Quetta carnage
Sir,
What happened in Quetta was inhumane, an act committed by beasts, many of them who have sought refuge in this country. We are paying for the sins of men like Zia and Musharraf who compromised the sovereignty of this country by giving sanctuary to mercenaries of all shades and nationalities. It is time Pakistan’s ruling elite and establishment understand that our salvation lies in pursuing the vision of Quaid, who wanted this country to be a modern democratic welfare state and not a theocracy.
What Pakistan needs is strict border management control so that nobody can enter this country without proper scrutiny, even if that means restricting the quantum of transit trade to Afghanistan. This requires political will and commitment of those at helm, to resist temptations of billions of dollars of smuggling and their collaborators within the political elite and establishment of this country. The bitter reality is truckloads of smuggled petrol that enter this country daily. To date not a single top bureaucrat or uniformed officer, responsible for prevention of such acts has been held responsible and given exemplary punishment.
61 innocent sons of Pakistan, who joined police have fallen victim to this brutal terrorist attack near Quetta. If this is not a security and intelligence breach than what else can we term it? There will be the usual condemnations and meetings and thereafter it will be business as usual, with the PM, President and others busy with their never-ending spate of foreign tours, which have yielded nothing but more expenses for a state burdened with debt and declining exports.
The armchair security analysts continue to appear on television talk shows and give us lectures. What the ruling elite of this country has to understand is that they are there to protect the lives of ordinary citizens, instead of living in secure secluded housing colonies whilst the vast majority are exposed to all kinds of dangers. It should be food for thought that in a country which is insecure from within, where law enforcement has failed in its primary objective, those who are employed for these specific tasks are too busy in developing housing societies for commercial profiteering that has adversely affected their professional capabilities.
Ali M,
Lahore.
Corruption
Sir,
Once again this country is witnessing British NSA Sir Mark Lyall, busy meeting the elite of this country. He holds the post of the UK National Security Advisor and should have held meetings with Pakistan’s NSA, instead of meeting the PM and other prominent public officeholders of this country at a time when there is heightened tension in the country.
This gentleman coauthored the NRO, which has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, granting immunity to those involved in institutionalized corruption, money laundering, criminal activities, plundering this country and transferring their black money abroad, whose economy benefits from this corruption, while granting immunity to over 8,000 criminals, involved in heinous crimes.
Pakistan has to decide whether it is really an independent sovereign state, created by the Quaid on 14 August 1947 and not a dominion of its former colonial occupier. What a coincidence that every middleman involved in controversial non-transparent mega projects hold foreign nationalities of countries whose economy benefits from institutionalized corruption and cannot be held accountable?
Pakistan has to decide whether the government it elects is there to serve its former colonial masters who have given sanctuary to a man like Altaf Hussain, who daily spits venom against Pakistan, making hate speeches, calling for its disintegration, or a government committed to serve the people of Pakistan, invest in development of its human resources, health and boosting the economy by increasing exports instead of piling up foreign debts. We, the people, have to finally decide whether our country will continue to be shackled as a third world country whose rulers indulge in massive tax evasion, plunder and abuse, depriving this country of billions, which are invested to boost economies of what constitute first world, which has zero tolerance for tax evaders and corrupt political and paid public office holders.
Asad T,
Lahore.
Liquor shops
Sir,
The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial IG Police and DG Excise Department to shut down all liquor shops in the province. This is an outstanding and remarkable decision taken by the apex court. There are several short and long term adverse health effects of alcoholism. Alcohol use can affect all parts of the body, but particularly affects the brain, heart, liver, pancreas and immune system. The social problems arising from alcoholism are serious as well. The risk of committing criminal offences, including abuse, domestic violence, burglary and assault are all associated with alcohol abuse. Driving under the influence, operating an aircraft or heavy machinery increases the risk of accident.
As per laws pertaining to liquor, alcohol is prohibited and its advertisement has been outlawed in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. However, it remains widely available in urban Pakistan through bootleggers and through the diplomatic staff of some minor countries. Sindh is the only province of Pakistan where the Hindu community live in penalties in the areas of Tharparkar, Umer Kot, Sangher and Badin districts. Approximately 160 liquor shops are operational across Sindh by getting licenses in the name of supplying non-Muslims. Interestingly, some liquor shops are operating in Muslim-majority areas of Defense and Clifton in Karachi.
Mansoor Ahmed,
Faisalabad.
Execution
Sir,
The execution of two men before their appeal was heard proves that many innocent persons may have been hanged in the past, and such incidents may be replicated in future unless the government thoroughly revamps the justice system. In 1957, a Muslim was wrongly convicted and hanged in the UK. The actual murderer confessed to the crime on his death bed twenty years after the event. Due to the possibility of such miscarriages of justice, one hundred and forty countries (out of a total of 196) have either abolished capital punishment or have held it in abeyance. Statistics prove that abolition of the death penalty does not increase crimes. Moreover, just as a black man is more likely to be convicted and executed in the US, in India, Muslims are more likely to be wrongfully convicted and hanged. To avoid more miscarriages of justice, Pakistan should immediately stop executing people. The least it can do, if it wants to retain capital punishment, is to impose it only for serious crimes like waging war against the state.
Shakir Lakhani,
Karachi.
Qatar visit
Sir,
The president of Pakistan is supposed to be symbol of the federation. He was on an official four-day trip to Qatar when over 62 Pakistani citizens were brutally murdered by terrorists near Quetta and another 130 were injured. Should the president not have cut short this visit and returned to Pakistan to be symbolically with the people, as is the custom and tradition of other heads of state when their country faces such human tragedies.
This president, during his three-year tenure, performed Hajj twice at state expense, although this is a religious obligation which is mandatory for any Muslim who can afford it to perform at his own expense and there is no reason for the state to bear these expenses.
What purpose do these foreign visits, which are a burden on taxpayers, have served to boost our exports, improve our economy and achieve diplomatic success?
Tariq Ali,
Lahore.
Going down
Sir,
Home remittances plunged by a whopping 20% year on year to $1.33 billion in July 2016. If this trend persists in the following months, Pakistan may face a balance of payment problem in future. The State Bank of Pakistan has entirely attributed this huge drop in home remittances to the gulf economies, which are slowing down due to the reduction in crude oil price and thus resulting in thousands of job losses of expatriates, including Pakistanis. I believe this is not the only reason for the 20% drop in our home remittances. It is thought provoking to note that home remittances from United States and United Kingdom for the month of July 2016 fell 33.5% and 38% year on year. The US and UK economies are not dependent entirely on the revenue from high crude oil prices. So why did our home remittances from these two countries also fall by large percentages? The State Bank of Pakistan and the country’s economic managers should dig deep into this important data and find out the reason for such a big drop. I believe that there is a clear and strong link between home remittances and the real estate business in Pakistan. I have a very strong feeling that this big plunge in home remittances has been caused to a significant extent by the recent abrupt closure of real estate business during the months of June and July due to the huge increase in taxes on purchase/sale of urban property announced in the county’s budget.
Ejaz Ahmad Magoon,
Lahore.
Breaking free
Sir,
The official definition of political correctness is “the avoidance of expressions or actions that can be perceived to exclude or marginalize or insult people who are socially disadvantaged or discriminated against.”
Political correctness in short PC shows an effort to make broad social and political changes to redress injustice caused by prejudice.
With the example of the United States where the political correctness movement started in the 1970s one can see the extent of this recent phenomenon.
If you say the “wrong thing” in America today, you might be penalized, fired or even taken to court.
The freedom of speech granted to the people through the very first amendment of the American constitution is becoming greatly restricted.
But not only the United States are influenced by political correctness as it has already transferred to the rest of the world. Every single day, the mainstream media bombard us with the subtle messages about what we should believe and what “appropriate speech” consists of.
It would be a huge mistake to underestimate the power of the mainstream media in our world today.
When we go to work or to school, the conversations we tend to have in our every day life are mostly based on the content that the media feeds us.
This might not even be our own opinion or even the truth. And we also might know the fact that 90% of what we watch on TV, read in the newspapers and hear on the radio is censored by the government which is ultimately controlled by lobbies.
Unfortunately the insidious nature of political correctness goes far beyond stifling legitimate opinions – it can also be used as a means of furthering one political opinion at the expense of another.
The way we all see the world has been greatly shaped by the thousands of hours of “thought training” that we have all received over the years. Political correctness threatens the freedom and asks us sacrifice our opinion for the sake of the system to exist.
If we want to continue to live in a free society and enjoy the benefits of its freedom, we must give our own opinion preference over a so-called political correct statement.
Understanding what is being done to us is the first step towards breaking free.
Dua Wahab Khan,
Bad Homburg.
Checking security
Sir,
Apropos agency reports about bogus bomb detectors used at airports in Pakistan., James McCormick, the businessman responsible for selling this fake device ADE-651 is in prison for making and selling this fake bomb detector that has been banned all over the world, yet this device with an antenna continues to be used at all airports in Pakistan, a country facing terrorism and engaged in Zarb-e-Azb.
The irony is that this device is now being manufactured and sold by none other than our own Airport Security Force. With such blatant conflicts of interest going unchecked, security is bound to be compromised. Profits of billions have blinded those who were deputed and paid for by the state to make our airports and passengers safer.
Pakistan’s airports have been declared red because of major security lapses; frequent bird hazards etc., and require full focus to make them more secure. Yet the ASF has all the time to plan, build and market residential and commercial plots. One of major factors that facilitates security violators is easy access to all our airports by mushrooming of residential housing societies and other commercial outlets around airports, in what should be a sterile zone. The waste from these housing and commercial outlets is a major factor contributing to the bird hazard, which has unacceptable high occurrence at our airports.
The tragedy is that this fake ADE-651, nicknamed “Khoji”, is now being marketed by its new makers in Pakistan and is used by police, security guards etc., deputed to guard roads, buildings, bridges and other important locations. The sole purpose of creating these security agencies in Pakistan stands defeated if they were to indulge in irregularities, conflicts of interest and abusing their powers. The sacrifices of hundreds of thousands who have died fighting terrorism or being its victim would go in vain, if the greed of few were to prevail.
Asad Shafiq,
Lahore.
Democracy
Sir,
Ever since the Quaid’s unfortunate demise, Pakistan and its fragile democracy and state institutions have been victims of greed and abuse from its corrupt ruling elite. In a democracy, those elected to power are subject to strict accountability through independent state regulatory institutions while issues are resolved through dialogue in parliament.
The government is required to adhere to a strict code of ethics and be answerable to the people. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, neither the government nor the opposition have regard for democratic traditions, ethics of governance and norms, like conflict of interest.
PM Nawaz, like his predecessors, thinks that getting elected for five years gives him a license or contract to do as he wishes. He has appointed controversial individuals whose names are tarnished with corruption, to head mega projects, as if these were spoils of war. His choice of finance minister is a man under whom exports have declined and who thinks it commendable to build up foreign exchange reserves by taking debts and floating bonds at rates that are almost double or triple the existing international market rates. Organized money laundering is rampant, threatening to erode the national economy and is the vehicle used by terrorists to fund their nefarious activities.
Even the opposition threatened to shut-down Islamabad, which under no circumstances could be justified as a democratic protest. Both the PM and his political opposition rarely attend parliament, although both derive strength from it. In a rare instance, where public interest was being served in Punjab by a conscientious bureaucrat, Ayesha Mumtaz, through strictly regulating quality of food sold by restaurants etc, she has been forced to go on leave.
Malik Tariq,
Lahore.