| February 26, 2007 | Monday | Safar 8, 1428 |
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Dutch politician’s outburst
Samjhota Express tragedy
It is only fair to compensate Pakistan
Retirement age for university professors
Freedom to loot and plunder?
Thespian talents
Traffic police: good but…
KWSB bills
KWSB bills
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
IN his column, ‘Promise of Makkah accord’ (Feb 12), Dr Tanvir Ahmad Khan, while suggesting that the Muslims, in general, should have a greater voice in resolving their issues, had also made a prediction.
He wrote: “In Makkah, the Saudis demonstrated that one could be a friend of the West without sacrificing core Arab interests. This is a way forward and almost certainly efforts will be made to create obstacles in it. Israel will still baulk at Ismail Haniya continuing as the prime minister... and that Hamas has not signed on the dotted line on questions of an armed struggle and the right of return for the refugees.”
His prediction has come out to be one hundred per cent true. Not only Bush, Olmert and Dr Rice have spoken out against arriving at any accommodation with the unity government of Palestine, but even a visiting US State Department official insisted during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the new coalition must recognise Israel, renounce violence and honour previous peace deals (Feb 18).
Surprisingly and, very encouragingly, Mr Abbas defiantly told him that the world will have to live with this new coalition and that he (Abbas) will deliver the same message at the forthcoming summit with Dr Condoleezza Rice and Ehud Olmert.
This is an important step in the right direction. Before demanding of others to accede to the “international community’s” conditions, people like Bush and Olmert should ensure that Israel should first accept the many resolutions of the UN Security Council relating to it. Better still, they should heed the opinion voiced by the staggeringly big majority of the UN General Assembly, periodically.
Apart from that, Dr Rice has expressed disappointment with the North Waziristan deal and increased pressure on president Musharraf to do something to end the cross-border attacks. The problem is that the US itself has not been able to stop the alleged incursions in Iraq from the neighbouring countries, despite having immense resources, 140,000 troops. Iraqi forces and high-tech surveillance and human intelligence systems.
They have not even been able to put an end to illegal immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Nor have they plugged their side of the Afghan border. How can they realistically expect Pakistan to seal the rugged and mountainous frontier with Afghanistan?
Instead of yielding to such double standards and endless pestering, the Muslims must put their own interests ahead of other nations’ expectations. What the US, the UK and Israel want is to see the Muslims fight among themselves in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Somalia and elsewhere, thereby getting even more disunited and weak.
Pakistan must ensure peace within its own borders, especially in the increasingly troubled northern areas, where the military action is causing more and more alienation, resulting in sky-rocketing suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism.
As far as Afghanistan is concerned, Mr Karzai seems to have finally understood the value of the advice given to him by many Pakistani analysts and correspondents about reaching out to the Taliban and including them in the governance of his country.
That is the best hope for him and for Pakistan, instead of acting upon the self-serving and endless commandments of the American coalition. The desire of some Muslim leaders and opinion-moulders in various countries to please Washington is giving us nothing but the wood of our cross. It is high time the Islamic world learnt to take a stand against the Zionists and neo-conservatives, who are bent upon dominating the Muslims, destroying their religious and cultural identity and usurping their mineral wealth.
M.P. CHISHTI
Karachi
ACCORDING to a report, a Dutch anti-immigration politician, Geert Wilders, has said the Muslims should “tear out half the Quran” if they wanted to live in his country (Feb 19).
Saudi Arabia has sought an apology from him and asked the Dutch government to intervene. In response, a foreign ministry spokesman said it was not his government’s point of view, but added that “Wilders is a parliamentarian, it is his right to express himself.” On his part, Wilders said: “I would not dream of taking any of it back . . . . They must learn you are a parliamentarian here, you may say what you want.”
However, the double standards being practised in the West will be apparent from many examples. For instance, when Dr Mahathir Mohamad had made a rather innocuous, though true, observation a couple of years back that the Jews are ruling the world by proxy, it had raised a storm of protest from American and European leaders.
Likewise, British writer David Irving was sentenced to a three-year jail term last year by a European country (wasn’t it Holland?) for questioning the Holocaust. Apart from that, Norwegian writer Jostein Gaarder had faced heavy criticism and labelled an “anti-Semite” after he wrote last August that Israel had “massacred its own legitimacy” as a country through its “unscrupulous warfare” and mocked the notion of the Jews as God’s chosen people (Aug 8, 2006).
In 2005, the French government had banned an artist’s depiction of the Last Supper, where the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ (PBUH) had been shown as scantily-clad women. Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, that had published the sacrilegious cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) over a year ago, had, before that, refused to publish cartoons of Jesus on the grounds they could cause a reaction amongst the Christians.
In Britain, during Mr Blair’s last election campaign, his Labour Party had published an advertisement showing the then leader of the opposition, Mr John Howard, who is Jewish, as a pig with wings but having Mr Howard’s head. The British Jews had reacted angrily, saying that a pig is unclean (non-Kosher) under Jewish dietary laws, hence this was an insult to them and those responsible must tender an apology. Mr Blair had done that immediately.
All of this goes to show that the Muslims are being targeted with impunity and no apologies are offered under the pretext of freedom of speech. It may be noted that the law in the West forbids anyone from disturbing the peace of his neighbours by playing loud music or even talking loudly, at least in the night.
Indulging in psychological violence against the Muslims by saying insulting and inflammatory things against their Prophet or religion is not the way to live harmoniously on this shared planet where everybody is now like a neighbour due to satellite communications and the Internet. Nor is it the civilised thing to do by any standards.
Z.A. JALALI
Karachi
THE death of Muslim passengers at Panipat should serve as an eye-opener for those who say that the creation of Pakistan was a political mistake.
There are lessons to be learnt from the brutal murder of innocent Muslims who were torched to death at Panipat while travelling on board Samjotha Express from Delhi to Lahore. There are a lot of improvements that we have to incorporate within Pakistan, so that civil society can function with the right to have dissent or difference of opinion and without any fear of intimidation.
Pakistan was meant to function as a democratic, welfare Muslim-majority state with its citizens enjoying equal opportunities, rights and freedom of expression.
This country is home to millions of people who have chosen it for better or for worse. Its peace has been disturbed by the few economic migrants and remnants of British Raj like former Unionists who, having minted billions, have now moved for greener pastures by adopting immigration in the West. Many have now returned home after the 9/11 fiasco. This should open people’s eyes, so that they can no longer be fooled by miscreants within us.
Pakistan is the only country which offers us equal opportunities and freedom to live as first-class citizens. With all its faults and shortcomings, it is still the only country which we have. Let us reject all divisive political agendas and politics of violence that breed sectarianism, ethnic and provincial biases. The army must return to the barracks so that our national security is not breached.
NASIR K. KAKAKHEL
Peshawar
PAKISTAN is a partner of the coalition forces fighting the American war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Pakistan on its side of the Pakistan-Afghan border has deployed 80,000 troops and allied combat equipment to check cross-border militant movement and in the process has suffered heavy causalities in men and material, besides handing over more than 800 militants to the Americans for being taken to Gauntanomo Bay where they are rotting untried for years -– a colossal abuse of human rights and individual liberty by the so-called champions of democracy.
Pakistan armed forces have deployed their prime combat Cobra gunship helicopters, assets, munitions and troop-carrying helicopters and C-130 cargo planes to support this deployment logistically. These machines through continuous flying for years must have been close to the end of their useful combat flying life and more so in view of American embargoes in the past due to the Pressler amendment.
It is only fair that the American president should compensate Pakistan by supplying free of cost three squadrons of Apache gunship helicopters with complete guided munitions, two squadrons of cargo airlift helicopters and two squadrons of C-130 J Super Hercules cargo planes.
Pakistan’s secretary of defence must bring this home to the Pentagon officials who frequently visit Pakistan. Pakistan must ask for these weapon systems from the unused stocks with the American armed forces and not be lolly-popped by promises based on long-term supplies.
A few million dollars in military equipment support since the American war on terror is peanuts compared to the costs and attrition which Pakistan is undergoing of its strategic military assets.
These assets require to be preserved for our genuine security needs against an enemy much bigger in size and resources. Will the Americans and their Congress compensate Pakistan for what it has been using to fight their war?
AIR CDR(r) ISHTIAQ AHMAD KHAN
Chaillianwala
APROPOS of the letter of Dr Abdul Ghani Siddiqui (Feb 1), I join him on felicitating Prof Sibitul Hasnain on his election as president of the PMDC. I remember him as a student at King Edward Medical College and hope he will be able to contribute.
However, I don’t agree with some of the observations made by Prof Siddiqui. His blanket denunciation of private medical colleges is, to say mildly, deplorable. Whereas I don’t approve of commercialisation of medical education in any form, the establishment of private medical institutions is very welcome, particularly when the public sector institutions have failed to deliver and deteriorated considerably over the last half century.
After all, de-recognition of our medical qualifications by GMC had occurred when no private medical colleges even existed.
The private sector is expected to fill in the gaps in the public sector and through competition will hopefully improve the situation. The Aga Khan Medical College is a good model. Mushroom growth of medical colleges established for commercial purposes is, however, not the answer. I believe that private colleges should be managed by charitable institutions rather than commercial enterprises.
The PMDC is responsible for maintenance of standards for medical education in the country. Its record in this regard has, however, not been enviable since the body has been responsible, at least, in part, for deterioration of educational standards in the country. For example, the PMDC has been responsible for the downgradation of qualifications for professorships in basic subjects from PhD to local MPhil through a majority vote.
There were well-meaning dissenting voices that it would lead to long-term adverse consequences. The result is that doctorate qualification in basic sciences in medical colleges is now a rare occurrence. There is a long list of such haphazard decisions as are not evidence-based.
Retirement age for teachers/professors in Pakistan at present is 60 years. This needs a review, particularly in view of the fact that ‘educational maturation’ age is somewhere around the retirement age, and right in the middle of the professional career a highly qualified, trained, experienced and seasoned professor and educationist is sent home.
Most of the teachers retiring at present are foreign-trained who have attended and worked at places of excellence abroad. This generation is now vanishing and is being replaced with young teachers who qualify locally their FCPS, MS, MD, MPhil, etc, and have no first class learning experience and exposure to the growing frontiers of medical sciences. After all, there is a difference between Mayo Hospital (Pakistan) and Mayo Clinic (USA), names being similar.
All over the world, institutions keep benefiting from the university professors as long as they are able to contribute. In developed countries, there is no fixed retirement age for professors. Early replacement of highly qualified and trained teachers with younger, locally qualified and inexperienced incumbents does not improve efficiency and academic standards.
Prof Siddiqui, it seems, wants a monopoly of the teaching profession based on age alone. He has made a reference in his letter to the Supreme Court, where an ordinary law graduate retires at the age of 65 and continues to work even afterwards. The nature of his duties is no less demanding in terms of physical, intellectual, and mental fitness than those of university professors. What has Prof Siddiqui got to say about this anomaly?
PROF DR MAHMOOD ALI MALIK
Lahore
THIS refers to Mr Murtaza Razvi's article (Feb 14) on the subject, detailing the prevailing state of affairs in the country. One of the areas for loot and plunder is loan write-offs by banks. In the same issue of Dawn, there is news stating Rs25.5 billion loans were written off in three years by eight nationalised banks and three state-owned development finance institutions.
As stated, the banks wrote off the loans on the basis of transparent and non-discriminatory method in the light of write-off policy guidelines by the SBP.
Earlier, the loans written off in 1985-1988 were of Rs16.6 billion, and in 1999-2003 amounted to Rs23.5 billion. Five banks have written off loans to the extent of Rs23.3 billion in 2005 (reference Dr Abdul Karim's article in Economic and Business Review, July 31, 2006)
As it is understood by a layman, a loan is written off when no movable/ immovable property is left and that all legal processes for loan recovery have been exhausted and that the debtor has been declared insolvent -- pauper. But here the situation is different. The defaulters belong to the rich/elite class.
By the way, where all the billions of rupees (written-off amounts) have gone? Vanished in this air? But money does not melt out like that. It is in the coffers of defaulters who have become superrich and rolling in luxury while the people are striving hard to have two square meals a day. Where is justice?
As the situation stands, the army needs pocket assemblies to provide a facade of democracy to its rule. Therefore, a political party is contrived to rule the country. It would stay in power for another five years through the general elections-2007, a test-run of which was performed in the recent by-election. Thus, the loot and plunder shall continue. The State Bank of Pakistan may take notice to stop this. It is also a fit case for superior courts to take suo motu notice of the situation.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
THE MMA’s politics are like a bad soap opera: tedious repetition, no real surprises and lots of fustian melodrama. Ever faithful to the military establishment, they will no doubt be gifted with yet more seats by their masters in the next elections so that they may better exhibit their Thespian talents. Never mind that the cry from all quarters of Pakistan is not “Encore” but “No more”.
KHWAJA KHUSRO TARIQ
New York, USA
For quite some time now a wonderful improvement is being observed in the management of vehicular traffic on Karachi.
Another thing which is being noted is that the traffic police personnel are demonstrating a new zeal and spirit in the performance of duty. Their behaviour with car drivers and pedestrians is polite and sympathetic.
This deserves appreciation in view of such a phenomenal increase in the number of vehicles on the road, with 600 cars driven by novices being added to the roads daily.
The traffic jams which occur owing to tattered roads and security measures taken when dignitaries are here are also usually handled with efficiency.
It is, however, a different story when on Sunday and on other holiday mornings traffic police constables are seen standing on the sides of roads, intercepting drivers for violating signals, and letting them go after extracting some money. The DIG should look into this.
Regardless of this I would present my felicitations to the DIG, Traffic Police, Karachi, and his team for the good job.
MOHAMMAD RAFI
Karachi
CURRENTLY, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board dues can only be deposited at certain bank branches. This is causing great hardship to the consumers. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to pay the dues in this way on a monthly basis. I therefore request the KWSB to allow government-owned post offices as well as bank branches to collect the dues.
SYED RASHID ALI
Karachi
CURRENTLY, Karachi Water & Sewerage Board dues can only be deposited at certain bank branches. This is causing great hardship to the consumers. It is also becoming increasingly difficult to pay the dues in this way on a monthly basis. I therefore request the KWSB to allow government-owned post offices as well as bank branches to collect the dues.
SYED RASHID ALI
Karachi
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