| July 27, 2007 | Friday | Rajab 11, 1428 |
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Bravo Supreme Court
Plot to kill Hitler
An enigma
Dismal performance
Tony Blair’s new job
HEC setting model of reforms
Benazir, Musharraf deal
An unplanned campaign
The energy crisis
The Potter pirates
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
I was dismayed to read the editorial “Steel Mills’ privatisation” in your issue of July 5 and take strong exception to the following incorrect, misleading and derogatory remarks: “Doubts were cast on… as well as the prequalification of Arif Habib Securities, the Pakistani arm of the syndicate.
Earlier, it was alleged by independent observes that Arif Habib Securities -- a top brokerage accused of manipulating the stock market crash of 2005 and said to be well connected to the top echelons of the executive branch -- was merely a front for an unidentified fourth party”.
The facts are as follows:
In Pakistan Steel Mills case, the Supreme Court has commented about Arif Habib Securities Ltd and Arif Habib in paragraphs 87 and 88 reproducing allegations by Mr. Iftikhar Shaffi, a defaulter of Lahore Stock Exchange. The court said: “We are conscious of the fact that the observations being made herein are not conclusive…This court would not like to comment on the veracity of the allegations levelled either in the applications, in the FIR, the Civil Suits filed or the reports of the Enquiry Commission lest it may prejudice the case of either side before appropriate forums / Court”.
However, according to us, there are certain factual mistakes in comments about Arif Habib in paragraph 87 and 88 of the judgment. We have filed a review petition before the Supreme Court for the expungement of the remarks under Article 188 of the Constitution. It is a case of non-consideration of crucial documents, non-reading of evidence and the mistakes being apparent on the face of record.
Your statement in the editorial about allegations that Arif Habib Securities Ltd., “a top brokerage company, accused of manipulating the Stock Market Crash of 2005”, is totally incorrect and misleading.
The fact is that SECP reports in respect of crash of 2005 has exonerated all the brokers, including Arif Habib Securities Ltd, after a thorough investigation by them and the expert engaged by them, like Diligence USA who are an international forensic accountancy firm.
Your remarks that Arif Habib Securities is said to be “well connected to the top echelons of the executive branch” and was “merely a front for an unidentified fourth party” are derogatory and defamatory.
You must know that Arif Habib Securities is a listed public company with thousands of public shareholders. It has been one of the top companies of the Karachi Stock Exchange in all years of its listing, declared on the basis of following Good Corporate Governance principles and looking after its shareholders well in each year of its listing. Alleging it to be a front of an unidentified fourth party is a cruel act on your part.
The publication of this clarification will dispel the wrong impression created by your editorial.
ARIF HABIB
Chairman
FRIDAY July 20 shall be remembered as the day the Supreme Court made Pakistanis feel proud of its judiciary and country. This day will be remembered as the day the judiciary removed itself from the clutches of the government’s slavery.
On the other hand, it is a shame that for weeks and months together, the illiterate mullahs did not leave any stone unturned to bring a bad name to our country and religion.
In the past few weeks, there have been many suicide bombs all over the country resulting in the loss of scores of innocent lives.
Each attack had the blessings of some mullah somewhere; they did not even spare the mosque. In the midst of this shame, this historic judgment has shown to the world our true image as a civilised nation.
The judiciary and the lawyers’ fraternity have demonstrated to the entire world that they can stand up to any amount of repression against them.
They have shown that the judiciary shall remain free and no amount of highhandedness from any quarter, be it the military or civilian, can enslave them to their dictates.
The solidarity and steadfastness demonstrated by the lawyers has many lessons for the politicians as well. It is now high time that the politicians also develop a similar unity amongst their ranks and stand up to secure rule of law and the restoration of democracy in the country.
The mullahs and the religious bigots should also draw many lessons from these lawyers. Instead of indoctrinating innocent young souls and instigating them to commit senseless suicide bombings, they should come out and work to bring a good name for the country and Islam.
FAIZ AL NAJDI
Karachi
THE reinstatement of the Chief Justice shows that we provide justice only when we have no choice for injustice.
S. AFRASAEEM S KAZMI
Munich, Germany
THE world would have been different if the attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler had succeeded. The day of 20th July 1944 will still be remembered as perhaps the most fascinating of all plots to kill a leading politician ever, irrespective of whether the attempt succeeded or not.
I include among the most intriguing the murders of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Julius Caesar, Peter the Great, Rasputin, the Elder Khilji, Razia Sultana, Joan of Arc, M.K. Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Liaquat Ali Khan, JFK, Zia-ul-Haq et al.
But the plot to kill Adolf Hitler stands out as the most remarkable of them all. Elaborately schemed, much of it went unnoticed, undetected even the S.S. and Gestapo.
Of course, Heinrich Himmler knew about it and lent his secret support to the conspirators, so discreetly that when it failed he went about rounding up those he knew were involved. Of them all, Col. Count von Stauffenberg, a hero of the North African campaign himself admired by Hitler and the entire German nation, stands head and shoulders above the rest.
He single-handedly made it nearly impossible for Hitler to survive - which in fact he did albeit serious concussion, severe damage to his internal hearing organs besides retribution far in excess of the failed attempt to kill him.
4,000 people were hanged from poles (with piano wires) including many senior officers of the Wehrmacht (the Reich Army).
Among them were Field Marshal von Witzleban and Erwin Rommel (poisoned).
In all likelihood, the war would have ended nine months earlier sparing as many as 12 million that perished when hostilities actually ceased on Aug 10 in Japan, and earlier on May 7 in Europe.
In my 30 years of studying assassinations across the length and breadth of history, not one instance is as intriguing, fascinating, and consequently as interesting as the 20th July 1944 plot to kill Adolf Hitler. It is in large measure, because it failed to achieve any tangible gain.
ARIF A. ABBASI
Karachi
THE article “The Editorial Enigma” (July 22) touches an important topic but does not do justice to the pressures on editors as well as their idiosyncrasies and the methods of media manipulation.
Media bias can be seen in reporting the events of Middle East and the war on terror in US and Muslim countries. It also said that no communication system could hope to report everything.
Selectivity is needed because of such things as deadline pressures, human misjudgment, and policy of the owners towards the government and the businesses with big advertising budgets and the difficulty of reducing a complex story into a concise report cause distortions.
That watchdog of corruption around the world ‘Transparency International’ regards the gravest danger as when media owners, pressuring editors, use their media vehicles to investigate and denigrate their business and political opponents.
In spite of a growth of private TV channels there is surprisingly little analysis of the abuse of media power by media owners in leading industrial countries, let alone in developing countries.
The independence of editors in developing countries is often undermined by the government policies towards the media and modest availability of advertising revenues.
SHAH NAWAZ KHAN
Karachi
THE standard of Pakistan railway is in decline. Though new railway services are being introduced but the condition is so worst that trains never reach the destination on time.
The late arrival of the trains has become the common practice. Those who often travel by train are aware of the fact that how much diesel is wasted, train engines remain started for many hours even in the case of delay.
If the number of trains, the wasted hours of trains is to be determined then it would be revealed that diesel of millions is wasted everyday.
Announcements of new trains are often made but no steps are taken to improve old tracks, slow speed and long span.
Railways authorities are requested to improve the standard of railway and to make the railway journey comfortable and short.
They must take care of the on time and safe arrival of trains. At least one such train should be introduced which could reach in time. There is dire need of bringing revolutionary changes in railway system.
AROOJ MEHRU
Lahore
TONY Blair is the peace envoy to the Middle East? They might as well appoint Count Dracula as the guardian of a blood bank. He will receive a rapturous welcome from our Saudi brothers as they are buying several billion dollars’ worth of military jets from the UK.
The US is busy building 11 or more massive, permanent military bases, while saying they are planning to withdraw as soon as the Iraqis are trained. What a farce!
MAQSOOD A ZAMIR
UK
THIS refers to the article by Mr. Manzoor Ali Isran (July 15) concerning the issue of plagiarism. Mr. Manzoor Ali contended that HEC has done nothing to stop plagiarism. This is totally incorrect.
The fact of the matter is that HEC reforms have resulted in the induction of quality education for the first time in the universities in Pakistan which is evident from the fact there has been 360% growth in research publications from Pakistan in the last four years in high quality research journals.
This spectacular growth has been possible because of numerous reforms by the Higher Education Commission which include massive investments in manpower development through sending a large number of students abroad for Ph.D. and postdoctoral scholarships, through attracting some 520 foreign faculty members who had lived all their lives in USA and Europe and have now come back to Pakistan, through massive research grants to promote research in universities, through laying down strict quality criteria in terms of Ph.D.
Mr. Isran has contended that HEC reforms have contributed to the rise of plagiarism but he has failed to give any data for previous years to support his hypothesis.
In fact plagiarism has existed in Pakistan from the very beginning and he has admitted in his article that it exists in other countries as well, such as Britain.
Higher Education Commission has taken a very strong stance to curb this evil. The freezing of funds of universities which do not take appropriate action against plagiarism, placing of plagiarists on a black list on the HEC website and insisting that whenever plagiarism is discovered, that, university should sack the academics concerned.
The Higher Education Commission has also acquired software to detect plagiarism wherever it exists.
He recommends that the Higher Education Commission should allow non-Ph.D’s also to hold senior faculty positions in the universities in Pakistan.
Mr. Isran does not realize there is a fundamental difference between a college and a university. A university is not just about transfer of existing knowledge but is judged by its ability to create new knowledge and to extend the horizons of knowledge to new frontiers.
Research is therefore an integral feature of any university activities. Non-Ph.D holders cannot discharge this function appropriately, except in certain selected disciplines such as law, fine arts, etc. To improve the quality of education within the universities in Pakistan a Quality Assurance system has been set up and Quality Assurance Cells have also been established in various universities of Pakistan.
In order to ensure a quality of the Ph.D output from our universities HEC has made International GRE (Subject) Test or its equivalent mandatory for obtaining admission. Additional course work for at least 18 credits has to be studied.
Comprehensive examination has to be undertaken. At least one paper in an HEC approved journal has to be published. Thesis has to be evaluated by at least two foreign experts who are from a technologically/academically advanced country.
The Higher Education Commission reforms which have been reviewed by external experts who have termed them as a "silent revolution" taking place in Pakistan and are being quoted as a model for other countries to follow. In the recent UNESCO meeting held in Trieste Italy, almost all the Ministers who spoke on reforms in the higher education sector quoted the example of Pakistan as a model of reforms to be emulated.
SAMINA WAQAR
Director General (PR)
Higher Education Commission
Islamabad
I WAS surprised to read the story behind Benazir-Musharraf contacts by your special correspondent from London, quoting the Guardian (Jul 22).
There is a saying in the USA: "Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice, shame on me". It seems that Pakistanis have either no sense of shame, or have become so callous
that they can not consider
the past performance of our political leaders as important criteria for accepting or rejecting them for future appointments.
Of all the people in Pakistan, I would have never thought that President Musharraf could also prove to be just like any other politician, or for that matter could even think of rigging the elections or making a deal with Benazir Bhutto, whose government had been sacked on charges of corruption.
It is simply outrageous to even think that President Musharraf would be suspending or taking back all cases of corruption against Ms Bhutto and Asif Zardari just to to remain president for another term.
Abraham Lincoln once said that,
"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time".
What a shame that political leaders can fool all Pakistanis all the time.
SYED R AHMED
Dahlonega, GA, USA
THE Karachi city government has imposed a ban on the usage of plastic bags having thickness less than 30 microns.
Nobody can deny that using plastic bags pose a major threat to the environment.
Plastic bags are non-degradable and are fatal for aquatic animals like green turtles.
They are manufactured by thermoplastic resins, so they leave their toxic effects in food items that are kept in them. They also create municipal problems by clogging sewage lines.
While the CDGK should be lauded for imposing the ban, the lack of planning has made the whole campaign ineffective.
The CDGK must make arrangements for providing alternatives to plastic bags as paper and cloth bags are not readily available to people.
Furthermore, authorities have not provided alternative means of business to the persons that are associated with trade and manufacturing of plastic bags.
RAHEEL YOUSUF
Karachi
IT is clear to anyone living in Karachi that the energy crisis in this city is not a myth largely due to the obsolete transmission network and poor generation units. It seems that the general inclination of people is to lay the blame on someone else.
In this case the "someone else" is KESC. However, it needs to be understood that we, as Karachiites have a role to play as well when it comes to solving the energy crisis of Karachi.
One of the biggest things that the people of Karachi can do to help solve this energy crisis is to be more proactive about saving energy. It is not something that requires a huge change in lifestyle, but it is something that can make a huge impact.
Doing simple things, such as opening the curtains for light during the day, and turning off the lights in empty rooms at night, can save a great deal of energy.
Also, during the intense heat of summer, it would help to turn on just one air conditioner, instead of turning on 5. Moderately illuminating the homes is just another way to use electricity efficiently.
These are the types of small changes in lifestyle that can actually prevent the continuous power outages we see all the time.
It is easy to blame KESC for all the problems taking place in the city, but the problem is not KESC's alone, it is also the problem of the people of Karachi.
Unless we can admit that, we will never be able to solve this issue.
AMAN SHAREEF
Karachi
THIS is in reference to “Pirates taking pot-shots at Potter” (July 25). Many of us who are found of books do not like to buy pirated books but are forced to buy them because of the exorbitant prices of the original books.
When I was a student in the UK, I was getting a scholarship of 500 pounds and spending 25 or 30 pounds on a book was not considered very expensive.
These days I ask my relatives in England and USA to buy books for me and send them to me when some one comes to Pakistan as I think this is a cheaper option that buying the same book in Pakistan.
One way to combat piracy is to ensure that publishers have affordable prices for books for local market so that all booklovers do not have to buy pirated books.
DR IRFAN M ROY
Karachi
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