Karachi mosque attack

TERRORISTS really don’t have to try too hard to damage our society. Most of the damage is done by an enraged mob which destroys everything left around the venue of a terrorist attack. After the bomb blast at Karachi’s Madinatul Ilm Imam Masjid near NIPA, more than a dozen vehicles, the two petrol pumps around it, the KFC building and many other shops were burnt down. But that was not all. Long after the fire was put out, six bodies were recovered from the KFC building in the morning, almost 12 hours after the incident. Those who died were not victims of any terrorist attack but of rage that spreads after a terrorist attack. Worst of all, no law-enforcement agencies present there tried to stop or control any of this from happening. The fire brigade came long after everything was destroyed.

I am perplexed by everything that occurred on the night of the bomb blast and simply unable to understand how we can save ourselves from external threats when our property and lives are not safe in the hands of the people living in — especially the ones protecting — this society? Does anybody have an answer?

OMAR JAVAID

Karachi

THE tragic Madinatul Ilm bombing has shaken people all over the country. I will not hesitate to call the mob that set vehicles, restaurant and petrol pumps on fire and burnt people alive as terrorists. Instead of helping the injured reach hospitals, these people created chaos and blocked the roads, further aggravating the situation.

I was near Gulshan Chowrangi when a car stopped and four tough-looking men got out with batons. I was quick enough to drive past them. I later learnt that cars were burnt there. The news that six bodies were found in a restaurant made my heart weep. How can these people be so mindless as to burn a place with innocent people inside? Islam preaches controlling one’s anger. Instead of dealing with a tragedy sensibly, these people did more damage than was done by the terrorists. When will we all learn to stay calm and help authorities in maintaining law and order? When will we learn how to behave if a disaster or tragedy strikes us?

Dr Sana

Karachi

CAN anyone imagine the agony the six restaurant employees must have gone through at that ghastly moment? Even worse, their families will have to live forever with the memory that their beloved were killed in the most gruesome way for no fault of theirs.

What did these people have to do with the bombing? Who is responsible for their deaths and where should the bereaved families go to seek justice? Where should all the people whose cars have been burnt and properties set on fire seek compensation? Is this what Islam teaches us? Is this the tolerance level we as a nation have?

ALTAMASH JAVED LONE

Via email

WHAT one fails to understand from this depressing incident of the bomb blast is who is the worst of the two: the terrorists who killed five people in the mosque or we who killed six employees of the KFC?

The employees were innocent, and had they failed to evacuate customers in time there would have been more deaths. I don’t live in that area, neither do I belong there, but I do belong to this country and I feel partly responsible. This is not the first of such incidents but this time I think we were able to score higher than the terrorists.

MUHAMMAD ATEEQ KHAN

Karachi

WHAT angry protesters managed to do in Karachi is as much reprehensible as the actions of the suicide bombers they were protesting against. Like the suicide bombers, the mourners too have innocent blood on their hands. The only difference is that they might not realize this.

Anger can overcome the higher faculties of reason and analysis and reduce human beings to the level of beasts. This is why Islam teaches us to control emotion and act with patience. It is also a tragic reminder on the health of our social conscience that human life — a sacred entity — is being wasted to make statements. Where do we protest against this?

CONCERNED CITIZEN

Via email

Advani’s visit to Pakistan

IT is a matter of great pleasure for the peoples of Pakistan and India that their leaders are moving on the right track nowadays and bilateral relations are improving.

Mr L. K. Advani’s visit to Pakistan will definitely contribute a lot to improving relations. In both countries, people in almost all spheres of life have compelled their leadership to move in a positive direction and definitely credit the media in both countries. Otherwise, in the past, it was Mr Advani who had made a lot of irresponsible statements against Pakistan and had very boldly declared Pakistan as a terrorist country.

India had demanded handing over of a number of “terrorists” from Pakistan among which a few leading personalities were also included. In reply, Pakistan too had demanded “terrorists” from India, and among whose names was that of Mr Advani.

Thankfully, all that has become history and now everyone (except a few terrorist organizations) is talking of peace and tolerance. If these meetings with Mr Advani become fruitful, there may be a breakthrough and both the countries may be able to spend their resources on welfare, education and health, etc., instead of wasting money on increasing stockpiles of harmful weapons.

AHMED NOMAN SADIQ

Lahore

MR L. K. Advani, the BJP leader, is in Pakistan. After his meetings with the Pakistani leaders he has laid stress on finding a solution to all the existing problems between India and Pakistan. Wasn’t he the one, way back in July 2001, who caused the Agra Summit to end in a fiasco?

Now he is all smiles, saying that peace is in the best interest of India and Pakistan.

RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI

Islamabad

Exam centre

WITH reference to the letter by Mir Nasir Ali, “Exam centre” (May 28), regarding negligence on the part of invigilators in our college on May 19 in Chemistry paper-II, with all sympathies for the student concerned, there are certain facts that need explanation.

The student was not sitting in a remote corner of the room as mentioned in the letter. She was sitting in the second row, and there were ceiling fans as well as two pedestal fans in that room.

She started her paper in a normal way, but after some time she complained of some stomach discomfort. She was asked by the invigilator if she wanted something, like water or a cold drink, but she refused. After some time, she rested her head on the desk and said that she was not feeling well and was unable to write.

It is incorrect that she fainted and remained in that state for two hours. She also signed her attendance sheet and was upset about her paper, but at the same time did not want to leave the room. After the paper was over, she walked out of the room and went out in a normal way. It was wrong on the part of the invigilators not to inform the centre superintendent but they said that it was nothing unusual for a student to be unable to do a paper, which is why they did not report the matter.

When her father came with the complaint, the teachers concerned asked him why he did not come to the college the same day or the next day as the matter was so serious according to his statement. I personally apologized to the father and he went away satisfied.

PROF MRS JAMILA QAMAR ALAM

Principal, Government College for Women Shahrah-i-Liaquat,

Karachi

Conveyance allowance

THE article by Mr Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana, “A case for private sector employees” (Dawn EBR, May 29), portrays a clear picture of an unreasonably low-exempt conveyance allowance available on the income tax statute book. I endorse the findings and recommendation of the reporter for the reasons that the prescribed rules have become obsolete, irrelevant and non-understandable as originally these rules were framed in 1982, therefore comparison of POL prices in 1982 with those in 2005 is quite relevant in this case.

In a pre-budget seminar a high-ranking official of the CBR has also termed these rules as complicated and beyond understanding. The CBR should consider the grievances of the private sector employees and — considering the complexity in the rules which deal with various situations of taxation of conveyance — fix the conveyance allowance at 20 per cent of the basic salary and abolish all impractical laws in this regard. Conveyance allowance, like house rent allowance, should also be made progressive. It is time the law was amended in the manner of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001. Retaining Rules 6 and 6-A for 23 years — as originally introduced in 1982 — is obviously ridiculous and contradictory to the present situation.

MUHAMMAD ALEEM

Karachi

Criminology: a neglected field

THIS refers to the letter by Mr N. B. Narejo (May 27). Crime has always been the core problem of every society, especially when one talks about our society. Millions of rupees are wasted in the name of measures to reduce and prevent crime, criminal behaviour, etc., but in the end all the efforts seem to fail.

This is an age of development and professionalism and almost every single field is being handled by professionals who study, analyze, experiment with and practice a particular job/skill to achieve expertise. So when we talk about criminology, why aren’t there professionals who have studied crime and different techniques to prevent criminal behaviour? They are the ones to have learnt the most modern techniques of investigating crime, and they are the ones who know how to rehabilitate a criminal or a victim of crime. With such skills under their belt, why are they kept behind the scene?

I request the higher authorities, especially the governor and chief minister of Sindh, to pay attention to the neglected field of criminology.

HAIDER ALI MEMON

Hyderabad

Palestinian Christians

BEING a minority means living in a closed community, with its own schools, medical centres, companies, etc. If one goes around in Palestine and Israel, one will realize that this is not the case for Palestinian Christians who are a scattered population, integrated into society, and although very small in percentage, they are not considered a minority or aliens in their homeland.

Being ‘joined together’ as Christians and Muslims in Palestine generally implies that there are no different community divides, such as one liberal and one conservative, based on religion. The question is: Are Palestinian Christians treated differently than Muslims by the Israelis? The answer is yes, but not for the better or the worse. Palestinian Christians generally have strong relations and networking connections with churches and church-related organizations in the West. Therefore, targeting Christians directly causes more trouble for the Israelis than targeting Muslims. It means they must face the western countries and the Christian powers. Christians are treated as badly as Muslims at checkpoints, boarder crossings, in the prisons, in cases of land confiscation and in other areas. The Israelis, however, would have to think hard before targeting an area with a major Christian population. Therefore, Christians are a big obstacle for Israel. Because of this, a huge amount of pressure is being put on the Christians to force them out of their homeland in order to make things easier for the Israelis who can then present their occupation as war against Islamic terror.

There are cases where a Christian is treated better at a checkpoint than a Muslim, but it is never because of preference and it is of no consequence since Palestinians are only too highly aware that the Israelis are doing this to try to lead them into hating and therefore fighting each other.

Palestinian Christians use their relations and networking contacts with churches, church related organizations, and Christian groups across the world, because of their shared suffering and lack of rights, to advocate the Palestine cause. They raise international awareness on the Palestinian issue, tell the story of their lives under occupation and Israeli aggression, call for implementation of Palestinian rights, and try to persuade their partners and churches to get involved in international lobbying and actions on higher official levels.

Palestinian Christians are not only fighting against Israelis occupation but also against Zionists and ‘Christians’ who adopt Zionism —known as Christian Zionists. Palestinian Christians refuse to call these groups ‘Christian’, and raise awareness locally and internationally for the idea that they represent a distortion of Christianity. This is a common message and continuing campaign undertaken by the various churches in Palestine and Israel.

Palestinian Christians are involved in most forms of civil resistance and advocacy except for the violent forms. We understand why some Palestinians will commit a suicide bombing when they have deep feelings of revenge caused by utter desperation with no hope of a decent life or future, or when they take up arms against the Israelis with the aim of making them lose their grip on unjustly occupied land. We do not, of course, excuse these actions — but we do understand them.

Many Palestinian Christians, however, are leaving Palestine at a very rapid pace due to the pressures of Israeli aggression and the increasing difficulties and insecurity in Palestine. Others leave however with the idea that this land is an Islamic land for Muslims only. And this definitely serves the Israeli goals, in presenting their practices against Palestinians as a war against Islamic terror, and this finds a great deal of support, especially with the current US government.

There is definitely some harassment and conflict which take place from time to time on religious basis, due to sectarian racist mentalities. This falls into the Israeli trap of illusion — created since the recent religious/cultural war led by the US government and its allies — which sees Christians on one side and fundamentalist Islamic organizations on the other. In reality, both these extremisms feed each other. And then there are calls by some Islamists for an Islamic state of Palestine. However, this is not an excuse for leaving one’s homeland. God wants us in this land, or would have otherwise made us be born in another place. And if the majority wants an Islamic state, then let it be so. Palestinians Christians have lived peacefully, even while holding important governmental positions, in different Islamic periods, empires, and kingdoms.

SOBIA RAHIM

Pakistan

IBRAHIM WILLIAM HANNOUNEH

Occupied Palestine

Restoring democracy

MY friends dub me as pro-Musharraf. I like him to the extent that he is honest, hardworking and trying to introduce democracy from the grass-roots. However, his very first experiment in restoring democracy at the top has not earned him any kudos. The havoc being played with the exchequer by Mr Shaukat Aziz by way of his ministers and parliamentarians — foreign trips, escalation in pay and perks, doubling and tripling the development funds, etc. — is too obvious to be ignored.

The irony is that Gen Musharraf is blamed for all this. His dilemma is, if he controls the PM and company it is called stifling democracy, and if he doesn’t, he is blamed for being party to it.

COL (retd) RIAZ JAFRI

Rawalpindi

Assault on girl

THE report in Dawn (May 31) about a speech-impaired girl being assaulted by three persons and left in an unconscious state in Soomro Muhallo, Tando Alam, deeply saddened me. There should be a public conversation about such acts and action be taken against the social evils that we face. Those who committed this act (especially the policeman) should be taken to court and if convicted publicly punished for all to see.

Also accountable should be those at the police station who refused to register an FIR. It is fortunate that NGOs play the role of advocates and unfortunate that the very people who are supposed to protect the common citizen perpetrate or abet in crimes. It is also shameful that whenever such incidents take place, no mullah speaks or takes out rallies to protest against these injustices.

MAIRAJ A. KHAN

Connecticut, USA

EOBI

IN Dec 2004 the president had revised pensions to a minimum applicable amount of Rs1,000 with effect from Jan 2005. The order has yet to be implemented by the division concerned as is evident from the fact that pensioners are still getting their pensions from authorized branches of banks at the old rates. Incredibly, a period of five months has gone by.

SULTAN ALI MOHAMMED

Karachi

Fire safety measures

AS an electronics engineer, I would like to make some observations and recommendations regarding the torching of a restaurant in Karachi by a mob of angry protesters in which six people died.

As is true with every aspect of planning, we only discuss the remedy after somebody pays the price for negligence. The fire accident in a flat in Gulshan-i-Iqbal recently should have been an eye-opener for the building and construction industry planners who have been ignoring the provision for fire hydrants in buildings and proper access to fire engines.

I wonder whether there was any fire hydrant equipment installed in the restaurant. At least they would have controlled the fire to some extent until the fire engines reached the spot.

It is important now that some regulation should be enforced in terms of having fire extinguishers, fire alarm systems, fire hydrants and other safety and first aid equipment in all public buildings in Pakistan. The government should consider allowing duty-free import of fire-fighting equipment so that the equipment cost remains within the budget of the common citizen. In schools and colleges demonstrations should be given using the expertise of the local fire-fighting department in terms of training and guiding people as to what they should do in case of a fire, and who and where to report. Local media channels can also carry such programmes and campaigns to guide the people to operate fire-fighting equipment.

I hope that the private sector will consider installing such equipment at their premises.

ZIA SIDDIQUI

Karachi

Waiting for NICOP

WITH reference to my letter on the above subject (May 23) I would like to thank you for solving my problem that took me 18 months, several phone calls and numerous emails to relevant officials without success.

I would also like to appreciate the prompt action taken by the NADRA officials concerned, which resulted in delivery of my NICOP in just three days. I am left wondering why things could not be sorted out without an approach to the national media.

ASGHAR ALI BOKHARI

Toronto, Canada