Mind your language!

Mind your language

Published in The News on December 12, 2012

This is with reference to Maryam Jameel’s letter ‘Mind your language’ (News Post, December 9). It is time we put at rest the belief that Urdu is spoken in most parts of the country. Forget rural areas, I have come across many people even in the city of Lahore who can neither speak nor understand Urdu. It was a mistake on our founding father’s part to declare Urdu as the national language of the country – a decision which played a major role in the break-up of Pakistan.

English is very easy to learn and parents should ensure that their children learn to speak it as early as possible. As for Urdu or any other first language, children eventually learn to speak them without effort anyway.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Corruption unlimited-Karachi's Cogen plant

Cogen plant

Published in DAWN (Metropolitan), December 10, 2012

This is with reference to the news item "NEPRA begins hearing on DHA Cogen plant rehabilitation" (DAWN Metropolitan, November 29). This plant was originally meant for desalination of sea-water and electricity was supposed to be a by-product. Although 115 million dollars were spent on this project, its failure to function has raised the cost to double that amount owing to bank interest (all of which will be borne by the DHA). Instead of taking to task those responsible for buying junk machinery, there is now talk of spending another 51.50 million dollars on it. In the meantime, DHA residents like myself will continue paying about Rs. 5,000 every month for water tankers. Before spending more money on it, the authorities should first ensure that the plant is viable and can desalinate water for a reasonable cost.

SHAKIR LAKHANI

A different law for Indian Hindu extremists!

Justice for Samjhauta Express victims

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25, 2012

KARACHI: Now that Ajmal Kasab has been executed, perhaps the Indian government will speed up the trials of those involved in the Samjhauta Express bombing by Hindu extremists, including Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Swami Aseemanand. Even though the train was bombed around two years before the Mumbai attacks and the accused were arrested long ago, they have not yet been tried.

Is it because they are Indian extremists who killed Muslims, many of whom were Pakistanis? If convicted, would they be sentenced to death? I doubt it.

Shakir Lakhani

https://tribune.com.pk/story/470749/justice-for-samjhauta-express-victims/

Getting a driving licence in Pakistan

I have now been driving cars since 1969. It was not easy getting a driving licence in those days, yet I had succeeded (perhaps because I was only 25 at the time). I used it for many years before losing it five years ago. After that I used to drive without a licence as I had heard that the procedure was too cumbersome, first getting a learner's license and then appearing for tests (after 45 days). Then someone told me that getting a licence from a city other than Karachi was very easy, so I got a (genuine) licence made in Hub (Baluchistan), not far from Karachi and without appearing for any tests. That licence lasted three years, after which I found someone who could get me a licence from the Karachi licence issuing office without even going there. A year later, I was shocked to find that this licence was a fake one even though I had paid quite a good amount for it. I was told that eight out of ten drivers in the country have fake licences.

So finally I took the plunge and decided to get a genuine licence issued by the Karachi office. And it was really tough this time, trying to park a large car in a short space without hitting the barriers, but I did manage to do it. I think most people would fail the driving test, as well as the verbal one.

It was really impressive to see that no one wanted a bribe to certify that I was qualified to drive a car, all the policeman and police officers were courteous and there were computers everywhere. Pakistan has changed a lot.

Voting by post

Expats’ votes

Published in The News on November 16, 2012

This is with reference to your editorial ‘Expats’ votes’ (November 1). The facility of voting by post should also be given to those who need it within the country, for instance the thousands of Pakistanis working in cities away from their hometowns and villages where they are registered as voters.

In my own case, I will have to drive 16 kilometres to cast my vote, and even though I tried hard to get my name transferred to a polling station near my residence, I did not succeed. I am willing to pay the required charges if I’m allowed to post my ballot paper to the polling station if the Election Commission allows me to vote by post.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Conspiracy theories and fighting the Taliban

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20, 2012

Embed from Getty Images

KARACHI: With reference to your editorial “Taking on the Taliban” (October 16), it is indeed distressing to see perfectly normal people saying that the attempted murder of Malala Yousufzai was carried out by government agencies/the CIA, etc., to divert attention from — among other things — the sacrilegious video that created such a furore last month and aroused the ire of Muslims throughout the world.

As ‘proof’, they say that this incident would justify the government’s decision to either support drone attacks or launch a military operation in North Waziristan. A photo of the poor child sitting at a table with a foreigner is also being circulated on the internet to prove that she is an American agent. Mind you, these people are not fanatics. Some of them are my friends, men and women, who read international newspapers and watch BBC, CNN and the Discovery channel. We have sunk so low that we cannot openly blame the Tehreeke-e-Taliban Pakistan, despite there being all the evidence in the world that they are the ones who have been burning girls’ schools and preventing them from acquiring education. Shame on us!

Shakir Lakhani

Why doesn't ex-PM Gilani leave Pakistan?

Gilani’s disillusionment 

Published in DAWN on October 10, 2012

This is with reference to the news item ‘Son’s arrest disillusions Gilani with government’ (Oct 7).

I wonder if he remembers what he said to Becky Anderson of CNN when she told him that one-third of the country’s population was so disillusioned with his government that they wanted to leave the country. “So why don’t they leave?” replied PM Gilani.

So why doesn’t he leave the country, now that he too is disillusioned with the government?

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

What have the Taliban got against female education?

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Why do the Taliban want to kill educated women? Yesterday a brave 14-year old girl (Malala Yousufzai) was shot in the head because she openly criticized the Taliban for burning girls' schools and not allowing girls to study. I know that most Pakistanis will say that it's not the Taliban who're burning girls' schools and shooting educated or working women, it's foreigners (Americans) as no Muslim would do it, but they're all wrong. Let me tell them that such Muslims are and have always been among us, and their number is growing.

I once told a religious scholar about Islam's emphasis on education (for both men and women), but he replied, "Women should be educated, but only in religious matters, they should not be allowed to study science and other subjects, otherwise they will ask to work alongside men."

So this is what bothers them? That Muslim women will start working in offices and factories and some of them will turn into nymphomaniacs? Or that they will demand to marry only those whom they want, not those who are chosen by their fathers and brothers? And they claim to be custodians of Islam, which allows women the freedom to select their future husbands!

Swiss conundrum: why not punish Malik Qayyum?

Published in The News on September 29, 2012

Swiss conundrum

This is with reference to your editorial ‘Swiss conundrum’ (September 27). Why hasn’t the Supreme Court taken any action against former attorney general Malik Qayyum for writing the letter which has resulted in a huge financial loss to the country?

The ex-attorney general was the same person who, as a judge, had earlier convicted both Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari in a corruption case. So he, of all the people, should have known that what he was doing was illegal.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi

Pakistan's worst fire

The fire tragedy

Published in The News on September 18, 2012

Stiff and unfair competition from unscrupulous rivals (who don’t pay taxes and steal electricity and gas) is one more reason why honest factory owners want to save as much as they can. And one way of doing it is by compromising on safety measures. As for labour directors’ and inspectors’ annual visits to factories, they are simply interested in enriching themselves and don’t bother about the possibility that their negligence can put lives at risk.

Even if they are asked to explain why they did not point out the lack of safety measures in the factory, as is likely in the case of the recent tragedy, they will probably reply that they did not observe any major deviation from rules when they visited the factory and they can’t be held responsible for violations of rules after their visits.

Shakir Lakhani

Karachi