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.
Ravi Riverfront LHC verdict
The LHC verdict scrapping the controversial Ravi Riverfront Urban Development project is good news for the environmentalists and small farmers whose lands were forcibly acquired for yet another real estate project for elite of this country and their seemingly insatiable greed for more.
Enter the Lahore Ring Road from any point in DHA towards Raiwind and all that you see, on either side are concrete jungles, with plots demarcated and negligible construction, where once there existed green pastures, trees and fields growing much needed vegetable, fruit, wheat etc. Those were the days when residents of Lahore and other parts of Punjab did not have to suffer the poisonous smog that engulfs them now and the intensity of poison, they inhale is increasing every year.
The low taxation and amnesty schemes for real estate projects have made them attractive for parking black money by the powerful nexus of the real estate cartels and their partners within the paid and political elite of this country. No wonder why Corruption Perception Index by TI gives us a continuous negative rating. So powerful is this lobby that a viscous social media campaign has been launched against the judges who give these public interest judgments.
Pakistan’s national security and state sovereignty which depends on the economy is compromised by these vested interests, because we have to borrow from unfriendly international financial agencies to meet the ever-widening gap between revenues and expenditure.
As long as the instant profits and tax reliefs for real estate investors are attractive, there will be a constant decline in further investment in much needed employment and revenue generating industry. Our exports will decline to meet consumer requirements for goods that were, or could be manufactured locally. Instead, industries are closing down and money is diverted to real estate projects and building commercial projects.
The tax benefits given to real estate and land developers are so attractive, that a country which once boasted of being an agro-based economy, self sufficient to meet domestic food requirements and export the surplus has now been reduced to a nation forced to import basic food items like wheat, vegetables etc.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Vaccine must
A female vaccinator, looks seriously irritated because of disinformation about Covid-19 vaccine as they have made her job difficult. She administers vaccination to females and faces difficulties in persuading pregnant women to get vaccine jabs.
She complains that she is facing problems while convincing pregnant women for vaccination as they are vaccine-skeptic because of the propaganda messages being spread on social media that the vaccine would make them infertile and badly affect their babies’ health.
The process to vaccinate the population against COVID-19 new variant Omicron continues and according to the National Command and Operation Centre, more than 88 million people including women have so far been vaccinated against the pandemic across the country. NCOC have also developed a comprehensive programme in collaboration with the NADRA to trace unvaccinated individuals.
A major barrier against vaccination drive is the misinformation and rumours on social media. Other than misinformation and rumours, family pressure is another factor that makes females reluctant to get the vaccine shots. Such families believe that the vaccine is a conspiracy to control the birth rate. Another disinformation regarding vaccines is that the jab will affect the newborns’ health if their mothers take vaccines during pregnancy.
A Gynecologist of Poly Clinic Islamabad Doctor Shaista said, “We are concerned that increasing the rate of COVID-19 infection will adversely affect pregnant women.” She said vaccines are the safest and most effective way of protecting women and their babies. Besides vaccines, strict implementation of SOPs is crucial to fight the pandemic. Despite a whirlwind of social media posts, there is no current evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines lead to infertility in either females or males. Health experts are of the opinion that expecting mothers must get advantage of vaccines and drive and get vaccinated at the earliest.
UZMA SIRAJ
Islamabad
Hatred vs love
Mahatma Gandhi, or the Father of the Nation, believed that it was the duty of every human being to study and respect every religion. In pursuit of this, he studied the holy scriptures of every religion. All his life, in all his ashrams in South Africa and in India, prayer services were held every morning and evening.
In them, prayers from all religions were included and given equal importance. The Christian hymn ‘Abide with Me’ was one of his favourite hymns and would be sung many a times. After Independence, after India became a Republic, Republic Day commemorations would end with the beating of the retreat ceremony on Raj Path on January 29. Marching bands of all three services performed several songs. ‘Abide with Me’ was always performed all these years.
It symbolises the syncretic culture of our nation where all religions were included and given an equal status and respect. This year inexplicably, ‘Abide with me’ had been replaced. It is hurtful more so because the next day, January 30, is the day Gandhiji was martyred in 1948. In his memory and as a tribute to his desire for an inclusive all embracing respectful and loving nation, the citizens of India should take it upon themselves to perform, recite or play the hymn ‘Abide with me’ as a tribute to Gandhiji.
Unfortunately today, hate has taken a centre stage in our nation, changing the narrative of so many decades and corrupting the ideal on which our nation was founded. Let us all make the singing, reciting or playing of the hymn ‘Abide with me’ our reply to hate. Let love prevail. The Christian saint, St. Francis of Assisi rightly said, “Where there is hatred, let me sow love”. “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs”
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Mumbai, India
