| February 29, 2008 | Friday | Safar 21, 1429 |
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Conciliatory approach
Respect for mandate
‘YouTube’ considered a threat
Valentine’s Day
Gen Baig: caring & compassionate
Goods train service
Cousin marriage
Smaller turnout
Suicide bombers
Our war
Why Iran alone?
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
THERE was time when Karachi was regarded as most peaceful city of Pakistan — a metropolis where people from all over the country used to come to earn better livelihood. And now is the time when Karachi is cited as one of the most vulnerable cities which are exposed to bad law and order.
Most of the people living in this city, for many decades, are now openly sharing their fear that Karachi is on the verge of an unprecedented carnage as their observations compel them to deduce that many anti-civilisation forces have engulfed their city.
During the last few months, especially in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, I have been hearing from many people that their city is most likely to face carnage which ‘will’ end up in the casualties of thousands of those innocent citizens who have been serving this city for decades without any political and religious prejudices.
The reason for this pessimism is given that ethnic, religious, extremist and language and culture-specific groups are increasingly turning into unofficial militant groups and they are said to have encouraged militants to join their groups.
This perception has recently taken its strong hold in the context of bad law and order experienced recently, especially in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination when the city witnessed its worst-ever looting and terror. This is still not clear who was actually behind all this looting and terror.
However, it has now become overt to the residents of this city that they may again be victim of such looting and terror if the unknown groups responsible for unprecedented looting and terror are again provided with the same opportunity that they grasped after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
The residents of Karachi are right in weighing such risks and fears because the establishment is still unable to make it clear who was actually behind the looting and terror that the city witnessed recently before the election.
It is now the duty of the elected representatives of Karachi to take the citizens into confidence on the issue of law and order. Voters of this city reserve their right to seek an assurance on law and order from the representatives they have voted for.
Thus, I would like to call upon the elected representatives of this city to come up with a foolproof and clear and distinct action plan on law and order that does not allow self-interested groups and individuals to let their militants to again push the city on the path of likely carnage.
Especially, the citizens living in outskirt areas of the city, where illegal groups are said to have succeeded in establishing their strongholds, should be given this firm assurance that they now would never be left hostage to anti-civilisation groups. They should be given the firm assurance by their elected representatives that all those miscreant groups and individuals will be dealt with firmly in a bid to make people of this city live a peaceful life.
LAIQ AHMED
Karachi
ALMOST all the winning parties seem to have adopted a conciliatory attitude towards each other in Pakistan after the Feb 18 election.
It appears as if they have realised the follies of the past whereby they consumed their energy in elbowing out the party in power.
There were such internecine fights that had been providing opportunities to the armed forces to usurp power and show disrespect to the constitutional rule in the country.
A defining moment for the leaders has arrived.
It is to be seen how far they can go to yield, control the desire of revenge, and shun old animosities of the past in order to take benefit from the present.
True, some parties may have some principled stands, but we see that principles sometimes have to be sacrificed in larger interests.
For instance, even in the judicial administration, the instruments like that of the government approver, plea bargain, and mutual settlement point to the surrender of principles, i.e., a crime has to be punished and justice has to be met in full, not partially.
But here we meet halfway. The restoration of the judiciary in Pakistan, in my opinion, can be at present a bone of contention in the way of political reconciliation.
Without going into the ramifications whether the treatment given to the judicial system was right or wrong, the parties may shelve this issue now, and join hands with each other for broader interests.
The focus of their attention should be the strengthening of the Constitution so that in future no military general would dare overthrow a democratically-elected civilian government and, as such, may not use the very judiciary in question to provide credibility to his dictatorial rule.
The present sacrifice of the judiciary will solidify its future. Our aim should be to set the country on the path of democracy.
SYED OSMAN SHER
Mississauga
RESPECT for people’s mandate has special meaning when it comes to Sindh as a large majority in the province have been systematically disenfranchised for long and denied basic human, democratic, social, cultural and economic rights.
The efforts have actually been made to impose the will of the minority over the majority.
If one looks at the recent history, the people voted for the PPP overwhelmingly, making it the single largest party in Sindh in the election held under Ghulam Ishaque Khan and Farooq Leghari, though they were highly rigged, and also during the ‘politically managed’ election in 2002.
The party was, however, denied the opportunity to form government in the province.
A campaign is afoot to disregard the people’s mandate one more time as the PPP has scored a big win and has become the majority party in the province in the recent election. A crooked logic is being put forward equating the acceptance of mandate with share in power, which is virtually unheard of in democracies.
It is a general practice in a democracy that the majority party forms government and the minority party sits in the opposition.
A coalition is formed only when no single party is in a position to form government. Minority parties never resort to blackmail or threats in order to be included in the government. It would be against the spirit of democracy if the majority and the minority parties sit on treasury benches with no credible opposition in the house.
To understand things better, one can cite the example of the neighbouring country India where the BJP and allies have a big mandate but they never demand to be included in the government. The same is the case in European, North American, Australian, Japanese and other democracies.
AZIZ NAREJO
USA
I NEVER thought I would live to see a day when our government would feel threatened by a website displaying amateur videos by ordinary people. Sadly it’s true. Perhaps I should not be surprised.
When a government tears apart its constitution, breaks off its judiciary, curtails its media, and refuses to admit defeat clearly visible, what else is left for it to do?
Why not cut off the Internet as well. As if we the people will not have any other source to find out the truth.
It’s not only humiliating to realise that our leaders have something to hide from us, but for them to do so in such a pathetic manner. If it were a bunch of teenagers joking around it would have been a laughing matter. But this is a government of a recognised country we are talking about; a government that represents more than 162 million people.
Today I would not like to be represented by such a government. No, I fail to find humour in this situation.
FATIMA AWAIS
Lahore
(II)
IT is amazing as to how quick our government is in making irrational decisions. The government has failed to see how much good comes out of YouTube. Just tag the word Islam and you will see Zakir Naik, Yousaf Estes, recitations by Imam Sudais and many beautiful ‘naats’ and ‘hamds’. Not to mention other education stuff as well.
We can’t just ban such a useful tool. Instead of banning it, the government should launch a series of programmes propagating Islam and upload it on YouTube.
Being an immigrant in the USA, I see most of our old PTV shows like ‘50-50’, ‘Andehra Ujala’ and cricket matches on YouTube and I always shun blasphemous videos on YouTube. But I would certainly not want it banned.
For standing on weak bearings, the government should know that we get to hear about them through YouTube uploads as well.
Also, I would rather watch the Aaj TV’s show, the ‘4 Man Show’ and ‘Chachu Bush di Chalakiyan’ on YouTube.
MUHAMMAD JAMAL MOHYUDDIN
Columbus GA
ONE of the greatest philosophers of all time, Bertrand Russell, strongly opposed cultural dissolution. He believed it to be a hindrance in the progress of nations and emphasised the maintenance of individual cultural identities, even in a large social or regional group.
It was for the sake of this cultural identity that our forefathers fought, shed blood and sacrificed precious lives in pursuit of this country.
For God’s sake, stop and think where we are headed now – Father’s day, Mother’s Day, Friend’s Day, Teacher’s Day, Lover’s Day, and the exceptionally enormous and extravagant celebrations of Valentine’s Day.
Each year I see an increasing number of youngsters spending a lot of money, haggling over a Rs25 heart holding teddy bear, choosing roses for hours at end, selecting cards full of crap, even the multinationals hold valentine’s fares at academic institutions, luring students into a non-existent dream world.
What rubbish! Parents and teachers should wake up to tell offspring and students that this is not an expression of love, this is a lust for expression…. and, that too, unnecessary.
Stop the filth, lead them to something constructive than holding hands over a Rs20 cone in a fast food joint, touching shoulders at stops, meeting and treating discreetly.
But perhaps elders too need to be enlightened. Will someone rise to the challenge?
AYESHA KHALID KHAN
Karachi
NUMBED by shock and grief and horror, still reeling from the news of Lt-Gen Mushtaq Ahmed Baig’s death in a suicide bomb attack, I remember the first time I saw him, 33 years ago, when he was a captain and I was five years old.
He was then my father’s trainee in eye surgery, and gave me my first lesson about the eye by drawing a diagram of two of its parts — the iris and the pupil. I can recall that short lecture more vividly than any I have had since then.
For me, he was always ‘Uncle Mushtaq’ in person, and Col/Brig/Gen Mushtaq in public. He was the kindest, gentlest, most caring and soft-spoken person I have ever known. Always smiling gently, always ready to defuse any argument or altercation with a light-hearted anecdote, always willing to listen to anyone, no matter how old or weak or voiceless; his demeanour was caring and compassionate towards all.
Gen Mushtaq had the gift of soothing animosity with just a sentence or two. People would enter his office fuming with imagined or real grievances, ready to launch into scathing accusations about this or the other, and exit a few minutes later, smiling peacefully, some with more than just a hint of embarrassment.
This afternoon, as the suicide bomber approached Gen Mushtaq, I expect their eyes never met, and that Gen Mushtaq never felt pain in his final moment, only peace.
Had the bomber looked into General Sahib’s eyes, he would not have had the courage to detonate his vest; he would have hung down his head in shame, and walked away.
General Sahib would have smiled and shook his head as if to pacify a misbehaving child and that would have been enough.
Some might say that he died in the prime of his life, paying the price for a war that benefits someone else altogether.
What I know and believe is that every time one of his students helps allay a patient’s suffering, Gen Mushtaq will live on.
DR UMAR AKBAR
England
(II)
THE death of Gen Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, surgeon-general of the Pakistan Army, along with several other innocent people, is a monumental tragedy. None who had the pleasure of meeting him, as I had the honour of doing, could fail to be moved by his intense humility and genuine warmth. It is particularly poignant that those who profess to act in the name of Islam have murdered a Hafiz-i-Quran, a gem of a man, a healer renowned for his piety.
Our thoughts go out to the families of all the victims. Their grief is personal in a way that only they know, but the nation grieves with them. It has lost one of its finest doctors, and the Pakistan Army has lost of one its finest leaders.
“Sleep on, dear friend; the Lord holds thee now.”
SAAD GUL
United States
PAKISTAN Railways will operate three new goods trains from Karachi (Feb 15).
Why are we increasing the number of trains when we cannot operate the existing ones professionally. One proof of this is the transfer of goods transportation business from trains to trucks. Instead of increasing the number of trains; how about increasing the number of carriages in the existing goods trains, say doubling, tripling or quadrupling them, to avoid increase of traffic on the existing railway line.
As is, the existing train line is a single track from Lodhran onwards. Increasing traffic on this section may result in delays for existing passenger trains.
The Americans do this and their goods trains are four times the length of our trains, with two or more powerful engines running in tandem.
This simple arrangement reduces train traffic and hazards-associated closure with rail crossings.
S. NAYYAR IQBAL RAZA
Karachi
THIS is apropos of the letter, ‘Issue of cousin marriages’ (Feb 20). While it is true that cousin marriages slightly increase chances of children being born with genetic defects, in Pakistan most people are the products of decades of cousin marriages.
If a child’s great grandparents, as well as grandparents, were first cousins, it significantly increases the chances of that child having more defects than one whose forebears were not first cousins.
I know many families in which children are either totally deaf or totally nearsighted, and they were shocked when the doctors told them that inbreeding was to blame. For this reason, cousin marriages are banned in 26 states in the US, while most Hindu sects do not allow marriages between first cousins. This proves that even three thousand years ago people realised that marriage among near relatives was harmful.
SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
PAKISTAN Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif should remember that his party has not won a majority in any assembly, especially the National Assembly.
The voter turnout was 40 per cent out of an approximate 80-odd million registered voters, which means that his party secured only about 24 per cent of the votes from 32 million voters, which does not give him any mandate to talk big about.
This represents a small portion of the total population of 160 million and he cannot be called a true representative of the majority.
M. IQBAL
Sharjah
THIS letter is addressed to all those who are misleading innocent people by brainwashing them to do barbaric acts of killing their own Muslim brethren. Stop it now, your bloody game has become a total nuisance and is no longer endurable.
Allah says in the Quran that He blocks the minds and hearts of the misled, so remember that you are deprived of His guidance.
An eye surgeon, Lt Gen Mustash Baig, was in service of humanity and helping to restore the eyesight of those who were about to lose it. He was a pillar of hope and light for hundreds of human beings but your barbaric courier, under an illusion of securing a place in heavens that you wrongly promised to him, blasted himself and all those eight to nine innocent persons. Otherwise the poor youth himself could have spent life enjoying the boon of Allah.
May Allah guide the erring and the ignorant. Ameen
M. M. KHAN
Karachi
IN his letter, ‘A futile war’ (Feb 26), Abdul Basit Khawaja is either being naive or is ignorant of the ground realities.
It is a fact that Pakistan opted to support the US troops in the war against terror and turned their back towards the oppressive so-called Islamic regime of the Taliban.
Preventing women from education, harbouring the most wanted terrorist in its territory, tyrannising its population in the name of Shariat and shaving off the heads of the Pakistani football team only because they had come out in shorts to play the game are a few acts of the Taliban which could never be deemed as Islamic.
Such acts have maligned our religion and have given a false image of Islam. The foreign policy of supporting the Taliban regime for two decades has given us nothing but Kalashnikov culture, drugs, etc, turning this land into a breeding ground for potential suicide bombers etc.
This war on terror is our war, and the moderate nation of Pakistan would like to see an end to the victimisation of their homeland by extremists and would like to see elimination of the handful lot.
MIQDAD R. LAKHANIE
Karachi
WHY is Iran alone being punished for performing a nuclear test? Have Israel and several other countries been punished for doing the same?
Have the international community and the intelligence agencies of Israel been punished for hijacking a ship laden with enriched uranium from the high seas?
Was president Truman of the United States punished for ordering the kidnapping of the father of the nuclear bomb to his country? So, why Iran alone?
SYED AZIZ AKHTAR
Karachi
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