Cricket: time to take action

THE World Cup is on the cards. An encounter with India cannot be ruled out. The recent One Day internationals against Australia are also fresh in our minds. Thus a serious evaluation of our players’ performance based on merit and their continuous improvement should be undertaken by the PCB.

For how long shall we live in our glorious past and extol our celebrities such as Inzamamul Haque and Saeed Anwar, to name a couple. Inzamam takes a good 8 to 10 overs to steam-up to his standard performance provided he is allowed to remain on the crease facing onslaughts from the bowlers. His total of 33+24+13 runs in the three matches can hardly justify his inclusion in the World Cup team. He could be a different bat in test series.

Similarly, a run out for duck and a meagre 26 runs by Saeed Anwar is unforgivable considering his batting profile despite his loud claims on fitness and form. Saqlain Mushtaq’s bowling, of late, has been depressive. Are we prepared to take risks in the World Cup with such unpredictable results? Azhar Mehmood’s 11 runs only in three matches with one run out is despicable and so was Shahid Afridi’s 18 runs and a run out, Shahid should tame himself with the ball. Not all deliveries are for boundaries. Yet he is good at fielding and at times with the ball.

Seeing Waseem Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar Younis in action, one is reminded of a starved lion bouncing and grabbing on its prey. Their patriotism and national pride are in full beam on their faces. Besides, Waseem would prefer to hang up his boots after achieving laurels in the World Cup rather than retire from Cricket ‘unsung and unwept’ by his fans. Thus, a blending of youth and experience should be the basis of selection.

A reference to family outings is essential. Players on call on national duty should avoid taking their wives and children with them as if they were on fun-fare visits. They are expected to focus on their performance; evaluate the strategy of their opponents through group discussions and video films. Presence of family can detract players from the kind of attention and seriousness that international matches demand of them. Surely, family care and love can wait for a couple of weeks in the national interest.

Lastly, ODIs between top teams are usually won on small margin of runs, players’ capacity/ practice to hold on to catches and accuracy in direct hits on the stumps. If our bowlers could reduce the ‘incentive of extras’ to their opponents, drastically improve on holding catches and direct hits on the stumps, our chances of winning will brighten up.

Will the PCB chairman care to consider the above?

UMER HAIDER

Karachi

Constitutional package

THE government has made public the constitutional package. Though the Supreme Court has allowed the Musharraf government to bring in constitutional changes, political parties have more or less opposed any change in the constitution, saying only the parliament has the right for constitutional alteration.

The proposed package bars feudals and traditional politicians who have been involved in corruption from contesting the polls. Although the religious parties are criticizing the government for the proposed package, in 1985 an elected parliament had approved the 8th amendment.

No doubt, the president will have a five-year tenure while the parliament will be elected for four years once the amendments are incorporated in the constitution, but one cannot deny that the amendments are aimed at providing political and economic stability, and strengthening the democratic institutions.

The political parties are ignoring the fact that adoption of the package by an executive order of the president is inevitable as there is no way for the restoration of the 1973 Constitution and the parliament.

The increase in the Senate seats is beneficial for politicians. Greater but equal representation in the Senate will give a sense of security to the smaller federating units.

In the past, some politicians got NA and Senate seats on the strength of their wealth without specific educational qualification. This time not only graduation condition has been fixed for the candidates, but a mechanism has been evolved to discourage horse-trading. The revival of 58(2)b, empowering the president to dismiss the National Assembly, will prevent the army from interfering in civil matters and taking over control in a crisis.

Politicians have demanded four-year term for the parliament in the past, but now, for no reason they are opposing it.

In Pakistan, women are more than 52 per cent of the total population, but it is for the first time that 33 per cent seats have been reserved for them.

Last but not the least, politicians should not forget that the prime minister would remain the chief executive of the country, which is the essence of the parliamentary form of government.

SARWAR HAIDERI

Karachi

Immunity from prosecution

THE United States of America has presented a proposal that dropped like a bombshell in the United Nations Security Council: either the USA be granted immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide committed by US civilian or military personnel while on peace-keeping missions, or it will not take part in any more peace missions.

This extra-ordinary request follows one last month in which the US administration tried to force an agreement by which the US personnel in East Timor would not be prosecuted in future by the ICC.

This is all the more curious because there is no knowledge of any atrocities committed by US personnel, unless some effort is being made to hide the evidence arising from covert operations.

John Negroponte, the US ambassador to the United Nations, has presented the latest request for immunity, which has had a dramatic effect: the United Kingdom and France have stated that they will veto the measure because it goes against the grain of norms of international justice. Making it clear that US participation in future peace missions is dependent upon immunity from prosecution for eventual war crimes, the US administration has given a clear indication that everything is not as it should be.

Evidently, after the wanton and gratuitous acts of destruction in the Balkans and now in Afghanistan, where Pravda.Ru registered and printed evidence about 16 separate acts of ‘collateral damage’ in which hundreds of innocent civilians were massacred, the State Department can see that sooner or later, a case is going to be brought.

The attitude of the USA in this case is all the more surprising because this is the country, which until now has expounded the notion that freedom, democracy and human rights are at the top of its agenda.

Claiming immunity from prosecution for war crimes goes against the precept that the notion of justice is universal and not negotiable. If war crimes are committed, then those who perpetrate them should face the consequences of their actions.

That the USA should present this proposal is yet again proof of the skullduggery and treacherous stealth and hypocrisy, which permeates this country’s foreign policy.

TIMOTHY BANCROFT-HINCHEY

Pravda.Ru

Combating extremism

THE attacks by the Al Qaeda and other religious extremists that resulted in the murder of Pakistan army soldiers in the tribal areas and of innocent Pakistani and foreign civilians in Karachi and Islamabad run counter to Islamic teachings.

If Pakistan as a country is to survive and prosper, then it has no choice but to crush these elements, whose sole aim is to use Pakistan for their own selfish ends in the name of Islam and seize power. Totalitarianism is their goal and not true Islam.

A word about our tribal areas. The sooner we extend the writ of state and rule of law over there, the better it would be for the security and development of our country.

DR K.T. KAMAL

Houston, USA

Doha Bank: clarification

THIS is with reference to a news item (June 26) by your correspondent which referred to my interview with him in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

I wish to clarify that the comments attributed to me in the said news item and its title were misleading and do not give the true picture of our strategy with respect to our Pakistan operations. The banking sector in Pakistan is undergoing reforms and a series of restructuring is taking place in the sector.

Accordingly, we are trying to reposition our presence in Pakistan and are at present deliberating on the options available to us. I may mention that currently Doha Bank has no intention to quit altogether from Pakistan and we will maintain our interest in the country. We will continue to facilitate the trade business between the two countries besides serving a large Pakistani community in the State of Qatar.

SALAH M. JAIDAH

General Manager,

Doha Bank

PTCL procedures

PTCL is spending millions of rupees on advertisements showing that it has simplified its procedures and has reduced the rates on most of the facilities.

Misled by one such advertisement, I applied for change of name on my telephone 663-8058 in January this year. After meeting all the requirements, I had to run from pillar to post, floor to floor, acting as an ‘orderly’ to receive and dispatch letters from one department of PTCL to another.

The final clearance certificate from the account’s officer was finally delivered to the billing department on Feb 20 and since then I am waiting to see my name on the bill. The high-ups are always in a meeting and are never available on phone.

May God give PTCL some wisdom to actually simplify their procedures and save us from the ignonimity of unnecessary botheration.

SOHAIL MATIN

Karachi

Crowning N-technologist

MR Abdul Kalam, father of India’s missile technology, has been nominated as the next president of the country though he is without any experience of politics. None of the other six declared nuclear countries has ever elevated any of their nuclear scientists to such high office.

In fact, some like Robert Opphenhimer, maker of the American atomic bombs dropped on Japan, died in oblivion. The nomination of a Muslim political nonentity as president by anti-Muslim BJP government dominated by Hindu extremists like L.K. Advani and his ilk, gives rise to some questions.

The BJP government’s anti-Muslim stance is no secret. Its forces stand poised at our borders. Tens of thousands of Muslims have been killed by India’s armed forces in occupied Kashmir. Two thousand Muslims lost their lives recently in Gujarat in a mass massacre pre-planned and abetted by the BJP state government.

The installation of a Muslim as the Indian president at this juncture is an attempt to deflect focus from these atrocities.

Japan is the only country ever to suffer nuclear devastation. One wonders how the next Japanese ambassador would feel while presenting his credentials and shaking hands with Indian president Kalam.

India may try to sweeten this trick by arranging a state visit to Japan by president Kalam on August 6 and 9 when the Japanese would be remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

B.A. MALIK

Lahore

Higher sense of scholarship

I AGREE with Mr Anwar Abbas (‘Of Education’, June 16) that our educational institutions, including universities, have failed to cultivate in the students a respect for truth in their quest for knowledge, a higher sense of scholarship, a love for cultural values and a desire to realize them.

I feel sorry for my country’s youth. They need a leadership which can rightly utilize their potential.

They are very talented and prove their capabilities whenever they find a chance either in their homeland or in international competitions.

I firmly believe that the prosperity of a nation depends on industrialization and research. I propose a few suggestions:

* As education is a continuous process, schools, colleges and universities should be equally responsible not only for educating the youth but also for developing their personality.

* College teaching should be confined to the premises of the college to eradicate the coaching centre culture from the country.

* Allocation of budget for the universities should be adequate.

* All academic decisions and policies pertaining to institutes and universities should be made democratic. And the relevant authorities should be accountable. Authorities having centralized power act as academic inquisitor. This is the main reason for the collapse of the education system.

* Scholars should be encouraged.

Teaching is a sacred profession, which should be adopted only by those who are committed to the cause and who consider themselves accountable to Allah and to the nation.

PROF DR NUSRAT JAMIL

Karachi

The history of Kashmir

SOMETIMES it so happens that the people who write or speak on Kashmir don’t know the geographical details or history of the Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom from Dogra rule which began in 1924 and is continuing todate.

The Kashmiris were the only people among the 582 Indian princely states who had launched their freedom struggle much before the partition of the subcontinent. I request all the mediamen (both electronic and print) and those who write and speak on Kashmir to study the geography of Kashmir and the history of the Kashmiris’ struggle for freedom.

In this connection, the book Azadi — Kashmir Freedom Struggle 1924-1998 will be of great assistance. It briefly gives the chronology of significant events of this struggle from 1924 to 1998. It has no emotive or partisan overtones and is based on solid documented historical information.

KHWAJA MUHAMMAD BASHIR BUTT

Bahawalnagar

Pakistan’s middle class

LAST year, exemption to income from interest in National Savings Schemes made after July 1 was eliminated, and Withholding Tax on amount exceeding Rs300,000 was maintained at 10 per cent of the yield.

Not satisfied by this the government has further reduced the limit of Rs300,000 to Rs150,000. There is a systematic conspiracy to destroy the middle class of Pakistan at the cost of enriching the banks, which are being privatized in a great hurry.

President Musharraf should give a thought to his government’s financial policies. He must think of the plight of the pensioners, widows, and the down-trodden who live hand-to-mouth on their meagre savings mostly from the National Savings Schemes.

The prices of daily necessities are going up while the investment returns of the middle class are going down.

How many more suicides would it take for the government to change its thoughtless policy.

There is no parliament so the budget will be inflicted on the people of Pakistan on gun point.

The silent majority will remain silent, there will be no opposition and the budget proposals will be passed.

The greatest regret is that not a single political leader has raised this concern to protect the middle class. They should remember that in October they would have to come to this same middle class for votes.

A. REHMAN

Hyderabad

Correction

IN my column ‘Benign neglect’ printed on June 30, it was erroneously stated that the bomb blast outside the US Consulate General took place on May 8, whereas the date should have read June 14. The error is regretted.

ARDESHIR COWASJEE

Karachi

What went wrong with Omar Asghar

FROM his obituary Omar Asghar Khan seemed to have done all right in life and did not appear suicidal. Even if he was, he would have probably done it in an uncomplicated manner.

His suicide note seems to have been telegraphed in a hurry and the police officials have shown an extraordinary zeal and efficiency in declaring his death as self-afflicted and the handwritten note as his own. Was the autopsy really conducted at home?

HUSAIN

Lahore

FORMER federal minister Omar Asghar Khan died in mysterious circumstances as his body was found hanging from the ceiling fan at the residence of his brother-in-law in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi. The police claimed that Omar Asghar had committed suicide.

The deceased left behind a note for his family, which read as: “All my dear ones, I could not take it any more, please excuse me. I am doing this on my own and no one else is to blame.”

Omar Asghar was a man of international repute. He had held several responsible positions including the position of a federal minister. He was a man with a vision and patient. He was soft spoken and apparently he never had any financial problems, which normally becomes a cause for a person to commit suicide.

He had served the country as federal minister for manpower, labour and overseas Pakistanis. It is unbelievable that Omar Asghar being a person of high calibre, will act so cowardly, when he had faced lot of challenges bravely during his life time.

The question arises as to what went wrong with Omar Asghar Khan that compelled him to commit suicide? Such an action is taken only in extreme circumstances.

Only a thorough investigation might reveal the truth of his mysterious death.

SYED A. MATEEN

Karachi

news of the death of Omar Asghar Khan was shocking. Known as a progressive and forward-looking activist, the sad demise of Omar is a big loss for Pakistan too. He was a high-statured politician who symbolized the rare qualities of integrity and freedom of expression.

In our present lot of politicians, his name was certainly among the ones standing on the top. It is in this context that Pakistan has lost an able and educated person in Omar Asghar Khan.

We, the people of Pakistan, expect that the government would leave no stone unturned to investigate the case and bring the truth to the knowledge of the public.

AMANAT ALI CHAUDHRY

Okara