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.
Curse of extremism
One of the biggest curses that have infected Pakistan for decades is extremism which is a legacy of dictators, who knowingly exploited religion and sowed seeds of sectarian divide, to prevent any united political opposition. Fatwas were sought to justify supra constitutional takeovers. Madaris and religious seminaries that were involved in teaching religion to convey Holy Prophet’s message of peace and tolerance were converted overnight to Jihadist manufacturing factories to prepare cannon fodder.
Quaid-e-Azam wanted Pakistan to be a modern democratic welfare state, whose citizens would enjoy equal rights, irrespective of their faith, ethnicity or sex. MAJ wanted the foundations of Pakistan to be laid on a constitution as supreme law, to establish a “country of the people, for the people and by the people”. But this did not suit ambitious few and they embarked on derailing Jinnah’s vision.
This country desperately needs foreign investment to build depleted infrastructure and indigenous energy resource development to keep wheels of industry rotating. We need help to promote research and development in science and technology. Unfortunately, those external forces who do not want Pakistan to be economically self sufficient and boost exports are instrumental in creating hurdles by instigating extremists within society on alleged blasphemy charges to harass and intimate foreign workers involved in installment of projects.
The latest is the incident involving a Chinese national involved in construction of Chinese- funded Dasu Hydropower Project in Kohistan, who was accused of alleged blasphemous remarks. This has been happening too frequently. After all there are 30 other countries with more than 90% Muslim majority population. Such incidents rarely happen there, because the governments in those countries do not allow their citizens to exploit religion for politics, nor as a tool to engage in proxy wars, as was done by Zia, in the CIA funded Afghan proxy war. For Pakistan to survive and develop this cancer of extremism must be eliminated with an iron hand.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Crack down on hoarders
The Prime Minister’s instructions for the government to initiate a crackdown against hoarders and black marketers of sugar certainly reflect that the government is aware of the seriousness of the issue. Prices of important staple items such as sugar have risen naturally because of supply and demand side factors, but speculation, sale on the black market, hoarding and smuggling also have a large part to play in increased inflation.
The Prime Minister’s solution might not be sufficient. We have been down this road before. The government orders action against smuggling and this might stop a smuggler or two and lead to some warehouses running illicit activities being sealed, but little else. There are structural issues in our markets that allow for a black market to be created and thrive in the first place. The solution to most of these problems lies in increased digitisation, improved data gathering and more transparency all along the supply chain. These are systemic problems that a random spot check or two will not solve.
From registering the supply and production volumes of sugar mills to ensuring that the end product makes it to the legal market, it is important for the government to maintain a regular check on economic activity in the industry, instead of random checks when the price gets uncontrollable.
Price increases in staple items such as wheat and sugar can have a ripple effect that damages the pricing of other commodities, all along the food production chain, which makes life much more difficult, considering there are no longer any cheap import substitutes either. In the absence of comprehensive control system, any number of crackdowns will not yield the desired results.
QAZI JAMSHED SIDDIQUI
Lahore
Curriculum of Pakistan
The youth of Pakistan have been constantly facing the consequences of the irrelevancy of our education system. As a university student, I’ve noticed that the majority of Pakistani schools and colleges teach out-of-date curricula that are unrelated to the demands of students or the nation’s workforce. Sadly, we are studying the same courses that our parents did decades ago.
It is crucial that students acquire education that gives them the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the global job market in today’s fast-paced society. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s present curricula do not reflect the needs of contemporary business and employment sectors.
For instance, the existing curriculum in Pakistan does not place a high priority on disciplines like computer science, data analysis and digital marketing, despite their rising importance in the current job market. Rather, it places more of an emphasis on conventional disciplines that do not give pupils the skills they need to succeed in the current workforce.
The existing curriculum also doesn’t take into account the reality of Pakistani society. For instance, it falls short in its coverage of issues like social justice, gender equality and environmental sustainability, all of which are essential for creating a society that is more inclusive and sustainable.
ARFA BATOOL
Karachi
Gold smuggling
It is very atrocious that the country is reeling from years of economic mismanagement that have resulted in high inflation and unemployment. The sombre thing is that half of the country’s estimated sixteen million people live in extreme poverty. I am perplexed, ordinary people are suffering in Zimbabwe while other people are living pretty from gold looting. As Zimbabweans we need to unite as people and protest against the looting of resources in the country. Lackadaisical Emmerson Mnangagwa is the criminal surrounding Zimbabwe. I call on all patriotic Zimbabweans to join me in a call for the clueless, careless, heartless and corrupt President to step down. Revelations of gold smuggling by individuals affiliated with Zimbabwean government officials and the ruling party in an Al Jazeera documentary have triggered outrage in the country. Zimbabwe’s government is using smuggling gangs to sell gold worth hundreds of millions of dollars, skirting some of the consequences of tough Western sanctions imposed on the country over human rights abuses. President Mnangagwa, Angel, Doolan, Macmillan and Rushwaya did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request to comment on the investigation’s findings.
KUDZAI CHIKOWORE
London
