THE prime minister has written a letter to his Indian counterpart to resolve all bilateral issues through dialogue. Although we do not know what would be the outcome of this initiative, both countries must resume the dialogue process that was halted in the wake of India’s unilateral step to change the status of India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

After the Indian step, Pakistan decided to formally suspend its trade relations with India. This suspension has affected almost every kind of trade. A few days ago, I contacted an Indian book company via email to know whether they could ship a book to Pakistan on the history of pre-partition education system. As expected, I got no response.

I then called a large-scale Pakistani bookseller and asked whether it could arrange a book from India, and their answer was that one could get books from the United States and the United Kingdom through them, but trade with India is not allowed these days. This is a very distressing situation, especially for book-lovers and researchers.

During my PhD research, I wanted to visit India and get some books from there, but I could not succeed because the two countries had put visa restrictions. I could not even order those books from Indian publishers because it was not possible for them to send those books to Pakistan.

Thankfully, some Indian professors and researchers helped me out by sending their books and other materials in PDF format through electronic means. I really wish that sanity prevails on both sides of the border, and those who are at the helm of affairs realise that people-to-people contact can make things better for the region.

I suggest that Pakistan and India should enter into an agreement on an immediate basis that there must not be any visa restrictions for students, researchers, teachers, writers, poets, artists, etc., and the trade of books and other scholarly material will never be banned under any circumstances.

Dr Atif Khalid Butt
Lahore

BURNING WHEAT STRAW: The harvesting season has kicked off in many parts of the country. After picking up the usable part, the farmers set afire the leftover wheat straw. This not only causes pollution, but adds heat to the environment. An awareness campaign must be launched to have this practice shunned for good. The agriculture department and the media should play their roles in this regard.

Prof M. Iqbal Gondal
Faisalabad

DRUG ADDICTION: Drug addiction has seriously affected our youth, especially university students who usually try these drugs to come across as ‘cool’ and ‘trendy’, but get addicted before they know it. The government should take strict action against such illicit activities in universities, especially in hostels. Anti-narcotics centres should be established in campuses and on-campus shops should be checked regularly. There should be a ban on the sale of cigarettes within the premises.

Muhammad Arqam
D.G. Khan

DELAY IN RESULTS: Some five months ago, the University of Sindh had conducted second semester examinations of 2021, but the result of the Criminology Department has not been announced yet. The result of other departments has been announced in the meantime. I have visited the relevant offices many a time, but to no avail. We, the final-year students, are waiting for our results so we can apply for jobs. The delay in results is frustrating our efforts. The vice-chancellor should intervene and resolve the matter urgently.

Jahangir Soomro
Jamshoro

PRICE CONTROL: Every day, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) office releases a rate list of basic food items, but fails to ensure its implementation. Ironically, not even a single fruit or vegetable vendor sells goods as per the fixed rates. Moreover, people are still unaware of these rate lists. Hence, they purchase items at any price. The district administration should ensure compliance by conducting surprise visits and penalising those overcharging the consumers.

Mirza Adil Ahmed
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2022