We have failed you Sir Abdus Salam

Yesterday marked the 85th Birthday of Dr.Abdus Salam, theoretical physicist and the only Pakistani Nobel Laureate. He is not our national hero, his name is rarely ever mentioned, in his life the only befitting ‘honour’ we could provide him was a life in self exile, in his death however we went a step ahead by blanking out the term ‘Muslim’ from his epitaph. A member of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, a member of the Scientific Commission of Pakistan and the Chief Scientific Adviser to the President, Salam was one of the most prolific researchers in theoretical elementary particle physics. No minister or high government official attended his funeral.
He was an Ahmadi.

Happy Birthday Salam Sahab, we have failed you.
Over 5,000 gathered in Rawalpindi yesterday, blaring witness to the systematic hate, prejudice that has been curtailed by a whole series of ordinances, acts and constitutional amendments against the Ahmadiyya community, that had been the cause of Salaam’s self exile four decades ago. Nothing has changed since, for the Ahmadis it has only gotten worse.
The rally called out by traders’ associations was attended by activists of Jamaatud Dawa, Jamaat-i-Islami, Sipah Sahaba (banned organisation) and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat in Rawalpindi,  claimed that a ‘worship place’ belonging to the Ahmadiya community was built without permission, The irony of protest on land encroachments by parties who themselves have been involved in extortion and land encroachments is immeasurable. But it was not long until the real incentive became clear.  A few weeks ago anti-Ahmadi banners had appeared in the same area, threatening the residents to leave, claiming their existence was unconstitutional and any restraint from them could lead to ‘repercussions’.
Terrified, no one spoke.
If you are Pakistani passport holder chances are you have signed a declaration claiming Qadianis as non-Muslims, this means that you declare them prohibited from calling themselves ‘Muslim’, to call their ‘places of worship’ mosques, to pray in ‘Muslim mosques’ or ‘public prayer areas’, to give azaan, to greet others with salaam, to publicly quote from the Quran – these amongst others could get one up to three years in prison.
Now they want to take away their right to worship. Through intimidation and hate mongering, speakers at the conference yesterday blatantly announced that there will be a 100,000 Qadri’s raging against the Ahmadis, issuing an ultimatum to the Ahmadiyya community to stop praying.
If they do and if the authorities fail to take action against the open call for aggression and violence, you and I will be responsible for authorising prejudice, for remaining silent in the face of aggression, for letting the hatred breed within our society, for not standing up for one of our own and for allowing men driven by their convoluted faith kill in the name of God.
If being party to vigilantism burdens your conscience, voice your concern, stand up and be counted.
Our state reminds me of Faiz’s words that he had scribbled in Dr. Abdus Salam’s diary when they met at an airport.
‘Nisar mein teri galiyon kay aye watan kay jahan
Chali hai rasm kay koi na sar utha kay chaley’
(My salutations to thy sacred streets, O beloved nation!
Where a tradition has been invented- that none shall walk with his head held high)
jo koii chaahanewaalaa tawaaf ko nikale 
nazar churaa ke chale, jism-o-jaan bachaa ke chale
(If at all one takes a walk, a pilgrimage
One must walk, eyes lowered, the body crouched in fear)

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Foreign policy of Pakistan is too narrowly focused

One thing that bothers me about how Pakistan conducts its foreign policy is how narrowly it is focused on a few states. The four horsemen of Pakistan’s foreign policy are: the U.S., China, Saudi Arabia, and India. These states take an overwhelming and disproportionate level of our government’s interest, time, money, effort. Almost everything we do is run through the prism of relations with one or more of these states.
Now, it’s trivially true that some partners and/or rivals will be more important than others, depending on history, geography, the distribution of power, and so on. This much is true for all countries.
What’s unique, or at least noteworthy, about the situation in Pakistan is the near-absence of other areas and regions of the world. Think about it: when’s the last time you heard about an important state visit to/from Brazil? Or Australia? Or South Korea?
I don’t know the first thing about investment and money, but I’ve always heard the phrase “diversifying your portfolio”. Well, Pakistan’s portfolio is not very diverse at all. It puts us at a disadvantage, in that we are more vulnerable to small changes in each of the four aforementioned states.
Furthermore, we leave a lot of potential gains on the table by ignoring different parts of the world. Consider textiles. Pakistan’s textile industry constitutes about sixty percent of its exports. It is a massive, massive part of our economy. So with good reason, we have approached the U.S. (unsuccessfully) and the EU (successfully, it seems) to loosen tariffs and trade barriers on textiles.
Now, with respect to our successful lobbying with the EU, this is great news. The reason this is great news is that there are a number of countries in the EU which, presumably, would very much like our textiles. The following is a list culled from the CIA World Factbook, with countries whose “main” imports include textiles. The EU countries are shaded orange.

Source data: CIA World Factbook

Of course, there happens to be another region of the world that would, presumably, very much like our textiles. Here’s the list from above again, but this time with African countries shaded blue.

Source data: CIA World Factbook

Now, it’s perfectly plausible that we have, in fact, engaged in a lot of lobbying efforts for more trade with Africa, and I just haven’t heard about it. But I’ve never really heard anyone else talk about it either. My guess is our economic, political and diplomatic relationships with African countries, particularly the non Arab ones, are essentially dormant.
I’m only using textiles (and Africa, for that matter) as an illustration of a broader point. Pakistan needs to do a better job of engaging with states out there on the basis of mutual interests. Maybe it’s not trade, but rather cultural exchange programs. Or student scholarships, or sports tours, or whatever. There’s a whole lot of foreign policy beyond drones, war, terrorism, and oil, and there’s a whole lot of countries out there not named the U.S., China, Saudi Arabia, and India. I hope the new power team from LUMS in charge of our foreign ministry grapples with this issue a little bit.

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Lobbyist for Pakistan seeks US apology over NATO airstrikes

Pakistan’s chief lobbyist asked the United States to apologize for NATO airstrikes that inadvertently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, according to Justice Department records. On Dec. 22, 2011, Mark Siegel, a partner at Locke Lord Strategies, emailed a nine-page memo to offices on Capitol Hill that detailed Pakistan s version of the events surrounding the airstrikes. The memo said that the incident "seriously damaged" the relationship between the Pakistani Army and U.S.-led NATO forces and aroused "suspicions in the rank and file of the Pakistan Army that it was a premeditated attack … conducted to undermine the sovereignty and stature of Pakistan." "Considering the circumstances of the 25/26 November attacks that resulted in the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers, an apology by the U.S. Department of Defense to the people of Pakistan would not be inappropriate," the memo concludes. Siegel noted in the memo that the document was prepared after “briefings by multiple officials of the Embassy of Pakistan." In an interview with The Hill, Siegel said his firm’s memo on the NATO airstrikes was sent to all lawmakers, chiefs of staffs and foreign policy legislative aides on Capitol Hill. “What we were attempting to do there was summarize the Pakistan version of events and compare it to the U.S. version of events and note where the two are in conflict,” Siegel said. Siegel said an apology still has not been offered to Pakistan for the airstrikes. “There have been expressions of regret but there has not been an apology,” Siegel said. “It certainly would have helped. Now, two months after the fact, it could still be helpful.”

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The Curse of Child Servitude

A girl not more than ten years of age trying to lift quite a healthy kid up, who I am sure was heavier than her, to a ride. She loses her balance in an effort to do so. This was a scene I got to see at a famous fast food restaurant play area. Yes! That little girl was a servant to a big happy family. The parents sit alone and dine in while the servants babysit the mischievous kids. Babysitting of course includes feeding them, taking full care of them that they don’t get lost and also bearing with all their stubbornness.

Getting help of a servant is not bad at all, it’s just you should at least consider the age of a person before you hire him/her. How can you expect a kid, who herself/himself is not able to carry her/his own burden, to help you in a task you yourself can’t do alone? Think about your own kids for a while; what if they are made to do stuff you expect the little servants to do. You of course dread seeing that.

If women are too insecure of their female servants that they will steal away their husbands, they should be equally uncomfortable with their men sexually harassing these little servants. You cannot deny the fact that this happens a lot. Men should also take care of the fact that the servant they hire should be old enough to carry the burden of the work load they assign them.

Another excuse people give for child labor is that the children’s parents themselves bring the kids to them for this purpose. You cannot just blame them about it. You are equally at fault when you hire them than their parents or maybe more. If you are kind enough to help them, be sensible in doing so. Spend some money on their kids’ education and give them a better future. Getting them enrolled to a not-so-expensive school won’t be a tough job. You just will have to cut down your dine out routines a bit to help them.

People hire these little children not just as their domestic servants but also to their workplaces. One of the main reasons is that you get it cheap. Tea-stalls, workshops or any other place you see the kids working; it’s always the job tougher than they can bear. Worse is when the same little angels are made to do harsher jobs like molding bricks or making glass bangles. We should make an effort to bring a relief to these kids in some way. Even a change in our attitude or just a kind word can make a difference at times.

Just look at the kids who work at your houses or workplaces for a change and think about it; do they really deserve doing what they are? What if it was your kid instead of that poor soul? How do they feel, when they look at all those luxuries you provide your kids with, living at your house? I am sure you will feel bad. If you can’t do any good for them; stop doing bad. If you feel bad for them or their families; hiring them is not a solution. Walk in their shoes for a while and think of better ways to help them. Say no to child labor. It’s a crime, it’s a curse!

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Women’s Tennis: WVU Hosts Pitt and Akron

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The West Virginia women’s tennis team will play host to Pitt on Friday at 3 p.m., as well as Akron on Sunday at 12 p.m., with both matches being held at the Ridgeview Racquet Club.

Tina Samara

The Mountaineers enter Friday’s tilt against the Panthers with an 0-3 record, but are coming off a loss to No. 9 Virginia in which coach Tina Samara saw strides in the right direction.

“We took some positives away from our match against a very tough Virginia team,” says Samara. “We competed on Tuesday, and if we bring that same fire to the court this weekend, we like our chances.”

WVU had the opportunity to square off against players from Pitt, who enters the match at 1-1, during the fall season at the Martha Thorn Invitational and the ITA Regionals.

“We saw some of Pitt’s players this fall,” Samara says. “They have some strengths at certain spots, but I definitely think that they are beatable. Again, it comes down to what we do. If we stay within ourselves and do what we are capable of, we will be fine, but that is a big if.”

The Mountaineers lead the all-time series against the Panthers, 29-4.

“We should be coming out with more fire than normal because it is Pitt,” Samara says of the rivalry. “There is a little extra behind it. We made sure the upperclassmen told the younger girls what this match is all about.”

Sunday’s match against Akron (2-0) will present a different difficulty to the Mountaineers, as the Zips come in as a somewhat unfamiliar opponent. WVU did not compete against them in the fall.

“We don’t know a whole lot about Akron,” Samara says. “We have looked over their results, and they look like a pretty solid team.”

Akron won 5-2 over Michigan State on Jan. 22 and will enter Sunday’s match having played two matches the day prior.

In order for the Mountaineers to be successful in both matches this weekend, junior Emily Mathis will need to continue her strong play in the No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles spot.

“I am not worried Emily,” Samara says. “She will go out and do her best. She will fight hard and do what she does to get wins.”

A full recap of both matches will be available on MSNsportsNET.com after the completion of competition.

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