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| March 28, 2008 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1429 |
Can windmills deliver?
Sentenced to eternity
The greatest apostle of Allah
OTHER VOICES - Pushto Press
ALLAH said (to Bani Israel when they had been seriously admonished and punished for worshipping the idol of a calf) “I visit with My punishment whom I will, but My Mercy is all-comprehensive, it extends to all things.
THE coalition partners must speed up cabinet formation. The delay has given rise to speculation that could hamper the process. As it is Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani taking the oath of office with no ministers being present at the ceremony — none had been appointed — was somewhat of an anomaly. The delay seems to stem from lack of agreement on the distribution of portfolios. Naturally every party would like to have a key ministry — home, foreign affairs, defence and finance. While one would expect the PPP as the leading party to have the first choice, reports in the media speak of difficulties in reaching an agreement. The PML-N is said to be eying the finance portfolio with the ANP keen on having the water and power ministry in which it feels it has a greater stake because of the existing and prospective hydro-electric projects being located in the NWFP.
It is strange that such questions should lead to hard bargaining. The fact is that once the cabinet is in place, key decisions on vital issues will be expected to be taken collectively by the government. It will not be the exclusive responsibility of an individual minister or his party to formulate and execute policy on the issues that fall in the domain of his ministry. This also leads us to the question of provincial autonomy that has been the most controversial question in Pakistan’s constitutional history. It has strained relations between the centre and the provinces — the failure of our leaders to reach a consensus on the distribution of powers in the federation in the past has had disastrous consequences for Pakistan. It would be a defining moment in the country’s politics if the main parties representing various provinces could sort out the provincial autonomy question. It has three dimensions. The smaller provinces want the relevant clauses in the constitution revised, because they think they are unfair to them. They feel that they are denied control over their natural resources and do not enjoy equal share in political decision-making. The success of democracy in a federal scheme depends a great deal on how the federating units and the federal government evolve a working relationship. The five governments now have a chance to prove they are quite capable of setting new precedents in this relationship and making a success of the Pakistani federation.
The solidarity exhibited by Mr Zardari, Mr Nawaz Sharif and Mr Asfandyar Wali to mark the beginning of the new, democratic era should enable them to move on to the next step. The people have expectations, and the new government must not disappoint them. A small and cohesive council of ministers, as has been promised, should prove to be more effective and efficient in addressing the issues facing the nation. A large and unwieldy army of ministers with the consequent burden on the exchequer is most undesirable.
THE energy crisis across the country is worsening by the day — by the hour, actually. Disappointingly, there is no immediate solution on the horizon either. Preoccupied by political compulsions, the new government is bound to take time settling in. Till then, it will be down to the bare day-to-day essentials. This, in turn, means continuing problems for industrial and domestic consumers alike. Things being what they are, the announcement by the Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) that it has provided land to 24 potential investors in Sindh for installing wind energy mills to produce 1,200MW of power has, indeed, the potential to make a difference. This newspaper has repeatedly stressed the need to diversify the country’s energy profile. Around half of the country’s needs right now are met through use of indigenous gas, another 28 per cent through domestic and imported oil, and some 13 per cent through hydro-electricity. Coal at seven per cent and nuclear energy at one per cent stand at the periphery of our energy mix. In contrast, the renewable energy industry is gaining momentum worldwide. According to a recent report by the Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), global wind generating capacity is estimated to have increased by 28 per cent, while that of solar panels has surged by as much as 52 per cent. The sector now accounts for 2.4 million jobs globally, and has doubled power generating capacity in the last three years to 240 gigawatts. Through the AEDB announcement, Pakistan has now joined 65 other countries that have made a commitment to accelerate the use of renewable energy.
The thing to watch out for is the country’s passion for self-destruction. We have already seen bombastic pronouncements regarding what we can do with our coal reserves; that the country has coal reserves that can produce energy equivalent to more than 400 billion barrels of oil or over 850 trillion cubic feet of gas. But all these have remained mere statistics. One hopes that this time round, it would be different. The wind mill project has already taken four years to reach where it is today. The delay has increased the cost of the project by way of increased prices of wind turbines. Besides, delivery time had also been extended, which means the country will have to wait for at least three years to have a functioning windmill. Is it a case of stillbirth? Let’s hope it is not.
MANY lost lives have come into sharp focus with former caretaker minister for human rights Ansar Burney’s efforts to rescue Pakistani detainees forgotten in Indian prisons. He has also approached Indian authorities to release Pakistani prisoners on humanitarian grounds and his organisation is in the process of locating their families. The Ansar Burney Trust recently disclosed a list of 46 Pakistani inmates, including women, who are imprisoned in jails across Indian Punjab long after serving their sentences. Despite the fact that India and Pakistan are on the road to harmony, some 500 Pakistanis are currently in Indian jails. Many have completed their prison terms and many others have been denied consular access — a violation of international conventions signed by both countries.
The most recent victim is Jamal Qureshi who went to visit his relatives in India and was detained for 25 months for possessing a fake Rs100 note in Indian currency that he exchanged in an Indian train. He blames the Pakistan Embassy and human rights groups for his ordeal, as they neither rescued him nor helped him with judicial proceedings. However, Khalid Mahmood, who went to India in 2005 to watch a cricket match, became the most tragic casualty. Accused of being a spy, he was brutally tortured by Indian agencies, which resulted in his death. But these are not Pakistan’s tragedies alone. Official statistics show close to 500 Indians stranded in Pakistan’s prisons with scores of helpless fishermen who fester in prisons on both sides of the divide for reasons of plain ignorance.
Indian External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, has recently stated that a new consular agreement is being finalised with Pakistan to ‘ensure expeditious release of prisoners in each other’s countries’. However, it is hoped that the agreement includes clauses that prescribe deportation for petty offences as opposed to endless stints in prison. The importance of every life cannot be stressed enough and a degree of clemency can hardly be a subject of debate between the two countries. Also, there is a need to both strengthen and sensitise our missions in foreign lands to assist their distressed countrymen, and denial of consular access must be treated as a criminal offence. This will nurture a sense of belonging and guarantee protection for Pakistani citizens.
“It would not be after long when I would ordain it (My Mercy) for those who would observe piety, be regular in giving charity, those who would firmly believe in my verses. They are those who would follow the Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, whom they would find mentioned in their Scriptures, the Law (Torah) and the Gospel. He would command them what is right, forbid them what is evil, allow them what is pure and good, prohibit them from what is impure and bad, release them from the heavy burdens, and the yokes which were upon them. So, those who have believed in him, honoured him, helped him, and have followed the Light sent down with him, are the ones who will prosper,” (Q:7:156-157).
In these verses is a pre-figuring of the last and the greatest Apostle of Allah. Prophecies about him are found in the Taurat and the Injil. The following verses of the Torah also promise the coming of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Lord said to me (Moses): “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you among their brothers: I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name, I will Myself call him to account.” (Deuteronomy 18:17–9).
It is clear from these verses that what is meant by “a Prophet like you among their brothers” is a Prophet who will come from the line of Ishmael, since Ishmael is the brother of Isaac, who is the forefather of the Children of Israel. The only Prophet who came after Moses and resembled him in many ways, for example, in the bringing of new laws and the waging of war on his enemies, was the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The Qur’an points to the same fact, (We have sent to you a Messenger as a witness over you, even as we sent to Pharaoh a Messenger). (Al-Muzzammil 73:15).
Among Christians there are persons who claim this prophecy foretold by Moses to be in regards to Jesus. Indeed Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament, but this prophecy does not befit him if we analyse the prophecy. Moses foretold the following: 1. The Prophet Will Be Like Moses. There is no likeness between Moses and Jesus. The resemblance is very prominent between the Prophet Muhammad and Moses. Both the Prophets had natural births while Jesus was miraculously born from virgin Mary. Both had father and mother, Jesus had no father due to which fact some believe him to be son of God.
Both led normal family life, had children, while Jesus never married. Both were accepted as prophets by their own people, Jesus was rejected by his people, the Jews, who tried to crucify him. “He (Jesus) came unto his own, but his own received him not,” (John 1:11). Both were victorious over their opponents, the one over Pharaoh who was drowned, the other conquered Makkah, Jesus is claimed by his believers to have been crucified by his enemies.
Both began their mission at forty years of age and died natural death. Jesus began his mission when he was thirty, and disappeared under mysterious conditions and is believed by his followers to be crucified. Both are normal human beings, none of their followers believes them to be divine, the followers of Jesus believe him to be God incarnate.
2. The Awaited Prophet will be from the Brethren of the Jews. The verse under discussion is explicit in saying that the prophet will be raised not from Jewish nation, but Jesus was ethnically a Jew so the prophecy could never befit him. The promised prophet has to come from amongst the brethren of Jews and who could they be except the descendants of Ismail, the Arabs.
The Jews are the descendants of Isaac’s son, Jacob. The Arabs are the children of Ishmael. And Isaac and Ishmael are two sons of Abraham from two different mothers.
Thus, the Arabs are the brethren of the Jewish nation, a fact borne by the Bible itself: ‘And he (Ishmael) shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.’ (Genesis 16:12). ‘And he (Ishmael) died in the presence of all his brethren.’ (Genesis 25:18).
3. God will put His words in the mouth of the Awaited Prophet. The Quran says about Muhammad “Neither does he speak out of his own desire: that is but a revelation with which he is being inspired.” (Quran 53:3-4).
This corresponds to what is contained in the Genesis: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” (Genesis 18:18).
Now it is incumbent upon all who believe in Bible that they must accept the prophethood of Muhammad, whether they be Jews or Christians as they are enjoined by the Bible to do so.
The Bible also warns those who dare to reject the promised Prophet’s message. Likewise the Prophet is foretold at several places in the New Testament eg., John, xiv, 16; xv, 26; xvi, 7. Jesus Christ very clearly informs about the coming of ‘that Prophet’. To twist these prophecies to his own second advent or his resurrection is quite un-maintainable.
The Quranic message while corroborating the prophecy of the prophets Moses and Jesus is very explicit that only those who believe in the prophethood of Muhammad honour him, help him, and follow the Light sent down with him would prosper, be successful.
Moreover, it lays down in extremely unambiguous words that unlike other apostles of God who were sent to particular nations, countries, or races and for specific periods of time Prophet Muhammad has been sent towards the whole of mankind and for all times to come.
The entire humanity is now duty bound to believe in the prophethood of Muhammad to follow in his footsteps, to honour him, to help him in all possible ways, and to be led by the Light that has descended with him as this is the only available course of action to achieve success, prosperity and Falah. If the People of the Book refuse to do so they would be transgressing the clear commandments of their scriptures, disobeying their Prophets and going astray from the right path.
Pashtun problems
Khabroona, Peshawar
The provincial Shura of Nangrahar met Afghan president Hamid Karzai the other day and presented him with a list of problems faced by the people of the province. According to the delegation, these problems need to be solved immediately. The [demands] include constructing a dam to overcome the electricity shortage in the province, building protective embankments along the river Kunar, establishing a medical college and setting up madressahs on the zonal level.
The people of Nangrahar, predominantly Pashtun, remained mostly peaceful after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. They participated valiantly in the jihad but remained aloof from the infighting seen after the Soviets left Afghanistan. They again remained neutral and peaceful when the Taliban captured Kabul and were subsequently attacked by US forces. During the four years of American occupation, the people of Nangrahar created no problems for Nato and ISAF forces.
Meanwhile, American troops attacked a house in Nangrahar’s Bati district, killing four people and taking away a woman. The people of Nangrahar reacted to this brutal act in the strongest terms possible. Tension and frustration gripped the province after the incident.
It is therefore a matter of high priority for the president of Afghanistan to look into the problems of the people of Nangrahar and take concrete measures to solve them. A dam constructed on the river Kunar might solve the problem of electricity in Nangrahar which may in turn open new vistas for development in the province. This will also be helpful in reducing the increasing rate of unemployment in the province.— (March 24)
Even jirgas not safe
Hewad,Peshawar
An attack on a jirga in Kohat on March 19 left at least 17 people dead and many more wounded. Earlier in Waziristan, many tribal elders were killed in an attack on a jirga [while] the suicide attack on a jirga in Darra Adamkhel was an unforgettable event in our recent history.
The killing of tribal elders has long posed a great challenge [to peace and security]. According to reliable sources, some 200 tribal elders have been killed in different attacks since 9/11. It seems that all these attacks are part of a planned conspiracy against the prospect of peace in the Pashtun belt. The reason is self-evident: the elders are in a position to bring about a lasting solution to the problem of militancy in the Pashtun belt.
… Those who are capable of bringing about lasting peace to the area are repeatedly falling victim to target killings. It is now high time that the Pashtun masses rise and confront the issue of militancy and extremism in their region.
If the Pashtuns want to get rid of the bomb blasts and killings, they have to unite beyond their personal interests and devise a strategy to combat this menace.
The most crucial problem the Pashtuns are facing today is the issue of peace.
The issue can only be resolved through collective efforts. Political parties, the Pashtun intelligentsia, the media and civil society have to preserve the honour of their elders and to take meaningful measures to end the deadly crisis of militancy and terrorism. It is time to think about one’s own family and self and then proceed to help others.
— (March 24)
— Selected and translated by Khadim Hussain