| March 09, 2007 | Friday | Safar 19, 1428 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Challenging govt writ
Iraq and Afghanistan debacles
Great people to fly with
Ticketing kiosk at airport
HEC’s policies on faculty development
Heroes of Pakistan
Canadian view
PM’s largesse
New phone
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 the four articles in Encounter (Feb 24), all of which were about the Middle East crisis and ‘war on terror’. In ‘War on terror: perception and reality’, Mr Shahab Usto has contended superficially that the struggle appears to be between the Islamist extremists and the neo-cons of the West, but it is no different than the West’s past exertions for freedom from religious persecution and political subjugation.
This is only partly true, because the crusading element of the West has changed the character of the Muslims’ fight. The analysis of Prof M. Shahid Alam in ‘A war of colonial pacification’ is more accurate. He writes:
“This is a war of ‘colonial pacification’ of Islamic lands: the Muslims must be ‘pacified’ to secure ‘our’ oil wells in the Persian Gulf, and to entrench Israeli hegemony over the Middle East. This is also a religious war for the radical core of American evangelicals; it fits into their theology of end times. We ignore this only at our peril.”
One has often wondered what would the attitude of powers like the US and Israel have been if the Muslim militants in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon had not adopted the extreme means that they did to check the former’s aggression?
Right from its birth, Israel has been occupying Arab lands. In 1956 it had attacked Sinai in Egypt, along with Britain and France, but the US was then an honest broker and had reversed it by favouring the Arabs. However, later on the Jewish/Zionist influence over Washington grew immensely, as did Israel’s arrogance and expansionism. Tel Aviv has shown it only understands the language of power.
In recent decades, America became increasingly active and joined Israel in physical occupation of Muslim countries. In Iraq, it went against stiff opposition of much of the international community, including some of its closest European allies. There was no justification for doing that, except its own vested interests.
In his article, ‘Will America attack Iran?’ (Feb 23), Mr Touqir Hussain has noted that as early as 2003 Senator Edward Kennedy had called the Iraq war a big fraud. The writer has also enumerated the various excuses the Bush administration has been employing to justify this farce, from the initial one about WMDs to the current aim of curbing Iranian influence.
Let us return to the question: are the militants justified in resorting to violent means for defending themselves? What makes it more questionable is the killing of innocent civilians. Personally, one is against taking innocent lives. Over a decade back, one came across an old, non-Pakistani Muslim gentleman who was said to be a seer.
I sought his opinion about the actions of militants, like plane hijackings and blowing up of soft western/Israeli targets. To my utter surprise, he defended them implicitly by saying: “You don’t know what these (anti-Muslim) powers are doing.” That had left me even more puzzled.
However, after 9/11, various pieces of information have kept adding up to show that the Zionists, neo-conservatives and Christian fundamentalists have indeed been working on plans for over a decade to subjugate the Muslims and take control of, or even usurp, their hydro-carbon and other resources. Some western commentators have themselves been saying that the policies of the West have radicalised the Muslims. A report in the Guardian had noted in December that British Jews are being recruited to fight in the Israeli army and have even acknowledged they have been or would be engaged in killing Palestinians. So, their opponents can’t be labelled ‘terrorists’, it argued, (Dawn, Dec 6, 2006).
If the US and its allies had not faced fierce resistance in Iraq and Afghanistan, they would not have hesitated in attacking Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and some other Islamic states next.
According to a report on a Bush-Blair meeting leaked by one of Mr Blair’s advisers, the US president had “wanted to go beyond Iraq in dealing with WMD proliferation, mentioning in particular Saudi Arabia, Iran, North Korea and Pakistan” (Dawn, Oct 15, 2005). Now, there is a talk of attacking ‘terrorists’ inside Pakistan; next, it will be our nuclear assets. But, this will only multiply the terrorism.
ONE PERPLEXED
Karachi
ACCORDING to a news report (Dawn, Feb 28), the women brigade of Pakistani Taliban occupying a children’s library in the federal capital has again made a mockery of the government’s writ by vowing to not only continue occupation of the children’s library, but also to ‘take action’ if government failed to rebuild the seven demolished mosques which were illegally built on government land through encroachment. Moreover, the women have demanded the implementation of Islamic law in the country.
Armed with automatic assault rifles of prohibited bores, the women of Madressah Hafsa have been occupying the Children’s Library even though the religious affairs minister, Mr Ejazul Haq, has shown his ‘enlightened moderation’ by bowing before their demand of rebuilding a demolished mosque which was also built on encroached state property.
The irony is that both Lal Masjid and its affiliate Madressah Hafsa are built on encroached state land. As has been reported in various newspapers, CDA records show that Lal Masjid was sanctioned a piece of land measuring 130 square yards, whereas today it measures around an entire acre. It seems that the administrators of Lal Masjid staged the whole drama to cover up their illegal occupation. The federal government has also set a very bad precedent by allowing rebuilding of demolished Masjid Hamza on the same site and it is feared that this will provide justification for illegally built structures on the pretext of building mosques on encroached state land.
There is still time for the government to show its strength by arresting the armed women and put them behind bars so that no one can blackmail the government for their absurd demands. The government should also take stern action against the administrators of Lal Masjid for challenging the writ of the government. These measures will prove that the present government is sincere in its efforts to make Pakistan an enlightened and moderate country where obscurantist elements are not allowed to challenge the law of the land.
QASIM RAZA
Karachi
‘BLAIR accepts responsibility for Iraq debacle’ (Dawn, Feb 28). In all fairness, this should include responsibility for all the loss of innocent human lives and property, caused as a result of this debacle.
Apparently his noble soul is tormented by the human blood so spilled, for no proof or trial in any court of law, as this could lead to possible Divine wrath. Can Blair deny that Kashmir carnage for over half the century was planned and created by his own elders in 1947, after the noble task of raising the people of the sub-continent from the old royalties to modern democracies.
This might also affect him and the noble souls of his active partners soon, over the mass killings going on for several years in Afghanistan, for no proof of their involvement in the 9/11, which could be produced in any court of law anywhere, except mere conjectures and the so-called intelligence failure, as clearly evident from the 9/11 Commission Report.
One wonders, if all this is merely for the possible worldly gains of oil from the north, a very poor bargain indeed?
This is also confirmed by their own experts, that this event required very hi-tech know-how, resources, computer-generated flight paths, besides land and satellite support, far beyond the reach of Osama or Taliban, from the Stone Age caves in Afghanistan.
As a senior citizen approaching 85, having seen the ravages of WW II and the carnage during 1947, I would sincerely appeal to the noble souls of the entire humanity, especially the highly advanced people of the world, to cry a halt to the futile debacles in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Chechnya, Sri Lanka and other parts of the world.
I would also appeal to the noble souls of the Iranian people and their leaders, not to allow the worldly gains of nuclear energy source, to risk a global conflict, which might also end up in similar disasters. Surely the example of North. Korea could offer an amicable solution to this problem.
S. MOHSIN H. RIZVI
Karachi
THE most important route to success, in addition to hard work, is to admit one’s faults and learn from mistakes. Instead of adopting the policy of blaming others to justify their own mistakes, it would be better for the administrators of our national carrier PIA to admit that it has failed on political as well as on technical front, thus resulting in a ban imposed on a majority of its flights by the EU.
One feels embarrassed and let down because PIA is the national carrier which in the past was one of the best in the world.
With the passage of time it failed to maintain its quality and was ultimately grounded, at least at some airports around the world. The reasons for this decline are best known to the high-ups of this prestigious organisation.
PIA is not only an airline but it serves the purpose of an ambassador for our country and is (was) a pride of Pakistanis. It is hoped that the standard of PIA will be lifted once again to the maximum heights in the sky, and we will once again be able to raise the slogan “great people to fly with”.
DR MUNAWAR AZIZ
Abbottabad
APROPOS of Nasir Jamal’s clarification (March 6), I have the following: No matter how technical one can get in writing a clarification or where to point one’s finger, except accepting PIA’s wrong policies and endeavouring to correct them, the ground situation is that PIA, the national carrier of Pakistan, has been declared unfit for serving EU countries.
Such action does not come suddenly and such lapses do not go unnoticed for a long time. It is a national shame and appropriate actions be taken to rectify it.
It is bad enough to pacify the public with falsehoods, and worst to believe and live by your own falsehood.
MOHAMMAD ASIM
Woodridge, USA
I WOULD like to bring to the attention of the concerned staff at PIA and the State Bank of Pakistan the faulty e-ticketing kiosk at the Jinnah Terminal in Karachi.
I bought an e-ticket # 2142104075004 to Lahore on PK 306 on Jan 28. The PNR was CFXERN. I used my Citibank Visa credit card to make the payment.
Later, when I received the bill from Citibank, I was shocked to see that this transaction was considered a US dollar transaction, and after conversion of currency I was billed Rs6, 457 instead of Rs6, 250. This transaction was made in Pakistan and in Pakistani rupees: why was it recorded as a US dollar transaction on my credit card?
ZIAUL HAQ
Lahore
I REFER to a number of letters that appeared in these columns on Feb 28, March 2 and March 4, expressing concerns about the availability of faculty for the new engineering universities which are being established in Pakistan.
The HEC launched a well-thought-out strategy for the development of faculty in Pakistani universities. So far, 1,200 students have already been sent abroad for such studies during the last three-and-a-half years. Another 1,000 students at MS and PhD level are being sent abroad this year and an additional 4,500 students will be sent abroad during the next three to four years.
The prophets of doom and gloom who are writing letters in your newspaper are obviously not aware of the lengths that the HEC is going to ensure availability of high quality faculty in the existing universities as well as in new engineering universities being established.
One letter raises the question whether they will return to Pakistan from abroad after completing their degrees. In order to ensure that they return to Pakistan, the following measures have been adopted: students are being sent largely to those countries where international statistics has shown minimum rate of migration loss. Thus a vast majority of students are being sent to the best universities in Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, etc., which is also because the fee for PhD-level training is nil or nominal in these countries, and not to the US, Canada and the UK
The HEC is following a successful model established by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission over 40 years in which they found that the loss rate due to students absconding and not returning was minimal. This model involves not just bond on papers but requires a security to be deposited in the form of collaterals such as property documents, etc., in a court of law, exceptions being made only in the case of students from poor families.
In order to ensure good quality of living standards on return of the students, a Tenure Track System has been launched through which salaries range from Rs66, 000 per month for freshly retuning students to over Rs100,000 per month for professors along with market-based allowances. All students are guaranteed jobs upon their return. A placement unit has been established in the HEC for the purpose.
All PhD students studying abroad have access to a research grant programme through which they can apply for research grant of Rs6 million ($100,000) a year prior to their return to Pakistan. This is to ensure that they have enough funds to initiate a research programme and meet their basic research needs on their return.
Furthermore, arrangements have been made with countries where the students are being sent that they are not allowed to get work visa on completion of their studies but return to Pakistan and take up jobs for at least five years. This programme has been developed to address critical issues of access to faculty in the establishment of both the new universities, as well as for strengthening the existing universities in Pakistan.
AAYESHA IKRAM
HEC, Islamabad
EVERY year on March 23 we renew our hopes and faith in Pakistan. It is a time to think of the men and women who were instrumental in the struggle and creation of Pakistan.
Some say that the incomparable Mohammad Ali Jinnah made Pakistan a reality by sheer force of personality. And this is true and was ably supported in this endeavour by a small group of intellectual and moral titans.
Prominent among this group was Nawab Ismail Khan, my grandfather and a true gem of a man. He attended Cambridge and qualified as a barrister from Lincoln’ Inn.
He then came back and inherited a vast estate. He could have spent a comfortable life moving in the best social circles and increasing his wealth. Instead, he became a founding father of Pakistan.
The greater portion of his inheritance was spent towards achieving the creation of Pakistan. So much so that he spent the latter part of his life in difficult financial circumstances.
During the thick of the struggle he was made very lucrative offers by the Congress leadership on more than one occasion to compromise on the Pakistan issue.
Although on a personal level he was a mild-mannered man, he was deeply offended and infuriated by such offers. Without hesitation they were all rejected out of hand. Such was the integrity of the man.
How ironic it is then that in Pakistan today he is pretty much a forgotten man. Nations that achieve significance do not forget their heroes and what they stood for.
I request the nazim of Karachi and the administrator of the DHA to name a public place in memory of Nawab Ismail Khan, the man who gave his Karakuli cap to the Quaid-i-Azam, the headgear we now know as the Jinnah cap.
OMAR HASAN KHAN BANGASH
Karachi
This is with reference to Mr S.R. H. Hashmi’s letter titled ‘Not doing enough’ (March 1) criticising Canada and others.
Let us not be unfair. Canada is among countries which donated generously for the earthquake relief work. This is also true of other western nations, including and especially the United States.
Their contributions were: America $510m (next only to Saudi Arabia), France $124m, UK $120m, EU $110m, Germany $100m, Netherlands and Norway $70m each and Canada $66m.
What Canada said about the Afghan situation is politics, and in politics no statement is ever based on unadulterated truth.
RIZWAN YASSIN
Karachi
ABOUT 70 per cent of people in Karachi and other big cities of Pakistan do not own plots of land to build a shelter for their families: they are forced to live in kutchi abadis without proper water and sewerage disposal facilities, etc.
Meanwhile, our prime minister has allotted two plots each to senior government servants within a short period of two months. The market value of these plots is estimated to be around Rs60 million.
The most surprising aspect of this recent news is the deafening silence of all political parties and parliament. The MMA and the Muslim League-N are always looking for chances to organise demonstrations and strikes to defame the government, but even they have conveniently overlooked this abuse of power.
This shows that distributing plots to favourites as a bribe has become a part of the political culture of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan should take serious notice of this plot politics and decide whether under the Constitution or government service rules this practice should be acceptable to the people of Pakistan
S.M. NAZIM
Karachi
AFTER applying for a PTCL phone connection (application number N/1/00032/01/07) at the Clifton Exchange (block 4) on Jan 8, I was issued a phone number soon after, but without an actual physical phone connection.
After repeated visits to the exchange and talking with the SDO and divisional engineer - both of whom, I might add, have been genuinely helpful in trying to get me a connection - I still am without a phone line. The problem seems to lie with getting permission for a new set of phone lines as my apartment is part of a new complex, and there are no available lines.
As an alternative to the bigger step of getting a new set of connections, the staff at the exchange have been waiting for a dropped connection so that I may yet get a line. So there is still a chance that might happen.
The larger problem is the inability of the Clifton exchange to requisition a new set of lines for some reason.
In spite of the ubiquity of cell and wireless phones, and the availability of Internet connections via cable modems and CDMA wireless technology, PTCL lines still have the advantage of offering clear landlines and broadband DSL wireless connections. And that is why a consumer like myself still has to resort to getting a PTCL landline.
I request the people concerned at the PTCL to look into this problem.
HUZAIFA ZOOMKAWALA
Karachi
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.