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.
Post-Sialkot mob lynching
The PM’s meeting with top civil and military leadership to discuss the strategy to curb such brutalities as the atrocious murder of a Sri Lankan in Sialkot, with the resolve that mob rule cannot be allowed is a good and welcome move. However, it alone will not suffice.
The mere giving of exemplary punishment to individuals involved is the least that is expected in any country with a written constitution, laws, security paraphernalia and a judiciary.
The root cause of the cancer that inflicts our society must be tackled with the full force of the state.
When state institutions flirt with extremist religious bigots and tolerate their violent actions to achieve political manoeuvres and objectives, then monsters are created, which ultimately become Frankenstein and turn on their mentors.
States disintegrate because of such curses and history is replete with such incidences when nation-states crumble from within.
The Quaid warned us about the dangers that will confront us, if we were to allow religion to be involved in the affairs of the state in his 11 August 1947 address and the importance of a constitution as supreme law, to which every state institution must submit.
MAJ wanted the Muslim majority to incorporate Islamic concept of justice, equality before law for all citizens, tolerance and welfare for the most deprived sections in the modern welfare state that he visualized.
Yet after his death, despite his warnings there emerged this group of so-called Ulema, most of whom opposed the creation of Pakistan to confront Khawaja Nazimuddin’s government in 1952-53.
A Judicial Commission created to investigate the matter recommended “the undesirability of the confluence of religion and state in Pakistan even for the purpose of binding its disparate ethnic elements together”.
Yet what emerged was the banning of politicians under EBDO in 1959 and the emergence of religious and ethnic parties along with a breed of opportunists to serve military dictators.
The emergence, of MQM, TLP etc.,
are a product of this mindset and it is this cancer which needs to be removed surgically if Pakistan is to survive and prosper as a responsible sovereign nuclear state, with the Writ of Laws instead of mob rule.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Pakistan running dry
Pakistan is in a major water crisis and it may be disastrous for the country’s stability. Farmers in Sindh and Balochistan have to start a protest to demand the release of their share of water from the Indus River.
Sindh being a lower riparian receives a lower amount of water from Indus River and due to lack of modern irrigation system water coming from river is not distributed efficiently.
And the condition of salinity in Sindh is more severe than in Punjab. But the Condition of ground water in Punjab is also not that good.
Pakistan’s per capita annual water availability has dropped to 1,017 cubic metres from 1,500 cubic metres in 2009.
Pakistan is very close to the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic metres, and going by the current development, the country is set to reach danger levels soon. The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has corroborated these concerns. It has warned that Pakistan will approach absolute water scarcity by 2025. Interestingly, per capita annual availability in 1951 was 5,000 cubic metres.
The reasons the PCRWR has sought for the water crisis are an increase in population, inadequate water storage, low system efficiency and poor management, and groundwater depletion. Pakistan is among 36 water-stressed countries in the world since its gross water withdrawal is 74.4 per cent of the total renewable water resources. If this crisis is not dealt with timely, Pakistan might face absolute water scarcity by 2040.
ABDULLAH RAMZAN
Lahore
Sewerage water in graveyard
I want to draw the attention of authorities concerned to a grave matter that sewerage water is entering into Shah Muhammad graveyard which is situated in North Karachi adjacent to sector-9 and some of the graves have completely sunk into sewerage water which could definitely damage some of them and might breakdown if sewerage water is not stopped from being entered into the graveyard.
It is also pertinent to mention here that besides this graveyard sector-7 is located which is completely occupied by illegal occupants and sewerage water enters from sector-7.
It is incomprehensible that why illegal occupation is not removed which is occupied by many years by illegal occupants and the real owners are not delivered their property which cost millions of rupees.
Authorities concerned are requested to take immediate measures to impede sewerage water entering into graveyard from sector-7 and illegal occupation may also be removed from illegal occupants from sector-7, North Karachi.
If Nasla Tower can be razed which was purchased legally but construction was made without seeking NOC from SBCA then why illegal occupation cannot be removed.
FAISAL ANSAR
Karachi
