| August 09, 2007 | Thursday | Rajab 24, 1428 |
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Struggle for democracy
Choices before society
Honouring policemen
PhD galore
Indian politics
US stand
Tribute
Supporting Azerbaijanis
JPMC
Taliban
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
NATIONAL Logistics Corporation (NLC), an arm of the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan army, now has plans to enter into lucrative power generation and transmission business. An advertisement in the Dawn on July 21 calls for the pre-qualification of international and national companies by the NLC to undertake various activities related to thermal power generation, transmission lines of 66 kV & above, and grid station projects. The areas identified include consultancy, manufacturing & supply of power plant machinery, operation & maintenance, engineering and procurement contract and civil construction etc.
Established in 1978 as a logistics cell under the ministry of communications to handle emergency freight, the organisation has grown, over a period of years, to a conglomerate itself, currently with multiple business interests ranging from freight services to construction jobs and from operating dry ports and toll plaza to running a polymer plant. The NLC, having expanded its operations to the Central Asian Republics, Turkey and Iran, now has partnerships with a number of international companies operating in different fields. Ironically, the corporation is not incorporated under the Companies Ordinance, thus not governed by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Corporation of Pakistan (SECP), and has not been placed in the tax net by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
The NLC is entering into other new ventures too. Recently the federal government has entrusted it the implementation of a ten-billion-rupee project for health and education, which is funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Also, it is reported that the NLC would be a major stakeholder in the Thar Coal Mining Company that has been formed recently by the federal government for exploitation of vast Thar coal deposits in Sindh, primarily for power generation. Of course, the NLC has no expertise, experience or qualification to manage a coal mining company. To overcome its deficiency therefore, the NLC intends to appoint international/national service companies specialising in the coal geology and mining. Consequently, the consultants will be required to guide the NLC on all technical and management aspects related to the mining project. An advertisement to this effect was published in the Dawn of June 25.
On the one hand, the government is divesting its companies operating successfully in strategic areas like oil, gas, heavy industries, power generation etc, and on the other, it continues to allow the armed forces to build up business empire at the cost of the exchequer. A new chapter needs to be added to the recently published book "Military Inc. Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy".
HUSSAIN SIDDIQUI
Islamabad
THIS is with reference to the PPP's contact with Gen Musharraf and the salient features of the so-called deal between him and the PPP.
This is election year and such misleading hype against a genuine democratic party could undermine the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan. The founder of the PPP, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, laid the foundation of this party on democratic norms. The PPP has a history of struggle stretched over a period of more than 30 years and always fought for the rights of the people and never compromised on principal politics.
History has witnessed that PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto gave unprecedented sacrifices for democracy and her courage in the face of tyranny and dictatorship. She is in exile for last 10 years and facing the political motivated cases against her, which were never proven.
If Benazir Bhutto wanted to do a deal with the military to safeguard her own interest, she could have done it long time ago. She could have had all charges brought against her dropped, could have her husband out of jail, but despite all these offers she never compromised on the principles.
Being the largest democratic political party in Pakistan, PPP's struggle has always been for the supremacy of constitution and restoration of democracy, and the leaders of PPP have confidence in the leadership of PPP chairperson that if military dictator General Musharraf doffed his uniform, it would be a great political achievement of the PPP.
BB's dialogues with the government are aimed at the restoration of the constitution and to make the president shed off his uniform. PPP believes that re-election of general Musharraf as president will be unconstitutional and PPP would resist this re-election. It wants transparent elections under an independent Election Commission including the participation of all the major political parties.
Our country has witnessed Talibanization and elements promoting extremism which have become a great menace for peace and prosperity. There is only one way to combat creeping extremism in the country and it is to let the moderate political parties, having faith in undiluted democracy, to function unhindered. PPP has a responsibility towards the country and its people.
Any confrontation with the army at this juncture will bring civil war and Pakistan, with its internal and external enemies working against it, will further push it to disaster. If we can have dialogues with India, there is no harm to talk to our own army to negotiate the return of army to barracks.
BB's vision and leadership qualities are internationally acknowledged. Her sacrifices cannot be forgotten by her followers. The leadership and workers of PPP have full trust in BB's sense of direction and farsightedness.
Media must play a positive and impartial role keeping in view Pakistan's precarious position in the today's changing world.
FARZANA RAJA
Information Secretary
Punjab PPP
Islamabad
STARK choices lie ahead for Pakistani society. A decision needs to be made whether to allow the imposition of a religion-based system of governance, which is likely to be rigid, intolerant, and a manifestation of literal interpretation of the Holy text, or follow the path of modernist and secular ideals.
Both these choices will almost certainly become a cause of irritation for the society, who in spite of being deeply religious and spiritual, are moderate minded and fairly pragmatic by nature. Therefore they would never be able to accept the harsh treatment meted out to them at the hands of Taliban style vice monitors or the Saudi religious police. Nor would secularist sleuths go down well with the cultural norms, which would force the society to shun articles of religious clothing or exhibits, as is practice in Turkey.
The reason Pakistanis are confused at this present time is purely due to the fact that they see General Musharraf's approach towards "enlightened moderation" as a pursuance of western interests and therefore view it with deep suspicion and contrary to their beliefs. Similarly they are unable to neither wholeheartedly condemn nor condone the criminal activities of the religious extremists and the ensuing loss of life of ordinary civilians and the members of the military establishment, simply because the fundamentalists invoke the name of religion and play with the religious sentiments of the masses.
They are also admired as revolutionaries, fiercely resisting an attempt by the west to manipulate their belief system and the way of life. The downside to this is that tribal customs, ethnic loyalties and religious fundamentalism have engulfed the mindset of those who have been systematically brainwashed never to see reason and would rather sacrifice national security and regional peace for the sake of their own twisted ideology.
Unfortunately the adaptation of a moderate middle path would be an extremely difficult choice and even more complex to achieve as a solution for the future of an intact Pakistan. With modernistic and flexible approach towards interpretation and implementation of Islamic teachings in open violent conflict with the religious militant right, any compromise would be an unlikely consequence and therefore the defeat of one or the other is inevitable.
Whatever the result, it would have an impact not only on the South Asian region but also on a global scale, hence the eyes of the entire world are focused upon Pakistan. It is now up to the Pakistanis to decide who wins and who faces defeat in this battle of ideological polarisation.
DR SHAAZ MAHBOOB
Hillingdon, UK
AS I read with dismay the slaughter and mayhem caused by suicide bombers across the country, I am struck with the sad footnote that accompanies each of the news report: the dead policemen.
From what I can make, these policemen died either stopping the bombers at the checkpoints or by blocking their path as they sought to cause much more damage then they eventually would.
The most striking was the case where Chinese engineers would have certainly been victims were it not for the brave, but ill fated, driver of the police van who placed his vehicle between the bomber and the bus carrying the Chinese engineers. As a result of his actions, lives of all foreigners were saved and with it, I suspect serious embarrassment for the nation. All seven policemen in the van died.
Let us give a moment to salute those few who give the ultimate sacrifice in the course of their work.
The dead policemen are the unsung heroes. No one knows them and nobody really cares. They work for a pittance and do not share the glory, or the power, of their other arms-bearing brethern, the armed forces. They go work every morning knowing the sites or people they protect are targets and they, the police, represent the first, and most vulnerable, line of defence.
It would also be helpful for the press to ensure that these martyrs are not consigned to the irrelevant in news coverage and, where possible, their names and acts of bravery given due publicity. It is incumbent upon us that we, as a nation, should know and acknowledge them.
SYED ALI ABBAS
Harrow, UK
I REFER to the letter by Mr. Zahid Mahmood (August 5), former Professor, University of Karachi, in which he contends that a PhD degree should not be necessary for appointment in universities as it does not guarantee the quality.
The argument is basically false. One can extend the same arguments to state that a Bachelor of Law degree does not guarantee the quality of a lawyer. Therefore there should be no need of the law degree for lawyers to be in a legal profession. Similarly MBBS degree does not guarantee the quality of a doctor if the argument of Mr. Zahid Mahmood is accepted then one should do away with the need of having a medical degree before allowing the practice of medicine.
It needs to be understood that during PhD training a student is supposed to learn various skills required to carry out fundamental or applied researches. He also learns to think independently and to adopt a questioning approach while addressing all the issues.
While it is correct that there is considerable variations in the quality of PhDs which depends on the independence and attitude of the individual acquiring research training as well as research environment in which they are changed. The argument that PhD degree should not be needed for a faculty position in universities, it is not acceptable, except for certain subjects such as law, fine arts etc.
It is important that the quality of the PhD program should be of highest level and the emphasis should not be producing large number of PhDs but should be the high quality.
Higher Education Commission has therefore introduced a number of quality criteria in all the universities which include the following:
(i) All PhD thesis are evaluated by two eminent experts in technologically advanced countries and only when both of them are agreed with the work carried out in the thesis is original, of high quality and deserving the award of PhD degree then the university consider the candidate for such an award.
(ii) Students are required to obtain minimum 50% percentile score in an international subject GRE examination before being allowed to submit their thesis.
(iii) The students required to have one publication in an international journal recognized by Higher Education Commission.
(iv) In order to check the menace of plagiarism the HEC is now checking all Ph.D. theses to prevent any student from copying material from other published sources. This is also being done in international research publications and same Pakistani institutions.
Mr. Zahid Mahmood needs to understand that Pakistan has been left behind over he last five decades. This is reflected in the tact that a single good university in China (Chinhua University) produces over 1000 PhDs annually, which is more than double the total PhD out put in Pakistan.
HEC has therefore launched a major initiative to send a large number of our brightest students to top universities in the West.Salary structure of faculty under the Tenure Track System can allow a public sector professor to draw a salary of Rs.300000 per month.
This and a large number of other measures are beginning to change the landscape of our universities. High quality PhD level faculty members are essential prerequisite for such a change.
It needs to be understood that for the 300000 students studying in our public sector universities. We require approximately 20000 Ph.D.s in our universities at a ratio of 15:1. However, presently there is only about 4000 PhD level faculty members amongst 12,000 teachers teaching in our public sector universities. We need to have an 16,000 additional PhD level faculty members to cope with current requirements. Emphasis on training our students at PhD level and provide them with excellent academic and career opportunities are therefore vital for the future of our universities.
While we do require significantly enhanced number of PhDs to enhance the quality of faculty, HEC will not accept any compromise in quality.
SAMINA WAQAR
Director General (PR)
Higher Education Commission
Islamabad
DR ABDUL Ruff’s letter ‘Indian Politics’ (August 1) is blatant anti-India propaganda. It is a complete misrepresentation of the status of Muslims in India. Of course, Indian society is not perfect and there have been deplorable incidents affecting the poor and impoverished citizens in some of the backward states of the country.
But they are not Muslim-specific and poor Hindus have been victimized as well. In fact the Indian media and government have consistently stood up for minority rights. When Dr Haneef, an Indian Muslim, was arrested as a terrorist suspect in Australia, it was the Indian government and media that put pressure on the Australian government to release him.
Many Indian states are even trying to create distinct quotas for Muslims in jobs and education. The previous President and the next Vice-President are Muslims too. It is writers like Dr Rufff who try to create a sense of alienation among Indian Muslims and prevent their full integration into modern India.
SUBRAMANIAN RAVI
Singapore
THIS is in reference to the article 'US Speaks of Direct Action against Pakistan’ (Jul 20). This, for a country that has committed 80,000 troops to the US war, granted her military bases all over the country, stationed ships in the Persian Gulf for her, handed over suspects by the hundreds and bent over backwards to comply with every whim and fancy, be it of George Bush, Dick Cheney or any of their underlings.
It is also a fact that the west's war in Afghanistan is unsustainable without help from Pakistan. It defies comprehension that a country with so much leverage should allow itself to be treated with such contempt and utter disregard.
Why are being made to suffer warnings, and threats and allowing foreign troops to carry out raids within our country and kill innocent civilians at will?
KANEEZ FATIMA
Oakville, Canada
GULAM Hussain Shohaz, a poet par excellence of Balochi literature, passed away on July 21, in Muscat, Oman. His passing is a great loss for the Baloch nation.
His two collections of poetry “Jalbar”and “Jalahbar” are highly esteemed in Balochi literature. He was of the view that a poet most follow the rules, style and wording of Balochi’s Augustan Age poets like Hammal e Jehand, Chakar e Shay Haq,Guahram lashari and Shay Mureed.
QASUM FARAZ
Via email
THIS is with the reference to the elections in Karabagh (July 21) whose brief history is worth mentioning. Karabagh is a part of Azerbaijan which was forcibly occupied by the brutal Armenian forces backed by Russians in the early 1990s. This conflict started in 1990 and ended in 1992 and claimed thousands of innocent Azerbaijanis lives; millions were forced to leave their own land and became refugees in their own country. Unfortunately no one in the world has raised a voice against these brutalities.
Now Armenia occupies Karabagh and the seven districts surrounding it. This is totally unacceptable and Karabagh and the seven districts should be returned to Azerbaijan unconditionally and without any delay.
I am a Pakistani living in Baku and fully support Azerbaijanis on this issue. I want my nation to know that Azerbaijani people are the victims of genocide and if anyone knows how they suffered then they will definitely have tears in their eyes.
It’s time we start a campaign in every country where Pakistani communities live and to tell everyone about this conflict and the truth.
TAHIR RAZVI
Baku, Azerbaijan
JINNAH Post Graduate Medical Centre was once a prime institute for patient care and postgraduate medical education. Today it is one of the worst institutes. The federal authorities are least interested in improving qualities of health care and education. Doctors seem to be working on part time jobs.
All type of criminals are wandering round the clock in wards, as JPMC security staff have no interest in stopping these activities as many times they have been beaten up. JPMC is recognised as a teaching institute, but the faculty receives no teaching allowance, no vacation and no departmental promotion.
DR G.M QURESHI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to recent kidnappings of 23 Korean civilians including women by Taliban and now already 2 have been killed. Their demand is the release of seven Taliban from the Afghan government.
The Taliban, the so-called flag bearer of Islam, are adopting tactics which are against the teachings of Islam and are defaming the great religion of peace and love. In Islam there are rules of jihad which include not harming civilians.
I condemn such an acts and urge the ulema to do the same.
DR FAREEHA KHANUM
Mardan
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