| March 31, 2007 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1428 |
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Writ of the state
Baffled by Leh express
Finding the right solution
Cricket team should be welcomed
A day of reflection
What we deserve
Real and present danger
Education reforms
US-Saudi rift
Packers vs gawala milk
PIA chairman resigns
Infrastructure
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
TALL claims by our government that the writ of law will be established at all cost lie naked in the streets of Tank and Bannu. Up until a few months ago we used to hear the news of lawlessness in Fata, but now it seems that law is being refuted in the settled areas of NWFP as well.
Open confrontation between Taliban followers and the law enforcing agencies, forcible preaching of a distorted version of jihad in schools, reported killing of the principal of a school in Tank and holding the staff of a polling station for women hostage at Bannu shows the helplessness of the government to control the situation.
Actually, why even go that far up north. Attempts by the students of Jamia Hafsa to impose their brand of Islam, kidnapping three women and a child, abduction of police personnel and glimpses of hordes of Taliban waving sticks and guns in Islamabad is a slap on the face of good governance.
But our government, adhering to the teachings of the Prophet Isa (peace be upon him), extended the other side of their face to be slapped when they unconditionally released all those who broke the law.
Millions of common citizens of this country are bewildered at the dismal state of affairs whereby the country is slowly and gradually falling into the folds of darkness. Islam, which protected the rights of the women, is being used as a tool to usurp their freedom of expression and right to vote.
Every second day a psycho appears from nowhere and explodes himself in the name of Islam. How much longer will the people continue to suffer at the hands of those who relish building empires on the corpses of poor people?
I do not want to know that who are behind all this, neither do I want to find out what their motive is.
I just know that I do not want their Islam which preaches hatred and violence against innocent people.
They should dread the time when the people will rise up against those who want to impose their beliefs upon others. I can say with conviction that the day when people take the matter in their hands, neither the law nor the law breakers will find space to breath. Let this be a polite but timely warning.
RAJA SHAHROZE KHAN
Rawalpindi
ONLY a few weeks ago students of a local madrassah illegally and forcefully occupied the premises of a public library.
It was reported that these students, many of whom were burqa-clad females, brandished clubs and fire arms.
These extremist elements forced the government to abandon a drive to demolish illegally constructed mosques around Islamabad. We now read that students from the very same madrassah have abducted three women who they claim were running a brothel.
What's more shocking is that the students also seized two policemen and their vehicles.
Both these incidents have occurred in the federal capital of the country, only a few miles away from the centre of government and army headquarters. Has Islamabad suddenly become an autonomous tribal region?
Perhaps the government should hand over control of the entire city to the "learned" fanatics of this madrassah.
If the government does not have the stomach to come down hard on a handful of fanatics committing blatant crimes in the federal capital, God help the rest of Pakistan.
I appeal to the president to take immediate notice of this ridiculous and frustrating situation. The teachers and student of the madrassah should be arrested and their institution should be razed to the ground to set an example.
On the other hand, the government could simply roll over and give in to the demands of these fanatics like it did over the issue concerning illegal mosques.
ADAM MIR
California, USA
THE writ of the state has become a joke. The latest affront to civil society by the Jamia Hafsa hooligans has been swallowed whole by a tame state.
The message the government appears to be sending is that as long as one is wearing a burqa, niqab, hijab, or has a beard and skullcap, one is free to loot, plunder and assault without any fear of reprisal.
Today it is an alleged brothel, tomorrow it will be shops, schools, and then our homes. This menace has to be nipped in the bud, and somehow that does not seem possible with
Zia-ul-Haq's son at the helm of religious affairs. I wish that the same hands that had grabbed the CJP's hair and tore his coat would also restrain the Jamia Hafsa students.
NUZHAT AZIZ
Islamabad
AS a layman I am baffled by the idea of Leh Express, a two lane-carriage way on either side of the nullah meandering through Rawalpindi. The nullah, as history tells us, becomes violent during the rainy season.
Very often it swells and inundates the low-lying areas, invariably causing immense loss of life and material. Sometimes, as in 2001, it becomes very violent and assumes the form of a mini-deluge, wreaking unimaginable death and destruction on the hapless people.
To construct a modern two-lane road on each bank would be a momentous proposition. However it is not clear whether the width of the nullah would be curtailed and land reclaimed for the road, or whether construction on the banks (whether encroached or otherwise) would be removed to make room for the road.
With its present width, the Leh absorbs the gushing waters most of the time and it brings devastation only sometimes, as mercifully we have not seen it overflow since 2001. However, if the width is curtailed for the roads, it is most likely that the nullah would spill over whenever there are more than normal rains. This would expose the residents of localities around to a constant danger with the sword of Damocles hanging constantly over their heads. Thus the proposition does not deserve consideration.
We are then left with the other option: to remove encroachments on the banks. If the constructions are to be removed this may be easily digested by the encroachers but others with genuine possession of land must be duly and sufficiently compensated. One more thing, the nullah must be dredged and deepened every year to make the flow of water smooth and unhindered.
JAHANZEB
Rawalpindi
THIS is in response to your editorial ‘Helping the film industry’ (March 26). There is an inbuilt antagonism in the capitalist system: the benefit of one (or more) industry or industries is generally at the cost of some other industry or industries. The present state of our film industry is not only due to poor standards but there are many other factors at the root of this depressing state of affairs.
For example, film as a commodity is not receiving as much attention from the consumers as it once used to be. It is primarily because of fast tempo of life especially in big urban centers (where most cinema houses are located) and secondly because of cable networks that allows instant access to better quality entertainment at very low cost.
The solution to film industry and cinema owner’s woes does not lie in granting a few concessions but it requires a paradigm shift. The first and foremost thing in this regard is to make films in a way that decreases their substitutability vis-à-vis normal television entertainment.
Secondly, it is a good idea to start making telefilms. These films would first screen on cinemas and then on TV channels. Initiation of a separate TV channel for this purpose is a good idea. Thirdly, keeping in view the present state of affairs at the national level, showing Indian films in local cinemas would likely provoke some unrest in the more religious segments of the society.
However, it would be a good idea to show Iranian and French films after dubbing them into Urdu or English. In the capitalist system many industries fade and closed down as the new ones replace them as cheap and superior substitutes. The idea is that continuous innovation is necessary for survival. A concession or subsidy from government is not the solution of the problem rather it breeds inefficiency and wastage.
UMAD MAZHAR
Karachi
IT is a relief that the Pakistani cricket team is returning. I think the nation should welcome the Pakistani team - youngsters may not want to but the older people must show some maturity. After all, they are the nation's children and are returning after going through a lot of strain.
Cricket is a game of chance and one wins and the other loses, but the Pakistanis have to demonstrate that we don’t care so much about the game as about our players. The nation should stand behind them: irrespective of the youngsters’ performance and behaviour the paramount thing is their safety - and for that the nation has to express and demonstrate its gratitude to the Almighty. They should be embraced to be re-assured and assisted in regaining their normal mental peace.
The older people should be able to have the same feelings as the parents of these kids and stand by them. There is not much motivation needed to welcome them - one should think whether or not one would have wanted to go to the airport if one's own son was among them.
MAJID HUSAIN
Cambridge, UK
IMAGINE a scenario where a British or Australian cricket team coach was murdered while touring Pakistan. What would have happened? First of all, the western media would have immediately criticised the security arrangements in Pakistan. The incident would have been tagged a terrorist attack. PCB chiefs would have been summoned by foreign authorities and surely the tour would have been cancelled with immediate effect. It is certain that no members of the team would have been interrogated or tested.
Something completely opposite has happened in Jamaica and we strongly condemned how they are treating our boys. This strengthens the notion that even in this day and age they are biased against us.
SAULAT QADRI
Karachi
THE excellent editorial with the above mentioned title (Dawn, March 23) ends with two very important observations; first, that democracy is a process that evolves on its own, not something that can be tailored or controlled.
Second, that if the process of democracy that began in 1988 had not been repeatedly aborted and tampered with, a situation such as the current judicial crisis would not have occurred. Nothing could be closer to the truth.
Although a few sane voices have been making the same assertions all along, the fact that the nation's premier newspaper has the heart to state this as an editorial stance is a propitious omen.
It has been 67 years since the Lahore Resolution and almost 60 since Pakistan was created. It is time to lay to rest confusions about the raison d' etre of the nation and about what system of governance we require. Pakistan was, is, and always will be. Instead of pointless conjectures we need actions.
We need to stand up and be counted. The fact of the matter, sad but true, is that right from the start, the people of Pakistan have been disenfranchised and disempowered not just by an unholy feudo-military-corporate alliance but also by their own selves.
They have more often than not, chosen servility over defiance. They have begged for their rights, have not demanded them. Worst of all, they have not merely tolerated corruption and lawlessness in their midst but have made it the national pastime.
We run a red light out of habit. We litter without a second thought. We have no qualms in bribing our way through education, bribing our way out of a traffic violation ticket or bribing our way past more meritorious candidates to a job we don't know how to do.
We always expect change to come from elsewhere, we never attempt it ourselves. A vast majority of us, particularly the literati, have never voted in a national election.
To quote Gandhi, "Be the change that you want to see". In the happiness and prosperity of Pakistan lie our own happiness and prosperity. Its ruin would be our ruin. Pakistan is at a crossroads today and the direction it takes will determine its destiny. In the words of Robert Frost;
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Some where ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference
March 23 should indeed be a day for reflection. It is about time we ceased our armchair-animadversions and played our part in setting things right.
KHWAJA KHUSRO TARIQ
New York, USA
AT least one thing has been proven beyond any doubt by the turnout at the protests organised by the combined opposition against the removal of Justice Iftikhar Chaudry. And that is that nothing will wake us up. Nothing will stir us from our slumber, nothing will cure our propensity to be servile, our tendency to throw in the towel before the fight has even commenced.
It seems we, as a nation, lack the genes necessary to rebel, to challenge, to defy. It now seems clear to me that had it not been for Gandhi and the efforts of the All India Congress, we would still be subjects of the British Crown.
In 59 years of existence we have not just failed our motherland and those who sacrificed for it's independence but we have also thrown into doubt the viability of the human spirit itself. We are destined to be governed by crooks and brutes and grunts. As Rumi very beautifully put it, we deserve a "Pir-i-khar" not a "Pir-i-khair".
KHWAJA SHAMAAS
Lahore
THIS refers to your editorial ‘Real and present danger’ (March 29). The nation must pull its head out of the sand to tackle the society's growing radicalisation; defining the problem and understanding its root cause is the logical way to begin.
The monstrous problem of Talibanisation is threatening the very existence of civil society and the country. The answer lies in the Munir Commission Report of 1953 wherein the justices cautioned against the unintended consequences of using religion for political purposes.
The consequences of that 'prophetic' pronouncement are not hard to deny or ignore. 'Official Muslims' have undone the Quaid's dream.
It is time the current government enforced its oft stated policy of enlightened moderation and stop defining Muslims through constitutional amendments.
ARIF HUMAYUN
USA
AS a reader, I expect that articles that appear in Dawn to be analytical and logical rather than merely judgmental. I read Ms Zubeida Mustafa’s article ‘Killing education reforms’ (March 14) and found nothing but her opinion about the federal education minister, federal secretary and news of Mr Javed Hassan Aly’s resignation.
The cliché that the rich become richer and the poor become poorer is known to all. Such generalisation may be profitable for anyone but cannot benefit the cause of education in our society.
What is needed is to make the readers aware of the facts that caused Mr Aly to resign, as well as knowledge about those specific recommendations that were opposed, as claimed by the writer.
IMTIAZ A. MALIK
Karachi
I WAS really amused to read Dawn’s lead story in this morning’s paper (March 30) according to which the US has rejected Saudi Arabia's stand that Iraq is under an “illegitimate foreign occupation" and instead said that US troops were there at Iraq's invitation, under a UN mandate.
In my opinion this statement by the US should be placed in the Guinness Book of Records under the heading ‘Joke of the century’. Saddam Hussein must be laughing in his grave.
NAZIM F. HAJI
Karachi
PRACTICALLY, ‘gawala’ sells milk both to milk packers and consumers, but milk for the latter is known as ‘gawala’ milk. However, both treat the milk, presumed pure, differently, resulting in different food values. A brief comparison of the two treatments can give an idea of their merits and demerits which can be elaborated by the experts concerned, such as scientists of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc).
Milk packers generally mix imported powder milk in fresh milk, subject milk to ultra-high temperatures (UHT) under pressure, remove most cream for cream and butter to be sold separately. UHT kills the germs and, also, destroys most vitamins and other nutrients but suitable for long-life in proper packing.
In comparison, the consumers heat the fresh milk with full cream to its boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure. This process kills the germs with comparatively less destruction of vitamins and other nutrients. As such, this milk is of better food value, besides cheaper to buy but it has short life.
In actual practice, no effective government authority exists to protect consumers against exploitation by industrialists and businessmen with vast financial resources for publicity and influence in the right circles. It is hoped that the media will encourage investigative reporting and discussion by experts on the subject and similar topics to promote awareness among the consumers, including media professionals.
GHULAM MUHAMMAD
Rawalpindi
I APPRECIATE Mr Kirmani's gesture to resign from PIA; it was much awaited. Since a lot of people are being held accountable in Pakistan; the government should also demand an explanation from the outgoing PIA Chairman who really is responsible for PIA's de-escalation.
I would like to add that PIA employees and their families take undue advantage of the concessions given to them. Last year when I traveled from Karachi to New York, most of the passengers were either PIA employees or their family members and above all most of them had the audacity to brag about their frequent trips to America and Europe.
The incoming PIA chairman should consider revising the concession plan allocated to employees and their families and adopt a zero tolerance policy to political nepotism that is prevalent in the PIA's hiring and selection process.
ASIMA CHANGEZ
Rochester, USA
I RECENTLY travelled, by road, from Lahore to Rahimyar Khan and back – a 1,500 km return journey. Thankfully, and utterly surprising, the road network and condition leading from Lahore to Rahimyar Khan and back were in excellent condition (except for an under-construction patch near Chichawatani).
All this work, if it has been done by the FWO and under the watchful eye of Gen Musharraf’s team, must be appreciated. We must also be able to recognise any (and all) positive things that the general and the army may have carried out during their tenure; in addition to the usual government bashing that seems to be a routine nowadays.
DR FAHIM A QURESHI
Lahore
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