Job quota demanded for blind by Our Correspondent

October 31, 2008 Source: Dawn

BAHAWALPUR, Oct 30: One per cent quota has been demanded for the blind in government jobs.

Speaking here at a ceremony to mark White Cane Day on Thursday, Pakistan Association for the Blind president Khalid Mahmood demanded the government should announce one per cent job quota for the blind, besides giving permanent appointments to those working on contract in various departments.

He also sought instructions to traffic police to help the blinds on the roads.

bahawalpur, oct 30: one per cent quota has been deman- ded for the blind in government jobs. speaking here at a ceremony to mark white cane day on thursday, pakistan association for the blind president khalid mahmood demanded the govern- ment should announce one per cent job quota for the blind, be- sides giving permanent appoint- ments to those working on con- tract in various departments. he also sought instructions to traffic police to help the blinds on the roads.

 

side-effect, Take it seriously!

Friday, October 31, 2008 by Harris Khalique Given the nature of how Pakistani mind works and the second guessing we thrive on as a nation, if someone holds a different opinion from ours, then in most cases either the person is funded by someone to say what she is saying or is pushing someone else's agenda. It has become impossible for us to understand that people can genuinely hold a different opinion without having any ulterior motives. I felt dejected when an old PPP friend who I met in Lahore the other day told me with incredible conviction and confidence that the lawyers' movement is now being financed by Sharif Brothers and other financiers of the PML-N. This was the evening of the day Ali Ahmed Kurd had won the elections of the Supreme Court Bar Association by a wide margin. My friend was terribly upset and refused to listen to my humble submissions about the way the issue was being mishandled by the PPP. He stopped short of saying that I am a part of the larger conspiracy against the angelic, sagacious and competent democratically elected political leadership of the country. But that's not what made me sad. What troubled and pained me, made me feel a lump in my throat, was the allegation levelled against people whose integrity is beyond doubt. Because when you say that the lawyers' movement is now being funded for political gains of someone else, it means that people like Ali Ahmed Kurd, Munir A. Malik, Rasheed Rizvi, Aitzaz Ahsan, Athar Minallah, Wajiha Mehdi and Shoaib Ashraf are dishonest and being bribed by the PML-N to further its interests. What other inference you would make if you accuse them of accepting money from your political adversaries. The other interesting bit is that since the Sharifs and their cronies have started funding the movement, the movement has actually not done anything significant which would need resources. Therefore, the money allegedly being spent by Sharifs is on individuals. This clearly means, as I said before, that the palms of the leadership of the lawyers' movement are being waxed. I detest this assertion. Just because the people I have mentioned above are to be respected and held in high esteem for their commitment and uprightness even if you disagree with their tactics. Many of us who are critical of how the government is handling the matter do not necessarily support the PML-N or want the government to destabilize. In my case, not a wee bit. Our intention is exactly the opposite. We want the fragile democratic order to establish itself on firm footing and those who have formed the governments after February 2008 elections to stay in power. This we want for the betterment of the Pakistani state and society, for its prosperity and its institutional norm-setting according to the constitution of the republic. The Naeks and the Khosas must avoid advising President Zardari to take the same course which General Musharraf took. I wrote in my last column and now reiterate that please do not let the narrow-minded and the confused hijack the movement by your egotistic misadventures. Restoring a few judges from the backdoor or elevating them to the higher court wouldn't resolve the matter. The PPP contributed to making Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry a symbol of supremacy of the constitution and law. Those who gave their lives or lost their limbs in May 2007 trying to receive Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in Karachi or in the blast in the party stall to receive the chief justice in July 2007 in Islamabad were no less important than those who sacrificed their lives trying to protect their leader Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in Karachi and then in Rawalpindi. I also remember the now divided but very well-meaning civil society activists in Islamabad, including PPP sympathizers, braving police batons, teargas shells, grisly lockups and Adiala Jail. I remember Benazir Bhutto trying to visit the house-imprisoned chief justice on November 13, 2007. Take the movement seriously PPP and try resolving the issue more wisely and with the respect it deserves. The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harris@spopk.org

 

 

 

Art, speech contest for children

Source: Dawn October 30, 2008

LAHORE, Oct 29: The Japanese embassy is arranging an art competition and a speech contest for children at Alhamra here on Nov 4.

The event is an annual feature and quite popular among schoolchildren of the city.

It is being organized by the Japanese embassy in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council, the Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association and MEXT Alumni Association of Pakistan.—APP

lahore, oct 29: the japanese embassy is arranging an art competition and a speech contest for children at alhamra here on nov 4. the event is an annual feature and quite popular among school- children of the city. it is being organised by the japanese embassy in collabora- tion with the lahore arts council, the pakistan-japan cultural association and mext alumni association of pakistan.- —app

 

No funds for missing facilities in schools by Mudassir Raja

Source: Dawn, 27-Oct-08

RAWALPINDI, Oct 26: Punjab has 28,000 schools without electricity, 9,800 without water and washrooms, and 16,000 without boundary walls.

And to provide for these missing facilities, the provincial government needs Rs130 billion to 140 billion but this huge amount at this moment is not available.

There are around 1,000 schools with dilapidated buildings and missing facilities in Gujranwala district alone. Most of these schools were built in 1996.

This was revealed by Task Force Elementary Schools (TFES) Chairman Raja Mohammad Anwar while speaking at a seminar on ‘Education Policy 2008’ held at Gordon College here on Saturday.

The seminar was attended by Secretary Education Primary Schools Nadeem Ashraf, Punjab Textbook Board Chairman Sohail Maqbool, all concerned executive district officers (EDOs), headmasters, principals, MPAs Raja Hanif, Malik Yasir and Ziaullah Shah.

The TFES chairman said some 450,000 people were working in education sector and the figure was 56 per cent of the total government employees in the province of Punjab.

He also pointed out that 12.2 million children were enrolled in government schools and of them around 700,000 appeared in the primary, 600,000 middle and 350,000 in the matriculation examinations last year.

He said in 2007 the primary and middle result was 100 per cent, in 2008 these results declined to 93 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively. Some 11,000 students showed A+ result.

He said last year the government spent Rs70 billion, excluding pensions, on the education sector. According to estimates, the government is spending Rs400,000 on the education of a single child annually.

The chairman demanded regularisation of contract teachers and increase in their salaries, and urged teachers to show good results to prove their ability.

He added that the teachers did not have trust in their own institutions where they were teaching, therefore, they had ad mitted their own children in private schools.

The secretary primary schools said 34,000 teachers would be recruited across the province this year. The government has set up Rs1 billion fund to award those teachers who show good performance.

He said the purpose of holding the seminar was to get suggestions from the teachers for the government for preparing education policy 2008.

Former federal secretary education Chaudhry Munir said since 1947, 12 education policies had been prepared and every one was very good but the dilemma was that none had been implemented with full force.

He said instead of preparing a new education policy, the one adopted in 1992 should be practised. The 1992 policy comprised of 26 chapters and it covered every aspect of education.

The PTB chairman accepted that there were errors in the Punjab textbooks and stressed the need to review the syllabus in order to remove the mistakes.

rawalpindi, oct 26: punjab has 28,000 schools without elec- tricity, 9,800 without water and washrooms, and 16,000 without boundary walls. and to provide for these miss- ing facilities, the provincial gov- ernment needs rs130 billion to 140 billion but this huge amount at this moment is not available. there are around 1,000 schools with dilapidated build- ings and missing facilities in gujranwala district alone. most of these schools were built in 1996. this was revealed by task force elementary schools (tfes) chairman raja mohammad anwar while speak- ing at a seminar on ‘education policy 2008’ held at gordon college here on saturday. the seminar was attended by secretary education primary schools nadeem ashraf, punjab textbook board chairman sohail maqbool, all concerned executive district officers (edos), headmasters, princi- pals, mpas raja hanif, malik yasir and ziaullah shah. the tfes chairman said some 450,000 people were working in education sector and the figure was 56 per cent of the total gov- ernment employees in the prov- ince of punjab. he also pointed out that 12.2 million children were enrolled in government schools and of them around 700,000 appeared in the primary, 600,000 middle and 350,000 in the matriculation examinations last year. he said in 2007 the primary and middle result was 100 per cent, in 2008 these results declined to 93 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively. some 11,000 students showed a+ re- sult. he said last year the govern- ment spent rs70 billion, exclud- ing pensions, on the education sector. according to estimates, the government is spending rs400,000 on the education of a single child annually. the chairman demanded reg- ularisation of contract teachers and increase in their salaries, and urged teachers to show good results to prove their ability. he added that the teachers did not have trust in their own institutions where they were teaching, therefore, they had ad- mitted their own children in pri- vate schools. the secretary primary schools said 34,000 teachers would be recruited across the province this year. the government has set up rs1 billion fund to award those teachers who show good performance. he said the purpose of hold- ing the seminar was to get sug- gestions from the teachers for the government for preparing education policy 2008. former federal secretary edu- cation chaudhry munir said since 1947, 12 education policies had been prepared and every one was very good but the dilemma was that none had been implemented with full force. he said instead of preparing a new education policy, the one adopted in 1992 should be prac- tised. the 1992 policy comprised of 26 chapters and it covered ev- ery aspect of education. the ptb chairman accepted that there were errors in the punjab textbooks and stressed the need to review the syllabus in order to remove the mistakes.

 

 

Side-effect Kurd versus Zafar

Friday, October 24, 2008 by Harris Khalique When I write these lines, a crucial election is awaited at the Supreme Court Bar Association. Arch campaigner from the legal fraternity, Ali Ahmed Kurd, is fighting for the presidency of the bar against one of his former comrades in the lawyers' movement, M Zafar. To the dismay of some leading lawyers, even the Attorney-General of Pakistan, Sardar Latif Khosa, is drumming up support for Zafar. The result of this election would spell out the future of a unique movement in the country's history besides impacting the political landscape in the long term. I agree with the critics of the lawyers' movement who say that it was not a grassroots people's movement. It was not a people's movement but a movement for the people of Pakistan. It was for the restoration of their dignity and realisation of their constitutional rights. An exceptionally important factor in derailing democracy in Pakistan is the historic role of the higher judiciary in condoning the sacking of civilian governments and dissolution of parliaments. Always, after abrogating the constitution and dismissing parliament, the dictator seeks support from the judiciary. We all know about the famous Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Case. If the removal of Chaudhry Muhammad Ali's government in the early years of Pakistan was not ratified by Justice Munir's bench of the then Federal Court invoking the doctrine of necessity, this would have been a different country. Exceptions like Justices MR Kiyani, BA Siddiqui, Dorab Patel, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim and some others, could not create a critical mass. Bhutto was hanged even after so many judges were retired or removed. There are always enough judges to provide a firm judicial support, if not moral one, to the wrongdoings of military dictators or civilian autocrats. It was for the first time in the history of Pakistan that the superior judiciary and its subordinate judiciary down to the district level had resisted the bureaucracy and the military in such big numbers. Initially, after the unceremonious and illegal suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan on March 9, 2007, and then again after the imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007, they took a clear position. They were fully supported by the bar who in turn mustered a lot of strength from civil society and the media. Standing up against the dictator was one factor and the pro-people decisions which irritated the elitist bureaucracy was the other, which made many people side with the chief justice and the lawyers' movement. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his colleagues were not angels and their immediate reinstatement after February 2008 elections would not have resolved all issues we face. However, it could have been a leap towards restoring the confidence of people in their constitution, legal system and democratic ideals. The party that lost most lives in the lawyers' movement and whose leaders literally took the front seat including their chairperson promising on November 13, 2007, to hoist the national flag on the chief justice's residence, and the party whose participation kept the movement liberal and progressive, ditched the movement just on the whims of a part of its leadership and ill-advised pressure from abroad. This was based on expediency and a lack of understanding. While I firmly believe that parliament must call the shots and politicians, good, bad or ugly, must continue to make decisions, fundamental changes in Pakistan's social, economic and political structure are needed to keep democracy intact and wrestle the country out of its present struggle with poverty, injustice, bigotry and terrorism. If the democratic and pro-people Ali Ahmed Kurd doesn't win, not only the dwindling lawyer's movement will face even harsher adversarial winds, but the mobilisation of concerned citizens and the consciousness raised among people in the name of constitutional rights will go into the hands of the misleading religious Right led by people like Qazi Hussain Ahmed and ideologically confused politicians like Imran Khan. The incumbent government has to take a long-term view not only if they are interested in true democratisation but also if they wish to survive in power. The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner.Email: harris@spopk.org

 

Rs16bn for school education in Punjab

Source: Dawn, October 20, 2008

LAHORE, Oct 19: The government will spend Rs16.454 billion on 22 school education promotion projects in Punjab during the current financial year.

Senior Minister Raja Riaz Ahmad said this while speaking at a workshop on school education here on Sunday.

The minister said that funds were being utilized on current and 11 new projects aimed at raising the education standard and to attract dropouts to return to schools by offering them various incentives.

Giving a detail of projects, he said that Rs42.80 million were being spent on accelerated program for school education, Rs2.5 billion for Punjab Education Sector Reforms Program, Rs2 bil lion on accelerated program for school education for girls, Rs1.91 million for accelerated program for school education for boys, Rs1 billion for education priority program and Rs3, 630 million for model schools program.

The minister said that this program would also help raise the standard of education besides providing missing facilities in public sector schools.

He said the education was the basic human right of every citizen and the government was committed to providing quality education to all.

The workshop was also addressed by several experts who presented their proposals for the promotion of education and raising its standard.

 

 

Side-effect Anwar Ahmed's Multan

Side-effect

Anwar Ahmed's Multan Friday, October 17, 2008 Harris Khalique Rainer Maria Rilke, one of the most astonishing poets to walk the earth, said, "I would like to step out of my heart and go walking beneath the enormous sky." Dr Anwar (pronounced Anvaar) Ahmed has done the same when doing pen portraits of his family, teachers, friends, colleagues and those who inspired him over the years in his collection "Yaadgaar-i-Zamana Hain Jo Logg". However, while he walked out of his heart to take a long stroll and reflect, he did keep a piece of it in his pocket. That piece of heart peeps through the chiselled lines of his prose and hence rounds off the edges for the reader. His collection is not just a usual nostalgic trip down the memory lane but revives one's belief in humanity.  Beginning from a vivid description of his grandparents and the family in which he grew up, its tensions, complexities and simplicities, to at times witty and at times sad portrayals of his contemporaries bring that Multan to life which has sheltered and produced a galaxy of incredible people in all walks of life. Being overshadowed by the grandeur of Lahore did nothing to stop these people from Multan making significant contributions to the world of art, literature and academic excellence.  The book is published from Lyallpur (I prefer to call it Lyallpur rather than Faisalabad for a whim of mine to be discussed sometime later), where Dr Anwar Ahmed is now a dean and professor of literature at the Government College University after retiring from long years of service at the Urdu department of Bahauddin Zakariya University in his native Multan. Setting up of Seraiki Language Centre which later became a full-fledged department goes to his credit too. Dr Ahmed has published short stories before and edited and compiled a number of literary anthologies. "Yaadgaar-i-Zamana Hain Jo Logg" is written with both compassion and objectivity. It also took me to the Multan I know where there is always some work to do and many friends to meet. Multan has a peculiar charm. More than the imposing shrines of Sufi saints for which Multan is considered to be sacred, whenever I enter the city I am reminded of the struggle for Multan's sovereignty in the nineteenth century waged by Nawab Muzaffar Hussain Khan in the face of the atrocious army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Nawab gave his life but did not surrender to Maharaja's army. The event that made him into a hero was his decision to finally let the army enter the city after realising that now resistance would cause a lot of bloodshed and the common people would suffer hugely. When he was convinced that there is little Multanis could do to stop the all powerful invaders, he went into his palace and when Maharaja's army entered the palace he fought them to death. Some time after the fall of Multan, Maharaja Ranjit Singh came to visit his new territory and the first thing he did was to pay his respects to the valour of his adversary by visiting the Nawab's grave. According to Khushwant Singh's account of the Maharaja, he took the two surviving princes of the Nawab to Lahore as his courtiers. That may have been his way of eliminating any possibility of an uprising in future.  The politician Dr Anwar Ahmed remembers at the end of his book is not from Multan but someone he considers a people's leader. His piece on Benazir Bhutto reflects the trauma the nation went through after her assassination. But even after having a prime minister from the place, nothing can change for real if a new pro-people political and economic order is not established in the country. We see the two princes of Multan ending up in the Maharaja's court. It is now for the common people of Multan to rise and join hands with their underprivileged, downtrodden and marginalised fellow citizens from all parts of Pakistan to change their destiny and help create a just and prosperous country. The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harris@spopk.org