Development funds for lawmakers

SULTAN Ahmed’s article, ‘A very costly government’ (Dec 19), warrants special consideration by the government.

As the number of legislators in both the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies has doubled, the federal government will have to allocate huge amounts for their remunerations and allowances, thus making it more difficult for itself to spend public money on development projects.

Another important point made by Mr Ahmed is related to the disbursement of development funds to the tune of approximately eight billion rupees through the members of the assemblies and the Senate.

There is a great possibility that these funds will be misused by our lawmakers, as we have seen in the past that development works were either not launched at all or left incomplete. In fact, a bulk of the funds allocated thus was shown spent on projects which existed on papers only.

The government is advised to revise its decision and allocate development funds to civic agencies.

ALI AKBAR QURESHI

Karachi

THE government has allocated Rs10 million to every MNA in the name of development funds. The Punjab government, too, has sanctioned for every MPA development funds to the tune of five million rupees, besides allocating job quotas to them at the cost of merit.

According to the Constitution of Pakistan, there must be separation of powers and functions among the three organs of the state. Members of legislative assemblies are elected primarily to make laws. Involving them in any manner in development works is unconstitutional and amounts to an infringement of the rights and functions of local government institutions.

In the past, legislators entered into an unholy alliance with the bureaucracy and misappropriated development funds. In one case reported in PLD in 1992, a legislator pocketed the entire amount that was allocated to build a road in his constituency.

Therefore, instead of involving legislators in development works, they should be asked to concentrate on the all important task of formulating laws, with a view to ensuring good governance in the country.

They should conduct researches and investigations and make inquiries through parliamentary committees and make such laws as would help reduce unemployment, illiteracy, crime and injustices of every type. Our elected representatives should also concentrate on making rules and regulations for the promotion of public health, industry, trade, foreign investment and foreign policy based on national aspirations.

In fact, if legislators perform their constitutional duty honestly and diligently, they will be left with no spare time to involve themselves in local development works.

It is high time that we learnt a lesson from our mistakes and made sure that no bribe in the form of development funds is given to the legislators.

FEROZ SHAH GILANI

Karachi

‘Weddings cost KESC Rs one bn’

SINCE the time we have adopted the usage of millions and billions in place of lakhs, crores, arabs, kharabs, etc., I have noticed that some people, including some Dawn’s reporters, have perhaps not been able to convert correctly crores and arabs into millions and billions.

The article, ‘Weddings cost KESC Rs one bn’ (Dec 19), says: “The estimates of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation say that one per cent of losses due to theft translate into Rs500 million per annum. Thus, if the total theft by common Karachiites during wedding ceremonies is assumed to be only two per cent of the total, the loss to the KESC works out to a whopping Rs one billion.”

If I have understood correctly, your reporter wants to say that Rs50 crore (Rs500 million) is one per cent of losses due to theft and two per cent of this Rs500 million is stolen during wedding ceremonies. But two per cent of Rs500 million comes to Rs10 million (i.e. one crore rupees).

On the contrary, the reporter gives this figure as Rs one billion. One billion rupees are one arab. How can two per cent of Rs50 crores be one arab, or according to his terminology, how can two per cent of Rs500 million be Rs one billion. It should be one crore rupees or Rs10 million.

DURR-E-SHABNUM

Karachi

Demeaning a cancer expert

IT is very disconcerting to read a news report (Nov 28) about the University of Health Sciences, Lahore, based on the apprehensions of Prof Mahmood Ali Malik.

The report clearly indicates the abusive outburst of an angry old man. Most of us and almost all in the medical profession are aware of the contribution of Prof Mahmood Ahmed, who is perhaps the best cancer surgeon in the country and is widely known as a most eloquent and dedicated teacher.

After going through the contents of this news story, which is hardly a reply to an article written by Prof Mahmood Ahmed in Dawn on Nov 11, I was constrained to hurriedly retrieve this article and read it again to refresh my memory.

It is purely a technical writing, which is sound, scientific and logical. It will never cease to amaze me how come a national daily like Dawn can become party to a malicious and slanderous campaign against a great event like the nascent University of Health Sciences. Prof Mahmood Ali Malik makes it sound as if high intellect, eloquence and personal charm are obnoxious and sinful qualities.

I hope and pray that elderly people like Prof Mahmood Ali Malik can make a distinction between jealously and admiration.

SHAUKAT MEHMOOD

Ex-IG Prisons, Punjab, Lahore

— Dawn regrets the publication of the report. — Ed. D

Pakistan and Western media

IT is imperative for both the government of Pakistan and Pakistani expatriates to make sure that the world knows the real facts about Pakistan; more importantly, its significant role in the region.

Pakistan is now the key partner in the US-led war on terror. Its law-enforcement and intelligence agencies have penetrated terrorist organizations and, as a result, several top Al Qaeda leaders and hundreds of their followers are in US custody. American and European agencies alone could not have achieved this task. Indeed, this is a direct result of Pakistan’s assistance.

Pakistan’s strategic location is important for the US and, as trade partners, Pakistan and the United States can enjoy greater access to wealth when the channels of commerce are open and protected from militancy. For example, a proposed oil pipeline from the Caucuses will terminate in Pakistan’s major port city of Karachi, thus opening up more energy sources for the West.

In the interest of global peace, world powers must help Pakistan continue its path towards a modern Islamic state, with heavy emphasis on eliminating poverty and illiteracy.

But Pakistan, as a nation, needs to realize that it is our collective image that is taking a battering. The Western media is in the centre of this onslaught on our identity, both as Muslims and Pakistanis. Unfortunately, we have failed to this day to interact with the foreign media and thus it is no wonder that we have emerged as its helpless victim.

The Pakistan government, with the expatriate community, needs to be proactive in finding ways to engage the hostile Western media. We need to tell Western countries that an alternative view exists and reality is multi-dimensional.

S. A. ASIF ALAM

New Jersey, USA

PAF plane crash

THIS has reference to the letter, ‘PAF plane crash’ (Dec 22), by M. Jahanzeb Rahim. We know that the Pakistan Air Force is neither the biggest nor the most modern air force in the world, but it must be accepted that the PAF is one of the best air forces, keeping in view a low ratio of accidents in the air force.

Accidents, including crashes, take place during routine operations and cause damage to the PAF. Even the most powerful and resourceful air force in the world, the United States Air Force, has to suffer this kind of damage. Two USAF training jets crashed recently in southern Oklahoma.

Such accidents happen frequently in the USAF. The ratio of accidents in the USAF has in fact increased since Oct 7 last year, when the US launched a war in Afghanistan. So far, the American air force has lost billions of dollars due to aircraft crashes only.

The US navy ship enterprise (aircraft carrier), too, has lost four naval aircraft. A German helicopter crashed in Afghanistan a few days back. This was the third German air vessel to have crashed in Afghanistan.

It is true that large air forces can bear such losses, but the PAF, being an air force of a developing country, cannot bear it easily. However, the fact is that accidents do occur and will continue to occur. We can only try to minimize the number of such accidents.

It was also stated in the letter that Pakistan had no hope of acquiring aircraft from anywhere. The writer should know that once when India threatened to launch a war against Pakistan, China provided us with 40 F-7 PGs to reinforce our air force.

We should applaud the efforts of our aeronautical engineers, who are performing a good job by keeping outdated aircraft up to date.

YASIR MANSOOB

Karachi

Why cut your roots?

I AM not against adopting new ideas but I feel deeply hurt when I see people who have forgotten their roots.

Recently, I attended at a local hotel a wedding ceremony, which was nothing but a drama of an upstart Pakistani settled in America. Announcements were being made in English in

a hall that the bride would enter the hall in 15 minutes, then 10 minutes, then five minutes and so on. Finally, the bride, flanked by her parents, sister and brother, entered the hall.

Although I did not see even a single foreigner among the guests, they were asked, of course in English, to stand up and welcome the bridal party by clapping. As the gathering was largely composed of women who did not speak English, only a few understood as to what was being announced and, therefore, the announcements were hardly followed,

The function started with the cutting of the wedding cake by the bride and the groom. Verses from the holy Quran were recited and translated in English.

Then there was a speech by the bride’s father. Then a video strip was displayed which showed glimpses of the bride’s life — her birth, childhood, student days, her hobbies which included horse-riding and tourism.

I wonder why people behave like this and set aside their own traditions.

A TRADITION LOVER

Karachi

Reckless driving

Almost every day two to three people fall prey to road accidents in Karachi. They either get killed or get injured. In November alone, 41 people were killed in road accidents in the city.

Most of the victims were killed by recklessly-driven public transport vehicles, i.e. buses, coaches and wagons, as well as trucks and tankers, but the authorities concerned seem to be least moved by these deaths.

Apart from reckless driving, poor maintenance of public vehicles is another cause of road accidents. Transporters get fitness certificates for old vehicles by greasing the palms of the officials concerned. I request the authorities to seriously look into the matter and take proper action to ensure safety on roads.

SHAMEEL AHMAD ZUBAIRI

Karachi

Call centre industry

THIS refers to the news item, ‘Pakistan, China to start joint IT ventures’. The call centre industry in Pakistan is in its infancy and needs to be treated on a priority basis because it brings considerable revenue, specially from the US and Europe.

The major concern in this regard is communication, which needs to be taken care of, as the PTCL has monopolized this component and is providing services which are absolutely not on a par with international standards.

I think China may be of great support in the field of communications, in particular, and the newly-elected government should take steps to develop the call centre industry with the help of China for the benefit of investors.

SHIRAZ AHMED SHAIKH

Karachi

Plight of doctors

IT seems doctors are no more needed in Pakistan. They happen to be a useless community, doing nothing except saving the lives and increasing the country’s poor population who have nothing to live for. They have dared to treat Afghans, Taliban and Arab refugees, too.

About 200 doctors have been shot dead in the last three years in the country. The need to arrest their murderers or compensate affected families has never been felt by the rulers.

The salaries of junior doctors match those of clerks, drives and cooks, with their hours being twice as much.

In the NWFP, senior doctors have been forced to do private practice in mismanaged, dirty and crowded government-run hospitals, destroying the efficiency of doctors and the morale of patients. The allocation of 0.8 per cent of the budget for health has ensured continuous deterioration of these essential services.

Senior philanthropic doctors are being arrested by the FBI for treating Taliban and Al-Qaeda patients years ago, as if doctors had a choice as to whose life to save and whom to let die.

If Pakistan was to be governed by the FBI, the police and sectarian fanatics, why have a jumbo-size, expensive and powerless parliament?

DR ZARINA KHAN

Islamabad

Blind cricket

IT was wonderful to learn that Pakistan participated in the blind cricket World Cup and won the event, but it was really disappointing to find that PTV did not telecast a single match, not even the final one.

Also, in a news bulletin, news was given without a single video glimpse of the event. Why this discrimination against blind cricketers?

SABIN INAM

Karachi

Communist Party

THIS is with reference to the report in Dawn (Dec 22) by your Hyderabad Bureau about the press conference held by the Communist Party of Pakistan at the Hyderabad Press Club.

We were grieved by the report referring to the CPP as “dissident group”. Our party is not a group, nor is any “group” affiliated with our party. Your report damaged the image of the party.

WARIZ RAZA

Spokesman, CPP,

Hyderabad

INS registration

PEOPLE who are in the US on temporary visas from 21 countries, including Pakistan, must register with the Immigration and Naturalization Services.

Armenia, too, was on a list of such countries but was excluded after Armenian Americans and the Armenian ambassador in the US strongly protested against this decision.

Unfortunately, the Pakistani embassy in the US has not made any serious efforts yet to convince the Bush administration to remove Pakistan from the list.

Pakistan is an old ally of the US. It has also supported America in the latter’s war against terrorism, but hundreds of Pakistani nationals have been deported from the US and draconian laws have been made to detain and harass those who are still in the US. Is this the kind of treatment that an ally deserves?

The government must take up the matter seriously with the US.

AAMIR AHSAN

Seattle, USA

Conveyer belt to horse-trading

PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf in a recent address to women MPs in Islamabad urged them to rise above party affiliations and exercise “vote of conscience” for gender equality and for women empowerment.

Earlier, Prime Minister Jamali at his maiden press conference at Lahore said MPs could change political parties according to their conscience in the national interest and he would not mind his own party MPs crossing the floor in the process.

The president and the prime minister are not expressing views in isolation but are in fact elaborating on the change made in the 14th constitutional amendment through the Legal Framework Order (LFO).

Although the designed aim of creating the change through the LFO in the constitutional amendment is beyond the ken of the common man, it will for sure dent the caucus of parties reducing them to mere talking shops. According to political analysts, the change amounted to creating a conveyer belt to horse-trading.

The prime minister has more than once averred that casting a vote of conscience is allowed even in the British parliament. This does not square with facts on the ground.

In the first place, Britain does not have any written constitution and political parties exist as a matter of tradition. Secondly, it is political parties which allow its MPs to cast the vote of conscience on matters that need bipartisan decisions. A conscience vote was allowed on abolition of death penalty in mid-1960s. The MPs cannot make their own decisions. Our parliament can get a vote of conscience from MPs on whether or not to observe Friday as the weekly holiday.

Absence of discipline in parties saw ferrying of MPs to Changamanga and Swat in a bid to save and dismantle governments in the 1990s. The political scene witnessed frequent change of governments. But politics has its own dimensions. Even the much-criticized see-saw for power between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif helped bring the political system close to a two-party dispensation.

Some minor change in the party rules like selection of MP candidates on recommendations of local party organizations would have resulted in eventual transformation of parties. The sudden disruption in October 1999 brought things to square one once again.

The Jamali government appears to have misread its wafer-thin coalition majority in parliament as a pretext to rip up the rule book. What it says, just or right, means nothing but what is in its own interest. The political rule book does not change.

It is imperative for the health of the parliamentary system in the country to restore the 14th constitutional amendment to cut the conveyer belt to horse-trading. The 14th amendment to the constitution was unanimously passed by parliament in 1997 to root out horse-trading and lotacracy.

GHANI CHAUDHRY

Karachi