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Posted by aka in Islam: The Universal Message of Peace, Pakistan's Ruling Elite Feudals Industrialists, Rabi-Zidni-Ilma on February 14th, 2013
Salaam and good evening!
Shame on you Shabs, calling in an old man like that, showing his daughters pictures to him? Do you have any idea what sort of damage you dictators have done to families over the years? Imagine how utterly devastated he must have been and how humiliated he must have felt, when men he considers to be in a position of authority are exposing his daughter like that in front of him? Shabir you have a daughter don’t you? Think for a second, Get your sick and twisted brain in gear and just imagine that were you and your daughter being exposed like that? Don’t like it do you? Who are you to question her, when your fellow colleagues have children who put teens in America on ‘Girls Gone Wild’ to shame? Do you want me to expose them, because I can easily do that, but only if you promise you take the same actions against them! No, but you cant manage that can you? Why? Because you are all a bunch of hypocrites.
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Definition:Qadianiyyah is a movement that started in 1900 CE as a plot by the British colonialists in the Indian subcontinent, with the aim of diverting Muslims away from their religion and from the obligation of jihaad in particular, so that they would not oppose colonialism in the name of Islam. The mouthpiece of this movement is the magazine Majallat Al-Adyaan (Magazine if Religions) which was published in English. – Foundation and prominent personalities:Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani (1839-1908 CE) was the main tool by means of which Qadianiyyah was founded. He was born in the village of Qadian, in the Punjab, in India, in 1839 CE. He came from a family that was well known for having betrayed its religion and country, so Ghulam Ahmad grew up loyal and obedient to the colonialists in every sense. Thus he was chosen for the role of a so-called prophet, so that the Muslims would gather around him and he would distract them from waging jihaad against the English colonialists. The British government did lots of favours for them, so they were loyal to the British. Ghulam Ahmad was known among his followers to be unstable, with a lot of health problems and dependent on drugs. Among those who confronted him and his evil da’wah was Shaykh Abu’l-Wafa’ Thana’ al-Amritsari, the leader of Jama’iyyat Ahl al-Hadeeth fi ‘Umoom al-Hind (The All-India Society of Ahl al-Hadeeth). The Shaykh debated with him and refuted his arguments, revealing his ulterior motives and Kufr and the deviation of his way. When Ghulam Ahmad did not come to his senses, Shaykh Abu’l-Wafa’ challenged him to come together and invoke the curse of Allaah, such that the one who was lying would die in the lifetime of the one who was telling the truth. Only a few days passed before Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani died, in 1908 CE, leaving behind more than fifty books, pamphlets and articles, among the most important of which are: Izaalat al-Awhaam (Dispelling illusions), I’jaaz Ahmadi (Ahmadi miracles), Baraaheen Ahmadiyyah (Ahmadi proofs), Anwaar al-Islam (Lights of Islam), I’jaaz al-Maseeh (Miracles of the Messiah), al-Tableegh (Conveying (the message))and Tajalliyyaat Ilaahiyyah (Divine manifestations). Noor al-Deen (Nuruddin): the first Khaleefah of the Qadianis. The British put the crown of Khilaafah on his head, so the disciples (of Ghulam Ahmad) followed him. Among his books is: Fasl al-Khitaab (Definitive statement). Muhammad Ali and Khojah Kamaal al-Deen: the two leaders of the Lahore Qadianis. They are the ones who gave the final shape to the movement. The former produced a distorted translation into English of the Qur’aan. His other works include: Haqeeqat al-Ikhtilaaf (The reality of differences), al-Nubuwwah fi’l-Islam (Prophethood in Islam) and al-Deen al-Islami (The Islamic religion). As for Khojah Kamaal al-Deen, he wrote a book called al-Mathal al-A’laa fi’l-Anbiya’ (The highest example of the Prophets), and other books. This Lahore group of Ahmadis are those who think of Ghulam Ahmad as a Mujaddid (renewer or reviver of Islam) only, but both groups are viewed as a single movement because odd ideas that are not seen in the one will surely be found in the other. Muhammad Ali: the leader of the Lahore Qadianis. He was one of those who gave the final shape to Qadianiyyah, a colonialist spy and the person in charge of the magazine which was the voice of the Qadianiyyah. He also produced a distorted translation into English of the Qur’aan. Among his works are Haqeeqat al-Ikhtilaaf (The reality of differences), and al-Nubuwwah fi’l-Islam (Prophethood in Islam), as stated above. Muhammad Saadiq, the mufti of the Qadianiyyah. His works include: Khatim al-Nabiyyeen The seal of the Prophets). Basheer Ahmad ibn Ghulam. His works include: Seerat al-Mahdi (the life of the Mahdi) and Kalimat al-Fasl (Decisive word). Mahmood Ahmad ibn Ghulam, his second Khaleefah. Among his works are: Anwaar al-Khilaafah (Lights of the caliphate), Tuhfat al-Mulook and Haqeeqat al-Nubuwwah (The reality of prophethood). The appointment of the Qadiani Zafar-Allaah Khan as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan had a major effect in supporting this deviant sect, as he gave them a large area in the province of the Punjab to be their world headquarters, which they named Rabwah (high ground) as in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “… And We gave them refuge on high ground (rabwah), a place of rest, security and flowing streams.” [al-Mu’minoon 23:50]. – Their thought and beliefs: Ghulam Ahmad began his activities as an Islamic daa’iyah (caller to Islam) so that he could gather followers around him, then he claimed to be a mujaddid inspired by Allaah. Then he took a further step and claimed to be the Awaited Mahdi and the Promised Messiah. Then he claimed to be a Prophet and that his prophethood was higher than that of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Qadianis believe that Allaah fasts, prays, sleeps, wakes up, writes, makes mistakes and has intercourse – exalted be Allaah far above all that they say. The Qadiani believes that his god is English because he speaks to him in English. The Qadianis believe that Prophethood did not end with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but that it is ongoing, and that Allaah sends a messenger when there is a need, and that Ghulam Ahmad is the best of all the Prophets. They believe that Jibreel used to come down to Ghulam Ahmad and that he used to bring revelation to him, and that his inspirations are like the Qur’aan. They say that there is no Qur’aan other than what the “Promised Messiah” (Ghulam Ahmad) brought, and no hadeeth except what is in accordance with his teachings, and no Prophet except under the leadership of Ghulam Ahmad. They believe that their book was revealed. Its name is al-Kitaab al-Mubeen and it is different from the Holy Qur’aan. They believe that they are followers of a new and independent religion and an independent Sharee’ah, and that the friends of Ghulam are like the Sahaabah. They believe that Qadian is like Madeenah and Makkah, if not better than them, and that its land is sacred. It is their Qiblah and the place they make hajj to. They called for the abolition of jihaad and blind obedience to the British government because, as they claimed, the British were “those in authority” as stated in the Qur’aan. In their view every Muslim is a Kaafir unless he becomes a Qadiani, and everyone who married a non-Qadiani is also a kaafir. They allow alcohol, opium, drugs and intoxicants. – Intellectual and ideological roots:The westernizing movement of Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan paved the way for the emergence of the Qadianiyyah, because it had already spread deviant ideas. The British made the most of this opportunity so they started the Qadiani movement and chose a man from a family that had a history of being agents of the colonialists. In 1953 CE, there was a popular revolution in Pakistan which demanded the removal of Zafar-Allaah Khan from the position of Foreign Minister and that the Qadiani sect should be regarded as a non-Muslim minority. In this uprising around ten thousand Muslims were martyred, and they succeeded in having the Qadiani minister removed from office. In Rabee’ al-Awwal 1394 AH (April 1974), a major conference was held by the Muslim World League in Makkah, which was attended by representatives of Muslim organizations from around the world. This conference announced that this sect is Kaafir and is beyond the pale of Islam, and told Muslims to resist its dangers and not to cooperate with the Qadianis or bury their dead in Muslim graveyards. The Majlis al-Ummah in Pakistan (the central parliament) debated with the Qadiani leader Mirza Naasir Ahmad, and he was refuted by Shaykh Mufti Mahmood (may Allaah have mercy on him). The debate went on for nearly thirty hours but Naasir Ahmad was unable to give answers and the Kufr of this group was exposed, so the Majlis issued a statement that the Qadianis should be regarded as a non-Muslim minority. – Among the factors that make Mirza Ghulam Ahmad an obvious Kaafir are the following:His claim to be a Prophet His abolition of the duty of jihaad, to serve the interests of the colonialists. His saying that people should no longer go on Hajj to Makkah, and his substitution of Qadian as the place of pilgrimage. His belief in the transmigration of souls and incarnation. His attributing a son to Allaah and his claim to be the son of God. His denying that Prophethood ended with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his regarding the door of Prophethood to be open to “any Tom, Dick or Harry”. The Qadianis have strong ties with Israel. Israel has opened centres and schools for them, and helped them to publish a magazine which is their mouthpiece, to print books and publications for distribution worldwide. The fact that they are influenced by Judaism, Christianity and al-Baatiniyyah is clear from their beliefs and practices, even though they claim to be Muslims. – Their spread and positions of influence:Most of the Qadianis nowadays live in India and Pakistan, with a few in Israel and the Arab world. They are trying, with the help of the colonialists, to obtain sensitive positions in all the places where they live. The Qadianis are very active in Africa and in some western countries. In Africa they have more than 5,000 teachers and dai’yahs working full-time to call people to Qadianiyyah. Their wide-spread activity proves that they have the support of the colonialists. The British government is also supporting this movement and making it easy for their followers to get positions in world governments, corporate administration and consulates. Some of them are also high-ranking officers in the secret services. In calling people to their beliefs, the Qadianis use all kinds of methods, especially educational means, because they are highly-educated and there are many scientists, engineers and doctors in their ranks. In Britain there is a satellite TV channel called Islamic TV which is run by the Qadianis. – From the above, it is clear that:Qadianiyyah is a misguided group, which is not part of Islam at all. Its beliefs are completely contradictory to Islam, so Muslims should beware of their activities, since the ‘Ulama’ (scholars) of Islam have stated that they are Kaafirs. For more information see: Al-Qadianiyyah by Ihsaan Ilaahi Zaheer. (Translator’s note: this book is available in English under the title “Qadiyaniat: an analytical survey” by Ehsan Elahi Zaheer) Reference: Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Muyassarah fi’l-Adyaan al-Madhaahib wa’l-Ahzaab al-Mu’aasirah by Dr. Maani’ Hammad al-Juhani, 1/419-423 – The following statement was published by the Islamic Fiqh Council (Majma’ al-Fiqh al-Islami): After discussing the question put to the Islamic Fiqh Council in Capetown, South Africa, concerning the ruling on the Qadianis and their off-shoot which is known as Lahoriyyah, and whether they should be counted as Muslims or not, and whether a non-Muslim is qualified to examine an issue of this nature: In the light of research and documents presented to the members of the council concerning Mirza Ghulam Ahmad al-Qadiani, who emerged in India in the last century and to whom is attributed the Qadiani and Lahori movements, and after pondering the information presented on these two groups, and after confirming that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed to be a prophet who received revelation, a claim which is documented in his own writings and speeches, some of which he claimed to have received as revelation, a claim which he propagated all his life and asked people to believe in, just as it is also well-known that he denied many other things which are proven to be essential elements of the religion of Islam in the light of the above, the Council issued the following statement: Firstly: the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be a prophet or a messenger and to receive revelation are clearly a rejection of proven and essential elements of Islam, which unequivocally states that Prophethood ended with Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and that no revelation will come to anyone after him. This claim made by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad makes him and anyone who agrees with him an apostate who is beyond the pale of Islam. As for the Lahoriyyah, they are like the Qadianiyyah: the same ruling of apostasy applies to them despite the fact that they described Mirza Ghulam Ahmad as a shadow and manifestation of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Secondly: it is not appropriate for a non-Muslim court or judge to give a ruling on who is a Muslim and who is an apostate, especially when this goes against the consensus of the scholars and organizations of the Muslim Ummah. Rulings of this nature are not acceptable unless they are issued by a Muslim scholar who knows all the requirements for being considered a Muslim, who knows when a person may be deemed to have overstepped the mark and become an apostate, who understands the realities of Islam and kufr, and who has comprehensive knowledge of what is stated in the Qur’aan, Sunnah and scholarly consensus. |
Posted by admin in Education, Rabi-Zidni-Ilma on February 3rd, 2013
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A Pakistani Ivy University in the Making?
ABC’s Nightline program sometime back was as usual a pack of distortions about a country that remains steadfast in its support for the US. Entitled `The most dangerous country in the world,’ the program focused on the emotional outbursts of a diehard segment of Pakistan society and the fulminations of misguided pacifists known for their opposition to Pakistan’s nuclear program.
It conveniently ignored the country’s march in different fields and the progressive nature of Pakistan society. It was a willful and wanton attempt to smear the image of Pakistan.
Yet, there was one positive comment that seemed to have unwittingly slipped from Ted Koppel’s lashing tongue: Some of the world’s best schools are in Pakistan! As the compliment was paid – grudgingly or ungrudgingly – the ABC camera panned across a classroom full of young boys and girls. Their uniforms looked familiar. Was it a Beaconhouse School chapter? I was not sure.
Yet the compliment – `some of the world’s best schools are in Pakistan’ – reechoed in my ears, and justifiably so. My own son had studied at the PECHS Chapter of Beaconhouse. He was later to win a scholarship and excel in studies on migration to the US, thanks to the excellent school education he had received in Pakistan.
Blissfully, the Beaconhouse School System has seen a marked growth in recent years. Its branches dot the country’s landscape and their number is fast multiplying. Founded by Mrs. Nasreen Kasuri and Mian Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, the System is the largest private network of schools with 40,000 students This wholesome trend testifies to the fact that private schools today play a complementary, nay, catalytic role in strengthening the education sector in Pakistan. They have a chain reaction effect and in this enterprise Beaconhouse’s example stands out, thanks to the painstaking strivings of Mrs. Kasuri who has been at the helm of the School System since its inception.
An earlier write-up in Pakistan Link furnished a fresh proof of Beaconhouse’s sustained growth: “With the largest private network of schools in Asia, it was only a matter of time before the Beaconhouse School System was ready to take the quantum leap into the higher education sector. The Beaconhouse National University Foundation (BNUF) has been recently established with the express purpose of setting up the Beaconhouse National University at Lahore.”
The Foundation and its Boards of Trustees and Directors comprise members whose commitment to education and idealism are exemplary: Dr Moeen Qureshi (former Prime Minister of Pakistan), Dr Malik M. Hasan (Chairman and CEO, Healthnet and Founder Malik & Seeme Hasan School of Business – CSU- in the US), Lord Robert Maclennan (Member, House of Lords, United Kingdom), Dr Parvez Hassan (Founder Member, Lahore University of Management Sciences – LUMS), Mr. Kasim Kasuri (Founder and CE of Beaconhouse -Informatics), Mr.
Shamim S. Khan (Principal, Aitchison College, Lahore), Mr. Shahid Hafiz Kardar (eminent economist and former Finance Minister, Govt. of Punjab), and Mrs. Nasreen Kasuri (Founder and CE Beaconhouse School Systems).
There were more heart-warming details: “Some live on traditions, we create them. What do we offer? Exciting programs in School of Visual Arts, School of Liberal Arts, School of Social Sciences, School of Architecture and Design, School of Information and Technology, and School of Media and Communication”.
In the United States, the Hasan Family Foundation is responsible for the promotion and publicity of the Lahore-based Beaconhouse National University. Dr Malik M. Hasan and Mrs. Seeme Gull Khan Hasan of the Foundation make an enterprising couple: together the two form the vanguard of any effort aimed at promoting the Pakistani community in the US or the cause of Pakistan at Capitol Hill. They rubbed shoulders with President Bush and the First Lady and are an asset to Pakistan and the Pakistan-American community.
The Malik and Seeme Hasan School of Business (CSU) in Colorado is a living testimony to the couple’s innate stirring to promote education.
Thanks to Mrs. Hasan’s initiative, I found myself seated in Mrs. Kasuri’s Lahore office to learn more about the Beaconhouse National University.
“Pakistani expatriates are a target community,” she says. Young Pakistani boys and girls living in the US or the UK can study at the University and gain familiarity with the Pakistani culture and traditions during their stay in Lahore. They can have an “in-depth look at the cultural diversity of this part of the world. We will have special courses for them.
They could return to the US, the UK, or wherever they come from after spending a few semesters at the Beaconhouse National University. I see no problem in the transfer of credits earned during their stay at the BNU,” she confidently claims. The University would also be an ideal place for students hailing from the SAARC countries, Mrs. Kasuri opines.
The interview is interrupted by a call from a Sindh branch of the Beaconhouse. The principal has been threatened by the parents of a student who has not done well in a test. Mrs. Kasuri promptly assures her of the school’s support in a soft but firm tone. “The school is behind you,” she says. There is no display of affectations, no admonitory grunts, no high-sounding sermons. It is not difficult to realize what makes Beaconhouse such a singularly important institution in the country.
A number of accomplished academics share Mrs. Kasuri’s zest to establish the BNU. Professor Saleema Hashmi, who has been associated with the National College of Arts for 30 years, is one of them. She furnishes her views with rare perspicacity: BNU offers Pakistani Americans the opportunity “to discover something they know second-hand to know as first-hand, and to tap into the rich cultural, emotional and intellectual reservoirs of the country.
“We are hoping they earn credits in the US. Once the American universities have a look at the courses offered by BNU, I see no problem in the transfer of credits. Speaking for my own schools, this could happen immediately.” BNU is “a new vision, a fine vision that encourages an inter-disciplinary approach which is lacking in Pakistan.
“There is no liberal arts university in the country. Subjects are offered but students cannot cross-register. BNU will offer students the opportunity to study different subjects which are not available in other universities. Kuch khwab haen. Itnae saal fanoon lateefa maen guzara,” she says. The present period is the most exciting one in the history of Pakistan arts – younger artists are making a name in the international world! She talks of a “long, painful journey in gathering a young dynamic faculty.” Daughter of a distinguished Pakistani, late Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Mrs. Hashmi is hopeful that the “finest artists will be associated with our strivings.”
Another devoted lieutenant of Mrs. Kasuri is Mrs. Navid Shahzad who is demonstrably inspired by the Beaconhouse founder. “What is distinctive about Mrs. Kasuri is that she instinctively grasps the crux of the issue and does not hesitate to entrust someone with responsibility. I was given a complete carte blanche and never treated as an employee.”
Navid, who taught poetry and drama at the Punjab University for thirty years, joined Mrs. Kasuri’s group in 2001. She prepared the feasibility report, planned eight schools which will be operational in three phases: the “first six are up and running,” she says.
“We are in the process of making history,” Navid exuberantly claims. The BNU is patterned on the American system of education.
It would facilitate inter-disciplinary studies. The faculty members would also comprise scholars from abroad.
“We are trying to attract Fulbright scholars to serve as faculty members.” BNU will be an “innovative, progressive, and dynamic university with a strong base in liberal arts.”
“Pehli martaba Pakistan maen aek degree offer ho rahi hae. Theater, TV aur film maen yeh aapni naueat ki pehli degree hae,” she declares in chaste Urdu. Navid speaks English with enviable perfection but chooses to talk in Urdu. Lahore is the cultural center of Pakistan. No one can deny that the people of the Punjab have played an all-important role in the farogh (promotion) of Urdu.
“Adab ham sari zabanon maen parhatae hain. Comparative Literature ka mazmoon ham introduce kar rahaen haen. `Literature and the visual narrative’ pehli martaba MA kae liyae offer kiya ja raha hae.”
Another subject `Literature and the dramatic performance’ will be taught by Madeeha Gauhar and Zia Mohyeddin. Post-colonial literature will also be under spotlight. Soon the Department of Women Studies (Gender Studies in US) will make its debut.
The University courses will have special appeal for students from the Gulf, Malaysia, and SAARC countries. Pakistanis who find it difficult to make it to the US in the post-9/11 period would also find the BNU curriculum of singular appeal. As for Pakistani Americans, the University possesses a special attraction. “BNU offers expatriate children the opportunity to retrace their roots. They should explore their roots.”
Even mainstream American students could be tempted to study at BNU. “As a super power, Americans are isolated and insulated from the rest of the world. They must see our true face which they can do only if they come here. Who will teach them calligraphy? Lahore is one of the oldest civilizations of the world. The American has a curious mind. Let him discover what we have to offer. We are looking to forge bridges. Good for both. Every American is not a bully. America must send its ambassadors out. We also need to tell the world that we are not monsters,” observes Navid.
Dr. Isa Daudpota, an IT expert who belongs to a distinguished family of educationists of Sindh and is an outstanding academic in his own right, speaks candidly about the BNU. “The effort is to impart quality education over and above what is offered by other universities. The closest to us is LUMS but we offer a more diverse menu. We are offering subjects which are not taught in different universities.
“The way to teach would be different. There will be more open discussions. Indeed, it would be discussion-based education giving a student the chance to design his/ her course. BNU will be closer to an American Arts University.”
The University will offer training in `Films and Media,’ a subject that has suddenly come to attain primacy in educational institutions in recent years with the launching of several TV channels. With the Beaconhouse National University graduates entering the scene a wholesome change is likely to take place.
Better presentations, better scripts, better talk shows, better techniques, and better producers. A more professional outfit altogether.
The BNU is a non-profit organization. The Kasuri family is represented as a minority on its Board, an exceptional arrangement, that speaks volumes of its sincerity and commitment to promote healthy traditions and speedy growth. It is for Pakistanis – both within and without – to benefit from the University which has the making of a great institution.
If PINSTECH (Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology) could win accolades and be described as `best of both the worlds’ by the TIME magazine, thanks to the vision of the late Dr. I.H. Usmani, Chairman, PAEC, would it be too much to expect that the BNU would emerge as the equivalent of an Ivy institution – if not today, ten years hence? If some of the best schools of the world are in Pakistan, why shouldn’t we strive to establish some of the world’s best universities in the country? (Written a few years ago, the article is being repeated to reemphasize its message.) – [email protected], [email protected]
Posted by admin in Corruption, Corruption, Education, Looters and Scam Artists, Pakistan's Hall of Shame on December 31st, 2012
When it comes to education, what’s at stake is obvious: our future. When corruption prevents young people from exercising their fundamental right to attend school and receive an education, people lose out on their potential and society suffers. Identifying and eliminating corruption in the education sector is key to ensuring that learning opportunities remain accessible to all. (Transparency Organization)
in Britain. If one know enough of these FRS, it is easy to get nominated. It is a nominated position, NOT an elected position. Dr.Atta ur Rehman is also behind the whispering campaign to demonize Dr.A.Q.Khan, the Father of Pakistan’s Nuclear Processing Technology in Pakistan and the West. Dr.Atta ur Rehman tried to use his clout with Gen.(Retd) Musharraf to oust Dr.A.Q.Khan.
Dr AQ Khan, had in a dramatic move made public a long charge-sheet against the outgoing chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Attaur Rehman, saying he was the blue-eyed boy of Gen Pervez Musharraf because both hailed from Delhi.
In a note sent to The News on Thursday, Dr Khan regretted that despite eight years in office and spending billions of taxpayers’ money, Dr Attaur Rehman could not even set up a single university, leave alone his tall claims of setting up six foreign universities.
Dr Khan, breaking his silence after a very long time, also made some new revelations, saying Gen Musharraf wanted him to become a minister but he proposed the name of Dr Attaur Rehman. He has also claimed that Pakistan had made the nuclear bomb in 1984.
In his attack on Dr Rehman, the first of its kind which might put the tall claims of the HEC in a new perspective, Dr AQ Khan said: “As an organic chemist with no industrial exposure, he fell into the trap laid by many of the incompetent sycophants that surrounded him. They excelled in on-screen, colourful presentations containing figures, graphs and forecasts, but these were nothing more than a house of cards. Those running the HEC had never set up or run even a high school, let alone a university.”
Ms Henny Khan, the wife of Dr AQ Khan, on behalf of her husband, also sent a long note to this correspondent to join the debate going on about the performance of Dr Attaur Rehman, who was one of the longest-serving persons during the last eight years of Musharraf but failed to deliver.
Dr Khan is the second top man who has blasted Dr Rehman after former minister Ishaq Khan Khakwani.
In his communication to The News, Dr Khan said the article on the Higher Education Commission in The News of Oct 14, 2008, together with the criticism on its performance by former federal minister Ishaq Khan Khakwani and Dr Attaur Rehman’s reaction were highly informative to the common man in general and the academic community in particular.
“The truth always hurts and Khakwani is known for calling a spade a spade. He was also very outspoken in his criticism of Gen (retd) Musharraf’s illegal and unconstitutional acts. On both counts, he has hit the nail right on the head,” Dr Khan said.
He said he had known Prof Dr Attaur Rehman for almost two decades and was aware of his good work at the HEJ Institute at the University of Karachi. He recalled that after Gen (retd) Musharraf staged the coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Dr Rehman became Musharraf’s blue-eyed boy, presumably because both came from Delhi.
He revealed: “When I was about to retire, Gen (retd) Musharraf offered me the post of minister of science and technology, which I refused. I had good reasons for doing so. I did not want to be part of the Gen’s cabinet, to see him in cabinet meetings and to shake hands with him as if all was well between us. At their specific request, I suggested Prof Attaur Rehman believing that, as a foreign trained, good academic, he was capable of doing the job. After my retirement, Gen (retd) Musharraf asked me to become his adviser, which I again refused. However, a number of senior Army officers requested me to accept this post for my own good as the general was known to be very vindictive. As adviser, I could keep myself busy with educational activities. I accepted the post on the condition that I would not be required to attend cabinet meetings.”
Dr Khan said after his appointment as minister, Prof Dr Attaur Rehman changed and was no longer the humble person he used to be. None of the advisers (with the status of a federal minister) i.e. Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada, Dr Ishfaq Ahmad and myself ever put a flag on their car or put “federal minister” on their car number plates. On becoming adviser and later the HEC chairman, Prof Dr Attaur Rehman constantly used the term “federal minister”, even adding it on his HEC letterhead. It was a pity he felt the need to do so, as with his educational and professional background, there was no need to do so. His academic achievements said it all.
Coming back to the achievements or lack thereof of the HEC, Dr AQ Khan said billions of rupees were spent over the last eight years with very little to show for it. “Prof Dr Attaur Rehman met me a number of times, the last time being hardly three or four weeks ago. We discussed the establishment of six technical universities with the help of six foreign countries. I was rather shocked to learn from him that all these universities were to be set up by the HEC — all the infrastructure, equipment, faculty, salaries, transport, residential facilities, etc., were to be provided by Pakistan. The foreign universities’ role would be solely to nominate the foreign faculty, advise and issue degrees. I was always under the impression that such universities were to be financed and run by the respective foreign countries. Since Prof Dr Attaur Rehman became the HEC chairman, I have always been advising him to first set up one university and only attempt a second one when the first was up and running smoothly but, as an outsider, my suggestions were not welcomed. We now see the results — hardly anything worth mentioning.”
Dr Khan said another issue that sidetracked the academic one and with serious financial repercussions was the mobile phone publicity campaign. Prof Dr Attaur Rehman, as minister for information technology, went all-out to introduce the mobile phone culture. We all saw on TV how every Tom, Dick and Harry was using a mobile phone, but nobody thought of the financial repercussions.
“In the very first year of its introduction, Pakistan spent $1 billion (one billion dollars) on the import of mobile phones, not even to talk of the remittances back to their parent companies of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues. A manufacturing plant, costing a fraction of that amount, could have produced phone locally; thus, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and providing jobs to many local engineers and technicians. If we were able to produce state-of-the-art centrifuges, high frequency inverters, top quality nuclear valves, ballistic-guided missiles and nuclear weapons, why were we not able to produce mobile phones?
Dr Khan said he had no doubt that Prof Dr Attaur Rehman’s intentions were good. However, he pointed out that his planning proved disastrous. “His weakness was that he was not an engineer and, therefore, lacked a basic understanding of the requirements of technical education. As an organic chemist with no industrial exposure, he fell into the trap laid by many of the incompetent sycophants that surrounded him. They excelled in on-screen, colourful presentations containing figures, graphs and forecasts, but these were nothing more than a house of cards”.
AQ Khan said those running the HEC had never set up or run even a high school, let alone a university. “If Dr Attaur Rehman had listened to my well-meant advice and set up even a single university, he would not be facing such scathing attacks today. Such a university would have seen hundreds of good engineers graduating by now.”
Dr Khan said he always gave Dr Attaur Rehman the example of the GIK Institute. Ghulam Ishaq Khan made him (AQ Khan) project director and he had the unflinching support of Ghulam Ishaq Khan himself, HU Beg, Shamsul Haq, Brig Amir Gulistan Janjua and Elahi Bux Soomro.
“Together, we put up the GIK Technical Institute in two years at a cost of approximately Rs1-1/2 billion. Within two years of its inauguration, it was listed as one of the top ten technical institutions of Asia. Incidentally, my former teacher at Delft (Holland) and Leuven (Belgium), Prof Dr MJ Brabers, was the first rector and there were 15 foreign professors when the institute started functioning.”
Dr Khan said another example of concentrating on one thing at a time was the establishment of the uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta. “We started with literally nothing in 1976 and by August 1984 we had put up one of the most advanced facilities and had even managed to produce nuclear weapons. All this was done with a budget of Rs 100 to 110 million per year.”
He pointed out that Prof Dr Attaur Rehman had visited the plant and was, therefore, in a position to judge himself whether his advice had been genuine and workable.
“Our success was due to putting together of a very strong technical team. We were lucky to have had the full support — both financially and morally — of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Gen Ziaul Haq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan and others. HU Beg was a great supporter to us and looked after our financial requirements with great acumen, ensuring strict control and regular audits,” Dr Khan said.
Dr Khan said it was a great pity that despite his sincere efforts, good intentions and access to funds, Prof Dr Attaur Rehman was not able to deliver what he set out to do. He believed that not a single new university was established or an existing one brought to a level where it could be counted as one of the 200 top-most universities recently mentioned in Time magazine, while India has two mentions on that list. “This is mainly due to his inability to select a competent team of technically experienced advisers. Academicians never make good administrators and planners,” he regretted.
Posted by admin in Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economics, Education, Foreign Policy on December 13th, 2012
Dec 8th 2012 | ISLAMABAD | from the print edition
PAKISTAN’S national poet, Muhammad Iqbal, believed the subcontinent’s Muslims needed to unite if they were to prosper. Without a strong sense of nationhood, he wrote, “mountains become straw and are blown away in the wind”.
Poetry and taxes do not often mix. But those melancholy lines grace an analysis of Pakistan’s fiscal plight by Ehtisham Ahmad of the London School of Economics. The country’s tax revenues have collapsed. Its debt is almost certainly unsustainable without outside help. And yet Pakistan does not pull together. “Textile lobbies, the urban gentry, traders and agriculturists, all point to the other and say: Tax that group first, but do not tax me,” Mr Ahmad writes.
The tax authorities can identify a mere 768,000 individuals who paid income tax last year. Even fewer—just 270,000—have paid something in each of the past three years. That is one reason why Pakistan’s tax revenues amounted to only 9.1% of GDP in the latest fiscal year, one of the lowest ratios in the world (see chart). These are exceedingly narrow shoulders on which to rest a nuclear-armed state of 180m people. The culture of cheating starts at the top. Most members of parliament, many of them conspicuously affluent, do not file tax returns.
In the months before an election, due by May, the government of President Asif Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is proposing a controversial remedy: an amnesty for evaders. They will be invited to wipe the slate clean with a one-off payment of only 40,000 rupees ($400). The government says it is a quick way to resuscitate the public finances and expand the tax net. Its critics see the amnesty as a boon for politically connected crooks.
The scheme is the brainchild of Pakistan’s tax chief, Ali Hakeem, head of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) since July. His computer boffins have spent the past few months trawling data—not to find out how much people earn, but rather to unearth their spending patterns and lifestyles. The FBR has come up with 1,700 variables that predict a person’s tax liability. Some clues are obvious, such as foreign travel, owning a house in a posh neighbourhood and big-ticket purchases such as cars. Others are ingenious. It turns out that having a weapons licence is an excellent indicator of wealth. The FBR’s analysis also shows that married men are richer than single men. Men with two wives are richer still. However, men with four wives (the maximum allowed to Muslims in Pakistan) are often poorer than those who have only one.
Many people escape paying taxes by simply bribing the tax inspectors who call on them, Mr Hakeem admits. “We want the computers to be the enforcers,” he says. The exercise has identified around 3m people who should be paying tax. Under the plan, these people will be served notice and given 75 days to comply or they will face punishment.
But if the FBR can identify the dodgers, why can it not pursue them for the full amount they owe? The tax board says it wants to use its new data fast, before a possible change of government jeopardises the scheme. There is no time to calculate the evaders’ full liabilities.
Mr Hakeem believes the system is so rotten that, in effect, it offers an amnesty to almost everyone anyway. But cynics worry that the oily businessmen and back-room fixers who have prospered over the past four years of PPP government will use the scheme to legitimise their ill-gotten gains. It is “a way of laundering your money”, says Hafeez Pasha, a former finance minister.
Amnesties, which have failed in Pakistan in the past, create perverse incentives. They alienate taxpayers otherwise disposed to being honest, who may decide to stop filing and wait for the next such offer. At best, the amnesty will bring in another 0.5% of GDP in revenue, Mr Ahmad suggests. At worst, revenues may fall.
Both Mr Pasha and Mr Ahmad argue that more fundamental reform is required. Many people fail to pay taxes because they are not legally obliged to do so. Agriculture is exempt from federal income tax, largely because parliamentarians are either large landowners or dependent on rural votes.
Mr Hakeem’s board has the power to exempt products through regulatory orders without the approval of parliament. One such order, dated April Fool’s Day, 2011, made a mockery of the country’s sales tax, imposing a 0% rate on 184 items, including carpets, buttons and the willow wood from which cricket bats are made—as well as “any other goods as may be specified”. Mr Hakeem’s number-crunching may help plug some leaks in Pakistan’s tax bucket. But his board has already poked hundreds of legal holes in it.
Pakistan promised to abolish loopholes in 2008 as one of the conditions for a generous IMF loan of $11.5 billion. Yet it failed to do so. It also promised to remove the tax board’s discretionary power to create loopholes. But punching holes in the tax code is a handy way to “win friends and influence people”, Mr Ahmad says.
A low tax take breeds problems. People who might otherwise pay their taxes wonder what services they will get in return. Federal revenues are swallowed up by debt servicing, defence spending and power subsidies, with no room for much-needed spending on health, education or welfare. A constitutional amendment passed in 2010 gave the provinces clearer responsibility for such programmes. But the provinces lack a reliable tax base of their own. In the latest fiscal year, Pakistan spared only 0.3% of GDP for health.
Despite such miserliness, Pakistan’s budget deficit still exceeded 8% of GDP last year. The government has bridged the gap by borrowing from the central bank and the banking system (which itself borrows heavily from the central bank). This has crowded out private borrowing and ushered in inflation, projected by the IMF to return to double-digit rates by the middle of next year.
Fundamental tax reform will always upset one powerful constituency or another, whether it be the landed gentry, farmers, traders or industrialists. Without reform Pakistan courts economic disaster, a financial crisis that might blow the precarious economy away like straw. That would upset everybody. But Pakistan’s ruling elites assume that such a crisis will always be averted with help from international donors. And, says Mr Ahmad, “they are probably right.”
Posted by admin in Education, Islam: The Universal Message of Peace, Pakistan Fights Terrorism, Uncategorized on December 12th, 2012
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Allah will not Change the Condition of a People until They Change ThemselvesSurah No. 13, Ar Raad, Part of Ayat No. 11
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا
o فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ
Translation :
Verily ! Allah will never change the condition of the people until they change it themselves (with state of Goodness). But when Allah wills a punishment for them, there can be no turning back of it, and they will not find a protector besides Him.
Allah will not Change the Condition of a People until They Change Themselves
Quite often the servant of Allah is granted abundant blessings but he becomes bored and longs to change it for another which he claims is better. In fact, Allah, the Merciful does not deprive him of this blessing, and He excuses him for his ignorance and bad choice until the servant is unable to bear the blessing, feels discontent, and complains about it. Then Allah will take it away from him. When he gets what he wished for and sees the great difference between what he had before and what he has now, he is filled with worry and regret and he wishes to have what he had before. If Allah wishes good for His servant, He would make him see that whatever blessings he now has is from Allah and He will show him that Allah is pleased with him, and the servant would praise Him. If he is deceived by his soul to change this blessing, he would ask Allah for guidance.There is nothing more harmful to the servant than becoming bored from the blessings of Allah; as he neither sees them as a blessing, praises Allah for them, nor is happy with them but he becomes bored, complains, and considers them as a means of distress. He does not think that these things are from the greatest blessings of Allah. The majority of people are opposed to the blessings of Allah. They do not feel the blessings of Allah, and moreover, they exert their effort to drive them away because of their ignorance and injustice. How often is a blessing bestowed on a person while he is exerting his effort to drive it away and how often does he actually receive it while he is pushing it away, simply because of his ignorance and injustice. Allah says, “That is so because Allah will never change agrace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their ownselves.” (Al-Antal, 8:53) And He, the Almighty says,”Allah will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves (by committing sins and by being ungrateful and disobedient to Allah).” (Ar-Ra’d, 13:11)
What can be worse than the enmity of a servant toward the blessings he has received? In so doing, he supports his enemy against himself. His enemy arouses fire in his blessings and he increases the fire unawares. He enables his enemy to light the fire and then he helps his own enemy to blow on it until it
becomes strong. Finally, he seeks help against the fire and blames fate.
We are the best of Creation but are we living up to our Creator’s expectations
Lack of critical thinking skills in Pakistan has kept the whole nation backward in all aspects of life. Pakistan’s social, political, economic, health, and religious problems can be traced back to a lack of critical thinking. Pakistanis tend to accept every trauma as part of fate, without thinking that Almighty Allah has endowed man with free will and intellect, by which man can become “Master of his own Fate, and Captain of his own Ship.” Man is a Creation of the the Ultimate and Everlasting Intellect, Allah Almighty. Are we defying Almighty Allah or disappointing Him by not utilizing our capabilities to the maximum. As his Creation, do we not trust our individual God given capabilities, embedded in the ‘hard drive’ in our head? The human brain has been chiseled by none other than the Master Creator of the Universe. It can perform quadrillion upon quadrillion functions in a life time, including controlling the performance of all human faculties. But, Man cynically depreciates his own abilities through negative and cynical thinking. Thereby, denigrating the Masterwork of his Creator, The Al-Musawir.
Pakistanis stoically accept political malfeasance and incompetent governance as a fact of life
Pakistanis as a nation,meekly accept corrupt mediocrities to rule us and guide us throughout our national life? Our fear of sticking our necks out or standing for Truth and Justice has made us into a retrogressive society. This is no different from sheep or goats who can be led by a goading with a stick by the herder or shepherd. Pakistanis can only change Pakistan, if we can master nuclear and missile technology, then changing the fate of the nation is a piece of cake. Wake up, my Pakistani sisters and brother! Throw down the yoke and breathe the freedom of a technologically,politically, economically, and socially advanced nation. We are 180 million strong, WE CAN DO IT! Change Pakistan. Change your world. otherwise, no one will come around and change it for you. Get rid of “luteraas,” like Swiss Bank Account Thief, Zardari, Raja Rental, drunkard Bilawal, Mehran Bank Robber Nawaz Shariff, and paindoo crooks like Malik Riaz, and the rest of the feudal shahi. Let us not be empty “gharas,” which make much noise, but are hollow from inside. If we do not reform ourselves, no one will reform us. Allah will abandon us to our fate, because, we are not using our brains to make critical national decisions. The followers of the Greatest Man, who ever lived have become an ignorant and corrupt Nation of Sheep. Whenwe can’t BEAT the Corrupt, we throw our hands in despair or become part of them. What have we become? What malaise is eating our souls? Are we a nation of “Phaydoos,” or a nation of sheep?
The brutal “control freaks,” in our primary and secondary in rural and inner city education systems
Pakistani educational system is for the most part based on rote learning and bowing to whims of dictatorial and control freak “masterji” and “ustaniji.” Most of our primary and secondary school educators are charlatans or “drop-outs,”from other more lucrative or challenging professions. They put young minds in their vise grip in which individualism and creativity is stifled. Challenging the accepted rules and concepts are a taboo in our mostly rural society. On the other hand growth of urban centers have resulted in blind acceptance of Western ideas and concepts, without whetting them through a filter of critical thinking.
The Forgotten Islamic concept of Critical Thinking
Therefore, we present the kernel of concepts which form the basis of critical thinking and which have lead to the advancement of Western societies in science, technology, and social values. Islam taught Muslims to debate and discuss all ideas, but, after the fall of Spain, Muslims became insular and isolationists. Debate and discussion became dormant. New ideas became a rarity. Demagoguery became the source of all knowledge. This lead to development of learning institutions, who were mostly centered around faith and dogma, and the concepts of taqiq fell by the wayside, leading to the the dark age of Muslim society, which has yet to merge into the bright sunshine or Renaissance of Critical Thinking during the glory days of Islam, when streets of Europe were in darkness or ignorance, the lamps of Baghdad were lit with the beacons of knowledge. Critical thinking were intrinsic part of Muslim culture. This was the period of enlightenment from streets of Cordoba to souks of Baghdad. Critical Thinking is the Engine of Economic Prosperity and Social Advancement. It starts in early education and continues throughout life.the West learned it from Muslims, now the Muslims have to revive it in their own societies.
Critical thinking studies a topic or problem with open-mindedness.
This exercise outlines the first stage of applying a critical thinking approach to developing and understanding a topic. You will:
Here is more on the first stage:
Define your destination, what you want to learn
Clarify or verify with your teacher or an “expert” on your subject
Topics can be simple phrases:
“The role of gender in video game playing”
“Causes of the war before 1939”
“Mahogany trees in Central America”
“Plumbing regulations in the suburbs”
“Regions of the human brain”
Summary of critical thinking:
Critical thinking studies a topic or problem with open-mindedness.
This exercise outlines the second stage of applying a critical thinking approach to developing and understanding a topic.
With the second stage:
Critical thinking, first stage helped you to
With this second exercise,
think in terms of how you would demonstrate your learning for your topic
How would you create a test on what you have learned?
How would you best explain or demonstrate your findings?
From simple to more complex (1-6) learning operations:
Summary of critical thinking:
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