| April 17, 2008 | Thursday | Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1429 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Nadra’s working
Bridle the cartels
Pharmacists’ role
Restoring student unions
Stop black gram smuggling
Protecting working women
National interest first
Goodbye to vengeful politics
Public transport system
Fake ads
PTCL Internet
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
THIS is with reference to “The new generation of ‘red shirts’” by Mr Adil Zareef (Dawn April 13). He may quote a Hindu scholar, but I would like to quote history, for he has levelled baseless allegations against the founder of Pakistan, calling the dismissal of the Frontier ministry illegal.
Dr Khan Sahib did not resign in spite of having promised several times that he would resign if the Congress lost the referendum. Well, the Congress lost it when the brave Pakhtoon people voted overwhelmingly in favour of a free Muslim Pakistan instead of being part of Hindu India. By losing the referendum the Congress ministry led by Dr Khan had lost all moral right to rule. But he did not resign.
As partition neared, Hindu and Sikh members of the assembly left for India, while the independents joined the Muslim League, depriving the Congress ministry of a majority. In a House of 50 he had 20 or so members. Aslam Khattak in his wonderful book gives us details about this era.
Meanwhile, as communal frenzy gripped the subcontinent, the Governor, Sir Olaf Caroe, wrote to the Governor General, Lord Mounbatten, informing him of the situation and saying that Dr Khan’s minority government was not in a position to control the situation. Even Mountbatten, in spite of his known pro-Congress views, hinted that he was for the dismissal of the Khan ministry.
When freedom came, Dr Khan refused to take the oath of allegiance to Pakistan and was absent when the Pakistan flag was unfurled.
The new Governor, Ambrose Dundas, wrote to the Governor-General, who was now Jinnah, informing him of the situation, and the Quaid asked the Governor to fulfil his constitutional duty and sack the minority government.
Pakhtoons throughout the subcontinent rejoiced on the birth of Pakistan and on their province becoming part of the world’s biggest Muslim state, which is now a nuclear power. Pakhtoons are proud of being Pakistani. Pakistan Zindabad!
TAHIR ZAMAN
Karachi
APROPOS of the above-mentioned letters (March 27 and March 28), I would like to share some views. Pakistan is a developing country, and Nadra is the first IT organisation catering to automate the national registration.
The process is simple. Get the token issued, have your photograph and thumb impression taken, have your data entered, check your form for any mistakes, have it attested if required, and submit it. Call at Nadra helpline after a week’s time of form submission date to find out the status of your card. If any problem persists, visit the concerned centre for correction.
I had good experiences at Nadra, only recently I am faced with a lingering-on situation. My daughter has applied for a fresh card. Her husband is a Pakistan origin card-holder and thus I was made the head of family. POC database is not linked with CNIC, thus their numbers cannot be entered. No issue yet.
However, my daughter’s application was rejected in Islamabad stating that the husband’s CNIC is required for married females. As a test case data was re-sent with the POC number, but it was rejected on the plea that the number was invalid. So it was reverted to the old situation in which the same error occurred.
A complaint was lodged on the complaint facility given at the centre, the officer-in-charge got in touch with higher officials as well to facilitate us, but no solution has yet been reached. We visited the centre many times. Every effort is being made to clear off this weird objection but in vain.
The form number is WW00014397 and complaint no. of SRC helpdesk is 10738. We appeal to the Nadra chairman to implement effective business rules for the ease of the registration process and resolve the complaints forwarded by all centres. It is people who suffer.
Nadra is not a perfect organisation. But it sure is striving for proper automation of records. It might take another three to five years till records are set straight so as to ease the registration process. To achieve this, one suggestion is to implement better data verification rules and, secondly, timely action be taken for resolution of complaints.
SHK. RIAZ AHMED
Karachi
ACCORDING to a news item, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) recently fined the Pakistan Banking Association (PBA) along with seven banks that had an instrumental role and high culpability in the implementation of Enhanced Savings Account (ESA) Scheme.
The CCP, granted immunity from cartel-like behaviour, charges to the 35 scheduled banks due to their non-implementation of ESA scheme. The CCP has announced its decision after an inquiry against 42 commercial banks and the PBA. Seven banks have been fined and the penalty imposed on the PBA is Rs30 million.
The suo motu action taken by the CCP is highly commendable and will go a long way in regulating the affairs of institutions in Pakistan and giving a fair treatment to its citizens.
It would be appropriate to bring to the notice of the CCP that similar action against other businesses, manufacturers’ cartels and associations is also required to save the general public from their excesses.
These businesses include cement, sugar, flour, ghee/cooking oil/soap and textile manufacturers, oil companies and others who have established associations and cartels for devising uniform policies to loot the consumers.
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association are some examples of such cartels.
These manufacturers while operating through their associations make decisions regarding the scale of utilisation of production capacity and the fixation of selling prices of the products. In this way, they make every effort to neutralise the effect of economics’ basic principle of demand and supply which determines the ultimate selling price of a product. This is how they disenfrenchise the people from benefiting from the fair and just competition, compelling them to play as victim at the hands of the big monopoly (cartel/association).
There were times when there used to be a need for consumers’ associations on account of their being vulnerable and weak in the face of big manufacturers and factory owners. With the passage of time, manufacturers started to form cartels to pressure the government but mostly to rob the consumers of their rights.
Time now is ripe for action by the CCP against all those cartels to dismantle them and to rein in the manufacturers in order to put a stop to the victimisation of consumers.
RAZIQ HUSSAIN
Wah Cantt.
THE health system of any nation revolves mainly around the availability of human resource but in the case of Pakistan inadequate and insufficient perception for the development of human resource is clearly evident.
Thus the overall capacity to undertake a health policy and system research is quite deficient.
Pharmacists, being the third largest healthcare professional group worldwide, are not considered significant contributors to the healthcare system of Pakistan.
Although the stature of a pharmacist is raised with the advent of new molecules and menace of antibiotic resistance as well as transformations in healthcare delivery systems, their status in the healthcare system of Pakistan is still obscure.
The healthcare system of Pakistan needs a radical change that could be channelled towards patients. This could be possible only when pharmacists, like any other professional, provide irrefutable recognition in terms of career gratification.
The National Drug Policy of Pakistan clearly demanded the participation of pharmacists in every fragment of healthcare whether it is drug control, management, supply and distribution or it could be in measures to promote rational drug use and quality assurance.
SHAZIA JAMSHED
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Penang
APROPOS of Mirza Shahid Barlas’s letter, ‘Student unions’ (April 10), I should like to say that while providing a platform for student bodies to reorganise and promote their political, social and educational interests, the government must make sure that a proper check is made on the activities, lest the situation may go haywire.
The manhandling of Imran Khan at the hands of IJT hooligans, whilst student bodies were officially banned, is an example.
However, if the line between peaceful protests and mad mayhem is not crossed, it is a welcome move by the new government which would end the monopoly of the currently active right-wing student unions which have been active on campuses despite the official ban.
By maintaining proper checks, the fears about student bodies hindering academic schedules will be dispelled too. I say so because only a few years back my university had a religious group mafia reigning supreme, with clashes among rival parties affecting studies greatly.
Although we want political awareness and know that potential leaders are groomed in universities, we simply don’t want it at the cost of our studies.
MUHAMMAD JALAL AWAN
Lahore
LAST year the government’s issue for the rate for black gram was Rs850 per 40kg, which meant Rs21.25 per 100kg.
Now the new crop of black gram is arriving soon, but due to smuggling in Iran, the black gram rate is going up rapidly, and it seems that before Ramazan, there will be a big shortage of black gram in Pakistan.
I would appeal to the new government to take necessary measures against middlemen and cross-border smuggling.
FAISAL
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Humera Alwani’s letter, ‘Protecting working women’ (March 1). The writer has depicted a correct picture of gender discrimination and harassment at workplaces. It was also disappointing to learn that as a legislator in 2006 she proposed a law on gender harassment in the Sindh Assembly but no heed was paid by the government.
Sexual harassment at workplaces is a common problem everywhere in the world and it occurs in every section of society. In the developed countries sexual harassment has, however, been recognised as a crime, for example, in the United States sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that validates “Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964’. In the United States harassment is a legal term, created for the purpose of ending harassment and discrimination against women at the workplace.
In Japan, “Seku-hara”, a Japanese slang for sexual harassment, became a word feared in corporate and government offices since 1989, when Japan’s first Seku-hara case was brought to the court. Since then there were about 100 sexual harassment cases in which women sued their employers under this law.
Merely by making laws and legislation against sexual harassment at the workplace, it will not be eliminated. There are laws in every country against rape, gang-rape, murder and various other crimes, yet these crimes are committed and people are victimised.
Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment at the workplace. In this regard a major role has to be played by the employers for preventing sexual harassment in the organisation/workplace.
First, it is important to understand the types of sexual harassment. According to United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there are two distinct types of sexual harassment.
a. “Quid pro quo” sexual harassment: which occurs when an individual’s submission to or rejection of sexual advances or conduct of a sexual nature is used as the basis for employment decisions.
b. “Hostile environment” sexual harassment: Occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual’s job performance or creates a hostile, intimidating or offensive work environment even though the harassment may not result in tangible or economic job consequences.
The hostile environment sexual harassment constitutes repeated requests for sexual favours, demanding inquiries and vulgarities, offensive language, offensive, explicit or sexist signs, cartoons, calendars, literatures or photographs displayed in the plain view, unwanted physical conduct, vulgar comments and jokes, etc.
In this regard employers have to play a major role in preventing sexual harassment in their organisation/workplace. An employer’s obligations with regard to sexual harassment arise before any act of sexual harassment occurs. Society demands two mutually exclusive things from employers.
First, the workplace has become a place where workers bring much of their personal lives, as a central point of their existence. However, the workplace environment is not permitted to cross ill-defined lines: allegations of medical discrimination, age discrimination, sexual harassment, or other forms of unlawful conduct can be made.
Employers must walk a tightrope between an emotionally rich environment and a legally prohibited one. A proper sexual harassment policy that is consistently enforced can help maintain that fine distinction.
Similarly, female employees should use their instinct and judge the person they are dealing or working with and should take preventive measures to avoid becoming a victim of sexual harassment.
If they notice any sexual advances, they should be sure to say ‘NO’ clearly, firmly and without smiling. They must be firm in saying that they are offended.
SQN LDR(r) S. AUSAF HUSAIN
Karachi
IN his letter, ‘President’s claims’ (April 15), Mr Qamar has been more than frank to show his disapproval of the president, which is his right in a democratic dispensation. But, where there are rights, there are also responsibilities and one should be little more pragmatic.
The purported assumptions the president made might or might not be accurate, however I fail to see any malice in this. As a thinking person one does consider all the possible scenarios resulting from an action taken or avoided; some people call it prudence and intelligent decision-making.
As far as Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan and his safety and security is concerned vis-a-vis the national interests, I like to know what comes first. It is also mentioned in this letter that Nawaz Sharif has voiced his desires to make him the country’s president; again suffice it to say that the country’s interest must supersede ‘even’ Nawaz Sharif’s desires.
AFTAB S. ALAM
Unites States
THIS is apropos of MPA Humera Alwani’s letter, ‘Creating harmony and peace’ (April 5). She rightly wrote that we should create tolerance and give up revengeful politics. The lack of tolerance is like a cancer which has ruled our country and led to revengeful politics.
This revengeful politics has been impeding the progress of our country since independence, and has damaged the stature of Pakistan internally as well as externally.
This is heartening that the PPP has started this time the politics that seems to be free of the elements of revenge. For instance, the co-chairman of the PPP, Asif Ali Zardari, recently met the MQM leaders putting aside the old controversies.
One hopes that this government will work for the benefit of the masses and bury the roots of revengeful politics forever.
INAYATULLAH RUSTAMANI
Dadu
THE government has been in a drive to convert most public transport into ‘green’ buses by making them run on CNG.
Why do we have CNG buses in the first place? What’s going to happen when we run out of CNG? The IPI gas pipeline deal has been in the works for a long time and has made no progress.
Even if that does go through, it just adds to our trade deficit, which is already pretty huge. If the government is so serious about going green, then it should tackle the root cause of pollution, the number of vehicles on the road.
Give people an incentive to leave their cars at home by establishing a decent public transportation system (one that doesn’t depend on a fuel soon to run out, such as CNG) or, better yet, force banks to tighten regulations regarding leasing agreements which allows people to buy cars when they possibly don’t have the money for them.
Fewer vehicles on the road will do a lot more to improve the environment than CNG buses which will be sitting in a junkyard in a few years anyway since our CNG will have run out by then.
AHMAD SULTAN
Faisalabad
I WANT to draw the readers’ attention to the mobile phones available at very economical rates with a year’s warranty nowadays in the market. The company runs promotional advertisements with well-known singers, calling themselves number one company of Pakistan with thousands of dealers all over the country.
My experience with these dealers is: once the cellphone is sold, they do not recognise you if there is any fault in the software or any other thing. The dealer will perhaps tell you of a far-off shop which is not ever known to you or you were not even aware of it at the time of buying.
You will eventually realise that the two or three thousand rupees spent on the cellphone were simply trashed. You can then use these cellphones as a paper weight in your office. I am sure many others have faced the same situation.
HASSAN SOMANI
Karachi
THE PTCL has included millions of customers in its dial-up Internet system after its introduction but its performance is poor.
My personal experience, through the Lyari Exchange, for the last many months is that it mostly takes hours to open a single website whereas other networks are performing better.
I suggest the PTCL authorities to look into the problem and conduct a survey of its customers about their Internet performance in ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
KHAN BABBA
Karachi
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.
