Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
New Year hopes and wishes
Let us all pray and hope that year 2021 brings good tidings for common citizens of Pakistan and those who hold public office finally submit and start upholding in letter and spirit their oath to the constitution. I pray to Almighty Allah SWT for divine intervention to eradicate COVID19. It is about time that elected and paid public office holders start delivering to the people what Quaid had promised that Pakistan will be a modern democratic welfare state and not a country where the will of people becomes hostage to the greed and ambitions of a few.
Perhaps it is time to curtail this practice of giving subsidies to fertilizer, sugar and real estate mafias and for a change focus on welfare of common citizens by ensuring that prices of essential basic food items are not escalated through hoarding, black marketing and smuggling. Subsidies, if any, should be given to provide health, education and security of life and property to the most deprived sections of our society.
That Father of Nation Quaid-e-Azam warned us about this curse and institutionalized corruption which we inherited in his 11 August 1947 address and the importance and legal implications of the oath to the constitution he stressed upon in June 1948. Let us hope that the Supreme Court of Pakistan takes up with same zeal, to curb with an iron hand, this practice of illegal encroachments of state lands, public amenity plots like Kidney Hill etc., as they have done recently in Karachi. Nobody should dare to occupy forest lands and green agriculture belts which damage the environment and reduce agriculture production.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Green line
bus project
The under-construction Green Line bus project has once again become a bone of argument between the Sindh and Federal governments. The project has suffered many delays due to the failure to finalize the design for extending from Taj Medical Complex to Jamia Cloth Market. Development work on this phase has still not started.
At this point, even if a design was immediately agreed upon, the completion of the construction work would still take more than a year. Large traffic jams can be observed at many places along the track under construction, causing great inconvenience to every stakeholder – passengers, transport operators, traders and street vendors etc. No diversions or alternative routes were provided to [redirect] traffic during the entire period of construction, wreaking havoc on commuting time and businesses. That was certainly the case till October 2017. The traffic situation has eased a little now that construction is near completion in most areas covered. The problem is now expected to shift to the areas between Bundoo Khan Restaurant and the Municipal Park as construction there will gather pace in the coming weeks and months.
Traffic blues, however, are not the only worrisome aspect of the project. Once the track and its related infrastructure have been built, running the Green Line will become the responsibility of the Sindh government, which will be responsible for procuring buses and ensuring their smooth operation. We do not expect the provincial administration to handle this well. For one, it will not be able to procure buses on time. Instead of buses, motorcyclists will use the corridor which could lead to fatal accidents.
AREESHA MARYAM
Karachi
Street crimes
Street crime is a loose term for criminal offences taking place in public places. Nowadays street crimes are rampant in Pakistan. Usually this occurs in busy business areas and highways which include pick pocketing, mobile snatching, wallet snatching, cars and auto snatching on gun point, target killing. Street crimes affect our society.
Nowadays every individual has its own story of mobile and wallet snatching. But police takes no action against these thieves and it has become a spreading menace for the citizens. No one’s life and property are safe. The major causes are unemployment, illiteracy, poverty but there are some other factors like lawlessness, fundamentalism, backwardness and double standard prevailing in the society.
Government should take serious steps to control these street crimes. For example sincere steps must be taken to solve the unemployment, provide education to poor people and police authorities need to be more alert in safeguarding citizen’s life and liberty to make Pakistan a peaceful country.
IRFAN HUSSAIN
Karachi
Religious fundamentalist
In Pakistan, religious extremism has become an overwhelming issue. This is because the very structure of culture was infiltrated by ignorance and extremism, and citizens’ minds have been poisoned. A mob ferociously attacked and damaged a Hindu temple last week in Karak, KP province. Such incidents are a painful reminder of how respect for religious minorities is increasingly shrinking in country.
This act of vandalism and many more, though happen occasionally, violate not only religious freedom yet also Islam’s values. Many critiques have long suggested that the current administration should also look at the deplorable situation of religious minorities in Pakistan, apart from condemning massacres committed by the Modi regime in Kashmir and increasing Hindu nationalism in India. It is time for us, regardless of ethnicity, faith, caste and belief, to respect our peers and turn Pakistan into a peaceful country for all. Only then will we spread Islam in a peaceful and inclusive faith and prove it to the world.
FAHAD SIDDIQUE
Rawalpindi
Educational issues during Covid-19
I would like to draw attention of the authorities to a very sensitive issue which is causing enormous damage to our nation.
Due to Covid-19, there is a huge loss of education, which students are facing in different ways. Teachers are delivering lectures by hybrid system and it is difficult to make the students understand. Before the lockdown, teachers were delivering lectures easily and students would understand them easily as well. Moreover, students are showing their non-seriousness towards online classes. Besides, there are major crisis of power supply and signal weakness. So, I request the authorities concerned to solve these problems to save the future of the nation from this ongoing dilemma.
MASOOD ELAHI
Karachi
