| November 15, 2008 | Saturday | Ziqa'ad 16, 1429 |
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Innocent people and Fata war
Well done, America
Aafia in US custody
Public transport
Benefiting from scientist’s expertise
Independent judiciary
Expanding the cabinet
Mumtaz Hasan and Islamic cultural heritage
God Almighty!
Expiry date of CNIC
Bhasha dam controversy
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
THIS is apropos of the letter, ‘My fellow countrymen’ (Nov 11). I must say that the writer exhibits impatience — a trademark of most of Pakistan’s middle class.
We support a military dictator and when the dictator fails and hands over power to civilians, we are too impatient to wait. The writer’s observations could not have been more unjust.
The situation has no parallel to the 1990s. The political tussle at the moment does not involve arrests, blatant allegations of corruption or undue criticism; in fact, many analysts are indeed accusing the PML(N) of mellowed opposition on some important matters like privatisation, the judiciary and war on terror.
It is also wrong to talk about the state of masses as we forget that the real masses live beyond the limits of cities.
They are currently, according to a number of reports, very upbeat about the steps taken by the current government but as their plight is never highlighted by the middle class, which has access to the media, we very conveniently malign the governments that are voted into power.
Also, such statements as say that people are ready to face consequences for the sake of an independent foreign policy are time-worn and ineffective.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s stance against the West on the nuclear programme only resulted in a coup, following which sweets were distributed in Karachi, home to a major portion of Pakistan’s middle class.
Twenty years later, a deja vu, and people insistent on conducting the nuclear tests to maintain sovereignty just failed to face the economic consequences of the tests.
I think it is time Pakistan’s middle class gave democracy a break from criticism or at least refrain from double standards while criticising them. Politics is not just about dictatorship; there are people who need to be accommodated, adjustments to be made and opposition to be dealt with, hence the large cabinets.
In Balochistan’s case we conveniently ignore that it is due to politics that the legacy of the general, the secessionist movement in Balochistan, is fast diminishing into non-existence.
The role of the media is, however, commendable. There is great awareness and caution in criticism of the government. It is also a relief that the media ensures that the government and not democracy is blamed and when advocating a change of the regime, it insists on a fresh election and not on the call of ‘my fellow countrymen’.
I do agree that the current government is deeply flawed but I also know that it will not be there after five years, so Pakistan’s middle class should stop inviting the generals to take over. I assure you that they won’t, not unless the economic situation is stable and out of the red zone.
SYED SAAD MANSOOR
Karachi
ONE of the duo letters titled ‘Verdict of American people’ (Nov 8) by Mohsin Ali has one point to elucidate.
The writer says though the American voters have chosen a black man to be their president — a historic change in US psyche and politics — “ Pakistan should have no illusion that the drones will continue to cross our borders and pound the hideouts of Al Qaeda and its associates, with resulting loss of lives of innocent people”.
Perhaps Mr Ali means that missile attacks kill not only Al Qaeda operatives but also innocent residents of tribal areas.
It may sound a little way out but the fact is that the residents of this tribal belt are not as innocent as they are considered to be.
Bear this fact in mind that these tribes have been living in abject poverty and ignorance.
It is a well-known reality that poverty and ignorance breed crimes.
Many commentators on TV programmes and columnists have been voicing their views that these tribesmen would do anything for money.
The foreign militants who have been living here for over quarter of a century when they had come to fight Russians who had invaded Afghanistan, and had taken up residence in this belt; and those terrorists who arrive unchecked and acquire residence on huge rentals, are inviting destruction by Pakistani security forces whom they fight, kill and behead them if they are captured.
Wouldn’t the security forces mount reprisal retaliation by artillery fire and aerial bombing?
This may include missile attacks by US drones, which are condemnable.
The tribesmen know full well that they are helping the terrorists by providing them with board and lodging.
This makes them equally responsible for terrorism. if you harbour criminals in your house, you share their crimes; and you have to pay for it.
Sometimes you pay a price without being involved in the crime. That’s what the war is all about. There is a saying in Urdu: “Gayhoon kay sath ghun bhi pista hay”.
AN ANGUISHED PAKISTANI
Karachi
THE election of a black as the president of the United States in an amazing development.
I think most people don’t realise what a fantastic change it portends for the American people... it means the ushering in of an era of genuine racial equality in a country where only 40 years ago Martin Luther King was martyred for leading a movement for acquiring basic human rights for the blacks.
That the white majority of the United States found it desirable and possible to vote in Barack Hussein Obama as the president of the USA is, in my eyes, equivalent to the Muslim majority of Pakistan perhaps one day electing a Christian or a Hindu as their head of dtate in a direct election
Let us, therefore, applaud the people of the United States for their broad-mindedness in choosing the best man, irrespective of the colour of his skin.
This is a magnificent display of democratic values and will boost, to some extent, the dwindling prestige of the world’s lone superpower and will be appreciated by all the multifarious nationalities living on the five continents of the globe.
1, and millions like me, have high hopes from Barack Obama. In his speeches he has declared his willingness to talk to the leaders of even those states whom Mr Bush considered ‘untouchables’, like Iran and Cuba.
In striking contract to Mr Bush, Mr Obama is a highly intelligent person and can be depended upon to organise his policies on a rational and pragmatic basis.
He will never say, “God told me to invade Iraq”, as Bush did! In fact, Mr Bush and Co. were (and are) the relatively modem counterparts of Al Qaeda and Taliban... intolerant, fanatical, cruel and vindictive. Mr Obama has come to the top with the rallying cry of ‘Change’.
I’m confident that it will be a change for the better in each and every field of human endeavour.
Welcome, Barack Obama, first black president of the USA, soon to be the most powerful man in the world.
ZAFAR ULLAH POSHNI
Karachi
I WOULD like to clear some misunderstandings expressed in M.A Faridi’s opinion (Nov 10) regarding Ms Ridley’s press conference.
Ms Maryam (Yvonne Ridley) does not believe the statement of American ambassador in the UK regarding Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s illegal detention in the Bagram Jail but she has submitted the opinion of the American ambassador and said that if the American ambassador had been right in his opinion, then he must have given the identification of that woman who was being brutalised in the Bagram Jail and, according to them, released.
She admitted that the American ambassador did not provide details of that woman. Ms Ridley emphasises that she has proofs that Prisoner 650 was a Pakistani woman, most probably she was Dr Aafia Siddiqui.
Addressing at the Faran Club in Karachi on Nov 4, she said the American administration had never been trustworthy.
She gave several examples from the past that Americans had been lying for their own benefits. She also condemned the deceitful and mendacious behaviour of the United Kingdom and other European countries.
She said that the war against terrorism was actually a conspiracy against Muslims. She believes that Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s own statement on her meeting Pakistani senators is far more reliable than American regarding her agonising detention in the Bagram Jail.
Maryam Ridley in her speech said that “we all together must raise the voice against this cruel and horrid behaviour of the Pakistani military official who had handed over her own sister along with her three innocent children to the FBI in March 2003.”
We must pray for Maryam Ridley for her remarkable efforts for innocent women and children held in Afghanistan.
FAHEEMULLAH KHAN
Karachi
TRAVELLING on 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 is that there is very little space reserved for them in the bus. As a result, many of them have to stand while travelling.
This is very difficult because the front part of the bus kept for women does not have any proper rail to which one can hold on while standing.
This is even harder and hazardous for women who are accompanied by small children. Sometimes men also occupy the already compressed compartment meant for women, further compounding their misery.
Secondly, many times the buses are overloaded with people hanging dangerously outside the doors or crammed on rooftops. Needless to say, it presents a grave danger to passengers who can fall off and lose their life anytime.
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 got 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.
Once the handle bars to which people hold on broke after pressure when a bus braked, and the passengers fell forward upon one another.
Finally, some of the buses put on deafening music which, when added to the driver’s constant fights with other drivers, is extremely irritating.
Considering the fact that thousands of people travel by buses every day, an extensive programme needs to be undertaken by the government on an immediate basis to provide relief to the miserable commuters.
HAMNA HANIF
Karachi
DR KHUSHNOOD Ahmed Siddiqui, retired director of the Atomic Energy Agricultural Research Centre (AEARC), Tandojam, has contributed not only to The Nature but also the other international scientific journals, which is a big thing for any scientist of Pakistan.
He has been a visiting scientist to Norway and many other countries. He has been a guide to local PhD students in plant breeding, cytogentics and bio-technology.
He is perhaps the only Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences in Sindh, after Mian Muhammad Afzal, the pioneering scientist of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, which has shifted after losing its own headquarters building on M.T. Khan Road, Karachi.
Dr Siddiqui received a number of national and international awards in recognition of his advanced researches in plant breeding and a number of publications to be proud of.
He received his PhD degree from the Reading University, England, which has also conferred a DSc degree on him for his enviable work on wheat and other cereal crops.
After his retirement from the AEARC, he chose to settle in the serenity and tranquil atmosphere that is coveted by any poet, which he is and a good one.
According to newspaper reports, the staff and the students of the Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Tandojam, being unhappy with the vice chancellor, have staged many protests and resorted to strikes for change of the vice chancellor, which has become a controvertial figure, and now gone on long leave. A search is going on to bring a new vice chancellor.
As a scientist of international exposure and attainments, eminence in the international comity of scientists, he may perhaps be the best choice for the slot of the vice chancellor at Tandojam University. His membership of the international research institutions is mind-blowing.
It will be in the fitness of things if an alumnus like Dr Siddiqui serves his old Alma Mater to repay to the institution.
M. SHAFIQUE AHMED
Karachi
THIS is apropos of Anwar Hussain’s letter, ‘For the sake of independent judiciary’ (Nov 8).
After criticising the then president Musharraf’s move of firing much of the judiciary on Nov 3, 2007, he has praised the deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, for “making many a commendable judgment.”
However, he then says that for the sake of peace and democracy, Justice Chaudhry should withdraw his claim to being restored as the CJP.
And, In the end Mr Hussain also says that time has come when we should learn to live under the cover of parliament.
Also, that a strong democracy and an independent judiciary are vital to resolving issues and problems at large.
I do not support his arguments, First, he must note that Mr Chaudhry had not only made ‘many a commendable judgement’ but, even more importantly, he was the first CJP in 60 years to have firmly withstood the bullying by a military dictator and his associates.
He could have availed himself of the carrots offered by Mr Musharraf to be given a good alternative assignment, but he preferred to defend the institution of an independent judiciary.
Hats off to him that even the absolutely illegal and cruel imprisonment of all his family, including children, didn’t make him buckle.
Secondly, the correspondent is contradicting himself by asking for his replacement, while also seeking an independent judiciary.
Thirdly, he wants the judiciary to come under the thumb of parliament., How would that ensure its independence?
Let us consider an allegory. If, after six decades, Pakistan gets a general who, by his courage, resolute will and sacrifices, is on the verge of retaking lost territory from a long-trime adversary, you ask him to step down on the grounds that some Pakistanis don’t like him (because he is an obstacle to their aims).
Would this make sense, given the fact that there is no other general on the national horizon who can be expected to fulfil the mission?
This is the chance of a lifetime that we can hope to get a truly independent judiciary, which can also be expected to continue on a long-term basis. Besides, it is not merely a question of Justice Chaudhry giving up his claim.
Much of the legal fraternity and civil society, as well as nearly two-thirds of Pakistan’s citizenry, want him to hold that office. Even if he personally desires to give up, he is obliged to respect the earnest wishes of millions of his compatriots to carry on.
ABDUL ALEEM
Karachi
IN his letter, ‘Expanding the cabinet’ (Nov 7), Munir Aslam has suggested that the compilers of dictionaries be approached to redefine the meaning of words like austerity, economy, democracy, crisis, poverty, leadership and dictatorship in their future editions.
To these I would like to add a few more words: promise, commitment, agreement, justice, morality.
While defending the huge expansion of his (read Mr Zardari’s) cabinet, the prime minister has said that the expansion is justified because the number of portfolios is so large and tallies with the strength of enlarged cabinet.
This is just self-deception. How can China (population: 1.2 billion) live with 25 ministers, Japan (140 million people) with 18, Germany with 15 and the oil-rich Saudi Arabia with 21?
It is time the government stopped fooling the people and devouring their fast disappearing money for political gains.
ABDULLAH
Karachi
I WAS deeply moved to read the letter by Imtiaz Hasan regarding his illustrious father, the late Mumtaz Hasan (Nov 5).
He has mentioned that his father had a soft corner for Allama Iqbal and also Mirza Ghalib. In continuation, I may add here that late Mumtaz Hasan was a great patron of Islamic cultural heritage. He, as finance secretary, provided the Sindhi Adabi Board, the famous learned body of Sindh, an amount of Rs400,000 (which was later increased to more than half a million) in 1956 to collect, preserve and publish the rare Persian and Arabic manuscripts of the classical Muslim scholars, from all over Sindh.
The Board collected no fewer than 400 such valuable manuscripts, which are now preserved in the library of the Sindhi Adabi Board.
About 60 of them have already been published, including the one on the ‘seerat’ of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) by celebrated scholar Makhdoom Muhammad Hashim Thattvi, whose research work was appreciated even in Al Azhar University.
When a descriptive catalogue of these centuries-old manuscripts is published, our scholars will know properly the great service rendered by Mumtaz Hasan to the literary and cultural heritage of Pakistan.
GHULAM RABBANI AGRO
Hyderabad
IT was shocking to read a news item captioned, ‘Major-judge brawl over official residence’ (Oct 30).
The last para says: “The police said the house was allotted to the judge and he had orders in this regard. The major did the wrong in a brawl with him, they added.” My immediate reaction was: Allah Teri Shan (God Almighty!).
HAFEEZ AKHTAR
Lahore
I WAS issued a CNIC, No. 41303-1083933-3, on Aug 28, 2003, with an expiry date of July 31, 2009, a validity for six years.
My birth year on the card is 1929, and when issued my age was 74 years. At this age facial features or thumb impression do not change.
For its renewal, I will again bear the agony of standing in a long queue and visiting Nadra office again and again, which I did on the previous occasion.
Will Nadra kindly elaborate the reason for such a short expiry date on the CNIC of a senior citizen?
ZAMIN HUSAIN
Hyderabad
THIS is apropos of the news report, ‘Diamer-Bhasha Dam project gets go-ahead’ (Nov 12). The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved $12.6 billion Diamer-Bhasha Dam project with year 2016 as the completion deadline.
It is claimed that Pakistan is going to set another record (after the Tarbela Dam — 485 feet high) in hydropower engineering by building the world’s highest roller-compacted concrete Bhasha Dam. Surprisingly the ministry forgets that the Tarbela Dam (1976) was later termed as “perhaps the world’s most problem-stricken major dam” in technical terms (The World Bank and large dams, failure to learn from history: World Bank Report # 4). The same report suggests that the Bhasha site being located in the highly unstable seismic zone in a narrow valley of the upper Indus could be vulnerable to some extraordinary safety hazards.
The dam debate is not new in Pakistan but it acquired more heat when Pervez Musharraf announced a series of dams on the Indus. During his military dictatorship, Bhasha was a priority in two planning documents: Mr Musharraf’s Water Vision 2020 and Wapda’s Vision 2025. Mr Musharraf visited the entire county to convince people but he failed.
On the other hand, major partners of the present coalition regime, including the PPP, the ANP, the PML(N) and the JUI (F), were struggling against the building of large dams, under the banner of Anti-Thal Canal and Kalabagh Dam Action Committee (ATC&KBDAC).
That alliance of 16 mainstream political parties was perhaps the largest opposition alliance in the history of Pakistan on the one-point agenda of ‘No further cut on the Indus’.
The PPP was the convener of the alliance. Now the PPP government has adopted the same notorious ‘vision’ of Wapda without realising its political principles and commitments.
While considering the proposals of construction of future reservoirs, the first and foremost thing is to ascertain reliable surplus water availability for storage after accounting for all the existing uses, including water accord 1991: allocations and commitments. It is also necessary to know the sources of water availability, the quantum of water available, so as to have a clear picture of the reliable availability of surplus water for storage.
Before announcing any new dam the government must consider the report of the Technical Committee on Water Resources by A.N.G. Abbasi, which has given comprehensive recommendations on surface water availability for future reservoirs and irrigation schemes and filling and operational criteria for Mangla reservoirs, role of constitutional bodies like CCI, Ecnec, Irsa and Wapda and other critical issues.
ZULFIQAR HALEPOTO
Secretary, Sindh Democratic Forum
Karachi
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