviewing our textbooks and bring them to international standards. The president says that only a small percentage of people are jihadis. Even if they are only one per cent, then that comes to 1.6 million.
And, finally, we have to improve our relations with our neighbours, especially India, Iran and Afghanistan. After all, we all live in the same pond. We depend on one another for our survival.
Are we ready for all this? If not, then the government should stop wasting taxpayers’ money and let Pakistan slide into chaos and instability.
A. REHMAN
Hyderabad
I REFER to a report, ‘Bank’s spending up 26 per cent’ (Nov 14). As a bank depositor, I appeal to the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan to order an inquiry into the use of profits earned by the scheduled banks for meeting inflated and unwarranted administrative expenses such as payment of high salaries to staff members and on granting to them perks.
The State Bank should find out from the scheduled banks whether they share their rising profits with their depositors justly and what new products they have offered to their depositors to attract more of their savings on the basis of higher returns on their deposits.
The State Bank should also look into the pay-scales in force in the scheduled banks and ascertain why some employees are paid very fat salaries and others are low-paid. Let the State Bank hold meetings with the bank depositors to know their viewpoint.
The present SBP governor is a veteran banker and she can urge the scheduled banks to be generous in sharing soaring profits with the depositors.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
THIS is in continuation of the letters written by Dr Mehtab Ali Shah and Shahriar Dautpota (Oct 30). I fully agree with them that no army man should be appointed as vice-chancellor of a university but so is true for the president of any country. Their arguments are valid and logical.
However, our experience with medical colleges (now universities) is entirely different. Let me quote a few examples:
(1) The Dow Medical College, Karachi, had Col Aziz Khan as its first principal. He started the college with meagre resources and took it to great heights. Col Saeed and Col Khan established surgical department par excellence. Maj Hassan was pioneer in medicine, Brig Sarwar was professor of medicine with superb clinical knowledge. And thus the Dow Medical College was quickly recognised in the UK and the US.
Today Dow graduates are working all over the world with name and fame. In my batch (1957) more than 65 per cent of the class have obtained postgraduate degrees from abroad.
(2) Col Rashid was the administrator of Jinnah Hospital during Ayub regime. He elevated the college as the first and the best postgraduate institution in Pakistan with the collaboration of Indiana University. Look where it stands today.
(3) The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan had its first president in the name of Gen Burki. He worked very hard to give credibility to the postgraduate degrees of the college. Most of the countries now recognise these degrees. It has now established centres in some of the other countries.
Today the degrees of the college are more credible and respected than those from the freshly-created so-called medical universities which are springing up like mushrooms in rainy seasons. There are allegations of corruptions, copy culture, nepotism, and ‘sifarish’ in order to get the postgraduate degrees (MS, MD), most of which are reserved for offsprings of professors. Some of the degrees are given in dowry to sons-in-law. This seems to be the practice in the interior of Sindh.
(4) The Liaquat Medical College has become synonymous with the name of Col Najib. He raised the standard of the college to the highest degree against opposition from local professors. After his exit, the reputation of the college is declining, and the fall is very steep.
(5) In the King Edward Medical College and the Fatima Jinnah Medical College of Lahore the names of Col Ellahi Bux and Col Ziaullah still stand tall among the professors of medical colleges. As regards the letter of Dr Mehtab Ali Shah, it smells of personal animosity towards the sitting VC rather than real desire for improvement.
Among the bureaucrats who have become VCs the names of Mazhar Siddiqui (Sindh University) and Abul Kalam of the NED University are admired in academic circles. Mr Abul Kalam is rightly called the father of modern NED University. Were it not for his age, he deserves a few more extensions. Today the name of the NED University is shining with a glow of respect.
(6) Now that the committee for appointment of VCs has been formed, for God sake do not slaughter merit. Do not appoint VCs on political grounds or await the telephone call from London or Dubai. This practice has left us nowhere. A good administrator from the army is no disqualification, only such a person will be able to curb the violence on the campuses which has taken so many lives. Besides, VCs should not be appointed from the same institution because they have their own likes and dislikes, friendships and animosities. If possible, VCs should be appointed from other provinces as they will have no political friends or godfathers in other provinces.
PROF ABDUL GHANI SIDDIQI
Hyderabad
THE yellow licence plates issued in Sindh are quite ugly and I’m wondering why the government of Sindh does not change the colour and design of the licence plates, like Punjab has done, for instance.
The government should change the colour of the plates, like Islamabad did recently, when they went from pure black, which was still far better than yellow, to a nice mixture of white and black.
Similarly, Punjab went from pure black to white and green with the Punjab logo on the side, giving their province the best-looking licence plates in the country.
It is time the provincial government changed the colour and design of licence plates so that our plates are no longer the ugliest-looking plates in the country.
KIRAN BOKHARI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the arts festival being held in Lahore at Alhambra complex by the Rafi Peer Theatre. Though the effort has to be commended, it is totally ruined due to inefficient crowd management.
For the rock concert the management sold more tickets than the seating capacity which resulted in a stampede. My sister was there with her friends and all of them got hurt.
It was only through sheer luck that they escaped serious injury. If organisers lack the ability to manage the crowd at such events, then they should refrain from holding them altogether.
SABA SHEIKH
Lahore
I HAVE been watching the coverage of the Test matches between Pakistan and the West Indies with growing indignation at the biased commentary provided by Rameez Raja in this, and other, series.
His continuous criticism of opener Imran Farhat and praise of others makes one wonder if he had some personal vendetta against this talented young man. Is it not possible for the sports channel to employ unbiased commentators, or at least request Mr Raja to refrain from unnecessary derogatory remarks, which could undermine the confidence of an up and coming player?
RANI S
United Kingdom
THIS is to draw the attention of the town nazim, UC-1, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, and KWSB authorities towards the closure of water supply for over two weeks to the area surrounded by Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Sirajuddaullah Road, Alamgir Road and Hyder Ali Road. In this area, rich as well as poor people live and there are schools, mosques, madressahs and hospitals which all are affected.
Over two weeks ago, to lay down a new PVC pipe, the road was dug and the only water supply to all side roads entering from Alamgir Road towards Shaheed-i-Millat Road was disconnected without making an alternative arrangement.
Until now there is no sign of any work being carried out for the resumption of water supply and much damage has been done to all underground PTCL cable TV networks and gas installations.
Seeping filthy underground water has collected and entered these old and new water lines, now lying open or broken (outside Alamgir Masjid).
Not all residents of the area can afford a water tanker worth Rs500 or Rs1,000. There is a need that the authorities take immediate steps to restore water supply to the area.
M. ELYAS
Karachi
ON my way to work this morning I saw plenty of billboards on both sides of Sharea Faisal carrying banners to welcome the delegates coming to IDEAS 2006.
It was really surprising to see the misspelled ‘dalagates’ instead of ‘delegates’ on a number of these banners. Since those signs are huge enough to draw attention — and that’s what they’re there for in the first place — this blunder won’t leave a good impression.
In future the authorities concerned and sponsors should try to use a dictionary before putting up signs.
SYED ASGHAR HUSSAIN
Karachi
THE caption to the cartoon on Nov 12 read: ‘Dengue virus to stay here for 20 years’. A nation that could bear martial law for a decade, not once but twice, has the ability to endure any calamity.
MIR TABASSUM MAIRAJ
Islamabad
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