PSL
Sir,
Finally the Pakistan Super League (PSL) second season finished successfully in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and the race won by the Peshawar Zalmi.
Credit goes to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif who made possible everything for the restoration of international cricket in Pakistan. He used all his resources to ensure safety. In addition, one is thankful to the Pakistan Army, the police department and PCB Chairman Najam Sethi who fulfilled their commitment that the PSL final would be played in Lahore.
I request that the PCB ban the players who refused to play the PSL final in Lahore. It should not give them a chance for any upcoming series and take newcomers instead. If Pakistani players cannot play cricket on their home ground, then how can we expect international players to come?
My question is also that, if the politicians talk about Pakistan, then why have they done nothing to restore international cricket here?
Shahid Ahmed Qureshi,
Badin.
For Women
Sir,
March 8 is a day of celebration for women. And as Harriet Beecher Stowe once said: “Women are the real architects of society”. They raise families, help turn the wheels of the economy. Woman are the very foundation of a nation where family forms a unit. This year, the UNESCO theme for international women’s day was ‘Be Bold for Change’.
Women have power and talent and the additional benefit of higher emotional IQ, which they know how to apply. Women are impatient to restore happiness. They have a high threshold for pain but a low tolerance for it inflicted by others if it affects their families. Women try to act as unifiers. “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world,” Hillary Clinton once said. Women are counselors, who differentiate between black, white and grey areas in life. I am proud to be a part of Nature as a woman.
Qundeel Aymen,
Via email.
Lahore blast
Sir,
The explosion that took place on February 23 in what is supposed to be a residential housing society, DHA Lahore, should awaken the authorities and city government to the dangers of unregulated growth. Who is responsible for a lack of diligence in granting permission to this unregulated expansion of commercial areas, far more than is required to meet the genuine needs of its residents? Can anybody justify granting permission to petrol pumps on all sides?
There should be some sense of what is a legitimate requirement of commercial areas in a residential society to serve residents. They should not become popular food streets that attract people from all over the city. How can the authorities justify giving permission to a popular fast food chain within an area declared a community park (Sheeba Park) restricted for the exclusive use of the residents of DHA Lahore?
No lessons seem to have been learnt from a terrorist attack a few years back in a commercial area near the Wagah Border. Some considered this area our second line of defense in 1965 when valiant sons such as Major Aziz Bhatti laid down their lives. The security of Qaddafi and Hockey stadiums in Gulberg have been compromised by the emergence of eateries and caterers open to the general public. Residential plots on main roads such as Gulberg Main Boulevard are being redesignated as commercial plots without evaluating whether the road infrastructure can meet the demand. This is the mess which has already taken place in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Greed and conflict of interest in DHA Karachi showed their ugly face in the allotment of over 220 plots in Phase VIII, later converted into a commercial area.
Malik T. Ali,
Lahore.
Young Pakistan
Sir,
Freedom is usually associated with youth, but in Pakistan young people need to be set free either by society or by themselves. We need freedom from exploitation, from the exploitation of capitalism and politics. We have become its victims in many ways.
If we take the family, an institution, we know that it looks after us and bears our expenses. But today thousands of families have turned their young people into robots and set their goals. They are forced to meet those goals. For example, every year thousands of students fail the MCAT or ECAT tests; clearly it is not just a matter of talent but that many of them have been forced to sit the tests.
The education system is just interested in memorisation and does not bother with young people understanding in order to learn. Then we just have tuition centres which are businesses and you are made to feel that unless you study there you will not do well.
We hate that government is corrupt. You just slip a traffic policeman one hundred rupees and you can evade a challan. In fact, we are also corrupt.
Komal Ashraf,
Via email.
Surrogacy
Sir,
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) has declared that a baby born through a medical process is legitimate but all other ways would be unlawful and against the Islam’s commands. This is a good decision in light of the injunctions of Islam. Surrogacy is a burning contemporary issue in different societies. It is a controversial practice around the world, raising difficult moral, social and legal issues. Therefore, the legal situations differ noticeably. Many countries do not have laws to deal with surrogacy. In some countries surrogacy is banned completely, while others allow commercial surrogacy, with few restrictions. India, Georgia, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine and a few US states are places where a woman can legally be paid to carry another’s child through IVF and embryo transfer.
In some countries, the child will not be a citizen of the country in which he or she is born because the surrogate mother is not legally the parent of the child. This could result in a child being born without citizenship. Iran is the only Muslim country where surrogacy arrangements are legal and popular. Many couples from the Middle East do their surrogacy in Iran due to the legal ease.
There are also some psychological concerns regarding surrogacy. A study by the Family and Child Psychology Research Centre at the City University London in 2002 concluded that surrogate mothers rarely had difficulty relinquishing rights to a surrogate child and that the intended mothers showed greater warmth to the child than mothers conceiving naturally. I think the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan examined the surrogacy not only from a religious but also an ethical and psychological perspective and determined to legitimize only the medical process.
Mansoor Ahmed,
Faisalabad.
Education in Kassak
Sir,
Kassak is a small village near Turbat, but it has no good schools. It has only one school that doesn’t have enough teachers. There are only three teachers but they do not work honestly. The students have a hard time and are compelled to go to Turbat for an education. I request the government to provide the school teachers.
Sadganj Muhammad,
Turbat.
Acid attack
Sir,
A story of sorrow surfaced in Kolahoo, an area of Turbat recently. A forced marriage resulted in an acid attack. The man threw acid on his wife, killing her. I request the government and authorities to take serious steps to protect women from this crime.
Fida Zaman,
Turbat.
CSS in Urdu
Sir,
Recently, the Lahore High Court announced that the upcoming CSS examination would be in Urdu. It is amazing that the CSS candidates will sit their exam in our own language. Because people are more interested in English, their Urdu tends to be weak. Most of the students failed the CSS exam.
Chakar Baloch,
Turbat.
Chinese language
Sir,
Learning a second language, any language, will always be a valuable investment of time and effort. Language learning automatically stimulates the mind, helps you gain multi-tasking skills, and can even boost your intelligence. Besides having intellectual benefits, learning a new language can also be a gateway into a new culture, and allow for a better understanding of certain peoples and their customs.
I don’t think learning any foreign language has any disadvantage; in fact it will just benefit us. Then why not start with Chinese especially because of our friendly relations with China?
International businesses prefer to hire people who speak more than one language. China has become a huge market, and business leaders are looking for people who can speak Chinese and operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context.
Chinese is a coveted skill and should be added to our repertoire. Our youth should especially learn Chinese language so that entrepreneurial culture could be cultivated in Pakistan with Chinese assistance rather than with the West’s support. The learning of Chinese will make our youth confident while sharing their innovative ideas with their Chinese friends.
Sidra Shoaib,
Karachi.
Orange train
Sir,
Lahore, once known as the ‘City of Gardens’ is a metropolis with a burgeoning population and a bustling economy, home to a few of world’s most popular historic sites. Recent developments have led to the construction of many large-scale projects that have interfered with the stunning scenery of this city and threatened to erase its heritage. The most controversial is the “Orange Line Metro Train Project.”
The OLMTP is responsible for the cutting down of 620 grown-up trees on its long route from Dera Gujran to Ali Town. The species that were cut down are not limited to one kind but include up to 15 classes. With climate change and global warming looming large, it is crucial for Pakistan to conserve as many species as possible if it is to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and meet the requirements of the Paris Agreement. Trees are a sight for sore eyes and are responsible for keeping the environment generally pleasant and help in reducing the overall temperature.
This project is detrimental to the health of the workers as well as residents. Irritant particles are abundant within the area and have led to an increase in respiratory distress. Asthma patients find it difficult to cope with the high levels of dust that have now permanently formed a suspension over the Baghbanpura area. It has also given birth to acute respiratory diseases such as Chronic Bronchitis with perpetual wheezing. In geriatric cases severe coughing has led to bleeding.
If that is not enough for the Punjab government to change its mind, the OLMTP has also been found guilty of violations at five of the 11 heritage sites where its construction had been stopped. The Shalimar Gardens, a popular tourist attraction, have been eclipsed by the towering pillars of the overhead trail. The Gardens have seen a decline in the number of visitor. Huge clouds of dust billow up from the developing area and the use of heavy machinery, a major source of noise pollution, has interfered with the picturesque and quaint environment of the park. The widespread use of cement is responsible for the absorption of heat up to 2.04%. The harmful effects of this project are also a threat to the culture as the government was to knock down Chauburji site.
The burgeoning population of this city is the root of the problem. If birth rates continue to skyrocket, Lahore will continue to face such dilemmas. Instead, we need short-term solutions with an impact: the current bus system should be developed with a “green bus scheme”; the possibility of an underground metro train should be explored; work at Baghbanpura terminal should be suspended; the OLMTP should focus more on ground transport so that towering pillars should not lead to an increase in visual pollution; mass tree plantation programs should be held in collaboration with the Ministry of Forests and prominent NGOs; a park restoration process should be started to restore Lahore to its former glory.
If we are to save this beautiful city, it is imperative for us to act now.
Shabraiz Mushtaq,
Islamabad.
Nuclear deal
Sir,
In wake of the US-India nuclear deal, which was cleverly and cunningly negotiated by India, the US approached the Nuclear Supplier Group and managed to obtain a waiver for India to conduct nuclear trade with other countries despite the fact that it is the only country, which is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In addition, India has also successfully managed to obtain nuclear fuel assurance from the US. The clauses of the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement (123 agreement) mandates that the US will support Indian endeavors in the development of a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel, which would serve as a backup in the event of a disruption of the nuclear fuel supply. The US will also help India convene a group of friendly supplier countries in an attempt to restore the supply of nuclear fuel, if disrupted. Generally 123 agreements, executed by the US, do not contain fuel assurances.
As a consequence of the deal, the ban imposed on India with respect to nuclear trade was lifted. It was imposed after the tests in 1974. India started the import of uranium. According to a report published by the Center for Public Integrity, India has managed to receive roughly 4,914 tons from France, Russia and Kazakhstan. It has also entered into agreements on the supply of uranium with Canada, Mongolia and Namibia. Australia has also signed an agreement with India, and has assured it that it would be a reliable supplier. India’s civil nuclear program, including power plants and research establishments, are using uranium received from these new resources, and the requirement of the homemade uranium for civil purposes has almost become obsolete. Now indigenous uranium is exclusively available to make nuclear weapons.
India plans to build a nuclear city in its south. It is also believed that nuclear fuel being used in such a huge project is homemade. It has also been reported that two expanded buildings that are being constructed at the site have the capability to accommodate new generation of centrifuges that can enrich uranium and have the capacity to produce around 403 pounds of weapons graded uranium per year. It is believed that such huge quantity of uranium would be used by India to prepare Hydrogen bombs. This will have disastrous impacts on peace and stability of the region. The project has potential to trigger an arms race as Pakistan will be left with no choice except to increase its arsenal.
India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974 at Pokhran, after making the whole world believe that it is a peaceful country and has no designs of becoming a nuclear power. Similarly, India has managed to strike a deal with US under the excuse that it would use the nuclear fuel for civil purposes. But it diverted its indigenous uranium for its nuclear weapon program.
Ali Raza,
Air University,
Islamabad.