| January 01, 2008 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 21, 1428 |
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Pumped storage
Threat to the king
Pakistan’s foreign policy
Ah! my school
Self-inflicted myopia
A tortured land
Polling campaign
Bakra business
Refunds
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
I CAN relate to the slain chairperson of the People’s Party, Benazir Bhutto, on a number of counts. She inspired and was a symbol to fulfil one’s dreams, commitment in achieving what one believes in. She became the prime minister of a Muslim state. I can recall that when she became the prime minister, we as schoolgirls began to believe that as a woman I can dream, have a voice and work towards the hidden potential that God bestows upon us to exercise irrespective of gender.
Ms Bhutto would live in our memories. Let us all rally around her cause of revival for the common man on the road for stable conditions so that it is a state of peaceful and tolerant citizens’ country. She had the vision, clarity, charisma, potential for standing by a cause. Her loss is not only the loss of the family and her close friends and party workers. It is the loss of the entire nation.
Let us not mourn her death by bringing more hatred and conflicts and destabilisation to the entire state but to face it patiently and let the process of democracy be accomplished through dialogue, negotiation, respect and regard for ourselves and others around us by reacting in a responsible and graceful manner.
Let us honour her spirit by making the country move away from the grip of internal turmoil and terrorism. She has laid her life for bringing hope. This is our hour of test. Let us not fail her. Let’s unite to bring hope of a better tomorrow for all.
AALIYA TAHIRKHEI
Islamabad
AS I write this letter, I am in complete darkness -- both literally and metaphorically. I am in the middle of the frequent power breakdowns that take away electricity for five hours every day. At the same time, I write to you, via mobile phone, in the immediate aftermath of our Pakistani 9/11: Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in Rawalpindi by a suicide bomber.
Things were bad here -- double digit inflation, food shortages, intolerance, dictatorship, to name a few. But it did not have to come to this. This brutal assassination has cast a dark cloud of gloom here in Lahore.
Ms Bhutto was a courageous woman. She had the courage to take on the extremists despite clear threats to her life. She represented everything that would have taken this country along the right path into the future. Above all, she represented people’s power, common sense and progress.
This is our 9/11 — 12/27. This is a truly tragic and a horrible day that -- to quote FDR -- shall live in infamy forever. Just like the US, Pakistan would now have to go through a process of introspection. The majority must decide that religious extremism, bigotry, hatred and fanatical behaviour are not the way for the future. We must, as a nation, stand up and resolve that though this truly is a low moment, we will not let this great country be hijacked by tribal and suicidal terrorists. Ms Bhutto’s fight was our fight and we shall never forsake her contribution.
AQDAS AFZAL
Lahore
AS former volunteers in the US Peace Corps, who have had the opportunity to live and work with the people of Pakistan, we share your anguish in hearing of the cowardly assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Ms Bhutto represented a ray of hope that the nation would at last hold free and democratic elections, overcoming the extremism and violence that have cast a shadow over Pakistan’s national life. We offer our heart - felt condolences to our Pakistani friends.
We remember the joy, hope, and friendship that we knew in your country so many years ago, and we want you to know that you will always have friends in America.
CAROL CESPEDES FOR FRIENDS OF PAKISTAN
Austin, TX
MY heart goes out to the people of Pakistan at the dastardly deed perpetrated on the country. Benazir Bhutto may not be the perfect leader, but she was a strong advocate of moderation, secularism and democracy.
As an Indian - American growing up in India, I remember how she bravely stood by her father during the time he was being vilified and finally his death sentence. She was incredibly brave, knowing that the terrorist threat loomed over her head with not much subtle help from some internal forces. I am of the same vintage as her and could not get over her poise, grace and taking on such odds.
Ms Bhutto is not just a daughter of Pakistan but she is now permanently embellished in the soil of the subcontinent and a shining star for South Asia. I hope her death does not go in vain. She has paved the way in death for secular Pakistanis and Indians to follow.
RUDY SHANKAR
Charlotte, NC
THE Pakistan Electric Power Company (PepCo) has enforced a four-hour daily loadshedding plan across the country on account of peak-hour shortages reaching over 2000MW, or 20 per cent of the total demand of 10,000MW (Dec 27).
At present, 33 per cent of our power is generated by hydel and 67 per cent by thermal means. Hydel power is very cheap (58 paisas per unit), while thermal power is very expensive (Rs4.34 per unit). Out of 73,500 million units of total annual generation, 25,500 million units are generated by hydel power. Our hydel-thermal power mix at present is heavily tilted towards thermal power, although ideally it should have been the other way round. The total installed capacity of hydro-power is 6,500 MW. In summer, the power plants are capable of generating power up to the installed capacity because of availability of water. The problem arises in winter when the water flows are reduced, limiting the capability of plants to only 2,000 MW, i.e. 30 per cent of the installed capacity. This year, in fact, it has dwindled down to 1672MW.
Thermal power is used to make up for the shortfalls in summer and the reduced capacity in winter. This increases the unit cost of electricity. It is, therefore, necessary to increase hydel power generation and reduce dependency on thermal plants.
In Europe, where water availability generally remains low, the use of water is made efficient through pumped storage. In this type, water is stored in the tail-basin and pumped back during low demand periods to produce power during the peak demand periods. By using the same water over and over again, its use is optimised.
The system of pumped storage can be developed at the high-head power projects under the construction at Khan Khwar, Allai Khwar, Duber Khwar and Keyal Khwar in Kohistan and Golan Gol in Chitral. By multiple use of available water during winter, the productivity of the hydel plants will be optimised, hydel-thermal mix will be improved and the unit cost of electricity will come down.
FAQIR AHMED PARACHA
Peshawar
THIS is with reference to Shahnaz Zardari’s letter, ‘Threat to the king’ (Dec 12), wherein discussing the state of political of affairs she chose an occurrence of 16th Century Mughal India for comparison. She believes that Bairam Khan’s fall from grace and subsequent assassination was on account of his execution of Himu, notwithstanding Akbar’s disinclination.
The facts, however, are that, in the twilight of the Sur dynasty, Himu, a low caste Hindu, originally a grain merchant, had entered the court of Adil Shah Sur, and because of his shrewdness rose to the height of premiership. When Akbar was still away from the reconquered capital, Himu defeated Mughal forces and captured Agra and Delhi, though in the name of his master, yet declared himself as sovereign: Raja Bikramajit or Vikramaditya.
Hearing of the defeat, Mughal forces led by Bairam Khan and Akbar faced the enemy at Panipat. Although the army of the usurper was greater in number, the Mughals defeated him in the field of Panipat decisively. In the mayhem of war, Himu was struck in the eye by an arrow which pierced his brain and rendered him unconscious. The insensitive body of Himu was brought before Akbar who, fulfilling the wish of Bairam Khan to earn the title of ‘ghazi’, decapitated his body.
The reasons for Akbar’s strained relationship with his benefactor, whom he, out of love and reverence called Khan Baba, were quite different. For instance, Akbar was a lad of hardly 14 years when responsibility of the nascent Mughal Kingdom fell on his shoulders, and Bairam Khan, being his guardian, exercised absolute authority in the name of the king.
But it was no more than the concentration of all authority of the state in one person which earned him envy and enmity of nobles. Nonetheless, it was Bairam Khan’s sagacity, military genius and statesmanship which cleared all hurdles in the way of Akbar‘s acquisition of throne. Fulfilling Humayun’s wish he also gave in marriage to Bairam Khan the hand of Salima Sultan Begum, the daughter of the old king’s sister.
Some of the major incidents which infuriated Akbar were Bairam Khan’s using authority in executing Tardi Beg (head of judicial and ecclesiastical department) and Pir Muhammad Khan Shirwani, who had won the confidence of the prince.
Another factor exploited by antagonistic nobles was the financial matters in which autonomy of the king was subjected to his patron’s approval. Finally, when Akbar attained the age of discretion, Khan-i-Khanan, Vakil-i-Sultanant, Yar Wafadar Bairam Khan lost not only his favours but also life like any other kingmaker: history is replete with such instances.
ALTAMASH M. KURESHI
Karachi
I HAVE read with interest the letters titled ‘Pakistan’s foreign policy’ by Kunwar Khalid Yunus (Dec 18) and I. Inayat (Dec 21).
While agreeing fully with the latter, I would like to add a few observations. Mr Yunus has very thanklessly asked about what have we gained by supporting the Arabs for five decades, to which Mr Inayat has responded appropriately. He should also have asked what have we received from India since 1947?
The loss of Junagadh, Manavadar, Hyderabad, Kashmir and Siachen Glacier (1984), as well as the dismemberment of the country (1971). In addition, India has been supporting secessionist elements in the remaining half, i.e. the present-day Pakistan, from its southern shores to the northern mountains through arms, training and financing. As if that wasn’t enough, it has also nuclearised the subcontinent since 1974, which is absolutely terrifying.
Mr Yunus has also insinuated our foreign office of being unprincipled by acting selectively regarding different problems facing the Muslims in various parts of the world. Haven’t some of our leaders and politicians been acting selectively on principles laid down by the founder of Pakistan, for handling the various issues? For instance, he had forcefully opposed the recognition of Israel or having to do anything with it, but some people are trying to woo the Jewish state since that would please the US which, in turn, would help these persons in coming into power in Pakistan or to continue ruling it.
Similarly, the Quaid had made it absolutely clear that the Muslims and Hindus of India constituted two different nations, hence the former must have a separate country for themselves. However, a few contemporary politicians, intellectuals and writers have been speaking out against this foundational principle — the Two-Nation theory — apparently to please India.
NASIM IQBAL
Karachi
THE other day my cousin wanted to wish his Christian friend Merry Christmas, so we bought a cake and went to his apartment on Daudpota Road, near the Cantonmentt Station, opposite the Federal Government Public School, Karachi. I had a chance to look at my old school from the seventh floor across the road.
This school was known as the Public School, Karachi Cantt, when I started in KG-1 in the early 1960s. Later it was renamed Cantt Public School and now it is called Federal Government Public School. Area-wise it was the biggest in Karachi, with one end on Daudpota Road and the other stretching all the way to Jinnah Hospital. The student population was also amongst the highest in Karachi. It had two full-sized cricket grounds and two standard hockey fields, a football ground in addition to many open areas, fountains, etc.
The hockey field was so good that at times the Pakistan team probable used to practise on the ground, later they shifted to the Hockey Club of Pakistan, when that was built. The school produced many well - known personalities and Javed Jabbar is one of them.
The best area in the school was dedicated to the KG students. The two classrooms were wide and colourful. There was a concrete paved playing area for these students as big as a tennis court.
Lala Rafiq, former Pakistan hockey Olympian, was our proctor, who used to monitor the students’ hygiene, nails, dress condition, shoe shine and hair cut.
The school used to invite psychiatrists to help Class VIII students in selecting the appropriate subjects suiting their interest and aptitude and to lay a foundation for a good career. Although none of our students topped in Karachi board examinations, however many a time they got positions.
There were many shady trees. There was a big parking lot where parents would park their cars and wait for their loved ones, without ever parking on the road. Similarly, there was a huge space for seven dedicated school buses, and I used to travel from North Nazimabad in one of them.
There was a beautiful and huge dome with coloured skylights under which Class Nursery to Class V used to assemble. We used to sing ‘Pak surzameen shad baad’ under it, in addition to a ‘naat’: “Woh shamma ujala kis nay kia chalees barus tuk gharounh may”.
Around the dome there were classes for Nursery to II. On the left and right side of the dome were Classes III to X, in between there was a very good canteen, a huge library and the principal’s office.
There were well-equipped physics and chemistry laboratories, followed by several rooms for technical drawing classes. The corps commander, Karachi, who was the patron-in-chief, used to visit us on our annual sports day.
All this is gone, there is, however, a tiny portion remaining. The school’s open area has given way to apartments and some offices. Recently I had the privilege of visiting Harvard Business School, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is sitting in the centre of the city and people say that nothing has changed in the building structure and its surrounding in the last 200 years.
Living nations care for their educational institutions, what are we doing?
S. NAYYAR IQBAL RAZA
Karachi
HIS is with reference to Aamira Rizvi’s letter, ‘A wedding cancelled’ (Dec 12).
I can only sympathise with the lady on her dreadful plight and pray that she finds a secure venue not managed by our very own protectors, our armed forces. Every year on the occasion of the Quaid-i-Azam’s birth anniversary, President Musharraf has stressed the importance of following the vision of the Quaid in letter and in spirit. Let me remind every citizen of our nation that it was the Quaid who said in his address to gazetted officers at Chittagong on March 25, 1948:
”You are not rulers. You do not belong to the ruling class; you belong to the servants. Make the people feel that you are their servants and friends, maintain the highest standard of honour, integrity, justice and fair play. If you do that, people will have confidence and trust in you and will look upon you as friends and well-wishers. Let not people leave you with this bearing that you hate, that you are offensive, that you have insulted or that you are rude to them.”
It is a national state of ignominy that some of our countrymen who have the privilege of being highly educated, well trained and decorated that they will speak high, understand little and act low. They suffer from an extreme case of self-inflicted myopia as for them the vision rotates at an angle of 360 degrees and focuses on individual objectives rather than creating a comfort zone for the community, city, province or country.
S. NAVEED AHMED
Karachi
I READ with interest the comments of the Pakistan Foreign office spokesperson on the Pope’s statement calling Pakistan a tortured land. The spokesperson said that the situation in Pakistan is not that bad to be called a tortured land.
I think he is forgetting the fact that not more than eight weeks back our saviour president was telling us exactly the same about the situation, and made that situation a plea for the imposition of martial law. What worse situation does the foreign office anticipate to call Pakistan a tortured land?
A situation that was not amenable to cure within the constraints of our Constitution, although even that was already mutilated to an extent to fully facilitate for the president. God help us.
ALI BOKHARI
Ireland
THE suicide attack on the PPP public meeting on Dec 27 asserts that the traditional means of running and organising election campaigns by arranging larger gatherings is not at all safe, neither for the public nor for political leaders and workers themselves.
Suicide bombers can sabotage peaceful gatherings any time, thereby risking the lives of everyone.
Keeping in view the current scenario, it now stands as a moral responsibility of our political leaders to adopt new and innovative methods of organising their campaign by effectively using both electronic and print media. They may use myriads of private TV channels to express their points of view and strategies; or they may utilise the print media as an alternative by publishing their political agendas or distributing pamphlets supporting their cause.
Such campaigns will prove to be not only more comprehensive but also more convincing and elucidating to the public effectively.
MUBASHER JAMIL
Rawalpindi
WHILE visiting a ‘bakra mandi’ to buy a sacrificial animal for Eidul Azha, I noticed a very respectable person in black suit selling goats in the market.
On my query, the gentleman told me that for investment purposes, he has bought six goats from Peshawar at very low rate and now he is trying to sell them at a higher price in Islamabad to enable him to buy one goat (for free) out of the profit from the sale of six goats.
I walked back speechless, wondering about the spirit of sacrifice in commemoration of Prophet Ibrahim’s (AS) readiness to sacrifice his son Prophet Ismail (AS) for Allah.
DR IRFAN ZAFAR
Islamabad
WE, the affected persons, were refunded 25 per cent of our money in 2004 by the Alliance Motors but after a lapse of three years we have no news about payment of the remaining 75 per cent.
The full amount has been refunded to the persons affected by the co-operatives scandal in Punjab but we have been denied full refund till now.
There is no news at the Sindh High Court in this respect either. It is time immediate action was taken so as to ensure this refund to us as soon as possible.
AN AFFECTED PERSON
Karachi
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