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.
Army’s role
The Pakistan Army has consistently demonstrated dedication and commitment in serving the nation. Their unwavering efforts in safeguarding the country’s borders and maintaining internal stability have been commendable. Through their professionalism and sacrifices, they have contributed significantly to the security and well-being of the citizens.
Today’s world has witnessed a classic display of professionalism and nationalism by Pakistan Army when 8 individuals got stuck in a local cable car hanging at the height of 900 feet. Pak Army was called upon and under direct supervision of Major General Adil Rehmani, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of The Special Service Group (SSG), started the rescue operation.
High winds, bad weather and the risk of breaking final wire due to helicopter thrust made the rescue more challenging. After several attempts with total disregard to personal safety and under scrutiny of complete media and huge audience, a sling operation was done. In my opinion the toughest rescue operation in history of mankind that finally comes to a successful end after more than 15 hours of dedicated hard work, excellent professionalism and sincerity has been displayed by Pak Army.
UNZILA TAHIR HUDA
Karachi
Super-vigilant traffic police
With no greater facilities of transportation for the citizens of Karachi, it is not less than a crime to drive and own a vehicle in Karachi. As the capital city’s traffic police is encircling the law-abiding citizens by stopping them in the middle of road at different intervals around the city, especially near roundabouts and linking roads, where the drivers have less chance to escape the super-vigilant traffic police in the city.
Although it is a good step to check and verify the driving license and documents of owners of motor vehicles, yet the purpose seems to be the opposite; as the traffic officers are standing in groups at different points of the city and stop the vehicles for different reasons. While stopping the car in the middle of jam-pack traffic; some owners manage to run away while others fall victim at the hands of the traffic police.
The reasons for this, of course, seem to be tinted glasses, number plates; fancy number plates and original documents.Some fall victim at the hands of the traffic police despite having all the required documents and verified license, but they are ordered to pay an E-challan. After paying the E-challan as citizens are left with no choice but to compromise with the traffic police which offers to reduce the challan amount. Once the citizens pay at the spot, they get to know the real reason for stopping them which seems to be different from the reasons they were stopped for things like fancy number plates that turned out to be a lack of a driving license.
The traffic police should facilitate the law-abiding citizens; at the same time; they must cross-check, validate the license which can be done easily through an online portal. At the same time, citizens must cooperate with the traffic police and stop; however traffic police need to follow some guidelines for checking the citizens. The Excise and Taxation departments must issue the number plates of previous years to all citizens as has been reported that the new number plates with Sindhi ajrak design needs to be issued on an urgent basis. In this way, citizens would have reduced chances of getting stuck in traffic, fear and anger issues. Meanwhile, the higher authorities must take action against those traffic officers who try to disturb the law-abiding citizens of the city.
M HASSAN ABBASI
Karachi
Family planning
The lack of family planning in Pakistan is a paramount issue which has devastating implications for the population’s overall health, socio-economic development and women’s empowerment. The following strategies can be implemented to address this issue: Community Engagement: Engage religious and community leaders to promote positive attitudes towards family planning. Their support and endorsement can help address cultural and religious misconceptions while encouraging open dialogue about family planning. Awareness campaigns: Launch mass media campaigns, using television, radio and social media, to raise awareness about the importance of family planning. These campaigns can also address prevailing myths, misconceptions and social taboos surrounding contraception. Empowerment of women: Promote women’s education and empowerment, as these factors are closely linked to the uptake of family planning.
Educated women are more likely to understand the benefits of smaller family size and have greater control over their reproductive choices. Engaging men: Involve men as partners in family planning programs. Encouraging men’s involvement through educational campaigns and counselling sessions can help challenge traditional gender norms and promote shared decision-making within families.
Policy and Funding: Develop and enforce supportive policies that prioritize family planning as a public health and development issue. This includes allocating adequate resources and funds to ensure the availability of quality family planning services at all levels of the healthcare system. Addressing the lack of family planning in Pakistan requires a multi-dimensional approach that includes education, access, awareness, empowerment and policy support. By implementing these strategies, Pakistan can work towards achieving its goals of population control, improving maternal and child health and empowering individuals and families to make informed reproductive choices.
FARIS KHALIQ
Via email
Mission accomplished
India, which is called the country of snakes and sages, today stands with the most powerful countries of the world in space technology and has become the fourth country in the world to successfully soft-land on the moon with the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is designed to inspire the younger generation of India to take an interest in science and technology. I’m sure many students studying in schools and colleges will be excited to learn more about this mission and its developments.
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
Box letter
Stop children from begging
As we all are aware that children are the future of our country. As in Sindh and other provinces of Pakistan, children are begging in front of mosques, visiting places etc. I want to draw attention of the caretaker government of Pakistan on this matter. If government is not serious, who will stop them from this worst act? Why children have a begging bowl in their hand instead of books? It is the responsibility of the State to provide them shelter for living, food for survival and proper education to stand on their own feet because Pakistan is in dire need of leadership. If government will not concentrate on this problem, we should be ready to cope the challenges of economic, social injustice and crimes. It’s not so easy to face the problems without education, therefore, I am going to request the Federal/Sindh governments to take a legal action against all responsible persons and decrease the begging ratio of children from urban as well as rural areas of country.
SHER ALI HALEPOTO
Sanghar Sindh
