New look of domestic cricket

There must be strong reservations about the new names and identities adopted by the Pakistan Cricket Board for domestic cricket teams as part of its drive to revitalize spectator interest in the game at that level.

My first objection has to do with the fact that the public seems to have been excluded altogether from the exercise. These names seem to have been thought up by some advertising executive more interested in pleasing the sponsors than the sporting public.

Why did the PCB not take into account the views of those people who will be cheering for these teams at the end of the day? This is a shame since public participation and interest in cricket in Pakistan are very much there and need to be taken into account.

My second objection relates to the whole idea of adopting names of animals for the purpose. Was this to fulfil some criteria that have been set at the international level? Why could we not have had a mix of animals and other symbols and icons? Again, who took this decision and why?

My third objection is on the choice of animals selected. It seems the league has more to do with the West and less with Pakistan. There are no indigenous animals in the panel.

For example, why didn't the Ibex or the snow leopard feature in the galaxy used? Why do we have lions, tigers, panthers and wolves which do not form part of local flora and fauna?

Finally, I have problems with the choice of animals for Karachi - the dolphin and the zebra. Both these animals are docile and non-predatory while those from other cities are very much the opposite. What considerations were taken into account when selecting these animals for Karachi?

Instead of aping the West in its sports league, one would have expected the Pakistan Cricket Board to at least come up with something more authentic and original. This attempt only seems to be to please people who belong to a certain section of society and not the masses who form the base of support and interest for cricket in the country.

ASIM MALIK

Karachi

Fate of the Khokhrapar link

Mr Murtaza Razvi's detailed, meaningful and well-researched article "Fate of the Khokhrapar link" (Dec 25) is indicative of the Pakistan Railway's reluctance to give a timeframe in which to complete preparations to reopen the Khokhrapar-Munabano link.

In my view, it is neither a great task nor a costly undertaking. The reluctance and non-committal attitude needs to be investigated. First, people in Sindh have been opposing its reopening right since January 1966 when peace talks were held in Tashkent between president Ayub Khan and prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

They say, and their spokesman, Mr Rasool Bakhsh Palijo, is quite vocal that they will become a minority. How, it is not understandable. Surely, there will be no influx of settlers again.

Secondly, there was a resolution passed in the nationalist parties' convention, held in Peshawar in October 1998, which said that the Khokhrapar link should remain closed. What was their problem with this link in the NWFP?

Thirdly, there is a general feeling among the people of Sindh - mostly who favour the restoration of the link - that the bureaucracy and Punjab's customs and immigration personnel who extort money from travellers to and from Pakistan are a main hurdle. I do not think they can prevail upon the government, but the notion persists.

Fourthly, Indians seem to be keen on opening this route first for which they are eager to open a consulate in Karachi on a priority basis if permitted by the government of Pakistan.

If trade between the two countries, as India suggests, is to be increased - to which Pakistan also agrees - the Rajasthan-Sindh route being easier, shorter, faster and economical will benefit both. The Wagah-Atari route alone will not be able to cope with the enhanced trade volume.

I suggest to the government of Pakistan to shed its misgivings, doubts and obstinacy and listen to sane advice. The humanitarian aspect - the meeting of relatives across the divide - should be a strong and viable reason to reopen this route.

S. M. KAZIM NAQVI

Karachi

Sindh's demands on NFC

This refers to the news item "Sindh NFC member resigns" (Dec 8). It shows that Sindh did not have any choice other than the one it took (A.K. Lodhi was Sindh's representative, so his resignation reflects Sindh's sense of deprivation, not his personal) to give a healthy dose of reality that the federation of Pakistan is not only becoming increasingly irrelevant to its people in the areas of justice, security and access to equal opportunities but it is also going to be irrelevant to its units/provinces.

The 1956 and (then) the 1973 Constitution define Pakistan to be a federal democratic country. Generally, a federation comes into existence when different geographical, political and historical units agree to work together on the basis of joint agreements, common interests, collaboration and co-existence. And then the federal system gives them the guarantee that it will not let any unit impose its faith on other provinces.

Before the budget Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had shown his concern about the NFC award, promising that he would resolve the irritants before the budget. But up to this time, the results are not matching his fine language, and Sindh is getting very little on the basis of the old award.

The prime minister is also a technocrat who knows very well that the financial award is important for every province because in this capitalist world it is finance that creates space shuttles, bridges and skyscrapers. How does the myth of inter-provincial harmony come without it when one province is giving 69.02 per cent revenue and, in return, it is not getting even a pittance?

Although the centre too has its difficulties, it should value the capital demands of small provinces and also provide enough room to all its provinces so they can reduce their differences and build relations without anyone playing the Big Brother role.

FAYAZ SOOMRO

Toronto, Canada

Militarization of US foreign policy

President George W. Bush has signed into law a bill that, among other things, binds the US to help many countries, including Pakistan, to overcome the internal and external threats they face (Dawn, Dec 18).

Is it politics of war by law? Is the US foreign policy being militarized? Has the law compromised US domestic and foreign policies? These are some of the points to ponder as in the US scheme of things military options cannot be ignored. The other related points cannot be overlooked either.

- The law appears to have a quasi-colonial approach. It lacks essence of democracy and has been passed in haste. To become operative, will the US law wait for a reciprocal law to be passed by other countries' parliaments?

- The US law binds the US to help Pakistan and other countries. But the help being unspecified has all the potential to go astray for our people. "Of the 44 military operations launched by Pakistan in the tribal belt of South Waziristan, based on US intelligence reports, only three were correctly identifiable" (Dawn, Dec 17, 04).

- The US may assist a country which is unable to govern itself and as such formally requests it for help. The educated guess is that Bush has signed the bill to make the anti-terror war timeless and so also our friendship.

The US policy in Afghanistan may be a pointer. "US troops to stay in Afghanistan for five years as it needs much time to rebuild its administrative structure": US General Frans (Dawn, Aug 18, 2004). "Afghanistan may need foreign troops indefinitely: US" (Dawn, Dec 12, 2004).

Z.A. KAZMI

Karachi

KSEW privatization

The reported decision of the government of Pakistan in favour of the privatization of the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works should be implemented with utmost care and caution.

The shipyard has defence-related importance for Pakistan's maritime sector. It will take dozens of years to build a ship- building facility of this size. The relevant Pakistan authorities should sound out shipping interests in the Gulf region and China whether they would be interested in running the Karachi shipyard on lease.

The Chinese government, which is building frigates for our navy and has a vast network of ocean-going shipping lines, may be interested in having a ship-repair and ship-building facility on the Arabian Sea.

Geographically, the Karachi shipyard is well-located to serve shipping in the Gulf region and its neighbourhood. The Singapore shipyard has developed splendidly over the years and it may be interested in the Karachi shipyard and its numerous services.

I suggest that Pakistan should send a high-level mission to tour China, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and scout for interested parties which may like to avail themselves of the services of the Karachi shipyard for their maritime and shipping requirements.

Pakistan should also seek the help of the Saudi government in reorganizing the shipyard and its engineering works. In past years Saudi Arabia bought ships from the Karachi shipyard and they are said to be doing well even now on the high seas.

QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ

Karachi

Tree felling

The Karachi Port Trust is notorious for its disregard for the environment. Most recently the widening of the Mai Kolachi bypass resulted in the uprooting of about 60 trees which were then left to die on the roadside, much to the delight of some people who carted them away for use as firewood.

One wonders why the trees could not have been uprooted in a planned manner and planted elsewhere so that they could have been saved. The Karachi city government now has some expertise in replanting trees and this could have been used here.

INAM ADIL

Karachi

Development & poverty alleviation

Pakistan is a rich country, endowed with abundant natural and human resources. Yet, statistics show that more than 50 per cent of our people live below the poverty line and do not have access to clean drinking water. Why this contradiction?

The answer is quite simple and obvious. Somebody is consuming more than his fair share and, in doing so, has destroyed the entire governance structure of the country.

This somebody is the ruling elite of Pakistan - continuing to amass fortunes while cursing Pakistan for all the ills created by them in the first place. Thus, if we, as a country, want to be independent and economically strong, we must distribute the wealth of this country equitably.

If, on the other hand, the ruling elite justifies the poverty and miseries on the grounds that we are a poor country, then my question to them is: how about sharing the poverty and miseries equitably? It cannot be that the masses are required to tighten their belts while the rulers and their ministers move around in armoured Mercedes cars.

The ever-widening disparity between the rich and the poor, coupled with political strangulation, is bound to erupt, sooner or later, into anarchy. We must recognize that our civil administration has gradually deteriorated into not only being corrupt but also incompetent and, worst still, politicized.

Our judiciary has been used as a political instrument. Good governance, speedy and inexpensive justice and transparency are cliches to be fool us.

In order to improve our civil administration at all levels and to cover a broad spectrum of public life, for example, public transport, education and health, why can't we make it obligatory for our civil servants and their families to use public transport, government schools and colleges and government hospitals? In fact, they should be prohibited from using private facilities even if they can afford them. The outcome, I am sure, in a few years will be a tremendous improvement in our public services and also additional and proper utilization of funds.

This policy should be extended to the entire political class, who cry hoarse of their commitment to serve the people. In fact, under the present situation, the top brass (officers) of the armed forces should also be included in this exercise.

NAZIM F. HAJI

Karachi

Admitting Turkey into EU bloc

News from Brussels (Dawn, Dec 18) that the EU and Turkey have reached a deal to start entry talks is encouraging, particularly in view of the fact that a large Muslim country shall during the course of time be a member of the European Union.

In this context, the article by Simon Tisdall (Dec 15) points to the unyielding efforts of the prime minister of Turkey. Furthermore, the concluding paragraph of Dawn'S editorial (Dec 15) is most pertinent.

It says that if the entry negotiations fail, that would amount to the EU giving a wrong signal to the Muslim world and be accused of succumbing to religious prejudice. A vibrant and moderate Muslim country becoming a member of the EU would help the EU's image and enable Turkey to serve as bridge between the Christian and Muslim worlds.

GHEEWALA A. G. M.

Karachi

Bus tragedy: a suggestion

On the night of Dec 30 and 31 a bus coming from Shikarpur to Karachi was in collision with an oil tanker at the toll plaza at New Saeedabad. The accident claimed about 31 lives.

Safety measures are paramount and necessary while planning for a building, bridge and other things. Likewise, manufacturers of AC coaches and other public transporters are bound to take same safety measures while police officials are bound to inspect vehicles and issue NOC permits.

It is an alarming fact that all AC coaches have been built with only two doors, one for the driver and the other for passengers, both in front of the coach. The risk is always there that in case of accident from the front both doors would be damaged and the passengers confined or trapped. In this particular case who will dare to take the responsibility?

The relevant government officials are urged to take appropriate action against all public transporters, particularly against those operating coaches, and ask them to provide for an emergency door at the back in each coach.

MUHAMMAD NASIR KHAN

Karachi

Where is good governance?

We were promised good governance in 1999. The government is yet to deliver on this. Instead, the bureaucracy has just got bigger and the cars at their disposal and perks have increased several times over.

Corruption continues to play havoc with the system and the emphasis of government officials continues to be on enriching themselves at whatever cost to the government.

How many years do we need to wait more for the promised set of governance reforms to come through? The benefit of democracy is that since the government was unable to deliver, we the people would have been in a position to vote it out of power after five years. Unfortunately, this privilege was taken away from us in 1999.

ASMA TAHIR

Lahore

Spending on democracy

The nation spends a big chunk of its GDP to train our generals so they can secure our borders better, but unfortunately they choose to secure the President's House instead.

It's time we spent some money on our democratic institutions so that they can prosper and democracy can take root in our country.

ABBAS ALI

Plano, Texas, USA

Student politics

Student politics has once again come up as an issue of debate since Gen Pervez Musharraf expressed the view in his Dec 30 address to the nation that students should focus their attention only on their studies.

Educational institutions of higher learning are places which not only train students to become professionals in their respective fields, but are also supposed to turn them into useful citizens and good human beings who are well versed in democratic values, have the ability to exercise self-restraint and patience and are action-oriented and humane.

Every citizen is a political entity who needs to be aware of his rights and interest and also of the ways to achieve them. This important aspect of citizenship cannot be ignored at the level of education.

If we want true democracy to flourish in our country, teaching the new generation the norms of democracy will be a step in the right direction. For this they must be given a chance to engage in civilized debate about the issues confronting their lives, devise strategies to address them and develop leadership skills.

I thus support the demand being made in these columns that the ban on student unions should be lifted.

ISHRAT SALEEM

Lahore

Global flu threat

The "Scientific American" of January 2005 has described the recent spread of global influenza as a pandemic. The critical information revealed is that the lethal strain of avian virus H5 N1 in chickens is also widespread in domestic ducks which show no symptoms but can act as carriers.

The magazine reports that if an avian strain meets a flu strain adapted to spreading among mammals, the result could be a deadly virus that could be easily transmitted t o humans. The exchange can happen inside animal hosts susceptible to both avian and human flu strains, such as pigs.

It is fortunate that we do not breed domestic pigs in our country but at the same time we ought to be cautious to check the spread of avian flu from ducks to domestic fowl. Universities and research institutes should carry out a survey of domestic ducks to find if they carry the H5 N1 virus in our country.

DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI

Lahore

Kim Hughes as coach

We have now seen Pakistan lose also the third and final Test to Australia. All three matches were finished well within four days, a prediction made by ex-Australian captain Kim Hughes before the start of the series.

Its seems that Hues knows our team better than team coach Bob Woolmer. Why can't the Pakistan Cricket Board hire Hughes as our coach?

CRICKET LOVER

East Newark, New Jersey, USA