Mad men
Sir,
This refers to the cowardly attack on an Imambargah in Shikarpur by mentally sick barbarians who call themselves Muslims. Is this what they have learned from the greatest religion Islam? Is this what they teach in madrassas, which are supposed to be hubs of knowledge, science, history, love, affection, and devotion? I say with great sorrow and grief that many of them have become training centers for mass murderers and hate mongers.
Politicians issue statements of condemnation appearing on television in their stiff white Shalwar Kamiz and promise exemplary punishment to the culprits, but we know how many of these culprits are apprehended and how many of them get those exemplary punishments.
Not a single famous politician had the moral courage to visit the site of the bombing and condole with the families of the victims. Is this democracy of the people, by the people and for the people?
Meanwhile, the so-called custodians of Islam are proud of killing people just because they differ from them in certain religious beliefs and practices, forgetting the teachings of Islam, which equates the unjust killing of one human being with the killing of the entire humankind.
The country in which the citizens were “free to go to your temples, your mosques, and your churches” is facing the worst kind of religious intolerance, and the country whose founder had promised that “religion will have nothing to do with the affairs of the state” has witnessed horrible religious riots resulting in the loss of innocent lives and property.
Aamir Aqil,
Lahore.
Economy of terror
Sir,
While 200 million Pakistanis face death and destruction at the hands of terrorists and members of criminal mafia every day, nothing has been done to eliminate irregular black money transfer channels which they use to fund their heinous crimes, other than declarations of intent, resolutions and framing new laws or policies that are never implemented.
As long as terrorists keep on getting funds and criminals are able to transfer their money outside the country, thousands of Pakistanis will continue to die. Without the connivance of the corrupt state machinery, huge stockpiles of weapons could never have reached these terrorists who openly threaten to destroy Pakistan. The few who benefit from the growing black economy will keep on shedding crocodile tears while our children get killed. The economy is in shambles and citizens live in continuous fear, because the familis of the beneficiaries of this chaos do not reside here. For terrorism and crime to be curtailed, their sources of funding must be eliminated.
Ali Malik,
Lahore.
Breaking the silence
Sir,
For the last 65 years, Kashmir has been embroiled in a tragic crisis. It stands as a wounded region, a region that has bled and still bleeds. A region that is scarred and disfigured. While Kashmir burns in its quest for independence, while Kashmiris suffer untold miseries at the hands of the Indian forces, the international community stands as a silent spectator. This silence is not merely about staying quite over an issue of social relevance, it has several layers to it.
The apathy displayed by the international community compels me to contrast it with the sensibility displayed by the international community in the late nineteenth century in response to the atrocities committed by Belgian King Leopald the Second, infamously called the Butcher of Congo, in the Congo it was a colony of Belgium. His governance of the Congo for 23 years saw the genocide of the Congolese with around 10 million of them losing their lives. The cruel violations of human rights in the Congo raised a lot of hue and cry in the international community and even in Belgium. The power of the international community can be estimated from the fact that Leopald was forced to hand over the control of the Congo to the Belgian parliament which put an end to the repressive policies. If the international community awakens from its apathetic slumber, if it views the grievances of Kashmiris as their very own ones, we might be able to resolve the long withstanding Kashmir issue.
For how long will the Paradise on Earth remain the Valley of Death? For how long will our Kashmiri brethren bear the brunt of Indian atrocities? For how long will our Kashmiri mothers, sisters and daughters be susceptible to physical abuses? For how long will our Kashmiri children get penalized for chanting slogans in support of Pakistan? It is time that the international community shows them that we are not hollow people.
Marria Qibtia Sikandar Nagra,
Lahore.
A stitch in time
Sir,
The Ministry for Industries and Production must pay attention to the decline of textile export and the dwindling local polyester fibre production in the country.
The textile industry contributes 8.5% to the GDP and provides employment to about 15 million people. Unfortunately textile export is declining rapidly due to unfriendly government policies. The share of textile in the total exports of Pakistan declined from 67% in 1997 to 55% in 2008, and continues to decrease.
Similarly, the production of polyester fibre – a major raw material for the textile industry – is also declining. Our government has allowed the sale of poor-quality Chinese polyester which is cheaper compared to the excellent quality polyester fibre of Pakistan.
It is impossible for local polyester producers to sell their product at such low prices. This is a very alarming situation. The government will have to revise its policies in order to bring about an improvement in textile export and must also encourage the local polyester fibre industry.
Mansoor Ahmed,
Faisalabad.
State & schools
Sir,
Education, like health and security, are obligations of state, which it is required by the constitution to provide to every citizen who qualifies for subsidy. Unfortunately, the Pakistani state has forfeited this obligation to the private sector, where it has acquired status of a profitable business and commercial venture.
States that plan for development and want to maintain their sovereign independence invest in education, with no expectation of financial profits, other than development of human resources to cater for a nation’s future. Prime real estate is being given to private business investors at subsidized rates who run schools and colleges minting profits. The fees they charge are enormous, but sometimes they don’t even have playgrounds. In the absence of strict regulatory controls, education is just like any other commodity which can be bought by the affluent, depriving this country of any possibility to produce the likes of Professor Abdus Salam or Malala Yusafzai, educated in state owned schools, which are vanishing or being totally neglected.
The future generations of Pakistan and our human resources have fallen prey to the greed of investors and governments oblivious to their obligation, because their children do not reside in this country.
Rahim Khan,
Peshawar.
That’s not democracy
Sir,
There is no difference in the severity or monstrosity of the killings in the Baldia arson and the recent brutal murder of over 160 Pakistanis, including children between ages of 12 to 16 years in Peshawar. Is it the destiny of the people of Pakistan to be brutalized by individuals or armed groups and mafia, because those who are victims of such mayhem are ordinary citizens, not members of the ruling elite?
What can you call a state where known criminals involved in murder, kidnapping and arson roam around with impunity in the presence of a government, a parliament, police, judiciary and a paid security establishment with an intelligence network. This definitely cannot be called a democratic system of governance, for elections alone do not give legitimacy to a government that violates its oath to uphold the constitution and provide justice, security of life and equal opportunities to all citizens.
It is not democracy that should be blamed for the ills that inflict Pakistan, but its abuse by those elected and those paid by the state to serve the people. This can only happen in fiefdoms, which collect taxes through extortion, where armed militias loot and kill people in broad daylight, while state funded institutions only serve the ruling elite or themselves.
Zaman Shah,
Islamabad.
How to fight terror
Sir,
Counterterrorism is not a linear process that can tackle terrorism in its entirety, but is rather a complex and multilayered phenomenon. Military operations – as obvious from previous episodes – do not guarantee an absolute end to terrorism but are instrumental in partial eradication of the menace that may then be buttressed by a political solution. Just like an insufficient dose of antibiotics may lead to a recurrence of an infection that requires an even higher dose than the one initially prescribed, a partial counterinsurgency operation not only reverse the progress but increases insurgent resilience and aggravates the situation.
Keeping in mind the perpetual failures of the previous regimes, the Punjab government has taken a bold initiative to refurbish and form a counter terrorism force in the province anew. Meanwhile, laws against the publication and distribution of provocative material and misuse of loudspeakers are also being implemented.
The growing realization and assertions made by the government to root out terrorism is certainly a positive indicator as it shows a slight shift in policy. This has spelled out the need for enhancing the functioning of the civilian law enforcement apparatus that has suffered because of the ineptitude and negligence of the civil authorities. Therefore, a change is desperately called for at both the material and human resource.
In this backdrop, devising and implementing effective new policies and strategies in order to enhance the competence and performance of each and every individual through a comprehensive training and education program is direly required. Furthermore, the obsolete gadgetry and devices they use need to be enhanced, with better use of computers for data storage, retrieval and information sharing for a much speedier action. High tech surveillance and transport systems may also increase their capacity significantly.
We need a renewed and revised strategy to take counter insurgency to the next level. The need for the civilian government to support the achievements of the security forces and bolster their accomplishments is of fundamental importance.
Amna Malik,
Islamabad.
Art of diplomacy
Sir,
The biggest threat to Pakistan today is terrorism – a byproduct of our flawed security and foreign policies.
It was imperative that after 1971, we pursued a foreign policy based on our own national interests, with an emphasis on cordial relations with all our neighbors. Instead of developing institutions to protect our geographical entity through aggressive diplomacy, this country became hostage to self seeking mediocrity. Our choice of diplomats to major capitals was not dictated by their professional capabilities but the emphasis was on protecting the interests of those in power. Individual and institutional interests prevailed over collective national interests. Today, we do not enjoy cordial relations with any neighbor other than China.
According to American writer Caskie Stinnett, “A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.” Yet our foreign policy and diplomatic assignments are dictated by men who may qualify to be soldiers, or stiff-necked white-collar bureaucrats, or rulers whose assets and family are located in foreign countries, having no stakes in Pakistan.
Iran, once our close ally with whom we share a long border and who helped us in the 1965 war, is no longer a country with which we enjoy cordial ties. It is time we set our own house in order, reset our priorities, focus on our internal security and redraft our foreign policy keeping our national interests the sole objective.
Especially after the emergence in India of Narendra Modi, representing Hindu extremists who have never accepted partition, Pakistan should have woken up from its deep slumber. Our survival as an independent sovereign country lies in pursuing the path of a democratic welfare state envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam, with a government providing education, health, justice and equal opportunities for all citizens irrespective of their faith or ethnicity, collecting taxes from the rich, and welfare for the most deprived, instead of being hostage to the insatiable greed of the corrupt elite.
Malik Tariq,
Lahore.