| December 02, 2006 | Saturday | Ziqa'ad 10, 1427 |
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Providing no relief
Anti-money laundering law
Honouring our heroes
Closure of Northern Bypass
Harsh realities
Abolition of Slavery Day
Damage to democracy
Re-making cricket history
Wapda clarifies
Hoax bill?
Lawyer’s murder
Man killed for ignoring signal
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
PROMISING developments have been seen in recent years in global efforts to address the Aids epidemic, including increased access to effective treatment and prevention programmes.
However, the number of people living with HIV continues to grow, as does the number of deaths due to Aids. An estimated total of 39.5 million people were living with HIV in 2006, which is 2.6 million more than in 2004. (UNAids 2006, Aids Epidemic Update)
The World Heath Organisation estimates that in Pakistan 70,000 to 80,000 people are infected with HIV. However, only around 3,000 people are registered as HIV positive in different parts of the country, including about 500 persons in the NWFP. Pakistan is declared as low-prevalence high-risk country.
There are other countries in the world which are facing Aids as one of the major threats to their very survival. In South Africa every fourth patient admitted to the hospital is HIV positive. Botswana and many other sub-Saharan countries are also in real danger since about 10 per cent of their population is already infected with HIV.
Major routes of transmission of HIV remain sexual intercourse (80 per cent) including heterosexual vaginal intercourse (10 per cent), but now as more women are being infected with HIV, mother-to-child transmission is also on the rise (10 per cent).
The habit of sharing needles among drug users has also increased their percentage in the HIV hit list (five to 10 per cent). Unsecured blood transfusions remain a big route for infection (three to five per cent) particularly in Pakistan where the declared goal of safe blood transfusion has not been achieved.
Other routes (less than one per cent) are surgical and dental instruments, tattooing needles, shaving blades, etc.
It is necessary to mobilise the Muslim community to combat Aids through the mosque and the imam. There is an example of a successful experiment in Uganda, where over 1,000 imams were trained to educate the communities through ceremonies, home visits and group talks with appropriate messages for HIV/Aids prevention and the care and support of those infected and affected. Over 100 thousand families were reached by these imams. Two international conferences on HIV/Aids have been held by Muslim leaders.
The first was in Kampala, Uganda, in 2001 and the second in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2003. More such conferences must be held where Muslim scholars and professionals can gather to chalk out a Muslim initiative in the combat against HIV/Aids.
DR M. IQBAL KHALIL
Karachi
THIS refers to the instructional note published in most national dailies of Pakistan by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd.
The publication explicitly throws light on the causes of the high gas bills in winter season and makes the people aware of being careful while using gas appliances, especially in winter.
But after reading between the lines, one remains unable to locate any of its plus point, i.e., providing relief to the people from the high utility bills.
It is actually an estimated comparison of gas bill during summer and winter. It seems to be a lame excuse made by the relevnt department to satisfy the people so that they will not complain that they have been paying Rs220 per month in the summer and the amount has gone up to Rs4,080 (18 times increase) which they are forced to pay in the winter .
By giving this information the department considers that it has done its duty.
Although promulgation can play a vital role in making people aware of the causes of the rise of gas bill in winter, the people are actually looking for discount and relief from Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd. This kind of awareness can do nothing to comfort people when they still have to pay the high gas dues.
The government should do something to ease the burden of poor people from the high utility bills and make efforts to provide the people with the discounts in surcharges of the bills.
ZUBAIR AHMAD QURESHI
Lahore
THIS is with reference to the news item ‘Anti-money laundering law expected soon’ (Dawn, Nov 23). The government’s initiative to enact an anti-money laundering law in parliament is commendable. At present money laundering is not recognised as a criminal offence in Pakistan. However, Pakistan does recognise its international obligations in this context. For generations, money had been remitted through two informal and unregulated channels, i.e., hundi and hawala.
Pakistan has been a member of the Asia Pacific Group (APG) since July 2002 and regularly submits annual report to the APG but the recommendations of the APG cannot be fully acted upon due to the absence of Anti-money laundering laws in Pakistan.
The State Bank of Pakistan has introduced stringent measures to combat money laundering and issued prudential regulations to safeguard the banking sector from the menace of black money. The implementation of anti-money laundering law will no doubt bring desirable changes for combating money laundering and terrorist financing in Pakistan.
ZAKI ALAM
Karachi
I READ with much interest and admiration the story of Dr Abdus Salam as written by Mr Cowasjee. Indeed, Dr Salam was a legendary physicist whose contribution far exceeded the honour the scientific community was able to bestow upon him by the award of the Nobel Prize.
I had an opportunity to briefly visit him and attend a lecture presentation at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA. This was the only time I had seen such a great personality from so close. Dr Salam was humble, down-to-earth and always ready to answer questions from students and admirers alike. I am saddened to hear of the treatment his community received in his homeland. Where the world would revere and respect a person like him, Pakistan and its religious bigotry could only bestow scorn and disdain. Does the Ummah realise the contribution of people like Salam and others to the scientific world?
All over the world the Muslim community and the Islamic faith are being unfairly branded as dogmatic, bigoted and war-mongering. Dr Salam and many others like the famed Indian Bengali poet Kazi Nazrul Islam (who should have been awarded at least two Nobel Prizes for literature) and Mohammed Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank, are shining examples of good human beings that all of humanity can be proud of. When will the Muslim world truly start honouring their real heroes?
PARMESHWAR COOMAR
Michigan, USA
A SIZABLE number of people commute daily from Karachi to Hub, a major industrial estate.
During the past over one week, motorists are being subjected to extreme inconvenience and discomfort by the local police, who daily close the newly-constructed Northern Bypass for traffic going from Hub to Karachi in the evening, near the intersection of two bypasses, Hub-Shershah and Hub-Super Highway.
The police employed there generally close the road by putting stones across it and blocking it with their motorbikes. When asked about this blockade, they reply that it is on the orders of the SSP and that it is being closed because of traffic congestion/jam at Baldia or Shershah.
This is a flagrant violation of traffic laws and the reasons given are baseless.
It is interesting to note that at times the constables deployed there allow some motorists to proceed on the closed road when the latter insist, and also some trucks and buses, for obvious reasons.
Will the officials concerned intervene and give firm orders to stop this practice forthwith?
LT-COL (r) SARFRAZ AHMED KHAN
Karachi
THE negative bias of Maha Qasim ‘Glossing over harsh realities’ (Nov 25) towards Mr Shaukat Aziz for being ‘unelected’ prime minister is not without justification. However, she has failed to realise that Mr Aziz is a successful banker groomed to be optimistic and not a statesman. This is the motivation that he did not highlight the country’s problems.
It is for this reason that while addressing at Princeton University, besides avoiding comments on political and constitutional turmoil the country is passing through, the PM also failed to speak of the abject poverty in which even middle and lower middle classes have now landed because of lop-sided fiscal policies such as maintaining exorbitant cost of petroleum products notwithstanding decline in its prices in the international market and unbridled support to the ravenous business class, some of whom are admittedly earning 100 per cent profit.
The pervasive corruption that has taken in its grip every stratum of society and serious law and order problem faced by the people living in urban and rural areas equally also did not get mention in his talk.
My suggestion is that to appreciate the issues, the PM may take his office to remotest corners of the country and stay with the downtrodden, at least for 15 days of every month. It is only after he dresses like them, eats what they consume and drinks what they drink and sleeps in ordinary houses without involvement of much nuisance that he can understand the harsh realities.
MANSOOR UL HAQ SOLANGI
Karachi
ABOLITION of Slavery Day is observed around the world every year on Dec 2. We in Pakistan need to analyse whether we were able to abolish slavery in our country. Millions are still in slavery in the agriculture sector and brick kilns, and the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1992 could not be implemented properly.
Those responsible for its implementation, for example district nazims and coordination officers, are mostly feudal lords who have no interest in the implementation of a law which can badly damage their personal interests, particularly in Sindh and Punjab.
New forms of slavery such as domestic child labour and sale and trafficking of women and children is on the rise. Despite the Supreme Court’s action and clear-cut directives, Manu Bheel’s family could not be recovered.
What should be done? The spread of education and awareness, proper implementation of the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1992 with strict monitoring along with free and fair political system would be helpful in improving the situation to some extent.
Political parties must also play a role in this regard since most of their candidates for the national or provincial assemblies are feudals who promote slavery and bondage.
ARSHAD MAHMOOD
Mardan
THE International Day for the Abolition of Slavery commemorates the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317, IV) on December 2, 1949.
A common misconception is that slavery does not exist in the modern day and age – this could not be farther from the truth. Thousands of Pakistanis are still slaves and as long as child labour, forced labour, exploitation of domestic staff, prostitution, etc, continue to flourish, slavery will continue to exist in our country. Every domestic servant who is unfairly paid, mistreated and emotionally or physically harassed is a slave. Every child working in the fields or in factories instead of rightfully obtaining an education is a slave. Every woman who is born into a profession whereby she has to sell herself in order to survive is a slave.
And, make no mistake, there are a lot of Pakistanis who are facing these miserable conditions. One would hopefully not be wrong, however, in presuming that it is the duty of the educated few, the liberated intellectuals, those who are actually free to work with respect and dignity to take steps towards rectifying this dismal situation. And today would be a good time to start.
SANA ANSARI
Karachi
IN his panegyric on Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Sajjad Ali Shah (Dawn, Nov 30) praises the late president for being “a strict follower of rules and laws”. But when the law in question was the notorious clause (58)(2b) inserted into the Constitution by dictator Ziaul Haq, surely a person as praiseworthy as Shah claims GIK was should have hesitated before dismissing two elected prime ministers and parliaments.
Indeed, the damage Ishaq Khan did to democracy in Pakistan is incalculable. But when a retired chief justice of the Supreme Court sings the praises of people like GIK to the high heavens, we can see why democracy has not been allowed to put down roots in our inhospitable soil.
IRFAN HUSAIN
Karachi
NOTWITHSTANDING the result of Karachi Test match, the historic moment arrived before lunch on the fourth day when Muhammad Yousaf surpassed the national record held by Zaheer Abbas of scoring most runs in a calendar year. With only three more runs later, he broke the 30-year-old world record held by Sir Vivian Richards for most runs in a calendar year by any batsman.
The historic moment became even more memorable when Brian Lara, who is one of the greatest batsmen of our time, congratulated Muhammad Yousaf on this great feat. Congratulations from all cricket fans to Muhammad Yousaf, and a round of applause for Brian Lara due to his great sportsmanship.
ANAS A KHAN
Edmonton, Canada
THIS is in response to the letter ‘Power rates’ by Mr S.T. Hussain (Nov 22). Mr Hussain has referred to some reports wherein Wapda chairman has been quoted as seeking increase in electricity prices by Rs7-14 per unit (kilo watt hours) to reduce deficit of Wapda amounting to Rs111 billion.
Wapda, through the national media, has already clarified that the chairman’s deposition before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Water and Power had been misquoted and reported out of context, as at no times such increase had ever been sought.
However, it would be pertinent to state that the last tariff increase in power rates was allowed by the government in November 2003. The prices of fuel oil and gas have since increased by more than 50 per cent and 8.81 per cent, respectively. The accumulative effect of the last three years amounting to Rs111 billion on account of oil price hike alone has been borne by Wapda.
Furthermore, it has to be understood that Wapda neither fixes oil prices nor holds any sway on fixation of power tariff. Fixing oil and gas prices is the responsibility of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority whereas the power tariff is determined by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.
Besides, Mr Hussain’s statement that state monopolies lead to inefficiency, incompetence and corruption is inherently flawed, especially when such state operations have always been under strict audit and scrutiny. Furthermore, the writer seems to be oblivious of the requirement of services like electricity, water and sanitation as part of social obligations for any state and that in the absence of stringent regulatory regime and framework, the efficiency or the efficacy of the private sector has been mostly found lacking.
It is also a fact that only public organisations are able to absorb extra burden like oil price hike. Moreover, the state’s vision to provide electricity to all and particularly the disadvantaged can only be implemented through public-owned utilities.
ABID SAEED
Director, Public Relations,
Wapda
Lahore
JUST a few weeks ago like most other Pakistani women I was all for the amendments to the Hudood Ordinance. After all I never did get how one can prove that they’ve been raped when they had to show up with four witnesses. In this day and age it would be a miracle to find one witness to a petty theft let alone sexual misconduct.
But then I came across an article in a section of the press written by a former member of the Shariat Appellate. The writer quotes the entire bill with exact references from the Quran and the law book, explaining that the whole argument about Hudood Ordinance amendments being the panacea for crimes against women is a hoax. In fact, the amendments being prescribed will make it even more difficult to convict someone of rape or lewdness.
Are the amendments just another ploy by the current establishment to get more votes in the upcoming elections, or do they actually make life for women in this country easier?
ZUNAIRA MALIK
Lahore
THE murder of lawyer Muhammad Ali, a senior member of the Larkana Bar, in the court premises, is a blot on the police present on duty at the time of the incident and also reflects on the working of the entire law-enforcement agencies of Larkana division.
It appears to be matter of great scheme that no resistance was made by the police to catch the culprits red-handed and who escaped without any hindrance.
It is also shocking to note that the Larkana police have so far failed to arrest the culprits as nominated in the FIR.
A protest has been lodged by the Larkana Bar over the police failure to arrest the culprits mentioned in the FIR, as well as over the failure of the security arrangement in the Larkana District Court.
I would request the Sindh chief minister to take note of the situation.
M. ANWAR CHANNA
Larkana
ACCORDING to the news report ‘Police kill man for ignoring signal’ (Nov 19), the police killed yet another man in a fake encounter. Everyone in Karachi knows how dangerous it is to tussle with people in black uniform.
Although low- ranking policemen are not allowed to do snap checking on their own, it has become a routine of policemen to stop someone to make money.
The way police gunned down Zafar Hamid is a matter of shame. Moreover, the way the police described the scene is so appalling. The higher authorities are requested to punish those involved in this shameful act and to ensure that no such event happens in future so that innocent lives can be saved.
FAHAD KHAN
Karachi
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