| October 03, 2007 | Wednesday | Ramazan 20, 1428 |
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Political instability proving costly
Of dogs and men
Bureaucracy: incompetent & corrupt
KCR train service
Flawed foreign policy
An intern’s plaint
Cricket bowled out
Phone snatching
Strike within the state
Exams
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
IN your editorial, Siachen ‘tourism’ (Sept 21), you have remarked that “the distinction between adventure and adventurism has been blurred by the Indian army’s shocking decision to take trekkers to the disputed Siachen glacier ....”
Also, that the Indian move “comes under the head of needless provocation at a time when the composite dialogue between the two countries is helping ease tensions in the region.” The editorial rightly observes that there are other glaciers and mountains that can provide thrills in equal measure.
Finally, you have hit the nail on the head by suggesting that the motive of the Indian army could be to tell a wider audience that if tourists can go to Siachen through India, the glacier must surely fall within its territory.
If we recall what India has been doing all along to avoid a fair solution to the Kashmir problem -- where the Siachen glacier also lies -- your conclusion will be justified. To give an illustration, let us consider the book, The Emergence of Pakistan by former prime minister Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, who had been amongst those at the forefront of our liberation struggle: after 1947 he held talks with Nehru and others regarding Kashmir.
The uniqueness of this work is apparent from the comment of British scholar Prof I. F. Rushbrook Williams: “Chaudhri Muhammad Ali has given his readers just the kind of inside view that Liaquat Ali Khan and Quaid i Azam himself would have written, had the opportunity been given to them.”
About the two UN Council resolutions of 1948 and 1949 regarding Kashmir, which were accepted by both India and Pakistan, Mr Ali says:
“The UN Commission for India and Pakistan was soon to realise that Pakistan was right in having apprehensions about India’s intentions to obstruct the plebiscite. The Indian tactics were essentially the same as they had adopted in dealing with the Cabinet Mission plan. “They would misinterpret the plain words of the agreement to suit their own ends, and then refuse to accept any other interpretation, even that offered by the authors of the agreement. “In keeping with this technique, the Indians insisted upon the disbandment of the Azad Kashmir forces, even though there was no mention of it in the agreement, and even though the commission stated specifically that ‘the Resolution (of Aug 13, 1948) does not contemplate the disarmament or disbanding of Azad Kashmir forces.’”
Mr Ali further notes that other points were also raised but the Indian government would not accept the interpretation of the commission. The commission then proposed that the differences be submitted to the arbitration of America’s Admiral Chester W. Nimitz who had been designated Plebiscite Administrator for Kashmir.
President Truman and prime minister Attlee had appealed to both India and Pakistan to accept this proposal for arbitration. Pakistan accepted and India rejected. The writer sadly notes that this pattern of behaviour was repeated on 11 subsequent occasions when eminent statesmen and mediators put forward proposals for a settlement of the Kashmir dispute Pakistan accepted and India rejected.
He further says distinguished Australian judge Sir Owen Dixon was appointed UN Representative in 1950. He replaced the UN commission and was to prepare and supervise a programme of demilitarisation and carry out its other functions. Sir Owen then reported to the UNSC:
“In the end I became convinced that India’s agreement would never be obtained to demilitarisation in any such form, or to provisions governing the period of the plebiscite of any such character as would, in my opinion, permit of the plebiscite being conducted in conditions sufficiently guarding against intimidation and other forms of influence and abuse by which the freedom and fairness of the plebiscite might be imperilled.”
This survey of UN and western sources should make it clear that Pakistan was always willing to abide by their recommendations but India was obdurate and devious. Thus, it is futile to expect them to behave differently regarding Kashmir or Siachen. Conducting of Anglo-Indian wargames in Ladakh despite our protests (Sept 27) is yet another example of India’s (and Britain’s) disregard for international law and fairness.
PERWAIZ CHISHTI
Karachi
THE other day there were some reports in newspapers which were indeed quite alarming and deserved concern as well as attention of every Pakistan.
This is no reference to the APDM announcement that their legislators will resign, Maulana Fazlur Rahman’s statement his party was not taken into confidence by APDM leadership or for that matter the promotion, posting and transfers at the senior level in the Pakistan army as a matter of routine.
Reports said that after a pretty long time, foreign investment in Pakistan has declined by 16 per cent in the first two months of current fiscal, i.e. July and August. This sharp decline over a short period has been attributed to uncertain political situation prevailing in the country for the last few months.
Another report said that due to prevailing political instability, both foreign and local investment has shown downward trend and progress on projects in the pipeline in the private sector has also stopped.
It can safely be said without any fear of contradiction that the political instability has been caused by the opposition’s constant negative tactics and indifferent attitude towards resolving matters of national importance and taking care of the public needs along with the government to mitigate the problems of the masses at large. Redressing people’s grievances is supposed to be the responsibility of the government but at the same time opposition parliamentarians cannot be absolved of their obligations in this regard.
The foreign investment which had started flowing in due to economic reforms and policies initiated by President Gen Musharraf has slowed down due to prevailing political instability and this is indeed a national loss. Greater flow of foreign investment can only be ensured through peace, tranquillity and conducive atmosphere.
This is only possible when there is political stability for which the president has time and again called for. One may be against the general and the government but why continue with negative and undemocratic tactics as a result of which political instability prevails which is proving costly unless the situation is improved and all join hands to strengthen political stability.
Political stability, as well as continuity of developmental activities in different sectors through foreign and local investment, is essentially required for keeping march onwards on the road of progress, prosperity and economic growth.
Please do not let political instability persist long as it is proving costly for Pakistan and its people.
KHALID I. KHAN
Lahore
IN your issue of Sept 21 I read a news item about the conviction of 26 persons by a British magistrate for organising/watching a fierce dogfight.
Man is supposed to the best of God’s creations and in that capacity he has got to be kind and merciful not only to fellow human beings but to all living things, so their cruel act did warrant the punishment they received.
However, it is strange that when the British government unleashed a very large pack of ferocious terriers on Iraq that created a disaster, not much concern was shown by it over the consequences and the matter was not even considered worthy of a full investigation. I am talking about the British government and not the people who did, in fact, raise a strong protest against the invasion and forced Tony Blair to step down.
I wish the British people would do more and stop their government from doing the same all over again in Afghanistan. I know they have reasons to feel aggrieved because of terrorist attacks on their soil resulting in the death of and injuries to innocent people.
However, frustration and desperation of the attackers, a result of past and continuing injustice to Muslims, has also got to be addressed some time.
Terrorism is a complex issue and requires a composite solution. The application of brute force alone is not going to solve this problem because such a course results in the death and suffering of innocent people along with the guilty and turns even mild-mannered, neutral people into militants, thus exacerbating the problem.
It is tragic that the advanced countries have of late developed a great passion for exercising their military might. While the leaders bask in glory, feeling great whipping the world around, the ultimate sufferers of these imperial adventures are the masses in all the countries involved.
I hope and pray that sense will prevail all over to save this world from these fanatics in and out of government and the resources wasted in this wild pursuit put to some better use, thus reducing friction and promoting greater harmony on our planet.
S. R. H. HASHMI
Karachi
WHY is our bureaucracy so incompetent and corrupt? Why does a typical government servant keeps ‘Pakistan first’ behind him and his own personal legitimate and illegitimate interests before him?
In my view the reasons are obvious from the results of the latest CSS examinations (Dawn, Sept 25). Out of 3,505 candidates who sat in the competitive examinations, only 194 were able to pass them.
This means only 5.5 per cent were competent enough to get the required 45 per cent or more marks, and the remaining 94.5 per cent were not educated enough to get even 45 per cent marks. Is this not a sad state of affairs?
How many of the 5.5 per cent performed better and got more than 50 per cet or 60 per cent marks is a big question that can be answered only by the Federal Public Service Commission whose chairman (a lieutenant-general) was sent home merely because he wanted to have all recruitments and promotions done on merit.
Who are the young men and women who aspire to join government service through the CSS competitive examinations? They are mostly those who consider themselves incompetent for professions in the private sector, or those who want to have an easy, care-free life, or those who want to have a short- cut to wealth and prosperity acquired by corruption. Evidently, any of these types, if inducted in the government service, will be unable to deliver what is expected of them.
In the ‘good old days’ and following the tradition bequeathed by the British Raj, only the best and the brightest chose to sit in the CSP (Civil Service of Pakistan) competitive examinations. Those who qualified were then thoroughly grilled through interviews and psychological tests.
The process resulted in the selection of only those who could be relied upon to serve not themselves but the country and the nation. Alas, that is no more. But what makes me more sad is that no one in Pakistan is ready to listen to reason.
SHAMEEM AHMAD
Karachi
IT was only recently that I sent a fax message to the Sindh governor complaining about the late arrival and departure of the train using the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), and made some suggestions regarding improvement in the service of the local train running from the Karachi City Station to the Landhi Station.
Later I heard that the said train had stopped doing its round on the plea of non-profitability because fewer people would travel by this train. It’s all wrong. I always found the train crowded whenever I boarded it at the Cantt Station, so much so that I would never get a seat.
It appears that the authorities concerned have mismanaged the whole thing or some one does not want people to use the KCR and instead travel by buses/coaches on the same route.
It looks the station administration used different methods to fail the service, such as they caused delays in the train timings through various manoeuvrings so that when people are frustrated, they would opt for other means of transport such as coach or bus service.
I once again appeal to the governor to look into the matter.
ASAD AHMAD
Karachi
It is important to ward off unnecessary pressure on Pakistan to do more in war on terror and equally important to make a turnaround in the image of the country.
Do we really deserve what is being done to us? Had we been a true democracy, people could have put pressure on our politicians to raise the issue at the UN but the sad part is that we have such people sitting in our parliament as don’t even know what our national interests are?
A comprehensive lawsuit against the US government and the military charging them with defaming a religion of over 50 countries would be good enough to make them to think thrice before continuing their ongoing crimes against humanity. A charge sheet will be too long because it was ‘Operation 9/11’ that led to the loss of millions of lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Please check website: http://www.bridgestonemediagroup.com/
It is time for the Muslim countries to question the purpose of existing boundaries between them and to question the worthiness of the UN. How the West divided and ruled them, turning brother against brother. The World Wars and the Cold Wars have ended, then why is there no push for real peace? Why are the Muslims being slaughtered everywhere? Is this really World War III? Is Osama bin Laden the biggest ally of the US in war on terror? If not, can the US prove that in the court of law?
If Americans cannot come up with a hard evidence to prove involvement of innocent and uneducated Afghans in 9/11, they must face a worldwide diplomatic pressure to leave the land the West has invaded for the implementation of its hidden agenda.
A responsible country like Pakistan should have consulted with its neighbours like China, Russia and Iran before handing over its existence to an unreliable entity. But unfortunately we had gone too far alone disassociating ourselves from regionalism, leaving no one to stand behind us. If this is how the army is going to defend Pakistan, it’s budget should be cut by more than 50 per cent and should be reallocated to the nation’s education and healthcare.
If the world can digest the kind of ‘Freedom of Expression’ Denmark and Sweden has shown, swallowing above medicine shouldn’t be a problem.
SAM
Dubai
I AM doing a teacher’s job at Dr N. A. Baloch Model School, University of Sindh, Hyderabad, as an intern on the basis of National Internship Programme.
Although three months have passed, I have not been paid, while my counterparts in other cities are being paid regularly.
Owing to non-payment of my salary, I have been facing a lot of problems. For meeting daily expenses and other basic needs of life, I have been borrowing money from my friends and relatives. This is frustrating.
A friend of mine has just left the job after getting disappointed over non-payment of salary on time.
I request Sindh government to do the needful.
RAJESH KUMAR GOYAL
Model School,
University of Sindh,
Hyderabad
WHAT has happened to the gentlemen’s game? The ongoing Twenty20 cricket tournament in South Africa shocked me with the rule of bowl out between India and Pakistan.
After ruining the crafty game of hockey with rollover substitutes, where once we saw wizards of the game, now they bite into this noble game of cricket.
After handshakes, the two teams battle again for points. I think this is not fair to the game. Even in hockey and football, shootouts or penalty shootouts are played out in a knockout situation, not where there is a points table.
I am no critic but this shows that stewards of the game have no say in the matter. Where are the Zaheer Abbases, the Javed Miandads and the Amir Sohails of the game, who speak so much about cricket? Speak up, gentlemen, before the game of cricket gets bowled out.
KEVIN NAZARETH SR.
Karachi
THE other day the government announced the formation of a special force called Muhafiz consisting of 500 jawans amid much fanfare and photo opportunities. The purported objective of this force is to curb cellphone snatching and the killings that go with it.
I believe if someone was really serious about eradicating this particular crime, it would have been done a long time ago. What rocket science is needed to catch hold of a bunch of criminals who use the same pattern, operate on the same roads/streets, and sometimes even wear masks?
In my opinion, it should be as simple as assigning undercover officers to walk the streets while prominently displaying or talking on a cellphone and these criminals would present themselves.
Good luck to the new force.
ZUBAIR/NASEER
Karachi
IT is strange to see the Central Board of Revenue people go on strike when the opposition people, journalists and lawyers are already protesting one after another, primarily, against the president for different reasons.
It has been found that when people go to submit tax returns in the tax offices situated at G-8 Markaz, Islamabad, they face a unique strike by tax people deputed to collect tax returns. These tax collectors’ complaint is about not being paid any overtime and hence the boycott.
I do not think this could be the sole reason for a strike within the state. They may not be interested in collecting the tax returns as the public money could be used on the president’s ongoing advertisement through the media, including PTV, adding to the luxury by different means to the president and his company, maintaining the largest cabinet, motivating opposition members for support in the upcoming presidential election, sending delegations abroad to negotiate on behalf of the president and keeping the general public away from the ruling elites through several agencies.
I suggest a fair inquiry by a judge of the Supreme Court into this strike matter that has made the taxpayer’s life troublesome in the holy month of Ramazan.
KHALID MUSTAFA
Islamabad
THIS is to bring to the notice of the quarters concerned that every day unskilled but experienced technicians submit forms for examination and award of electrical (electrification) certificate which is necessary for applying for jobs, contractorship, etc, abroad.
It is unfortunate that no one pays any attention to this because after 1995 no examination has been conducted. This is because of lack of interest of officials.
The higher authorities are requested to do the needful.
SHAH LUTIF ALI
Hyderabad
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