| January 05, 2008 | Saturday | Zilhaj 25, 1428 |
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Testing time for Pakistan
A sad end
Cheers for democracy
Compromise or capitulation?
Jumping to conclusions
Managing steep rise in prices
Thank you CDA
Thailand election
Making people think positively
Expression and oppression
Food shortage
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 assassination of Benazir Bhutto has dealt a severe blow to the future of democracy in Pakistan. Despite all her shortcomings, she was a political leader who stood for democracy and against extremism.
Each and every Pakistani, both her supporter and detractor, mourns her loss. Those who have masterminded this abhorrent act of terror must not be allowed to go free. They must be punished.
Today, Pakistan’s integrity is at stake. There is no such thing as the writ of government. The country faces a leadership crisis.
President Pervez Musharraf has failed as a leader and he is now failing Pakistan as a state. Terrorism and extremism threatens the very existence of the state.
The government is helpless, the army is helpless, and even the world community is helpless. They have absolutely no idea how to deal with this problem.
The biggest mistake our military and civilian rulers have made is that they have put their faith in a foreign power, instead of the people of Pakistan.
They have accepted to live as stooges instead of sovereign heads of state.
Their wrong policies have turned Pakistan into a hotbed of terrorism and extremism. They have turned our country into killing fields.
My father, Yousuf Mustikhan, and his political mentor, Mir Ghous Bukhsh Bizenjo, had warned of such a situation. During the Afghan war, they had warned the governments of Pakistan and the US not to fund and arm these fanatics as this policy would backfire.
Their message was loud and clear: “Today the guns are aimed at Soviet Union. Tomorrow they will be aimed at us.” Gen Ziaul Haq was outraged. Both of them were arrested and charged with treason.
The situation has gone out of control now. But if Pakistan falls into chaos and anarchy, these fanatics will not only spread in the region but will find their way in the US, Canada, Europe, and every nook and corner of the world.
They will then wreak havoc and no one will be able to stop them. This is not a conventional war that we are fighting. These are human bombs that can strike anywhere, anytime.
Having said all this, there is a ray of hope, a solution to this problem.
If the US is really serious about ending terrorism in the world and if the military regime wants to save Pakistan from destruction, there is only one solution – Mr Musharraf should step down and hand over power to a government of national unity.
The government of national unity should include all political parties.
Together with the support of the people of Pakistan, the armed forces and the international community, the government should politically deal with the menace of terrorism and extremism.
We must understand that these fanatics only fear one thing — people’s power.
KHURRAM MASTIKHAN
Canada
December 27 was a sad day, in fact, another black day in the short but volatile history of Pakistan. People take birth and die every day, but few leave a lasting mark on history and even fewer are remembered in good ways.
Benazir Bhutto, like her father, lived a famous life but, too, died an unnatural death. She too, like her father, will be remembered and worshipped by her followers.
Reaction to the killing of yet another Bhutto has been violent. Torching of automobiles, shops, factories, banks trains and even human beings took place in most of the country, but specially in Bhutto’s native province of Sindh.
In the garb of this violent reaction, looters, dacoits, bandits worked at will and showed their gimmicks. Pakistan, indeed, is a unique country where even complete trains are ransacked and then burnt.
We should be otherwise obliged to these attackers because they spared the passengers and did not burn them with the trains.
Why do we react in such a violent and cruel manner? Leaders are killed all over the world. When John F. Kennedy, the US president, was killed, the American nation did not react in the horrible manner in which we Pakistan did.
Instead, the complete US nation prayed and mourned for him. This is the difference between us and them, and that is why they can say: “You are with us or against us”.
I reflected on the reason of this national behaviour/psyche as to why did we react in this manner?
Some of the reasons which came to my mind are: (a) Hate/frustration against the government, (b) lack of education to realise the difference between good and bad, (c) lack of realisation that burning national/government and private property would affect our country in an adverse manner economically, (d) lack of love for the country, (e) lack of national cohesion, (f) frustration against the government/system, (g) to loot and plunder, (h) to fulfil any personal vendetta, (i) to get insurance money and (j) to fulfil someone else’s agenda.
These are testing times for Pakistan, Pakistanis and all Muslims. It is time we realised and identified our true enemy. It is time we respected, with sincerity and truth, the idea of Pakistan.
UMER ADIL
Karachi
It is a very sad day for Pakistan and the world. In a country where most of the women are kept indoors for “protection” to be busy in cooking and raising children, the fearless “daughter of Pakistan” as she was called, got educated at Oxford and Harvard, got elected as prime minister twice, exiled and then returned to her homeland to challenge dictatorship and start a process of democracy.
Today, sadly, the forces of evil silenced her. Her assassination reminded me of the tragic death of Bobby Kennedy.
Benazir Bhutto’s murder is a slap and warning to those in third world who want to end the status quo and establish a “government of the people, by the people and for the people”.
By giving her life for the cause, her death will inspire many men and women in her country and the Muslim world to carry on her mission for democracy.
Incidentally in 1951, the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, was also assassinated in the same city at the same place after a political rally.
Unfortunately, this “war on terrorism” has created more terrorists than we can handle.
My heartfelt condolences go to her family, especially her children, and all Pakistanis.
SHAHID ATHAR
Indianapolis, USA
THE Daughter of the East finally sacrificed herself like her father for the sake of democracy and fighting for the rights of the oppressed and the indigent masses of this land.
In fact, she has immortalised herself in the hearts of millions of those who saw in her person their survivor and benefactor.
She is like the plucked rose which retains its fragrance when it is severed from its twig. Bhuttoism is a phenomenon which rejuvenates the poor with new hope. Benazir! you are still alive in the hearts of your people and will live so for centuries to come.
PERVEEN Z
Peshawar
WHEN we look at the current situation in Pakistan, it is very easy to jump to conclusions about the instability of the country and the failures of the government.
While we must admit that the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is indeed a great tragedy and deals a huge blow to the democratic progress in the country, we cannot allow her death to be used as a launching pad for an anti-democratic trend.
It had been through a valiant struggle that free elections were declared for January and we cannot fault the government for wanting to postpone the elections briefly in order to make sure that the populace votes with its mind and not its heart.
However, those who accuse the government of plotting against democracy and being involved in the Bhutto assassination in some way are in fact the root cause of the instability in the country and the difficulty in establishing democracy.
It is these instigators that incite political unrest in the country and make it difficult to go through the motions of proper democratic process.
We must remember one of the great leaders of our country but we cannot let mourning turn into an excuse against democracy.
The government’s request for a postponement of elections is indeed valid and we as a people must support all motions towards true democracy.
MOHAMMAD ZOHAIR KHAN
Canada
THIS refers to a report, ‘Internet café, 2 CD shops blown up’ (Dec 21). According to the report, an Internet café and two CD shops were blown up in Peshawar by unidentified people.
Owners of the destroyed shops when lodged complaints with the police, a high-ranking police official said: “The explosion left police with no option but to force the owners of Internet cafes, snooker clubs, CD and video shops to close their businesses, which was not being tolerated by the Taliban (militants)”.
The above state of affairs shows that the NWFP police now unable to control the situation have either entered the phase of compromise with the Taliban militants or capitulation before them.
However, it is suggested that such blunt and irresponsible statements to the media should be avoided by the police high officials.
Because such statements, when they appear in the press, not only provide encouragement to the perpetrators of such crime but also demoralise the people and make them lose confidence in the police.
SQN LDR (r) S. AUSAF HUSAIN
Karachi
ONE thing that we seem to be in abundance of is the desire to jump to conclusions. Whenever a bomb goes off, the police statement that a suicide bomber was involved is taken at face value and that too by a member of the armed forces.
Any bomb capable of killing more than 50 people has to weigh at least 70kgs or so. That is what we were told in the newspapers when the bomb hit the PPP parade. Thousands of explosive experts (well, not literally), told us that.
The police found one decapitated head, Edhi Amin’s people found another seven.
And a suicide bomber was blamed when clearly that was not the case. Anyone carrying 70kgs on his belt would be struggling to walk. That would be noticed by all.
The incompetence of our police is legendary. Their corruption is highest, their ability to investigate is poorest of the poor. And yet anything the Pakistani police say we accept!
We must be suffering from collective dementia when we start believing things like that.
KHALID SULAIMAN
West Midlands, UK
THIS has reference to the letter of M. K. Naqvi, ‘An open letter to president, (Dec 21). I would like to emphasise that the steep rise in prices is an international phenomenon, directly related to the prices of oil.
In this regard, I am surprised to read the public speeches of some of the political leaders who claim that during their tenure, say in the 1990s, the prices of the flour used to be Rs5 per kilo.
They do not mention the fact that the price of the crude oil at that time was $16 to 18 a barrel, which now has reached the staggering level of $90 to 100 a barrel.
In fact, the present is the first government which has made the concept of utility stores effective and popular . In the past, these used to be a mere formality but the crowd seen at the utility stores show that their utility has increased.
However, what is urgently needed is that the number of these stores should be increased according to the requirement.
In fact, the opposition leaders should not exploit and mislead the public on this issue because the problem of rising prices is common all over the world due to the high prices of oil.
They should also realise that everything right from agriculture, industrial production and even generation of electricity to the food items depend upon oil.
Still the prices of essential commodities in our country are lower than in some of the neighboring countries.
As regards President Musharraf himself, his big contribution is that he did not let Pakistan become Iraq and Afghanistan, and he will be remembered for this. Of course, he has committed some mistakes but mostly on the advice of unwise advisers. On his part he has tried to mitigate the sufferings of the common man, including the problem of high prices.
In this regard I will suggest that through some legislations the private entrepreneurs should be made bound to pay part of wages to their employees in kind such as monthly ration, school fees and utilities bill. It will naturally increase financial and administrative burden over private sector employers but I hope they will accept it as a national service. I know some of the industrialists are already doing it voluntarily but it can be done more systematically.
In the end, I will again emphasise that the people should be motivated to restrict to smaller manageable families. At present an average father with an average income of at best Rs3,000 to 5,000 is trying to raise a family of four to five children which is an impossible task and sometimes leads even to committing of suicides.
Until and unless we as a nation control our population growth, the objective of the country’s progress and the nation’s welfare and prosperity cannot be achieved. We should realise that as the population will grow unchecked, simultaneously the menaces of high prices, unemployment and crimes will also increase.
K. MURAD BAY
Karachi
ROMÁRIO de Souza Faria, the legendary Brazilian cntere forward, once said: “I want to give a football to every child of Brazil so that they never have any time for drugs.”
The youth of Islamabad stands privileged from the rest of the country as the CDA has provided them with as many as six to eight playgrounds in every residential sector. It is so heart-warming to see the youth of Islamabad wearing their team colours and playing healthy sports in the morning and in the evening.
Perhaps, that is the reason that there were the least of riots and rampages in the streets of Islamabad over Benazir Bhutto’s death. The youth of Pakistan is so deprived of the basic rights that they need an excuse like Ms Bhutto’s death to come out in the streets and riot, rampage and involve in arson while the rest indulge themselves in bad company and drugs.
The CDA has done really a great job by making good use of the taxpayers’ money and the youth of the capital has no time for drugs or loitering around. They can exhaust themselves in the playground and go back home for a peaceful evening with their families.
Thank you CDA for that, as I wish the rest of the authorities of Pakistan take the hint and follow suit.
ZILL-E-REHMAN KHAN NIAZI
Islamabad
I WAS reading in Dawn recently a report on the above election.
It was very encouraging to see the massive support received by the party of ex-Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the army action in 2006.
While the action of the generals was similar to the army coups we have experienced in Pakistan, one must give credit to the generals in Thailand for holding a fair and transparent election.
How I wish our ‘The General’ take leaf from the book of his Thai colleagues and restore some credibility to our forthcoming election.
SHIRAZ SACHEDINA
Karachi
BENEZIR Bhutto was a beautiful, ambitious, highly intelligent and immensely courageous woman, of whom the vast majority of Pakistanis were justly proud.
Even her enemies will (now that she is gone) admit that her great strength lay in the simple dignity that she bestowed upon the common people of her nation by her ability to make them think positively of the future – a skill that only the greatest of politicians possess.
Despite her faults, which involved a certain arrogance and a tendency to think she was not subject to the rules that govern other people (faults that Churchill also suffered from), her great courage and vision gave her a charisma that her country desperately needed in its quest for unity.
Without her, Pakistan could burn but there is just the hope that the memory of such a powerful iconic female figure of peace might, after all, calm the violent ones.
What is beyond doubt is that, perhaps as a result of our heightened sense of responsibility concerning our former colonies and the mistakes we made, every thinking British man and woman wishes Pakistan well in its hour of need.
STEPHEN PORTER
London, UK
IN his book about India, In Spite of the Gods Edward Luce has cited a joke circulating in the Indian intellectual crowd: “In Pakistan, freedom of expression is notably stronger than freedom after expression” (Books & Authors, Dec 16).
That may be true but, in India, the freedom of oppression (of the minorities and neighbouring countries) is greater than the freedom from oppression (of the majority).
The very creditable thing is that in spite of this severe oppression by a seven times bigger adversary since partition in 1947, the Pakistanis have managed to survive, even though half the country was lost through Indian interference.
This oppression had led Mr Jinnah to complain to the British PM on Oct 1, 1947: “Every effort is being made by our enemies... to paralyse or cripple our state. It is the case of the wolf and the lamb ....
S. QADRI
Karachi
“Severe shortage of food, medicines in Parachinar” — News headline (Dawn, Dec 27)
IT appears that when there is a shortage of sincerity, sagacity and selflessness where it matters most, there will be a shortage of what matters most: food, water, medicines, electricity, security, peace, justice...
What would happen if the judge is sent to jail and a hangman takes over?
A. MUNSIF
Karachi
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