let ur heart speak

The Christmas

2008-12-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Nobody knocks at the door in this day and age for now it’s the email or SMS that drops in. In this fast growing economic hub of the country we are missing out on life and its value. Everyone with the survival of the fittest approach in mind is short of time to continue with the old traditions and customs, whether good or bad.
There was a time when people used to visit and greet each other on many occasions, including Eid and Christmas. Families and friends used to spend time together, exchange smiles and sweets, and share views and thoughts. Children used to ask for Eidi while the elders bargained on. A few among us who found it impossible to see our relatives and friends made it a point to post letters and greeting cards and send gifts to fill in our absence. Visit to a market place for selection of a gift or a card followed by its purchase and delivery was something that expressed our love and affection to our nearest and dearest on such occasions.
Unfortunately, it’s no more there which is obvious from the fact that the sale of greeting cards has drastically dropped over the past some years. Initially it was e-greetings and now it’s short messaging service that has replaced them. As for presents, some courier services do have introduced packages to buy and deliver gifts on the senders’ behalf though the convenience with which we send such presents can’t fully express our efforts, warmth and emotions.
And the results are clear – families are spending less time together.
The world is spinning fast and taking the souls of many with it. I’m not at all against technological advances or economic progress. However, it’s equally important that such advancement must not make us oblivious to our social and cultural development.—HA

Of playschools

2008-12-26T12:40:00.000-08:00

L I T T L E hearts need apt care and best schooling. Bearing this in mind, yours truly browsed through the internet, asked colleagues and friends, and visited different localities in search of the best playschools for his first-born. In the absence of any official rating, there was no option but to go through each and every playschool in the city despite knowing that a single visit wouldn’t be enough in any way to evaluate their standards.
Most schools register children and charge a few hundred rupees for that before holding any kind of assessment to grant admissions. There are a few reputed ones as well where parents are told to get their children registered first even if they want to see a classroom or meet teachers for any query. Once a child is successfully registered with the school, the parents are provided with a prospectus containing a general outline of the questions to be asked from the child at the time of admission. From twinkle, twinkle little star to ring a ring-o-roses; from the alphabet to counting; and from the names of parents to those of colours, the child must know all, as it’s just a pre-requisite for admission. The preparation goes on till the test date is announced or published as the case maybe according to the status of a school.
Even if the three-year-old is lucky enough to remember what was taught to him at the time of evaluation, there is a catch, for the reputed schools in addition to the child’s assessment also interview the parents. Sometimes they come up with an excuse like ‘we are sorry the school policy is that we prefer working mothers’.
Then there are some other pre-nurseries, which do not have such strict policies and thus grant admissions merely by charging an extra buck. The successful parents are asked to pay an admission fee, annual charges, volunteer donations, tuition fee and examination cost. Besides, a long list of stationery items to be purchased for their child is handed over to them.
Certainly many parents looking for better education of their child have no objection to all such demands. But yours truly happens to be a reclusive nonconformist who preferred to get his tiny tot admitted to a school not that classy. After all it was not a question of securing a seat in any distinguished medical college but one in a kindergarten for a three-year-old.—HA

Circus in Gulshan

2008-12-26T12:36:00.000-08:00

In the present times of world-weariness when a fun-starved society has turned to news channels for entertainment, it is encouraging to see the country’s biggest circus in Gulshan, enthralling Karachians.

The troupe, Lucky Irani Circus, has come all the way from Lahore to pitch a tent in the midst of several high-rise apartment buildings. Being an affordable recreation the show has attracted large crowds from different parts of the city over the past some days. Lion show, flying trapeze, walk and cycling on wire and the spine-tingling death-well are the major attractions not only for children but also for grown-ups. Besides, one of the most brilliant performances is that of a juggler who plays with balls and fiery torches while balancing himself on a rolling cylinder.

On a recent visit I came to know that the circus was initially owned by a family migrated from Jalandhar and settled in Nawabshah after Partition. Later it changed hands and got fame for acrobatics from Iranian gymnasts who remained part of it until a couple of decades back. Started with a 60-member crew, the troupe used to travel from villages to towns in a single truck to put up shows. Now with hundreds of performers and lots of animals and vehicles the troupe stages circuses across the country round the year.

However, the journey to a fully-fledged circus company was not easy in the absence of any official patronage. But then, I wonder what really binds a joker to circus if it’s neither remuneration nor respect that society offers him. Maybe just a noble act to please people, or what? –HA

Party flags

2008-12-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

On a recent chilly morning I was driving back home after dropping my tot at her school when I got confused about crossing an intersection. In fact the traffic signal ahead was wrapped in a party flag. Both the red and green colours of that piece of cloth were dictating me to adopt two opposite courses of action. There was no other car around.

Luckily a traffic cop standing on a nearby pavement caught my sight. He was telling me to stop. I applied brakes and requested him to ask party workers to pull down their flag for the convenience of commuters. He said he did try but their response was disgusting. They said: “Mind your own business.” Since that day he only minds his own business, he said.

Afterwards I noticed a number of pedestrian bridges, flyovers, road islands, streetlights and traffic signals decorated with flags of different political parties.

Interestingly, the number of flags has doubled since the general elections. It seems their election campaigns still continue and decorating public property is very much in vogue, yet I hope that the leadership of all parties may pull down the flags from traffic signals at least in the best public interest.—HA

KPC polls

2008-12-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

At last the press club elections are over and so are the vigorous campaigns that started a week ago.

No doubt daily visit to newspaper offices by contestants demanding votes despite disturbing the work atmosphere is a healthy trend. But the volley of text messages asking for votes sent to almost every club member was not appreciated much.

It started off with an average of a few messages everyday on behalf of contesting panels, but the practice somehow gained momentum and during the last couple of days every individual candidate took advantage of cheap or free packages being offered by mobile phone service providers. The text messages being run were: appeal to all members to cast their valuable vote to elect their panel; this group is being supported by mister so and so; this team will serve you all; we promise you the best future and development of housing scheme; please support me as an MGB candidate (member governing body).

Such messages were not limited to mobile phones as they bombarded even inboxes of some journalists. On the polling day, there were half a dozen messages every couple of hours, reminding club members of their duty to cast vote and of course for one or the other group of contestants. The learned contestants were successful, for yours truly rushed to the press club to cast vote in a bid to get rid of the nuisance at the earliest. But unfortunately it was not the case for the messages continued until the polling ended.

With the fast-growing media and technological sophistication, I fear the future election campaigns may not involve video-conferencing to convince voters.—HA

Air guards absence makes PIA travel unsafe

2008-12-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

Most domestic and international flights of Pakistan International Airlines originating from the metropolis have no air guards on board to ensure in-flight security to passengers and air crew against hijacking and other terrorist activities.

Sources said that air guards used to travel on all of the flag carrier’s international and domestic flights until a couple of years ago. However, at present air guards are deployed only on certain international flights travelling to destinations considered ‘threatened stations’, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kabul, and Kathmandu, the sources added.

Foreign carriers usually have guards from their respective countries on board flights flying into and out of Karachi.

As far as domestic flights of the Pakistan International Airlines are concerned, air guards provide in-flight security to passengers and crew of the ATR planes only, which are smaller in size and mostly serve destinations on Pakistan’s coast. All other domestic flights travelling between major cities, including those of private Pakistani airlines, have no air guards on board, the sources said.

Airport Security Force sources said that no amount of ground security measures could guarantee one hundred per cent results against hijacking, particularly when Pakistan, like many other countries, had become a victim of terrorism. Though the standard of security of airports has been appreciated by foreign agencies such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the American Federal Aviation Administration and the International Air Transport Association in the past, the deployment of highly-proficient sharpshooters – commonly known as air guards – trained by officers of the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group had been limited to certain flights, they said.

When contacted, ASF officials, though confirming that car parks, public areas, the terminal building, apron and perimeter were fully protected with the latest equipment and highly trained personnel, they preferred to keep mum over the question of in-flight security.

They said that five under-vehicle inspection systems built by ASF engineers had been put up at the entry gates of the Jinnah International Airport, while the sixth UVIS was being installed to keep out unwanted motorists.They further said that in addition to making good use of modern X-ray screening machines, metal and explosive detection systems, latest communications devices, riot control equipment and closed-circuit TV cameras, ASF security personnel frisked passengers and crew members before allowing them entry into an aircraft. The officials also said that before take-off, planes were thoroughly searched by the personnel of different agencies to ensure fool-proof security.

However, ASF spokesman Major Imtiaz Ali Khan avoided discussing the issue when he was approached to comment on why air guards were withdrawn from the national flag carrier. “I am not supposed to answer your queries,” he said.

Hijack threat

The sources said that the need for training of air guards and their deployment on all flights was felt after a PIA plane flying from Karachi to Peshawar on March 2, 1981, was hijacked by three armed men. The hijackers diverted the flight to Kabul where they released some hostages and gunned down a diplomat before taking the plane to the Syrian capital of Damascus.They initially demanded the release of 92 prisoners, coming down to 55, besides asylum for themselves and their friends. It was only after the Zia government agreed to their demands and Syria announced that it would take in the prisoners and the hijackers that the gunmen gave up.Sensing the heightened security requirements after this incident, the ASF, which was established in 1976 as a directorate of the civil aviation department, was placed under the ministry of defence in December 1983. Finally in 1984, the force was subjected to the Pakistan Army Act.

This was not the only hijacking case as on September 5, 1986, a Pan American flight carrying around 379 passengers was hijacked in Karachi. At least 21 people were killed during the deadly hijacking, for which a Jordanian national was convicted by a court in 2004.

However, since the deployment of air guards on flights no such case happened again. The effective deterrence that air guards provided, until they were pulled from flights, was manifested when air guards foiled a midair assassination bid by killing the assailants who targeted a Pakistan People’s Party MNA (Ilyas Ahmad Jatt) on board a PIA flight (PK-675) just as it took off from Islamabad bound for Faisalabad.For reasons best known to the authorities concerned, the service was suspended on Jan 1, 1998 and it was in May the same year that a Fokker plane that originated from Turbat was hijacked. Though the hijackers could not succeed in their plan to divert the flight to Jodhpur, India, and the pilot managed to land at Hyderabad airport, the importance of in-flight security was reemphasised by the incident.Perhaps it was for this reason that after the events of September 11, 2001, the government decided to revive the air guard service on all domestic and international flights. In July 2002, the first batch of air guards, comprising 52 well-trained personnel, including nine women, were taken on board as part of a plan to secure flights.

Commercial concerns?

However, ASF sources said that the service could not continue because the national airline had some financial reservations. The travel allowances that were offered to air guards and seats being spared for them were cited as the sole reason for the objections, they said, adding that since then the role of air guards had been limited to securing airports and just a few flights.

The PIA’s General Manager for Public Affairs, Syed Sultan Hasan, rejected the claims about the financial burden, saying that it was only the prerogative of the ministry of defence to decide whether or not the sharpshooter security guards of the ASF should be deployed on flights. However, he did confirm that air guards were travelling on four international flights – Mumbai, Delhi, Kathmandu and Kabul – and domestic flights destined to the coastal and northern areas. He was of the view that infallible ground security at airports would leave little possibility for any untoward incident in the air.--HA

Karachi Sabzi Mandi: basic amenities still a dream

2008-12-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

The Karachi Market Committee working under the Sindh agriculture department has begun making allotments in two new vegetable and fruit wholesale markets, being established along the Northern Bypass and the National Highway, though the committee has yet to provide basic amenities in the existing Sabzi Mandi which was shifted to the Super Highway seven years ago.

Sources said that allotment of thousands of plots, each measuring 1,000 square yards, had already been completed in the new wholesale markets, each spread over nearly 100 acres given by the revenue department. However, traders fear that plot-holders will not get any facility in the new projects like the promised facilities, including water, power, gas, road infrastructure and other services in the existing market, which still lacks all of them despite the fact that millions of rupees were collected by the market committee from them as development charges at the time of allotment.

Complaining that the market committee has so far been unable to provide facilities and stop encroachment in the existing market, traders allege that committee officials are now looking for ways to mint more money by giving allotments in the new markets. The Falahi Anjuman Wholesale Vegetable Market demands that the government reconstitute the market committee, saying that the Karachi Market Committee’s composition is not in accordance with the Agriculture Produce Act under which traders, growers and consumers shall get representation in the committee to run the affairs of the wholesale market.”

Hundreds of fake allotment cases have been pending undecided for more than a decade, while the market committee has allotted amenity plots, including those reserved for a fire station and a parking lot, to encroachers. It is all because the market committee is not adhering to the provisions of the agriculture act as well as high court and ombudsman directives,” says Mohammad Javed, president of the Malir Fruit Merchants and Growers Association. Besides the basic amenities, traders say, the existing market was supposed to have a dispensary, a guest house with 18 rooms, two weighbridges (electronic), three police posts and a fire station. But little facilities exist on ground in the market where between 25,000 and 30,000 people are engaged in business and handling of vegetable and fruit consignments.

Administrator of the Market Committee Anwar Ali Gopang in his brief comment confirmed that 25 per cent of plots in the new wholesale markets had been allotted out. However, he could not be contacted for further details despite repeated attempts on the phone and visits to the market committee’s office.

Rs1bn loan

The Super Highway market was established at a cost of Rs1 billion under a loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank. The bank provided 85 per cent cost of the project and the rest was arranged by the market committee through other sources.On Dec 24, 1991, the Board of Revenue gave 94 acres and 34 ghuntas of land for the establishment of this wholesale market for which ground rate was fixed at Re1 per square yard. However, without the approval of a layout plan, construction of roads, toilets, dispensary, installation of electricity meters and provision of water and gas, the market was shifted from the University Road to the Super Highway on March 16, 2001 and no development work has ever been carried out since then.The scheme originally envisaged 1,794 plots of different sizes but on traders’ demand the number of plots was increased to 3,225, and to 4,072 in the second layout plan. Then the number of plots was reduced to 3,483 in the third plan and 3,378 in the fourth plan. Later a fifth layout plan was chalked out making the number of plots 4,348 -- 3,152 plots for shops and 1,196 plots for general auction. This plan, which had been verified by the former ombudsman in June 2000 in his decision of a case pertaining to market affairs, was also approved by Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad in 2004.Finally, the market committee got approved another plan increasing the number of plots further in 2006 from the city government that issued an NOC with a clear directive that all rules mentioned in the Karachi Building and Town Planning Rules-2002 would be applicable, and the individual plans vis-à-vis the built-up and vacant units be got approved from the KBCA.

At present, the number of shops and sheds has gone up to 10,000, occupying many amenity plots and most of the parking space. Several shops have been built even on the 20-feet space along the boundary wall. The space allotted to chowkidars (the wardens who keep sold produce before it is transported to local markets) has also been encroached upon, while many dealers, who had paid decent amounts to get allotment 14 years back, are yet to be given possession. A cent per cent increase in the number of business stalls speaks volumes of irregularities and corrupt practices on part of the relevant authorities. Traders say that encroachers in connivance with the market committee are bent upon grabbing every bit of the available land.

The Market Committee

To regulate the sale and purchase of agriculture produce and for this purpose to establish wholesale markets with all basic facilities is the responsibility of the market committee under the Agriculture Produce Market Act, 1939.The market committee issues licences to dealers, commission agents, brokers, weigh men, surveyors, warehousemen, paladars and boriottas for carrying out their trade in the market after charging an annual fee. The committee can also renew, suspend or cancel such licences. To arrange open auction, supervise correct weight and timely payment of the agricultural produce; levy of fee on agricultural produce bought or sold in the notified market area as well as to fix and implement trade allowance in markets so that growers are not fleeced by middle men are other functions of the market committee.There are about 71 market committees in Sindh, each categorised into four classes according to their annual income. The Karachi Market Committee, which is placed in Class A, shall constitutionally comprise 18 members with 50 per cent representation of the growers. The committee’s chairman and vice-chairman should be elected from among the members. However, this is not the case at present as the provincial government dissolved all market committees in Sindh on Sept 23, 1990 and their affairs were entrusted to assistant directors of the bureau of supply and prices. The Karachi Market Committee was later put under the administrative control of the agriculture department’s extension wing and since November 1993 the committee has been run by government functionaries, most of the time under the supervision of an administrator. At present, the committee comprises 130 permanent staffers, all getting their salaries from the market committee fund.During the last few years, several secretaries of the market committees have been appointed and removed for different reasons. Sources said controversies in the agriculture department, which had developed two months back over the posting of an officer as market committee secretary because of corruption charges against him, settled down when he was replaced on May 7, 2008.Like the present administrator, the appointment of Abdul Rasheed Shaikh as secretary of the market committee was made under the caretaker set-up a few days before the general election despite several complaints of corruption and misuse of authority pending against him. He was also under investigation by the National Accountability Bureau and Anti-Corruption Establishment, sources said.Insiders say the market committee collects Rs60,000 everyday in fees and vehicle entry charges though traders quite easily put the actual charges paid to the committee daily in six figures.Traders say the solution to all these problems lies in setting up a market committee in compliance with the Agriculture Market Produce Act 1939-1940 comprising 18 members (nine growers, six fruit and vegetable dealers and three representatives of consumers) to run daily affairs of the market. The chairman and vice-chairman of the committee should be elected from among the members. In many other cities, such as Quetta, Lahore, Nawabshah and Sukkur, the market committees follow the Agriculture Act. When Sindh Agriculture Secretary Subhago Khan Jatoi was contacted for his version, his personal sectary told Dawn that he was busy in a meeting. Despite repeated attempts afterwards, he was not available for his comments on the issue.--HA

Pakistani delegates refused visas to Canada: World Youth Congress

2008-08-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

The Canadian High Commission turned down visa requests by all intending participants of the Fourth World Youth Congress from Pakistan citing fear that they might not return home after the 10-day event, scheduled to kick off on August 11 in Quebec.

Most delegates have received letters from the high commission each stating that the applicant could not satisfy the immigration authorities that he will leave Canada at the end of the temporary period if he is authorised to stay.

Among those who have been refused visas are young graduates, professionals and civil right activists who were invited by the Peace Child International, an educational charity registered with a UN organisation, ECOSOC, having a network of more than 500 youth eco-groups in 150 countries. The agency works closely with the United Nations and its agencies to empower youth to support its member states in achieving the millennium development goals.

The organisers are baffled by the situation, especially since they had notified the Canadian authorities more than two years ago about the event.One of the 17 delegates from Pakistan, Salman Dhedhi, who studies in a private university and works with the Participatory Development Initiatives as a volunteer, says they all underwent a rigorous nomination process for which over 5,000 people from across the world had applied for participation last year. In a four-month process, the 17 participants from Pakistan were finally short-listed.

Though the accommodation charges of around 350 Canadian dollars were waived for its member countries by the Canadian International Development Agency, the visa and travel expenses to Quebec were nearly 100,000 Canadian dollars for which each candidate had struggled to find some sponsors. “After managing the funds, we applied for the visa but at the final stage, we learned that we cannot travel because of the assumption that we may not return after the event is over,” he adds.

“Pakistan is being denied representation at the event that is expected to bring together 600 young delegates from over 120 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal,” he argues.The letters issued by the visa officer to almost all the Pakistani delegates says: “In reaching this decision, I considered several factors, including: your (the applicant’s) travel history, your immigration status, your family ties in Canada and your country of residence, length of proposed stay in Canada and purpose of visit, limited employment prospects in your country of residence, your current employment situation, personal assets and financial status.”

When asked about the reason for turning down their requests for visa, Senior Media and Public Diplomacy Officer at the high commission Anjum Nida Rahman said: “As a federal government department, the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (CIC) is bound by the Privacy Act not to discuss the details of any case with anyone except the applicant and certain authorised people.“CIC considers nearly one million applications a year. In many cases, because of the volume of work, even if a person is informed of the reason for the refusal, the information given may be quite brief. For instance, you may be told that based on the information available, the visa officer is not satisfied that the applicant is a genuine visitor who will leave Canada when required to.”

However, she makes it clear that each application is assessed on individual merits and a multitude of factors are considered in reaching a final decision.Under the Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, there is no formal right of appeal on temporary resident visa decisions, she says, adding that once the case is not approved, there are limited avenues of appeals though an applicant can always reapply if he wants to add some new information that he thinks can help him obtain the visa.

Pointing out that more than 8,000 people were issued Canadian visas by the high commission last year, she says more than five million people from across the globe visit the country every year.

Having lived abroad for 13 years, Mishelle Raza is another delegate who has been denied a visa. The visa officer claimed that the applicant has a low travel history though she has attended several international conferences in the past, most recent being the international Young Leaders Conference, she laments.“We have no business to stay in Canada after the congress. This is a learning opportunity for us and we hope that we can grow and groom ourselves through such an experience,” she clarifies.

However, the denial of visas to almost all the delegates on the same grounds puts a question mark on their claim that they assess the case of every individual separately, she observes.

Khalida Brohi is yet another delegate selected from Karachi for the event. Presently working for a non-governmental organization, the last international event she had attended was held in the Philippines. However, like other applicants her request for a visa was turned down by the Canadian High Commission.

The delegates selected from other parts of the country were Tahseen Asghar, Waqas Banori, Farhan Bogra, Anam Gill, Maimoona Gul, Adnan Hakeem, Javed Hussain, Mohammad Iqbal, Tamour Ishraq, Sohaib Khaliq, Saima Khan, Faridullah Khan, Sumair Khattak and Anila Zahid.

“Following the visa refusal, we started contacting the secretariat for youth affairs, ministry of foreign affairs, the Canadian High Commissioner in Islamabad, Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean and Canadian Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley, amongst the countless others,” Mr Dhedhi recalls, adding that Federal Secretary for Youth Affairs Ashfaq Mehmood forwarded a letter to Malik Qamar Abbas Khokar, the Assistant Director (Americas) at the Foreign Ministry recommending our cases. However, despite our repeated attempts and the requests forwarded by the international director of the World Youth Congress Series and the foreign office in Islamabad, a positive response by the high commission is still awaited, he says.It is pertinent to note that dozens of major conventions are held in Canada as part of the 400th anniversary celebrations of Quebec. However, organisers of a series of conventions, including the Francophonie Summit, planned for the coming months are pulling their hair out over Canadian immigration authority’s denial of visas to a number of guests from various countries.

According to media reports, opposition parties in Ottawa accuse the federal government of being overzealous by refusing to let many of the invited guests in. They say the situation is shameful and it hurts Canada’s image.

When the issue was raised in the House of Commons, Immigration Minister Diane Finley said “It was impossible to guarantee that all requests would be approved because every single one was reviewed individually.”“The security and protection of our people here is our first responsibility,” Ms Finley said without further explaining the reason for turning down so many visa requests.

Postscript: Two applicants aspiring to attend the congress have been issued visa by the authorities as they re-applied after this story was carried by Daily Dawn, the most widely circulated Engligh newspaper in Pakistan, on July 19, 2008.

Land of the "impure"

2008-07-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

I write this with numerous apologies to those who might think I am exaggerating.

August 14, 1947 was supposed to be a dawn of happiness and joy for millions of Muslims of the Sub-continent, when their struggle met a logical end in the form of a new state, which they named PAKISTAN or "land of the pure".

But over the years, this land has become so impure and dirty that the stench that arises from it is far awful than the decomposed body of an orphan who has died on the streets, while insensitive people pass by and throw money at him thinking he is alive and just acting to get alms.

I still remember the words that I read of an American lawyer in the Aimal Kansi case, who stood tall in a US court and said so proudly that "Pakistanis would sell their mothers for 20 dollars". Furious as it may make one, those words fit so well today on us Pakistanis, but we don't seem to be learning from our ignominious mistakes.

Handing over our own countrymen to outsiders for a couple of thousand dollars and earning millions like the "enlightened" general Pervez Musharraf said in his autobiography is one thing, but giving away our sisters, daughters and mothers to infidels so they can satiate their barbarity is something that should throw us deep down the abyss of shame and humiliation.

One such sister in case is Dr Afia Siddiqui or prisoner No 650, held in Bagram jail, Afghanistan, for over five years now. She has gone through every form of torture and cruelty that a sick and sadist mind can invent. But to our utter disgust, no Pakistani leader – secular, liberal or religious – has yet taken up her issue, while people in the British parliament can feel Dr Siddiqui's pain from thousands of miles away. That is the humanity that they have and we lack.

We as a nation have failed badly and as a state have flopped to the extent of surpassing all yardsticks of the meaning of the word. What is the use of a country when it cannot protect your dignity, when it cannot feed your wife and children, when you can be kidnapped by your own intelligence agencies and traded for money with foreigners? And then you know that you are now at their mercy; and that no one will raise their voice for you unless, of course, you are a British, American or Australian citizen.

Pakistan has from day one been a battlefield for outside forces – the British, Arabs, Americans and Chinese. Everyone has tested their strength in our land but through all the wars, we have foolishly owned them as our own; our leaders telling their foreign masters that it is "as much our fight as it is theirs".

Time is surely an excellent judge and today I am sorry to say that perhaps the making of Pakistan wasn't fruitful as it should have been. The huge sacrifices and numerous murders and rapes of the Muslims of the Sub-continent, who wanted a glimpse of this "paradise", have all gone down the drain. Pakistan has turned into the "land of the impure".

No Light At The End Of The Tunnel

2008-06-14T10:03:00.001-07:00

Another hours-long sultry night has somehow passed without electricity in a third-floor apartment in the city’s suburbs.The window curtains remained open throughout the stifling night but no breeze blew to lessen the suffocation inside. Attempting to break the silence that overwhelmed the night before, birds started chirping, though the morning heralded no reason to be happy about since the air was yet still and power not restored.As I drew closer to the window in a bleak hope for wind to blow or clouds to shower, I could only see a news-hawker struggling to throw a newspaper roll, bound with a rubber band, into the fenced balcony of an apartment. After a few attempts he did succeed as the roll landed with a thud on the terrace and he moved on.The hawker must be in a hurry to drop dailies at several other residences before the sun rises and stands above in the sky. In the news business, freshness and deadlines matter. And in the quest for that freshness many people like me, who spent a stuffy night without sleep, were waiting for the newspaper knowing well what little relief could it really bring home when things around were not pleasant.Even towards the day’s climax the maddening calmness was to change only into chaos and commotion. Many poor people would die due to heat-stroke while waiting in long queues for their turn to secure a bag of wheat flour on a subsidy. While there was no respite for those better-off either in the absence of electricity as with the hike in fuel prices, generators have become unaffordable to a large segment of society.The morning broadcasts of holy verses on radio would soon convert to news bulletins which would be counting the toll of people dying due to heat-stroke or gunshots in the name of robberies, politics or religion. In this utter despair, is it the lawyers’ movement planned for the day or the postponed budget session that people can bank on? I fear neither.Taps were without water. The UPS had stopped working long ago. And I looked again for the typical fluffy clouds which might break the silence and the rain might decide to show up earlier than expected.—HA

Chiselling away impurities

2008-06-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Carving out images to life is not an easy task, but for some young artists who exhibited their sculptures last week, it didn’t seem very difficult either. From fibreglass to terracotta, wood and white cement, each material was distinctively chosen to suit the figures and their subjects that were put on display.
The Russian Science and Culture Centre (Friendship House), which has been hosting a variety of cultural activities for five decades in the city, offered its premises free of cost to the sculptors for the exhibition. The group show that remained open round the week ended here on Sunday.
Four large-sized relief sculptures in fibreglass by Saqib Jamal have one thing in common: all their figures are dancing. “The world looks to me in motion as if it has been placed on a dancing board. Everyone is running away from love, beauty and nature,” he says, describing his subject as naach. By using figures from different backgrounds, the young sculptor, a graduate of the Central Institute of Art and Craft, perhaps has tried to make the point that cultures do not make any difference when it’s about ‘the dance.’
The impassive face and the one with sad expressions depicting the growing despondency in the world are put up by Saleem Raza, an NCA graduate and currently teaching the art of sculpture at the Sadequain Institute. He has given a refined look to the wood that he used to express his subject. His small sculptures are equally impressive as he has skilfully used terracotta to perfect the heart-rending figures in desperate plight.
The very emblem of declining human values is two big and three small sculptures of limbs. Using mixed media for her artwork, Kanwal Khattak Khan – through big and strong to small and weak limbs in series – epitomizes the regression of mankind. An alumna of the Arts Council of Pakistan, the young sculptor says she does not want to compromise the art for the sake of commercialism. “See, one may not like to decorate his home with this ugly face of society,” says Ms Khan while referring to her sculptures and adds “these are my true feelings and I have not compromised on them.”
Shahid Hussain, who could not attend the exhibition for personal reasons, is represented by his four sculptures of a woman. He has used white cement and mixed media.
Of the three relief sculptures in fibreglass put up by Nazia Islam, ‘Approaching the hands of a wall clock’ grasps the viewer’s attention the most. The sculpture reflects time’s fleeting nature and people running after it. Rafia Maniar put up only two sculptures, both figuring a straight-faced man. They are so aesthetically sculpted that they look deceptively simple. Through their positioning, however, they become the bearers of the artist’s observation of the world around her. The kneeling man with an impassive face depicts the slavish behaviour of our society in general.
The force of profound hard work by young sculptors does touch the heart of viewers and the curator, Shakeela Waheed, who has also taught the art to some of the young exhibitors, deserves commendation for a job well done.—HA

Graffiti speaks

2008-06-14T09:53:00.001-07:00

No one can fix an accurate price tag on defacement of walls and bridges in this city though some people profess to see an aesthetic value in the passion for what they call an artwork. Such ‘artwork’ is rarely reported though it covers everything from toilet doodles to political graffiti on street walls, bridges and flyovers.
There are so many of them in this city that one generally ignores such squiggles but a few do catch one’s sight. For instance, the poorly written one ‘Perfume Chowk’, born a couple of years ago in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, has spread to many other parts of the city by now. The psyche that public space is up for grabs perhaps works behind such ‘art’ potential to appear on walls.
If one looks closely, one will notice all kinds of slogans from advertising catchwords to political cries sprayed or painted on the walls of public property. One such picturesque site is a short wall along the city’s main artery near Karsaz that carries a public message by traffic police perhaps. It was almost two weeks ago that some graffiti artists sneaked over the place to draw their lines and successfully managed to give it an artistic touch. Interestingly, no one at the helms of affairs has caught its notice or may be there are some more important tasks ahead.—HA

2008-06-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Moving threats

What will you do if all of a sudden you find a bomb in your car? At least you won’t sit idle to let the bomb go off so easily unless you are a suicide bomber. With this preamble, I may mention that most cars on the city roads are carrying a great risk that involves the lives of all road users.
A decade ago when the compressed natural gas was introduced in the country as a cost-effective fuel for automobiles, we all rushed to get our cars converted to the environmentally-friendly fuel system. Over the years the city witnessed a mushroom growth of CNG vehicles and gas stations.
Experts say regular examination of cylinders is a must to avoid any mishap. But it seems procrastination is our national trait. In this case too, hardly any of us bothers to get the cylinder and gas kit properly examined on a regular basis. Our daring drivers and cagey car owners conveniently ignore their responsibility about such an inspection. Perhaps we, the Karachians, are accustomed to bomb threats or we prefer to learn through hard experience.—HA

Double one seven

2007-11-18T10:49:00.000-08:00

“Pakistan Railway forms the lifeline of the country.” This is at least what the PR really claims to be according to its official website. No doubt, as far as the rail network is concerned it was very well designed by our British masters many decades ago.
Now after the years of neglect, new trains have been launched, railway stations have been given a much needed facelift, and above all e-ticketing system has been introduced, as the officials say, to cope up with the fast changing business demands. However, the picture is not all that bright, as a friend says problems start right from there as you call the well publicized railway inquiry number to obtain simple information about trains. His ordeal goes like this.
He was at his office one evening when his mother asked him to get her seat reserved in one of the trains for Khanelwal, a district in Punjab. Having no access to internet, he could not use the e-ticketing option. For information about train timings and fares, he kept dialing the number just to hold the receiver and hear the continuous monotonous bells. He left for the City Station to get the inquiry and reservation done. To his utter surprise, it wore a deserted rather scary look at night with all its lights off and windows of all counters closed. A man in civvies approached him to say that everything there gets closed at night and he better visit the station the next morning for an inquiry.
Feeling disgusted, he moved to inquire about the timings from the Cantonment Station on the gate of which he was charged ten rupees as the parking fee. Although that station looked better with all its lights on, he could not find a single staffer on duty to ask about the fares and timings except the platform’s ticket checker who did not know the exact fares. He found two policemen with cigarettes in their hands, puffing smoke in the air. When the friend asked them about a responsible officer of the railway to get the basic information, he was told to visit the assistant station master (ASM). With his tolerance level exceeding all limits, he took brisk steps towards the office of ASM as he thought to complain about all the sufferings he had been undergoing that night. In no time, however, he found out that it was not all that easy as there was no officer on duty. He waited for him outside the office for 20 minutes until he decided to return home with a heavy heart.
Just at that moment, he saw a police constable writing something in a register in the office of railway police. The friend knocked at the door and he was permitted to come in. The constable, in close to his retiring age, asked with a smiling face how he could help him. After getting all the required information about the train timings and fares and thanking the policeman, my friend with this dreadful experience decided never to buy a railway ticket what to talk of a journey by train in future.—HA

Slavery in City of Lights

2007-11-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

A villager Razzaq in the interior of Sindh received an SOS call from his younger brother, Haji, employed by a milk trader in Karachi, asking for refuge from police as he had knocked down a girl in an accident last week.
He rushed to the dairy farm in Cattle Colony, where Haji used to work, for his rescue despite the fact that he was not much familiar with the City of Lights. He could not find him there and inquired from the labourers at the farm who told him that Haji might be with the milk trader at his shop in Ranchore Line, off M.A. Jinnah Road.
He got on the truck, transporting milk from the farm to the shop, and reached the shop. The employer told him that since police and the deceased victim’s family were after his brother he not only provided him a safe hideout but also gave Rs30,000 as compensation amount to the family and Rs5,000 to hush up the police.
Forbidding Razzaq and Haji to meet the aggrieved family, the employer bound them to pay off the debt within two weeks or work for seven months without salary. However, Razzaq sensed something fishy in the trader’s narration. He could not believe that the trader could give so big amount without prior consultation or striking a deal with any one of them.
Haji, meanwhile, told his brother that he was not sure if the girl had really died as he was riding a cycle when he had hit her. Razzaq managed to get it checked out from the duty officer at the police station concerned who confirmed that there was no accident of such nature. Wondering how the villager could believe that anyone could die this way, the policeman said, “At least in six years of my service I have never heard of any such accident.”
Now the two brothers were sure that the trader had made a mountain out of a molehill to cheat them and get bonded labour. Instead of going into any dispute with the trader, the poor villagers left for their hometown silently without any fear of arrest.
Though the trader failed in his evil designs and the two brothers were fortunate enough to find their way back, luck does not favour everyone every time and many do fall prey to such traps. This incident is just the tip of the iceberg as over 1.7 million haris remained in bondage across Sindh, according to a study of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
With growing poverty and joblessness bonded labour is taking roots in the multinational companies and the booming media industry as well though there the bonds are not lifelong. Such bondage is more common among the haris of Sindh where poverty and illiteracy of workers are exploited. The landlords are too willing to advance a loan to their workers, albeit on phenomenal rates of interest. The loan as such never gets repaid and the indebted worker as well as his family is bonded for life.
Sometimes the bond is passed on from one generation to the next and from one landlord to the other. Not being able to read and write and entirely at the mercy of their creditors, the workers get bonded without understanding the implications of their action.
Women and children have to share the burden of the credit and are obliged to work without remuneration for their work. It is psychologically crippling for them to know that they have been robbed of their freedom. Worse still they are subjected to abuse of all kinds — sexual, verbal and physical. They are also kept in chains and private jails. This is the price they have to pay for their poverty and ignorance. They do not have NICs and very little recourse to legal intervention. Local police turn a blind eye to such practices due to their strong ties with landlords and the politicians do not emphasize implementing the relevant laws, after all getting a bonded worker’s vote is easier than a freeman’s independent vote.—HA

Flood lights

2007-11-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

With the advent of Ramazan, young men are seen putting up extra lights on various lanes and roads to hone (or as some would say to spoil) their cricket skills in the night matches.
Though there are a few playgrounds in the city the exuberant youth prefer to play on roads, probably because the grounds are seldom maintained and the roads are relatively less bumpy for cricket. Or perhaps the players have grown so used to playing on concrete that they don’t feel comfortable playing on the soft rubble of open grounds.
Interestingly, the game not only offers a thrilling experience to its players and spectators, it also gives them a reason to sleep the next morning after Sehar till Iftar when they are served delicious food lavishly. (Never mind, there are others also who don’t play cricket but have a similar sort of passion to enjoy the blessings of the holy month).
Almost every one of us at one stage or the other in our life has participated in street cricket (not necessarily during Ramazan), but it was never such a cut-throat experience in the old days. What were unwanted but more common in those matches were the shouts from the affected house whenever a ball crossed its boundary wall or, worse, smashed its window. Now, with the gradual advance from streets to service lanes to roads the sport has become all the more risky for its players, passers-by and motorists. Drivers often pray for life while coming across such enthusiasts on roads now and hope the windscreen of their car does not meet the same fate that the unfortunate house window did in the old days.
Though it is beyond comprehension to many why the young cricket-lovers opt for roads to play on (the scarcity of public grounds notwithstanding), some do understand the thrill involved and ask road-users to be cautious in the holy month as with each passing day, the number of players and night matches grow till Eid-ul-Fitr. By then, every street and road - except the thoroughfares - is occupied by the young and old cricketers. However, drivers need not fear for long since the cricket craze fizzles out as soon as the holy month is over.—HA

Chinese mania

2007-11-09T05:56:00.001-08:00

It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice, says the modern architect of China, Deng Xiaoping.
One wonders how Chinese products have captured the world market and strengthened this notion. This makes sense when one visits the bazaars of Karachi. Being cheap and affordable, Chinese needles, nail clippers, balloons, handkerchiefs, automobiles, tooth brushes, garments, shoes and any other commodity one can think of have thronged the Karachi market like other metropolitan markets.
The Boultan Market, Light House, Zainab Market, Saddar, Tariq Road and even at roundabouts and roadside stalls Chinese products have hoisted victory flags everywhere. Now buses and minibuses too are used for business of such products.
A couple of days back, my mother asked me to bring her a Tasbeeh and a shawl. To my utter surprise, Chinese made Tasbeeh and shawls were being sold at a number of shops.
No doubt, cheap products are more attractive to the middle and labour classes and they have outclassed local products. This may seem counter productive to the weak economy of a country like ours, but not the millions of people living below the poverty line.

-HA

Sitting on the fence!

2007-11-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

During the last few years the railway ministry has launched several new trains including the Sindh Express, Pakistan Express and the Jinnah Express. The latest among them is the Bhambore Express, exclusively meant for low-income travellers.The reservation of seats for some amongst us has also become easier as our federal railway minister says people can now reserve seats at any booking agency, even with their credit cards. The renovation of many railway stations has also given a much-needed facelift to these places while the eateries and other stalls on platforms speak volumes of the current, burgeoning trend of public-private partnerships. Furthermore, the official claim that the Pakistan Railways has earned Rs3 billion in annual revenue, which is an all-time high, is also impressive.However, despite all these supposedly inspiring achievements, the ministry appears helpless and the local government weak when it comes to the safety of the poor who have been living along railway tracks for decades.The simple and obvious solution is to fence the tracks. Though a feasibility report of fencing — with Rs18 million as the estimated cost — was sent to railway headquarters in Lahore a few months ago, the long delay in its approval and implementation put in doubt the efforts of those at the helm of affairs. And with the stated record annual earnings, the railway authorities must certainly not be facing a shortage of funds as a hurdle, at least in this project’s implementation.The officials blamed the delay in the project’s implementation on the poor who had encroached upon the railway’s lands, though the government still cannot absolve itself from the responsibility of giving protection to the lives of the people. Encroachers might have become a hurdle now, but methinks it’s the other way round: The absence of fences had invited the usurpers to encroach upon the railway’s lands.It seems it doesn’t matter if this year’s figure of fatal railway accidents in the city crosses 60.The media will routinely report any such accident when it happens, while officials will term such people ‘trespassers’ and will move on. After all, time’s a great healer. This is at least what has been the practice in 2006 and 2005 when, respectively, 48 and 65 ‘trespassers’ were killed after being hit by trains.Under the Pakistan Railway Act, moving on rail tracks in areas without a railway crossing or overhead bridge is a crime. The violators are considered ‘trespassers,’ and as per the law, any person found in violation of this rule may be fined Rs2,000 or serve a six-month prison sentence, or both. However, railway police officials say public protests prevent them from taking any action and suggest that fencing is the only way to stop this gross, dangerous violation.The densely populated areas around the Drigh railway station in the city are the worst-hit. Half of this year’s fatal accidents on the tracks had occurred here. Thousands of people cross the fence-less tracks on a daily basis and during the last eight years 297 have lost their lives while crossing the tracks here.A hundred feet of open space on either side of the track is mandatory to ensure the secure movement of trains as well as to avoid the loss of life, according to the PR rules. However, thousands of encroachers have occupied this mandatory space in Karachi. In some densely populated areas this space has even shrunk to five feet. Mind you, children cannot be chained all the time. So sitting on the fence will never resolve the issue. The grave risk involved calls for initiating the project at the earliest.—HA