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.
Restructuring white elephant
PIA was created and funded by the state to provide affordable, reliable and safe air transportation to the public who pay to travel. While there is no doubt that PIA employees would be inconvenienced by the long overdue shifting of operational and administrative headquarters, it is the convenience of passengers which should be the priority. Revenue generated by passengers, pays salaries and keeps the airline commercially viable.
PIA deteriorated from a profitable airline to a white elephant because of mediocrity of political appointees at helm by successive govts and their lack of competence to run it as a commercial enterprise with help of best qualified talent recruited on merit. The other factor was grant of traffic rights by various govts to foreign airlines without protecting financial interests of Pakistani airlines.
Ever since the opening of a more direct, shorter and economical air corridor over the airspace of former Soviet Union, all major profitable airlines, flying from SE Asia, Australia etc to Europe and trans-Atlantic destinations, no longer find it viable to use Karachi as a transit stopover for flights, nor overfly it. It is precisely for this reason that Virgin Air and British Air were eager to operate direct flights to northern hubs of Islamabad and Lahore from where almost 80% of revenue passenger and cargo traffic originates. Similar is the choice of all other airlines based in the Gulf etc.
The bitter reality is that there was a time when Karachi was the convenient and economical choice for major airlines to pick up passengers and KLM, Air France, Pan Am etc preferred it as an economical technical stopover for long haul flights. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. The choice is to either shut down PIA or privatize it. Pakistan cannot afford to sustain this White Elephant, just to cater for the convenience of its employees.
Gull ZAMAN
Peshawar
Online classes
In order to meet the peculiar needs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, universities have proposed an online learning system. In order to offer lectures online, different applications are being used. Under these changed conditions, the teaching staff is especially struggling. As far as advantage obtained by students is concerned, the benefits of this scheme can not be denied. There are still several drawbacks, however.
For most classes, a vast number of instructors are not completely familiar with software. Moreover, there is no convenient access to the Internet for students living in remote and far-flung areas. Third, every student has no Smartphone, laptop or other required gadgets or can afford them. Thus, online education is open and affordable to a small number of students.The face-to-face contact aspect between students and teachers is absent, the proper assessment and analysis process is inaccessible. The most significant of all is that no one knows how long it will last with the unpredictable growth of this lethal virus, thereby leading to a loss of the interests of students in learning. To cope with the problem, the online learning system is not a permanent solution but a stop-gap arrangement.
MUHAMMAD USMAN
Islamabad
Food security in Pakistan
Despite food surpluses, Pakistan experiences high levels of food insecurity due to a lack of access for poor households. Women and children are particularly affected by malnutrition and only 15% of children consume a minimally acceptable diet. The issue of food safety is emerging as a huge crisis on the international level.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has released the key findings of the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES), 2018-19 which reveals that 16% of the population is experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity. This is indeed a very alarming situation for the country where the issue of food security has remained a subject of conceptual debate in the development of Pakistan. As a result, the vulnerability to food insecurity and hunger remains a threat for the nation.
This issue can only be resolved once we introduce new techniques and empower our farmers and facilitate them with the modern machinery so that they can produce good quality of food. Our government is very keen in improving the standard of farmers, which is a very positive sign. However, it needs to step up efforts to minimise risk of food insecurity.
SANIA SHAHZADI
Rawalpindi
Transport problem in Karachi
Through your esteemed newspaper, I want to draw the attention of the concerned authorities towards the public transport. Karachi is the biggest city of Pakistan and capital of the Sindh province and also huge tax payer city of the country but unfortunately it has no proper transport system. Majority of Karachites – lower middle class – which have not enough sources to afford own private transport for this reason city residents mostly use public transport but unfortunately due to indifference of both federal and provincial governments public transport of the city is going from bad to worse with each passing day.
There is no check and balance of vehicles, transporters use more than thirty years old mini buses with gas cylinders installed. Such type of vehicles not only damage environment but also have high risk of accidents, also according to Bloomberg’s report Karachi ranks as having the worst public transport system globally. Still no steps are being taken by the authorities concerned for betterment. We request the concerned authorities: please take action on such type of vehicles and give safe and sound transport to the public.
ABDUL QAYOOM
Karachi
Over the law
The Supreme Court ordered the relevant authorities to get rid of all billboards from public places, particularly those hoardings that square measure put in at the facet of busy roads.
However, these hoardings haven’t been removed thus far. Will somebody make a case for why the people that square measure ignoring the SC’s orders haven’t been punished? Aren’t all voters equal before the law? Theodore Roosevelt once said, “No man is on top of the law and no man is below it; nor can we raise any man’s permission once we raise him to adapt it
A AHMAD
Islamabad
The only genre in our dramas
Media has been playing a decisive role in society since the last two decades and has a deep control on the minds of the people. With special reference to social construction of societal mind and views its dramas are playing an imperative role which often leads to devastating effects. The 90 to 95 percent drama industry revolves around Melodrama in which family politics, failed marriages and love stories are concentrated.
These contents are influencing the minds of the people and attract them to practice this in their personal life. Although entertainment is necessary but need of the hour is demanding that they ought to add multiple genres. For this, there should be extra-ordinary research which could uplift the society on intellectual level that would be more beneficial for the state and society.
FAHAD SIDDIQUE
Rawalpindi
