BANGLA SERVICE: Since the upheaval in Bangladesh, Pakistan’s relations with the country have seen some improvement. A lot of goodwill has been generated in Bangladesh about Pakistan recently, and mass media can play a role in ensuring long-term sustainability of these ties. Radio Pakistan is currently web-streaming Bangla service for one hour at 2pm Pakistan time on its website. The said timing is quite inappropriate and it should be changed to 5pm so that the maximum number of listeners could listen to it. Moreover, the programme content also needs improvement. However, despite repeated requests, no action has been taken in this regard. The older generation of Bangladesh has some goodwill for Pakistan, and there is a need to engage their new generation. Unfortunately, Pakistan has very few friends in the world; we can at least make some effort to decrease the number of our enemies.

Aslam Javaid
Lahore

NUISANCE ON THE ROADS: About 70 per cent of trauma injury cases brought to hospitals in Karachi happen to be young motorcyclists. Surprisingly, most of them generally do not have even a driver’s licence. I often see young motorc-yclists breaking the traffic signal as a habit or for the sake of fun. Rickshaw and coach drivers also frequently violate traffic laws. However, policemen do not take it seriously and hardly ever punish these violators. There should be a constant awareness campaign in society about the need to be eligible and decent drivers.

Dr Asghar Naqvi
Karachi

TAPPING RESOURCES: I have come across some reports recently about the possible discovery of oil and gas along the country’s coastline. No doubt, there is every reason to expedite efforts being made in this regard because it will truly change the fate of the country. As part of such efforts, it will be rather prudent to approach China because the Chinese have the infrastructure as well as the political will to collaborate positively with Pakistan. This will be a wise step, indeed.

Shuja Ahmed Awan
Shahdadkot

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2024