Restore peace of Karachi
Madam,
Instead of turning Karachi into New York, it would be better to restore peace in the city so that people can move around without fear as they did before 1977. Till the time General Ziaul Haq took over, Karachi was a safe cosmopolitan city, where people of different faiths and ethnicities lived together. Karachi had functional and safe public transport system, which started operating in 1885. Instead of making improvements and restructuring it to cope with rise in population, it was disbanded in 1975 after a series of accidents.
Roads in Karachi used to be clean and there were no open garbage dumps. People moved around without any fear of target killers and street criminals, nor did the threats of kidnapping for ransom weigh on their minds. Those involved in city management had a sense of ownership. There was no organised land grabbing mafia which exists today, defiantly occupying state and private land, encroaching upon the coastline, while government chooses to look other way, being partners or beneficiaries of this criminal economy.
There was visible rule of law in Karachi and educational institutions of credibility established after 1947 were functioning and giving quality education to students before 1978. Those who graduated and studied in these institutions passed exams on merit because there was no organised cheating that is visible today.
The ruling elite of this country needs to be seen respecting laws instead of seeking immunity from prosecution. There were no allegations of massive corruption by the city or provincial government till Zulfiqar Bhutto came to power. The rot started after his judicial murder and has gone from bad to worse. What both Karachi and Lahore need is restoration of peace and rule of law that once existed.
Malik Tariq Ali,
Lahore.
Action against rapists
Madam,
Scores of women are raped in Pakistan every day. Sometimes their rapists are caught but most of the time they are not punished. Girls in our society cannot walk openly or freely due to the fear of getting raped. India also has a similar problem. Recently a girl named Asifa was raped and killed in Indian-held Kashmir. It was a gruesome act but once again, state authorities failed to deliver justice. We must strengthen rape laws in this country and train our law enforcement personnel to deal with these cases with sensitivity.
Mahzaib Barkat Ismail,
Turbat.
Nisar’s political future
Madam,
It is a matter of fact that Chaudary Nisar has been one of the key politicians leading his party from the front for decades, but it does not allow him to use media or parliament to express his concerns especially those related to his personal politics and grudges with party’s leadership.
He is indeed a senior politician and he claims that he is among the founding fathers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, and that he does not want to join Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
If this is the case, then why does he criticise the PML-N and its leadership? He should obey whatever Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif say. After all, they are his leaders. If he really is not happy with the way the party is working, he should leave it. He should either join the PTI or form an independent party. Discussing party matters on public forums is like washing one’s dirty linen in public.
His political future might be bleak if he keeps criticising his party’s leadership. He wants to stay in the party but the Sharif family will not like any opposition against them, especially when it is from within the party. We have seen this in the case of Ghous Ali Shah and Zulfiqar Ali Khosa who were among the most senior leaders of the PML-N. Although the nature of their grudges with the party may be different, they had to leave it in the end.
Junaid Ali Malik,
Lahore.
School needs attention
Madam,
Education is a basic need for every individual and development of any society. There is a school in Turbat, near Lallain. It is a 50-year-old school and it needs repair. The government is not paying any attention to it, which is why it is crumbling and in a state of disrepair. Students are forced to sit under the sun. There is no water for them. Many students are dropping out and their teachers don’t know what to do. Teachers don’t have any office to rest in either. I request to district coordination officer to visit this school and review the situation.
Shahid Nazeer,
Via email.