Water Shortages Head to Tail
Water shortages inside each province are a result of farmers at head stealing from farmers at tail

Tyranny of Few

Zulm ky zabtai hum nahi mantay

Establishment Umbrella

People’s Umbrella

Poverty Escalation

Barkat on Soil

Fire on Soil

Demi Gods of Old and New Politics

Poverty Trap

Sun Shines on Hay

Sassui Punnoo

Umer Marui

Sorath Rai Dyach

Sohni Mehr

Noori and Jamtamachee

Pakistani trees
My endless road journeys against the discriminations and my tremendous sights

Crashes
Bhoja Air and Air Blue crashed and the executive and parliament failed to give justice. Bodies burnt, procedures burnt and so did futures of many families. Judiciary standing firm on this issue as per our writ in Peshawar High Court

Circular Debt
Circular debt affects four provinces and two territories throughout the year

Flood Mismanagement
Floods and rains in Sindh in 2010 and 2011 led people to undignified camps and state dole. Had dykes been protected this disaster could have been avoided in Sindh especially.

Demographic Dividend versus Disaster
From the mountains through the plains to the beaches the youth dividend can only be harnessed through new politics. Old politics represents the dividend disaster

Judiciary under Attack Part 1
whilst judiciary tries to uphold the constitution whole year through all seasons, executive tries to attack

Judiciary under Attack Part 2
whilst judiciary tries to uphold the constitution whole year through all seasons, executive tries to attack

Choices in Life

National Language Bill
All mother tongues of Pakistan are Pakistani and don’t just belong to one region Lets Open our minds and respect all of them to create cohesion and not divisions

May 22,2012 Mohabbat-e-Sindh Rally Attack
Attack on Mohabbat-e-Sindh rally of May 22 by terrorists led to many brave martyrdoms

Marvi in the middle of old politics snakes
Bhittai’s Marvi struggles through the bad to get to the better Pakistan. Worst of election tactics confront her

Minorities Under Attack
Christians safety under threat and they are being pushed into a corner too

Minorities Under Attack
Hindu kidnappings killings and forced conversion are forcing them into migration they are being pushed in a corner

Acid and Karokari
Disfigurement after acid attacks and the shame of Karokari in our society

Women Empowerment Farce
Farce of women empowerment by some women in powerful positions living in gold bubbles

National Food Insecurities
Food insecurities vary in each province. Some are worse than others but it’s a national security issue

Women in Chains
Freeing them through action in the streets in the judiciary and in parliaments our farm

Pakistaniyat
Pakistaniyat of each province and territory can be guaranteed by the equality of each in the federation. Nationalism for each will lead to a larger nationalism for Pakistan not other way around

Protest (Part One)
Peaceful protests result inn tear gas, bullets & water cannons

Protests Aftermath
Protests aftermath leads to FIRs and jail versus resolution of issues

Shias Under Attack
Persecuted in their own land everywhere

Terrorism Attacking Our Core
Terrorism has attacked everything which the Quaid envisaged. But we will protect it despite all odds

Institutions Clashing (Part One)
Media and parliament clashing

Institutions Clashing (Part Two)
Judiciary and executive clashing
Together part one and two represent the clash between all encouraged by executive

The NATO Attack and Boots on Ground
The border is insecure. The boots are all over. The attack is consistent. Our defence is weak

Old Politics

New Politics

(Constitutional Jurisdiction)

Constitutional Petition No. _____________/2012

Marvi Memon d/o Nisar Memon, Muslim Adult, 3 Pine street, Dr AQ Khan Road, Banigalla, Islamabad

……Petitioner

Versus

1.         The Federation of Pakistan through the Ministry of Defence, Government of Pakistan, Pakistan Secretariat;

2.         Mr. Ahmed Mukhtar, Member National Assembly (former  Minister of Defence and Chairman Pakistan International Airlines);

3.         Managing Director, Pakistan International Airlines;

4.         Mr. Naveed Qamar, Member National Assembly, Chairman Pakistan International Airlines;

5.         The Federation of Pakistan through the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Pakistan;

6.         The Civil Aviation Authority

…….Respondents

Petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973

Respectfully Sheweth;

1. That the Petitioner is a citizen of Pakistan a former Member of National Assembly of Pakistan and has the vital interest in the questions of public importance with reference to the enforcement of the fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan and particularly in the context of the present grievance of the petitioner in the enforcement of Article 9, 14, 15, 25.

1. That on 17^th July 2012 PK 301 from Islamabad to Karachi was delayed at Islamabad airport from 10 am to 2.30 pm for at least 4.5 hours. The Petitioner and more than 500 other passengers suffered physical and mental torture and their common routine of life and work was totally disrupted for not arriving at their respective destinations to carry on the common affairs of life. The torture included lack of ventilation in the plane for more than couple of hours whilst aircraft was parked at the Islamabad airport. It also included children, pregnant women, anemic people and old people who were subjected to difficult medical conditions in a cramped predicament. Many others who were travelling for work purposes lost out on many productive hours and suffered adverse financial consequences.

1. That the passengers constantly complained regarding their suffering and inhuman conditions resulting from the inordinate delay to the ground and aircraft staff without any response. But the management was totally indifferent and did not communicate the reasons of delay transparently enough. Subsequently the passengers raised hue and cry against the PIA staff as they remained initially confined to the aircraft then brought back to the airport lounge and then again confined to the aircraft with no movement for 4.5 hours.

1. As a result of the hue and cry the Petitioner decided to move a signature petition for the Supreme Court which records the following grievance on behalf of the passengers.

“We the passengers of PK 301 17/7/12 of 10am Islamabad to Karachi departure have been delayed since couple of hours. Productivity loss and massive inconvenience has been suffered by us all. We petition to Supreme Court against PIA and reasons for delay.”

1. The above horrendous and inhuman incident is one more delay in the list of 4345 delays that have taken place in the last 3 months out of 12184 flights of PIA as per the record submitted by Respondent No.4 in the National Assembly in response to a question submitted by a Member of the National Assembly. The said record is contained in the official proceedings of the National Assembly.

1. That the Respondent No.2 in an Interview given to Iftikhar Ahmed on “GEO TV” has unambiguously and categorically admitted that services of PIA are in such shambles that there is not even an iota of hope that the PIA can be run efficiently and safely. The main cause as per Respondent No.2 is the malady of corruption which he attributes is so pervasive in PIA that it cannot be cleansed. The transcript of the said Interview is available on the internet, and a copy of the CD of the the said Interview will be produced in due course in court.

1. That there are many newspaper reports which depict the pathetic situation of PIA our national flagship airline which give as reasons for mismanagement delays nepotism inefficiency obsolete aircrafts which are run by PIA. The annual budget of PIA is immense and despite that passengers are subjected to life threatening safety hazards.

1. That as a consequence of inefficiency, maladministration apathy, and corruption PIA is unable to generate sufficient profits to purchase outright or on lease the new or comparably new aircrafts which are fit as per international standards for flying human lives safely.  Flying with PIA whose slogan used to be ‘Great people to fly with’ is now a safety hazard on a massive scale. There is no guarantee that anyone flying with PIA will land intact with his or her life. This is supported by evidence submitted in the National assembly which claims that PIA fleet is outdated and hazardous. It is relevant to submit here that this record has already been produced before Peshawar High Court in a writ petition number.

1. That many a times especially in the Gilgit Baltistan territory bad weather is blamed for postponing and inordinate delays of flights whereas the real reason is mostly technical or administrative failures which are kept hidden from passengers. Newspaper reports suggesting the same are annexed.

1. That the Respondent No.6’s Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) in particular have gone on ‘Go by book’ strikes which have also lead to delays. The ATC have been pushed into strikes due to the indifferent attitude of the administration of the Respondent No.6 towards their issues and problems. This situation has also resulted in a tense working atmosphere for the controllers, which is a serious safety hazard, as already tense controllers are working to handle hundreds of flights from all over the world flying through Pakistan airspace. This newspaper report is annexed.

1. As a consequence Pakistan is loosing credibility and in financial terms as the international air traffic is reluctant to land at Pakistan airports unless they are compelled to do so and re-route many of their flights by-passing Pakistan. The hub of air traffic has shifted from Pakistan to Dubai. It is ironic that the training of Emirates staff was carried out by PIA in its halcyon days when its efficiency was at its pinnacle.

1. One of the delays of 5 hours of PK 731 has been attributed to an aerobridge collapse. The petitioner strongly apprehends that our technical facilities at our airports are safety hazards for passengers. This newspaper report is annexed.

1. That the main cause of the flight delays is shortage of aircraft and support equipment including lack of readily available spare parts resulting in safety hazards.

1. That the Respondent No.6 is hereby called upon to respond and give details regarding the technical deficiencies and grievances alleged by the Petitioner.

1. That the Saudi Aviation Authorities have given PIA final warning and put its operation under rigorous observation since these delays are causing inefficiencies at its own Jeddah airport. This said report is annexed. It is generally known and this Honorable Court can take judicial notice of the fact that many Hajis have suffered tremendously year after year due to PIA delays.

1. That the collapse of PIA is due to the fact that the there is no governance by the federal government which has allowed its various Ministries and Ministers to run amuck and rampage their respective Ministries to indulge in corrupt practices and to milk them dry.

1. That there is palpable malice that the PIA is being  deliberately run down and debilitated to ensure the financial feasibility of a private airline owned by the current corrupt rulers. Evidence supporting this can be found in the many newspapers and Television talk shows which are annexed.

1. That the financial loss caused by PIA to national exchequer is in billions. Annexed are newspaper reports suggesting the same.

1.  That the mismanagement corruption and inefficiencies if PIA have been raised in Parliament many a times but there has been no meaningful response and alleviation of grievances by the government which has always stalled the problem to carry on its corrupt practices.

1. That there is a VVIP culture in PIA whilst treating the passengers. The privileged elite class, such as top bureaucrats, military officials, government officials, parliamentarians have separate lounges and fast track treatment irrespective of the fact whether they have paid for a lower or higher fare. Internationally, this fast track treatment is based on higher fare rather than the mere fact of belonging to an elite class.

1. That the PIA does not employ as per merit and has overstaffed for political gain. That sometimes the government has employed Managing Directors of PIA who are unrelated experience wise to managing the affairs of a major national flag carrier.

GROUNDS

That this petitioner most respectfully invokes the immediate attention of this Honorable Court regarding its grievances which essentially are of public importance based on the following grounds:

1. That Article 9 ensures the freedom of life for every citizen. Travelling in PIA is life threatening;

1. That the delays mismanagement, lack of facilities, national honour and the senseless inconveniences are against the ‘dignity’ of a person which is declared under Article 14 are inviolable. The whole pathetic situation as recounted and alleged against PIA in the facts of the petition counters the dignity of the Petitioner and consequentially the public in general.

1. That under Article 15 of the Constitution free movement throughout Pakistan is a fundamental right. PIA is the only national flag carrier. The grievances of the Petitioner and the public at large regarding PIA as submitted in the Facts herein above not only restricts the free movement but is in fact counterproductive to such movement.

1. That due to the delays mismanagement and corruption in PIA it is not possible for a citizen to conduct the trade or business efficiently as such people cannot easily travel with safety. Therefore the entire behavior of PIA is in violation of the general public’s right of conducting trade and business under Article 18.

1. That there is VIP culture of elite and privileged class in Pakistan in reference to flying. The ordinary citizen is discriminated against. B This violates Article 25 of the Constitution.

1. That the grievances of the petitioner and the general public calls for investigation of the affairs of PIA in depth to identify corruption mismanagement inefficiencies and the lack of employing the competent staff.

1. That the petitioner respectfully prayers to submit additional grounds at the time of arguments.

PRAYER

Therefore, for what has been submitted hereinabove, it is humbly prayed that the instant petition and the facts laid down may graciously be taken into consideration and this Honorable Court may, therefore, be pleased to:

(I).       Investigate into the affairs of the PIA in depth to identify corruption mismanagement inefficiencies and the lack of employing the competent staff;

(II).     Take cognizance of the corrupt, illegal and inefficient practices within PIA;

(III).    Direct the Respondents to immediately taken action to remove all corrupt, illegal and inefficient practices within PIA;

(IV.)    Graciously grant any better relief so deemed appropriate under the circumstances submitted above.

Petitioner-in-Person

Marvi Memon

Former Member, National Assembly

Filed by:

M.S. KHATTAK

ADVOCATE-ON-RECORD

Dated: 28-08-2012

As per my instructions, it is the first constitutional petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 before this Honorable Court. The Petitioner has not previously filed Writ Petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 in the High Courts of Pakistan.

ADVOCATE-ON-RECORD

Annex A

Aap Ki Baat – PIA Service – 17th July 2012 Part 1 – SAMAA TV- Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqPh5ETa8o4

Annex B

Signatures Petition

Annex C

National Assembly Session 44

“QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWERS AND THEIR REPLIES”

to be asked at a sitting of the National Assembly to be held on

Friday, the 6th July, 2012

53. Mr. Muhammad Riaz Malik:

Will the Minister for Defence be pleased to refer to Starred Question  No.28 replied on 15-3-2012 and to state the total number of PIA flights whose arrivals and departures delayed during the period from 1-1-2012 till date?

Minister for Defence (Syed Naveed Qamar):   Total of 12,148 flights operated during January, February and March, 2012.Out of which 4,345 flights were delayed. The percentage of delay is 35.76%.

• During said three months average percentage of punctuality was 64.3% and average percentage of Regularity was 95.33%.
• Details of flights operated during 03 month, flight delayed, cancelled and regularity of flights are indicated at Annex-A, B & C.

Note.—Punctuality: (Means how many flights departed in time.) Regularity: (Means how many flights operated as per planned schedule.) (Annexures have been placed in the National Assembly Library)

Link: http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/questions/1341563070_303.pdf

Annex D

Program “Awam Ki Adalat”, Geo Tv, 15 July 2012. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJOkB9URJ8A

Annex

Program: Awam Ki Adalat

Host: Iftikhar Ahmad

Gust: Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar Minister for Water and Power, Former Minister for Defense

News Channel: Geo News

Date: 15 July 2012

Transcript

Iftikhar Ahmad: When you became Chairman PIA you said PIA will become profit making institution within 5 years. When you took government in 2008 PIA loss stood at Rs42.2 billion, now in September 2011 it has reached to Rs111.5 billion. This was the result of Rs70 million daily loss.

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: you are right, loss has increased, but devaluation of Rupee was main reason, increase of one rupee in the price of one dollar surges the loss to Rs1 billion without flying.

Iftikhar Ahmad: You are industrialist yourself, you realised that value of dollar will increase, you knew it will increase the loss, industrialists take such initiatives in this situation so that they avoid loss. What did you do as chairman PIA to avoid loss?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: As Chairman PIA we did not take any significant step because we cannot predict future, public sectors are not allowed to predict which things will get costly, which things should be bought and which things should be sold in future. So that’s why PIA did not do any…… (planning).

Iftikhar Ahmad: Mr. Ahmad Mukhtar, when you became Chairman in 2008 your brother was the Chairman before you, you must has some vision, you must had some desire to fix these issues. You must have some discussion at home on this. You knew what is destroying this institution.

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I knew there are weaknesses and they should be fixed. It was (my) duty to fix these issues but there were many hurdles. Politics (in PIA) has reached to its peak, it reached to an extent that you give one order today next day it would be changed by some other person. There was no discipline in PIA.

Iftikhar Ahmad: What did you do to discipline this institution?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I tried to strengthen (empower) the Managing Director and his team. I tried to eliminate corruption from this institution at least, if nothing else. I can say this with confidence that no one can allege me and Board of Directors team of embezzling even one penny.

Iftikhar Ahmad: You were not involved in corruption?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: Absolutely not. You can’t find that, and I have not done it.

Iftikhar Ahmad: But you couldn’t fix your institution?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: My institution couldn’t be fixed. I opted to quit my institution.

Iftikhar Ahmad: Was that your incompetency?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: You can say this.

Iftikhar Ahmad: What do you say?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I think I tried, I tried to make a team, that team couldn’t be completed, no one can do this alone, this is not a small institution where you have 25,000 workers, you have to look after them, do the maintenance and all.

Iftikhar Ahmad: When did you realise you can’t run this institution? When was the time in last 4 years when you thought you can’t do this?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I think it was 2011 when I decided to quit this institution for someone better than me. I told this President he happily agreed and asked me that if I can’t run this institution then I should leave it to someone who can. And he asked me name a person who can run this institution. I couldn’t point out anyone, there was dearth of professionalism. It was practically impossible to find someone in PIA.

Iftikhar Ahmad: 2171 people who were recruited in last 3 years cost Rs100 billion loss to PIA, you recruited them because they were Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) workers who were terminated by previous governments. Was this initiative right? Should a person who has experience in industry do this?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: This is not correct that it was for PPP workers. We needed people for specialize jobs. People were getting trained and whenever there was some vacancy they were promoted and they took over.

Iftikhar Ahmad: Is it not a reality that out of 7000 PIA engineers 4000 engineers were recruited extra? This is your statement in Parliament.

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I think you are right, less than 6000 (engineer) were extra, but they were being recruited for next job.

Iftikhar Ahmad: Deputy Managing Director PIA Saleem Siyani who recently resigned he was given handsome tax free salary. What did he do?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I hired him, I take the responsibility, I saw certain qualities in him, that’s why I asked him to join us. He had 27 years’ non-stop service experience in American Airline.

Iftikhar Ahmad: What improvements he brought?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: People don’t know here even how to talk. Millions of dollars of PIA were struck up with various organizations, because they had to carry out certain steps. He brought back some $150 million to $200 million from Boeing and Airbus etc. We used this money in PIA.

Iftikhar Ahmad: PIA has more staff per aircraft than any other country in the world. It has 434 employees per plane, whereas India has 276 per plane and America has some 120 employees per plane.

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: Those PIA employees who are working in lower ranks get very low salary as compare to Emirates employees. For example if Emirates employees get 10,000 Dirhams than PIA employees get 250 to 300 Dirhams. They think if these employees are working on such low salaries then it’s the social responsibility……

Iftikhar Ahmad: What work they will do who are untrained, who are recruited on political bases so that they have source of income. How can you justify as Chairman?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I couldn’t justify, I resigned. If I could justify this I would have been still working there.

Iftikhar Ahmad: Will PIA get back its lost glory when we were proud of it in our youth and preferred PIA for travel.

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: I don’t think so, we can’t achieve what we are hoping we will achieve. It will take Herculean effort to achieve that.  I can say with surety that what I think, what you think, and what these people think that this institution will be revived its………….. (interruption by host)

Iftikhar Ahmad: what is the reason?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: There is so much corruption. There is corruption to an extent that you can’t imagine.

Iftikhar Ahmad: Who will address the issue of corruption? Army?

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar: No, we will. We are thieves. We are involved in wrong doings.

Annex 1

Annex 2

Express Tribune

Between Islamabad and Skardu: Eleven days pass and still no flights

By Mudassir Raja

Published: June 17, 2012

PIA attributes delay to bad weather, technical faults; Skardu hotel owners demand contingency measures. PHOTO: FILE

RAWALPINDI: 

Over the last 11 days, there have been no flights between Islamabad to Skardu and the backlog of passengers in both areas is well into three figures.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the only airline that flies to this main town of Baltistan, claims that the flights have been delayed due to bad weather or at times due to technical faults in its plane.

Over a hundred passengers from Islamabad who reserved flights to Skardu have expressed concern over the delay as the airline’s maintains it is still “uncertain” if the flights will continue in the next few days.

Meanwhile, hotel owners in Skardu have complained that the delay in flights is putting their businesses in jeopardy.

In a letter to PIA Chairman Air Marshal retired Rao Qamar Sultan, Arif Aslam Khan, who operates hotels in Skardu, maintained that over 500 people have been stranded in the hilly region, waiting to fly back to Islamabad. He said that as there was one flight from Islamabad to Skardu everyday during the tourism season, starting mid-May till mid- September, the backlog is increasing rapidly. He said that the backlog of passengers has also increased since the airline stopped flights to Skardu on Mondays since last October.

Khan maintained that even if the delay is due to bad weather or technical faults in the planes, the airline should have a contingency plan for people wanting to travel to Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) during the tourism season. He added that the stranded passengers are not only tourists but also people wanting to visit their families in G-B.

Khan said that due to incidents of sectarian attacks and kidnappings of passengers on Karakoram Highway, road travel to Skardu is considered highly unsafe. He suggested that if PIA is facing technical issues with its planes, it could hire C-130 aircrafts to clear the backlog and also make up for the lost revenue.

Despite repeated attempts, PIA Spokesperson Sultan Ahmed could not be contacted for comments on the delay and if the airline is taking any remedial measures.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2012.

Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/394846/between-islamabad-and-skardu-eleven-days-pass-and-still-no-flights/

Annex 3

PIA flights delay on CAA officials’ protest

By Yasir Ameen – Jan 31st, 2012 (No Comment)

Karachi: Total 61 domestic and 18 international flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to be arrived on Tuesday the airports of the country are facing plausible delays due to a protest campaign of the Air Traffic Controllers.

In addition, this is to result in the loss of about Rs 700 million a week to the national airlines, which is already in the loss of Rs 2bn, while it is also to make other international airlines not to come to Pakistan because of safety hazards.

As per details, more than 250 operational Air Traffic Controllers of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) all over the country went on ‘GO BY THE BOOK’ campaign from Friday and they have stopped going the extra mile to accommodate the traffic for short cuts and expedite the landings and take off on the 23 domestic stations of the country.

Resultantly on Tuesday, total 79 domestic and international flights of PIA faced delays. While international flights of other airlines and domestic operations of Airblue and Shaheen Air also got affected. By dint of this campaign of the Air Traffic Controllers the flights from Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, and Middle East airlines suffered from the loss of some 17920 Nautical Miles per week in terms of track shortening, and only Karachi airport is to lose around 500 nautical miles/per week.

Industry experts informed that a 747 plane consumes 20kg fuel per nautical mile, and the price of that fuel is about $22, while a 737 plane consumes 9kg/NM fuel that has price of $9. Resultantly, total loss on the non-saving of some 17929 nautical miles a week is around Rs 700m, which is a fatal blow to the already broken national airlines.

Besides, this action has resulted in delays to flights all across Pakistan causing inconvenience to passengers and millions of rupees of extra fuel being burnt by the airlines. Total international flights affected on Tuesday of PIA at Karachi airport were 5, Lahore 2, Islamabad 5, Peshawar 5, and Quetta 1.

On domestic front total arrivals of the PIA flights that got affected include 18 flights at Karachi airport, 16 at Lahore airport, 15 at Islamabad airport, 2 at Peshawar airport, 4 at Quetta airport, 2 at Faislabad airport, and 4 at Multan airport.

Sources informed that the traffic controllers have been pushed into this because of the indifferent attitude of the administration of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) towards their issues and problems. This situation has also resulted in a tense working atmosphere for the controllers, which is a serious safety hazard, as already tense controllers are working to handle hundreds of flights from all over the world flying through Pakistan airspace.

Technically this airspace is considered to be one of the most difficult because of presence of high number of conflicting dangerous routes, so just imagine a dissatisfied and frustrated controller sitting on the controls to do this difficult job is a serious safety hazard, sources added.

According to the details, CAA administration about a month back made an agreement with the traffic controllers to immediately implement the immediate relief package of 125% rating allowance (originally it was 250 as approved by 262 CAA executive Committee meeting).

This offer of the CAA was accepted by the controllers to end the ongoing protest at that time, as it was promised to be processed in 15 days. But it has been now more than 40 days and CAA has failed to even discuss this in house, therefore, the traffic controllers lost their interest in the work and went on the said campaign for indefinite period.

http://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/01/31/pia-flights-delay-on-caa-officials-protest/#.UAWNEZExO9s

Annex 4

Daily Times

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\05\14\story_14-5-2012_pg12_8

Annex 5

The News

Saudi aviation authorities give PIA final warning

Javed Mirza
Sunday, June 17, 2012 
From Print Edition

30  17  7  6

KARACHI: Challenges are increasing for the new management as the Saudi aviation authorities have given Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) a final warning and have put its operations under strict observation to decide regarding its performance as per passengers’ inconvenience and its affect on Jeddah airport’s operations, sources said on Saturday.

Owing to the incessant delayed operations of PIA flights to Saudi Arabia, the officials at the Hajj terminal have issued stern warning to PIA, the sources said.

The officials said that they are facing various problems due to excessive delays of PIA flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the last couple of months, in general, and for the last couple of weeks, in particular.

The sources said that more than 70 percent of PIA flights to Saudi Arabia operated were delayed during the last couple of months. This has come as a severe blow to the new management of the national airlines as with almost a dozen of its aircraft non-operational for want of repairs, it too has not yet been able to take control of this old problem that had always been causing embarrassment on the international front, the sources added. The Saudi authorities are keeping PIA under observation for another one week till the end of this month and if the national flag carrier fails to set things right in just a week, it may face a ban in the near future, the sources added.

In the absence of improvement in maintaining the schedule, the General Authority of the Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia will be recommended for the reduction in PIA slots for schedule, as well as Umrah flights, the sources added.

This is the second time the Saudi authorities have issued warning to PIA, while a similar kind of warning was also issued by the London Heathrow Airport Authorities to maintain timely operation during Olympics, otherwise they will bar PIA from landing there, the sources said. The Saudi authorities have asked PIA that in case of delay of flights they will provide airport facilities only on subject to availability basis.

“In case the flight is delayed at the origin station / JED for more than once (rolling delay), passengers must be sent to hotel and may be picked up after minimum rest,” the authority added.

Link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-3-114852-Saudi-aviation-authorities-give-PIA-final-warning

Annex 6

The Express Tribune

New airlines: PIA protests as skies get crowded

By Tufail Ahmed

Published: January 2, 2012

CAA grants approval for commercial operations to two new carriers. PHOTO: REUTERS/ FILE

KARACHI: The country’s aviation regulator has allowed two airline companies to operate passenger flights, prompting reservations from the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), which said the approval will only enhance losses of the national flag carrier that is mired in deep financial crisis.

Indus Airlines is a new carrier that is among the two companies granted approval by the Civil Aviation Authority. PIA has demanded that Indus Airlines’ licence be cancelled.

Sources say Indus Airlines’ application for provision of space for an office and a hanger is also in the final stages of approval. After the new licences, the total number of airlines authorised to operate on commercial basis is six, including PIA, Air Blue, Shaheen Air, Indus Air, Bhoja Air and Pearl Air.

Bhoja Air’s licence expired last year, sources say, but has now been renewed. It is mandatory now for the airline to start its operations, sources add.

In a letter to the CAA, PIA has requested the regulator to cancel Indus Airlines’ licence, granted a year ago, citing financial and technical problems for the national carrier.

At present, two airlines are operating successfully in the private sector including Air Blue and Shaheen Air.

According to sources, however, Indus Airlines has already acquired an office at the Jinnah International Airport, which is not operational yet. The company has hinted that it plans to start its operations by mid-March. Sources add that the company has hired executive officers from PIA as well as other airlines, but has not yet decided about the types of aircraft it will induct in its fleet.

The name of the new airline’s chief has not been announced yet.

A spokesperson for Indus said the airline is a consortium of various companies, has acquired offices and is hiring staff in different departments.

The airline will host an inauguration ceremony soon where further details will be provided to the media, the spokesperson added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd,  2012.

Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/315313/new-airlines-pia-protests-as-skies-get-crowded/

Blog The Express Tribune

The PIA problem

December 21, 2011

This article is not written with the intent of defending President Asif Ali Zardari or his party.It aims to illustrate how the hyperpersonalisation of politics and governance in Pakistan hascreated unachievable expectations for quick fixes, based onoverly simplistic explanations of state failure.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is an illustration of perhaps the biggest disservice the president has done for his country; he allowed himself to become a lightning rod for every explanation of state failure. By explaining the poor performance of the state to the person who occupies the Presidency, we overlook the many structural, underlying and historical reasons that perpetuate state failure.

The dominant narrative which explains the mess that PIA is currently stuck in, is that the national carrier is purposely being run into the ground so that Indus Airway, linked to the president’s sister Faryal Talpur, can benefit. In fact, it appears that Abdul Wahab, the man behind Karakoram Motors is the lead investor in Indus Air.

Last week, news report claimed that PIA had grounded 18 planes. A passage read:

On Wednesday, a Riyadh-bound flight from Lahore was just cancelled only because a 9-volt battery, used to operate one of its emergency gates, was found out of order, provoking the passengers who vent their anger on the airport administration.

I am not sure about everybody else, but if this happens with me, I would want my plane to be grounded when its most crucial component that facilitating emergency exits is out-of-order. Granted, PIA could do a better job to replace the offending part on time and improve preventative maintenance. However, given the news, Facebook and Twitter lit up with commentary on how PIA is purposefully sabotaging and compromising its own aircraft to serve the president’s interests.

A couple of months ago, rumours circulated that the increased frequency of emergency landings  by PIA were being orchestrated to tarnish its image and reputation. Investigation should be carried out to find out if poor maintenance and incompetence has led to an increase in emergencies. Why would experienced pilots risk not only their lives and licenses but also the lives of their crew and passengers by “orchestrating” emergency landings?

PIA faces many challenges like global economic depression, rising fuel costs, stiff competition, massive labour costs and  inefficient vendor supply chains, to name a few. It also has to deal with the recruitment of skilled staff to Gulf carriers while there is a drought in airline financing and the poor image of Pakistan negatively affecting its ability to attract passengers from other countries. It’s ironic when an airline cannot upload an accurate destination map. And it doesn’t help either when the MD of that company states that: “pilgrims should be thankful for travelling in aircraft, rather than on camels”!

However these issues,  incident by incident are overlooked and reduced to the now ubiquitous explanation that PIA’s failures are a result of Zardari’s greed.

PIA is managed under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the MoD for all practical purposes is under the influence of the military. Does the cosy relationship between the regulator, the CAA and PIA not lead to a conflict of interests? Speaking of the military, why do we overlook how the military run NLC has contributed to the railway’s decline?

Zardari and the PPP are rightly criticised for mismanagement and poor governance. However, decisions that influence the well being of the state organisations  or require the allocation of tax payers resources must be made on the basis of a rational and impassioned analysis. Not doing so creates the illusion that only PPP’s exit will lead to an improvement and also imposes improbable expectations on the government that will follow.

Whoever comes into power after Zardari will have to meet the expectations of a society which has been made to believe that every ill faced by the nation is the result of  the greed and incompetence of one individual. A nation misinformed by political parties, commentators and the media, is then unable to accept the necessary reforms that our state owned enterprises require. Will getting rid of the PPP and Zardari be enough?

Link: http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/9380/the-pia-problem/

Annex 7

Express Tribune

Delayed flights: PIA suffers Rs71m daily loss

By APP

Published: December 22, 2011

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suffered almost Rs70.68 million loss daily due to delayed flights during January-September 2011, According to official sources. The national carrier was maintaining its domestic and international flights’ schedule with a fleet of 34 aircraft of which five were under scheduled maintenance. The operational fleet consists of nine Boeing 777, four Boeing737, nine Airbus 310, six ATRs and six Boeing 747s which are mostly used for Hajj, Umrah and charter operations. Besides, the Boeing 747s are used for supplementing scheduled flights, if an aircraft is taken out of operation for some maintenance work.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2011.

Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/310131/delayed-flights-pia-suffers-rs71m-daily-loss/

Transition generation leaders

By: Marvi Memon | August 01, 2012

Ever since time immemorial, the thirst for maximisation of natural resources has led to the alteration of the world map. Empires have been made and broken. Countries have been born and split. But the rat race for resources still goes on.

Whilst most countries can dream of hegemonic designs for maximisation of wealth, there are only a few who will actually make the geopolitical race to the top of the pyramid. Countries like Pakistan can’t in their current state aim for top pyramid positions; they need to at least aim at getting out of bottom layer to the middle layer for the next 10 years or so. And that can only happen with planning for the crisis, which will hit Pakistan and the rest of the world.

At a time when the American empire reigns, there are certain larger world crises we need to beware of so that our country can survive the 21st century. Even though we will personally not be around to see the entire century, we certainly have a responsibility as politicians to plan for our future generations.

In light of this responsibility, there is a need for politicians of all parties to come together for a joint vision document or manifesto, which will make certain promises in terms of a path for Pakistan. Individually, all political parties make similar sounding manifesto promises. It is time to sign off on a joint Vision-Manifesto. Future parliaments must have a Vision-Manifesto committee to oversee that political parties stick to their promises. They must ensure this has constitutional protection so it’s taken seriously. The vision document must prepare Pakistan for the big crisis of the century. Only then can we turn our demographic disaster into a dividend.

Invariably, there is a worldwide race for natural resources like oil, water, and minerals. There is nothing new about this race. It happens every century. Every century, there are different combinations of hegemons that countries align themselves to for surviving the race. In the current century whilst the American empire is reigning, China is seen by many as posing a new cold war threat. China is the other alternative countries can latch onto when American supremacy gets unbearable. China’s thirst and race for energy in all continents at easier terms of political interference than US might sound appealing to some countries and, therefore, its influence has grown substantially. Armed with savvy businessmen and diplomats having mastered the art of resource maximisation, the Chinese are posing a threat to American domination.

Those leaders, who will provide solutions to the mega world crisis in each country, will be referred to as ‘Transition Generation Leaders’. Their task will be to look for sustainable solutions to the crisis, which will make us transit from one century to the next. They will need to identify solutions, which are not geared towards political short-term vote tactics or business short-term profits. Solutions which don’t lead us to the tragedy of the commons by which we mean the overexploitation of non-renewable resources. When transition generation leaders take charge in each country, the chances of the world heading towards mayhem will reduce.

Mega problems such as global warming, excessive population growth, water shortages, mass famine, desertification, pandemics, extreme poverty, growth of shanty cities, global migrations, non-state actors with extreme weapons, could all lead us towards dark ages if we don’t have transition generation leaders in all our countries. What we need to realise is that in the 21st century, the obstacle to prosperity will not be a lack of human made capital, but a lack of natural capital. This is not so well understood for now.

Interestingly, whilst some economic, regional hegemons are increasing their GDPs and are proudly entering the rat race for top tier pyramid, they are depleting their natural capital. This is not a recipe for real success because their ability to feed their populations is invariably decreasing. On the other hand, the current developed countries have severe aging demographic issues. Today, Europe has 35 percent pensioners to feed. In 2050, it will have 75 percent. Here is an opportunity for those countries whose demographics are younger to take advantage and send their teeming populations to earn foreign currency in such regions.

Pakistan and many Muslim countries have enviable demographics and natural resources; but most of them also have a complete disregard for managing them sustainably and transparently. Whilst we need to get our individual country acts together, the commonalities of the issues that will be borderless demand an international response almost like an international vision document.

The developed world has taken decisions on their foreign policy options based on resource maximisation. They have made economic blocs to enhance their economic competencies. Has the Muslim Ummah ever put a blueprint for how it could do the same? The European countries are joined by geography. And they have accomplished a European bloc that is so economically intertwined. The Muslim Ummah is joined together by something which is larger than all – religion. Despite this, we have not done resource maximisation mapping and worked together to take care of each other, which is in fact a clear Muslim obligation on all of us. We have been successfully divided bringing back memories of the humiliating defeat and retreat of Islam in the past centuries. We have truly not thought of what obligations exist on all of us living in the Muslim Ummah to collectively feed each other’s populations.

In actual fact, if we have to feed our Muslim populations adequately, we need to combine natural resources, infrastructure, and labour. We cannot be simply funding madrassahs some of which become breeding grounds for terrorists attacking our own populations. We have to look beyond the short-term objectives of playing in each other’s backyards.

It is time for the transition generation leaders of the Muslim Ummah to put their heads together, get a calculator out and start mobilising the masses for resource maximisation. Here are some Muslim countries other than Pakistan whose populations are more than 50 percent youth based and are thus sitting on a tremendous wealth of productive labour force: Afghanistan, Albania, Chad, Djibouti, Gambia, Guinea, Iran, Jordan, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

All these countries have tremendous amounts of useful natural resources or natural capital, despite most of their GDPs and stability statistics not being so enviable. These countries are either going to turn towards a demographic disaster or, if correctly steered, can turn into a demographic dividend. Their infrastructure capabilities to generate dividends out of their natural resource pool will need tremendous support. These countries are currently not on any fast track list. But they can be. They need to think and act together. They need to help each other train their labour force. They need to manage their natural resource pools. And most importantly, they need to politically stabilise their nation states for the future. If they don’t, they won’t survive the onslaught of the mega world crises of the 21st century.

Pakistan’s transition generation leaders need to concentrate on trained youth, natural resources, infrastructure and a concept of the knowledge-based economy. Any impediment to making a powerful cohesion between these ingredients for feeding our future generations needs to be intelligently managed. Similarly, Pakistan needs to play its due role in getting the Muslim Ummah together before its gets trampled by the global and regional hegemons in this rat race for natural capital.

The writer is a former Member of the             National Assembly of Pakistan.

Email: marvi.nmemon@gmail.com

Website: www.marvimemon.com

Twitter: marvi_memon

Link: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Columnist/marvi-memon

The American empire and Pakistan

By: Marvi Memon | July 25, 2012

What Lord Palmerston said at the height of the British Empire stands true for the American empire in the coming decade: “We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow.”

Pakistan along with the rest of the world functions under the American empire whether it likes it or not. It must understand the rules of engagement of such an empire. Pakistan’s foreign policy options cannot just be seen in the light of its own limited power projections due to its economic chaos.

Pakistan functions in the international system of states as per the rules made by all those who are above it in the power pyramid. We need to accept that the international system in 2012 is run as per the priorities of the American emperor at the top. Cascading down the pyramid are those who support the emperor or who wish to be the emperor one day. It is, therefore, critical to understand the objectives, strategies of the emperor’s cascading pyramid in order to plan for the next decade.

Often Pakistani politicians and intelligentsia alike are embroiled in a reactive foreign policy imperative, discussion or analysis. We hardly step back and examine trends, future projections. Unless we understand the patterns, which will drive American foreign policy decisions, in the future we cannot plan ours or maximise ours. The first major lesson to be learnt is that USA is an empire the way Britain and Rome were. The second major lesson is the most critical: all empires try to establish a balance of power to their own advantage to ensure no overpowering spheres of influence develop.

In light of this age-old revelation, let us examine how USA will be manoeuvring all over the globe. The Americans have a moralistic view of their own state and a dream of isolationism. Both of these are now outdated concepts, which are unattainable with their current international entanglements. With their economy being 25 percent of the world economy, withdrawal from meddling in the affairs of each state is now no longer an option. A management of the world empire built over a period of time keeping regional balances in place is the only way forward. Whilst Americans have an impact in each country of the world in terms of their empire status, there are some key balances in the next decade which will be more important than others.

These are world fault-lines which have an impact beyond their immediate geographical boundaries. An understanding of these fault-lines, American strategy within them for the next decade, will better help Pakistan determine which side of the fence would bring us more advantages internationally. Whilst Pakistan is currently at the receiving end of the emperor’s crumbs, it doesn’t have to be for the next decade if Pakistani rulers get their priorities right.

The pinnacle of the American power is its reliance on its navy to maintain superiority over global trade through the sea-lanes. Pakistan’s emphasis on its own navy for spheres of economic interests in preferential sea-lanes needs re-budgeting and re-focus. Pakistan also needs to position itself advantageously with the USA in this domain so that its value in the sea-lane chain can be leveraged.

The main fault-lines where the emperor is eager to maintain balance of power have been Israel-Arab, Iran-Iraq, Indo-Pak, Russia-Europe and China-Asia. Within these fault-lines, the effort of the Americans has been to avoid any dominant players growing. It has primarily been an attempt to maintain fault-lines and a balance of power, which leaves everyone dependent on US interference so as to maintain its empire status. And that too with minimal US troop deployment. As so intelligently illustrated in George Friedman’s ‘The Next Decade’, it is in essence a strategy designed to prevent regional hegemons from threatening American interests. This will continue to be the strategy going forward.

In such a scenario, a disintegrated nuclear Pakistan which leaves India in a dominant position does not suit the balance of power strategy of the American empire. A less challenged India on the Afghanistan and Pakistan front will leave the Indian navy challenging the USA, which it cannot afford. This threat is being seen as a bigger threat than terrorism for American balance of power strategy. Afghanistan and Pakistan can be viewed as a stretch of 200 million contiguous people; leaving both in a disintegrated state doesn’t suit the balance of power in the region. The bottom line is that none of the fault-lines need to be too disintegrated or too dominant. Those regional hegemons, who are becoming a threat to US interests, will be downsized by the US in the next decade. Pakistan needs to resolve outstanding disputes and manage its Afghanistan Indian policy in light of this US dilemma. It must prove itself to being useful versus rogue in the exit strategy of the US in Afghanistan and must step up to the challenges.

Whilst for Pakistan all countries require special bilateral relations and Pakistan already has its favourites which it must maintain, there is a list of countries which will be critical for the US in the next decade. A special economic trade eye on these from Pakistan’s point of view would make good foreign policy.

Iran and Turkey will be the new balancing hegemons in the Middle East countering Israel in the next decade. Pakistan must continue to zoom in on its existing relations with the first two. The US lens will have to zoom out of relations with Israel to maintaining a balance within the region. Saudi and Afghanistan relations will continue to drive both American and Pakistani foreign policy imperatives.

On the Asian side, Korea, Japan, China, Australia and Singapore will be key for US maintaining a balance of power in the region. Pakistan must ensure specialised economic relations with each. It must balance its exports strategy both in terms of products as well as regions. Pakistan must learn from Brazil and diversify exports to all regions and diversify its exports product basket as well.

On the European arena, the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Russia need to be watched since they will be key for US balance of power in the next decade. Pakistan must understand the intricacies of how Europe will not want to support US military adventures and how any entente between Germany and Russia will affect the American balance of power.

On the Monroe doctrine arena and North of it, Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Canada will be prime focuses for the US. These are countries which are close enough or problematic enough to require special treatment. Pakistan must grow trade links with each one of them. Whilst the African continent will not be problematic for America, it goes without saying that the Muslim countries with oil should be a focus for US and Pakistan alike.

Pakistan has enough on its domestic plate. It needs to wean itself off the aid trap by becoming productive and less corrupt. However, Pakistan must immediately embark on a fresh approach to developing bilateral relations with all the countries identified. This doesn’t mean that these are the only countries on which Pakistan should concentrate. It only means that in the next decade these countries are projected as being important for balance of power strategies of the US.

Therefore, it will be wise for Pakistan to maintain economically advantageously relations with each of them. An out-of-the-box approach with each is required for Pakistan. A specialised case to case treatment of each country from a trade perspective is required. Pakistan needs to also urgently leverage its demographic dividend and lure these countries to seeing it as a demographic bonanza. Only then will Pakistan be able to avoid the failed state status trappings it’s so fast falling into.

n    The writer is a former Member of the             National Assembly of Pakistan.

Email: marvi.nmemon@gmail.com

Website: www.marvimemon.com

Twitter: marvi_memon

Link: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/25-Jul-2012/the-american-empire-and-pakistan

an exhibition “Discrimination”

of Former Parliamentarian Marvi Memon

at Nomad Gallery

on 16th July, 2012 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

at 22 Justice Abdul Rasheed Avenue, F-6/1, Islamabad

Contact: 051-2273725

"Discrimination"

Discriminations 

Art for me has been a way of expressing what I feel and see around myself. Whilst my training in art started with Nahid Raza, I later went on to train in watercolours from France. I have mostly been painting for friends and family. I have undertaken this formal exhibition with two specific objectives: firstly to illustrate the causes that are important to me in politics and secondly to contribute to those causes financially with the proceeds from my paintings.

The theme of the exhibition is “discriminations” since I have seen plenty in my four and a half years in politics. I have seen the worst of old politics and have dreamt of the best of new politics. I have come to a realistic conclusion that cohabitation with the best of old politics is necessary to be able to achieve new politics which is a long term goal. It’s a constant struggle.

I present some of my struggles visually for you. The written struggles are already in ebook form on www.marvimemon.com in the form of Pakistan’s first Parliamentary diaries. The paintings have an underline theme of old and new politics. The discriminations are at their height with the worst of old politics and the relief is with the combination of the best of old politics and a vision of new politics.

I have painted about the struggle for the acid legislation, against the injustices of karo Kari, about speaker’s golden guild concept of women empowerment, about some women in chains in our society. I have taken you through a visual journey of trying to save gilgit baltistan from GLOF, and the rest of Pakistan from water shortages. The long march against water thieves across the indus and the disastrous floods are there too as well as the food insecurities due to lack of climate change sensitivities. My struggle for survival of minorities and Shias is woven into the collection. So are the dharna struggles I have been part of and the bullets they have resulted in. My language bill along with the depiction of pakistaniyat and the federation is part of this exhibition. I take you through the demographic dividend versus disaster. I have painted American boots on ground, the pain of the drones and the terror attacks as well as the air crashes. All this in the midst of institutions crumbling clashing and crashing.

The concept of Bhittai’s Marui being surrounded by political crocodiles combined with Marui’s sacrifice of wealth for her people is the absolute ring around my politics and my art. the choices I have made in my strive for new politics are visually illustrated.

I hope that those of you who own these paintings appreciate the pain I have witnessed first hand in each village and street of Pakistan. Moreover, as these paintings sit in your drawing rooms i expect them to serve as a constant reminder of my ongoing grassroot struggle for a better Pakistan.

23 June 2012

Courage

Link: http://www.dailyibrat.com/Article_Columns/saturday4.html

Does Pakistan have democracy? Does Sindh have democracy? At the outset the answer to this question is yes. But if you look deeper we don’t have democracy because a large percentage of the population doesn’t use their vote as the biggest weapon for democracy. They keep choosing the same representatives who have stolen from them. This is specially the case in Sindh. Democracy demands accountability from your representatives. It demands that you don’t give them second chances when they mess your lives. Instead we have seen Sindhi people giving their lives back in the hands of those who have stolen from them.

The Ppp opium is not good for democracy nor is it good for lives of millions of Sindhis. We all love mohtarma shaheed benazir Bhutto but we don’t Wreck her memory by voting for who she has left behind since they are clearly stealing. She is mother to all Sindhis. She will not like her children voting for those who deprive her children from roti kapra makkan water rozgar. She would want you to vote for people like us who have been true to their soil.

Why are Sindhis scared to reject those who have looted them more than once? Can they not see that their rulers have given them the flood in two years? Can they not see that they have given them menghai? Can they not see that they have no roads? Can they not see that their children’s future is destroyed because schools are closed? Can they not see that they have to pay for jobs? Can they not see that the government hospitals are places where one goes to die not to live? Can they not see that irrigation officials tmos police officials steal from them everyday to share the bounty with their mnas mpas. Can they not see that their water is being stolen by the rulers? Can they not see that their streets are not being cleaned and their gutters are blocked? Can they not see that their lives have been reduced to animal lives? How much more proof do they need that they need to elect better different people?

It’s my firm belief that people can see but they don’t have courage to reject and choose new better people. Simply because the older candidates have made them hostage to their fear. If they don’t break out of their fear they will continue suffering and their existence will be like animals. For how long can they live on bisp khairaat? They need real jobs with real rozgar. Something ppp can’t give. But the other big national party which is doing better governance in bigger province can.

Time for Sindhis to have courage to reject bad and embrace good. It’s not just about coming to your condolences and weddings. It’s about being honest and not stealing from you. It’s about making your problems our problems. It’s about treating maarooara like a mother treats her children. She is there for duh sukh. Gami khushk. A mother feeds her children before feeding herself. She doesn’t do qabza on her children zameen. She doesn’t make her children fight then do wrong faislas favouring culprit child. She gives justice to all her children and and treats all of them as equal. She doesn’t watch her children getting killed raped kidnapped. She acts and protects.

We will act in fairness, give khushahli and protect. Have faith in us. Because we have sat in your homes and seen your poverty from close. Because we live amongst you. We eat with you, we laugh with you we cry with you, because we sweat with you in the fields and in the streets . Because we have never stolen from you. Because we have only given to you never taken from you. Because we have raised your issues on highest platforms for you. Because we are you.

18 June 2012

Dreams are for real

By marvi memon

Those who can dream can also make their dreams come true. The power to dream the right dream is a first step. When I roam the goth gitteees of my Sindhri I feel that my Sindhi maarooara have stopped dreaming. They have accepted their rotten lives because they feel their lives can hold nothing better for them. They are disappointed with the many rulers who promise rosy gardens and then deliver gutters.This is almost like death for the millions of Sindhis who have given up on their lives.

Today I urge my Sindhi people and especially my sindhi youth to dream a little with me so that they start living again. Dream with those who have never disappointed you. Dream with those who understand bhittai sarkars spirit of sacrifice and have sacrificed power for people. Dream with those of us who live in the midst of all of you and not above you. Dream a little with me…and then join hands to make that dream real.

I dream of a Sindhri where there will be a new social contract between the federation and the provinces on the basis of implementation of the 18th amendment. Where the powers of federation will be devolved to the provinces in the spirit of the resolutions which were the basis for the creation of Pakistan. I dream of a dharti where Sindhi and all our mother tongues are declared quomi boli.

I dream of a Sindhri which will be saved from any evil forces trying to divide it. I dream of a Sindhri where Sindhis will do Maalki of their own natural resources with the executive posts lying in the hands of the people of sindh. Where there will be no dharail raaj, no violence will be tolerated against any sect,religion, or ethnicity. Where all humans will be treated with dignity and equality. Where our cities will be free from political parties terrorist wings terror activities. Where those killed in terror acts will get justice.

A Sindhri where the law enforcers are not the law breakers and where accountability of corruption and bad governance will be carried out especially for developmental projects. Where every penny spent on public good is visible on the roads versus in some elite’s pockets.

A Sindhri which will not be flooded a third year running and the past flood affectees are not made beggars but are rehabilitated in dignified way. Where irrigation and drainage systems are strengthend and where funds can be seen on the roads. A Sindhri whose local government systems are the same throughout all it’s districts, where Karachi is restored to its original five districts.

A Sindhri which has water amply running through Indus, and which doesn’t have water thieves at the head affecting the tail. Which doesn’t allow the violation of the 1991 accord. Which doesn’t allow any projects detrimental to lower riparian on the Indus. Where there is access to clean drinking water for all it’s peoples.

Where education is managed by a chief executive who doesn’t allow ghost schools nor discrimination between rural and urban Sindh. Which allows every student of Sindh equal access on merit in all it’s universities.

A Sindhri which will carry out a census and elections based on international best practices which are rigging free. Where the ruling elite will not just include the feudal elite but a younger professional educated middle class.

A Sindhri which will offer gainful employment on merit to all and turn the demographics into dividend versus disaster. A Sindhri which pays its people their just dues without them having to protest for them. A healthy Sindhri with all it’s peoples having access to good free health care. A Sindhri which will not tolerate violence against women or minorities.

Such a Sindhri is possible if Sindhis break away from the opium of ppp’s fake promises. The original ppp of Bhutto sahib and mortarma has been hijacked by looters. If you love them then don’t cause their spirits in the grave more pain. Save Sindhri from the waagoos.

Sindhri jaag. Garon thio. Time for Sindhis to dream and make their dreams come true. I sincerely believe that the above dream can only be realised by a leader such as nawaz sharif and his pmln. Thus if you all love your dharti, you have the courage to dream and break the opium chains, put your faith in pmln. I promise you we won’t let you down. Your dreams will become reality and khushali will be the order of the day versus a sindh sitting in pre moenjodaro ruins.

Sindh cannot be divided ever

By: Marvi Memon | May 22, 2012 |

PML-N Quaid Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is the only leader of a national party, who has been categorical about how the PML-N considers division of Sindh equivalent to treason and how Pakistan’s territorial integrity is linked to Sindh’s borders not being tampered with.
As a worker of the PML-N, I consider my Quaid’s statement in line with the PML-Ns vision of intra and inter provincial harmony, which will bring prosperity to each Pakistani without any ethnic discrimination.
Of late, we have all noticed that the signage for a separate province for Mohajirs is fast spreading in Sindh’s big cities. We condemn such a movement and those forces who are actively assisting such a tehreek. Breaking Sindh in pieces would lead to bloodshed because every son and daughter of the soil would resist such a move peacefully. However, knowing the terrorist and fascists supporting such a movement, it is clear that our peaceful resistance would make us sitting targets for their firepower.
We don’t consider the term mohajir appropriate after so many decades of their entry from India. For us, all the people living in Sindh are Sindhis and must be given the same rights and respect. They might have different mother tongues like Sindhi, Urdu, Punjabi, Shina, Seraiki, Pushto, Gujrati, Brohi, Balochi etc, but they are all people of Sindh who are the sons and daughters of the soil, since they are born on this soil and adopted it voluntarily as their homeland. There can be no distinction between any of them based on how new their entry has been in Sindh. Those who entered Sindh pre-Raja Dahir, post-Mohammad bin Qasim and post-1947 cannot be divided into bands of new and old Sindhis.
It’s unheard of in the world to have separate provinces for immigrants, since by their very definition immigrants migrate to make their new homeland their home and not to carve it out into a separate home.
My forefathers from Keti Bunder in Thatta and Karachi’s Boulton Market opened up their own homes for the migrants in 1947. Everyone has lived peacefully and respectfully for decades. Never in their wildest imaginations could they imagine that some miscreants from these migrants would not integrate and ask for a division of Sindh from those who gave them their own homes.
As per the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, every citizen has the same rights irrespective of ethnicity or mother tongue. As such, the discrimination which is happening in creating the concept of ‘Karachi and Sindh’ or ‘Sindh and Mohajir Sooba’ is unfortunate. The real discrimination which is happening is the one between rural and urban Sindh due to the PPP-MQM government’s bad policies. Sindh’s cities have more facilities and those Sindhi youth and students, who are denied entry into their own cities’ educational institutions based on small quotas for them, have all the right to protest for their rights. It is not clear what discrimination is happening with those who call themselves ‘mohajir’ when they are eating, working, studying mostly on Sindh’s soil with full facilities in the larger cities. It is clearly a ploy by the MQM to get more political power for themselves behind the cloak of such a movement. Local government duplicities by the PPP and MQM have already rocked Sindh’s political fabric. There can’t be two systems of governance in one province. Democracy versus corruption at grassroot doorsteps should be an objective for all. Needless to say, the elections in Sindh’s provincial capital are violent and hardly free and fair thanks to such fascist political forces.
As such, the racism and hatred being generated by the fake Mohajir Sooba Tehreek and justified by certain MQM leaders is condemnable. Immigrants over thousands and thousands of years have entered and integrated into Sindh and made it their homeland peacefully. 1947 immigrations into Sindh were not the first ones! This is the first example in over thousands of years where migrants are asking for a separate province and for carving ‘jeejal maa’.
We have always preached harmony as Latif Sarkar’s followers. We wish to see one Sindh and one Pakistan. We have always fought for the strengthening of Pakistan and never for its breakup. We have only politically negotiated with those Sindhi nationalists, who accept Pakistan and wish to do parliamentary politics inside Pakistan. We have always condemned separatist movements.
It is clear that the PPP, MQM and other government political parties’ silence on this Mohajir Sooba Tehreek is an acceptance of this tehreek. For the CM Sindh to claim that he is incapable of removing signage, which is creating hatred and divisions amongst the people of Sindh, is tantamount to treason by the government. The PPP’s name will be written in history as the party which allowed the breakup of Sindh, unless all signage is removed immediately and their coalition partners are told in no unclear words to stop actively supporting such tehreek. If the PPP cannot manage to explain this issue to the MQM, it will be clear who the culprits behind the plot to divide Sindh are.
We respect all the people of Sindh and Pakistan equally. We don’t wish to create discrimination. We are cognisant of our responsibility to bring development to each Pakistani irrespective of ethnicity or language. We believe in Pakistaniyat. Sindh’s territorial integrity is linked to that of Pakistan’s. Let the miscreants be clear that we will defend it with our last drop of blood.

The writer is a former Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Email: marvi.nmemon@gmail.com
Website: www.marvimemon.com
Twitter: marvi_memon
Facebook: Marvi Memon Shadow Cabinet.

Link: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/22-May-2012/sindh-cannot-be-divided-ever

Repeated attacks on HEC

By: Marvi Memon | April 11, 2012

The first attack which was launched against the Higher Education Commission was last year around the same time. The real reason the federal government put pressure on the HEC was to grab its funds for corrupt purposes and to safeguard the parliamentary fake degrees, which were to be uncovered by the HEC. The warped logic given by the PPP then was that since 18th Amendment had been passed, there was no reason for the HEC to exist and it must be devolved to the provinces.

I have always been the greatest proponent for provincial autonomy, but I didn’t fall for this misinformation campaign. Simply because I, along with many other MNAs, had read the 18th Amendment we had signed in which it was clearly indicated that HEC was under the Federal Legislative List Part and not the concurrent list, and thus it was not supposed to be devolved to the provinces.

On April 11, 2011, we presented a resolution to the National Assembly, which was worded as follows:

1). We do not appreciate government ministers misleading the public that they have devolved HEC to provinces; whereas, in fact,

• they can’t do so under the 18th Amendment, since the parliamentarians have signed 18th Amendment to have the HEC functions fall under the Federal Legislative List Part 1 clause 16, 17, 32 and Part 2 clause 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13.

• government has not devolved HEC since as per Cabinet decision March 28, 2011. Four functions, namely external examination, education in the capital, welfare of Pakistani students abroad and international exchange of students and teachers, have been given to federal not

provincial control namely commission for standards for higher education, new division for ICT, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IPC respectively.

2). We do not appreciate government ministers confusing the public about the different legal status of education and higher education.

3). We wish to abide by the 18th Amendment and devolve education to provinces and not devolve and dissolve HEC.

4). We understand that HEC is being dissolved due to political vendetta against it for its role in the parliamentarians’ fake degree cases.

5). We do not appreciate double speak of government ministers on the floor of Senate and National Assembly on whether HEC is devolved or not.

6). We want the PM to give verbal assurance on the floor of the house and written instructions to his Cabinet that HEC functionalities will not be changed failing which we reserve the right to take further action against the government.

Interestingly, the most senior and respected members of the PPP chose to indulge in this doublespeak and break the Constitution. We managed to stop this violation of the Constitution by going to the Supreme Court, who gave a judgment in the favour of 18th Amendment and thus the HEC continuing its role in its federal capacity. It was the most blatant violation of the Constitution being done by respected senior members of Parliament to favour corruption versus the future knowledge economy. The students of the universities of HEC put up a courageous fight to stop this breaking of the Constitution. In the provinces, the PPP-led coalition tried to play the Sindh card to mislead the public about the HEC. However, that didn’t work either.

Now one year later, the same campaign has been taken up since the federal government is short of funds and wishes to pilfer our future and students’ futures. A Private member bill called the HEC Amendment Bill has been introduced a few days back to take financial powers away from the HEC. It is a one-page document that proposes the following:

1). Removal of power of the 17-member HEC Board (including one member nominated by each province) to “allocate” funds to universities. This power would then be transferred to the Secretary of the Division with which HEC would be attached.

2). Removal of power of the 17-member HEC Board (including one member nominated by each province) to approve and provide recurring and development funds to universities. It would now become a “recommending” body to the Secretary of the attached Ministry.

3). Removal of status of Chairman HEC as Federal Minister.

One must understand that the HEC is a body in which governance and management are clearly separated. Governance is in the hands of the HEC Commission, consisting of 17 members and chaired by the Chairman HEC. All policy making and financial policy powers are with a 17-member board that is headed by the Chairman and consists of provincial representatives, Vice Chancellors, Federal Secretaries and eminent Academics. No one person has “control” over this body and the Chairman HEC is non-executive. The management of the HEC is done by the Secretariat, headed by the Executive Director. All members of the Commission are appointed for a fixed four-year term and cannot be removed. This bifurcation allows the HEC to resist all political pressures and take decisions on merit alone. No funds are granted under political pressure. The impact of the proposed amendment would be as follows:

1). There appears to be only one purpose of this bill and that is the control of Rs44 billion of funds proposed for the HEC for FY 2012-13.

2). The power of allocation of funds would be taken away from the provinces whose representative along with the other members of the HEC who belong to all regions of Pakistan, and given to a Federal Secretary. Thus, this would be a disservice to the provincial autonomy the same PPP government boasts of.

3). This would severely disrupt all development projects, since HEC deals with more than 10,000 people on scholarship whose needs and requirements change constantly. The funding flow from the government is extremely erratic and without flexibility of allocation of funds the future of Pakistani scholars would be bleak.

4). HEC manages the entire research programme of all universities providing 1,500 research grants, hundreds of grants for conference attendance, hundreds of grants to PhD students to collaborate with foreign universities. HEC operates the Pakistan Research Network. This is the primary reason for the spectacular growth in research publications.

5). HEC is the primary driver of innovation in Pakistan. Without funding authority the programmes for set up of Business Incubation Centres, support of business plan competitions, and support of small companies, all would be lost.

6). HEC is the project implementing body for the $300 million World Bank loan for the uplift of higher education in Pakistan. Without the ability to allocate and distribute funds, the entire operation of HEC would essentially come to a halt and the HEC would be forced to withdraw from this programme resulting in a huge loss of concessional loan for the higher education sector of Pakistan.

7). All Vice Chancellors would be forced to pursue the Ministry to which HEC would be attached for the allocation and disbursal of all funds. Prior to formation of HEC, the Vice Chancellors used to sit in offices of Section Officers to get the files cleared. The dignity of the higher education sector would be destroyed.

The proposed amendment has nothing to do with the 18th Amendment, since the funding would not be transferred to the provinces and, in fact, would be transferred to a Ministry. So, the fake claims of the PPP continue that they are giving HEC to the provinces; whereas, in fact, they are keeping it with the federation but under their corrupt control. This move would single-handedly destroy the higher education sector of Pakistan and ruin the future of our children.

As such the following issue needs to be noticed by all those Pakistanis, who claim to be in favour of knowledge-driven economy, provincial autonomy, higher education and are anti-corruption. I hope that just like we functioned as one team and saved the HEC from the PPP’s corrupt designs in 2011, so will we do the same in 2012.

The writer is a former Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan.

Email: marvi.nmemon@gmail.com

Link: http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/11-Apr-2012/repeated-attacks-on-hec