'Enlightened moderation'

This refers to the article "Enlightened moderation" (June 2) by General Pervez Musharraf. He obviously has a keen sense of the problems facing the Muslim world and his effort to highlight one possible solution to these is very commendable. We are offered a glimpse into his ideas which may perhaps some day propel him towards recognition as a world statesman.

However noble his intentions may be, some of his assertions remain questionable. Surely, moderation is the need of the Muslim world, and no educated and intelligent Muslim will contradict this. But the term 'moderation' is very relative.

Who is to define what a moderate Muslim should be like? Surely, many would say that hijackers who fly planes into buildings full of innocent men, women and teenagers are extremists and thus wrong. Many would call a Sunni killing a Shia (or a Shia killing a Sunni) praying in a mosque an extremist.

But would it be right to call a Palestinian suicide bomber an extremist - one whose mother or sister or child is killed by an Israeli bullet or a missile or crushed under the roof of a house demolished by an Israeli bulldozer? Or would it be right to counsel one humiliated and sexually assaulted at Abu Ghraib to avoid revenge? It would be unrealistic to preach to these victims the virtues of 'enlightened moderation' until the West fulfils its responsibilities of providing justice.

The second 'prong' of western nations providing justice must precede the first. It must be remembered that it was the West that was looked up to by the Muslim world and whose ideals of democracy, freedom and cultural diversity were respected in the Muslim world in the earlier and middle part of the last century.

It is the West that through its actions has lost this one-sided goodwill. The onus is thus on them to regain it. In the meantime, if a confrontation is thrust on the Muslims because of their identity, they must resist it for the sake of their dignity.

To address the root cause of the dilemmas of the Muslim world, one must also expand on the role of unelected and dictatorial regimes in promoting anger among Muslim youth. Logic has it that in a true democracy the population can vent its anger through the vote.

In the Muslim world, where dictatorships or pseudo-democracies abound, this phenomenon does not exist. If a population is angered by its government, it is in turn suppressed further. This suppressed anger thus erupts through other channels.

General Musharraf and other progressive leaders must realize that ironically they may be part of the solution to the dilemmas of the Muslim world in more integral ways than they have realized.

DR MUBASHIR KHAN

Indianapolis, IN., USA

Social customs and the law

My article and letter appear to have sparked off a lively debate on the issue of social customs and the law. The latest critiques of my views come in the form of letters from Mr Mubashar Khan from Indianapolis and Mr Raza Haque from Jackson, Michigan, (April 30).

I am not belittling the importance of laws. I just feel that laws alone cannot deliver the desired outcome. Education and enlightenment are necessary to fine tune the social psyche to complement these laws.

In fact, I feel that Mr Mubashar Khan is belittling the importance of social and tribal customs. As a student of jurisprudence and history of legal systems I learnt that a system of positive law is born from these norms and customs.

Once a system of positive law emerges, it evolves and develops at a far more rapid rate than social customs and indeed overtakes them. But this stage of overtaking is a very delicate one and a great deal of tact and finesse must be used rather than imposing modern legal systems at gunpoint.

That, simply, is my contention - that laws must go hand in hand with enlightenment to encourage an acceptance of laws. In Pakistan we are going through this delicate phase now.

The system of positive, or modern, laws must not be allowed to bulldoze ancient social norms. It must win precedence over old beliefs by being accepted by resort to common sense and reason.

It is a fallacy to think that passing new laws is the solution to everything. Laws already exist against murder, theft, rape, kidnapping, etc. Have these crimes vanished from society just because there are laws against them? Two things are imperative for the success of any legal system: first, the acceptance of laws by society and, secondly, an environment conducive to the success of these laws. In Pakistan we have made no visible effort in either direction.

Believing that tribal leaders wish to preserve the status quo to maintain their own position of power or that they encourage rape and murder in jirgas to preserve tribal honour are things I would expect only from those who have absolutely no knowledge of the tribal way of life, customs and beliefs.

This is the kind of tripe the highly biased media and press feed the urbanites, who swallow it whole without questioning its absurdity. I can only reiterate that if anyone is so concerned about all this, then they should make an effort to gain proper first-hand knowledge of what they are talking about rather than passing verdicts based on propaganda.

AMEER BHUTTO

Larkana

Terrorism in Karachi

Once again, the soil of Karachi is soaked with the blood of innocent people. The heightened frequency of these acts of terror is frightening in its ramifications and casts a dark shadow on the future of Pakistan itself.

The hapless citizens of Karachi in particular are the victims of the country's policy of obsession with Kashmir which successive governments, including the present one, have pursued. This led these governments to treat religious extremists in Pakistan with kid gloves for fear of losing their support for the 'jihad' in Kashmir.

When Maulana Azhar Masood returned to Pakistan, he was allowed to roam around freely instead of being put in jail. The 1,000-plus militants who were arrested after 9/11 were quickly released.

The statements of the MMA leadership during the American attack on Afghanistan were far more serious than the crime for which Javaid Hashmi has been sentenced to 23 years imprisonment, but they barely elicited a slap on the wrist.

Lt-General Javaid Qazi, the former ISI director, appearing in a private TV channel's programme on June 2, had some sensible advice to offer which the government ought to listen to.

First, stop blaming every act of terrorism on a conspiracy and face the bitter truth that it is our own people who are committing these crimes. Second, the time of tough talk is long gone.

It is imperative to act with true resolve. Thousands of madressahs in Karachi promote hatred and extremism and make people intolerant of people who belong to other faith systems. The frightening practice of suicide bombings has done the greatest harm to the image of Islam and is the direct result of brainwashing in madressahs.

Third, Pakistan is not fighting America's war; it is fighting for its own survival and no amount of hatred for America should obscure this fact. President Musharraf puts his life on the line every day when he navigates the minefield of terrorism in Pakistan.

He would not be in any greater danger than he is already in if he takes off his gloves and firmly cracks down on indigenous terrorists and their illegal foreign-settler accomplices throughout the country.

M.HAIDER

New Jersey, USA

Change in Sindh government

It has only been about a year and a half that elections were held and a little less than that when a new provincial government was cobbled together in Sindh.

Most people would still remember how constituencies were redrawn to favour some individuals and groups, how candidates were 'cleared' and selected, how some candidates were kept at bay, how local alliances were forged, how the elections were conducted, how the results were delayed, manoeuvred and manufactured and later how the elected members were coerced into a coalition to impose an unrepresentative government in the province.

The drab and dismal performance of the Ibad-Mahar government has disappointed even its mentors. However, the decision-makers should understand that most of the troubles are the direct result of the agencies' unwanted interference in politics and the civil administration.

The situation can only be saved with the reversal this a policy. They should also understand that it is not just the failure of the Ibad-Mahar government; it is the failure of the whole system put in place by the central government.

Governor's rule will further disenfranchise the people and a mere change of chief minister will be seen as a window dressing that will not mean or achieve anything.

To make a serious effort at establishing peace in Sindh and solving the issues facing the people, a representative government will have to be brought in. As a first step, the MPAs that have been forced to change their loyalties should be 'freed'.

Then the largest single party in the provincial assembly should be asked to form the government. If that seems impossible, fresh elections should be held in the province to elect true representatives of the people.

There is an urgent need to allow the people of the province to choose their government of their free will. Only such a government can take the province out of the present morass.

AZIZ NAREJO

Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

Talks on Kashmir

This is with reference to Professor M. Ikramul Haq's letter published in your esteemed daily on June 3. The learned professor seems pessimistic and is dismayed by the rhetoric of Mr Natwar and Shivraj Patel.

He has ignored the warm sentiments expressed by Ms Sonia Gandhi, perhaps on the premise that after renunciation of the post of prime minister she is no longer relevant. That is not quite true. Also, Dr Manmohan Singh's assurances that the peace dialogue will continue unhindered have also not impressed the worthy professor.

The statements by the Indian foreign and interior ministers were made at a time of political transition in India and should, therefore, be viewed accordingly. People on both sides of the divide owe it to their countries to promote better understanding and adopt a forward-looking approach to make the peace process a success.

It is important to note that the partnership that will emerge out of the collective leadership of the United Progressive Alliance will be far more enduring than one hovering around an individual.

That must be allowed to happen. Talks have been scheduled for June 19-20 and 27-28 and are fast approaching. Fresh assurances have been received from India since the initial rhetoric and it is only proper that we wait for the outcome of the forthcoming talks. In the meantime, we should avoid making statements that in any way may vitiate the atmosphere.

S.M.H.BOKHARI

Rawalpindi

Sale of PIA shares

The government is disinvesting part of its holding in PIA as a policy for "passing the benefit of privatization to the general public." Let us examine this policy:

The dividend policy as declared is: "The disinvested shares of the Corporation shall rank pari passu with the existing (undivested) shares in all matters including the right to such bonus or right issue and dividend as may be declared by the corporation subsequent to the date of this offer for sale."

The corporation has declared/approved the payment of interim cash dividend at five per cent (prior to the date of this offer for sale) and the book closure date is from June 18 June to July 2.

As such the shares under offer for sale are cum-dividend and the subscribers to this offer shall be entitled for the five per cent (i) dividend in accordance with the declared dividend policy and the time-honoured practice in vogue.

Yet it has been announced that "the general public is informed that the subscribers to this offer shall not be eligible to receive the said (five per cent interim) dividend." The attention of the KSE and SECP is invited to this contradiction in equity.

The share has been offered at Rs20 including premium of Rs10 per share. It is stated that the Cabinet Committee on Privatization has decided that the shares "being offered to the general public, on a best effort basis, under this offer for sale be fixed at a 15 per cent discount to the 15 trading-days average market price of the share (between May 3-21, 2004) at the KSE."

This formula would appear funny to financial analysts particularly with reference to the trading at KSE which is so volatile and manipulative that very often trade-locks have to be applied by the KSE in many shares to avoid a crash in a single trading day.

In fixing a reasonable premium, financial analysts will apply the recognized methods of break-up value, EPS, P/E Ratio, dividend yield, etc. Which have probably been avoided for some reasons.

It is obvious that the five per cent (i) dividend has been declared only under compulsion (not on merit) to avoid legal complications, and there will be no possibility of any further dividend this year. The share price is sure to go down below the offered price in such circumstances.

It may be mentioned that the offer for sale by the GoP is out of the shares allotted to it on December 29, 2003, at a par value of Rs10 per share (in consideration of GoP's financial assistance to the Corporation). In five months time, the GoP will earn a profit of Rs10 plus five per cent (i) dividend per share, which together, on an annualized basis, will be more than 200 per cent.

As against this the hapless investors in National Saving Scheme will be paid a return of less than seven per cent p.a. which will be even less than the prevailing inflation rate. The authorities should consider the above-mentioned issues "for the benefit of the general public."

ZAINAB SAYEED NOMAN

Karachi

Dealing with medical emergencies

Karachi's population is about 14 million but it cannot deal with medical emergencies of even 100 persons caused by terrorists or any other calamity. This situation has hardly improved since the hijacking attempt of the Pan Am jumbo at Karachi airport over 25 years ago.

The Sindh governor, the chief minister, the health minister, the police chiefs and the Edhi organization must put their heads together, with major public and private hospitals, to devise a medical emergency- handling plan for at least 5,000 citizens.

Trauma centres, along with suitably trained doctors and paramedics together with necessary equipment, are the need of the day. If suitable, presentable plans are professionally drawn up and businessmen, industrialists and philanthropists approached, money will definitely be forthcoming and citizens can not only breathe a sigh of relief, but also feel proud of their city.

Persons/organizations donating towards such trauma centres can be honoured by special mention on the buildings of the trauma centres.

DAUD ANSARI

Karachi

Kofi Annan's concern

This refers to a report in your paper of June 2, in which Mr Kofi Annan has said he is "very disturbed by the violence in Pakistan, including the bombing of a Karachi mosque that left 20 people dead".

His spokesman further says: "The secretary-general condemns in the strongest terms terrorist acts that target innocent civilians." I am delighted that finally the UN secretary-general has noticed the killing of innocent civilians.

The question arises: where was he when innocent civilians were being massacred in Afghanistan? How come I have not seen any statement condemning the killing of innocent men, women and children in Iraq? And what about the state terrorists killing innocent men, women and children in Palestine? Maybe he would now like to issue a statement on these killings and condemn those responsible.

We condemn violence and would be delighted if he could do something about it.

MIAN SHAUKAT HUSSAIN

Karachi

Early summer vacations

The unprecedented rise in the mercury in May made life quite uncomfortable in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Nowadays the average temperature is more than it was last year in the twin cities. Schoolchildren suffered most from the heat.

It is necessary that all schools should be closed for summer from an earlier date from next year.

RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI

Islamabad

Plight of senior widows

I keep reading in these columns about the difficulties faced by senior citizens at the national savings centres. First, I do not understand why when Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz gives such a rosy picture of our economy, senior citizens are made to suffer, specially those like myself who have to survive on interest alone.

Inflation is going up, medicines on which most senior citizens live these days are getting very expensive and transport fares, etc., are becoming unaffordable.

How does our government expect senior citizens, who have no other income but interest on their savings certificates to live upon, to survive on almost half the income, i.e., the interest rate falling from 16 per cent to almost eight per cent? Is the government trying to alleviate poverty or increase it?

Also, the national savings centres are small and so crowded that women like myself who are widows aged 75 and more cannot go alone to the centre, stand in long queues and then bring cash all by themselves. What if somebody follows someone and robs? It is so risky.

I would request the finance minister to look into the matter and let at least all senior citizens invest their SSCs in their respective banks, where interest can go straight into their accounts and there is no hassle or risk of withdrawing the whole amount and putting it in a bank every six months.

SENIOR WIDOW

Karachi

Unlit bridge

This is to draw the attention of the Karachi city district government to the pathetic condition of Jam Sadiq Pul that connects the Korangi Industrial Area with Defence and other parts of the city.

The bridge has become dangerous for motorists and commuters, with a very uneven surface. Besides, it remains unlit all the time, causing problems for drivers. Will the authorities have the joints repaired and the bridge lit?

NAZIMUDDIN

Karachi