- Revolution or rule of law By Nasir Khan
- Letters to FreePakistan
- HumorWise
- Issue of the Month: Demoralizing the law
- Basic social services to all
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Quotes of the Month:
Left to their own devices, presidents can isolate themselves in a cocoon of sycophants, even putting protesters in "Free-Speech Zones," where their signs can't offend the liege. The regal atmosphere of the office shields presidents from necessary feedback.
[Gene Healy, “Time for Question Time?” (February 9, 2010)]
It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expense.... They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in society. Let them look well after their own expense, and they may safely trust private people with theirs.
[Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776)]
Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob, and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.
[Frederick Douglass, Speech on the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation (April 1886)]
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PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY
What is Philosophy of Liberty? A screensaver by Lux Lucre and Ken Schoolland explains it.
Download and install it. http://www.free-market.net/rd/321907219.html ; http://www.jonathangullible.com
By Nasir Khan
[This article first appeared in The Frontier Post on May 20, 2010]
Aristotle was born in 384 BC, in Stagira, near Macedonia. His father was the family physician of King Amyntas, grandfather of Alexander the Great. When he was 17 or maybe slightly younger, he was sent, by his father, to Athens to study at the Academy, the first university, established by Plato. Aristotle remained in the Academy for almost 20 years until the death of Plato in 347 BC. After the death of Plato, Aristotle left Athens, first for Asia Minor and then to return to his home in Macedonia where he had been summoned by King Phillip to establish a school for the children of the Macedonian ruling class. It was here that Aristotle met and taught Alexander the Great.
Aristotle returned to Athens later on and established a school of his own, a rival to the Platonic Academy that he called the Lyceum. In 323 BC Alexander the Great died and the government of Athens was overthrown by anti-Macedonian forces. Having had close connections with the Macedonian, Aristotle was brought up on the charges of impiety; Socrates was also executed on the same charge of impiety. Aristotle left Athens uttering the golden words “I would not allow Athenians committing the same sin twice against philosophy.” Aristotle wrote many books on various subjects, one of these is his famous book “Politics.” Politics is considered to be the first book on political science, which earned Aristotle the title “father of political science.” The book is fully based on his experience of the Greek society and his study of 158 constitutions of the past and his time.
In chapter 5 of the Politics, Aristotle discussed in detail causes and remedies of revolution. The causes counted by Aristotle are so realistic that one can predict occurring of revolution keeping in view that causes. One can better understand the political upheaval in Pakistan by using the yardstick provided by Aristotle. A Study of changes in the political system of Pakistan would reveal the interplay of these causes and the ingenuity of Aristotle. According to Aristotle every revolution has three major causes.
First is the feeling of inequality and injustice. Every government claims to be based on the principle of equality and justice but in reality they are not. Inequality is the major cause of revolution. Poverty, one of the inequalities, is the parent of all revolutions and crime, says Aristotle.
Second is the motive of revolutionaries; gaining pleasure and avoiding pain is the chief motive of every individual, which means that people launch revolution either to gain power and honour, or to avoid dishonour or loss.
Thirdly some events or occasion may also be a cause of revolution. For example quarrel or friction among high ranking government officials, corruption of government officials, election intrigues, lack of common spirit or disunity among citizens of a state.
The other causes counted by Aristotle are, when rich and poor classes are equal in number and the middle class is not present to neutralize friction. Middle class works like a shock absorber of a state which absorb friction between rich and poor. Violation of merit by government is also a cause of revolution. Failure on the part of government to exercise checks over the disloyal element of state that tries to infiltrate government ranks, is another cause.
The situation of cities is also a cause of revolution, when people of cities hold divergent views or lack common ideology or the cities are apart from one another - like East and West Pakistan. Another cause of revolution, in democracy, is demagogues who become so powerful to bring down the government and establish their tyranny. Government of oligarchy (government of rich) is destabilised by personal rivalries of oligarch.
Deviation from justice is the main cause of revolution in constitutional government. Aristotle was very much aware of the fact that revolution can’t be accomplished only by the feeling and motives of revolutionaries, but also needs some tools or tactics for success. These tools or tactics, used by the revolutionaries to make revolution effective, are force and fraud. Force is applied by the revolutionaries either at the start of revolution or after the success of revolution. Fraud is used in two ways: (a) sometimes people’s goodwill is sought by presenting beautiful picture of future and after revolution they are forced to obey. (b) Persuasion is used at the start of revolution and similarly after the revolution.
Aristotle also recommends, in detail, preventive measures of revolution. The important prevention against revolution is obedience of law. Rule of law is a bulwark against revolution. Nobody, high or low, should be allowed to violate law and must be punished even for minor violation of law. Government should not rely on the political device of deception for they have proved useless by experience. Government should treat citizens with respect, honour and equality. Government should create fear of enemy’s attack in the minds of its citizens in order to maintain unity among them.
Every state should have laws to control dissension/quarrel among high ranking officials of state, and the government should keep public away from the dissension of high ranking officials. Qualification of offices must not be violated at any cost and the offices be distributed purely on merit. Every state must have anti-corruption laws, which should be strictly applied against corrupt government officials. Government should give share to everyone in government. Highest government posts must go to the persons loyal to the constitution and also have administrative capacity.
Government should strengthen hand of the loyal citizens against the disloyal one. Young generation of a state must be educated, mentally and habitually, in the spirit of constitution so that they remain loyal to the constitution of state. The government must have an effective intelligence agency to keep watch on people. The last preventive measure is that good leader senses revolution in advance and takes corrective measures.
Reading of the causes of Aristotelian revolution provides insight to the reader into the present political scenario of Pakistan. Majority of the signs and symptoms mentioned by Aristotle are part of Pakistan’s everyday politics but still revolution is evasive. Is Aristotle incorrect in his analysis of revolution? Or something is missing from the ingredient of revolution that is hampering the introduction of revolution in Pakistan? Aristotle is indeed scientific in his analysis of revolution but the main ingredients that are missing are the wrong notion of justice generally popular among people and the leaders alike. The notion of justice prevalent in our society is that it is bad to suffer injustice but good to be unjust to others. Everybody likes others to follow law but he himself violates law with impunity. The second ingredient, the most important one, is the absence of revolutionary and sincere leadership to guide the nation to the true path of peace, prosperity and happiness. [Courtesy The Frontier Post]
EVIL AND JUSTICE OR CIVIL WAR
[Gangly Khan]
Evil:
Edmund Burke had said something to this effect, “Evil flourishes not because of evil men, but because good men do nothing about it “. Indeed, lack of condemnations or protests encourages evil to flourish. The least we can do is speak up and show that we are for the righteousness
Justice or civil war:
You have a very simple choice: Justice or civil war -- and you choose. As Suketu said, that is the entire spectrum of possibility from A to B.
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U-2 FLIGHT BY GARY POWERS FROM PESHAWAR MAY 1, 1960
[George L. Singleton, Colonel, USAF, Ret., USA]
I am recently acquainted with Gary Powers, Jr. son of the world famous US U-2 pilot who took off from the Pakistani Air Force Base in Peshawar May 1, 1960 and was later than day shot down over the old USSR. Pilot Gary Powers destination was a landing field in coastal Norway which of course he never reached.
Gary Powers, Jr. is now completing (as of this writing, early May, 2010) his guest stay in Moscow, Russia where he is participating in observances at museums and related military history venues in Moscow of the 50th Anniversary of his father Gary Powers being shot down in his Peshawar launched U-2 over the old Soviet Union. You may want to read Gary Powers, Jr. overview of his late father's U-2 history on his web site: www.coldwar.org
You may also want to read the 50 years look back story of Gary Powers (Sr.) and his fateful U-2 flight:
There is a related Gary Power U-2 story in the May 1, 2010 London TIMES.
In the May, 2010 issue of COLD WAR TIMES Magazine on line at that site is my first of 12 articles about my 18 month tour of duty 1963-65 as Commander, Detachment 2, 6937th Communications Group, the subordinate Karachi unit at our US Embassy then in Karachi for my higher headquarters the 6937th Communications Group (sometimes referred to as the Peshawar Air Station) at Badabur, near Peshawar.
Using this letter to the good ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS INSTITUTE on line, here is some historic detail that may be on the occasion of the U-2 50th Anniversary:
1. Due at least in part to Gary Powers shoot down in the U-2 May 1, 1960, all US military personnel associated with the US Base at Badabur were required to only wear civilian clothing off base in the civilian community, and in Karachi, we had to wear civilian clothing at all times, except for wearing our formal or mess dress uniforms to diplomatic embassy functions among our allies.
2. During 1963-1965 Pakistan was a full fledged member of both CENTO, the Central Asia Treaty Organizational, successor to the old Baghdad Pact and of SEATO, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, which Pakistan belonged to largely because then East Pakistan was defined as in SE Asia while West Pakistan was defined as Southwest Asia geopolitically speaking.
3. After the Soviet shoot down of Gary Powers and the U-2, President Eisenhower suspended U2 flights from and through Pakistan.
4. However, the Cold War was still in full force and a replacement intelligence gathering reconnaissance aircraft was needed.
5. For a time RB-57A, B, C, and D models were flown along the air borders of both the USSR and Communist China by the Pakistan Air Force. However, these aircraft lacked the wing size to attain really high altitude to get a good look "over the horizon."
6. So, redesigning some RB-57Ds which included a hugely larger wing structure came the RB-57F, with two being loaned to the Pakistani Air Force, free of charge, by the US.
7. The RB-57F had a maximum altitude of 82,000 feet, had a pressurized compartment, to include a pressurized intelligence equipment pod in what otherwise had been the bombay.
You can see photos of the various RB-57 models with specifics narrated on the open Internet at:
8. I am now quoting from oral history shared with me during my Pakistan tour of duty by the then Royal Air Force Advisor to the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, to provide more in depth historic perspective of the years of aviation intelligence gathering that followed after our U-2 program through and from Pakistan was suspended by President Eisenhower:
- The RB-57 Canberra historically was a very good British light bomber with a two man crew.
- The USAF adopted the Canberra and over time through US private contractors improved on and amended its designed purposes to include aerial intelligence gathering.
- The Pakistani Air Force had air crews well trained by both the UK and the US in both British and US versions of the RB-57.
- The RB-57Fs, two, loaned to the Pakistani Air Force by the United States had a published upper altitude capability of 82,000 feet. This required specially pressurized cockpits coupled with both crew having to also wear high altitude pressure suits.
- Along with training a few PAF pilots to fly the high altitude RB-57F the US plane contractor brought to Texas two RAF pilots who were likewise trained to fly this aircraft wearing pressure suits, to augment the PAF pilots to do the same thing.
- For a time generally speaking the PAF pilots did not like to be bothered with suiting up in the high altitude suits and at least for a while (during my, George Singletons USAF tour of duty in Pakistan as the Liaison Officer in Karachi for the 6937th Communications Group Air Station in the Peshawar area) the two RAF pilots flew very many of the RB-57F high altitude missions.
- This all took place during a time of increasing tension (these are mine, George Singleton's comments here) when then Foreign Minister Mr. Bhutto was beating the drum with the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff toward the eventual 1965 India-Pakistan War, which I was there to observe the early months of in person.
- Mr. Bhutto tried hard to push around the very fine, professional, and honorable Air Chief Marshal Muhammad Ashgar Khan, PAF, but in my experience and observation failed to get ACM Khan to ever deviate from his proper duty.
- One thing I knew of first hand with the US Embassy was the Foreign Minister Bhutto then tried, again unsuccessfully, to pressure the Air Advisor (same as the US Air Attache) to the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, seeking to get the UK Air Advisor to meddle in the use of the two RAF pilots who then were flying intelligence missions in the RB-57Fs (two). Foreign Minister Bhutto likewise tried hard to get US Air Force officials both in the US Embassy at our my higher headquarters base in the Peshawar are to get US pilots to fly RB-57F missions over Kashmir and India for his, Bhutto's intelligence gathering benefit. In both the UK and US attempts to pressure piloted RB-57F flights over Kashmir and India Mr. Bhutto met absolute rebuffs and turn downs.
- My recollection on the scene so to speak in my role (to be clear I was a young USAF First Lieutenant at this time) as the Liaison Officer for the US Air Station outside Peshawar then Foreign Minister Bhutto likewise met with a cold reception when he tried to pressure Air Chief Marshal Muhammad Ashgar Khan into using PAF pilots to fly RB-57F high altitude intelligence missions over Kashmir and India.
All over the foregoing is found pretty much piecemeal on various Internet sites, a few of which I have noted in this letter.
The purpose of this letter is to bring into clearer view the opinion I hold that the 1965 India-Pakistan War was incited by then Foreign Minister Mr. Bhutto, and as he prepared to agitate and start up that war these were some tactics he failed to achieve.
It should be understood and is public knowledge that Air Chief Marshal Muhammad Ashgar Khan, PAF and the then Admiral Commanding the Pakistani Navy were not involved in Bhuttos 1965 war plans. Only the Chief of Staff of the Army of Pakistan was in Mr. Bhuttos confidence, but the two of them were certainly able to bring along the then dictator of Pakistan, Ayub Khan, without whose OK the 1965 would never have been incited by Pakistan.
I hope this snap shot in time in 1964 and 1965 will be of use to military and civilian historians in an area of the world where objective facts are hard to find and scantily written up in my research experience on line. The two RB-57F US aircraft were delivered on loan to the Pakistani Air Force as best I can recall in about June, 1964. I personally looked over one of the two RB-57Fs which was for a time being technically outfitted and checked out at Maripur Fighter-Bomber Base in Karachi, which base was one of the main places I did my USAF Liaison work for the 6937th Communications Group, my higher headquarters in Badabur, outside Peshawar.
RE: FW: TWO PAKISTANS [FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 113]
[Moid Alam, USA]
It does not help when an urdu website created by a pakistani progressive institute is registred by Virginia Anderson (Chief Information Officer ) of Cato institute.
[EDITOR’S NOTE]
We are working in partnership with Cato Institute. They are providing us technical support for both of our English and Urdu websites, and we have our own webmaster.
RE: FW: TWO PAKISTANS [FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 113]
[Dr. Syed Ehtisham]
Re: Article: Two Pakistans
I am glad Dr Khalil Ahmad finally discovered that there were two Pakistans. Did it not break into two in 1971? Arm chair politics has never helped any cause. Go out on the streets, demonstrate, get beaten and arrested. You might achieve something. When you decide to take on the evil Quad, we will join you.
[EDITOR’S NOTE]
There is something . . . in your advice which may be termed epistemological elitism. Anyways, thank you for the advice!
RE: TWO PAKISTANS [FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 113]
[Sanjay Jadhav]
Re: Article: Two Pakistans
I feel like I am reading Indian newspaper writing about Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal.
RE: TWO PAKISTANS [FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 113]
[Mahmood Riazuddin]
Thanks for Newsletter No 113. It is really informative rather thought provoking. May Allah the Almighty bless u with the courage to accomplish yr mission. Really u r doing a great service to nation and the country.
‘PLUG & PLAY’ ATTORNEY GENERALS
[Dr I. Zafar, Islamabad]
President Asif Ali Zardari has appointed Justice (r ) Maulvi Anwarul Haq as the new Attorney-General of Pakistan. The post of the Attorney-General had fallen vacant after the resignation of Anwar Mansoor Khan on April 2. This development has taken place after successive resignations by Malik Qayyum and Senator Latif Khosa since the PPP government came to power.
Looking at the realities on the ground, it is suggested that some ‘plug and play’ kind of Attorney-General be appointed, thus giving flexibility to the government to send any individual for the Supreme Court hearings as its official representative. This will also serve the purpose of delaying writing to the Swiss authorities for the re-opening of the NRO cases, for the new Attorney-General will always be needing time to study the cases afresh, thus having a perfect justification for requesting rescheduling of the court hearings. [Dawn]
APPOINT DASTI AS EDUCATION MINISTER
[Shakir Lakhani, Karachi]
Now that Jamshed Dasti has been elected to the National Assembly, I suggest that the prime minister appoint him as minister of education. With his expertise in the field, within a short period, all illiterate Pakistanis will be able to get degrees, making this country 100 per cent literate, as well as having the largest number of graduates in the world. [The News]
A JOKE
[Mahabat Khan Bangash Peshawar]
Strange news with unbelieving circumstances has been reported in The Frontier Post dated 25th April. It says that the FC authorities in Balochistan apprehended smugglers and diesel consignment worth millions of rupees on Feb. 10, February 19 and March 31 this year, but every time the seized goods and the criminals were released when Senator Ismail Buledi intervened and influenced FC high ups. Logically the story is unbelievable but still it smell rat because it seems that a deal of “Muk Muka” might have taken place on all the three occasions between the Senator and the FC authorities. I am disturbed when Government and the State institutions make the Quaid’s Pakistan a dirty joke. [The Frontier Post]
ID?
[Dr. Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Now that some parliamentarians have started demanding new provinces in the country, it would not be out of place for the residents of Islamabad to demand creation of a separate homeland for its privileged citizens. Although located only about seven miles from the rest of Pakistan, it has nothing in common with the rest. Search as you may, you would not find any problem of electricity, water, poverty or any of the other misfortunes that beset other areas of the country. This heaven on earth needs to be preserved and safeguarded from the toxicity that surrounds it. There is, though, the question that what should this new republic be called? [The Nation]
EMPTY CONGRATULATIONS
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
It is interesting to note that politicians are congratulating each other on the restoration of the original 1973 Constitution. This is just to remind them that the actual age of the original 1973 Constitution was only four hours as seven amendments were made immediately to please the vested interests of that time. [The News]
ELECTION BEING HELD…SOMEWHERE?
[Rehbar Dastgir, Multan]
It is very heartening to learn that Prime Minister’s brother is contesting election from a seat in the Multan area. No doubt ‘charity begins at home’. Having seen great performance of the PM at the election rally of his brother, one is sure a new chapter of glory has been added to the PPP history. I wish to make two points here, though.
1. Why is anyone being allowed at all to stand against PM’s brother? This is an insult of the PM’s brother as well as of the PM himself. PPP should have made some arrangements to get the PM’s brother elected unopposed. Didn’t Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto used to do that in the golden days when he ruled?
2. Being a resident of Multan and knowing what kind of public reputation the PM, his brother, his sister, brother-in-law and son have here, I wonder who will vote for his brother? With so many stories of corruption of his family swirling all over here, it would be a miracle if his brother gets elected. If he does get elected, it would mean either of these two things, one, the elections were well and truly, comprehensively, rigged. Or two, the voters have turned lunatics and cannot think what is right and wrong. After all this is how this parliament came into being in the first place. [The Nation]
ESCAPE FROM EXTRADITION
[Shabbir Ahmad, Islamabad]
Democracy is supposedly the government of the people, by the people, for the people. This was true in the days of Abraham Lincoln. However, from your editorial "Escape from extradition?" (May 10), it is evident that in Pakistan democracy is government of the thieves, by the thieves and for the thieves. [The News]
RAJA HINDUSTANI & LADY GILANI
[S. Mahmood, Lahore]
I have been delighted to learn that another scam has unraveled in India. It involves a Rs. 600 billion loss to the exchequer and to the Indian taxpayer. Like our own blessed country, India is also blessed with the blight and Indian politicians too are least bothered about this. The story of the scam revolves around one A. Raja, the Union Cabinet Minister for Telecoms. Interestingly like our heroes, messrs Babar Awan, Rehman Malik, Naveed Qamar and others, he is also still firmly ensconced in his cabinet seat. In corruption, at least, we are a good match for India or they for us, whichever way you will. The Indian Prime Minister is in a very critical situation as he too is forced to tolerate this corrupt minister, just like our Prime Minister Gilani.
Mr Raja (of the Indian cabinet) belongs to a regional party that has immense bargaining power, very like our MQM, you know. The people of India expect the Prime Minister to strip the corrupt minister of his position and force him to face an inquiry but he cannot do that since Manmohan Singh is as weak as Prime Minister Gilani. One little difference between India and Pakistan, though. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not making money. If the amount being wheeled-dealed in the scams that we keep hearing about is distributed among the poverty-stricken communities of this country, Pakistan would be a better place to be. It is an irony that politicians of Pakistani brand of democracy can hardly find money to alleviate poverty and improve infrastructure despite the fact that billions are flowing through the fingers of our corrupt top officials. I wonder why the Supreme Court has not taken any step so far about those who had taken massive loans from banks and then got them written off? They included a woman who happens to be the First Lady of Pakistan these days. [The Nation]
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
[Dr Alfred Charles, Karachi]
In reference to the presidential pardon for Interior Minister Rehman Malik, I would say: "Yeh tera Pakistan hai na mera Pakistan hai / Ye uska Pakistan hai jo Sadr-e-Pakistan hai". Has Mr Malik the courage to resign his seat? [The News]
PLANNING CRIMES
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Considering the case of Mr Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, FIA’s former additional director general, where extraordinary remissions were announced by the president enabling the release of the convicted individual immediately, may we request the president to announce, in advance, future plans for the grant of similar remissions thus enabling the citizens to plan their crimes accordingly? [Daily Times]
MARRIED LIFE IN JAIL
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
President Asif Zardari had spent more than half or 51.60% of his 20-year marital life in jail. Mr President you were fortunate for many husbands long for this all their lives without any success. [Pakistan Observer]
DASTI LITERACY YEAR?
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has declared 2010 'National Literacy Year' for the execution of the national literacy plan that will help create a conducive environment for achieving Education For All (EFA) goals. I request the honourable prime minister to appoint Mr Jamshed Dasti as minister for education to execute this noble policy. [The News]
PRESIDENT’S MARRIAGE
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
According to a news report, having not announced the date of his marriage so far by the 30-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan, the citizens of Bhutan have placed a ban on their own marriages. It’s about time for our public to impose a similar self imposed ban till our dear President announces his remarriage at an early date with a promise to live happily ever after in a foreign land just like his predecessor Pervaiz Musharaf. [Pakistan Observer]
FAKE DEGREES
[Kadar Khan]
Mr Gilani sees the graduate degree requirement as a hurdle to becoming a member of parliament. No leadership, vision and skills are required either, with a track record to back it up. Say no to the degree. It makes sense why we are clueless to the third degree! [Daily Times]
RESPONSIBLE POSITION
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad
Looking at the selection of individuals by the Government to run the State Corporations, it seems that Government is very religiously following the policy of appointment being “It’s a very responsible position, we do not need honest people running it.” [Pakistan Observer]
Issue of the Month: Demoralizing the law
A MATTER OF TIME
[Aurangzeb, Swat]
Converting a dismissal to retirement after a lapse of thirteen years reminds me of Nikita Khrushchev who in 1960 pardoned the death sentences and executions of dissident Communists carried out on the orders of Joseph Stalin in 1930. [The News]
NEPOTISM GALORE
[Mubashir Mahmood, Karachi]
First it was Prime Minister Gilani’s son who hit a person at Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza’s walima reception in Lahore and now Prime Minister Gilani’s brother Syed Ahmed Mujtaba Gilani is taking advantage of his brother’s power. During his campaign for the upcoming by-elections, many police mobiles are giving protocol to him. What is our prime minister doing to stop his family members who are trying to take the law into their own hands? Can anyone clarify? [Daily Times]
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
[Mukhtar Ahmed, Karachi]
The president of Pakistan has the authority to pardon any convict, including murderers, and no one can challenge his authority. But before pardoning a convict the president has to follow the laid down rules. The presidential pardon can be sought only when a convict has exhausted all his options to have relief from the judiciary. Only then can a convict approach the president for mercy. In case of Rehman Malik, all options had not been exercised as he could still go to the Supreme Court. Secondly, the aggrieved party has to approach the president itself. But in this case the prime minister recommended a presidential pardon for Mr Malik immediately after the judgment of the Lahore High Court. Why can't a minister go to jail? Everyone is equal before the law. The best course of action for the prime minister was to ask Mr Malik to resign from the cabinet and face the courts. It would have earned him a lot of respect.
History is full of examples where heads of state and prime ministers and ministers were sent to jail. Our president is behaving like King Louis XIV of France who had said "L'État, c'est moi" (I am the state). Mr Zardari should know what happened to the king afterwards. The president still has a chance. It is time he got rid of his cronies and let them face the courts. They should be kept away from the affairs of the state. [The News]
FOR A DEGREE-HOLDER PAKISTAN
[Shakir Lakhani, Karachi]
Now that Jamshed Dasti has been elected to the National Assembly, I suggest that the prime minister appoint him as minister for education. With his expertise in the field, within a short period, all illiterate Pakistanis will be able to get degrees, making this country 100 percent literate, as well as having the largest number of graduates in the world. [Daily Times]
O HAMLET, WHAT A FALLING OFF WAS THERE!
[Abdullah Hussein, Lahore]
The prime minister, exhorting people to vote for Jamshed Dasti in a by-election public meeting, was a strange sight. He was canvassing for a man who had last entered parliament by lying about a graduation degree that turned out to be a fake. The man was disgraced in the Supreme Court and thrown out. What is it with these PPP wallahs? We the people, desperate to put our trust in somebody or the other among them, have been trying from day one and, one by one, they have let us down. First was Amin Fahim. We built him up high and still higher until he was silenced by the direct induction of his daughter into the Foreign Service as second secretary in our high commission in the fair city of Dublin. What a puny bribe for one who was once a prospective prime minister!
It reminds one of the trial of Sir Thomas More, Henry the VIII`s Lord Chancellor, who steadfastly refused to swear to uphold the king`s divorce from Catherine. Henry lured his solicitor general, Richard Rich, with the promise of the Chancellery of Wales, to testify against Thomas More. At his trial for treason, More said to Rich, "It will not profit you to sell your soul for the whole world. But for Wales!" Next came the valiant fighter for people`s rights, my friend Aitzaz Ahsan. We were mad about him and were prepared to lay our lives at his service. He succumbed to the offer of being received back into the party and later a seat on its CEC. Occasionally now he gives statements that make neither head nor tail to anyone or contradict each other. We think that he has been given the job of the Chief Confuser – to confuse the populace.
Then there was the gentleman senator. We built him up, praising him as a shareef man of principle among a bunch of bad characters. As the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms, he played such underhand tricks with the writing of the eighteenth amendment that it stuck in our throat from the day it came out and will likely stay there until we either swallow or throw it up. The only one now left was the prime minister. We thought, and said so, that he was an upstanding man and all we had to do was wait until he got his spurs and then he would ride roughshod over all the villains beating us down. In the dark cave of our hopelessness, we wanted him to be our hero so desperately that we ignored his occasional peccadilloes like loan-defaults and other misdemeanours. On Tuesday, May 11, in Muzaffargarh, Yousuf Raza Gilani was exposed as what he is and always has been – a majawar. On the same day, in a public meeting in Karachi, in an effort to appear a `man of the people`, the gentleman senator, adding injury to insult, was heard uttering profanities. Kaput! The only one we can`t blame is Asif Zardari because we never trusted him in the first place. It`s the ones we trust that break our heart. As the ghost of the Prince`s father says to him, "O Hamlet, what a falling off was there!" [The News]
PEOPLE’S COURT
[Umar Khalid Dar, UK, Manchester]
I am fed up with the rhetoric PPP parliamentarians and leaders uttering on daily TV talk show where they are insisting that there leaders have been exonerated by the people of Pakistan. I, being one of the people of Pakistan, say the opposite and demand that their leadership should get themselves exonerated from the court of law. Never in our glorious Islamic history, anyone has tried to get himself exonerated from the kith and kins. Rather if anyone has any linkage to the case their evidence was not even taken as a proof. So how can an ordinary person; not conversant with the intricacies of law, give any kind of judgment against the culprits. Moreover, personal character is never the issue in any campaign. So I would ask the leaders of PPP, PML(N) and MQM to get themselves clear from the court of law; the court which we all trust. [Pakistan Observer]
SHAMEFUL AND DISGUSTING
[Naeem Sadiq, Karachi]
Prime Minister Gilani misused official resources, violated the law of the land and acted in a very unethical manner when he turned up at the election meeting of a fake degree holder, Jamshed Dasti. Clearly his message was “we support the fake and the fraudulent”. Repeated re-emergence of this fake and unethical lot as our future leaders must be avoided at all costs. The Election Commission failed to filter out more than forty such fraudulent parliamentarians in the last elections. It is time the people of Pakistan raised their voice against the inept and ineffective Election Commission. What good is an Election Commission if it cannot, on its own, verify the credentials of candidates? Why does it have to wait for an opponent to raise an objection? The Election Commission must shed this post-office mentality and ask the HEC to verify degrees of all parliamentarians. Those with fake degrees should be removed from assemblies and debarred from all future elections. [The News]
CLEMENCY BESTOWED
[Engr Muhammad Saad Khan, Islamabad]
By excusing Rehman Malik from the penalties given to him by the NAB court in a clear cut theft case, the president of Pakistan has proved that the current democratic system is inherently a corrupt, unjust and unIslamic system. The right of legislation which the democracy gives to the elected parliamentarians is the source of corruption. This right of legislation enables the elected representatives of the people to make laws as seen fit to their personal and party interests. Clear example is that of the clemency powers of the president under article 45 and in the same way the judicial immunity enjoyed by the president under article 248 of the constitution. Nawaz Sharif and his party backed 18th amendment to wave off the ban on becoming the PM for the third time. The point of emphasis here is that it is not only the politicians who are corrupt but also the democratic system which enables them to do corruption and thus is the beacon of corruption. So for the betterment of the people living in this country we need to get rid of both the system and the rulers. [Pakistan Observer]
SHAMEFUL AND DISGUSTING
[Wing-Cdr (r) Bahre Kamal, Peshawar]
The prime minister’s canvassing for a candidate who had to resign his National Assembly seat because of his fake degree is really very unfortunate. Imagine, how can a person become a member of our legislature who has not only broken the law of the land but also cheated his constituents? If the people at the helm of affairs do not care about the rule of law, how can they expect others to do so? I think that with the prevailing state of affairs, we are fully qualified to be recognised as a ‘banana’ republic. Probably George Bernard Shaw had Pakistanis in mind when he said, “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” [The News]
A LAW FOR 180 MILLION ILLITERATES
[Najmuddin Tajdar, Sargodha]
I have been delighted by the news that Mr Dasti, whom his enemies call a cheat out of sheer jealousy, has been re-elected as an MNA from Muzaffargarh. This is great news and a great victory for democracy. Some say the beauty of democracy is that even an ass can be elected to be a leader if he has a majority of votes. In his case, we have the consolation of having elected a human, and one that is clever enough to have managed to procure a fake degree too. You need brains to even do that, which Mr Dasti has shown demonstrably that he has. If I correctly remember Babar and Akbar, the two great Mughal emperors were also illiterate and we would do well to remember the miracles they did in history of subcontinent, with out even having a degree?
I believe Mr. Dasti can also make history like them, given a chance. That chance can be given to him by appointing him the Minister of Education. If he does not agree to that then he should be appointed the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). He should not accept anything less than that. Meanwhile, we are told that there are another 170 or so MNAs sitting in the Parliament who also have fake degrees. May be the President should issue an ordinance, or better still the parliament should do a constitutional amendment, that all fake degrees are no longer fake and that these should officially be treated as genuine. [The Nation]
FAKE DEGREES
[Nabeela Hayat, Lahore]
This is in response to your editorial "Fake degrees" (May 15). The award of PPP ticket to a man who submitted a fake degree to the Election Commission is a slap in the face of democratic traditions. The contents of his signed election nomination form submitted now conflict with those he had submitted earlier. Are we to accept this distortion, believing that politics is devoid of morals and ethics? If that is so then I am afraid there is no difference between a democratically elected member of parliament and a man who shamefully takes over power through the barrel of a gun. Musharraf lacked moral authority and as such was never accepted, although he misruled this country for over eight long and dark years. A thief or thug submitting a fake degree remains one, even if he succeeds by citing technicalities to evade a conviction. Dasti's two nomination forms are proof that he has committed fraud by claiming to posses a fake degree. If submitting a fake signed form to the Election Commission is not fraud, then may I humbly ask the PPP what is?
For an elected prime minister of Pakistan to support Dasti is unacceptable. It is a disgrace to the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who chose to accept the gallows and didn't compromise with a dictator. The PPP may have won the Muzaffargarh seat, but it has lost its moral high ground. [The News]
A SPARE CHANGE OF A FEW BILLION DOLLARS
[Malik Tariq, Dubai]
History will probably judge President Zardari harshly for the contempt he has shown for rule of law and judiciary, just like his predecessor who was a military dictator. Nobody is going to blame his advisors for they are there at his pleasure and discretion. The indecent haste with which the President moved to give relief to Riaz Sheikh, a former FIA official with reputation for corruption, is unprecedented even in our unfortunate history. Somebody please ask our politicians, generals and former top bureaucrats to at least give an account of an ancestral property, if they had any, in UK, Canada, USA, Spain or UAE to justify the huge assets they own now in these countries. If they had not inherited a fortune from abroad, what legal (or illegal) mode of banking did they adopt to transfer the huge amounts of money needed to buy these assets abroad? Did they resort to money laundering? What employment they did or business they established that earned these fantastic fortunes? Or did they win a Lotto over there? People of Pakistan have a right to know. [The Nation]
ABOVE THE LAW
[Ameer Bhutto, Larkana]
After remitting Riaz Sheikh's sentence, Zardari has once again proven to be a friend of his criminal friends by granting a presidential pardon to Rehman Malik after the court restored his sentence. Instead of ruling by example, Zardari appears to be hell bent on destroying what remains of the writ of law and the authority of the courts. The message this sends out is that Zardari's jail mates and cronies are above the law and beyond the reach of courts. If crime is permitted to ministers, then why should it not be permitted to other citizens? Why not shut down the courts altogether, since the government has made it its mission to ignore their rulings, and also shut down prisons and free all convicts through presidential pardon and save the billions of rupees that are spent on them annually? Why not legalise everything that has been illegal until now? If there are no laws, then no laws can be violated and there will be paradise on earth!
Even crooked chief executives of private companies dare not ride rough shod with such reckless abandon as Zardari is doing at present over state institutions and sacrosanct laws. Every step he takes is an open challenge to the pillars of state and an invitation for the exercise of Article 190 by the judiciary or even more extreme extra-constitutional measures by other elements that seek and thrive on such conditions. Equally disturbing is the role being played by PPP MNAs, MPAs and senators, some of whom are men of considerable standing, who have adopted the silence of the lambs for the sake of continuing their power joyride, even to the extent of not saying a word about pursuing Benazir Bhutto's killers, whose murder case seems to have sadly become a closed chapter.
[The News]
ACTION AGAINST FORGED DEGREE-HOLDERS
[Ali Ahmed Qureshi, Dadu]
The decision of the acting Chief Election Commissioner (May 7) to disqualify MNAs and MPAs producing forged degrees from contesting any election in future was momentous. Besides, the CEC issued orders to start criminal proceedings against all those public office-holders who were found involved in such serious misdemeanour. The CEC decision is welcome as it will go a long way to eradicate all such elements from politics as enter into public offices through lies and deceit, and then feel no compunction in indulging in corruption and frauds.
However, I feel that the CEC may extend the scope of his directive to those legislators who also produced fake degrees and got cabinet posts but retired earlier (not elected in 2008). Cases filed against them were discharged in limine. For instance, the minister of state for religious affairs during the Musharraf regime also produced a fake degree of MBBS, purportedly issued by the Sindh University. But the university denied, in writing, doing so and the case was discussed in the media in detail. However, no action was taken and after the minister’s departure, the matter was hushed. It is necessary that all such cases, past and present, should be taken up and justice done to the law-breakers. [Dawn]
DO AWAY WITH THE ECP
[Naeem Sadiq, Karachi]
Greetings to Jamshed Dasti on being elected as a member of parliament for the second time in two years. Greetings to the equally honourable Makhdoom of Multan for his support and announcement of rewards to promote Mr Dasti's case. Greetings to Muzaffargarh's "people's court" for delivering the ultimate verdict. Condolences to the people of Pakistan who will once again painfully, but happily, suffer the recycled garbage. Now that we once again have Mr Dasti as our MNA, we look forward to him being appointed as our new education minister. He may be the only one who can overnight raise Pakistan's literacy level to 100 per cent. All he has to do is to order printing of 170 million fake BA degrees, and give one to every citizen. The debate on degrees and education standards would end forever. The Election Commission will no longer be burdened by its guilt of failing to check the fake degrees of 148 parliamentarians. Equipped with the necessary crookery and cheating skills, these parliamentarians too will follow in Mr Dasti's footsteps and get once again re-elected to rule the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
More importantly, one could now consider doing away with the Supreme Court (the one located on the Constitution Avenue) and the Election Commission (also located nearby). They consume a lot of high-value accommodation but serve no real purpose. They can neither punish criminals nor get their orders implemented. The Election Commission failed to filter out more than 140 fake degree holders in the last elections. It again failed to do so in the by-elections. An election commission that merely performs the document receipt and dispatch function should be more appropriately called a glorified post office. Do we really need one? [The News]
BRAVO ZARDARI
[Dr Ghayur Ayub, London]
The prompt action of President Zardari to save his friend Rehman Malik from the wrath of judiciary is a glaring example of misusing power in the obtuse legal framework of its usage. Who says Moghul Empire is dead and buried. In the mind of President Zardari; it lives on. Long live king Zardari and his Wazir Rehman Malik. [Business Recorder]
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
[Malik Tariq, Dubai]
History will remember President Zardari as a president who had contempt for the rule of law and the judiciary -- just like his predecessor Pervez Musharraf. His advisers will not get any blame though. The haste with which the president moved to give relief to his friend was unprecedented. Democracy is about the rule of law. Corruption on a limited scale by men in power is a ground reality, but nobody can justify the arrogance, extent or manner in which it is being practised and patronised by a democratically elected government. Pardoning convicted criminals holding public office for corruption committed during a government job is unacceptable. History will never forgive the prime minister, the opposition and other institutions of the state for failing to prevent such transgressions. [The News]
ON MORALITY
[Gull Z, Quetta]
In a recent article published in a leading paper, a writer has tried to justify politics of corruption by saying that politics has nothing to do with morality. If you ask me, the issue is very simple; the martial law is unethical, immoral and lacks legitimacy because it is not sanctioned under the law or constitution. Likewise, corruption is a crime as per law and it becomes more of a crime when committed with such arrogance and resolve as if it is a matter of right or perk of high office.
The columnist whose views I have mentioned, has given the example of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Mr Berlusconi is loose and fast in his personal life, being a noted womanizer of the Italian society where womanizing is not such a taboo. Yet it has become an issue for him because in Western democracies, people seeking elected office are judged by more conservative standards than those applicable to a common man.
Bill Clinton, you might remember, was subjected to the humiliation of facing questions from a Special Public Prosecutor for having lied on oath and he demurred despite his presidential immunity. Richard Nixon had to resign for being caught in wire-tapping of his opponents in the controversial Watergate scandal. None of these crimes involved financial bungling or the sort of corruption our rulers are being accused of today. In a democracy, an elected man is expected to be judged on a higher moral code than that applicable to the common man. Elected leaders are not expected to behave like kings or emperors of yester years, who cannot be held accountable for the excesses committed or seek immunity from crimes committed while in office or prior to assuming the office.
Elected men or women must have moral values for they seek public office and decide on issues that impact the fate and destiny of millions of people. They are not expected to have their hands in the till or fall prey to temptations. While they are not expected to be saints, they are also not expected to have a reputation for seeking personal or business favours or of seeking gratification for work that they are supposed to do for the collective good. Laws are framed to uphold morality, ethics and justice for all. This is how a system survives. For democracy to survive in Pakistan, it is essential that it is clean. Unfortunately, when political wills handed down by anonymous men decide the fate of a nation, chaos, lawlessness and failure are the fate. Democracy has suffered in Pakistan because the elected leaders prefer to behave like rogues running a fiefdom, wishing to enjoy absolute powers of a military dictator. Look at the scams we are currently having, their level, extent, frequency and dare-devil obstinacy of those responsible for so much financial bungling in a country with so scarce resources.
Show me one elected leader in India who is accused of having undeclared properties anywhere outside the country, or whose children do not live in India. Show me any of that happening in any other democracy worth mentioning. Politics sans morality and transparency lacks credence and can never be the solution. Both Musharraf and Zia lacked moral or legal grounds and so does the present accidental misrule of a man tainted with charges corruption. [The Nation]
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
[Lt-Col (r) Syed Jamil Mukhtar Shah, Rawalpindi]
Technically speaking, a pardon is only asked for, or granted, when the allegations are deemed to be true. In other words, it is tantamount to accepting the crime. Will someone shed light on the issue? [The News]
PPP TICKET FOR JAMSHED DASTI
[Shakir Lakhani, Karachi]
I was astounded to hear the Prime Minister say that although he was opposed to Jamshed Dasti getting the party ticket for the forthcoming bye-election, he had to agree because his party wanted it. I would like to ask Gilani why his party has such contempt for the parliament that it wants to fill it with known crooks? Is the party superior to the parliament? Does he not know that elected representatives are also the law-makers? How can one expect a person who was found guilty of forging a degree be expected to understand the law? I also think it won't be long before we see convicted murderers and terrorists being given party tickets. [Business Recorder]
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
[Ayaz Ahmad, Rawalpindi]
Strictly speaking, the pardon granted by the president is legal. But it is blatantly immoral. But then the Zardari government has nothing to do with morality anyway. [The News]
OF DUSTY ELECTIONS!
[Salman Ali, Multan]
It falls so true, ‘Us qom ki halat niehi badalti, na hoe jis koe khud apni halat badalane ka khayal’. O, Allah, forgive us and save our beloved land, Amin! [The Frontier Post]
147 FAKE DEGREES
[M Saleem Jan, Peshawar]
The future of democracy in this country is reflected in the success of Jamshed Dasti, the PPP candidate from Muzaffargarh. Here is a person who quit his seat in parliament to avoid action by the Supreme Court. Objections against his candidature were overruled on 'technical' grounds. The prime minister openly canvassed for his re-election, calling him a real leader of the poor and announcing a mega development project for his constituency. There are reportedly 147 parliamentarians with fake degrees. What does it say about our democracy? [The News]
It is for the people, especially for the think-tanks and NGOs, and no doubt for media also, that the big issue for the next election should be the provision of basic social services (water supply, sanitation, public transport, roads, paved streets, street lights, libraries, parks or playgrounds, and noise and pollution free environment) to all the citizens in Pakistan not only ensured in the constitution but binding on the next government also. If achieved, that will be a great step forward towards the unification of the ordinary and elite Pakistans. Is there any political party ready to take up this at the top of its agenda? [Editor]
PATHETIC ROADS
[Sadiqa Anum]
I would like to shed some light on the condition of roads here in Askari IV, Karachi, where residents pay Rs 200 each month only for maintenance. Askari IV consists of approximately 1,300 apartments and 50 bungalows. Thus each month Askari Maintenance receives an amount of around Rs 270,000, yet the condition of the roads within its boundaries remains in a poor, neglected state. The road between the secondary gate and park is in the worst condition. During rains, the water gathers in many streets and dries up only with the help of sunlight. I would like to request the authorities in charge to use the money received from the residents of Askari IV to help solve their problems as soon as possible. [Daily Times]
WATER PROBLEM
[Qurat-ul-ain Iftikhar, Karachi]
Karachi is a mega city with immense promise and problems including water, sanitation, sewerage, pollution and solid waste that require us as citizens to play a proactive role in working with the government to overcome these problems. Our mission should be to support the development of an environment friendly Karachi with a focus on safe water, conservation and management of sewage, industrial and solid waste. Poor quality potable water has remained a perennial problem for residents of this southern city of Karachi where leaking pipes crisscross open sewers. However, it now appears that the fallouts of poor water management have not even spared the dead.
Generally, water pressure is low and together with leaky pipes, this has led to infiltration of contaminated water. As a result of sewage and industrial waste, which leaked into drinking water through damaged pipes, major outbreaks of waterborne epidemics swept the cities of Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar in 2006. Estimates indicate that each year, more than three million Pakistanis become infected with waterborne diseases. In several areas, increased arsenic, nitrate and fluoride contamination was detected in drinking water. [Pakistan Observer]
CONDITION OF MINI-BUSES
[Habiba Chishti, Karachi]
The condition of mini-buses in Karachi is so pathetic that comfort is never to be found on board, making our lives pitiful and miserable. Being a student of Karachi University, I face a terrible situation daily, as the buses have been divided into two compartments, one for gents and the other for women. However, due to the shortage of mini-buses, we find men in the women’s compartment, which is hardly bearable for us. I, therefore, request the government to take action and provide sufficient buses to us Karachites. [Daily Times]
BROKEN BRITTO ROAD
[Ashfaq Sharif, Karachi]
I have no idea why Britto Road in Garden, Karachi remains unrepaired for so long from Soldier Bazar No.3 Round About to Fatimid Foundation. No normal traffic flows through this area. God knows when this broken road would be completed and open. Why Government appointed contractor is delaying work perhaps to put pressure for more money or unnecessary delay till monsoon seasons so as to get extra work. When our society would become free from corruption and cheating. We as Muslim pray for 5 times a day but never follow the Islamic teaching of not to cheat.
[Pakistan Observer]
WATER FOR HEALTH
[Filza Khurram, University Of Karachi]
The simplest thing that you can do to improve your health, boost immunity and increase your energy levels is to drink alkaline ionized water. Alkanie water is best for treatment of certain diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity, asthma, joint problem and allergies, but I am saying in a low blow that more than a billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water. Only three percent of fresh water is left in the world. In Pakistan alone, 38.5 million people lack access to safe drinking water and 50.7 million people lack access to improved sanitation and this number is growing day-by-day. Pakistan is facing a severe water shortage this year. The country is fast moving from being a water stressed country to a water scarce country. The major aspects of the water crisis are allegedly access scarcity of unable water and water pollution. Since water is one of the most important things for a living being to survive but due to its scarcity, people are compelled to drink filthy water which is accumulated in ponds. There are a lot of villages in Pakistan which do not have their own water supply through tube wells, rivers and streams. People and their cattle in such areas depend on pond water which causes several fatal diseases in them. There is no system to make such water suitable for drinking and every year people die of drinking filthy water. This pond water is undrinkable and hazardous to human health as poisonous chemicals and drainage water regularly disposed of in it. [The Post]
ACUTE WATER SHORTAGE
[Syed Muzammil Hussain, Rawalpindi]
The residents of Dhoke Kashmirian, Service Road, Rawalpindi, are facing severe water shortage these days. The area was getting water from a tube-well located in street No 7 and from the direct supply of WASA, but due to unknown reasons they are not getting even a drop of water these days. Women and children of the area are the most affected segments. Women have to beg for water from nearby localities of Dhoke Paracha and in some cases from Satellite Town. The residents of the area have requested WASA officials to take urgent steps to overcome this severe shortage of water in the area. They have also requested their elected representatives, MNA Hanif Abbasi and MPA Raja Muhammad Hanif, to intervene. They are still waiting. [Daily Times]
CIVIC FACILITIES NEEDED
[M. Shafique Ahmed, Karachi]
Thanks to the previous city government, Karachi got a number of pedestrian bridges on busy roads in many parts of the city. But Gulistan-i-Jauhar, despite repeated public requests, has not been provided this facility. Pedestrians desperately need it during rush hours so that they are able to cross roads safely. They need it all the more as they have been regularly paying all their taxes. The Karachi administrator is, therefore, urgently requested to pay a visit to the area to see that a few bridges are badly needed for the area. He is also requested to use his good offices to change the location of the only post office from Block-14 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar to the main road to be of greater use to the public. The provision of public toilets (paid or free) and sheltered bus-stops with the facility of drinking water is badly needed at all stops to facilitate pedestrians and commuters. [Dawn]
WATER SHORTAGE
[Anwar Kazmi, Multan]
Water availability in Pakistan has decreased from 5,000 cubic metres per capita in 1950s to 1,000 cubic metres in 2007. Moreover, a total of 62 percent of urban households have access to tap water compared to only 22 percent of rural households. The situation is further aggravated by the fact that the tap water provided to the average household is usually polluted and unfit for human consumption. According to a survey, more than 80 percent of the population of Lahore is drinking water that is contaminated with arsenic. People who can afford prefer to drink bottled water, while majority of the people are forced to drink contaminated water which results in the outbreak of various diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis (A&E), gastroenteritis, typhoid and dysentery, etc. The contamination of water results from seepage of sewerage from sewer lines into the water supply lines, as both are laid next to each other. The lack of initiative on the part of the successive governments to replace the rusty and broken pipelines has compounded the problem of contaminated water. Moreover, the wastage of water on huge scales, both domestically and commercially has contributed to depleting underground water reserves, resulting in the ever-increasing water crisis. Chief Minister Punjab should take notice of the situation and order immediate installation of the generators required for uninterrupted water supply to the citizens. [The Post]
LYARI ROAD
[Neelam Saleem Khan, Karachi]
Our municipality needs to wake up. Since private appeals to their office have not had any effect, perhaps a little publicity will do the trick. For many months, Lyari Road has been almost impassable. The surface is badly broken and at night it is dangerous for vehicles to pass that way. I hope that those responsible for repairing the road would do it without further delay. [Daily Times]
WATER WE ALL PAY FOR
[Muhammad Hanif, Lahore]
Leaky pipes, poor water storage and supply arrangements and sanitation-related issues trigger major outbreaks of diseases in Pakistan and by one estimate more than three million Pakistanis become infected or are affected by waterborne illnesses every year. That relates as much to urban areas as to rural ones where water is mostly drawn by hand pumps from beneath the surface and has to be consumed even if brackish. Even in urban areas, people mistrust their taps but the have-nots of the cities have limited options. They cannot afford the pricey packaged water, so they end up drinking tap water even if it is visibly polluted or deemed unsafe. The upper class can afford to drink from the bottle so it pays the high price at which it is marketed within the country.
Some even kid themselves with the notion that the tap water is better than the bottled one. It is a commonly held but incorrect perception. They say there is no assurance that just because the water comes out of a packaged bottle, it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap. We get shocked to learn that most of the bottled water brands are also not safe to consume. The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources has collected samples of brands of mineral or bottled water from nine major cities of Pakistan. After conducting a scientific analysis, it has published a report in May 2010 saying that thirty-three out of sixty-three brands were found to be unsafe. And that includes a lot of very reputable brand names. The government should go for water that has been purified naturally and discourage water-cleaning through artificial methods. Putting up some money for clean water projects would be best of all as it would provide consumers with good tap water. That is what our common people, already finding it hard to make both ends meet, would be able to afford.
[The Nation]
WATER WOES
[Mohammad Munaeem Jamal, Karachi]
I am a resident of Union Council Kalayana, which is a part of New Karachi Town. We have not received any water supply for the past 15 days. I have written e-mails to Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) officials and the city administrator’s office. KWSB officials have not bothered to respond to my complaint. Although the city administrator’s office did register my complaint, they failed to redress my grievance. Shockingly, no one bothered to visit our area to ascertain the situation. I was given to understand that some people have remitted the matter to Mr Moin Khan, who happens to be an MPA of the area and also holds the position of additional vice-chairman of the KWSB. It seems that he too is helpless. The problem is that the linesman of the area has the backing of KWSB officials. He is not listening to the requests and pleas of the people’s representatives. Where should we take the matter now? [Daily Times]
UNAVAILABILITY OF WATER
[Lubna Shafqat, Multan]
Unavailability of drinking water is a serious issue. But the government is not taking necessary measures to overcome the problem. Even if water is available it is contaminated in many cases. In some localities water is supplied to residents through rusted water pipes. Almost every second man, women and children suffer from serious liver disorders due to impure water intake. A common man is not in a position to buy mineral water. A survey revealed that apprehensions of the people regarding the harms of polluted water have increased due to clinical laboratory reports which show every second patient to be Hepatitis B and C positive. Doctors have expressed grave concern over the alarming rise of kidney disease in Pakistan due to malnutrition and contaminated water. The water sample collected from various localities indicated that 80 percent samples were found contaminated and it was not fit for human consumption. Water related problems have always been common in our country. Pakistan has been categorised as a country under water stress. In fact, considering the global and national water scenario, the time has come to take a clear and principled stand to stop the systematic devastation of the water systems. [The Post]
LIBRARIES GO OUT OF FASHION
[Altamash, Karachi]
This is apropos of Zubeida Mustafa’s article ‘Libraries go out of fashion’ (April 28). She referred to the World Book Day celebration in Islamabad on April 23 and rightly deplored the fact that such occasions remained a non-event in the media. She also rightly says that our reading habits have declined greatly, and obviously not because of TV or the Internet. Had the television and the Internet been an impediment to reading, the West would have been a bookless society by now. However, notwithstanding the many benefits of books available on the Internet or e-books reckoned by the writer, we are still far from taking any advantage of this technology.
Moreover, not many of us in Pakistan can afford the Internet/computer facility because half of the population lives below the poverty line. The middle class is not able to make both ends meet. Malahat Kalim, chairperson of the Pakistan Library Association (PLA), whom Ms Mustafa has appreciated, is also not correct in saying that there now are more young readers than before. Sale on the solitary book fair event cannot be made a basis for calculating the readership in the country. She may go to any bookstall in the city and interview booksellers. I frequently visit book stores and find that most of them have been substituted by jewellery shops.
Some that survive are because of government purchases. For instance, ‘Thomas and Thomas’ was once a choice outlet for scholars and intellectuals all over the country because of its best collection on English literature. Today it only sells local titles to remain on subsistence level. Faisalabad, the third largest city of the country, has no bookstall worth mentioning. I agree that local government institutions that in the days of yore supported the library system have to revive the structure and build reading-room facilities that existed earlier. Likewise school buildings that remain vacant after classes may be used to set up reading rooms and Internet cafes. The National Book Day, celebrated by the National Book Foundation (NBF) in Islamabad (April 23) to promote book reading habits, nevertheless has become an annual ritual.
Celebrities are invited to make the function appear purposeful and interesting. However, such annual functions except for invoking a few pledges of high-profile participants to ‘transform society into bibliophile’, things remain unchanged. Although holding seminars on the National Book Day in big cities like Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore is not altogether meaningless, this will hardly meet the gigantic task needed to inculcate reading habits in people. I propose that the NBF, besides holding book days, should establish small libraries in all schools with the help of the ministry of education. This will attract younger generations to books, a prerequisite for creating reading habits in people and children. Local publishers may also be encouraged to bring out cheap editions to enable the common man to buy books. [Dawn]
Edited and prepared by
Khalil Ahmad
[FreePakistan Newsletter, among other things, is a compilation of views and news taken from the national newspapers’ print and online editions. It is not possible to mention the source of every piece of news or view made use of herein; but as a matter of policy, where possible the source is mentioned with due thanks. However, no opinion expressed here should necessarily be taken as reflecting the view of Free Pakistan Newsletter.]
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