| August 24, 2006 | Thursday | Rajab 28, 1427 |
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Karachi suffers meltdown
Policeman at his best
Problems at the IBA
Citizens first
From Hair to eternity
Faulty phone
Plea to KWSB
Education for all
Another gift for Karachi
Stand on Kashmir
Many bridges yet to cross
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
WITH the turn of the millennium, the world has been cast in a die of blood and destruction. On 9/11 in 2001, the twin towers of New York were torn apart in a matter of seconds by the USA’s own civil aviation jets almost simultaneously. The news was spread faster than the proverbial wild fire. TVs around the globe flashed the horrendous scene. The world was stunned to see the impossible happen with the state-of-the-art perfection. Three thousand people perished in seconds.
President Bush, caught in the shock and frenzy, declared ‘war on terror’. Afghanistan was the target country. Within a matter of weeks Afghanistan was turned into ruins with Bush on the kill and Afghan mujahideen, once friends of the US, on the run. The caves of the Tora Bora hills were exploded into pieces in search of Osama bin Laden and bloodshed let loose as if Doomsday was approaching.
Iraq was blamed for being in possession weapons of mass destruction. It was attacked by the US despite worldwide opposition in 2003. All the grand cities of this cradle of civilisation along with Baghdad as its capital were razed with hundreds of casualties of Iraqis as daily quota. Militarily speaking, Iraq was attacked under similar environments as were obtaining in October 2001 when Afghanistan was assaulted.
Eric Morgolis in his latest article has mentioned that it was Sheikh Hasan Nasurallah’s boastful taunt that the present leadership of Israel was too small against the stature of Sharon that provoked Israel to start the war.
It is not provocations that trigger wars, it is when a country bursts at its seams, that it is itching to shed blood of a smaller and weaker nation that a war takes place. Israel’s generals promised their nation a cakewalk and have instead produced a human, political and military disaster.
Hezbollah’s 3,000 fighters have broken the myth of Israel’s unconquerable mighty machine. Israel’s objectives were to slash the 20-mile-deep area of Lebanon up to the river Litani and hand it over to the outsiders. Will Hezbollah allow this to happen? The only danger of the escalation of this ‘raid’ into war was the involvement of Syria next door. Probably this is the stage when Bush will also step in for greater performance. Israel attacked Lebanon on July 12 and played hell with its population and cities.
The world as a whole failed to stop this massacre of humanity and the sovereignty of a smaller state. At the moment, there appears to be no world organisation with authority. The present ceasefire, managed by the US and Israel, duly backed by other European powers, has taken a portion of Lebanon from it forever. The ugly forces rule the roost. Every state in this world must have its own inherent strength to survive with honour.
BRIG (r) A.Q. ANJUM
Rawalpindi
IT is shameful to see how Pakistan’s largest metropolis became paralysed after just three inches of rain. I flew from Islamabad to Karachi on August 17. On arrival I was told by the taxi service that none of the taxis were running between the city and airport because of massive traffic jams caused by stranded cars and flooded roads.
I waited about four hours at airport and contacted CAA, in vain, for assistance. To my surprise no public announcement was made to update the public on the situation. I witnessed a parade of officials in their four-wheel drives, even a minister with the national standard flying on his car.
But none of them bothered to provide any guidance to the hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport. I had opportunity to speak with some foreign investors; all of whom were disgusted with the situation and were reconsidering any further investment in a country where the infrastructure can collapse after just three inches of rain.
This is a call for all of us to reassess our management style and disaster planning. There is no doubt that military men are not trained to manage a civilian disaster or even high profile business because of their lack of education, knowledge and experience in civilian management and the business field. If we want to compete with new evolving business world we should appoint highly-motivated civilians for the top civilian positions.
DR ASHRAF KHAN
Princeton, USA
LAST year Mumbai suffered a record rainfall of over 250mm in one day. The maximum rain recorded in Karachi this year is 77mm. Yet we do not know where the gutters end and roads begin. The city has been ruined because the city fathers and their predecessors, the KDA, have not provided for a proper water drainage and sewerage system.
People have died because of criminal negligence and corruption by the contractor mafia and their political nemesis. Karachi’s self-professed saviours stand exposed. Funds which were allocated for proper water drainage systems have evaporated into thin air.
Those in power for the last seven years cannot lay the blame on their predecessors. Karachi, which is home to millions, has been wronged. The provincial Sindh government cannot absolve itself of complicity, nor can the city government.
If proper roads with reliable drainage system could be built in North Nazimabad in the late 60s, why could they not be built elsewhere in the city since then?
MUZZAFAR H. SHAH
Sukkur
IT is customary to take exception to wrongdoings and lapses on the part of policemen, especially because public-police interaction in terms of frequency and volume remains the highest. Therefore, justice and fairness demand that their good work be also extolled and rewarded.
The story of a man in his late 70s is a case in point. It all started with a visit to the passport office in connection with a passport application, which was referred to the special branch of police for inquiry and clearance. When the old man went to the passport office to collect the passport on the completion of the stipulated 12 days, he was told that the requisite police report did not come and he should go to the police office to find out the position.
He went to the police office and came face to face with a policeman. Although they did not know each other, the old man was greeted with unusual warmth and courtesy. On explaining the purpose of the visit, the policeman checked the files and told him that the case was not yet received and that it would take a week or so to reach the special branch. He took down the old man’s phone number, asked him not to take the trouble of visiting the police office and said that he would inform him on telephone as soon as the case was received.
With the police background in mind, the old man, understandably, became a little suspicious about the warmth and courtesy shown to him and was waiting for the promised phone call with all kinds of misgivings. Then the much-awaited call came, informing him that the policeman would like to visit his place for necessary inquiries. The policeman came and asked a few questions, followed by a final call, saying that the report had been sent to the passport office. After a couple of days, the old man visited the passport office and collected the passport.
The policeman, however, disappeared. No visit, no telephone call, putting an end to all the misgivings and unhealthy thoughts of the old man. So, the police department in Karachi may have a good number of noble people, like this adorable and respectable policeman, Mr Sharafatullah Khan. The least one could do in such a situation is to thank the policeman in question in public for his good work.
M.Z. KHWAJA
Karachi
I AM writing on behalf of the BBA (Honours) students at IBA, Karachi. The management here has elongated our programme from three+one, i.e., three years BBA and then one year’s MBA, consecutively to four+two, i.e., four years BBA and then two years MBA.
Previously, all the four years used to cost Rs4,500 per month whereas now the final two years will cost Rs12,000 per month.
On the other hand, they are still admitting two years BA and BCom students to their two years MBA programme. This means that people who used to be our class-fellows in school are getting their MBA degrees two years before us at a reduced cost of almost Rs200,000.
When we, the BBA students, protested, the director called for us to quit.
Will the authorities concerned look into this grab for money and help the BBA students of the IBA.
CONCERNED STUDENTS
Karachi
IN the United States people are US citizens first and religious affiliations come second. The state we are from has no bearing on our loyalty. We are all equal and have no loyalty to any particular state. We live in a state simply because we are born there, or have a job or perhaps we like the climate.
The fact that each province in Iraq, or any other Muslim country, is a separate entity, and that an imam’s preaching foments a sectarian way of life, truly creates a situation that will tear a nation apart.
Is it impossible for the population to consider themselves Iraqi first and Sunni, Shiite or Kurd second? In the US it would be like the Baptists fighting the Presbyterians which is ridiculous.
It seems the sectarian violence, seen by and thought of as misguided by the world, is the one thing that will keep the violence at a level unacceptable to anyone. What does it matter which religious affiliation you have. The important fact is that the country prospers and survives.
JIM PENETON
Oregon, USA
I THINK the accusation of racism against Darrell Hair is nonsense. The reason we have neutral umpires is because of the history of shocking decisions by local umpires. You must admit that Pakistan was a major contributor to this.
Javed Miandad was never given out lbw in Pakistan with local umpires, yet many visiting players only had to be hit on the pads and the umpires hand was up quicker than a gun can be fired.
This is all about integrity and Inzamam should have just got on with the game. As for proof if the ball was tampered with or not could be looked into after the day’s play was over. It seems strange to me that the Pakistan captain wanted that ball back so badly. It was 56 overs old and a replacement would have been a lot harder. Maybe he wanted to get rid of the evidence of tampering over the remaining 24 overs.
I doubt this letter will even be published as all the comments are so biased the other way. By the way I am not an Australian, I come from New Zealand.
PETER BRAND
New Zealand
BY his diabolical and whimsical decision to suddenly change the ball without any prior warning and without supplying any evidence or camera footage, umpire Darrell Hair has brought the game of cricket to shame and disrepute and shows his evil bias against the coloured cricketers from Pakistan.
He has a notorious past track record against players from Afro-Asian countries.
His giving Inzamam out while he was shielding himself from a throw (shows Hair’s little knowledge of by-laws ), putting Kanaria off bowling without giving him prior warning, his many altercations with Murli, telling him that his action is illegal, are just the tip of the iceberg of some of Hair’s atrocious decisions and notorieties on the playing field wearing a white coat.
Rameez Raja very rightly pointed out that umpire Hair’s rapport and body language with Pakistan players in this series left much to be desired. Hair has now branded us as cheats and we are not going to take this hands down.
The ICC, with the match referee’s decision to back umpire Hair, without charge -sheeting him (for not providing any evidence of cheating by the Pakistan players ), was the last nail in cricket’s coffin for the followers and paying spectators of this noble game.
For over an hour and a half there was total chaos and pandemonium and no announcements were made to the public. Why? The match referee was nowhere to be seen and no one, on and off the field, seemed to be in control of the affairs. Even John Major looked aghast at the bizarre proceeding. Why? Will someone enlighten me with the laws of the game? Do cricket umpires have a licence to brand a team as cheats, as and when they want to, and get away with it? Do we get to see more of Hair’s hair-raising decisions in the one-dayers to follow? If an umpire errs deliberately, who has the veto power to bail him out?
The situation at the Oval was in some ways similar to the licence that the US has given to Israel to get away in broad daylight with almost anything. Come on guys, if you love Asia, your sport, your country, then speak up, it’s time to stand up and be counted or else we shall have to forever carry the Hairy stigma of being cheats.
SYED AZIZ AGHA
Karachi
I SALUTE the Pakistani captain for taking such a brave decision. Former captain Imran Khan has rightly said that Darrell Hair should prove that there was ball tampering. If he cannot prove the charge, then the Pakistan team is entitled to take him to court for defamation. By changing the ball on what appears to be a whim, Hair questioned the players’ integrity and effectively called them cheats. The problem is that there appears to be no definitive evidence that Pakistan cheated, despite 26 television cameras being trained on the action. The biggest loser was not Pakistan but the game of cricket itself.
QAZI NAZIM NAEEM
Hyderabad
Normally phones go out of order in the event of heavy rains. My telephone has the singular distinction of kicking the bucket when there were no rains. It has been ages since I heard the telephone ring or listened to the dial tone. Every time I approached the exchange I was told that there is a cable fault.
My only problem is that I don’t know the governor, the chief minister, the corps commander, the GM telephone and not even the president of the telephone employees union, which is why my phone (5384756) has been dead.
NUSRAT KARAM ALI
Karachi
THE KWSB has started issuing from July monthly bills for water, sewerage, etc., instead of the normal practice of annual bills. This has added to the agony of consumers who have now to pay another utility bill every month, in addition to monthly bills for other utilities such as power, phone and gas.
It is fine if the KWSB has started this practice out of respect for request by the majority of consumers as claimed by it. But it is not understood why it cannot allow other consumers who want to pay charges for water and sewerage, etc., for full one year, as per past practice.
A CONSUMER
Karachi
I AM very glad that the government of Sindh has decided to provide free education for all. This is a good step as quality education is the right of every citizen.
I feel proud that the Sindh government is looking after the welfare of children and every effort is being made to improve the quality of education to bring it at par with global standards. I hope that our education officers will maintain these high standards.
SALEEM BALOCH
Karachi
IF the KPT fountain is a gift for people who cannot afford to visit Switzerland, the flooded roads all over Clifton Block 8 and Bath Island should be considered a gift for people who cannot visit the canals of Venice.
ZUBAIR EDHY
Karachi
AYAZ Amir in his column (Aug 11) has castigated the government on a number of fronts, including its lackadaisical and worsening position on Kashmir. Regrettably one can do nothing but agree on this crevassed standing by the government.
It was heart-aching to see during the course of the Independence Day celebrations on our umpteenth new private channels no one showed held Kashmir as a geographic part of Pakistan (or even as a disputed territory marked in a different colour).
Interestingly enough I came across an ’80s map of the world made by Northrop Corporation in Inglewood, California, which showed the whole of Kashmir as a part of Pakistan (including the Chinese portion of Aksai Chin).
On antipodes to this, almost every Indian channel always shows Pakistani Kashmir as either Indian or disputed. As mentioned, while there was a time when the world gave some modicum of respect to our position vis-a-vis Kashmir, today due to our government and people’s muddled appeasement of India almost all West-published maps show occupied Kashmir as ‘Indian’ and ours as ‘disputed.’
An episode some time back comes to memory when I saw a cop outside a Chinese restaurant in Islamabad with a newly polished badge very proudly pinned on his chest. It was in the shape of Pakistan save it didn’t have Kashmir. I asked him where Kashmir had gone off to. His response was a sheepish smile and a long look of bewilderment.
TAIMUR T. MALIK
Islamabad
SAFIR A. Siddiqui in his letter ‘Many bridges yet to cross’(Aug 18) questions Irfan Husain’s assessment that Kargil was a blunder and asks why? Later he himself inadvertently provides the answer by saying “the Americans started parroting about the sanctity of the LoC and threw their full weight behind Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Bill Clinton told Nawaz Sharif that ‘you vacate Kargil or else’. So Pakistan was pitted against two adversaries”
That is why it was a blunder. This should have been known to the planners that this is what would happen and we would be forced to withdraw. Even our best friend China was taken aback. In the end, we not only had to withdraw without any gain but also lost many lives, wasted millions of rupees of national wealth, were called irresponsible nuclear power and the prestige of our armed forces was put in doubt.
MANSOOR ALAM
Karachi
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