The Weinstein effect
Sir,
Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat. “Proof lies on him who asserts, not on him who denies.” Over the past few months, women around the world have courageously come forward against ‘sexual predators’ who have caused them unimaginable mental and physical harm. This climate has empowered women and forced organisations to take significant steps, aimed at changing the culture of misogyny that has allowed men to prey upon women without fear.
However, news of suicides committed by men after allegations of harassment, highlights cases that have gone horribly wrong. A former Welsh Assembly minister, Carl Sargeant, committed suicide after being implicated in a sexual harassment scandal. Sargeant was relieved of his duties in complete violation of the rule of ‘natural justice’, despite denying the claims made against him. His wife and two children were devastated, blaming the Labour party for treating him as a criminal, based on assertions that were never proven in court. Sargeant was penalised and ostracized for an action he might have never committed. Unfortunately, Sargeant gave himself the ultimate punishment, unable to withstand the tremendous pressure that stigmatises men labelled as predators.
If the objective is to provide justice then any claims of harassment must be reported, investigated and proven, before imposing sanctions on those involved. Most important of all, the rule of natural justice - agreed upon universally - must be honoured by society.
Hopefully, this case will stress the importance of impartiality, when dealing with claims of harassment especially in the current environment where the accuser has been wrongfully awarded the status of both judge and jury.
Khawaja Akbar,
Via email.
Disciplinary action
Sir,
Disciplinary action is a valid solution in many institutions where general elections are not held by its members. However this is not the case with bar councils managed by lawyers who hold elections to elect members of their own community to run disciplinary committees. This renders the structure of these committees quite objectionable as it is biased and blended with partiality towards its own fraternity for the sake of electoral interest. It would not be out of order to demand that a committee of selfless retired judges of the high court be appointed to adjudicate misconduct cases against lawyers and provide relief to aggrieved clients.
Mazhar Butt,
Karachi.
Signal at Shahrah-e-Faisal
Sir,
This is regarding traffic signals on Shahrah-e-Faisal. Even though traffic signals are in place, no vehicles stop or obey them. This makes this road high risk for the pedestrians and people who need to cross the road. The traffic police are seen on duty but they do not seem to be able to regulate traffic or make the drivers obey the rules. How are we expected to cross the road?
Why does the common public have to suffer because these drivers break the rules? This become very difficult especially during peak hours in the morning and in the evening from 5:00 pm till 9:00 pm. I have been commuting to university every day from Shahrah-e-Faisal. I have to cross the road to get transport to my destination.
Will the authorities do something?
Ahsan Shehzad,
Karachi.
News editor’s note: Shahrah-e-Faisal was made signal-free in 2010. This means that from Hotel Metropole to at least Star Gate there is not a single signal. Pedestrian overhead bridges have been built but they are not people-friendly or necessarily in the right place.
DI Khan disgrace
Sir,
It has been weeks since a 16-year-old orphan was paraded naked in a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa village of Gara Matt located in tehsil Draban of Dera Ismail Khan. This seems to be happening more and more in every part of this country that we call an Islamic republic, where the poor can be disgraced, and girls humiliated. Nothing is done about it. Tania is murdered in front of her parents in Jhangaara near Sehwan, Sindh for refusing to marry the spoiled son of a vadera. This teenager is paraded naked while a village looks on. The police are wolves guarding the wolves.
The PTI is trying to divert the Dera Ismail Khan disgrace as a squabble between two of its politicians, Kundi and Gandapur, instead of focusing on the heinous crime and bringing the culprits to book. The police has not even mentioned the name of the criminal beasts who this teenager identified. What about the claims made by PTI that it is a party of change? Or are we to assume that it is full of misogynists? It reminds us about similar claims made by that self-proclaimed leader of ‘Enlightened Moderation’, Pervez Musharraf, and the manner in which he treated rape survivor Dr Shazia commenting on how women used rapes to seek asylum.
Aneela Chandio,
Sukkur.
Shaheed Major Ishaq
Sir,
Yet another brave son of Pakistan, Major Ishaq, embraced shahadat in an intelligence-based operation in DI Khan, fighting armed insurgents who pose one of the biggest threats to our country. This 28-year-old man leaves behind a widow and an infant daughter who will never ever get the affection and love which binds a father and daughter. Major Ishaq’s parents and siblings will suffer for the rest of their lives.
This country owes a lot to this family and thousands of others who died fighting these terrorists. The least that this country can do for this family is ensure that they receive the salaries with time increments, that he would have earned, had he lived till the age of retirement, and a house built by the state, in addition to the allotment of a commercial plot. It is men like Major Ishaq, who alone qualify for such welfare, instead of those who having served their tenure with perks and salaries, then retire with pensions.
This country owes to these brave sons the responsibility of reviewing the policies of visionless men like Zia, who blinded by greed, ignored the consequences of their decision to involve this country in a proxy war and give sanctuary to foreign militants. Zia allowed the emergence of specific madrassahs that brainwashed poor citizens to believe that they were fighting a jihad.
Pakistan was created to serve as modern democratic welfare state and not a fiefdom which it has been reduced to by a few like Musharraf, Zardari, Nawaz, Zarrar, Asim, Dar etc, nor a country to be plundered by land, drug and corruption mafias. For over 17 days thousands of citizens from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been held hostage by a few thousand men who have twisted the message of a religion of peace and tolerance and turned it into a cult-like form, devoid of understanding of human rights and sufferings of those denied their basic fundamental rights. Major Ishaq was killed by remnants of Zia’s treacherous era. It is time we learn some lessons from history.
Malik Tariq Ali,
Lahore.
Compulsory education
Sir,
With the country perpetually battling one political turmoil after another, real issues often go under-reported. In my opinion, the only answer to Pakistan’s troubles is education. Only an educated nation is capable of understanding its rights and obligations.
It has been over seven years since Article 25-A (pledging free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of 5 to 16 years) was introduced in the Constitution. However, to this day neither the federal government nor the provincial governments have shown any seriousness in ensuring the implementation of this clause.
It is small wonder then that 22.8 million children across Pakistan remain out of school. The problem is all the more precarious in provinces such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan where the percentage of out-of-school children stands at 36% and 70%, respectively. It is also worth highlighting that 53% of all out-of-school children in Pakistan are girls.
It is imperative that we demand the right of free and compulsory education for our children from our political leaders. Political parties must pledge to ensure education for all Pakistani children, including girls, till the higher secondary level in their manifestos. This is the least that the political elite can do to show its commitment to the future of Pakistani children.
Afshar Iqbal,
Islamabad.
Public works
Sir,
The flyover opposite Drigh Railway Station on Shahrah-e-Faisal is undergoing repairs. The flyover that connects Drigh Road to Gulistan-e-Johar has developed cracks. There are traffic jams on all roads around because traffic has been diverted. Ambulance sirens create panic as cars and bikes scramble to give way. The traffic coming from both sides is forced to commute through a single road, causing immense traffic jams.
As a citizen I have many questions: why did the cracks appear so soon? Were there no checks in place to control and monitor the quality of construction material? Why has it become easy for officials of the technical services wing to ‘pocket extra cash’? How much more will the commuters endure due to these lapses?
The contractor should be taken to task as well as the regulatory board. The money spent on repairs/reconstruction could have been used for other public welfare projects.
Bukhari,
Karachi.
Trump & Hitler
Sir,
It was German Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s dream to rule the world without respecting the rights of its people. And it was precisely this lack of respect that took him to his end. The people of the world, especially in Germany, condemn his policies today. We think that the recent policy shift in of US to favour Israel without respecting the rights of the people is nothing but part of US President Donald Trump’s dream to rule the world.
Khalid Mustafa,
Via email.
Season of accountability
Sir,
This is the season of accountability when the ruling elite are playing their card and the judiciary its own. The Establishment is more focused on terrorism and tackling the pressure and threats from the US, India, and Afghanistan. Institutions such as NAB and the FBR are playing tricks. Understanding their moves is hard. NAB, for instance, requested the ministry of interior to enter the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the ECL at a time when he was out of the country. Is it possible for the federal government to do this against its own key minister? NAB requested more time as Dar was in London. And then the Supreme Court has given Dr. Asim Hussain permission to take fly abroad for a medical check-up. All these developments are perplexing.
The high volume of cases is making the already fragile judicial system take more time to deliver justice. There are more than three hundred people whose names are in the Panama Papers. They have to justify their money trail. With time, new but shocking facts are unfolding. The recent leak of the Paradise Papers added more personalities to the list of people who transferred (not necessarily) ill-begotten money from Pakistan to tax havens around the world. There are 134 citizens from Pakistan who were exposed. The FBR issued notices to only 19 people to kick off an investigation.
Accountability has been initiated whether the parties like it or not. Institutions have something to work on. Things are headed in the right direction. The people named in the Panama and Paradise Papers have to provide a complete record to prove their innocence. Everyone involved should be investigated no matter what it takes.
Junaid Ali Malik,
Lahore.
Don’t be afraid
Sir,
In the last few years, several countries all around the world have experienced terrorist attacks. Kids are living scared lives. People live in harsh environments. Fear reigns in the lives of all the people around the globe. Citizens are questioning the future of their nations. Security is now at great risk everywhere.
Can there be a future of peace and harmony? Why has peace been replaced by violence and fear? Imagine terrorism as a car. The fuel of this car is the fear of the people. If more people live scared or in fear, the more power and impact terrorism has. Now imagine this fuel finishes suddenly; that will mean people are not scared anymore and terrorism will not be part of our lives. The bright future that we all want and desire will be possible. Do you know what can finish that fuel?
The answer: hope and respect.
If we teach our children to show and be respectful, they will have a glorious future. If we recognize the worth of a person, that is working for a better place. If we respect others there will be no need for wars, or violence, or injustice. Respect means treating everyone equally. Respect means living in a harmonious way with everyone.
Hope is the reason we wake up. The reason we fight for better future. Hope is the fuel against violence. Hope means not waiting for change but acting for it.
Another way to see terrorism is like a sickness. If we do not stop this sickness with medicines like friendliness, peace, hope and bravery, the sickness will continue to spread.
We shall fight for what is right and be brave enough to face what is wrong. We must be brave enough to stand up against violence. Be brave enough to show the world what we are made of. Be brave enough to speak for ourselves and others. Be brave enough to construct bridges, because you never know where they are going to lead you. Be friendly with each other; you never know what friendships you may build.
Be an example of friendliness and kindness, you never know how many lives you can change. Let the hope be your guidance because is what keeps everyone following their dreams. The dream of no violence can be reached with all of those medicines.
Peace plays an important role here. Be an example to everyone. Peace starts from your environment. Peace starts from us. Maybe we want world peace, but how are we going to achieve that if we promote, for example, bullying in schools? Everything starts from us. The desire for change starts with us. The desire for world peace starts with us. Fighting to be a better person is fighting for world peace.
We are the key to changing the world, to making it a better place. Altogether, side by side, we can make a difference. We define the future. We want a non-violent future so we shall do something. Take the medicine and be different, or create a car fueled with hope and happiness of the people and win the race against terrorism.
Nothing can stop us but ourselves. Why give up if we can excel. We are the ones in charge of the future of the world, we have to start working for world peace. Little actions make a difference. Start from your school. Terrorism is just an excuse to forget the hope everyone has. Let’s not wear a mask and be like everyone else. Be unique and promote change.
Khushbakht Sarwar,
Islamabad.