{ "p685912": { "id": "685912", "title": "Benefits of learning", "shortDescription": "", "description": "
Random thoughts
By Dr A Q Khan
Even if you try hard, you cannot fully describe the benefits of education. Students may sometimes wonder if it's while spending so many years studying, but when they reach their goal, they realize that it’s all been worthwhile. They are the ones who become professors, CEOs, managing directors, senior bureaucrats, etc.
Those who failed to make the grade may often wonder if those “others” really do have the knowledge for the high positions they have been given and the status and high salaries that goes with it.
Our Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised that one should even go as far as China, if necessary, for the sake of knowledge. More than 100 years ago, the famous British mathematician and philosopher, Prof Alfred North Whitehead prophetically said: “In the conditions of modern life, the rule is absolute: the race which does not value trained intelligence, is doomed. Not all your heroism, not all your social charm, not all your wit, not all your victories on land or at sea, can move back the finger of fate. Today we maintain ourselves, tomorrow science will have moved over yet one more step and there will be no appeal from the judgment which will be pronounced on the uneducated.”
Even today, perhaps more so than ever, this is a truth. The West adopted this way forward while Muslim rulers built palaces, parks, etc. That had not always been the case. Muslim scientists ruled the world for almost 500 years in the 11th and 12th centuries. After that things went downhill.
Sheikh Saadi, in his famous “Gulistan” (translated by Richard Francis Burton) has given many stories to illustrate the theme of learning and achievement.
“I saw an Arab in the desert who said to his son: ‘O son, on the day of resurrection you will be asked what you have gained and not from whom you are descended. In other words, you will be asked what you have achieved, not who your father was.’”
“A man with pain in his eyes went to a farrier to be treated. The farrier put the same eyedrops in his eyes which he used for horses and the man became blind. When he lodged a complaint with the judge, the latter refrained from punishing the farrier, saying: ‘Had this man not lacked education he would not have gone to a farrier.’ Whoever entrusts an inexperienced man with important business and repents afterwards is thought to lack intelligence by others. A shrewd and intelligent man will not give affairs of importance to an unknowledgeable person to transact.”
“Two men strove in life without any profit. One of them accumulated property without enjoying it and the other learnt without practising what he had learnt. However much science you may acquire, you are ignorant if you don’t apply it.”
“The country is adorned by intelligent and religion by virtuous men. Padshahs stand more in need of the advice of intelligent men than intelligent men are in need of the proximity of padshahs. If you would but listen to advice, padshah; there is no better to be found in any book than this: Entrust a business to an intelligent man.”
“He who acquires science and does not practise it, resembles him who possesses an ox but does not use him to plough or to sow seed.”
“When a sage comes in contact with fools, he must not expect to be honoured. If an ignorant man overcomes a sage in an oratorical contest it is no wonder because even a stone sometimes breaks a jewel.”
“Be not astonished when a wise man ceases to speak in the company of lesser persons. The melody of a harp cannot overcome the noise of a drum and the perfume of ambergris must succumb to the smell of garlic.”
“Even after falling into mud, a jewel retains its costliness. Dust, although it may rise into the sky, is still only dust. Ability without education is deplorable and education without ability is thrown away.”
“A scholar is not meekly to overlook the folly of an ignorant person because in this way both parties are injured; the dignity of the former being lessened and the ignorance of the latter confirmed. Speak gracefully and kindly to someone with less knowledge.”
“Who interrupts the conversation of others so that they may know his excellence will only acquaint others with his degree of folly. An intelligent man will not give a reply unless he is asked a question. Though his words may be based on truth, his claim may be deemed impossible.”
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-07-13/l_", "postedOn": "1 month ago", "postTime": 1594602000, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p679177": { "id": "679177", "title": "Intelligence, wisdom and humility", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Random thoughts
By Dr A Q Khan
For those who have more than their fair share of intelligence and wisdom, comes humility. Intelligent and wise people are more often than not humble and soft-natured. Here are some anecdotes from Saadi’s 'Bostan', translated by Dr Khwaji Hameed Yazdani, which illustrates this point.
No one follows the example of Maruf Karghi without banishing the idea of fame from his head. A traveller once came to Maruf’s house. He was at the point of death, hanging onto life only by a single hair. He passed the night in wailing and lamentation, not sleeping himself nor permitting any one else to sleep. His mind, being distressed, his temper was vile. Though he didn’t die himself that night, he killed many by his fretting. Such was his restlessness that everyone fled from him.
Only Maruf Karghi remained. He, like a brave man, sat up many nights and attended to the sick man’s needs. One night, Maruf fell asleep – how long can a man keep up without sleep? When the sick man saw him sleeping, he began to rave: “Cursed be thy abominable race. What knows this glutton, intoxicated with sleep, of the helpless man who has not closed his eyes?” Maruf took no notice of these words, but one of the women of the harem overheard them and remarked: “Did you not hear what that wailing beggar said? Turn him out and tell him to take his abuse with him and die elsewhere. Kindness and compassion have their place, but to do good to the evil is evil itself; only a fool plants trees in barren soil. A grateful dog is better than an ungrateful man.”
Maruf just laughed. “Dear woman”, he said, “Be not offended at his ungracious words. If he raves at me through sickness, I am not angered. When you are strong and well yourself, one gratefully bears the burdens of the weak. If you cherish the tree of kindness, you will surely eat of the fruits of a good name. They attain dignity who rid themselves of arrogance. He who worships grandeur is a slave of pride; he knows not that greatness consists of meekness.”
There once was a man of smiling countenance who sold honey; he captivated the hearts of all by his pleasant manner. His customers were as numerous as flies around a sugar bowl – if he had sold poison, people would have bought it for honey. A forbidding looking man regarded him with envy, being jealous of the way his business prospered. One day he paraded through town with a tray of honey on his head and a scowl on his face. He wandered around peddling his wares, but no one evinced a desire to buy. At nightfall, having earned no money, he went and sat dejectedly in a corner with a bitter face. The wife of one of his neighbours jokingly remarked: “Honey is bitter on one of sour temper. It is wrong to eat bread at the table of one whose face is as wrinkled with frowns as the cloth on which it is served. Oh sir! Add not to your burdens for an evil temper brings disaster in its wake. If you don’t have a sweet tongue like Saadi, you have neither silver nor gold.”
Once a debased drunkard caught a pious man by the collar. The latter received his blows in silence and forbearance, not even lifting his head. A passer-by remarked, “Are you not a man? It is a waste of time to be patient with this ignorant fellow.” The pious man replied: “Don’t speak to me like that. A foolish drunkard collars one by the neck thinking he is fighting a lion; there is no sense in a learned man fighting with an inebriated fool. The virtuous follow this rule in life – when they suffer oppression, they display kindness.”
An eminent man, famous for his many virtues, possessed an ugly slave of evil disposition who closely attended his master at meal times, but who would not have given a drop of water to a dying man. No reprimand influenced him and the household was in constant disorder due to his behaviour. Sometimes, in his bad temper, he would litter the paths with thorns and rubbish; at other times, throw the chickens down the well. Someone asked his master: “What is there that you like in this slave – his agreeable manners, his skill or his beauty? Surely it is not worth while to keep such an unruly knave. I will get you a slave of handsome appearance and good character. Take this one to the slave market and sell him. If a piece is offered for him, do not refuse.”
The good-natured man smiled and said: “O friend. Although the character of my slave is certainly bad, my character is improved by him for if I can learn to tolerate his manner, I can put up with anything. It is not humane to sell him and thus make known his faults. It is better to endure his affliction myself than to pass it on to others. Accept for yourself and don’t burden others; if distressed yourself, involve not your fellows. Forbearance is at first like poison, but when ingrained in nature, it becomes like honey.”
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-06-29/l_", "postedOn": "2 months ago", "postTime": 1593392400, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p665985": { "id": "665985", "title": "Beautification or nuisance?", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Fleeting moments
By Iftekhar A Khan
In American parlance, pork-barrel projects are defined as appropriations yielding rich patronage benefits or winning votes. In our case, public needs do not matter as much as do the whims of those at the helms. The so-called ‘Lahore Gate’ adjacent to the NAB office on Multan road near Thokar Niazbeg is one such project under construction.
Instead of winning votes or public appreciation, the 130ft wide and 60ft high gate causes much nuisance and acts as a stumbling block for vehicular traffic on the main entrance and exit of the provincial capital. Next to the gate is located the police check post to check vehicles leaving or entering the city. Since the work on the gate has been going on at its own sweet speed, the police have to slow down the traffic to facilitate the construction. Result: long lines of motorists wait impatiently to get through the bottleneck. To make matters worse, the police restrict traffic to pass through one lane instead of three because of the construction work on the gate. It’s a test of one’s driving skill and patience.
When the project was conceived, the LDA top planners called it ‘aesthetically’ suitable. Planners’ aesthetics must be questioned. Why would they choose this particular site to construct the gate? The location is most congested because of the police check post and the NAB office with innumerable cars parked outside it. When high-profile accused persons attend the NAB office, the traffic situation worsens as TV vans of various channels and anxious reporters wait outside the office to grab breaking news.
The Rs22.23 million worth project was supposed to have been completed within two months – in December, 2019. It’s nowhere near completion almost five months later. The cost too might have soared because of the delay. The project, as briefed by the LDA chief engineer at the time, was to have ‘unique architectural, RCC (reinforced cement concrete) structure, electrification, landscaping and horticulture works.’ Where’s the space for landscaping and horticultural works? Obviously, it wasn’t the chief engineer alone who conceived the project; it was approved by the LDA on the whole. Now this 'aesthetically' conceived eyesore will continue to cause a perpetual torment for the traffic.
Do such projects, however small or big, justify spending public taxes on them? Could a dispensary of a reasonable size have been built out of the amount wasted on the gate or sewage system of a nearby village, Dina Nath, improved where village folks tuck their clothes up to wade through the slimy water.
It’s only a matter of setting the right priorities. Building a dispensary or improving the sewage system wouldn’t have been noticed as much as would the ‘Lahore Gate’. After all, the civic body had to show its performance by setting up a monument of high visibility, ignoring how it would cause traffic hindrance. To top it, the southern leg of the gate has been situated in the sewage drain recently developed by the NHA. And a few meters ahead of the gate towards the city is a road cut for the vehicles to take a U-turn. Imagine 40-feet long vehicles taking a U-turn. A perfect muddle!
Expending millions of tax money on a project that serves no purpose whatsoever amounts to callousness towards and disregard for public taxes. There's a growing feeling among the business community, which forms the bulk of taxpayers, that its taxes are not utilized prudently. The taxes are used to prop up loss-making public sector entities to benefit few at the cost of collective public interest.
On a larger scale, for instance, why not privatise Pak Steel Mills or other loss-making public entities and save public money. More so, why inject billions of public taxes to keep PIA afloat? In its present state, PIA is destined to remain a huge loss-maker. It was reported in March this year that the airline suffered a loss of Rs6.3 billion every month. About its performance, the less said the better despite what its glib apologists may have to offer, especially after the tragic accident and loss of precious human lives just before Eid.
The writer is a freelance columnist based in Lahore.
Email: pinecity@gmail.com
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-06-01/l_", "postedOn": "3 months ago", "postTime": 1590973200, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p664123": { "id": "664123", "title": "NAB: a tragedy Mohammad Zubair", "shortDescription": "", "description": "NAB is back in action – or so it seems. Having been discredited for the last two years, it is trying to make another attempt to restore its credibility.
But the latest round is no different from the first one initiated in 2018 – in both cases, the motive has been political. The main target this time seems to be Shahbaz Sharif. He was also the first one among the opposition to be targeted immediately after the PTI came into power and was arrested in October 2018.
Having miserably failed in the first round, why would NAB attempt to initiate new cases or open up cases which had been rejected by the courts earlier? Of course, it is all political. The fact that Shahzad Akbar, the prime minister’s accountability czar, leads the accusations and allegations, confirms this view.
The PML-N remains the most popular political party in the country. This in spite of all the efforts to discredit it in the eyes of the people through massive propaganda and having members of the party change loyalties via coercion. The government has miserably failed to deliver on all fronts – economy, foreign policy, governance and other matters. As the failure becomes more apparent with each passing month, the PML-N comes through as the people’s natural choice.
It is important to recall the decision and observations of the superior judiciary when the judgement was given in favour of Shahbaz Sharif. The Supreme Court bench headed by the former chief justice had this to say in its judgement: “Unable to understand how the former chief minister was guilty of misusing his authority or committing or indulging in corruption when he himself sent the matter to a committee and later to the Punjab Anti-Corruption department when the allegations of procedural irregularities came to his notice.’
The former chief justice further noted that the former chief minister appears to be the good guy in the entire case. The court could not have used stronger words than the ones mentioned above. If at all, NAB and the current government should have shown some remorse after this judgment. But rather than remorse, NAB seems to have doubled its efforts.
In addition to Shahbaz Sharif, several members of the PML-N and those of other opposition parties were put behind bars. They included former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Maryam Nawaz, Ahsan Iqbal, Hamza Shahbaz, Rana Sanaullah, Miftah Ismail, Saad Rafique, Salman Rafique and others. Except for Hamza Shahbaz, all others have been released with high court or Supreme Court orders. In almost all cases, no reference was filed even after several months while the political leadership remained under detention.
Hamza Shahbaz has been in jail for almost a year and during this entire period, NAB’s investigation has been no more than a few hours. Clearly, NAB has failed to establish any case against Hamz ; yet he remains under detention. Not to forget Mian Nawaz Sharif who has suffered the most from this one-sided accountability – rather, witch-hunt. NAB’s conduct is not just limited to opposition politicians. It has not spared corporate executives, top business owners and even media people.
The initiation of the case and subsequent arrest of the owner of Geo/Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman is a classic example of the state silencing the media – in this case, the largest media group in the country. The case relates to a 34-year-old case.
We know how unhappy the independent policy of the Geo /Jang group has made the government. We also saw how during the 2014 dharna Imran Khan had openly expressed his anger against the group. It has now been more than two months since Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman has been under NAB detention without any evidence of wrongdoing or initiation of any case. This is a mockery of justice and has further damaged NAB’s credibility and fairness. Wonder what NAB was doing all these decades in this matter?
NAB was set up to identify and pursue cases of corruption, kickbacks, commission and similar acts of misuse of authority by public office-holders. The objective was reasonable: that public office-holders should not misuse their official positions to financially benefit themselves or their families or cronies.
Like the former chief justice rightly pointed out in the case involving Shahbaz Sharif: where is the corruption or misuse of authority? This is the fundamental question that NAB needs to answer before initiating any case. Had they done that in all the cases since August 2018, there would have been no case against Shahbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Saad Rafique and others who unfortunately had to suffer a witch-hunt. That seems to be far more important an objective than delivery on the economic and governance fronts. That’s the tragedy of the last two years.
The writer is former governor Sindh and former minister for privatisation.
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-05-28/l_", "postedOn": "3 months ago", "postTime": 1590627600, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p661493": { "id": "661493", "title": "Online chaos Ahmad Jawad", "shortDescription": "", "description": "What happens if difference of opinion turns into an exchange of insults at the national level? Chaos in our daily life. Societies with such situations disintegrate slowly. Digital information has turned drawing room discussion into national debates participated by 80 million people in Pakistan and four billion arounbd the world.
Imagine: when four billion people only want to be heard without listening to others, it results in chaos. This chaos will be bigger in countries where education is limited, justice and merit are missing, regulation is a discretion of the ruling elites and most importantly lack of tolerance is a norm.
Pakistan is one such country with 80 million social media users with an average increase of one million plus addition every month. Those rare confrontations on streets or roadsides have now shifted to a digital space occupied by millions. It is now a daily spectacle of bizarre and abusive exchange of expression online.
The principle of ‘Agree to disagree’ is long lost. We can now label difference of opinion as someone being a traitor or shameless or by doubting one’s faith with a click. Abusing difference of opinion by attacking people has become a norm of the digital age. Today, the same people who were once seen as troublemakers in our streets are seen as heroes on social media. The sharper and filthier is one’s tongue, the more they get social media following. Does it not look like the dark period of the Roman Empire, where gladiators used to fight and kill the opponent while spectators would clap on every drop of blood. Welcome to the digital Colosseum held round the clock.
The digital age has just sparked our frustration. The nation is at loggerheads with each other at every moment round the clock.
Discussing a subject in the physical presence of a group of people and discussion on a digital forum are very different in nature. In a physical interaction, our facial expression and body language help in mutual understanding. In a digital forum, the entire reliance of mutual understanding is on ‘composition of words’ which are written and understood differently by different people.
Social media is not an evolution, it’s a ‘happening’; we were not groomed or prepared for such exposure. People from every walk of life jumped into one single space of the digital age. Suddenly it became too close for comfort.
We must prepare our society to learn how to survive and grow in the digital world. Social media can be used to create as well as prevent disruption. It depends on us if we can exploit the disruption; tomorrow we might be victims of the same disruption. Today’s chaos of convenience might become a disadvantage tomorrow. Chaos can change sides anytime.
Twent percent of the time of the nation is spent on social media or digital space, which means 12 years of our life out of 60 years will be spent on digital space. The question must arise as to what role educational institutions have played in the training of this 20 percent time of the nation? We need a curriculum of digital space for educational institutions, which can prepare the moral, ethical, social, political and professional attitudes of the nation in the digital space.
Whose responsibility should be to prepare the nation and control the chaos on social media and turn this into strength and national cohesion? I think it must start from the government. The media should play its role, educational institutions should make curriculum, regulatory bodies should bring reforms, civil societies need new creative minds to tackle such subjects.
Monitoring of social media is not as needed as the moral, ethical and responsible digital culture training of the nation. The digital narrative is not meant to create groups but to create a nation. We have to decide whether we want to build groups or we want to build a nation.
Social media should not become a lost battle of humanity. It should become a space of evolving humanity, tolerance and knowledge.
We must begin to understand the difference between a ‘one on one’ discussion and a group discussion. The sensitivity level in a group discussion is much higher than in an individual discussion. Social media is mostly group discussion. ‘One on one’ discussion can lead to resolution easily but group discussion will lead only to disruptions.
Never start your response to any opinion by expressions like ‘I disagree with you’ or ‘you don’t know anything’. That is not an opinion but an expression of arrogance and frustration. The beauty of the counter-argument is presenting your argument without drawing a sword.
The art of conversation and argument is not a one-time recipe but we practise it throughout our life to develop and learn this art with tolerance, humility, knowledge and experience. We all fall prey to undesirable conversation but we may analyse our response after each episode for correction.
Another undesirable approach on social media during an argument is passing judgment, which only ends in creating friction.
The writer is an entrepreneur and Central Secretary Information, PTI.
Email: Jawad.BTH@gmail.com
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-05-21/l_", "postedOn": "3 months ago", "postTime": 1590022800, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p660193": { "id": "660193", "title": "Development and policies", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Part - II
By Dr Naazir Mahmood
The writer holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK and works in Islamabad.
In the first part of this series of articles we have discussed some basic policy concepts; here we look at development policy and its related ideas. First, let’s be clear about the difference between development and progress which are interchangeably used in everyday parlance, but have their distinct features in development discourse.
Development and progress are closely related, in that both show a movement towards a goal; but progress tends to have a more linear pattern of growth denoting steady improvement. Whereas development has a much wider scope of growth and movement, focusing on the expansion of all aspects and directions. In academic literature there are myriad definitions of both, but here for our functional understanding we may say that progress is a part of development. Development gives us a much bigger picture with progress in many related areas. Every area of progress becomes a factor in development.
There is also an element of permanent and temporary change. Development is longer lasting while progress may be short-lived and may act like a step to the next level. Progress is normally measured with tasks which are done, so you track progress by tracking tasks. Progress mostly looks at the process that is contributing to development which is evaluated with outcomes and impacts and not by tasks. A common problem with policies – including development policy – is that they get too entangled in measuring progress in individual areas while neglecting overall development.
That is the reason the UN tried to incorporate a comprehensive framework of global goals for sustainable development (SDGs) in 2015. Many progress-oriented people have criticized the SDGs for their fairly wide scope, but that was perhaps necessary to make it as comprehensive as possible because here we are dealing with development which can only materialized when we achieve progress in multiple directions. We will discuss SDGs in more detail in our next articles in this series; here we want to be clear about some more basic concepts used in development policy that will help us in our discussion.
Development policy uses terms such as civil society development, community development, discourse development, development advocacy, development benchmarks, development communication, development economics and economic development, development factors, human development, and many others. A confused understanding of these concepts results in misplaced priorities and prevents many activists and professionals in development policy to botch up their goals and hamper progress. Here we discuss some of them before proceeding to more detailed discussion of global goals of sustainable development (SDGs). Let’s start with the concept of development policy itself, which at times can be confusing.
We have discussed earlier the concepts of development and policy separately. The locale of development policy can be at least at five different places. As public and social policy, development policy is the domain of governments which consult with other stakeholders and draft a development policy. Sometimes, development policy is not a single policy but a collection of multiple policies, such as education and health policies that can become parts of a larger development policy. The second locale of development policy can be international development agencies that fund development projects in other countries.
In that locale, mostly rich countries have their development arms such as America has USAID, Britain has the Department for International Development (DfID) or UKaid, Canada had the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which is now defunct and has been replaced by Global Affairs Canada. They function as catalysts for development in countries that need development aid. These agencies have their own development policies and also help other countries in drafting new development policies. A third locale of development policy is multilateral agencies such as various arms of the UN, World Bank and WHO. They also have their development policies and help others too in developing such policies.
The fourth locale of development policy is both national and international civil society organizations working in advocacy and development, such as the Aga Khan Foundation, Care International, Grameen Bank, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Medicine sans Frontiers, Plan International, Water aid, and many others. They may have their own development policies. Finally, the fifth and perhaps the last locale of development policy is related with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of big businesses. For example, Engro Corporation and Hashoo Group in Pakistan have well-functioning CSR departments. Sometimes their efforts come under a broad-based development policy which they may also call human development policy. So, development policy can be created by governments as their social policy. In that they may be helped by bilateral and multilateral international organisations such as the UN. Businesses, donor agencies, civil society, and human rights organizations may have their own development or human development policies.
Then, what are the differences and similarities between development policy and human development policy? In the 20th and 21st centuries, there have been various approaches to development such as capacity development; community, democratic, and economic developments; human development; human-rights or simply rights-based approach to development; participatory development; social development, and others.
There is a strong school of thought in development policy which considers capacity development as the engine of human development. As countries face climate change, economic crises, food shortages, and health challenges such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, developing capacities of businesses, civil society, communities, government and state institutions becomes imperative. Most development policies fail just because there is not enough capacity in the concerned stakeholders to implement the policy and its related strategies. This was evident with the MGDs and now it is becoming even clearer in the aftermath of Covid-19.
Community development is concerned with bringing community members together for collective action that may generate solutions to common problems. This is much more difficult than capacity development, as individuals can learn but don’t often come together to solve community problems. That’s where the roles of activists and citizens become crucial and that’s why many governments and states frown upon civil society that tries to bring people together for common cause. Professionals and technocrats are allowed to function but civic leaders are disliked or even targeted as they become vocal and challenge the dominance of certain groups.
Community development is directly related to democratic development. The more democratic society is, the more likely it is to have functioning community-based organizations and local bodies. Without democratic development, community development is a mirage as it may show progress in certain projects which in most cases are not long lasting; and that is the bane of development policy even in the 21st century. Since authoritarian governments discourage democratic development in its true sense, their community development efforts fail. And that brings us to economic development which is a staple for most governments to show their progress.
In many cases, economic development is confined to a narrow concept of economic growth, without resulting in human development. It is true that human development is hardly possible without economic development and growth, a limited outreach of economic growth may stint human development as it has happened in countries such as Pakistan. We have had better economic growth in the past but are still very low on human development. That’s why there is an increasing stress now on human development as a fundamental or human right. That is called a rights-based approach to development.
In this approach to development policy, people must have wider choices to lead a long and healthy life, with proper education and a decent standard of living. This also entails freedoms of expression, movement, and other human and political rights including self-respect, as integral elements of human development. No development policy can claim to be directed towards human development if it does not take into account basic human rights. So, in the final analysis a good development policy tries to expand the opportunities that people have to lead meaningful lives.
Concluded
Email: mnazir1964@yahoo.co.uk
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-05-18/l_", "postedOn": "3 months ago", "postTime": 1589763600, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p656950": { "id": "656950", "title": "Silence is golden", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Random thoughts
By Dr A Q Khan
From childhood on we were taught not to indulge in loose talk and that silence is golden. This topic has also been dealt with by that wisest of sages, Shaikh Saadi of Shiraz. He wrote two books – 'Gulistan' and 'Bostan' – and both are perpetually on the best-sellers lists all over the world. Both these books are treasures of wisdom, intelligence and guidance. Persian, at that time, was the language of a very large population in Central Asia, Iran, Azerbaijan and the Subcontinent. Many Western scholars learnt Persian and then translated many famous books – Saadi, Rumi, autobiographies of Moghul kings, etc. Even in Bhopal, it was the official language for hundreds of years. Here is what Saadi has to say on the topic of silence.
“I said to a friend that I have chosen rather to be silent than to speak because, on most occasions, good and bad words are scattered concurrently but enemies perceive only the latter. He replied: ‘That enemy is the greatest who does not see any good. The brother of enmity passes not near a good man, except to consider him as a most wicked liar. Virtue is to the eyes of enmity the greatest fault. Saadi is a rose but to the eye of enemies, a thorn. The world illumining sun and fountain of light looks ugly to the eye of the mole.’
\\\"A merchant, having suffered a loss of a thousand dinars, enjoined his son not to reveal it to anyone. The boy said: ‘It is thy order and I shall not tell it but thou must inform me of the utility of this proceeding and of the propriety of concealment.’ He replied: ‘For fear the misfortune would be double; namely, the loss of the money and, secondly, the joy of neighbours at our loss. Reveal not thy grief to enemies because they will say ‘La haul’ but rejoice.
\\\"An intelligent youth possessed an abundant share of accomplishments and discreet behaviour so that he was allowed to sit in assemblies of learned men, but he refrained from conversing with them. His father once asked him why he did not speak on subjects he was acquainted with. He replied: ‘I fear I may be asked what I do not know and be put to shame. Hast thou not heard how a Sufi drove a few nails under his sandals and an officer, taking him by the sleeve, said: ‘Come and shoe my horse.’ For what thou hast not said, no one will trouble thee, but when thou hast spoken, bring the proof.
\\\"A scholar of note had a controversy with an unbeliever but, being unable to cope with him in an argument, shook his head and retired. Someone asked him how it came to pass that, with all his eloquence and learning, he had been unable to vanquish an irreligious man. He replied: ‘My learning is in the Quran, in tradition and in the sayings of sheikhs, which he neither believes in, nor listens to. Then of what use is it to me to hear him blaspheming? To him of whom thou canst not rid thyself by the Quran and tradition, the best reply is if thou dost not reply anything.
\\\"Galenus saw a fool hanging on with his hands to the collar of a learned man and insulting him, whereon he said: ‘If he were learned, he would not have come to this pass with an ignorant man. Two wise men do not contend and quarrel. Nor does a scholar fight with a contemptible fellow. If an ignorant man, in his rudeness, speaks harshly, an intelligent man tenderly reconciles his heart. Two pious men keep a hair between then untorn and so does a mild with a headstrong man. If, however, both sides are fools, if there be a chain, they will snap it. An ill-humoured man insulted someone. He bore it and replied: ‘O man of happy issue, I am worse than thou canst say that I am because I know thou art not aware of my faults as I am.
\\\"Subhan Vail is considered to have had no equal in rhetoric because he had addressed an assembly during a year and had not repeated the same word but, when the same meaning happened to occur, he expressed it in another manner and this is one of the accomplishments of courtiers and princes. A word, if heart-binding and sweet, is worthy of belief and approbation. When thou has once said it, do not utter it again because sweets, once partaken of, suffice.
\\\"I heard a philosopher say that no one has ever made a confession of his own folly except he who begins speaking, whilst another has not yet finished his talk. Words have a head, O shrewd man, and a tail. Do not insert thy words between words of others. The possessor of deliberation, intelligence and shrewdness does not say a word till he sees silence.
\\\"Several officials of Sultan Mahmud asked Hasan Muimandi one day what the sultan had told him about a certain affair. He replied: ‘You must yourselves have heard it.’ They rejoined: ‘What he says to thee he does not think proper to communicate to the likes of us.’ He answered: ‘Because he trusts that I shall not reveal it. Then why do you ask me to do so?’ A knowing man will not utter every word which occurs to him. It is not proper to endanger one’s head for the king’s secret.\\\"
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-05-11/l_", "postedOn": "3 months ago", "postTime": 1589158800, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p655961": { "id": "655961", "title": "Europe Day", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Ambassadors of EU and member states
On the occasion of Europe Day, the ambassador of the European Union and the ambassadors of EU member states present in Pakistan wish to invite all Pakistani citizens to celebrate the power of international cooperation and multilateralism to defeat common challenges.
In Europe, we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration that paved the way for our long-lasting peace and solidarity project. Today, when the EU and Pakistan, like most regions and nations in the world, are facing the Covid-19 crisis, it is time to show solidarity and common resolve.
The EU has been working collectively, activating macro-economic solidarity mechanisms, and putting together all available resources in getting personal protective equipment supplies, seeing member states transferring patients to other member states’ hospitals when needed, repatriating citizens from all over the world, besides coordinating on a relief fund and doubling up on global solidarity.
In these times of a global pandemic, the EU has not only been looking at how to protect Europeans but also how to help our global partners and particularly developing countries, leading to way to act for humanity’s common good. Team Europe is the tangible expression of the European resolve to express our global solidarity and make all efforts to act as one when helping partners in these turbulent times. In this context, the EU worked closely with others and was instrumental in the successfully launch of a global response appeal to fund research for a vaccine which raised 7.4 Billion euros in total.
In Pakistan, the EU welcomed the government of Pakistan's Preparedness and Response Plan and offered immediate relief while programming interventions to support Covid-19 related actions, on top of individual member states’ own actions and pledges to look at debt relief. We are also announcing considerable funds to address the socio-economic aspects of the pandemic. From the EU budget alone, Rs26 billion were announced and bilateral aid will complement this.
The EU-Pakistan Strategic Engagement Plan provides further avenues for strengthening our cooperation in all spheres, including in terms of poverty alleviation, human rights, trade and economic cooperation, as well as research which are only a few of the dimensions relevant to our common objective to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. It is clear the only way out of it is acting together. Humanity needs multilateralism and now this is more obvious than ever.
In normal circumstances, Europe Day would be a reason for us to host a big popular event together with our Pakistani friends. This year instead, we decided to devote the funds that were available for this event to raise the awareness of children on what they have to do to protect themselves against Covid-19 as well as raise awareness with a special focus on women, acknowledging that, like in Europe, gender-based violence in the context of lockdowns needs to be addressed.
This article is written by ambassadors: Androulla Kaminara (EU), Nicolaus Keller (Austria), Ingrid Johansson (Sweden), Bernhard Schlagheck (Germany), Nicolae Goia (Romania), Marc Barety (France), Philippe Bronchain (Belgium), Istvan Szabo’ (Hungary), Georgios Drakopoulos (Greece), Piotr Opalinski (Poland), Manuel Duran Gimenez-Rico (Spain), Wouter Plomp (Netherlands), Aleksander Borisov Parashkevov (Bulgaria), Rolf Hay Pereira Holmboe (Denmark), Tomas Smetanka ( Czech Republic), Paulo Neves Pocinho (Portugal), Andreas Ferrarese (Italy).
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-05-09/l_", "postedOn": "3 months ago", "postTime": 1588986000, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p646580": { "id": "646580", "title": "Capital suggestion", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Confusion kills
By Dr Farrukh Saleem
Humanity hasn’t faced a challenge like the novel coronavirus in a hundred years. Millions of human lives are at stake. Our government is visibly confused. On March 22, at 3:30pm, PM Imran Khan, addressing the nation, enumerated the benefits of not locking-down and ruled out ‘total lockdown’. At 3:50pm, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh’s chief minister, announced a ‘province-wide lockdown’. At 5:00pm, the Gilgit-Baltistan government decided to impose a ‘complete lockdown’. At 8:45pm, the government of Sindh officially imposed a ‘complete ban’ on public movement. Earlier the same day at 1:20pm, the Punjab government ‘sought military in aid of civil power to contain the virus outbreak in the province’. Even earlier at 10:00am, the government of Balochistan called for ‘military in aid for civil power under Article 245’.
On March 23, a ‘special Corps Commanders Conference reviewed COVID-19 spread’. After the conference, Major-General Babar Iftikhar, DG-ISPR, informed the media that COAS General Bajwa has ‘directed troops to be deployed and that congregational and other public gatherings are prohibited’.
On April 15, PM Imran Khan announced to “extend the partial lockdown across the country for the next two weeks with the opening of some sectors.” Now this was the mother of all confusions – partial lockdown extended! I, for one, was thoroughly confused. What did it mean? Lives are at stake.
On April 15, PM Imran Khan told us that the government would consult religious leaders on the opening of mosques and Taraweeh congregations during the holy month of Ramazan. Lo and behold, even before the consultation took place our clerics gave their verdict on the opening of the mosques and Taraweeh congregations. A state within a state! (Mufti Muneeb then took a U-turn).
According to modeling done by the Imperial College London Covid-19 Response Team, if the Government of Pakistan does nothing 4.4 million Pakistanis may require hospitalization and 691,000 may die (hospital beds available: 130,000). The same study claims that if the Government of Pakistan actively ‘suppresses’ the spread of the virus the loss of life will go down by more than 90 percent. Computer generated models are in front of us – how many could die if the government does nothing and how many lives can be saved if the government undertakes ‘suppression measures’. The mother of all questions in my mind: Is our government making decisions based on data?
Imagine, tailor shops are open but cloth shops are not. Construction is open but most of the supply chain is not. Export-oriented industries are open but export orders have been cancelled. There’s a federal understanding of the novel coronavirus spread. There’s a provincial understanding of the same. And, then there’s a military understanding. There’s no national understanding. As a consequence, there’s no national strategy.
Pakistan hasn’t faced a challenge like this before. When hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake, the government should clearly tell us what is expected of us and each and every citizen must follow and obey. But when the government itself is confused ‘confusion becomes the most honest response’.
The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad.
Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
", "image": "http://www.thenews.com.pk/assets/uploads/updates/2020-04-19/l_", "postedOn": "4 months ago", "postTime": 1587258000, "reportBy": null, "categoryName": "Opinion", "videoURL": null, "archivedVideos": [], "relatedStories": [] }, "p646581": { "id": "646581", "title": "Back to the suo motu", "shortDescription": "", "description": "Legal eye
By Babar Sattar
The chief justice of Pakistan took suo-motu cognizance of the PTI regime’s response to Covid-19; critical remarks against Health Adviser to the PM Dr Zafar Mirza ran on a loop for days. But this wasn’t well received for three reasons.
One, it brought back haunting memories from the tenures of CJPs Iftikhar Chaudhry and Saqib Nisar who used suo-motu powers to usurp executive authority and subjected those appearing before the SC to ridicule while aggrandizing personal power. Two, with the perch of populism already occupied by the PTI regime, there is no public space for a populist court at this time. And three, with a decade of judicial overreach with no visible benefit accruing to the people in whose name the power is exercised, the need to structure suo-motu power is writ large.
It is not that the government's response to Covid-19 has been stellar and there is no room for criticism. It is just that judicial intervention promises no dividends. The world is in a truly unprecedented policy space. There are no clear answers. The executive must be afforded wriggle room to formulate policy in the face of evolving facts, and tweak policy choices it makes. If it gets things wrong, there will be time for political accountability. Judges too might be unhappy with the executive’s policy choices like some of us. But exercise of judicial powers to vent can be disruptive.
Aitzaz Ahsan (who led the movement for the restoration of judges) spoke against the Covid-19 suo motu – wisely, candidly and timely. The bar leadership was a big disappointment during CJP Saqib Nisar’s reign of suo motus. CJP Nisar turned out to be an unforgiving judge who didn’t take kindly to criticism. So lawyers mostly kept mum publicly while privately deprecating the abuse of authority, as we don’t like losing briefs. In CJP Nisar’s heyday, to avoid harsh treatment in Court No 1, some kept away, some acquiesced and many weaseled along.
But CJPs Chaudhry and Nisar did tremendous damage to the majesty of law, to certainty as an ideal of rule of law, to the idea of judges being neutral arbiters of the law and to basic civility during judicial proceedings. Their imperious ways hurt the trichotomy of power in Pakistan, public support for elected institutions and democracy, our jurisprudence and economy. And all this time the bar played no effective role against judicial overreach. In this backdrop and our entrenched culture of sycophancy, it is reassuring to see Aitzaz Ahsan speak his mind.
Article 184(3) vests powers in the SC. Why then do they end up being driven by an incumbent CJP’s beliefs, interests or whims? Post-Chaudhry, the tenures of CJPs Tassadaq Jillani and Nasir-ul-Mulk were periods of blissful sanity. CJP Jamali didn’t employ suo motu much. But when he did it mostly had to do with things around his hometown. Then came CJP Nisar and all hell broke loose. Under CJP Khosa sobriety again returned to the SC. Should matters of public importance requiring the SC’s intervention appear and disappear based on a CJP’s proclivities?
Early in their terms as SC judges, Justices Nisar and Khosa were both opposed to arbitrary use of suo-motu powers. CJP Chaudhry had elevated them to the SC instead of letting them have their turns as CJs of the Lahore High Court, where he wanted to retain a loyalist. Justice Nisar would happily narrate how he spoke against the use of suo motu; in administrative meetings CJP Chaudhry counseled younger judges to consider the time they’d be CJP and such power would be handy. Given CJP Nisar’s use of the suo motu, CJP Chaudhry’s counsel seems almost prophetic.
CJP Nisar announced during the new judicial year ceremony in 2018 that the issue of scope and manner of exercise of 184(3) powers would be taken up by the SC on the judicial side. The issue was supposedly raised in an administrative meeting by some SC judges (just as Justices Nisar and Khosa did earlier in their term). To avoid fetters on suo-motu powers through exercise of the SC’s rule-making power, CJP Nisar kicked it towards the judicial side. But while continuing to use suo-motu powers, he never formed a bench to determine the contours of 184(3).
After CJP Nisar, CJP Khosa was resolute in not exercising suo-motu powers in his term. There were many occasions when suo-motu enthusiasts egged him on and tried to shame him for being oblivious to matters of public importance. He didn’t blink. And the SC went back to being the august forum where judges spoke through judgments instead of populist antics and brusque remarks (during hearings that humiliated people) that made headlines. The SC’s focus rightly shifted from trying to reform everyone else to trying to reform the criminal justice system and the courts.
CJP Khosa remained a supporter of structuring 184(3) powers. During his time, draft rules were put together based on sound principles. That 184(3) vests an institutional power in the SC and the manner of its exercise must reflect the same. It must not be the handmaiden of an incumbent CJP. The exercise of suo-motu powers must not undermine the basic principle of equity that no one can be a judge in his/her own cause. Thus, the power must be structured such that a judge identifying the need for its exercise must not be one sitting in judgment over how it is exercised.
Further, no court is infallible. As the apex court, the SC corrects errors made by lower courts. But when it exercises original suo-motu jurisdiction, the room for error still exists – except that there is no forum that can correct such errors. Thus, there must be provision for an intra-court appeal. It is the CJP’s prerogative to determine the constitution of benches. But given the provision for appeal, a CJP wouldn’t want junior judges to sit over his judgment and would like to be part of the appeal bench and thus one-step removed from the initial exercise of 184(3).
Jurisprudence on good governance produced by our SC mandates structuring executive discretion, wider distribution of power to prevent abuse, and transparency as a tool to promote accountability. But when it comes to the administrative powers of courts themselves, the manner of their exercise is opaque at best. So we don’t know what became of draft rules meant to regulate suo-motu powers. Are they pending before a committee? Will they be framed anytime soon? Or has the idea of structuring 184(3) been silently discarded?
The case for the structuring and regulation of 184(3) powers is rock solid and articulated innumerable times. But now is an opportune time to do the needful for two reasons. One, after a decade of experience with suo-motu powers one can safely say that its net benefit has been close to zero. None of the high-profile suo-motu cases led to sustainable reform of structures of governance or accountability of individuals shamed by the SC. There have been no convictions in cases where the SC acted as complainant and effectively framed charges – for eg the Haj Corruption case.
The Saqib Nisar suo motus are still fresh in memory. Advertisements for the Dam Fund are probably still continuing. What became of the initiative? Will anyone be held to account for the misguided initiative that experts continued to warn against, as public infrastructure projects of such magnitude can’t be crowd-funded? Has our water problem been solved? Did Justice Saqib Nisar’s suo-motu-on-the-wheels and hospital inspections fix our public health infrastructure? Who will be held to account for tearing apart the wonderful initiative that the PKLI once was?
And two, there is no partisan issue at the moment that can be used to deflect the need for structuring suo-motu powers (by calling its advocates cronies of such-and-such party or apologists for the corrupt). There is no support across the political spectrum for use of suo-motu or judicial derision to cut the PTI regime to size, notwithstanding its incompetence and even though the PTI itself was the biggest advocate and beneficiary of the suo-motu overdrive. Suo motus must be regulated in the interest of the trichotomy of power, legal certainty, due process and fair trial.
The refusal to regulate suo-motu powers is simply about power. It isn’t about judicial independence or protecting the institution against evil. At best, it is about the belief of judges in line to become CJP that they will exercise unchecked power for the greater good of the people. But history teaches us that self-righteousness often leads to entrenchment of excessive power and then its abuse. Our SC comprises the CJP and at least six other judges in line to become the CJP. Reform of suo-motu power is a litmus test of their commitment to doing the right thing.
The writer is a lawyer basedin Islamabad.
Email: sattar@post.harvard.edu
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