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Voice of People
Nab & punish hoarders
M Shafique Ahmed
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani revealed in the National
Assembly that some ‘honourables’ in the country are hoarding wheat
(June 10). It is not understood why he has not named such elements?
Such elements deserved to be fully exposed before the nation and their
wheat stocks seized by the government to set an example. Actions speak
louder than the words. Hoarders of food grains are worst enemies of
the country as they are trying to fish in the troubled waters, at a
time when the government is already facing other crucial problems.
Such acts not only create new problems for the common man, but forces
the government to resort to heavy imports of the food-grains to keep
supplies in all parts of the country. Such profiteers deserve sternest
action, otherwise people will lose faith in the prime minister and are
sure to believe the disclosure was misplaced. All such acts like black
marketing, hoarding, profiteering and smuggling have to be curbed with
an iron fist. Such unethical acts must be discouraged, lest others may
be tempted to indulge in such malpractices.
—Karachi
War hero passes away
M Zahid Rifat
Commodore S.A. Rauf, a former Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, died in
Calgary, Canada, on Sunday at the age of 89. He was buried there on
Monday evening, family sources informed. Commodore Sheikh Abdul Rauf
shot to fame as the ‘Pakistani Naval Wolf’ in the 1965 September War
with India, in which he planned and executed a daring naval raid on
the Indian Fleet at Dawarka, an action that managed to keep the Indian
naval fleet at bay for the entire duration of the war. His daring
strategic and tactical naval moves are even today taught in the
Pakistan Naval War College and other similar institutions the world
over. He was to be made the Chief of naval Staff, but was by-passed as
his wife was a foreigner – Mrs. Magda Rauf. Ironically exactly a day
after he was by-passed, she died in a helicopter accident in
Indonesia, where the couple had gone as guests of President Sukarno to
attend their Independence Day celebration. Other Pakistani and
Indonesian naval officers were killed, but Commodore Rauf skipped the
flight to attend a special meeting with Sukarno. On his return he
sought retirement for the Pakistan Navy and migrated to Canada,
returning to visit his mother in their ancestral house in Model Town,
Lahore. He was an accomplished tennis player and an All-India
champion. He leaves behind three sons - the eldest Aamir is an
outstanding sportsman, representing Canada in their national ice
hockey team.
—Via email
Advice to Mushahid
Yasir Ali Khan
You were very prominent leader of PML (N) and known to be part of the
kitchen cabinet. You could not endure and sacrifice for the party when
it was a victim of Martial Law and joined PML (Q). PML (Q) and General
Perverz Musharraf [R] are negations of all the sublime values
associated with democracy. Pervez Musharraf has made our country so
fragile and disunited as it never was. Its only accomplishment is to
create a bunch of sycophants. Please don’t associate yourself with
this category of people and political leaders who wanted General
Musharraf to be President for next ten terms in uniform. You are
supporting Chaudary brothers who have excelled in the art of
“bragging”. They wield influence because of their ill-gotten wealth.
Nawaz Sharif made mistakes. Now, he has learnt where he went wrong. He
is now a well-reformed and competent politician. You should support
him and forget about the King’s Party.
—Attock
Cancer treatment
Naeem Qureshi
After years of telling people Chemotherapy is the only way to try (try
is the key word) and eliminate cancer, John Hopkins Hospital US is
finally starting to tell you there is an alternative way. Sugar is a
cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food
supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like Nutra Sweet, Equal
, Spoonful , etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better
natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very
small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color. Better alternative is Bragg’s amnions or sea salt.b. Milk
causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal
tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting
with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.c. Cancer
cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and
it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef. Meat
also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites,
which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.d. A diet made
of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a
little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. Cancer
is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive
spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger,
unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic
environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to
relax and enjoy life. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more
oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means
employed to destroy cancer cells.
—Lahore
Let’s give it a try
Khubaib Usmani
Price hike is an international phenomenon affecting all and sundry.
Pakistan unfortunately has suffered most due to inefficiencies of our
politicians and sense of indifference towards general public. Previous
government of PML-Q did not dare to raise POL prices due to public
backlash. The difficult decisions were left to this incumbent
government which is popularly elected government on the one hand and
it has to take difficult decisions on the other hand. An objective
approach would find only one disturbing factor in this tsunami of
inflation. Why inflation is much higher here as compared to the rest
of the countries of the region. It could be due to unstable
governments which keep emerging one after the other and every Premier
bringing his own team of economic wizard. Increase in the prices of
crude oil cannot be checked since it is an international phenomenon
but the increase in the price s of natural gas and CNG is beyond any
understanding. The average man will be hit hard due to this increase
as CNG driven vehicles form the largest part of automobile industry.
Besides hitting directly it will adversely hit them indirectly as
prices of everyday items will further shoot up. I have an interesting
solution to this new wave of price hike. Finance Minster come on
television, take the nation into confidence that inflation and price
hike will be eliminated in a six month period, and then artificially
add two to three zero at the end of each numeric in a six month
period. This should also follow an increase in the salaries of its
employees. This could be done on a fortnightly basis; at the end of
six months government should remove the additional number of zero and
issue new bills altogether. It will not only curtail the price hike
substantially but also improve the value of Pakistani rupee and save
it from any downslide in future. Turkey has experimented with it
recently and it was quite a success.
—Islamabad
