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.
Tariq Ali,
Lahore.
Another barbaric act
Sir,
The city of Quetta witnessed another barbaric attack, this time at the Civil Hospital, by terrorists who claim to kill hundreds in the name of a religion of peace. Is this the lesson they have learned from Islam? This is what they teach in madrassas?
After every such unfortunate incident in this country, we find statements condemning the barbaric acts by the political leadership of the country; sometimes they appear on the electronic media and sometimes in the form of a tweet. Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif wasted to time in reaching Quetta, visited the injured at the hospital and chaired a high level security meeting, directing intelligence agencies to “go anywhere in the country to target anyone linked with these terror acts”. We hope that now at least law enforcers will go for the ‘sacred cows’in this country who continue to spread hate and violence with no consequences. It’s time that Punjab, the “protected tree”, must be touched and cleared off all miscreants
According to press reports, IS and TTP have claimed responsibility for the suicide attack. The so-called custodians of Islam feel proud to have killed fellow Muslims, forgetting the teachings of Islam.
The country in which its citizens were “free to go to your temples, mosques, churches” is facing the worst kind of religious intolerance; the country for which the father of the nation had in very clear words declared “religion will have nothing to do with the affairs of the state” has encountered at times awful and horrible religious riots, resulting in the loss of innocent lives and property.
Aamir Aqil,
Lahore.
Quetta carnage
Sir,
Over 60,000 innocent Pakistanis have fallen victim to the scourge of terrorism haunting Pakistan, yet other than condemnations, protests, shutdowns and announcement of setting up antiterrorism agencies, there has been no credible action taken similar to that adopted by the US following 9/11. As long as strict border control procedures are not adopted to regulate the entry and exit of undesirable aliens or criminals, illegal weapons and curb money laundering, Pakistanis will continue to fall victim to terrorism.
If we are actually fighting war against terrorism, then our political leadership and security cum law enforcement agencies should be seen acting in a manner that nations at war are expected to behave in. Pakistan cannot fight this war if its ambassadorial staff posted abroad grant visas to undesirable individuals. Such discrepancies will continue to occur if Pakistani officials posted abroad are allowed green cards or dual nationalities having voluntarily taken an oath to swear allegiance to their new state, revoking their loyalty to Pakistan. Appointments to important public offices of such individuals with conflicts of interest has had devastating consequences, and this is evident from frequent security lapses, rise in money laundering and our failure to combat terrorism even after the passage of several years after initiating Operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Pakistan desperately needs more revenue from taxation to acquire the adequate tools to combat terrorism.
The ease with which the state and private land is forcibly being occupied by powerful land mafia exhibits the nexus between state institutions, paid employees and criminals. As long as crime thrives, criminals go unpunished and corrupt officers escape exemplary punishments, terrorism will continue to haunt Pakistan from within. It is we who have to get our act together.
Ali Malik,
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.
Marvellous Malala
Sir,
Malala Yousafzai is like a breath of fresh air for a country like Pakistan, haunted by villains, tyrants and men spewing hatred and hypocrisy in the name of a religion that preaches tolerance, welfare and peace and encourages acquisition of knowledge. Most Muslim-majority states in the world are plagued with tyrannical monarchies, military dictatorships, and pied pipers leading illiterate masses back to medieval ages, instead of focusing on development of human resources. There is no progress, prosperity, state security and sovereignty. In a country where lives of citizens residing even in the major financial hub Karachi are not secure, Malala Yousafzai had the moral courage and character to stand up to the Taliban in Swat, at a time when this once peaceful place was hostage to armed gangs and extremist fundamentalists enforcing their own version of Islam, which had nothing in common with the religion preached by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Both Pakistan and India are infected with feudalism, where political power and nobility are considered to be acquired through accident of birth. Malala Yousafzai rose from a poor lower middle class background to acquire international recognition and honor through her sheer commitment to promote female education.
The unfortunate reality is that the curse of terrorism which plagues Pakistan, posing a threat to its national security, is a product of myopic vision of military dictators like Zia and Musharraf, who gave sanctuary to armed terrorists to feed their insatiable greed for power, foreign grants and patronage by the West.
The $50 billion that poured into Pakistan between 1982 and 1987 evaporated into thin air, with not a cent going into the national exchequer. All that this unfortunate country inherited was the curse of ethnicity, sectarianism, powerful armed private militias, and an environment where land and drug mafias plundered this country at will, with tacit approval of a corrupt bureaucracy and a gang of political opportunists.
Umer Ahmad,
Dubai.
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.
Back to school
Sir,
Regardless of who is in government, I want to make a case for immediate, instrumental education reforms. First and foremost, we must enforce one syllabus. All tuition centres must be shut down and declared prohibited. Such private tuition centers have ruined the standard of education. Both the teachers and school administrations seem to be the partners in this crime; they exploit and hijack the students and parents.
School timing should be from 8am to 5pm including lunch and games. Thus there will be no homework and no time for evening tuition. The number of subjects should be a maximum four for primary classes, six for middle school and eight for matriculation students. Government and private schools must issue syllabus books free of cost. The books should remain in the school custody and be available for the next promoted classes.
Long term steps must also be taken. Every 3,000-house community should have one education centre from primary school to intermediate college. The school or college building should be located in the centre of the community where students may arrive using free transport arranged by the government. The government must ensure 100% participation of children where the parents and notables get directly involved and ensure regular attendance. The system must guarantee career planning and job confirmation.
Education is the only remedy of all ills of Pakistan.
Shafqat Sultan,
Rawalpindi.
Rags to riches
Sir,
Pakistan today faces biggest threat to its national security and sovereignty not from across borders, but from insatiable greed of its corrupt mediocrity within paid bureaucracy and political elite, which continues to bleed its economy, with individuals going from rags to riches, with no fear of accountability. For a country burdened with mounting debts and an FBR which facilitates tax evasion, leading to worst Tax to GDP ratio in region, the lifestyle of ruling elite, their extravagance at state expense is shocking. Totally oblivious to self generated financial collapse, financial regulatory agencies, customs, sensitive intelligence agencies continue to facilitate massive flight of capital, instead of ruthlessly curbing this menace.
The political debate that is going on in this country, both within parliament and outside it, seeks to seek no remedies, just charges and empty promises. Can those seek political power explain where the $50 billion that poured into Pakistan between 1982 to 1987 evaporated, because by 1988 this country’s Finance Minister Dr Mahbub had to rush to IMF seeking emergency bailout.
The national exchequer did not benefit from first Afghan War, nor did it benefit from second Afghan War under another military dictator. Individuals became billionaires, and with their newly acquired wealth they sought political power, while this country became a breeding ground for terrorism, its economy is in shambles and today few political leaders would have us believe that we must reject democracy and seek redressal from those whom Quaid very emphatically stated had no political role in governance. There is no doubt that the PPP failed miserably, while the PML-N lacks competence, vision, integrity and commitment to deliver. The solution lies in the rule of law, supremacy of the constitution, an independent judiciary, a powerful ECP and strong regulatory control free from political or bureaucratic intervention.
Mukarram Wadood,
Islamabad.
PM’s bro
Sir,
Our prime minister Narendra Modi’s elder brother is and remains an auto (rickshaw) driver. Neither is he taking advantage of his brother’s position nor is our PM interfering in his brother’s professional and personal matters.
Shiv Mehra,
New Delhi.