| February 04, 2009 | Wednesday | Safar 08, 1430 |
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Putting facts before the govt
Forgotten hero
Well done, Mr Erdogan
Image shattered
Thank you, Nadra
Inefficient expressway
What makes a nation great
Energy crunch
Target killing in Quetta
Obama fanfare
Impact of food crisis on women
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
ALTHOUGH I do not subscribe to the views of the opening paragraph of the editorial, ‘PML (N)’s dangerous gamble’ (Jan 31), I fully endorse its general views on the subject.
At the end of the first paragraph the editorial says: “The central figure in the judges issue is the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and until his restoration it is difficult to argue that the lawyers and their supporters have no reason to protest.”
Iftikhar Chaudhry cannot be reinstated at any cost because he has become controversial and highly politicised. Why I say ‘highly politicised’ is because the lawyers movement for all practical purposes has the backing of a political party, and one cannot be so naïve as to think that the lawyers are paying for this ‘picnic party’ out of their own pockets.
The funding is being done, as it is commonly said here in Peshawar, by the ‘Sharif Brothers,’ otherwise why would Nawaz Sharif become so desperate as to undertake the extraconstitutional step of toppling the present government through street power rather than parliament.
The Charter of Democracy is just a façade because in his heart of hearts he is nothing but an autocrat: the product of a military regime.
He engineered the storming of the Supreme Court and the removal of the chief justice during his stint as prime minister, and now he talks of freedom of the judiciary. What a mockery of democracy! Moreover, let the lawyers not forget that Iftikhar Chaudhry himself took the oath of office under the 1999 PCO.
Secondly, Nawaz Sharif talks of what the people want, little realising that he has barely one-third representation in parliament. Mr Sharif, what about the other two-thirds, what do they have to say?
Is it not a matter of great shame for Nawaz Sharif that in the general election held last year his main support came from Punjab with practically no representation from the other three provinces, and yet he talks about what the people of Pakistan want?
If I am not wrong, the reading on the wall is obvious: the common man is fed up with the hooliganism that takes place in the name of protest, crippling business and bringing all work in the country to a grinding halt.
For the first time people really want democracy to flourish and if there is to be a change of government, let it be through the parliamentary process and not by bringing out a hundred thousand of his diehard supporters from Punjab. ‘Sharif brothers’, Pakistan is passing through a very tough economic and political phase, please, I beg of you, don’t help our enemies to destabilise Pakistan.
SARDAR AHMED SHAH JAN
Peshawar
(II)
THIS is apropos of recent decisions made by some political parties (PML-N) and lawyers’ community where they have decided to launch a street demonstration regarding the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry as a chief justice of Pakistan.
The matter needs to be considered from all sides. Some favour a demonstration but others are opposed to it. I have few points:
a. Street demonstration should not affect the law and order situation.
b. Those who are playing a leading role in this scenario must keep in mind that they should call the participants of the said demonstration to be cool and do all in harmony.
c. No property, public or private, should be damaged. Any violation in this regard must be punished.
d. A specified route may be used so that protest can be recorded easily. Protest should not be extended to each and every place.
e. Security measures should be appropriate and security officials should be well-equipped to deal with any untoward situation.
f. Demonstrators should not create hurdles for others. There should be a code of ethics that children, women and old people, as well as patients, are given passage so that they should not suffer due to any sit-ins and demonstrations.
NASIR KAMAL YOUSAFZAI
Mardan
WHEN the Pakistan People’s Party was out of power, it would always talk about people’s distress and keep criticising the unjust policy of the then government.
In the election campaign, it made tall promises to the people to provide them financial relief as high inflations had made their lives difficult. Alas! after coming to power the PPP has so far failed to honour its commitments.
On the contrary, it has further increased the burden on the people by letting the prices of essentials like meat, fresh milk, flour and sugar go up unchecked.
Despite big slashes in the prices of grains and palm oil outside the country, the government could not ensure proportionate reduction in the prices of grains, cooking oil, ghee, spices and dried milk at home.
The government has not been able so far to fix the prices of petroleum products and mobile oil despite the fall in the their prices in the international market.
The transport ministry also looks very indifferent to the issue of reduction in the fare of buses, rickshaws and taxis. The transport mafia is continuingly fleecing people without any let or hindrance.
Prices of electricity and gas are being made exorbitantly high, without considering their harsh impact on the people and the business as well. Instead of choosing rapid and easy sources of income, the government should prefer to keep prices stimulating so that business can expand and people should take a sigh of relief.
Atrocities do not end here. Every person who gets ill needs medicines whose prices have gone beyond the reach of the poor.
In the current scenario if any poor person falls ill, he will prefer to suffer instead of buying medicines whose prices have gone up from 100 to 600 per cent.
It is time the government paid heed to resolving the various problems people faced. It must cut its expenditures by 80 to 90 per cent by adopting absolute austerity at all levels as this is the need of the time. It should give up foreign trips and downsize the army of ministers and recover all debts worth billions of rupees that have been waived illegally.
ANWAR HUSSAIN
Karachi
AS we are in the habit of forgetting our heroes, we’ve forgotten another hero: Dr Abdus Salam.
It was the birthday of Dr Salam on Jan 29. He is the only person who has ever won a Nobel Prize for Pakistan. He was not only a natural scientist but also a renowned social scientist and a scholar.
He was a staunch advocate of the Third World, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. He had no prejudice against any ethnicity or community or sect despite what he faced in the name of religion in Pakistan in 1974.
He still remained a patriot till he breathed his last.
Dawn’s article by Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, ‘A hero is gone’ (Nov 22, 1996), was a reminder of this great scientist while The Times, London wrote: “Salam was a man of remarkable vision and outstanding energy”.
It is sad to note that no newspaper in Pakistan published any significant articles regarding Dr Salam. If we continue to forget our heroes, I’m afraid we will cease to give birth to such tall personalities.
JAWED SHAHZAD
Lahore
IN Pakistan people do not have much inside view of Turkish domestic politics, but Pakistanis have a lot of respect for Turkey because both countries have always had good cultural and economic ties.
In Pakistan the incident of Mr Erdogan’s walkout during the Davos Economic Forum has not been taken negatively (as the opposition party in Turkey and many European newspapers commented); rather it has raised Turkey’s image.
What was expected from the Arab heads of state was demonstrated by Mr Erdogan. We salute the Turkish prime minister for his courage and for taking a principled stand on Gaza.
I am amazed to see that a few opinion makers in Turkey have fallen so low as to blame Erdogan of having an inferiority complex on account of his class trappings.
They believe that western reason is the only panacea to human problems. Killing children and defending the acts of genocide and collecting applause from the audience is beyond human rationality. Mr Erdogan has rightly registered an angry response to Shamon Peres.
At least he has had the guts to tell the western detractors that there are still a few left who will speak out for the Muslims.
Well done, Mr Erdogan. Pakistan is proud of you.
RIZWAN AKHTAR
United Kingdom
(II)
THIS is apropos of an article published in Dawn. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was given a warm welcome by people at the airport after participating in the World Economic Forum (WEF) debate.
The respect Erdogan has gained is because of the empathy he’s shown for the helpless Palestinians.
Turkey has also earned respect due to the wife of Abdullah Gul, Turkey’s president.
She won her way to parliament with her ‘controversial’ headscarf even though she was strongly opposed by those who call themselves ‘secular’ and champions of human rights.
The Turkish PM walked out of the World Economic Forum protesting Israeli genocide and later received an apologising phone call by Israel.
While some time back, a Pakistani former president ‘accidentally’ met the Israeli leader and promised him friendship.
RAQIM HAQUE
Karachi
THE President of Pakistan, also the co-chairman of the PPP, should stop sending some ministers (and there are a large number of them) to the popular talk shows on TV channels. They create such a pitiable reflection of his party because of their poor performances.
The other day, while facing pricking questions of a popular presenter in the presence of two competent stalwarts of ‘N’ and ‘Q’ Leagues, a lady federal minister from Punjab had a nosedive on the issue of principles in democracy.
Each argument she gave not only shattered the image of her party, but it exposed her incompetence which made the other two guests burst into sarcastic laughter. To make the situation worse, she kept interfering unnecessarily while the other members were putting their viewpoints with strong logic.
Is it because the leadership of the PPP has put them in awkward situation or they really do not know how to answer genuine questions? And why did it remind me of the last days of Musharaf’s regime when his ministers fell flat on their faces during similar discussions.
DR GHAYUR AYUB
Via email
IN the current gloomy scenario in Pakistan the National Database and Registration Authority has stood out as a transparent and efficient institution that gives overseas Pakistanis like me hope that our country at least has proper data about its citizens.
Now our machine-readable passports and computerised national identity cards are honoured throughout the world as the technology embedded in them ensures that the holder of these documents is genuine and not travelling on fake identification.
Nadra has maintained fairness at all its NSRCs by ensuring that every citizen applying for its services is accommodated strictly on merit and on his/her turn.
This is a commendable procedure. However, sometimes the long queues made the applicants spend hours to file the applications.
These included overseas Pakistanis, the business executives, and professionals like doctors, chartered accountants and information technology experts. They had to skip one day’s work to file their applications for CNICs. It is indeed a relief for these people that Nadra has launched a fast track and innovative service lane to facilitate the applicants who are willing to pay for the urgent service. The service will help them to avoid the long queues.
I am a software engineer working in the United States. I spend my two weeks annual vacations in my beloved country to spend time with my dear ones and want to utilise every moment in their company. Last year I did not apply for the overseas Pakistani card when I saw the long queue outside the NSRC. Now I can just go and apply in the quick lane while my family waits for a few minutes in the car.
The thing to appreciate is that Nadra has not compromised the rights of applicants that apply through normal procedure. The delivery period for fast lane and normal applicants is the same. The fast lane would simply save the time that applicants spend in the queue.
SYED SAMI SHAH
Karachi
WITHIN months of its completion the Islamabad Expressway is a victim of poor planning and whims of our ‘competent’ authorities. This morning I was surprised to see three ‘pedestrian crossings’ between Lehtrar and Faizabad interchanges dissecting the five-lane expressway and disrupting the flow of traffic as a result. Anywhere else in the world, these pedestrian crossings would have been overhead or underground, but not so as in this dear country of ours.
When the expressway was completed, I was happy that I would enjoy a smooth, quick commute between my home and office. It seems that I was sadly mistaken. It makes one wonder: what is the point of spending billions on such an expressway when we cannot have a smooth flow of traffic?
ADEEL AHMED
Islamabad
APROPOS of letters by Khwaja Saeed Hai and Dr Ali Akbar Dhakn on the importance of education and the need for good governance, I endorse their suggestions, except that they appear impractical.
Their wish list is old hat: successive governments have been striving for greatness (assuming ‘greatness’ means giving people better quality of life and opportunity) for the last 61 years but have failed to get anywhere.
Self-serving politicians keep blaming each other for the failure without giving thought to the most important reasons for their failure. It is unfortunate that the great leader of the Pakistani nation died 15 months after the country was born. Since then the country has been stumbling down to the level of a failed state.
Here is a recipe for greatness measured by history of nations which are great today:
— First and foremost, learn to accept criticism with reserve of manner and language, and reflect upon what is suggested without flying off the handle.
— Secondly, as a first step towards greatness, find a good and bold leader, one who can serve as a role model for the youth of the country and is not scared of renaming the country as the People’s Republic of Pakistan. There is no heresy in that.
— Thirdly, get rid of troublesome clergy who preach wrong self-cooked ideas and perception of Islam, and who spread hatred for other religions and sects. The fault is not in the practice of Islam but in its interpretation and excessive indoctrination of the youth of the country.
ZIA REHMAN
Augusta, USA
SARTAJ Aziz recommends in his article, ‘The energy crunch-II: A way out of the crisis’ (Jan 15), ‘to restore the hydro-thermal mix to 60:40 or at least 50:50 in the next five years’. I am afraid, without the prudent hydropower planning, Mr Aziz’s recommendation will aggravate the power shortage and the unreliability of our power system.
Our existing hydropower stations have generating capabilities of 6,500MW in summer and 1,900MW in winter, in a normal year. But in some winters the hydropower output falls below 1,500MW. This drop in the hydropower capability in winters causes power shortage because the drop is far more than corresponding drop from the summer peak demand to the winter peak power demand.
This negative characteristic of the hydropower can be mitigated only if future hydro-projects are capable of generating their design power at least during four hours’ daily peak demand throughout the year.
AKRAM KHAN
Lahore
THE assassination of Hazara nationalist leader, Hussain Ali Yousafi of Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), was not an ordinary one. He was chairman of the HDP, a nationalist and secular party which does not have anything to do with religion. Hazaras are the most educated and peaceful tribe in the area belonging to Shiite and Sunni sects, and also have a few Buddhist families.
With a population of over 0.2 million in Balochistan, the majority of Hazaras live in Quetta, and thousands of others reside in Loralai, Khuzdar, Sibi, and Mach towns in the province. Unfortunately, Hazaras are being repeatedly targeted and persecuted at the hands of religious extremists.
The perpetrators targeted Yousafi in broad daylight in a crowded commercial area of the city. Undoubtedly, the incident had signs of a well-thought-out plan. There is sadness and disappointment among the Hazara tribesmen and they need healing, because the government has failed to provide protection to the Hazara people in the area.
It is time the government took serious initiatives for curbing religious militancy which has become a tumour in our society. It should find out the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks and bring them to justice in order to maintain conditions of peace and tranquillity in Quetta. For this a few steps should be taken immediately such as ethnic militancy should be resolved politically through a reconciliation process, rehabilitation of internally displaced people of Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts and recovering of missing people of Balochistan should be followed up.
ELIA REHMATULLAH
Quetta
MUCH that I hate to see ugly meanings in beautiful things, I cannot stop myself from advising those who see hope with Obama’s coming into office to read ‘The Man’ by Irving Wallace.
The world today is ruled by conglomerates and syndicates. ‘The Man’ of Irving Wallace, an African-American ascending to the presidency of US, finds himself impeded by racial prejudice and fights back. But, that is fiction only.
The syndicates and multi-billion dollar industrial monopolists are harder facts and even harder to beat.
AFTAB AHMED MEMON
Karachi
THE impact of food crisis on Pakistan has been deep for the poor people, specially women. Increased workload at home and on agricultural farms, as well as stress and pressure by men to cut back family food consumption, has severely affected the health of women and children.
As a result, most of them are suffering from malnutrition.Due to food shortage and price hike, families are compelled to pull their children out of schools so that they can serve as additional earning hands for the family or share the family’s workload in agricultural fields or other work.
Economic hardship has increased tension within families leading to quarrels, domestic violence and even suicide or has been weakening the family system.
Across the world, women play significant roles as producers and providers of food and nutrition while their contribution to the economy and household survival is immense.
In fact, our prevalent social system contributes to marginalisation of and discrimination against women in more ways than one.
In Pakistan the food crisis has created a critical situation for women and children. Overload of work at home and then hard work at farms harshly tell upon the health of the ill-fed women and children.
Moreover, the economic crisis has led to rise in the crime rate, as well as to domestic violence, suicide, etc.
All over the world women participate, along with men, in all economic activities whether at home or on the farm or in factories or in offices but unfortunately in Pakistan the gender discrimination stands in the way of women.
To address the economic crunch faced by the women in Pakistan, the government has launched a new programme called ‘Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in the federal budget for 2008-09.
An amount of Rs34bn will be given to the poorest of the poor under the BISP. The amount will later be raised to Rs50bn. Under the programme, cash grant of Rs1,000 per month will be given to each qualifying household, through banks and post offices.
The government is also distributing agriculture land among poor women peasants/haris.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the Sindh chief minister. According to the decision, deserving poor women will be selected through open kutcheris to be held across the province.
The first phase of distribution of land has been started with Thatta district and each poor hari woman will get at least 25 acres of cultivable land. Distribution of such land will soon start in other districts. A total of 64,717 acres are cultivable and readily available for distribution to poor women.
The government is also seriously considering various legistations in the country to improve the lot of the women. In the Sindh Assembly my three bills on women issues, i.e. Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill; Domestic Violence against Women and Children Bill and Acid Burn Bill, are under consideration.
All our efforts to protect women’s rights, enhance their economic expertise and secure their social standing are in the way Benazir Bhutto wanted them to proceed in the country as well as in the world, without any fear or favour. It’s a long journey fraught with great dangers but destined to succeed in the end.
HUMERA ALWANI
Member, Sindh Provincial Assembly
Thatta
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