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Voice of People
Ensuring hero’s
image
Khalid Chaudhry
This is apropos of the report that says three senators, including
one from the PML(N), have decried the attempts to vilify Dr Abdul
Qadeer Khan in a section of our electronic media and sought a debate
in the Senate about the issue. It is indeed unfortunate that some
people chose to engage in what the motion describes as character
assassination of the nation’s hero. A country that forgets its
heroes, much less pillories them, is not able to survive for long.
Another sad part of the news is that the new Leader of the House,
PPP’s Raza Rabbani, is reportedly unhappy with Sadia Abbasi of the
PML(N) for signing the motion along with the other two senators on
the grounds that she is now a part of the government and the PPP has
decided to take up the matter with her party’s top leadership.
Two things need to be considered here. First, the scientist himself
has said in an interview that he had taken the entire blame upon
himself for passing on nuclear secrets to some other countries in
order to save Pakistan’s neck. Besides, as he observed, Chaudhry
Shujaat Husain and Senator Mushahid Husain, too, had acknowledged
his sacrifice and this writer had heard the senator say so while
talking to the BBC in February. Second, the deceased PPP
chairperson, Benazir Bhutto, had sent a bouquet of flowers to the
nuclear scientist when he was in hospital in Karachi for undergoing
cancer surgery.
This shows that she held him in high regard. Therefore, it is
improper for Mr Rabbani to take exception to Ms Abbasi for voicing
the concern of most Pakistanis who look upon Dr Khan as their
saviour. The PPP leader should not be complaining about the PML(N)
senator to her party’s high command. Instead of doing that, he
should focus on ensuring the national hero’s image is not tarnished
any further but the restrictions on him are withdrawn and his life
is made as pleasant and comfortable as possible. By doing this, Mr
Rabbani will be living up to the nation’s expectations.
—Karachi
'Renaming NWFP’
Muhammad Yasin Malik
This is with reference to a number of letters on the above-mentioned
issue. Everyone is entitled to their own point of view but I
strongly believe that the province must have a distinctive name
because NWFP is not a proper name. Each village, town, city and
province has a name with a proper history then why shouldn’t this
province have a name directly related to its past, showing its
demographical characteristics? Do we have any district called
‘northern district’ or a village named ‘south village’? NWFP must be
given a proper name forthwith and it is the right of the people to
rename the province as per their wish.
—Sialkot
Eradicate begging
Shumaila Asif
Begging needs to be discouraged – not least because it is not a
solution to poverty. On the contrary, it makes a person lazy and
dependent. It erodes one’s ability to do labour and takes away
self-respect and dignity. The importance of work should be infused
in professional beggars. Everybody should work because God has given
everyone some kind of peculiar skill to feed oneself and their
family. Begging is a crime and efforts should be made to eradicate
this menace altogether.
—Karachi
Saving environment
Sarhad Conservation Network
The Sarhad Conservation Network urges the provincial government, the
governor and the EPA to take cognizance of the ruthless and
systematic felling of trees across the district, especially inside
the city in the garb of ‘development’. Trees act as carbon sinks and
natural barrier against noise and air pollution. No wonder they are
called “lungs of the earth”. The way these lungs are being
ruthlessly felled will soon result of extinction of all living
species – including humans who have contributed to an irreversible
pattern of global warming and climate change due to greed and
insensitivity. This is threatening our healthy lifestyles as well as
contributing to freak weather patterns and dwindling agricultural
and food stocks.
As there is increasing awareness globally about conservation of our
natural habitat and biodiversity, in Pakistan the criminal
negligence and co-opting of influential officials with the timber
and development mafias is destroying what ever little green islands
in our midst. The NWFP environment protection agency (FEPA) has the
legal framework to stop unplanned and destructive development but
the lack of capacity has hampered its functioning. We urge the
provincial government to make a paradigm shift in its policies and
enforce the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997 in its
true spirit to reverse the destructive cycle of unsustainable
development. The planned expansion of G T Road and other roads
should be reviewed by the FEPA which should enforce regulations
which stipulate that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) be
carried out first.
The authorities are urged to stop immediately the planned expansion
of roads that have resulted in felling of remaining trees in the
province. Instead, a metro system and alternate communication
systems, overhead bridges and mass transit should be planned in the
new development plan. The ministry of environment should review the
existing policies and stop the district nazim of Peshawar from
destroying the natural habitat of the area. The district nazim has
to stop his crusade against the natural and built environment for
which he does not seem to hold too much respect. The cantonment
board too should be held accountable for its role in the destruction
and disfigurement of the historic and serene colonial neighbourhood.
We urge the governor to consider these matters on priority basis.
The people of the province had pinned great hopes from the ANP
government promising “change”. This “change” should also reflect in
their development and conservation policy that has been in criminal
neglect since ages. It also calls upon civil society to play its due
role in reversing this threat to their healthy lifestyle.
—Peshawar
Restore tranquillity
Azam Bhatti
I live in Westridge which is quite close to the army’s dog centre.
While dogs bark in the morning, mullahs take to the loudspeakers and
abuse them from dusk to dawn. The authorities concerned should take
notice of the situation before area residents take law into their
own hands to restore tranquillity in the neighbourhood?
—Rawalpindi
Local calls now costlier
Dr Alfred Charles
After the unilateral imposition of the Pakistan package without
subscribers’ consent, now the PTCL authorities have reduced the
local call duration to two minutes (earlier it was five minutes).
With this unjustified measure, subscribers will suffer financially
but PTCL will reap benefits. The company has recently borne a huge
operating loss and it is unethical to recover it by single-handedly
revising call duration and rates. Last time PTCL did something that
went against the interests of phone users, the state telecom
regulator, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) intervened and
asked the company to reverse its decision. One hopes that the PTA
will do the same now as well.
