| February 05, 2007 | Monday | Muharram 16, 1428 |
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New name for NWFP
Kaneria makes way for Rahman
Back to one’s roots
Observing ‘Kashmir Day’
Enlightened moderation?
A contrast
A Rs200bn question
The meaning of ‘to serve’
Pick-pocketing
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 article regarding vacant posts in teaching institutions of Punjab, ‘600 posts vacant for seven years: medical institutions’ ,by Zulquernain Tahir (Jan 11). A number of individuals have exploited government posts and I know of two such physicians who defaulted such positions at government medical schools in the interior of Sindh by occupying the posts for years but never serving them.
Instead they served as faculty members at a private medical school. Sadly, medical students at government medical colleges are suffering at the hands of such physicians on rather long vacations. These individuals would have been tried by courts and fined the subsequent salaries and their complaints registered with the PMDC. In a land where lawlessness and blatant corruption prevails, such gross irregularities/ practices go unchecked and thus positions are occupied on paper but no physical presence to fulfil the responsibility.
Another problem that is worthy of mentioning is the fact that the government is spending umpteenth amounts of money flying to the US and the UK to recruit individuals for fulfilling these posts. Sadly, our own institutions of merit, namely Aga Khan University Hospital and Shaukat Khanum, produce specialists of equal or higher calibre on exit after completion of training as opposed to those who are recruited by the provincial or federal health department from abroad.
As a result, a wedge is created whereby specialists who graduate from residency and fellowship training programmes at these institutions either take up work in the private sector or go abroad, leaving only a small number of well-trained specialists to be accessed by the common man.
An example can be the paediatrics department of AKUH which now produces sub-specialists in areas long neglected in private institutions, e.g., paediatric cardiology, haematology-oncology, infectious diseases, and neonatology.
Could the city government of Karachi or the provincial government of Sindh not offer sub-specialty fellows graduating from these institutions jobs at posts of senior registrar or assistant professor so that these specialists can come and create training programmes for the betterment of institutions in Pakistan?
Our nation needs to take pride in individuals who graduate from such institutions not by offering such things as medals and other awards, but a symbiotic relationship in which the common man is given access to such specialists and these specialists given jobs to provide care and academic attention to long-neglected fields.
Until the problems regarding hiring are not recognised by those who are shouldered with responsibility to do so, the problem cannot be solved as there seems to be no excuse worthy of merit for lack of recruitment of specialists like paediatric endocrinologists when western institutions that are in a way our analogous counterparts exhaust every effort to put proceedings in pipelines to do so.
DR NABIL SAMI
Karachi
THE chief minister of the NWFP has reopened the debate about the renaming of our North-West Frontier Province, which he had previously done about four years back. The difference this time is that unlike before, he seems inclined to go along with one of the names that have all along been proposed by the nationalists, i.e., Pukhtunkhwa, which may have been considered necessary in view of the approaching elections.
However, it may be recalled that apart from the opposition to such an ethnic-based name by many residents of NWFP itself and most of the other Pakistanis, there also had been an unpleasant incident in the Senate two years back. At the time, a couple of senators from the NWFP had referred to their province as ‘Pakhtunkhawa’, which was strongly objected to both by the leader of the house and the Senate deputy chairman, who also hailed from over there (Dawn, Feb 16, 2005).
The main argument given is that the other three provinces got their nomenclature on an ethnic basis. This is largely untrue, as will be apparent from the following facts. ‘Punjab’ means the land of five rivers and has thus not been derived from its inhabitants, the Punjabis. Likewise, the word ‘Sindh’ in Hindi and ‘Sindhu’ in Sanskrit means ‘the sea’: the province obviously got to be known as such due to its proximity to the sea and to a mighty river connecting therewith, and its natives were called Sindhis.
Kashmir derives its name, according to tradition, from the ‘Khasi’, a people who lived in the northern mountains of India several centuries before the Christian era. The present-day Kashmiris are thus known from their state. That leaves only Balochistan as being designated after any of our ethnic groups.
Given the damage that ethnicity and sectarianism are causing to the nation, it is not necessary or desirable to rename the NWFP on an ethnic basis, especially because there are some other groups also living over there, including the Hazaras and Chitralis.
If four brothers reside in a house and one of them wishes to name his newly-born child, would not the loving and fraternal way be for him to invite his other brothers also to suggest some names so that the best one could be selected, instead of telling them to mind their own business? Several names are being proposed here, all except two of which have been coined by me. They begin with an alphabet already contained in the word ‘Pakistan’ and, hopefully, would also cater to the linguistic considerations and socio-cultural norms of the people.
These are: (1) Alamaniya (that which provides safety or refuge), (2) Karimia, (3) Karimzar (last ‘a’ is pronounced as in car, (4) Khyberan, (5) Kohistan, (6) Noorasia, (7) Nooristan, (8) Salaamwal, (9) Sarhadan (last ‘a’ as in Pakistan) and (10) Torkhaman (last ‘a’ as in No. 9).
Instead of calling the province as merely ‘Khyber’ or ‘Sarhad’ as suggested by some, the forms used here are, in my opinion, more substantial and relatively unique. If this list needs to be expanded, all Pakistanis could be invited to send in their suggestions (by offering a suitable reward, if necessary). A panel of Supreme Court judges may then short-list about three of these, which can subsequently be voted upon at a joint sitting of the Senate and the National and NWFP assemblies.
By this simple and democratic means, a name acceptable to everyone will be readily and amicably found, solving this problem forever, while making the nation more harmonised and united. At this time of great domestic and regional insecurity and violence, we must be exceedingly careful not to fan controversy or disunity.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
AFTER the conclusion of the Test series against South Africa, many were left wondering about Danish Kaneria’s wicketless returns on the final day of the third Test match. The story was no different on the last day of the first Test match. Pakistan lost both these matches with Kaneria failing to take any wickets when it mattered most.
In the third Test match, Asif did provide vital breakthroughs early on the last day by removing Smith and Amla in succession, raising hopes in the process of a likely Pakistan series win. Furthermore, in partnership with Kaneria, he kept the scoring rate in check.
For his part though, Kaneria did his best and extracted sharp turns with his conventional leg breaks. He went further afield and tried a few other tricks of the trade known to him. No one would question the hard work and persistent effort put in by him. But yet one more time, when it mattered, the statistics evaded him and he failed to make his mark in that the score sheet for him on the final day remained blank. If Kaneria had somehow, added a scalp or two before the lunch break, the story and the end result would have been different.
But as it turned out to be the case one more time, and as the experts have been calling it for long, Kaneria perhaps does not have in him for the big occasion. He has rarely shown this ability to run through the top batting line-up.
Rightfully, now comes the turn of a promising left arm spinner, Abdul Rahman, who impressed many with his brief stint in the home series against the touring West Indies side. Many are banking on this new find to fill in this gaping hole in the spin department. His performance and ability to restrict the opposition batsmen would be watched with a keen interest by all.
If Abdul Rahman fills in the role of a frontline spinner with a degree of success and contributes positively to the team effort during this forthcoming One-day series in South Africa, he would naturally get the nod of everyone, including the team captain and the management, and become the natural choice for the World Cup commencing in March.
MOHSIN MALIK
San Francisco, USA
I AM a Pakistani Canadian who was born and raised in Karachi. I migrated to Canada in 1965. I am close to 68 years old, and as one ages one likes to go back to one’s roots. As a young man, I attended St. Patrick’s High School, Karachi, 1944-1950; attended and matriculated from St. Anthony’s High School, Lahore, 1951-1953; obtained a BA degree from St. Patrick’s College, Karachi, in 1958; obtained an MA degree from Karachi University in 1960 and an LLB degree from SM Law College, Karachi, in 1961.
During my college/university days, I befriended two gentlemen who I believe became career CSP officers in the early mid-1960s. By my reckoning they will both be 65+ years old today. I lost contact with them since I migrated to Canada and would greatly appreciate it if you can enable me to get in touch with them. We had much in common and spent a lot of time in each other’s company and I would very much like to renew our friendship after all these years.
The gentlemen I am seeking to contact are Akhtar Hasan Khan and Rafique Agha. I believe Akhtar Hasan Khan attended St. Patrick’s High School. Akhtar’s elder brother was also a CSP officer and was married at the time to a daughter of Said Hasan, chief of the Planning Commission. One of Said Hasan’s daughters was Dr Nasreen Hasan. Akhtar’s father may have worked for the Pakistan government. Rafique Agha’s first CSP assignment may have been in Sindh. His father was a judge. I believe Rafique’s brother Khan Agha migrated to Canada several years ago.
Anything that can put me in touch with these gentlemen will be greatly appreciated.
ALAN FALCAO
Markham, Canada
I WOULD like to draw the readers’ attention to yet another paradox that we as a nation have become so much accustomed to. Perhaps it reflects more of apathy on our part than any intentional, or should I say sane, reasoning for doing so. What I am referring to is the so-called ‘Kashmir Day’ that we observe (saying ‘celebrate’ would be too touchy for some of its enthusiasts!) every year on Feb 5 without fail.
That day, the entire Pakistani nation literally goes on a ‘strike’ against our arch-enemy India on the issue of their illegal occupation of Kashmir. We observe shutter-down strike, close our educational institutions to our own students, observe official ‘holiday’ from our offices; thereby incurring losses of billions of rupees to our own exchequer, apart from stalling our snail’s pace progress into the 21st century by a full 24 hours.
Nowhere even in history would one find such a precedence of one country going on strike against another country in this manner. Just how do we help the Kashmir cause in this way is hard to understand;
Perhaps highlighting this issue might bring sanity somewhere and provide food for thought to the controllers of our destiny to come up with a better way of doing what we have been ‘undoing’ every Feb 5 for the last many years. We might, for example, seize this occasion to rise above self and bring in national harmony and a collective will to work together. Each one of us might decide to voluntarily put in at least one hour extra ‘overtime’ in our offices on this day beyond our normal office hours, to finish off the usual, undone chores.
We may not charge for this ‘overtime’ in the spirit of national unity. Any monetary benefit by the spirit of the whole nation working one hour ‘overtime’ on this day may be diverted by the government to the Kashmir cause by way of spending on the rehabilitation of the affected Kashmiris, projecting their cause abroad and on financing the logistics to the forces deployed in the liberated part of Kashmir. This will be our collective and positive contribution to the Kashmir cause and will make us a formidable force for our enemy to reckon with.
Another related issue that I also cannot help bringing to light is the way our national borders are depicted, particularly when it comes to projecting the area of Kashmir that we are all keen to claim as ours. I remember when I was at school in the late 1960s, we used to have a clearly defined map of Pakistan in our geography books. Apart from the boundaries of the then East Pakistan, our western wing showed vividly the whole of Kashmir quite distinct from the international boundaries separating India.
This reinforced the conviction in every Pakistani’s mind that Kashmir indeed is to be part of our territory, albeit currently under foreign occupation.
But we seem to have lost touch with this rightful claim of ours. In some inconspicuous way, since the late 1980s, our official media, our textbooks and even our press have been displaying a somewhat distorted map of our country where the foreign-occupied part of Kashmir is either shown as part of the Indian territory or the topographic contour is just left to wander north-eastwards without showing the clear demarcation of the area that we have been claiming as ours ever since our independence.
Our ongoing talks with India notwithstanding, we must make conscious efforts to correctly display in our textbooks and everywhere what we rightly claim as ours. The map of Pakistan must be shown completely and clearly incorporating the entire Kashmir valley to the west of the international boundary.
With our concerted efforts and individual action, we can bring about the realisation of not only keeping the cause of our Kashmiri brethren alive, we can make it heard more effectively that way since it is not just their cause, but our cause. All we need to do is to own it with sincerity.
CAPT. M. JAMIL
AKHTAR KHAN
Karachi
THERE is no doubt that organising international events like the Lahore marathon will go a long way in improving the image of Pakistan abroad as a moderate and sports-loving nation. But still a lot needs to be done to make these kinds of events impeccable in terms of security arrangements and cordial atmosphere.
In this regard, I would like to refer to the treatment meted out to my uncle, who had specially arrived from England to take part in the recently-held Lahore marathon. He is not only a professional athlete who has taken part in a lot of other international events, but also a devout Muslim and maintains a big beard.
On his landing in Pakistan a couple of days before the event, he rushed to get the entry form for the 42km race, only to be told that he was a little late.
Later on, more assertive behaviour on his part and warnings of going to the press finally enabled him to get hold of a form. But more was to come for this gentleman on the day of the race, this time from the people of Lahore – the “Zinda dilani-i-Lahore”.
I will only mention some of the comments which he had to put up with during the race; the conclusion is to be drawn by the readers whether we deserve to be called enlightened moderate and sports-loving people or bigots and extremists by the outside world.
One person alongside the road contemptuously quipped to him: “Sikh Sahib! What are you doing here in Lahore?” Another one had the audacity to point to his waist bag and ask whether he was carrying a bomb in it; yet another one went to the extent of suggesting him that he better had stayed home with his children at this age rather than participating in the race.
NAUMAN QAISER
Lahore
I WOULD like to draw attention to the way our law enforcement agencies dealt with the protesting PPP women activists in Karachi vis-à-vis the madressah girls who besieged a children’s library in Islamabad.
It is ironical that on the one hand unarmed activists of a secular party were beaten ruthlessly while a group of baton-wielding madressah girls were allowed to besiege a public property on the other. Had the veiled girls been thrashed, Islam would have come under danger!
One fails to understand what point the madressah administration is trying to make. First, they encroached upon property by erecting a mosque there. Second, when the authorities demolished it, they made a fuss by besieging a children’s library. I request the government to evacuate the library and rein in the law-breakers.
KAZIM AIZAZ ALAM
Karachi
THE article ‘Untaxed incomes and budget deficit’ (Jan 29) by Yousuf Nazar raises a Rs200 billion question. It is so unjust that while the ‘super rich’ landlords and stockbrokers can easily pay Rs200 billion, the salaried class and manufacturing concerns are sharing an unequal and unfair burden of taxes. This is one of the most important issues of our political and economic system and yet so little is written about it.
This well-researched piece shows that our budget deficit can be almost wiped out if the government starts collecting as little as 10 per cent on the incomes of the ‘big fish’. This will help pay for the development expenditure and ease the burden of the common man.
Equally importantly, it will help channel the flow of resources into the production of real goods instead of property and stocks speculation. You deserve congratulations for highlighting a critical shortcoming of this government: failure to undertake any serious tax reforms. I sincerely hope President Musharraf will take notice and act to bring more fairness to the tax system.
DR M. ALI JAWAD
London
THE Sharifs had their two chances to overhaul and set straight state institutions - the second chance was overwhelming. But what exactly did they do? Precious little to reform the institutions. Do they seriously think that the populace is gullible enough to give them a third chance? I, for one, would most certainly not.
SAJAN H. MALIK
Karachi
I USE public transport to reach my office and back home. It is alarming to find pick-pockets and muggers operating without any let or hindrance, ie, snatching mobile phones, purses, cash and other important documents of the passengers.
These people travel in groups of two to four or more persons. Mostly they prefer to stand near the door of the bus or the minibus. They shuffle frequently pushing the people around and picking their mobile phones, cash, etc. After about five or six stops they get down. This a common practice.
If somebody dares to challenge them, he is punished. Even drivers and conductors know them but keep silent. It appears these goons are backed some law-enforcers.
I would appeal to the competent authorities to look into the matter.
GHULAM SHABBIR KHUSHIK
Karachi
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