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Voice of People
Issue of Judiciary
Babar A Siddiqi
One day we hear that two parallel Supreme Courts are being
established to retain the current judiciary and on the next day news
comes that high court judges will be asked to take oath of office
afresh. Earlier, a minus-one formula was doing the rounds to keep
Justice Chaudhry away from the Supreme Court. Besides, word has it
that the forthcoming ‘constitutional package’ will not only clip the
suo motu power of the chief justice but also cut his tenure in a way
that upon taking office, Justice Chaudhry will automatically be
retired. On the one hand the PPP spokesperson says that the November
3 emergency declared by the army chief was unconstitutional and his
acts thereafter illegal but on the other he hastens to add that the
same illegal acts can’t be undone by an administrative order. This
betrays plain logic.
I have a feeling that the PPP is being dominated by a small group of
politicians these days. For instance, if we have look at the names
which have become too prominent in the PPP after the February 18
election, besides Asif Ali Zardari we find in the top tier people
like Rehman Malik, Farooq Naek and Babar Awan. It is interesting to
note that none of the above-mentioned names have been elected
directly. Another thing common to them is that all of them joined
the PPP quite recently and became part of the central party command
without contesting a single election throughout their lives. On the
contrary, a number of senior party members who endured long periods
of victimization and political suppression due to their honesty,
integrity and commitment to the PPP have been sidelined by the new
party leadership. In this regard, names of Makhdoom Amin Fahim,
Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani can be cited. I urge the PPP
co-chairman not to destroy the party which is perhaps one of the few
secular parties of Pakistan just to secure short-term ends.
—Karachi
Pakistan & Commonwealth
Basheer Ali
Pakistan’s re-entry in the Commonwealth last week is a positive
sign. The Commonwealth suspended our membership in November 2007.
This was the second occasion it suspended Pakistan’s membership. It
is hoped that the Pakistan government will draw the attention of the
new Commonwealth secretary general to the discriminatory treatment
meted out to our nationals with respect to recruitment, scholarships
and hiring processes in the Commonwealth. It is no secret that
several Commonwealth member-countries with far less population than
Pakistan are better represented in diplomatic, executive, clerical
and auxiliary positions in the Commonwealth. Steps should be taken
to bring Pakistan’s representation on a par with other
member-countries of the Commonwealth.
—Islamabad
Misleading ads
A citizen
The management of Rawalpindi’s only multiplex cinema is deceiving
its customers through misleading advertisements. Its ads incorrectly
say that matinee shows will have concessionary rates from Monday to
Friday (buy one, get one free).
However, when one buys a ticket they find that there is no such
concession on offer and that even the ticket price has been
increased to Rs250 per ticket. Secondly, when one enters the cinema
hall, they find that the price of a soft drink bottle is Rs50. A
popcorn packet costs Rs100 at the cinema which probably would cost a
lot less from any outside shop. Prices of other items are also
exorbitant. The cinema’s management should have pity on its
customers and price its food and beverage offerings in a more
rational manner. It should also offer to customers what its ads
claim.
—Rawalpindi
Expensive fertilizer
Sardar Ali Aman
Farmers in Chitral are now facing serious problems due to the
skyrocketing prices of DAP and urea. A 50-kg bag of DAP is being
sold at Rs3,000, which is beyond the reach of a poor farmer.
Presently, Chitral gets about 25,000 metric tons of wheat annually
from outside through the NWFP government to supplement the local
production that is around 14,000 metric tons. Its transportation
charges are borne by the provincial government. If farmers are not
provided with fertilizers at a reasonable rate, local production of
wheat will decline drastically and consequently the provincial
government will have to bear more expenses in bringing additional
wheat into Chitral at a subsidized rate.
—Chitral
No protocol
Brig (Retd) M Sher Khan
Many thanks are due to the new Army Chief from hundreds of users of
Rawalpindi’s Race Course Park. Recently, he was chief guest at a
polo tournament played at the adjoining polo ground. Unlike the past
practice, the park was not shut and sealed for ‘security reasons’
along with massive deployment of heavily armed soldiers. While he
was watching polo under barely visible minimal security cover, the
park-users were free to do their thing. While security is
undoubtedly essential in the prevailing environment, the public
should not be unduly inconvenienced, let us hope it stays this way.
For readers’ information, the park and polo ground were built in
1990-91 at the site of a race course when its lease expired. Nawaz
Sharif, the then Punjab chief minister, made a hefty donation to
enable NESPAK and FWO to build the facilities, which now act as the
lungs of an increasingly congested and polluted cantonment. Sadly,
the many water fountains and waterfall have rarely functioned due to
lack of water and electricity. The vast fountain areas which have
decayed beyond repair could easily be turned into children’s play
areas and/or a roller-skating rinks etc. Also, the park could be
thrown open to the public, free of cost, at least on Eid and
Pakistan Day so that people who cannot afford the entry fee can
bring their families for an outing. Considering how the RCB has
plenty of money for airy-fairy schemes, park entry could well be
made free throughout the year.
In this new era of glasnost, the COAS could also consider keeping
the old Pindi Club premises open to the members and their families
whenever senior officers use the main building or its adjoining
banquet hall — let us not deprive old fogies, young officers and
their families of the few remaining pleasures of life. Ditto for
Rawalpindi’s only golf course.
—Rawalpindi
US policies
Arif M
A report says that the American ambassador has been upset by the
anti-Americanism in Pakistan (May 9). She remarked: “I suspect that
those who oppose American engagement in Pakistan have a limited
understanding of how our partnerships — economic assistance and
financial interactions —changed the lives of everyday Pakistanis in
real and positive ways.” One would like to tell Anne Patterson that
we understand a lot about American aid. We have seen what it has
done in Iraq and Afghanistan and in our tribal areas. What it does
in the Israeli context and in Lebanon. She is reminded of what the
Bible says: “Man shall not live by bread alone.” In our context it
may be rephrased as, “Pakistanis shall not live by dollar alone.”
The US should devote thought to what else it has been doing, apart
from trying to buy people’s loyalties. Samuel Wesley had written:
“The poet’s fate is here in emblem shown,/He asked for bread and
received a stone.” It may be rewritten as, “The Muslims’ fate is
here in emblem shown,/They asked for justice and received
dictatorship, bombs, occupation.”
—Karachi
