| May 25, 2008 | Sunday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1429 |
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Taking Wapda to task
Inter-faith dialogue
Waiting for appointment letters
‘Next 9/11 to come from Fata’
Testing times
Angry mobs
Demilitarising bureaucracy
Unfairness of gas companies
Obama’s war on terror
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 the new items, ‘China tightens business visa rules’ (April 26) and ‘China closes all but business visas’ till Selptember’ (April 27) wherein your reporter, Aamir Shafaat Khan, has highlighted a very pertinent and vital matter. As a businessman involved in genuine bilateral trade with my Chinese counterparts, I fully endorse the steps taken by the Chinese government, especially at this time when the Olympics are just round the corner.
It is widely known that a lot of traders from Pakistan visit China to procure leftover stuff, defective products, and scavenge the markets and warehouses looking for cheap deals. These goods are then heavily under-invoiced and most of the time misdeclared. A ‘well executed’ supply chain is in place and the Chinese goods are flooded in the market.
Your senior reporter, Sabihuddin Ghousi, in his item, ‘Pakistan-China trade figures disparity questioned’ (April 20), mentioned that there is difference of $2.78 billion in the two- way trade figures between the two countries. This is primarily because of the ‘well-executed’ process honed in superbly by the ‘stakeholders’ in this whole game. Documentation is switched at the clearance stage.
Nowadays, the wholesalers and retailers of shoes, purses, children’s garments, sweaters and other textile goods are all preparing up to visit China and finalise their requirements for the Eid and winter season. Goods worth millions of valued dollars would soon find their way to Karachi ports for the Karachi markets and the rest would be cleared at the notorious dry ports where Pakistan’s industrial base is unmercifully slaughtered daily.
During the last Eid, a committed and sincere customs collector refused to clear the goods at the declared price. After intense negotiations, the import value price of all the detained goods was mutually jacked up and goods, such as children’s garments, sweaters, and, of course, shoes and sandals, were released after enhanced duties paid on the new import prices.
Even then the new price of the finished, value added textile goods was still below the cost of yarn. Please note that the yarn valuation is as per a formula decided between the FBR and the textile people. Just imagine the millions of dollars in abnormal profits made by the importers/wholesalers/retailers in the past.
It is very much requested of the finance minister, FBR chairman and chief collector of customs that before releasing goods for the coming Eid season, they should form a committee consisting of representatives of the textile associations and chambers to determine the actual price of the product before allowing its clearance.
At the same time, the containers should be thoroughly inspected so that the routine misdeclaration is arrested. The finance minister should also ensure that this misuse is once and for all eliminated.
The foreign minister should convene a meeting with the Chinese ambassador and also stress upon him that the Chinese leftovers, defective goods, and cheap deals are not sent to Pakistan under the garb of FTA or under non-transparent methods.
Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy and the consulate-general are expected to scrutinize the bona fides of these couriers and pseudo-importers before issuing visas. Also, the chambers and associations should not issue recommendation letters indiscriminately.
The Chinese consulate requires nine supporting documents. These should be verified by trade organisations too. This is one viable manner in which the wheat can be sifted from the chaff. Our government, although unable to even control rampant smuggling of wheat, must be alert and put an end to the obvious under-invoicing, misdeclaration, and smuggling of Chinese goods.
Every consignment of children’s garments imported fraudulently or through disregard for the law results in loss of many job opportunities for women workers in Pakistan, besides frivolous outlay of millions of dollars in precious and scarce foreign exchange. The same is the case for so many other industries.
KARIM ‘BABU’ SOOMRO
Member, KCCI/PCMA/PBEA
Karachi
Enormous electric power can be saved for industrial and agricultural sectors if we forgo some percentage of comforts based on electricity. Unfortunately, Wapda itself is the most wasteful single organisation as the following three examples show:
One, according to a recent press report, curbing unauthorised consumption of electricity by Wapda officials can save 1500 MW.
Two, declared excessive line losses are primarily due to illegal connections and slowed-down meters with the connivance of Wapda officials.
Three, Wapda is supplying electric power direct from the main high-tension transmission lines, such as Tarbela Mangla transmission line, to some influential organisations, including a posh housing scheme in Rawalpindi with an entrance gate on G.T. Road.
Since main transmission lines are not switched off, these privileged organisations receive uninterrupted power supply round the clock while essential industrial and agricultural sectors suffer from loadshedding.
I hope the prime minister will constitute a parliamentary committee for accountability of Wapda, and for monitoring power distribution according to national priorities.
GHULAM MUHAMMAD
Rawalpindi
IT is heartening to know that the Organisation of Islamic Conference intends to hold a ‘dialogue on inter-faith’.
The initiative is taken by Saudi King Abdullah, who has offered to call a meeting in the kingdom of the representatives of three major religions.
The call, the first of its kind by an Arab leader, has generated a lot of interest with the representatives of all three faiths welcoming the idea.
As dialogue is always encouraging, the United States of America is sending a special envoy to participate in the proposed talks.
The aim of such a dialogue must be to promote a better understanding between all peoples of different religions and avoid a ‘clash of ignorance’.
Peace, harmony, tolerance are the need of our world-in-tumult today, with violence, bloodshed, extremism and bombs colouring our daily lives.
The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), the 57 Muslim-nations’ group, is a world body, with powerful leaders, presidents, foreign ministers who can work wonders in the service of Islam.
Action and speedy decisions are urgently needed to make a gigantic effort to improve the Muslim world’s image and solve its acute problems. Helping Muslim societies to be moderate, modern and tolerant is a first step to set an example.
Spreading true and just Islamic values, conflict resolution, countering Islamophobia, economic cooperation in Muslim countries are major tasks the OIC can take up.
A greater knowledge of Islam’s magnanimity, liberal outlook, pluralism and flexibility is necessary for reawakening Islam’s indomitable spirit.
Scholars and luminaries must be invited to participate and share in such a dialogue, from all religions, for their invaluable help and suggestions.
When and where the inter-faith dialogue will be hosted is keenly awaited by all who want to see and make a difference to the status quo prevailing in the Muslim world today.
SHAMEEM DALLAZY
Karachi
I AM one of the candidates who have qualified in the Sindh Public Service Commission examinations for the post of lecturers in BPS 17. The final merit list was announced in March. The SPSC had sent recommendations in April to the education department for appointments of lecturers.
I, on behalf of all successful candidates, request the education secretary to issue posting orders to lecturers as soon as possible because there has already been a great delay in the process.
The SPSC had announced 741 vacancies of lecturers in various subjects through advertisement No. 04/2005 on June 22, 2005. Written examinations were held in January 2006. The SPSC could declare the results of written examinations and viva voce of just three subjects in 2006 while the results of the remaining subjects were declared in 2008, and SPSC conducted the viva voce examination in February and March this year in which we were declared successful.
So far, there has been a delay of two years in the process. We expect the new government to quicken the process of issuing posting orders.
LUTUFULLAH
Sukkur
THIS is apropos of the report, ‘Next 9/11 to come from Fata: US general’ (May 23). There is something strange here. Either this much vaunted Gen (Mr Petraeus) is not very bright, or motives other than those expressed are involved.
How can a rag-tag band of ‘terrorists’ with primitive weapons, in a remote, rugged mountainous region, halfway across the world, be a threat to the security of the greatest power on the planet?
Let’s be clear 9/11 happened because of the inability of US agencies to prevent it. This was at two levels. First, the abject failure of the homeland security apparatus.
And, second, the even more egregious failure of the administration to project core American values of justice, truth and equity in its foreign policy.
Everything that has happened since — the rape of Afghanistan, the invasion of Iraq, and the shameful, perhaps even criminal, destabilisation of Somalia, represents an attempt by a failed American administration to draw attention away from its own incompetence.
True, the people of Fata seethe with hatred for the US administration. This is not surprising. Indiscriminate murder and plunder of their land and people could have produced no other emotion.
This ruse has gone on too long. The new Pakistani government must call the USA’s bluff. Someone in the Pakistan government or foreign office must stand up and say: Enough.
We — Pakistan — will no longer subscribe to this warped, self-serving logic and the tragic consequences it has wrought on us and our neighbours.
NADEEM QURESHI
Karachi
I HAVE read with interest the article, ‘Testing times’ (May 13) and the letter, ‘Rejoinder to PAF’ (May 21), both by Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur, the clarification (May 18) by the PAF’s director of media affairs and the well-reasoned rebuttal to Mr Talpur by Ahsanullah, of May 20.
I was both amazed and appalled by some of the arguments given by Mr Talpur. For instance, in his rejoinder to the Air Force he says that the sound of the PAF aeroplanes flying over the proposed testing range in Balochistan will disturb the wildlife in those environs because ‘noise does adversely affect wildlife’.
If we follow his argument, then not only the military aircraft but even the passenger airliners should be stopped from flying over the cities and villages as well since human life is, after all, enormously more valuable than the wild one. Come on, Mr Talpur, show some reason.
Why be so carried away by current fashion in some circles of being a dove and an environmentalist beyond justifiable limits so as to make the nation’s defence a joke and put us all in great peril? Another argument given by the writer in his article was that if the weapons’ (especially nuclear) testing ranges were located in Balochistan, then, in case of a war, the enemy (India) would target these with its atomic bombs.
How about the millions of urban people living around targets having a much higher value, such as military bases, air and sea ports, radar sites, nuclear facilities, ordnance factories, dams, etc. – are their lives valueless? Are they the only stakeholders in their and Mr Talpur’s country?
K. NAQSHBANDI
Karachi
IN the last few days we were shocked twice by the news that in Karachi burglars were beaten and burnt to death by an angry mob. On May 15 a mob brutally beat up and burned three fleeing robbers to death in the congested area of Ranchore Line.
On May 18, a suspected robber was beaten and burnt to death by an angry mob at the Five-Star Roundabout, North Nazimabad, while his accomplice was seriously injured.
In April, as recent appointments were made, including that of the Sindh IG, my question is when citizens were forced to take law into their hands to punish robbers, what were the police doing at that time? Did the Sindh IG take any action? If yes, what procedures were taken?
Had correct measures been taken after the first incident, the second incident would not have happened. We need accountability on the performance of the officials responsible. The Sindh IG should take responsibility and withdraw from his current position.
I urge the National Assembly and the Sindh Assembly speaker to allow elected members to discuss these incidents in the assemblies and review the recent appointments.
DAWAR NAQVI
USA
APROPOS of Aqil Shah’s article, ‘Demilitarising the bureaucracy’ (May 4), I would like to say that rather than keeping military and civil institutions away from each other, a policy of cohesion will prove to be more conducive to creating a ‘balanced civil-military relationship’.
There are all sorts of professionals in armed forces, including engineers, doctors, administrators, logisticians and teachers. This well-trained human resource should not be stopped from serving the nation after retirement. As such, strict compartmentalisation between armed forces and civilian institutions should be removed.
Similarly, I don’t see any harm if civilians work in the PMA, staff college or in any other military units where their expertise is required. This would, in fact, make armed forces more progressive and vibrant.
The old-timers would recall that there was a time when Dr Mazhar Ali Khan (the famous English professor) served as director of studies at the PMA, Kakul, in civvies. Chiragh Hassan Hasrat, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Siddique Salik and Muzaffar Ali Syed also served in the armed forces.
It would make sense if discrimination between civilians and army personnel is removed and ‘right man for the right job’ is made the criterion to progress together.
AIR CDRE (r) KHAYYAM DURRANI
Karachi
THE Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority whose primary function is to safeguard the interest of the public has again demanded of 30 per cent increase in the rate of gas, as they believe that Sui Southern and Sui Northern companies are suffering from huge deficit, as reported in national dailies.
While looking at high salaries, including attractive bonuses, rest and recreation allowances and, above all, gifts in the shape of golden chains and lavish facilities allowed to officials, as well as to workers, of the company, no one will believe that the companies are running in losses.
The stupendous perquisites borne by the company clearly shows that the money earned at the cost of the general public is being misused and deficit is shown only to swindle the people repeatedly to provide for more facilities to the companies’ officials.
Since the democratic setup has now taken over the rein, the long neglected common people of Pakistan have a legitimate right to demand appointment of an impartial committee to scrutinise the plea of increase in prices and take stern action against those who, by making such unjustified demands, are creating hatred and a sense of alienation against the popular government.
After sudden out-of-proportion rise of the food prices, the masses are no more able to bear the burden of feeding white elephants of Sui Gas companies. They are also not prepared to be deceived, once again, by those who somehow joined the democratic system but playing historic black sheep role by siding with extortionists.
DR KAZI KHADIM HUSSAIN
Hyderabad
GIVEN the image the US has built for itself as the champion of democracy, human rights and all that is virtuous, one would have imagined that the politics and politicians over there would be very principled. However, a scrutiny of the past and present election campaigns shows that many of the participants don’t hesitate to hit their opponents under the belt.
In the race for the nominations to the November polls, Republican frontrunner John McCain and Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton or their associates have been attacking leading Democratic candidate Barack Obama for various reasons. Now, even his wife has been targeted, prompting a warning from the gentleman to lay off her.
A couple of weeks back, McCain had insinuated Obama of being a Hamas candidate just because the hardline Palestine group’s spokesman had praised Obama for being a man of principles. Now, President Bush, during a visit to Israel, hinted in the Israeli parliament that the Afro-American senator was an appeaser of the terrorists, including Iran.
The Boston Globe has labelled this Bushism as ‘malarkey’ or nonsense and lambasted their president for breaking an unwritten American rule against partisan politicking on foreign shores (May 17). Before that, the New York Times had slammed the McCain campaign ad against Obama as ‘a shameful, ugly ad’ that was ‘manipulative, shameful, race-baiting’ (April 26).
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has tried to exploit racial prejudices in various ways, including Obama’s past link with his pastor Jeremiah Wright, who has been making very controversial speeches about the white Americans. What is worse, after Obama severed his links with Wright, the latter has started censuring him.
As far as George Bush’s faulting of Obama’s stance on holding a dialogue with the enemies of the US is concerned, the Boston Globe has rightly pointed out that Bush’s diplomats had negotiated with Libya’s Moammer Qhaddafi and North Korea’s Kim Jong Il regarding nuclear weapons, although they, too, were considered to be terrorist or enemies.
It is clear that Barack Obama is having to fight on several fronts in what may be called a war against terror, while doing principled politics himself and refraining from hitting his opponents under the belt. One believes this shows his moral high ground and his detractors’ loss of nerve. Perhaps this will prove to be a blessing in disguise for him by preparing him to lead the US expertly through the various crises resulting from the Bush establishment’s many foibles.
One must admire him for sticking to his guns – the outcome will affect the whole world. If the American voters use their ballots wisely and impartially, they would make life easier not only for themselves but for the rest of the world as well. The Europeans apparently realise this and most of them are reportedly favouring Senator Obama.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
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