Hapless IMCG teachers

Saba Gul

It is highly lamentable what are our priorities for nation building. It is obvious from a news item appeared in the press that more than 500 teachers of 19 model colleges in Federal Capital work on daily wages. They have spent 10 to 17 years of their lives in these institutions yet their services have not been reglarised by the Ministry of Education. After serving at least 5 years in a institution, these daily wages teachers must be regularised. Such a case should not be prolonged. If the Ministry of Education and Federal Directorate of Education is unable to chalk out any permanent strategy or criteria for the reglularisation of these daily wages teachers in each year after conducting test or screening performance reports from their respective institutions then why these teachers are offered for daily wages services. If FPSC is only and sole criteria for their selection, then all seats must go to it, no daily wages recruitment be made. By not making these teachers permanent even after passing 10 to 17 years, it is an open “Ghunda Gardi” and the way to prolong the path of back door for exploitation of these teachers. What kind of vision and spirit these nation builders can give to students if State will treat them as loathsome creatures for making them regularised. When and how we will mend our ways as a nation? Ad-hochism and for the time being steps have become our permanent national policies. —Islamabad

Gift for awam

Nazeer Abro

They came to power with the promise of “Roti Kapra aur Makan” and chose to side with sugar mill owners, because the party leadership were amongst the beneficiaries.

The hunger stricken masses that voted for them, were taken for granted, as if the voters had an obligation to vote, not for the elected to deliver on their promises. Sugar sold by the mill owners to TCP at Rs28 per Kg was allowed to be hoarded by sugar cartel, because the government had obliged the mill owners by incorporating an agreement wherein the mill owners had the option to buy back their sold stocks at payment of 25% penalty, with no questions asked. At the end of day the mill owners made a clean profit ranging from Rs19 to Rs21 per kg, thanks to an ever obliging sugar cartel friendly elected government. The mill owners reaped a golden harvest, while the state reduced the GST by 50% and the tax gap so resulting will be recovered from the population through more indirect taxation like hikes in petrol etc.

Entrepreneurs looking for quick bucks through installation of Rental Power Plants, succeeded in getting 2250 Mega Watts capacity, although the ECC had approved 1500 Mega Watts only. The entrepreneurs made loads of guaranteed profits through agreements that would be the wish of every business man, while the common man will have to pay 30 to 50% extra on each unit of electricity consumed. People line up from dawn to dusk to buy bags of wheat and sugar, with only few getting back without any bodily harm or harassment. The PPP elected nominee to President’s post has made more foreign trips in a year than ZAB did in his more than 5 years of government. State corporations like Steel Mills, PIA, EBOI, TCP etc are on the verge of collapse through corruption, nepotism and gross mismanagement, with prospects of rendering millions more unemployed. This could never have happened had ZAB been in power or BB calling the shots.—Hyderabad

Worsening medical facilities

Zohaib Ahmed

In order to provide health facilities to the people of Sindh a public sector hospital with latest medical facilities was established in 1881 at Hyderabad with the collaboration of Bombay Faculty of Medicines. Following independence, in 1953 this hospital was renamed as ‘Civil Hospital Hyderabad’. Later on, after establishment of Liaquat Medical College at Jamshoro this hospital was attached with it as a teaching school. Until early seventies this hospital was in good shape and used to provide adequate health cover to the residents of Hyderabad city and the rural areas of almost entire division. In serious emergency cases, next to Karachi, this was the only hospital which catered to the needs of almost entire Sindh.

The hospital is upgraded recently and is now part of newly established Liaquat University of Medical Sciences (LUMS) as a teaching facility. Unfortunately instead of being improved the condition of hospital has so deteriorated that people now prefer private hospitals albeit unreasonably heavy fees they charge.

The general complaint is that the professors/doctors who head various departments have hardly time to see the patients of the hospital as they come after 11 o’clock and leave their rooms by 1.30 PM. They even have no time to visit general wards to see in what pathetic conditions patients are kept. Actually the doctors prefer patients to come in their private clinics in the evening although they get non practicing allowances from the government.

This is fact that government does not allocate adequate budget for providing free medication to the poor but even these limited funds are squandered in corruption as the medicines purchased by hospital are generally seen sold in the medical stores especially located in the vicinity. Moreover the hospital lacks hygiene, cleanliness and discipline a prerequisite for healthy atmosphere needed for the patients.

The manifold growth of population and increase in poverty has multiplied diseases as well as the number of patients for which the present ill maintained and unhygienic health facility at Hyderabad is not only extremely insufficient but more hazardous to their health. On the top of it, it is the treatment of the doctors who are more interested in private practice to earn riches then towards unfortunate patients, which has turned the hospital into a disordered and chaotic place. The fast deteriorating conditions of Civil Hospital Hyderabad need immediate attention of the provincial health ministry. The government has also to devise some method so that these doctors attend their duties during the office timings punctually for which they are being from the public money. —Village Allahdad Chand

CM’s Ramazan package

Qudrat Ullah

The Holy month of Ramadan is the most sacred period for the Muslims, the world over, in which the boundless blessings of Allah Almighty are endowed to the faithful. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslims the real meanings of patience, modesty and spirituality. Ramadan is a best time for Muslims to fast for the sake of Allah, and to offer prayers for their salvation in this life and hereafter. Unfortunately this blissful period is used by some unscrupulous elements for their undue profits and profiteering.

It is a sheer shame that the trading community in our country has always used Ramazan for earning some extra pennies. They have even forgotten that Islam has given to the world, the best of the prudential principles about commerce and trade, and undue profiteering is strictly discouraged. As expected, the all powerful sugar mills cartel in Pakistan hoarded their stocks of sugar from the markets before the advent of Ramadan and the hapless people were forced to buy sugar on exorbitant prices. Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, who has the reputation of a hard task master and he is quite uncompromising on good governance, took serious notice of it, and ordered the police to crackdown against the most affluent and gubernatorial sugar mills cartel who has strong backing and support in the establishment, and therefore, some circles considered it hard for the Punjab government, to take an affective action against them. However, he again proved his leadership vision and realized to the hoarders, that he is unflinching on the issue of governance and public service.

As a result of his effective measures, full control and proactive support of the trading community, the availability of food items is fairly improved in the Ramadan bazaars and now long queues of people are nowhere around to be seen. Shahbaz Sharif once again proved that the public sector could be quite helpful in public service. The basic philosophy of his good governance is public service and this is the real essence of any democracy as people are supreme.

It has been proven once again that if there is any sort of governance in Pakistan, then it is evident in the Punjab province. The Chief Minister Punjab is doing a great job in the sectors of health, education and commodity markets and he has proved his leadership abilities. He has been on the toes from the start to render as much relief to the people of this province as possible within available resources.—Via email

Blackwater death squads

Mehran Leghari

Roughing up of a Pakistani citizen by three Americans at Aabpara, Islamabad and arrest of four Americans in possession of assault rifles without identity marks show the Blackwater death squads have landed. Welcome guys! We had heard a lot about you and your expertise to torture and humiliate locals that you wantonly practiced in Abu Graib (Iraq) and Bagram (Afghanistan). We will now experience the taste of it first hand.

But aren’t you guys little early because the new imperial embassy for you to disappear into after the action is not yet complete. But you aren’t doing too badly; you’ve already beaten up a Pakistani citizen blue and black. What happened? Did he ask you awkward questions? My teenage son frequently inquires: Daddy, James Bond of her majesty’s secret service knows 100 ways of killing his opponent in two seconds, how many ways do the Blackwater agents know. I’m speechless. But children being more imaginative than their elders, my son came out with answer hard to match in innocence: A Blackwater agent can kill a man in 200 different ways within a second because Bond is from UK and Blackwater from US. And US is UK’s daddy. Daddy knows best.—Lahore

Quetta

Muzaffarabad

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