| February 14, 2008 | Thursday | Safar 06, 1429 |
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Mideast brutality
Lessons from the neighbour
PML(Q) leader’s somersault
Wrong info on Amitabh
Neo-feudalism
Futile tours
Officials’ spin
CSS exams
Jattistan
Plea to PAEC
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
AS the country is very close to the general election, none of the contestants have any clear picture or quantitative research to share with the people of Pakistan about the reasons for the problems in the country or offer any explicit plans about how they would deal with issues like food crisis, terrorism, agitation in Balochistan, and the foreign policy, especially on Pakistan’s relations with India with regard to Kashmir.
On the one hand, the ruling PML (Q), whose the leaders, who may never even have gone to the people to ask for votes in their lives, are lecturing the people of Pakistan and the world on the national and international media about ‘ground realities’ of Pakistan. They insist that because they ‘swept’ the general election in 2002, they will first finish the parliamentary vote in the Feb 18 election (as if no one knows how they ‘swept’ the 2002 election). They bluntly and criminally deny any crisis in the country on items of basic necessities like flour, oil, electric power and natural gas. And if there is some, it is due to the great ‘industrial progress’ they brought to the county in their eight years of government.
On the other hand, the so-called large parties, PPP, PML (N) and ANP, which, according to independent observers, are expected to gain most of the parliamentary seats, are still not quite sure if (a) they are willing to work with President Musharraf, (b) how they are going to deal with the unilateral amendments by Mr Musharraf, (c) how they are going to deal with the judiciary issue and (d) what different will they do than the former government to deal with painful issues like price hikes and terrorism.
The PPP, time and again, comes out with confusing statements on the nature of a working relationship with Mr Musharraf. True, that Benazir Bhutto had the personality and charisma to convince both party workers and PPP supporters, if she would have chosen to work with the establishment, but it is not very clear now if the PPP has such a leadership that has the ability to work under the rules of the game, defined by the powerful establishment, and still save the party from a breakup.
Nawaz Sharif is demonstrating a political vision and maturity as a clear opposition leader but even his platform lacks explicit solutions to the ills of Pakistan, which an ordinary Pakistani is desperately trying to find out.
Just days before the election, it is expected that there will be a heated election campaign, and public meetings of all the parties should take this opportunity to explain to the people their plans and goals to deal with issues instead of playing local body politics.
MISBAH U. AZAM
United States
THE series of recent Israeli military operations have originated a great deal of disturbance in the entire region. The Israeli army has inflicted a barricade around the occupied Palestinian territories so as to create a blockade and closure of border crossings, disruption of flow of fuel, food and other essential articles.
However, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, letting the Palestinians into the Egyptian territory so that they can have essential articles, showed an act of great sympathy. But within a gap of two weeks the Egyptian and Hamas forces again put up the barriers and the Palestinians, without Egyptian nationality, were forced to leave Egypt.
A witness claims that around two dozen Israeli military tanks entered the town of Jenin, destroying the power stations and breaking the electricity supply to the town.
The Israeli media reported that the operation is likely to last for several days.
A statement issued by the Israeli army says that the roads to Jenin have been blocked so as to prevent the movement of ‘terrorists’ into Israel. The Israeli government further says that the talks should take place on the border between Israel and the Gaza strip and should only undergo the terms for a ceasefire.
In the recent times the OIC organised a meeting in Jeddah which was presided over by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Inamul Haq, in order to end the extreme killing of the Palestinians.
I was delightful to find out that the OIC held the Israeli army responsible for worsening the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip. The OIC has also called for the implementation of its provisions in order to protect the lives and the rights of the Palestinians.
In addition to this, the OIC has urged the member states to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. Let’s wait and hope for the future prosperity and equanimity of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
TAHA JAMIL
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Wajeeha Shahid letter, ‘Drawing lessons from India?’ (Feb 11), where in her opinion Pakistan, if not better, is not worse than India by any means.
This is a fact that India is doing far better than many countries in the world, let alone Pakistan, and there is no harm in learning lessons from India and follow their path of progress, prosperity and self-reliance.
Due to the nature of my work, I have been travelling to various European countries almost every month for the last several years.
Over the last couple of years I have seen a tremendous increase in the number of Indian (mostly not having more than a couple of years postgraduate experience) all over filling in engineering jobs. It is very seldom that I find any Pakistani engineers. Most big names (including my employer) have tremendous growth plans in India and even R&D centre of many such engineering organisations are now operating out of Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Yes I do find Pakistanis as well — either working as taxi drivers, running restaurants or similar jobs.
I do agree with her statement that Indians glorify their average achievement, culture and norms. Yet again, this is also an art. If they can run advertisement on CNN and BBC glorifying their country and labelling as ‘Incredible India’; did someone stop Pakistan from doing the same? Why doesn’t Pakistan learn a lesson from India and venture into something similar?
There are certainly problems in India, with respect to literacy rate, traffic congestion and many others, but still India has other reasons to be proud of
A CONCERNED PAKISTANI
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
ON Feb 3 there was a report that the PML(Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Mushahid Hussain had said a day earlier that the party had committed some blunders during their five-year rule. These pertained to the flour and electricity crises as well as Balochistan and the Lal Masjid issues.
And, as quoted by you (Feb 7), Senator Mushahid Hussain had said regarding Dr A.Q. Khan that “(he) had sacrificed (his freedom) for the bigger national cause ... he shall be set free after the election and his stature restored”.
However, Chaudhry Shujaat issued a denial soon thereafter about having admitted their mistakes. This is flabbergasting. On Feb 3, that is one day after having admitted their wrongs at a press conference, Senator Mushahid repeated the same confessions during the BBC Urdu Service Programme ‘Talking Point’, while answering the callers’ questions.
He also claimed that they had had a ‘gup shup’ (informal chat) with Dr Khan a few days earlier, respect him greatly and acknowledged that he had made the sacrifice and would be released after the polls.
However, Chaudhry Shujaat not only denied everything but, regarding Dr Khan, resorted to the by now familiar government spin applied to many of its opponents that he was merely being protected by the security people. After the deal with Benazir Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf’s consequent re-election, he had said that had only been a ruse and ‘raat gaee, baat gaee’ (last night’s compact passed away with it.)
Leaders and officials like him have failed to realise even by now that their forked tongues, U-turns and somersaults have robbed them of all credibility. No matter how many promises they make not to repeat their past mistakes, nobody is going to believe them.
N.A. SHAIKH
Karachi
RAHUL Singh’s article, ‘The importance of being Amitabh Bachchan’ (Feb 9) contains some inaccuracies, misconceptions and significant omissions from Amitabh’s life.
He was educated at Sherwood College, Nainital, and Kirori Mal College, Delhi, and not at Bombay (now Mumbai).
Youngsters of the 50s and 60s belonging to middle class families did not go to restaurants but the inexpensive college and university cafes. Amitabh’s favourite haunt was St. Stephen’s cafe where most of his friends were present. Rahul, on the other hand, is the grandson of the building icon Sir Sobha Singh who is known to have built most of New Delhi’s mansions. Thus Rahul belonged to a different socio-economic milieu.
After missing out on two filmfare talent tests, Amitabh was cast as a Muslim Urdu poet by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, a Muslim, in his film ‘Saat Hindustani’.
As a disciplined young man, he requested Abbas to seek his father Harvansh Rai Bachchan’s consent to join films, which the producer did immediately. The film surprisingly did not click but Amitabh did on account of his rich and resonant voice. The rest is history.
There is a softer side to Amitabh’s personality. When Abbas’s ‘friends’, Raj Kapoor and Rusy Karanjia, Mulk Raj Anand and Sardar Jafri, did not pay his dues after using his multifarious talents for many, many years, it was Amitabh who picked up Abbas’s hospital bills without Abbas or anyone else knowing about it.
ANWAR ABBAS
Karachi
AYESHA Siddiqa in her article, ‘The debate on feudalism’ (Feb 1), has dilated on one of the most serious predicaments our civil society is bracing since its inception.
She is right that traditional feudalism has diluted with the shrinkage of land holdings: first, on account of various reforms and, second, because of bludgeoning of families even though land still holds a symbolic worth in the form of expression of power.
She is also right that though the landlords have also become industrialists and entrepreneurs, their feudal attitude has remained unchanged. Moreover, even the elite groups such as those comprising industrialists, generals, senior bureaucrats and educated professionals who acquired capital have joined this club by acquiring farmland.
Feudalism thus has now attained a frame of mind and a way of life acquired by a class sitting at the upper echelons of society. The two main ingredients, which contribute to this regressive mindset, are waning of institutions and the deteriorating education system.
Unfortunately from the day the country gained freedom, almost every coming government, instead of strengthening institutions and enlarging the scope of public service, gradually undermined or changed even those that existed in the name of ‘colonial legacy’ and ‘reform’.
The systems such as justice, education, communication and law enforcement, built by the British, were not per se bad. However, what was required was the introduction of necessary changes so as to bring them at par with the needs of a sovereign county, as was done in neighbouring India.
Since the motive behind the reform had always had a specific purpose, .i.e. to serve an individual cause, therefore, any change brought about made a mockery in the name of institution-building. It only disfigured and at times destroyed it. Thus the present half-baked institutions are only serving the cause of the elite class.
AS for education, the latest figure shows that investment is the paltry 2.4 per cent of the GDP, only at par with Bangladesh. Our literacy ratio is 56 per cent — in men 63 per cent and in women 36 per cent.
However, the ground realities are entirely different. Public sector schools, which are bulk education provider, because of shortage of funds, antediluvian infrastructure, substandard textbooks and high level of corruption are in ruins.
Especially the quality of primary education has borne the major brunt due to spread of ghost schools, unskilled and inefficient teachers and lack of infrastructure.
The private sector though has entered the field, they have commercial interest. Therefore, their fees are so exorbitant that even people of the upper middle can’t afford to bear the cost.
The quality education extended by private schools and colleges is now, therefore, available to the elite class, even the much-trumpeted higher education is not for those who qualify from public sector schools.
As a result of institutional decay and lack of mass education, feudal mindset has infested every segment of the national landscape, be it social, political and economic.
Therefore, now we have feudals in industry, commerce and trade, services and politics, besides those who still possess big land holdings, albeit their number is minuscule than their emulating brothers.
Karamatullah K. Ghori in his article, ‘The problem is feudalism, not the western democracy’ (Encounter, Feb 3), was not wide of the mark when he says that defeudalising Pakistani society is easier said than done.
As long as national institutions are not strengthened, the various organs of the state are not allowed to function in accordance with the parameters set by the Constitution and at least four per cent GDP is not invested in education, besides removing class duality from this sector so that the poor and the affluent get equal opportunity, the spectre of feudalism continue to haunt society.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
PRESIDENT Musharraf’s first tour as civilian president was in fact his 80th foreign trip since he toppled an elected civilian government. How many millions have been spent on these official tours in these eight years and to what avail is anybody’s guess?
These 80 trips must have given an opportunity to hundreds of government officials, civilians and military to have free rides with negligible personal contribution to the cause of promoting national interests abroad. If it were otherwise, Pakistan would have progressed immensely and its general impression and image would have improved. Alas, it was not to be. We are gradually going down and the latest label on us as the most dangerous place in the world is a stigma. All this is happening under the president who has been all in all for all these years.
Although there is a growing demand that the president should quit, the president is not willing to do so. This is because the entire state apparatus is doing its utmost to perpetuate the one-man rule. All energies and efforts are being diverted towards that end only. Whatever comes in the way is either removed, detained, or eliminated.
The state is scared of individuals like Aitzaz Ahsan and others, which goes to prove the main weakness of the pesident and the set-up in place in Islamabad. The shortages of food, energy, power, fuel, security, etc., should put to shame any conscientious government.
Additionally, the president denies that Pakistan is not a banana republic whereas he has a major share in bringing Pakistan to this derogatory status, his actions of the recent past amply prove this.
ARIF MAJEED
Karachi
IN the light of Mr Iqbal’s mirror-image (letter, Feb 4) of Nisar Memon’s nerve to pull wool over the eyes of the BBC correspondent, I repent having been taken on a ride to assume his rectitude.
If Mr Memon’s assertion be right that Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is free like any other citizen of the state, he should be able to exercise his freedom without the constraints imposed upon him, legally on French leave.
Merely being able to pass a letter out of his captivity by hook or by crook does not prove by any stretch of the imagination that he is arbitrarily not disfranchised out of fear that otherwise Mr Memon’s benefactor may be legally unseated. I fully concur with other reflections in the letter of Mr Iqbal and visualise that the capability to be a spin-master is the main attribute that matters. Otherwise there are numerous men/women that really matter in steering the ship of the state through agreeable waters.
AKBAR KHAN
Karachi
ALL examinations should be held in time. There are tragedies, national and individual, but life is all about continuity. In reference to letters written in regard of CSS examinations, it may be argued that the postponement syndrome seems to have permeated in each and every sphere of our national life.
The political imbroglio, indeed, is a cause of perturbation for all of us but is there any guarantee that the milieu would pacify in post-election days? A vicious cycle of delays would be sought if examinations are delayed once, and so on because no candidate can claim to be fully prepared. A delay of month or two is of little help to such candidates.
The power outages would be intense in summer and appearing in the examinations would be an even uphill task. There are many who are to appear in other examinations inside the country and abroad. They have solicited examination dates and paid fees.
Most of these examinations cost not that cheap as the CSS does. There are others who are on leave from their jobs. Above all, none of the mentioned reasons for delaying the examinations was formidable enough to justify any delay.
Lastly, if someone cannot take heat, he has always got an option of leaving the kitchen than spoiling broth for all.
DR ATIF SALYANA
Lahore
THIS is apropos of Amir Mateen’s account, ‘PML (Q) and Maharaja’ (Feb 5), wherein recounting PML (Q)’s era in Punjab he has rightly described their government as a one-clan regime epitome of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He is also right that allotting a big chunk of seats in the forthcoming election to the ‘Jat Beradri’ is going to turn the country into ‘Islamic Republic of Jattistan’.
If good Chaudhrys of Punjab consider embracing a large number of aborigine Jat beradri inhabiting in Sindh for centuries, they can further enlarge their domain of influence.
MANSOORUL HAQUE SOLANGI
Karachi
THIS is apropos of the application form of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission for engineers/scientists vide ad no. 02/2008, dated Feb 10, in which the column of religion, as well as of the sect (Sunni, Shia, etc), is mentioned for the applicants.
Religion or sect is a private matter of the individual, it has nothing to do with the job description of the employee . The PAEC is a highly scientific organisation as its hiring policy focuses on skills/qualifications.
I request the PAEC chairman to look into the matter and order revision and deletion of such columns from the application form.
ASAD RAZA ZAIDI
Karachi
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