| October 09, 2007 | Tuesday | Ramazan 26, 1428 |
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Public toilets in Karachi
Hat trick by the general
Sindh’s tourism potential
Blocking traffic
PPP abstention
Need for reconciliation
Saying it politely
Coalition for democracy
Rule or no rule
Pensioners ignored
Australia regain lost ground
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
WE cannot forget 9/11. Uppermost in everybody’s mind of course, particularly in the US, is the horror of what has come to be known as 9/11. Nearly 3,000 civilians lost their lives in that lethal terrorist strike. The grief is still deep. The rage still sharp. The tears have not dried. And a strange, deadly war is raging around the world.
Yet, each person who has lost a loved one surely knows secretly, deeply, that no war, no act of revenge, no daisy-cutters dropped on someone
else’s loved ones or someone else’s children will blunt the edges of their pain or bring their own loved ones back. War cannot avenge those who have died.
War is only a brutal desecration of their memory. We, the citizens of Pakistan, face same grief and pain due to suicide bomb attacks. Every second day’s suicide attacks in Pakistan have taken the lives of innocent citizens which are now not fewer than the 9/11 victims.
We, Pakistanis, appreciate policies against terrorism and war against terror, but would like the following four points to be considered for making Pakistan strong:
First, Pakistani military planners should not have any illusions that their use of militants in the Afghan war has come back to haunt them. Supporting militants in the Afghan war but curbing them in Pakistan is a failed policy which must be abandoned. Despite the recent terrorist attack, Pakistan must stay the course to rid itself from the militants -- ironically, the very militants nourished Islamabad.
Second, the US government must continue to support Pakistani government’s efforts against militants. More US support is necessary to train Pakistani law-enforcement agencies to combat the terrorists, who wrongly believe that any liberal Pakistani government is effectively a puppet of the US. Therefore, the US support to Pakistan has to be covert.
Third, it underscores how much danger Pakistan has taken to help the US-led war against terrorism. Now, Washington must stand by Pakistan in its hour of stress and strain.
Fourth, militants and suicide bomber culture in Pakistan took its roots when Pakistan supported the CIA-led Afghan war against the Soviets.
Therefore, Washington has a moral responsibility to help Pakistan rid itself of the militants / terrorists.
AAMIR AHSAN KHAN
Karachi.
KARACHI has no acceptable public toilet system for its 20 million citizens. This causes enormous difficulties for the people. As far as I remember, there were various public toilets in old areas like Kharadar, Saddar and Keamari but then the government or whoever was responsible for cleanliness/maintenance did not maintain the rooms properly and they did not build more around the city, hence the public restroom died its quiet death.
The CPLC is said to have built 28 toilets in Karachi in the past three years. Has anyone seen them? Only one at NIPA, one at Drig Road, one at Boating Basin and a few at Clifton and that’s all. If you have seen the CDGK website, they did not mention public toilets in public services link.
Singapore for its population of 4.6 million has 70,000 public toilets. Karachi for its 20 million people has fewer than 70. The city governments should take the responsibility for building public toilets at city centres, shopping areas and tourist spots. Public should be made aware about the proper use of public toilets, and high standard of cleanliness and upkeep should be made a compulsory requirement.
FURRUKH HUSSAIN ZAI
Karachi
PRESIDENT (General?) Musharraf has, unofficially, won the presidential elections. It is a ‘hat trick’ by the general in eight years. There could be no other possibility whatsoever of making it happen except the way it was achieved, (nicely manoeuvred and manipulated).
It was more or less akin to the ‘royal rumble’ of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which is part wrestling, part drama, part entertainment, part a theatrical show and, above all, a very lucrative business.
The contestants enter the arena fuming, dramatising their previous deeds and victories and boasting all sorts of claims in order to subdue their opponents. Whether the violent face-offs are pre-planned, pre-scripted, pre-paid and the outcome is mostly pre-arranged results is anybody’s guess. The fights are no doubt sensational, bloody and hair-raising.
However, if sometimes, when the contest doesn’t go as planned, there are the ‘double referees’, the teams of ‘security men’ and of course those ‘always standby’ to enforce the pre-planned results like the new world order of the two Bushs, Senior and Junior.
It was almost the same in the last 36 hours (half each of Oct 5 and Oct 6). There were the dramas of the deals, the amnesty, the resignations, the boycotts and the challenges in the court of law, etc., etc.
The nation is a silent viewer only, unlike the lively WWF crowds who enjoy and also participate in the show by wooing or encouraging their choice of contestants. Both the viewers pay a hefty price for the show. The WWF crowds willingly but our nation ending up paying a much, much higher price unwillingly.
Let us wait for the next round of parliamentarian and local bodies elections in the near future, with all sorts of claims boasted by all the participants. Sure we have made our politics a more dangerous, costlier and bloodier show than the next WWF contest. May God help our nation.
IJTABA ZAIDI
Karachi
APROPOS of your editorial, ‘Sindh’s tourism potential’ (Oct 2), I would like to say that Sindh offers a variety of tourism opportunities such as eco-tourism, archaeological tourism and spiritual tourism. Sindh is the habitat of numerous eco-systems such as coastal, wetlands, riverine, arid and mountains.
All the potential tourism sites are devoid of basic infrastructure, which is imperative for attracting both national and foreign tourists.
Sindh’s cultural heritage is an important part of the world heritage and its conservation deserves highest priority in national and international strategies focused on the conservation of heritage.
It is unfortunate that authorities have not only failed to preserve the excavated ruins, but have also damaged the unexcavated structures in the name of preservation.
Many sites have been bulldozed and incorporated either in commercial outfits or agriculture land. Some of them have become part of the urban sprawl and have been turned into illegal settlements.
This is a trend that is increasing in the absence of protection for the sites and the pressures from an expanding human population.
In addition, the theft of antiquities is increasing and the weak state infrastructure can neither prevent it, nor it is able to punish those engaged in this activity.
The plight of shrines where annual congregations are held is also quite discouraging. The devotees who come from far-flung areas of the country to pay tribute on the occasion of urs of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sachal Sarmast should be facilitated by providing them basic facilities.
The amount generated during the urs and throughout the year may be invested in the basic facilities for pilgrims and town planning.
While government agencies can come forward to provide the required infrastructure, safety and incentives to the tourists, civil society, particularly the media, can play a vital role in building the image of the province.
Sindh is the land of love and peace and not of terrorists or dacoits as often portrayed by the media. On the pretext of law and order, tourists are advised by tour operators and government functionaries not to visit the various parts of Sindh, and if they do so, they should do at their own risk.
If this situation continues, I do not think we would be able to capitalise on the tourism potential in Sindh. There are several tourist routes in Sindh which can be developed and packages offered to tourists. This requires a strong political will.
The growth of tourism is bound to reduce the complex problem of poverty.
NASIR ALI PANHWAR
Jamshoro
I WANT to draw the attention of all relevant government/Karachi city government authorities to an ever increasing difficulty, daily faced by the general public.
The City School, PAF Chapter, located on Shaheed-i-Millat Road (near the Baloch Colony bridge), has students in the thousands. If you happen to be driving on the expressway at the closing time of this school, be prepared for an agonising wastage of a couple of hours. It’s the ill discipline of students, parents, public and traffic police — all at its worst simultaneously.
Traffic is blocked from the Quaid-i-Millat fly over (Baloch Colony bridge) to the Iqra University. Traffic coming from Korangi on the link road is also stuck.
School authorities must be persuaded to at least take out a fraction of their income to build a pedestrian bridge for the convenience of the public and safety of students and create an additional parking lot within the boundary to avoid the parking/waiting on the main expressway.
TARIQ MASOOD
Karachi
PPP stalwarts, in reply to a question by a TV reporter outside the NA building at 9:30am. -- minutes before the start of the polling -- announced that they would not vote and instead abstain.
When asked further as to what had taken them that long to announce this decision at the last moments, the reply was that the decision had been taken a few days earlier at London and was in accordance with their original stance of not voting for the president in uniform. Who are they trying to befool?
The whole nation knows what Benazir Bhutto was waiting for before announcing her decision on voting. And now once again she is trying to make fool of us by saying that the PPP will not vote and instead abstain.
My dear PPP wallahs, don’t you know that ‘abstain’ is a valid form of vote. There are three types of votes – yes, no and abstain. If the PPP wanted not to vote, they should have boycotted the election by not coming to the assemblies, or, cast the negative vote -- No. ‘Abstain’ in the elections is a definite form of vote -- a ‘neutral’ vote which is generally taken to ‘augment’ the party polling more votes. In this case obviously siding with the most likely winning candidate, Musharraf.
And, this is what was part of the deal, not to oppose Musharraf in uniform but stay neutral – abstain. A tacit approval. Okay, if the assemblies elect him in uniform we will have no objection to it also. Also, that we will not resign from the assemblies and cause any legal impediments in the way of your election. And further, by participating in the election (by casting a valid ‘abstain’ vote) we will legitimise the right of the dying assemblies to elect a president for the next five years beyond their lives.
Yes, sir, we will cast the ‘abstain’ vote and grant you all these.
RIAZ JAFRI
Rawalpindi
BENAZIR Bhutto claims that only a democratic regime, ostensibly headed by herself as a the prime minister, can overcome terrorism in Pakistan.
Notwithstanding the fact that the biggest human carnage of Pakistan, involving over 10,000 murders, as well the murder of her own brother, took place during her premiership, and which she watched helplessly, she has not outlined exactly how she plans to tame the religious extremism and terrorism?
The British ruled the subcontinent for over a century, and at that time they were the most powerful nation in the world, yet they were unable to tame the tribes of the North-West Frontier or extend their government’s writ to these regions.
Given this fact and our own military’s recent and ongoing failed attempts, even using the most advanced military hardware, to bring the frontier tribes under the ambit of our laws, it is imperative that the new government, when it comes into power, does not embark on any wild adventure, which would only have the worst outcome.
What we need is a plan, not of confrontation but of reconciliation, and it is obvious that we must not do anything against the established customs and wishes of the tribesmen..
It is imperative that we first speak with the elders of the tribes to determine what their urgent needs are, and only then embark on any mutually agreed development work which must be so designed as to develop the skills needed in the area, and which would provide facilities for the employment of the local people. In short, it should focus on the alleviation of poverty first and foremost. Other things can follow.
This process is going to be very gradual and may take two/three generations before our wild west can be brought under the umbrella of our laws and the tribes are made to surrender their weapons.
JAMAL ABBASI
Karachi
It was distressing to hear the news of the death of the girl in a Rawalpindi hospital due to a possible anaesthesia overdose. But it was appalling to read the use of the phrase ‘kicking the bucket’. (Sept 30).
This is a rather impolite saying, and shows disregard for the deceased and her family. Please show some consideration for the trauma the family is going through.
ALIAH AKBARI
Islamabad
MAY be presidential candidate Wajihuddin Ahmad did not belong there, was not cut out for the role and was reluctant to enter the fray. But since he has vowed to fight the military rule, he must make efforts to mobilise the support for his cause that is shared by an overwhelming majority of the people as witnessed during the recent CJ and lawyers’ campaign.
Mr Ahmad should emulate that heroic struggle instead of merely relying on the court room arguments and speeches at a few bar councils. He has to mobilise support among the masses.
The next logical step for democracy and a true federal setup guaranteeing the basic human, national, economic and cultural rights of all the constituents would be to try to organise a large democratic coalition in the country to present a formidable challenge to the illegitimate military ruler and his collaborators.
One would also call upon the civil society leadership, including the political and human rights activists, lawyers and all other pro-democracy forces to fully support such a struggle to bring the country back to the people and get rid of the despotic and corrupt rulers, mafias, terrorists, opportunist politicians, fascist elements and the extremists who have been holding hostage the country and its 160 million citizens. There is a need to make a last stand for the cause of the people and the country.
AZIZ NAREJO
Texas, US
THERE are many traffic rules made but yet not implemented, even if they are implemented, they are not followed.
The traffic rule that motorcycle riders should wear helmets is followed by some but most people do not abide by it. The point which I want to make is that why aren’t the pillion riders supposed to wear helmets? Even if this rule is written somewhere in the traffic rules, I do not see it being followed by almost anybody . Can someone explain why the rule mentioned above is not applied?
T. J. SARHANDI
Karachi
IT is gratifying that the Punjab government has increased the pay scales of its non-gazetted employees and also sanctioned for them the grant of one additional pay to enable them to meet their increased expenses on Eid.
It is, however, strange that pensioners, who are equally hard hit by inflation, have been neglected by the government. It will be, therefore, quite in the fitness of things if the CM approves payment of an additional amount of money to them, equivalent to their one month’s pension, so as to enable them to meet their Eid spendings.
Prof Junaid Iqbal Qureshi
Sialkot
AS expected, the Australian team has once again revived their batting prowess playing against the 20/20 champions now in India, after having badly suffered defeat in South Africa recently.
In Bangalore, Michael Clarke was the undoubted star of the Australia innings, hammering 130 from only 132 balls as the tourists made the most of winning the toss. But for the rains ‘unleashed’ in Bangalore, they would have won the first one-dayer as well.
The cause of the sudden rains at that very point of time still remains a mystery for some of us, though. And India suffered Bangalore washout.
Chasing a lofty and somewhat daunting 307 to win after a fine Australian recovery with the bat, India never really got going in their innings. They eventually were skittled for 222, with more than two overs remaining, handing Australia a fully deserved 84-run win.
With the first match in Bangalore having been abandoned at the weekend due to heavy rain, the tourists are now 1-0 with five games to play. But Haddin, continuing his form from the first game, stuck around until the death, finishing on 87 not out from only 69 balls -- an innings that well and truly took the game away from the under-par hosts.
If Clarke made his brilliant score in Bangalore with a century to his credit, now at Kochi it was the turn of Haddin to lead the Aussies to victory with his magnificent 87 in 69 balls and to lift his man-of-match trophy. India crumbled to mighty Australia. Australia strolled into a 1-0 lead in the one-day series against India after a totally dominant display in Kochi.
The Australians have clearly avenged the defeat they suffered recently at the hands of all possible teams in South Africa at 20/20. Well done, boys, keep the tempo up. The cricket world was wondering as to what has happened to the world champions in cricket in 20/20.
Notwithstanding the ugly gestures and dirty comments on Aussies by Srinath, the visitors displayed class cricket which they seemed to have hidden in the recent past, especially batting prowess. For India, obviously, this is the greatest defeat it ever suffered at Nehru Stadium in Kochi and without skipper Dhoni’s best efforts to help the team to cross 200 mark, the position of India would have been really disastrous. And for Australia, which had lost to India in 1998 here, it is a special moment avenging that defeat over that as well as the recent 20/20 in South Africa.
One fails to understand as to why did Aussies play very badly in recent days letting other teams run over them comfortably and if there is any pressure from any quarters. Or, are the Australians back in form now ?
DR ABDUL RUFF COLACHAL
New Delhi
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