Highlights of the December 2006 issue
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Newspeak
Ali Ahsan Halai
It is extremely unfortunate that we take the flagrant abuse of the rule of law in Pakistan for granted. Every single day, newspapers across the country report an endless litany of petty crime, corruption, sheer incompetence and disregard for authority or procedure. It is enough to embarrass any conscientious individual, yet for the most part, we look away or ignore the sorry situation that the country is in.
Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court Tariq Pervez Khan informs us that 90 per cent of the first information reports registered by the police are improperly recorded, causing mismanagement of investigation and subsequent denial of justice.
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Fears raised over misuse of Hasba Bill
Peshawar — On November 13, the NWFP Assembly passed the controversial Hasba Bill, paving the way for the establishment of three tiers of ombudsmen, as well as sets of advisory councils and reconciliation committees, across the province. The bill has generated a heated debate ever since the first draft was introduced in 2003 by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) government.
Earlier in July 2005, the passage of the bill was hampered by a presidential reference to the Supreme Court, which advised the provincial governor not to give his assent to the bill. While proponents of the bill argue that the sections deemed unconstitutional by the apex court have been removed from the current version, those critical of the legislation still believe that it could be misused by the cleric-led government and the proposed hierarchy of ombudsmen.
A stranger in bedraggled clothes knocked on the door of a mosque in the sleepy hamlet of Omar Khan, situated in Sakha Kot area in Malakand, during the predawn hours of November 9. Soon after entering the courtyard the stranger, in his early 20s, asked the prayer leader, Khalid Mahmood, for some clothes to replace his tattered raiment. Mahmood, a student at Government Degree College in Dargai, offered his own clothes but these did not fit the well-built youth. So he forced the youth to accept 40 rupees and his Peshawari slippers instead.
Delayed hospital consultation and poor vector control measures make the latest dengue outbreak more deadly
Stretched out on a bed in an isolation ward of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) is 18-year-old Akram who is stricken with dengue fever. “My son has been sick for the last eight days,” says Akram’s father. Initially, he suffered high-grade fever, joint pain and rash and would throw up any food given to him. Akram was taken to two doctors but neither of them was able to successfully treat him. However, when he started vomiting blood his family decided to bring him to the CHK.
Plane Truth
By Maqbool Ahmed
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) received a major setback in November when the European Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) restricted the entry of five PIA aircraft in the 41 member states of the European Civil Aviation Conference. The move was made after the airline was issued repeated reminders that its safety arrangements were inadequate. An internal audit report also brought sad tidings for the carrier in the same month when it listed gross irregularities both in expenditure and the awarding of contracts, directly affecting the fleet’s maintenance. Both these transgressions earned for it huge financial losses.
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With the National Academy of Performing Arts up and running, improvement in the quality of music, dance and theatre in Pakistan is around the corner
It is a clear, cloudless night and stars twinkle overhead as the clearly nervous young performer settles himself on a stage framed by the romantic chattris of Karachi’s Hindu Gymkhana. Before he launches into the thumri, he is grilled about his chosen performance and manages to field even the most technical questions creditably enough. As he begins to sing, the tanpura and the tabla come to life in accompaniment, with the only discordant notes being struck by the traffic teeming on the nearby city streets. Once the last notes die away, the singer is subjected to an intense critique of his performance. The criticism is technically detailed, precise and quite brutally honest, yet constructive and supportive.
Down to earth
By Sana Habib
The third ASNA Clay Triennial brings together local and international artists to promote the art and make it a learning experience for all
Of all art forms, clay is the one that relates most easily to our lives. From matkas and gamlas to crockery and tiles, clay surrounds us and is an integral part of our environment. Yet, of all art forms, clay seems the most neglected. Painting exhibitions attract a fair number of visitors and buyers (albeit from a very segmented strata of society) and sculpture is beginning to make its mark on the public front. Ceramics, however, doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Not only is it neglected in the artistic realm, it is seldom recognised for what it is — an invaluable part of our heritage. One with which this region, and hence our history and culture, are inextricably linked. In light of this, the third ASNA Clay Triennial, held in Karachi at the Pakistan Arts Council (PAC) last month, can truly be hailed as a landmark event.
World of words
By Hira Zuberi
“It is hereby decreed that the wall separating the sacred and the profane be torn down. From now on, everything is sacred.” So declares Paulo Coelho as part of a list of statutes for the new millennium in his recent book Like a Flowing River, a deeply intimate compilation of short stories, reflections and various articles published over the years. As powerful and lyrical as his other works, with the same underlying humour and zest for life, this novel perhaps best encapsulates his ethics and philosophy in clearly laid out axioms and fables. Coelho speaks of faith, of organised religion and compassion, of destiny and shared humanity, living and dying, good and evil, feeling and thinking, and above all, of love — the single most unifying factor underlining all existence.