| April 02, 2008 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1429 |
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Time for change
Overcoming power shortage
Who outwits whom?
State of our children
Laws for workers
Untapped export niches
Why this silence?
Stoning infant democracy
Analytical skills
CNG buses
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 recent statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that, with the induction of a sovereign parliament in Pakistan and a representative civilian government, India looks forward to the best-ever relations between the two neighbouring countries is indeed very significant and encouraging. It will undoubtedly help in further promoting the cordial relations which have existed between India and Pakistan over the past few years.
The Lahore Declaration of 1999 would have proved to be a significant breakthrough in our relations with India but sadly events that followed did not allow the two countries to move closer together in the field of trade, travel, tourism, business, commerce and industry. The Islamabad Declaration a few years later put both countries back on track.
The previous government in Pakistan made efforts to promote better and closer ties but there were obvious constraints in bringing about a closer relationship. With the parliamentary election in Pakistan and the election of a new prime minister, the earlier constraints no longer exist. The leaders of major political parties in Pakistan have shown a large measure of maturity and political wisdom as reflected in their statements.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is publicly committed to restoring a close and cordial working relationship with India as reflected in the Lahore Declaration and his subsequent statements. Asif Ali Zardari, the co chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, has expressed a similar desire and stated that pending the settlement of the long outstanding dispute over Kashmir, all other differences with India should be settled expeditiously in a spirit of mutual trust and goodwill. He is reported to have gone a step further in stating that settlement of the Kashmir issue should be left to future generations.
This reflects political maturity and wisdom in dealing with an issue which has long hurt the people of Pakistan and obstructed our march towards peace, progress and prosperity.
The issue of Kashmir can neither be given up nor forgotten but the two countries can and should irrevocably commit themselves to settle all differences while acknowledging that the issue of Kashmir will be resolved in a manner consistent with the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.
The Saarc countries need each other and a truly integrated relationship in all areas of trade, travel, tourism, business, commerce and industry will go a long way in ensuring a bright and prosperous future for the subcontinent.
We can only hope that political leadership in the both countries will rise to the occasion and make historic decisions which will replace hostility and mistrust with friendship and faith in our common destiny. We have many examples of countries leaving fundamental disputes for settlement to a future date and moving closer to achieve peace and prosperity. The subcontinent should not be left behind.
Urgent confidence-building measures need to be declared and implemented. The people of the two countries want peace and good-neighbourly relations. The time is right for the political leaders to live up to the expectations of the people.
LIAQUAT H. MERCHANT
Karachi
THIS refers to the letter of Wg Cdr (r) Mushtaq Ahmed (March 28). He has very rightly pointed out that the emerging leadership must inject additional funds in the social sector, education, health and must curtail expenses in the houses of our top slots, cut down perks and privileges of MNAs/MPAs, limit the number of ministers in federal and provincial cabinets and cut down excursion visits of electorates.
He has, however, missed out one important cost-intensive area — the defence. We spend about 60 per cent in this head, leaving 40 per cent for the rest of the 99.5 per cent.
Shifting GHQ to Islamabad at the cost of Rs2.4 billion should be reviewed by the new leadership. Why are 90 bungalows of six bedrooms, 300 of fours and 14,750 luxury apartments required there (‘Clear hurdles in the way of new GHQ’ by Syed Irfan Raza, March
28)?
Which ranks would be living in these bungalows? The new government should limit expenses of its army and must not allow it to be spoiled further by exposure to glamorous life; they are professional warriors and should learn to live in the real world in simpler ways like their peers in the neighbourhoods. Concept of a compact and highly efficient force vis-à-vis large head counts is the need of the time.
We must also divert funds to Balochistan, the richest in natural resources but the most deprived and poverty-stricken province. Sui lights up the stoves of the whole country, yet the lifestyles of its people is pathetic — hardly any difference between a man and an animal.
With a revenue of more than Rs90 billion a year, the Sui by now should have been like any other big cities of Pakistan having high literacy rate, good schools, colleges, university, medical college, hospitals and other facilities. It has none.
Instead of new GHQ, the two of the three army cantonments in Abbottabad should be shifted to Sui and to other parts of Balochistan so that locals mingle with the military, get jobs and other opportunities associated with a cantonment. It would not only improve the army’s impression on the Baloch but would also improve the law and order situation in the province.
The biggest question, however, is the defining of priorities, getting out of individualism and uniting on collective national interest.
TANVIR VAQAR
Mirpur Mathelo
APROPOS of S. Nayyar Iqbal Raza’s letter (March 29), in which he has proposed a very good alternative for overcoming power shortage, I would, being an electrical engineer, disagree with him in that the method he has proposed will have cost of maintenance that far exceeds the cost we pay for our other power plants for the same amount of power generated.
Also, it is not very much feasible to transform a very slow rotating motion of five to six rpm (revolutions per minute) to 1,000 rpm. It would cause heavy mechanical losses due to huge difference between sizes of pulleys.
The world is advancing to produce power free of cost through renewable energy resources and we are being advised to go back to the time of Moenjodaro! We, and our policymakers, should pay full attention towards searching and harnessing the sources of renewable energy that are available in our country.
We have winds that sometimes exceed 48km/h speed in Hyderabad, Jamshoro, coastal areas of Thatta district, which can be used to drive wind-power plants.
We have long summers in upper Sindh and lower Punjab where a typical summer day lasts for almost 14 hours, and the sun shines to its fullest during midday providing millions of joules of energy in the form of light and heat. Why don’t we think of installing solar power plants there?
Also, we have vast coastal areas stretching from Karachi to far areas of Balochistan offering us huge tidal energy from the Arabian Sea. We can, with/without the help of countries which are harnessing this source of energy, produce electric power from this tidal energy.
It would be my humble request/advice to motivate people and enterprises to invest in renewable energy sector to help us overcome the long cried power crisis.
SHAFIQ AHMED ODHANO
Jamshoro
THIS is apropos of Ayesha Siddiqa’s article, ‘New age of the media’ (March 28).
While, it is a fact that President Musharraf’s regime helped a great deal in the expansion of electronic media in Pakistan, there are different interpretations about the motives behind it. One school of thought believes that the media was granted a degree of freedom and allowed to expand till the time it played its role as per the desire of the establishment, intentionally or unintentionally, in demonising the true political leadership of the country.
From October 1999 to March 2007, almost all the media, print as well as electronic, was united in severely criticising the top political leadership of the country, including Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, for their real or perceived wrongdings during the so-called era of democracy (1988-1999).
As this act on the part of the media was absolutely in accordance with the objectives of the establishment, which was to discredit and malign opponents of the regime, the media was granted full freedom.
Regarding the unease in media-Musharraf relations since 2007, there is a perception that the so-called establishment stood divided in March 2007 on the issue of the chief justice. The subsequent course of events led a major section of the establishment in disagreement with Mr Musharraf and wanted to get rid of him.
Accordingly, the media was used to destabilise him. This fight between two factions of the establishment is almost in the final stage, with the Musharraf faction on the defensive.
Once this war is over between the two factions of the establishment, new battle lines are to be drawn: the establishment versus the political leadership.
The establishment would try once again to use the media to malign and give a bad name to the political leadership, unless politicians outsmarted the establishment.
DR M. ALI SHAIKH
Karachi
EVERY morning and afternoon, as I commute between Islamabad and Rawalpindi, many hundred schoolchildren are my fellow travellers. The lucky ones are packed into school vans that are filled to capacity; 18 to 20 children stuffed into a small van having a capacity of no more than 10 or 12. Many of the small ones are made to stand since the seating capacity is already more than filled.
These are children from reasonably affluent families whose parents can afford to pay sizable sums of money to the transporters.
Then there are others, presumably not so lucky. They sit on the roof of the minibuses or hang on to the steel ladders at the back of these vehicles and thus travel to their schools, their schoolbags slung across shoulders.
What would they learn when they eventually do get to the school? In the afternoons an equally laborious journey awaits their tender bodies and minds.
And, finally, I see another group of children: the coconut vendors, the window cleaners and the beggars, who flock your car when it stops at the traffic signal.
In dirty, ragged clothes, many bare-footed, unbathed, they aim at making Rs100 before they go home for the day.
The state of our children reflects on the state of the nation. What have we given to the children of this nation in the past 60 years? Or have we ever even thought about them?
NUSRAT BOKHARI
Rawalpindi
PRIME Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, in his first speech to the members of the new National Assembly, announced withdrawal of ban on students unions and trade unions amid thunderous applause of the house.
I cannot say if this announcement was made for cheap publicity or with some genuine desire and objective in mind, as the fact on the ground is that the unions, particularly the trade unions, are already active and working with full force.
There is a grave need for all of us, particularly for the big political parties and the parties in power, to analyse dispassionately the roles so far have been played by the unions, specially the trade unions.
There is a need to see what contribution they have made for the betterment of society as a whole.
I am of the view that if proper study is made, then it will be established beyond doubt that the undisciplined, chaotic, anarchic, high-handed activities of the trade unions are largely (but behind the scene) responsible for failure of democracy and downfall of democratic forces.
So, it is imperative for the present government to regulate and bring the activities and rights of the trade unions under some checks and balances to ensure its continuity and smooth sailing of the ruling parties for the prescribed time of five years. Political parties, for their own interests, should not encourage the trade unionists to do whatever they like to do in the garb of democratic rights.
Ours is a country with low levels of education. As a result, our unionised people are also not very educated. But they do not hesitate to show their prowess in all fields of the affairs. They do not hesitate to vitiate the efficacy and effectiveness of various affairs with their limited knowledge and exposure.
This ultimately affects the economy, and healthy growth of all norms of the country. This present popularly-elected government is expected to take notice of this, and is also requested to take corrective measures in this regard for the greater good of the nation.
They are also expected to keep in mind that protecting the interest of a limited part of a certain class, for the sake of a few votes, at the cost of discipline and norms is not worth anything.
Also, the government needs to make laws to regulate the employers’ and employees’ relationship. Job-holders are totally unprotected here and live at the whims of the management, on the one hand, and are at the mercy of the unionised staff, on the other hand.
I hope some lawmakers who feel the pain of the workers will take notice of my words and make laws to protect the rights of employees.
S. HUSSAIN
Karachi
REVIEW of the agricultural exports of some of the Euro pean countries shows that there is a huge potential for Pakistani exporters to tap untapped niches like export of flowers. In Pakistan, lack of business and related processes education have made it difficult for a common businessman to even think of exporting their products which are very competitive in the international market. Tapping these niches require identification of these niches and education and encouragement of farmers to cultivate these products.
The Netherlands is the world’s leading exporter of agricultural products. A significant portion of Dutch agricultural exports is derived from fresh-cut plants, flowers, and bulbs, with the Netherlands exporting two-thirds of the world’s total.
The Netherlands also exports a quarter of all world tomatoes, and one-third of the world’s exports of peppers and cucumbers. These statistics clearly draw our attention to the fact that given the cutthroat competition in major agricultural products such as wheat and rice, we have to switch our focus and start cultivating and exporting other agricultural products.
For this to happen there is a desperate need not only for farmer education at grassroots level but also providing him advanced technological means of agricultural production.
Moreover, it is equally important to make financing available to small farmers.
The government has to step in and play its role to create awareness among farmers of these facts and encourage them to cultivate more profitable agricultural products. This kind of initiative on the part of farmers requires government support through provision of better information and markets in the first place.
JAHANZEB
Dublin
TARIQ Aziz Uddin, Pakistan’s ambassadar to Afghanistan, was kidnapped by unknown men in Fata. In the beginning the press carried reports about him so that one lived with the hope that efforts were being made to recover him. But now, for quite some time, there is no news of him at all. This is very worrying for his family and friends — and I count myself among the latter.
Even more to the point is the question of public and government apathy to such a traumatic incident.
It makes sense to keep quiet out of concerns for his safety but such prolonged silence does not any make sense. Have we come to the point that a public servant in the performance of his duties is actually abducted and nobody bothers to care? The impression we get is that the state is abandoning its functionaries?
If the new government does not act decisively now, it may lose its creditability. The time to act to rescue Tariq Aziz is now.
DR TARIQ RAHMAN
Rawalpindi
FORGET democracy if it is not played according to predefined rules. Can one change hockey rules to suit any player taking the field? Democracy is no different.
The new NWFP Assembly has already cast the first stone on the infant democracy — it has opted to promote dictatorial tradition of winning uncontested elections. The speaker and his deputy have already ascended their respective thrones uncontested — intense effort is on to do the same for the chief minister’s office.
Most regrettably those who have monarchial courtesan’s mentality are calling this act promotion of democracy; and our free media/press does not utter even a single squeak against it. How often will we like to repeat the military dictatorships and pseudo-democracy cycles?
The media will be solely responsible for the failure this time around for not making the masses aware of the distinction between legitimate and pseudo-democracy.
KHALED AHMED
Islamabad
I FULLY concur with Aisha Khan and Dr Tahira Arshed’s thoughts (March 25) on development of analytical skills in Pakistan. Safety, risk assessments, reliability, quality and maintenance engineering use analytical techniques such as Event Tree Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, Bow-Tie Graphics, HAZID, and HAZOP.
These are based on logical thinking and make the decision-making process easier for the management and the investors. The evaluator can see every movement and change graphically and point out any error in the design.
Pakistan’s engineers, scientists and analysts need this type of knowledge to carry out detailed design or accident investigation to find out root causes; where these techniques prove very useful.
In the West these are the tools of safety and reliability engineers who identify the hidden hazards and make the design much safer and reliable.
LATIF KHAN
Kuwait
AFTER an increase in diesel and petrol prices, transport owners have converted the vehicles’ engines to CNGs. Before, the gas kits were fitted in cars and taxis, but now owners/transporters of van and Toyota Hiace that run on long routes are having the gas kits fitted also. There are almost three or four kits fitted in a Toyota Hiace.
This unsafe practice seems like the transport owners are attaching bombs to the passenger carriages, which may blast any time causing severe accidents as they are very dangerous for human lives.
The government authorities are, therefore, requested to take necessary action in this regard and ensure public safety.
M. MAQSOOD KHATTAK
Karak
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