| June 12, 2008 | Thursday | Jamadi-us-Sani 07, 1429 |
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Movement by lawyers
Appeal to multinational company
Baseless allegations
Unwanted details
Thesis theft
Woes of PSS group
Strength in leadership
Understand the difference
Daylight saving time
Belated criticism
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 HAVE called you to dispel rumours about my quitting’ was all how Musharraf spoke to a select group of journalists on June 7. However, what he referred to as rumours is, in fact, ‘the writing on the wall’. Anyhow, it was there that he made two ‘(as if) not-known-before’ ground-breaking, epoch-making and earth-shaking revelations. One was that he is not quitting and the other one was that he is not an unbalanced person.
Let’s read the writing on the wall to find out the viability of the two. The not-quitting premise stands knocked out by the popularly-conferred titles as ‘the relic of the past’ and ‘the one at the exit-door’. And not-an-unbalanced-person stance can best be understood by quoting Mr Musharraf’s own words at the same gathering. For the ongoing judicial crisis, he said, “I didn’t dismiss the judges. They themselves did not take the oath under the PCO and quit their offices”.
And for ex-servicemen society (ESS), which represents all of his senior officers, he remarked, “ESS is a private organisation and it has nothing to do with the Army.”
Each word of the above two quotations graphically depicts the true meanings of the not-an-unbalanced-person stance. Hence, no further comments.
Besides, I felt lacerated when he termed Dr A. Q. Khan a liar. We used to import even nail-clippers when Dr A. Q.Khan took us into the elitist ‘nuclear club’ and thus saved Pakistan. If he is a liar, then who on God’s earth is truthful? Disgrace on Dr A. Q. Khan is disgrace on the entire nation and, therefore, it is unpardonable.
Let me also highlight the only pleasuresome point at June 7 press conference. That was acknowledgement of the sovereignty of parliament. Alas, we would not be gropping the way we do now, had that sovereignty been accepted on the fateful day of Oct 12, 1999.
If candidly analysed, this media meeting appears neither as a show of mettle nor a move to counter the talk of the town (or towns). It was ill-timed too. Just four days prior to the long march, was it not like showing a red rag to a bull?
As a matter of fact, this discourse with chosen journalists is likely to be Mr Musharraf’s swan song. It may be the last whistle from the sinking steamer. Actually, Mr Musharraf is now aboard such an aeroplane which is left with fuel enough only for 15 minutes (read days for minutes) and every airport has also refused landing to it.
MUHAMMAD WAQAR ASLAM
Quetta
THE long march planned by lawyers seems to be a picnic march. As Aitzaz Ahsan is asking people to get their families involved in it and arrange cars and also make sure that relatives also join it under the slogan “we are going to save Pakistan, come on and join us.”
Undoubtedly, the lawyers’ movement exists and they are endeavouring for survival of an independent judiciary and also to save it from the cling which the president had put on it but the passion, the enthusiasm which the leadership of lawyers’ community had in the past is nowhere and has come down to the minimum.
Lawyers consider Aitzaz Ahsan as their leader and undoubtedly Mr Ahsan played a vital role in the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry when he was first deposed on March 9, 2007 and as a result of his marvelous struggle Iftikhar Chaudhry was restored on July 20, 2007.
After Nov 3, Mr Ahsan was detained at his residence but whenever he found a chance to appear before public, he stressed on the reinstatement of independent judiciary on solid grounds but now the rivals have been changed. New rivals are no one but his allies, his own party leaders.
We now don’t hear a single firm statement by the president of the Supreme Court Bar Council that the breach of the Murree Accord is a blunder. Why this silence?
The only reason is that Aitzaz Ahsan cannot forget his association of 40 years with the PPP. Clearly, there is no ambiguity on the issue, everyone knows that the PCO judges were appointed by President Musharraf and their appointment was done by the president without it being passed by the parliament.
The need of the time is that whatever they want to do, they should do it on solid grounds and with proper planning without which all movements one will collapse.
M. SAMAR RIAZ KHAN
Lahore
ALLAH Rakhio alias Khamiso is a local landlord who claims he gave his land on lease to a multinational company (an oil and gas exploring company working in Dadu district) but the administration of the company, with the cohorts of local officials, forged the lease document into a sale deed.
For a few years, Mr Khamiso is seen observing hunger strike in front of Johi, Dadu, Hyderabad and Karachi Press clubs and his hunger strike is perhaps one of the longest (for more than 2,000 days). His protest has been widely recorded in regional and national print and electronic media. Despite all his protests, the company remains unmoved. In his press statement, Mr Khamiso said his family suffers enormous financial constraints because the only source of his income was the cultivable land that he gave to the oil exploration company which has not been releasing the installments of lease for several years. His young sons told reporters that they do not celebrate holy festivals because they cannot afford to do so anymore; they also remain out of school as they cannot bear the expenses of their schooling.
Mr Khamiso was on the verge of tears when he recalled his good days when he lived a prosperous life on his income from the land before he gave it to the company on lease. He said the company has ruined him and shattered his dreams.
Moreover, the youths in the Johi taluka complain that the company is providing jobs to outsiders at their cost. Similarly, the representatives from the community continue to raise a hue and cry against the company’s polices of excluding them from development schemes, while the company boasts in its annual reports that it is spending one per cent of its pre-tax profit in the area with the active participation of the community.
The company’s discriminatory polices of favouring one NGO and neglecting others is evident that it stopped funds for a single computer centre catering for the youth of Johi taluka, the reason being the NGO leadership was not in good books of the company’s management.
The company should resolve the problems and treat all partner NGOs and representatives from the community without any discrimination.
GULSHER PANWER
Johi
THIS is in reply to M. K. Naqvi's letter, 'Another pain for Balochistan' (June 6). He has declared the sardars and sardari system a hindrance in the development of the province.
I entirely disagree with this point of view that the causes of all worries of Balochistan are solely because of sardars and sardari system, and because of sardars Balochistan is backward and underdeveloped.
I would like to make him aware of the fact that entire Balochistan consists of around 28 districts and only three districts come under the jurisdiction of sardari system. Why is the rest of Balochistan so deprived of even the basic necessities of modern-day life?
Second, he has raised another baseless point that because of sardars the Baloch people are uneducated and ignorant. It is really disheartening that an educated person like the writer is unfamiliar with the ground realities of the backwardness of the province.
I want to clear the misunderstanding that most of the educational institutions that exist now in Balochistan had been established during the very short governments of these sardars. For instance, Balochistan University is a gift of the then chief minister of Balochistan, Sardar Attaullah Mengal, and the land for establishing Bolan Medical College was donated by another Sardar, Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri.
Before concluding, I would suggest to the writer that instead of blaming the sardars for the backwardness of the province, he should try to write something that can help resolve the longstanding issues of the province rather than making the problems more complex.
NAJEEB QAZI
Panjgoor
THIS is apropos of the ongoing discussions on the topic headlined, ‘Never again’. There is no harm in expressing one’s views about the misdeeds or blunders of someone whether dead or alive provided the intention is to convey the results of lessons learnt from the past mistakes.
But it will not be fair if the intention is only to achieve fame for the sake of one’s own name. Showing of knowledge by a writer about military tactics, telling details of our military operations during the past wars and difficulties faced by our troops at a certain battlefield might impress some people a bit while such details may be of little or no interest to them.
But these details are likely to reveal weaknesses of our military operations, and may be of great importance for our enemy. When published in the press, such debates might make the world laugh at us.
No doubt there are many books in libraries and in the open market on war histories of countries, including Pakistan, but these are edited, vetted and approved by government agencies before being sold.
Telling the exact name and number of the unit, its strength, area where it was deployed and difficulties faced by a certain unit of our own troops during the wars should always be avoided, especially when something has to appear in the press.
The nation must know about the mistakes if committed by our leaders in the past but not the details of military operations during the wars. So let us not reveal the details of our own military operations during the1965 and 1971 wars or any other military operation again in the press in an attempt to prove our points.
SQN LDR (r) S. AUSAF HUSAIN
Karachi
THIS is apropos of the report, “Ex-psychology student reports ‘theft’ of thesis”(June 1), and subsequent claims and counter-claims by both parties.
Our institutions continue to be plagued by malaise of academic misconduct. Academic councils and monitoring agencies continue to look the other way. Those guilty of academic misconduct should be asked to step down from their academic positions. There are a number of examples from the developed world where such incidents have happened.
Authorship and intellectual property rights have always been a contentious issue. The International Committee of Medical Journals Editors has developed guidelines based on the principle that authorship should be based only on a substantial contribution to (i) conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (ii) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and (iii) final approval of the version to be published.
While the guidelines related to authorship are vivid, the power dynamics and its boundaries are quite blurred. This is most pronounced in case of research student-mentor relationship; while the former is acquiring necessary skills and competencies, the latter is expected to guide him/her through this pathway.
Some guidelines recommend that any person who has two or more publications in peer-reviewed indexed journal qualifies for being a mentor. Though publication history does make an individual research savvy, more is required to be a mentor.
To facilitate a learning process, leading the way towards integrity, by example, are some of the processes a mentor is expected to take his student through. This requires considerable time and wisdom.
The next logical question is: do we have critical mass of individuals involved in such mentorship? Facts are contrary to claims. Research information generated in academic centres of Pakistan is abysmally low; most of it is reproduction of facts, while some is blatant plagiarism.
Some resort to more tactful means, like claiming other people’s work as their own, using their position and authority. At times research thesis meets the same fate as poacher’s ivory; supervisors utilise the literature review, discussion or some other relevant component of the paper.
Needless to say anything about the fate of the actual animal. This creates a culture of exploitation, rivalry and negative competition.
Somerset Maugham has so aptly said: “But to write well is as hard as to be good”. Every one is not committed to such moral standards. Individuals who don’t have the knowledge, skills and perseverance to pursue academic path resort to seeking power, to fulfil their ambitions.
In this scenario, it makes sense to have connection in the echelon of powers. This is the legacy people leave behind, rather than unceasing work, discipline and dedication to burning midnight oil.
To learn to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, to be able to think divergently, discern facts from perception, reason logically and work persistently towards genuine certainty is art as well as science.
Academic councils, journal editors and others at the helm of affairs need to take notice of the current situation, if this malaise of plagiarism and research misconduct is to be rooted out.
DR HAIDER A. NAQVI
Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University Hospital
Karachi
THIS is to draw the attention of Sindh high-ups to their attitude towards the Provincial Secretariat Service (PSS) group.
The SPSC holds competitive examinations and qualified candidates are mainly allocated to PCS and PSS groups.
The officers working in the Sindh secretariat as section officers are then promoted to the posts of deputy secretary, additional secretary and secretary from the PSS group whereas officers of the PCS group are appointed as DDO and then promoted as district officer/deputy secretary, executive district officer (EDO)/additional secretary and district coordination officer/secretary.
The ratio of seats/posts from BPS 18 to 20 is divided into DMG/APUG, PCS and PSS in Sindh. DMG/APUG takes the lion's share of the posts in the Sindh provincial government whereas the remaining 50 per cent posts in BPS 18 and BPS 19 are divided between PCS and PSS groups.
The PCS group has been given more shares in BPS 20 and BPS 21 at the cost of the PSS group.
After the devolution plan and promulgation of SLGO 2001, secretariats have come into existence at district level and new posts like DDO (community development) and DDO (finance and planning) have been created at district level. The officers of the PSS group are denied due share in such posts.
The centre should direct the Sindh government to finalise the formation of provincial management service (PMS) on the lines of formation of PMS in the three other provinces.
MUHAMMAD IKRAM
Karachi
THE country is facing numerous problems from security-related issues to that of economic woes faced by the common man. In these dire times, strong leadership is the only effective means of combating these problems.
President Musharraf has rightly stated that this is required to solve this and the impending problems faced by the country. Stability and progressive economic growth will play a key and pivotal factor in this respect. The government has to focus on working hand in hand in ensuring the progress and development taking place. This will encompass development in poverty alleviation, employment generation and enhancing the quality of human resources through health, education and skill development.
If the country is facing these problems, one of the reasons is the lack of leadership as most politicians to date are unable to resolve their differences. These differences should be set aside and there must be working of the state together with its institutions, not by giving statements that create confrontation. It is time reconciliation became the order of the day.
DINA JAFFAR
Lahore
THE president himself wants to become a virtual titular head of state, hence there is no need for coercive acts. The coalition partners should instead attend to burning issues like the acute energy shortage and creation of productive employment opportunities, in a better way than did their predecessors, to keep the president titular, in letter and in spirit.
SIDDIK S. JAANGDA
Karachi
MUST we in Pakistan always try to reinvent the wheel?
Has this decision been carefully thought out? It appears to be a whim of the minister concerned.
None of these countries from the Middle East to South Asia have DST – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan. Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan. Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
Airline, train, bus schedules, office timings, etc, are thrown out of kilter causing a huge amount of wasteful expenditure.
DST does not conserve energy, it causes sleep disruption as body clocks do not adjust quickly to sleeping an hour earlier. In fact, it increases usage because people sleep an hour later and keep lights, a/cs, TV sets on for an extra hour daily.
One more nail in the coffin to our beloved country becoming a bigger laughing stock than it has been made to become already.
Do away with this ill-conceived, thoughtless, wasteful practice.
AHMED D. BAYAT
Karachi
THIS refers to the news report, ‘Nawaz says position in Kargil vindicated’ (June 4). Military history is replete with examples when a serving officer chose honourable course to quit the service rather than accept something which blatantly violated their principles, conscience and professional acumen. Those who did this were the moral giants; we also have a couple who belong to this pedigree.
They disagreed with Mr Musharraf’s policy of siding with America after 9/11 and decided to doff the uniform.
We unfortunately have too many minnows who lack moral courage and tend to serve the boss rather than their own conscience and service. The only responsible and noble course open to Gen Gulzar was to say goodbye to the service if he vehemently disagreed with the professional policies of Mr Musharraf or asked to be relieved of his command.
Criticising the former COAS at this belated stage appears to suggest an attempt to win the sympathy of some politicians and to avenge ouster from the PCS.
I wish that Gen Gulzar had his facts right before appearing on the TV. It was Armitage and not Powell who had threatened to bomb Pakistan to the Stone Age
BRIG (r) KHAN A. SHAMSHAD
Karachi
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