August Issue 2009

Here are some of the letters sent in by Newsline readers and printed in the August issue of the magazine.

Medals or Money?

It was good to see the cover of Newsline last month, with the Pakistani cricket team holding the Twenty20 World Cup trophy aloft. It felt even better to read your cover story, “We Are The Champions.” However, no writer talked about the prize money, running into the millions, announced by the PCB and the prime minister for our team, and its implications.

Whenever our team wins a tournament, we treat them like heroes, and whenever they lose they are ridiculed and often issued physical threats. I am totally opposed to the practice of giving away cash prizes to our players. Aren’t they already being paid to do their job? If we must reward our team for their performance, why not give them some civil awards instead. At least they can show them off with pride to future generations. Announcing cash prizes after every win makes it seem as if they are playing only for the moolah and not for the country.

Zahida Habib
Karachi

One-Sided View

I was disappointed to read your special report, “Made in Pakistan” (Newsline, July 2009). You have only given the versions of people in the private sector and not tried to contact the heads of government outfits such as PAC, AWC, NDC. It would have helped to know their point of view as well. Secondly, you could have delved into the manner in which these drones mark their target. Being pilotless vehicles, how do they identify the house they are targetting? How is the image of the target fed into their system? Also, are these predators being operated from Afghanistan or the US?

Your magazine should do more reports on advancements in science and technology and crime stories.
With reference to the behaviour of the legislators in the assemblies, (Editors Note, July 2009), if you were to look at the origins of these politicians, you wouldn’t be surprised.They were third division students, they would play truant or sit on the back benches and make mischief, often coming to blows in the presence of their teachers. They were a disgrace to their educational institution as they are to parliament now. They’ve come into parliament by virtue of their family connections. We are like mute spectators watching these “heroes” wrestling in the ring.

Mushtaq Khan Mooliani
Layyah

NWFP’s Budget Woes

Apropos your story on the budget in the July 2009 issue, I would like to state that the Pakistan government has completely ignored the business and industrial community of the NWFP in their budget. They had promised to reduce taxes and provide incentives to the businesses that are still operating in the NWFP despite all the violence and upheaval, and providing jobs and income to the people.

It appears as if the government is not interested in assisting them. Even the ANP — the Pukhtoon component of the government ­­­— has not spoken up for the NWFP’s business community. The latter cannot sustain any more losses due to the ongoing war. In fact, they are not able to compete with the stable businesses in the Punjab and Sindh. And once they collapse, a lot of people would be rendered jobless.

If the government wants to prevent this, they should announce a five-year plan offering tax cuts and incentives in the province to make the local business houses more competitive and profitable.

Shahryar Khan Baseer
Peshawar