| December 29, 2006 | Friday | Zilhaj 07, 1427 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
A final wake up call
Empowerment of women
The only valid censorship
Come December
A proud Pakistani
Concept of Haj-i-Akbar
Support for Israel
Recovery of funds
The best news
Gwadar port
Correction needed
In a foreign land
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
FOLLOWING years of exhaustive negotiations the UN Security Council, dancing to the tune of the US, has ‘unanimously’ decided to impose a set of sanctions against Iran in response to its uranium-enrichment activities.
The Security Council decided that Iran must halt its “proliferation sensitive nuclear activities,” including all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and work on all heavy water-related projects. It also banned trade with Iran of all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology that are enrichment-related.
The Security Council has called on all states “to exercise vigilance regarding the entry into or transit through their territories of individuals who are engaged in, directly associated with or providing support for Iran’s proliferation sensitive nuclear activities or for the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems.”
The resolution contains a list of persons, entities involved with Iran’s nuclear, and ballistic missile programmes that are subject to a freeze on their financial assets, with some exceptions built in.
The IAEA was requested to report within 60 days to the Council on whether Iran has suspended uranium enrichment activities. If that report shows that Iran has not complied with the resolution the Security Council has threatened “further appropriate measures.”
Not surprisingly, Iranian President Ahmadinejad has defiantly announced that the Islamic republic will celebrate its “nuclearisation” by March 2007.
What will be the repercussions of this UN resolution in a region full of turmoil and instability? How will the neighbouring countries respond to it?
Will they clandestinely support Iran or keep aloof? What will be the future strategy of ECO, SCO and Saarc countries? What will be the Arab countries strategy? Will the Arab countries again ‘be divided on this issue?
Will they create another Saddam Hussein to counter a nuclear Iran or will they avail the chance to become nuclear themselves? Or will the Afghanistan, Iraq and the entire Middle East plunge into unending turmoil and instability?
The most important question for us is that of Pakistan’s survival. How will it respond to the grave scenario, especially being the frontline state of US in the war against an unseen enemy. Will we be able preserve our own nuclear programme? After Iran, Pakistan will be the only state in the Islamic World with nuclear capabilities.
The Pakistani nation and its leaders need to rack their brains and come up with a solution that will serve our own vital interests.
ABDUL QAYUM MANGI
Sukkur
THE latest sanctions against Iran smack of nothing less than a bias against the Muslim world by the powers that be. Even the Russians and Chinese, who had earlier given the impression that they were all for the Iranians have complied with the American block.
For this the present Iranian leadership needs to be criticised since it had continuously been wooing the Putin clique, forgetting Russian atrocities against the brave Chechen people. I think it is high time that the Iranian leadership revamped its foreign policy vis-à-vis Russia and China.
Instead Iran must win support among the anti-imperialist segments of the world. Only in this way will it be able to counter the US imperialist designs against Iran.
The people of Pakistan are with their Iranian brothers in their hour of trial and tribulation, although the present leadership has always been keen to serve the vested interests of their masters in the US.
Successive Pakistani regimes have successfully been used to further America’s nefarious designs whether it be Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir, Iraq or Afghanistan.
NAZIR AHMED CHANNA
Karachi
I AM a resident of Karachi’s Clifton Block 2. Intermittently for the past six months the gutter outside my house has been overflowing. You can well imagine how this must have hampered life for not only me and my family, but indeed our entire street.
The dirty overflowing sewerage waste has submerged the entire lane, making just entering the house an uphill struggle. This of course is not the only hazard we’re faced with. The accumulated dirty water acts as a safe heaven for all kinds of harmful pests and insects, and you can understand the sort of worries this has caused us, especially in the wake of the recent Dengue pandemic.
In addition to this a most unbearable foul odor has engulfed my front yard, which has made it impossible to spend any length of time outside the house.
Furthermore, the inundation has rendered the already feeble roads in the street to a further pathetic condition, making commuting on them a headache. We’re faced with constant embarrassment whenever guests visit and in short our lives have been disrupted because of the inadequacies of the sewerage system.
Through out this period, which started in the aftermath of the heavy monsoon rains last summer, we have registered constant complains at our local Union Council 11 Nazim’s office, and those of officials higher up as well. And constantly, our complaints have met nothing but false reassurances of our problems being solved.
Once or twice officials have bothered to turn up and put in place temporary restorations of some sort, but these have served no purpose and the gutter is now back overflowing again.
I have written not only to complain vehemently about the shortfalls and indifference of the council’s officials, but also to ask, what I have done to deserve such treatment. We are law abiding citizens who pay taxes regularly and the least we can expect in return is that the concerned authorities ensure provision of our basic amenities of life.
I hope and pray that this letter of complaint will serve as the final wake up call I am expecting it to be, and that the concerned parties will take immediate measures to remove all my complaints for good.
SYED A. SUHAIL RAZVI
Karachi
THE MMA’s protest against the Women’s Protection Act is unnecessary. The bill was passed with the consent and mutual co-operation of both the government and the opposition parties, and it seems to be well in line with Islamic jurisprudence. There is nothing against Islam in it.
The MMA leadership well knows that the spirit of the act is to empower women and there is nothing un-Islamic about that.
Yet they continue to protest, shout slogans, deliver sermons and cite examples from the history in order to instigate people to come out and participate in their rallies.
Fortunately, this has not worked. People have not responded to their call. By not participating in MMA’s rallies this time around the people have proved that overwhelming majority of them are progressive rather than ‘religious progressive’.
They love their religion more than anything else, but at the same time, they are not willing to stick to some outdated myths that have nothing to do with Islam.
In a way people have voted in favour of enlightened moderation and against religious bigotry.
One must give credit to President Musharraf for taking this long overdue initiative. He deserves appreciation for showing the necessary courage.
After all, it is he who dared to go ahead and put all political, social and above all religious reservations aside and managed to get this bill passed with the support of the PPP.
Benazir Bhutto and all the leaders of the PPP also deserve our appreciation for proving themselves true to their party’s democratic agenda by extending unconditional support in passing the WPA.
Ms Bhutto and the PPP will surely be rewarded by the people of Pakistan for their political maturity in the forthcoming elections.
ASIF PATHAN
Quetta
THIS refers to the letter ‘A protest at the opera’ by M. Saeed (Dec 23). The opera was rewritten by the German director Hans Neuenfels to protest against organised religion; it was not, as M. Saeed insists, an attempt to ‘hurt the sentiments of the Muslims’ or a tool in the perceived war against the Muslim faith.
Hence, the scene in question does not include only the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) but also Jesus, Buddha and the Greek god Poseidon. In fact, Mr Saeed admits as much in the second paragraph of his letter but he later contradicts himself.
M. Saeed uses the word ‘sacrilegious’ to describe the action taken by the director, but this is incorrect as Hans Neuenfels is not a Muslim.
‘Sacrilegious’ implies violation of the articles of one’s faith; for Mr Neuenfels it is simply an ‘action of protest’. Every person should be allowed to voice their beliefs without fear of attack from those who disagree, insofar as they do not incite others to hatred or violence.
Otherwise, with the presence of hundreds of different belief systems, there will only be universal intolerance, hostility and violence.
The German Chancellor and the interior minister were pleased about the opera’s revival because of their commitment to the principle of freedom of expression.
I find it confounding that Mr Saeed is annoyed by someone voicing his beliefs simply because they conflict with his own.
As the American composer Tommy Smothers correctly said, ‘The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.’
SAMI NOORSUMAR
Karachi
THIS year the usual articles lamenting the loss of East Pakistan appeared in your newspaper during the month of December. This year, however, the writers adopted a new theme.
They have chosen to argue that the seminal cause of separation was the announcement of Urdu as the national language of Pakistan.
This is an attempt to distract attention from the real causes of the separation, as well as an attempt to find fault with the judgment of the founder of the nation.
The seminal causes were the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Maulvi Tamizuddin case, followed by the first and second army takeovers which showed no sign of abating.
The seeds of separation were sown by the higher judiciary and not by the father of the nation.
We might have had a riotous parliament, many corrupt politicians and frequent changes of government but the country would have held and eventually stabilised.
The language issue had been resolved to the satisfaction of the people of East Pakistan after it was realised that a different situation existed after 1947 as compared to the one before when Muslims generally identified with the Urdu language.
KHALID AHMAD
Montreal, Canada
Humayun Mirza, son of the late General Iskander Mirza, former President of Pakistan, has written from Maryland, USA (Dec 25) trashing my tenure as ambassador of Pakistan to the USA for a good reason.
Mr Humayun Mirza got himself invited to a dinner in my honour hosted by the then US Assistant Secretary of State as my cousin. I was constrained to clarify that he was not my cousin.
Furthermore, at the same dinner, when Mr Mirza said that his late father was the co-founder of Pakistan along with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, I had to clarify to my American host that there was only one founder of Pakistan, the Quaid-i-Azam, and that General Iskander Mirza had in fact abrogated the first constitution of Pakistan and put Pakistan, for the first time, under Martial Law.
Whereas, I am a proud Pakistani who lives in and will die in Pakistan, Mr Mirza has lived in Maryland, USA for many decades.
I forgive him for not knowing that I do have my B.A. degree but I am very curious as to where Mr Mirza graduated from and whether his entry into the service of the World Bank was by way of a competitive examination.
Syed Fakhar Imam got his Bachelors degree from the University of California at Davis in 1968 and was selected in the CSS examination in Pakistan in the same year.
He did not take up his commission in government service because he preferred to serve the people of Pakistan as an elected public representative.
Fakhar Imam and I have been repeatedly elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. Fakhar Imam has served as Speaker of the National Assembly, while I have served in three cabinets in the government of Pakistan.
To the best of my knowledge, Mr Mirza’s entire working life has been limited to the World Bank.
He has neither come to Pakistan for any length of time for what is perilously close to four decades and nor is he in any position to make cogent comments on the loss of constitutional governments in our country.
As for the success of the ambassadors of India to the US, Mr Mirza fails to understand that their success rests on the uninterrupted constitutional governments of India.
I would like to suggest to General Musharraf to give a job to Mr Mirza in his cabinet, where there are several US citizens, like Mr Mirza, because people like these wish to give us a democracy which we 165 million Pakistanis have failed to get for ourselves.
SYEDA ABIDA HUSSAIN
District Jhang
WITH reference to the letter by Riaz Jafri (Dec 24), please note that in Islam there is no concept of Haj-i-Akbar if day of Arafat falls on Friday. The Saudi government has tried to correct this misconception that prevails among some Muslims, the majority of whom belong to South Asian countries.
The Shoura Council of Ulema in Saudi Arabia has appealed to the masses to not be misguided in this regard. They have confirmed that any Haj is Haj-i-Akbar, irrespective of the day of the week that the Haj is performed.
ASHAR GRAMI
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
THE blanket support given to Israel by the West is compelling Iran to advance the process of uranium enrichment. The West should soften its attitude towards Iran otherwise the consequences will be far more dangerous than the present situation of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Instead of pressing the Muslim states on one pretext or the other, the West should send IAEA inspectors to Israel to dismantle its nuclear capabilities. Iran fears that the next atom bomb will be dropped by Israel on Iran.
The bottom line is that the West should first eliminate the possibility of an Israeli nuclear attack on Iran, only then should it talk to Iran about stopping its uranium enrichment programme.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
WELL done NAB for recovering Rs1.6 billion from Yunus Habib and the defunct Mehran Bank. Your news item (Dec 21) also listed the huge payments made by Yunus Habib to several prominent generals and politicians, but there is no mention of any attempt at recovery of those amounts.
Is that because these generals and politicians cannot be touched? The entire nation will be grateful to NAB if it is not cowed by these persons and recovers the entire amount from each of them.
ABID SHAIKH
Karachi
THE best news I have read so far is that Qazi Hussain Ahmed has announced that the MMA will not take part in elections if they are held under General Musharraf. Thank you, Qazi Saheb. Please believe me when I say that the entire nation will remain ever grateful to you and your brand of politicians for this generous act.
SHAHBAZ AZMI
Dubai, UAE
THIS is apropos of the news regarding the handing over of management control of the Gawadar port to the Port of Singapore (Dec 23). One fails to understand why the government is so determined to hand over all important national assets to foreign parties, either through privatisation or deals such as this one.
By such acts high-ups in the government are causing damage to the nation in two ways. Firstly, by getting hold of important national assets foreign powers gain the power to undermine our national interests in order to serve their own. One such example is the recent refusal of the government to cut oil prices at home despite a 25 per cent reduction in the global market.
This clearly serves the purpose of oil companies (mostly foreign) and not the common man.
Secondly, the government is implicitly asserting the notion that as a nation we are so incompetent and incapable that we cannot take good care of our valued assets. If this practice goes unchecked we will some become economic slaves despite all claims regarding economic progress and independence.
YAWAR NAWAZ
Islamabad
THE chapter entitled ‘Pakistan Foreign Policy’ in the Pakistan Studies textbook for class 12 (Punjab Text Board) states that there are three authorities that can formulate the foreign policy of Pakistan, namely the president, prime minister and the army chief.
But according to the Constitution only the prime minister of Pakistan has the authority to formulate foreign policy according to the wishes of the people of Pakistan.
The army chief has no such authority; he is a servant and watchman of the Pakistani people.
GHULAM MUHAMMAD
Sialkot
THE news story about a Saudi hospital holding a new born baby hostage for nonpayment of bills is shameful. Saudis generally tend to look down upon foreign workers and mistreat them.
The government of Pakistan should lodge a complaint with the Saudi authorities and come to the aid of its citizen who is being mistreated in a foreign land.
The dignity and pride of an honest Pakistani worker should be protected by his government.
ALI LAKHANI
Illinois, USA
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.