Men are not hanged
for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen.
George Saville
British statesman
Active Visitors: 109 Total Hits: 15784162 Since June, 2007
Voice of People
ATA development
Muhammad Imran Wazir
In order to solve a problem, one should identify the core problem
first. The real problem in FATA is illiteracy and unemployment. The
Government should address the unemployment issue on a priority basis,
while devising a long-run strategy to combat the menace of illiteracy.
Other than this, in the short run we should strike a peace deal with
the local Mujahideen, who are often referred to as miscreants. Then
the Government should make it a point to station the officials of the
Ministry of Manpower and labour at the office of Local Political
Agents who should help local people find work opportunities in Gulf
countries. This will soon result in a reduced number of unemployed
youngsters in the region and extremists will find it difficult to
influence the young blood. In the meanwhile, needed infrastructure
should be developed and education be made compulsory for the children.
I hope this strategy will yield the desired results.
—Peshawar
Unlawful notification
Ali Asghar Shah
The Secretary, Government of Punjab, Finance Department, Lahore is
requested to refer to the Government of the Punjab Services and
General Administration Department (Implementation and Coordination
Wing) Lahore letter No SO(PTS)2-592/2007 dated 24-11-2007 and the
Prime Minister’s Secretariat (Public) letter No F.PB-1/GR-1/2007 dated
5-11-2007 regarding withdrawal/revision of unlawful notification No
FD(PC)10-1/78 dated 29-9-2000 and intimate action taken into the
matter.
—Rawalpindi
Prophecies
Tooba Alam
Shaikh Rashid, who considers himself a seasoned politician, repeatedly
makes prophecies which are never fulfilled. He prophesied in 2001 that
‘Syed Pervez Musharraf’ would solve the Kashmir issue within two
years. It didn’t happen. Then he claimed Ms Bhutto would soon be
handed down a severe sentence by the Swiss courts for embezzlement. It
also turned out to be a false claim. Then, he tirelessly predicted
that Nawaz Sharif wouldn’t return to Pakistan before the end of his
10-year exile period. ‘Sadly’, this time too Mr Rashid was proven
wrong. I think he should pull himself out of the business of making
prophecies now.
—Karachi
Corruption
Zulfikar Saeed
Pakistan has been placed at No 7 in the Global Corruption Barometer,
2007, by an anti-corruption watchdog in Berlin. The rankings are not
based on experts’ perceptions of corruption, but on people’s
experiences. It stats that 44 percent of the population pays bribe in
order to obtain services such as medical treatment for children,
education, police and judicial assistance for dismissal of cases and
for influencing verdicts in courts. Corruption does exist, but in
order to obtain a balanced perspective on the phenomenon it is also
important to interview experts and people in the government as well.
As far as the situation in Pakistan is concerned, corruption at the
government level has decreased dramatically if one compares it to the
late 1980s and 90s. Musharraf instituted reforms to ensure that
corruption among politicians and in the army is eradicated. I agree
that there is corruption at the grassroots level. Police reforms have
been carried out and this is manifested through the Motorway Police as
well. Slowly and gradually there are efforts to stop corruption and
therefore bodies like the Motorway Police should carry out a complete
survey before giving their rankings.
—Islamabad
Hockey
Zulfiqar Gul
Once again, Pakistan’s national hockey team lost the Champions Trophy
miserably and also got itself out of the next year’s tournament
scheduled to be held in Rotterdam. The team outplayed teams like that
of Spain, but lost to minions like those of Malaysia and Britain. This
has been the tradition of the Pakistani hockey team since their
triumph in the Hockey World Cup (1994) in Sydney. Big promises are
made and lengthy training camps are organized by the Pakistan Hockey
Federation before our team goes to big tournaments. But every time its
performance disappoints us.
Unless we have a competitive domestic structure to strengthen league
hockey, like the one present in Europe and in India, we shouldn’t
expect the national hockey team to win international trophies the way
they used to before 1994. Besides this, the team seems to be confused
about its frequent switchovers from the Asian-style to the
European-style hockey practices. If we are serious in adopting the
European style, the concept should be introduced at the grassroots
level, and certainly not at the national level. It’s time we brought
in European advisers to clean up the mess and put the entire system on
professional lines.
—Swat
Change in politics
A citizen
The citizens of Pakistan are in a serious mood for change – a change
in what defines politics and leadership. We are sick and tired of self
righteous, self-serving leaders and believe passionately in the
potential of Pakistan to stand tall amidst the nations of the world,
if only we have honest and sincere leaders who can adhere to
principles and serve the nation rather than serving their own vested
interests. In the current political scenario, members of civil
society, including lawyers, human rights activists, media personnel,
students, teachers and intellectuals are making their presence felt
and it is hoped that their sentiments can be felt by the various
politicians who must finally rise above their personal agendas and not
disappoint us for the umpteenth time.
Only a part of the APDM seems to have risen to the occasion by
boycotting the sham elections but their principled stance will be
effective if Benazir Bhutto and other parties also show solidarity
with the common aspirations of civil society and refuse to give
legitimacy to all this delusional drama of the current establishment.
We wish the president had chosen to step down gracefully rather than
sticking to his guns, and making civil society the target of his
self-righteous wrath and annoyance. Eight years of power should have
been enough.
Perhaps he can still redeem himself in the eyes of the nation if he
can understand that enough is enough. The citizens of Pakistan
desperately want the strengthening of institutions, especially
institutions which provide justice to the public and not simply the
strengthening of individuals who can make or break the destiny of this
potentially great country. Not only the people of Pakistan, but people
all over the world are in need of a change from the power politics of
greed and oppression to the leadership of large-hearted and
high-minded statesmen and associated intelligentsia who genuinely want
to see the ‘global village’ prosper under a just world order.
The US in particular has to undo its ‘big bad bully’ image and not
just live but let live as well. Aggression will only fuel more
violence and hatred and it is time American citizens woke up to the
ugly path their leadership has set them upon. Material wealth is not
the only thing that defines greatness whether in individuals or in
nations. It is time that the US stopped playing a negative role in our
politics as well, and have faith in the high-minded aspirations of so
many citizens of Pakistan. That in effect will be the only way to a
more lasting remedy to what they perceive as ‘terrorism’.
—Via email
