Category: Notes from Pakistan

Notes from Pakistan

Dr. Abdus Salam and his Science of Development

Intellectually Pakistan is quite a barren country.
One reason, it has never encouraged the spirit of free inquiry.
Instead, it goes for short-cuts to grab “progress,” “growth,” “development,” — thinking them as separate manifestations having no links with knowledge.
In the wake of 9/11, in a local mosque in Shahdrah, Lahore, it was prayed: O God, give us all that America has achieved!
Professor Dr. Abdus Salam too contributed to that short-cut thinking. Especially during Zia-ul-Haq regime and at his instance, there were hectic efforts to promote the education of Science and Technology in Pakistan.
I had reservations on that approach, and wrote the following letter to Dr. Salam:
Lahore, Pakistan
May 2, 1988
Dear Sir,
Of course, it is not pleasant to differ with our ideas, but one cannot help, he ought to disclose his differences honestly.
You are of the clear opinion that to attain the present level
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The Kashmir conflict: how to keep it alive

The Kashmir conflict, like other ones such as Palestine, does have a history. Parties to it write, rewrite and exploit this history to a point where its ability to offer a solution becomes precarious. Besides, this kind of use of history complicates the conflict inextricably, and one wonders whether it would ever be possible to resolve it. So, I think, instead of delving into the history of Kashmir conflict, it’s better to look forward to its possible resolutions.
For the last decade, I have ignored the news stories on Kashmir (and Palestine, as well). I do not read them with serious attention — not that I am callous to the suffering of the people, but because I am too much concerned with the misery of the people, the real victims of these conflicts. Also, because I know what the stories may contain; I know what they would recount; I know
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 16: Make a fake project and plunder the tax money of the citizens

Enver Baig’s 2008 report on ‘Tawana Pakistan’ still not implemented

ISLAMABAD:The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) took almost four years to probe multi-billion scam of Tawana Pakistan Project and is still probing, but a Senate sub-committee headed by former Senator Enver Baig in September 2008 had investigated the scam and identified all the accused involved in it. However, the findings were dumped in the Senate Secretariat since 2008 and government did not touch it. During his tenure as a senator, Enver Baig continued to raise hue and cry for taking action against all accused on the basis of his report, but all proved to be a cry in the wilderness.
The sub-committee of the Senate Committee on Social Welfare headed by former Senator Enver Baig had recommended to the government to take stern action to recover the embezzled public money which was spent on purchase through fictitious bills and by
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Karachi Baldia factory fire – revengeful bias, elitist clout, or lawful justice?

On the one side are the victims’ families, Leftist groups, and NGOs, and the sympathizers of the victims of the Baldia factory fire, who demand that the owners of Baldia garment factory be tried for planned murder of the workers. Finally they have come to demand that the said factory be converted into a rehabilitation center for the victims’ families.

Looking for a way out? – SHC reserves order on Baldia factory owners’ bail plea
[The photo published in The News on January 29, 2013]
“Several NGOs had gone to court on Saturday (Jan 26) against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for his alleged interference. They also asked the court to order conversion of the factory into a rehabilitation centre for the victims’ families. The division bench headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir issued notices to the respondents to file their respective comments by February 14.”
Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/500055/looking-for-a-way-out-shc-reserves-order-on-baldia-factory-owners-bail-plea/
[The Express Tribune,
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 15: Government waived Rs.360 billion in taxes, duties in 5 years

Senate question hour: ‘Govt waived Rs360b in taxes, duties in 5 years’

ISLAMABAD: The government waived taxes and duties worth Rs.360 billion to various entities in the last five years through official orders, State Minister for Finance, Saleem Mandviwalla informed the Senate on Tuesday.
The Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs), official paperwork without which the bureaucratic machinery does not move, were issued to accommodate the waivers and by-pass existing laws that could not be changed overnight, Mandviwalla said, replying to a question posed by Pakistan Muslim League-N Senator Nuzhat Sadiq.
During its tenure the government waived around Rs.298.1 billion worth of inland revenues, including income tax and sales tax, and Rs.61.3 billion worth of customs duties.
The SROs on tax collection from export-oriented sectors, including textile, could not be changed under the existing circumstances. “The exporting sectors enjoy a zero-rate tax to provide them a competitive edge in the international market
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Has Admiral Fasih Bokhari (Retired) now changed?

It was back in the days when the lawyers’ movement for the rule of law was at its zenith. On the 9th of March, 2007, a word of NO uttered by a man representing the law before a man representing the might had acquired the status of a catchword. The same NO had come to symbolize a movement for the supremacy of the law in Pakistan. Such a moral strength was latent in that NO that it had awakened the consciences dead in slumber for decades. Endorsement for the rule of the constitution and the law in Pakistan came from such unexpected quarters where voices supporting the military dictatorships used to come from heretofore. Surprisingly they were the same people who gave finishing touches to the past military takeovers. That was the greatest moral victory of this movement!
Then, came the day all bright with the restoration of Iftikahr
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 12: Pak politicians taking our taxes, not paying their own: UK minister

Pak politicians taking our taxes, not paying their own: UK minister

LONDON: International Development Secretary Justine Greening has defended giving millions in aid to Pakistan amid suggestions the Pakistani politicians were “taking our taxes” while not paying their own. 
Pakistan receives more money in aid than almost any other state but a report last December claimed two-thirds of its MPs have not filled out tax returns, including its top rulers. Sir Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the Commons International Development committee, raised fears that Pakistan’s approach was “we’ll take your money and do what we please.” 
He asked the secretary of state: “What influence do we have over the Pakistan government? They are taking aid programmes; they are taking our taxes, not paying their own taxes. There are billions of pounds they have got in bank accounts yet they are taking money from the IMF. Everybody collectively says we expect them
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 11: Avenging the law!

LHC stays proceedings in PML-Q MPs damages suits

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday stayed the proceeding of a civil court hearing Rs 50 million damages suits of PML-Q MNA Ch Wajahat Hussain and MPA Moonis Elahi against former additional deputy inspector general FIA and investigation officer of NICL scam case, Zafar Qureshi.
The court issued this order on a petition moved by Zafar Qureshi challenging order of lower court wherein his plea for dismissal of suit was rejected.Chaudhrys of Gujrat had filed suits against Qureshi alleging that he had tarnished the image of their family and damaged their political goodwill to a great extent. 
Zafar Qureshi through his counsel Khawaja Saeeduz Zafar contended that he had no personal grudge against Moonis Elahi or his family and conducted investigation purely on merit in the light of Supreme Court’s directions. 
He pointed out that such suits could not be
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 10: PAC for abolishing doling out plots to bureaucrats and agricultural land to generals

ISLAMABAD: While giving “Plot Amnesty”  to those top bureaucrats and judges who got more than two plots in the past under the Prime Minister’s Special Incentive Package, the Public Accounts Committee has recommended abolishing the existing plot policy by suggesting to the government to cancel the summary for awarding plots to top bureaucrats under the Prime Minister’s Special Incentive package in future, abolishing all the special quotas, including of generals, judges, journalists except widows, martyrs and (disabled) persons and no more agricultural land allotments to the generals, judges and politicians except the families of martyrs.
Under the Prime Minister Special Incentive Package that was initiated during the tenure of a former prime minister, the top grade bureaucrats were given the plots on their promotion in grade 22.
The PAC met here Wednesday (December 19, 2012) with its Chairman Nadeem Afzal Gondal in the chair. The meeting examined the plot policy,
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