Training of media persons

Media

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THE government’s move to establish a large number of universities in a country where only half the population is literate has been widely debated. But President Pervez Musharraf’s suggestion for a media university should not be dismissed without a second thought because this venture, if it were to materialise, will be a different one of its kind.

Pakistan has no meritorious institution for training media personnel. This need not be a highbrow university to make an impact. Even an institute which awards a post-graduate diploma — but a really prestigious one — should serve our purpose well.
Continue reading Training of media persons →

Ex-general’s piece of advice

Foreign Policy of Pakistan

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

AN EX-ARMY colleague has some advice for Pervez Musharraf. General (retired) Jehangir Karamat, who is returning home from Washington after completing his two year term as Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States, does not appear to be one of those men in khaki who love dabbling in politics while in office.

It was another matter that he did not mind adopting publicly a critical stance as the army chief of staff in 1998 against the government. But rather than behave peevishly as our uniformed men are wont to, General Karamat chose to bow out with dignity when Mr Nawaz Sharif expressed his displeasure. Since then, he has taken up assignments with American thinktanks and for the Pakistan government.
Continue reading Ex-general’s piece of advice →

Social exclusion is their lot

Children and Youth, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

UNICEF’S The State of the World’s Children, 2006 is titled “Excluded and Invisible”. The authors of the report define those children as excluded and invisible who are deemed to be at risk of missing out on an environment that protects them from violence, abuse and exploitation.

Those children are also considered to be excluded if they are unable to access essential services in a way that threatens their ability to participate fully in society in the future. Keeping this definition in mind one wonders how many children in Pakistan would qualify as ‘excluded’.

In the physical sense, children’s “visibility” in our society is very high. You see them everywhere, even in places where they should not be seen — on the streets, in workplaces, in garbage dumps, and even in battle zones. With 4.7 million children born every year and nearly 71 million Pakistanis being under 18 years of age (about a third of them under five) it is not surprising that the physical presence of children is so noticeable. Yet a huge majority of them qualify as being defined as excluded.
Continue reading Social exclusion is their lot →

Creating a library culture

Education, Library

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THE news from the library front in Karachi will not cheer the bibliophiles. The plan for a library, that had been promised way back in 1991 by mayor Farooq Sattar who had earmarked for it a three-acre plot of land in Gulshan-i-Iqbal near the Nipa Chowrangi, has now been dropped.

A hospital is to be built there instead. Fifteen years ago, a lot of fanfare had attended the launching of this scheme that was to be designated a city library. Architects were invited to submit designs for this institution and three entries were selected for prizes worth Rs 100,000. The building plan was approved.
Continue reading Creating a library culture →

Not a caring state at all

Book Reviews, Health

Reviewed By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

THIS is a remarkable book. In just 200-plus pages, it sums up everything that needs to be said about the health sector in Pakistan. It recalls its 50-year history, analyses the factors that have determined the state of the health of the nation, laments the grim statistics,sums up the changes that have taken place — for better or for worse — and makes useful recommendations. Of course, one has to be a die-hard optimist to believe that the sensible advice given by the author will actually be accepted by those who are in the corridors of power.
Continue reading Not a caring state at all →