Creeping Talibanisation

Creeping Talibanisation

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1, 2012.

KARACHI: With reference to your editorial “A concert banned” (August 30), I wish there were some way to stop this creeping Talibanisation in our country, but I fear the situation is hopeless. My granddaughter goes to a school where the female principal used to be very liberal until a year ago. As the number of deeply religious female teachers in the school increased, the principal not only started to cover herself from head to toe, but the school is even forcing five-year old female students to wear head scarves. As more and more people start adhering to extreme views on religion, I am afraid musical concerts, plays and films will become a thing of the past.

Shakir Lakhani 

Turning water into gasoline!

Turning water into wine

  

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7th, 2012

KARACHI: This is with reference to Saroop Ijaz’s article “Turning water into wine” (August 5). The writer is right when he says that “Mr Waqar has benefited from our television anchors, government personnel and luminaries from science who are desperate to have something new to believe, and have now found a quaint simplistic easy-to-believe ‘theory’.”

I remember the attention a pregnant Indonesian woman got after she arrived in Karachi in the 1960s and proclaimed that the embryo inside her was periodically reciting the ‘azaan’. The whole nation went berserk and it was only when doctors examined her and found a miniature tape recorder concealed in her clothes that she was exposed as a fraudster.

Then there was the newspaper report about the first man on the moon — Neil Armstrong — converting to Islam because he heard the ‘azaan’ on the moon. Mr Armstrong has denied the report (he is still a Christian), but countless Pakistanis still firmly believe that he is a Muslim and I won’t be surprised if the father of our A-bomb is one of them. One can easily guess what the reaction of those who believed in Mr Waqar’s so-called invention would be if a man appeared on the scene and claimed to be pregnant!

Shakir Lakhani

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The car that ‘runs’ on water

Published in The Express Tribune on August 5th, 2012.

KARACHI: Most Pakistanis are stupid enough to believe anything. Some years ago, a so-called ‘doctor’ in Hyderabad claimed to have found a cure for diabetes: he used to feed diabetics with a medicine made of 100 per cent sugar! I know a man who gives away a kind of powder to diabetics to lower their blood glucose level. I told him to get his formula patented and get a pharmaceutical company to market his product and give to charity the millions he’d earn in royalty, but he declined. He knows that if the powder is tested in a lab, it will prove to be a harmless mixture of salt and flour. As for this miracle ‘water-fuel’ car, the so-called inventor probably hopes to get a huge loan from the government.

Shakir Lakhani

Broadband woes

Published in The Express Tribune on August 4, 2012

KARACHI: With reference to the article by Naveed Saeed “Broadband growth: don’t blame the economy!”(August 3), while it may be true that broadband has expanded in Pakistan, PTCL has made sure that most of its customers cannot use it continuously. For the past month, the service has been highly irregular and to lodge a complaint is next to impossible. The helpline recording says that customers will go on facing problems with connectivity (until doomsday?) and PTCL sincerely apologises for this inconvenience.

Initially, when I started using broadband, I used to subscribe to a company called Maxcom, which was later bought by PTCL. Maxcom was a very small company serving about 6,000 subscribers, but its service was excellent. Now that most Pakistanis have to depend on this behemoth called PTCL, I suppose there is no choice but to endure its inefficiency.

Shakir Lakhani

Greedy Pakistanis & high prices in Ramazan

Tailor-made

Published in DAWN on August 2, 2012

WITH reference to your editorial ‘Tailor-made’ (July 21), you have suggested that “what is needed is a countrywide price-control and anti-profiteering mechanism during all times of the year to keep a check on the more unscrupulous elements of the market that fleece consumers.”

This is easier said than done. Who will be given the task to control prices?

In Ramazan particularly, prices spiral out of control. A popular cold remedy has disappeared from the market.

When I was finally able to find a store where it was available, I was shocked to see it being sold for Rs95 when its actual retail price is Rs35.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

All law-breakers acquitted!

‘PML-N MNA acquitted’

Published in DAWN on August 1, 2012

THIS is with reference to the news item, ‘PML-N MNA acquitted’ (July 25). The lawmaker or lawbreaker (Anjum Aqeel Khan) was charged with having escaped from police custody, but was acquitted because he surrendered to the police of his own accord, his lawyer claiming that he had been forcibly taken away by certain people.

So far so good. What is surprising is that even the ‘certain people’ (13 party activists) were also acquitted. Also, no action has been taken against the 12 police officials (witnesses for the prosecution) who ‘earlier recorded their statements against the accused, but later backtracked from the allegation’.

So everyone will be happy, no one being punished for this gross violation of the law.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

The Chief Justice & our law-makers

CJ’s remarks & legislators

Published in DAWN on July 13, 2012

THIS is with reference to your editorial ‘CJ’s remarks’ (July 9). You have rightly asked why the apex court does not “focus on the broken judicial system…, or an abysmally low rate of successful prosecution that allows criminals to walk free.”

You have wondered why the court should be so selective. However, you have to admit that the pathetic state of our judicial system is due to the actions of those who rule the country as if it was their personal fiefdom. Our parliamentarians are concerned only with perpetuating their hold on us hapless citizens.

To achieve their aims, they do everything in their power to subvert the law. Just look at the bills they propose to table before the parliament to prevent illegal money from being brought back to the country and allow those who have sworn allegiance to foreign powers to contest elections.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

Who is supreme: Pakistan's parliament or the judiciary?

Who is supreme?

Published in The News, July 11, 2012

This refers to the news item ‘Judiciary can’t scrap law made by parliament, says Kaira’ (July 9). What if the present National Assembly passes a law allowing the Indian Army to cross the border to protect its members from the wrath of the public or for any other reason?

This is something which our MNAs are perfectly capable of doing – judging from the kind of bills they are going to table in the next few days. Wouldn’t the judiciary still be allowed to scrap such a law?

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Democracy and lawyers

Published in DAWN on July 2, 2012

This is apropos of S. T. Hussain’s letter ‘Democracy and lawyers’. I take exception to his view that lawyers “protesting against the government are actually against democracy in Pakistan.” I don’t know how he reached this conclusion.

In a democratic country, all people, including lawyers, have the right to protest when they see their government leaders looting the national exchequer and not doing anything to solve the problems of the people.

Not only have lawyers played a leading role in bringing down unpopular governments in the past, but it was also a lawyer, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who despite massive opposition created Pakistan.

We should be grateful that we still have able lawyers who cannot be bought.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

Strikes should be banned!

The strike mania

Published in DAWN on June 27, 2012

THIS is apropos of your editorial ‘The strike mania’ (June 15), I recall fondly the early years of the 1958 martial law period, when giving a call for a strike was punishable by death.

The nation truly became disciplined in the first two or three years, and even though fundamental rights were suspended, the country did make remarkable progress during Ayub Khan’s 10-year rule.

Unfortunately, he became highly unpopular and had to be sent home, one of the reasons for his unpopularity being the alleged rampant corruption by one of his sons. 

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi