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.
India: Fraud breeding hotspot
Apropos to the recent revelations of financial and visa frauds/cheating schemes planned and manifested by Indian Diaspora. Indians have attained mastery to exploit loopholes in the policies, the student visa scams, duping millions of dollars through fake ‘Call Centres’ in US and their latest presentation in Canada is ensnaring Canadians through fake tax network scam. Canadian people termed Indian scammers as, ‘They’re nothing but financial terrorists’. 74000 Canadians have complained about CRA phone scam.
More than $16 million dollars have been stolen, making it one of the largest cyber scams in Canadian history. Moreover, US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada represent some of the most attractive destinations for international students seeking a world-class, internationally recognized education. These countries and their universities recruit these global students both for their tuition fees and their brain power. A Canadian federal force is also working in concert with its partners in the ‘Five Eyes’, an intelligence-sharing network that includes Canada, the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand (countries worst hit by India’s scams).
Owing to this the governments undertook efforts to crack down on student visa frauds, based on a series of sting operations. The evidence clearly pointed towards involvement of very high percentage of Indian students and visa agents both at home and destination country. The countries are extremely disturbed by display of lawlessness affecting public at large is terrorized by these ill behaving Indian students who carry out gangster like acts as frequently done in Indian universities or Indian public places.
AFIA AMBREEN
Rawalpindi
COVID-19 and the radicalism
The World Health Organization has declared global pandemic about a month ago, putting a serious alert to the world about growing influence of the {Corona} virus around the globe. The virus has shown deadly consequences by ravaging the world in terms of lives and economies.
Scientists have proposed that cure to this disease might take years to develop because of the mutant nature of the virus. The world is trying to survive of this global pandemic and it will. But, there is a more lethal disease growing around that is cureless and its outbreak is more fatal than COVID-19. The symptoms may vary from ‘intolerance’ to ‘severe backlash’ in response to others opinion about their social, personal and religious freedom.
The growing radicalism is disfiguring the Jinnah’s vision about Pakistan, where minorities will have complete personal, social and religious freedom. This dogmatism is a serious threat to national security of Pakistan. Radicalism and COVID-19 are very similar in characteristics; both are affecting economy of the nation. It has been predicted that COVID-19 will soon have vaccination that will catapult the disease out of this world. But, what about the unnoticed disease growing around? Will this ever have a cure? Will we have that level of rationale to listen people’s opinion with courage? One of the unsolved enigmas of Pakistan.
ENGR ZEESHAN JABBAR
Islamabad
Social media for teens
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can be great ways for teens to connect with one another; but social media can be problematic for several reasons. For instance, social media can expose your teens to cyber bullying and so much more. While there are some benefits to social media, there are a lot of risks as well. Social media can have a negative impact on friendship and is changing the way teens live. It can even impact their mental health.
But, no matter what precautions you take, teens are still likely to be exposed to unsavoury people, unhealthy images and sexual content online. While there are measures being put into place to reduce the risks kids face online, it’s important for parents to get involved. Help your teens learn how to navigate social media in a healthy way. Talk about ways to stay safe online. And most importantly, know what your teens are doing online. Educate yourself about the latest apps, websites and social media pages teens are using and take steps to keep your teens safe. You may even want to take steps to limit your teens’ screen time.
JAVAIRIA MAHBOOB
Islamabad
Risk in
supply chain
Risk is the element in which you are directly or indirectly associated or exposed to danger. Risks open a business to potential preferred position or inconvenience, the probability of event and result of which can be estimated and managed. Hospitality industry is such one of the lots that has to keep its ears and eyes open all the time or senseless attitude or mistake can ruin such huge repute in seconds. Hospitality risk is new project viability assessment, reputation risk, competition, change in customer preferences and demand, management contracts, risk of finances etc.
In this modern age the hospitality industry has to secure competitive advantage and create business strength, it is turning out to be progressively significant for hospitality organizations to move their concentration from simply reacting and responding to emergencies and crisis circumstances, to proactively distinguishing, breaking down and evaluating dangers while detailing their business procedures. To be successful, the organization needs to proactively assess the risks and opportunities before considering their key goals and face determined challenges rather than only react to emergencies circumstances as and when they emerge.
The hospitality organization risk management program should incorporate adequate measures and observing strategies on a sustainable, consistent, effective and straightforward premise and includes risk reporting. This would make an implanted culture of risk awareness inside the organization and would go far in both lessening the probability and effect of unfriendly occasion making them stronger for alarming or unidentifiable risk issues.
SHARIYAR BUTT
Islamabad
Press freedom
The media has faced many restrictions in different periods. Different channels or printing presses were banned or many restrictions have been imposed on them at different times. Free, independent and pluralistic media based on freedom of information and expression is a core element of any functioning democracy. Media freedom is in fact essential for the protection of all other human rights. Instances of torture, discrimination, corruption or misuse of power many times have come to light because of the work of investigative journalists.
Making the facts known to the public is often the first, essential step to start redressing human rights violations and hold governments accountable. The present regime should realize that it will not be able to bring about any change in society unless media, both print and electronic, are free to inform what is happening in the state. It should not forget its own time in the opposition, when it depended on the media, not just to inform it of what was happening, but also providing it a platform on which it could reach out to its electorate and pass on its point of view.
SYED TAYYAB AFZAL
Hassanabdal
Stealing people’s identities
Cyber bulling has become one of the most notorious crimes in the world today and more than half of the world is facing this problem. According to various researchers, approximately a single identity gets stolen per minute.
The phonies and identity thieves who disguise themselves as normal people on social media are hard to detect. They harass people or steal their identities either for their sadistic amusement or for money.
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
