SMOKING: Cigarette kiosks sprouting around educational institutions are alarming. They encourage students to smoke and allow smokers to gather around in groups, making girl students uncomfortable. They also affect the smooth flow of traffic as people stop there to buy cigarettes. Smoking in public places should be prohibited, especially near educational institutions. The government should also ban the selling of any kind of tobacco products near such places and impose strict fines on the violators. Any shop and kiosk around universities should not be allowed to keep cigarettes. This is a serious problem and one hopes it will be given the consideration that it deserves.

Anamta Alaihim
Lahore

STRAY ANIMALS: Stray animals, such as dogs, cats, monkeys, etc., can be seen roaming the streets, looking for food and shelter. These animals pose a serious threat to public health and safety. They can spread diseases, such as rabies, leptospirosis and salmonella, and cause road accidents. As a citizen who cares about the welfare of both the humans and animals, I believe the issue needs urgent attention. It is the responsibility of the government to implement effective policies and programmes for animal welfare. This may include spaying and neutering programmes as well as animal shelters. People should also act with responsibility in this regard.

Aliza Arifeen
Karachi

LOCAL UNIVERSITIES: A Pakistani student at Harvard University recently urged for more scholarships for Pakistani students to study abroad. While the suggestion looks reasonable on the face of it, the fact is that the government had sent thousands of Pakistani students on scholarships to study abroad. Unfortunately, only very few returned to serve the country. Today, Pakistan has more universities than we can properly manage, and they are offering degrees in every subject one can think of. It will, therefore, be more productive if the scarce resources that we have are used to upgrade our own institutions of higher learning.

Dr Hassan Akhtar Khan
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2023