| November 29, 2007 | Thursday | Ziqa’ad 18, 1428 |
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President’s oath
Sham democracy
Remembering Jehanara Sayeed
Domestic hands
Protecting a DFI
Islamabad’s new airport
Sindh Small Industries Corporation
US embassy clarifies
Unchecked land use
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
THIS is with reference to the letter, ‘What next after Swat?’(Nov 23). The writer assumes that “terrorism, insurgency, dissidence, rebellion, sabotage and destruction are not state-sponsored”, adding that “this is General Musharraf ...who has allowed democracy and press freedom”. The writer says that support of Fazlullah by the government is ‘indigestible’.
May I be allowed to raise a few more indigestible questions that have been lurking in the minds of 1.6 million hapless and displaced people of the scenic Swat valley. How could Maulana Fazlullah and a few dozens of his diehard fanatics arrange for the heavy weaponry that only a military brigade could have arranged?
How could the foreigners infiltrate into the valley just under the nose of the federal and provincial governments? Why did the powerful agencies of the federal government fail to check the gradual build-up of a few dozen of Fazlullah’s zealots? Who brought the fighters of Jaish-i-Mohammad and other banned organisations to the valley? Why did the federal and provincial governments allow the situation to escalate to this degree? Why have Fazlullah’s men been always finding the police stations abandoned? How has Fazlullah been able to run his illegal FM radio?
The Swat valley remained a peaceful and civilised society since pre-historic times. Right from the Yousufzais’ possession of the valley to the formation of the Swat state in 1918, and from the merger of the Swat state with Pakistan in 1969 till the 1990s, there has been no evidence to prove that the people of the valley harbour any germs of militancy.
A journalist, at present located in Australia, has described, in a personal email to this scribe, the whole story of how Maulana Sufi Mohammad, the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, was able to bring the administration of the valley to a standstill in 1994. “I have formed the opinion on the basis of my nearly 10 years’ experience in journalism in Peshawar.
I had the opportunity of first-hand reporting how the administration supported Maulana Sufi Mohammed when the Supreme Court of Pakistan struck down the Pata regulations in Malkand division. The political administration at that time gave absolutely free hand to Maulana Sufi in order to gain back the power it lost through the Supreme Court decision.
However, when the administration came to realise that they could not get the power back and the movement was getting out of control, they reduced the role of Maulana Sufi from hero to zero within no time. But in the process hundreds of innocent people were killed in Malakand division and Bajaur Agency.
In my view, it is almost impossible to carry out such activities without the backing of the Pakistan military or the administration. The so-called Afghan Jihad is another stark reality now.
How that war was turned into a jihad by the then dictator, Ziaul Haq, for financial gains from the US. Whether it was ‘Afghan Jihad’ or ‘war on terror’, the military lost nothing. It was money-making then and it is money-making now. Only the war titles are changed. And Pukhtoons were killed then and they are being killed now. It is, in fact, a genocide of the Pukhtoons on either side of the border. And the tragic part is that the Pukhtoons get nothing from the billion dollars aid being received by the military government.
These are the views expressed by almost every other resident of the scenic valley of Swat. Does somebody have an answer to these questions? Adil Zareef’s article (Nov 12) had tried to find answers to a few of these questions. We have to be sane and listen to the bitter truth before it is too late.
KHADIM HUSSAIN
Islamabad
GEN Pervez Musharraf is likely to take the oath as civilian president of Pakistan under Article 42 of the suspended Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. The oath will be administered by the chief justice of Pakistan who himself did not take the oath under Third Schedule to Article 178 and 194 of the 1973 Constitution but took the oath under the Chief of Army Staff PCO.
Under the prevailing chequered constitutional crisis, will the Constitution be revived and restored for the president to take the oath? If so, will the superior court judges be required to take the fresh oath or the president will take the oath under some fresh PCO and not under the 1973 Constitution?
To avoid any constitutional crisis after the presidential oath, the lacunas need to be addressed before Pervez Musharraf assumes the high office of the president of Pakistan.
SAADAT YAR KHAN
Karachi
ATTORNEY-General Malik Abdul Qayyum has said that President Musharraf will take the oath for his next term under the 1973 Constitution. He further hinted that the apex court judges might also take the fresh oath under the 1973 Constitution. Why doesn’t the president issue another ‘ordinance’ to legitimise this act too?
Earlier Musharraf issued orders, amending the PCO and safeguarding all steps taken after proclamation of emergency on Nov 3. Then he shifted power to lift emergency from the Army chief to president, though under the Constitution only the president can impose state of emergency and not the Army chief.
Musharraf himself put the same constitution in abeyance two times during his rule and now he needs it for taking the oath, which means the 1973 Constitution is still exiting but only to serve the ruler and not the masses.
MUHAMMAD AAMIR
Rawalpindi
REGARDING a news report about Nawaz Sharif assuring full support to the judiciary and the media, it is amusing to see how Mr Sharif has suddenly become a champion of a free judiciary. As I recall, it was Mr Sharif who had ‘deposed’ Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as the chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1997 when the honourable judge did not agree with Mr Sharif’s wishes.
And then Mr Sharif sent his goons to storm the court to intimidate the judges. I am not condoning President Musharraf’s actions but how is that different from Mr Sharif’s actions in 1997.
Unfortunately, we will not make any progress as a nation unless we learn from our mistakes and not make the same mistakes over and over again. We seem to be stuck in a pattern where all of our ‘honourable’ leaders keep repeating the same mistakes.
Democracy is essential for us to make progress but elections alone do not create democracy. For democracy to flourish, we need two essential ingredients besides just holding elections every five years: a fair and free press and an independent judiciary.
As long as our leaders keep muzzling the press when it suits them and firing judges who don’t go along with their whims, we cannot have true democracy. We will just have a sham democracy, democracy in name only where the elected leader is no better than a military ruler.
Democracy only works when a system of checks and balances is in place that keeps everyone honest. But this requires a period of patience and tolerance where these checks and balances are allowed to take root. This recent emergency has put our political process back several years.
Let us pray that our next elected leaders can show more tolerance for dissent and other opinions than our previous ones and allow this system to work.
IMRAN BAQAI
Austin, TX
THOSE who were privileged to be with the team at the Central News Organisation before 1970 are truly blessed. There were icons like Jehanara Apa who relished talking to youngsters as much as she did handing out Hyderabad recipes. She had a heart of gold and gave vent to her opinions straight from the shoulder – all this, in typical Hyderabadi style.
She came to Radio Pakistan from All India Radio with the advantage of all those who came from Osmania institutions. They were equally fluent in Urdu and English. Those years could not but be the best for umpteen reasons.
Visitors came to set eyes on Shakeel Dada whose voice came out of the barrel of a chest. He had been a muezzin in Calcutta and acted in Agha Hashar Kashmiri’s stage dramas. He never tired of telling us about the part in which he (the Devil) picked up (to be famous) Begum Akhtar off the stage in his arms.
Jehanara Sayeed was a courageous woman. She lived with her painful ailment for many decades, never lacking the sheer joy of cooking for her friends. I recall the fun we had in between shifts, which included late nights with Eric Warner, Anis Mirza, Khadija Naqvi, Aslam Azhar, Anwar Hussain, Rizvan Wasti and Eddie Carapiet; Urdu newsreaders Anwar Behzad, Masud Tabish, Shameem Ejaz; Sindhi newreaders Shah Bibi and Zaman Shah Rashidi; the Bengali team led by Daud Khan Majlis and Dilara Hashim.
I remember our colleague of the Afghan-Persian section who never failed to tell us what strange people we were calling a city Rahim Yar Khan and man Qureshpur!
PROF ANITA GHULAM ALI
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Aziz Suharwardy’s letter (Nov 25) wherein he has highlighted the need to be rather safe than sorry for those DHA residents who employ domestic hands without authentic references.
In addition to his campaign of house-to-house registration of domestic hands, an immediate step that needs to be taken is to curb the presence of the domestic hands outside their house premises. These include chowkidars , ‘khhansamaans’ , drivers and others.
This feature can also be a security risk. A resident is unable to distinguish between a genuine domestic hand and a passerby who may strike friendship with him. Such combinations are very effective scanners and time-keepers for the neighbourhood populace.
The DHA residents are familiar with the congregation of personnel of this category at any given time of the day or night.
Early this year DHA, Lahore, had issued an advisory to its residents to keep their domestic hands indoors. It has so far proved to be quite effective as far as the security aspect is concerned.
I would like to appeal to Aziz Suharwardy and the DHA management to consider advising DHA residents in Karachi to confine their domestic hands within their premises.
It will also help the DHA patrol in the detection of any anti-social element in the residential areas of DHA.
ZAKIR RASHID KHAN
Karachi
WITH the assistance of the World Bank, a financial institution, namely Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation (PICIC), was established in October 1957 to launch and promote industries, as well as investment, in the same sector. Similar institutions were also established in other underdeveloped countries in Asia. The institution has been providing financial assistance in foreign currency, as well as in local currency. It has provided about 60 billion in financial assistance to more than 5,000 industrial and business units.
PICIC has played a vital role in the industrialisation in the country. A large number of industries have been established – textile, cement, sugar, chemical fertiliser, ceramics and tiles, etc. Nobody can deny the pioneer role of PICIC. A large number of people got employment directly and indirectly through its financing. This organisation also has a huge investment in the money market and capital stock market.
At the end of 2006, a very small bank, which has not a good standing in commercial market, purchased/acquired all group of companies of PICIC. The new management has declared that there will be no more financial assistance in long-term sector and related staff members may be treated as useless.
The role of the oldest financial institution would be restricted which will put a lot of problems for new industrialisation, expansion of the industries and BMR facilities. Such restriction of project financing may not be made in the interest of the country. Likewise, the new management’s treatment of DFIs’ employees is stepmotherly. The fringe benefits and facilities are being withheld. Some of the employees have become chronic patients of diseases such as heart, sugar and hypertension.
The golden handshake scheme has not been introduced and old employees are pressured for early retirement. It was revealed that a scheme would be introduced that receives resignations from all employees and furnishes scarcely their fund only and offer a new appointment letter. The junior staff has been superseded by DFIs senior executive. The board has announced swap ratio unjustly and avoided primary objective of value of shareholder of PICIC. Some major group of shareholders has filed objections before the respective court. The ICIC in India functions on similar lines as PICIC.
The business community is also requested to come forward and use their influence in the best interest of the country. Financial institutions always play a significant role as foreign investors also invest their funds in our country. PICIC’s former status should be revived at the earliest as an autonomous body under government control.
The prime minister, SBP governor and the SECP are requested to look into this matter.
PICIC should not be merged with a small commercial bank and its entity should separate as it was earlier. However, it would be more appropriate that the IDBP is merged with PICIC DFIs because IDBP and PICIC function more or less on similar lines. Nevertheless, PICIC Commercial Bank and Assets Management Company may be merged with NIB. A commercial bank to a commercial bank and a DFI to a DFI would be the best swap. Also, a voluntarily retirement scheme should be announced for senior employees.
HASSAN AHMED
Karachi
THE site chosen by the Civil Aviation Authority for the establishment of the new airport at Islamabad is near Tarnol on Fatehjang Road. This is 25 to 30km from the Islamabad city and is home to more than 40 small dams and reservoirs, including the Shahpur Dam, Sandaywal Dam and Mirwal Dam.
Migratory birds stop at these reservoirs while moving south and returning to north. This area is one of the most famous bird sanctuaries located near Islamabad. The bird species include pintail, widgeon and teal.
I would like to raise the question that as this area plays host to migratory birds throughout the year, won’t there be a chance of a ‘bird-hit’ incident for the planes that will be landing or taking off from Islamabad’s new airport, once it is developed? Or the authorities have never thought of this hitch?
Belonging to a family of Air Force pilots, I have known many incidents of bird hits, resulting in major damage to aircraft causing fatal crashes, death of innocent travellers and many more financial and personal losses. According to all the pilots I have known, the bird acts like a bomb when it hits the plane or causes engine failure if it is sucked into the air inlet of the jet engine itself.
HAMZA BUTT
Islamabad
APPLICATIONS for 250- and 500-square yard plots were invited with the payment of Rs51,000 and Rs102,000, respectively, in June 2007, for the establishment of cottage or small industries in the above-proposed industrial project.
Balloting for allotment of the above plots has still not occurred after a lapse of about five months.
Applicants for the above plots do not know how to plan their small industries, when no balloting is held neither is any information being provided for such a long time.
I request the Sindh Small Industries Corporation to hold balloting immediately and allot plots to successful applicants or give us a date for balloting. If balloting is not possible, then kindly refund the deposits of the poor applicants without delay. Applicants should also have an option to seek refund of deposits if the balloting date announced is too far away.
Lastly, the markup from date of deposits to the refund date should also be allowed to those applying for refund or unsuccessful applicants, in case balloting is at all held in the foreseeable future.
FRUSTRATED APPLICANT
Karachi
THIS is in response to your editorial, ‘The troubling BIT’ (Nov 25). The US embassy is indeed troubled by your comments as we believe that conclusion of a high-quality Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) would be of considerable interest to potential US investors to Pakistan.
We understand that Pakistan would like to attract US companies to invest in energy and infrastructure projects. Contrary to your assertion that the “Americans had been dragging their feet on BIT negotiations,” the United States government strongly feels that conclusion and ratification of a BIT would deepen our bilateral economic relationship and help Pakistan attract higher levels of foreign investment, especially for long-term, high-cost, high-risk infrastructure projects.
Moreover, protection of intellectual property rights will help Pakistan continue to develop its knowledge-based, literary and artistic sectors, and boost its exports, which are all essential to the continued growth of a modern, global economy.
The US leadership has been instrumental in getting the World Trade Organisation Doha Development Round this far and we are counting on our partners, including Pakistan, to help in our efforts to bring this round to a successful conclusion.
Let me reiterate that the United States supports economic development in Pakistan and trade with Pakistan. We are currently Pakistan’s largest single-country trade and investment partner. Pakistan is an important ally, and we are committed to a long-term economic, strategic and commercial relationship.
ANNE W. PATTERSON
Ambassador of the USA
Islamabad
THE letters written by Sohail Jehta and the ‘Daily Sufferer’ are a typical outcome of the unhindered land use by the influential. In our city, it’s an irony that there was no master plan in place for the last 60 years. although a master plan prepared by the city government is still under the process of approval, while all sorts of construction are going on at full pace. What good would the master plan be if approved? What laws do we have to protect the citizens’ freedom while the city is being converted into a commercial complex? Anyone with the right connections and money can build a CNG pump or a shopping plaza, marriage hall, etc, right in a residential area.
All government agencies seem helpless and unconcerned. Only citizens and civil society are in anguish.
SHAHAB AFROZ KHAN
Karachi
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