Library law

Mrs Zubeida Mustafa in her article, "Where is the library law?" (Feb 9) has dilated on a very serious problem - the lack of a reading culture in Pakistan that has afflicted the entire fabric of our civil society today.

She has pinpointed four basic faults that have contributed to the absence of proper reading habits, as well as the currently ill-equipped and un organized system of libraries in the country. She has placed the major blame on the absence of library laws in Pakistan.

Basically, people have completely lost interest in reading and as a consequence enthusiasm for creating libraries is missing at every level of the social order. There are some other major factors which have also contributed to the community's depleting reading habits.

In the past, till the 70s, every mohalla of a big town had privately-owned small libraries and roadside bookshops. These small outlets used to offer books and magazines to the reader on daily rent at a paltry sum of one anna per book. Even though these books were mainly fiction or stories, they added a lot towards inculcating reading habits.

These small enterprises are nowhere to be seen now because lending books is no more a profitable proposition and also enjoys no official patronage or that of the local well-to-do people. The owners of these libraries were thus forced to switch over to other businesses.

As a result the only avenue left for the reader was to either purchase books, the prices of which are exorbitant and unaffordable for many, or visit libraries which are now very few and largely inaccessible to the common man.

Not long ago, almost in all towns reading rooms were maintained by local body municipalities, mostly in community halls. In these reading rooms local dailies and magazines were made available on a regular basis and they were crowded early morning and in the evening by those who could not afford to a buy newspaper.

Unfortunately, our local institutions did not believe in such benevolent educational activities and these facilities were considered unprofitable and a waste of money.

In the early 60s a very advanced concept of cultural and educational activities was started. Under the federal ministry of information, the Pakistan national centres (PNCs) were established in almost every divisional headquarters.

The PNCs not only had public libraries stocked with the latest local as well as national dailies and magazines, but also facilitated cultural and educational activities.

Under the sponsorship of these centres regular seminars, symposia, lectures and talks by eminent scholars and educationists were conducted at weekends. Where such centres could not be established, similar facilities were provided through mobile units.

In the late 90s, the PNCs were discontinued after being found 'commercially non-viable'. After more or less every avenue of reading was closed, the general public has now developed an aversion to reading and books. This can be observed from the closure of a good number of bookshops.

The younger generation has also lost interest in books. They now believe that information provided on CDs is a substitute for reading a book. In this educationally gloomy environment, establishing a few public libraries and legislating library laws will be a praiseworthy undertaking, but without re-creating the reading atmosphere that was prevalent not long ago, such measures would be meaningless.

MANZOOR H. KURESHI

Karachi

Shifting of US consulate

I am surprised to see how the media is galvanized into action when the issue at stake is the convenience of a few hundred well-to-do members of our society. I refer to the issue of the shifting of the US consulate in Karachi from its present site on Abdullah Haroon Road to a disused amenity plot next to the Grammar School in Clifton where the US government proposes to set up a purpose-built facility.

Let us examine the issue with some objectivity. First of all, we can all agree on the fact that we need the US consulate to remain functional. It may not be issuing visas or offering too many public facilities, but the mere fact that it is functioning acts as an incentive for other western diplomatic facilities to stay open in the city.

At present the consulate is located on one of the main arteries of the city as a result of which two major roads have been blocked to most traffic, including buses, taxis, motorcycles and rickshaws.

Thousands of people have been shouting themselves hoarse over this issue for over two years now. But since the well-to-do were let through, the whole affair remained a non-issue on the ground that security could not be compromised.

Many have advocated that the US consulate be shifted out of the city to maybe Phase VIII in the DHA or on the super highway. This is not possible as the consulate has to also look at the security of its staffers in terms of their getting to and from their place of work.

If the consulate is moved to the proposed Clifton site, a sort of mini-diplomatic area would emerge there, which would actually benefit the area's residents through better security arrangements, better civic facilities and higher property prices.

Now we have to see what the US consul-general has said. He has given an assurance that if the proposed facility is allowed to be built, there will be no blocking of adjoining roads since the facility itself will be made in such a manner that it would be secure, given the size of the area on which it will be built.

If the US consulate is moved, thousands of people who otherwise do not matter in the affairs of state, the common citizens, will get some relief since Abdullah Haroon and Fatima Jinnah Roads will be open to traffic.

The inconvenience suffered by a handful of those who send their children to the Grammar School pales in comparison to the relief that thousands of others would get.

The only issue in my mind is that of handing over an amenity plot to a diplomatic mission. Similar irregularities were witnessed in the handing over of a plot to the Japanese consulate by the Sindh government in 2003 where charges and levies were waived and permission given.

What I would like to ask the US consulate is what it proposes to do in terms of compensating the people of the city - maybe fund a hippodrome for us at another location or undertaking to maintain some parks in the city. The money for this can come from the sale of the present US consulate building. This can be a workable arrangement.

K. SIDDIQI

Karachi

(II)

In the wake of the June 14, 2002, bomb blasts outside the US consulate in Karachi, the Americans were reportedly considering relocating to the DHA over the next two years.

One also understands that the Japanese consulate is also contemplating relocating to a more secure place. This may have prompted the government of Pakistan for establishing a diplomatic enclave in Karachi.

I agree with your editorial (Feb 10) that the US consulate should be located at a more secure place some distance away from well-traversed routes, thus keeping public inconvenience to a minimum. Boating Basin isn't the right choice being a rough-and-tumble place.

Preferably, the most secure place for the US and a couple of other consulates is the Aga Khan Hill complex in Phase II of the Defence Officers Housing Authority.

Everything has a price - otherwise under the philosophy of "either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists", nothing is out of their reach. The next best course will be to build a diplomatic enclave on an island, created artificially amid the Arabian Sea, not far away from Clifton.

LT-COL (retd) SYED AHMED

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Balochistan issue

Balochistan has been neglected throughout under a succession of different governments. If any development has been done, it has clearly benefited the centre and the people living in other provinces. A clear-cut discrimination is seen in dealings with the largest province by all governments, be it in terms of health, education, or development.

The province has only one university, and that also doesn't have all the departments needed, one medical college lacking any facilities for post-graduate studies, one engineering university and a polytechnic college each for boys and girls.

The health sector does not present a much brighter picture: the capital of the province has only two government-run hospitals, neither having all facilities. All districts have hospitals but none can handle emergencies and they lack equipment, technicians, and medicines.

Giving jobs to a meagre few is not giving jobs to anyone. A month or so ago, unemployed engineers had gone on a hunger strike for days demanding jobs. Their numbers were in three to four digits. Why weren't they employed on the mega projects?

There is a shortage of clean water, metalled roads, health facilities, education, and the list goes on. When the government can throw in a couple of crores for publicizing its efforts in development, why doesn't it give the people their due rights and fulfil their basic needs?

There is no means of transport for many people: they use donkeys and camels, they have to daily collect firewood for cooking, infectious and water-borne diseases are rampant, mother-child care is unheard of, mortality rates are high and life expectancy low.

When the government won't give the people natural gas coming from their own province, how does one expect them to believe the government that Gwadar port, Mirani dam, Kacchi canal, exploration of natural resources in Kohlu and the building of cantonments are going to benefit them?

MEHNAZ MIR MARRI

Quetta

Cell phone use at gas stations

This refers to Mr S. Owais Ahmad's letter "Cell phone use at gas stations" (Feb 2) in which he dissented from the contents of my letter (Jan 29) on the subject. As an engineer and associated with an oil refinery, I would like to elaborate some aspects of my assertion.

All petrol pumps and CNG stations fall under the Hazardous Area Classification, Class 1, Division 1 (Occupational Safety & Health Standards for General Industry, US Department of Labour), which clearly declares such areas as "a location in which hazardous concentration of flammable gases or vapours may exist under normal operating conditions".

All such areas require electric/electronic devices to be "explosion proof" and "intrinsically safe" to avoid any spark. Please note that in America all electronic devices in gas stations are protected with explosive containment devices (intrinsically safe), while cell phones are not.

For that particular reason, cell phone companies also advice the users to keep cell phones in "off mode" during gas filling. Recently, a company named "e-com instruments" has introduced a new cellular phone with an explosion-proof designation, indicating it can be used inside hazardous areas, including gas stations.

The primary hazard at a gas station by the use of a cell phone is not because of EM waves but because of the spark which it produces if someone acknowledges an incoming call.

A leading oil company (Shell) explains its new policy in Asian countries, saying: "Although driving whilst using a cellular phone is safe, we do not allow them to be used at gas stations in case an electronic fault in the phone causes a spark".

A cell phone-based fire incident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico OCS and was detailed in National Safety Alert No. 5 (USA). A panel specialist was working on a master control panel that used supply gas for instrumentation.

He was carrying a cellular phone that was on and rang. The employee claimed that when he flipped the bottom piece of the cellular phone to answer the call, a flash fire occurred, causing second degree burns on his body.

RASHID ASHRAF

Karachi

Ejaz Naik - epitome of a civil servant

The news of Ejaz Naik's passing away was seen by me in London on the Internet, and it brought back a flood of memories. My first glimpse of Ejaz Naik was also in London at the high commission a long time ago where he was minister. He looked so aloof, so elegant and so unapproachable. He seemed to be in a different league who would have nothing to do with mundane mortals like me.

How wrong I was and how wrong so many people were about Ejaz Naik. I only realized this when in 1970 I came in close contact with him in my capacity as secretary to the government of West Pakistan in the services department. Ejaz Naik was then chief secretary-designate, NWFP, and chose me as one of the officers whom he wanted to join the newly formed provincial government.

These were the days when the East Pakistan crisis was at its height and news started floating around that the martial law government was planning to re-post all officers of West Pakistani origin who had served in East Pakistan to the eastern wing.

In their superior wisdom they believed that what martial law had been unable to accomplish, the civil servants of the Bengal cadre would achieve in a situation which seemed beyond redemption. I wondered with what face I would go to a province of which I had some of the most nostalgic memories.

The only option left to me was to submit my resignation from the CSP before my posting orders were issued. I went to the chief secretary and submitted my written resignation.

I explained to him that I would become part of an immoral administration and if I did not resign now, I would be forced to if my transfer orders were issued and my resignation would not be entertained at that stage.

Ejaz Naik reluctantly took my resignation, promising that if orders of my transfer were issued, he would notify the federal government that I had resigned before the orders.

He kept my resignation in his briefcase and persuaded the governor, General Azhar, to convince General Pirzada not to send me to East Pakistan. My transfer orders never came. What happened to my unfortunate service colleagues who went to East Pakistan is history.

Ejaz Naik was chief secretary with Maulana Mufti Mahmood as chief minister. There could not have been two more divergent personalities, but the two struck up a most amiable understanding.

Mufti Mahmood respected Ejaz Naik's integrity, honesty and transparency and Ejaz Naik had great regard for Mufti Sahib's principles. Ejaz Naik used to narrate with great glee how when prohibition was being introduced in the NWFP, he suggested to Mufti Mahmood to provide for exceptions on medical grounds, saying otherwise such persons would die. The CM, according to Ejaz Naik, retorted that it was better that such people should die.

In 1971, after a visit to Kabul, my host in Afghanistan, Karam Elahi of the foreign service, gave me Subramanyam's article in which in a most frightening way the author had made out a case for "an opportunity of a century" for India to dismember Pakistan.

On return to Peshawar, I gave the article to Ejaz Naik. He read it and his comment stunned me. He said may be this was the only way democracy could come to Pakistan. How prophetic his words proved.

The late Gen Ziaul Haq had no idea that this frail and delicate person had the strength of steel and when in cabinet meetings Ejaz Naik opposed tooth and nail the large-scale induction of serving and retired army personnel in civilian services and posts, I knew the president was not amused.

Soon after I went abroad on a seminar. On return, I found Ejaz Naik at the ministry of states and frontier regions, reading the Economist. He was most contented. He seemed as happy at the ministry as he was as cabinet secretary.

Ejaz Naik belonged to a generation of civil servants who were truly impartial, dedicated to their work, men of unquestionable integrity who would never succumb to pressures or compromise their principles.

SHOAIB SULTAN KHAN

Islamabad

Evaluating cricket performance

I was shocked to read that an inquiry is being conducted against Bob Woolmer for his comments about umpiring in recent Australian cricket matches. Those comments were quite benign.

Woolmer did not regard the Australian umpires' decisions as deliberate wrongdoing. He was simply pointing out the natural pressure of a home crowd on local umpires which can affect borderline decisions.

As a matter of fact, the International Cricket Board should carry out a neutral and scientific probe into the standards of Australian umpires. Wrong decisions affect the guest teams' morale. Why to watch a game when it is "fixed"?

The board should also introduce more objective means of evaluation. For example, if computer and video analysis prove that an umpire's decision was wrong, then the decision should be reversed and the player should be allowed to play.

Shahid Afridi was seen by millions as touching the crease before the ball hit the wickets. He should have been allowed to play. The decision should not have been in the hands of only the third umpire.

I would also suggest that due to bad umpiring, the results of the one day matches in the recent Australian games should be deleted from the records and the Australian win should be declared null and void.

DR ANWAR UL HAQUE

Islamabad

17 years in jail for no crime

A young man was released from Karachi jail where he had passed 17 years. He was acquitted by a court as no charge could be proved against him. Probably an investigation has been ordered in the matter, but that is about all.

No protest or any demand for compensation for the victim or punishment to the agencies responsible has been made from any quarters. In the first place the person himself should have pressed for action against the Sindh home department, from whom he should have demanded financial compensation by filing a suit.

Obviously, he was not in a position to do so, else he would earlier have got himself acquitted by engaging a competent lawyer. Then, Sindh legislators ought to have taken up this matter. Human rights people should have become a party but none came forward.

It is now the duty of the Karachi Bar Association to file a case against the provincial home department both for negligence and for compensation to the victim.

MOHAMMAD RAFI

Karachi

Dam disaster

The Shadi Kaur Dam disaster in Balochistan is a man-made crisis and needs a thorough probe. This dam was built just two years back. It was supposed to withstand pressure of water since that is the primary purpose of building such a reservoir.

The government department responsible for appointing the contractor, supervising the work done and its final approval should be held accountable. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to club this tragic accident with the avalanches and flood caused by heavy rains and snow in northern areas.

All people share the concern of their Baloch brothers. The citizens of this country are angered by the delay of justice in the shameful Sui rape case. It is a blot on the name of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Our national pride, our dignity and our honour are at stake. We need to show our solidarity with our Baloch brethren.

The thousands of people affected by this engineering mistake at Shadi Kaur demand justice from the government of Pakistan. An independent technical investigation of this dam needs to be carried out.

NAZEER ABRO

Hyderabad

Next US target

The Big Brother has now turned to Iran. What is the Muslim Ummah doing? Waiting for its turn?

FILZA G. SIDIQI

Wexford, Ireland