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.
Life under bridges
As we all know that Karachi has so many bridges fly-over and underpasses. There are so many families who are migrating from rural areas to urban areas especially in Karachi, in order to earn bread and butter that is sometime not available in rural areas.
When these families come to Karachi they don’t have adequate shelter to live so they start living under various bridges and flyovers.
And these settlements under bridges are expanding day by day. There are families that are living under these bridges and flyovers for decades. These families are living in Golimar, Nazimabad, Shershah and so many other areas.
In order to earn some money these people have adopted many occupations like selling fruits and vegetables, balloons, fish etc.
Because of continuous expansion, settlements and lack of job opportunities people also commit crimes like thefts, snatching, robberies and worst thing beggary.
These beggars include males, females and innocent kids. They are doing this awful act as a profession or occupation which is deplorable.
Most of them are not CNIC holders and obviously when census takes place they will definitely be left out yet remain a burden on country’s economy and resources as well.
This part of population is not only deprived of shelter but also deprived of basic necessities of life.
Can you imagine these families are living without electricity, gas and potable water and also deprived of daily water requirements for washing and cleaning?
DUA FATIMA
Karachi
Leadership crisis
Pakistan today faces a serious crisis of leadership in all cadres, further aggravated by conflicts of interest of those who are employed by the state for specific purposes, but are involved in commercial profitable ventures.
As long as authority and rule of Law and the Constitution does not prevail, this decadence cannot be arrested.
This deterioration has impacted our political leadership and also the uniformed security services, the bureaucracy and with few exceptions also our judiciary.
How can a paid employee of state, while simultaneously getting salaries from taxpayer, be a beneficiary of commercial projects? It is not just this, but most of them, while being beneficiaries of lucrative government jobs, or traders who benefited the most from vast opportunities and subsidies, have shifted their families and assets to foreign countries.
Just to quote an example, although all our commercial civil airports have been declared insecure, yet the ASF, employed by the state to secure them, are involved in commercial housing projects, offering plots for sale to general public.
The Father of Nation gave us a blueprint for a modern democratic welfare state and the importance of a constitution, but after his death, all those who have been at helm, democratically or otherwise, have embarked on a plan to do the reverse of what Quaid stated.
Quaid’s sister was subjected to harassment and even dubbed as traitor. Although our salvation and survival hinges on adopting MAJ’s vision, the insatiable greed of few, has held hostage the future of 220m citizens of Pakistan.
The irony is that a country created through a constitutional democratic struggle has been ruled for decades by dictators, where religious extremists would hold hostage citizens, dare to dictate our foreign policy, while our territorial sovereignty is compromised by giving sanctuary to extremists.
MALIK T ALI
Lahore
Demand for new provinces
The demand of creating new provinces are increasing day by day on administrative and ethnic bases in Pakistan.
The voices for new province became louder after the 18th amendment was adopted in the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
After this, people of different regions are in favour of new and smaller administrative units with respect to new provinces in Pakistan.
Recently, ethno-nationalist movements in Pakistan like Hazara and Mohajir movement escalated after the submission of a bill for creation of south Punjab province in National Assembly.
The demand for separate provinces has amply been politicised to hide negative notion of ethnicity in it.
The Hazarawals have launched a movement for the new province of Hazara with six districts like Haripur, Abbottabad, Manshera, Battgaram, Torghar and Kohistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
People of Seraiki have founded a movement for separate provinces in the name of Saraikistan that includes Multan, Vehari, Khanewal, Bahakar and Mianwali.
In Karachi people are demanding Mohajir Province that is based on six districts of Karachi like Central, East, West, South, Malir and Korangi. They believe in living like ethnic groups in plural societies of cosmopolitan cities like Karachi.
Let new provinces play an effective role for economic development, reduce ethnic or sectarian issues, improve good governance and population management in the country on administrative bases rather than ethnic.
MOMINA RAMEEZ
Lahore