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Friday, 24 May 2013 2:32 am
High 14 oC - Low 7 oC
Editor's Mail
A shameful decision
News from a Karachi court should have lowered every human being’s head in shame and disgust. On March 15, 2008, an 18-year-old girl visited Karachi along with her family; they went to Pakistan’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum to pay their respects. During a power breakdown in the mausoleum’s premises, she was allegedly abducted by the security staff and their cronies who took her to a room within the premises where she was subjected to gang rape. Rangers found her unconscious just outside the mausoleum boundary on March 17. One of the accused rapists was arrested after the identification parade wherein the victim identified him while the other two were also arrested per DNA reports. April 06, 2013: five years after this shameful incident in Pakistan’ history, an Additional District Judge acquitted the three men for want of ‘evidence’. The learned judge rejected the DNA reports citing these as not a piece of evidence per Hudood laws. Is this the same country for which two million people lost their lives in 1947? MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabia
A useless practice?
This refers to Kamran Rehmat’s enlightening article “Screwtiny” in your issue of April 15. I agree with his very acute observations regarding the on-going process of scrutiny of the aspiring candidates for MNA/MPA slots by the Returning Officers. Needless to comment that the process adopted had much to be desired. I would like to add the following observations. Firstly, as pointed out by the embarrassed candidates some of the questions put forth by the worthy ROs had no relevance to the Sections 62 and 63 of the constitution. It appeared that they wanted to belittle the politicians just to score points/settle some grudge? Secondly, the ROs most probably deviated and/or overstepped the mandate so given by the ECP. Thirdly, some of the ROs seemed to be not so competent or one may say not so qualified to effectively carry out the task. Fourthly, many a politician was not asked the pinching questions (may be due to some pressure or lack of knowledge) which if asked could have disqualified them. And finally, the aspirants went into appeal and most of them were cleared due to insufficient evidence produced by the ROs. Being the first experiment of its kind one can take it as a good effort. But we may have to devise better procedures/rules to judge the potential MNAs/MPAs next time. RASHID MAQSOOD Lahore
ECP, thank you for trying
We are grateful towards Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for at least its - now aborted - attempt to stop political parties to vow voters in the name of religion and sects. On April 14, ECP announced that use of religion or sect as a tool to seek votes would be considered as violation of election rules. Of course, the order did not get the approval of the hundreds of religious-sectarian party candidates running for the upcoming national and provincial assemblies elections. While it was ROs nominated by the judiciary who approved these candidates as qualified for elections but the overall responsibility lies with the ECP. After receiving the expected harsh reaction from the same groups, the ECP announced within 24 hours that it had not issued any such directive. Thank you ECP, at least you tried. Masood Khan Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Targeted attacks on politicians
It is a matter of grave concern that violence on various political candidates continues unabated. The recent attack on the ANP leadership must be condemned in no uncertain terms by all and sundry. Currently it is the ANP. The PPP and MQM have also been openly threatened by militants, but other political parties must not assume they are safe. The attacks should be condemned together. The road to elections seems to be getting bloodier, but postponement will be even worse. SAIRA DAR Lahore
Who wants more IPPs
Thermal power plants are consuming 27,000 tons per day of mostly imported oil for generating power at Rs16 per unit which the government is supplying to the consumers at Rs8 per unit, incurring huge losses. Does it make sense for the PPP to say that had Benazir’s energy policy not been reversed things would have been much better? On the contrary, things would have been much worse, we would have been importing and consuming more oil and producing expensive power and subsidising it. This propaganda by PPP is to cover up the faulty policy of putting all our eggs in the thermal basket. IPPs, at best, should have been a short term measure. If long term hydel projects had been initiated, we would not be importing so much oil today. It is bad enough to pursue a faulty policy but it is even worse to praise it is to pull wool over people’s eyes. Engr Khurshid Anwer Lahore
Messrs Clean
When the scrutiny process of election candidates commenced, there was a general impression that soon there would be a list of people labelled as Mr 62, Mr 63, fraud, degree chor, tax chor, defaulter etc. On the contrary, on completion of the process, one finds that except for a couple of targeted ones, generally our politicians are Mr Clean. The media is to be blamed for unnecessarily causing aspersions and creating doubts in the minds of the people about their popular leaders. Credit goes to the fair and impartial judiciary, whose members as ROs and in tribunals ensured that no one was unnecessarily harmed or any clean image tarnished. I am, however, reminded of an incident of 2004/05, when the NAB gave a clear chit to someone known for land/housing scam. The foundation published a half page advertisement in all important newspapers displaying the NAB certificate in their favour. Since that day, the person has not looked back — catch me if you can. HAROON SIKANDAR PASHA Islamabad
Not just elections
When you cast your vote in any given election, you are voting for representatives who will represent your community, district or state. Elected officials are accountable to the voters who put them into office. Their primary responsibility is to listen to their constituents and enact legislation that will improve the lives of the communities they serve. For this reason, every election is critical. After all, we are electing a parliament and the government to be assigned by this parliament that will make crucial decisions over a period of five years in a number of fields, including the economy, foreign policy, social life and cultural developments. However, the parliamentary elections to be held next month in Pakistan are far more important than any other elections for the future of Pakistani democracy. These elections are not only the elections that will simply determine the outlook of our future government and parliament any longer but also will determine what sort of state we will have as an apparatus that rules and organises the affairs of the country. These elections will either make the nation superior to the state or will result in the continuation of the consolidated domination of status quo forces over the political landscape. It will be an election that will determine whether the current state will be replaced by a state apparatus that is based on the rule of democratic principles, equal representation and pluralism. SARFARAZ SAMAD Karachi
Local Government System
No system of government can work efficiently without a strict system of check and balance. This country definitely needs to have a responsible transparent Local Government System restored, but it must be ensured that the corruption and an almost "a state within a state" situation which existed in 2003-2007 should never be allowed to raise its head again. Elected office places a burden on those who hold such offices to hold themselves accountable to law, and subject themselves and their projects to strict auditing, so as to prevent pilferage. Law enforcement and district judiciary must be independent of city district government so as to prevent abuse of power. Elected public office holders do not have a right to take law in their hands, to hold hostage Chief Justice of Pakistan, or to bar citizens of Pakistan from free access to any city within the country, nor indulge in massive abuse of powers and deny freedom to many who may dare dissent with them. RAHAT SIDDIQI Karachi
Politics as family business
The manner in which PML-N has distributed tickets has shocked many amongst their sympathisers. I thought Nawaz Sharif understood people who want a change in reality, not just in rhetoric. But it shocked many when majority of the tickets were awarded to family members, especially for women’s reserve seats. Does it make sense that a husband is an MNA and his wife the same on a reserve ticket, or a father a Senator and his two daughters on parliamentarians on reserve tickets. Politics should be about voluntary public service, not jugglery where members of the same family are conveniently spread across all the leading political parties. The PML-N could have created a precedent by awarding reserve seats to those educated women whose fathers or grandfathers had rendered valuable services for the country and its independence. SYED JAWAID HUSSAIN Multan
A lost cause
This is with reference to a full page advertisement of PPP-P (I wonder why the erstwhile PPP has been turned into an 'association'), which has appeared in majority of newspapers dated April 14, 2014, wherein the party has ineffectively tried to gather sympathy votes on the electricity projects reviewed/stopped by the PML-N government in 1998. I have only one question to ask. What did the PPP-P government do to overcome the power shortages during their current reign of full five years? Nothing added nor improved otherwise we would not have had the shortfall, if not anything in surplus. MAJOR (retd) TALAAT KHURSHID Rawalpindi
IPPs blessing or disaster
PPP has covered the full back page of the Nation of Apr 14 with charges against the Nawaz Sharif government of having blocked many thermal projects launched by Benazir Bhutto. Are they blind to the fact that the much touted IPPs are consuming 27,000 tons of fuel oil per day, producing power at Rs 16 per unit which the government is selling at Rs 8 per unit, incurring huge losses? The IPPs should have been for the short term only and long term hydel projects should have been undertaken at the same time to produce cheap clean power plus water. Was this omission because the only feasible hydel project at the time was in Punjab? If Benazir’s IPPs are doing such a roaring business as the president keeps saying, why did PM Raja Pervez Ashraf declare that in future no power projects based on oil would be installed? I am waiting to see what the PML-N has to say about this propaganda barrage by PPP. ENGR KHURSHID ANWER Lahore
Musharraf’s admission
I can visualise a storm being brewed in media by right-wing religious-political parties over the ex-president Musharraf’s admission that Americans used drones with the agreement of then-Pakistan government. As per record, during 2004 – 2007 Americans used drones with relatively care, most probably taking Pakistan on board while sharing the intelligence information. Since 2008, drone attacks became a routine task to take out the militants in Pak-Afghanistan tribal areas, apparently Americans have kept Pakistan out of intelligence sharing on targets and timings. Drones have been widely blamed for collateral damage resulting in resentment among locals; end result: more militants and more anti-Americanism across the country. We all know that numerous high profile figures of Al-Qaeda and Taliban were eliminated by drones which would have not been possible by ground forces. Therefore, no one can deny the usefulness of this weapon, however, indiscriminate use of any weapon is dangerous and counter-productive, same is applicable for drones. Let’s accept the fact written on the wall: Al-Qaeda and Taliban can’t be defeated by ground forces, therefore, whatever resources/technology is available at our disposal should be deployed to win the war on terror. MASOOD KHAN Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Ignorance about dams
Shehla Raza, Deputy Speaker Sindh assembly, said on TV today, ‘We stopped Musharraf from building Kalabagh dam’. I wish the anchor person had asked the learned deputy speaker the reason for the opposition. Apart from politicisation of the issue there is an abysmal level of ignorance about dams, particularly about Kalabagh dam. Politicians seem to be totally ignorant of the fact that a dam could store 7 million acre feet of additional water for the use of the provinces. There is also ignorance of the fact that with the loss of the eastern rivers, now the whole country has to survive on the remaining three rivers, of which Indus is the only river with surplus flows. It is through sheer ignorance that the people of Sindh are causing incalculable harm not only to themselves but also to the whole country. ENGR KHURSHID ANWER Lahore
Representation without taxation
The danger that years of endless exploitation, injustices, frustration and anger that has been building up in our masses, may finally burst into anarchy in Pakistan, causing irreparable damage to this country. This is more pronounced today than ever before. For most of those involved in this organised plunder seem to have planned a safe exit catching first flight out, having already made alternate investments in foreign countries, where their assets and families are located. It is a sad reality that the ECP, in which we had high hopes, has failed to subject candidates for elections to financial scrutiny, necessary for putting in place a legislature that can ensure the rule of law in Pakistan and prevent massive plunder of state exchequer and flight of capital. MALIK TARIQ ALI Lahore
What you do and who you are
It’s been aptly said, “Leadership is not what you do, but who you are.” This, however, is only partially true. Leadership is very much who you are, but it cannot be divorced from what you do. Who you are represents the inner person, and what you do represents the outer person. Each is dependent on the other for maximum effectiveness. So now watch any television talk show or attend press conference or visit the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan to understand what type of leaders have become the destiny of this ill-fated nation. For better understanding of the physics and chemistry of our so-called leaders, one has to visit my home province Sindh where there is nothing but corruption and crime, doom and destruction, feud and fraud, instead of management, motivation, democrtisation and development. HASHIM ABRO Islamabad
Editor's Mail
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