| April 15, 2006 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1427 |
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Double standards
‘Peace treaty offer’
‘He heard the trees’
Non-stop flights
Richmond Crawford Hospital
Strike on Iran
Better image
Asif’s assets
Clifton traffic chaos
Shahid Afridi
‘Confessions of a history graduate’
‘Birth of India’s right-ward lurch’
Inter-bank funds transfer
Cancellation of allotment
I HAD a chance to escort a group of British tourists interested in the cultural and archaeological heritage of Pakistan. The group arrived here at the time when the issue of the blasphemous cartoons was on its peak. The sentiments of Muslims were hurt and they were showing their anger through protests and strikes. It was assumed there would be an anti-West bias among the masses.
But the tourists were really surprised to see the ground realities. Though strikes were observed and demonstrations were being held, the tourists were greeted with open arms everywhere they went in Pakistan. Some people did try to convey to them why the sentiments of Muslims were hurt by the cartoons.
My aim in telling this story is to show that there is an incorrect picture of Pakistan being portrayed overseas. I work as a tour guide here in Pakistan and I take my clients to various parts of Pakistan, including the tribal regions, the so-called home of militants and radical groups.
Some first time visitors to Pakistan inquire about the dens of militants and jihad groups. They say that they imagined Pakistan was full of militants holding Kalashnikovs, hand grenades and rocket propellers behind every tree and building. But once they are taken to the many cities and rural areas of Pakistan their opinion changes. They go back to their countries with a different image of Pakistan.
Pakistani tour operators arrange trips to the so-called dangerous areas of the country. And not a single incident of murder or kidnapping of a tourist has been reported so far. This is because the law and order situation is better even in these areas than in so many other countries which are famous tourist destinations such as Bali, Egypt and Morocco.
The portrayal of Pakistan as one of the most dangerous countries of the world is really saddening for Pakistanis. In the western media it is regarded as the land of havoc and anarchy. But in my opinion people in Pakistan respect their guests regardless of faith and national origin. Religion is part and parcel of our lives, but only a few people with vested interests try to use it to create trouble. Otherwise the people of Pakistan are friendly and peace loving.
RIAZULLAH BAIG
Islamabad
THIS is apropos of the article “Teaching the Bible in Georgia’s public schools” by Brenda Goodman (April 9) which describes how the Georgia Senate has passed a bill which provides money to high schools that offer elective classes in the Bible and sets specific guidelines for those classes.
Since the sponsors of the bill have got it approved from Georgia’s legislature, the governor’s signature will turn it into law. Legislators in other US states such as Alabama and Missouri are considering similar measures.
The interesting and most important aspect of the story is what the sponsor of the bill says. Tommie Williams, the Georgia Senate majority leader, is reported as saying that “Kids are illiterate of the Bible, they don’t understand the text is and how it affects government or history. If we’re teaching a kid what the Good Samaritan law was about, they wouldn’t know.”
What double standards. The very nation that links religious topics in the textbooks of Muslim countries with terrorism wants to teach religion to its own children.
Since September 11, 2001 the West has shown much concern about the alleged radicalising influence of schools and madressahs in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and other Muslim countries.
Governments in the Muslim world have been faithful in fulfilling Uncle Sam’s demands in this regard.
In spite of the full corporation of General Pervez Musharraf and the government, the US is not ready to completely rely on them.
The US Congress introduced a bill (HR 4818), according to which aid of up to two million dollars will be extended by the US for ‘reforms’ in Pakistan’s education sector.
Meanwhile, at home US legislators are spending large sum of money on putting religion into textbooks.
They want to make their future generations aware of their history from a religious perspective and at the same time as they want to deprive our young people of religious education.
We must no doubt revise our local school curricula as required. But we should not toe the American line; we should modernise our curricula in a way that will make our youth aware of our great religion and our history.
SAMINA SHAH DURRANI
Karachi
THE attitude of people like Dr Sardul Singh Minhas (letter, April 11) is the reason why there is no peace between Pakistan and India. Just like his PM, he wants to ignore the Kashmir conflict instead of solving it.
He says that “lack of trust” is what is getting in the way of achieving peace, which is true, but where does he think the lack of trust comes from? The Kashmir issue, of course.
He says that no agreement can be reached on Kashmir until distrust remains, but why does he think distrust is their in the first place?
Can I be any clearer than this? For Manmohan Singh to offer a so-called peace treaty by distancing it from the solution of Kashmir, is quite frankly, nonsensical.
But then again, this is exactly what India has been doing for over 50 years, trying its utmost to ignore the Kashmir issue, hoping it will just go away.
Well, no such luck for them. The ball is in India’s court now, and no amount of bogus peace treaties will force Pakistan into ignoring the Kashmir dispute. If the Indians are really serious in offering a peace treaty then lets hear one which brings peace to Kashmir.
SAIMA ABBAS
Karachi
THIS refers to Sardul Singh Minhas’s letter “Peace treaty offer”. I totally agree with Mr. Minhas that lack of trust is the main hurdle in the peace between India and Pakistan.
However, putting Kashmir on back-burner or in cold storage will not help in creating an environment of trust between the two people.
I also agree with him that the peace process should not be made hostage to developments on the Kashmir issue because in my understanding the confidence building measures (CBMs) are very much a part of conflict resolution.
They help in a big way in decreasing the ‘trust deficit’ and softening the stated positions on Kashmir.
But when one side even refuses to recognise the existence of a problem and insists that “Kashmir is an integral part of India”, then the other side is well justified in reminding the former of the centrality of the problem to keep the issue alive.
SAEED AHMED RID
Berkeley, USA
IT is rare indeed for the citizens of Pakistan to read something in the newspaper that is uplifting and keeps alive the glimmer of hope that there exist people in this country who look to the general good before they look to their individual gain.
And it is usually Mr Cowasjee who painstakingly brings these exceptional people to our attention (“He heard the trees” April 9), Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry with his ability to hear the trees being a case in point.
There are, however, other issues that emerge from this article that require some soul-searching on our part.
Trees and all plant life are vital to human and animal existence. They provide the oxygen we breathe. One formula quoted by physicians is that without oxygen it takes a person three minutes to die, without water three days, and without food three months. Yet we wield the axe with such abandon.
Those who are unaware of their history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. In fact, in “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, 1970 author Paolo Freire goes one step further.
He differentiates humans and animals thus, “...one is historical, with a past, a present, and a future, while the other lives only in the present.” Those who are unaware of their heritage will never value it.
It is time we acknowledged our past (both constructive and destructive) and the contributions of all people and communities, both in the past and present, towards the development and debasement of Karachi.
Finally, Mr Cowasjee is not a young man. He has been working for many, many years trying to awaken our collective conscience.
Are there any torchbearers waiting in the wings who will continue his remarkable work?
Mrs NAHEED KHAN
Karachi
THE PIA flight to Toronto which was scheduled to operate from Islamabad direct to Toronto was delayed by over 17 hours, only to operate via Manchester. How can an airline be caught unawares that they do not have sufficient pilots for operating long range flights?
The Boeing 777 LR aircraft was inducted by PIA, as per plans announced almost over two years back.
The airline has a corporate planning section, a fleet schedule planning section and a flight operation department.
They were all supposed to have chalked out a plan together before the aircraft arrived.
After all, before an airline announces a schedule it is supposed to have obtained necessary permission from all agencies concerned, crew requirements and other logistics at least two to three months in advance.
PIA has over 600 pilots, who are more than sufficient to operate its medium size fleet.
What the airline failed to do was to have the required strength of pilots along with a reserve of almost six to 10 per cent trained on Boeing 777 before announcements of schedules.
MUZAMMIL HUSSAIN JAFRI
Karachi
THIS refers to Mr Mohammed Aziz Haji Dossa’s letter (April 9) concerning Richmond Crawford veterinary hospital in which he has remembered my father.
I didn’t know that forty-two years after his death my father would be so fondly remembered by those who love Karachi and desire to protect some of the city’s most beloved landmarks.
My father’s name was Syed Wisaq-ul-Hassan Rizvi. He had several years of varied experience in the field of veterinary sciences before joining the Richmond Crawford hospital as veterinary officer in 1948. He suffered a massive heart attack on November 13 1964 while at work. At the time of his death he was director of the Sindh animal husbandry department.
He was such an animal lover that he motivated pharmacists to import veterinary medicines and encouraged people to adopt pet animals and birds. He expanded the working of the hospital and set up veterinary dispensaries in Lyari, Landhi and Malir.
He introduced for the first time in Pakistan mobile units to serve in rural areas and introduced artificial insemination as a breeding technique. He recognised the potential of Red Sindhi cows and exotic local birds and encouraged their breeding for commercial exports.
Many attempts were made in his lifetime to grab the hospital land for commercial purposes but he continuously resisted them as he believed in preserving the legacy of the city rather than demolishing its landmarks, as has been the trend.
I was in Karachi recently and took time out to visit the hospital. Things have changed considerably and the hospital is likely to disappear as fresh attempts are underway to put the place to some “useful purpose”. People argue that since private veterinary clinics abound in the city and cows and milch animals have been shifted to far off places there is not much work for the hospital. This argument is valid but it does not justify the destruction of Richmond Crawford. I would suggest that the hospital be preserved, if not as a hospital than maybe as veterinary research laboratory.
WAJAHAT RIZVI
New Jersey, USA
IN an article entitled “The coming wars” in New Yorker magazine, US journalist Seymour M. Hersh has speculated that US armed forces are secretly making plans to attack Iran.
The plans include hitting Iran’s nuclear installations, using either using conventional “bunker busting” or a nuclear armed arsenal, inflicting damage to an extent where Iran would be rendered incapable of carrying out with any further activities.
It would thus be prevented from pursuing its nuclear technology ambitions, peaceful or otherwise.
The article and its revelations have become a subject of hot debate within political and social circles in Europe, with a vast majority of individuals —especially in the UK — disgusted at the prospect of the US attacking a country for the sake of protecting its ally Israel, which the Iranian president has very foolishly threatened to “wipe off the face of the map”.
They dread reckless US foreign policies dragging the rest of the world into a quagmire of retaliation and retribution, in terms of economic consequences, such as oil shortages, and the political fallout, since any such attack would increase animosity against the western world.
But articles and statements of condemnation against the West and a few longer queues at the petrol stations aside, the most important aspect of this situation is that although Israel exists surrounded by enemy states, no one can dare attack it, simply because the USA would retaliate on its behalf.
A question thus arises: has Iran got any such friends in the neighbourhood?
Dr SHAAZ MAHBOOB
Hillingdon, UK
IN her article ‘‘What could brighten the country’s image’’ (April 7) Dr Ayesha Siddiqa writes that the 1962 family laws, specially those concerning divorce, are one of the best and if publicised forcefully can help create a better image for the country.
The US Marines, who are trained to accept anything they are told, would be the likeliest of all to believe such publicity. The Indian Black Cap commandos, who consider the marines their heroes, will in all probability also fall for the publicity. The Tamil Tigers may also gulp the publicity.
But hardly anyone else in the world is likely to be taken in by such publicity when one of the best family laws gather dust in the statute books and the infamous Hudood Ordinances are mightily enforced.
S. KHALID HUSAIN
Karachi
“COURT freezes Asif Zardari’s assets, accounts worldwide” was a recent headline on the front pages of many national dailies. Mr Zardari’s assets include a long list of palaces, mansions, apartments, ownership of off-shore companies and hundreds of acres of land.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz recently said that in 1999 the government treasury was practically empty. At least during the past six years, it can be said that the government treasury has been filled and not the pockets of the rulers as happened when Mr Zardari and his party were in power.
SENATOR TANVIR KHALID
Karachi
CAN somebody tell us what is happening on the roads around Karachi’s Boating Basin and Forum shopping centre? The road in front of the Forum is been reconstructed for the third time in the last two or three months.
No one knows the reason for this. To make the situation worse, there is no traffic police to control the chaotic traffic so drivers are left to decide the rules of the game on their own.
NADEEM A. KHAN
Karachi
IT is very shocking to learn that Shahid Afridi has retired from Test cricket. On behalf of everyone, I want to ask him to reconsider his decision he plays a pivotal role in making the Pakistan cricket team a strong and balanced unit.
Dr ZIYAD ABID
Derby, UK
IT was extremely disheartening to read the article entitled “Confessions of a history graduate” (March 19) where the writer has tried to damage the image of the general history department at Karachi University.
The article is devoid of genuine arguments and the writer has contradicted herself throughout. If the four years spent in the department were nothing but a huge waste of time then why didn’t the writer quit? Nobody compelled her to stay.
Students are not at the mercy of the university or department. They can become successful by their own interest and effort.
It is the individual’s fault if nothing was learnt in four years and instead significant years of her life were wasted.
JAWERIA TAHIR
Karachi
GIVEN the emphasis on India in Pakistan’s worldview, it should be logical for Dawn to provide some quality reporting on Pakistan’s neighbour. Unfortunately, you have chosen a cynical person like Jawed Naqvi to do the honours.
Regarding his article “Birth of India’s right-ward lurch” (March 27), nobody in India claims that the living conditions there are perfect.
We are a poor, underdeveloped Third World country, but we are certainly not on the brink of incipient Nazism/ Fascism. You do your readers an injustice by allowing Mr Naqvi to filter news from India.
Your cause could be better served by turning to other reporters who look at India through a clear lens. Mr Naqvi needs to get the pre-Partition “Islam is in danger, Hindus cannot be trusted” monkey off his back.
VIKRAM CHANDRAN
Sunnyvale, USA
I HAVE seen the advertisement of different banks in newspapers offering inter-bank transfer facility through ATM cards.
When a bank takes three to four days for transfer of funds from one point to another within the same bank, then the inter-bank funds transfer facility is nothing but a sop.
IFTIKHAR NADEEM
Karachi
THE Sindh Government Land (Cancellation of Allotment, Conversions and Exchange) Ordinance 2000 has adversely affected the public. I suggest that the ordinance should be discussed and approved by the provincial assembly and till that time it should be deferred.
A.M. SIDDIQUI
Karachi
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