| March 30, 2008 | Sunday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1429 |
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Consumer courts
Benazir’s dream comes true
Causes of fires in buildings
Suicide attacks
Haves and have-nots
Renaming NWFP
Judges’ issue
History delivers its verdict
Admission test woes
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
PAKISTAN is going through a very difficult time. Its rupee is declining rapidly in value. Soon it will be a worthless currency. I remember the time when one US dollar was equal to four rupees. In those days there was a fixed exchange rate.
It is a mistake to treat currency like wheat, sugar or other commodity. Its value should not be determined by demand and supply. It should have a fixed exchange rate. Pakistan will be ruined unless it reverts to a fixed exchange rate.
At present, the US dollar is highly overvalued. I can buy almost anything in Pakistan at about 10 per cent of what I will have to pay in the US or Canada.
There should be a protest against the existing monetary system that has led the poor nations deep into debt and poverty. This monetary system has enabled the US and others to buy goods and services from the Third World at ridiculously low prices. The US is mainly responsible for this mess. For many years, it has been playing with its own currency and, by extension, with the currencies of other countries. Through lavish spending and inept financial management, it has flooded world central banks with its trillion of dollars for which it has no gold backing.
Before his retirement, French president Charles de Gaulle had bitterly criticised America for buying major European industries with US dollars printed arbitrarily without gold backing. De Gaulle believed that any paper money put into circulation by any government without gold backing is as worthless as any currency counterfeited.
The world is full of trillions of US dollars. Under the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944, America was committed to buy back its surplus dollars with gold at the official price of $42 an ounce. But the US repudiated its promise by eliminating the convertibility of dollars into gold. In other words, it declared bankruptcy. The world was stunned.
Although America is mainly to blame for this mess, other European countries too are flooding the world with paper money to pay for goods and services purchased from Third World countries.
In its book the Alexander Hamilton Institute sheds light on how the unlimited supply of inconvertible paper money can wreck a country’s economy.
“Every experiment with paper money has resulted in a disaster because no government that has tried has been able to resist issuing an excessive supply, with the result that the money depreciated until it finally became worthless.”
It would be a mistake to diminish the monetary role of gold. The history of the world’s monetary system has shown that as long as the countries have kept gold in their vaults with which to redeem their paper money, their currencies have remained stable. When they have refused to make the currencies convertible, problems have arisen.
Paper money is artificial money. It can be printed in unlimited quantity at the whims of the governing politicians. Inconvertible paper money generates inordinate inflation.
Gold, on the other hand, is real money. Its limited availability imposes restraint on the government authority to create money. Gold-backed currency provides price stability.
What is needed is the internationally recognised currency with no affiliation with any country. While the study for introducing such a currency is made, nations should conduct their foreign trade under the barter system. As a temporary measure, Pakistan should revert to a fixed exchange rate of one US dollar equal to four rupees.
MANSAB ALI KHAN
Karachi
I HAVE recently come across a TV channel transmission about the function of consumer courts in Lahore. I am not sure if the consumer courts are now working all over the country.
However, as long as they are the courts headed by magistrates or judges, they are in a position to take suto motu action against the price spiral of certain commodities which foreign companies based in Pakistan are engaged in without caring the least about the law of the land or the masses.
A prominent company raised its ‘dalda’ cooking oil price from Rs305 just one year ago to double the price now, ie Rs688. The worst is that the printed price on the tin is erased by the traders and they charge their demanded price. When any customer makes an argument about these malpractices, the daredevil shopkeepers have no fear about insulting the customer. Is this how a civilised society runs in the world? Another company has also considerably increased the price of its tea.
Further another foreign company is raising its prices even on drinking water, milk packs, yoghurts, etc, which almost every one of the nation consumes. One litre milk pack was selling only a year and a half back for Rs26 and through their fabricated strategy of causing shortage of milk in shops for a couple of days and then reselling it again at a price inflated by Re1 or Rs2 and thus in gradual durations over a period of just one and a half years they are now selling one litre milk pack for Rs44, ie almost 75 per cent increase.
The previous government of Shaukat Aziz had been winking an eye on all these malpractices as the then prime minister was only a telephone call away from the officials of the big companies.
Now it is to be seen if the new government will come up to the trust of the masses who have ‘mandated them to rescue this nation from the fleecers.
Cost control committees composed of professional firms of public accountants should be engaged to carry on this function at the expense of the government and under direct supervision of the government’s enlarged ombudsmen setup spread over all provinces and in federal capital. One ombudsman for the whole country sounds like a joke and mere lip-service. Now all those old practices must close and new reforms should be introduced where even an ombudsman should be held not only responsible but prosecutable for negligence that would cost the country losses.
So the new government has to be very mindful of the public opinion as they will not be able to afford to ignore the will of the masses in running the affairs of the country.
The consumer courts must start taking suo motu notice and action against all the big companies enjoying phenomenal liberties at the cost of the poor nation of Pakistan. The guilty ones must be penalised heavily to pay back their loot to the masses through a system to be suggested and introduced by consumer courts themselves.
M. M. KHAN
Karachi
A NEW day has come to Pakistan with the restoration of democracy. I extend congratulations and express joy with the people of Pakistan, whom I love, and with their new democratically-elected parliament.
At this momentous time, my heart is so full. My emotions are a dichotomy of both profound sadness and also profound joy....as I think of Benazir Bhutto, whom I loved so dearly.
The arrival of this extraordinary moment for Pakistan is the moment and the cause for which she gave her life. Her life and death -- her sacrifice and courage -- are what made this moment possible.
Benazir wrote to me, in an email, in November 2007:
”I hope many people will benefit from my struggle to restore democracy in Pakistan.
“People have an unquestionable desire for democracy, for control over their own lives, for human rights, gender equality, labour and minority rights and for a chance to build a better life for their children.
“These are indeed the dreams of the Pakistani people and of all people in this part of the world. We appeal to all the people of the world to walk with us on our common destination towards freedom.”
In reading and seeing the reports of these historic days in Pakistan, seeing the joy and hope on the faces of the people , I see Benazir’s face, and her smile, and I feel the hope that her courage, spirit, and vision illuminated in hearts and minds across her country and around the world.
Her remarkable spirit and strength; her faith in God; her conviction and commitment to her beliefs and her vision and her cause, are the nexus and heartbeat that made this extraordinary moment a reality.
The hope that she inspired lives on in the hearts of those whose lives she touched. Her courage lives on. Benazir lives on.
The unquenchable, inviolable spirit of Benazir Bhutto is now the heart of Pakistan -- and of all the people in this world who believe in freedom, human rights, and democracy -- and who hold on to faith and hope, regardless of circumstance. The glow from the flame she lit burns brightly across Pakistan and in hearts around the world. As it will forever.
MICHELLE LINDSEY
Founder of
www.SupportBenazir.org United States
THE increasing number of incidents of fires in buildings in the country, resulting in colossal property losses, valuable records and human lives, is alarming.
Nothing concrete is done by the authorities concerned beyond making a statement that the fire was the result of an electric short-circuit.
It is time the authorities took appropriate steps to fully identify the causes of electrical fires and took action to eliminate or mitigate such fires.
It has been observed that in most cases the electrical wiring is not designed and laid in accordance with the established approved codes and standards.
The installation and supervision is also not handled by qualified personnel. Also, automatic fire detection and fire fighting schemes are not in place in large buildings, plazas and other facilities.
Old and worn-out wiring needs to be replaced with properly designed schemes ensuring fast switch-off in the event of short-circuits and earth leakages through application of modern engineering practices, including fast-operating short-circuiting devices.
A technical audit and survey of all important key buildings and structures is necessary by relevant authorities for immediate appropriate action.
All new building projects’ design should be subject to design scrutiny and approval by a competent qualified authority before implementation is permitted.
It appears that the existing government mechanism in place is not up to the mark. The extra investment due to suggested measures would ensure prevention of much greater loss later on.
The likelihood of future fires could not be minimised or ruled out in the absence of adequate and proper safeguards.
R.A. BHUTTA
Lahore
THE year 2007 was considered to be the bloodiest year since Pakistan joined the war against Al Qaeda and with other militants.
In three months of that year at least 16 suicide attacks took place in the country. Twenty army officers, 102 policemen and 144 common people lost their lives in these attacks.
It means the figure of deaths will go on multiplying if suicide attacks continue to take place. The new government should try to control these attacks in Pakistan as soon as possible, otherwise the situation will worsen beyond control.
EHSAN BARKET
Turbat
THIS is apropos of an incident that happened to us at the South City Hospital located at Clifton in Karachi. I had an appointment with the paediatrician for my 14-month-old daughter. As we were running a few minutes late, I was in a hurry to get to Dr Sohail Thobani’s clinic there. Finally, I reached the reception area with my daughter and nanny following behind me.
As I walked in through the front door, a security guard stepped in front of my nanny and told her she couldn’t go in. When I happened to glance back to check their progress, I noticed my daughter and nanny were standing outside the building and the security guard had his hand out to stop them entering the reception premises.
I walked back and asked him as to what was the problem and he asked me whether the girl was my ‘naukar’ (servant). I felt quite irritated but said: “If you mean is she employed by me, then yes, she works for me.”
He then told me she could not go into the hospital premises as she was a ‘naukar’ and ‘naukars’ weren’t permitted inside — this was the rule. Next the reception area staff, two men and a girl, started calling the inner offices for guidance while pointing towards a billboard sign of hospital rules.
I asked them for a copy of the rules and they said they didn’t have any except for the billboard.
I waited for 10 minutes after which one Mr Noman from the billing department appeared. I repeated my request to be given a letter in writing saying that I could not bring my nanny into the premises, but he asked me instead to put in a complaint; he gave me a card with his COO’s name written on it.
My question to South City is: “Have we as a nation fallen so low as to deny entry into hospitals to people who are not in the higher income brackets? Does a ‘naukar’ not deserve respect, is it only for the five-star client of your hospital?” For all the security guard knew I may have been taking my nanny for a checkup in the hospital! But did he even bother to find out. No!
Till this incident happened I had visited South City due to my child’s paediatrician’s change of address. It never occurred to me that status is what South City is catering to and they do not entertain low-income groups. My nanny later asked me if the hospital was for the rich only as they did not let her go in, ‘Baji, do they not want poor people to visit the hospital? Does this mean we cannot get treatment here?’
To the South City Hospital administration – may I remind you: “The Creator has the last word, and if He can make you a prince, it will not take Him long to make you a pauper.”
I left South City not making it to my appointment, feeling very angry, sad and disappointed at the state of affairs, vowing never to visit this hospital again. We are all servants by the way, employed by someone or the other. Some employees make more and are qualified for a particular job, whilst others make far less.
All in all, it does not change the fact that we are at the end of the day all humans, on earth for a short time and reporting to Him, Allah. Once our stint is done here, we will all be turned to dust, with only our actions and words left behind as legacy.
The hurt and humiliation the hospital administration caused my nanny that day will remain for a long time with her. I, too, could have kept quiet and let this incident pass by but for the fact that my heart, in all fairness, does not allow me to ignore the injustice done that day.
SUMYRA KAMAL
Karachi
THIS refers to Khalid Chaudhry’s letter, ‘Renaming NWFP’ (March 9). The writer has opposed the naming of the NWFP as Pakhtunistan or Afghania on the ground they represent centrifugal tendency. We already have the province of Balochistan which bears the ethnic name.
It has not led to the centrifugalism. The people of Balochistan are as much patriotic as any other part of the country. Pakhtuns represent the major segments of the population of the above-named province. So their sentiments are to be respected.
In India most of the states have ethnic nomenclature like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamilnado, etc. Punjab and Sindh have not been named because of the rivers flowing through them as stated by the writer.
They bear their present names because they are inhabited by the Punjabi- and Sindhi-speaking people, respectively.
The example given by the writer regarding the renaming of the cities of Lyallpur and Montgomery is misplaced. There names have been altered because they originally had the anglicised names. Generally, the countries or provinces have ethnic names, not the cities. Since Pakhtuns constitute the majority of population of the NWFP, their wishes cannot be ignored.
It is not likely to divide the people as feared by the writer. On the contrary, it would strengthen their unity.
R. R. ALVI
Lahore
FROM all those who say that a two-thirds majority of the parliament is needed to restore the judges deposed on Nov 3, 2007, I ask a simple question: “Were these judges deposed by the parliament”?
MUHAMMAD WAQAR ASLAM
Quetta
THE first session of the newly-set National Assembly had interesting revelations. It was here when the prime minister of Pakistan, Yusuf Raza Gilani, vowed for a UN probe into Benazir Bhutto’s murder and called for a parliamentary resolution condemning ZAB’s ‘judicial murder’.
It was followed by a supportive speech from the PML(N) leader, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Add to it the speech of the ANP’s leader, Asfandyar Wali Khan, who cried that the Pashtun are peaceful and their children want ‘uniforms, not suicide belts’.
This time the establishment of Pakistan has to listen. Clearly, the perceptions about the roles in the political arena of Pakistan have changed.
Previously, these parties, most specifically the PPP and the ANP, were viewed as security risk; their leaders were dismissed as villains. But the slogans of ‘BB is alive’ inside the hall of the presidential palace stamp the ideological victory of the PPP over its long-term rival, the establishment.
Today when one looks at the hopes of the coalition, one finds that history has exonerated the Bhutto family.
That BB is vindicated in every term. That Lahore is ready to embrace Larkana, no matter what the ‘anti-politicians’ might suspect.
That Bacha Khan is enthroned by those who mocked at his ‘pacifism’.
One has come to agree: history has the harshest verdict.
MUHAMMAD ISMAIL KHAN
Islamabad
THIS is with reference to the letter, ‘Admission test: woes of applicants’ (March 25). I am glad somebody wrote about it. Students were instructed to study along the lines of SAT 1 for LCAT, which allows use of calculator for mathematics section.
However, we were not allowed to use calculators in the test despite of the fact that the sums required lengthy working and were difficult.
The reporting time was 12.30pm and the test was to begin at 2.30pm and end at 5.30pm. Time management was miserable and we were not let out of the test room until 6.15pm.
On the top of it, there was no canteen around or any refreshments. I could practically hear the growling stomach of the applicant sitting next to me. The test circumstances were truly inhuman.
ANOTHER APPLICANT
Karachi
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