| March 17, 2008 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 8, 1429 |
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Doing first thing first
Every 30th Briton has epilepsy?
Punishing the plagiarists
Law and order in Swat
Islam and evolutionism
President’s advice to new govt
Our ulema
Palestinian woes
PML(Q)
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 warning of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to wheat-growing countries, of which Pakistan is one of the major stakeholders, about the impending ‘Ug99 wheat fungus’ on March 6 is well-timed, though extremely nerve-racking.
If we recall, it was about 13 months back Pakistan imported 75,000 tons of wheat from Australia to meet the usual artificially-created shortage of produce. Before disembarkation of shipment when the test was conducted by the National Agricultural Research Council it found the wheat was unfit for human consumption.
On this disclosure then Minister of Food Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind immediately announced that “substandard wheat would not be accepted under any circumstances, as the health of our people was dearer to us”.
However, subsequently pragmatism prevailed over public health and this fungus infected wheat which was rejected by many other countries was subjected to pseudo test in Islamabad and was declared fit for consumption, and consignment unloaded and brought into the country. It was done despite the minster’s loud claims at the initial stage and massive uproar in the country carried through news and electronic media for the human hazards this fungus-infected wheat contained.
Obviously those ‘influentials’ who were involved in the heinous and anti-human activities overcame the hurdles by greasing the palms of those who mattered and got the harmful wheat cleared for consumption. Since this wheat, besides being fungus-infected, was three years old, therefore, in order to make it consumable two trucks of fresh wheat had to be mixed with three trucks of infected one.
After this event in the area, Mehar taluka, Dadu district, at present the wheat crop has developed some sort of infection of whitish fungus. But since the agricultural department has never visited the area, despite repeated requests, the farmers as a last resort have to cut and burn the infected cereal to avoid further spread of disease.
The people in the corridor of power and their collaborating traders, whose only aim is to make huge profit, are concerned more in exporting our fresh ‘A’ grade wheat for $200 and import ‘C’ grade contaminated wheat for $600 as has been done during this year. Therefore, unless warning of the FAO regarding impending viral threat to wheat is taken seriously by every segment, including media, and civil society and, besides unremitting pressure from the FAO, we may anticipate a calamity of much greater proportion than the serious problem of oil price hike or artificially-created flour scarcity, the people are still suffering from.
DR ZAHID HUSSAIN JATOI
Mehar
THE majority of the newly-elect legislators are there because civil society, the lawyers’ movement, the media generated a new impetus for the change to democratic order and doing away with the status quo under the king’s party, with the king reigning supreme over all the organs of the state. The people want the supremacy and sovereignty of parliament and this is what civil society, by and large, voted for on Feb 18.
The lawyers and their leaders did not contest the election as their sole aim was not to enter power politics but to continue the movement for the rule of law, for upholding the Constitution and for restoration of the higher judiciary, summarily dismissed and imprisoned in their houses on Nov 3, 2007.
Had the lawyers and the deposed judges taken part in the election, the situation on number counts would have been different and many more stalwarts would have met their Waterloo at their hands. I say so because the legal fraternity is very well organised at the grassroots level throughout the country.
If the present politicians don’t deliver and the people vie for political leadership from the middle and lower middle classes to rid them of the feudal and capitalist order, it is the lawyers — all graduates — who will come to their rescue.
Anyway, let’s talk of first thing first, i.e. the new assembly should restore the judiciary as it used to be on Nov 2, 2007. No democracy can be visualised without free and independent judiciary.
The Constitution should be brought back to the pre-Oct 12, 1999 period, and the detractors of democracy must not be allowed to hold the Constitution hostage to the LFO, PCO, 17th Amendment, etc. The Constitution must be cleansed of impurities and given the status worthy of a free and independent nation.
People from the opposition at the call of their conscience, irrespective of their political parties, should also do it through a secret ballot.
Moreover, the prime minister as chief executive of the country should be entrusted with the powers of the supreme commander of armed forces, as envisaged in the original 1973 Constitution, which has no place for any security councils.
Politicians should move fast to set the house in order and then pay heed to the other pressing issues and needs of the citizens. They will not get another chance, so they must not play tricks with the people.
AIR CMDRE ( r) ISHTIAQ AHMAD KHAN
Chaillianwala, Mandi Bahaudin
THIS is what is deduced from the information provided by the UK-based Dr K. Shakir in his letter, ‘Mental illness’ (March 8). As this information has been received through an honourable medical colleague, we have to accept and respect it.
However, I would like to contest his assertion that it should be more common than has been reported from a poor underdeveloped country like Pakistan. The worthy writer has very correctly pointed out the possible reasons for his conjecture. However, I would like to affirm that the prevalence of epilepsy in Pakistan, to be precise, is 0.98 per cent.
This information is based on one of the largest population based studies done in the Asia Pacific region on prevalence of epilepsy and its social problems. This study was conducted in Pakistan during 1985 87 using very strict international protocols and the published data is a standard source of reference in all international epilepsy related literature.
The average prevalence rate for epilepsy in the general population in various countries of the world has also been reported to be nearly one per cent. This includes the USA, most European countries and some developing countries where such studies have been undertaken. This information should be available on the website of International League Against Epilepsy, an international body that has served the cause of epilepsy for the last 100 years.
Ardeshir Cowasjee deserves a special salute from all epilepsy sufferers and its care-givers for the way he has tried to reduce the stigma of epilepsy in his recent column (March 2). This is yet another contribution by Mr Cowasjee in his attempt to introduce civil values in Pakistan.
After reading his column, even the British public can quite rightly boast that every 30th person in the UK (if the figures quoted by Dr Shakir are correct) is a Socrates, Pythagoras, Michelangelo, de Vinci, Byron, Tennyson, Dickens, Nobel and numerous other luminaries.
As for the reasons why epilepsy should be commoner in underdeveloped countries, one would totally agree with Dr Shakir’s assumption: medical conditions, birth complications, head injury, etc., perhaps being the main causes of ‘acquired’ epilepsy.
However, an unknown natural tendency still remains by far the most common cause of epilepsy anywhere in the world. In Pakistan, head injury may seem to stand out as a very common cause of insult to human brain, especially when the international viewers often witnessing scenes of protesting lawyers, human rights activists and others being clubbed on the head by the ‘protectors of law’.
How many of these ‘victims’ would suffer from epilepsy? Well, this can be the subject of an interesting scientific study.
PROF HASAN AZIZ
Karachi
PLAGIARISM, like terrorism, after some recent cases of Punjab University physicists came to light, has become a buzz-word in not only the academic circles but also in social forums which usually take little interest in academic news.
It is really disgraceful and ironical that those entrusted with the sacred job of imparting knowledge and character-building have turned out to be of weak moral fibre. Besides, the way they have been coming up with lame excuses and complaining against the unfair and unjust plagiarism policy of the Higher Education Commission, they seem to be devoid of all forms of shame and disgrace.
By indulging in plagiarism, they have breached the core professional ethics and outrageously shattered the confidence reposed in them. Such an intellectual dishonesty on their part is likely to have depressing effects for the forthcoming generations of scientists, doctors, historians, economists, educationists and leaders.
These plagiarists have not only brought disgrace to the sacred profession of teaching, the institution wherein they are working, the students who have studied from the university and currently on its rolls, but also to the whole national and rich Muslim academic tradition.
As at national level, scientists like Dr Abdus Salam, Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, economists like Dr Mahbuul Haq and others have won international accolades in their respective fields. At an Islamic level there are scientists like Ibn al Nafess, Al Hazen, mathematicians like Al Khwarzmi and Omer Khayam, political thinkers like Ibn Khaldoon, Al Farabi. Our plagiarists must have put them all to shame who must have been reeling on the act of their fellow believers.
They have been a source of guidance and their great works have been taught in the western universities for centuries.
In the end, I would like the plagiarists to apologise so that they display at least one positive thing on their part before the nation, instead of casting slur on the authorities.
I intend to move the authorities concerned to adopt zero tolerance policy in dealing with plagiarists all around the country and award an exemplary punishment to them.
MUDDASSAR ARIF
Kot Abul Malik
ON Feb 23, a wedding party was targeted in Swat, resulting in the death of 16 people, and on Feb 29 a gathering at the funeral of a senior police officer was hit, claiming more than 50 lives and affecting at least another 100.
It reflects the brutality of the terrorists, as also the failure of the state machinery to perform its basic function. Both acts were condemned by all. However, a mere denunciation of an act as abominable is not sufficient enough to make up for the losses caused or heal the injuries inflicted.
Our government authorities held that these attacks were made by the enemies of the nation. However, neither the enemy was investigated nor were any diplomatic ties severed. It is time our government focused on tackling the situation.
ABU ABDUL MUEZ
Islamabad
IN his letter, ‘Tribute to Darwin (March 3), which is a rejoinder to Manzoor Kureshi’s note of Feb 25, A. K. Sirkar has rejected the work on the theory of evolution with which some early Muslim scholars and sages are credited. Besides, he has most sarcastically referred to what he terms the “uncompromising stance of the faithful” in support of creationism, instead of accepting Darwin’s formulations and sneeringly advised them to “keep up the good work.”
Mr Sirkar would most probably have also read of letter of Faqir Ahmed (‘The questioning spirit’, Feb 27) that provided a convincing summary of what the Holy Quran and some learned Muslims, including Rumi, had to say on the subject. That he chose to ignore all these shows his bias and malice.
For instance, Mr Ahmad had summed up the message of the Quran spread at various places, which is in line with modern findings. Apart from the works of Al Jahiz (225 AH or 9th century AD) and Ibn Miskawaya (421 AH), he has referred to Allama lqbal and Allama Mashriqi from the 20th century. More interestingly, he has cited Maulana Rumi’s thoughts penned some 800 years back. Its gist is that man was initially just ore and stone, then developed into vegetable life, progressed to birds, reptiles and animals and then took his present form. His evolution will continue into spiritually higher forms.
Mr Sirkar has also made it appear as if there is currently a Muslim conspiracy to discredit Darwin’s discovery by planting stories on the Internet about Ibn Miskawaya’s work on biological evolution of species and said that this scholar was an ethical philosopher of the 10th – 11th century, not a biologist.
This isn’t a conspiracy because French academician Dr Maurice Bucaille had written a book on the Ouranic approach to science and contrasted it with that of the Bible (The Bible, the Quran and Sciences). The discussion on embryology alone is too lengthy to be reproduced here.
Finally, let me give just one example from our scripture. Regarding the creation of the universe, it says essentially that it was created from a singularity through an explosion (The Big Bang). It is written (21:30): “Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (in one unit of creation), and We clove them asunder?”
The Big Bang Theory also says that after the initial explosion, a lot of energy was released from the singularity, and the universe, which was extremely hot then, looked foggy and smoke like. Many scientists have used the word ‘mist’ to describe this stage of the universe. In this respect, the Holy Book says (41:11): “Moreover, He comprehended in His design the sky, and it had been (as) smoke.”
Here, the Quran explicitly states that the sky looked like smoke then. The noteworthy thing is that while some scientists described that stage of the universe as ‘mist’, our scripture uses the Arabic word ‘dukhaan’, which translates to ‘smoke’ in English. The remarkable thing is that the words ‘mist’ or ‘fog’ or similar ones signify coolness, but the universe then was hot. Therefore, the word ‘smoke’ is more accurate since it denoted both fogginess and hotness.
A READER
Karachi
‘RELIEF for the poor first task of new government: Musharaf’. The president, while giving this piece of advice (March 12), emphatically asked the future government to take bold decisions to meet difficult challenges such as bringing down prices and providing relief to the masses.
Surprisingly, during his entire tenure spreading over more than eight years he never found it appropriate to give such advice to the handpicked prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, and company. On the contrary, whenever a voice was raised against the soaring prices and grinding poverty, it was the president who defended the government.
He always came out with a stock explanation that poverty has come down because numbers of cellphones, motorcars and bicycles have increased. So much so that even stock exchange crashes, in which millions of people lost their hard-earned money to the wily stock brokers with right connection in the corridors of power, and the sugar, oil and wheat scandals did not change his judgment, notwithstanding the uproar in the print and electronic media.
Since the president has at last realised the agony of the masses, though quite late, he must admit the collapse of the socio-economic policies of the previous government headed by Shaukat Aziz, who did no good to the country and the people except leaving behind the ever-burgeoning foreign debt (breaking bowl has turned out to be a myth) and a parvenu class living ostentatiously in palatial mansions and seen driving ultra-luxury model vehicles on the road.
It was this filthy rich class who reaped the benefits of expending economy (from $64 billion in 2002 to $160 billion in 2007-08) and not the masses that are left to live in abject poverty.
I am positive that had the president listened to the woes of the poor and the underprivileged when they were being looted and financially destroyed, things today would have been obviously different.
DR ALI AKBAR M. DHAKAN
Karachi
THIS has reference to Alya Alvi’s letter, ‘Suicide attacks and Ulema’s role’ (March 7), and Parvez Hoodbhoy’s article, ‘The war of drones’ (March 9).
The reason why those who claim to be our religious leaders are silent about suicides is that they are no more ulema. Now they are politicians, with all tricks of politics. As politicians they have enjoyed perks and have become softies.
If they were true ulema, would they have remained silent when every week there is at least one murder in the name of karo-kari? If karo-kari is un-Islamic, why no protest by the so-called ‘alims’?
Pakistan is the only Muslim country in the world where poor women, after being gang-raped are sometimes paraded if they insist on registering an FIR. Those claiming to be ulema are silent even when such crimes are committed in the open (four witness?). If they are true religious leaders, how will they face Allah on the Day of Judgment? Have they no responsibility to stop these crimes?
The fact is that they have no guts. It’s easy to criticise the government, stage walkouts and threaten to hold a ‘million march’. But when it comes to dealing with waderas, chaudhrys and sardars, the mullahs know what will happen to them. They are politicians and don’t want to spend the rest of their life with broken limbs. They have always played a negative role. The nation should not expect any constructive role from them.
S. WAHIDUDDIN
Karachi
THE recent article by Aijaz Zaka Syed has once again highlighted the miserable situation the Palestinians are going through on a daily basis. By attacking innocent civilians in a ‘wild fire’, the Israelis are bringing the Palestinians to extinction.
God answered the prayers of the Palestinians and gave Hamas the courage to blast the border fencing with Egypt so that people could stock food and He is the only hope for them right now because the Muslim nations cannot do anything.
If this aggression by the Zionist regime continues, genocide is going to kick the people out of existence which would be the worse the humankind would have ever seen.
How long is Israel going to inflict hardships on these people and when will the world stop being oblivious to the fact that they have a social duty to combat this situation?
ABDUL BASIT KHAWAJA
Sharjah, UAE
“MUSHARRAF’s policies to continue”, said the governor of Punjab (March 8). The Q League and the like have, I fear, confused power with greatness.
Z. A. AZMI
Karachi
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