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OIC needs
to be pursued more
It was long awaited. The silence of Muslim world in particular over the highly volatile situation of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir was discouraging. Thank God, they have realized the gravity of situation, though late, yet it is never too late. In the 47th session of OIC’s Council of Ministers held at Niamey, Niger, the leaders of Muslim countries reaffirmed their stand on Kashmir and promised to lend fullest support to the Kashmir cause.
The Council of Ministers rejected unequivocally the illegal and unilateral actions taken by India on August 5 last year that changed the internationally recognized disputed status of the IIOJ&K. The Muslim countries under the banner of OIC demanded from India to rescind its illegal steps. Although, despite the omission of the Kashmir question in the OIC agenda, Pakistan has managed to score a diplomatic victory, yet there is a need to pursue OIC and the Council of Ministers towards continuing to exert pressure on India, directly and through diplomatic channels to stop it from atrocities in Kashmir, lift the 16-month long curfew and reverse the status of Kashmir, so to give way to its solution under the UN Resolutions.
FAROOQ ALAY
Islamabad
16 December in retrospect
It was in 1971 that Bengali Muslims who in 1906, laid the foundations of All India Muslim League at Dacca, were forced by circumstances to secede on 16 December 1971, when AAK Niazi signed the instrument of surrender, in a war which should never have been waged. AIML created Pakistan under the dynamic leadership of Qaid-e-Azam.
It is time for retrospection, and learning from the mistakes we made, when instead of upholding Quaid’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state, whose foundations were to be laid on a constitution drafted by the Constituent Assembly which he addressed on 11 August 1947, the reverse was done. MAJ had clearly warned us of the inherent dangers we faced and importance of supremacy of laws and the constitution and the confined role of paid civil and uniformed public office holders, in his address to the Staff College Quetta on 14 June 1948. What followed after his death, was the reverse of what MAJ had vey emphatically elaborated.
The remnants of the British Raj, like the Unionist Party of Punjab, and the curse of corruption which we inherited, as elaborated in his 11 August address, conspired to deny the people self-rule through their chosen elected representatives. When the will of the people was thwarted and their mandate given in 1970 elections was denied, the politically active people of former East Pakistan, who supported Madar-e-Millat Fatima Jinnah in the 1965 rigged elections, were forced by circumstances, such as the unwarranted military action to stand up.
A military dictator had earlier banned all politicians, including those who supported MAJ and Muslim League in independence struggle through a draconian law EBDO in August 1959. He had already abolished all political parties on 7 October 1958. The rest is history.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Unlike illustrious father
Maulana Mufti Mehmood was a prominent religious and political leader and had also served Chief Minister of the then NWFP (now Khyber Pukhtunkhwa). He was a soft-spoken person . I had covered and heard him a number of times as a journalist. He had assumed leadership of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) in 1960 and retained it till his demise in 1980. He never hurled foul language and hurled abuses even at his political opponents. During his leadership JUI had gained political recognition and representation in the national and provincial assemblies.
After demise of Maulana Mufti Mehmood, his son Fazlur Rehman had assumed leadership of the JUI which due to internal policies had split into two factions headed by Maulana Sami-ul-Haq as JUI-S and Maulana Fazlur Rehman as JUI-F.
This is to say quite regretfully that Maulana Fazlur Rehman is unlike his illustrious father Maulana Mufti Mehmood who was a gentleman and soft speaking person to say the least. He is using foul, rough and abusive language against political opponents at public gatherings. This is amply proved by his recent utterances at the opposition parties’ alliance public meetings being held in different parts of the country.
One wonders why he cannot found nice and good words even to criticize Prime Minister Imran Khan duly elected by the people and working for the betterment and socio-economic uplift of the nation and the country, enhancing image of Pakistan in the comity of nations and more importantly has revived and activated the Kashmir issue pulling it out of the cold storage of the UN where it was lying for decades together.
M Z RIFAT
Lahore
Absence
of merit
PPP-led government is ruling Sindh since 2008. Absence of merit in all walks of life is rampant in this province. Mostly recruitments have been done either by political connections, nepotism, favouritism or bribes. In Sindh, poor and middle-class people have greatly been disappointed by this attitude of Sindh government. Sindh needs merit-based atmosphere where all can participate without any partiality or discrimination.
Our Constitution (Article 27) also discourages discrimination in services on the basis of race, religion, caste, creed or gender. Thus government should play important role in recruitment process on merit. Sindh is already victim of politically appointed teachers in past that resultantly gave a real setback to our literacy rate. Education is future of the nation. Let Chief Justice SHC Syed Ahmed Ali Shah should lead this recruitment process and ensure all candidates selected on merit.
IMTIAZ ESSA HALEPOTO
Jamshoro, Sindh
