| March 18, 2008 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 9, 1429 |
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Rude shock to CNG sector
Taliban destabilising Pakistan
New chapter in Iran-Iraq ties
Scarce resources
Exporting Heer Ranjah
Power transition
Institutionalising judiciary
PML(N) and judiciary
100 years’ rule
You call it austerity?
Verbal laws
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
DIFFERENCES on the candidature of premiership have surfaced in the PPP. Amin Fahim has told the media that he is the most popular candidate for the PM’s slot and, according to him, this can be gauged through the referendum as 90 per cent people want him to occupy the PM house in Islamabad.
Previously all PPP leaders, including party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Amin Fahim, used to tell the impatient media that there are no differences on the candidature among the party leaders but after a recent TV report quoting several PPP leaders from Sindh said that Mr Zardari is himself aspiring for the top executives seat and he, according to them, plainly told the participants in that meeting.
Clearly Amin Fahim is one among the most senior leaders of the party since its establishment in 1967 and has remained loyal to the party. He rejected the tempting offer of the PM’s slot by Musharraf after the 2002 election as the latter put condition that he would disown or sideline Benazir Bhutto.
Soon after the landslide victory of the PPP in the election, Asif Ali Zardari told the people that he is not the candidate for PM’s position and Amin Fahim is the undisputed nominee for that office.
But power politics has its own dynamics. Several developments after the election might have brought a sea change in the thinking of Mr Zardari, as previously he was determined to confine himself to the party leadership and to work for the welfare of party workers.
ut now the ground realities have perhaps compelled him to reluctantly assume the PM slot in addition to party command and withdraw his Sonia Gandhi-like role.
Things in our country are much more different from that of India. There, democracy has matured without any intervention from the army and any manipulation from the establishment.
In Pakistan, spontaneous attempts and attacks had crippled and stifled the road to democracy.
In such murky conditions and the country facing daunting economic social, judicial and foreign policy challenges, the PPP is going to form the government in future as well as in provinces with the help of all political parties.
In the above backdrop, the post of the PM is not a bed of roses. Mr Fahim, no doubt an experienced and shrewd politician, would find it hard to keep the party, as well as coalition parties, on broad. In addition, it is feared that the soft-tempered persons like Mr Fahim are easy to be pressured by the establishment.
Therefore, as a party sympathiser, my humble request to Mr Fahim and all aspirants of higher executive position is to kindly shun differences and extend full support to the co-chairman of the party. As you have stood with the party through thick and thin, people expect you to do the same at this deciding juncture.
I hope Mr Zardari would do his utmost to reward every leader and worker for their sacrifices. We all should put our acts, energies and efforts together to come to the expectations of the people who had been crushed under the heavy burden of poverty, price hike and numerous problems, not to fight on ministerial slots and perks and privileges. The cause is more important than any other petty things.
GULSHER PANHWER
Johi, Dadu
THE government’s (Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority) recent announcement of suspending the licences of CNG operators and imposing restriction on issuance of new permits comes as a rude shock to an industry that was growing and benefiting consumers and the citizens of this country at large.
For the information of your readers, Pakistan is recognised as the second largest CNG user in the world after Brazil. Official figure indicates that till March 2007 more than 1.35 million vehicles were converted on CNG as against one million in 2006, which shows an increase of 35 per cent.
On average about 29,167 vehicles are being converted to CNG every month. The number of CNG filling stations has also grown to 1,414 operating in the in 85 cities and towns, while around 200 CNG pumps are being set up and 400 investors have shown interest to set up fuel stations of gas in Pakistan.
The shocking news has hit the CNG sector real hard, the Punjab belt and more or less the entire country where exclusive CNG stations have been set up will be in dire straits, some even going out of business. Why has this sudden decision been taken arbitrarily when, in reality, the caretaker government had nothing to do with a major policy decision such as this one?
The suspension of licences will hurt the livelihoods of several thousand people, daily wagers and bread winners, including local manufacturers of CNG equipment, dispensers, etc. Investors, both local and foreign, will be the biggest losers in this fallacy of the government.
The efforts of the EDB in the recent past to attract foreign CNG kit manufacturers to set up plants in Pakistan will also go to waste; and as a matter of fact, the famous Italian brand Lendi Renzo was in an advanced stage, having started operations already.
OEMs started to make CNG buses, rickshaws and cars. Companies have gone into manufacture of gas dispensers and CNG compressors. The government of Pakistan started a mass movement in the direction of CNG as the preferred fuel, resulting into an investment success story by the SME sector of billions of rupees into gas dispensing stations. When the nation has responded whole heartedly, the government now plays this macabre joke.
TASEER ALI
Islamabad
THIS is with reference to the spate of bombings that have rocked the country and seems to continue unabated during 2008.
The perpetrators of such inhuman acts are none other than the Taliban and Al Qaeda who are following their so-called agenda of jihad against anti-Islam forces and hell bent on destabilising Pakistan.
However, if we closely look at their activities, one would realise that their effective role is that of Indian and Israeli agents, because they are attacking Pakistani defence installations and killing Pakistani soldiers and law-enforcement agencies’ personnel – something that Indians love to do. They are stabbing in the back the Muslim world’s only nuclear power.
The day Lt-Gen Mushtaq Ahmed Baig was martyred – the highest ranking officer to fall — generals in the Indian army officers’ messes must have clicked their heels and clinked champagne glasses. Their hearts must have been gladdened by such brutal acts which, if planned by the Indian agents, must have taken decades to execute. I really wonder how can the perpetrators of such heinous acts call themselves Muslims and act in the name of Islam.
The Indian army has always devised plans to engage the Pakistan army on Pakistan’s western/northwestern front with the connivance of Afghan elements but never succeeded. The Indians and Israelis must have been gloating, in their heart of hearts, at the predicament of President Musharraf and Pakistan.
The Taliban, working on the Indian and Israeli agenda, have done exactly what these anti-Pakistan elements desire. Thousands of army troops and FC personnel are engaged on our western and northwestern frontier to thwart their nefarious designs of destabilising Pakistan.
I was really saddened to read the letter (Aug 14) by Asia, widow of a man who died in the recent bomb blasts in Lahore.
I share her grief and agree with her when she addresses Baitullah Mehsud and says: “How are you going to explain that you have killed so many innocent people, made so many widows, and deprived so many little children of their father’s love? I hope that you have enough conscience left in you to think about these questions…….You know that you will surely go to hell for what you are doing. There is still time to repent. God is very forgiving.”
JAMAL JAMIL
Karachi
THIS is apropos of your editorial, ‘A new chapter’ (March 5). One gets the impression that all of Shia-Sunni violence in Iraq is only due to Shia militias backed by Iran.
The context is of salience here. It was only Muqtada al Sadr’s militia that went on rampage after the Samarra shrines of the 10th and the 11th Imams were blasted on the morning of Feb 22, 2006. The Badr brigade of Al Hakim did not go berserk. Calls from Al Hawza of Najaf to exercise restraint and maintain peace were ignored this time by Muqtada’s militia.
According to Najaf’s position made very clear in 2003, all forms of terror is un-Islamic. The Shias of Iraq, therefore, remained composed even after the bombing right in front of the shrine of Imam Ali (AS) on Aug 28, 2003 in which Ayatollah Baqr al Sadr and others were killed. Primarily, the Shias and their sites were attacked by insurgents for over two years. Destruction of the Samarra shrine in early 2006 triggered a strong reaction from Muqtada’s militia that was, however, opposed by Najaf’s religious leaders.
In line with the above lead, Prime Minister Noori al Maliki authorised a strong crackdown on Muqtada’s militia so much so that Muqtada had to eventually distance himself from the hardliners and disowned their nefarious acts. The militia hideouts in the Sadr city were attacked and raided aerially too, with innocent civilians also getting killed in the process.
As for Iran, it suspected a faction within their country to be aiding Muqtada that Iran said they would try to rein in. It is not just Iran’s ‘restraining hand’ that will bring peace in Iraq but strong action on the part of Iraqi government backed by the anti-terror thought promoted by Najaf’s scholars that will fuel resentment and action against terror in Iraq. The insurgents will, however, need to be influenced by their spiritual leaders. Action on multiple fronts is required for a lasting peace in Iraq.
DR MAHNAZ FATIMA
Karachi
IN your editorial, ‘More refugees in Karachi’ (Feb 28) ), about the pouring of the Waziristan refugees in Karachi, you wrote that it would be ‘churlish’ to make hundreds of Waziristan refugees pouring into the city feel unwelcome.
It is true as you have explained that as fellow Pakistanis, these few thousand refugees from Waziristan have every right to seek the same socio-economic opportunities (commensurate with their skills and education) available to other Karachi residents.
Sure. One only wonders which ‘proper health facilities and better access to quality education’ were you referring to. Of course, people in Karachi will be generous to share these ‘facilities’ with the newcomers but only if these existed to begin with.
By the way, as fellow Pakistanis, do these refugees have any rights to settle in some other parts of Pakistan? Islamabad and Lahore would be a better choice and more convenient destinations for these fellow citizens.
AFTAB S. ALAM
United States
HATS off to humankind’s ingenuity, we can put a price tag on everything from formula substitutes of mothers’ milk to love. Valentine’s Day among many other things is also a reminder of the fact that love is a marketable commodity.
Love between a man and woman is considered a highly private affair in our culture. Pakistani culture not only disapproves public display of love between the sexes, but it also views the offenders as westernised, a highly undesirable trait. In many Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and India, protests were launched in recent years to ban Valentine Day’s celebrations.
But our values are changing at an inconceivable speed. We want to be viewed as modern, democratic and of late torch-bearers of enlightened moderation. With the media’s infinite access, it has practically become impossible for governments to engineer consumers’ demands. If Pakistani consumers want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, so be it.
Therefore, we have been celebrating Valentine’s Day for the last two or so decades. When it comes to copying anything evenly remotely western, no one can beat the elite urbanite Pakistanis. We are perfect copycats as we give roses and chocolates to our perceived lovers and throw perfect red and pink parties.
I am not against love or celebrating love as an emotion, but I think the ostentatious spending often carried out at the expense of parents’ wallets needs some rethinking.
Also, why not be a little creative and come up with a Pakistani equivalent for Valentine’s Day? After all, there is no dearth of stories of lovers in Pakistani culture/history. Folklores of Heer Ranjah, Sassi Puno, Sohni Mainnwaal and Mirza Sahiban which glorify the elopement of lovers and their sacrifices still resonate in literature and can be heard in villages.
Why not promote our culture and history and pay homage to those who dared to challenge the societal norms? Why not give ‘methai’ instead of chocolates and support the indigenous industry? Why not have ‘bangara’ instead of hard rock and why not have poetry competitions instead of senseless parties? If we take pride in celebrating our culture, one day we might export Heer Ranjah instead of importing Valentine’s Day.
SOBIA FAYYAZ
Canada
THIS is in response to Bilal Mustafa Kaifi’s letter, ‘Legitimate transition of power vital’ (March 13).
His thrust of arguments is directed at the US intervention in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
I agree with his criticism that the ‘neo-Truman doctrine, shown by US Senator Joseph Biden is as undiplomatic as it is despicable.
If the US thinks that military mismanagement in Pakistan has brought both Pakistan and Afghanistan to a verge of failure and uncertainty, why does it keep supporting the military chief-turned-civilian president?
The writer seems to say that Pakistan has made mistakes in the alliance with the US since the Cold War.
Most people do not tell you that the US has also made mistakes — irreversible and bigger in dimensions and effects — according to its size and stupidity.
I also agree with him that investing 15,000 troops and $10 billion in Afghanistan have failed to convince them that they needed US help. Incidentally, almost the same amount minus the military personnel (so far) has failed the public opinion in Pakistan also, the reason being that the US wanted the entire hand and not just the handshake.
The USA’s insatiable desire to dominate other countries would produce more Afghanistans and Pakistans.
M.K. NAQVI
Karachi
ASIF Ali Zardari is claiming that the PPP’s first job in the assembly would be to get UN investigation done into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
This would raise two contradictions:
a. Why wasn’t the same done when Murtaza Bhutto was killed in Karachi?
b. Trust the judiciary and judicial system of Pakistan.
It is time the judiciary was institutionalised about which we are all so gung-ho nowadays. Let’s appoint a qualified reputable judge to do the investigation of Ms Bhutto’s death and act on the report thus submitted.
It is time we came out of the concept of ‘gora’ expert. If the so-called gora experts were so smart, why didn’t they resolve the case of JF Kennedy’s murder and so many more of such incidents?
S.JAMEEL HUSSAIN
Karachi
THE PML(N) seems to be firm about the reinstatement of the deposed judges. I think it wants to compensate the judiciary for the attack on the Supreme Court.
IMRAN MOBEEN KHAN
Sukkur
ACCORDING to the quote on the editorial page (March 9), Paramjit Kaur, the wife of the recently-released Indian spy Kashmir Singh, prayed for President Musharraf by saying: “May he rule for a hundred years.”
This reminds one of a refugee from Waziristan, who had narrated to the BBC several weeks back the heart-rending story of how he and a group of dozens of others, mainly women and children, had to walk for hours and hours through snow-covered mountains to escape the bombardment over their area.
He said that when they would go in one direction there would be aerial bombings and, on trying to escape in the opposite direction, there would be mortar or cannon fire.
Without naming anyone, he said: “The women of my group were cursing the persons responsible for their plight.” Ultimately, after an incredibly tough journey, they reached Hyderabad where they had some relatives or acquaintances.
Similarly, one wonders what the prayers of the families of the hundreds of ‘disappeared’ Pakistanis would be? Certainly something that a paper wouldn’t like to quote and Mr Musharraf wouldn’t wish to hear.
A CITIZEN
Karachi
THIS is with reference to a number of letters and articles being written about the outlandish grant of lifetime perks and privileges to the Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro by the caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro.
This bit of information was painful and unsolicited and did get me thinking for a while, but, as immune as we have become to everything going haywire around us, I did get back to life as normal.
But what really set my hair on fire was an advertisement shown over and over again on TV carrying a message from the prime minister asking the nation to observe austerity and conserve energy.
What on earth is that supposed to mean? Is it supposed to make a fun of millions of helpless and hopeless taxpayers like me who always wonder where the hell their tax money goes? As if the suicide bombings and power shutdowns were not enough, mind-boggling stunts like these are more than enough to make a person like me go insane.
ALTAMASH LONE
Karachi
“ONE must be able to work with everyone”, said Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, a prime ministerial hopeful (Feb 3). The idea has all the potentials for problem-free governance resulting in the progress and prosperity of the people world over, earlier rather than later.
By saying so without accepting the moderates seen working with extremists, he may have broken some of our verbal penal laws. Let us re-learn that sympathising with and reforming the bad people was an important part of the mission of our Prophet (peace be upon him). But Mr Ahmad, you are already late by many years.
Z.A. KAZMI
Karachi
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