IS IT TRANSPARENT?

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31.                                 IS  IT  TRANSPARENT?

The Supreme Court in its  judgment regarding the case of promotion to Grade 22 on April 28, 2010  decided this case  .  It  had  also directed the Government to revise the Seniority Roll, according to the newspaper reports. The Court  emphasised  on the principle  of Transparency in promotion cases. I was also very glad that the Superior Judiciary has taken notice of the various ills, which have crept into the country’s highest bureaucracy. As a retired civil servant as I see in retrospect there was a time when we saw ourselves as cream of the Nation. But now the bureaucracy has been turned into the dregs of the Nation so much so that I did not allow my four highly educated children to become bureaucrats so that what befell me should not befall them.

I joined the service on November 03, 1969 as a Section Officer after qualifying the Central Superior Services Competition.  I was promoted as a Deputy Secretary of the Federal Government on March 09, 1982. I remained on the same post for twenty-three years till I retired on June 12, 2005.

The case for my promotion to the next higher post matured after seventeen years of service i.e 1987.  The Promotion Board considered the cases of me and my batch mates for promotion in 1988. Since then till my retirement I was always superceded. Since the Board’s proceedings were secret, I understood by inference that I had been passed over. 

My service record is available with the Establishment Division. I was invariably told, because I was not allowed in that cell where calculations are carried out, that my quantification marks hovered around sixty-eight. General Musharraf introduced a new system of the best of the best. I had no chance under this system.

The rules regarding the promotion of officers have been laid in ESTACODE and the Promotion Policy.  The criterion includes the minimum quantification of marks of 70 based on the Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) . This quantification is done in the Establishment Division and is calculated over a period, which encompasses the total assessment reports obtained by a candidate during his entire service. This quantification is done

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in a secret cell in the Establishment Division in which no one is allowed to enter and is done by clerks.

 The Annual Confidential Reports are often based on the reporting officer’s likes or dislikes. In 1984, my ACR of that year was ‘good’. It was given by the Secretary General, Economic Affairs Division, the late Mr. Ejaz Ahmad Naik. The following year I was rated ‘ average’ by the SAME reporting officer despite the fact that the Chief, Resident Mission of the World Bank appreciated my work  (Copy enclosed).  Either the World Bank did not appraise me correctly or the reporting officer was wrong in his assessment. The letter from the World Bank was not considered for promotion.

However, the ACRs as a rule are not shown to the officers reported upon unlike the armed forces nor are they warned to improve their work. During my entire service of 35 years, I was NEVER warned to be careful in my work lest my ACR would be spoiled. 

However, I have seen my ACRs of 1988 onwards.My ACRs of this period were mostly ‘very good’.  In fact in one of my ACR, the reporting Officer appreciated my work ‘despite illness in my family ‘.  The question is either I was not consistent in my working or something is wrong with the appraisal and hence the system.    

Secondly, if the reporting officer is strict in assessing an officer, this will reflect on the quantification marks in the end. If, however, the reporting officer is lenient, in the end one’s marks will go up.

Thirdly, despite strict instructions to abide by the cut off date for submitting the ACRs, reporting officer resort to blackmail to keep the officer reporting upon to toe the line.

Fourthly , ‘outstanding ACRs’ carry eight marks , ‘very good’ seven marks , ‘good’ six marks and ‘average ‘five marks. Did it mean that all officers who were promoted managed to obtain ‘outstanding ACRs’ throughout their careers? Shortly before my retirement in 2005 , I attended two weekly courses in two successive years in Islamabad  All my fellow participants had been superceded .  But now they are in grade 21 . How did they managed to

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overcome this hurdle for promotion from Grade 19 to 20 and from Grade 20 to 21 in the presence of General Musharraf’s policy of ‘ best of the best’ .   

 Is it transparent ?

MAHFOOZ UR RAHMAN ISLAMABAD

IF FOOLS RULED THE WORLD

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   30. IF FOOLS RULED THE WORLD

Shortly before his death , my late son , Mustafa , sent me a SMS which said that if women ruled the ruled there would be no war ..................... Just a bunch of jealous countries not talking to each other . However , I have a better suggestion –  indeed a capital suggestion .     
Just imagine the scenario if fools ruled the world .

I wrote to the others among my contacts to have their input . Four responded  as follows :-

1.     Ms Rahat Moin from London said ‘ I thought fools ruling us anyway .Lol’

2.      Najma Khan  from Chicago  ‘ give all your love to your friends .but do not give all your trust to him’ and ‘you can fake your smiles and laughter ---but you can never fake tears and feelings’

3.     Col . Safdar , a neighbor a dear friend  ‘Perhaps it would be better world because fools wont be able to swindle so meticulously.’

4.     Naim ur Rehman , a cousin from Islamabad‘  I  dont know much about rest of the world but I know for sure that if a hard working Pakistani with normal wisdom starts working honestly he can change the whole complexion. We don’t need hifi types we need normally educated people who accept ground realities and start working with others with sleeves rolled.kia khayal hai janab  ( Your viewpoint , please ) .

To which , I observed ‘Hard working and wisdom are alien to our culture .
Once Ashfaq Ahmed , a great writer and philosopher  ,on his visit told us at National Institute Public Administration , Lahore that he met a very old man who told the former that Pakistan was not damaged so much by unlettered people than by the educated lot .However , I respect your views ‘

 Mr. Naim further ‘That is what I am saying we have to motivate people to work and example has to come from the top. If president of a civilized country can clear rubble following an accident  ,why cant our rascals placed at various slots ‘

My family and I agree with the observations by the former three . I dont trust anyone . Friends and relations are friends and relations for  limited interests : their

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own interest . Even  a mother , according to a gentleman addressing his staff , said that a mother chooses a son who is wealthy for special treatment

From the beginning of  time , a man has ruled over the world . The first murder occurred when Kabeel (Cain) the younger  son of the Prophet Adam , killed his older brother , Habeel (Able) over a woman  ,thus began the eternal triangle . Sin began when Adam and Eve were directed by the Almighty to leave Heaven and  inhabit the earth . The Bible lists the seven deadly sins .

Biblical lists

In the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19, among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him", namely:^[4]

1.                 A proud look

2.                 A lying tongue

3.                 Hands that shed innocent blood

4.                 A heart that devises wicked plots

5.                 Feet that are swift to run into mischief

6.                 A deceitful witness that uttereth lies

7.                 Him that soweth discord among brethren

Another list, given this time by the Epistle to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21), includes more of the traditional seven sins, although the list is substantially longer: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, "and such like".^[5] Since Saint Paul goes on to say that the persons who commit these sins "shall not inherit the Kingdom of God", they are usually listed as (possible) mortal sins rather than capital vices.

Historical and Modern references  defines  Lust ,Gluttony , Greed ,Sloth ,Wrath ,Envy and Pride . Islam considers  associating  others  with Allah (God) is the most heinous sin . The rest of deadly sins are common to Islam .

William Shakespeare , the greatest master craftsman of characters in the  northern hemisphere , dealt  remarkably with the seven deadly sins in his plays . Jealousy , flattery , meanness had been dealt with in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth , wickedness has been portrayed in the King Claudius and Queen Gertrude (Hamlet’s mother ) of Denmark  in ‘Hamlet’ , flattery and cunningness in Goneril  and Regan, the daughters of King Lear and in Edmund , the son of Earl Gloucester and in Iago in ‘Othello ‘  .

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In history and in everyday life , one or  a combination of sins is involved . In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first , flattery was very a potent weapon . Before that , King Henry VIII either sent people to the gallows  who  gave him an adverse advice  or banished them . Her namesake , Queen Elizabeth II , a miserly old lady is not willing to leave the throne in her son’s favour although Charles  , like an obedient son ,has grown old waiting . Ah , the temptation of the crown and throne .  In the past , the kings and emperors depended on their advisers viz. Niccolo Machiavelli (Italy ) , Chanakiya (Kautiliya) (Indian ) and Sir Francis Bacon (England )  , the modern era has American Enterprises Institute , the Smithsonian Institute , the Brookings , David Cheney ,Donald Rumsfeld ,Paul Wolfowitz , Douglas Firth to launch invasions on first Vietnam and then on  Iraq and Afghanistan 

 Thus, man and woman are alike as far as the commission of the seven deadly sins are concerned. If man wages war and battles, woman are equally responsible for invasion of countries viz. King, Frederick and Queen Isabella  and Queen Elizabeth I for the launching of the Spanish Armada.

In recent times, Mrs. Indra Gandhi  , the late Prime Minister of India ,invaded  a part of Pakistan i.e. East Pakistan and managed to make an independent Bangladesh with the help of the natives of the country.

However ,the wise men of Gotham  and the wise men of Magi ( who brought gifts  when Jesus was born )  is history . The people of Gilgit , the Chakma tribe of Chittagong , the Kafir tribe of Chitral and the people of Tibet , though they are not fools , are very simple folk .

.

Fools are at peace with themselves and they are at peace with the world . It is my suggestion .

Mahfooz ur Rahman

Islamabad

July 17 , 2013

How I was on the wrong side of the bosses ?

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29.               How I was on the wrong side of the bosses ?
I was born under a blighted star . Students of English Literature come across this term in one of Shakespeare’s dramas . perhaps ‘King Lear’ . I bade  good bye to my text books the moment the  CSS results came . However , I continued reading so much so that when the Cabinet Secretary gave me two books  on ‘Honours and Awards ‘to read and to prepare myself  for discussions with him on a date yet to be announced , I amused myself reading the 117 species of dogs  from one  of the books. However , I was well prepared for the discussions .
In the 18^th century or the early part of 19^th , there was a saying ‘ Children should be seen not heard ‘. I turned the saying into a parody ‘Bosses should never be seen nor heard ‘. Naturally my bosses were not amused . The nearest I came to becoming a ‘ blue eyed boy ‘ was  in the Cabinet Division  when Mr . Zahur Azar was the Secretary.
However , unknown to me , things were sour between him  and the Minister for Education , an educationist: perhaps after the country’s independence , the first educationist who became the Education Minister . I gave them a chance to have it out through my over confidence that I knew the subject in and out   . In   one of the meetings , I named a particularly gentleman and said that  the recommendation for him had come from the Ministry for Education.   
However , later it turned out that the Quaid e Azam University had recommended him . My explain was called . I wrote a single sentence that the error is profoundly regretted   . When the file reached the Additional Secretary , he hit the roof . I was called in. He  used to sit in the adjoining room . I shared the bathroom with him .  The previous officer had the same grouse .  To his query as to the brevity of my reply , I answered that I accepted my omission . What more was expected from me . The Additional Secretary wrote a half page . The result was nil .
Once my boss called me and showed me his tax returns . Since he was enjoying car pool provided by the office , I mentioned that he had made an omission . The result was almost the same as above. He began to foam at the mouth and told me to leave the room.

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One of my bosses towards the end of my official career was quite chummy with the Minister . The latter used the former to do what he could not manage with secretary . The Minister instructed my boss to write to a particularly ambassador in the Middle East . Unfortunately for the  latter , the ambassador was a pal of the former President . My boss apologized to the Secretary for ignoring him .
Many years ago , when I had just returned from my first overseas trip and seen democracy at work , I attended a meeting chaired by the then Minister of Commerce . He started playing to the gallery . I interrupted him and told that he was talking garbage  . I never got a chance to serve overseas as  a Commercial Attache .
You may draw your conclusions and moral from the above . However , my conscience was and now satisfied that I did the right thing .
Mahfooz ur Rahman
Islamabad
September 01 , 2012

HOW I MISS MY DREAM WORLD?

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 28.                                    HOW I MISS MY DREAM WORLD?

I was only three when I came to Pakistan  from India in the company of my late parents in 1947 . My parents and other elders of the family had mixed memories in retrospect some very sweet .But others were  very bitter scenes of Partition  . My forefathers  enjoyed  a good and settled life in India.

However  , Pakistan became  the only home I have known  in my life . I have never looked back  .  My family and I found love here : within the family , in  our friends’ homes , in schools , colleges or universities  , in hospitals . Nor do I feel any desire to visit India  unlike those who write  about their visits in ‘’Aman Ki Asha’  to each others’ countries though I read every bit about ‘Aman Ki Asha ‘ . Through the course of my life I have travelled and seen many countries both in the east and the west , Pakistan remains my cherished land . Pakistan always  remains in my prayers . I wish the best for it . My family , both immediate and extended , and my friends , will bear my out that I wish that the country must remain a peaceful and a prosperous  one .My parents taught me the dignity of honest hard work and achievements through it. However , like others  less fortunate , my children and I faced  discrimination for most of our lives . 

Had the Muslims not struggled under the indomitable determination of Mr. Jinnah , they would have always  been in minority in India on the basis of one man one vote .   However , after achieving Independence , that great expectations have evaporated  whether the form of government was secular , religious , parliamentary or presidential or military . The ride has not been very smooth .

Immediately after  partition , Pakistan lost two important leaders viz. Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan . Had they lived , the mission for which  they struggled  would have been placed on even keel. 

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After of the death of Mr.Jinnah , a controversy  started whether he wanted a secular Pakistan  which still continues  . While most governments in Pakistan and its machinery are inclined  towards secularism , an overwhelming majority has a Muslim bent of mind .  The liberals quoted his speech made on August 11 , 1947 ,  three days before the country’s independence , to support their contention . Mr. Jinnah , towards the end of his speech said

“ You are free to go to your temples. You are free to go to your mosques “

Over the years , the many religious parties or groups , big or small , have  muddied the waters. .While a couple of them managed to win some seats in each elections , they have never succeeded to form governments  independently . However , their antics annoyed much of the educated middle classes . The youth is thoroughly disenchanted and allergic to them. As a reaction to them , they veered to the opposite direction  , the girls wearing jeans and tops and the boys wearing bracelets and strange hair dos . In the absence of an example  , they are directionless  .  In one instance , a young girl disembarked from a chauffeur driven elegant car  in a Rawalpindi Cantonment market  wearing  a dress of see through material .My family and I were shopping there . I remembered Maulana Azad’s prophesy that the youth will turn against Islam particularly in the environment of less ‘dos’ and more ‘donts’. The youth do not have an example for them to follow . Dr. Israr Ahmed , Dr. Zakir Naik and some others are good  . The people trust their knowledge and their wisdom .But their circles are limited . Only Dr. Zakir Naik has his own TV Channel .

Each group  ,who claim to work for the spreading Islam , live in the own  cast iron shell . Some of the members sell their soul to the devil very cheaply in exchange of small gifts of this world . At least five times a day , we ask Allah to show the right path . However , the moment we leave he mosque or our houses , we step into another realm , the realm of Satan , the realm of evil where there is business as usual . If prayers (Salaat ) provides guidance to reform oneself and become a good human being , why are we all going in the opposite direction  . Allah’s Commandments cannot be wrong . We must know ourselves: analyse ourselves .   

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Let us admit that we stink . We are morally bankrupt . I am also confused . I am only a commoner.

A delegation from the Export Development of Canada and I were to meet the  Joint Secretary (Law) , Mr. Bashir  Jehangiri ( before he was elevated to the Bench) at 1 PM  . When we arrived at his room , we were told that he was preoccupied with the Law Secretary . We waited for one hour . Meanwhile the call to prayer had been answered by the faithful . Since this was October , the congregation had been arranged in the lawns outside the Pakistan Secretariat  . One of the members of the raised a pertinent question pointing towards the two prayer congregations  standing very close to each other . I lowered my head in great shame . I  said only one word in reply :EGO”. If Allah is one , the Holy Quran is one and the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him)  is one , there is no reason why Islam should not be  one and why the prayer congregation should not be one . Beats logic .

Are Muslims  belonging to India , North or Souh America , South Africa or Tibet inferior to the Muslims of Pakistan . Before partition of the Sub Continent , in the 1920s  , 1930s and 1940s , the slogan was Hindi- Muslim bhai bhai . However , after the emergence of Pakistan and  within our boundaries , we cant get along with others who might have  a different opinion viz. East Pakistan  .  Why and when did we become opinionated ?  Within our  immediate families , the father or the mother or real brothers or sisters do not talk to each other .  Is it “ Allah Ka Azab “ for our  meanness ?  Things have  become so odious that we were not able to build  the Kalabagh Dam and other dams despite our fears of water scarcity in the future years .

A country with high hopes is lagging behind in virtually field in the comity of nations despite being  Muslim and which has the Holy Quran to show the right and despite having courageous soldiers and hard working men and women. This is a food for thought for each one of us .

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A labourer , who works  in a house nearby and who  visits my house frequently at night to fetch water for drinking ,  does not  wear  warm clothes in this harsh Islamabad weather . On my asking him , he told me that he did not have warm clothes . Allah forbids ,If he falls ill , he might not have  money for his treatment . 

We never tire from quoting the example of the great  Caliph Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) who said that he fears Allah’s wrath if a dog goes hungry on the banks of the River Euphrates  . What about this man , this poor labourer , and  thousands  of others like him who go to bed hungry . According to one estimate , 60% people in Pakistan live below the  poverty line . Many families have been compelled to commit  suicide because they have no means to feed their children .       

Islam is an universal religion . It cannot be confined within the narrow state boundaries .  One can live a decent life anywhere in the world without trespassing the limits ordained by Allah , if He Wills. Unfortunately most of us have missed the essence of our deen . Islam teaches discipline .Our Prayers , our Fasts and our Haj all teaches discipline . I liked the pictures of people waiting to board a ferry in New Zealand and the street scenes of Dublin .

 Allah’s angels were enough for His Commandments to be fulfilled . But  He  made man superior to the angels and bestowed upon him the ability to distinguish between virtue and evil  so that he should strive to promote virtue and to make every effort to eliminate evil within his sphere of influence .

“ We must learn to live together as brothers or we are going to perish as fools” . Dr. Martin Luther King .

Mahfooz ur Rahman

Islamabad

December  17 , 2013           

  

How glorious was our past

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27.                                      How glorious was our past

One of my dear friends ,Navid Zafar , died on March 12 , 2009 . Shortly after his death , a reference meeting was arranged in the International Islamic University , Islamabad to pay tributes to the soul of the deceased friend .The  solemn meeting was  hosted by his older brother , Javid  , a retired Federal Secretary  , and presided by Justice Khalil ur Rehman Ramday , then a  sitting judge of the Supreme Court  . Incidentally , Javid was one senior year to  me when I was doing  my Masters in English Literature .  Justice Ramday was with me in graduation .

Many speakers came to express their views on Navid . Among the speakers was the late  Khwaja Masud sahib , Professor of Mathematics at the Gordon College , Rawalpindi . When his name was announced by Javid , he and Justice Ramday simultaneously got up to escort Khwaja Saheb from the floor to the rostrum . It was a grand gesture on their part to accord  recognition for the pains taken by the teacher . At that moment , I was reminded of a short book “Good bye , Mr.Chips  “ . That gesture was  reciprocated  by Khwaja sahib by saying befitting the occasion .

Mahfooz ur Rahman

Islamabad

March 29, 2014  

Honesty is the best policy :oh really. (The true spirit of Islam somehow escapes us) .

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  26.                  Honesty is the best policy :oh really.

                        (The true spirit of Islam somehow escapes us) .

At school , this was a sentence which we had to learn . I had dream childhood being the only child of my parents . We were not rich  . But most of my genuine wishes were fulfilled . Never in my farthest imagination did I come across the wide chasm between   honesty and the prevailing reality in our beloved Pakistan .

Last month my house was slightly renovated and painted .  We engaged two teams for the work . The two teams belonged to different Provinces . One team , belonging to Khyber Puthankhwa Province did their work quietly and I was satisfied with their work .  The work of the other one was very poor indeed  till we called the owner of the hardware shop and the contractor . The painters had to do the work again with the owner’s material . After finishing the task , the contractor repeated the words of apology which he must have used many times before . I asked him as to what was benefit when he and his team had to do the work again . He listened to my piece of advice silently . But I am sure he will not reform himself .

When we engage someone to do some work , he or she assures us that they would the work much better than the others . But often the results are horrid . Resultantly they will have to do the work again or we have to engage someone else . For eg . when we shifted to our new house after its completion , I hired someone to fill in the lawn with mud . The work  involved supplying  it by tractor driven trolleys and was completed in one afternoon . But I came back to the house in the evening , the mud was mixed up with big stones and rocks . I had to pay twice

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; one was payment for the mud  and  the other was to remove  for the rubbish .

When I was young , my  dear mother gave my cousin , Zabih,  and I  some corn and money to go to the woman to get  popcorn . We paid her first . But when the popcorn  was ready , the woman demanded money . Not only did  she pick a fight but she called her husband to help her fight her crusade with two little boys aged eight . It was a small matter but it left a permanent imprint about our people psyche .

After Partition , large numbers of population were displaced . I do not know what happened in India “ how immigrants were settled there . However , in Pakistan , there was a chance to grow rich overnight . Even locals benefited from the largesse .

  Whenever I challenged  milk sellers for selling us impure milk their replies left me astounded . Their replies are that they sell pure milk only to me . I ask if they supply unhygienic milk to others . They have no reply to that .

I sold two plots in Islamabad  and on both occasions , I was short changed ,albeit notionally  for eg on  one occasion by Rs 1000/ and on the other occasion by Rs 500/ only, by  property dealers . On the second   occasion the dealer talked  profusely about Islam and his piety .Earlier I sold my parental home . Afterwards the property agent told me that buyer , who had come to Pakistan  from London for the purpose , had lost his parents when he was young  and was brought by a friend of his father . But that was not enough to save  him from the latter son’s greed who took his ounce of flesh  up to 40% of the proceeds .

Barring diehard PPP ministers and other office bearers , most  people of this unfortunate land blame Asif Ali Zardari  for corruption and for their woes . Be it as it may , I consider Zardari a symbol . From the apex to the base of this  pyramid  , most of

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us  are  corrupt . For eg selling  rotten things is treated as trade tricks . Or stealing electricity by means hanging a kunda  to link the house to the main power lines  is not considered act of thievery . After a three day sub committee meeting held in Pearl Continental , Karachi to vet a report on Islamic Modes of Financing , the hotel sent a food bill  to the department for payment. The items consumed by the Ulema in these three days were albeit permissible , odious .

A noted TV host told his audience that Asif Ali Zardari was a  ‘street smart and a crooked man ‘. But what about the others . There are many wheelers-dealers in Pakistan . I  had a chance meeting in Karachi with a gentleman whom I  slightly knew . He was talking about millions and billions .

With the advent of Ramazan , prices of edibles go up . The same happens with the two Eids . I cannot reconcile the good things taught in Islam with such prices increases when  throughout the Christian world the season of sales is celebrated to make it easier for the meanest person to participate to the full the joys of Christmas and Easter .  I have a feeling that  Uncle Scrooge  ( ‘The Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens ) is now found in Pakistan .

I reproduce extracts from an interview given by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad to Chattaan , an Urdu magazine, in April  1946 .

 “Muslims must realise that they are bearers of a universal message. They are not a racial or regional grouping in whose territory others cannot enter. Strictly speaking, Muslims in India are not one community; they are divided among many well-entrenched sects. You can unite them by arousing their anti-Hindu sentiment but you cannot unite them in the name of Islam. To them Islam means undiluted loyalty to their own sect.  are innumerable groups who owe allegiance to different saints and divines. Small issues like raising hands during the prayer and saying Amen loudly have created disputes that defy solution. “

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I accompanied a friend to the Cadet College , Hasan Abdal , my alma mater , once to see the Principal . I was dressed in a shalwar qameez suit in keeping with the dress code of Zia ul Haq’s times whereas my friend wore a three piece suit . The Principal did not say a word to me although we were equal in status  .  Since he was glib tongued , he monopolized the discourse .  Besides , he was a director in marketing , he impressed the Principal with his cock and bull story that the poor man only stared in awe when my friend was reeling  his stories . But the Principal went to Karachi to meet the  latter , he escaped to the north of Pakistan .  

Talking about the menu in official meetings , I accompanied my Additional Secretary to the Finance Minister when  he met Mr . Callisto E. Modavo ,the Chief , Pakistan Desk , in the World Bank  during his visit to Islamabad . A  side table in the Minister’s chambers was covered with eatables as if a party was going on . Mr . Yasin Wattoo , the Finance Minister , came to the meeting an hour late .

Once I held a meeting in my office . Two participants came late , I was told when the two came that they had been delayed at the bakers when they went there to purchase eatables for the meeting  although I gave no such orders. And   I was reported to the boss by the duo . I responded by telling the boss that my children enjoy ice cream from my pocket worth more than that  in one sitting . 

I  was told by a very pious man named Ibrahim Toor to avoid eating or drinking at a house whose income was suspect . A week after I avoided eating and drinking  whose incomes were suspect , I returned to him saying not to put me in that delicate position .

There was a time when I was young , one of a hundred  was considered an evil man . Now the inverse is true : one of a thousand is innocent . However , perceptions what is considered

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evil differ . What is considered a norm   eg drinking   in other societies , may be forbidden in Islam?  However   ,  some  Muslims  strictly do not abide the Islamic teachings   .

  When I was a young man , I was tempted  by the words of an holy man to visit a pious man in Rawalpindi . My son was very sick  and was being treated by an excellent paediatrician. He had broncho -asthma and high fever .  However   I had some meetings with that pious  man . He was reputed to be a doctor  , hakim and an homoepath , all rolled into one . When he saw that he had me   firmly in his grip , he told me bring him some fruit and vegetables :  one kilo of each item . While I was buying them  , something inside was telling me that I was fool  and that if bought these for my son , he would be healthy  .

Winston Churchill’s arguments against the grant freedom to India and Pakistan was that power will go to the hands of thieves , rogues and freebooters : all leaders will be of low calibre. They will have sweet tongues and silly hearts .They will fight amongst themselves for power and  India and Pakistan will be lost in political squabbles . A day would when even air and water would be taxed . He wrote that 64 years ago and incredibly we have worked hard to prove him right.     

Mahfooz ur Rahman

Islamabad

July 20 , 2012

History , my enchanting mistress.

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  25.                                     History , my enchanting mistress.
She weaves a web around me no matter I try to escape from her . I am legally wedded to English Literature , my first love .  But events or figures of history , past or modern , has a strange fascination for me : a strange awe . I have studied Indian History , English History , Islamic History (secured 130/200 in the CSS Competition) , American History (secured 70/100 in the same competition  . I learnt wide portions of American History by Nevin and Commager by heart while preparing for the said Competition) and a smattering of French History . Besides Current Affairs from the first World War .I felt the same awe while visiting the Pyramids in Giza , near Cairo , and watching the Sphinx. I read about important figures of the present era viz. Stalin , Trotsky , Princess Diana .  While serving in the Cabinet Division , I used to borrow volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica from the office library to browse  historical events and figures in my spare time.  While studying English Literature , or any Literature , Urdu , French or Russian  , too, you never escape from contemporary  history viz. Elizabethan or Jacobean; a description of the times .
The Crusades have been a favourite subject with me particularly the exploits of the Zingis , both father and son , and Salahuddin( English Saladin ) Ayubi . The Crusaders were also important for the emergence of Templar Knights . A few years , researchers in the west , such research are always conducted in the west , found scrolls from the Templar Knights , leading to the  Holy Grail .The Holy Grail has been fully explained  by Dan Brown in ‘Da Vinci Code’ . To those , who are unfamiliar with Christianity , ‘The Holy Grail’ was the relic of Mary Magdalene , the supposed wife of Jesus . Of course , it is against the belief of the Muslims who believe that Jesus was not married when he as
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lifted to heaven through Allah’s Mercy . He will return to earth towards  the end of the world.
Students of Journalism  are taught  five things where to proceed further  ;where, when , what , why  and how . While reading ‘Da Vinci Code’ , I made it a point  to read about Leonardo Da Vinci’s life . I particularly spent a great deal of time gazing ‘The Last Supper’ intently .
Shortly after finishing ‘Da Vinci Code’ , I browsed on the internet what happened in Paris that night when Princess Diana died . The more I dug deep that I felt vicariously that Princess Diana was the model for Sophie , the book’s heroine . Some pseudo intectuals write that Britain is the pet poodle of the USA. As a matter of fact , I did repeat it  last evening at a friend’s house . Rather Britain occupies a prominent place as the keeper of ‘The Holy Grail’ .
Having being a student of American History , I watched with interest the events as they unfolded  particularly after the Second World War  .The Truman Doctrine , the books written by Richard Nixon , the Carter Doctrine , the origins of the Bush’ family, ‘Obama’s War’ .  Freedom of information is really practiced there . There are  many articles on ‘The New World Order’ on the internet  particularly written by John Coleman   .

 I am also greatly fascinated by west , particularly the USA , in as much as one can browse  books to one’s heart content on the internet or get a copy of the book or a magazine through pdf which is not  always the case in other parts of the world .

Mahfooz ur Rahman
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Islamabad
July 8, 2013