American war doctrine

THE US-led forces, after 9/11 tragedy, have been pursuing war against terrorism. They have already spent billions of dollars in the military adventure with the aim of toppling Taliban regime and capturing Osama bin Laden and Mullah Umar but so far have ended up with more kicks than half-pence.

The devastation on account of carpet-bombing in Afghanistan has been colossal. Besides turning the country into rubbles thousands of poor men, women and innocent children have been killed, incapacitated, numerous families have been split and many children have been orphaned.

Amid the devastation and economic hardships, children’s educational and developmental needs have almost been forgotten. Even after an year of blood-spattering neither Gen Richard Myers nor Donald Rumsfeld know Osama’s or Mullah Umar’s whereabouts. The US is simply relying on speculations.

How can the sane world leaders rely on Bush and Blair’s concern over Iraq’s weapon of mass destruction (WMD)? The world is now waiting apprehensively, not for another strike by some militant organization but for the 2,000-pound precision-guided ‘J-DAM’ bombs that US is capable of dropping on the innocent people of Iraq in order to achieve its vicious goal ‘change of regime’.

President Bush laid out a harsh indictment of Iraqi President on Sept 12 saying that Saddam Hussain was engaged in a ‘decade of defiance’ of post-Gulf War demands from the United Nations by developing WMD and warned that unilateral US action will become unavoidable against Baghdad’s regime unless the United Nations acted quickly and forced them to disarm.

Why is the US President meddling in the UN Secretary General’s domain and threatening of unilateral action against Saddam — once a staunch supporter of US against his arch-enemy Iran.

Iraq is a sovereign state and has the right to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Don’t the US, UK and many other countries have weapons of mass destruction?

The US has supplied Israel with huge quantity of J-DAM bombs; Israeli military forces carry out attacks with US made F-16s and Apache anti-tank helicopters and have stock pile of weapons of mass destruction being mercilessly used against the innocent civilians in Palestine.

Analysts have rightly evaluated President Bush’s expression of concern over Iraq’s WMD as a pretext for global-strategy of pre-emptive attack. By doing so, he and his advisers will set a precedence and under the same doctrine India may attack Pakistan.

LT-COL (R) SYED AHMED

Karachi

PTV programmes

LAST week I had a chance to watch a few of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) programmes on PTV World.

One of the programmes which I would like to mention specifically, was about the structure of the atom. It was for the higher secondary chemistry course. I was surprised and also greatly impressed by the contents of the course which fully matched what is taught in western universities. The material delivery method was also good.

But what made me concerned was the timings of these educational programmes which are usually telecast in the morning (from 9am to 2pm). At these hours, most of the students and teachers who could greatly benefit from these programmes, use to be at their schools/colleges.

Teachers and students return home by evening and they could watch the programme conveniently if telecast in the evening.

I would also suggest that audio and video cassettes be provided to some prominent schools and colleges with facility for the students to borrow the material of their interest.

If accepted, the moves may help the students reduce their dependence on private tuitions and coaching centres.

DR SHAFIQUE AHMED

Sukkur

ON the first anniversary of 9/11 the PTV showed in the US a programme consisting of interviews of the families who lost their near and dear ones in that tragedy.

However, the real purpose would have been served if this programme was aired in Pakistan so that everyone there, specially the so-called and the self-acclaimed religious leaders, would have seen the pain and sorrow of that horrible act against humanity.

DR OWAIS ALI FAROOQI

Florida, USA

I WOULD like to draw the attention of the producer of PTV Khabarnama to an error in telecasting the news on Sept 9.

PTV said that the final of the US Open was won by Andre Agassi but the background video showed Pete Samparas holding the trophy.

This shows the carelessness of the Khabarnama team. This has not happened for the first time. In recent past, many people had pointed out similar mistakes but PTV has been ignoring all the advices to correct itself.

MUHAMMAD ASLAM

Karachi

Leader the nation deserves

THERE are three major political parties in the country, and these are the Pakistan People’s Party, the Muslim League (Nawaz Group) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The high command of all the three are out of the country and the followers have acquiesced in accepting the remote-control leadership.

The leader of MQM, Mr Altaf Hussain, has even acquired the nationality of the country where he has chosen to exile himself.

The PPP high command is out of the country, more as a fugitive of law than in self exile, while that of ML(N) has opted to desert his followers instead of facing the consequences of his misdeeds, by seeking asylum in Saudi Arabia. The question arises: do the people of Pakistan deserve such leaders? The answer should be in the affirmative because, apparently, they still accept them as their leaders.

The irony of remote-control politics is that it is being practised in the name of democracy although nowhere in the world can the like of it be found. Democracy has been so hybridized in our country that the founder-leader of PPP brooked no inhibition when he became the Chief Martial Law Administrator of the country.

However, even dictatorship could not remain immune to hybridization because whoever usurped power as a dictator has also tried to woo democracy to perpetuate his tenure and has ended up with creating a ‘basic democracy’ or ‘partyless democracy’ or a democracy that suits the genius of Pakistan, which the present leadership is trying to establish.

It may not be wrong to conclude in the final analysis of political evolution in the country through the experience of past 55 years that the country needs controlled democracy or liberal dictatorship— the two aspects are as similar as to say that a bottle is half full or half empty. The present leadership seems to fit into this. So, let us accept it as the leadership the nation deserves.

As a tailpiece, it can be said that the nation should under no circumstances accept the remote-control leaderships because all of them are essentially deserters.

A.M. SAYIED

Karachi

Questioning the source of forex

TRILLIONS of dollars including drug and laundered mo-ney from poor countries are in circulation in the western economy through the banking system. And no question is asked. When a similar policy was adopted in Pakistan under the Protection of Economic Reforms Act of 1992, over US $12 billion were deposited in various banks of Pakistan.

Unfortunately, these deposits were embezzled by successive governments. Instead of restoring confidence of the depositors, the Act of 1992 was amended in December, 1999, to authorize the taxmen to question the source of foreign exchange transferred from overseas banks to Pakistan. Consequently, resident Pakistanis including former expatriates, were forced to keep their forex in overseas banks for fear of the taxmen, known for harassment.

Thus, there was an acute shortage of forex which forced the SBP to buy dollars from the open market and sell it at the inter-bank rate at a loss of about Rs 2.5 per dollar. So far, the SBP has purchased over US $4 billion involving about Rs 240 billion at different stages. This huge amount of public money could not be utilized for socio-economic benefit of the people of Pakistan.

I, therefore, appeal to the Governor, State Bank of Pakistan to kindly clarify the net gain in terms of dollars or rupees derived from the aforesaid amendments to the Act of 1992.

SHAKEEL AKHTAR

Rawalpindi

Lands and park in Lahore

SEVERAL acres of wasteland in Lahore Cantt need to be converted into a park. This piece of land is located south-west of the airport runway close to Nadirabad in Lahore Cantt. At present, only fodder is grown and a lot of cattle have settled here and its income (God knows how much) presumably goes to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

In this part of the Cantonment, no park is available for people living in the vicinity. It is also assumed that since the area is situated along the runway. It will not be utilized/sold for construction purposes. Therefore, the only useful choice left is its conversion into a beautiful park, where people could relax. This will have the following advantages:

(a) Movement of people in this area will be controlled, it will be fenced and guarded round the clock.

(b) A small amount may be charged from the users. This would add to the income of the CAA for the upkeep of the park.

(c) A nice place for recrea-tion and jogging will be made available to the people of the area.

(d) The entire area will have a face-lift.

MUKHTAR HUSSAIN

Lahore Cantt

Jews and terrorism

PRIME Minister Mahathir Muhammad echoed the thoughts of world leaders and hundreds of millions of their constituents when he stated mid-June this year that Jews were the world’s terrorists for their on-going genocidal pogroms, slaughter, torture, terrorism and now starvation of the indigenous people of the Middle East, the Semites (Arabs) over the past 82 years.

The Jewish Protocols confirm Mr Mahathir’s view and that of world leaders. It says: “It is from us that the all-engulfing terror proceeds ...” (Prot. 9).

VIRGINIA ROBINSON

Killara, Australia

Shootout in Karachi

THERE was extensive coverage in the press to the police encounter in Karachi in which two Al Qaeda suspects were killed and seven others arrested.

The fierce gunbattle lasted several hours in which second and third storeys of a flat were badly damaged. The senior police officials had rushed to the scene and later told the press proudly about their victory.

It reminds me of another shootout at Clifton in which Mir Murtaza Bhutto was mercilessly killed. The Mir, otherwise, could have been arrested from his house if the policemen had shown restraint for a few hours more.

Why did not the police lay a siege to the building and the flat before going for an allout attack? The siege could have resulted in the surrender of the ‘terrorists’.

M. AZHAR KHWAJA

Lahore

Reducing the army

THIS refers to Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s article ‘The Dirty Game’ (Sept 8) in which he has opined that Pakistan can ill- afford a large army and hence its strength should be drastically reduced.

Mr Cowasjee must know that in times of adversity the army’s strength is reinforced and not reduced as suggested by him. Strategic balance has to be maintained at all cost.

Secondly, in view of India’s belligerent posture (an eyeball- to-eyeball confrontation), should Pakistan maintain a small army? It sounds not only illogical but foolish.

By the way did Cowasjee make a suggestion to his friend Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw when he met him in New Delhi that in fact it is India which should reduce the strength of its army? Because maintaining two million-strong army speaks of India’s hegemonic and hostile mentality towards it neighbours.

SAFIR A. SIDDQUI

Karachi

Complaints to SECP

The Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan does accept complaints regarding the violations of its rules by the various companies on payment of Rs500.

Small shareholders cannot afford to deposit Rs 500 for each complaint, because the number of complaints are often too many.

SHAUKAT ALI

Karachi

Democracy

EVER SINCE the elections have been announced, I have been in a dilemma. Whom to vote?

I would have abstained. But even if one per cent of the voters would cast their votes, someone would be declared successful from the same unscrupulously corrupt lot. This is the greatest flaw of democracy.

MAJID KHAN JADOON

Karachi

Time to stand up & be counted

ZAHRA Shahid Husain’s letter, ‘Time to stand up and be counted’ (Aug 28), has voiced brilliantly the feelings and frustrations of many.

There is no choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice. And when it is time to speak up and you keep silent, you are guilty. We have kept silent for too long. It is time to speak up.

We urgently need a citizen’s forum uninvolved in the feudal or tribal culture and outside the political institutions to act as a watch and word organization with a task to focus on vital issues of law and order, economics and good governance.

No matter how small the beginning and the odds, a start must be taken by those who endorse Ms Husain’s views by getting together to discuss and develop further her ideas.

Merely agreeing or disagreeing silently and in isolation is futile and leads nowhere.

I appreciate the second generation which has stood up with courage to do something positive to stem the rot instead of suffering in silent despair.

Please remember! all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to keep silent.

SULTAN M. KHAN

Karachi

Governance: some truths

THIS refers to Mr Shahid Kardar’s article, ‘Governance: some truths’ (Sept 9). I agree for the need for vision, ability to take decisions, necessity to prioritize, that government employees are self-serving, that the government takes paternal care of its own and, lastly, we are the proverbial frog in the proverbial well.

The hidden truth has been exposed in Dawn’s editorial, ‘Why this secret mania’ (Sept 9). Transparency is what is required. The Victorian Officials Secrets Act of the 1890s needs retrofitting conforming to the IT-age so that the taxpayer (the government’s financier) knows what’s going on and can raise his voice based on a factual foundation.

Financial stability will only ‘descend’ upon us when we realize that our plans or budgets attempt to define the future, but it is the implementation process that generates reality or success/failure. Accountants then tell us what the effect is in terms of the monetary reflection.

Finally, Mr Kardar is also correct in affirming that a multidisciplinary public debate is required to walk the straight and narrow.

MASOOD HASAN

Lahore

Undeterred

ONE can easily understand by studying the US and Israeli attitude towards Afghanistan, Palestine and now Iraq.

The world, and even the Muslim bloc, is just watching but nobody is there to stop them. This is state terrorism.

S. ZAHID HUSSAIN

Lahore

KU affairs and teachers’ role

THIS refers to the violence at Karachi University and also comments thereof in the press on Sept 11 regarding a meeting between the vice chancellor and the teachers.

Prof Ahmed Khan and Raja Sohail Abbas from USA wrote letters to Dawn which appeared on Sept 13. We all respect the professors and do not condone use of force but, in fact, their movement against the Higher Education Task Force has been hijacked by others who do not like peace on campus as well as accountability at any cost.

Keeping aside all the things, a few alarming facts have emerged and if the chancellor does not take strict action, it will open Pandora’s box and all the good work done in the university over the last few years will go down the drain.

The movement started against the task force has now started protecting teacher, some of whom involved in corruption, and asking students to join in.

A ‘charge-sheeted’ professor has a longstanding political affiliation with a student wing of a major political party which also uses the Nazim’s office for his case.

Many politician have been barred from elections this year but not a single stone has been thrown against the action in the country. Why did students take teachers’ side actively and damaged university property? Are the university teachers above the law; free to misuse funds and willing to go scot free with the help of students and politicians?

Please stop this. Otherwise others will also use the same tactics and it will be the same old university again.

As a senior teacher who has been residing on the campus for the last 30 years, I can tell you that nothing was done against the students by the VC except for a marriage hall. On the contrary, marriages used to be held at the University Staff Club for years and the club is located within the campus premises. Sheikh Zaid Hall is far from the campus on main road.

I hope that the matter of the marriage hall will be resolved according to the rules and not under any pressure.

We see that the teachers have been dictating about who should be and who should not be the VC. Is it for a few teachers, who have links with political parties and the so-called king makers, to decide?

A PROFESSOR

Karachi