WITH reference to Dr Talat Wizarat’s interview It’s a farcical situation (February 13), some key points mentioned by her need a perspective, as follows:
1. Iraq’s elections were organized by the interim government of interim PM Iyad Allawi that has the UN’s support under the UN Resolution of June 2004. They cannot be termed ‘farcical’ on this score. To view them as ‘illegitimate’ because they were held while Iraq was under US occupation is also not consistent with the outlook we have towards the Afghan and Palestinian elections that too were held under US and Israeli occupation respectively, but are viewed as very legitimate by us all.
2. She says that “the elections have not changed the situation in Iraq.” An IR expert of her stature ought to appreciate that such dire situations cannot possibly change overnight.
3. She implicates the highly revered, Grandest of Grand Ayatollahs, Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani as being “involved in a multifaceted struggle for power...” The reclusive leader is merely helping his followers in acquiring their long over-due political role and rights in Iraq which is his obligation as the supreme spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shias. Is there likely to be a kind of Islamic government that Dr Wizarat suspects when Ayatollah Sistani is a strong believer in the separation of state and religion? One who is studying the course of events in Iraq more closely ought to recall how Ayatollah Sistani influenced his followers to agree to an interim constitution that would incorporate the aspirations of all the diverse sectarian and ethnic groups. This is a trend that is more likely to continue in the future as well which is why the Iraqi Shias are keen on everybody’s participation, as repeated a number of times by Shia leaders of all shades.
4. Dr Wizarat erroneously views Muqtada Sadr as Ayatollah Sistani’s competitor when the former has already been adequately settled in Najaf, Kufa and thereafter by the latter and has been reduced to his position as that of no better than that of a ‘tifl-e-maktab’ in comparison with the religious leaders of higher rank and stature.
A more informed view of Iraq would be welcome from the country’s international relations experts.
DR MAHNAZ FATIMA
Karachi
A seething cauldron of dissent
WITH reference to the lead article A seething cauldron of dissent (January 30), those with vision should take sensible measures to forestall the seething volcano from exploding and thus save themselves and Pakistan from the consequences of a holocaust.
M. SALEEM CHAUDHRY
Karachi
(2)
THE writer stopped short of mentioning the Pashtoons as a crucial part of the Balochistan problem.
Pashtoons who are no less than the Baloch are as much emotionally involved in the issue as the Baloch people, especially under the umbrella of PONM (Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement).
I think it’s high time for the government that instead of giving provocative and threatening statements, it should sincerely and seriously address the root causes of the general sense of deprivation among the masses of Balochistan.
DAWOOD KHAN BATOZAI
Loralai, Balochistan
(3)
THE lead article revealed the real intentions of Nawab Akbar Bugti who is taking a lot of money as royalty and is a threat to our national integrity. I don’t know why our previous and present governments have been so lenient regarding this serious issue.
I fear that if strict measurers aren’t taken against these landlords, we might have to face a debacle like the one that happened in East Pakistan.
I request the government to solve this issue as soon as possible through all possible means. Quaid-i-Azam did not make this country for those who are always playing with the lives and properties of innocent civilians.
WITH reference to Dr Talat Wizarat’s interview It’s a farcical situation (February 13), some key points mentioned by her need a perspective, as follows:
