| May 24, 2008 | Saturday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 18, 1429 |
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Strategic defiance of people
Market and country out of control
Insecure civil servants
Seeing the larger picture
Lands lying fallow
Reforming education
No dole
Eating grass
Constitutional role of Punjab governor
Use of Sui gas
A plea to govt
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
I FAIL to understand the point of the democratically-elected government of Pakistan reaching a peace deal with militants in the north.
Wasn’t this government elected on the promise that it would handle this matter differently than president Musharraf’s government did? However, didn’t the Musharraf government try the same thing a few years ago only to abandon it because it didn’t work?
In fact, it seems this government is doing nothing different from the previous government, leading one to believe that either the previous government was right all along or both governments are equally inept, in which case why bother changing at all?
Peace with these militants doesn’t and won’ work simply because it’s impossible to negotiate with someone who has nothing to lose. From the militants’ perspective their path to heaven is guaranteed: either through bringing Sharia to the region, or dying as a ‘martyr’ in trying to do so.
What does the Pakistan government have to lose by negotiating? Almost everything. The last time the government eased up on the militants, they reinforced their hold on the region and quickly spread their influence even to big cities far away.
What did the government get in return, a set of empty promises and a bigger problem?
This struggle against militancy isn’t just being waged in Waziristan but also in the poshest neighbourhoods of Karachi where increasing numbers are loudly preaching their piety through their actions and appearance while missing out on the essential elements of Islam, namely that of tolerance, keeping one’s relationship with God private and most important of all, maintaining your community.
The disappearance of this last aspect is particularly problematic for our country as this increase in religiosity is eating away at our national character by exposing and exacerbating our many differences instead of binding us closer.
Therefore, we should make no mistake. Just as the military is engaged in a conflict to prevent militants from hijacking our borders, we are all engaged in a similar struggle to prevent like-minded zealots from hijacking our neighbourhoods, cities and ultimately our country.
To confront and defeat such dogma, whatever its origin, is a battle that none of us at the individual or government level should shy away from. Otherwise we risk having Pakistan become a backward nation like Saudi Arabia where women and minorities have the status of third class citizens.
Saudi Arabia has substantial oil revenues to keep it going, but can poorer Pakistan afford to segregate and deny half its population, namely women, the opportunity to become doctors, scientists, lawyers, farmers, economists, bankers and politicians and contribute to the economic well-being and development of the country? I don’t think we can afford this.
This is not the Pakistan I grew up in and to let it get there would insult the achievements of all those who have sacrificed so much to create this nation that we so easily take for granted today.
OMAR MOONIS
Warsaw
THIS refers to your editorial, ‘Justice of the mob’ (May 20). Everyone would agree with your observation that ‘the country today is a tinder-box baking under a particularly hot sun’. However, opinions may differ as to how did we reach here.
Two factors, I believe, principally account for the present state of affairs. The immediate one is, of course, the ongoing judicial crisis. No one can expect to get a fair deal there where the chief justice of Pakistan himself is subjected to injustice.
The other factor is the conducive environment set in by the uncalled-for replacement of deputy commissioners with nazims in 2001.
The district nazim did not happen to be the exact substitute of the deputy commissioner and that is the biggest lacuna in ‘devolution’ (as they named it).
The voids thus created in the time-tested administrative paradigm were filled by those elements which ultimately produced novel oddities as crimes-infested streets, ‘free-for-all’ prices of grocery items, rain becoming deluge, hiding of wheat harvest by hoarders, etc, etc.
The districts which hitherto, under deputy commissioners, looked as the nuclei of state authority turned with the onset of nazims into hubs of socio-political instability. A real paradigm shift ?
Nevertheless, the way Karachiites are now dealing with bandits also demonstrates a positive moral for the decision-makers of this country. Gen Mirza Aslam Beg used to propound a new theory, strategic defiance as he called it, when, as COAS, he addressed officers in Staff College, Quetta, and National Defence College (now NDU), Rawalpindi. He would also call it the nation-at-arms approach. Strategic defiance, as envisioned by Gen Beg, means letting the people take themselves care of their security needs.
The consequent scenario would be a security cohort of the people, by the people and for the people. That is exactly what may be dubbed as popular defiance in the face of external security threats.
The difference between security by a state-employed regular force and security by the people themselves can be somewhat likened to that between public and private enterprisers.
He used to argue that Islam experienced a tremendous territorial expansion but that all without any regular mercenary army. These days he exhorts that Lebanese Hezbullah and Iranian Pasdaran are doing wonders but those are not regular mercenary armies.
With charred corpses of bandits in the streets of Karachi, crime rate suddenly nose-dived there.
I think the vision of Gen Beg stands vindicated as the people achieved that at their own what the police could not do despite their enormous paraphernalia.
‘Justice of the mob’ is rather strategic defiance of civil society. National Volunteers Movement was a good initiative in this direction but that too has been shelved.
MUHAMMAD WAQAR ASLAM
Quetta
THE present conditions of the country may be characterised as ‘out of control’. This applies especially to prices of commodities (necessities of daily life) and services (doctors’ fees, charges of beauticians and building contractors).
Prices have doubled and tripled in some cases during the last four months (price spiral took place one month before the election). What has happened during the last four months? Everybody says that it is due to the rise in petroleum prices.
But we are not paying double or triple amount at the petrol pump. It is really an excuse that everybody is using to make more profit from the uncontrolled situation in the country. There is nobody to stop them.
It seems as if a bunch of naïve is running the government. None of them seem to have the experience or the knowledge of how to control the market.
They have left it to fate to let the market forces (supply and demand) remain in imbalance, leaving it to some very corrupt people involved in making money for themselves.
They are creating artificial shortages of most commodities and the government has not been able to pinpoint them. We often read statements from various ministers that they will soon do something but very little has been done.
Market forces cannot be stable with such a corrupt environment. As against the rise in prices in daily necessities, the salaries of the common working people have increased nominally.
The cold attitude of ‘doing nothing’ cannot last longer. The government must take charge and control the rising prices.
All commodity dealers and service providers should be asked to roll back the increases in prices to what were four months ago.
We cannot trust the market forces or the conscience of the businessmen in Pakistan to consider the plight of working men. Trade in commodities may be suspended for a while (following India’s example) to control prices. The government has to be tough with hoarders and profiteers now before it gets too late for the working men who are being punished for no fault of theirs.
DR AMAN KHAN
Lahore
I SUPPORT the views expressed by Kunwar Idris in his article, ‘Democracy and the civil service’ (May 18). Coming from the pen of one of the few living icons of the Civil Service of Pakistan, his suggestion – security of tenure of civil service personnel for the success of democracy – merits serious attention.
Mr Idris rightly mentions Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as having struck a death blow to the security and independence of the civil service by arbitrarily sacking 1,400 civilian officers without going through the due process of law.
The fallout of his action was disastrous. Civil service became most insecure. Dismissals and transfers became a precedent.
Civil service personnel lost confidence in changes in government, and realised they had to have some cushion to fall back upon, just in case.
Corruption, though not totally ever absent from the services, now rose hundred-fold. It is now considered smart to amass as much money and property as possible, for one never knew when the axe may fall.
Relying on the government, civil or military, to put safeguards for the security of the services is asking for the moon.
The only way civil services can protect themselves is to form a union of civil services of Pakistan, encompassing all services, federal as well as provincial, clerks as well as officers from all ranks, from the lowest to the highest.
And if any of them falls prey to the whims of a politician, they should strike work, and take to the streets, if need be.
ZIA REHMAN
USA
PAKISTAN has made commendable progress in terms of freedom of speech and the general awareness of the masses. This is not only evident from the numerous news channels but also the freedom that they enjoy is only in terms of criticising and questioning the politicians and establishment.
Is the reinstatement of the judiciary the only issue that they should be concerned about at the moment? Should the critics, senior journalists and political analysts be naïve enough to believe that the judicial crisis could be a creation of the ‘invisible hand’ in order to divert their attention from a far more serious issue?
The sovereignty of Pakistan has been continuously violated by the US military and all our media is obsessed with is the reinstatement of an institution that has long lost its potency.
The US military attack on Pakistan’s tribal areas on May 14 is not the first one since the so-called ‘war on terror’ was started. Nonetheless, it has its own significance that cannot be ignored! The operation is carried out in the midst of the government’s progress in negotiating a peace deal with the local militants.
Nato has expressed its concerns over the peace deal while the US has responded with a missile attack. And why not? They have their own interests, may it be erosion of Islamic spirit or their ultimate motive to divide Pakistan yet again.
But what is our media doing to express concern on the ongoing crisis? Is it not obvious that the drama, called the reinstatement of judiciary, has been planted to divert the public’s attention from the fact that their nation is under attack?
Or are we willing to let our puppet leaders allow US to continue with the bloodshed of our Pakistani brothers? After all, there has been no expression of condemnation from either the PPP or the PML(N). Let’s all tighten our belts for another series of suicide bombings then.
HAMAD ASLAM
Karachi
I BELONG to Dina tehsil, Jhelum district. Much of the land in my village is not tilled at all for which there are other reasons too but the following are big hindrances in the way of cultivation.
Because of the uneven terrain, many pieces are of very small size. Also, there are small plots because of the division between sons, daughters, etc. Thus a piece of, say, four kanal might be owned by, say, 10 descendants. Such a piece cannot be cultivated profitably unless it is gifted or sold to a single person.
The patwari has no responsibility though he has too much power. After an owner dies, he sits for years and does not transfer the piece to the descendants till he is approached. Even then he charges a large bribe.
My proposal is that the patwari should be made responsible for carrying out ‘intiqal-i-fautidgi’ within six months of the death of an owner. If he does not, or does it wrongly, he should be punished.
The next problem is the small size of any piece. No piece should be less than, say, four kanals (for agricultural land). The owners of pieces smaller than this should exchange or sell their portion.
Sale or transfer has been made very costly (bribes are extra) whereas it should be very easy. Many owners are abroad or located at distant places. They cannot complete the procedure set out for selling/transferring property. The power of attorney should have a very small fee and should be accepted without referring the matter to the Pakistan embassy which at present does the job.
Once again, revenue people should be responsible for making the owners to exchange or sell as soon as any piece of, say, four kanal has to be divided between the descendants of one owner.
Finally, it should be made mandatory that no piece of land remains uncultivated for more than 18 months. The UC nazim must ensure this. If the owner is seen to be not interested, he should be asked to sell it. If he is still reluctant, that piece should be sold by the UC to somebody who is interested in tilling it, after deducting a small percentage for doing the selling.
When a person knows that he is the sole owner of a ‘large’ piece of land, he will definitely stay at home to make a living from the land. He will not go away and leave the land fallow. I live in Karachi but I would hire somebody to cultivate my land if I am its sole owner.
My share of my grandfather’s land is 12 kanal but it consists of l/30th part of each piece. There are at least 40 pieces of various sizes. One of the pieces is only one kanal and eight marla but it is owned by 30 persons.
SHAFAAT RASOOL
Karachi
DURING the last 10 or so years degree and postgraduate government colleges in Punjab have done very badly. The number of admissions to intermediate classes, both of girls and boys, has dwindled miserably. Senior professors and lecturers have established their own private academies and colleges, duly affiliated with the board and university.
Education is being imparted at these business concerns — called educational institutions – which use and employ all dirty tactics to get their students maximum marks in FSc pre - medical and pre-engineering groups.
This business of education is being carried out at the cost of government colleges whose teachers divert students to their institutes by ignoring them at government colleges.
One tactic is to not register a large number of students at government girls colleges. Instead, they are being enrolled in private colleges run by these government professors.
These government professors teach in their private colleges by intelligently managing their college schedule.
I would request the PML(N) president to suggest reforms in the education sector to rein in the private colleges.
PARVEZ IQBAL ANJUM
Khanpur
AS a Pakistani-Canadian, living in a far-off land, and ever hopeful for my great country of origin, I must appreciate K.B. Kale’s sincere and sound advice.
He is right in saying that “easy money never made anyone strong”. We should not accept dole. Since the very inception of Pakistan, the American “assistance and financial interactions” have been a reality. But now after 60 years, we must realise that for getting that ‘assistance’, we had to sell our very independence and sovereignty.
We should, instead, rely on the strength and ingenuity of Pakistan’s own 165 million people. Long live Pakistan.
J. S. HUSSAIN
Canada
“WE will eat grass but we will make our own nuclear bomb” — Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, 1965.
The dream has finally come true. We have the nuclear bomb and our poor people can only afford to eat grass.
DR IRFAN ZAFAR
Islamabad
PUNJAB Governor Salman Taseer had a very emotionally charged oath-taking ceremony. He proclaimed to get majority seats for the PPP and get Bilawal Bhutto Zardari elected from Punjab.
This is not clear whether he plans to convert the PPP minority into majority or he is talking of future election. Mr Bilawal is a young boy from a leading landlord and political family and he has every constitutional right to contest election from any part of Pakistan, including Lahore.
Keeping in view the objectives and goals of Mr Taseer, I think Asif Ali Zardari and Pervez Musharraf should have appointed him president of the Punjab PPP instead of governor. For Mr Taseer’s objectives are contrary to the constitutional role of the governor as stipulated in the 1973 Constitution.
SHAHBAZ MUNIR
Lahore
IT is very annoying to note that Balochistan, the major producer of gas in the country, is deprived of gas.
Gas was first discovered in Sui (the subdistrict of Dera Bugti) in 1953 and it was initially supplied to Punjab in 1962, but surprisingly Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, received Sui gas in 1986 and Dera Bugti in the 1990s.
Although Sui accounts for 40 per cent of Pakistan’s gas production, Balochistan receives only two per cent of it and the remaining 38 per cent goes to Punjab.
According to an estimate, every year the federal government earns Rs90 billion from Sui gas, out of which Balochistan receives Rs4 billion as royalty.
Moreover, out of 28 districts in the province, only Mustung, Qalat, Naseerabad and Quetta are supplied proper gas. As a result, Balochistan lags behind in development.
The prime minister should look into the matter in accordance with the Charter of Democracy, declared between the Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), in which provincial autonomy is ascertained.
FAHAD IQBAL
Turbat Kech
ALTHOUGH the standard of education in Sindh is abysmally low, our students try their utmost to compete for different posts.
But their dedication and hard work go down the drain when they find that people with connection get the job and they are deprived of an opportunity to improve their lot.
The government is requested to ensure that everyone gets justice.
M. ASHRAF SANGRI
Pir Jo Goth, Khairpur Mirs
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