| June 11, 2007 | Monday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1428 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Pakistan prospers
Natural justice
Population growth
Media bashing
Discontent and hope
Summer timings
Manora Island
Bane of bonded labour
Loadshedding: mismanaging power
Impending ecological disaster
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
GOHAR Ayub’s letter (June 8) is an incontrovertible acceptance of my article commenting on former President Ayub Khan’s diaries. Interestingly, Gohar Ayub has gone off tangent from the indefensible contents of the diaries hence the acrimonious diatribe.
Today’s attack on Asghar Khan with reference to the Raan of Kutch skirmish has been taken from Gen Musa’s book My Version. History till matric is distorted odiously, thus the void. What is the credibility of Gen Musa who turned a near victory in 1965 to a massacre of gallant soldiers and commandos in Kashmir and is responsible for the blood of martyrs at Wagha, Attari and Berki on Sept 6?
The betrayal was caused because Musa had failed to order red alert for the army, instead kept it on peace time status with 25 per cent troops on leave even as the Indian invaders were about to enter Lahore. My Version is an uncanny self-indictment, replete with blatant untruths and blame game.
Now about the call by Air Marshal Asghar Khan to AM Arjun Singh and its ramifications: it’s a blatant inference that Asghar Khan was removed owing to this call. He had completed eight magnificent years to create a formidable air force and had refused further extension when asked by Ayub in 1964. Nur Khan has personally assured me of both facts repeatedly.
Gohar Ayub’s letter reflects sheer ignorance about air operations and his peer, Gen. Musa. The area of conflict, Bier Bet, in Kutch, was in easy operational reach of the IAF bases in the vicinity; particularly Bhuj air base with several fighter squadrons was less than 10 minutes from the battle front.
Far from the land battle area, our fighters would take 35 minutes to react and on the fringe of operational radius, without fuel for air combat. The Indian troops were well dug-in and difficult to locate and attack. Our fearless troops, cavalry men and personnel carriers were on the move and exposed dangerously to enemy air attack.
Besides the fighter base at Bhuj, Jamnagar, fighter bases at Uterlai and Jaisalmir were about 18-25 minutes away. Had the Indians committed their air force in support of their army, our troops would have been mowed down from the air and destroyed with impunity, bringing our land operation to a
halt.
History of the Rann skirmish would have been written differently had AM Asghar Khan not taken a unique initiative to keep the air forces out of the battle. Even though his action was somewhat utopian under the circumstances, his guarded warning to ACM Arjun Singh worked like a charm.
Asghar Khan suggested to AM Arjun Singh that he should try to influence their political leaders to hold back the air force in order to avoid escalation, with an undertone that if the Indian air force was committed into action, the PAF may opt to hit targets anywhere it chose, not restricted to the Rann sands and swamps.
Luckily Arjun Singh resisted the order of his defence minister Kaul to attack our troops using some pretext which was accepted; but his wisdom lay in heeding to Asghar Khan’s guarded warning. If Gen Musa had the moral strength, he would have written and thanked Asghar Khan for his astuteness and saving lives of our gallant fighting men instead of bickereing and whimpering to Ayub Khan about Asghar calling Arjun Singh without informing him or even the president; both had a poor soldiering history and could not have comprehended the air chief’s sagacity.
SAJAD HAIDER
Islamabad
THIS refers to the ministry of finance' advertisement captioned ‘Pakistan Prospers’, appearing in newspapers these days. They have shown the quasi-military regime’s achievement in the shape of statistical bars to impress the readers.
Some comparisons such as revenue collections are misleading: Rs835 billion has been shown as the current revenue collection against Rs309 billion in 1998-99.
During this period, the range of taxation has been considerably widened. Fresh taxation such as taxes on capital value and cash withdrawal from banks have been introduced. Sales tax net has been enormously enlarged.
Even the food items like vegetable ghee have not been spared. Scope of withholding and presumptive tax has been increased compared to 1998-99. As much as 70 per cent collection are through withholding and presumptive tax. In order to have correct comparison of tax collections of two periods, they should be compared at the same level of taxation.
Figures for foreign direct investment during the period 1998-99 to 2005-006 are also misleading as they include privatisation proceeds from foreign buyers. The privatisation proceeds have not resulted in the creation of new assets. It merely involves the transfer of ownership to the foreign buyers.
Foreign exchange reserve in 2006-2007 has been shown at $14 billion against $1.7 billion in 1998-99. These reserves have been accumulated largely due to the massive foreign aid of nearly $10 billion after 9/11 and rescheduling of external debt and the open market purchases of dollars by the State Bank of Pakistan and not through increase in exports. But still they are very small as compared to the Indian reserve of about $190 billion.
Doubtlessly, the remittance by the overseas Pakistanis have increased to $5.5 billion. It is due to the massive crackdown on the informal channel of remitting money such as ‘hundis’ after 9/11. The overseas Pakistanis were, therefore, constrained to use normal banking channel. The military-led government cannot claim any credit for it.
It may be mentioned that during the period of quasi-military rule Pakistan’s per capita growth of GDP has been the lowest in the region, i.e., 4.6 per cent.
R.R. ALVI
Lahore
THIS is apropos of Bruce Terry's letter, ‘Natural justice’ (May 29). The letter illustrates the fact that the yearning for peace and spirituality knows no religious or geographical boundaries.
The writer first poses a hypothesis that is food for thought -- that there is nothing ‘natural’ about moral and humanistic values; that ‘natural’ justice would be a justice that conforms to the ‘survival of the fittest’ axiom of nature and to our instinctive predilections and aversions.
He then goes on to say that it is only in gravitating away from these instincts towards higher aspirations that we can reach a shared sacred ultimate purpose. His argument is compelling and very relevant to this day and age where we bear witness to a world that has become dangerously Dionysian. However, gravitating away from our instincts is impossible, both physiologically and psychologically.
‘Sublimation’, as Freud called it, is what we are capable of -- redirecting the psychic energy of our animalistic proclivities into nobler functions. At the risk of being polemical I would also add that human civilisation itself became unnatural the moment it learnt to take more than its due share from the planet it inhabits.
A species that takes more from nature than it gives back, that usurps the habitat of other species, that destroys the balance of the ecosystem, that knows no predator and makes prey of all cannot be said to conform with the laws of nature.
In ‘The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ Allama Iqbal interprets the fall of Adam and Eve from heaven as man's transition from unconscious subservience to conscious disobedience of God. This could also imply the transition from being a piece in the jigsaw -puzzle of nature to having the power to alter the picture itself.
There are no easy answers here. Being ostracised from nature's fold and with scientific theory raising more questions than it answers, where do we look for a raison d'etre? Where do we seek guidance for how we should live? Is not the dialectical way to accept the most cogent argument? Is not the scientific method accepting the best available theory, accepting the hypothesis that cannot be disproved by experimentation?
It is not faith and spirituality that are foolish but those that reject them.
Without the moral instincts that religion, in general, has given to all mankind, even to those who call themselves ‘agnostics’ or ‘atheists’, the world would not be fit for living in.
KHWAJA KHUSRO TARIQ
New York, USA
THIS is with reference to the editorial, ‘Truth about population growth’ (May 25). The editorial is based on information obtained from Unicef and other unidentified sources. It questions the official figure of the population growth rate of 1.8 per cent and suggests that the annual growth rate of population in Pakistan is two per cent and, according to the Unicef source ,it is 2.2 per cent. In this connection, the following facts are brought to your kind notice:
1. Unicef is not dealing with population growth or its estimation. It, therefore, needs to be known when did Unicef undertake a survey in this respect and what were the scope, sample size and methodology? If Unicef has not undertaken this survey itself, which other organisation undertook this survey.
2. In Pakistan, the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) provides information on annual growth rate of population. The FBS is under the administrative control of the statistics division and is not under the administrative control of the ministry of population and welfare.
3. According to the Pakistan Demographic Survey, conducted by the FBS in 2005, the population growth rate of Pakistan was 1.9 per cent. The survey used a sample size of 31.623 households across Pakistan.
4. The Planning Commission provides estimated population for each year based on population projections. These projections are based on surveys conducted by the FBS and other research organisations, including NIPS. On the basis of projections released by the Planning Commission, the current rate of population growth of Pakistan is estimated around 1.8 per cent.
5. The National Trust for Population Welfare is in the process of registering and revitalising the NGOs sector for the provision of family planning services and is under the ministry of population welfare. So far the contribution of NGOs is marginal and the ministry of population welfare is in the process of strengthening both the NA TPOW and the NGO sector to expand coverage of family planning and reproductive health services.
DR MUMTAZ ESKER
Director-General (Tech.)
Spokesperson, Ministry of Population Welfare
Islamabad
IT IS quite interesting to observe that our leaders, especially those belonging to the ruling party, time and again lecture the people on how responsible the western media is and how the Pakistani media should follow their path. I would like to remind them of incidents of the US media’s responsibility and what happened when they followed the government’s line.
During the Vietnam war, the US media not only graphically showed the battlefield but also the impact of that unnecessary war on the US soldiers. As a result, public anger increased and anti-war rhetoric made the government pull the troops back from the war.
During the first Gulf war, the media was kept far away from reality, but the graphic scenes of the dying and burning Iraqi soldiers significantly increased public opinion against the wars.
The Los Angeles riots of early 1990s, due to an incident in which the Los Angeles police beat up Rodney King, was another example of media’s graphic coverage of the incidents where the beatings, lootings and killings were seen by everyone. That also put the government in trouble and they had to strictly scrutinise LAPD as well as fix lots of problems.
The second Iraq war was heavily cheer-led by the US media since it was in the interest of strong corporate lobbies which control the media. One example of the media’s role is that during the Iraq war, 67 per cent people were in the belief that 9/11 was done by Iraqi leadership after every piece of evidence points to the contrary.
A government spokesperson was saying that the western media does not cover the dead bodies in Iraq. She is intentionally or unintentionally forgetting the fact that (a) Iraq is not their country, when things happened in their country they showed those graphic scenes and (b) the US media is itself responsible for cheer-leading the war and not telling the truth to the people.
I can observe a huge difference between the Pakistani and western media. The way I see it, the western media is mostly driven by corporate interests, although there are exceptions. Meanwhile, Pakistani private media is only driven by the country’s national interest. I think it is time our leadership (and the self-imposed leaders) should realise that people of Pakistan are not naïve and they understand why the government has suddenly started shedding tears on the ‘bad conduct’ of the media and why all the time the government leaders keep on lecturing about how private channels should behave.
MISBAH AZAM
Tempe, Arizona, USA
WHILE I agree with Ayaz Amir (June 8) that Musharraf’s last and ultimate failure is his inability to come to terms with the possibility of a genuine return to democracy, the fact remains that while the generals may be dispensable, the institution of the army itself will remain intact. The same is true of the feudal lords and the rapacious capitalists.
Remember the generals who are now dead and gone: Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq: but the all-powerful army remains intact and even grows stronger with every passing day. The politicians of all stripes and lawyers can cry hoarse, but nothing will change in Pakistan unless the exploitive feudal lords, the greedy capitalists, the obscurantist religious elite and the vested interests in the army are got rid of.
And perhaps, I should also be blamed for super-hypocrisy as I am saying this from the safe distance of Canada. It might be that I am a super-traitor as I am enjoying my life here while the general masses of Pakistan are suffering political anarchy, social chaos and daily economic uncertainties and difficulties. I wish (or dream) that all the expatriate Pakistanis return home and join the struggle to make Pakistan a progressive and prosperous country.
JALAL HUSSAIN
Quebec, Canada
SUMMER vacations have begun in every school but a few schools have an unfair policy towards teachers who still have to bear the burden of preparing for the next session during a couple of weeks in summer holidays.
The respective principals of such schools should organise the activities for the upcoming session beforehand during the actual school year so that teachers too are able to attain specific number of vacations like their students. If not, a lack of motivation arises and teachers half- heartedly fulfil their duties.
MARYAM HIDAYATULLAH
Karachi
SETTING up recreational facilities at the Manora Island seems to be a part of the programme for enlightened moderation. The island houses harbour defence facilities in addition to coastal defence batteries , the Manora lighthouse, the Manora signal centre, the gunnery fire control system and guns for practical firings, small arms firing range, indoor firing range, in addition to the Naval academy and sailors boot-camp training establishment.
No wonder, a field marshal wanted to make the Navy a water unit of the Pakistan Army and now a general probably wants to establish recreational facilities. The Navy must say a ‘big no’ for any such proposal or be ready to face the music like the chief justice of Pakistan.
M. SHARIF
Rawalpindi
YOUR editorial on the subject (May 17) is well focused on the bonded labour problems. As it is said, to root out bonded labour, a political will of the government is required, which is not forthcoming.
This is true because the perpetuators of the system are themselves influential landlords composing the government. Obviously one should not expect such a government to go against own interest.
Yet again there is a news item (May 26) under the headline, ‘38 bonded peasants freed’, which reads: “Khipro police on Friday found 38 people, including women and children of a peasant family, in a bonded labour camp maintained by a landlord on his farmland. Police raided on the camp on the orders of district sessions judge. Peasants had requested the judge for release of their relatives from the camp. Landlord had detained several members of their family and was forcing them to work on his farmland.”
The news item does not say if the landlord is being prosecuted for criminally detaining labourers, since legislation forbids bonded labour and cancels all debts that the labourer may owe to the landlord. This is a fit case to follow for the media for investigative reporting.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court may take suo motu notice of the situation.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
THOSE without the facility of a generator or UPS are passing a miserable life. They spend sleepless nights and uncomfortable days in this long hot summer.
This mindless and haphazard management of electricity as a daily routine has virtually made the life of hapless, helpless people simply beyond endurance. People have lost their peace of mind and tranquillity.
Words cannot express the mental, physical and emotional agony of the victims of this loadshedding.
The cause of the education has also suffered because students are unable to study undisturbed and for those university level students who are at present in the middle of their examination, it is really tough.
The prospects of any early relief from this ordeal cannot be seen as the statements from ‘power’ people are frequently appearing in the newspapers that this situation may continue for years to come.
BASHIR AHMAD BATLA
Karachi
MASSIVE cutting of trees for implementing mega developmental projects in Karachi is likely to culminate with the onset of ecological disaster of unprecedented nature. Clouds of dust loom most of the times in the areas where project activities are in progress. Asthma and such other respiratory diseases are already on the increase.
The public is being told that many more trees would be planted in place of those being cut to pave the way for widening the roads/laying of gas/water /sewerage lines, etc. But it is the common observation that due to poor aftercare most of the plants die within days/months after their plantation. Moreover, plants take several years to grow to the size that may have impact on the environment.
In the above scenario, I would request the city nazim to issue necessary directives to the officials concerned to speed up tree plantation and ensure aftercare so that the impending ecological disaster may be averted.
Moreover, it is proposed that a well- planned tree plantation campaign may be launched in the forthcoming monsoon season in which NGOs, specially small community-based organisations may also be associated.
SOHAIL A. KHAN
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.