I would like to address few allegations made by Mr. Biswanath Halder in the Oct. 2 Daily about Pakistan.

According to Mr. Halder’s understanding, the onstitution of Pakistan leaves no room for infidels and stands only for pure Islam. The fact is that the constitution of Pakistan, like the U.S. Constitution, supports the freedom of speech and religion, and stands for justice and equality. The religious minorities living in Pakistan are treated as well as any other citizen.

Mr. Halder, while commenting on Pakistan’s nuclear program accused Pakistan of declaring its nuclear weapons as “Islamic bombs.” This term was coined in the mid ’80s by international media and has never been used by mainstream Pakistani media. Pakistan’s nuclear program is, and was, in safe hands and its purpose is to use the latest technology for human betterment (such as atomic reactors to generate electricity) as well as act as deterrence.

Mr. Halder also seems to be very concerned about the religious schools in Pakistan. I would like to invite Mr. Halder to study more about Islam, as his fears seem to stem from his misunderstandings. Islam is a religion that stands for peace and justice and thus being a devout Muslim should not be a concern.

The actions of a small fanatic group in any religion can’t be taken as representative of the whole religion.

Pakistan is a peace-loving country and its foreign policy reflects its desire to have a peaceful world. Pakistani forces were a part of the peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Somalia. Also, Pakistan has always condemned terrorism in all of its forms. Pakistan has not only condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, but is providing every possible support to curb the terrorist networks. In the past, Pakistan supported the world against the communist aggression in Afghanistan, and indeed paid a heavy price for that. It is hosting 3 to 4 million refugees from the last two decades and this has weakened its economy.

Now, ethically it’s the world’s responsibility to help Pakistan overcome its financial problems. However, to say that Pakistan is “on the brink of internal collapse” is just wishful thinking.

Pakistan has overcome many difficulties in the past, and will be able to do so in this case too, though it expects the world to help it.

Raza Ul-Mustafa

Graduate

Computer engineering