1940 resolution, Constitution ‘deserve respect’

March 28, 2007
By Sohail Sangi
THE judicial crisis grabbed the attention of the Sindhi press for the second week running.All the major papers editorialised on the interview of President Pervez Musharraf in which he conceded that the government made some mistakes in the handling of the reference against Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.The daily Ibrat writes that to `admit mistakes is a good sign but equally important is its rectification’. While the newspaper welcomes the president’s apology over the attack on the Islamabad office of Geo TV, it says equally important is for the powers that be to ensure that such `mistakes’ are not repeated and the Constitution is given the sanctity it deserves.Daily Awami Awaz, while referring to the 1940 resolution, says its non-implementation led to the dismemberment of Pakistan, warning that `continued disregard’ of the resolution could prove disastrous yet again.Daily Kawish, commenting on the water shortage in Hyderabad, laments that 70 per cent of the population has no access to clean drinking water. The paper recalls that at a recent meeting of the local bodies department, government officials conceded that a majority of the people drink contaminated water, causing water-borne diseases. The Kawish says the situation demands action on war footing Another editorial in the newspaper terms unjust the decision to restrict admission to Karachi’s Dow Medical University to students domiciled in the city. The paper says the decision would mean that no student from the interior of Sindh would get admission to the institution.The Kawish sees the move as part of a conspiracy to widen the ethnic divide in Sindh.The newspaper deplores the increase in transport fares, terming the decision unjustified. The Kawish writes that the latest increase would compound the misery of the poor, coming as it does on recent back-breaking increases in prices of sugar, cement and pulses. “The indifference of the government to the plight of the poor and its claims about prosperity are like rubbing salt into wound,” the daily writes.The daily Koshish has editorialised on the disappearance and death of a minor boy in Padedan, Naushehro Feroze district.The body was found in a drain. The paper says this was not the first incident of its kind in the province, calling upon the administration to shed its `apathy’ and take remedial measures to stop the loss of lives.