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Page 2/The Battalion/Wednesday, August 14,1985 "V ^ OPINION Pakistan: On the movex politically, economically EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the First in a two-part series on Pakistan, which celebrates its day of indepen dence today. For a country that is situated in a geographically im portant place and the only ally America has in the Sub- Continent, it is surprising how few Americans know about Pakistan. All the average American seems to know about Pakistan is its nuclear program. But Pa kistan is a country which has its own dis tinctive people, culture and way of life. Perhaps what makes Pakistan so im portant on the world’s political scene is its location. It borders a communist su per power, China, on the north. On its east is the Soviet Union’s strongest ally, India. On its west is Afghanistan. The USSR is a mere 10 miles from its northwestern boundaries, but for all practical purposes, because of the inva sion of Afghanistan, it touches borders with the Soviet Union in a physical sense. The Arabian Sea which leads to the Gulf of Hermuz — the main stream of world oil flow — touches the port city of Karachi, which makes Pakistan more than just an interest to the United States and the Soviet Union. Pakistan represents a variety of ethnic groups mostly of Caucasoid stock who can trace their heritage back to the no mads who migrated to this part of the world out of the steppes of Central Asia after 2000 B.C. These were followed by the Persians, Greeks, Pushtuns, Mogals and Mughals. All these different people lent to the rich culture of the Sub-Conti nent. In the late 8th Century came the Mos lems who not only bent their own dis tinct life style to this part of the world but also introduced and preached their religion. Thus developed a new class of people apart from the others in this area who established their empire in South East Asia and ruled the area from the 12th Century until they gave way to the British in the 19th Century. These Moslems, revolting against the British Empire, fought for and gained an independent country — a country where they could freely practice their religious beliefs and live their own lives — a country called Pakistan. The different backgrounds of the people can perhaps best be seen in the national language, Urdu, which is a mixture of many different languages, such as Arabic, Turkish and Persian. The major regional languages are Sindhi, Punjabi, Baluchi and Pushto, corresponding to the four provinces which make up Pakistan.Due to the in fluence of British colonization, Pakistan borrowed heavily from British thought in setting up the country — which is evi dent in its politics and educational sys tem. Ninety-seven percent of Pakistan’s 83,200,000 population (1981 census) are Moslems. Most of the other 3 per cent are mostly Christians. All the reli gious minorities are guaranteed com- lete religious freedom in the onstitution. At the time of independence Pakistan was an underdeveloped nation. All the major industies in undivided India had best set up in India. As such Pakistan was economically hard pressed to meet its urgent domestic need to keep pace with the world which was advancing technologically at a phenomenal rate. Considering it had to start from scratch, Pakistan’s development in the past 38 years has been heartening. At the time of independence, Pakistan was providing raw materials to the indus tries in India. But today Pakistan has evolved its economy into a more inte grated and diverse program and hence made it more dependable. It processes, manufactures and exports many goods such as textiles, sports equipment and surgical materials, from its own raw materials . It is among the 10 major cot ton exporting nations in the world. It is also the fourtn largest rice exporting na tion. Another major crop is wheat which is largely used to meet domestic market needs. Among the mineral resources are coal, low-grade iron ore and petroleum. However these petroleum deposits are too small to meet the industries growing need for fuel. Most of this deficiency is made up bv the large resources of natu ral gas. Although seven fields con taining enormous deposits of natural gas have been discovered, Pakistan is di versifying to more dependable energy sources. In this context, the nuclear program is extremely important in order to pro vide local industries the strong founda tion on which they can base the coun try’s economic future. The backbone of Pakistan’s economy is agriculture with 3/4th of the country’s population living off the land, the major land resource is the fertile, alluvial soils of its eastern lowland which is irrigated by the Indus River and its tributaries. Due to this heavy dependence on land, Pakistan has one of the largest, most sophisticated and efficient canal systems in the world. It also has a great potential in hydro-electric programs with some of tne largest dams in the world including the Tarbela and Man- gala. Since the opening of the steel mills at Pipri last year, the neavy and small in dustries of Pakistan that were previously dependent on imports of raw materials have been given a boost. This has allo cated the interest of the private sector in Pakistan that competes for local and for eign markets. Pakistan is eager to make the most of the micro chip revolution. There is no duty on importation of computer equip ment and accessories and emphasis is placed on many aspects of basic and ap plied research in the private sector and the defense establishment. Pakistan is marching ahead, knowing its most important asset is the upcoming eneration. As long as this resource can e captalized through education and productive jobs, it will continue to bol ster its economy against the intensely competitive world market. Syed Naved Aftab and Fayyaz ul Haq are members of the Pakistan Club at Texas A&M. Syed Naved Aftab & Fayyaz ul Haq Guest Columnists United Feature Syndicate Mail Call Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves therigliii letters for style and length but will make every effort to maintain the author's intent Each hr be signed and must include the address and telephone number of the writer. One way Ireland not the right way to go EDITOR: For the benefit of those who missed the notice: streets. Anthony Tripp Bryan Red tape monster attacks A&M students EDITOR: Has Texas A&M become a red tape, bureaucratic society to you? Today, I went to East Kyle to play basketball, but to my dismay, I was not allowed entrance because I did not have a current Texas A&M identification card. However, I did have in my posses sion 1) a paid fee slip for Summer Ses sion II 2) a fee slip for the Fall of 1985 that had been marked “paid” on that same day 3) a current Texas Driver’s Li cense. This identification said I was en rolled at the present time, and I would be enrolled in the fall. Even with all the identification I did have, I could not en ter. Something is severely wrong! People ask me what I think of A&M. I used to say, “A&M is a friendly, people- oriented place.” Today, my view nas changed. A&M is now a place where your number and your card are all-im portant. Rational thinking and common sense are no longer a part of the process at A&M. A giant, ugly monster has grown. It is time that A&M attempts to recall what made it into what at one time was a great place. At the present time, this institution is not being all that it can be to its students. Robert Stanfield Class of ’87 Simple cure for AIDS EDITOR: Modern living presents us with some complex health problems. Medical re search seeks solutions, but —once sci ence and the media raise awareness of the threats —society at large has a good track record for finding ways of mini mizing the immediate dangers. We were told of a link between to bacco and various cancers. Millions of us responded by giving up smoking. We were told alcohol was injuring our unborn babies, damaging our livers, and making us fat. Millions of us re sponded by giving up the bottle. Now that the human tragedy of screen star Rock Hudson is front page to ml news, may I propose a way AIDS epidemic?. A way I nearni its desperate victims advocating,, Bill Hough Class of’T Nicaragua explaii On August 12, after many years of consideration, Asbury, Spence and Ire land streets become one-way. This to re lieve the traffic bottlenecks that occur a few times each day. Since Asbury and Spence are narrow streets with no con trolled access to University Dr. it seems reasonable to make themone-way com ing into the campus, since the main problem is trying to leave the campus by crossing University Dr. EDITOR: After reading Karl Pallmeyer’s id mg of August 2,1 feel compelled tobi But Ireland St. is a wide 2-lane street with controlled access to University Drive via a traffic signal. Making this street one-way off of the campus in no way lessens tne bottle neck that forms during the rush periods. (I refrain from using the word ‘ nour” since the “rush” never lasts for more than 20 minutes.) ipt light some facts about tne current lion in Nicaragua. Since the nista victory two moderate memte the Junta have resigned in frustnt due to the Marxist path taken b)l cohorts. One of these former Arturo Cruz, heads the Coordii Nicaragua’s most prominent oppoi: group It will probably increase the traffic problem, since people on Asbury and Spence will have to use Ireland when leaving the campus. In the-so called free election Coordinatora along with five ( moderate parties refused to panic: citing Sandinista harassment censorship. Furthermore every i European democracy, save the Nei lands, refused to send official elec observers to validate the proceed In 1982, Sandinista defense nil and war hero Eden Pastora resiptt disgust and took up arms former comrades. So why make Ireland a one-way street when it will only be making it more in convenient for the driver? Why imple ment this change when in a short time 30,000 people, not familiar with this change, arrive on campus? Why not leave Ireland St. alone and postpone the change for another month so that the returning students and visitors for home football games can be informed?. Until these people know what is being done it will not be safe to use these While some Contras are uni nably former members of the national guard, many others are cuted Miskito Indians and d Sandinistas who feel their leaden! lost touch with the revolution's y ciples. They fight against an army wbi armed and trained by the sameG advisers responsible for the blood; wars in Angola and Ethiopia. Thev visers also train Marxist guerrillas' are trying to topple the duly elt: government in neighboring El Salu: To blame the Reagan administU for aiding the Contras and notr mention the millions of dollars s| arming the Sandinistas by Cuba f pocrisy at its best. Mr. Pallmeyer might claim that!' the situation in Nicaraguawii blinded eye. To this I say, ’ blinded eye than one that sees it would like to see. Andrew Whelan ’87 The Battalion USPS 045 360 Member of Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Conference The Battalion Editorial Board Kellie Dworaczyk, Editor Kay Mallett, John Hallett, NewsEditon :Ff ay Loren Stexfy, Opinion Page Editor Sarah Oates, City Editor Travis Tingle, Sports Editor The Battalion Staff Assistant City Editor Katherine Ht' Assistant News Editors Cathie Anderson, Trent LeopN Entertainment Editors Cathy Riely, WalterSmt Staff Writers Karen Blod Ed Cassavoy, Jerry Osiir Brian Eeas Copy Editor Trent Leop# Malce-up Editor Ed Cassavo Columnists Cheryl Clad Karl Pallmey Photographers GregBailf Anthony Caspf Editorial Policy The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting nt*ii operated as a community service to Texas Am H Bryan-College Station. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are thoseol'i " ' ' ~ rd i Editorial Board or the author, and do not neceiiaijKf nnv resent the opinions of Texas A&M administraton,t or the Board of Regents. 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