| April 17, 2007 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428 |
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Judicial imbroglio
Lara: end of an era
Suffering in Jacobabad
Sign language books
Nawaz’s policy of rightsizing
Many sides of the story
Banking Mohtasib
Larkana graveyard
Invincibility of terrorism
Tribute to Khan Sahib
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
ON the issue of the CSS examinations, I would like to contribute my experience. I am 26 years of age and have spent almost all my life with the sole aim of becoming a career diplomat.
Pursuing this goal I did a bachelor’s degree in international relations after which I proceeded to the UK in order to do a master’s degree in diplomacy.
Despite having a couple of very good job offers from NGOs in Europe, I rushed home and took the elusive CSS examinations in May 2006. The experience was ‘unique’ (for lack of a better word).
Unlike any other examination I have ever appeared for, the environment was one of desperation and confusion and the task at hand seemed insurmountable.
It felt like one was making a desperate attempt at survival during a violent storm.
From my experience of these examinations, I can assuredly say that one can never be completely prepared for them.
Can anyone be prepared for a question paper that is full of mistakes and where some questions do not even make sense?
An examination where the questions that should be a part of one paper appear in another? Where the criterion is not what you write but how much you write and how colourful it is that you write?
Despite this, I felt confident that even if I were not able to ace the CSS examinations, I would not have difficulty passing them at least.
To my utter surprise and shock, I received a letter saying that I had failed the CSS examinations! My first reaction was that of disbelief which turned into laughter.
After all, I had barely passed the international relations examination also, a subject that I am gold medallist in. Any thoughts of reappearing at the examination soon passed. It was not that I had begun to doubt myself, but I had lost all confidence in the FPSC.
Academic qualifications hold absolutely no weight in the FPSC recruitment procedure. Instead, candidates are ‘judged’ by some fickle criterion.
If the CSS examinations are supposedly of such high criteria, then our country’s civil service should be top-notch which, we are all well aware, is very far from reality.
This then leads me to wonder, on what basis are the CSS examinations marked and, more importantly, who marks them? What is the qualification of the markers and how fair is it?
That aside, the CSS examinations and selection procedure are severely flawed to begin with. These examinations in no way judge the aptitude of candidates for the department they are applying for.
This is why there is no single department in our government where most, if not all, employees have pertinent aptitude and/or qualifications.
This is a chronic problem since it results in severe inefficiency and misappropriation of resources, which is why the public service recruitment procedure needs total overhauling and revamping.
So it turns out that I am bright enough to secure first-class first position at Karachi University and be awarded a distinction by the university in the UK for my master’s degree.
I am good enough to be hired by a leading Pakistani media organisation and offered a traineeship by the European Commission.
But it saddens me to the core of my existence that despite all the hard work I have put in towards it, I am not good enough to serve my own country.
STILL A PATRIOT
Karachi
THE judicial imbroglio that engulfs the entire country today has no parallel in the nation’s history. This crisis is a result of the ill-advice given to the president by his super-intelligent advisers.
The fallout of the reference filed by the president, on the advice of the prime minister, against the chief justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has shaken the very roots of the incumbent government.
Those at the helm responsible for the creation of this crisis stand absolutely flabbergasted by their own doing, and are unable to find a way out of it.
Agitation launched by the legal fraternity, from all over the country, against the government’s decision to dislodge the chief justice of Pakistan, has shattered the nerves of the top brass and has brought a bad name not only to the sitting government but also to the entire nation and the supreme state organ, the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The movement launched by the lawyers against the government action is now being backed also by the international legal community and associations. This has given further strength to the indigenously launched movement for honourable reinstatement of the dislodged chief justice.
Now that the matter has gained importance and recognition of inconceivable magnitude, possibility of any back-door or out-of-court settlement stands pretty slim.
Only the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which is dealing with the reference, can bring an end to the present catastrophic predicament that confronts the judiciary and the country today.
These are testing times for both the Supreme Judicial Council and the government in power.
On the part of the SJC, one expects it would ensure fair trial of the case and uphold the supremacy of law, and from the government in power it is expected that it would allow the law to take its own course on the issue, and not intervene or exert any undue pressure on the arbitrators dealing with the reference, for a decision in the government’s favour.
In the larger interest of this country and this nation, it is sincerely expected of the legal fraternity that they, on their part, would take every possible measure to ensure that the protest launched by them in support of the dislodged chief justice of Pakistan is peaceful, and, in no way, it transgresses the universally accepted bounds and norms of civility.
This is the only way how justice could be done and the prestige and honour of the supreme state organ restored.
Any departure from this, I am afraid, would annihilate the institution of judiciary, uproot the faith of the people in the country’s justice system, and badly tarnish the image and credibility of Pakistan in the comity of venerated world nations.
M. FAZAL
Islamabad
BRIAN Lara has decided to end his ODI career after the World Cup. This probably means that Lara will play his last two matches against Bangladesh and England in the Super Eight stage as West Indies will not be able to make it to the semi-finals of the most prestigious event in the world of cricket.
That’s a sad end to the genius’s career, who has been fighting lone battles for the West Indies for over a decade, and more than not winning them. Brian Lara can easily be called as the most charismatic cricketer of the modern era. He has some unbelievable achievements in cricket.
He stamped his class in world cricket with a stunning 277 against Australia in 1992/93. If that wasn’t enough, he followed it up with a record breaking 375 against England and first class record of 501, both in 1994.
His record was broken by Aussie’s Hayden (380) against Zimbabwe, but Lara got it back within six months with a breathtaking unbeaten 400 against England in 2004.
As Ian Chappel said: “When you are talking about a man who has held the world record twice, you are talking about a man who can do everything, but to do it 10 years apart is an incredible achievement by Brian Lara”.
Lara is not only the greatest batsman of this era; he can easily be called the greatest batsman of all time.
In terms of pure skill and technique, Lara is better than anyone else the game has seen. One of the most prominent writers about cricket, B. C. Pires, in his Wisden Asia Cricket issue, has said: “Yes, he bats like a god; but he struggles like the rest of us flawed mortals to be a decent human being”. That, for me, says it all.
I have grown up watching some of the most unbelievable moments this genius has provided to cricket. I somehow managed to meet Lara in Karachi in December last year while his team was playing a Test match against Pakistan.
That meeting will remain the most magical moment of my life. Thank you Brian Charles Lara for all those wonderful moments you have provided us during your remarkable career.
UMAIR GHANI BROHI
Sharjah, UAE
THE citizens of Jacobabad are facing many problems. Children are being abducted and innocent people killed during the day time in the busy bazaar, but no action has been taken against the culprits by the police department.
Yet the police are aware of all the realities regarding the criminals. There is no importance of law and court proceedings because all the decisions are taken by the local landlords in the jirga.
There has been no facility of drinking water for many years. Sewage water leaks into the main water supply line which is used by citizens. The contaminated water has resulted in countless diseases which have caused a lot of children to die.
Billions of rupees were sanctioned by the previous government for providing safe drinking water but in vain. All the money was embezzled by the corrupt politicians.
With the result that citizens have to purchase drums of water, each worth 10 to 15 rupees which is beyond the means of many people living in the area.
Also, there is no proper school to offer primary or higher education. Teachers and students are hardly found in the classrooms.
There is a library but no one uses it because there are no books or current newspapers available. Students cannot even use the premises for studying during the intense heat because there is no arrangement for airconditioning and generators.
Neither proper treatment nor medicine is given to the patients in the local civil hospital. During summer the heat here is very intense yet electrical power is suspended repeatedly and for long hours.
I request the president of Pakistan and the government of Sindh to pay attention to the problems faced by Jacobabad which have been ignored for so long.
S. MUHBAT ALI SHAH
Jacobabad
THIS has reference to an APP news item (Dawn, April 7) regarding launching of sign language books.
The statement that “four sign language books have been produced for the first time in the country” is incorrect.
Since 1987 the Sign Language Research Group at Anjuman Behbood-i-Samat-i-Atfal has published nine books in sign language as listed below:
1. A dictionary of Pakistan sign language (1987),
2. Relationships in Sign Language (1989),
3. Time and Seasons in Sign Language (1989),
4. The anatomy in Sign Language (1990),
5. Numeration in Sign Language (1992),
6. A dictionary of Pakistan Sign Language (1995),
7. Shareer Bunder (story book), (1998),
8. A Dictionary of Pakistan Sign language (Book II) (2000), and
9. Aloo Master (Story book) (2005).
LUBNA KHAWAJA President, ABSA
Karachi
WILL Nawaz Sharif apologise for the sacking of about 6,000 employees of the UBL at the stroke of pen on Oct 14, 1997 in the name of rightsizing.
Their only ‘sin’ was they were alleged to be the appointees/promotees of his ‘newborn sister’ Benazir Bhutto.
They were given peanut compensations, which included a negligible fixed amount for medical care for the rest of their/their spouses’ lives.
One can visualise that the need for medical care increases by leaps and bounds in the post-retirement age, but this factor was not taken into consideration and many of the ‘rightsized’ employees are ailing for want of medical care.
This followed a frenzy of sacking employees from other banks in the name of rightsizing, downsizing, etc., which has now taken a toll of about 50,000 since then.
This is not only from banks, but practically all the state organisations. Many of them died due to shock, many homes were rendered barren.
Many children were made orphans. And this has resulted in many a suicide.
The irony is that those sacked employees were denied justice. Even the courts were asked not to give them any relief/justice. Unfortunately, the then sitting judges obliged him.
The frenzy still continues. In the UBL case, the employees came to the bank and were told that they would not come next day and were handed over letters of termination.
Another mode was to offer the employees separation schemes, golden handshake, etc.
About a year back the non-clerical employees of an ex-nationalised bank, now owned by a crony of Mian Sahib, were delivered termination letters early in the morning at their residences and were told not to come to the office.
Can anyone imagine the plight of the person, or his family, who was awakened from sleep to be told that he was jobless, then and there? What was the haste about? Perhaps some ‘legal wizard’ had advised them.
This is just the same that a man used to steal coffin cloth from the graves. Another man not only did the same, but also played some mischief with the dead.
So the people started praying for the first one that he was a nice man.
Now Mian Sahib is shedding crocodile tears for the poor. Has he the courage to apologise and compensate those affected by his wrong policies, as he has enough wealth to do so? And will his ‘newborn sister’ now persuade him to do so?
ZAFARUL HAQ MEMON
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Talha bin Hamid’s letter entitled ‘Other side of the story’ (April 11). Separation of mosque and state is the only option if Pakistan is to progress and reduce corruption.
This is contrary to the popular belief that more of religion is required to achieve this end. We had more of religion under Taliban in Afghanistan and the results speak louder than theory.
I have always smiled at the MQM slogan chalked on walls in Karachi: ‘Humain manzil nahi, rahnuma chahiay’. Religious culture is the reason why Muslim countries always find themselves included in top 24 most corrupt countries list issued by Transparency International.
Pakistan is at present placed at number three, while the top spot is being enjoyed by Bangladesh. If Gen Musharraf can remove religion from schools syllabus by an act of Parliament, or at least makes it optional with marks not to be counted in grand total, after ‘winning’ the next general elections, he will reserve a place for himself in history like Turkey’s Kemal Ataturk, despite being an illegitimate ruler of Pakistan.
I. H. MAHMOOD
UK
THIS has reference to an advertisement of the Banking Mohtasib, Pakistan, (March 19).
The advertisement prominently mentions the filing of complaints as easy as 1, 2, 3. In fact, it is easy except for the attestation of the complaint form by an oath commissioner.
It means the complainant will have to spend time and money involved in visiting the overcrowded court for the attestation.
The banks deal with billions of rupees under signatures of their customers whereas a complaint with documentary proof regarding a fraction of this amount requires attestation by an oath commissioner.
It warrants review by the worthy Banking Mohtasib to make filing of the complaint really easy.
SHAKEEL AKHTAR
Rawalpindi
LAND grabbers have become so bold as to spread their tentacles to the Abubakar graveyard, situated on the outskirts of the Larkana city. The land mafia has built buildings there due to lack of interest of the taluka municipal administration.
Whatever remains of it is in bad condition — the compound wall has collapsed, making room for stray dogs to roam the graveyard. Also heroin addicts are found squatting there.
M.A. CHANNA
Larkana
THE ‘war on terror’ is a misnomer. There are several political movements around the world, for example the Sri Lankan LTTE, Palestinian Hamas, Iraq’s Mahdi army and Al Qaeda to name a few fighting for different causes, but President Bush’s ‘war on terror’ rhetoric considers them under the same category.
In the words of the American billionaire philanthropist, George Soros, war on terror is a ‘false metaphor’. Seemingly, Jonathan Steele put forth a better definition: “Terrorism is a technique. It is not an ideology or a political philosophy, let alone an enemy state. Suicide bombing is a sub-category, a technique within a technique.”
The outgoing US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, while on a surprise farewell visit to Iraq, said: “The enemy must be defeated,” predicting that the US war on terror would be a Cold War-like struggle that would take half a century.
Simon Jenkins observed that terrorism is not an enemy or an ideology, let alone a country or an army. It is weapon, like a gun or a bomb. It is not something that can be defeated, only guarded against. If so, logically, terrorism is invincible.
PROF (DR) P NASIR
Gujrat
I FIRST met Mr Ahmad Ali Khan in 1976 along with the office-bearers of the Karachi University Students Union and invited him to honour us as chief guest for the English debate being arranged by KU. Khan Sahib refused our request but assured us that news regarding our debate will be published.
We were taken by surprise and asked the reason for refusing our request. He said an editor or a judge doesn’t have a social life. The judges or editors whose pictures are published at inaugurations and ribbon-cutting ceremonies are acting totally against their profession and their impartiality may be affected.
I still remember that great man’s words. He was a man of principles and a great believer in the freedom of speech.
ARSHAD ZAMAN
Karachi
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