| December 13, 2008 | Saturday | Zilhaj 14, 1429 |
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A precious life lost
Isn’t Ethiopia better than us?
Discrimination against women
M.J. Zahedi remembered
Superhighway: nowadays a death trap
Capital capers
Identifying hoax call
Sheep and inflation
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
THE Indian response to the Mumbai tragedy has been unwise and hasty. In less than 24 hours of the ghastly terror that struck Mumbai, India started blaming Pakistan. The entire effort of the Indian authorities is focused incriminating Pakistan.
Some western media reports have now begun to criticise India for its unwillingness to confront its own failings. The Spanish daily El Pais has written: “Islamic extremism has its roots also in India. But it has always been trivialised by the Indian authorities”.
Interestingly, the Indian authorities name the accused first and investigate later. More recently, two serving officers of the Indian army, Col Srikant Purohit and Maj Samir Kulkarni, are facing trial for involvement in the Samjhota Express bombing in 2007, and another five, including a major-general and two colonels, are under investigation.
On Nov 26 within half an hour of the start of the terrorist attack in Mumbai, three senior police officers, Hemant Karkare, DIG Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar, who were investigating Col Purohit’s case, were shot at by some one from behind and killed, as if it was pre-planned.
The Mumbai police were equipped with bolt-action Lee Enfield rifles, used in the First World War, and they expected to stop terrorists using assault rifles. Hence, during the first encounter with terrorists, 14 policemen died.
When it was clear that the Mumbai police were out of their depth, Delhi dispatched its best soldiers, the NSG’s Black Cat commandos, who were equipped with clumsy old SLR rifles. It took them nine hours to make it to Mumbai when over 100 people were already killed in the Taj Hotel.
According to private rescue group ‘Zaka’ from Israel that flew ‘on its own volition’ to Mumbai for a rescue operation after the deadly terror attacks, the Indian commandos inadvertently killed some of the Jewish Israeli hostages during the raid on Chabad House (Dec 3).
American intelligence agencies had warned their Indian counterpart in mid-October of a potential attack “from the sea against hotels and business centres in Mumbai, including the Taj Hotel”. Ratan Tata, chaiman of the Taj Hotel told CNN that security was temporarily increased following a warning but enhanced measures were later eased (Dec 3). But why didn’t the American and Indian intelligence agencies share this information with Pakistani intelligence remains a question mark?
According to an Indian navy spokesman, about two dozen terrorists had landed in Mumbai after travelling in a merchant vessel, the MV Alpha, from Karachi, and the Indian navy intercepted the vessel (Nov 28). The Indian media also spoke of RAW’s intelligence intercept of Nov 17, which showed a mysterious Pakistani ship heading for Mumbai.
Interestingly, the alleged Pakistani ship managed to penetrate through Indian waters amid an ongoing naval drill which had mobilised a large section of the Indian navy. The exercise, code-named ‘Defence of Gujarat’, was aimed at stopping ‘Al Qaeda and Pakistani ships’ and yet at the height of the exercise the Pakistani ship sneaked through with its deadly cargo. This is an unbelievable proposition.The Indian claim that the surviving member of the attacking force said he worked for Lashker-i-Taiba and was trained in Pakistan is an unreliable evidence: someone willing to die for a cause would be willing to lie for that cause, even under torture.
Although there is no solid evidence, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during her unscheduled visit to Islamabad on Dec 4, delivered a stern warning by saying that Pakistan has ‘special responsibility’ — a phrase when removed from its thin diplomatic veneer suggests Washington shares New Delhi’s view that the terrorists have links with Pakistan. However, within a week the truth began to unfold with the arrest of two Indians in Kolkata having links in Mumbai terror attacks. But it is only the beginning.
SQN LDR (r) S. AUSAF HUSAIN
Karachi
(II)
PLEASE tell India that we are not convinced by its charade that the Mumbai terror attacks were orchestrated by the people in Pakistan. When they accuse Pakistan, its people have a right of access to the information privy to the Indian government.
There is total lack of transparency in this absurd plan that the terrorists landed on the coast of Mumbai in small boats from a mother ship that was anchored outside Mumbai without the Indian coast guards getting so much as an inkling of it?
This is a gargantuan security failure that India should be more concerned about as compared to the terrorist attack; because if such things are possible, then no citizen of India is safe from even worse things to come.
Secondly, one of the attackers captured by the Indian security forces was found carrying a GPRS mobile through which he made a call to an individual in Karachi. Nothing could be more preposterous and far from reality than this incredulous claim, because even the most naïve of terrorists knows that once he goes into an attack inside enemy territory there is no coming back.
He either achieves his mission or he dies in the attempt or worse still fall into enemy hands. Would he then be so stupid as to leave behind an obvious clue as to his place of origin? Any commando would tell you that once they go for a mission they sever all ties and leave no telltale signs as to who they are and where they come from. So what was the point of making contact with base?
Moreover, India claims that they were a Jihadi outfit; if that were so, why was it that not a single one had a beard. If they were to shave off their beards in order to camouflage their identity, it would defeat the very purpose of a Jihad. If India is really interested in exposing the true criminals they should divulge the contact number of the person whom the terrorist contacted, so that the government of Pakistan can go after them and bring the criminals to justice.
Thirdly, what was the aim of this terrorist attack? Was it just to kill 195 people? Or was it just to destroy Taj Mahal hotel? There must be a raison d’etre behind the attack. How did the attackers know which street led to Taj Mahal hotel and which to Obroi?
If, according to the Indians and the Americans, the attack was very well planned and executed, then either these terrorists had been to India or their agent in India provided them with maps showing their landing point and the route to be taken to their destination.
Supposing all this had been done, then a person carrying ammunition for his weapons, grenades, bombs, food, water and a horde of other basic requirements, along with his AK-47, wouldn’t he be spotted by the locals and the traffic police and alarm bells sounded?
Finally, the terrorists reach their destination, and then what do they do? They start killing people randomly till the commandos arrive followed by the army to put an end to their miserable lives. So in the end, after two days of mayhem all the terrorists are killed except one, and the whole sordid affair is brought to an end without the terrorists achieving any purpose, or declaring a cause for sacrificing their lives.
Everyone is perplexed, who were they and what was their purpose? One of them was purportedly captured so that he could conveniently spill the beans and point an accusing finger at Pakistan.
A country so poor that it begs for money and has lost its respect in the eyes of the world, so as the saying goes, “give a dog a bad name………”
I would like someone to tell India that we are not convinced. Yes, we do want peace in the region but with respect. These faceless and stateless killers are not one of us. You may be able to convince Condoleezza Rice, because America is hand in glove with India in their attempt to destabilise Pakistan and cut it to size, but will China allow this to happen in its neighbourhood? However, India and America must be told that we have the will to fight and survive; and survive we will come what may.
A PAKISTANI
Peshawar
THE news item in Dawn’s Metropolitan on Dec 8 reporting the death of Dr Ebrahim Soorma in a road accident came as a shock to many of us. Speeding and rash driving robbed us of a precious life. The driver of the car, as I later learnt, was not only speeding, he was also using his cellphone.
Dr Soorma migrated to Pakistan from Burma in 1977. It was at this time that I got to know him as we both worked together in a hospital in North Nazimabad. He was a simple and soft-spoken man, devoted to his profession and a very fine general surgeon. He could perform all types of surgeries, including caesarian sections and hysterectomies in the absence of a gynaecologist. Dr Soorma was very kind to all his patients and very friendly and caring towards his colleagues. He later moved to Mideast Hospital in Clifton, but kept contacts with his old friends.
I remember Dr Ebrahim Soorma as a good colleague who became a family friend and helped out with the terminal illness of my father. He was a favourite of all children in the family as they all turned to him when medical help was required and his gentle demeanour attracted them.
Dr Soorma had another quality that made him an exceptional human being. He was an avid reader of books. In his clinic, where he spaced his patients so that they did not have to wait, he preferred to wait for them reading a book all the while. We often had discussions on the philosophy of life and changing values. He was my guide advising me not to take hasty decisions. He once told me to be patient saying, “Sister, remember, she stoops to conquer.”
A caring soul, at present he was a pillar of support for his family of two old sisters, a sister-in-law and two nieces, one of whom was with him at the time of the accident and suffered multiple fractures. They are feeling absolutely lost without him.
Will the car driver who caused this heavy loss ever have peace of mind?. Thoughtlessness and negligence have taken away one precious life and damaged so many others. May Dr Ebrahim’s soul rest in peace, his relatives, friends and patients have solace and may all drivers on the road have the conscience to observe traffic rules.
DR FATEMA JAWAD
Karachi
FOR the last many years Ethiopia has been hit by severe droughts due to which its electricity generating capacity is badly affected. Its major power source is hydroelectric which was under intense pressure due to non-availability of sufficient water.
Ultimately, its cabinet met and discussed the issue threadbare. It was decided that the country should opt for wind energy in a big way so as to get rid of this ever-increasing problem of shortage of electricity.
The country has now signed a contract with a French company, Vergent, which is to begin construction of the largest wind farm in Africa very shortly. This wind farm will be completed in two-and-a-half years.
I think our water and power authorities must venture in wind energy like Ethiopia. As per AEDB, the first wind turbine in Pakistan (in Mega Watt range) out of the proposed five would come on board before the end of the current year and would produce 1.2MW of electricity; total energy to be produced by five turbines would be 6MW.
Ethiopia will produce 120MW of electricity after two-and-a-half years when its wind farm would be ready.
Ethiopia is a Third World country. It must have generated cash from somewhere. Maybe this cash was generated through the ‘Friends of Ethiopia’. Maybe, it was borrowed from the IMF. But whatever the case may be, the fact is that at least its lawmakers sat down, discussed and resolved a pressing problem of the country that was haunting its population for so many years.
We’ve got a loan from the IMF. Our financial managers are jubilant, giving an impression as if it was free. This loan has been obtained just to keep the country afloat. Do we plan to invest some amount out of it to even produce one Mega Watt of energy as compared to Ethiopia’s 120 MW?
AIR CDRE (r) AZFAR A. KHAN
Rawalpindi
A FEW days ago a policeman murdered his wife and a man on the pretext of karo-kari in Khairpur. Earlier Tasleem Solangi was thrown before dogs before being shot. Her elder sister too had had a similar fate four years ago.
Domestic violence remains the order of the day because men have arrogated to themselves the mythical character of demi-gods. The sad story does not end here. Many legislative instruments contain provisions giving women an inferior status like the ‘Islamised’ law of evidence — Qanoon-i-Shahadat Order 1984 (Article 17 of the said order equals the testimony of two women to that of one man’s). It is a grave injustice to women and must be removed from the statute book.
The attitude of male chauvinism, a product of feudal mindset, has endangered the balanced progress in our country and we, as a nation, have failed to liberate ourselves from the straitjacket of mediaevalism. It is a sad truth that here a husband is not content with a rational companion, rather he demands slavish obedience from wife. Men ravel in their schadenfreude and blunt the real potential of women by circumscribing their public role.
Moreover, gender discrimination has divided our society into voluptuous tyrants (alpha males) and innocent victims (poor women), with the latter locked in an endless battle to overthrow the former’s hegemony. It should come as no surprise that soon after her birth, a girl gets trapped in a tangled web woven to mould her to serve men’s selfish pleasures. It is heartrending that the gruesome incidents against women are often sanctioned by distorted religious version of women’s status.
The lawmakers sitting in parliament must ensure women empowerment by ending institutionalised discrimination against them and investing with them better opportunities of their socio-economic development. Mere increase in the number of legislative seats cannot achieve the desired results. Concrete steps are needed to be taken in this regard. Women’s education is the best way to give them an opportunity to realise their creative potential and contribute to social welfare.
NAUMAN ASGHAR
Lahore
BULU Bhaiya (M.J. Zahedi) is dead. Ina Lillahe va Inna Ilahe Rajyuun.
I worked under him as a cub reporter as well as aide when he was assistant editor in Pakistan Observer in the 1960s. I was picked straight from the university, by the great Abdus Salam, as cub reporter. Then for two years I wrote the weekly column ‘Dacca Diary’ in the same newspaper.
Suddenly Bulu Bhaiya left for Lahore to work in the Pakistan Times, then edited by the renowned poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz. Thereafter, Pakistan Times was taken over by the National Press Trust. So Bulu Bhaiya moved over to Dawn at Karachi .
To give one example of hard work he demanded from his staff I might say that once I worked non-stop with him for the Pakistan Day Supplement of Pakistan Observer, a 60-page affair.
The supplement work got completed at 2am on March 22. Thereafter Bulu Bhaiya took me for a meal, riding the rickshaw, to the famous restaurant at Dhaka, in the wing of the cinema, oppposite the DC office, as it then was. It might have moved now.
At one time, when I was doing theatre, I would run off for rehearsals Saturday afternoons. Once he kicked away the galleys I had put up for the Sunday pages, which were top heavy, saying, “I am so clumsy to have spoilt your layout. Please do it again,” just a gentle way of saying he did not like the finished product and so I should do it again. Bulu Bhaiya was a caring gentle soul. He landed in jail several times for his left-wing views.
On Oct 7, 1958 he was arrested late at night near Purana Paltan,Dhaka, where he then lived, while returning home after finishing desk work, and after putting out the story that the constitution had been abrogated by Iskandar Mirza (read Gen Ayub)
In 1981, I visted Dubai for a PIA-sponsored ‘Pakistan Food Week’, and found him in the Khaleej Times. Bulu Bhaiya later returned to Dawn as assstant editor.
For those who knew him he was a kind, genial soul. By the way, he was a poet and extremely well read in Bengali and English literature. He was the son of the late Mizanur Rahman, the census commissioner in former East Pakistan. His colleagues and friends will always miss him.
JONAID IQBAL
Islamabad
After travelling on the Superhighway during Eid festival I tend to agree with Altaf Hussain Qureshi’s statement, ‘Superhighway has further worsened’ (Nov 18), that this important double-track carriageway connecting the port city of Karachi with upcountry via Hyderabad is like a ‘death trap’ because of the National Highway Authority (NHA)’s total apathy.
The potholes and crack on the roads were sometimes so large that my vehicle was going out of my control at even the minimum speed of 60km an hour. It was only with much difficulty and tension that I was able to reach the destination. However, continuous driving for two hours on a dilapidated road caused immense damage to my vehicle. On both occasions (while going upcountry and coming back) I have noticed at least four serious accidents. The smashed vehicles were still lying on the roadside. What happened to the hapless occupants though could not be ascertained but as per condition of the damaged cars some fatality could not be ruled out. For such calamities the NHA, an organisation responsible for upkeep of the roads, is obviously answerable.
Had such ramshackle roads been in some developed country, the indifference on the part of the organisation such as the NHA would have been fraught with innumerable law suits claiming damages in billions by the affected. Unfortunately our civil society has yet to mobilise public opinion in favour of invoking court’s jurisdiction, claiming damages on account of losses to lives and vehicles.
The NHA is collecting millions of rupees daily in the shape of toll tax (recently increased by Rs5 on each vehicle) from vehicular traffic moving to and coming from upcountry, it is, therefore, under legal and moral obligation to keep the road in proper shape. However, even after the Authority’s public relations directorate’s clarification that an amount of Rs248 million has been approved for the improvement and rehabilitation of south-bound carriageway (Hyderabad-Karachi) whereas the repair work on the north-bound carriageway (Karachi-Hyderabad) is currently being carried out under the national highway improvement programme, no work appears to have been started at site yet.
The time has now come for civil society to rally public opinion so that in future the affected should adopt a legal course, claiming compensation from the NHA in case of any damage is caused to the life and vehicles while travelling on the Superhighway. I also appeal to the chief minister of Sindh to look into the matter.
ALTAMASH M. KURESHI
Karachi
THIS refers to Kamran Rehmat’s column, ‘Capital capers’ (Dec 6). The writer referred to VIP security and the naming of places after Benazir Bhutto as a name-game spree.
There cannot be two opinions about the security concerns of VIPs the world over. The terrorists’ threats have engulfed the entire world.
Pakistan being adjacent to Afghanistan is the biggest victim of the repercussions of the Afghan war.
However, wherever a VIP is targeted, common citizens are the main sufferer. In view of the existing volatile security scenario, the security of VIP cannot be loosened by the security personnel.
Some inconveniences in this regard are a common phenomenon. But these inconveniences are nominal as compared to the havocs and mayhem by terrorists.
The column also sheds light on naming some places of public importance after Benazir Bhutto. Naming a place after someone is an expression of recognition of the services of that individual for noble causes.
Every great nation recognises the services of its leaders. In the US, there are roads, halla, airports and institutions that are named after their leaders. I am sure that the columnist would agree that the stature of Benazir Bhutto and her contributions deserve recognition.
Therefore, the speaker of the National Assembly has not committed any unpleasant act and it would be unjust to implicate her as such. Naming a hall, construction of a students hostel and granting scholarships to students would surely promote education, no matter whatever names they are given.
UMAR KHAN
Rawalpindi Cantt
If media reports are to be believed, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a phone call to our President Asif Ali Zaradri and threatened him of dire consequences if Pakistan did not take necessary action against the extremist elements in Pakistan in connection with Mumbai attacks.
Pranab Mukherjee has denied having made any phone call to President Asif Ali Zardari whereas our information minister Sherry Rehman claims that the call was properly identified before passing it to President. A former Pakistan foreign minister the other day said in a television talk show that foreign ministers of India and Pakistan never call the President or Prime Minister of each other’s countries. It is against the norms. They always speak at their level.
The former foreign minister of Pakistan also said that as per procedure, if President or Prime Minister of India calls its counterpart in Pakistan, the phone call is never forwarded instantly. Message and phone numbers are noted down. It is then confirmed from the foreign office. If the foreign office verifies, only then, the call is returned and put through to the concerned person.
Why a phone call of foreign minister of India was put through to the President of Pakistan is for the presidency to explain. Another aspect of this episode is that Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee is from West Bengal and his accent is very easy to identify. Many of us have seen Pranab Mukherjee addressing the press conference on television and he speaks in a typical Bengali style, whether Hindi or English.
Who handled the call initially at our presidency and why the protocol was not followed requires thorough investigation. Truth will hopefully surface as the story of hoax call unfolds.
M. RAFIQUE ZAKARIA
Karachi
The other day I went to buy sacrificial animal for the Eid-ul-Azha. On asking the price of a goat, the seller told me that he would sell it for $200. I asked him why not in Pakistan rupees? “Inflation”, he replied while walking away leaving me speechless.
DR. IRFAN ZAFAR
Islamabad
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