| January 24, 2008 | Thursday | Muharram 14, 1429 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Failed sojourn
Better law & order
Insecure bank cards
CSS exams
Benazir, we will miss you
Space for disabled
Party manifestos
Open letter to rulers
Cutting trees
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
IT is disturbing enough to hear Pakistan being called the ‘most dangerous nation’, particularly by the Americans, and becomes truly painful to see their presidential candidates, such as Hillary Clinton and Joseph Biden, say the same.
One wonders how knowledgeable they are about Pakistanis. Due to being a Pakistani I can claim to comprehended my compatriots more and, having had friends from many parts of the Islamic world, I do have a greater insight into the minds of my 1.5 billion co-religionists.
Besides, I can profess to understand the Americans far better than either of these presidential hopefuls do the Pakistanis. This is because I not only got part of my education in the US, having studied with and befriended American boys/men and girls/women, but their country has been like a second home to me.
In contrast, Ms Clinton has spent just a few days here and Mr Biden perhaps none. My list of buddies has included Buddhists, Christians, Confucianists, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Zoroastrians. So, the aspirants to the White House and others of the same mind ought to listen carefully.
What makes a nation dangerous? Is it merely the perception of what harm it may cause under certain circumstances or, would it be more reasonable to go by how many people a country has already killed, caused to be killed, or is still in the process of doing so? How many persons have been made homeless; how much conflict and disquiet it has imposed upon the world at large; how much turmoil and polarisation?
Pakistan is responsible for taking or losing a couple of thousand lives in the wars with India. But, the US had killed hundreds of thousands in Japan, including over 200,000 through the only atomic bombs ever used, that, too, on innocent civilians. In Vietnam three million were slain and an equal number made sick or permanently handicapped by the use of the Agent Orange.
In Iraq, sanctions following the first Gulf War took the lives of half a million children and now its losses are over 600,000 dead with several million turned into refugees, but there was no terrorism or sectarian strife before. Shockingly, America has been invading some place or the other after an average of 30 months! It is intriguing how most Americans are likeable but their governments act so callously.
Israel is the next most dangerous nation, having set the Middle East on fire and the global Muslim community aflame, severely straining relations between the latter and the West. In the summer of 2006 it had destroyed almost half of Lebanon due to a few Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah whilst scores of Lebanese captives were already in Tel Aviv’s custody who were supposed to have been released earlier. One recent inhumanity is that 49 Palestinians in need of urgent medical attention have died since June because Israel did not allow them to leave Gaza.
These aren’t assessments of Muslims alone but of most Europeans too, as surveys have shown. I have nothing against the Americans or Jews. In the US I had a Jewish landlord who had been almost as kind to me as he would have been to a family member, while from day one I used to respect him and help him out as I would my uncle, because my upbringing had taught me to defer to elders regardless of their religion. Even my dad had Jewish and other non-Muslim friends whom we all treated very nicely.
The threat perception about Pakistan has been magnified greatly. In my US stay I had encountered several Jews who would clench their jaws and breathe heavily as far back as the 1980s on finding out I was a Pakistani. Once, I have participated in seminars in Europe in the early 1980s where an Israeli attendee didn’t seem to even want to speak to me and, frankly, I also felt put off by him. In contrast, I had developed very good terms with the other participants, company officials and secretaries.
Most Pakistanis are brought up to be hospitable and helpful. An extremist minority should not be used to stereotype all. American leaders and politicians must remember that Pakistanis have been amongst their best friends. Some fair-minded Americans have acknowledged that the USSR could not have been defeated without Pakistan’s help.
A READER
Karachi
THE Bush trip to the Middle East was a much-awaited event. It has tripped, gone to waste. The Arab leaders were as pleasing as they could be but the people and the media were averse and too hostile. Such hostility has been witnessed for the first time on the visit of any dignitary. A dignitary from Washington DC is not treated less than a god, but the rebuttal and the sadness, that was evident on the face of the guest, seems to be a most disastrous failure of the State Department and the PR management of the Bush administration.
Mr Bush had a single agenda of wooing the Arabs to contain Iran. It seems instead of the containment of Iran, and the help to purr the dollar, the US president got nightmarish cold shoulders from all the Arab quarters.
The Arabs are really angry. They cannot understand that on issues of war with any Gulf country the US seems to be ever ready. The US has destroyed the entire infrastructure of Iraq, Palestine is bleeding and every day dozens of innocent people are gunned down. The US is threatening and wants to go to war with Syria. It wants a war with Iran.
However, where the actual war should be fought and the rights of the people be given as per the mandate of the humanity and the resolutions of the United Nations, no action has been taken and the sole perpetrator of the crime, Israel, is as free to do anything it wants, under the aegis of the ever faithful US, which acts like a servant to the Zionist regime.
The Gulf News of the UAE has given the most befitting welcome open letter, which speaks for all the Arab souls.
The US is in the process of presidential election. Hopefully the people of the US will elect a sane president to administer them for the next four years. If people like Bush and company, and those who share and feel the world situation like Bush, are elected, the world will again see a very dark era. Particularly, it will be darker for the sole superpower and its people. It is very rightly said: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
DAWOODI MORKAS
Karachi
IF Pakistan and all its citizens and all their interests are to have a future, then law and order in the country need to be in a much better shape. For this to be possible, everyone has to do a few things. All top government institutions need to plan real hard and come up with solutions for a better state of affairs. Specially beginning has to be made with law-enforcement and other agencies operating nationally or other wise.
One area that needs to be looked into and is common to all institutions is that of the human resource management. Small pay scales, lack of facilities for children’s education, inadequate healthcare and poor housing facilities lead officials to ignore law and take recourse to corruption. Over a period of time the functionaries become oblivious to what is called law.
To overcome the situation, the pay scale should be good enough to attract the best talent; children’s education should be fully paid in the best schools of that area; healthcare should be there and fully paid for the whole family, top lawyers for teaching the law should be made available in every district with regular compulsory classes, and experts in policing practice should be brought in for regular training for quality improvement.
Also, life insurance should be paid for on behalf of each officer through State Life or another; in case of death or disability of an officer their family gets a handsome compensation.
These and other areas of benefits should be developed and offered to take care of all the needs. From thereon each officer should do their best to protect and serve the community.
The new expenses should be met with enhanced federal and provincial grants, as well as through funds generated at the local level .
Also as some areas are doing better and need to be expanded, such as the CPLC. Similarly, women’s police stations also need to be expanded. The NHA should also be appreciated for its excellent efforts in enforcing highway law, and its services should be extended all major roads in all major cities.
The police should ideally function as an independent organisation under the establishment and should not be used in any way for political influence by any party, and all recruitments must be strictly as per rules and on merit.
Z.H. EFFENDI
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Hasan Raza’s letter, ‘Insecure bank cards (Jan 12). I agree with the content of the letter and would like to add that the installation of CCTV cameras system should be made mandatory on the merchant’s site.
Moreover, information of spending to the customers/users of these plastic cards (ATM, debts, charge or credit’s cards) should be made mandatory through SMS messages to the cellphones of the account holders and holders of cards.
The instant steps will reduce the complaints by at least 90 per cent regarding fabricated signatures or fraudulent use. Necessary amendments be made in view of the above suggestions in the recently-enacted Electronic Funds Transfer Act, 2007.
The crime related to the ATMS / creditors and/or other plastic cards should be given the jurisdiction of the recently-promulgated cyber crimes laws, ordinances and their tribunals. The criminal banking courts constituted under Special Courts (Offences in respect of Banks), Ordinance, 1984 should be given the jurisdiction to proceed and try the cases simultaneously along with the recently-constituted cyber tribunals.
SAALIM SALAM ANSARI
Karachi
“THE CSS examinations are proposed to be held from mid- March, by advancing dates by a month this year over the last year’s examinations.
However, due to unprecedented incidents, elections in February, Muharram, also when particularly date of filing of the application forms was extended by 15 days, it will be appropriate for the Federal Public Service Commission to postpone the CSS examinations 2008 for at least a month.
The candidates will be relieved of stress due to circumstances and the short preparation time from the date of filing forms.
The FPSC may think about this right away as necessary arrangements will have to be made.
MS SAMINA SHAIKH
(A candidate)Karachi
FOR many days after Dec 27, it was impossible to reconcile oneself to the fact that Benazir Bhutto is no longer among us; that our challenges, hurdles, indeed our achievements, we can no longer share with her; that she was taken from us at a time when we, the nation, needed her most, that we must now contemplate a Pakistan without Benazir Bhutto.
Although the shock and the sorrow remain with us, Ms Bhutto’s loss has left us in a state of realisation of how difficult was her task. The challenges before her were gigantic and extremely complex. She was a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a leader but, above all, she was an extraordinary human being with super potential and courage to do what she was destined to. As a woman, her struggle was an example for many women who are fighting their little battles in their respective fields.
As a member of the assembly, and a party worker, I always felt protected under her courageous leadership and continue to take pride in my affiliation with her. She, with her innate strength and commitment towards democracy for the people of Pakistan, had the strength of will and purpose, to convince even her harshest critics. I think her task was harder than that of a man working in the political arena.
She was incessantly struggling in an environment that had never been conducive to a woman and her mind. Being a woman, I can well relate to the hardships that Ms Bhutto must have endured. The fact that we are a deeply patriarchal society did not deter her. The fact that it takes a woman three times the effort to prove what a man in her place can, without making any effort, did not scare her. The fact that she had been cruelly deprived of her beloved father and brothers, by a scared and manipulative junta, did not stop her. Indeed, hers was a valiant struggle.
I salute her indefatigable struggle in not only an unfriendly environment but an entirely undemocratic set-up. She gave strength to the voices her father gave an outlet to. She was a symbol of hope for those deprived of basic human necessities, for those dying of hunger, for those with no means to earn, for those without shelter, and for those engulfed in insecurity in their own homeland.
There is no doubt about the fact that no one can ever replace the kind of leadership she possessed. Her abilities and charisma can never be forgotten. People both within and outside the party have keenly felt her loss. The loss of an identity for Pakistan, that gave us recognition at all national and international forums. Her absence has made people realise who she really was. A woman, a mindset, an institution — standing for the rights of the people, steadfast and resilient against tyrants.
Over the years, Benazir Bhutto underwent various experiences, and like other human beings, she too got a better hold of the way she could fight back. We saw in her a liberal leader who was extremely concerned about all issues faced by the people of Pakistan — may it be health, clean drinking water, quality education, lagging economy, women empowerment, senior citizens, and countless others — she gave it thought, voice, and solution.
She cared deeply about the environment our children are living in. She thought like a concerned mother, acted like a responsible daughter, and wanted to deliver like an accountable leader.
Ms Bhutto was always struggling for the people of this great nation, may it be inside or outside Pakistan. She has left us with the same struggle and hope for a better future. A task which is not easy, a responsibility which seems mammoth. But we remain committed to her cause, devoted to her vision.
SHAZIA MARRI
Former MPA (PPP)
IN your esteemed daily there are special sections for children and other matters such as book reviews, films, sports and science. But, in my opinion, there is an important omission: there is no space for the disabled or the disadvantaged people.
There is, therefore, the need for providing space for the people who are otherwise categorised as ‘special.‘ Indeed there are people who cannot perform the usual work like normal men and women. But they are still engaged in creative activities. They have been writing plays, poems, essays , articles, etc.
Big newspapers like Dawn can certainly arrange for proper remuneration for them in recognition of their talent and effort. Their contributions may be leniently judged as they may not be of the usual standards followed by your journal.
It s hoped that your editorial board would kindly think about my suggestion and allocate space for the publication of the contributions of those handicapped people who are regularly writing for your newspaper.
SYED AZIZ AKHTAR
Karachi
POLITICAL parties, already existing on ground for years, have recently introduced their manifestos with fanfare.
What is a manifesto? “The manifesto is a public declaration or proclamation, usually issued by or with the sanction of a sovereign prince or state, or by an individual or body of individuals whose proceedings are of public importance, for the purpose of making known past actions and explaining the reasons or motives for actions announced as forthcoming” — The Oxford English Dictionary. Vol VI.
Our parties, including PML(Q), PML(N), PPP and others have prepared their manifestos in haste, apparently aimed at meeting the requirement of the forthcoming election. The parties have used rhythmic system to introduce their aims and objectives, in competition with each other. The PML(N) has borrowed ideas from Transparency International of Pakistan to offer a specimen of near-perfect dispensation.
All important political parties have done the homework as required by the EC. But the flaw lies in the ‘timing’ of production of the manifestos. The important document called the manifesto has been produced only one month before the election while the political party has been in existence for decades. Were the parties working in the past without a manifesto or that the old manifesto had become non-relevant?
The common drill is that the manifesto is conceived first and the party formed later. Our political syndrome is happier without the burden of the limits of a manifesto.
A. Q. ANJUM
Rawalpindi
WHY is it that the people of Pakistan are always suffering year round, year in and year out? Why do we not have gas, electricity, food, oil, housing, schools, hospitals, clean drinking water, or even a hope of a decent life?
Who should be asked to provide safety to the citizens? Who should be accountable and answerable for the maintenance and the lack of law and order in this country? After all, whose responsibility is it to ensure the provision of these basic necessities of life?
Are the multitudes of highly salaried and privileged public officials deaf, dumb, blind, or plain retarded? Taking the oath to serve the public, they seem totally oblivious to the pain and anguish of the common man.
It’s obvious that they are incompetent, unconcerned and unable to provide solutions. Is it not right to make way for some others who could help?
An old Yiddish saying alludes to the fact that when the fish rots, the stink starts from the top down…..Shame! Some day, you will answer to God for your callousness….. But, before that, hopefully, you will answer to the people of Pakistan.
MRS FAUZIA KASURI
Islamabad
READING the news in the Dawn Internet edition about 10,000 trees being cut down by some government agency was extremely frustrating and mind-boggling. While the whole world is focusing on global warming and the effect of carbon on the atmosphere and climate change, we in Pakistan are doing totally the opposite.
Greed and love for money supersedes common sense and love for our own environment.
It seems there are no checks and balances and nobody is accountable.
Here in Los Angeles in order to cut a tree, if it is an extremely old or diseased tree, we need a report from an arbourist and then we have to plant a tree to replace it.Please keep the environment green as we need to save our planet and let common sense and love for our environment prevail.
RAYMOND WALIANY
USA
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.