| November 08, 2007 | Thursday | Shawwal 26, 1428 |
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PIA engineers’ strike
Heritage reports
A mother’s anguished appeal
Suicide bombings & MMA’s role?
Two square meals and poverty
Turning a new leaf
PTCL performance
Modernising school education
PPP and PML-N
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 Pakistan’s sorry episode, there is a strong beacon of hope: it’s the lawyers who are putting their lives and principles on the line. I am sure the world will recognise this brave act and will not forget. What an irony that the self-proclaimed ‘secular’ president has managed to anger the secular forces within Pakistan. The extremists must be slapping themselves on their back on this unplanned fortune falling on their lap.
People of Pakistan, your middle class and secular forces are showing that in spite of 60 years of despotic rule — interspersed too infrequently by democracy — you have a strong backbone. Keep up the struggle. Zindabad.
RUDY SHANKAR
USA
WHAT horrific scenes are we witnessing in the Pakistani and international newspapers of the Pakistan police mercilessly dragging, beating, thrashing lawyers and ordinary citizens! Is this Stone Age or what? No sane mind can comprehend what the law-enforcement agencies are doing to our society.
Is this good promotion of the soft image of Pakistan? The whole world is watching in awe and anger what policemen are doing to the educated and intellectual segment of society. Even the most barbaric regime in the recent history would not have resorted to such inhuman measures as adopted by the executive to make sure that he sticks to his position forever. The politicians should have come in the open to voice protest instead of being confined to their cocoons. The world watches as Pakistan continues to weep and be invaded by it own army.
SHEHRYAR HUSSAIN
Via email
ONE keeps wondering as to what is the solution to the never-ending saga of Pakistani politics. What would be a good governance system for our tortured land? The five minutes of sunshine that now and then warms us through dark clouds is no answer. Heroes are acclaimed and then quickly forgotten.
I think Pakistan should now try a novel system: the election of generals. We have five corps commanders who should put themselves up every four to five years (one term only). That way people will have a choice, the military will have what it wants and we will all be rid of the corrupt politicians who have played no small part in the misery of a great nation. A ‘generals’ election would be far better than a farce general election.
ZAFAR SOHRWARDY
Dallas, Texas
Surely our nation has been punished at the brink of a disaster. The worsening situation in our tribal areas caused by the so-called war on terror is turning our own countrymen against the government. We have met all the conditions of a failed state in the eyes of the West.
The Washington Post in its Nov 3 publication has proclaimed that “Pakistan is the world’s most dangerous country because it should never have been a country in the first place”. Such remarks for Pakistan are increasing in number every day.
As a Pakistani, it hurts me a lot to read such negative comments questioning the very existence of Pakistan but we ourselves are to be blamed for the present situation. The time has come to fight for their rights and remove dictatorship forever in our country as it is in the vital interest for the very existence of our beloved nation.
JUNAID ABBASI
University of Leicester, UK
MY residence in the NY City gives me the privilege of still being able to watch Pakistan’s TV transmissions, despite the ban in Pakistan.
Yesterday, I came across a news story where the Governor of Punjab said that the Pakistani public is relieved by the discontinuation of private channels as they do not have to listen to ‘sansani khaiz’ news. He probably thinks the public is a fool.
The government of Pakistan has no authority to deny the people of Pakistan (who are responsible for paying salaries of these leaders) their basic fundamental rights of freedom of speech and expression. The speech of Gen Musharraf after the imposition of emergency was such that no human being with any good sense can listen to. The government of Pakistan has played much with the lives of Pakistani public, and it’s time they realised that this is enough.
QURATULAIN SYED
New York
ACCORDING to reports, the national flag carrier is incurring a loss of Rs35 billion annually; moreover, its ground engineers are on a strike to get their salaries raised and some other demands. While giving briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Defence at a recent meeting, the CAA director-general said they were restructuring the organisation and had a Rs4 billion budget for improvement of facilities last year, but could only utilise Rs1.2 billion. He said that this year they had a Rs9 billion budget and were on target: “We have utilised Rs3 billion so far.”
This is very weird that an organisation which is incurring a loss of Rs35 billion annually how an amount of Rs9 billion can make it survive. Usually there are two types of expenditure, i.e. developmental and non-developmental. The former deals with the salaries and other non-developmental issues and the latter with development and growth. The PIA management should take tangible measures to curtail its non-development expenditure and put more emphasis on growth-oriented activities to make the national flag carrier economically viable.
There are reports that a team of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is due to conduct the engineering audit of the airline and if the strike issue is not resolved by that time, PIA may run into trouble. PIA domestic flights schedule was badly affected as a result of the strike of ground engineers recently.
One may ask why the engineers were forced to go on strike, why the management did not take any step before, why they mishandled the issue and let it become a crisis. The strike led to the miseries of passengers and PIA paid extra for alternative arrangements.
MUHAMMAD AAMIR,
Rawalpindi.
APROPOS of a number of articles in your newspaper within a span of a few days, I, a heritage-conscious citizen, on my own conducted some research on the reported ongoing work at the old campus of the NED University of Engineering and Technology.
The reports prepared by Mr Bhagwandas appear inaccurate. Here are some facts:
a. The contributions of the NED Architecture and Planning Department are well-known. It has obtained an important milestone by getting Shikarpur Heritage City declared as an important site by the World Monument Fund.
It works in Karachi’s urban planning, infrastructure and built environment are appreciated locally and abroad. It has produced worthwhile research publications, including the only peer reviewed journal of architecture in Pakistan.
In the domains of heritage, it has been declared the brand office of Unesco (University and Heritage Programme).
It is also the national secretariat of the International Council of Monuments and Sites.
b. The NED Architecture Department has undertaken many monitoring and instruction exercises from the standpoint of professional validity and public interest.
The Karachi Elevated Expressway, Lyari Expressway, Karachi Development Plan 2030, Resettlement Schemes and many other schemes were coordinated.
c. I have had the privilege to visit many Middle Eastern, South Asian and African countries during the last 30 years of my service.
Wherever I happened to meet Pakistani engineers, the majority were always NEDians.
Even to this day the institution stands heads above institutions of such type in our country.
Its graduates are still readily selected for assignments, both at home and abroad. Abul Kalam, the present VC, called back from retirement during the tenure of Kamal Azfar, as governor Sindh, is still continuing his good work in continuation of his earlier assignment with the Pakistan Railways.
As regards the NOC of the KBCA, it was the understanding given to the technical adviser, Ms Aneela, who is a member of that committee, that the work at the relevant site should proceed on and the NOC was under process and would be issued in due course.
On this understanding the work was undertaken under the supervision of the Heritage technical supervisor, and subsequently an inspection was undertaken by the Sindh chief secretary, who highly appreciated the work being done there.
ALI MUHAMMAD SIDDIQI
Karachi
THIS is my earnest appeal to my in-laws, Mr Hafiz Nurie and Mrs (Dr) Qamar Nurie, to help recover my five-year-old son, Abbas, who was taken away by their son, Ghulam Nurie, 12 days ago.
High Court Judge Yasmeen Abbasy had ordered Ghulam Nurie’s name to be placed on the exit control list.
The court had explicitly rejected his demand for custody and gave the custody of Abbas to me.
I’m the child’s sole caretaker since his birth as Ghulam Nurie had refused to be part of Abbas’s life.
Nurie had instead resorted to violence and his attempt to kidnap Abbas in October 2005 proved abortive. The High Court judge recognised Ghulam Nurie’s violent nature and rejected his demand for the child’s custody, agreeing only to strictly limited and supervised visits.
My son’s biggest fear was that Ghulam Nurie would kidnap him. He pleaded with me after every visit: “Mamma, please don’t let him take me away.” My son’s fear came true on Oct 26. I’m appealing to your parental instincts to ask your son to give Abbas back to me – not for my sake but for the sake of Abbas.
FIZZA RIZVI
Karachi
THE unprecedented surge of most lethal terrorist activities during this year is indeed the most serious issue facing the nation today.
It has stemmed from the present administration’s heavy-handed approach towards the so-called Al Qaeda elements at the Afghanistan border.
While there is no question that much of the responsibility lies in the handling by the Musharraf government, I see very little on the ground to show that the opposition politicians are doing their bit to try and control the situation.
In particular, the religious parties like the JUI which have a lot of say at grassroots level in this region should do more to defuse the situation.
There should be an active anti-terror campaign from the platform of the MMA and the leaders should reach out to those using such violence, as well as educate the general public on the misuse of religion by these elements. This trend can only be stopped if there is full involvement of the masses who can help to marginalise these elements.
The common people are not showing any reaction at the moment because their leaders are not loud enough to denounce these activities.
DR TAHIR RASHEED
Charlottetown, Canada
APROPOS of a news item (Nov 2), Aslam Azhar has rightly pointed out in a lecture, ‘Consumerism: a drug akin to heroin’ that multinational corporations are setting the world agenda as they want to.
Nature, intrinsically, is very balanced, suitable, and compatible to human needs. It is full of resources. Diversity of resources gives option to mankind to consume as per requirements only. These requirements have been increased manifold by human beings themselves as the time went by.
Consumerism is a malignant byproduct of market economy and development through it may require the sale of even human values and dreams. Human values and dreams are even ravaged to get huge profits. Profiteers fill their pockets only. They are only interested in the increase of their assets. These assets’ accumulation gives birth to a sense of jealousy and deprivation among the competitors and the surrounding masses.
Consumerism calculates numbers to expand and manifest its scope and horizon. The population of the globe has increased many times, and it provides a basis for consumerism to plan its products. This number game and easy fame have pushed humanity into a blind alley. The humanity is groping for its survival with armament muscle but ignorant of their metaphysical needs. Aesthetic sense balances the humanity. It makes satisfaction more meaningful and life more beautiful. Many comfortable cars, water bed-equipped bedrooms could not give anyone a sound sleep. But a glimpse at daffodils brings an eternal pleasure and bliss of solitude as renowned poet William Wordsworth has said.
All the think tanks of the globe should ponder over the point of the balance throughout the globe, balance in terms of equitable and equal resource distribution and utilisation.
The development is not the name of skyscrapers, accumulating, microchips, accumulating blitzkrieg arms, developing new vendetta cultures throughout the world, bidding everything even to the human dreams and emotions, turning this world into a big market where everything is just like ‘commodity’. It is a ‘termite approach’. The termite gnaws everything insidiously, without benefit to none and ultimately succumbs to gnawing and perishes away.
Therefore, it is need of the hour to create a well-balanced world where dreams and feelings should be free. Men and women may make their future with their choice without any prohibition or deterrence, as Shah Abdul Latif has said:
Let us go, go where there prevails love in abundance.
Everyone can meet with its love without deterrence.
NOOR AHMED JANJHI
Mithi, Tharparkar
BENAZIR Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif between them had over 10 years, 1988 to 1999, to get democracy under way in Pakistan. Instead, by their performance as ‘democrats’, both became compelling arguments against democracy.
Ms Bhutto has surfaced again as a champion of democracy. Nawaz is likely to similarly surface. Good luck to both, and to Pakistan.
Ms Bhutto’s claim at her press conference on Oct 31 at Bilawal House that ‘30 lakh’ people turned up to receive her on Oct 18 was absurdly exaggerated. Her numbers would suggest that almost 20 per cent of the city’s population of 15 million turned up to greet her. The BBC estimate was 250,000, other estimates have not exceeded 300,000.
Some jiyalas’ imagination took a flight of fancy into the wild blue yonder. This may be forgivable, but for Ms Bhutto to have swallowed the poppycock and go on about it is distressing.
Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif left their democratic credentials in tatters by the way they functioned when in power, and as result of which all they reaped after 11 years of their ‘democracy’ were one-way air tickets to London and to Saudi Arabia.
The first task before Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif is to show they have turned a new leaf, that they have matured and changed, and are wiser from their years of exile and retrospection. Both have to conduct themselves to show their new selves. Both have to work with sensitivity to establish a new credibility.
Mouthing ludicrous feedback shows poor judgment. It is a sorry beginning.
A VOTER
Karachi
IN the early 1970s the PTCL was called Karachi Telecommunications Region. Then the government decided to decentralise the KTR, in view of the growing demand of subscribers, and divisional engineers were given powers to issue demand notes for installation of new connections.
With the passage of time the number of the staff of individual telephone exchanges also increased in order to deal with day-to-day growing complaints of the telephone subscribers.
Since the KTR was renamed PTCL, its performance started deteriorating. After privatisation of the PTCL, its performance has deteriorated further so much so that to no complaint, written or verbal, is taken care of by the area divisional engineer office.
My residential telephone No. 4631648 has been out of order for more than a month, though I have made all possible efforts to get the fault removed.
MUHAMMAD KAUSAR KHAN
Karachi
THE issue that compelled me to write down this letter is our stereotype thinking pattern when it comes to modernising our education system at school level. I recently completed MS clinical psychology from Government College University, Lahore.
During MS we also had a semester of school psychology. In addition to the academics of school psychology, case reports made up a compulsory part of our course work. For that purpose we entered into different schools and our focus was on assessment of the child, formulation of his problem and management plan for the child to overcome the problems which have been encountered by him.
I was quite astonished to identify the variety of problems faced by these schoolchildren like conflicting home environment, separated/divorced parents, domestic responsibilities imposed on them, anti-social behaviour, bullying, abusive parenting, emotional problems, abusive teachers and adjustment problems.
Moreover, all such problems were contributing to under-achievement. While exploring all these hidden truths, I realised that our schoolchildren need someone to talk to about their personal problems and I became quite interested in working with children in school settings. But, unfortunately, soon after completing my MS degree when I tried to continue, I did not get a positive response from the school authorities. Some of them did not call me back and the rest of them refused by saying: “Our children have no problems at all”.
A few months back I met an Indian school psychologist on Internet, she told me that in India schools have been hiring school psychologists ever since she was born. As being a patriotic Pakistani, I somehow felt envious that why we are so much far behind and now when it’s already too late, we are not ready to accept that our education system needs to be modernised.
It is ironic to find that most of the people in our country do not even know what school psychologists are.
BAZILA AKBAR KHAN
Lahore
PAKISTAN’s two political mainstays — the PPP and PML-N — should work in unison towards restoration of democracy in their country. Now, it is for the people of Pakistan to choose between the military rule and democratic rule, who by and large must be preferring democracy to autocracy now.
K. PRADEEP
Chennai
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