| June 23, 2007 | Saturday | Jamadi-us-Sani 07, 1428 |
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Time to act
Rain: gift or hazard?
Will Bangladesh go Pakistan’s way?
Powerless days
HEC contractual appointments
American support for Musharraf
Failed promises
Six-day war
Nishtar park bomber
Construction woes
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
IN A report titled, ‘US lawmaker raps Europe on security’, the veteran American legislator and chairman of the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr Tom Lantos, is shown as having slammed Europe for not doing enough (the familiar American phrase) about threats to transatlantic security (Dawn, June 15).
He complained that young Americans were dying to defend freedom while Europe's youngsters "stroll the avenues" in prosperous Paris and Berlin. The lawmaker also implored Europe to recognise what he called mounting threats from Russia's Vladimir Putin and Iran's Ahmadinejad and argued that the transatlantic relationship had fallen into disrepair because it lacked the organising principle provided by the common threat from the Soviet Union.
Mr Lantos, who is a Holocaust survivor and had battled Nazis and communism in his native Hungary, also apparently tried to shame the Europeans by saying that Europe's wealth and security were a direct result of American protection after World War II. But, instead of fulfilling their responsibilities they continue to rely on the US and their combined military spending is dwarfed by Washington's expenditure.
The gentleman is ignoring several factors responsible for leading to this situation. First, despite many European countries' opposition to invading Iraq, the US went ahead with it after lying unashamedly about its WMDs and Al Qaeda connection. Now it is in a hole from which it is unable to extricate itself and is blaming others for this gigantic folly.
Second, it is only because the Europeans have wisely curtailed their defence spending that its youth can "stroll the avenues" in prosperous cities, while the young Americans have been turned into canon fodder largely to oblige Israel and the Zionists, who wanted to use America to destroy its arch enemy Saddam. Why blame the Europeans when, by now, the majority of Americans too have realised that invading Iraq and continuing the occupation has been a historical blunder?
Third, Mr Lantos's reference to the unification caused by the threat posed by the former USSR also reveals how some Americans (and Europeans) could have deliberately provoked the Muslims to create a substitute for communism in the shape of Islamic militancy. What else could explain the fact that when Mulla Omar had offered to have Osama bin Laden tried by an Islamic court either in Afghanistan or in a mutually acceptable third Muslim country, in case evidence was provided against him, the US arrogantly refused to do so?
Fourth, it is the US that has provoked Moscow into stepping up its rhetoric and making new strategic choices by insisting on setting up a ballistic missile defence in Europe against Iran and North Korea. Furthermore, it has rejected Mr Putin's offer of Russian bases in Azerbaijan for the purpose. Instead of admitting his country's instigation of Russia as the underlying cause, Mr Lantos is conjuring up a renewed threat from it, perhaps to resurrect the transatlantic unity of the Cold War era.
Finally, some element of jealousy may also be involved. The Europeans have suffered along with the US because of its follies and have lost soldiers or been subjected to terrorist attacks. Perhaps they could, with some justification ask:
When I am at your feet
And at your service sweet
Why do you look at me
With peevish jealously?
Even, as a Muslim, one feels sorry that American youngsters are having to pay the price of their leaders’ adventurism. By nature, these kids are fun-loving folks and would rather be enjoying themselves at the beaches in California and Florida than getting blown to bits by Muslims defending their own freedom in the deserts and wastelands of Iraq and Afghanistan. The losses for Muslims run into hundreds of thousands of lives and millions of uprooted people.
M.P. CHISHTI
Karachi
"EVEN Homer sometimes nods".
It is time, General Sahib, that you nodded big this time. You were forced to assume power when Pakistan was in some sort of political and economic chaos .Your seven-point agenda was much appreciated by the people and your accountability drive was widely supported, though you strayed somewhat from your set agenda.
In the aftermath of 9/11 you were wise and right in your response to the US ultimatum "you are with us or against us". No one is all-wise. You erred and your aides pushed you into a political quagmire.
Most of those who believed in you exclaimed, "Oh, General Sahib you are trapped!" when they heard the breaking news of the reference against the chief justice That miscalculation led to a series of blunders, the Pemra episode being one of them.
The nation seems to support those who would go for the independence of judiciary and media. Political parties aspiring to come to power would not like to have an independent and strong judiciary and media.
They raised the banner of independence of judiciary and media because they were not able to muster any support from the public on issues other than the current one.
You are bold, honest and more democratic than most political leaders. It is expected of you that you will act according to your nature.
Rectify your mistakes by acknowledging them boldly and honestly in an address to the nation.
In that address allow the leadership in exile to return home, and give them 60 days in which they will have to devise a formula for the independence and accountability of both the judiciary and the media. They will have to form an agreed interim government which will conduct fair elections.
It is the defining moment for Pakistan. Some are even equating it with the era of 1946.
General Sahib, stand up and deliver by making the politicians agree on an independent and strong judiciary and media and then resign from the two offices you are holding.
TAHIR ZAMAN
Karachi
RAIN has numerous positive impacts on all circles of life but when things are not managed, especially in mega cities like Karachi, these positive impacts turns into hazards and create problems in a multiplicative manner. In connection with these problems, the public experiences many problems during the rainy season owing to the continued negligence of the officials.
For example, why is stormwater logged for several hours or sometimes for days at Natha Khan bridge, KDA Chowrangi in North Naziambad, Nagan Signal, Jauhar Morr, Qayyumabad Chowrangi, etc? Why are there always traffic jams and electricity failures for several hours? If these problems have been persisting for the last few years, it means that no concrete measures have been taken to solve these problems. Monsoon rains have started in various parts of the country and will soon begin in Karachi. I think officials of the various departments should work hard to minimise the losses that occur on account of the rains. The district governments should focus on the crisis management and ensure that the ongoing developmental projects do not create inconvenience to the public. The traffic management department should focus their attention on providing hurdle-free and alternative routes.
The KESC should plan a monitoring and mass awareness programme for general public which should include information on first aid treatment for electrical shocks. The agriculture department should find ways to store the huge amounts of fresh water that will ultimately be beneficial for the high crop yield in the future. Hospitals and health departments should be prepared to deal with large numbers of patients having different disease due to the rains.
NASAR U. USMANI
Karachi
THIS has reference to Kuldip Nayar’s article, ‘Will Bangladesh go Pakistan’s way?’ (June 16). This requires a simple and straight rejoinder. The writer had used the word phlegmatic Pakistani while comparing us with our brethren Bangladeshis. The writer must not set aside the cold fact that the separation of East Pakistan was the result of India’s USSR-inspired incitement, and India’s late prime minister Indira Gandhi had been witness to that cataclysm. It does not suit a noted columnist to use derogatory words for the people of Pakistan.
It had also been stated in the article that we have cosy relations with the army. Yes we have indeed. The army consisting of all the three spectacular divisions recognised world wide are our children, brothers and kith and kin. We take pride and feel honour to have our siblings in services of our nation. They are the guarantors of our freedom and liberty. We can never be against our armed forces. Yes our dissent and distaste is against the single man who is the chief of the army and always found pregnant with the dream of ruling the country, be he the present one or the past ones.
Mr Nayar had very cordial relations with ZAB, is rather his admirer. He must recollect that ZAB started a campaign against Ayub Khan but never uttered a single word against the army.
Therefore, it is not very difficult to understand that the lawyers’ agitation is, in principle, against one man’s ill-advised and ill-founded action and not against the army.
GHEEWALA
Karachi
POWER breakdowns throughout the country have exhausted citizens’ patience. Interruptions in everyday life caused by power failures have become unbearable. The government’s incentives to conserve electricity are equally frustrating. Forcing traders to shut down business at 9pm is surely insufficient.
Shouldn’t the perks enjoyed by sections of the population in the form of subsidised electricity be curtailed before businesses are targeted to meet the shortfall? My uncle who is a railway officer has to pay a fixed amount of Rs500 per month for electricity, no matter how much he consumes. I am sure this is not unusual.
Load-shedding can be justified if managed properly. But unfortunately, power is shut off without notice and the management authorities remain unsympathetic towards the sufferers. It is almost useless to try to contact their offices, since the phone lines are persistently kept engaged.
We should also keep in mind that loadshedding and management can only serve to evade the real problem (need for construction of large dams). I request the authorities concerned to be more sensitive to the issue, as it is consuming our precious days.
S. MAHWISH F. NAQVI
Karachi
THE Higher Education Commission is running a policy of appointing retired professors on contracts and placing them back into the same departments from where they have retired. This is done under its idea of "reverse brain drain". Unfortunately this policy is playing havoc with our growing institutions.
The vice chancellors of public sector universities do not seem to have a decisive role to play in this matter nor is approval sought from the university syndicate. Universities are only informed about the appointments and directed to place retired faculty in various departments without justification of their need.
To make things worse, the placement of retired professors is left entirely on their own choice. Consequently, most of the appointed professors readily choose the very departments from where they retired rather than serving somewhere else to make some difference.
One wonders what significance there is in such a choice. The fact is that retired professors feel at home in their parent departments where they don’t have to exert themselves anymore in intensive research. Instead they ask for the teaching subjects which they have been teaching for decades in order to justify their existence. In other words they are mostly paid lucrative packages by the HEC for an increasingly diminishing and reductive output.
On the other hand, the growing regular faculty is doing their consuming work with commitments and devotion to their teaching and research projects. The regular faculty needs to be promoted to higher grades. However, the promotion policies somehow become so time- consuming that it takes several years even for the processing of their applications. This clearly shows that the idea of "reverse brain drain" being practised by the HEC is indirectly becoming an idea of "suppressing the growing brain". Instead of speeding up the process of growth by providing ample opportunities of permanent jobs to the growing faculty, such policies are becoming a stumbling block in way of propagation of knowledge.
How can such regressive policies lead to progress anywhere in Pakistan? Obviously the policymakers seem oblivious to such matters. Their concern seems to be confined to projecting their own success stories through the media in the form of advertisements and announcements that contradict the very ‘ground realities’. It is very unfortunate that our authorities are easily convinced by partial and one-sided reports of the policymakers. Dissent is rarely taken seriously and ignored in the name of politicking, which is a misnomer in this case. The fact is that in most of the public sector universities the "model university ordinance" and its present form, "The Tenure Track System", has failed. It is causing a great loss to the country by wastage of public money. Thus it is strongly needed that policies should be thoroughly identified as regressive or progressive before their implementation.
If everything were left in the hands of the HEC without questioning its legitimacy, the future of higher education would greatly suffer in terms of irreversible loss due to insignificant and arbitrary projects. Only long-lasting policies might enable our universities to become leading institutions.
Therefore, it is the need of the time to devise a method of accountability over the utilisation of huge resources. Even if the World Bank and the IMF are funding the educational promotion, it should be properly utilised in those areas which need strengthening in terms of structure and growing functionality rather than wasting it on contractual appointments and foreign faculties.
DR ZAHOOR BABER
Karachi
THIS is not the first time Washington has declared full support for a Pakistani ruler. The last man to receive this backing was Nawaz Sharif. When his brother Shahbaz Sharif went to the US and held talks with American officials, they declared full support for his brother and asked him not to worry.
The Sharifs’ happiness proved short-lived. Now, Gen Musharraf is in trouble and the US is showering full support on him. This is a dangerous sign.
According to a man close to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, American ambassador invited Bhutto and his army chief on the USA’s Independence Day function in 1977. The man who stayed back was Gen Ziaul Haq, who dismissed Bhutto within 24 hours and then hanged him in 1979.
Zia received full support from the US, chiefly because of the Soviet attack on Afghanistan. This continued till 1988 when Zia died in a mysterious plane crash.
From 1988 to 1999, both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif played for an American gallery but failed to save their rule.
Now the all-powerful general is receiving total support and his men and women are happy. This is a dangerous sign and a lot should be read into the verbal and written statements of State Department officials.
They never opposed Shah of Iran, the Marcos of the Philippines or even Saddam of Iraq before he attacked Kuwait in the 1990s.
Washington is brutal and cruel and one can never bank on its support. It dissolves in the air. Trust your own people and have faith in them.
YUSUF KHAN
Karachi
I AM a position holder at one of the most reputed engineering universities in the country. Being in my third year of study, I was repeatedly promised by my university that I would be granted the internship of my choice in the third year.
Now it so happens that since January I have applied in several institutions but due to the apathetical attitude of my university I wasn't granted an internship.
Today, sitting at home, I look at my ‘resourceful’ fellow students doing internships all over the country and think why did my university make promises when it couldn't fulfil them?
NARIUS IRANI
Karachi
NASSER’S biggest mistake was to cross the Sinai desert and deploy the Egyptian army on Israel's borders. Just consider the following: Egypt faced all the logistical problems of long supply lines. Israel had no such problems. In the alternative, the Israel army would have had to cross the Sinai desert, with the consequent logistical problems.
When the Egyptian army in Sinai was destroyed, they were begging the Israelis to take them as POWs, because otherwise they were most likely to die of heat and thirst while trying to cross the desert back to Egypt, on foot. Their transport was mostly destroyed or confiscated by the enemy.
An Israeli general commented: The desert is like a sea. In a battle you do not occupy the sea. You only maneuver your forces around, hit and run. Nasser was trying to occupy a sea of sand. A war hysteria in the Arab streets certainly clouded Nasser 's judgment.
KHALID A
THIS has reference to the news report (June 16) on the suicide bomber involved in Nishtar Park's tragedy last year. I was shocked to read how the bomber allegedly "performed two ‘nawafils’ at the house of Rehmatullah and then prepared himself and wore explosive jacket".
Did this really happen? How can it be possible to behave like this before committing any evil doings? It is hard to imagine a Muslim performing ‘nawafil’ before killing his own Muslim brothers.
While it is difficult to ascertain the truth behind this news, I am certain it was painful for the relatives of those ‘Shuhda-i-Karaam" who were killed in the distressing event of Nishtar Park. Their families must be wondering why and how the legislators got success in finding the criminals and their networks after such a long time.
AYESHA SALEEM
Karachi
A PORTION of Islamabad highway after Keraal Chowk has been under construction for the last two years and is still not completed. We face many difficulties as a result of it. It is believed that the contractor is the brother of the federal health minister but that does not mean that the CDA should turn a blind eye to them.
AHMAD H NAWAZ
Islamabad
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