Dear Mr Kundi, I beg to differ
In his untiring and relentless efforts to safeguard the glory of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mr Faisal Karim Kundi has demanded an increase in lawmaker salaries and perks to increase their efficiency. Mr Kundi, dare I say that our lawmakers are already quite efficient in achieving their motive? I strongly believe that the members of the present legislature, especially from the ruling party and its alliances, are the most efficient group of people allegedly focused on corruption, theft and above all authorising a certain person to override the rule of law. As far as the comparison with ...
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Pity the judges and judgements
With apologies to both the great Khalil Gibran and honourable Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, one is proud of this nation which, in the last 65 years, has survived even after breaking up. I beg to differ with two observations of Justice Khosa, one where he said “Pity the Nation” and second where in the final analysis he called people to stand up to defend the constitution, giving reference to the Arab Spring. I was part of this movement even before it was launched. For the first time, as the secretary general of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, I issued the statement ...
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US-Pak: Ghairatmand Pakistan’s right to beg
Sixty years have passed since Pakistan and the US have been in collaboration. This relationship has seen many ups and downs. History has witnessed pompous public welcomings of leaders of both countries, the ‘mi casa es su casa’ (my home is your home) attitude, and also watched hatred-filled rallies against one another. Despite the bipolar relationship, the fact is that this liaison has proven to be beneficial for both countries. Putting aside the rather tempting conspiracy theories, the US has been investing much in the economic and educational development of Pakistan. USAID spends millions of dollars for education in Pakistan. ...
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How golden was Ayub Khan’s era?
The numbers do not lie: in terms of economic growth, former President Ayub Khan was not the best ruler Pakistan ever had. Admittedly, he is in second place and beaten only very narrowly by former President Ziaul Haq: Ayub averaged 5.82% growth during his eleven years in office compared to Zia’s 5.88%. Still, the myth of Ayub’s “Decade of Development” persists and so it is worth examining (on what would have been his 105th birthday), what his record was and how he compared to the rest of Pakistan’s rulers. Perhaps the single biggest reason people remember Ayub’s era fondly is because ...
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New skipper, new squad: Let’s beat Sri Lanka!
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the squads for the tour to Sri Lanka yesterday. The three formats got their own tailored squads with the T20 squad coming up with the biggest surprise. Hafeez has been made the captain for the format and vice-captain to Misbahul Haq in the other two formats as Misbah stood down from international T20 cricket. No formal retirement announcement has been made as yet. Hafeez is affectionately called ‘The Professor’ amongst the team members and is known to think deeply about the game, its strategies and plans, making him the most logical successor to Misbah. He will ...
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Doctors, where art thou?
Pakistan has a count of ‘athara crore awaam’ (thank you, dear politicians, for continuously repeating this in the television talk shows) while the doctor/patient ratio was a mere 1:1,800 in 2010 – that means a single doctor catered to the medical woes of 1,800 people, and the situation has not seen much improvement ever since. The constitution of Pakistan clearly describes that the state has a responsibility, “To provide basic necessities of life, such as, food, clothing, housing, education and medical relief, for all citizens, irrespective of sex, caste, creed or race.” But where does the problem lie? It lies in the fact that ...
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Who tops Pakistan news on social media?
The need to be ‘social’ online is shaping up to be a new rat race for clicks, comments and user engagement among local news media outlets. With an estimated 20 million Pakistanis online and over six million on Facebook, the ability to convert these numbers into tangible, easy-to-measure consumers of news content is, even at this early stage, a new measure of success. Currently media groups are focused on growth and expansion of their user bases (via their sites or social media channels), experimenting with forms of content and content sharing mechanisms and for some, the first phases of trying to ...
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Asad Umar: From Engro to Imran Khan
After all the negativity attached to our trembling politics, corporate tycoon Asad Umar’s addition to the scene is a welcome surprise. Who is Asad Umar? Asad has been with the Engro Corporation for the last 27 years in different capacities, before he finally assumed the position of company CEO and president in 2004. During this period, he played an active role in the complete transformation of his conglomerate, and converted it into a diversified industrial business, with interests ranging from fertilisers, foods, petrochemicals, chemical storage, energy and commodity trading. An amicable and intellectual personality, Umar has enjoyed a great reputation amongst his friends and colleagues. A ...
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US presidential elections 2012: What are we in for?
As America marches towards the 2012 elections, the presidential debates have been at an all time boiling point. Issues on the domestic front may not be of great interest, but the candidates’ stance on foreign and military intervention, foreign aid, and their level of commitment for Israel will naturally find resonance amongst foreign readers. One can’t help but wonder what the elections have in store for the rest of the world, Pakistan in particular. I am sure all of us can recall how, back in 2008, President Obama campaigned on the noble promise of ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, dismantling Guantanamo ...
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Free laptops: Incentive or publicity stunt?
The Punjab government’s initiative of distributing laptops among bright students has invited criticism from all quarters, including Transparency International Pakistan (TIP), which has raised questions about this self-proclaimed transparent process. Initially, the government earmarked Rs2 billion in the annual budget for this scheme and later increased it to Rs3.7 billion. Now, the education department has prepared a PC-I that has projected an amount of Rs4.4 billion for the purchase of 110,000 laptops. The Punjab government inked an agreement with a company for the provision of laptops at the rate of Rs37,700 per unit. The procuring department has now allegedly changed ...
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