What is in a date?... nothing and everything

Another May 12 has gone by and the lawyers’ community observed it as a black day to remember that fateful day when hell was unleashed in the city of Karachi. Similar to what they show in the Old Western flicks, law and order did not exist in the city on the May 12 of 2007. Bodies of dead people were scattered around in various areas of the metropolitan and its law enforcers were cowed by armed thugs, who called the shots that day.

May 12 might just be another day on the calendar. A date keeps coming back year after year simply because of a system that humans have devised to keep track of the passage of time. The May 12 of 2007 is gone and it will never come back. But it is important to mark this day and keep remembering what happened back then - just like January 27 is observed as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day so that everyone can remember or learn about the Nazis’ brutality and to commemorate the victims of their callousness.

A great deal of blood was spilled on the streets of Karachi on that day four years back when a dictator swung his fist around while murderers continued their onslaught. It is essential that we remember that a great wrong was done - at least until justice is served and those who caused the bloodshed that day pay for what they did.

Many of us tend to forget very quickly. A few years pass and all is forgiven. But it’s not the same for the families of the May 12 victims. They must be living with a pain that will last a lifetime. Had they not lost their loved ones, their future could have been quite different now – in most cases a better one. We must not forget May 12, if not for the sake of those who were mercilessly murdered so that some oppressors could bask in their power and glory, then for their unfortunate families at least.

Must keep the ‘small things’ in mind

With the recent inclusion of the Pakistan Muslim-League-Quaid (PML-Q) as well as the return of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the size of the federal cabinet tally has reached 45, with 39 federal ministers and ministers of states, four advisers and two special assistants to the prime minister.

Yes so much for the ‘rightsizing’ efforts we were all forced to hear about. Previously, a 54-member cabinet - 34 federal ministers, 18 ministers of state and two advisers - was dissolved considering the financial difficulties the country is facing. It was also aimed at fixing the government’s tainted image. According to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the move was meant to have fewer ministers with “a reputation of integrity, competence and efficiency”. So what was that effort all about? In what ways is the present bunch that has been included to swell the cabinet to jumbo-size again better than the one that was left out before? They certainly do not possess “a reputation of integrity, competence and efficiency”. In fact the ones from the PML-Q are mostly those who were dejected by most of the country for their tales of corruption and incompetence when they were dancing to the tune of a dictator. Integrity, competence and efficiency are terms that have themselves become alien to the PPP. If these words meant anything to the party, it wouldn’t have gone back on its own words. But in our country, the lust for power is greater than any ethics or principles. Unfortunately, our public tends to forget these ‘small things’ on the day of elections and keeps making the same mistakes over and over again. The masses need to keep the honesty factor in mind while casting their votes. This would help them a great deal in making the right decision.

Professional obligations lost as greed prevails

Two hours of heart-wrenching scenes at the outpatient departments (OPDs) of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) as patients, some cringing in pain, helplessly tried in vain to receive medical attention. But there was none for them as the doctors were boycotting the OPDs for two hours to protest the decentralisation of these two federal government-run hospitals.
Never did they take into consideration that so many patients, not only from Karachi but other parts of the province and Balochistan as well arrive every day to these hospitals, the majority of them in need of immediate medical attention. But no - personal gains are more important for them than professional obligations. Perhaps this plague has crept all over our society.
These doctors believe that the provincial government is not equipped to run the two hospitals efficiently and therefore, their administrative control should not be shifted from the Centre. They claim that the federal government-run hospitals are in a better shape than the one being run by the provincial government. There is no huge difference between the hospitals run by the Centre and the ones under the provincial government’s control. The federal government-run hospitals offer some better facilities and the reason for that is the free flow of funds that arrive from the Centre.
But the question is whether these funds are completely utilised or not when the governing authority is in Islamabad. This is actually the issue that is at the centre of the problem. The provincial government’s administrative control means a closer watch on the managements of the hospitals currently run by the federal government.
There will be all sorts of questions as to where the funds are being spent and why. This is exactly what the people behind the doctors’ boycott do not want. Greed gets the better of many of us, but in some exceptional cases, shamelessness hits an all new level.

Only gloat and no action

It’s an excruciating experience to hear the ministers of Sindh gloat about their “historic achievements” that have made no difference in the lives of the masses. Issues of great importance continue to pile up and the only time the provincial ministers seem active is when their larynxes are involved.
According to one minister, the provincial government has still been unable to finalise the date for the budget presentation. There has been no progress on the local government elections issue either. Never-ending deliberations are under way and it appears that a lifetime is required for all the stakeholders to reach a consensus on the matter.
Recently, Pakistan People’s Party Sindh general secretary and the supervisor of the party’s census monitoring committee, Taj Haider told the media that the Sindh government was not informed about the changes made in the delimitation of maps that are used to mark the blocks, circles and charges for the house and population census.
He said that even the chief minister and the chief secretary were unaware that these changed were made in 2007 and they believed that the census was being carried out according to the 2002 marking of limits. This pretty much sums up the state of affair in Sindh.
The precedent of ridiculousness that the provincial government has set when it came to the census takes the term “inefficiency” to a whole new level. The federal government was responsible for the carrying out the census, but the provincial government could have helped matters by launching an awareness campaign in the rural areas of Sindh as the complications faced in those places – including many families living under one roof but still counted as occupants of a single house and enumerators not provided with accurate data due to traditional constraints - were pretty much expected. But the government woke up from its slumber only when the harm was done. There were a many irregularities in the first phase of the census and Sindhis might end up becoming minorities in their own province. Is there still any advice for the people managing the affairs of the province? Yes there is. They can still wrap up their lip-service business and show some real action. But will they pay any heed to these words, there is not a flicker of a chance.

Intolerable utterances

We are fed up with intolerable utterances. It wasn’t a rosy picture before, but after al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s death, it has become worse. In fact, it has become chaotic. The latest of such has come from the prime minister. Speaking to the parliament, he rejected allegations that government authorities were either hiding the al Qaeda chief or simply too incompetent to locate him and said that he has ordered a joint investigation into how bin Laden was able to live undetected in Abbottabad for such a long time. Army and civilian investigation officers will be used for this probe. Even more hurtful to the ears was Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar’s response that the prime minister has failed to satisfy the nation and he is to blame for the failure of the intelligence agencies.
Does the probe into how bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan for so long stand any chance of success if we are to think that the our intelligence agencies, which we have come to believe have knowledge of almost everything under the sky in the country, were so incapable that they couldn’t locate him for years even though he lived right under their nose.
The investigation is nothing but a move to satisfy the US, which, by the way, has given a clean chit to the Pakistani government just a day earlier. The US national security adviser said that the Obama administration has seen no evidence that Pakistan’s leadership knew bin Laden was living in that country before his killing last week. However, the US president called upon the Pakistani government to probe the “support network” for the al Qaeda leader in the country.
So it can be imagined where the probe would be headed. As for Mr Nisar’s criticism just for the sake of criticism, it makes no sense to begin with. Why should the prime minister be blamed for the intelligence agencies’ failure? If Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif can be kept in dark before the Kargil mess was started, why is it different in Mr Gilani’s case. All this nonsensical noise is maddening, but the masses still have to put up with it.

True martyrdom

The city of Karachi has witnessed martyrdom of the true kind unlike the associating of the term “martyr” with people who are better off dead than alive. This actual martyrdom came in the form of the murder of two Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum activists, Haji Abu Bakar and Abdul Ghani – two men, who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the precious mangroves on our coasts from the clutches of land grabbers.Their bodies were found at the Shamspir Island in Keamari. They were tortured and murdered. The death of these two men means that the city’s mangroves, on which 135,000 people depend for their livelihood, have lost two life lines. The dual murder has enraged the fisherfolk and they are demanding justice. But apparently, the perpetrators of this crime are too influential for the law enforcers.

Mangroves are inter-tidal forests with great economic and ecological significance. According to various researches, mangroves provide food, fodder and fuel-wood for villages. There are approximately 100,000 people who take a total of 18,000 tonnes of fuel-wood each year from the mangroves. In addition, 3,200 buffaloes and 6,000 camels also consume some 67 million kilogrammes of leaves and 19.5 million kilogrammes of grass. Much of Pakistan's fishing industry relies on the fish found in the mangroves, notably shrimp, which are the principal fisheries export of Pakistan. Of the $100 million that Pakistan earns in fisheries foreign exchange, shrimp accounts for 68 percent. Mangroves are also important for recreation purposes with high potential for eco-tourism. The Indus Delta is an important migratory route for millions of waterfowl that need to feed and breed during the winter months. Some 80 species of birds, such as pelicans, flamingos and herons are found in the Indus Delta mangroves. Mangrove forests also provide protection to the coastal areas from strong winds and ocean currents. Their vegetation also helps in reducing coastline erosion because the roots collect sediments that flow into the sea from the river.

There are certain elements who wish to deprive us of our mangroves. If men like, Haji Abu Bakar and Abdul Ghani continue to die, there will be nobody left to protect them.

True martyrdom

The city of Karachi has witnessed a martyrdom of the true kind unlike the associating of the term “martyr” with people who are better off dead than alive. This actual martyrdom came in the form of the murder of two Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum activists, Haji Abu Bakar and Abdul Ghani – two men, who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the precious mangroves on our coasts from the clutches of land grabbers.Their bodies were found at the Shamspir Island in Keamari. They were tortured and murdered. The death of these two men means that the city’s mangroves, on which 135,000 people depend for their livelihood, have lost two life lines. The dual murder has enraged the fisherfolk and they are demanding justice. But apparently, the perpetrators of this crime are too influential for the law enforcers.

Mangroves are inter-tidal forests with great economic and ecological significance. According to various researches, mangroves provide food, fodder and fuel-wood for villages. There are approximately 100,000 people who take a total of 18,000 tonnes of fuel-wood each year from the mangroves. In addition, 3,200 buffaloes and 6,000 camels also consume some 67 million kilogrammes of leaves and 19.5 million kilogrammes of grass. Much of Pakistan's fishing industry relies on the fish found in the mangroves, notably shrimp, which are the principal fisheries export of Pakistan. Of the $100 million that Pakistan earns in fisheries foreign exchange, shrimp accounts for 68 percent. Mangroves are also important for recreation purposes with high potential for eco-tourism. The Indus Delta is an important migratory route for millions of waterfowl that need to feed and breed during the winter months. Some 80 species of birds, such as pelicans, flamingos and herons are found in the Indus Delta mangroves. Mangrove forests also provide protection to the coastal areas from strong winds and ocean currents. Their vegetation also helps in reducing coastline erosion because the roots collect sediments that flow into the sea from the river.

There are certain elements who wish to deprive us of our mangroves. If men like, Haji Abu Bakar and Abdul Ghani continue to die, there will be nobody left to protect them.