| April 21, 2008 | Monday | Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1429 |
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Never again
Regularisation of teachers
Avoidable transfers
Acute poverty
Burning question for economy
New GHQ
UN probe
Renaming NWFP
What hope?
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
AS a veteran political worker of democratic values and social justice in Pakistan, I would like first to express my compliments to the present ruling coalition in Pakistan in the centre, Punjab and the NWFP, which is introducing a new culture of tolerance and coexistence. But let me say that democracy demands openness, transparency and the rule of law.
Rule of law presumes all citizens to be equal before law, having equal opportunities and access in the state. Any special treatment offered to any person undermines the concept of equality and rule of law.
We in our country have been fed through propaganda that political workers, bureaucrats, members of the judiciary or even of the bar are some special people who need special handling. This negates the very concept of rule of law, equal opportunities and transparency.
Let us take the special laws introduced over the last 60 years like national accountability laws and courts. These laws presume that special accountability is needed for those who are at the helm of affairs in any domain and only they are accountable for their decisions and actions. As if all citizens of the state of Pakistan are not accountable for their decisions, action and deeds. There are enough laws in the Civil and Criminal Codes of Pakistan to deal with all wrong desires, decisions and actions.
If a person conspires to kill another person, he is held accountable under the Penal Code of Pakistan. If he acts to jeopardise another person’s safety or security, he is accountable under the law. If a person deceives another person, or even connives to wrongfully deprive another person’s belongings, the laws are there to apprehend him. These very laws could be applicable to political workers and bureaucrats as equal citizens of Pakistan. They do not deserve any special laws or special courts.
Similarly, there are laws against obscenity and misleading propaganda. We, therefore, do not deserve to have a ministry of information and empowerment of the DCOs to issue declaration of press and publications. If anything contrary to the laws of the land is published, any person, how highly placed he or she may be, should be made accountable before the normal courts of law.
After all, owning a press or publishing a journal is not more dangerous and hazardous than running a textile mill endowed with boiler and chemicals and with hundreds or sometimes thousands of workers.
Why make special laws and special courts. Merely declare and presume that all citizens of the state are equal and fair unless they trespass any law of the land. Just undo special laws and special courts and let all people feel equal, safe and accountable before the normal laws and the courts of the country.
NAWAZ BUTT
Via email
THIS is with reference to Javed Hussain’s article, ‘Never again’ (April 15). Ordinarily, one would tend to agree with the narrative. But his criticism of three dead generals is uncalled-for as he himself had served under two of them in a junior capacity and with one of them had quite a close liaison.
I think it is morally wrong to beat and bruise a dead man. There are some factual mistakes. Let us take them one by one as most of your young readers may not know the first-hand accounts.
a. Diversion of forces 1965: Anybody else in president Ayub’s capacity would have diverted the forces from Chamb-Jaurian sector to meet greater threat in the Ravi-Chenab sector. It is of no use to belittle Ayub Khan by saying that he panicked.
b. 1965 war: Yes it was no victory for us but it proved to the world that a much smaller country could withstand the onslaught of a far bigger country. It also opened the path for self-reliance in defence production.
c. 1971 war: Many people agree without reservation that had two great politicians of 1970 election shown greater accommodation for each other, the events of 1971 could have been avoided. In any case Yahya Khan went away due to the army’s own pressure and a near mutiny and not because of any other internal or external factor.
d. Madressahs and Zia: Mushroom growth of madressahs occurred during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. These madressahs provided unpaid manpower to our masters to drive the Russians out of Afghanistan. When Zia wanted to establish an interim government in Afghanistan by uniting all factions, our masters eliminated him.
e. Army as an institution: The army as an institution does not elect or select its commanders by itself. All promotions above lieutenant-colonel are approved by the government of Pakistan. It is important that all ranks should remain absolutely loyal to their commanders. Dissent can be expressed, which many who had moral courage have done. But orders have to be obeyed. Those who do not do so have a choice to leave the service or stand a court martial. Ultimately, all responsibility is on the commander. If any subsequent government feels that a particular commander betrayed the nation, they can always take an appropriate action, at least after the retirement of the accused.
f. Apology: In view of the paragraph (e) above, apology should not be asked of the army.
g. Never again: I do join the prayer that the present coalition government should complete its term successfully so that the army ‘never again’ enters politics.
PROF KHALID HASSAN MAHMOOD
Karachi
I WISH to bring a very important national issue to light. There is no doubt that nations flourish and progress on the basis of their educational strategies and systems.
In the whole world provision of education is the duty of the state. Unfortunately in our country the previous government decorated an ‘Itwar Bazaar’ of educational institutions.
They have mercilessly slaughtered the national interests and ideals by following the dictation of the Americans and the foreign funding agencies.
The education system in our country was raped cruelly by the previous government. They didn’t bother to keep in view the national interests while making educational policies.
The big blunder that was committed by them was the introduction of a contract policy in the education department. The contract policy is a killer policy that almost murders the very desires and wishes of the nation.
This policy seems to have eaten up the very roots of our young generation. The teachers and lecturers are employed on a contract basis in the education department, especially in the province of Punjab (in other provinces, the then governments regularised the services of contract lecturers and teachers).
These lecturers and teachers are highly qualified persons, not to mention the ones to shape the future generation. Unfortunately enough, they have plunged into the mire of problems. They have no future job security and are employed on very hard and harsh terms and conditions.
They are not allowed to improve their educational standards and are not allowed the leave with pay. They are not given medical leave or any medical reimbursement. They are not allowed to be transferred either.
Such problems have led to a toll on their mental well-being which is affecting the potential of these capable lecturers and teachers in the education department. The contract system has failed miserably which is why many departments of Pakistan have regularised their contract employees.
The departments include Wapda, Pakistan Railways, PTCL, the health department, stenographers in civil secretariat of Punjab, lecturers of the NWFP and Wasa.
I request Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif to show mercy to the education system in Punjab and order the regularisation of the lecturers, teachers, educators appointed in Punjab since 2002 to date, and also order regular appointments in the education department through the Punjab Public Service Commission.
FAIZAN MIAN
Lahore
IT is unfortunate that with the change of political governments at either federal or provincial level, a mass transfer of government officers from one location to another and from one position to another takes place perhaps owing to the unfounded mistrust and suspicion that the newcomers seem to have against the functionaries who served their predecessors well.
These officials have no permanent loyalty to any particular group. They are loyal to the boss of the day. If they can please one boss, surely they have the ability to please another boss equally well.
Trust them and they would deliver in the manner you like. In fact, they can be effective tools in the hands of the incoming and reigning politicians. Besides hastening to extend allegiance to the new boss, some of them lose no time in denouncing their previous bosses either.
These biased, unproductive, costly, out-of-turn and hasty transfers not only cause dislocation to the transferees and their families but also act as setbacks and impediments in the timely and successful implementation of the ongoing development projects.
It takes three to five years for any bright idea to materialise and come to fruition. Even the non-technical and law-enforcement personnel require that much time to get effective grip of things and to know the people of their areas they are required to serve.
Continuity is important and I, for one, do not subscribe to the view that no one is indispensable. People do matter in such matters. Transfer is neither a punishment nor a remedy for the defaulting employee.
There are other effective ways to reform a person. By the way, transfer for spasmodic operational requirement, promotion and career development is entirely a different issue and no one should object to such movements.
S. I. IBN-E-ALI
Lahore
YET another person committed suicide due to extreme poverty, this time a woman, taking her two children with her. It is unfortunate that such tragedies keep happening in our country with alarming frequency, which belies claims by the government of having reduced poverty.
It is hoped that the new government will give ‘poverty alleviation’ issue the attention it deserves and not use it merely as a slogan.
No doubt the government has limited means but it goes beyond that and involves sheer indifference and uncaring attitude as well. This was amply demonstrated by another news item that appeared in Dawn the same day (April 13) entitled ‘Welfare fund remains unutilised’.
It is unbelievable that workers suffer while welfare funds remain unutilised. Efficient and prompt use of available funds would have solved labourers’ housing problem to some extent, apart from providing jobs, thus reducing poverty levels.
People of Pakistan deserve something better than what they have been getting from the government, with poor ones deserving extra care and compassion.
S.R.H. HASHMI
Karachi
ABOUT five million drug addicts in Pakistan are not only destroying their lives but also affecting every sector of society, including the business sector, causing accidents, reducing or causing loss of productivity, poor work and absenteeism, etc., says a report prepared by Pakistan Drug Free Foundation.
The number of drug addicts in the business sector has gone up with the labour class and lower middle class taking to drug use increasingly, for various reasons.
Approximately, an addict spends Rs150 a day on drugs. There are five million drug addicts in country, so they spend Rs1,050 million in just one day, in a month Rs31,500 million and in a year Rs378 billion. These are the direct expenses on drugs. There is no data available on the losses borne by our economy due to absenteeism, wastage of time, low productivity and accidents of drug abuser at the workplace.
One of the consequences of drug abuse at the workplace is that the economy of Pakistan pays a big price for it, employee accident and errors, high illness rates, wastage of time, low productivity and absenteeism are just a few examples of the effects of illicit drug use, the report said.
A survey conducted by the US health and human service indicates that drug abusers function at approximately 65 per cent of their capacity.
Up to 40 per cent of industrial fatalities and 47 per cent of industrial injuries can be linked to drug abuse. Employees who abuse drugs are 3.6 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident and five times more likely to file a worker’s compensation claim.
An estimated 500 million work days are lost annually due alcohol and drug abuse in America.
• Employees who use drugs are more likely to request early dismissal or time off, 2.5 times more likely to be late for work.
• Illicit drug users are more than twice as likely as those who do not abuse drugs to change employers.
• Employees who abuse drugs cost their employers about twice as much in medical claims.
• According to the US National Institute of Dug Addiction, almost 10 per cent of all employees use drugs.
According to the data mentioned above, the problem of drug abuse at workplaces is more in the developed countries of the world. This problem also exists in Pakistan but no authentic data is available about the financial losses due to drug abuse at workplaces.
At this point, some questions are raised for the authorities who are responsible for such a financial disaster.
There is a strong need by the government and the business community to launch an operation to eliminate the silent killer.
HAIDER MEHER
Pakistan Drug-Free Foundation
AS the newly-elected civilian government is in place, the four-year-old simmering controversy over the relocation of GHQ has surfaced. Many facts pertaining to this project are really mind-boggling, particularly the way the prime land acquired by the military, at a stupendously low rate of Rs200 per square yards, whereas the CDA has auctioned land in the nearby areas at the rate of Rs110,000 to Rs120,000 per square yard. This is really a callous attitude.
On different occasions, ISPR spokesmen have claimed that the decision to shift GHQ from Rawalpindi to Islamabad was taken by Z. A. Bhutto in 1972. Even if it is correct, then the question arises, can we afford the luxury of building a colossus of a project like this one during present times, while the country is facing a host of serious multiple problems?
Actually the military establishment got encouragement to start such a project due to a very irregular practice continuing since the days of “the defence minister in uniform”. It’s quite surprising to note that the entire defence budget is handed over to the ministry of defence, and the ministry of finance cannot exercise any control over its spending. When, where and how much is spent is no more a prerogative of the all-controlling ministry of finance.
It is time we set our priorities right. The general public expects of the new government that every rupee spent on the defence budget should have the approval of the finance ministry. We expect the coming budget will be more welfare- and development-specific. Thus GHQ shifting project can wait till poor masses get some relief.
ABID MAHMUD ANSARI
Islamabad
THIS is apropos of your editorial, ‘Call for a UN probe’ (April 16).
Dawn has never been so unconvincing as it appears in the said editorial. Your last sentence, instead of taking up so much space, would have served your purpose.
KHAN. A. SHAMSHAD
Karachi
WITH the Awami National Party (ANP) emerging as the single largest party in the NWFP, the issue of renaming the province has once again come to the surface. Different views and comments can be heard and read in the media. Unfortunately to some quarters the renaming is not acceptable and hence their biased stand. While others have valid points and may be taken as healthy discussion.
There can be no two views on the fact that the term NWFP is meaningless and definitely needs to be replaced. This is a longstanding issue and should have been resolved after independence from the colonial Raj.
However, due to unfounded fears, lack of trust and political divide a genuine and simple matter has remained unsettled for so long.
I wish to refer to my correspondence in these columns many years ago dwelling upon the issue.
I once again humbly submit that this issue should be taken above party politics. This is a socio-cultural concern and not simply a political matter. The symbol of identity stems from history, culture and geopolitics together.
We definitely need a name and we need it without further delay. But we need a name based on consensus and mutual agreement. As suggested many years ago, the best course would be to constitute a committee of historians, sociologists, jurists and intellectuals from all regions of the province to take this task and come up with a meaningful name acceptable to all major regions of this beautiful province. Name which should give regional identity as well as a sense of pride to its inhabitants.
Let us not make it a pure political issue to be spoken for and against. The result will be that the forces opposed to this legitimate demand will ensure that the issue is placed in the cold storage. It is also important that the rights and wishes of the people of the Frontier should be respected by other provinces.
I also request the individuals not to suggest names to avoid confusion. Let a committee of experts deliberate on the issue and suggest a name based on consensus. Let us have a name to jubilate and keep the unity of the province rather than create hostility and divide. It is true that the view of the majority prevails but it is best to have consensus.
PROF MOHAMMAD ISHAQ
Karachi Institute of Heart
Diseases
I ENDORSE the views of Ardeshir Cowasjee that we are a failing state and have no hope.
We are a nation which hangs a democratically-elected prime minister, bombs another to smithereens, rape our women and parade them naked in villages, let people commit suicide due to abject poverty and now we are into burning people alive.
What hope is there?
SYED ALI ANWER
Karachi
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