| September 14, 2006 | Thursday | Sha'aban 20, 1427 |
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Kashmir process: a response
Redrawing maps
Humiliating labels
Cat and mouse
Islamiat and Pakistan Studies
Out of commission
Tennis in descent
The vested interest
Nawab Akbar Bugti
Still waiting
AKUH outlet
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
IT is so wonderful to at last see a government agency acknowledge that it is wasteful airconditioning that is at the source of our power crisis (advertisement from Nepra, Sept 10).
However, in spite of spending considerable amount, Nepra has not covered the real requirements of educating the public and, of course, of advising the government itself regarding energy conservation laws.
The big message conveyed by the advertisement covers saving of “the nation’s power” and of “your money”. Where airconditioning is used only by the affluent section of society (who have generally no consideration of “saving the nation’s power” since they deliberately keep freezing temperature in their houses and use heavy garments and blankets), the government ensures wastage by subsidising their electricity tariff. What is the real message? Continue with the waste and we will reward you with a lot of subsidy in your power bill.
Now that the government seems to be focusing on rising power demand due primarily to airconditioning, Nepra and others responsible for sensible management of our scarce resources need to understand the real issue and not oversimplify the solution which will really make no difference to the power crisis. The advertisement from Nepra should have covered at least the following:
1. Minimum temperature setting as per recognised comfort charts. In our summer conditions, temperature should not be set below 24 degrees Celsius (76 degrees F). Even in God’s Gift of Plenty (USA), president Carter’s energy conservation laws had set the minimum temperature in all public buildings at this level. If we can enforce “no smoking” in public buildings, why cannot we enforce energy conservation?
2. Ensure adequate insulation in all roofs and exposed walls. Even the building code of Pakistan, issued by the ministry of housing and works in the 1980s, covered this requirement. This is one of the basic energy conservation procedures.
3. Use of fan to “supplement airconditioning” should be properly clarified. Using ceiling fan with hot roof/ceiling results in bringing hot trapped air to airconditioned zone which could be easily stratified at six-foot height by properly locating airconditioning unit (or return air terminal) and using slow- speed pedestal/table fan. Air above six feet can be at higher temperature without affecting the occupants. General use of standard ceiling fans should not be encouraged.
But then how can Nepra really talk about efficiency and energy conservation when they approve the world’s least efficient combined cycle power plant (with only 44 per cent efficiency versus 25 per cent higher standard combined cycle efficiency). The referred gas guzzler power plant at Karachi will continue to charge higher tariff due to high and increasing gas costs for the next 25 years.
AINUL ABEDIN
Karachi
THIS is in response to Mr Kartik’s letter ‘Kashmir process’ (Sept 7). Mr Kartik has been more critical of Pakistan’s approach/stance on Kashmir and at the same time has mentioned laurels about the so-called Indian economic power.
I wish to ask the writer what has India gained substantially in the field of economy so far despite having a so-called economist prime minister? How much percentage has the poverty level fallen in India, or dare I ask, risen in the last one decade? It is, therefore, a falacy to compare India with the US and Pakistan with Mexico. Indeed I feel India needs another few years to catch up with Mexico even.
Second, the writer has conceded that “Kashmir is no longer a priority for the people of India”. Well, sir, I guess it is no big equation to resolve that for every miser giving away is a non-priority. Moreover, the rise of fundamental Hinduism over the years speaks clear volumes of Indian secularism and the same is corroborated by the ugly incidents of mass Muslims and Christian murders by the Hindus in India.
Third, if Kashmir has no value for Indians, why has your almost every government deployed heavy military there and why don’t you suggest to your so-called democratic rulers to let go off it?
Fourth, your jealousy factor at President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s popularity within the West and the US has clearly shown in your dream of him being thrown out one ‘blued morning’ by George W. Bush.
I sympathise with you, sir, as your prime minister has failed to gather the support and popularity of the developed nations in comparison to President Musharraf.
Finally, let me tell you that the majority of the nation is satisfied with our president’s approach and thus we have no qualms in saying “to the health of President Musharraf: may the majority’s popular leader live longest.” Ameen.
SYED ALI REZA RIZVI
Islamabad
IN his letter Dr Fahad Siddiqui (Sept 10) has asked why the ethnic divide has become unbridgeable in the Middle East while people are “living harmoniously in several countries without any major issues?”
This statement is not borne out by the facts. There are many serious divides and conflicts between various religious and ethnic communities in other parts of the world as well. Since the western media, in their wisdom, choose not to make an issue out of these, we tend to believe that there are none.
To quote a few examples, the religious war in Northern Ireland is still simmering; the Celtic Walloons have been at loggerheads with the Germanic Flemish in Belgium ever since the country was formed; the Basques in Spain have been exploding bombs for a long time; the Corsican demand for separation is as old as history; the Chechens and Daghestanis are fighting for independence as are the Kosovars, Circassians and Abkhazians.
Former Yugoslavia has been torn asunder, while the FLQ carried out a violent struggle for independence of Quebec from Canada in the 70s.
Closer to home, we have the Tamil saga in Sri Lanka; India has killed more than 200,000 Naga and other tribesmen in the north-east, 240,000 young Sikhs and more than 80,000 Kashmiris in trying to quell demands for independence. There are issues in Tibet and Xingjian and simmering ethnic conflicts in the Central Asian Republics.
The question we have to ask is why US policy-makers want to single out only the Muslim heartland for re-arrangement of borders and leave out the rest?
K. HUSSAIN ZIA
Mississauga, Canada
THIS has reference to Ziaul Islam Zuberi’s article ‘Humiliating labels’ (The Review, Sept 6). In the article Mr Zuberi says: “Equal and human treatment to servants happen all the time...even in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia where no discrimination of any kind is practised against a person because of his or her stature in society, and the drivers eat with their masters on the same table.”
The writer’s understanding of social norms in Saudi Arabia is humorous, to say the least. Having lived in the Gulf for many years I’ve seen at close quarters the sheer inhumane treatment meted out to the less privileged South Asian workers toiling away in these countries by many Arabs who vent their spleen on these poor souls.
In fact, discrimination in the Gulf is almost always based on gender as well as on social and economic status. The wealthier you are, the less likely that you will be discriminated against, regardless of colour, nationality or religion. Perhaps the writer ought to visit the Gulf regions and see the decrepit conditions in which South Asian workers are kept, and speak to them about the woes they face because of the paltry salaries they earn, which are often never paid on time.
The malice of ‘humiliating labels’ and practices is just as prevalent in Arabia as it is in South Asia. Even in the ‘oh-so-liberal’ West, there are muffled cries that all is not well under the shiny veneer. It is argued by some that deep-rooted prejudices and egos may still remain, albeit well-concealed due to political correctness.
RAKESH MANI
New York, USA
THIS has reference to Mr Ghayyur Ayub’s letter ‘Cat and mouse’( Sept 10). I would like to advise Mr Ayub that instead of wasting time in biting his tongue, or counting the signs of doomsday, which by the way made no difference here, he should’ve just gone through a good history book and enlightened himself with the facts of our history as stated by Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada. The following excerpt from Farooq Naseem Bajwa’s book Pakistan: A Historical and Contemporary Look, will add to his knowledge:
“The Quaid was clear about the role of the army when a Pakistani officer complained on 14th August 1947 that the top posts had all been taken by the British officers. He warned the officer never to forget that ‘the armed forces are the servants of the people’ and that ‘you do not make national policy, it is we, the civilians, who decide these issues and it is your duty to carry out those tasks with which you are entrusted.’
The Quaid again repeated this advice 10 months later on an official visit to the Staff College at Quetta...”
These are the actual words of our great leader and founder. All I can say now is that perhaps Mr Ayub erupted out of the sheer love for the current government, without scrounging for the truth, but it is time this country and its people realised the ground realities.
M. AMER KHAWAJA
Karachi
APROPOS of Mr Z.A. Jalali’s letter ‘Islamiat and Pakistan Studies’ (Sept 11) I should like to say that he is wrong when he says that millions have been converted to Christianity. Muslims in rural areas may be ignorant about their religion but have not been converted because the laws of the country do not allow it.
I agree with Professor (Dr) Muhammad Ali Sheikh that Islamiat and Pakistan Studies should be discontinued at college level but Mr Jalali too is right in his observation that the argument given by the professor could be termed absurd logic. But here are some arguments that will make sense.
For the last 30 years the subject of ‘Islamic Studies’ has been made compulsory in colleges. Has it done any good? It has brought more damage than good to the cause of education. Prejudices and biases on account of religion, sect and gender that have been part of the curriculum are an obstacle to creating a tolerant society and moderate social behaviour. If we see sectarian division among the Muslims, the cause can be seen in the separate syllabus for Shias and Sunnis.
The common error the rulers make is that they think only for the benefit of the Muslims. They do not realise that we are living in a multi-religion society. And when they do consider anything for the minorities, it is still done for the benefit of the majority Muslim population. Here is one example in the field of education.
Students belonging to minority communities are offered Ethics in place of Islamiat but they are not inclined to study it as the subject is presented from the Islamic point of view and, furthermore, taking the subject would only isolate and enhance discrimination against them. That is why in order to avoid discrimination they are forced to take Islamiat as a subject. Therefore, in making policies and laws the authorities must take this particular fact into consideration.
Another fact is that the Christian community has contributed much in the field of education and though the policymakers recognise this fact, they never take them into confidence and never seek their advice.
Taking all these points into consideration, the Archbishop of Lahore, Lawrence John Saldanha, wrote an open letter to the President of Pakistan on July 24. The arguments he has put forward in this letter are based on facts and thus make sense and should be considered.
He requests the government to treat religion as an optional subject. Moreover, when religion is discussed in other subjects, the lessons must show equal respect to all religions and a reference to religion should be avoided in subjects of secular nature, or else the government should provide curriculum and teaching staff for all children to receive religious lessons in their own respective faiths, as prescribed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 29, 30 and 40), which is signed and ratified by Pakistan.
He strongly recommends that the curriculum in Pakistan should comply with the ideal set out in Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality of citizens in all aspects.
Thus for the benefit of the country’s education, I strongly suggest that policymakers take into consideration the suggestions put forward by Archbishop Lawrence J. Saldanha. And in future, whenever they have to bring about a change in the education policies, they must include members of the minority community and come forward with such a curriculum that would benefit all.
FR. ABID HABIB
Lahore
MY two telephone numbers 6648979 and 6645047 have been out of order since about mid-July. Despite numerous complaints, reminders, personal visits to the service centres and even to the relevant phone offices, the phones remain dead to this day.
Desperate about the non-availability of the service, I sent a written complaint to the divisional engineer of phones concerned on Sept 2 and obtained a stamped and dated acknowledgement, which reads ‘02/08/06’ — another example of bureaucratic efficiency. Yet nothing has happened so far. It is impossible to imagine a worse example of inertia, indifference and callousness of a public service company; two telephone numbers remain out of commission for almost two months and despite repeated and written complaints nobody has taken notice of the subscriber’s inconvenience.
As everyone knows if one doesn’t pay the phone bills by a stipulated date, they are liable to pay a penalty. They call this the surcharge. So if the PTCL does not maintain its service, should it not be penalised? Why should a subscriber pay line rent and special facility charge which together amount to over Rs200 per month?
One had thought that after privatisation the PTCL’s quality of service would improve, but hundreds of subscribers like me are sorely disappointed. This leads one to conclude that when things are done, as a superior court’s verdict put it, in indecent haste, this is what happens. Will somebody please wake up and help the hapless subscribers of the PTCL?
ADNAN KHAN
Karachi
THE president of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) should check the facts before he conducts press conferences. He stated that Japan is in Group 2 of the Davis Cup, presumably in an attempt to cushion Pakistan’s precipitous descent in tennis.
Japan is in Group 1 and qualifying for the world group. It is not known how the 55 per cent success probability factor was established. Probably from the same source that offered the statement about Japan.
Because of PTF’s policies of nepotism, opportunism and out and out incompetence, tennis has gone into a depression. The Davis Cup team selected the other day is the same as has been playing since 1999. No new players have come up, primarily owing to PTF policy of promoting only those that matter and destroying all others.
All the promising players of the past five years have withered away. It is time Dilawar Abbas resigned from his post.
SHIRIN MALIK
Islamabad
AS for the peace initiative with India, we are back to square one. The Bombay blasts set the tone in India and Balochistan insurgency in Pakistan. Every time the prospects of a productive dialogue brighten up, someone or the other from the so-called leaders in both the countries strike a discordant note, as if under a well-planned conspiracy, to vitiate the atmosphere.
How successfully the vested interests of certain privileged classes are consistently protected at the expense of the general masses.
Khudgarz policioon ki tarafdaryaan hei ye/Lekin mufaad-i-aam ka oonwaan hei ajkal
SALAHUDDIN MIRZA
Karachi
IT was an extra-judicial killing, and all Pakistanis are stunned, irrespective of what intellectual or emotional position they may have taken. Not unlike the extra-judicial killings that constantly take place in Pakistan, this one is of the highest order.
The state chooses to follow the premise: end justifies the means, period. Many believe in this dictum, but a state can never be excused for doing so, for then it gives a wrong signal to a lot of wrong people.
In the current sombre time, and specially after the way this larger-than-life tribal chief was buried, I have a question for all the political parties voicing support to Nawab Akbar Bugti, where were they when he rode roughshod on his own people? Where were they when he did nothing for the alleviation of poverty and hardship of his people, and for the women of his tribe?
KAUSAR S. K.
Karachi
DOES Gen Musharraf smell the fragrance of blood of Mr Bugti which has already crossed the boundries of Balochistan?
“Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand... Out, damned spot — out, I say . . . who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” —Shakespeare in Macbeth
MUSTAFA MAHESAR
London
I AM at present visiting the United States. When I arrived here in early August, the price of petrol was $3.10 a gallon. In the last six weeks it has fallen to below $2.50 a gallon, which is a decrease of more than 15 per cent.
A similar relief should also have been given to the people in Pakistan as the price of oil has fallen internationally. What is our government waiting for? Aren’t we entitled to a similar relief?
SHEHLA AHMED
Wisconsin, USA
THE Aga Khan University Hospital collection point at Abul Hasan Ispahani Road has only one man at the counter and one technician. When the outlet opened a couple of years ago, two men were enough for the job.
Today, the number of patients has increased, and it is time the AKUH authorities thought of increasing the staff strength to four.
A PATIENT
Karachi
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