Voice of the People – Pakistan Observer

Articles and letters may be edited for clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all stakeholders. However, the content of these writings does not necessarily correspond to the views of the newspaper.

Bentley Heist

The Bentley Mulsanne believed to have been stolen in London and purchased by a wealthy elite in DHA Karachi was only captured through the efforts of British investigators, otherwise it was registered here, cleared and completed all formalities, to be driven as a legally licensed limousine. Have we forgotten the Ferrari Sport car crash in November 2014 in Quetta which led to the sacking of senior officers.

We live in a country where dozens of containers loaded with luxury goods, including prohibited weapons bound for Afghanistan, disappeared from the port of Karachi in 2011. Ports and Shipping Minister, affiliated with Altaf Hussain , has since traveled to the United States, where he lives in Houston. Except rhetoric for public consumption, he lives there in luxury. If memory serves, there was a BBC report that implicated many people involved in smuggling stolen vehicles across the land border into Balochistan.

If anyone ventures to visit Quetta and the gated community where the paid elite live, such vehicles are commonly seen. Karachi is another city where they are located, as are Lahore and Peshawar. Where else in the world are there amnesty programs to regularize smuggled cars except Pakistan. The Elite VIP culture sees breaking laws as an advantage. BMW, Audi E-Trons and Mercedes cars drive with strange license plates starting with AFR etc. and no policeman dares to arrest them. When irregularities are committed by the elite at the top, then corruption, bribery and abuse become an accepted norm.

MALIK TARIQ ALI

Lahore

South Asian test case

The status quo hegemony has cherished the power structure for decades. Their global hegemony comes from their greater military capacity, strong political and economic institutions and other indicators like trade surplus, export with large savings. Yet as a country breaking the horns in the east, questioning the Western giants’ fashioned international order, China threatens the United States to fulfill its organic capacity through reformed and reshaped means, very similar but different from the superpower in place. The competition between giants juggles on the economic battlefields as has been noted “a battle of efficiency”, at the height of the capacities of the other. China’s neoclassical economics allowed the country to accumulate human capital, technological advancements, and a process of industrialization despite its extractive institutions.

Clearly, China’s emergence as a global competitor has found a loop left by the United States. The dysfunctional political system makes the superpower less able to compete in efficiency with the miraculously developing eastern country. China’s growth has remained well ahead of the rest of the country, with Beijing expanding its economy 2.1% ahead of the rest of the world during the period 1950-2001, aiming to reach the top of the global economic ladder d 2049.

Western scholars and states see this as an emerging threat to the liberal world order. Yet China claims to redesign it in its reformed form. The rivalry between the two has many implications for modern economies and developing countries, especially in Asia where nearly 20 economic powerhouses reside. It will be a test case for these countries to choose sides between two distinct forms of capitalism, namely, one is free, liberal and democratic while the other is authoritarian but economically more modernized.

USMAN ZULFIQAR ALI

Islamabad

Disease outbreak in flooded areas

Reports from flood devastated areas reveal outbreaks of different deadly diseases that have killed dozens of children, women and the elderly. Increasing cases of cholera, dysentery, malaria, dengue fever, hepatitis A and E and other diseases have been reported in the camps as well as in the evacuation centers.

The federal and provincial governments have not yet sent doctors and the desired drugs to prevent any epidemics. Millions of people have been affected by this man-made natural disaster. Scores of people drowned, were electrocuted, buried in mud or suffered cardiac arrest.

WHO and other humanity conscious global bodies such as PRCS, ICRC, Red Cross, Save the Children are urged to come forward to help treat and heal the devastated/traumatized people in the regions the worst parts of Sindh as well as in other parts of the country.

HACHIM ABRO

Islamabad

Well Made Green Shirts

As a fan of the green shirts, I am really delighted to congratulate the green shirts on their 5 wicket win over India. Without a doubt, the boys played well, especially Muhammad Rizwan scoring 71 points from 51 balls and Muhammad Nawaz scoring 42 points from 20 balls and adding 73 partnership points.

The bowlers played very well and the batsmen were exceptional with a bat. Their first defeat did not disappoint them rather than strengthening the green shirts and helped them beat the Indian team with a ball to spare. All the best green jerseys and waiting to see you with the trophy next Sunday.

IMTIAZ ALI

Kesh