| October 12, 2007 | Friday | Ramazan 29, 1428 |
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Our nuclear scientists
PPP-MQM patch-up
Slide into militancy
A cruel joke indeed
Umra operators
Eid Mubarak to you…
Dead telephone
Cruise line security
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
FAIZ Al Najdi’s letter, ‘Benazir’s stand on N-issue’, defending Benazir Bhutto’s recent offers regarding the questioning of Dr A. Q. Khan and permission to the US to carry out military strikes within Pakistan (Oct 7), was appalling.
Does Mr Najdi consider the US to be sincere and fair minded regarding Pakistan’s interests? There is much to be learned from various reports about the real American attitude towards us, which he would most probably have read. There was the story of Abdul Aleem Siddiqui, whose misfortune landed him at Guantanamo Bay on charges of having links with the Al Qaeda or Taliban (Dawn, Sept. 4).
He was detained there for over five years before being cleared of the allegations. Apart from narrating the details of the torture he and the other inmates were subjected to, he said, “My investigator referred to Pakistan as a failed state that would soon disappear from the world map and they gave us books containing maps that did not show Pakistan.”
This should be viewed in conjunction with the notorious plan about the redrawing of the borders of the Islamic world that had appeared in the US Armed Forces Journal last year, presented by a retired army officer, Ralph Peters (Dawn, Aug 27, 2006). It had shown a ‘new’ Pakistan not having Balochistan and the NWFP.
If this isn’t enough to prove the ill intentions of the US, especially its military, here’s another example. An American soldier, who had served in Iraq but was so disgusted by the immorality of the war that he deserted the army, has made some eye-opening revelations in his book, The Deserter’s Tale: The Story of an Ordinary American Soldier’ (Books and Authors, July 15). Among other things, he says that during training they were fed beliefs like, ‘Muslims and terrorists all deserved to die’ and the people of Afghanistan were ‘terrorist pieces of shit that all deserved to die.’
Besides, they were indoctrinated against the Muslims that not just he but even his wife came to believe: “All Muslims were terrorists and all terrorists were Muslims and the only solution was to kill as many Iraqis as possible.” It would be the height of stupidity to give a superpower having such contemptuous and destructive views about Pakistan and other Muslim countries an access to our nuclear scientist who could be having many secrets about Pakistan’s nuclear programme, which he might reveal to clever interrogators (posing as IAEA personnel) under pressure.
Furthermore, allowing foreign forces to carry out operations inside the country would enable them to snoop around and, when necessary, launch a lightning attack on our strategic assets.
It is well-known how quick they are to attack the Muslims based on cooked-up or faulty intelligence. Iraq is the foremost example. In our case, a Nato official had apologised for the attack on a post in N. Waziristan, causing three casualties, which he said was ‘a mistake’ (Jan 25). Another story showed some German soldiers had been playing around with the skulls of dead Afghans. These are just two episodes; there were many others here and in Afghanistan. These things can only inflame the feelings of the residents of those areas in particular and other Pakistanis in general. Ms Bhutto is ignoring several ground realities in her anxiety to win American support and appears to presume that she can do as she pleases with Pakistan and its citizens.
AHSANULLAH
Karachi
OUR chief justice is an amazing person. During the hearing of a bank case where some officers of the bank were rewarded with millions of rupees for their so-called excellent performance, he aptly remarked that there was hardly any justification for doling out so much money to such people.
In his opinion such an amount should have been given to our nuclear scientists who took Pakistan to the top of the world. The CJ may be amused and even shocked to know that for carrying out successful nuclear tests in 1998 the nuclear scientists were granted 15 days’ salary and honorarium for their meritorious services.
Those who made pioneering contribution to our nuclear capability were ‘generously’ granted one month’s salary and the high civilian award of Hilal-i-Imtiaz (which hardly brought any solace or relief to the scientists or their families).
The then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who untiringly exploited Pakistan’s nuclear capability for his personal political aggrandisement, ignored the scientists after the nuclear event.
The scientists were too egoistic to demand anything for themselves. It is really gracious on the part of the chief justice to raise this point nine years after the event when everybody else had seemed to have forgotten the whole thing.
President Musharraf’s government is generous in recognising excellence. The recent example is an award of Rs6 million to each member of our cricket team for their outstanding performance in the Twenty20 World Cup. The president has made great a contribution towards development of science and technology.
I appeal to him that he should announce a befitting reward for those who enabled Pakistan to become a member of the prestigious nuclear club.
RASHID ABBAS
Islamabad
THE rumours of the PPP and the MQM’s reciprocal conciliation for the future political set-up at Sindh level are floating on Pakistan’s political horizon. Considering the experience of the MQM-PPP coalition in the past, any further conciliation or an alliance, too, seems to be very uneasy.
Although the two parties have different interests, they have to work together for the betterment of Sindh, as any intolerance would appear in the form of bloodbath in the country’s main heart — Karachi. This alliance, it is hoped, would work under the nose of the military establishment.
While in previous alliances, the establishment used both the parties to weaken the democratic process in the country or to pave the way for military establishment but now the establishment is there, so it is hoped that the result could be good if both parties behaved properly.
However, there is a possibility that in case of any threat to the establishment, both the MQM and the PPP may be used to destabilise the democratic norms in the country, leading to violence like in the past.
For real democracy and peace in the country, military interference in politics must be curtailed. Even though since March 9 the country has been passing through the defining moments but no real effort was perused to get advantages from those defining moments. As long as our politicians do not shun power politics, these defining moments will be lost without any advantage accruing to the country.
Recently, before the presidential election, the country witnessed a defining moment which was the only time when all democratic parties wanting to lessen the role of the military in politics could have sat together as the judiciary was also there for them. The ball was in the court of democratic forces but unfortunately they missed the hour. That was the time when the charter of democracy, if implemented, could have curtailed the role of military in politics.
Let us see how another defining moment of Oct 17 passes.
RASHIDA SALEEM
University of Punjab
Lahore
DURING Bill Clinton’s first campaign for presidency in 1992, when Bush Sr was trying to get elected for the second time, Mr Clinton had quoted somebody as having defined a mad man as someone who does the same thing over and over again, expecting different results each time.
The idea was to show that George H. W. Bush was behaving like one in planning to repeat his old, unsuccessful policies.
After 9/11, our government has been acting similarly by repeating its failed policies against the religious extremists and militants.
The situation has become so bad that there are suicide attacks and bomb blasts occurring even several times a day. In the tribal areas, the same people who had liberated a portion of Kashmir, kept our western borders safe and tranquil for decades, countered Kabul’s attempt to erase the Durand Line and who were ever ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Pakistan are now being attacked by Islamabad’s troops.
As if that wasn’t enough, sometimes the American and Nato forces also partake of these killings.
The result is that the tribal people are not only totally disillusioned and alienated, but their more militant youngsters are fighting and taking hundreds of military personnel hostage.
The latest and most worrisome news at this writing is that Baitullah Mehsud’s men have slew three of the nearly 300 soldiers in their captivity (Oct 4), besides promising to kill three more every day.
The reality is, Gen Musharraf has not only failed to prevent the disastrous slide into militancy and extremism, he has actually been making it worse by acting as a copy of Bush Jr and using military muscle without reason or restraint.
As the abduction of hundreds of soldiers over a month ago and the inability not just to secure his own men’s release but to save their lives shows he has become absolutely irrelevant to protecting the country and its soldiers, what to talk of the ordinary citizens.
A big reason for this is that he dare not annoy the US by making peace with the local Taliban.
By Clinton’s logic, it is clear that the continuation of Musharraf with his policies for five more years will be a sheer act of folly on his part and of all those supporting him. And, through Benazir Bhutto’s recent statements, it appears that she will be trying to outdo Musharraf by striving even more to please the West by following its agenda. May God have mercy on this country.
I. RAHIM
Karachi
THERE is a proverb that a wise enemy is much better than a foolish friend. This is just what President Gen Pervez Musharraf may be thinking these days.
The general for some time has been pleading for national reconciliation so that all those on both sides of the fence should at least think together for the betterment of the people at large and their progress, prosperity and integrity, keeping political and other petty differences apart.
However, without waiting for a positive response from the opposition, Gen Musharraf recently promulgated the National Reconciliation Ordinance, giving across-the-board amnesty to the politicians as well as to government functionaries involved or facing corruption cases or charges for the crimes committed during a specified period, except for those involved in heinous crimes of murders and terrorism.
Incidentally, the presidential ordinance was promulgated on the eve of the presidential election, held on Oct 6. Although it was not linked with the presidential election as such, still it was dubbed as one to lure the opposition.
Ruling party (PML-Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, while talking to newsmen in Islamabad the other day, said that the National Reconciliation Ordinance was a political game played to divide the opposition, the objective had been achieved and ‘raat gai baat gai’, meaning thereby that the presidential ordinance has become redundant after the presidential election, thus nullifying the good intentions of Gen Musharraf to promote the idea of developing national reconciliation for resolving the matters of national importance.
According to reports in newspapers, Chaudhry Shujaat later clarified to the president that ‘raat gai baat gai’ was said in a lighter vein. But by that time the damage had been done. It was indeed a cruel joke played on the president by the prime minister and the ruling party chief, intentionally or unintentionally.
MOMINA BILAL
Lahore
HUNDREDS of thousands of Muslims from all over the world throng to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Umra or Haj.
To facilitate their trip to and within the kingdom, Umra and Haj operators are set up in almost every country, more so in Pakistan.
Mine is a tale of victimisation by one of these operators who, in their lust for wealth, forget that they have to account for their misdeeds in front of the Almighty one day.
I and my mother landed at the Holy land on May 28. In order to perform the obligations comfortably, we had opted for an Umra package costing 56,000 rupees per person, which contained five-star hotels within a distance of 100 metres from the holy mosques in Makkah and Madina and free conveyance within the kingdom.
Quite contrary to the agreement, the hotels provided to us in Makkah and Madina, if rated, would have been given a label of minus five-star. The little rooms reeked of dirty smell with furniture lying in a shabby condition.
Moreover, we had to share the washrooms with other people. To top it all, both the hotels were approximately a kilometre away from the holy mosques and we had to walk for about half an hour to reach there.
On my complaint to the operator in Pakistan and their agent in the kingdom, I was snubbed. Thus we had to shift, at our own cost, to other hotels in both cities.
I request the religious affairs ministry to take note of shenanigans of these operators and streamline their working. There must be some kind of institutional redress available to victims of these operators who, in the absence of any such accountability, think they are above the law and can get away with impunity.
NAUMAN QAISER
Lahore
A WEEK before this Eid, accompanied by the police, the demolition of a goth in Karachi abruptly re-started (Oct 6).
Thank you, I. A. Rehman, ‘Kia woh namrud ki khudai thi …’ that the poorest of our poor children of the goth, innocently friendly to each other since their birth, were not to be allowed to celebrate and enjoy their Eid together.
Moderation necessarily teaches us to be kind to all — Eid Mubarak to the stony-hearted bosses.
Z. A. KAZMI
Karachi
I AM an overseas worker and have not been able to contact my family for about a month now as my telephone No. 042-7146950 is dead due to ring road construction.
I would request the PTCL to take immediate action for its energisation as a series of complaints lodged by my family have yielded no result. It is suggested that I may be provided a telephone line from other sources nearby if immediate restoration of the line is not possible.
I would also request the OPF, Islamabad, to assist me in this regard as I am a registered overseas worker and holding Gold Card for remittances.
M. ANWAR QURESHI
Tripoli, Libya
MOST cruise ships may seem to passengers like magical islands where fun never ends. Passengers are encouraged on cruise ships to forget their trouble and relax. It is natural for passengers on vacation to let their worries forget especially when out to sea in a resort-like setting. However, the security personnel who protect these floating fantasies and their guests know that isolation a ship offers can be a mixed blessing, creating both a welcome respite from the world and vulnerability.
Petty crimes are quite common on every cruise ship. There are pickpockets, purse thieves, and cabin burglars onboard a cruise ship. There are also scam artists who prey on rich women and men if given the chance. You also need to keep your guard up with intoxicated passengers.
Liquor consumption peaks on board ships. It is not unheard of for a ship passenger to slip a drug into your drink and take advantage of you just like on shore. Among the major issues confronting cruise line security personnel are drug smuggling, sexual assault, stowaways; piracy and terrorism. So, being at sea can cause a false sense of security.
Shipboard crimes sometimes fall into a ‘no man’s land’ of law enforcement. A crime can occur between two people of different nationalities, on a ship from a third country and in territorial waters of a fourth country. The governing law is the International Maritime Law. Reporting a crime on board a cruise ship doesn’t mean anything will be done or that the crime will ever be investigated. Crimes are reported to the jurisdiction of the closest foreign country and to the embassies of the parties involved.
If you ever decide to travel by a cruise ship, take these preventive measures: Keep luggage under your control until you check in with the cruise line. Always travel with sturdy plain-looking luggage. Expensive-looking luggage may be targeted for its perceived contents. Do not write your full address and telephone numbers on your luggage tags. Because home burglars will know that you are on a cruise and not be home soon.
Lock your luggage to prevent anyone from opening it without detection. Smugglers have been known to slip drugs into luggage only to retrieve it later and may be with force. Passengers have unknowingly transported cocaine that was slipped into their suitcases by baggage handlers only to be arrested later by port authorities. Prior to opening your luggage, you should see if it has been tampered. Report any luggage tampering immediately to ship security before opening your luggage.
After you enter your cabin, always check inside the bathroom, under the beds and closest before settling down in your cabin. Always keep keys of your cabin in your safe custody. When in port, be sure to deposit your key with the registration desk before disembarking. Once on board and out to sea, don’t assume that you are totally safe from criminal acts. Crimes can just as easily be committed by crew members or by fellow passengers.
Many cruise lines hire transient and seasonal employees at low wages. Because of this, turnover is high and cruise line struggle to keep a ship fully staffed. While most crew members are hardworking and honest people, you cannot assume that the ship has properly screened crew members.
If you bring your children abroad, be extra careful. Set curfew – just like at home. Teenagers especially should be told never to accompany a crew member into non-public areas, nor should crew members be allowed inside your cabin. Ship nightclubs, casinos, swimming pools and jacuzzis are favourite spots for those looking for victim. Your family security plan for children should include bed checks, curfews, restrictions, and special meeting places. Try to limit your child to ship-sponsored activities in public areas. You should make contact with your children periodically, even if they are supervised.
SQN LDR ( r) S. AUSAF HUSAIN
Karachi
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