TERRIBLE JOURNEY: My mother had recently travelled through Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and had a connecting flight from Toronto to Karachi via Islamabad. The 13-hour journey from Toronto to Islamabad (PK-782) was miserable, Among other things, the washrooms were in a horrible condition with broken doors. The flight attendants were not responsive to her repeated requests for some water. She is a frequent traveller and always travels with PIA because of direct flights to Canada, but this time her experience was terrible. The airline really needs to make such long-haul journeys comfortable for the travellers.

Sana Rehman
Karachi

FERTILE LANDS: The rise of housing societies in Pakistan poses a threat to agriculture, especially in Punjab. The land mafia is converting cultivable land into residential projects, which will increase food insecurity in the country. The government should categorise the land for residential, commercial and agricultural purposes, and impose heavy fines on those using agricultural land for residential purposes. It can propose a town in the centre of 10-15 villages for such societies. However, rich, fertile land should be left for cultivation alone. Similarly, the barren land can be utilised to establish business parks.

Muhammad Mohtasim Bosal
Mandi Bhauddin

HEAVY TAXES: The Cantonment Board Malir (CBM) has revised its property evaluation rates, and has sent challans carrying exorbitant charges along with arrears and late fees to the residents. However, it has failed to provide any relief in terms of water, sewerage, roads and cleanliness anywhere under its jurisdiction. There have been many court petitions, restraining orders and appeals in the past to stop such boards from imposing heavy taxes, and to shift the responsibility to the provincial taxation authorities, but nothing has happened on the ground. The Supreme Court should take suo motu notice of the matter.

Name withheld on request
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023