Right to life and liberty

THE Superior Courts of Pakistan have opened new vistas of human rights movement by liberally interpreting and expanding the meaning of fundamental human rights. The right to life and personal liberty has been interpreted so liberally by our judiciary that now it covers in its ambit a variety of rights that go to constitute the personal liberty of man.

Life means human dignity that gives substance to human rights and includes protection of health and strength of people of all groups to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of dignity, educational facilities and humane conditions of work. These are the minimum requirements which must exist in order to enable a person to live with dignity.

However, it is pertinent to mention here that human rights are ignored altogether in the name of the state and for the maintenance of law and order, particularly by the law-enforcing agencies. Higher courts in a plethora of judgments have not only condemned police atrocities but have gone on providing compensation to the victims of such atrocities. The courts have termed death in police custody as the worst and most heinous crime.

Life means more than mere animal existence. An important aspect of the right to life is that no person can live without the means of living. If this right is not treated as part of the Constitutional right to life, the easiest way of depriving a person of the right to life would be to deprive him of the right to livelihood. There is thus a close nexus between the life and means of livelihood which alone can make life livable with dignity.

The Supreme Court has stressed that each incident of sexual harassment results in the violation of fundamental rights to life and personal liberty, including the right to work in a profession of one’s choice. The right to life means the right to live with dignity and any harassment in one’s workplace means deprivation of one’s precious right to life and freedom to choose one’s profession.

In the new millennium human rights have assumed added significance and there is a need for public awareness. However it is strange that President Bush has signed the ridiculously named law PATRIOT (Provide Appropriate Tools Required To Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act, 2001, thereby surrendering the most vital component of the “American way of life”. The erstwhile KGB, RAW and MOSSAD would be overjoyed that what the US always condemned is being bestowed upon the State machinery in the US. The present measures adopted in America will certainly deal a tremendous blow to the cause of human rights.

M.G. RABBANI

Chairman, PLJ Committee Punjab Bar Council

Lahore

Sept 11 events and Muslims

AFTER the Sept 11 events, Muslims have been put through extensive profiling in America. Radio commentators have reacted in a way that has been unprecedented. One commentator said that if we reverse Eid, it stands for Die, and since Muslims celebrate Eid, they actually celebrate death, and thus are willing to die.

One FOX news analyst talked of the forces going into Afghanistan with a mission to take off the ‘burqas’ and extricate the poor women from oppression — cheers to America’s new found love for fighting oppression!

But Muslims around the world, particularly those living in the United States, have been very apologetic about their religion since the events of Sept 11. Women have taken their veils off, for fear of being noticed. Men did not attend the mosques for quite some time, for fear of being profiled. Watch CNN, or any of the media casts, and you would see one Muslim or another trying to sugar coat a ruling / prohibition in Islam by saying “this is not in Islam,” that is, “we don’t do that nowadays”, “modern Muslims don’t think like that,” etc.

If we study our religion carefully, there is no doubt on the behaviour that is expected of a Muslim. Islam is a complete code of life and unlike the courses in a university where one can pick whichever he likes and drop whichever he dislikes, Islam demands a certain allegiance from its followers. It is mandatory to pray, and thus anyone who claims not to because he is modern, and because the times demand expediency, is doing a great disservice to his religion.

The concept of Jihad has been discussed ad nauseum, but no one has been daring enough to say that if one is under attack, one resorts to Jihad, Jihad isn’t merely a striving against one’s wishes, as many modern Muslims have pointed out. So whoever dares speak against the modern interpretation is labelled as a fanatic.

America has changed since the day the tragedy happened. Notwithstanding the success that many of our modern brethren have had at apologetically portraying Islam, the reality is that the western world (especially America) looks askance at every Muslim. I have noticed the suspicion in the eyes of the people here.

In my book (and I hope many will agree with me) the only term that describes someone who believes in Islam is a Muslim. Adjectives like modern, moderate, and open-minded just signal a lack of understanding of the religion. It is time to be proud of our Muslim identity and for a serious introspection of the maladies afflicting us: divisiveness, wanton materialism, religious expediency, and a brand of western Islam that is out of sync with the spirit of religion.

ARSALAAN AHMED SIDDIQI

VA, USA

Deforestation in Kachho

KACHHO was one of the affected areas in Sindh during the recent drought. The environmentalists say that this was caused because of excessive deforestation.

It is said that 25 per cent forestation is necessary for a sustainable environment. But Pakistan has not more than 5 per cent of the area.

For the last several years, unauthorized deforestation has been carried out by those engaged in timber business in Kachho. Every day, several truckloads of timber are being cut and taken away unauthorizedly.

Some NGOs have written to the local police about this illegal business in timber but no step has been taken by them so far.

It is imperative to stop this deforestation to prevent drought in the future and also to avoid environmental problems.

RAFIQ MANGI

Sehwan

Tax on second marriage

THE Union Council of Gharo in Thatta District, has imposed a tax of Rs 200 on a second marriage within its jurisdiction (Dec 6). The Nazim of this council is convinced that a second marriage is a luxury, whereas the first marriage is a necessity. I wonder what amount the Nazim would impose as fine on the third and fourth marriages.

The simple definition of tax is that it is applicable on an income generating activity. I wonder what income is a second marriage going to produce. It is very difficult to predict whether the intending bridegrooms-for-the-second-time would go into an appeal against this imposition of tax or would swallow it as a pleasant pain.

But the ingenuity of the Nazim is praiseworthy. Also, he is brave enough to realise the truth that second marriage is a luxury. The Union Councils of the other parts of the country should emulate the historic resolution of the Gharo Union Council.

ZAHEER AHMED BAJWA

Okara

A barbaric act

DAWN (Dec 9) carried a letter by Mr A Bandukda regarding a 12-year-old boy who lost his mental balance after being hung upside down for eight hours by a local landlord for a minor misdemeanour. The original news report also mentioned other atrocities committed on the poor child. Mr Bandukda has called upon our guardians of law and justice to take note of this matter and ensure that exemplary punishment is meted out to the landlord.

If we are to stop the violence in our society that is perpetrated by the wicked and powerful against the weak, strong action needs to be taken against such perpetrators and exemplary punishment meted out to them.

With increasing emphasis on good governance we as citizens feel like demanding of the governor and the law enforcing agencies why no action is taken in cases of social injustice. This area should be addressed by the government.

F. MOWJEE

Karachi

Poverty reduction & growth facility

THE editorial (Dec 10) on the approval by the IMF of a US$ 1.3 billion loan to Pakistan under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility merits a response.

Asserting that poverty alleviation, economic growth and financial stability are likely to be mutually exclusive goals is incorrect. They are mutually reinforcing. Many countries over the past forty years have achieved substantial progress on all three fronts. In these countries, improved governance and implementation of judicious economic policies have encouraged high-quality, export-oriented, labour-intensive private sector investment from domestic and foreign sources. This has resulted in significant gains in income growth and expansion of broad-based health and education programmes, without impairing financial stability. Pakistan too could turn the negative experience of the past decade into a virtuous spiral with progress in one area reinforcing achievements in others.

Further, the characterization of Pakistan’s economic performance under the recently completed standby-arrangement with the IMF as a failure wilfully ignores important outcomes.

The twelve-month rate of consumer price inflation has declined to a benign 3 percent. The quadrupling of Pakistan’s official reserves has strengthened confidence in the Rupee. During the last fiscal year the deficit fell sharply to 5.2 percent of GDP as CBR revenue rose by 9 percent over and above the rate of inflation. Manufacturing output expanded by more than 8 percent, offset unfortunately by a drought-related fall in agriculture. Much remains to be done, but the standby-arrangement was an encouraging start.

HENRI GHESQUIERE

IMF, Senior Resident Representative

Washington, US

Stopping entry of the Taliban

THE Taliban have surrendered all their strongholds and their supreme leader Mulla Omar has disappeared. I believe many Taliban will also disappear to seek a safe haven.

As they may try to enter Pakistan, it should be the prime duty of our security forces to bar their entry, keeping in view our own internal security situation.

The Taliban fighters have been given intensive training in the war camps. They have lost their strongholds in Afghanistan and do not have any common enemy to fight against, so they will use their weaponry against the people around them as their training and long years of fighting have rendered them unfit for anything else. They will be a big problem for this country.

ZIA AHMED

Multan

PoWs or combatants?

HOW one can say that a group of armed militants resisting their lawful capture are in fact still to be considered “prisoners of war” is simply mystifying, as is Ashfak Bokhari’s contention in his article “America’s ‘killing hour’?” (Dec 6) that the American attack on retreating Iraqi soldiers in the Gulf war contravened the laws of war.

Mr Bokhari has done us the favour of quoting the Geneva Convention section which states that “members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms ... shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith ... or any other similar criteria.”

I do believe that when the section refers to “members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms,” it does in fact mean combatants who lay down their arms and thus become PoWs. When the PoWs in Mazar-i-Sharif picked up their arms again, they returned to the status of combatants. Similarly, the retreating Iraqi soldiers were just that — retreating, as opposed to surrendering.

It is strange that the “American media’s little concern for the Taliban prisoners should be so “depressing”.

Considering that the Taliban leader had claimed earlier in the week to be gearing up for the “breaking” of America, and considering his close affiliation with a group (Al-Qaeda) that has declared war on America and carried out the attacks of Sept 11, is it any wonder that the CNN and its audience would have little sympathy for the destruction of his loyal followers?

ADAM BARKEN

Montreal, Canada

Garbage dumps

IN most localities of Karachi, one finds rubbish dumps which go on increasing in size because no proper system exists for solid waste disposal.

In view of the gravity of the situation the Sindh Ombudsman’s Secretariat organized a seminar (Oct 6) on solid waste disposal and disposal of hazardous hospital waste. Every day, in various newspapers, one comes across photographs of standing sewerage water and news about mixing of sewerage water with drinking water. The situation, unfortunately is not confined to Karachi, but seems to be prevalent in most parts of Pakistan. In the developing countries, it is stated that out of the 37 major diseases, 21 are water and sanitation related.

Those who are responsible for the current state of affairs, leading to human suffering on such a large scale, should not be allowed to go unpunished. If necessary special courts may be devised on the pattern of NAB.

S. IRTIFAQ ALI

Karachi

PCS exams every year

THE upper age limit for the CSS examination has been brought down from 30 to 28 years effective from the 2001 examination, scheduled to be held from Dec 24.

This decision of the government was a bolt from the blue for the candidates who were preparing for the examination keeping in view the previous age limit. Many intelligent and hard working candidates have thus been prevented from taking part in the said examination.

However, some of them have another alternative and might try their luck there. Three provinces, that is, Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan hold combined provincial competitive (PCS) examinations every year in which the upper age limit is 30 years.

But the candidates from Sindh have no such alternative because the PCS examination is not held here every year. I would request the concerned authorities to hold the PCS examination every year in Sindh also. This may be started from the year 2002. This would enable the CSS candidates from Sindh, like those from the other provinces, to have an alternative in cases where the age limit has been crossed.

This should not be difficult because a large number of posts of Assistant Commissioner, DSP, Section Officer, etc., are reported to be lying vacant all the time for various reasons.

I request the Governor of Sindh to look into the matter.

GHULAM ALI MIRANI

Shikarpur

CSS exams to be held in schools

I AM one of the candidates for the CSS examination, 2001, from Lahore. I have received my admit card according to which I have been allotted a seat in a school in Lahore.

The previous CSS examination was held in the Lahore Board of Education Hall which is quite suitable for the purpose.

The furniture in the schools which have now been made CSS examination centres is in very poor condition and other arrangements too are not satisfactory.

I feel that there is still time for a change over to the Lahore Board of Education Hall.

MARIA WAJID

Lahore

Police under Nazims

IN your editorial entitled “Police under Nazims” (Dec 9), there were certain mistakes. The abbreviation for the district police officer was wrongly written as DCO, instead of DPO. Similarly, the DPSC stands for the district public safety commission and not district public service commission.

MANZOOR SOLANGI

Karachi

The mistakes are regretted— Ed.D.

Khabarnama

DURING PTV Khabarnama, important personalities are shown making statements or remarks in English. If the Urdu translation of what they say is superimposed on the visual or is conveyed to the viewer in some other manner, the less educated viewers would also be able to understand what is being said.

MUHAMMAD KAMIL QURAISHI

Karachi

A recipe for disaster

IT was President Nixon who once remarked: ‘Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them back, and then you destroy yourself’.

The prevailing situation in Afghanistan and in the Middle East are not a good omen for people in the West, especially for the Americans. The notion of a perpetual war against terrorism, and not against its root cause, won’t lead the US and its allies anywhere. Rather their ever growing involvement directly in Afghanistan and indirectly in Palestine, is a sure recipe for disaster. The preamble they saw on Sep 11.

MUHAMMAD FAISAL

Sukkur

Eid but little joy for them

THOUSANDS of innocent children have been orphaned, mothers widowed, bread-earners brutally killed in collateral damage and on the pretext that POWs had revolted. Their houses have been razed to the ground and they have fled to other countries for their lives and are lodged in special camps.

Their country has been turned into rubble due to the indiscriminate American bombing. Decades are now needed to restore normalcy in their lives.

Alas! Eid which previously brought them immense joys may not bring it this year due to their sufferings. As the Taliban have now surrendered and a new political horizon is emerging, it is time that the US also stopped the bombing.

It is heartening that the interim government is giving Taliban amnesty.

If Osama bin Laden, the main suspect, gives himself up to the new government, he should be brought to justice and given a fair trial.

He should not be killed on sight, as contemplated. As for Mulla Umar, he only defended his country against a war which was imposed on Afghanistan on the pretext of Osama and his Al-Qaeda network. It would be a great mistake if they are killed to avoid a fair trial because that would give the impression that there is no real evidence against Osama.

The UNICEF, and the oil-rich Arabs should see that ‘Eid gifts’ containing tinned fruits, milk, milk-products, items of stationery and clothes reach the Afghan children and adults to assuage the pangs of losing their parents, brothers, sisters and other dear ones in the on-going war.

We, in Pakistan, are doing our utmost to help them, but still it is desirable that our philanthropists and NGOs engaged in social work, should consider sending ‘Eid gifts’ to bring a little joy in to the miserable lives of the Afghans.

Let other Muslim countries also consider celebrating their ‘Eid’ in a low-key, as this ‘Eid’ has little festivity left for our Afghan brethren.

M. SHAFIQUE AHMED

Karachi