Letters to the Editor (May 2019)

PUBG: THE KILLER GAME

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), made by South Korean firm Bluehole Inc, is a popular online game that different people, even students, are involved in nowadays. This game makes students lazy because it has been created in such a way that people are readily attracted towards it. In PUBG, 100 people are there in an island where they have to kill each other and the last survivor will be the winner. Owing to its hazardous impacts on students, this game has been banned by many countries because of its detrimental influence on the population. For instance, Nepal, Iraq and India’s western Gujarat state have banned the game after concerns over its impact on the young. But, still, a number of Pakistanis are getting trapped into it. In the past, we have seen many people playing challenging games like “Blue whale” and “Momo” committing suicides. The government must act immediately to ban this game in Pakistan so that our youth do not fall prey to its hazards. It is necessary to keep our future generations away from activities that are harmful not only to them but also to their families and fellow citizens.

Rahmat Shafique, (Turbat)

SEPARATE BUSES FOR KARACHI WOMEN

Local bus service is the only source for many Karachiites because it is less costly than other means of transportation. But, on the other hand, it is perilous for the people. The first issue is that women, especially the students of various colleges and universities, face a lot of troubles while travelling in these buses. There are only 7 seats reserved for women in a bus but since they have to go to their respective destinations, they manage and as many as 10 women settle in that limited space. Secondly, conductors allow more and more people to enter as they only think of the money they get from them. They don’t care for their safety. And when buses are overloaded, accidents are more likely to occur. The third issue the women face in these overcrowded buses is sexual harassment by male passengers or sometime by bus conductors. Although women face such acute problems almost daily, no one has dared to raise voice against this.

So, I request my prime minister, Imran Khan, to provide easy and safe travelling facilities to women of Karachi by starting separate buses for women. The step the PTI government has taken in Mardan where the conductors in women-specific are also women, should be emulated here in Karachi.

Safia Malik Imtiaz (Karachi)

SALU’S PHARMACY DEPARTMENT 

I recently visited Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU) Khairpur, and came to know that its “Pharmacy Department” has not been registered since its inception. Students of the department are facing huge, knotty issues. They have been raising their voice in the form of protests against the management of the SALU but nothing has changed. The university has failed to get the pharmacy department registered with the “Pharmacy Council of Pakistan” and it is tantamount to jeopardizing the future of hundreds of students.

I request the Sindh government to resolve this serious issue at the earliest for the sake of saving the students from the claws of unemployment in the future.

Asadullah Mughal (Khairpur)

STATE AND ITS CITIZENS 

State can be defined as a mother, and its citizens are like her children. Among all the responsibilities, providing security to its citizens is the most important duty and responsibility of a state. Unfortunately, like many other underdeveloped countries, Pakistan has also failed in providing this basic need to the people of Pakistan. We have seen a number of attacks on different ethnic groups like Hazaras, and people belonging to different faiths like Christians, Sikhs, etc. But, even the noted political, religious academic figures are also not safe. On top of that is the ongoing issue of missing persons that has tormented many families. While successive governments tried their best to improve the law and order situation in the country, the problem is that the government just focuses on development rather than ensuring security for its citizen. This must change now and providing security to the citizens of the state of Pakistan should be made a top priority.

Ghulam Muhammad Channa (Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad)