CLASSICAL VOCALIST: Moti Usmani passed away recently in Karachi. Among her many talents, she was one of the leading female thumri singers in Pakistan. Known as Moti Apa within her close circle, she was a disciple of the late Ustad Buland Iqbal, who was the son of the legendary Ustad Bundu Khan. Ustad Buland Iqbal always considered Moti Apa as the best among contemporary thumri singers. Her departure has deprived the country of another rare practitioner of classical singing, bringing almost to an end the people who kept this ancient art form alive.

Parvez Rahim
Karachi

WRONG ESTIMATE: This is with reference to the article ‘Rethinking national security’ (Aug 6). Among other things, the said article mentioned that some 80 million people are added to the population of the country each year, “making it an explosive situation”. This is clearly a wrong estimate as Pakistan’s population growth rate is about 2.5 per cent annually, which translates into the addition of about 3.8 to 4.5 million people every year, not 80 million.

Sajad Jatoi
Larkana

SEWERAGE ISSUE: Residents of the New Nazar Mohalla in Larkana’s Union Council (UC) 4 have been suffering for the last several months owing to continuous overflowing sewage on the streets and lanes of the locality. Unfortunately, the situation is worsening by the day. The residents have lodged a number of complaints with the UC representatives, but no action has been taken thus far. The higher-ups must take to task the UC officials for bringing a bad name to the ruling party in Sindh.

Name withheld on request
Larkana

TOBACCO HARM: Smokers in Pakistan continue to rely on combustible tobacco and pay the price with declining health standards. An outright ban on all tobacco-related products may fail to address the root cause of the problem. A phased regulatory approach may help.

Usama Ghulam Rasool
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025