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Tuesday, September 29, 2009, Shawwal 09, 1430 |
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Voice of People
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Ex-general speaks
Mir Tabassum Mairaj
This has reference to the interview Musharraf gave to ABC News and
has been reported in a section of the press. Beauty of such
interviews is complimented due to its verbatim temperament.
Interviewee is trapped by the interviewer by repeated different
questions at appropriate periods and get contradictory answers, yet
he never tells the interviewee that he has said something which
contradicts his previous answers. It goes on air or it is published
next day, word by word.
My reaction to the above referred interview is that there should be
an amendment in our constitution that a retired person should be
barred for a period of two years to comment on country politics as
he has been barred to take part in politics for two years, as some
of the comments by the ex-president have been criticized as harmful
for the country. Last but not the least, a general who had made the
mess of Kargil, should not advise Americans on Afghanistan.
—Islamabad |
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Task Forces in Punjab
Abrar H
I have been a great admirer of CM Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharrif and
still have faith in his integrity and hard work. However his choice
of retired civil bureaucrats to head various task forces leaves much
to be desired. These men beyond the age of superannuation, who are
responsible for much of the problems that Pakistan faces today, are
dead wood, who have nothing to offer. Had these men any integrity or
moral courage to deliver they would have made a difference in their
capacities as Federal Secretaries of various ministries or other
senior assignments that they held during their tenures in service.
During the 9 years of Musharraf’s misrule, it is the civil servants
who ruled by dictate. They are responsible for the deterioration of
law and order, massive corruption and poor governance that have
driven Pakistan to the edge of disaster. They lacked initiative,
drive and integrity when they were in service with all the security
that the law provided to them. Now that they are retired, these
bureaucrats, who are jack of all trades and master of none, lack the
capability for public service. I hope the CM Punjab re-evaluates his
decision and make the composition of these task forces with men who
are in touch with the people, preferably young men who have not been
part of the bureaucracy. —Faisalabad
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Expensive foreign trips
Kadar Khan
The Senate Finance Committee approved over Rs 22.382 million from
April to July 2009 on 13 foreign trips by the Senators.
These expenses are incurred in air tickets, foreign exchange,
communication charges, hiring transport and other miscellaneous
charges. Senate Secretariat should provide the details on the
expenses of each trip with the names of the senators to the media.
According to Press report Senate Secretariat has spent a staggering
amount of over Rs22 million in just four months on 13 foreign trips
made by senators to participate in various international events.
—Via email
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Not just an enemy
Feyyaz M Pasha
Pakistan public perception holds four state and non-state entities
constituting present threat paradigm; Al-Qaeda, Taliban , India ,
and the US. Empirical evidence will do well to determine value of
their nuisance to Pakistan. In a public opinion review conducted by
World PublicOpinion.org in Pakistan and India during 2007, 53%
Pakistanis termed India as critical threat whereas 24% regarded it
as important but not critical threat. When asked whether [Occupied
Kashmir/Jammu and Kashmir] should remain under Indian control in its
present status, 71% Pakistanis did not approve of it. About USA, 49%
Pakistanis did not show trust in US as a responsible state in world
affairs vis-à-vis China viewed favourably by 45%.
Another opinion poll organized by a US based nonpartisan “fact
tank”, Pew Global Attitudes during May and June 2009 in Pakistan,
reflects ‘64% of the public regards the US as an enemy, while only
9% describe it as a partner’. In the same poll, the dispute between
Pakistan and India over Kashmir is cited as a major problem facing
the country by no fewer than 88%. Here more Pakistanis judge India
as a very serious threat to the nation (69%) than the Taliban (57%)
or al Qaeda (41%). The poll was conducted before fatal strike that
killed Baitullah Mehsud on Aug 5, to a degree mending Pak-US trust
deficit relationship.
When questioned by a survey commissioned by Al Jazeera across the
rural and urban areas of all four provinces of Pakistan during July
2009, 11 per cent of the population identified Taliban fighters as
the biggest threat to nation of Pakistan, interestingly only 18 per
cent said that they believe that the greatest threat came from
neighbouring India. But an overwhelming number, 59 per cent targeted
the US as the greatest threat to Pakistan right now. The backdrop of
polls was essentially prevalent security situation characterized by
military operations in Swat, mounting US drone attacks and efficacy
of governance in Pakistan, and not India or Al-Qaeda for that
matter.
In effect, pragmatically reviewed India has been the major
beneficiary of war on terror in South Asia . Not only has she
brutally choked Kashmir Liberation movement but has articulated
strategic encirclement of Pakistan through occasional offensive
military postures along Eastern boundary and opening of consulates
along Pak-Afghan borders. A discernable measure of success of her
diplomacy can be gauged from her double standards wherein on one
side she supports war in Afghanistan, and on the other is actively
providing the fuel for it. Briefing reporters on 30 May 2009 at
Islamabad about the progress of Operation Rahe Rast in Swat,
military spokesman revealed the extent of foreign support that the
Tehrike Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists are getting from
Afghanistan by disclosing recovery of, “Large caches of weapons of
INDIAN origin” by security forces in the process of securing control
of Mingora city”. India claims that the consulates (Kandahar and
Jalalabad) only issue visas for Afghan tourists to India and run
scholarship programs for Afghan students and their presence in
Afghanistan is limited to reconstruction and aid efforts.
Indian Prime Minister has explicitly accepted RAW interference in
Balochistan and Fair reinforced it when she said that, “Indian
officials have told me privately that they are pumping money into
Balochistan ” Leave alone statistical voice of public polls and
devastation caused by drying up of Chenab last year or antipathy
towards admiration of ‘Jinnah’ by Jaswant Singh, India by far stands
out in every form of threat to the security and stability of state
of Pakistan - ideological, political, psychosocial, cultural,
economic, military on long term basis, going beyond conventional
enmity. —Via email |
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Inquiry service
Murad Ali Mohmand
Through your newspaper I would like to bring to the kind notice of
Chairman PTCL about the inquiry service 1217. I was trying to get
the numbers of Malakand University, a well known University in NWFP
from 1217 yet they failed to provide and told me that we don’t have
any record in the name of Malakand University.
I request the Chairman PTCL to improve 1217 as whenever we dial this
service we are advised to wait by computerized message and some time
this waiting time takes more than 3 or 5 minutes. The people some
time need the telephone numbers of any department on emergency basis
to which they fail get from 1217 service. The service must be made
more effective, quick and responsive. —Peshawar
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Pakistan Observer 1998-2009,
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