How to Sabotage Change (Tabdeeli) by Turning the Focus from Output to Input

Change Resistance from bureaucracy against IK's "tabdeeli" agenda through very clever manoeuvre by taking IK's eyes off the ball (output). By opening the Pandora box of holidays per week, Sir Humphery (of Yes Prime Minister serial fame) or equivalent senior bureaucrat in the IK's clique had turned the debate away from "output" measurement and towards "input" measurement; no one wants to know how much input (#days, #hours ) bureaucrats are giving per week. People n PTIans do not want to know whether bureaucrats are inputting 5 days or 6 days per week, or whether they are inputting 6 hours or 8 hours per day. This is input measurement. They want concrete measurable output. #jobscreated, #homes constructed, #cases resolved by courts, reduction in #kidsdropouts from school,... People want "output" not "input".

Traditions of Ramadan: Reflections of Past Ramadans for Rekindling

This is a time to reflect on our traditions and culture of Ramazan. I am wondering how many of Pakistanis are still experiencing these. There are some disturbing posts on FB and also through some of my interactions with others that inform me that it is not only time to reflect but also to rekindle these traditions through a conscious sustained effort. We can no longer take for granted some of these traditions wherever they are continuing. Here I reflect on my life and learning over the last 55 years with many of these traditions

How Long Pakistan has been Under the Corrupt Rule when Imran Khan Tookover

Only RAW agents or traitors can claim that IK has inherited 30-70 years of corruption in Pakistan. At most there can only be 10 years (2008-18) of corruption because by 2008 Gen Musharraf through his 9 years of most clean anti-corruption dictatorial rule had eliminated ALL corruption. During this rule, Gen Musharraf had completely obliterated corruption,  which was accumulated during bloody civilians' corruption infested rule during 1988-99. Pl note that by 1988, ultra-patriotic Gen Zia's anti-corruption martial law of 11 years had completely cleansed Pakistan from all the corruption that only ZAB must have accumulated during his 1971-77 rule. Of course ZAB corrupted a Pakistan that he got completely corruption-free. Pakistan was cleansed of all corruption through tireless n sustained efforts of two ultra-patriotic dictators Gen Ayub n Gen Yahya. Gen Ayub n Gen Yahya's rule spanned 14 years from 1958 to Dec 1971, through which they obliterated corruption accumulated by the bloody civilians since the inception of Pakistan. These patriotic dictators achieved this through angels descending from heavens and by 1971, by 1988, and by 2008 they had left the country pristine and blemish-free from any crime n corruption. Hence, all n every bit of corruption that exists today ONLY occurred during corrupt rule of ultra corrupt bloody civilians over the last 10 years.

• How Corruption is being Eliminated in Pakistan since 1950s: Corruption as a Ruse to Maintain Status Quo

Ghaus e Buner (Swat), Syed Ali Tirmidhi's Descendant Syed Akbar Shah of Sathana

By Muhammad Shafi Sabir

Tazkara Sarfaroshan e Sarhad: Syed Akbar Shah of Sathana

One of the most vocal and active resistance leader against the Sikh Regime's injustices was Syed Akbar Shah of Sathana. He belonged to the family of Ghaus e Buner, Hazrat Syed Ali Tirmidhi also known as Pir Baba Rahmatullah Alaihe. In tribute of Syed Akbar Shah, British Historians have this to say: "The death of Swat's Ruler Syed Akbar Shah on the 11th of May 1857 was a good omen for our Government. This was the day when news of the war of independence had reached our offices in Peshawar. If he were alive by this time, then the political scenario of the Frontier would have been much different."

• I want to explore links of this lineage with Syed Hasan Tirmizi in my Family Tree of Sadat e Nehtaur: A Case Study of Compilation of Social History One of the objective of this post is to stimulate some researcher to find the link between the two shajras with common ancestors in Tirmiz.

Market Value vs Cost Declaration of Properties in Tax Returns

Why variations in property value declarations in nomination papers?
Do u know property is declared for tax purposes at its purchase value, also known as book value? 
500yds DHA plot bought in 1990 for (say) 3 lacs is declared at 3 lacs, not its current market value which can be 3crores!
Rationale: Will you pay tax every year for property value appreciation? What if your property depreciates? Will you ask for tax credit? What scams will this fluctuations and adjustments may cause? What about fluctuations in stocks?
Hence, capital gains tax is only levied at the time of sale of the asset, when sale price is subtracted from purchase price. The difference becomes capital gains, and is taxed as Capital Gain Tax.

Property or land will be declared as per purchase value as well as current value in Election Commission assets declaration both, but only purchase value (at the time of purchase) will be provided in Election nomination papers. Also there is only property tax no wealth tax as of now, but we need to submit wealth statement with tax returns, property tax is provincial tax not federal.

As per IFRS and GAAP all properties supposed to be disclosed at cost or market value which ever is lower. Any depreciation needs to adjusted in balance sheet, but not enhance in the market value. So it should be at cost.

Neocolonialism and Indian Agenda for Pakistan

Neocolonialism and Indian agenda for Pakistan consists of the following points that they use their stooges in Pakistan to promote:

1. FATF restrictions on foreign trade. Further throttle whatever exports remain. Check!
2. Convert CPEC from "game changer" to "game over" (in progress)
3. Convert Positive sentiments into negative sentiments for outlook on Pakistan's Economic Progress. Check!
4. Change the election discourse from competition on development to competition on muck throwing (libel, slander, invectives). Check!
5. Stultify growth in domestic sectors by stopping investments in high growth industry and real estate sector. (in progress)
6. Convince world powers that Pakistan is not a democracy and is being controlled. Check!
7. Keep Pakistan perpetually destabilized and perpetually developing and perennially in ICU, and for ever dependent on WB, IMF,.. .
8. Make provinces fight against each other. Create conditions where people turn against state. (in progress)
9. Stop urban centers from becoming lively and engines of growth and keep them as ghettos that are dirty, violent, and unlivable.
10. Stop and stultify the vibrant and emerging social sector and government partnerships in health, education, poverty alleviation and environment.

Dr Muhammad Mahmud of IBA: A Self-made Industrious Faculty Member

Dr M Mahmud expired early morning of July 12, 2018. Inna lillah e wa inna ilaihi rajioon. May Allah reward him with the best of abodes in the hereafter. Aameen. Allah blessed him with 27th Ramazan night to start this journey.

He was an alumnus of IBA. His association with IBA started in 1967-68 in the accounts section and extended for over 40+ years. At the time of death, he was associated with IoBM as faculty and professor of finance and accounting department. He had been at IoBM for the last several years, and had also been HoD of Accounting and Finance department. As Dean, I found him to be diligent, conscientious professional who would take all his responsibilities seriously.

Dr Muhammad Mehmud (d. 2018)

Is Pakistan under a Judicial Martial Law? CJMLA parallel with CMLA

What is common between Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA) and a Chief Judicial Martial Law Administrator (CJMLA) or a Chief Executive Martial Law Administrator (CEMLA)?
"A creeping coup has taken place against the authority of the civilian government. The coup has taken place very quietly before the election," Mr Farhatullah Babar said in a seminar [1]. "It is different from the martial law of the past, with two resulting outcomes: the civilian government exists, but has no authority; press freedom exists, but journalists have no freedom."

This "creeping coup" is defined by this post as a Judicial Martial Law, a term which was formally demanded by Shaikh Rashid [2] on March 23, 2018. Despite pretensions to the contrary by the Chief Justice to have burred the Doctrine of Necessity [?], the scope creep of suo-motto notices across all organs of state and government demonstrate otherwise. This post argues that currently we seem to be under a Judicial Martial Law because the scope-creep of suo-motto has gone beyond the limits of the constitution and is now exhibiting the prominent distinctive attributes of a conventional army led martial law. The common attributes shared by the two versions of martial law include arrogation of the powers of the three pillars of the democratic state into a single person along with usurpation of the constitutional rights of due process of law and freedoms, specifically the right of expression, and a travesty of justice through an arbitrary and discretionary application of law and constitution through selective judgments that are contradictory to each other. 

Express news of March 23, 2018

Lesson from Decade of Development of Dictator Gen Ayub Khan: Development without People Representation

Do we want to build yet another big dam without building consensus among all the affected provinces? Do we again want to forget the disastrous consequences in our history when development projects were steamrolled without people's consent? We see in our media yet another drive to hammer the benefits of Kalabagh Dam (KBD) while relying only on technical feasibility data and completely ignoring the real reason for opposition, namely, the trust-deficit of the smaller provinces as explained in the linked post. This post reveals the reality of Gen Ayub's construction of seven dams during 1960s, which is being used to heap accolades on the role of dictator in Pakistan's development. The use of this approach in support of KBD is again going to be a recipe for disaster and alienation if we fail to  understand that "a nation that forgets history is forgotten by history!" Our history tells us that development projects of the 1960s, which were forced down the throat of the people without their representation, had led to disastrous results. The case of seven dams built in West Pakistan during 1960s which is being promoted on the social media as a great gift of dictator Gen Ayub Khan to Pakistan was one of the greatest disservice done to Pakistan. The naive dictator, caught in the spell of his neo-colonial handlers, may have been hoodwinked into believing with good intentions that "big" development projects benefit the people. However, the grandiose development projects ended up confirming the suspicion of Bengalis of East Pakistan that they were being disenfranchised by West Pakistanis. The development was a ploy and its visible concentration only in the West, was only designed to benefit the West Pakistanis. This feeling of injustice and disenfranchisement exploded when Gen Yahya, another military dictator from West Pakistan, refused to handover the power to Awami League, the political party from East Pakistan led by Shaikh Mujeeb that had won the 1970 elections. This led to mass protests in East Pakistan, followed by a brutal army operation, which finally culminated in secession of East Pakistan in 1971 as Bangladesh.

A Tribute to Cricket for Spearheading my English Language Acquisition - Sports and Language Learning

I often see parents worrying about language skills of their children. A closer look at the hobbies of such children will indicate that they are not passionate about any hobbies especially sports. Here I would detail the role of cricket in spearheading my English language acquisition.  As my interest grew, with cricket and started following the cricket there were some milestones.

The book that I read in 1980s

[Work in Process]
Coming soon

Role Model of Forthrightness, Calm and Resourcefulness: Daud Khaloo

I can still hear the distinctive sound of Daud Khaloo's Java motor cycle coming from afar in 1970s calm and quiet  Khawaja Nazimuddin Road portion of F-6/4 of Islamabad near China Chowk. It was the time when Shahrah-e-Quaid e Azam and the adjoining buildings  now known as the Blue Area had not yet been constructed, nor were there any high rises on Khawaja Nazimuddin Road.  The putt-putt of the Java motorcycle would announce his coming with Good Beti (Khala Jan) from the small bridge near our house in those clear, serene times of Islamabad. My mother and father would start issuing instructions on hearing this announcement to prepare for their reception.

Jawa motorcyle like this was brought by Daud Khaloo from USSR

Sardar Mamoo - Reliance and Tawakal on Allah- Life is to give and not to take

"Shah M Mubeen ur Rehman known in the family as Sardar was my ماموں  and veteran of wars of 1965 and 1971 (Baluch Regiment) and passed away with metastatic cancer in 1992. He along with his brother Shah M Ismail, served as رضا کار during Hyderabad Indian army action in 1948 and narrowly escaped death at the hands of Indian military. His older brother Shah M Farid ur Rehman was also a volunteer and was martyred during the migration following the partition of India, when the train he was travelling in was cut and the passengers were lynched by the mobs. His body was never found. An acquaintance who was sent to search for Farid Mamoo reported that he saw a body matching the description of the jacket that he was wearing.

Kalabagh Dam Use for Inciting Smaller Provinces against Federation-Technical Feasibility vs Trust-Deficit Issue

The opposition for big dams like Kala Bagh Dam (KBD) originates in smaller provinces from the same concerns and mistrust that we have for India building big dams up stream on Indus because it hurts Pakistan's lower riparian rights when the water is diverted away from us without our consent and approval. It is primarily a trust-deficit problem and is not technical or financial feasibility problem that many people typically think.

A Tale of Two Live Performances of Pastoral- 6th Symphony of Beethoven and My Musical Journey

Here I recall the two experiences of my life while attending two live performance of Beethoven's 6th Symphony, "Pastoral" and how they stimulated my love for Beethoven and classical music. The two experiences are spread apart by nearly thirty years. First was at UT Austin's Bates Recital Hall in 1989 conducted by Louis Lane and the second was at the Hong Kong's Cultural Center Concert Hall conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy in 2018, and this is a tale of my musical journey with Pastoral.

Louis Lane, Director Orchestra atThe University of Texas at Austin from 1989-92

Metro Transport Infrastructure of Hong Kong and Detractors of Metro for Pakistan

I just returned from Hong Kong. I was astounded to see the metro bus-train infrastructure and roads infrastructure with elevated expressways and flyovers constructed not only in city areas but also on sea and between islands. There are over 15000 buses plying on over 500 routes. Crisscrossing the islands were 11 train lines with such heavy use. I often saw several routes buses on the same bus stop. Not to speak of was the ferry service between the islands. There is no need for residents to own cars living in the congested city areas.

Metro Buses and Trains vs Health and Education-Tryanny of OR

Why can't we come out from the tyranny of "or"?
It should not be either metro "or" health/education. It should be metro train/bus "and" health/education. 
As admirably explained in Malcolm Gladwell's book "Built to Last", issues should not be cast as "either-or". Great leaders learn the power of "and" !
It is not either quality "or" cost. It is both quality "and" cost.

A Tale of Two Operations- 1999 Kargil Operation and 1965 Operation Gibraltar

1999 Kargil Op & 1965 Op Gibraltar: Two pompous dictators, two huge fiascos, two strategic miscalculations by dictator generals who live their early life saying only "yes-sir", and then live the remaining life only hearing and expecting nothing except "yes-sir".

Interestingly enough both of these clandestine operations had several common characteristics :

1. Both were secret operations. Only a very small clique within GHQ knew about the op. 
2. Both were brain child of a select few, know-all, be-all pompous dictatorial generals with delusion of grandeur. Led by pompous Gen Ayub n Gen Musharraf. 

Dictator Gen Musharraf as Bounty Hunter: Costs of Joining War on Terror

 [To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

References:

1. Musharraf handed over 4,000 Pakistanis to foreign countries
2. https://tribune.com.pk/story/1687073/1-musharraf-handed-4000-pakistanis-foreign-countries/
3. Pakistan suffers $123.1 bn losses in terror war
4. Pakistan’s losses in war on terror fail to impact US discourse
5. War on terror fought with Pakistan’s own resources, says FO after US aid cut
6. Viewpoint: Why Trump's threats to Pakistan raise serious questions
7. The Social, Political and Economic Effects of the War onTerror: Pakistan 2009 To 2011

How Corruption is being Eliminated in Pakistan since 1950s: Corruption as a Ruse to Maintain Status Quo

Sustained Elimination of Corruption since 1950s. All thanks to CJPs and our patriotic forces:
The corruption was first eliminated in 1951 when Liaquat Ali Khan was terminated and then corruption was eliminated by removing Khwaja Nazimuddin in 1953.
Corruption was again eliminated in 1954 when the Molvi Tameezuddin assembly was dismissed. The patriotic elimination of corruption was then institutionalized in 1955 with Patriot Chief Justice Munir's Doctrine of Necessity (DoN) and its ratification of dissolution of assembly. Corruption was repeatedly eliminated by Patriot Gen Iskandar Mirza for as many as 4+ times from 1956-58 under the watchful eyes of Patriot-in-Chief, CJP Munir. Then came patriot Gen Ayub and imposed Martial Law to eliminate corruption again with the blessings of CJP Munir invoking the DoN. Corruption was then eliminated by Gen Ayub for 11 long years from 1958 to 1969. Then Gen Yahya Khan came in 1969 to eliminate corruption and eventually eliminated it with his blitzkrieg surgical removal and amputation of the corruption filled half on 16th December 1971. CJP's patriotic DoN again ratified Patriot Gen Yahya's corruption elimination rule.

Can a Strong Clean Leader Solve All the Problems of Pakistan- Mythical Narratives

Is it possible to eradicate corruption by only changing the person at the top,  the man at the helm of affairs? Unfortunately, this seems to be the predominant narrative in Pakistan.  This narrative of "Pakistan Needs a Strong, Clean and Decisive Leader at the Top" has been selling in Pakistan since 1950s. This narrative states that Pakistan cannot progress without a strong decisive leader and therefore supports the changing the person at the top narrative under the doctrine of necessity. The narrative erects the bogey of Pakistan's survival is at stake and the fear of Pakistan's breakup is therefore used to justify the ushering in of strong dictators, one after the other, and sells the idea that politicians are weak and corrupt and responsible for all the malaise.

• See also: Are All Politicians Corrupt in Pakistan? Mythical Narratives Designed to Support Rule of Dictators

On one hand, this narrative justifies usurpation of the right of people to elect their leaders and learn from their mistakes. It also stops devolution of the power to provinces and from provinces to the district level as the specter of ethnic divide and fear of dismemberment is raised to stultify the experimentation of people with different political parties and types of leaders.
This narrative also justifies rule by military dictators and un-elected elites.

See also

• Is Illiteracy Responsible for Problems of Pakistan? Narrative to Justify Neocolonialism and dictatorial rule
• Narratives Designed to Dishonor Popular Choice and Support Neo-Colonialism

Agenda to Ensure Supremacy of Law and Constitution in Pakistan

My agenda is simply to strive for supremacy of rule of law and constitution. I am pained to see people hurling invectives, slandering, and condemning people as traitors without due process of law. Even if I know that someone is guilty, I have no authority to take law in my own hand and dispense justice of my liking. This will make me no different from the terrorists who based on their whimsical understanding are willing to explode their vests or the crowds that lynch to death people on mere suspicion of crime.
No,  the only fit and proper recourse for me if I think someone is guilty is to pursue the case as per "due process of law" under article 10A of constitution that upholds the "right to fair trial" as a fundamental human right. This applies equally to all citizens especially more so to CJP whose primary responsibility is to uphold the rule of law in dispensation of justice through ALL levels of judiciary: The fundamental criteria for evaluating quality of justice include  "justice delayed is justice denied" and "justice should not only be done but also seen to be done".

Top Ten Reasons Why HEC Abandoned Quality Ranking of Universities

Recent decision of HEC to abandon its quality rankings [1] needs to be welcomed. It was an initiative motivated by hubris with scant regard to societal and industry requirements. It was conceived and designed by those who wanted all the universities to become research universities and clones of each other. It was a whip with which to make all the universities fall into the same line ignoring their local, geographical, societal, and industry specific contexts and distinct advantages. The criteria appeared to have been designed to satisfy the Western industry and societal requirements, and not from the point of view of national and regional requirements.  The ranking was called quality ranking but was nothing more than measurement of quantities devoid of any qualitative input. It was plagued by political considerations for a quota system. It had the audacity to measure quality of teaching with PhD degrees, and did not discriminate at all across different disciplines with their unique requirements. Above all, there was no mechanism of verification of data. The ranking criteria had too many infirmities and was modified each time under political pressure. It gave too much weight to input and too little weight to outcomes and impact under the assumption that output measurements will suffice. Societal and Industry impact measurement was conspicuous by its absence. Bureaucratic measures of impact were considered to substitute for feedback from industry and society. There was little recognition of the quality of university processes. Above all, HEC being a funding agency and a regulator could not simultaneously also act as a ranking agency because it would try to give more weight to its own funding decisions. Hence, the ranking criteria became nothing more than the criteria of measuring the decisions of HEC fundings.

Is Illiteracy Responsible for Problems of Pakistan? Narrative to Justify Neocolonialism and dictatorial rule

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]
Are Illiterates Responsible for Woes of Pakistan? Or Is this a Narrative to Support Exploitation? Is this narrative designed to support exploitation by the un-elected "educated elites" in the service of neo-colonialism? There is a dominant narrative in Pakistan which states that lack of education is responsible for all our woes and problems. The narrative starts by emphasizing the dismal statistics of illiteracy in Pakistan, and implies that "illiterates" are responsible for the lack of development and progress in Pakistan. This narrative allows the "educated elites" to absolve themselves of their disastrous governance over the last 70 years of our existence and shift the blame on to hapless "illiterates". This narrative justifies usurpation of power by the "educated elites" from the people and maintaining their exclusive hegemony over the distribution of resources. In Pakistan, "illiterates" have never been in power. Half of our existence has been directly under the military rule which had been justified using this narrative explicitly, and during the remaining half, the power had never been devolved to the people using this same narrative. Even the governments formed by the politicians elected by the people had been that of the "educated elites". If there is any clique that should be held responsible for the woes of Pakistan, then it can be no other than the "educated elites". This post explains how this happens.

Pakistan Helped US Become Superpower- In the Service of Neocolonialism

[To understand the context of this post please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

How Pakistan helped US become a superpower is a classic case study of how developing countries are maneuvered to help neo-colonial powers achieve their global agenda. This was admitted on record by DG ISPR in Pakistan,  "Had Pakistan not played its positive role, USA might not be the uni-super power in the world". This was reported in the papers of 29th March 2018 including News, Nation, Dawn etc. The role which has largely been "positive" for the super power is actually "negative" in its fall outs on economy and stability of the country. It has mired us in un-wanted wars for benefits that in the long term turned out to be exorbitant costs. Neocolonialism is the control of developing countries through hegemony and imperialism and through installation of unrepresentative governments and dictators. Pakistan has suffered tremendously on each of these accounts to service neocolonialism. 

DoN godfathers Political Engineering of the SC Bench to Obtain Doctrine of Necessity Judgement

How SC Bench was engineered in 1955 to get the judgement of choice notorious as Doctrine of Necessity (DoN). Sindh High Court had decided against the decision of Governor General in 1954 to dissolve the Constituent Assembly, and had restored Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan to his office of the President of the Constituent Assembly. The following excerpt from Hamid Khan's book "A History of Judiciary of Pakistan" [1], describes the doctoring or political engineering of the bench in 1955 that was sitting on the appeal which was filed by the Governor General against the SHC decision. There were five judges on the bench. CJ Munir knew that getting the judgement of choice was not easy in the presence of upright Justice AR Cornelieus and Justice Shahabuddin who would not only stand up but would also persuade another judge to side with them leaving CJ Munir and the 5th judge in minority. Hence, it was decided to some how remove Justice Shahabduddin from the bench and elevate in his place an ad-hoc compliant judge from Lahore High Court. This was done through Governor General Ghulam Muhammad's machinations and scheming and obtained the notorious Doctrine of Necessity judgement [To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

Power of Word in Value Based Education: Discriminating Truth from Falsehood

Honorable Prime Minister, Group Chairperson City School, dignitaries, educationists, teachers and my dear students. I thank the organizers for giving me the opportunity to speak about value based education, some thing that is near and dear to my heart. Power of Word emanates from the depth of our feelings. Words are only words unless they have conviction and heart felt emotions supporting the message. The reason why we are talking about values today is because we have lost sight of the fundamental value that used to be ingrained in the lives of the students. Some 40 years ago, all the corridors and halls of the schools in the morning would start with the reverberation of that prayer from Iqbal that outlines the purpose of life of the students: To make my life a beacon of light whose purpose is to remove the darkness from the entire world and to spread light everywhere. Somewhere along the way, we lost sight of this noble value. Our education's purpose became my personal career and prosperity for me and my family. My only objective became to have a generator that would lit my home instead of my knowledge spreading light everywhere. 

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Covey's First Habit Advice to Chief Justice of Pakistan

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

What is the advice for Chief Justice of Pakistan(CJP) from Covey's First Habit of Highly Effective People: CJP ought to work on his circle of influence, instead of his circle of concern, by focusing on speeding up the judiciary's process of dispensation of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. If CJP succeeds in reducing the average time of court cases, he would have effectively extended his "circle of influence" to encompass majority of zillions of issues which are currently in his "circle of concern" as shown in the figure. However, he can not extend his circle of influence without working on his circle of control i.e. session courts,  high courts and SC. Ignoring the circle of influence and control makes his attempts to address the myriad of issues in his circle of concern, resemble more like "tilting at the windmills" by Cervantes' Don Quixote [1].

Baba Rehmatay- From Chief Justice to Chief Executive: Tilting at the Windmills?

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

What is the constitutional role of CJP? To act as the Chief Justice who arbiters when there is a constitutional conflict between law passed by parliament and executive decision making, or is the CJP role to assume powers of the Chief Executive and start controlling  the executive decision making?  Given the recent intrusion into the executive policy making, Baba Rehmatay through an indiscriminate use of the the suo-motto powers, appears to be morphing from the role of Chief Justice in to the role of Chief Executive? Is CJP responsible for framing  (i) sugar policy, (ii) health policy, (iii) salt policy, (iv) education policy, (v) water policy, (vi) drugs policy, (vii) milk policy, (viii) media policy? Is CJP the framer of investigations policy, procedures and schedules for JITs, and NAB, is he the final approver of executive appointments, and determinant of hiring policy? The news reports below, quoting the remarks and observations of CJP, indicate that he is on a mission. Is the mission extending beyond the constitutional boundaries of judiciary? Ignoring the circle of influence and control over courts makes his attempts to address the myriad of issues in his circle of concern, resemble more like "tilting at the windmills" by Don Quixote as explained in
Covey's First Habit Advice to Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Metro/trains vs hospitals vs schools: Where to Allocate Meagre Resources

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

Metro/trains vs hospitals vs schools vs dams vs energy vs other infrastructure projects?

Allocation of resources to infrastructure projects and measurement of their comparative benefits is a political decision and should be decided  by people not elites. Why?

Sir Najmul Hasan of IBA and How to Determine the Extent of Your Success in Life

Yesterday, during my PhD class with students I was trying to explain the complexity of real world and how models (and theories) help us in making sense of this complexity by focusing on a few concepts and their relationships. The discussion moved towards perception and reality and from there to this phenomenal lesson by Najmul Hasan Sb about how to determine the extent of our success in life. Sir Najmul Hasan did his MBA from 1955-57 as part of the first batch of IBA, Karachi offering the very first MBA program outside North America in collaboration with USAID and University of Pennsylvania. He served as a faculty member of IBA from 1969 till 2006.

Sir Najmul Hasan of IBA. Photo taken for NIC card in 1972-72 

Artificial intelligence vs data science - A Parallel between Chomsky's Cognitive Science vs Skinner’s Behavioral Science

AI is facing the same challenge today from data sciences that was faced by Chomsky’s Cognitive Psychology when it confronted Skinner’s Behavioral Psychology in early 1950s. The basic issue is whether “intelligence” can simply be understood by observing the input-output relations over a black-box representation of the mind? Is the success of Google data science in predicting outputs usefully from deep statistical analysis of big-data of billions of similar input-output relations a sign of artificial intelligence? Does accuracy of proving its machine generated conjectures through big data analytics can actually replace the need of humans to do science, i.e. to develop hypothesis, design experiments, observe results and develop theories? This talk focuses on some of the questions raised by Chomsky about the recent advancements in AI and draws parallel with clash of Cognitive Psychology with the Behavioral Psychology in the 1950. This talk would illustrate through this parallel the need for AI to understand and develop the internal representations of how humans intelligence work.

Constitutional Solution to Curb Horsetrading in Pakistan

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

Massive horsetrading of votes took place during Senate 2018 elections.  PTI and MQM Senate seats were lost. Do you know what were the two signals that triggered  horse trading in Senate elections 2018?

• (1) The stringent regime of secrecy implemented by ECP signaled the voters to cross party lines without divulging their affiliations to their party heads. This led to their wholescale defections. The regime threatened action through agencies.
• (2) Signal by DoN godfathers to declare all PMLN candidates to be independents.

Unfortunately the godfathers' calculations misfired as majority turncoats emerged from PTI. However, PMLN voters, contrary to predictions, held their grounds and retained their loyalty.

Difference between a Political Leader and an Employee

What is the difference between a leader and an employee? To become an employee you need to appear in an interview. However, unlike employees, a leader has no need to appear in a job interview or have his application processed by an HR manager. People elect the leader not some HR manager or unelected elites who want yes-men. It is election not selection. 
Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 28 years in jail as a terrorist, and yet became the leader of people immediately after his release. Infact forceful removal of a leader creates a greater attraction for him. 
Recent senate elections show that ZAB and BB are still stimulating the hearts of people decades after their killing.

Problems of Psychometric Labeling (MBTI-DISC) and Imprisoning People in Artificially Constrained Boxes

Psychometric scales in the hands of psychologists and HR professionals are playing havoc with the lives of people. They are misdiagnosing and being used for purposes that were not the objectives of their design. Use of a test to determine the current state of a person's perception and thinking is one thing and to use it for projecting and predicting the future of that person is quite another thing.

A few years ago I was introduced to MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) which consist of tests that try to fit a person in one of the sixteen boxes as shown in the diagram below. It took me several days after my first introduction with MBTI,  to understand why I felt a troubling unease with the model. MBTI idea is to help the managers identify the box in which a person belongs. He is assigned responsibilities and tasks that are only suitable for that box. Once boxed-in, the HR makes the person believe that he belongs to that box and tries to build strategies within and around that box.

MBTI Boxes in which to fit the human behavior

Smoking and Childhood

The closest I had ever come to smoking was when I was 6years old when my neighborhood friend introduced me to the dried branch of "turai" (torai,  gourd). It has perforations that allow to be lighted and smoked. Did smoke that for a few days. Got caught,  and somehow my mother logically convinced me to never go near to it again.

Are All Politicians Corrupt in Pakistan? Mythical Narratives Designed to Support Rule of Dictators

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

All politicians are corrupt? This sweeping generalization is a narrative used and popularized by supporters of neocolonialism to justify the rule of un-elected elites on one hand,  and on the other hand to demoralize the people,  and keep them in a perpetual state of powerlessness and hopelessness.

Conference Marketing and Promotion-Where is the "conference" in a conference!

Conference Marketing and Promotion: Where is the "conference" in a conference?

Marketing and branding of a conference depends upon its value proposition for its participants. Currently value proposition of most conferences is often every thing except the "confer" part of the conference, which means exchange of ideas and discussions. Typical value propositions of existing conferences include (i) site seeing, (ii) establishing contacts, (iii)  "presenting" papers, (iv) citing conference papers in CVs and research profiles, (v) making money, (vi) gaining promotional mileage, etc where exchange of ideas does not happens except as a side-effect. One-to-many presentations by a paper reader who is totally glued to and dependent on the slides and with no eye contact or engagement with the participants has downgraded the value of conferences. Typically, research paper presentations are only attended by other paper presenters who keep on leaving after their presentations till a time comes that the last presenter is addressing an empty hall. They disappear for site seeing immediately after their presentations. Any discussion and exchange of ideas that do take place happen on the sidelines when participants bunk the conference sessions. Challenge for marketing and promotion of a conference is to establish clearly its value proposition and work on ensuring that worthwhile discussion and exchange ideas takes place during the conference sessions. Panel discussions is often a mechanism to engage the participants and the speakers in interactive discussions but this seldom happens because the moderators are often ill-equipped to catalyze a worthwhile energetic exchange of ideas. The challenge for marketing and promotion of a conference is to ensure the catalyzing of deep discussions about the major issues of the conference themes. This talk would focus on the challenge of connecting the marketing and promotion of a conference  with its content and its value proposition.

[Keynote Speech at IEEE mini POCO 2017, Sep 19, 2017, Organized by IEEEP, CIIT, HEC, Falettis' Hotel, Lahore.]

How Neocolonialism Keeps Developing Countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan Perpetually Destabilized

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]
The analysis of the recent NewYork Times article about Afghanistan indicates that think tanks in USA have worked out all the options for Afghanistan. All these options perpetuate destabilization for the long term which is the actual objective of the policy. Endowment based think tanks and the area study centers spread across universities war game several options, and present a list of options to the President of USA. Whichever, option the president selects, all end up at the same goal; keeping developing countries perpetually destabilized. These options are flexible enough and can be quickly morphed from one option to another as the situation dictates. If all else fails, direct occupation a' la Iraq is always an option.  The un-elected elites installed in such countries become simply a pawn in the machinations of the neo-colonial powers to protect their vested interests and their lives. They are herded into a direction where they can not but follow the desires of the neo-colonial powers. Those that try to pull a fast one, such as Saddam or Gaddafi or Gen Zia are made a spectacular example for the rest to remain in line. The picture below shows how sheep are herded in the direction wanted by the shepherds. Similarly, people of developing countries are driven through the course selected by the neocolonial powers through the shepherds that consist of unelected elites (judiciary, military, dictators, gangs,  extremists) through an option that can only end in a single result: Chaos. The objective is never to give the people a choice to select their own destiny by perpetually keeping them off balance,  and destabilized and fighting for their survival. Hence, none of the developing countries have a functional democracy,  and are perpetually in the survival mode of existence.

What Options Gen Musharraf had after 9-11 when US threatened to send Pakistan to stone age?

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]
I often come across people who consider that Gen Musharraf's U-Turn after 9-11 was the only alternative that the dictator had in the face of the threat from State Department official to bomb Pakistan back to stone age if Pakistan were to refuse to cooperate. A dictator general finding himself running out of ideas and options is typical of his training where he can only see lose-win or win-lose situations. The dictator generals trying to safeguard their illegitimate rule are pathologically incapable of thinking out of box and contemplating options that may exist outside the win-lose or lose-win box. On the other hand,  politicians never run out of ideas even when their backs are to the wall. I personally think the fake commando general could have done several things, but in his false bravado and enclosed in his limited coterie of advisers he took the easiest way out. I think the preferred option would have been that he should have announced elections,  transferred the power to an interim government and told USA that such decisions require consensus. He would have gained several months of time for Pakistan. Getting a political consensus from politicians is hard especially when backed by the military. They would have started bickering and playing politics. The pressure would have thus passed. Turkey did a similar thing when USA tried to pressure Turkey to give land access to US forces for invading Iraq. They referred the case to parliament that conveniently ruled out the possibility. This is Politics 101.

How to Measure the Quality of Your "Parental Relationship"

Quality of "parental relationship" :
اپنے بچوں سے  تعلق قائم کریں قبل اس کے کہ کوئی اور ان سے تعلق قائم کرنا شروع کر دے ۔

Following parameters indicate quality of your relationship is NOT good and you need to be concerned if:

Parental Concern about Economic Future of our Child

I often see parents excessively worried about the economic future of their child. They are often projecting their own insecurities and their own inadequacies on their children despite a huge difference in their situation as a child and their child's current situation. Their over-worrying about the economic future of child belies their faith and eeaman in Allah as Raziq. In their eagerness to protect their children from any adversity that they may face in future, they destroy their confidence, numb their creativity, and kill their enterprising skills which are the very skills required for survival in the unpredictable future. This post explains the misconceptions in this regard.
[Presented at ERDC Seminar on Economic Future of Your Child at KSBL, January 28m 2018]

An Indecent Obsession: Of War and its Futility

Reflections on "An Indecent Obsession" a movie and book by Colleen McCullough (author of "Thorn Birds" which I read in Pakistan around 1985-86). This is a page from my diary written on September 25, 1987. I was 25 and this was my first semester at UT Austin, and was residing at Riverside Apartments.
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For the first time after reading the "Purple Plain" by HE Bates, I again experienced the trauma, shock, feelings and tragedy that are associated with war. Lest we forget! It has been a long time since World War 2 which was around 20 years before my birth. Somehow, I think I feel or may be I imagine that I can feel the experience of what it is like being in the war, and witnessing its sufferings; all that dying, all the misery, and the in-consequence and futility of it. But wars are a real permanent feature of life. War has always remained a permanent feature of life. I think it is long overdue for our generation.

The sufferings, joys, and determination associated with it. How does it ruin the normal human beings, or make them or break them. What one feels and experiences in education  in itself. All our efforts, our preconceptions, and our business, and our longings and wishes seem pointless and meaningless. We love and suffer. Our associations seem to us to be permanent but they are simply our illusion. What is duty, morality, love. Every thing gets mixed up in the war. To come out of it unscathed, normal human being is really a tribute to the determination of man and his resilience. All dying and futility till you realize there is "All Quiet on the Western Front"!

To Kill a Mockingbird: A Personal Journey

I was around 10 when I saw the movie "To Kill a Mocking Bird" on PTV in 1971-72. That was the time when I didn't focus on the dialogues but used to only concentrate on the emotions and feelings depicted. We didn't have access to Internet or magazines with briefs about the programs or movies being shown on the PTV. There used to be a flyer but often it only listed the titles but not details. However, I could sense even at that early age that what I had seen is not a typical run of the mill movie, but I had gone through a tremendous and profound experience. It would be a decade later when I would find out about how much acclaim the movie had won through a book that I issued from the American Center library. This was an attractive pictorial history of cinema and from there I discovered that this movie had won the Oscar for the best picture in 1960, and Gregory Peck had won the Oscar for the best actor.  One of his three roles that made him my all time favorite actor (the other two were in Roman Holiday and Guns of Navarone). I also read the book on which this movie was based around the same time. The book and this movie had a tremendous impact on me as described here:

• See also: How West Teaches History (through Movies) and How We have Forgotten: A Nation that has No History, has no Future !

What is Meant by Rigor of PhD Research

The rigor with which your hypothesis are tested and the methodology that is pursued differentiates a PhD from an MS/MPhil [1]. A PhD is held to higher standards of meticulousness and scholarship which becomes evident from the rigor of the analysis of conditions, constraints, variables that influence the experiment, and may have an impact observations, and use of established theories for justifying their inclusion or exclusion.

Is Justice Munir's Doctrine of Necessity Dead or Alive?

Is Doctrine of Necessity dead and buried as proclaimed by Supreme Court in its decision of March 2012? Wherein it stated that "deciding cases on the basis of likely consequences will mean reverting to the malignant ‘doctrine of necessity’ that has been buried by the people with their valiant struggle" [1].
Or, is doctrine of necessity alive and kicking?
On November 27, 2017, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui proclaimed in his censure of military that “Everyone should know that there are no followers of Justice Munir in the courts anymore,” he said, referring to the former chief justice who gave legal cover to the dissolution of Pakistan’s first constituent assembly." and simultaneously "Justice Siddiqui raised many eyebrows when he remarked that he could be assassinated, or may end up joining the ranks of the missing persons, but it was his duty to speak the truth" [2]. However, the same day, Lahore High Court was quick to commend the role of military in saving the country from a huge catastrophe [3]. The difference in opinion is very much clear from a comparison of censure by Justic Siddiqui of IHC, and appreciation by Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin Ahmad of LHC about the military role in the Faizabad Dharna and its removal. It is clear that the judges are split on the issue of Justice Munir's Doctrine of Necessity. LHC judge feels that the role of military is justified at the altar of the necessity of saving the country from a huge catastrophe. Whereas, Judge of IHC is concerned about whether the letter of the law is being followed or not.
[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]

Last Emperor of China and Mughal Empire of India

I always recommend people to see "Last Emperor" movie about Pu Yi, who was the last emperor of China. His rule was only in name and restricted to only the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City). The movie won nine Academy Awards including that for best picture and best director in 1987. 

It depicts how Britishers manipulated the emperors of China in late 19th and early 20th century. The plight of an emperor restricted to just the palace, not allowed to meet the people or even to peep outside the palace is so poignantly depicted. It evoked an eerie comparison with our history of 1750-1857, during the twilight of the receding control of the Mughal Empire in India. Last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was also confined to his palace (Lal Qila).  His rule was only in name and its jurisdiction was limited to only the Lal Qila. The broader narrative of the two last emperors needs to be compared. Pu Yi and Bahadur shah zafar were both captives of their palaces. Both may have wanted to do some thing for their nations but were raised singularly unequipped to take over the emerging challenges. China was the action replay of subduing several proud nations with illustrious history including that of India. Bahadur Shah Zafar met with an ignominious death in exile in late 19th century. 

Yearning to do something but utterly powerless. How British colonial masters destroyed the pride of nations subjugated by them.

Why I am a Faculty Member

Why I am a faculty member:
(1) Meeting a student who graduated a long time ago and who comes over and tries to make me recall  him and his batch. Then reminds me of one of my lesson that he remembers to this day and that has changed his life.  This is the great fulfilling experience that can never be gotten elsewhere.
(2) Company of youth keeps me focused on future and gives me hope for the future. Reason I am an optimist.
(3)Aspirations of youth keep me young as I help them achieve their visions. Gives energy
(4) Youth keeps teaching me new things, dealing with new ideas, and how to innovate.

Narratives Designed to Dishonor Popular Choice and Support Neo-Colonialism

[To understand the context of this post, please read At What Cost! Why Compute Economic Costs of Faulty Political Decisions]
There are several narratives that have been fed to the masses to serve the interests of neocolonialism in developing countries. Neocolonialism enables the super-powers to maintain their hegemony on developing countries during the post-colonial world through dictatorships and kingship. The narratives are crafted to serve the political and economic interests of super-powers through exploitation of  resources and people of developing countries.  Primary objective of these narratives is to rob the power of decision making from the people, and to stultify the evolution of democratic aspirations and to stop the growth of self-governing and self-improving institutions. These narratives help in  perpetually destabilizing the developing countries   by supporting dictators, kings, or autocrats, and creating turmoil through civil strife or wars,  and installing weak unrepresentative heads of governments. These meta-narratives enable the neo-colonial unelected elites to maintain their hegemony on the resources of the country in the service of the super powers. Here is a list of 10 top major Neo-colonialism Supporting Narratives that have promoted political instability, rule of dictators and un-elected elites in Pakistan since independence and have stultified democratic evolution: 

Colonialism: White master exploited the poor people.
Neo-colonialism: White Master + Black Master together exploit the poor people.

Recollection of an Unforgettable Recitation of Majaz's Nazr-e-Aligarh

Today on Facebook I saw a video of some old students of Aligarh University reciting the official anthem in New York with a great deal of energy and lilt. This brought a recollection of a day in 1990s when I was dusting the bookshelf of my father Syed Ahsan Hyder and picked "Aahang", a collection of poetry by Majaz.  My father was an aligarian of 1930s, and a contemporary of Majaz, who also used to frequent our family gatherings at Masood Manzil, hostel of our family in Aligarh, where several of my father's cousins and relatives used to stay and study at Aligarh University. My father picked up the book, took out the poem  "نذر علی گڑھ"  and started reciting it in such a beautiful manner that its rhythm and fondness still resonates in my mind. He would sometimes do this in times when he was in "vacant and pensive mood". I can still see him vividly deriving so much pleasure  from the recitation. The recitation was full of fondness of memories of an era long gone, a time well spent, friendships often recounted. I could see this recollection bringing to him that "bliss of solitude" which is associated with time and experiences associated with cherished memories. To me this recollection fills my heart with pleasure and sways with the emotions and aspirations and ethos of that time.