A real leader is a person who has philosophical foresight, spiritual
insight and a fearless personality with determination of a rock. He
knows his goal, the paths which lead to that goal and the hurdles
which are laid on the paths to stop him reaching there. He is
charged with impersonal ambitions, struggling tirelessly without
fear to overcome the hurdles and reach the goal. How many political
leaders do we have in present day Pakistan with such qualities? Your
guess is as good as mine. All I can say is, barring one or two; we
see them as half-empty glasses posing filled to the brim. Some even
pose philosophical in their incoherent talks with spiritual-looking
grin on their faces. They have bunkered themselves in fortified
buildings for fear of being attacked by the public they represent.
—London
Who is a Shaheed?
Shah N Khan
The concept of shahada in Islam has been misunderstood by both
Muslims and non-Muslims. Shahada is closely associated with the
concept of jihad Shaeeds are those who leave their homes in the
cause of Allah, and are then slain or die. Jihad, in Islam, means
the spiritual struggle against evil. The struggle canbe by the
heart, the tongue, the hand, and the sword. These refer to the
inner, spiritual war of the heart against vice, passion, and
ignorance; spreading the word of Islam with one’s tongue; choosing
to do good and avoiding evil with one’s hand. Those killed in the
process of Dawa are regarded as Shaheed.
Jihad also means a full-fledged war as declared by the State to
defend the sovereignty or repulse threat to the State’s freedom,
security or religion. Every Zaid or Bakar cannot declare Jihad.
Suicide bombers misguided by the terrorists and fanatics cannot be
called Shaheed but their victims the innocent citizens of Islamic
state may well get shahadat - a shade lower than the soldiers of
Islamic state. The event of Karbala’, the martyrdom of the Imam
Hussain (RA) and his companions and the whole struggle he undertook,
plays a very crucial role in the history of Islam. Shia scholars
frequently quote ‘Every day is ‘Ashura’, and every place is Karbala’
signifying the need for keep on struggling against evil. —Via email
Some are above law-rebuttal
Chief Traffic Officer
This is with reference to the letter captioned above, published in
the Daily Pakistan Observer on 01-11- 2009. It may be clarified that
traffic police has a mandate to ensure the smooth flow of traffic so
that all the road users find a clear passage. The emergency service
vehicles are, however, given priority. Besides, following the
incidents of terrorism on traffic signals, it is considered
expedient to provide a clear passage to the personnel of law
enforcement agencies.
In case, any misconduct reported on the part of any official, all
are strictly dealt in accordance with the provisions of “The Punjab
Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006”. Every
defaulting official is served with a show cause notice and in case
proved guilty or failed to give satisfactory reply, he is penalized.
No person is penalized arbitrarily or unheard. During this summer
season, a number of roads in Murree were undergoing major repairs.
In order to facilitate the general tourists/commuters, it was the
departmental SOP that traffic duty would be deployed on all the
points/section of roads where repair work is in progress and thus
the wardens were deployed in such areas as a routine duty.
Incidentally when the VIP movement took place, traffic wardens
deployed at some points were absent.
On the same day, the City Police Officer Rawalpindi personally
toured the entire Murree area and found a number of traffic wardens
absent from the Rawalpindi-Murree Road. Absentees were dealt
strictly under the rules and were offered the opportunity of
personal hearing. Absentees were penalized not because of the
movement of the VIP, rather they were penalized for their absence
from routine duty. It is expected of all the traffic wardens that
they would perform their duties diligently. Failing to do so, they
are liable to be proceeded against under the disciplinary rules.
Traffic Wardens are being counselled time and again that they should
perform their duty to the best satisfaction of general road
users/commuters. —Rawalpindi
Naxal menace
Sushil Vakil
The daring train jacking by Maoists at Jharagam in West Begal has
once again, highlighted the extent and scope of Naxals spreading
terror scare. As a matter of fact, this was the first Maoist attack
in which neither any life was lost nor any blood shed. Maoist
insurgency has penetrated deep into Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and some
parts of Maharashtra. So far thousands of policemen have lost their
lives in violent clashes in insurgency-dominated regions.
The Maoist cadres have eliminated thousands of innocent people and
policemen on duty. By indulging in senseless brutality Maoists have
aptly demonstrated that for them violence is an end in itself.
According to a Home Ministry data at least 2,671 people - including
civilians, security personnel and rebels - have been killed in
incidents related to Maoist violence in India since 2006. Maoists
are no different from jihadi terrorists — they are used by their top
leaders in the name of struggle against social and economic
deprivation. Like Taliban, Naxals have also proved with their
sinister terror campaigns that their aid and support is being
provided by some foreign hand and their prime agenda is to weaken
India from within. With their nefarious cannibalization continuing
unrestrained, they have simply necessitated the need of
counteracting against them with full blow. Their recent spate of
attacks in different parts of the country has necessitated the need
to face them straight out.
There is no doubt that Maoist rebels are day by day becoming most
cruel, senseless and anti-state. With every attack, they necessitate
the need to wipe them out as soon as possible. Nothing is going to
get back on track without a concerted and dedicated effort on the
part of government functionaries, which is clearly absent. The
government should chalk out a cohesive plan to eradicate the Maoist
menace before it is too late. The state must get ready to put them
down ruthlessly if only to save innocent lives in the villages and
towns held as naxal domains.
No government can tolerate armed gangs roaming the countryside and
dictating terms for talks. Maoists should give up violence and
accept the government’s invitation for a dialogue. Moreover, the
naxals also need to realise that LTTE chief V. Prabakaran too did
not heed the call of the Sri Lankan authorities for a dialogue and
we all know the result. They do also need to learn that violence and
extremism have never won or promoted a cause, however just. As
rightly said by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently left-wing
extremism posed the greatest internal security threat for India.
With Naxalism proving to be India’s biggest internal security
challenge, the problem needs to be addressed at the earliest.—Via
email
Endangered wildlife
Altaf Qureshi
Recently a group of politically powerful people went on the rampage
in Machiara National Wildlife Park Azad Kashmir that is protected
under local and international law. According to area residents and
wildlife department scouts gunshots were heard throughout the day.
The local community, involved in the park’s protection that has
voluntarily renounced hunting within its boundaries, was
understandably outraged. This news is enough to put head of every
conscientious Pakistani down in shame over the insensitive
highhandedness of our so-called “elite” and privileged class for
massacring endangered species National Park.
There are more than 21 sites in the country selected as ‘National
Parks’ for protecting wildlife and preservation of environment. The
Machiara National Park (MNP) however has the distinction of being
one of three globally significant National Parks selected for a
Global Environment Facility sponsored project. The overall goal
especially in the case of MNP is to set-up management models
demonstrating effective natural resource conservation involving
local communities. Unfortunately the privileged class of the country
who has scant respect for the law, ravage the national environ
ruthlessly with the active connivance of those who are paid from the
national exchequer to guard these protected areas. The wildlife
including animals and birds which once thrived in these parks
instead of being protected has been almost extinguished. Another
serious concern is legalizing the massacre of wildlife by the
government itself through issuing special permits to the rich Arabs
form Emirates etc to hunt the birds like houbara bustard, which due
to overkill has been declared endangered specie by the World Wild
Life Organization in view of fast exterminating wildlife in the
country.
I propose that not only special exemption stopped forthwith but
those caught violating the law, instead of being fined be sent
behind the bars as the money hardly matters for those murderous
influential.—Hyderabad
