Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Judicial Murder of Bhutto: Political Engineering and Bench-Fixing of SC and LHC bench

"Bench Fixing" by CJP Anwarul Haq was responsible for the judicial murder of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1979.
بھٹو کیوں ذندہ ہے
Why Bhutto is alive? Bhutto is alive because of the political engineering and "bench-fixing" that led to the (1) removal of PMs, (2) violation of the constitution and law, and (3) manipulation of judicial benches is alive and kicking in Pakistan as it happened with ZAB during 1977-99 leading to the execution of Bhutto on 4th April 1979, 40 years ago. DoN (Doctrine of Necessity) dictators in cahoot with weak and spineless judges continue to play the charade since the 1950s to usurp power and to serve their vested interests through politically engineered premature terminations of 16 civilian prime ministers, which also includes the judicial murder of ZAB (Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto).
DoN (Doctrine of Necessity) godfather Dictator Gen Zia usurps power on July 5,1977: He proclaims martial law, violates and shreds the constitution, imprisons ZAB using the doctrine of necessity, and makes a travesty of law and justice. He then appeases the judges by appointing them as the provincial chief justices as ceremonial governors of their provinces. He then starts to mutilate the constitution by adding and removing clauses at will. Using such alterations, he removes two clauses of the constitution which enabled him to remove the incumbent CJP Justice Yaqub. He then replaces Justice Yaqub with Justice Anwarul Haq who harbored a grudge against Bhutto because he had superseded him with Justice Yaqub when he was elevated as CJP. He then installed Molvi Mushtaq as Chief Justice Lahore High Court. Interestingly enough he too harbored a grudge against Bhutto. 

General Zia then went on to politically engineer the Lahore High Court bench and Supreme Court bench with judges of his choice. In doing so he excluded the independent-minded judges from the benches. He removed the judges whom he feared were moving towards an independent view as ascertained from their remarks. The SC bench of 9 hearing Bhutto's case was then artificially reduced to 7 judges. ZAB was hanged by a 4-3 decision with 4 judges from Punjab in favor of hanging against 3 judges from minority provinces who were not in favor. The agreed-upon judgment drafted by judges was changed, records tampered, witnesses' statements and evidence were altered, ignored,... .
A fit case to be labeled as judicial murder with a notorious judgment that no one has cited since or has ever been used as a precedent in any court of law...

[Source: See Hamid Khan's "A History of the Judiciary in Pakistan", OUP, 2016 for details of each of these points.]
See Also: 
    This is the story of mutilation of the constitution and political engineering of supreme court benches which has been repeated each time people's rights were trampled in the removal of their representatives. Each such removal has simply served the neocolonialism interests, and has plunged Pakistan from one emergency to another, and has kept Pakistan perpetually in the emergency of an ICU. It has effectively terminated and neutered anyone who has worked for people fought for their rights, worked for the economy, and/or nuclear program. ZAB is a symbol, metaphor, and a classic case of how this political engineering happens in Pakistan, and has been sustained starting from 1951 termination of Liaquat Ali Khan till the latest termination of Nawaz Sharif in August 2017, and the bench fixing over the last 4 years.

    See Also:


    Sunday, January 27, 2019

    Why there are so many intelligence and investigation agencies in Pakistan

    Why in Pakistan we have so many investigation agencies and intelligence agencies? These include Police, FIA, NAB, CID, ISI, SIU, IB, CTD, Sp Br, ATF, MI, ISPR, FBR, JIT,... Our history tells us that with each new agency, there has been an increase in corruption and law-breaking. Instead of decreasing corruption, they continually cause of the increase in corruption due to the maze of complex inter-dependences and conflicting turfs, which no one knows how to resolve. The following tale from Aesop's fables indicates this contradiction. 

    Why there is such a widespread epidemic of depression and psychosis in the world?

    Why there is such a widespread epidemic of depression and psychosis in the world?
    Too much change, happening too fast and robbing us of the familiar anchors in life; anchors in beliefs, anchors in thoughts, anchors in our habits, anchors in families, anchors in "Old Familiar Faces",  anchors in furniture and household items, anchors in the neighborhood.
    I wrote this post based on my deep contemplations on Future Shock which is a 1970 book by the futurists Alvin Toffler,[1] which defines the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies emanating from personal perceptions of "too much change in too short a period of time". The book has sold over 6 million copies and has been widely translated.
    Modern man feels shocked from rapid changes. For example, when we go to our childhood neighborhood, we find nothing that is familiar; the corner shop which was there for decades is no more.  Our grandfather clock is now just a disposable digital clock, long gone. We don't even need a clock. Our corner hair-cutting shop is not there. This was a place where we had been going since childhood to get the neighborhood updates. Our neighborhood has been uprooted. Neither there are erstwhile neighbors nor the old homes which we frequented. Old houses have been uprooted, replaced by hideous lifeless structures. Our household items are all disposable even the furniture is disposable. There is no antique rocking chair that was used by our grandfather or his father. Our relationships are now disposable, our relatives are disposable, our parents and children are disposable, not to speak of our extended family members,. Our professions, our skills, and our jobs are all disposable...

    Friday, January 25, 2019

    How to help poor in supporting their marriage costs

    I find several NGO initiatives that would like to help the poor in supporting the expenses of the marriages of their daughters. I appreciate their energy and enthusiasm, but feel that there initiative is misplaced and directed not at the cause by the symptom. At best collecting donations for marriage purposes and helping the poor in marrying off their daughters is at most a band-aid or a sani-plast solution. It is not a long term solution. The objective of a foundation or an NGO should be to create a culture where marriage costs are low. Why there is such a mad race to spend exorbitant amount on marriages. Our objective should be to try and make Halal (marriage) cost a fraction of haram (zina). This is also support by the traditions of our Holy Prophet. However, our society is going in the other direction where halal (marriage) costs are running into millions and haram (zina) costs are reducing and are in thousands or a few lacs. We need to create awareness, appreciation of low cost marriages. Need to identify and stimulate rich people who are willing to become role model for this purpose. Development of such a culture is a worthwhile objective and yield much longer term solution to this problem. 

    Sunday, January 20, 2019

    What is meant by Aala Zarf اعلی ظرف

    ظرف  =    Zarf means capacity to hold
    As in a jug or a container. Magnanimity 
    It denotes the capacity to hold when Allah gives some person His bounties and blessings. What is the capacity of that person to hold that bounty or blessing without spilling. Zarf is therefore the capacity to hold a blessing from Allah such as power, or wealth, or beauty, or status, or command on language, etc.... 


    A person with Aala Zarf can hold the blessing with magnanimity without spilling. Example: A typical کم ظرف، نو دو لتیا will spill the wealth with ostentatious displays, cheap and horrendous show offs. On the other hand, an  اعلی ظرف will judiciously spend the wealth for his own betterment and for the betterment of the others...
    When a کم ظرف gets too much power, he will spill it through humiliating  بے عزتی and disrespecting of others, he will lash out with his tongue and actions without probity, introspection and judgment. A good example of today is the way our information minister Fawad Chaudhry lashes out on his opponents or more importantly Chief Justice Saqib Nisar. The latter's humiliation of respectable Senior Surgeon and social worker Dr Saeed Akhtar who was humiliated without considering his contributions to the society. 
    المسلم من سلم المسلمون بالسان و یدہ

    A person with Aala Zarf has a capacity that keeps expanding as more bounties are received so that his power to give to others increases without any spillage. This elasticity of the container is the measure of the ظرف

    Saturday, January 12, 2019

    Can a Child Learn a Foreign Language without obtaining full competency in First language

    بچے کی زہنی نشو نما و خود اعتمادی کا گلا گھوٹنا ہو تو اس کو "پہلی زبان" پر دسترس ہونے سے قبل انگریزی زبان کے جبر میں قید کر دیں

    I got this comment on the above FB post: 
    Actually kids can learn multiple languages early in life a lot easier than later. But the downside is often that they take longer to speak. Girls tend to do better than boys. I learned to speak two and understand a third language all before 3 years of age:
    The advantage of parents knowing multiple languages and sharing them with children will ONLY accrue once the child has obtained "full" competency in the "first" language(s) in which parents, grand parents, uncles, aunts, extended family, neighbors converse and the child finds himself immersed after his birth. By full competency I mean that the child can understand a joke, crack a joke, relate a hilarious (make believe) experience that will make family members or friends burst out with laughter. Once a child has this level of competency in the first language, then competency in any other language is a piece of cake. Without this level of competency in the first language, gaining full competency in any other language is wishful thinking.


    پہلی زبان
    First language is the language in which the child opens his eyes and hear his parents speaking. It is the language with which the child learns to interact with parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, neighbors and friends. Articulation of thoughts into words and sentences is a complex learning. Then development of verbal skills to express abstract and complex ideas and learning to crack jokes and appreciate humor are the most difficult skills. Once a child has reached this state, learning any other language is a piece of cake.

    The friend (Omer Dossani) further clarified that:
    Irfan, our servents spoke Bengali, grandparents spoke Katchi, mother and father spoke 40% Urdu and 60% English. So, I cannot relate to what you are saying but maybe you are correct. From the research done by TCF in Pakistan they strongly stand behind their commitment to stick to Urdu as the medium of instruction based on the research that shows that kids learn best in their native language and so far their students are doing well

    Articulation of complex ideas requires complex linguistic skills. The added pressure of not having enough verbal skills in a foreign language, stultifies expression of complex ideas, destroying self confidence and impedes mental development. Once complex verbal skills are fully developed in the first language, the child gains confidence to tackle any other language. Eg Schools where speaking in English is must, and the child is being bullied, the child is afraid and hesitant in complaining because the teacher will scold him for speaking wrong English instead of patiently trying to understand child's grievance. The child's emotions get strangulated and destroys his self confidence. 




    Sunday, December 23, 2018

    How to Eliminate Corruption in Pakistan: Simplicity and Transparency of Bureaucratic Procedures

    Corruption is directly proportional to the complexity of  bureaucratic procedures and is inversely proportional to the transparency of bureaucratic procedures. The bureaucratic procedures are being made more complicated (eg. even a pencil purchase requires approval) and censorship is being imposed, which will further decrease transparency and will thus increase corruption. For a perfectly transparent process, Each and every step of the bureaucratic procedure must be transparent and visible on government websites for all cases without exception. All decisions for all cases must be visible to all.

    Sunday, December 2, 2018

    Is Criticism of Imran Khan as PM something new?

    Saw this post: ‏عمران خان کا1،1دن گناجارہاہے
    میں حیران ہوں اس ذہین ترین قوم پر پچھلے70سال کیسےگزرگئے
    Here is the history for youth who do not read history. Pakistan has never been a bed of roses, even for military dictators. There were mass protests every year since 1950. Here are some from my memory: 1952 qadiani riots n Lahore Martial Law,  1954 bengal riots, 1955-7 five prime ministers changed, 1958 martial law, 1962 BD elections, 1964 Fatima Jinnah elections protests, 1965  Operation Gibraltar leading to war with India,  1967 Karachi language riots, 1969 sugar price hike riots, 1970-71 lost half Pakistan, 1972 Balochistan ptotests and language riots, 1973 anti qadiani movement,  and Pakistan constitution, 1974 mass protests, 1976-77 elections and pna movement closures for several months with curfew, 1977 gen Zia's martial law, 1979 Bhutto hanging closures, 1980-81 alzlfiqar, 1982-83mrd movement, 1985 till today nearly every week of every month there were mass killings, blasts, protests,...
    (pl add and fill in the blanks in comments. I will update here)

    Overcoming Forex/IMF Problem through Incentivizing Small Producers of Solar Energy

    How to resolve Dollar PKR devaluation problem and avoid IMF loan.
    I think PTI Imran Khan's strategy to focus on small producers has a lot of potential. Here is what can bring tabdeeli through massive generation of jobs and overcoming the foreign exchange issue of rising dollar and devaluation of rupee. I think experts in PTI with ability of out-of-the-box creative thinking must look at this proposal.
    Solar incentives can create massive saving on the $10bn/yr oil-gas imports. It can create at least 2m home entrepreneurs and other supporting businesses along with pumping and generation of economic activity of Rs 4 trillion!
    Instead of IMF bail out, PTI can go for a massive crowd funding investment in energy sector. Here is how:
    PTI should give the same subsidy to home solar energy producers on self generation of solar energy and net metering equal to that offered to PPIs for energy generation from wind or gas. Government must ensure availability of low cost and high quality solar panels through Incentivizing their imports or their local production. I am sure at least 20 lac home owners can easily invest around Rs 20 lac each in solar generation for their homes with their surplus energy getting pumped into the grid. This is 20lacs x Rs 20lacs = Rs 4 trillion investment. It will generate 20 lac entrepreneurial jobs generated by home owners who have become self employed through this. In addition there would be at least 5 lacs to 1m support jobs of installers, maintainers, equipment traders, importers, suppliers. It will also say good bye to at least $4-5bn of imported oil n gas for energy sector. This is going to be a recurring saving and will substantially improve our balance of payment woes, strengthen the rupee, reduce devaluation. Furthermore, it will increase our self-worth, will reduce meddling of IMF and World Bank in the manipulation of our economy. We will also become resilient to single point of failures often witnessed due to the problems of distribution.
    Who will lead the resistance to change. This is going to be Oil lobby who are going to scream and oppose this scheme. Oil and Gas Sector vested interests and IMF/World Bank type big lenders will be most worried and will try their bests to throttle the initiative.

    Sunday, October 14, 2018

    Love of Research and Books-Prof Ahmed Saleem

    I went to meet Professor Ahmed Saleem at his home library. His house is in Judicial Town near Chhattar Park in a very picturesque setting at the foot of the hill with stream flowing near by. His library consists of his personal collection of over 45,000 books and a collection of newspapers since 1947 of Jang,  Imroze, Pakistan Times etc. His room is next to the library and resembles more of a bed placed in a library room with a nearby desk-chair and a small sofa. 


    The library is divided into various sections. Sections on East Pakistan, Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan had around six shelves each containing several thousands books. He has command over Punjabi (mother tongue), Pushto (grew up and did his early schooling in Peshawar), Sindhi (taught for around 5 years in Sindh University) and has a working knowledge of Balochi. There is a separate sections of Urdu literature (he taught for around 5 years at KU). There are additional sections on Iqbal, on feminist authors and their works. He also has a shelf filled with his own books. It contains a large number of research oriented works that he had produced as a researcher for SDPI,  an NGO in blue area Islamabad with which he had been associated with over 20 years. He proudly showed me some precious collection of magazines and newspapers and documents dating to mid 19th century. There are valuable issues from over hundred years of monthly Ismat and Tehzeeb e Niswan. 

    I had gone there to collect articles by Mrs  Altaf Husain Fatima Khatoon. She was the mother of my late father-in-law Ausaf Husain, and she was also my father's second cousin. Apa Fatima Khatoon's  articles and poetry was published in monthly Ismat from 1950s till her death in 1983 under the name of Mrs Altaf Husain. I had around 50 articles and pieces written by her in Ismat that I got from my father's collection. In researching about her I happened to meet Ms Safoora Khairi, the current managing editor of Ismat. She connected me to Prof Saleem. My objective was to see if I can get more articles from Prof Saleem's collection.  

    I managed to get 20 more pieces by Mrs Altaf Husain from Prof Saleem's library which has Ismat issues since its inception in 1908 by Allama Rashid ul Khairi till present. Prof Saleem has also published an index of all the articles published in Ismat from 1908 till 1947, a work that he got completed as part of the MPhil thesis of his student. The newly obtained articles when added with 50 that I have from my father's collection are sizable enough that  I am planning to publish in a book form (inshallah). While searching for these in Prof Saleem's library, I managed a wonderful discussion with him on his associations with literati, their works and his learning from them. 

    He talked about his association with Ahmed Faraz while he was growing up in Peshawar, and his association with Faiz and his association with Ibn e Safi. He told how his parents would not allow him to read ibn e safi while he continued despite their punishments. He talked about his love for books and how he collects them. He said that he knows several second hand junk dealers. They call him whenever they get some old document that they think would be valuable for Prof Saleem. 

    He mentioned that he is planning to create more space by either moving on the second floor or obtaining a place nearby. There is a need for preparing a proper catalog of all the books and the need for more space for shelving. The books did not have that stuffy smell that comes in collections that are not properly exposed to sunlight and fresh air. Both these things were there. However, since his movement to this place in recent months, the books need to be properly shelved. Given his age and his recent operation, this appears to be a tall order. He said he would be getting some full time assistant as soon as there is more space for him to be seated. He has only a daughter who lives in Rawalpindi. There is a this treasure of books that needs a proper institution for preservation and access.

    Anyhow, it was such a pleasure knowing and meeting him. You should all seek him out through his employer SDPI's office in blue area. A treat to meet a knowledge encyclopedia like him. 

    See Also:

    Growing Up in the 1960s-70s: Recollections of Rauf Mamoo by his Daughter

    Recollections of Faryal Osman daughter of Rauf Mamoo (Major Shah Mohammad Ismail, Artillery SP3), while growing up in Nowshera when Rauf Mamoo was a Captain and later in Hyderabad where he was posted as Major before his retirement. The chronicle is interesting because it describes the life and times of junior army officers during those times.

    میری پیدائش حیدرآباد کے سی ایم ایچ میں ھوئ ۔جس دائ کے ہاتھوں ہوئی بہت بعد میں عمران کی پیدائش ،جو کہ اسی سی ایم ایچ میں ھوئ، وہ بھی اسی دائ کے ہاتھوں ہوئی ۔امی نے اسے پہچان لیا تھا ۔ہم سب ایک دوسرے سے مل کر بہت خوش ھوئے ظاہر ھے اس خوشی میں عمران کا آنا بھی شامل تھا ۔ اس زمانے میں امی کو سوا مہینہ نانی نے گھر میں رکھا ۔ابو کی پوسٹنگ  پشاور میں تھی ۔امی ابو دونوں جاب کرتے تھے ۔لہازا سوا مہینہ بعد امی مجھے میری نانی کے پاس ہی حیدرآباد چھوڑ کر چلی گئیں ۔میرا خیال ھے جاب کا بہانہ ہی تھا، اصل میں ہماری امی جان سے ہمیں سنبھالا نہیں جاتا تھا کہ وہ بہت نخریلی اور نازک مزاج تھیں ورنہ جاب چھوڑی بھی جا سکتی تھی ۔ عجیب بات ھے اس زمانے میں لوگ بہت آرام سے اپنا بچہ کہیں بھی چھوڑ دیتے تھے ۔عثمان کے ایک بھائ بھی پیدا ھوتے 
    ہی اپنے ماموں جان کو دے دیئے گئے تھے ۔

    Friday, September 21, 2018

    Zauq-e-Aagahi, Quresh Pur and PTV's role in Inspiring a Generation of Knowledge Seekers

    Once upon a time on PTV we used to have quiz competitions of the highest order. I grew up with many such programs that made me look up to the contestants as the wizards of knowledge. Unfortunately today on TV we find nothing except crass, gross, coarse and vulgar competitions like programs where they are competing on everything except knowledge. These so called competitions have promoted lust for money and has encouraged people to perform any wild and vulgar act just to gain a gift for which begging and stooping low becomes the order of the day. They have any thing except inspiration for pursuit of knowledge.

    Sunday, September 16, 2018

    Exemplary Inspirational and Collaborative Leadership - Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad

    Today (Sep 10, 2018), with the departure of Dr Hasan Sohaib Murad for the hereafter. I lost a mentor, a guide and a trail blazer who exemplified what does it mean to be an inspirational leader. Inna lillah e wa inna ilaihi rajioon. A loss that seems more acute because I could have learned much more from him than what I did. Here I relate my observations about his achievements as a great collaborative leader, an inspiration for all those who met him, and my learning from him.

    Sunday, September 9, 2018

    "Skin in the Game" Public Service Reforms in Pakistan- A Proposal

    The fastest way to reform the public sector is to bring the bureaucracy's skin in the "game" of changing the bureaucratic structures and increasing the efficiency. Unless the decision makers are themselves going to feel the adverse consequences of their decisions and hurdles they would not be willing to make positive changes in improving the efficiency and reducing the long term costs of their decisions. Here are some of the reforms that will expedite the change in bureaucratic structures and efficiency for the better by involving all ministers and grade 18 and above officers (VIPs). (i) All ministers and grade 18 and above bureaucrats must be forced to get medical treatment only from government hospitals. They must be compelled to use the same process, same queues, same medicines, same wards and same food that is being given to any other patient. This is being implemented by Indus Hospital and even SIUT for all patients irrespective of the status or affiliation of the patients. (ii) Similarly, all ministers and grade 18 and above bureaucrats must be forced to get their children enrolled in government schools and universities. This should be done with a provision that no two VIPs are allowed to go into the same school till all the schools have at least one VIP. The latter provision would force all schools to be upgrades instead of a few reserved for VIPs. (iii) Similarly, such provisions could be designed for all other public services using the parameter of average case disposal time. (iv) For example, to reform AGPR's pension process, the VIPs should not be allowed to get their pension process approved in a time period less than the average time taken by other pension applicants. (v) (vi) Similarly, to expedite the passport or CNIC application process, the VIPs should not be allowed to get their application process earlier than the average time taken by the people. (vii) There should be no special protocol for any VIP of any stature whether from judiciary or intelligence or military. VIPs should be entitled to that security which is available to common people. (viii) To improve the public transport service, all grade 18+ officers must be forced to travel via public bus services or Pakistan Railways to their nearest destination irrespective of the nature of their work. No official cars should be allowed on routes where public bus service or railway service is available. All air travel should be banned for the VIPs. (ix) Similarly, disposal of cases of serving judges and other VIPs should not be done earlier than the average time of disposal of all cases at a particular stage (trial court, high court or supreme court stage). (x) For Police Reforms, no VIP's case should be taken out earlier than any other applicant in the queue. The procedure must be the same for everyone. Any exceptional call that is received by the police on any mobile number of office number must be visible to all the public. One can then work out other such processes for all the other public services.

    Thursday, September 6, 2018

    Flight from Bedar when Hyderabad Deccan fell to Indian Invasion in 1948

    This post describes my maternal family's flight from Bedar Hyderabad at the time of the annexation of the Nizam-ruled princely state of Hyderabad Deccan by Indian forces in September 1948. 
    See podcast of my mother's sister Arsalan Khatoon who was among the group that had to run empty handed with her mother, brothers and sisters. 
    https://soundcloud.com/citizensarchive/arsalan-khatoon-podcast

    "Operation Polo is the code name of the Hyderabad "police action" in September 1948, by the newly independent India against the Hyderabad State.  It was a military operation in which the Indian Armed Forces invaded the Nizam-ruled princely state, annexing it into the Indian Union. At the time of Partition in 1947, the princely states of India, who in principle had self-government within their own territories, were subject to subsidiary alliances with the British, giving them control of their external relations. In the Indian Independence Act 1947 the British abandoned all such alliances, leaving the states with the option of opting for full independence. However, by 1948 almost all had acceded to either India or Pakistan. One major exception was that of the wealthiest and most powerful principality, Hyderabad, where the Nizam, Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII, a Muslim ruler who presided over a largely Hindu population, chose independence and hoped to maintain this with an irregular army recruited from the Muslim aristocracy, known as the Razakars." [Wikipedia]

    See also:

    Monday, September 3, 2018

    Essential Orientation for Teachers and Faculty Members

    Essential Orientation for Faculty Members, Teachers and Facilitators embarking on a journey to understand experiential learning and weaning away from the conventional mode of teaching. In my opinion this is the minimum level of understanding required by teachers of schools and universities.To maximally gain from this material, watch the following videos and read the following blog posts. Then write your reflections by connecting the ideas to your experience or observation.

    Videos

    Essential Blog Posts

    These are the essential blog posts from my blog at syedirfanhyder.blogspot.com:

    See also:

    For the list of all my posts on School Education, click here
    For the list of all my posts on Higher Education, click here
    For the list of all my posts related to PhD and Research, click here




    Suo-moto judgment for Criminal Cases vs Summary Military Trials (Kangroo Courts)

    I would like to invite those interested in law and constitution to comment on this post. Here I am looking at the role of Suomoto Judgment in criminal cases and cases related to corruption. I think suo-moto was originally conceived in the constitution for constitutional cases and constitutional rights cases that require immediate action where general interest of people is being violated.

    How suo-moto cases of supreme court
    compare with summary military trial courts

    Friday, August 31, 2018

    How to be a Change Leader and a Job Creator


    [IoBM Orientation for New Students Sep 1, 2018]
    As I look at your beaming faces, your youthful energy, and your ambitions for shaping the future of our nation and our dear country, I am filled with hope. I am sure that our future is destined to be better than our today. It is also welcoming to see that "change" and "job creation" are among our top national priorities today. Today I would like to share with you how you can be a change leader and how you can be a job creator.

    Technical Analysis of Helicopter Cost Debate for PM Imran Khan Travel

    Recently Pakistan's information minister's claim that the helicopter ride of PM Imran Khan costs Rs50/km became viral on social media and caused a lot of posts debunking and defending with humor and exaggeration. There were also claims that the cost is Rs 30/km and not Rs 50/km and led to cynics doing all sorts of projections on the basis of these costs leading to outrageous conclusions leading to start of public transport service, parcel service and food service. Here is a technical analysis of this helicopter cost debate requires cost accounting, financial management and strategic management concepts as well as some common sense.

    Friday, August 24, 2018

    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.

    Sunday, August 5, 2018

    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."

    Saturday, June 30, 2018

    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.

    Thursday, June 14, 2018

    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)

    Wednesday, June 13, 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.

    Monday, June 11, 2018

    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

    Sunday, June 10, 2018

    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

    Thursday, June 7, 2018

    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.

    Sunday, June 3, 2018

    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.