A year of continuing security concerns
Terrorist attacks and threats, coupled with lingering protests on the streets of the federal capital by the lawyer community and civil society, overshadowed the political hallmark of 2008 – the full return to democracy complete with a civilian president at the helm of political affairs in Islamabad, as military leader Gen (retired) Musharraf bowed out in August after nine years in power.
The year began in darkness as mourning continued for Benazir Bhutto -- assassinated in a bomb-gun attack outside Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi five days before 2008 -- and as the worst ever loadshedding exercise the twin cities had ever experienced started.The year ended too in darkness with the marking of the first death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, the zooming of fighter jets across the skies of the twin cities in readiness for a potential Indo-Pakistan war outbreak, and the razing to the ground by fire of Rawalpindi’s most popular shopping complex, Gakhar Plaza.
Three targets of terrorist attacks during 2008 were places where foreigners were likely to be present – the Luna Caprese restaurant, the Danish embassy and the Marriott hotel, with the new Czech ambassador being the most prominent among the foreigners who were killed.
Other terrorist attacks, which jolted the twin cities in 2008, were the bomb blasts near Aabpara police station and on the Anti-Terrorism Squad is building in Police Lines, the assassination of the former head of the elite commando force Maj-Gen (retired) Faisal Alvi and the twin bomb attacks outside the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in nearby Wah Cantonment.
In addition to being harassed by a number of hoax bomb threats, the twin cities were also often under high alert during the year due to intelligence information about the entry of would-be suicide bombers in explosives-laden vehicles.
Security reviews in Islamabad during the year led to more barricades and barbed wires, with the conversion of all foreign missions in residential areas outside the Diplomatic Enclave into Enclosed Restricted Areas. It was also decided to establish a second Diplomatic Enclave.
However, a controversial proposed security plan – building of a three-foot high 15-km long wall cordoning off major federal government offices and the Diplomatic Enclave – was apparently rejected in favour of a security system comprising CCTV cameras and improved explosive-detection devices and vehicle screening.
The management of Islamabad changed hands in January 2008 as the reins of the Capital Development Authority, which for decades was held by the interior ministry, was taken over by the Cabinet Division.
In October, the CDA chairman who had initiated mega road and recreational developments in the federal capital in the past five years was replaced and made the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad.
Major road development projects completed in 2008 include 9th Avenue and Islamabad Expressway, while the renovated Saidpur Village and Rawal Lakeside View were two major new recreational spots opened to the public.
Major projects that were suspended during the year include the GHQ and Parade Ground. Meanwhile, construction of the Faisal Avenue Interchange dragged on, missing one completion deadline after the other. Construction work of the Zero Point Interchange finally began in September, although it was soon marred by controversy over non-completion of Environmental Impact Assessment report of the project.
Environmental concerns also prompted the order to shift the polluting factories in I-9 and I-10 sectors to a new industrial site. Troubles also surrounded the country’s first landfill project on Kuri Road in Islamabad because of environmental concerns, although the environmental authorities had already given the NOC for the project.
2008 was a troubled year for vehicle owners, both CNG and petrol users: the former because of supply problems which saw the closure of nearly a third of CNG stations in the twin cities in January/February, and the latter because of unprecedented price hikes during the year.Seat belts were made mandatory and mobile phone use during driving was prohibited, but the promised new public transport system remained elusive. Although 2008 saw the return of the Varan bus service on the roads of the twin cities, several attempts to start a new CNG bus service within Islamabad failed to take off. The move to establish a train-based mass transit service made some headway though when a European company in collaboration with a local company won the contract to conduct the feasibility study and prepare the design.
Early 2008 also saw the return to Pakistan of Ramzan Khokhar to face charges together with three others in connection with the case of the Margalla Towers, which collapsed in the October 2005 earthquake killing over 70 people. By the end of the year, however, the four were quietly acquitted, ironically on the day of the Gakhar Plaza fire and collapse, thus closing the chapter on the 1,600-page official report prepared on the Margalla Towers collapse but never made public.
2008 also saw the federal capital getting its very own Islamabad High Court. The IHC, the establishment of which was provided for by a presidential ordinance at the end of 2007, was inaugurated in February. The way was also paved for the establishment of a central jail for Islamabad with the selection of a site for this in H-13 sector.
Despite a directive by the Supreme Court in November ordering the federal interior and local government ministries to come up with legislation within 15 days for the introduction of local government system in Islamabad, it was still unclear by the end of the year whether the federal capital will be included in nationwide local government elections scheduled in 2009.
Gharibabad Interchange
Sir,
To add to the miseries of the people a rough speed-breaker has been constructed for the traffic coming from Civic Centre side. This breaker is so ugly that one has to completely stop the vehicle and then roll over it. During peak hours in the evening this creates traffic jams at times up to Hasan Square flyover.
I wonder why we are so unconcerned about these matters. Simply constructing this speed-breaker as per the standard normally adopted can solve the problem to a large extent. It is only a matter of thinking positive about these minor problems, which do not involve anything big at any level. The person/people responsible should act with a little responsibility to save thousands of people from this undue and unwarranted difficulty.
Our ever active city nazim should tell his team to make the life of the people easy where minimum effort can bring a very fruitful result. I hope somebody will look into this matter.
ENGR DILAWAR HUSAIN
Gulshan-i-Iqbal
Marriage halls
Sir,
The chief minister of Sindh wants to take superficial and impractical steps like intervals in air-conditioning and other such solutions to save on power.
I wonder why the people at the helm of affairs are not taking notice of marriage halls and gardens, where floodlights, high-powered illuminations and other dazzling lights are kept on up till 2am or so. A few years ago these marriage halls and gardens were forced to put out their lights at 11pm.
This practice was not only a comfort and consolation for hundreds of guests in each hall, but was also an effective measure of saving thousands of watts of electricity everyday.
This is the first and foremost step the authorities should take to save the masses from the curse of load-shedding. One hopes the honourable members of the national and provincial cabinets will take note of this suggestion.
S.K. OBAIDULLAH
Metroville 3
Blocking roads
Sir,
People from a mosque situated right next to the Capital City Traffic Police’s Saddar office start blocking the road that leads to St Joseph’s Girls School and beyond to St Patrick’s for Friday prayers at around 9.30am, which is several hours before prayer time.
Tents are put up and mats are laid out, while the road is cordoned off by ropes. This results in a serious interruption of traffic flow, which includes wagons and big buses, which are then forced to meander through congested by-lanes made worse by encroachments created by repair shops and tea-stalls. This situation lasts for several hours, well beyond prayer time.
I have no pretensions to having an in-depth knowledge of religious teachings, but I would like to pose a question to better qualified persons as to whether this action is permissible, especially when there are several other mosques in the vicinity?
SARDAR IKRAMULLAH
DHA
Public transport
Sir,
Travelling in public buses has become increasingly difficult these days with the number of problems faced by commuters mounting with time.
The first and foremost problem for women who use public transport is that there is very little space reserved for them in buses. Resultantly, many of them have to spend their ride standing. This is very difficult because the front part of the bus kept for women does not have proper objects to which one can hold on to while standing. This is even more hazardous for women who travel with small children. Sometimes men also occupy the already small women’s compartment, further compounding the women’s miseries.
Secondly, the majority of times, buses are overloaded with people hanging precariously outside the doors or crammed on rooftops. Needless to say, it presents a grave danger to passengers.
Thirdly, a token system is prevalent in which buses have to reach their destinations at a given time. So drivers don’t stop properly to pick up passengers or drop them off and start moving before people have gotten on or off. For the same reason, they also drive at very high speeds, risking the passengers’ and their own lives. And when they are stopped by the police, they easily manage to escape by giving a bribe.
Fourthly, buses need immediate renovation. Their interiors are old and rusty and the parts are breaking away. Finally, some of the bus drivers put on deafening music, which is extremely irritating.
Considering the fact that thousands of people travel by buses everyday, an extensive programme needs to be undertaken by the city government on an immediate basis to provide relief to the miserable commuters.
HAMNA HANIF
DHA Phase 6
city@dawn.com
Wither playgrounds
The winter wedding season, however, has the potential to put a damper on their activity. As I observed on one Saturday evening, two marquees had been put up in the same playground and chairs were being laid out. It turned out that the ground was being used to host a couple of weddings.
It goes without saying that the following Sunday, the ground was a complete mess. It had been heavily littered. The sportspeople, thankfully, had not been discouraged. They had simply moved away from the mess to the other side of the ground, which was relatively cleaner. However, as I watched, another marquee was set up and vans of the decoration service arrived to set up in the area.
One can understand that there is a dearth of marriage venues in the city, and that empty plots are convenient as well as economical to hold different functions.
However, why should a playground fall victim and be host to wedding functions? One can argue that with the security issues rampant, very few people would venture into a playground at night. But then, there is the issue of the litter which follows such functions, and the inevitable outcome is that the sports activities have to be confined to other parts of the ground.
At the end of the day, one wonders whose responsibility it is to ensure that the playgrounds are not used to host wedding functions. And who should be held accountable for the fact that they are being mercilessly rented out?—Hafsa Ahsan
The key factor
Recently a friend and I pulled up at a CNG filling station and saw a good number of cars waiting in the queue for their turn to fill up.
But the line was not moving forward at all because the lead car could not move as its driver had left the keys in the locked car!
The harried chap was asking the filling station attendants for help, who approached other drivers of cars of similar make to ask them if they could use their keys. In the ensuing process, one car key did fit, but just as the door was to be opened the key broke in the lock, with the result that now two cars were in difficulty and the owner of the second car was fuming at the hapless attendants. It is a normal habit of people to forget things and Karachians are no exception. These days it seems due to a hectic lifestyle people are forgetting their keys more than usual.
A friend in the key making business says people lock themselves out and then rush to key makers. Many of them who have to go somewhere or have appointments to keep do not haggle at all and agree to the asking price. Then there are housewives who need duplicate keys or new sets of keys and are really penny-pinchers, who will haggle for more than half an hour for a five-minute job till they get their way.
Generally, the hapless key maker relents and gets the job done. Though in most cases pick-and-drop is one of the conditions, there are instances where people cook up excuses and ask the chap to make his own way back.
Last but not the least, there are the unscrupulous elements who bring key imprints on bars of soap or the key design on paper with one excuse or another to make keys so they can carry out their sinister aims. There have been incidents also in which people have called key makers late at night to factories to get the warehouse opened up with the obvious lame excuses of forgetting the keys inside and needing to take some items out urgently.
I guess it’s different strokes for different folks and as for me, having become tired of forgetting my keys I keep them on my person along with my company card like a locket dangling around my neck and have not rushed to the key maker for ages.—Rizwan Ali
The city mourns
December 27 marked the first death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, a tragic death which most Pakistanis, including myself, still find difficult to come to terms with, for she was an international icon and a respected leader who symbolised hope and a new vision for the country.
With her demise Pakistan and the world lost a great leader. Though the entire country mourns her death it must not be forgotten that the Daughter of the East deep down basically was a Karachian for all intents and purposes, and people of this city feel a personal sense of loss and affinity with the Bhutto family.
Benazir was born and raised in the city with her initial schooling in one of the elite schools of Karachi and later went abroad for higher studies. She lived at 70 Clifton, her father’s residence, from where she was groomed and nurtured in politics and the art of diplomacy.
During the Zia regime her confinement was mostly in Karachi where, with her indomitable will and courage, she prevailed.
She married and built a new house named after her first born, Bilawal. All her children were born in this city and lived with her until she went into self-imposed exile. Sadly, she is no longer with us and the Karachians can best serve and honour her memory by rising above themselves, freeing our city from hatred, bigotry ethnicity and pettiness to make the city she loved and cherished one of the best places to live.
To realize her vision of a better and greater Pakistan Karachians must lead from the front.
—Syed Ali Anwer
Compiled by Syed Hassan Ali
karachian@dawn.com