| October 15, 2008 | Wednesday | Shawwal 15, 1429 |
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The US learns too late
Education options
DHQ Hospital at Gilgit
Rise in polio cases
Why rename Islamabad Airport?
Preserving national heritage
Teachers’ promotion
World in turmoil
Violating law
Increased oil prices
Failed leadership
Shershah flyover
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 IS apropos of the front-page story with the sub-heading, ‘Propaganda against ISI angers JCSC’, the article, ‘Pakistan’s trust deficit’ by Kunwar Idris, both of Oct 12, and the column, ‘How our spymasters view the world’, by Irfan Husain (Oct 11).
The story says that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Tariq Majid, took serious note of insinuations about Pakistan’s nuclear programme and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency. Although the source(s) of the propaganda weren’t specified, they are quite well known to us.
In his write-up, Kunwar Idris has reproduced some remarks of The Economicst about the ISI from a recent issue:
“Pakistan’s notorious military spooks deserve credit for the audacity of their covert support for the Taliban, the enemy of Pakistan’s greatest ally. But America’s patience with the ISI’s double-dealing is running thin.”
The paper then goes on to cast doubts on the assurances of a ‘civilian with a dodgy past’ (which, Mr Idris clarifies, means our president), to tame the ISI that the publication has sarcastically labelled as the ‘Invisible Soldiers Inc.’
On his part, Irfan Husain has written that, increasingly, Pakistan is being blamed for the losses incurred by the western forces in Afghanistan, due to which the Americans are constrained to enter our tribal areas to combat the militants, whom our forces are unable or unwilling to take on.
Gen Majid is right in feeling indignant about the poisonous propaganda against our premier intelligence outfit. It appears to be a well-orchestrated campaign being run from New Delhi, Kabul, Washington and London, in order to defang the ISI and give the hostile powers a free hand in the region.
To The Economist’s criticism of the ISI working against Pakistan’s greatest ally, one would like to point out that it was the US which had taken on its payroll the notorious Northern Alliance of Afghanistan after 9/11. This was done despite Pakistan’s strong reservations due to its close ties to the Soviets and sworn enmity with Islamabad.
On the contrary, Taliban, who were on good terms with Pakistan, were collectively targeted, leading to their ouster, merely because Mulla Omer wanted the Americans to provide evidence against Osama bin Laden, so a court could decide if he must be expelled from Afghanistan.
The US-led operation resulted in the setting up of an inimicable regime in Kabul, which resurrected the Durand Line issue and is siding with India while also becoming a conduit for external help to the Baloch insurgents, all of which have seriously hurt the interests of this ‘frontline state’. Therefore, instead of pointing fingers at Pakistan or the ISI, these countries should first do some soul-searching.
Mr Husain hasn’t given any thought to what happened to the Americans in Vietnam and Iraq. The outcome of the wars over there shows that foreign forces have no chance of winning against homegrown guerilla movements. This is also true for the British (19th century) and Soviet (20th century) incursions into Afghanistan. Was Pakistan responsible for the American debacle in Iraq?
The truth is that the Pakhtuns on both sides of the Durand Line couldn’t have been stopped by any other country, if they had similarly straddled a border elsewhere, say between Iran and Afghanistan or Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Now, a word of counsel to the ISI. The agency’s involvement in domestic politics and the alleged disappearance of many Pakistanis are the primary reasons for the justifiable resentment against it amongst a lot of Pakistanis.
It must take steps to clear the bad image thus created and scrupulously stay away from such activities. Its main tasks of counterinsurgency and foreign operations are extremely important for the nation and are things on which it ought to focus.
Finally, in reply to The Economist’s appellation of ‘Invisible Soliders Inc.’ used for the ISI, it is slanderous to argue the agency was allowed to engage in double dealing when, according to army figures, more than 1,300 soldiers have died in the fight against militants.
This is an organisation many Pakistanis are proud of, because its operatives put their lives at perpetual risk to ensure the nation’s safety. Therefore, one would rather call it, “Intrepid Saviours’ Institution”.
QAMAR IQBAL
Karachi
THE Americans had gone with much gusto into Vietam to save the free world from communism. Many years later, with three million Vietnamese dead, 50,000 American troops slain and millions of Vietnamese citizens affected by the deadly defoliant Agnet Orange, the US had to concede defeat and withdraw from the country.
Hundreds of thousands of its supporters were left in the lurch. The Cambodians, too, had been bombed during the war, being suspected of aiding the Viet Cong guerillas. A very large number of helpless folks from the two countries had to escape on boats over the sea, thereby becoming known as ‘the boat people’.
That was over 30 years back. Then, nearly 20 years ago, the American left Afghanistan in a hurry, not bothering to help the Afghans and Pakistanis cope with the aftermath, who had sacrificed enormously to help the West win the Cold War against the USSR.
Next, it forced Pakistan to make a U-turn in its policy regarding Taliban who were then ruling over Afghanistan, in Sept 2001, instead of holding negotiations with the militia. Now, Washington, along with its principal western allies, is itself making a U-turn by trying to do what it has so far been muscularly trying to keep Pakistan from doing, that is, negotiate peace with Taliban.
In between, the US also invaded Iraq by misleading the Americans, in particular, and the world, in general, about Saddam Hussein’s WMDs and Al Qaeda connections. After sinking $800 billion of taxpayers’ money in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is now making them cough up another $700 billion to fight the financial disaster blamed on the establishment’s negligence.
In the meantime, the Pakistanis will be left to fight it out with Taliban whom they had antagonised merely for Washington’s sake. The Vietnamese and Cambodians had been turned into ‘boat people’ but the Pakistanis have been turned into the ‘bowl people’, having to go around with a begging bowl just because the rupee has nose-dived against the dollar and suicide bombings have turned the investors away, while there is also a flight of capital. Added to that is the denial of American nuclear energy and Iranian gas.
In 1945, the Americans had killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese citizens in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by dropping atomic bombs. Some 60 years later, this horrible cruelty has returned to haunt them and they are living under the fear of being attacked by Al Qaeda with WMDs.
They tend to think of themselves as the smartest people on earth, but poor, ill-equipped and underfed opponents have humbled them far too often. The Bible says that the meek and the humble shall inherit the earth. But, the Americans learn too late, don’t they?
M.Y. KHAN
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Mrs A. Mahmood’s letter, ‘Education: having our own system’ (Oct 8), which also received a supporting letter by Imran Ali on Oct 13.
First, technically, GCSEs are not ‘modern’ replacements for ‘obsolete’ GCE O level, but a dumping down of the latter following falling academic standards in Britain. The AS level is similarly a truncated version of the fuller A level, and is offered by most of the schools which offer A level in Pakistan.
The writer (Mrs Mahmood) has had her own children receive top quality education, but would like to see our education, the education of middle-class Pakistani children, sacrificed at the altar of ‘systems’ and ‘principles’.
We, the somewhat richer students of Pakistan, are expected to discard our dreams of a fulfilling education and enroll instead in the local system, which is a sad farce and teaches us to become photocopiers.
When it comes to education, there can be no compromise. Do people not realise that this is not about promoting any particular system? Students of O and A levels in Pakistan rarely go around declaring “We’re so British!”...we are proud Pakistanis as much as these uber-nationalists who would scrap our one hope for good education. We want the local system to improve as much as anyone else; we, however, cannot sacrifice our education to this desire.
My decision to take the O’ level examinations rather than the local matriculation was not prompted by ‘middle class aspirations’, but by the simple realisation that the O’ level provided better education. Why should we be denied a good education simply because we are Pakistanis?
The illogical claims that we should take the matriculation examinations simply because it is our own system are a convenient way to peddle a bit of cheap nationalism.
The local system, the national system, must be promoted. Sure. But fix that system first. As a teenager, it is my duty to educate myself; it is not my duty to help fix the system. That’s your generation’s job — do it yourself or, failing that, stop cribbing when we turn to other options.
If the O level examinations, or other foreign alternatives to the dysfunctional local system, are banned, then our country will suffer as it has never done before. I do not trust our government to improve this, or any other, system. The problems in our education system are manifold and deep-seated.
In my opinion, the only possible improvement is a complete overhaul of the entire system. A new education system, modelled on other systems already in practice in successful countries, be it the O/A levels or even the high school system, appears the only solution. Understandably, this will take time. Must we suffer in the interim?
MAHIM NAVEED
Lahore Cantt
THROUGH the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to draw the attention of the higher authorities of the Northern Areas Administration and the Kashmir Affairs Division towards the deteriorating condition of the District Headquarters Hospital, Gilgit.
The DHQ Hospital in Gilgit is a major tertiary care unit in the whole of the Northern Areas catering to a population of more than 1.5 million, most of which lives in far-flung areas. But the hospital is in a pathetic condition. Most of the doctors are absent from duty for several days a week and even if they come, they come at around 11am and leave at 1pm. There is always a scarcity of medicines.
Referring to a personal experience, I accompanied a relative to the DHQ Hospital recently. Since I am the only educated young man in my village, my relative expected me to take care of her in the hospital. But once there, no doctor was available to examine her even though it was 11:30 in the morning.
Once I located a doctor, he demanded a fee of Rs200 although he was not supposed to ask for a fee.
I went to the MS who advised me to pay the amount if I wanted treatment. Later on they charged me Rs700 for medicines, although it was written in bold letters at the entrance that no money will be charged for medicines.
As an ordinary citizen I ask the bureaucrats concerned as to what accountability mechanism they have in place for such behaviour in public hospitals. The MS was recently suspended by the Federal Services Tribunal for submitting a fake degree from the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, regarding his academic qualification. Why is such a person the MS of an important medical facility?
I don’t know when the time will come when ordinary citizens like me will be treated with respect and dignity.
NASIR HUNZAI
Shishkat village
Hunza, Gilgit
During the first PPP government in the seventies, professional doctors were hired to work as Sindh Health secretaries. They were dedicated to their jobs and worked for betterment of the system and doctors; they were not indulged in corruption.
After the dismissal of PPP Governments, professional doctors were replaced by CSS beauracrats who did not know anything about the health system and worked to fulfill the whims of the politicians.
The scenario however is different this time as the government seems too occupied as they have still not appointed a professional person as secretary Health in Sindh.
The Government should take serious notice the polio cases and other indicators and learn lessons from the previous government that hired a secretary Health who not only helped reduce polio cases but also dismantled the I I Depot from where millions of rupees went to a secretary as monthly commissions from the purchase of medicines.
He gave tough resistance to other corrupt officials of Health during his tenure because he was not involved in any corrupt practice, and did a lot for the improvement of health.
I request the Honorable Governor and Honorable Chief Minister of Sindh to gauge the worsening situation by appointing a secretary like the previous one.
DR (CAPT) NIZAMUDDIN MEMON
Karachi
Public buildings, parks, etc. should only be named after non-controversial, towering personalities with a clean public record and outstanding national contribution. Also there should be a parliamentary committee for this purpose and such decisions should not be based on ‘royal decrees’.
Therefore, despite the unfortunate manner of Benazir’s death, the NRO-based amnesty granted by a dictator and years of inept governance are hardly grounds for renaming Islamabad Airport after her.
However, if her husband is so keen on “immortalising” her name, I am sure he will have no problem whatsoever in funding any one of many public service projects from his own pocket. The poor tax-payers of this country might not mind this at all.
A POOR PAKISTANI TAX-PAYER
Gujaranwala
AS reported in Dawn, “Historical building’s facelift plan hits snags” (Oct 11), the bickering between the Sindh government and the Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums over the preservation work of ‘Tajjar building’, one of the most significant monuments of national heritage, is extremely awful. If the federal department of archeology feels that the national memorials have not been handled by the provincial authorities properly, specially in the case of Kot Deji and Rani Kot, then what they have done to other historical buildings, such as Wazir Mansion, too leaves much to be desired.
Another edifice of national importance which is a shambles due to a lack of interest shown by the department is an early 8th century mosque built (probably the first one in the subcontinent) by Muhammad Bin Qasim in Alore (or Arore) at a distance of 25 kilometres from Rohri town. Alore (now a small village) was once a metropolis: capital of Sindh situated on the bank of the River Indus. It was here that Muhammad Bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahir, the ruler of Sindh, and established Muslim rule in this part of the world.
The performance of the Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums was never satisfactory as can be witnessed from numerous decaying sites of national significance spread all over the country. Thus considering the fast deterioration of valuable heritage, the provincial government has created a Department of Antiquities, Sindh, to look after the archaeological, historical and physical heritage of the province. The department has three wings — Heritage, Conservation and Archaeology.
Recently the Sindh government has also established, at the initial stage, an endowment fund of Rs1 billion, which will subsequently be raised to Rs3 billion, for the preservation of the physical heritage of the province. A 14-member management board, which includes renowned educationists, archeologists, bankers and public representatives, has been constituted to manage funds and evaluate, pass and monitor the heritage conservation projects. The secretary of Sindh Antiquities Department will act as the board’s secretary. The antiquities department would prepare and submit conservation projects in the fields of investigation, documentation, research, physical conservation, post-excavation conservation of sites, museum/archive-based research related to physical heritage and training to the management board. Only the well-researched projects will be evaluated by the board for the necessary funding.
It is time this subject was handed over to the provinces to deal with. However, keeping in view the fact that the objective of both the federal and provincial governments is same, i.e. ‘conserving national heritage’, the federal department of archeology may also fund and assist the provincial government with expertise available with them in carrying out proper protection and maintenance of the monuments.
It is proposed that in the case of Tajjar building also the federal archeology department in the interest of preservation of this national heritage should generate funds and expertise and leave the overall conservation work to the department of antiquities, instead of creating impediments.
The committee should have eminent people from various walks of life established by the provincial government to preserve national assets of antiquity.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
WE, the college teachers, regret the fact that the promotion of assistant professors (BPS 18) has been inordinately delayed. The problem has been lingering on for the last 10 years.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haque are requested to look into the matter and redress our grievance.
It is about four months that we submitted our grievance to the education minister when he visited Shikarpur but so far there has been no response to that, though Pir Mazharul Haque had promised that promotion cases would be finalised within a month.
PROF KEWAL RAM ROHRA & OTHERS
Shikarpur
TODAY the world is in turmoil and unsafe because of incompetent and unscrupulous world leadership. All violence can be traced back to the exploitative and unjust world political and financial order whereby the poor are getting poorer to the extent of sinking below the subsistence level while the rich are getting richer.
Taxpayers’ money and national as well as God-given natural resources are recklessly spent in the name of Iraq/ Afghanistan wars and war on terror, besides squandering by the corrupt officials.
SHUJA R. KHAN
Karachi
THIS is about violation of the law by a government servant. Driving down a car (GP4349) in the Defence area, the official violated a red signal and nearly hit me at the junction of the 26th street.
The driver was willing to step out of the car and fight with me. The passenger in the backseat sat without much response, acting to be a mute spectator. Is this what we will face in a democracy?
MUSHTAQ AHMED
Karachi
THE country is bemoaning the increased oil prices even though elsewhere in the world the oil prices have gone down.
It does no good to the common man and though he tries to comprehend that the government needs money to boost its flagging treasury, yet the high prices do not make it easy to digest.
I understand that to save our economy, the government cannot afford to lower the prices just yet. But the common man suffers. Can those who sit in their cool well-lit houses with no bills to pay feel the trauma and frustration of the masses and are they fully justified in the bills they pass in the parliament?
SAIRA HABIB
Karachi
Hats off to Ayesha Siddiqa for her singularly insightful article, “Complacency kills”, (Oct 10). It was like a breath of fresh air after the recent spate of articles that were calling upon people to “draw the battle lines” and declaring that it was time “to take sides”. I hope our Jedi-Knights of liberalism took the opportunity to read Ms Siddiqa’s article.
The socio-economic aspect of the Taliban-Al Qaeda phenomenon is an irrefutable fact and hiding from this fact will have disastrous consequences. However the problem does not stop here. In Pakistan today there continues to be complete absence of justice and fair play.
The proletariat views the current political administration with profound disgust and disappointment. The optimism that was raised by Musharraf’s departure has been replaced by either anger or apathy. All other factors aside, the lack of any meaningful leadership qualities and intelligence in one political administration after the other is forcing people to turn towards more radical alternatives. Taliban and Al Qaeda are mere symptoms; the real disease is failure of leadership.
KHWAJA KHUSRO TARIQ
United States
This is with reference to a half-page advertisement appearing in the Advertisement Supplement October 8, issued by the Public Relations Directorate of the National Highly Authority. The advertisement briefly states:
“Proud to have served the nation and the efforts continue;”
“Committed to excellence;”
May I humbly request the NHA to live up to its commitment and reconstruct the Shershah flyover, partially collapsed in September last year?
NAZIM F. HAJI S.ST
Karachi
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