I Think, Therefore I blog

Extra charge for unregistered persons

2009-07-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

Penalty

The government has made it mandatory for providing CNIC numbers or
National Tax numbers of purchasers who are not registered with the
Sales Tax department. Unfortunately this will contribute greatly in
unregistered consumers turning to smugglers to provide the goods they
need to run their businesses. A few years ago, unregistered persons
had to pay 3% extra. This law should be enforced again, and the extra
payment by unregistered consumers raised to 5%. At least the
government will get much needed revenue, rather than losing it to the
smugglers’ mafia.

SHAKIR LAKHANI
The Friday Times, July 3-9, 2009

Water shortage in "shining" India!

2009-07-01T23:23:00.000-07:00

In India, they don’t use buckets to fetch water. They use pipes, as illustrated in the photo above. Maybe the people of Karachi can learn something from them.

Anyone named Jinnah can fool the government

2009-06-30T22:56:00.001-07:00

According to a news item in DAWN (30th June), someone named Aslam Jinnah claiming to be Mr. Jinnah’s great grandson said that he is satisfied with the facilities and help provided to him by the government. I wonder why the government employs nincompoops who don’t even know the meaning of “great grandson” (leave alone “grandson”). The Quaid had only one child (Dina Wadia) whose son Nusli Wadia (the only grandson of Mr. Jinnah) lives in India. So the Quaid’s great grandson would be Mr. Wadia’s son and would bear the surname “Wadia” instead of “Jinnah”. Yet without asking the so-called great grandson (Aslam Jinnah) to prove his credentials, the government has provided him with a house, a car and Rs. 50,000 per month of public money. The bureaucrats who approved these payments and facilities should be made to pay for them from their own pockets. This is the only way they will learn to be careful if in future someone with the surname “Jinnah” turns up in Islamabad and asks for financial help.

SHAKIR LAKHANI
DAWN, 2 July 2009

Shakespeare causes tussle in Punjab Assembly

2009-06-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

According to a news item in DAWN (28th June, 2009), Sheikh Ala-ud-Din of PML-Q Forward Bloc on Saturday must have made history in the Punjab Assembly when he walked
out of the house in protest against something that was never said. The
offended MPA thought that his fellow parliamentarian Mohsin Leghari
had insulted Lahore when he quoted from Shakespeare’s Julius Caeser.
After that, Dr Asad Ashraf, another member of the assembly criticized
Mr. Leghari for calling himself Caeser (which he hadn’t). Apparently
the good doctor knew that the word caesarian (as in “caesarian
section”) was derived from Caeser (who had been “ripped” from his
mother’s womb). It’s good to know that there are politicians in this
country who have heard of Shakespeare, leave alone quoting from his
works. But then, Mr. Leghari apparently thought that all members of
the Punjab Assembly are graduates in English Literature.

Child marriages in Pakistan

2009-06-29T22:27:00.000-07:00

The recent case of the forced marriage of an eight year old girl in Karachi (and the ones reported earlier) indicate that this custom is very common in the country, particularly in the rural areas. In the cities too, unless someone reports the incident to the police, the culprits are not punished. I remember the case of a thirty year old maid in my house whose husband was a drug addict and used to beat her up daily if she failed to give him money. Finally, she asked my wife for help, and we hired a female lawyer to help her get a divorce.
As soon as her husband received the divorce notice, he came with six armed persons to my house demanding that we hand the maid’s female children over to him. I asked him why he only wanted the female children, not the boys or the woman herself. He explained that he would get good money by giving the girls away in marriage (even though they were minors). When I told him that child marriage was against the laws of the country as well as un-Islamic, he shrugged and said that in his community it was very common. Apparently the mullahs in backward areas also don’t know anything about Islam.
Shakir Lakhani
www.chowrangi.com

Zardari & Manmohan

2009-06-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

He said, he said
Sunday, June 21, 2009

During their recent meeting in Russia, the Indian prime minister bluntly told President Asif Zardari that Pakistan needed to do more to stop terrorism and to bring to book the alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. Our president should have responded by telling Dr Singh that New Delhi needed to stop helping terrorists in Pakistan and that it needed to close its consulates in Afghanistan. He should have also told him that terrorism in Indian-held Kashmir can be contained only if Indian troops stop their atrocities and the people of Kashmir are allowed to determine their own future in accordance with UN resolutions.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
The News, June 21, 2009

Some advice for KESC

2009-06-14T23:34:00.001-07:00

Some advice for the KESC

Sir,

According to Ovais Naqvi, Chief Communications Officer, KESC, “the biggest issue facing KESC is the theft of electricity.” (Metro Mailbag, June 8, 2009). I would like to ask him just what his company has done to reduce electricity theft in the city.

One method of doing so would be to appoint contractors (perhaps ex-linemen) to detect power theft and reduce pilferage.

Besides ‘kunda’ connections, people have also rigged their meters to run slowly, as a result of which they receive low monthly bills, despite using all the electricity they desire.

SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
DAWN, 15 June 2009

Forgiving a minister

2009-06-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

Forgiving a minister

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

According to a news item, PML-N MNA Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor was forgiven for misbehaving with customs officials because he was ignorant of the rules. So we shouldn't be surprised if someone suggests that all criminals should be let off if they plead ignorance of the rules. I can just imagine the courtroom scene. "Excuse me, my lord, where I come from, it is common for a man to kill anyone he doesn't like, so I thought the same custom was followed in Karachi". Or, "Your Honour, in Waziristan, we blow up CD shops and girls' schools, so we thought no one would object if we did the same thing in Lahore."

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
The News, June 10, 2009

Be convincing, Obama

2009-06-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

Be Convincing, Obama
8 June 2009

To convince Muslims that he’s sincere, Obama should have threatened to carry out drone attacks on illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. After all, he’s bombing Muslim terrorists. So what’s stopping him from doing the same thing to Jewish terrorists?

Shakir Lakhani
Khaleejtimes, 8th June 2009

Off with his head!

2009-06-06T00:23:00.001-07:00

Off with his head!

Saturday, June 06, 2009

If I were not against capital punishment, I would have advised the government to try Maulana Sufi Mohammad according to the same Nizam-e-Adl of which he is so enamored, and execute him by chopping off his head in public (something he undoubtedly approved when his men were doing the same thing to our valiant soldiers).

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi
The News, June 06, 2009

Bad Muslims

2009-06-04T02:19:00.001-07:00

Bad Muslims

Thursday, June 04, 2009

According to a news item, Hafiz Saeed's counsel A K Dogar told the Lahore High Court that the victims of the Marriott Hotel blast in Islamabad were 'bad Muslims' who drank alcohol. I would like to know on what basis the learned advocate concluded that all Marriott Hotel blast victims drank champagne, and also whether the constitution of the country defines bad Muslims as those who consume alcohol. Moreover, by saying such a thing, does he recommend that all Muslims who drink champagne should be blown up?

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
The News, June 04, 2009

Why treat North Korea differently?

2009-05-28T23:04:00.000-07:00

Friday, 29 May, 2009

Why treat North Korea differently

WITH reference to your editorial, “North Korea’s nuclear adventure” (May 27), I am surprised at the condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear tests by world leaders. You say there was no justification for North Korea to carry out the recent test. Well, India too did not have any justification to start the nuclear race in the subcontinent in 1998.

The world did not condemn India for going nuclear (apart from a few scarcely-audible protests). In fact, India managed to get major concessions from the US to further develop its nuclear energy industry. So why should North Korea be treated differently?

SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
DAWN, 29 May 2009

No tax on agriculturists!

2009-05-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

Helping our feudals

Monday, May 25, 2009

All my feudal friends were highly relieved to read the information minister’s statement that agriculture would be taxed only “after the government was satisfied that farmers were receiving sufficient returns on their crops.” As everyone knows by now, agriculturists are living very slightly above the poverty level, and only a few hundred have been able to get elected to the assemblies. Most of them own only a few cars and a small number of houses in posh areas while only a very few of them have private jets.

Only the blind would believe that they are earning anything from their crops. If any tax is levied on agricultural income, these poor chaps will have no alternative but to beg for survival. The government should not even think of taxing them, rather it should create a special fund to help them attain a decent standard of living.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
The News, 25th May 2009

Anomaly in Democracy?

2009-05-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Anomaly in Democracy?
23 May 2009

I would like to congratulate the Congress Party for winning the recent elections in India. It’s nice to know that the Indian voter is able to distinguish between those who can deliver from those who can only talk. However, I would like to know why the Congress did not field the incumbent prime minister from any of its safe constituencies.

The result is that Manmohan Singh is probably the only Indian Prime Minister who has never been directly elected to the Lok Sabha. In the world’s largest democracy, this is, indeed, anomalous.

Shakir Lakhani
Khaleejtimes, 23 May 2009

This Indian hasn't bathed in 35 years

2009-05-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

I thought I’d seen everything. But now they’ve discovered an Indian who hasn’t had a bath in 35 years. His name is Kailash Kalau Singh, and his name might get into the Guinness Book of Records.
It seems some palmist or astrologer (there are millions in India) told him he should never bathe if he wanted to be the father of a boy. Unfortunately in his case it didn’t work. He is now the father of seven daughters, but no son. Funny thing is, his wife still lives with him. I don’t think a woman in any other country would have tolerated such a husband. He had to sell his grocery store because customers didn’t like his unhealthy personality (maybe they didn’t like the stink).
I wonder if by some miracle this man becomes the father of a boy, will all such Indians stop bathing until their wives too produce male children?
Shakir Lakhani
www.chowrangi.com, 21st May 2009

Purdah among Hindus

2009-05-18T03:50:00.000-07:00

Muslims are not the only ones who observe purdah. Some Hindus also do it.

According to Jawed Naqvi (DAWN 9 Apr, 2009), the first Indian president (Rajendra Prasad) “was not allowed to see the face of his wife for the first several years he spent with her in his village in Bihar. A maid would accompany him to his wife’s room in the middle of the night, after everyone had gone to sleep. The hurricane lamp would then be blown out. Before dawn, Dr Prasad had to slip back into his bed with the rest of the family”.

This reminds me of the Arab tribe about which I wrote sometime back, where the men are not allowed to see the faces of their wives or other women in the family.

I wonder how a man would identify a female accident victim. But then, where they live, they probably don’t have roads or cars, but suppose such a man and his wife have gone to perform Haj, and his wife is killed during a stampede. How would he be able to identify his dead wife among several dead bodies?

Shakir Lakhani
www.chowrangi.com, 18 May 2009

Media Lethargy

2009-05-15T01:37:00.000-07:00

According to a news item, PTV is not happy over WAPDA’s share in TV
licence fee. PTV officials think WAPDA should not get more than four
to five percent of the fees (instead of twenty percent) for collection
of the fees. The news item further says that PTV has to bear heavy
expenditures for maintenance of its boosters in every nook and corner
of the country. The question arises, how are the private TV channels
able to reach every nook and corner of the country without charging
any licence fee? Why should PTV get the licence fee at all if the
private channels are able to survive without it? After all, there must
be some reason why most viewers prefer to watch the popular private
channels rather than the state-owned PTV. Shouldn’t PTV learn to
produce quality programs to boost the number of its viewers and
increase its advertising revenue?

SHAKIR LAKHANI
The Friday Times May 15-21, 2009

Misogyny 101

2009-05-14T23:01:00.001-07:00

Misogyny 101

Friday, May 15, 2009

As if there wasn't enough already to make the world think of Muslims as morons, a Saudi judge has said that a Muslim can slap his wife if she spends lavishly. It seems that if a Saudi woman spends too much on clothes, and if her husband slaps her, she has no right to complain.

Mercifully the judge didn't say that men should cane their wives if they demand more money for personal expenses. And we should be grateful he didn't say it was OK for a man to kill his wife if she objected to him taking another wife.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
The News, May 15 2009

Holiday for whom?

2009-05-12T21:23:00.001-07:00

Holiday for whom?

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Once again, the provincial government created a lot of confusion by declaring a holiday on May 12 without clarifying whether it was applicable only to the Sindh government departments, schools and colleges. Consider how tough it is for employers to explain to office workers that they have to work on this day without being entitled to overtime. But then, everyday is a holiday for Sindh government employees, who work only when they are given bribes by hapless residents of the province.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Nature's revenge

2009-05-12T00:53:00.000-07:00

Nature’s Revenge?
12 May 2009

About two billion people could be infected with the swine flu virus, according to the latest estimates. Although that is one third of the total world population, there is no need for alarm, as most people would have mild symptoms and wouldn’t even realise that they have been infected.

However, children and aged people will be at risk. It all depends on how soon an effective vaccine is developed.

However, in certain countries, the virus could spread faster. In Pakistan, large gatherings of people are very common, and this could cause the virus to spread fast.

It seems we do not need wars any more to reduce population. Nature is taking its revenge.

Shakir Lakhani
Khaleej Times, 12 May 2009

9/11 side effect on Muslims

2009-05-10T21:09:00.001-07:00

Monday, May 11, 2009

An important side-effect of 9/11 has been the increasing tendency among Muslims to openly display their religious identity. Girls suddenly took to covering themselves in burqas while clean-shaven men started sporting beards. Everywhere Muslims meet they talk about how they are being discriminated against in countries where they are not in a majority. The fight against terrorism is seen as a war on Islam and the invasion of Iraq is cited as proof that the non-Muslim world wants to grab the resources of Muslims.

Shakir Lakhani,
Karachi
The Hindu, May 11, 2009

Fair trial for Qasab

2009-05-06T21:10:00.000-07:00

Qasab Deserves Fair Trial
7 May 2009

With reference to the letter ‘Strange but true’ (KT, May 6) where the writer has advocated a swift trial and capital punishment for Qasab, it should be noted that capital punishment has been abolished by many countries (including UK and EU).

Even Pakistan has suspended it for the time being. Secondly, a swift trial would be a mockery of justice. Aimal Kansi’s trial by a US jury took six years after he was arrested and spirited out of Pakistan.

Qasab may definitely be guilty of the crimes he’s accused of, but he deserves a fair trial. Who knows, maybe his trial will reveal many facts not yet known to the public.

Shakir Lakhani
Khaleej Times

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2009-05-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

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Unfair

2009-05-04T22:15:00.001-07:00

RCCI President Syed Asad Mashadi said that the
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had deputed its auditors to hotels and
restaurants across the country in order to monitor their business procedures.
The RCCI contacted higher authorities regarding the matter and
the FBR withdrew them from 42 hotels in both Rawalpindi
and Murree. I wonder why such preferential treatment is being given to hotels
in Rawalpindi and Murree? Exempting one section while taxing others is
surely not justified.

Shakir Lakhani
The Friday Times, May 1-7, 2009

Jinnah's grandsons

2009-05-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

June 20, 2006

Quaid’s great grandson

THIS is with reference to the news item “Assassins of Quaid’s great grandson convicted” (June 17). By definition, a great grandson is the son of a grandson. Mr Jinnah had only one child (Dina Wadia) whose son (Neville Wadia) is living in India. Mr Wadia’s son would, therefore, be the Quaid’s great grandson. Consequently, Mr Jinnah’s great grandson would have the surname Wadia, and not Jinnah. The late Sikander Jinnah was, therefore, not the great grandson of the Quaid.

SHAKIR LAKHANI
Karachi
DAWN, June 20, 2006