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.
Conflicts of interest of ruling elite
Pakistan and its economy have been hostage to conflicts of interest of ruling elite since 1958, both political or dictatorial regimes. It is time that internationally accepted ethics of governance, which our religion emphasizes upon, must be incorporated and enforced. As a nation we need to evaluate, why Pakistan has failed to invest in development of basic infrastructure and essential industries like India, and instead invested on quick returns profitable consumer-based industries. We all know that black money is parked in speculative real estate sector, yet every elected and dictatorial government has been involved in promoting this sector, at the expense of compromising our agricultural sector, which has been the backbone of our economy. Today we import even wheat and vegetable.
Enough damage has been inflicted by the insatiable greed of a few and it is about time that strict regulatory and ethics control be imposed. To begin with there should be complete ban on converting fertile green agricultural land for any purpose. Housing schemes and industrial zones should be located on infertile land. All those who hold political executive power at the federation or provincial level must give a pledge that neither they, nor their families would embark on new industrial ventures or housing schemes.
Similar iron clad pledges must be enforced upon the paid elite. It is unfortunate that almost every political government (PPP, PMLN, PTI, MQM, PMLQ, Musharraf, Zia etc.) has succumbed to their conflicts of interest and Pakistan’s economy has suffered, whilst individuals have prospered. Similar is the situation with powerful paid establishment. This abuse of power has negatively impacted our economy and today we face a Liquidity Crunch and are on the verge of bankruptcy.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Natural disaster
Natural disasters are harmful for our society. There are many natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions etc but floods are common in Pakistan. Every year one reads of floods in one river or another often causing greater damage. Floods occur for a few reasons. Our climate has been very hot for the last 6 to 7 years. From increasing high temperatures in summer water evaporates and it causes a lot of rain. Due to high evaporation, it causes a lot of rain.
Due to high temperatures in May and June glaciers melt very quickly. When the water of rain and glaciers enter the river, we have no space to store it. So it causes flooding of rivers with devastating consequences. Floods have many impacts like people being killed by flood water, buildings, hospitals, roads, agriculture and other important places affected.
People lose their jobs because of damage to buildings and equipment. The Federal Flood Commission and Power Ministry are responsible for flood management, planning and implementation of new plans. Pakistan needs to build dams because according to climate experts the temperature of the world will be very high in 2050. Construction of more and more dams is very essential to save our country as well as the posterity.
SABA MUNEER
Sharaqpur Sharif
Harassing women in universities
A female was involved in an incident that happened a few days back in India, a neighboring country. A female student at Chandigarh University in Punjab created MMS of her in the hostel vicinity and sent them to her lover, who then made the videos public. Very few women committed suicide or murdered themselves after their films were made public. By all means, this is intolerable. How can one woman be the enemy of another woman?
The subcontinent almost has a similar culture. Our women’s college, particularly the female students, has a similar culture to India and deals with similar problems. Stop doing this immediately, and punish those responsible with harsh measures.
How a parent would send her female child to college if these incidents occur. In Pakistan’s medical schools and other universities as well, harassment is becoming an increasingly serious problem.
One of the key reasons for Pakistan’s backwardness is the fact that women are not being empowered by the country’s inhabitants, who are increasingly interfering with the freedom of the women in a place where education for women is a major difficulty. Many girls are unwilling to study in any institution where they desire to because of harassment.
The safety of women and other gender minorities in Pakistan, who are frequently the targets of harassment at work or elsewhere, must be improved in a number of ways. A culture of zero tolerance for harassment needs to be promoted in all workplaces and institutions, including colleges, and it should also be covered in our textbooks.
The numerous harassment instances at colleges and universities that have been documented in recent years ought to have been a wake-up call. Even so, it’s never too late. Harassment affects the rights to an education and to receive equal treatment without prejudice.
India and Pakistan’s educational systems for women would suffer if this happened all the time. If these worries become widespread, people might ban their female child from receiving an education because it is against our culture. Pure actions should be taken to show the country that women are respected in our culture. It is intolerable to harass women.
FARHAN ALI SIYAL
Padidan Town
