| May 16, 2008 | Friday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429 |
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US envoy’s upset
Benefit of rice export
Resigning gracefully
Moved by an hour
A matter of self-interest
Import of anti-venom
Electricity conservation
Cuban medical scholarships
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 refers to Anwar Syed’s article, ‘Mr Zardari’s politics’ (May 11) in which he hypothetically accuses Mr Zardari of delaying the reinstatement because he does not really want it to come to fruition.
In support of his argument, the writer lists a number of reasons. First, the PPP would lose if the deposed judges go back to work, if the new judges return to their previous stations, or if the tenure and power of the chief justice remain as they are. Second, reinstatement would cause humiliation to President Musharraf. Mr Zardari does not want Mr Musharraf to be diminished further.
Third, Mr Zardari has not made clean break with the preceding PML(Q) as Malik Abdul Qayyum continues to be the attorney-general.
Fourth, Mr Musharraf went to China and concluded agreements with its government.
Fifth, Mr Musharraf, not Prime Minister Gilani, negotiated a gas deal with the visiting Iranian government.
Sixth, the writer also believes that Benazir Bhutto had made deal with Mr Musharraf which required her and her associates to support his retention of the president’s office.
Seventh, the writer also shows the pressure being exerted by outside powers, especially the US, on Mr Zardari to accept and work with Mr Musharraf whom US considers inevitable as far as war on terror is concerned.
I don’t think that these are the sound reasons due to which the PPP is avoiding to reinstate judges. Just these are drawing-room gossips. The basic difference between Mr Zardari and Nawaz Sharif is that the former does not want to pick the route of confrontation with the presidency at the time when democracy is still fragile because he thinks that any confrontation with the presidency may result in derailment of the democratic process. Further, Mr Zardari has suffered much in the past at the brutal hands of the establishment. Therefore, his party is avoiding resorting to any unconstitutional step that may trigger conflict.He rather wants to restore the judges through a constitutional amendment whereas Mr Sharif wants the reinstatement through a parliamentary resolution, followed by the executive order by the prime minister.
Historically speaking, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin had similar differences in Russia after 1917 Revolution. Trotsky was one of the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution. After Lenin’s death, he wanted to bring international proletariat revolution by exporting Bolshevik revolution around the world. But Stalin had differences with Trotsky on the ground that without consolidating socialist revolution inside Russia, international proletariat revolution could not be ushered in. Stalin finally won. He not only became successful in stabilising the socialist revolution inside Russia but also exported it in other parts of the world after World II, and the Soviet Union under his leadership emerged as a superpower.
Iran too faced the situation after the revolution in Iran in 1979. Some sections of the Iranian clergy wanted to export the Shia revolution but Khomeini opposed it and wanted to consolidate the gains of revolution first in Iran as it was facing threats from the US aimed at subverting the nascent Islamic Revolution. Iraqi aggression in 1980 against Iran at the behest of the US was the glaring example.
The political change that has come as a result of the Feb 18 election is viewed not less than any revolution as some one rightly remarked that Pakistan was reborn after the Feb 18 election.
So, instead of indulging in the binge of confrontation, democratic forces should work for strengthening democracy, institution-building and to address the pressing issues of food, electricity and unemployment being confronted by the common man, along with working on the restoration of the judges by hammering out a workable solution to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.
This is not time for populist politics but time to think as to how to strengthen democracy and work for democratic governance.
MANZOOR ALI ISRAN
Shah Abdul Latif University
Khairpur
A REPORT says that the American ambassador has been upset by the anti-Americanism in Pakistan (May 9). She remarked: “I suspect that those who oppose American engagement in Pakistan have a limited understanding of how our partnerships — economic assistance and financial interactions —changed the lives of everyday Pakistanis in real and positive ways.”
One would like to tell Anne Patterson that we understand a lot about American aid. We have seen what it has done in Iraq and Afghanistan and in our tribal areas. What it does in the Israeli context and in Lebanon. She is reminded of what the Bible says: “Man shall not live by bread alone.” In our context it may be rephrased as, “Pakistanis shall not live by dollar alone.”
The US should devote thought to what else it has been doing, apart from trying to buy people’s loyalties. Samuel Wesley had written: “The poet’s fate is here in emblem shown,/He asked for bread and received a stone.” It may be rewritten as, “The Muslims’ fate is here in emblem shown,/They asked for justice and received dictatorship, bombs, occupation.”
ARIF M.
Karachi
(II)
THE US envoy is unhappy to see an increasing trend in anti-American feelings amongst Pakistani middle class society.
If she looks at the overall trend in US policies over the years, she should not be surprised at the unhappy feelings not only amongst average Pakistani and Muslims generally but also in a number of European nations against American arrogance.
An unprovoked attack on Iraq based on faulty and manufactured evidence, going out of its way in supporting Israel against the rights of Palestinians, would make any individual of any nation very unhappy at such a direction in the foreign policy of the sole superpower.
Within Pakistan it is the undignified way in which Pakistanis are dealt with when applying for the US visa in Islamabad. Looking at Dawn editorial of May 9 in the context of statement made by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson in which she stated that Mr Nawaz Sharif has to be watched closely over his conduct amounts to a very visible and crude way of interfering in the internal affairs of the country. I fully support Dawn editorial in this context.
Ambassador Anne Patterson needs to focus on these things and rather than draw her own conclusion. As presidential hopeful, Barack Obama keeps on saying, since joining the presidential race, we need to change Washington’s ways of doing things. A change in style and a change in approach is long overdue before America can regain the stature and dignity it had in the comity of nations during the days of President Eisenhower.
SHIRAZ SACHEDINA
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Ashfak Bokhari’s article, ‘A passion for exports in bad times’ (April 28).
As apprehended by the writer, it is neither the greed of exporters nor the shady deals of the bureaucracy that allow unhindered exports of rice. It is rather a passion to convert bad times into a good omen.
The fact is that rice is not a staple/primary food of Pakistanis and, hence, we cannot follow, like a herd, Vietnam, Thailand or India (West Bengal) whose primary food item is rice, whereas ours is wheat.
We can take the rare advantage of the situation by exporting rice at more than $1,200 pmt and importing equivalent quantity of wheat at less than $600 pmt.
It is worth noting that cheap rice is more prone to porous border trade than is wheat, and can jeopardise the so-called prudent decision of curbing rice export.
Besides, contrary to rice, wheat is a nutrient-rich foodgrain. So by taking a discreet decision, we can become healthy and wealthy to the extent of more than a billion dollars, besides reaching the non-conventional market for future benefits.
SIDDIK S. JAANGDA
Karachi
IRISH Prime Minister Bertie Ahern couldn’t survive a scandal over his collection of cash from businessmen and resigned from office on May 6. He ruled the Republic of Ireland for 11 years. He announced his resignation amid mounting pressure over his personal finances, which are being investigated.
It’s not that Bertie Ahern was an unpopular leader or that his government did nothing for the country. In fact, he will be remembered for some very good deeds.
A significant achievement of Ahern’s first term was his part in the negotiation of the Belfast Agreement, commonly called the Good Friday Agreement, in which the British and Irish governments and most Northern Irish political parties established an ‘exclusively peaceful and democratic’ framework for power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
Ahern’s term in office so far has been a period of high economic growth in Ireland, known as the Celtic Tiger. Increased prosperity and a better standard of living were the main results of the Celtic Tiger economy. The good economic conditions allowed his minister for finance to deliver several generous budgets.
Another achievement was Ireland’s vigilant and swift reaction to the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease crisis. Only a handful of cases were reported in Ireland and the government was generally praised.
A financial controversy made the Irish PM resign: will any of our leaders ever leave the seat if surrounded by a controversy?
FILZA G. SIDIQI
Ireland
THE government has announced it will advance the clock by an hour from June 1. This will not serve the purpose. This experiment failed in the past but the government is not ready to learn a lesson.
This decision is not only illogical and needless but will also cause inconvenience to the public.
They are already disturbed by longer hours of loadshedding that deprives them of minimum sleep necessary for maintenance of health. The advancement of clocks will enhance their woes.
The decision has some psychological implications too. It is very annoying to adjust with new timings as it conflicts with our traditional lifestyle. One remains confused about timings.
The reason advanced for this decision is to maximise the utilisation of sunlight. This theory is taken from western countries where days are shorter and sunlight is not usually available, whereas, the trend is opposite in Pakistan.
Our days stretch to almost 14 hours during the summer which ensures plenty of sunlight throughout the day. The sunlight can easily be utilised from 6am to 7.30pm. The government must not take this unwise decision.
ABDUL HAMEED GONDAL
Lahore
(II)
The government has decided to move clock forward one hour from June 1. This was also done in the past but it did not bring any fruitful results.
We first should realise that daylight saving cannot be achieved by simply moving the clock ahead as we live in entirely different time zones as compared to the West. We are a Muslim country and moving the clock by one hour, the Isha prayer timings will be 10pm and then what will the government do in the coming month of Ramazan.
Instead, we should do the following with strict enforcement (with local police and nazims).
a. Revise office timings from 8am to 4pm.
b. Commercial centres from 11am to 7pm.
c. Complete shutdown of marriage halls by 11pm.
d. Friday complete shutdown.
e. Ban on lighting of display centres (signboards and spotlights) after 7pm
f. Educate public on fuel saving. (Tuning of automobiles)
g. Educate public on how to use one light instead of two.
FAISAL AMIN WAVDIWALA
Karachi
ACCORDING to a recent press report, in a rare show of unanimity, senators belonging to both sides of the upper house of parliament joined hands to force their colleague, Senator Kamran Murtaza, to withdraw his bill to place restrictions on parliamentarians’ foreign tours.
The reason given to the Senate for moving this bill was that in a country where most of its population was deprived of clean drinking water and one third of the population was living below the poverty line, millions of rupees are being spent on foreign tours of the parliamentarians, which is not reasonable.
Obviously, most parliamentarians with feudal or similar background will never sacrifice their luxuries, pleasures and comforts funded from the public money paid even by the poorest of the poor through indirect taxes.
Worthy readers may please keep this topic of public interest alive through the readers’ column.
A PAKISTANI
Rawalpindi
APROPOS of Baqir Sajjad Sayed’s write-up (May 8), I ask — whosoever is concerned — as to why an antiserum incompatible with the venom of the type of snakes found here was at all imported.
Didn’t the experts in the ministry of health know that antivenins, in general, are highly specific to the particular venom involved? Someone somewhere must have been aware that, instead of inducing protection to the victim of snake-bite, the wrong antiserum could be liable to cause fatal anaphylaxis.
It is unbelievable that taxpayers’ contribution to the national kitty is frittered away in such a manner. How will the remaining stock of this expensive product of very short shelf-life be disposed of now?
DR M.S. JAFFRY
Karachi
SUBSTANTIAL amount of electric power can be conserved for national economic interests and for minimising loadshedding if we sacrifice some of our comforts, luxuries and non-essentials. For this national objective, I offer the following suggestions:
One, over 90 per cent population live and work in non-airconditioned environment. Public servants should also work under fans, even most computers can operate under fans as in open markets.
Two, some housing schemes and towns are receiving uninterrupted power supply direct from the main transmission lines which cannot be switched off. It should be monitored for sharing loadshedding with the other citizens.
Three, cable TV should operate a total of four hours instead of 24 hours.
Four, Wapda officials consume unmetered electricity 1500 MW over and above their entitlement, which should stop.
Five, government offices should work from 7.30am to 1.30pm, and shopping centers from 8am to sunset. Public will automatically adjust to these timings in summer at least.
However, chemists and restaurants may use emergency lights, candles or petro/gas lamps.
Six, the President and the Prime Minister House and secretariats, the Parliament House and parliamentarians should set an example of energy conservation for 160 million Pakistanis to follow.
Now let us manage the electricity crisis through conservation.
GHULAM MUHAMMAD
Rawalpindi
APROPOS of reports by Zulqernain Tahir and Marium Kiani on the 1,000 free medicine scholarships offered by Cuba to young Pakistanis after the terrible earthquake that hit Pakistan in October 2005, the Cuban embassy would like to make some comments and clarifications.
No matter that Cuba is a developing country that faces the same economic problems as any other poor country, it considers its duty to give a hand and to share its modest advancement with other developing countries, especially in the formation of human resources and mainly in the medical field.
For this reason, nowadays more than 28,000 foreign students coming from 120 countries study in Cuba. Of them, 21,000 study medicine. Cuba assumes all the expenses of the students during their stay in the country and as long as their studies last.
Also, the international medical collaboration of Cuba is wide, and there are 29,000 health workers in more than 60 countries, most in Latin America and African nations.
In this context, we should clarify that the curriculum for medical studies in Cuba is the same for all the medical students whether they are Cubans or foreigners. And it is because of the way Cuba teaches its doctors that the country has reached notable high human development indicators, among the first in the world and even better than some developed countries.
It is a comprehensive studies programme that graduates an integral medical doctor that not only is able to cure patients but also to prevent diseases. Keeping in mind that our reality and development in the medical and educational sphere are shown in palpable facts and not in empty words, there is no reason to have qualms about the medical education standards in Cuba.
The Pakistani students enjoy the same rights and duties as any other medical student in Cuba, whether they are Cubans or foreigners. This is the first time that Cuba is receiving Muslim students and Cuba wants to provide them the best of the environments. Lots of efforts have been made and a lot of resources have been invested to make it possible, and at the same time the students feel like home, when conserving alive its own customs and culture.
The Pakistani students can not only go wherever they would like to but also the school provides multiple social, cultural and recreational options that the Pakistani students enjoy.
We would like to reiterate that it has been and it is the interest of Cuba to give the Pakistani students the best conditions, knowing that they are young people far away from their country and their families, including the full respect for their religion, culture, traditions and food requirements. Halal food is imported exclusively for the Pakistani students.
For the concerns about the departure of the batch II, we can say that the Cuban government has already given the green signal to the Pakistani authorities and, in this regard, our country is ready to welcome the second group of 644 students.
Nevertheless, the PMDC has spoken of some suggestions and concerns regarding the programme of studies in Cuba . The PMDC, the HEC, the ministry of public health together with the Cuban embassy are working to sort out those concerns.
It would be unfortunate that lack of information and publication of not well - researched articles should damage the image of a beautiful project, offered by a brother country to its brothers and sisters of Pakistan, which is designed to enable young students to achieve a dream: to become medical doctors in order to provide medical assistance to their fellow countrymen.
EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA
Islamabad
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