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"The residents of this city of Lahore appear to suddenly turn into vicious animals when deprived of food for a few hours" The Friday Times, 45-The Mall, Lahore-Pakistan,
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Letters
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170m ministers
Sir, Khalid Mustafa, Islamabad.
V-day kindness
Sir, Perhaps we can hope that even now and through the symbolism of these cards, the message of peace, concern for one’s fellow being and the expressions of fraternal love that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) tried to teach even to his enemies, will reach the prisoner, Dr Mervyn Hosein, Karachi.
Pillion riding
Sir, Hassan Bashir, Islamabad.
Health facilities
Sir, It is encouraging news that the Sindh Police will now be provided with health cover. The police personnel of the province will be able to avail the health care facilities, of major hospitals. The initiative is a welcome indication that the difficulties faced by the personnel of this department, are finally being seriously considered and also are being addressed. The police should be provided with the same facilities and incentives, as other leading public sector employees are awarded with. It is imperative that if this institution is to function at its full capacity, the grievances and problems of its human resource have to be addressed. Suleman Akbar, Islamabad.
Opportunity
Sir, I feel the public opinion is being molded in a subtle way by the government, part of the media and some ‘intellectuals’ in the favour of releasing Raymond if he otherwise could not be granted diplomatic immunity. Raymond is no ordinary ‘consultant’ as is evident from the way the entire US government machinery including President Obama are acting in this matter. Swapping of Raymond Davis with Dr. Afia is another possibility being talked about. What is so mysterious about Raymond Davis that the USA government is so keen to get him out of Pakistan at the earliest. Does he know too much to be in the strangers’ hands? Sen. Kerry would not hop around half of the world just for some ordinary U.S. consultant and try with everyone who matters here for his immediate release. Strangely, the drone attacks too have seized from the day Raymond Davis has been dispossessed of his spy gear like satellite phones, wireless sets, cameras and telescopes, weapons and ammunitions etc. If Raymond Davis is that important and the U.S. that keen to secure his return then it is a golden opportunity for the rulers of Pakistan to regain their lost popularity. They should rise to the occasion and not yield to any pressures or temptations. Let the law take its own course and more importantly, the justice must not be tempered with or denied any truth and true facts by the administration. The entire nation will stand like a rock behind the government. Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd), Rawalpindi.
Reaction
Sir, A news report of blowing up of the only women college in Orakzai Agency is a sad event as it had deprived the younger generation to get education for the betterment of self, families and for their country. The terrorists has already blown up educational institutions in Orakzai Agency leaving 18,000 students helpless and disappointed. The act is explained as a reaction to drone attacks by terrorists. Destroying of educational institutions is not justified in any way. The sole aim of these institutions is to impart education to children so that they grow up as individuals who understand their responsibilities as citizens of Pakistan. Terrorists are worried and concerned about losing their power and authority at gun point. They know that they cannot compete or stand in front of educated youth. The situation is an eye opener calling for more determination to provide education to these children and youth through all efforts. All those who can help should come forward to find out ways to provide facilities to these children who are the hope of a nation against all problems in the society. Anwar Parveen, Rawalpindi.
No propaganda
Sir, The very lines spoken by one of the characters of a drama Faseel-e-Jan Say Aaagay, was full of message and a lesson for the audience in general and Pakistani intelligentsia in particular. It said that it is time we stepped forward and play our role to reach out all those who are waiting for a messiah. “There is a struggle between us (peaceful Pakistanis) and the extremists….who so ever reach them (innocent tribals) earlier, he will make an impact in their (tribals) lives…..” The lines were really heart touching and thought provoking that if ever we as a layman make an effort to think how our silence is contributing into the completion of an agenda unleashed by extremist elements. Malik Aamir Saleem, Rawalpindi.
Vigilantism
Sir, Yahya Ahmad, Islamabad.
Faiz and peace
Sir, Year 2011 is being celebrated in Pakistan and the world over, as a year Faiz Year, a great poet, who gifted the world a complete new conception of peace and love, his message, is unique in many respects. Why after a passage of more than half a century our politicians are busy in creating an atmosphere of hate and distrust, just to keep their “shops of politics” flourishing, booming, roaring and prospering and at what cost? The reception accorded to the Indian delegation at the Faiz birth celebrations was extraordinarily warm showing the deep desire of the people for friendly and brotherly relations among the two countries, the feeling of the Indian visitors were also the same. They love Faiz , they love his message of peace and they too were wondering like Faiz. Khoon Kay Dhabay Dulahin Gay Kitni Bersatoon Kay Bad? While celebrating the hundred-birth anniversary of Faiz, let us pledge our self that we will spread his message of global peace. It’s the sacred duty of every citizen of India and Pakistan to reject the politicians, religious personalities; civil society workers who are spreading hate among us and force our governments to establish friendly relations in the real sense keeping aside the political differences, what so ever. The best tribute we can pay to Faiz is to wash the blood strains of hatred with out any bloodshed, with love and mutual trust. Aamir Aqil, Lahore.
Conscience of ruling elite
Sir, It seems the conscience of our ruling political, civil or khaki elite has either gone in hibernation or they don’t have one. How else can those sitting in Islamabad, explain their silence, over the never ending scams that keep on surfacing almost every day. Thousands of poor lower middle class citizens and expatriates have been duped into investing in what was supposed to be a ballot for 5 or 8 marla plots in DHA Islamabad, but turned out to be scheme in partnership with a notorious land mafia tycoon. There was a time when Benazir or Nawaz were in power and extensive delays in post Hajj operation would lead a serious reprimand of PIA MD and even his sacking. The recent Hajj operation was the worst ever conducted in the history of PIA, yet nothing moved till the employees stood up and grounded the airline to a halt. When will the appetite of sugar cartels be satisfied, or for that matter the massive corruption in NHA, Steel Mills, PASCO, TCP, KPT, FBR, Railways, Rental Power, PIA etc. Can I most humbly appeal to leaders of our political parties to kindly listen to the voice on streets of Pakistan, before they lose their patience and anarchy takes over. There is a limit to the interventions or suo moto of Supreme Court of Pakistan, which alone cannot provide relief to the people unless the rulers act before it is too late. Gull Zaman, Peshawar.
Churchill and Pakistan
Sir, “Power will go to rascals, rogues, freebooters… All leaders will be of low caliber & men of straw…They’ll have sweet tongues & silly hearts...They will fight amongst themselves for power & the two countries will be lost in political squabbles…A day would come when even air & water will be taxed.” These are the words from the quotes of Sir Winston Churchill, the famous British Prime Minister, who expressed his optimism on his independent judicial system at the peak of war: “Are our courts dispensing justice”, he asked, and the reply came “yes”. “Then Britain will not be defeated”, he replied and his words became history. Isn’t today what the wisdom of Churchill foresaw 64 years ago about the newly born Pakistan, proved to be true? Certainly we have worked very hard to prove him right. Haven’t we? Marya Mufti, Lahore.
Out of frying pan
Sir, Aneela Chandio, Sukkur.
Legislation
Sir, One feels disappointed at how our law makers find dubious ways to institutionalise opportunities of confusion and corruption. A new bill (Bill No.7 of 2009) has been placed before the Sindh Assembly, ostensibly to protect the ‘amenity plots’ and prevent their conversion, but in reality the bill does just the opposite. Section 4 of the bill provides a special window of opportunity enabling the Provincial Assembly to arbitrarily convert any amenity plot (intended for parks, playgrounds, schools, hospitals, libraries etc) to any other use. If passed, the bill will further (and rapidly) take away our already limited open spaces, our playing fields, our beach fronts and our parks and pave way for their greedy corporate, residential and commercial occupation. Are there some men and women of conscience in the Sindh Assembly who will take a position to have this anti-environment and arbitrary section 4 removed from the bill? Will the citizens come together to force their representatives not to agree on this unethical legislation? Naeem Sadiq, Karachi.
Faiz hijacked
Sir, Asif Mahmood, Islamabad.
Conviction rates
Sir, It has been reported that through a data compiled by the police, the conviction rate in carjacking incidents is only 3.5 percent, since 2002. Despite the presence of a specialised unit of Anti-Car Lifting Cell within the department of police, the poor quality of education, lack of evidence and inability of the police to approach the case legally has given rise to these crimes. It is horrifying to see that, this has also given rise to habitual offenders. It is the responsibility of the police to protect the lives and property of the public. These worrisome figures only show how the department has been ineffective in fulfilling its duties. Yasir Hameed, Islamabad.
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March 4-10, 2011 - Vol. XXII, No. 03 |
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After reading different statements by our ministers on Raymond Davis case, I think any one from our around 170 million total population of Pakistan could be made a minister. I consider Raymond Davis lucky since if he was caught in Iran for the same crime, he would have been hanged by now.
It is a strange irony of life that on Valentine’s Day, Salmaan Taseer’s murderer, Mumtaz Qadri was showered with numerous valentine cards and bouquets. Most intriguingly, these were brought by student admirers and apparently delivered by the prison guards, to the prisoner. Either these were the ultimate examples of killing with kindness, or the givers were perverts. 
The ban on pillion riding has again been implemented and subsequently again relaxed, in Karachi. My question as a concerned Pakistani citizen is, that how such an initiative serves to boost the security of the city? These kind of prohibitions have been implemented on numerous times, not only in Karachi but also in various parts of the country, but the criminal and terrorism incidents have carried on in the same way. The only purpose this has served, is to give the corrupt police personnel another source of generating revenues. Instead of carrying on with such impractical exercises, more concentration should be focused on reforming the police infrastructure of the country.
The rising cases of vigilantism in the country should be a concern for the police apparatus. Only in the current month of February there have been two cases of public lynching, of robbers and bandits in the city of Karachi. Karachi has become a city, which is notorious for its deteriorating law and order situation. The recent lynching took place when robbers were escaping after committing a crime at the office of the advocate. The previous public vigilantism was seen at a market place, when bandits were trying to flee after robbing a shopkeeper. These extra judicial killings should be an eye opener for the administration, which show that the public has lost its trust on the police and prefer to resolve the increasing crime rate issue themselves, by taking the law into their own hands. It also makes evident the perception of the police being the part of the problem, rather than the solution.
When this government appointed a controversial crony in 2008, the airline’s fate was doomed to begin with. During his tenure the governing Board of Directors was reduced to a rubber stamp, be it the decision to sign a letter of intent to buy new aircrafts at the Paris Air Show, change of GSA or Ground Handling contracts, to record of discussion deal with Turkish Airlines. This arrogant abuse of powers could not have been done without blessings of powerful political godfathers. For now PIA seems to be “out of the frying pan” but hopefully not “into the fire”. What PIA needs is a professional management composed of men of integrity instead of cronies, who can plug the pilferages and leakages in revenues to make it either profitable or break even. PIA corporate reports suggest that it is not lack of revenue passengers, but the unexplained escalation in cost of operations that are responsible for its unfortunate fate. PIA has an assured loyal client base of Pakistani origin ethnic traffic, which it needs to retain and improve upon by offering them better services at affordable competitive fares. The viability of PIA becomes more essential when during the four-day recent shut down, private airlines jacked up their fares, and exploited the situation in violation of all ethics. One only hopes that elected government has read the writing on the wall that it is time PIA be run on pure commercial lines, free from political pressures and cronyism.
One of the great poets of subcontinent, Faiz belonged to the left wing but was hijacked by the English speaking elite, who have remote understanding of Urdu poetry. Ironically, his constituency was the poor and downtrodden. It was 25 years later that era of great poets came to and end – with the death of Ahmad Faraz.
