‘City’s Pashtuns alienated by corrupt Nadra, police officials’

 ANP, its factions mark death anniversaries of famed Pashtun nationalist leaders Bacha and Wali Khan

Senator Shahi Syed of the Awami National Party (ANP) said working-class Pashtuns residing in Karachi were being targeted by corrupt officials for their ethnicity.

Addressing a public gathering organised by the party to observe death anniversaries of acclaimed Pashtun nationalist leaders, Bacha Khan and his son Wali Khan, Syed held officials of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) and the police department responsible for marginalising the city’s Pashtun community.

“For some forces, Pashtuns are acceptable only as drivers, watchmen and labourers, but not as doctors, lawyers and engineers,” the Senator asserted, strongly directing all party workers to educate their children, especially girls.

Syed, also ANP’s president in Sindh, said his party had rendered huge sacrifices to attain peace through its politics.

The Awami National Party (ANP) and its dissident faction ANP-Wali (ANP-W) on Sunday held separate ceremonies in the city to mark the death anniversaries of founder of Khudai Khidmatgar movement Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan popularly known as Bacha Khan and his son Abdul Wali Khan.

The father and son – who died in January 1988 and 2006 respectively - were remembered as true campaigners of reforms through peaceful means, by leaders of both the parties, while their political contributions were also praised.

ANP in its public gathering, organised at Gul Ahmed Chowrangi in Landhi, demanded the federal government to ensure Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s and Balochistan’s due share in all development schemes related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Besides this, the party also called for immediately merging the federally administrated tribal areas (FATA) with the KP province. He said the ANP would show its power next month by organising a huge rally in the city; party’s central president, Asfandyar Wali, would also be participating in it.

About the CPEC project, the senator said that his party was not against development, but wanted KP and Balochistan to be given their due share in all mega development projects. He further asked the federal government to follow suggestions of the FATA Reforms Committee and merge FATA into the KP province.

The ANP’s provincial and district leaders, including Younas Buneri, Saeed Afghan, Hameedullah Advocate and Ehsan Khan, also spoke at the ceremony.

ANP-W

The dissident faction of the party, led by Begum Wali, widow of Wali Khan and mother of ANP chief Asfandyar Wali, had also organised an event in Zafar Town in Landhi.

Fazal Karim Lala, the ANP-W’s Sindh president, said the entire Pashtun community was proud of Bacha and Wali Khan. “Both were principled politicians who strived for a progressive Pakistan instead of seeking personal benefits,” he observed.

Addressing the event, the party’s secretary general in Sindh Qasim Jan, said both the leaders always stood for the rights of Pashtuns. “During his lifetime, Bacha Khan was declared an agent of India and Russia, but now, the people are compelled to follow the policies he put forward,” Jan added.

The new VC

Professor M Ajmal Khan was awarded a PhD in 1985 by the Ohio University, USA and DSc in 2011 by the KU.

He has remained a visiting professor at several US and European universities and the President of Pakistan awarded him the Pride of Performance on August 14, 2001 and Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2007 in recognition of his scientific contribution.

The Pakistan Academy of Sciences elected Dr Khan its fellow in 2001 while The World Academy of Sciences elected him its fellow in 2004. The Islamic Academy of Sciences  elected him its fellow in 2011.

The Higher Education Commission, Pakistan, felicitated Dr Khan by awarding him the title of ‘Distinguished National Professor’ in 2005. The The Pakistan Academy of Sciences has given its highest award to Dr Khan the ‘Distinguished Professor of the year 2008’.

He served at the University of Karachi from 1975 till his retirement in 2012 as a tenured track meritorious professor and later he joined the Qatar University as Qatar Shell Professorial Chair in Sustainable Development and the coordinator of Food Security Programme at the Centre for Sustainable Development.

The Institute for Sustainable Halophyte Utilisation funded by the HEC and KU and with Professor Khan as its founder director has been completed and providing facilities for research on developing non-conventional crops in saline areas.

Dr Khan’s group has already patented a fodder grass which is equivalent to corn but with a productivity of 60,000 kg/hectare/year under saline conditions. In the face of rapidly decreasing per capita availability of fresh water, increasing soil salinisation and rapid growth of human population his research is of immense value particularly for the arid regions of the world.

He has been the chair holder of the UNESCO chair in Sustainable Halophyte Utilisation at the Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilisation, University of Karachi since 2009.

Professor Khan has been offered several international assignments during 2011 including Scientific Advisor to Qatar Foundation, Doha, and visiting Professor under Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Programme, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After joining the Qatar University, he was instrumental in creating a new centre at College of Arts and Sciences which is referred to as Centre for Sustainable Development and where currently he is heading the food security program for Qatar.

He has completed 40 research projects on various aspects of salt tolerance in plants. The authenticity and uniqueness of his research has received wide acclaim from his peers and fellow researchers and his publications are repeatedly cited in papers from various corners of the world.

He has published more than 400 research papers with impact factor of 285; RG index: 39.64 citations of 7524, h-index of 50 and i10-index of 135. He has also edited 14 books.