| May 04, 2007 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1428 |
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Espousing murder
Forcible requisition of transport
Iraq exit strategy
VVIPs at risk
Islam and the West
A welcome surprise
If I were president
Honeymooners
Public health campaign
Handling of judicial crisis
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
WHILE people all over the world marked the press freedom day under the theme ‘Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists and Impunity’, we in Pakistan are moving back in time towards suffocating censorship through black laws, harassment of professional working journalists and shackles on the freedom of the print and electronic media.
Every year on May 3 the entire world celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom: to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
The world press freedom day reminds us all – governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, as well as civil society — of the crucial role a free press plays in strengthening democracies and fostering development around the world
Unfortunately, while the present government claims to be enlightened and moderate, and professes good governance to be its hallmark as against the previous democratic setups, it has fallen back on the age-old ways of military dictatorships by muzzling the press to cover its crimes against the country through cuts in advertisements, harassment of journalists through fake criminal cases and political victimisation through the ministry of information.
The stoppage of government advertisements to Dawn in order to influence its editorial policy, using Pemra to muzzle Aaj TV and the physical assault on the Geo TV network for incisive coverage of the judicial episode are all such attempts that are made by discredited dictatorships to force the media to fallacies and untruths.
The annual report by Reporters Without Borders For Press Freedom has highlighted the vulnerability of the print and electronic media vis-à-vis the Musharraf regime’s actions against them. This report also highlighted the unsafe environment for the journalists to perform their professional duties. The cases of kidnapping of Dilawar Khan, reporter of the BBC and Dawn, Mukesh Kumar and Sanjay Kumar of GEO TV and Maharuddin Marri of daily Kawish (Badin)and Munir Mengal of Baloch Voice TV by the law-enforcement agencies as well as the targeted killing of Munir Sangi of Kawish are some of the many incidents of brutality against journalists in the year 2006.
We, the members of Sindh Democratic Forum (SDF), a forum of civil society and concerned citizens of Sindh, writers, intellectuals, professionals, academicians, human rights activists, feel great dismay on the current dictatorial policies of the government against the media and journalist community.
ZULFIQAR HALEPOTO
Hyderabad
CHAUDHRY Shujaat Hussain, whose political frolics have contributed more to Gujrat’s fame than all the cutlery and ceiling fans produced there, has strong feelings against those who criticise the army. He is for shooting them.
Now why should Chaudhry Shujaat espouse shooting those who criticise the army? What about the army shooting the terrorists who cross our borders, some to blow themselves as human bombs. Chaudhry Shujaat is probably for shooting them too.
Whether in his estimation the terrorists and those who criticise the army are two faces of the same coin and, therefore, shooting both is equally de rigueur, or if shooting one is more warranted than the other, Chaudhry Shujaat has not said. If he has done so privately, in the right quarters, is not known.
Why does he have an attitudinal problem with those who criticise the army? Is it because, by his uncomplicated logic, if an ex-prime minister can be hanged by an army general and pliant judges colluding in his judicial killing, why cannot those who criticise the army, and in his view are bigger threats, be dealt with likewise? Or is it something deeper that impels Chaudhry Shujaat to reach for the gun whenever a criticiser of the army is sighted?
It’s a good thing Chaudhry Shujaat’s espousal of shooting those who criticise the army does not extend to all armies, or the US army would be doing more shooting in the US than it is in Iraq.
It was widely reported at that time that Chaudhry Shujaat’s late father had begged the military dictator to be given as souvenir the pen which the dictator used to sign the confirmation of the ex-prime minster’s death sentence.
The army, more so now than ever before, is the back-up for the political eminence of Chaudhry Shujaat’s family in Gujrat. He probably reckons any criticism of the army represents a threat to the army and, therefore, to his family’s political eminence.
Murders, in the Pakistan political landscape are, and have been, committed for lesser threats. So what’s the big fuss about, Chaudhry Shujaat Husain must wonder, if he espouses shooting those who threaten the underwriter of his family’s political privileged status.
S.KHALID HUSAIN
Karachi
ON April 29 I boarded a coach of Shaheen Services for Karachi. When the vehicle reached near Tharushah, the town police surrounded it and ordered the crew to offload all passengers and surrender the transport to the town administration. This was the fourth bus of the company that was secured under threat of force.
The passengers were at a loss to understand as to what went wrong. When a policeman was asked about the matter, he said they are following the orders of SHOs and UC nazims. Some of the passengers rushed to the police station located near the bus stop.
The SHO, too, said they were under strict instructions to seize at least 10 vehicles for transporting people to Mirpurkhas, where a public meeting would be addressed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf on May 5.
The passengers that included women and children had no choice except to vacate the bus under duress. They had to find other alternatives to reach their destinations.
Later on, it was told that Naushahro Feroze district authorities had committed 10 thousand people with sufficient numbers of buses for carrying them to the venue on the day of the gathering.
Would those holding public offices, gauge the amount of hardship, humiliation and extra expenses the commuters had to bear due to un-lawful confiscation of transport in the middle of their journey.
Do people have right to unhindered travelling in public transport? I wish civil society may dilate on this issue. The manner people's rights are being trampled upon, we will see more public reaction and widespread unrest in coming days that would give rise to new range of public leaders who shall come in the open and guide the people about how to challenge undue coercion from the state authority.
The people will greet such leaders with marked enthusiasm and participate in their processions and public meetings voluntarily.
Can we expect the honourable member of the National Assembly, who is in the ranks of the opposition but was incidentally seen cruising in the town in his Pajero at the time of this occurrence, would speak to the authorities and also take up this matter of public nuisance in the Assembly?
ANGRY CITIZEN
Naushahro Feroze
YOUR editorial entitled ‘Trapped in Iraq’ (April 28) talks about there being "no feasible exit strategy" for the US. The idea that the US does not have an exit strategy has been carefully planted by the US media and it is being repeated by reporters everywhere.
There is definitely an exit strategy and it is the same one that was used by the USSR when it withdrew from Afghanistan. The departure of the Soviets from Afghanistan left the country in turmoil for the next several years; there was continuous infighting, there was no local group that could exercise central control and neighbouring Pakistan was unable to derive any advantage from all the trouble it took for dislodging the USSR.
The strategy in Iraq is similar and actually quite simple: Create conditions where Shias and Sunnis continue to fight and kill each other, no local group should be able to assume centralised control when the US leaves, and the neighbouring Iran should be unable to derive any benefit from the departure of the US.
Incidentally, this strategy is quite similar to the departure of the British from India. Both have left behind countries that have been fighting each other since.
Obviously the US cannot openly talk about this exit strategy. They have to create a smokescreen to hide their relish of the continued infighting planned for local factions and their plans for destablisation of Iraq. Clearly they believe that if they cannot derive more advantage from the occupation, nor should anyone else.
I.H.
Karachi
WITH reference to your news report ‘Faulty system poses risk even to VVIP flights, NA told’ (May 3), it is deeply shocking and saddening to read the statement made by the parliamentary secretary for defence, Tanvir Hussain Syed.
He said: “Now we are going to be very strict with them…because even the VVIP flights can also be compromised”. His statement only goes to show how indifferent our politicians are to whether a common man lives or dies.
In principle, every step should be taken to avoid any unfortunate incident but, no, our parliament only takes notice when there are chances of VVIPs being endangered.
IMRAN SHAUKAT
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Prof Eice Mohammad’s letter ‘Islam in the West’(March 14) wherein he has disapproved of Amin Jan Naim’s analysis (letter, March 10) of Tanvir Ahmad Khan’s article ‘War on terror: many causes’(March 5).
Although Mr Naim has nowhere argued that the “only bane for the Muslim world is to adopt Hellenic traditions as their adoption is the basis of the West’s superiority”. Rather taking a cue from Mr Tanvir Ahmad khan’s article, he has appreciated that Muslim scholars translated ancient Greek works into Arabic much earlier than the West.
On the contrary, Christians had closed the window of Greek thought as early as the 4th century as anti-religion till the 15th century when Reformists defied the edict of established Church.
It was Al Farabi (Alpharabius) (871-951) who is considered the ‘second master’ after Aristotle wrote, ‘On the Perfect State’, the first serious attempt to harmonise the Greek political thought with Islamic ideals.
Likewise Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980-1037) interpreted Aristotle, and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (1126-98), commentator on Aristotle and Plato, authored classic defence of philosophy, The incoherence of the Incoherence. He held that domains of faith and reason did not conflict. He remained influential in the West well into the Renaissance.
Mr Naim has nowhere aspired that Muslims must accept that part of western culture which is now under the influence of certain vulgarities as mentioned by Prof Eice. He has proposed that the Muslims should absorb the Hellenic traditions, i.e., the learning and freedom of inquiry; the acquisition of knowledge; and not misconceived notion of no-holds barred freedom exercised in the western societies.
It also sounds strange that with acquiring knowledge through Muslims the Europeans should have adopted their dress and culture. The dress and customs are born of a particular environment: norms and mores carrying distinct identity of its territory.
That is why a Muslim living in Indonesia has a different dress and cultural ethos than his coreligionist in Arabia and likewise every country has its own distinct dress, as well as cultural identity. However, Islamic standards such as decency in dress and certain cultural standards cannot be ruled out.
The dissolute propensities of present-day western society are not Hellenic but are creation of decadent morals adopted by the West under the misplaced notion of ‘personal freedom’, an outcome of 19th century’s social movements and nothing to do its Hellenic civilisation.
Prof Eice is right that Islam has never opposed acquisition of knowledge, rather it has laid great emphasis on its attainment from whatever source it is accessible.
Right from the 7th century to the 13th century AD the Muslims spread to all directions carrying message and teachings of the holy Prophet ‘to seek knowledge from cradle to grave’. During that period the Muslim world produced eminent philosopher, scientists, scholars, and thinkers who not only created original thinking but translated Greek, Indian and Persian (not Chinese).
The western renaissance of the 14th century was the outcome of the efforts of those Muslim scholars whose works made their way into western society. The Greek/Muslim knowledge reached Europe from Cordoba where caliphs like Hasham-II, a great bibliophile, were maintaining a library of more than 400,000 volumes, when printing was yet unknown, and not through Ottomans. For this reason, European monarchs hired Arabic-language teachers and established Arabic school to take advantage of knowledge of modern sciences.
Ottoman Sultan Mohammad-II conquered Constantinople in the year 1453 and not 1439.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
ADVISER to Chief Minister on Home Affairs Wasim Akhtar's revelation (Dawn, April 29) came as a welcome surprise. It is high time that the police force is made available to serve the taxpayers instead of catering to the needs of the elite.
Karachiites have for long suffered the brunt of VIP movements. It is very inconvenient to make way for the five-car contingent of a lowly government official who is trying to go from one block to the next. Ironically enough, police guards appointed to safeguard the lives of the high and mighty are helpless in the face of an actual assault. Unable to prevent target killings, murders and the like, they only serve as status symbols for the class-conscious strata of society.
The Sindh government's decision to withdraw over 20 per cent of the existing police force who are at the beck and call of high-flying VIPs in an attempt to overcome a shortage of manpower is a praiseworthy step. What remains to be seen, however, is if and when this decision is implemented in toto.
AYESHA A. BAWANY
Karachi
If I were President Musharraf, I would do the following in the prevailing scenario:
First of all I would restore the chief justice of Pakistan by inviting him to the Pindi camp office and meeting him in civilian dress. I would also offer him dinner and some gifts, if he agrees to the offer.
Then I would call an emergency press conference and fire the prime minister, his kitchen cabinet and squarely lay the blame for the chief justice crisis on all of them. I would also address the poor Pakistani nation and apologise for what happened in last one month because of the PM and his team. This way I would come out from the current crisis and try to be elected president for the next five years. But, I am not Musharraf.
AIJAZ ALI KHUWAJA
Karachi
THIS is in response to M. P. Bhandara's article ‘Is the honeymoon with India over?’ (April 29). Mr Bhandara gives some interesting facts and his data is not wrong. However, he ignores one fact. India is a very strong democracy. Nehru may have made some noises on the plebiscite etc., but the fact is that he could not get it through the parliament. Mr Rao also made statements that any politician would make, but was it ratified by the parliament?
The Indian parliament is so strong that the nuclear deal with the US is off though Mr Singh would like it to go through. Gen Musharraf has given some proposals, but who backs them up? What is his authority? I would suggest that Pakistan concentrate on building its institutions. However flawed they are, India has institutions.
Again, by making it an ‘Islamic’ struggle, Pakistan has played into India's hands. I have Hindu Kashmiri friends who before the 1980s were all for a separate Kashmir. When their family members were killed, they withdrew their support. The 9/11 event has only made the rest of the world look at the Kashmir struggle as another terrorist problem. Pakistan would be well advised to unlink it from religion. Instead Pakistan would be well advised to focus on its economy.
There is a lot of truth in Mr Bhandara's data. Pakistan only has itself to blame.
MARIE
London, UK
IT is time for not only the city government to come forward and start an awareness campaign on public health but our doctors too have to extend their hands to help the cause. People are little aware about the importance of public health in the well-being of a society. What basic measures should be taken to help improve it? One crucial aspect of public health is the strict implementation of rules and regulations. I would like to put forward a few suggestions.
a. The city district government should strictly govern the monitoring, sale and production of eatables under hygienic environment, having medical specifications with it.
b. Municipal and cantonment authorities should design separate markets for sale of meat and vegetables.
c. These markets should be inspected regularly to ensure that their standards are maintained.
d. Strict measures should be imposed with regard to cleanliness and provisions of hygienic facilities in food shops and restaurants, most of them generally surrounded by filth nearby.
e. Water purification plants should be checked regularly as at times carcasses have been found in these tanks.
f. All factories located in densely-populated areas should be removed as they cause environmental hazards. Their licences should be checked for registration.
g. Public health should be made compulsory at schools and colleges as this will help create awareness.
HAMDAN SIDDIQUI
Karachi
THIS is in response to a news item which appeared in Dawn (‘Handling of judicial crisis criticised”, April 27). While I agree that the current situation could worsen, I disagree with the statement that it may cause irreversible damage to the constitutional order in Pakistan. The observations of the International Commission of Jurists does not carry weight.
We also feel that the worsening law and order situation is not beneficial for the country. The public at large is affected by the law and order situation. Meanwhile, the entire media is focused on one subject and trying its level best to depict the situation as worse than it really is.
In my humble opinion, if Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry faces the situation in a manner that is dictated by his position and the lawyers do not create a law and order situation with their gatherings, the entire problem will quickly be resolved and peace will be restored. I wish that the judicial issue will not be politicised further. The judicial reference must be faced with dignity and the CJ must have all the rights to defend himself.
ZAHID HUSSAIN
Faisalabad
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