The Christmas

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

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

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

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

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

Karachi Sabzi Mandi: basic amenities still a dream

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

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"

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

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

Graffiti speaks

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

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