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.
Food for thought
There should be no doubt in every patriotic Pakistani’s mind that the military, as a state funded disciplined institution, with unity of command and no divisions in rank or file and no role in politics, is vital for national security. Military installations built from tax-payers money should never be targeted by politically motivated protesters. This country cannot afford this and those involved must be given exemplary punishment to serve as deterrence.
It is time that those at helm take steps to ensure that unchecked commercialization and emergence of housing societies within cantonment areas where large majority of residents are civilians and have access to them, has contributed to security lapses which erupted on 9 May. The word cantonment is derived from French word Canton, meaning corner or district and refers to a temporary military encampment. In 1815 Waterloo Campaign, the headquarters of Duke of Wellington, was in south of Brussels with 93,000 soldiers of Anglo-allied army cantoned or stationed there, away from civilian population.
In America, they maintain permanent military stations, located away from civil urban centres and are designated as Fort such as Fort Hood. In BD, cantonments are residential quarters for military personnel. In pre-partition India large cantonments maintained by British Indian Army in the north were in Meerut and Ramgarh, followed by headquarters in Rawalpindi. The colonial British Raj based their troops on periphery of cities to quell uprising in occupied colonies. What was common in all these military stations, cantonments or fort etc., housing army personnel is that they are located in desolate areas with restricted access to civilians and minimal commercial activity, just enough to meet requirements of personnel and their families.
The Indian government has initiated reforms to break away from legacy of British Raj, by handing over areas within former cantonments, inhabited with civilians and commercial centres to civil city administration and local government and instead retaining Military Stations, exclusively for housing military personnel, warehouses and ammunition depots etc. However, cantonments in Indian illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir and other conflict zones like Naxalite-Maoist insurgency or in some states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Teranga, Maharashtra, Odisha etc., and secessionist movements in North-East states Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh etc., continue.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Respected PM
The other day, news came that now Pakistan is striving to arrange another one billion USD to fulfil the next condition of the IMF for approving its agreement with Pakistan.
There was another media report that your government is planning to provide relief to the common man in the next budget, with 50% and 30% increases respectively, in the pay and pensions of the government employees and fixation of Rs.40,000/- as the minimum monthly wages, which is a laudable step, but won’t make better, the life of a common man, unless, the above increases are doubled, keeping in view the recent unprecedented and unimaginable increases in the rents, rates and prices of every item of the daily use.
Obviously, for such a huge relief package and to meet the IMF’s condition, government will require additional resources, for which your attention is again invited towards my proposal of 4 March 2023, to generate a minimum of 10 billion USD in a very short span of time, which must be tried, because even if this plan fails, it would not cost your government a penny.
*Moreover, another relief for the government and private sector employees should also be considered by changing salary payment duration on weekly basis, instead of the current system of payment after 30 days, which is too long a period during such a high inflation era.*
Proposal of 4 March 2023
*I take this opportunity to humbly suggest that Pakistan can collect 10 billion USD in a flash by mobilising two million overseas Pakistanis (and resident Pakistanis as well) to deposit ONLY 5000 dollars in special [Save Pakistan Account ] on a profit of 10% per annum payable on quarterly basis.*
SYED NAYYAR UDDIN
Lahore
Current political scenario
I have been following news and developments in the country closely, and I believe that there are several important issues that need to be addressed. Firstly, the issue of corruption remains a major challenge for the country. Despite the efforts of the government and the judiciary, corruption continues to be rampant at all levels of society and this has a negative impact on the economy and the welfare of the people.
Secondly, the rising inflation and unemployment rates are causing great distress to the people. Many young graduates are unable to find jobs and those who are employed are struggling to make both ends meet due to the high cost of living. Thirdly, the political polarization in the country is hindering progress and development. The opposition and the government are often at loggerheads and this has led to a lack of consensus on important issues such as electoral reforms and foreign policy.
In my opinion, it is important for the government and the opposition to put aside their differences and work together for the betterment of the country. The government should take effective measures to curb corruption and address the concerns of the people, while the opposition should play a constructive role in holding the government accountable and proposing alternative solutions.
IMRAN ALI
Karachi
