| December 29, 2007 | Saturday | Zilhaj 18, 1428 |
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It’s time for democracy
Medical visa seeker
Unsavoury past
Rebuke instead of the answer
Such bad taste
Rising wheat, flour prices
Woes of PIA pensioners
Equal Opportunity on PTV
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
EVEN though the assassination of John F. Kennedy identified a clear culprit, it took many years and subsequent investigations to bring closure to the American people. We have had several of the nation’s leaders assassinated/executed with little closure on the incident.
Benazir Bhutto’s sad demise at the hands of extremists has brought great sadness and disillusionment to the whole nation. Supporters and opponents alike are united in genuine grief over the incident. This is a time the nation needs healing.
This was no ordinary assassination. Other than the plotters of 9/11, I have never read or heard of a case of a sniper/suicide bomber in one person. That too ready and waiting for a chance incident (her wave from the sunroof).
Clearly this has the signature of a very sophisticated plot that involved highly organised individuals with multiple skills to execute.
If Pakistan’s leadership cares about democracy in true spirit, they owe it to the nation and particularly to her grieving supporters to conduct a strong investigation into this very sophisticated assassination. The investigation should be transparent in the media and the guilty should be brought to justice publicly. Updates should be given in the interim.
Of course, this is terrorism, we all know that. But that’s’ just not good enough. We want to believe in our government’s ability to bring some measure of justice to the public and show us they are in control. Let’s identify some names and have plotters brought to justice publicly. Let’s keep the process transparent. Not doing so will only hurt the credibility of the current leaders and increase the sadness of the already disillusioned masses.
OMER DOSSANI
Austin, Texas
Yeh bazi khoon ki bazi hai
Yeh bazi tum hi haarogay
Har ghar se Bhutto niklayga
Tum kitnay Bhutto marogay!
THE assassination of Benazir Bhutto is an assassination of democracy of our country. It is the biggest tragedy of our lives. We feel as if we have lost our mother. She was one of the greatest leaders ever born. I knew her personally and I found her to be the finest lady I have ever met.
I have no words to express my feelings but I would like to convey my condolences to Asif Ali Zardari, his children and the people of Pakistan. Her blood will not be wasted, the whole nation is united and we will together fight the murderers of democracy.
“They think they have beaten us at out own game,/ But every chess master knows how to conquer minor defeats,/ They think they have beaten us but we smile and say:/‘Welcome to the next level!’”
HIRA SHAH
Hyderabad
A FEW words to tell our sadness to all democratic people of Pakistan after the killing of Benazir Bhutto.
Though we did not know her very well, it seems to us the world has lost someone good.
May you live in peace...
JOHAN RINCHART
Belgium
THE year 2007 is the saddest, blackest for Pakistan. Mayhem on Oct 18 during Benazir Bhutto’s procession remained uninvestigated by the government which refused to register an FIR.
Ms Bhutto had named three likely killers. Yet no inquiry took place and for the Dec 27 murder, only lip-service and lies will come. It suits the government if political leaders are eliminated under the cover of Al Qaeda extremists.
Let UN the secretary-general, ICJ and EU hold inquiries through international agencies.
HEERRE SHAW
Jhang
MURDER of Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s foremost political leader and former prime minister, was the most cowardly act of the terrorists and total failure of the Pakistan government.
She has died as an undaunted hero fighting for restoration of democracy and civil rights of the millions of people in Pakistan. She has died the way Abraham Lincoln was killed, the way Martin Luther King was assassinated, the way Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi were assassinated by the enemies of humanity, democracy and peace.
The government had made commitment to the world to provide security to Ms Bhutto when she was attacked on her return to Pakistan the very first day.
Ms Bhutto was seen as a symbol of peace and democracy in Pakistan by the people of all the neighbouring nations.
PROF BHIM SINGH
Chairman, National
Panthers Party, New Delhi
THE souls of the suicide bombers who just murdered Benazir Bhutto on Dec 27, in Rawalpindi, are now roasting for all eternity in Hell.
The Devil loves such terrorists. God-fearing men and women must shun, report, and put down once and for all the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists whose interest is not that of the vast majority of the good people of Pakistan.
I have written repeatedly that the number one duty of the head of government in Pakistan today, President Musharraf, is to maintain national security, law and order. Those who have tried to stick their heads in the sand and pretend all is OK are fools of the highest order.
COL (r) GEORGE L.
SINGLETON, USAF
Birmingham, USA
ONCE again the time is hard for our nation. The death of Benazir Bhutto is no doubt a great loss for our nation. I believe that, in the current state of affairs in the country, she was the leader who had the distinct vision. She was seeing the circumstances from a distinct angle as compared to other politicians.
Her reconciliation with Nawaz Sharif and with the acting president are a dear proof of her sincere efforts to avoid confrontations in order to pave way for a peaceful transition to democracy in the country.
She was in fact acting as a bridge between the military and the political parties. Her death has saddened the whole nation.
But I believe that hard times come on nations. Our nation has suffered from such crises in the past. Mohammad Ali Jinnah died when the country was in an age of infancy.
The death of Liaquat Ali Khan left the nation with grief and instability. Z. A. Bhutto was executed, leaving us in turmoil. Ms Bhutto’s sacrifice is saddening, but no novelty.
Nevertheless, it’s not the time for lowering our morals. It’s not the time to disintegrate. It’s not the time to put the streets on fire. It’s time to think and act.
We all know that her death will benefit those who do not want to see stability in the country. It’s the time to bring stability to the country.
I do not support the decision to postpone the election process because it will bring further crisis to the country.
The dilemma with our nation is that, due to lack of proper institutions and political parties system, we associate a lot to the personalities. That is why; the loss of personalities is followed by instability and crisis.
Ms Bhutto was a great leader. She struggled for democracy. Her death should not retard the democratic process in our country.
Let us not allow history to repeat itself. The incident should not cease the democratic transition in the country.
That is to say, the government, political parties and the public should work out to bring democracy to the country. Otherwise we might again fall into the crisis we faced in the past.
It’s time for elections. It’s time for democracy. It’s time for consolidating the nation.
SYEDAH MARIA ZAIDI
Rawalpindi
MY wife, Dr Asghari Saleem, has thrice applied for an entry clearance to the United Kingdom as a medical visitor. She is suffering from eye cancer and has gone to all length to have her treatment in Pakistan.
She also visited Dubai about her treatment but all senior consultants are unanimous in their opinion that she needs a specialist treatment from Moorfiled (Eye) Hospital, London.
I went all the right way to obtain the entry clearance to proceed to the UK for my wife’s treatment.
We both husband and wife run a welfare hospital in Karachi, and are well settled and content in our life in Pakistan. We have three children studying in good universities in Pakistan.
The only problem is that the money for treatment is coming from family, a well - known international concept. It happens everywhere from the UK to Pakistan that families at the time of need get together to assist each other.
Dr Asghari Saleem’s application meets all requirements laid down by the immigration rules.
The only objection raised by the entry clearance officer, all three times, relates to the financial evidence provided by the applicant, and despite providing clear link of all the funds available to the applicant for her medical treatment, the British High Commission is refusing to grant her leave to enter the UK as a medical visitor.
The applicant has made three separate applications, and presented all the evidence, paid the fee of Rs16,000 each time, yet the British High Commission/UK Visa failed to consider the application appropriately and only amplified the pain and grief of the applicant and her family.
Many letters have been written to the British High Commission / UK Visa, via applicant’s lawyers and by the applicant herself, but no reply has ever been made.
It is hoped that this may be a medium whereby those responsible in the UK visa section may be able to notice the urgency of Dr Asghari Saleem’s application, and if it is a genuine application they must allow the entry clearance so that she can proceed to the UK for her urgent treatment.
Her reference numbers are: 1414227, 555124, 143617.
Dr SALEEMUDDIN QURESHI
Karachi
I REFER to H. K. Nizamani’s thought-provoking article, ‘Pakistan’s unsavoury past’ (Dec 16) regarding the painful events of 1971.
The article gives a concise description of the historical background leading to loss of East Pakistan.
However, I feel that the Awami League was able to launch a vicious propaganda based on inaccurate figures about the economy of the two wings, because we never bothered to refute their claims.
For Mr Nizamani to say that East Pakistan was earning more foreign exchange than the West Wing is only half truth.
For the purpose of getting a true economic picture, West Pakistan’s ‘exports’ to East Pakistan would have to be taken into account.
On separation, Bangladesh was forced to buy those items from foreign countries and soon realised that the ‘golden’ Bengal was a myth used to win the elections.
Had they known that Bangladesh was destined to remain one of the poorest countries on the planet, Mujib’s election victory would not have been so overwhelming.
No one can deny that democratic rights of the majority province were ignored from 1947 to 1971.
One solution would have been for the Pakistan People’s Party to launch its ‘roti, kapra and makan’ slogan in
East Pakistan and to contest elections with the promise of fighting for the democratic rights of the common man in the East Wing. Alas, it was not to be!
KHALID A.
London, UK
RECENTLY I attended a one-day national conference, on invitation from the Pakistan Study Centre, at the Allama I. I. Kazi campus,University of Sindh, Jamshoro. The topic was: ‘The vision of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’.
I remember I last visited my alma mater in 1976. The senate hall, where the gathering took place, was decorated with wall-mounted photographs of former vice-chancellors. On seeing the serene portrait of Allama I. I.Kazi, I recalled 1968: I was in my teens sitting in the post office in my native village, Mohbat Dero Jatoi, when news of Allama’s death broke.
Allama I. I. Kazi (1886-1968) is not only recognised as founder vice-chancellor of Sindh University at Hyderabad but is also remembered as a scholar and educationist of calibre and creative thinker the people of Sindh can rightly be proud of.
His Friday sermons at the mosque in the premises of Sir Leslie Wilson Muslim Hostel, now Jinnah Courts, were also attended by great scholars such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Dr Zakir Hussain.
Allama was averse to mundane matters. Once it so happened that Nawab Mushataq Gurmani, governor of West Pakistan, while on a visit of Hyderabad, was presiding over a conference at the Circuit House. Allama went to see the governor but when he found that there was no arrangement made for conducting individual interviews, he immediately returned.
When the governor came to know of this, he drove to 37 Civil Lines where Allama resided. On inquiry he was told that Allama Kazi usually rested from 2pm onwards and would not like to be disturbed. The governor left the place to come back once again at 5pm to have chat with Allama.
It was with this backdrop of Allama’s vision of learning and the Quaid’s vision of prosperous Pakistan that I attended the conference. Alas, in the last 60 years we have rather failed to come up to the visions of the two. Stanley Wolpert, while acknowledging the Quaid’s services, says: “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”
The country he carved out from the united India had, despite heavy odds, the potential of becoming a viable state. But the short-sightedness of those who followed him let down the Quaid’s dream.
I was disappointed when a student, at the time for wrap-up of the event, received a rebuke from the panelists when he posed a question: “Had Father of the Nation lived longer after independence, what he would have delivered.” The question was hypothetical and required a sagacious answer from scholars assembled at an institution of higher learning.
I wish someone would tell the audience that had he lived a good while, he would have given us political stability and good governance. State institutions would have worked in accordance with the constitution. Both parts, East and West, would have stayed together.
Our educational institutions are expected to hold such gatherings periodically where people should have an opportunity to speak out their mind and present solutions to our national and local problems.
A prayer of Sindh’s great saint/poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai calls for flourishment of the masses which can be achieved by following the Quaid’s vision of good governance only. The saint/poet says:
Oh Creator, bless Sindh eternally with Thy bounty
And friend, let other worlds flourish along with it.
SIKANDAR ALI SHAH
Kandiaro
ABSOLUTELY appalling and shameful that the Pakistan ambassador to the United States, Gen (r) Mehmood Durrani, should wear a red tie while talking to media people after the assassination of the former Pakistan prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.
Such was the height of ignorance of the ABCs of diplomacy that he should wear the same even after his president, the president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, announced three days of national mourning at such a massive loss that has virtually deemed the average educated, civilised, wanting-to-be-vocal, future-looking, content-seeking, young and old citizen of Pakistan at a loss for hope and inspiration.
For those foreigners who might think maybe the red colour had something to do with our traditions and customs related to grief and sorrow, well, that is not the case at all. It merely reflected ‘bad taste’ on the part of the retired general. Unless, of course, if the ambassador had derived some strange emotional condition out of this tragedy.
Since this faux pas does not reflect the national mood of the people of Pakistan, therefore, it should not go unhindered.
IMRAN WISAL SHAH
Peshawar
THESE days people are facing an acute shortage of wheat and flour in many parts of the country, while the government is just issuing statements after statements that it will overcome this shortage soon.
Flour is being sold at Rs24 to Rs25 a kg, putting a great pressure on the already overburdened and helpless people. They are already in hot water because of rising prices of essential food items.
People need immediate relief, and no lullaby from the government. The authority concerned is just making lame excuses.
According to a press report, our caretaker prime minister said in a statement that flour is available in the country at a very cheap price. How innocent he is!
The people want the president to resolve this crisis immediately.
MEHMOOD KHAN
Karachi
The government in every budget announces a 15 to 20 per cent increase in pensions of government/semi-government and autonomous body employees on the plea of sky-rocketing inflation in prices of daily necessities.
It is noted with grave concern that the PIA heads who themselves have been enjoying royal emoluments even in times of financial crunch never adhered to the government’s policy of providing substantial relief (which was peanuts) to pensioners in the past many years.
The pensioners are the real architects of this aviation conglomerate which began with Dakota to this fleet of latest equipment.
I am aware that PIA is passing through a financial crisis but the pathetic financial condition of PIA pensioners in the killing inflation should also be considered. The government’s recommendation for increase in pensions must be given its due consideration to enable the pensioners cope with inflation.
I am sure the president of Pakistan, minister of finance and the PIA big wigs will empathise with the plight of the pensioners.
AHMAD SIDDIQI
(A PIA pensioner)
Islamabad
IN the state-controlled PTV, the campaign of the PML-Q is effectively launched not only giving it more coverage but also telecasting its electoral advertisements which shows at length Pervaiz Ilahi and his cycle affixing stamp on it.
All the mainstream political parties must be provided with equal opportunities in the state-controlled television to make the election fair, free and transparent.
The other political parties must also be offered the space of time in the PTV in the form of advertisements to disseminate their electoral manifestos and other programmes. The Election Commission of Pakistan must take due notice of it and order the government to stop the foul play of siding with the king’s party only.
PERVEZ ZAHEERUDDIN
Peshawar
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