| July 18, 2007 | Wednesday | Rajab 02, 1428 |
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Reality or drama?
Intelligence flaws
A plea for playgrounds
Chickening out of Asia Cup
Karachi’s civic infrastructure
Breach of trust
Natural disaster
History repeats itself
A bumpy ride
The death cage
Tribute
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
BRUSHING aside the debate whether the ‘Operation Silence’ launched by the government was inevitable, one thing is clear that the Lal Masjid saga has earned a bad name for the country, both nationally and internationally.
While the international community has become more confident about the militancy in Pakistan, there the incidents has caused restlessness among the people of the country, who now aptly consider the government a lackey of the US and think whatsoever the president does is actually aspired by the US. The people are thinking on these lines, but most of them are still peaceful.
However, the situation is not that rosy as, after tribal areas, now a handful of people in Swat have also taken up arms against the government under the leadership of Maulana Fazalulullah to take revenge of the Lal Masjid operation and impose their own version of Islam is Swat.
Apparently the group has showed its outrage against the Lal Masjid operation by launching several suicide attacks on police and paramilitary forces in the valley. The Maulana, through his clandestine radio station, has warned that more attacks would be launched on government buildings, including Saidu Medical College and the nearby two historic hospitals – Saidu Hospital and Centre Hospital – “as they treat those he (the Maulana) wants to kill.”
Swat has always been a peaceful area for many years and due to its natural beauty it has always been a great attraction for many tourists from all over the country, but unfortunately due to the tense situation in Swat, as paramilitary forces have moved into the valley, tourism has been badly affected, besides other businesses.
To cope with the situation, the provincial authorities have set up a committee, comprising mostly hardline clerics, who instead of demanding of Mr Fazal to shut down the illegal radio station, encourage his speeches transmitted through the radio.
Eight years are more than enough for implementing any policy. Had the Musharraf government been committed to weeding out the militancy, it would have been able to introduce a modern and secular education policy throughout the country.
Gen Musharraf’s 2002 speech with regard to seminary reforms was a breath of fresh air, but that was also not followed in letter and in spirit due to which the country is still in a position where it was eight years ago.
However, it is never late to mend. Most of the people of Swat, in comparison to other districts and agencies, are educated, patriotic and law-abiding. The main business hub of the valley is Mingora and people of surrounding areas are attached to the city in one way or the other. Hence they will never want to have a prolonged tense situation.
Thus the government, without any fear of public reaction, should first ban the Maulan’s secret radio station, through which he delivers fiery speeches, and then take stringent action against him as the more the government dilly-dallies the issue, the more it would become complex.
IMTIAZ AHMAD
Swat
THE present regime has developed a knack for deliberately creating issues and then letting them snowball into national crises to further its vested interests at the expense of creating chaos and distress. The Lal Masjid episode is a glaring instance.
In the first place, Lal Masjid and its associated seminary and, not surprisingly, many such places in the federal capital were deliberately allowed to become sanctuaries for terrorists during the era of Gen Ziaul Haq for almost a decade. And it was in the very knowledge of the ‘agencies’, but they deliberately overlooked it with a motive to exploit it at an opportune time, which was, in fact, on July 2, the day when the so-called operation was launched.
This is the first-ever regime of its kind, found nowhere in the world, which exploits its own masses to perpetuate its unjust rule and never hesitates in butchering them when they become hurdles. Since Gen Musharraf snatched power from a democratically-elected government, the country has seen many a tragedy, the most prominent of them is the judicial crisis and now the Lal Masjid drama.
One thing has become crystal clear: Gen Musharraf and his team have miserably failed in their bid to play down the importance of one issue at the cost of another one. The Lal Masjid encounter would neither put the all parties conference in London at the back burner nor would it have any impact on the impending judgment of the Supreme Court on the reinstatement of the chief justice.
What is evident now is that the Lal Masjid operation has further delineated the masses from the present setup, and the general’s aspiration to perpetuate dictatorship has received a severe blow. Only time will tell when the general’s self-imagined and self-styled façade of democracy will collapse.
YASSIR RASHEED
Rawalpindi
THE priorities of the government seem to be warped. On the one hand they spend apparently millions of rupees on making sure that they know what is happening in the lives of the judges of the Supreme Court on a daily basis. They monitor their phone calls, their messages and even who comes in and out of their homes.
Eventually, all of this ‘necessary and useful’ information is then presented to the same judges in a contemptuous fashion to prove to them that even they are not beyond the state’s reach. In case the judges are not influenced in their decision-making by this perverted attack on their personal lives, at least they are significantly maligned in the eyes of the masses. On the other hand, the same agencies, employed by the state for the above purpose, seem to have absolutely no clue as to what is happening right under their noses in their mosques and madressahs.
They have no inkling, as is evident from their own actions of the past week, and the accompanying loss of lives, as to how such a large arsenal fell into the hands of those who are hostile towards them, nor do they have an idea of how many people were holed up against them in Lal Masjid.
They finally got intimation of some sort as to what actually is the condition of the structure of the mosque after utilising an unmanned spy plane, which, it is important to note, is an American export.
This is the state of affairs of a government run by an SSG commando while dealing with a problem in its capital, in its very centre. One can only wonder what kind of intelligence they must have of the activities of the enemy on the borders. God help us if there was ever a war.
OBAIDUR RAHMAN KHAN
Karachi
THE construction of a number of parks in the city is heartening. There is no doubt that this has added to the beauty of the city and has provided, in a good measure, the much-needed recreational facilities to the fun-starved people of Karachi and, to a limited extent, these parks provide some open area with greenery to sit in, walk leisurely and spend time in a serene environment.
However, in our zeal for parks, as announcements for parks are made one after another, and for our tendency to grandiose plans instead of viable and manageable schemes, we have gone to the extent of announcing the construction of the world’s greatest park. The world’s second highest water front is another example of our penchant for things grand in style but as to their utility and what becomes of these and whether the same should at all be on our list of priorities are questions better not asked.
A very important factor is being ignored by the authorities, that is, the acute shortage of playgrounds or open playing fields for our children and youths. Encroachments galore even on main roads have turned the localities into suffocating, disgusting and congested slums.
It pains to see our new generation living in highrise complexes not finding open places where they can play some sports and games. Necessary for their physical and mental health, this dearth of open playing fields has shifted their attention to passive pleasures such as more TV viewing and use of computer and DVD.
This shortage of playing areas has compelled our young ones to play in the streets and mohallahs on whatever little space available, creating chaos and resulting in discomfort for the residents.
The sight of little children playing within the compound walls of highrise buildings with scant or almost no space amid the incoming and outgoing cars honking their horns is painful for every caring individual.
While the residents of Karachi are highly thankful for the parks being constructed by the city district government and other civic authorities, it is also their earnest request that along-side planning parks in any area, space for playgrounds may also be provided, affording opportunities to our youth for taking part in healthy activities.
Besides, it would cut the cost which otherwise is to be incurred on maintaining outsized parks as in comparison playgrounds require far little for maintenance. By caring so we shall be doing a greatly needed but so far badly neglected service to our society and new generations. Happy, healthy and tolerant youth with positive thinking is what our country needs greatly.
RAJABUDDIN
Karachi
Hockey is Pakistan’s national game; it is the only sport which has given us gold and silver medals at the Olympics. Pakistan has won the World Cup more than any other country. So it was a real shock to know that Pakistan has opted out of the forthcoming Asia Cup in September.
The reason given by the PHF is that we are in a rebuilding process. The federation’s highups have also cited examples of countries pulling out of Champions Trophy now and then. Hence Pakistan also has the right to select tournaments.
This is a very ridiculous effort to let down the nation. Champions Trophy and Asia Cup cannot be equated. The former is an annual tournament while Asia Cup is a fully-fledged title tournament held every four years like the World Cup, Olympics and Asian games. The winners of Asia Cup carry the title of Asian champions for the next four years.
The prime minister in his capacity of patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hockey Federation should immediately take notice of this and order the PHF to send Pakistan team to Asia Cup.
DR IJAZ CHAUDHRY
Lahore
AS residents of Karachi, it is increasingly necessary for us to pay attention to the rapidly deteriorating civic infrastructure of our local communities, considering the hindrance it forms to the provision of social welfare and health services in this teeming city of millions.
Considering it my responsibility as a Karachiite, I implore the citizens to take notice of certain grave accidents, a few of the many that take place on a regular basis throughout this great city and to react to it strongly so that people are safe when they are out on the roads and streets. The power of the pen can aptly rouse the attention and perhaps even the outrage that such incidents deserve, hopefully resulting in action from those responsible, but who remain silent at present.
Lyari, affectionately referred to by many as the ‘Old Karachi’, and a locality that lies so close to the birthplace of the Quaid himself, has slowly but surely fallen into a state of utter disrepair, with its inhabitants finding it increasingly difficult to exist in harmony with their surrounding vicinity.
The West Wharf Bridge that extends from one end of the KPT flyover into the heart of the industrial zone is the lifeblood of the various industries that operate in the area. Time and uncontrolled acts of crime have taken a heavy toll on the bridge, with entire sections of the metal guard rails having been uprooted for sale in the city's scrap yards by drug addicts, an act that only recently led to the fall of an overcrowded passenger bus over the side of the bridge, with six fatalities as a consequence.
Another incident that occurred on this very bridge on the night of May 26 involved an unnamed citizen of Karachi walking across the unlit bridge, accidentally stepping onto a missing slab of pavement and, consequently, falling from a height of over 25 metres onto a mound of garbage below. The fall, and the resulting trauma, not only resulted in broken bones and lacerations, but also in the loss of consciousness. Roadside cleaners made the grisly discovery early next morning, which was when emergency services were called into action to help the victim from his misery.
With the havoc wreaked upon the city of Karachi by the monsoons, the unkempt and uncarpeted roads surrounding the West Wharf Bridge have taken a hard beating. The disintegration of the area's infrastructure is of concern not only for the inhabitants of West Wharf, but has also disrupted economic activity within the industrial zone.
Where town planners are entrusted with the responsibility of providing improvements in the city's infrastructure, the inhabitants in the vicinity of the West Wharf Bridge are seeing only the repeat of past mistakes. Ditches that have been dug up on the pretext of revamping the locality's drainage system remain half completed even eight months later, resulting in the area being inundated with water. This raises concerns for the integrity of the bridge's structural foundations as rainwater and drainage have accumulated as a consequence.
Such situations force me to ask why incidents like these are allowed to come about, especially in a city that is the economic hub of the nation, a city that deserves the best in facilities to ensure continuing economic and social harmony for all those who live here. In a city that claims to have millions of rupees of infrastructural development work under process, where is the will to revamp such essential civic amenities, to ensure the safeguard of life and property?
If this one incident can be the harbinger of change for Karachi's social structure, we will have played our humble roles in serving our debts to our city – the birthplace of the founder of this country.
SYED JAWAID IQBAL
Karachi
A few months ago I received a telemarketing call from a bank’s credit cards, with the unconditional promise of a card free of charges. Based on the verbal sales pitch, I agreed to apply for one, after which the bank's representative collected my personal and earning details.
Just before I got the card, I was informed that the card was, in fact, not free and I would be required to make certain transactions to waive the fee. I declined to collect the card and returned it unopened.
Quite alarmingly, I started getting calls from various other banks and insurance companies who were in possession of the confidential details I had provided to the bank concerned. The details were leaked to them without my permission and I continue to get daily calls from telemarketers pleading me to help meet their targets. Not only that, the bank has been sending me bills for the card I never got, adding further markup to each statement.
I would like to bring this breach of trust to the notice of all potential customers and the State Bank of Pakistan, which should safeguard the rights of the banking consumers.
JAMSHED AZHAR
Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan
Karachi
DUE to the natural disaster that occurred in Pakistan, the world should come to the aid of the government of Pakistan. Despite the army sending relief goods like medicine and food by helicopters, it's still not enough for those in Quetta and in the most damaged villages around it. People are dying of cholera or because of poisonous snake-bites.
The world is watching what is happening day by day and Pakistan must remain together and try to help the victims of the cyclone. The road that connects Quetta with Karachi needs to be fixed as soon as possible in order to help communication and the delivery of food and medicines.
MARIBET BARRENACHEA
Lima, Peru
PAKISTAN has been ruled by the army for more than it has been ruled by civilian governments. No matter how sincere they are when ruling the country, the army can never justify its rule exceeding 10 years.
When coming to power, promises are made to return to the barracks after holding elections, to no avail. Whether it was Gen Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq or Musharraf, they are all just repeating history.
NAVEED KHAN
Karachi
IN civilised countries authorities put their minds together to create facilities for the public. Unfortunately in our country this is the other way around. Whenever a road is constructed the next day someone will come and create a huge hurdle in the form of a speed bump for the people.
Very recently another speed bump has taken place and that is the brick-sized cat’s-eyes, recent ones being on Khyaban-i-Ittehad. The authorities think that they are stopping the dumpers, water tankers and buses from overspeeding. This is not true as none of these vehicles even bother to reduce their speed.
These restrictions only apply to motorcars. I am requesting the authorities to drive on Khayaban-i-Ittehad once a day in their own cars so that they can realise how much good they are doing for the public.
NAZIR AHMED
Karachi
THIS is to bring to the attention of relevant authorities in the DHA and the Cantonment Board the construction completed in Bilal Mosque, Phase VII , where they have made arrangements for ladies prayer area. This area is completely boxed in with cement block grilles and has only one entry/exit staircase.
We do not seem to learn lessons from past accidents when many women have been trampled to death due to a lack of exits. The same mistake has been made by the management of Bilal mosque. God forbid should an accident occur, the women inside stand no chance of survival.
The authorities should ensure that proper exits are made in case of emergency.
CONCERNED RESIDENT
Karachi
AS IF we didn’t already have enough to lament in the current scenario regarding everything from flooding to the chief justice to Lal Masjid, the death of Lt-Col Haroonul Islam was probably the most regrettable incidence. A career officer, commander of the elite commando battalion of the Special Service Group and an indispensable asset for the Pakistan army, the last thing this officer must have ever wanted was to die in this manner and at this place.
I fail to understand the logic behind the strategy whereby officers of the SSG came under direct fire from militants who were known to be holding secure positions and were easily able to target anyone who came close to the building. This tragic loss has already proved to be an operational failure.
ALTAMASH J. LONE
Karachi
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