| June 03, 2007 | Sunday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 17, 1428 |
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Remembering Ayub Khan
Commercialisation of human organs
PTCL growth hurts ISP’s interest
An American mother’s tragedy
Way out of the crisis
Thank you CPLC
NICVD
Plea to waive SME loans
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 is apropos of the columns, ‘Quest for a new synthesis’, by Dr Tanvir Ahmad Khan (May 28) and, ‘Must we now learn how to skin?’, by Mr Ayaz Amir (May 25), regarding the current crisis in the country.
In this brilliant analysis, Dr Khan has made some profound observations. First, that Pakistan has simply outgrown the era of civil or military dictatorships and that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, by refusing to crumble before pressure, has acted as a catalytic against this movement for change.
Second, that while most opinion- makers in the West have lost faith in President Musharraf’s ability to serve western interests, the Bush administration continues to back him because he is fighting American wars in the region. Regrettably, Washington has no concern for the interests of the people of Pakistan.
Third, the nation is anxious and baffled by the president’s threat to use extra- constitutional measures to retain absolute power. As a former foreign secretary, the columnist has concluded by rightly reassuring the international community that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is protected by a highly reliable command and control arrangement, but correctly notes that its proof will only be seen in a peaceful and democratic political transition. He has also wondered whether Gen Musharraf can re-invent himself, by which means he could still find a place in history.
One has a few observations. It is true that, very fortuitously, Pakistan seems to have developed a new consciousness manifested by the people’s stiff resistance to what is perceived to be Musharrf’s and the ruling coterie’s attempt to throttle the judiciary and the rule of law, in order to perpetuate their rule. Also, by their unwillinginess to withstand terrorism by the rulers or their allies.
What is not commonly recognised is the adverse effect the continual bullying and other repressive measures, including loss of human rights, has on the nation’s mental health, in particular. This could be an important (but not the only) contributing factor to the alarmingly but inexplicably high incidence of anxiety and depression among the Pakistanis, with the latter being put at 45-50 per cent, which must be among the highest anywhere in the world.
Depression is an indication that something in our life is lacking or unbalanced. It can result from a lack of purpose in our lives as also from repressed emotions, besides the dietary and physiological factors. The government’s high-handed treatment of those not supporting it and, worse still, subjecting the intelligentsia and the ordinary folk to abuses such as witnessed during the CJP’s rallies, with May 12 being most outrageous, can only induce ill-heatth.
It is tragic that the US has always very shortsightedly supported the military regimes instead of trying to win over the Pakistanis’ hearts. Even now, it continues to most selfishly back a dictator who is using coervice measures and alienating the people.
This will only lead to further disillusionment with America and turning towards religious extremism. The Americans then wonder, “Why do they hate us?” or fear about the falling of nuclear weapons into the disgruntled elements’ hands.
Regarding if Musharraf can re-invent himself, Mr Amir had very perceptively answered this already: “Don’t expect Musharraf to do this because he is just not programmed this way. He wants all even though …. He risks being left with nothing”. One may also refer to the president’s memoirs where he had revealed that he was known as ‘dadageer’ even as a boy. His 40 years as a commando have only formed a second skin out of these combative attributes.
One powerful way to tackle the situation is for all the opposition parties to show their sincerity. This can be done by a joint promise to the Pakistanis that unless the ministers and lawmakers from the ruling party resign within a week, no party would ever take them into its fold – the more unprincipled ones among them would, in any case, never be inducted. If, at the time of the elections, any opposition party breaks its vow, it will thoroughly discredit itself. They must also promise to keep Pakistan’s interests above those of America or any other country.
ABDULLAH
Karachi
I REFER to Mansoor Ul Haq Solangi's letter, ‘Ayub’s extra-constitutional method’ (May 24). Every hero from the time of Alexander the Great can be shown to be flawed.
Every good ruler can be deconstructed. The burden of history is to find a balance.
What is the measure of a good ruler? It cannot be the same for a developed society like Sweden and for a country like ours. Posterity in my opinion will judge our rulers by two criteria: one, respect for basic human rights and forgiveness when at the apogee of power and the other, institutions which will last longer the reign of the ruler.
Mr Solangi refers to two incidents: Balochistan and the alleged beating of political opponents of the anti-One Unit movement. Remember: we have a ‘thana’ culture. Torture is forbidden under the Constitution for the purpose of extracting evidence.
But try to bring in laws defining where punishment ends and torture begins, and you will find yourself up against a police wall. What happens in these infamous dungeons on a day-to-day basis does not require the sanction of any president or prime minister. It is like corruption an all-pervasive evil.
Our society has yet to evolve to a meaningful understanding of human rights and civility. In the Ayubist period there were no political assassinations, midnight knocks, Dalai camps, a goonda force in uniform, that I am aware of, to threaten, blackmail and dishonour political opponents.
Looked at in retrospect One Unit was a bad idea. There was no need for a monolithic West to level to the Bengali East. Over a period of time political pluralism, if allowed to flower, would have created the necessary political cross-currents between the wings.
The worst decision of the Ayub Khan years was to EBDO and incarcerate Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy, perhaps the only person who could have kept the wings together.
These were serious judgmental flaws, not mala fide intent.
The things that Ayub Khan will be remembered by is a relatively peaceful time, a rising prosperity (Ayub Khan and his governor of East Pakistan, Azam Khan, are well remembered in Bangladesh to this day), the Indus Water settlement (which like any compromise has its detractors) reaching out to China and the Green revolution.
These features have stood the test of time; his attempts to introduce moderate Islam, more closer to the Quaid’s vision, did not; nor his ill-fated Constitution of 1962.
In conclusion, the judgment of the astute Sir Morrice James (as given in my article) is spot on not only in respect of Ayub Khan but also Z.A. Bhutto; consider the following remarks in his 'Pakistan Chronicle’, page 75:
“Despite his gifts I judged that one day Bhutto would destroy himself -- when and how I could not tell. In 1965, I so reported in one of my last dispatches from Pakistan as British high commissioner. I write by way of clinching the point that Bhutto was born to be hanged. I did not intend this comment as a precise prophecy of what was going to happen to him, but 14 years later that was what it turned out to be.”
M. P. BHANDARA
Islamabad
SALE of human body organs is a terrible offence. Some doctors have been arrested and put behind the bars. The police are on the trail of the fugitive criminals involved in this heinous crime.
What is neglected in this case is to search the root cause that forced the impoverished donors to sell their body parts? Are the victims lured by the doctors or enticed by their agents for handsome money? Do they force the donors at gunpoint or trim out their kidneys by deception? Is the grinding poverty compelling the destitute to sell their kidneys willingly? The last factor dominates this heinous business.
There is not a shadow of doubt that there are many black sheep in the medical profession who have tarnished the image of this highly reverend profession. These selfish people who have brought a bad name for this philanthropist vocation are a stigma on its face and deserve no respect or amnesty.
But this is one side of this dark picture. The other side of the picture is horribly darker. Most of the donors are the sufferers of bonded kiln labour. Time and again receiving money, from the kiln owners, for the medicine of their ailing wife or diseased children tightens the noose of owners around their neck and enslaves them permanently.
In order to liberate themselves from the fetters of debt, with a hope that their children may not suffer in the same way, they sell their kidneys.
Many drug addicts also put their kidneys on the market to purchase drugs of addiction. Egoist people, who fled from their homes due to family conflict, put up their kidneys for sale to lift themselves on their own feet. Some ambitious young people with an aspiration of going abroad are encouraged by the travelling agents to sell their kidneys.
The roots of all these causative factors are connected with poverty. Most of the affluent recipients are the rich people of the country or come from the Middle East, Egypt and India where there is strict legislation to bulwark organ sale. All these factors must be considered while taking any action against the doctors or enacting any law.
DR TANVIR HUSSAIN BHATTI
Lahore
THE PTCL is going to launch the wireless setup for Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. A line will be provided to the people with Internet, telephone and cable network. Luxurious people will enjoy this facility and this will be a developing step for the growth of Pakistan. Lahore (a city of colleges) will appreciate this step.
On the other hand, this will be a disaster for the internet services providers (ISPs). Internet facility provided by the ISP’s was on top from 1995-2003 but after that with the availability of Internet cable and some other wireless connections providing Internet facility, ISPs started closing.
About 50 per cent of ISPs are closed till today and the remaining are providing Internet at very cheap rates only to survive. In the beginning, Internet was provided at Rs50 per hour but with the passage of time and existence of new ISPs the rate was decreased to Rs5 per hour. These days, Internet is being provided at Rs10 per hour with a speed of 256 mega bits per second (Mbps).
The Punjab chief minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Illahi, is promoting information technology (IT). This step is being taken not only in urban but also in rural areas. But, unfortunately, people are not taking interest in IT and many IT colleges are closing in Lahore.
ABDUL ALEEM
Lahore
ACCORDING to a report, the American anti-war symbol Cindy Sheehan has given up her fight (Dawn, May 30). It may be mentioned that her son Casey Sheehan was killed in the war in Iraq in April 2004, four years after joining the US army, despite being assured that he would never see combat due to his very high score in the entrance test.
Following that, Ms Sheehan had started a campaign against the war by camping out at President Bush's ranch in Texas and wanted to meet him but he refused to do that. Some of the remarks in her blog entry on May 28 make for painful reading. First, that her antistruggle has ravaged her bank account, wrecked her marriage and strained her relationship with her (three) surviving children.
Second: “The most devastating conclusion (is) ... that Casey died for nothing.” He died for a country that cares more about who will be the next American idol (referring to a hit TV singing competition) than how many people will be killed in the next few months while the Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.
Third: “I have invested everything I have into trying to bring peace with justice to a country that wants neither.” She concluded by saying: “Goodbye America ... you are not the country that I love and I finally realised no matter how much I sacrifice, I can't make you be that country unless you want it.”
Apart from that, it may be added from an earlier report (Dec. 10, 2005) that she was not only shocked by the death of nearly 2,000 other American soldiers (until then) but also empathises with the mothers of the Iraqis who have been killed. She had observed: “I don't blame the people who killed Casey but the people who brought us into this, who lied and deceived the world,” obviously referring to leaders like Bush and Blair.
It is so sad all her struggle had to end like that. While it may surprise some Americans, but Muslims can actually sympathise with Ms Sheehan, as they can with the Iraqi mothers. Undoubtedly; motherhood transcends national boundaries and races, that is why some women manage to successfully adopt children from far away places. As Coleridge said: “A mother is a mother still, / The holiest thing alive.”
One earnestly hopes Cindy Sheehan will be able to return to her earlier normal relationship with her family members and that they will be more understanding of the fact that nothing can be more traumatic to a mother than to lose her child, especially at a young age.
Besides, one would appeal to the OIC to give her a monetary reward in recognition of her services to bring peace to Iraq, which will also ease her financial difficulties. Alternatively, the best thing to do seems to be for Ms Ingrid Mattson, the Canadian convert to Islam who was elected the (first woman) president of North America’s largest Muslim organisation, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), last August, to contact her on its behalf.
Ms Mattson has two teenaged children and would be able to empathise fully with Ms Sheehan. Since some Americans may object to her accepting any money from the ‘terrorists’, it would be advisable for the OIC or ISNA to approach her discreetly and find out if she would be willing to accept the award.
What the Muslims should not do is to start phoning her place by the dozens, because only to add to her family tensions, instead, they should go exclusively through an organisation like ISNA or CAIR (Council for American Islamic Relations), if I may say so. Nor should anyone ask her to resume her struggle – she has already suffered too much.
One would like to end this message by recalling a few lines from a beautiful American song titled ‘Listen’.
Listen, can you hear the sound, hearts beating all the world around?/ Up in the valley, out on the plains, everywhere around the world, heartbeats sound the same./ Black or white, red or tan, it’s the heart of the family of man.../ For the heartbeat that we share is one.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
THE perfect and outspoken editorial concluded with the lines: “At present, Pakistan is deeply troubled. Only a government elected through a fair and impartial election — and a president who is not in uniform — will give a sense of direction to the nation and remove the feelings of despondency and pessimism that now stalk the country” ( May 24).
The fair and impartial election is long cherished desire of the nation and we should like to include these two words in our prayers which may Providence grant and set free our nation from stifling and strangling status quo of one- man rule.
GHEEWALA
Karachi
THE most honourable way out for President Musharraf could be: (1) He should bid farewell to arms, (2) install a caretaker government, (3) announce a date for next general elections and (4) resign and fly out to destination of his choice.
Otherwise he is destined to meet the fate of Ghulam Muhammad, Iskandar Mirza, Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. (I dare not mention Bhutto’s and Zia’s fate). Not without logic, a political sage had said power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
SAFIR A SIDDIQUI
Karachi
THROUGH your esteemed newspaper I would like to thank the CPLC for recovering my cellphone. About 15 months back I lost me cellphone and reported this to the authorities concerned and gave them my cellphone’s IMEI number, which helped them to recover it.
To my surprise, they called me the other day and after going through all formalities, which just took half an hour (again a great surprise), I got my cellphone back without giving a single penny (another surprise).
I appreciate their services as the procedure was very simple and clean. I must say that we still have such organisations which are meant for the betterment of the common man.
FARHANA ASGHAR
Karachi
I WAS impressed by the prompt reply by Prof Azhar Masood A. Faruqui, NICVD (May 27) , to my letter (May 26). I can't even begin to appreciate the tremendous work the whole team is doing for our nation.
What I would like to know, would it be allowed if some volunteers came forward to help with the cleanliness? And whom could we contact? May be on the weekends some of us can go and clean the cabinets allotted to the patients as there is such an overflow of patients that the cabinets have most probably not been emptied completely, food particles still there and the next patient comes to add on to it. Or if there is any other way we could help.
YVETTE FRANKLIN
Karachi
WE have the honour to contribute to the private educational sector since 1980. As per the president’s programme to promote literacy rate in rural areas, we started a project in the name of Overseas, Grammar School and Girls Degree College at Baffa Town, Mansehra district, one-and-a-half miles away from Hazara University on a no-loss-no- profit basis.
Besides investment from our own resources, we received a loan facility from an SME bank in Karachi, amounting to Rs5.5 million in 2003 and Rs1.5 million (for mark- up adjustment) in 2005 at the rate of 16 per cent mark-up.
We returned Rs3.5 million up till June 2005 to the bank out of total Rs7 million loans.
The entire area went through disastrous earthquake on Oct 8, 2005 followed by severe aftershocks till to date.
A large number of students shifted to the safer areas of the country due to earthquake causing a huge shortfall in our revenue collection.
As such, we are facing a lot of crisis and are unable to pay back the outstanding amount, i.e., Rs5.3 million.
We look to President Musharraf to consider the unfortunate situation we are placed in and waive the outstanding amount of our loan and help us to continue promoting education under such devastation circumstance?
SHERBAZ KHAN
Chairman, Overseas Grammar School and
Girls Degree College Baffa,
Mansehra
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