| January 13, 2007 | Saturday | Zilhaj 22, 1427 |
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Plight of Indian Muslims
Hunting the bustards
New Bush team
Tourism in Pakistan
The state of legal education
Return of the urn
Hunting or mass slaughter
Jalianwala Bagh
The prices of medicine
Hope is all they have
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 Ayaz Amir’s robustly argued piece ‘The choice before Bibi’ (Jan 5). These days most newspapers are filled with contradictory statements emanating from different quarters. Sometimes it is reported from the government’s sources that it is negotiating a deal with the PPP and then other times it is stated that the government is not negotiating a deal with the PPP. PPP spokespersons are also vociferous in their denial of such a deal.
But then a minister comes out with a very definitive statement that the deal is about to be finalised. In all this the public and the supporters of the PPP are both confused and puzzled. Surely, they are interested in knowing what the truth is.
In politics, however, nothing is final and, therefore, the door for dialogue should never be closed regardless of who is on the other side of the negotiating table. Yet, I believe that in our present situation certain basic principles have to be kept in view in tackling the present challenges.
First, the PPP would disappoint its hard-line supporters as well as sympathisers if it were to enter into a deal with the present rulers in which it agrees to get the president elected through the current parliament. This will amount to the PPP’s moral bankruptcy.
Second and more important, the PPP must not ditch other opposition parties at this juncture. If it does, it will lose its credibility and the present rulers, in all probability, would also ditch it. There should be no doubt about it in the minds of Ms Bhutto and her top team.
Third, now is the time for all the opposition parties to become united on a three-point agenda which will secure our future as an honourable nation: (1) no president in uniform from the present assemblies, (2) fair and transparent elections through an independent election commission whose composition is decided in consultation with the opposition and (3) an independent judiciary which is free from any dictation from the military rulers.
Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the dream for a prosperous, happier and healthier Pakistan can only be realised through a genuine democratic institutional framework. Any other path will entail insurmountable difficulties. To this end I quote two principles that Abraham Lincoln followed religiously during his presidency for the benefit of our present rulers. “(1) Still the question recurs: can we do better? The dogma of the quiet past is inadequate to the stormy present and unpredictable future. The occasion is piled with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew, and (2) I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast and important for malicious tackling.”
DR ZAFAR IQBAL QURESHI
Lahore
THIS has reference to Mishal Latif’s letter titled ‘Muslims in India’ (Jan 9). I once had the same perception of Indian Muslims as the writer but that changed since I moved abroad and lived among some Indian Muslims who are highly educated, even by the standards of the US and the UK. In no time I came to know how they are treated as third class citizens and the way the Indian state has enacted laws (e.g., rural quota systems) to discriminate against Muslims. Please note that Muslims in India are not 13 per cent but constitute around 20 to 25 per cent of the population, which is a huge percentage.
The letter writer says that “one should note here that education in India is almost free and there is no discrimination against anyone on religious grounds in primary schools”. Primary education is free, but where will the students go after getting the education? Even the world’s largest corporations don’t hire Indian Muslims, and instead give them rubbish excuses.
How many Indian Muslims are managers in major international corporations which have offices in India? Almost none. I have first-hand information about this fact as I also work and have colleagues and friends in major organisations. And how many Muslims are in Indian army?
Not more than five per cent even by highest estimates and the bulk of them are junior and non-commissioned officers. How many Muslims are in Indian civil service and police? Every year only around two to three per cent of the selected candidates are Muslims. This average was better prior to the 1990s.
People in Pakistan should be clear about these facts which are just the tip of the iceberg. No one mentions these problems in the free Indian and western media. So people like us whose prime source of getting information is the western and Indian media don’t know the extent of this bias. India has a booming economy, but just for the Hindu majority. May be Indian Muslims will get some benefits from this boom but not any time in the near future.
JAMIL RAJA
London, UK
IN support of Benjamin Joynes’s letter (Jan 11), I just want to add my voice against the barbaric practice of hunting for pleasure.
Taking the life of an innocent creature, who loves its life as much as we do, is archaic and a practice from the dark ages. We make so much hue and cry in the slightest variation in some of the rituals which has no Islamic basis, other than the word of mouth with no authenticity, yet when it comes to self-gratification we ignore the words of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) who said that there is no man who kills (even) a sparrow or anything smaller, without its deserving it, but God will question him about it.
Can anyone imagine the Holy Prophet going out on hunting spree for pleasure? What kind of Ummah are we after all?
SYED RIZVI
Engineers and Scientists for Animal Rights Silicon
Valley,
USA
I WAS ashamed to read about the hunting rights given to sheikhs and princes who come to Pakistan and further diminish endangered species. The wide-scale allocation of territories throughout Sindh and Punjab to kill wild animals is not only despicable but a violation of our international treaties to preserve these birds. This was due to a decision made by the head of the federal government and blatant encroachment into a provincial issue (hunting of birds) and a flagrant violation of the principles of federalism. No wonder the smaller provinces of Pakistan have problems with the centre all the times.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz never bothered to talk to the sheikhs about deploying our kidnapped children as camel jockeys and then paying only a paltry sum of seven million dollars for their rehabilitation and reimbursement.
This is the single dominant issue for dishonouring the pride of Pakistan and Pakistanis abroad. Sadly, it is not deemed a fit subject for discussion in the parliament of Pakistan.
W. MALIK
Las Vegas, USA
THIS refers to Najmuddin Sheikh’s article, ‘New Bush team’ (Jan 10). The author shows great concern for the targeting of Sunnis in Iraq whereas we are agitated at the brutalisation of human beings whoever they may be: Shias or Sunni Kurds or Sunni Arabs. As far as Muqtada’s Mahdi army is concerned, death squads coalesced in it after the bombing of the shrines of Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari on Feb 22 in Samarra.
According to religious authorities based in Najaf, this should be no reason for revenge either and they have asked for restraint which went unheard post February 2006. Muqtada disowns revenge killings by death squads of his militia and wonders who is leading these heinous crimes against innocent Sunnis.
One may recall that when Saddam’s army was laid off after his fall, Shia Baathists went and joined the Mahdi army. No one investigates the role of Shia Baathists in Iraq’s continued instability. They were among the ones who fought against Iran as dictated by Saddam. Did the events of February 22 provide a reason for these elements to further Saddam’s agenda of continued chaos in Iraq from the Sadr militia’s end this time around?
If true, it is these Saddamists who need to be purged from the Sadr militia. The militia is needed by the people for protection from Sunni insurgents until such time that a professional Iraqi security force comes up and the country is freed from all insurgency.
Also, Mr Sheikh tends to make Saddam’s hanging an issue between Shias and Sunnis when Saddam had no sympathy even for those Sunni Arabs who opposed him. He had his own daughters widowed by getting his sons-in-law killed who were neither Shias nor Kurds. So Saddam’s hanging should not be reduced into a sectarian or ethnic issue when his victims comprised all even those born of him, however much the daughters may now mourn the loss of the one who had them widowed.
DR MAHNAZ FATIMA
Karachi
FROM time to time this topic comes up in the news. Apropos of a news item (Dec 16), it appeared again and will be put on the back burner, as usual. The future of tourism in Pakistan does not look bright because some very essentials, such as security of tourists and a secure atmosphere, unfortunately are not available. These are even denied to its own people.
I have been living in Muscat for some years and have visited many tourist attractions and believe that the Omanese government has managed this industry admirably. All countries, as a matter of fact, have historical buildings, beaches, mountains, wildlife, etc, but the important thing is how well the industry has been taken care of. In Pakistan, all efforts for any project are either not taken seriously or opposition starts beforehand. The only industry flourishing in the country is corruption — unfortunately.
Here in Muscat, as I said, the government is making wonderful efforts to promote tourism. To start with — super security arrangements, world-class hotel accommodation, neat beaches, beautiful road network, good maintenance of 17th century forts displaying Portuguese-era guns and culture, ‘wadis’, ‘jungle mein mangal’-type of dessert trips, pure water, hygienic food and beverages —anywhere and everywhere in abundance, variety of climates and, above all, pollution-free — all not very costly. The wildlife is not much compared to neighbouring India, Malaysia, Kenya or Brazil but there is rich cultural heritage of sort for a good experience.
So, what is required most in Pakistan to promote tourism is security, good road network and other public facilities related to the industry. Tourism not only promotes the cultural values of the country but also adds to the much-starved economy by bringing in foreign exchange.
HAJI ASHFAQ
Muscat
THIS is with reference to the comments of the Supreme Court on the poor quality of legal education (Jan 11). No sane person would deny that the state of legal education in our country is no different than that of the legal system here. As a law student, I wish to propose some solutions to improve the standards of law education in our country.
The first step is to make the law admission process competitive. The admission process can be made competitive by making it mandatory for anyone wishing to study law to appear in an aptitude test on the pattern of LSAT (Law School Admission Test) as in America or LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law) as in the UK. This is necessary so that only those who are committed to the study of law will seek admission as the interested ones will have to work hard and score high in this test.
The examination pattern and the syllabus both need to be radically altered by referring to what is taught in prestigious universities around the world. Case law questions, till now unknown in our students’ lexicon, must be compulsory alongside the detailed essay questions. Such questions must be introduced since they present students with real-to-life situations which test legal knowledge and intellectual curiosity, essential skills for successful lawyers.
The format of the existing essay questions must be changed and they must be set so as to encourage critical approach and academic evaluation. This implies that write-a-note-on type questions must be avoided at all costs.
New courses such as legal writing must be introduced since law requires effective communication skills. Students must be presented with some optional subjects which they would choose to fulfil the required credits. This would enable them to study at their own choice while new subjects such as intellectual property rights and cyber law can be introduced as well.
Another essential step in this regard is to provide the law departments of the universities with the essential infrastructure, especially well-equipped libraries and access to the Internet, so that the students can have access to legal developments all around the world. This will also help them to arrange moot trials and seminars on diverse legal topics. Maybe, then we can have the opportunity to benefit from academic lawyers (a rare genre in Pakistan) who will work to improve law research in our country.
SYED ALI
Rawalpindi
THE first Ashes whitewash in 86 years is something to be remembered for ages to come. Australians gave England the taste of their own medicine to get the urn back in Australia. Aussies waste no time to finish the last Test ahead of time and sparing the whole day’s session.
Being an ardent fan of cricket I got a chance to witness the ever-lasting killing instinct of Australia’s best-ever team. What I observed from the whole series that Australians did not leave any stone unturned to regain the Ashes. They not only played as a united team, but also proved that they are the best in the contemporary cricketing world.
Aussies did not even allow Englishmen to come close to dream for retaining Ashes title and they had been comprehensively outplayed.
There is no doubt in admitting that Australians have raised the standard of international cricket to a new level. To claim Ashes whitewash after 86 years is a dream come true for Austrians and it was the perfect farewell celebration for Australia’s three retiring cricket greats, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Langer.
The most amazing fact is that it was Australia’s 12th consecutive Test win and their 16th from the last 17 Test matches.
It simply shows the amount of determination and overall confidence in every member of the team, which has always kept them at par. All the cricket- playing nations should take a leaf out of Aussies book and must learn to fight like Aussies do. I pay my heartiest congratulations to the Australian nation and to their cricket team for such a remarkable and historic Ashes win, which helped them to get urn back home.
QAZI ASIM NAEEM
Hyderabad
I WAS saddened to read the news (Dec 27) that two federal ministers visited the Chotaryoon Dam in Sanghar district and shot 800 partridges and 20 wild boars in a single day. What more nauseating was the fact that this slaughter of birds was done in the presence of the district nazim, along with the official protocol.
Had this been done by any commoner, he would have been locked up by the game warden under a charge of illegal hunting.
Wild birds such as partridges and sandgoose are already facing extinction due to extensive use of insecticides and destruction of the natural habitats due to disappearance of forests. Therefore, if such cruelty at a mass scale is not stopped forthwith, time is not far when these rare species will face annihilation.
MANSOORUL HAQ SOLANGI
Karachi
GEN Dyer’s Jalianwala Bagh was the turning-point in the colonial rule of Great Britain in India. The stripping naked (on Dec 28) of a protester, whose father had been made to disappear, is the Jalianwala Bagh of the GHQ.
ASIF MAJEED
Karachi
THIS refers to the letter by Raza Ali Dossa (Jan 4).To eliminate overcharging, the pharmaceutical companies should print the maximum retail price on each medicine. This is obligatory in India.
One wonders why a tube of Canesten, a skin ointment, costs the equivalent of five cents per gram in India but 25 cents per gram in Indonesia. Both versions are manufactured by the same multinational company.
Similarly, 500-milligram tablets of Glycophage cost five times more here than their equivalent, Glycomet, does in India. Daonil in five-milligram tablets costs 17 times than its Indian equivalent. Pioglar-15 costs 6.5 times more. Interestingly, the generic Metformin and Glibenclamide both cost about the same here as the branded variety in India. Why is there so much difference between the costs of generic and branded medicines? And why do Indonesian doctors not prescribe generic medicines?
Thanks to the printed prices on the medicines, Indian pharmacies sell medicines at the proper prices. On the other hand, the Indonesian customer is blissfully ignorant about what the price of the medicine should be. We desperately need to determine who is primarily responsible for the higher costs of medicines. Some NGOs should take up this issue. The government should also step in to curb the retail prices of medicines.
Indians will remain ever grateful to the late prime minister Indira Gandhi, who forced the pharmaceutical industry to print and charge fair prices. By and large, all pharmaceutical companies in India are still doing well.
I feel President Susilo Yudhoyono will win another bigger landslide victory in his quest for a second term if he earns the gratitude of millions of Indonesians who cannot afford medicines.
K.B. KALE
Jakarta, Indonesia
THIS refers to Shehar Bano Khan’s article ‘Hope is all they have’ (Jan 11). This particular incident exposes the government’s sham slogan of ‘enlightened moderation’. What kind of an enlightened government is this when it resorts to baton-charging its own citizens when they ask for their rights?
The government’s policy in Waziristan is political but this is an incident of violation of basic human rights. Even if the government has any proof of Masood Janjua’s involvement in some terrorists activities, they should bring him to the court of law rather than keeping him in confinement for more than one year without any trial.
Only once the court convicts the accused can the government take action against him, but the treatment given to his family, who were protesting peacefully and marched towards the GHQ to submit a memorandum on Dec 28, comes under the category of state terrorism and it should be condemned in the strongest of terms. About the police and the securities agencies, the least said the better.
M.K.
Karachi
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