There is no such thing
as a great talent without great will-power.
Active Visitors: 182 Total Hits: 17483568 Since June, 2007
Voice of People
Internet users in
quandary
Mohammad Fayyaz
It is through a letter of a reader in a certain newspaper that this
writer came to know that now internet users are charged for a fresh
local call every 15 minutes while online by the PTCL. This was later
on was confirmed from representative via 1236. This PTC step would
definitely discourage to a greater extent Internet use, the
researchers’ access to information would no longer be freely
possible. Common users will get deprived of quickest source of
exchange of information, contact with friends and relatives, reading
newspapers, and the academic use of the web. I wonder as to who the
PTCL has entrusted reasonability for putting forward strange
innovatory ploys to extort money from the users’ pockets by using
one trick or the other. They introduce one package or the other
about every two months to fleece the users of the PTCL. The writer,
who at least reads some newspapers, though superficially, has lately
come to know about this ‘every-15-mintues-fresh-localcall-charge’
(read ‘extortionist trick’) policy of the PTCL; certainly most
others are still unaware of this particular fleecing trick of the
PTCL.
When I talked to the representative of the PTCL about this, she
explained, though unbelievable, that PTCL has had an agreement with
the Internet Service Providers about this and that I should better
talk to my Internet Service Provider (ISP) regarding this issue. I
retorted as to what an ISP has to do with the issue of local calls
via the PTCL but she harped the same string. The PTCL should
immediately take back this unwarranted step only to help the users
of the internet to use this facility for the obvious purposes
written in preceding lines, otherwise this facility will mostly
remain unutilized by most the Pakistani internet users.
—Charsadda
Dastardly acts
Zeenate Nooure Jehan
The manhandling of Arbab Jehangir and DR Sher Afghan Nazi is surely
condemnable in strongest possible words. Fortunately Sher Afgan and
Arbab Rahim were hale and hearty after unfortunate manhandling, yet
the hype created by MQM, MLQ leaders, hatred fanned by few
anchorpersons and TV channels was equally condemnable for
politicizing it to the advantage of Mr Mushraff,MQM and MLQ.They
seem hell-bent to destabilize Sind and Punjab government.
—Karachi
Comical indeed
Mirza Tuftan Baig
The treatment meted out to Arbab Rahim in Sindh Assembly and later
to Dr Sher Afgan Lahore can be termed either sad or a ‘tit for tat.’
Both the gents were the vocal instruments of the previous regime and
their tongue lashing against their political adversaries sought no
bounds. But one frowns upon the free use of shoe-lashing in return
for tongue lashing. And that too, when the shoes lashed the faces of
the two men who had a standing in the past. Two events would send
shudders in the spines of rest of the former ministers and advisers.
It is a warning call for them to watch their steps. People witnessed
such scenes even in Japan, Korea, and India. Arbab and Sher Afgan
should both take heart and understand that public emotions can
sometime overflow to take an ugly turn. It is part of the political
process.
—Lahore
Inquiry report on Ojhri blast
Abdul Karim Janjua
On a bright sunny morning on April 10, 1988, an explosion rocked
Rawalpindi. A mushroom cloud of black smoke bellowed up thousands of
feet into the sky followed by an incessant rain of rockets and
projectiles that continued the whole day. The flying rockets hit
unsuspecting people several kilometres away from the scene of the
fire in an ammunition depot in Faizabad at the junction of
Rawalpinid and Islamabad.
Not many people were even aware that an ammunition depot existed in
the midst of a densely populated locality. Many suspected that
Pakistan had perhaps been attacked. Some others suspected a mishap
at one of the nuclear installations. The blasts continued at almost
regular intervals. It was claimed that the blast had been caused by
an accident and it was an act of God. Prime Minister Muhammad Khan
Junejo publicly declared to hold an inquiry and also to make its
findings public. When Junejo insisted that the findings of the
official military Court of Inquiry be made public, Zia quickly moved
sacking the prime minister and dissolving the assemblies, accusing
Junejo of not doing enough to bring Islam to the country.
The explosion may have been an accident or sabotage no one knows.
Apparently no one was punished. The top military generals heading
the agencies continued in their careers although an elected prime
minister and an elected assembly were sacked. A question was asked
in the Senate in 2004 as to whether and when the findings of the
inquiry into the Ojhery fire would be made public. There was
deafening silence for several months. Finally the question was
disallowed on the ground that it involved a sensitive and secret
issue. Nothing remains secret forever. Twenty years is a long enough
period for the inquiry findings to be made public. We owe it to the
victims of Ojheri blasts. We owe it to ourselves.
—Via email
Freedom of media
Col Riaz Jafri [R]
Eitzaz Ahsan was repeatedly seen and heard begging the media men to
switch off their cameras and not telecast the thrashing and the
beating being given to Mr Sher Afgan Niazi by the lawyers of Lahore.
The SCBA President never requested the media not to cover the minute
to minute 25 hour long marathon of a live TV show of him driving the
Ex CJP from Pindi to Lahore. Why does he want to curb the freedom of
the media now? Let them show this ugly side of the great proponents
of the rule of law.
—Rawalpindi
Irrational behaviour
Waheed Mazhar
Every civilised person condemns the deplorable maltreatment meted
out to the former chief minister of Sindh, Arbab Ghulam Rahim, on
April 7. We desperately expect Pervez Musharraf to reiterate the
logic that he used after the tragic murder of Benazir Bhutto that
she herself was responsible for the incident. It would absolutely be
correct in the case of Arbab Rahim to say that it was his own person
and policies as chief minister that caused such resentment,
frustration and anger among the people against him.
It was indeed a very regrettable incident but it, however,
highlights the consequences of manipulating national institutions
and thwarting all possible and lawful means of seeking redress of
grievances and wrongs caused to the people either by the
highhandedness of the partisan government or by the deliberate
indifference of the people who wield power at their whim and in an
arbitrary manner. It is quite tragic that those were the norms
during Mr Rahim’s tenure as chief minister of Sindh. The people of
Pakistan, not only the citizens of Karachi, still remember the
tragic massacre of innocent people on May 12, 2007 and the complete
indifference of the administration at that time which was headed by
Mr Rahim.
The administration even refused to investigate the matter which
caused resentment and anger among the masses all over the country.
It was quite sad and people still remember that the MQM never chose
to boycott the Sindh government over the atrocities of May 12, and
now they have rushed to boycott the assembly, which shows the
priorities of the popular party of Karachi. It was also observed,
quite regrettably indeed, that even before any inquiry or
investigation, the electronic media aired biased views of certain
people who not only blamed rather gave their final verdict regarding
the involvement of the PPP in the incident.
We expect much more responsibility from our media than any other
institution because they have the greatest access to the masses, and
responsibility demands that they must lay more emphasis on imparting
awareness and importance of institutions instead of having resort to
sensationalism. In order to avoid such incidents in future, it is
the duty of every citizen, political party and institution to
emphasise and ensure the proper working of institutions and neither
become party nor allow anybody to thwart the working of institutions
for ulterior purposes and petty gains, particularly of those
institutions which redress the public grievances.
—Lahore
