Health care in Pakistan

THIS has reference to Ayaz Amir’s article (May 17). The misdeeds of the medical profession pointed by him are true but are rampant in all sections of our society, be they politicians, journalists, lawyers, the civil and ‘khaki’ bureaucracy and the business community.

This is not an attempt to condone these acts but to state that it has become a fashion for our columnists to highlight the evils of our society without analysing the factors responsible for this situation or without suggesting any remedy for their eradication. Perhaps it is a means of legitimizing their own misdeeds on the plea that everybody is like that.

Since the late ’60s, we have been fed on economic slogans and virtues like honesty, morality, justice, fair play, caring for fellow human beings (huquq-ul-ibad) and honest earning (rizq-i-hilal), etc. We are being called religious bigots, mediaeval, and anti-progressive! The parents, the politicians and the media are equally responsible for this decay of our national character.

It is not sufficiently realized that the economic progress of the West is the result rather than the cause of their honesty and moral integrity (receding very fast with consequent economic turmoil).

Pakistan was achieved due to the honesty and moral integrity of the Muslims of British India and their leader, the Quaid. The open coffers of Tata and Birla, the Indian equivalent of Dupont and Bill Gates, could not buy either the common man or their leaders!

An example of the moral integrity was my late Professor Maj S.A. Hasan who never admitted to the general ward a patient he saw in his private clinic. If such a patient got admitted to the general ward through emergency room, he will return his fee the moment he saw him in the general ward! My father gave me this advice when I became a doctor: “You must treat a patient who has not paid you any fee with the same interest (shauq) as you will do to a patient who has paid you a fee.” When I narrate these examples now, the usual comment is that such behaviour is not possible in the present days of inflation.

I will most humbly request the various columnists of your paper that they must follow the role model of our reformers who made it possible for the Muslims of British India to achieve this blessed homeland for us, like Sir Syed, Hali and Iqbal, who did not give any economic programme but inculcated the virtues of honesty and integrity in the Muslims. Believe me the economic progress will automatically follow the honesty and integrity.

PROF S. H. SHAFQAT

Karachi

A book on terrorism

IN a raid on the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Baghdad, American troops arrested seven diplomats, recovered some small arms, and what is more — lo and behold! — “a book on terrorism.”

The propriety of a raid on a diplomatic mission is not under discussion here. If the Bush administration could defy the United Nations — whose co-originator was a great American president — there should be no doubt in the minds of anyone that it would have any trepidation about raiding the diplomatic mission of a country that is occupied and does not even have “provisional borders.” In fact, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calls it the “so-called occupied territories.”

The issue here is the recovery which the American troops made in the Palestinian embassy. As reported by western wire agencies, the raid lasted 24 hours, at the end of which they found four AK- 47s, seven grenades, one MP-5, four M-9s, a pistol “and a book on terrorism.”

America’s war aims in Iraq were to recover the weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), which Saddam Hussein reportedly possessed. For that reason, it wanted a regime change. Unfortunately, neither before the war nor after the hostilities ended were the WMDs found. The UN inspectors headed by Hans Blix had reported to the Security Council that they had found no “smoking gun.” Even after the war, the US and British troops scoured every part of the country — even bedrooms and refrigerators — but no WMDs were found.

What, however, the US can draw satisfaction from is that its troops who could not find WMDs have indeed unearthed one major find — a book on terrorism, and that too in the Palestinian embassy.

Would not things have been less embarrassing for Washington if the aims of the war were to discover “a book on terrorism” hidden in the Palestinian embassy?

RIZWAN ZAHEER

Karachi

SBP and euro

THIS is with reference to the news item titled “State Bank cautious about Euro reserve”, recently carried by your daily.

It appears that the State Bank is reluctant to move its reserves away from the US dollar, despite the advice being given to it by various sources.

In my article, headlined “Euro-dollar diplomacy and Pakistan” (March 3), I urged the State Bank to move half its huge reserves into the euro for reasons of diplomacy and prudence. The euro-dollar parity then was 1.08, today it is 1.19.

It was previously considered prudent to use a basket of currencies for linkage of the rupee. The rupee was delinked from a fixed parity with the dollar quite some time ago. So, why are we so reluctant to keep our reserves in a basket of currencies as well?

No reasonable explanation is forthcoming. Perhaps, we are so mesmerized by the American might that we are not willing to do anything which might even remotely offend them. This seems to be the only explanation.

TAHIR JAHANGIR

Lahore

Misuse of credit card

I HAVE observed that while the use of credit cards in Pakistan is on the increase, there is a definite need for the State Bank to take certain measures to prevent their fraudulent use.

For instance, some of the banks put their clients pictures on the card, which is a good way to prevent frauds, considering that shopkeepers hardly ever verify the signatures. However, some banks do not follow this practice, ostensibly to save money.

The State Bank may like to issue instructions to all the banks to put the user’s picture on the card to prevent any such misuse. Secondly, while some shops have been provided with online machines by various banks for making credit card transactions, others have manual machines which are easier to misuse.

A phased replacement of all manual machines with online machines is recommended. Will the State Bank governor consider my suggestions?

SHABBIR AHMAD

Islamabad

‘Hunza and Nagar were jagirs’

THIS refers to the news item, “Nagar state’s former ruler passes away” (May 24).

It is clarified that Hunza and Nagar were not princely states, as mentioned in the report.

According to record, on Aug 14, 1947, these enjoyed the status of being jagirs situated within the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Maharaja Hari Singh Dogra Bahadur.

They were part of “Shumali Wazarat” or “Gilgit Wazarat” as Gilgit and Baltistan were provinces of the Jammu and Kashmir state, and on the day of independence, Brig Ghansara Singh was the governor of the Gilgit province. He was also a cousin of Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Brig Ghansara Singh also wrote a book under the title of Last Days of Gilgit and Baltistan.

There are about 500 declared princely states but Hunza and Nagar had never been in the list of declared princely states. Kashmir and Hyderabad were the largest and biggest among the 500 princely states of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan’s father, Brig Rehmat Khan “Tahker”, a former commander-in-chief of the state of Jammu and Kashmir (he was awarded the title of “Tahker” by the Maharaja of Kashmir), was also once appointed governor of the Gilgit province by the Maharaja of Kashmir.

It is to keep the historical record straight that as per “3rd June participation plan” and/or “Independence of India Act, 1947”, only the princely states have the right of option of accession to India or Pakistan or to maintain their status as “independent”. This right of “accession” or “independence” cannot be exercised by the jagirs and can only be exercised by the “princely states”.

SAALIM SALAM ANSARI

Karachi

Common man’s worry

PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf has been in power for over three-and- a-half years. For the past few weeks he has increased his public appearance. He is seen more frequently speaking at various gatherings and seminars. He defends his three-year rule and counts his solo achievement of building foreign reserves. His finance minister sings the same song every now and then.

A common man has nothing to do with huge reserves. The question is: what betterment has come to him? Needless to say that the law and order situation is deteriorating every day.

A. JABBAR

Dallas, USA

Condition of Karachi roads

THIS is to draw the attention of the Karachi city nazim and other authorities concerned to the dilapidated condition of the roads running from the Jauhar Mor to the Jauhar Chowrangi and then towards the Rabia City apartments.

Just before ascending the Gulistan-i-Jauhar Bridge, if you are going from the Jauhar Mor to the Jauhar Chowrangi, you will find the roads in a horrible condition. They are full of ditches and show the negligence on the part of the government.

The motorists and motorcyclists are facing a lot of problems to pass through the roads. This not only impedes the flow of traffic but also causes damage to the vehicles/motorcycles and mental agony to the passersby.

Similarly, if you are coming from the Rabia City towards the Jauhar Chowrangi in a car, you will find big holes and ditches near the chowrangi, which make the motorists to gear down the speed to the lowest extent to cross over the road. Is there anybody in the government to look after the hardship of the public in general and the residents of this locality in particular?

MAQBOOL ALAM

Karachi

Panic at the top?

IN recent days the media has been filled with stories that should ought make Gen Pervez Musharraf and his advisers blush with discomfiture. If it is not the pictures of dozens of elected public representatives getting in openly lashed by police lathis in Lahore, then it ought to be the disgraceful scandal at Okara, where the greed of senior army officers for a new supply of agricultural allotments has led to acts of prolonged brutality against the local peasantry.

Faced with growing criticism, the regime has now, it seems, panicked and resorted to playing the ultimate card of any beleaguered autocracy — press censorship. On the morning of May 30 the Pakistan Telecommunications Ltd blocked its Internet gateway — the PTCL gateway (known as the Pakistan Internet Exchange or PIE) — to prevent anyone from accessing the South Asia Tribune website. This official act of cyber blockage was personally confirmed to me by one of Pakistan’s leading and most reputable Internet authorities, Dr Altamash Kamal, a former director of the PTCL.

If the regime believes that by taking this action they can censor free supply of news and information, then they are quite mistaken. Within hours of the blockage, Internet whizkids were already coming up with a host of schemes to circumvent this blatant act of press suppression.

I imagine the egg will soon, and quite properly, land on the people behind this rather unintelligent act. And the resultant publicity unleashed by this censorship will give the website runner and his online newspaper a million words of free publicity.

SHEHRYAR MAZARI

Karachi

Depleted uranium

ACCORDING to a recent report, the US has used 2,000 tons of depleted uranium in Iraq, which might cause cancer to human beings. It was also used by America during Gulf War I in 1991. This may be repeated in other countries also.

The problem should be highlighted by journalists and newspaper columnists the world over. To begin with, the depleted uranium should be regarded as a WMD which should now be read as “weapons of mass disease and destruction”. Besides, the UN, environmentalists and human rights group should now work actively to find a solution to the problem.

Z. A. KAZMI

Karachi

Pakistani students’ plight in Kyrgyzstan

NEWSPAPERS have kept the voice of truth always alive. It is the newspapers’ power which provides moral support to the suppressed people who want to get their rights. Pakistanis abroad are helpless and find no one to resolve their problems. In such a state of pessimism newspapers are their only hope.

The students studying in Kyrghyztan are in a miserable condition. They are not backed by the Pakistan government because no ambassador has been appointed here since the retirement of the previous one in the first week of March this year.

Kyrghyztan is one of the prominent states of Central Asia and has friendly relations with Pakistan. Hundreds of Pakistani students study here in medical, engineering and other institutions. More than 700 students are studying in Bashkeek, Osh and Jalalabad. They all depend on the Pakistan embassy to get passport, to verify their degrees and to sort out similar other problems.

The student community became worried when the embassy suddenly stopped working owing to the retirement of the ambassador. Hundreds of students are worried as their passports are nearing the expiry dates. Those who have completed their fourth year are specially disturbed because they got their passports five years back which are about to expire. Moreover, the students who will get degrees in June are greatly disappointed because their degrees cannot not be accepted without their verification by the Pakistan embassy.

The affected students request the government to appoint a new ambassador immediately.

WAHEED RAZZAQ

Kyrghyztan

Finding high commissioners

MR Anwar Abbas missed the point (May 24) about my paper, “How to find the high commissioners”, read out at a seminar on Indo-Pakistan relations on May 19. Its central idea was to give more emphasis to people-to-people contact than to choose well tried bureaucracy-oriented emissaries.

Recent history proves that the envoys from the non-bureaucratic background have played a crucial role in thawing the frosty relationship. So why not give them more chances again?

Some of the best Indian diplomats were not from northern India; but what’s wrong with the people like Khushwant Singh, Kuldip Nayar, Gulzar or Gopichand Naraang?

Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Jamiluddin Aali, Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi or Iftikhar Arif may be tried from our side.

KUNWAR KHALID YUNUS

Karachi

Islam and the veil

I CONGRATULATE Qazi Faez Isa on his most comprehensive and convincing article, “Is wearing the veil Islamic?” (May 19). I am sure that the debate on putting a veil on a woman’s face in Islam is settled once and for all.

The most important aspect of this thought-provoking article is that the writer, in his argument, has spoken in the context of the holy Quran itself without expressing his own views.

ABDUL KHALIQ ABOYA

Karachi

Party politics

‘AGENCIES denied us the opportunity to form a democratic government’, says Makhdoom Amin Fahim. One party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule — and both commonly succeed, and are right (H.L. Mencken).

QAZI ASIM NAEEM

Hyderabad

To iron out the kinks

THIS is with reference Mr Kuldip Nayar’s piece headlined “To iron out the kinks” (May 17).

It is not correct to say that “the controlling headworks were evenly divided”. Factually, two headworks were involved; Madhopur on the Ravi river and Ferozepore on the Sutlej. Madhopur controlled water supply to Upper Bari Doab Canal largely irrigating areas in west Punjab through Lahore Branch Canal passing through the city of Lahore and Main Line Lower Branch Canal crossing Lahore’s Kasur Road near Lulliani and nine smaller channels.

Madhopur was located in the Gurdaspur district. It was a Muslim majority district with only Pathankot, out of four tehsils, having Hindu majority. According to the partition principle of Muslim majority areas contiguous to west Punjab, the Gurdaspur district was automatically to remain in Pakistan. But in utter violation of this criterion it was given to India. Why? To provide India with land access to the Jammu and Kashmir state.

At that time India had no land route to Kashmir. All communications to Kashmir — transport, telegraph and postal services — were from Pakistan.

The Ferozepore headworks was also located in the Muslim majority Ferozepore district, contiguous to Pakistan. Three canals, namely Dipalpur, Eastern and Bikaner, took off from this headworks. Except for Bikaner Canal, which irrigated Bikaner (now Rajisthan) state, the other two irrigated vast areas in the Muslim majority Montgomery (now Sahiwal) district and the Fazilka tehsil of the Ferozepore district and Bahawalpur state.

Mr Nayar may be aware that Radcliffe Award had placed Ferozepore and Zira tehsils and the headworks in Pakistan. But he may not perhaps be aware that Mr Nehru got the Award altered through Lord Mountbatten, the viceroy of India. He had it done by pressuring Radcliffe on Aug 12, 947, at a lunch specially arranged for the purpose. Mr Nehru thus illicitly clinched Ferozepore headworks already rightly awarded to Pakistan by Radcliffe.

AS for the treaty, it would be suffice to say it was to the sole advantage of India and to the total disadvantage of Pakistan. About Baglihar, one cannot say much since our government gives out little information, if any. And the other day the authorities, in their infinite wisdom, issued gag order banning all talk about Baglihar. Maybe it is in reaction to Mr Nayar’s article under reference, though it contained nothing against the government.

ENGR B. A. MALIK

Lahore