| October 28, 2007 | Sunday | Shawwal 15, 1428 |
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Battle for Pakistan
Bigwigs’ health bill
Investing in solar energy
Misspent
Madressah residence
Oklahoma legislators’ move
Blame the victim for the crime!
Sovereign state, foreign rulers
Bridge repair
A note of caution to Benazir
Ghar ka bhedi Lanka dhaye
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
THE package giving political, administrative and financial rights to the Northern Areas was long overdue. The six districts will now hold elections and send representatives to the Northern Areas Legislative Council.
The council, comprising 36 members including women and technocrats from the five districts, that remained subservient to the decisions of the KANA minister, will now make its own decisions.
This will clearly give a sense of representation and self-rule to the areas. That the law ministry took six years to work out the package (Dawn, Oct 21) goes without saying about the pace at which the reforms have been introduced in the areas which remain under a constitutional limbo since they were made part of Pakistan in 1947.
The people still have no representation in the National Assembly and enjoy far fewer legal rights. This has disenchanted the population over the years and some segments (mostly the students who have come to major cities outside Northern Areas for higher education) even calling for an independent entity comprising the six districts along the lines of Azad Kashmir.
National and international human rights groups had voiced concern over the lack of political rights and administrative state of affairs of the region.
The package comes at a time when the nation is in dire need of cohesion and this is likely to cut ice with the masses. The timing of the package may be the result of political expediency, but must be implemented sooner rather than later in the larger interest of Pakistan.
ZAMEER ABBAS
Karachi
(II)
PRESIDENT Gen Pervez Musharraf has announced constitutional reforms for the Northern Areas of Pakistan which have been termed a landmark.
Addressing the government functionaries and residents in Gilgit the other day, as reported in newspapers, Gen Musharraf said that all the administrative and financial powers of the federal ministry of Kashmir and Northern Areas were going to be transferred to the Northern Areas, and the Legislative Council would henceforth enjoy the status of an assembly.
Most of the details of the president’s address have already appeared in the newspapers and as such there is no point in repeating the same here.
Apparently this seems a step forward in the right direction though rather delayed. Much would, however, depend on the implementation of the constitutional reforms at the ground level after which the people of the Northern Areas would be in a better position to appreciate the measures announced by the president during his visit to Gilgit.
This may appear to be something short of the expectations. But the fact which needs to be duly appreciated and acknowledged by all is that a good beginning has at last been made in the right direction to empower the local people to decide their own matters at local level.
Needless to mention here that more steps will hopefully be taken in due course of time by the president on the basis of the constitutional reforms just announced.
QAZI EHSANUL HAQ
Lahore
IT is now amply clear that the lines have been drawn for what will be the battle for Pakistan. There are three possible outcomes:
a. Pakistan moves on to become a modern secular state, in step with the rest of the world.
b. It lapses into a theocratic society, marginalised by the world community and isolated from the rest of the world.
c. Goes down the route of Somalia, a failed state, multiple power centres led by warlords, perpetually at war with each other.
What will determine the outcome is the way and efficacy with which the progressive/ secular forces in state and society wage the fight to roll back the tide of extremism and militancy.
The Taliban are at our doorsteps. Their sympathisers and supporters are within our cities, our civil and military institutions, indeed in our neighbourhoods and within our families too.
Sadly today the issue is not corruption, or feudalism, an independent foreign policy or relations with India. Above all else the issue is of survival and to win the battle against religious extremists and marginalise their presence in our society.
Make no mistake about it, they are a nuisance to Pakistan and because of them, Pakistan is a nuisance to the world.
Benazir Bhutto (with all her faults) still represents the most powerful force against militancy and, if only for that, needs to be given another chance. The rest of the civil society needs to rally behind her, waging the war at every level to cleanse our society of these elements.
She should receive our support as long as she continues to deliver on this count.
MOAZZAM HUSAIN
Lahore Cantt
APROPOS of the news item, ‘Over Rs60m spent on bigwig’s treatment’ (Oct 23), I wonder for how long the poor taxpayer will continue to toil through his labour to foot the health bill of the so-called ‘elected representatives’ of this nation. Which class do these ‘representatives’ really represent?
A bunch of sophisticated people misuse the people’s money through their acts of manipulating rules whenever it is to their advantage. This mindset was clearly reflective in the statement of an MNA when he expected commendation for his ‘favour’ to the nation for not utlising his sanctioned limit to the fullest extent.
What is the point he was trying to make? Instead of being thankful to the taxpayers and to God for the medical treatment that he received, he is expecting the nation to be thankful to him for having not spent the money which he didn’t have any right to spend in the first place.
The news item reminded me of the first Caliph who was entitled to a nominal allowance from Baitul Maal for his living since he had to leave his trading business to look after the matters of caliphate. Once his wife saved some amount out of this allowance and asked him to bring meat as the family had not had meat for long.
The Caliph replied that the amount that she had saved belonged to the Baitul Maal (from where it was originally paid) and since it was in excess of their essential needs, they were not entitled to retain it. So he immediately deposited the entire savings back in the Baitul Maal.
Kahan sey laien key jisey kahain tujh sa
SADIA NAZEER
Islamabad
WITH the oil hitting a record $92, this is the need of the hour that a developing country like Pakistan should start thinking of a better means of energy, and institutions like GIK Institute and SSE-LUMS should be instructed to develop photovoltaic units that would be able to lighten Pakistan in the years to come.
According to Dr Gerhard Knies, coordinator of TREC, the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation, “solar energy is the largest and the least trapped resource of energy on earth.
“It is as if each year a layer of oil 25cm deep was coming down from the sun onto the desert.”
In 5.7 hours the areas in the sunbelt of the earth receive as much energy as the whole world uses in a year.
The potential of solar energy is several hundred times the amount of energy we will ever need. Our fossil fuel reserve that we know of, which are dirty and are going to exhaust, have the same energy as the sun brings in 50 days.
Right now, the technology is so advanced that the energy in one barrel of oil could be gotten from solar power for about $50.
With mass production, that is expected to fall to $20. Besides, the cost of oil does not include the follow-up costs of climate change, pollution and all of the devastating effects, so solar energy is really becoming competitive compared to fossil fuels.
This is the culmination point when the government should seriously look into the energy being deficient in Pakistan. There can be no reason to think that people of any area of Pakistan, especially Sindh and Balochistan — lying in the sunbelt — would oppose this development, as has been depicted in the case of building the Kalabagh dam.
It is entirely up to us whether we choose to live in the Stone Age or want to bring light to our homes.
ZILL-E-REHMAN KHAN NIAZI
Islamabad
I WAS surprised to receive a letter from NIT delivered by courier service, wishing me a very happy Eid and thanking me as a unit holder for my confidence and trust in NIT.
Without wishing to appear a quibbler or labelled a spoilsport, I do wish to register my disapproval of this needless expenditure by NIT, and wish the money could instead have been donated for the flood-affected people of Sindh and Balochistan.
People will continue to buy and retain NIT units whether or not they receive these gratuitous and execrable communications from NIT.
ASAD SIDDIQI
Lahore
IN order to avoid recurrence of a Lal Masjid type incident, the government should immediately put a ban on anyone, other than the pesh imam and his family, residing in the premises of a mosque or a madressah all over the country.
Moreover, the administrative control of Lal Masjid and other large mosques/ madressahs should also be given in the hands of the religious affairs ministry/auqaf department instead of individuals.
KH. TAJAMMUL HUSSAIN
Karachi
ACCORDING to a report, some of the legislators in the American state of Oklahoma have decided to return copies of the Holy Quran that had been gifted to 149 senators and representatives by the state governor’s Ethnic American Advisory Council (Oct 26).A Republican representative, Rex Duncan, wrote in a letter to his colleagues: “Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing women and children in the name of ideology.” The chairwoman of the council, who is a Muslim, said that the gift was a way to introduce the council to lawmakers so that they can use it as a resource to “serve their offices and constituents.”
In contrast, when the legislators had received a copy of the Bible earlier this year from the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, the same Mr Duncan had said: “It’s one of the nicest things I’ve received in my three years in the legislature.”
It is strange that while the Bible itself contains some very scary exhortations to the believers about killing their opponents, the detractors of Islam completely ignore it. For instance, it says: “Of the cities of these people which the Lord, thy God, doth give thee for inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth.” (Deuteronomy 20:16). As opposed to that, when Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had conquered Makkah, no blood was shed.
One would also like to remind the Oklahoman lawmakers of the time when members of the Michigan Militia led by Timothy McVeigh had bombed a federal government building in Oklahoma City in April 1995, more than 100 innocent American men, women and children had died. The Muslims living in the US had not only sympathised with the victims and their families but also donated blood and money for them.
I had been visiting the US at the time and also remember that an American man had pushed a pregnant Muslim woman to the ground in Stillwater city in the same state, thinking that the followers of Islam were behind the attack.
As a result, the poor lady lost her baby. It is noteworthy that Oklahoma is one of those mid- western states known as ‘Bible belt’ where people are known for their religiosity and xenophobia.
Therefore, instead of promoting Islamophobia, these representatives and senators should remember that not just ‘most Oklahomans’ but almost every American and every Muslim does not endorse the murder of innocent people.
They should realise that there are 30,000 to 50,000 Muslims living in Oklahoma and appreciate the efforts of the American Islamic community of about six million to reach out to their Christian and other compatriots.
This is probably the only way to help promote harmony and peace between the adherents of the two Abrahamic religions. Not exerting to make this world a friendlier place but wasting ones days in creating disharmony is a real tragedy and a loss. My friends, “Life is too short to be little.”
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
IT is shocking to see the statements by political leaders blaming Benazir Bhutto for the Oct 18 tragedy in Karachi. The accusations are absurd and outrageous but unfortunately they are not uncommon or unheard of in Pakistan.
On the contrary, that is exactly what one expects in the country where military and undemocratic rule over the time has distorted the politics, polluted the minds and created an unnatural atmosphere.
It was the military ruler who on a visit to the US had blamed the rape victims for inviting the violation of their bodies and souls to seek immigration to western countries. He had made that wild accusation as the cases of Mai Mukhtaran and the Sui rape victim Dr (Mrs) Khalid were getting wide publicity in the world media.
I think it would be the first duty of any future civilian set up to open the Sui rape case and prosecute the rapist for his crime and the military ruler for unlawfully absolving the criminal and obstructing the course of justice.
Similarly, the chief justice of Pakistan was blamed for the May 12 Karachi massacre while the real culprits have conveniently been kept off the hook.
And now they are blaming Benazir Bhutto for the Oct 18 tragedy. It is bizarre to blame Ms Bhutto for an attack on herself and her own rally causing death and pain to her supporters and denying herself an opportunity to lead and address the biggest-ever gathering of people in Pakistan.
This is the prime example of distorted polity in Pakistan. Will we ever change?
AZIZ NAREJO
TX, USA
SOVEREIGNTY of a state can be gauged from the nationality of its rulers. I don’t know of any country where the ruling elite are the nationals of another country. We in Pakistan are being ruled by those who are either American nationals, or with dual nationality or have their sons and daughters who are American nationals.
Is it, therefore, possible for them to be competently loyal to Pakistan? Can we expect them to keep Pakistan’s interest foremost when they are actually citizens of another country by choice? Is it, therefore, fair to say that Pakistan is being effectively ruled by foreigners whose interests are opposite of ours?
Our opposition parties spend all their time and energy on one-point agenda — getting rid of the government in power, even to the extent of going to the newly-independent courts for this purpose.
If they were true legislators, they would sit in the assemblies and fight for laws to ban foreign passport-holders from position of authority in Pakistan.
Also the new power — lawyers — should use the law to get rid of this menace instead of filing petty cases. This is one of the long-time solutions to make sure that Pakistanis rule Pakistan, not foreigners who can conveniently go back to their countries when the going gets rough.
MUHAMMAD ZUBAIR
Doha, Qatar
I AM a frequent user of the ICI Bridge and have often worried about its dilapidated condition. I am afraid if attention is not given to put it back into shape, it might meet the same fate as the Shershah Bridge.
The Karachi city government should immediately take note and repair the ICI bridge.
ARSHAD
Karachi
WITHOUT wishing to become part of any blame game, but as a former police chief of Karachi, I do feel impelled to say that given the circumstances in which it occurred, the dastardly bombing of Benazir Bhutto’s triumphant homecoming procession on Oct 18 was a tragedy just waiting to happen.
The Sindh government had on Oct 17 very clearly warned of such an attack. In view of the huge milling crowd of about two million people, there was simply no question of allowing the procession to proceed along Sharea Faisal to the the Quaid’s Mazar, which was miles away.
It was already getting dark. The organisers should themselves have seen that risk and danger were shouting from the housetops.
To proceed was like waving a red rag to a charging bull. No police force in the world could have prevented an attack in the circumstances in which the tragedy occurred. Yes, what the police should have done was to insist on the obvious option of using a helicopter which was ready and available.
In the face of refusal, the police should have abjured their responsibility altogether.
The life of the ‘Daughter of the East’, our dear and popular leader Benazir Bhutto, is indeed precious to all of us who wish to see her safely ensconced as prime minister. She would be well advised to avoid programmed public appearance and bide her time until electioneering starts in December, which is just round the corner.
S. ASIF MAJEED
Karachi
OUR Minister for Railways Shaikh Rashid says that “imperialism’s cronies will face suicide attacks.”
As everyone knows, the Karachi suicide bomb blast is not the first one in the recent history of this country. Many such incidents have already taken place in this country with the blessing of the present government.
Even leaders like President Gen Pervez Musharraf twice faced such attacks and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was not spared as well.
Does the so-called Farzand-i- Rawalpidni want to say indirectly that both the president and the prime minister are cronies of imperialism? Being an insider, his assessment is much more credible than others.
ZAFAR CHAUDHRY
Rawalpindi
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