| September 10, 2008 | Wednesday | Ramazan 09, 1429 |
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Nation’s wisdom
How green was my valley
Persecution of a lecturer
Democracy in the Third World
Child labour
Setting the record straight
Missing sports
Think before you speak
Pollution in Lahore
Mind your language, please
School bus system
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
CONGRATULATION to Asif Ali Zardari on his election as our president despite a malicious propaganda campaign launched by some of his political opponents and foreign media against him.
This is, in fact, a reward for great sacrifices rendered during the last many years by him and his wife, the late Benazir Bhutto.
At the same time a very challenging and difficult period has started for Mr Zardari. This is also a golden opportunity for him to really do something for the country and its people who are looking to him with all sorts of expectations.
One of the achievements of this election is the manifestation of our national unity from Karachi to Khyber. The credit for this goes to both Mr Zardari and the electorates. Now it will be the main task of Mr Zardari to maintain this unity throughout the country. He will now have to respect the mandate of the PML(N) in Punjab, the ANP and the JUI in the NWFP and the MQM in Sindh.
We expect that just because of minor temporary political gains and succumbing to the pressure of vested interests, this national unity achieved by the statesmanship of Mr Zardari will not be floundered, rather it will be consolidated.
For this Mr Zardari, especially in Sindh, should continue to avail himself of guidance from political stalwarts like Altaf Hussain, Pir Pagara and Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi and mend his fences with Sharif brothers and Chaudhry brothers in Punjab. The people of Pakistan today are facing many grave internal and external problems and looking for a Messiah.
Mr Zardari must grab this opportunity. I will, therefore, advise him to announce immediately some relief package for the people. He should also hand over the reins of the PPP to a sincere and dedicated leader like Makhdoom Amin Fahim and keep himself above party politics. He must remove the word of vengeance from his dictionary and extend a reconciliatory hand to all political leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, as he has been doing in the recent past.
There is also no need to emphasise that economic conditions of our country should be on top of his agenda. He should be a guiding and inspiring spirit behind the economic revival of the country and the solution of the people’s problems.
Mr Zardari will also have to be cautious against such persons as have supported him in their self-interest and would now like to cash in on their support.
He must use his overwhelming influence to eradicate corruption from our society to give a befitting reply to those who are responsible for a sinister campaign against him.
K. MURAD BEY
Karachi
(II)
WITH the presidential election over on Sept 6 (coincidentally on Defence of Pakistan Day), the struggle for the removal of military dictatorship has triumphed.
The foundation of Benazir Bhutto’s vision of transition to democracy has been laid. It is now for the present political leadership to steer the country out of the multiple crisis that we are confronted with.
With the economy in a tailspin and extremism/militancy at its peak (with no signs of subsiding), the politicians in and out of the government have a very heavy responsibility on their shoulders.
While we, the concerned and responsible citizens (including the chattering class), expect the political class to play an effective and positive role in strengthening democracy; it is equally, if not more, important that we also play our role in the process.
It is not enough to say that we participated in the elections and exercised our right to vote (many don’t even vote). We have to go beyond that and keep our elected representatives under check.
If we do not actively involve ourselves in this process, we would be equally to be blamed if democracy is derailed again. The struggle for establishing democracy has now begun.
NAZIM F. HAJI
Karachi
A. C. CHANNA in his letter, “Nation’s wisdom” (Sept 3), has pointed out how anti-democratic forces have started sabotaging the day the popularly-elected government took reins of the state of affairs.
I find his reasoning justified as those who benefited from the past nine years of one-man illegitimate rule are obviously feeling uncomfortable in the present setup.
Therefore, it is all the more reason that the present regime should be more vigilant in handling national affairs.
The numerous misdeeds listed by the writer were inherited by the present regime from its predecessor.
Certainly these problems being extremely complicated cannot be surmounted in such a short time. However, the regime’s last six months of performance leave much to be desired.
During this period not even an appropriate strategy has been planned and presented before the nation to resolve their tribulations.
Who has stopped the present dispensation from restoring the judiciary, removed illegally by the dictator, despite making commitments many a time with other major political party?
Who has stopped the government from adopting austerity measures announced by the prime minister? Who has asked the government to accept the World Bank’s dictation lying down and withdraw subsidies that has directly affected the poor?
Who has asked the government to break promises on vital issues at the cost of breaking ties with the second largest party and joining hands with those who remained emotionally attached with a dictator up to the last moment of his struggle?
Who has asked the government to employ a line of ministers in the centre as well as in the provinces?
Unfortunately efforts have been made to subvert lawyers’ movement: a movement which was started for the first time in the history of the country with full backing of civil society for such an exalted cause, by reappointing some judges in piecemeal instead of restoring them all.
This does not augur well for the party in power as well as for the nation at large.
MANSOOR UL HAQUE SOLANGI
Karachi
SHER Alam Shinwar’s eulogy nearly brought tears to my eyes for his ‘Swat analysis’ (Dawn Magazine, Sept 7).
I also exclaim that my valley was lush green, beautiful and serene. Can you differ with Sher Alam’s assertion that it was a piece of heaven on earth?
What denuded my valley of its lovely greenery and tranquil beauty – the militancy which is the sum total of terrorism and religious rebellion. The peaceful religion of Islam, that these militants seem to follow, has been interpreted in as many ways as are the numbers of these little educated, little enlightened and ‘frogs-of-a-well maulvis and mullas.
Islam remained open to study by all but the students never comprehended its message — which is peace, justice, equality, sanctity of humanity and submission to God.
The religious rebellion was born from the womb of terrorism – the battle against the government’s joining coalition forces to fight terrorists in Afghanistan. Now this juxtaposition needs to be pondered over.
The Taliban fighting the US for invading Afghanistan are terrorists as they harboured Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda.
They are also fighting Pakistan as it allied itself with their enemy to fight them. It was not enough for them.
They began to influence the Pakistani tribal illiterate, ignorant and poor villagers to fight the US and all its allies. It was also not easy.
But it was made possible by India and Russia, also by Afghanistan by supplying money, weapons, mercenaries and training facilities to Tehrik-i- Taliban-i-Pakistan — a sister organisation of Afghan Taliban —to wage a war of religious rebellion.
You may have read reports that three bodies of Hindus were found among the militants’ dead after gunship helicopters’ shelling on terrorists hideouts; and some Afghan army’s soldiers were arrested in Kurram Agency on Aug 31 and Sep 1. These people have destroyed my Swat, its beauty and tourism.
M.K. NAQVI
Karachi
IT is usually said that teachers are builders of a nation. However, in our society teachers are reduced to facing humiliation, detention, tortures and terrorism.
Hassan Janan Baloch, a lecturer in the University of Balochistan, was apprehended on Aug 26 in front of the city centre in Quetta, and thrashed before the public.
He was then dragged to the teacher’ hostel on the university campus where another assistant professor of political science, Mumtaz Baloch, was humiliated by law enforcers who searched his room as if he was a thug or a miscreant.
Then the law enforcers broke open the door of Hassan Janan’s room and searched it.
Later on at a press conference the police declared that they found a TT pistol and hand-grenades in the lecturer’s room.
But the university administration, as well as the administration of the teachers’ hostel, had no information about any of the ammunitions and bombs shown to them.
In such a situation it is difficult to determine the veracity of the claims made by the law enforcers.
Hassan Janan is still behind bars, perhaps facing more brutal tortures and humiliations.
Why should such treatment be meted out to him? Why are the respected being humiliated? Why do the media not show this side of the picture? Why have the pens of intellectuals dried up on this issue?
On the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, entire civil society is furious while the media is using their entire energy to raise this issue and the government of Pakistan is using all its channels to sort out this matter. But what is being done to provide justice to this lecturer? Please help him.
CHAKER HAIDER BALOCH
Quetta
APROPOS of Syed Jawad Muzaffar’s letter, ‘Is democracy possible in the Third World’ (Sept 4), I think that even an imperfect democracy is preferable to a so-called ‘perfect’ dictatorship.
After all, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
IN this context, I may mention that post-independence India saw statesmen like Jawaharlal Nehru and Babasaheb Ambedkar, supported by the Constituent Assembly, resolutely sowing the seeds of a democratic superstructure through various state organs and, of course, through the Indian Constitution.
The basic democratic structure of India has stood the test of time, notwithstanding the continuing efforts by fascist or communal forces to undermine it.
The various ills which have plagued some Third World countries stem from reasons other than existence or non-existence of democratic institutions in those countries.
Even in democratic countries, people have to be eternally vigilant to guard their liberty and democracy. It is a herculean, and yet an essential, task.
SUKUMAR SHIDORE
Pune, India
I AGREE with M. Shafiq Ahmed (Child labour, Sept 9) that there are numerous children involved in begging and child labour in the country, having no access to education and other basic rights.
But I don’t agree with the point that children beg and labour because of their families’ impoverished conditions, having no other option.
Indeed there should be strict legislations to ban all forms of child labour.
There is no logic in the argument that due to illiteracy and poverty families could be allowed to violate laws and resort to theft for survival.
Solutions should be that the government should design comprehensive programmes for such families wherein the suffering children are offered education against incentives which may be food.
Vocational education should be imparted against provision of food.
Families of such children should be given work against whatever expertise they have, otherwise they can be taught how to work.
There are various examples that exist in the country and even abroad that should be studied further and followed.
The scope of social protection programmes of the government should be widened and should focus on such families to ensure that families send their children to school.
Civil society should also be benevolent enough to support such families and their children until the children finish their education.
ASHOK SUTHAR
Tharparkar
IN his rejoinder (Aug 31) to my letter of Aug 29, written in support of the ISI, Kamran Shafi has some questions and objections.
He says if the ISI is so effective, why has no suicide bomber, his helpers or those Taliban leaders claiming responsibility for numerous killings, ever got arrested beforehand?
Further, “what has patriotism got to do with controlling an out-of-control department of the government….? Indeed, the ISI has committed heinous acts such as ‘disappearing’ its own people….”
I would leave it to the D-G ISPR or some other appropriate authority to answer his first question, because the nation is earnestly seeking honest and satisfying answers about this issue and, what (in general terms) and how effectively the ISI – of which many people have been proud – has been doing all that it does.
My main emphasis in the letter was on India and some other powers trying very hard to get this agency disbanded. Whatever its other shortcomings, which can be removed, but, in this situation we all must rally and provide it moral support to defeat the hostile forces’ aims.
While criticising the ISI, a proper perspective must be kept and it shouldn’t be seen in isolation. To illustrate, despite the existence of 16 agencies, the Americans were unable to prevent 9/11.
Likewise, nobody stopped Timothy McVeigh, who was a member of the notorious Michigan Militia, from bombing a federal government building in Oklahoma City in early 1996 that killed over a hundred men, women and children and was the biggest incident of terrorism in the US till then. They haven’t succeeded in arresting OBL or Mulla Omer, either.
The CIA was unable to detect beforehand India’s nuclear tests of 1998. More surprisingly, the RAW and IB or several other Indian agencies are not usually able to catch the perpetrators of the bombings in India, much less prevent them.
However, nobody in the US, India and other countries in similar situations demands the winding up of these organisations.
Regarding the ‘disappearances,’ I am no less concerned than Mr Shafi or any other Pakistani, but always try to empathise with others: How I would feel if I or a loved one were made to vanish?
By the same token, one must also try to sympathise with an ISI operative, who may have to spend years in a rebellious population or enemy territory, to do his job, and is under the constant threat of getting caught / tortured/killed by the opponents.
Mr Shafi may have read the letter by Dr Ghayur Ayub (Aug 16) where he had observed that it was the Quaid himself who had envisaged the need for setting up the ISI.
Also, that Rajiv Gandhi had once said he wished India could have an effective intelligence agency like it.
Brig (r) Mohammad Yousaf, who was director of the ISI’s Afghan Bureau between ’83 and ’87, along with Maj (r) Mark Adkin of the British army had written the book The Bear Trap, regarding the first Afghan jihad.
This work has many references about the ISI and several crucial lessons for the present political and military leaders. Some interesting points about Brig Yousaf’s and the ISI’s working are cited here.
At the outset, he observes: “It is considered to be the most effective intelligence agency in the Third World.” This supports the remarks of Rajiv Gandhi, the CIA agents and Eric Margolis (the last two were quoted in my previous letter).
The enemy’s order of battle faced by this brigadier had included no fewer than one four-star, five three-star, and nearly 15 two-star Russian generals as also 25-plus Afghan generals, all of whom outranked him. Yet, he did very well.
The gentleman also noted that very few senior CIA officials had sound military knowledge, to whom the ISI officers could relate.
Once, a military officer on the CIA’s staff told him: “General, in the United States, CIA is getting all the credit for anything good happening in Afghanistan and you (Pakistan) are getting all the discredit for anything going wrong.”
To sum up, if Mr Musharraf abused the ISI, police, parliament, etc., for his own ends, the blame primarily rests with him. We must try to ensure sufficient accountability so nobody repeats such things in future.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
WHY doesn’t our electronic and print media, in collaboration with the ministry of sports, support the sports trend through their channels and papers to inculcate sports habits in youth, which is the breath of life and is missing in the country for many reasons.
We were among the 117 countries in Olympics that returned empty-handed and also were out of the next year’s Hockey Champions Trophy.
In addition, after the loss of Asia Cricket Cup our inconsistent performance shows a dark future in cricket as well.
Our nation is not playing football, tennis, wrestling, rugby, golf and baseball, which are most familiar sports around the world.
If we do not participate in such competitions, we will have to wait for centuries to reach other Olympic sports and many games which make the generations able to face challenges.
The media should support the world of sports in a more focused manner?
SOHAIL FAROOQ
Karachi
APROPOS of the letter, ‘Loadshedding’ (Sept 1), there has been a 30 per cent increase in electricity prices but certain remarks from the officials responsible show that there is no one to take care of such critical matters.
I think the nation has always co-operated and will do further to help overcome the electricity shortage issue but the officers should avoid such irresponsible statements and commitments which cannot be fulfilled.
I as a true Pakistani believe that we are always there to pay any price to bring the nation back on the track of progress, but our leaders should think before they speak.
ZAKARIA AHMED KHAN
Via email
I live in Lahore and the air pollution here has reached critical levels. If tree saplings were on sale, then a large proportion of the public would have bought and planted them. Such outlets should be opened at many locations in Lahore.
I see banners asking citizens to plant trees but if I could see one outlet, I would love to plant and take care of no fewer than 10 trees and see them grow to maturity.
The PHA or some organisation should seriously plan to open such outlets or tree saplings should be obtainable through post or courier.
ALI KHAN
Lahore
THIS is apropos of Waheed Mazhar’s letter, ‘Mind your language, please’ (Sept 6). While disapproving of Imran Khan’s diatribe against some main political leaders, the writer finds him flippant and provocative enough to anger his opponent politicians and their supporters alike.
If one may recall, Mr Khan broke into politics to expose pseudo-politicians and get rid of the so-called well-wishers of Pakistan. In this hot pursuit, he has always found the press and the public opinion behind him.
So instead of calling him as fond of media trial, in fact he has successfully sensitised society to the crimes being committed by the rulers against their own people. Likewise the writer is oblivious to the fact that Mr Khan never voted for the 17th Constitutional Amendment.
So far as his criticism of government policies is concerned, Mr Khan has always been well within his constitutional rights to criticise any local or foreign aggression that used brute force against innocent civilians of Pakistan.
This is incorrect to say that Mr Khan kept quiet when the jirga sentenced the burial of women still breathing life. The fact remains that he not only condemned the barbaric act but also demanded that an inquiry be instituted and proper action taken.
As we all know that like suicide bombing, the burning of girls school and colleges was an act in retaliation of the army’s action in the north, and Imran Khan and his party have vehemently denounced terrorism in any form and at any level.
OMAR SARFRAZ CHEEMA
Information secretary, PTI
Islamabad
I WAS shocked to read in the paper the other day that we are going to have two weekly work holidays and one fuel holiday to reduce oil consumption.
It is extremely disappointing that we are not trying to find a permanent solution, rather an easy escape route! Maybe 10 years down the road we will have four working holidays and two or more fuel holidays.
I suggest that the government should make it compulsory for all schools and colleges to have students come in through school buses or contractor buses or vans. This would greatly reduce the traffic on the roads, and fuel consumption would come down significantly. This policy should be implanted at educational institutes of all levels
WAHEED ZAFAR
Karachi
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