Oh Dear! ... Then Again...

Chanced across this news on the MusicPakistan website, posted on September 20. I have no idea if it is true or not, but don't say you weren't warned. If Mohammad Asif flunks his return match today, we will all know what happened...

Here is the item, reproduced warts and all:

Veena follow Asif to South Africa

Lollywood actress Veena Malik has obtained South African visa and will leave for Johannesburg from Islamabad to meet pace maker Muhammad Asif, reliable sources reported on Friday in Lahore. The sources revealed that Veena was going to South Afria to meet Asif as the bowler was already there for the Champions' Trophy.

Love affair between Veena and Asif was started in December 2008. Veena rejected the claim that she ever tied the knot with Asif, when her ex-boyfriend Babarak Shah pursued them. The scandal was revealed in the country's newspapers.

The sources said Veena would set for South Africa on Sunday night. She would celebrate Muhammad Asif's return to the national team there.

When Veena contacted, she told that it's her right to go wherever she wanted and that it's her personal life and nobody had right to interfere in it. "South Africa is a beautiful country and she often visits the country", she added.

On the other hand, if Asif shines, perhaps that pro-sex dossier by the Indian coach / physio makes sense after all!

On a completely different note, here's my take on the whole thing, for what it's worth... Losing today's match to Australia may not be such a bad thing in my book, because it would put us in second position in our group. Which in turn means we would be playing New Zealand (who are on top in the other group) in the semis. Now, regardless of the injury problems facing the Kiwis, if you recall, both times that we have won the World Cup (1992, T20 in 2009) we have faced New Zealand in the semis.

I just think it would be a good sign.

Eyes Wide Open

So, once again we've all disappeared for a bit. Eid and all that...

Just wanted to share this story from Dawn's Business pages with everyone, which certainly made MY eyes pop. It's worth reading.

Here is what it basically reports:

"A foreign-sponsored local bank has called shareholders to an extraordinary general meeting on Oct 19 at which Item three on the agenda would be of interest.

It seeks to obtain shareholders’ approval of remuneration to be paid to non-executive directors of the bank’s board for attending board meetings and its committee meetings.

Some market watchers believe that the proposed scale of the sitting fees of directors is preposterous. Chairman and deputy chairman (DC) would receive a packet of US$25,000 per meeting, while other members on the board would be handed down $10,000 for every time the board meets.

Converted at Rs82.85 to a dollar, chairman and DC would receive Rs2 million and other members on the board Rs0.8 million per head.

The board meets on an average five times a year, so that the directors would be able to reward themselves with Rs10 million for the top two men and four million for each of the other six non-executive directors."

For readers' information, the bank Dawn was too coy to name, is UBL.

Now go back and read it again. Or actually go and read the whole story, which puts things into more perspective. As a further reference, let me point out that an entity such as Sui Southern Gas Company pays its non-executive directors an honorarium of around Rs. 10,000 - 15,000 for their time, per meeting. Which seems fair enough since the board members are not really employees of the company.

And you thought all that "excessive emoluments" category was limited to the AIGs and Lehman Brothers of this world. Of course, Junaid Jamshed will probably say these rates were fixed by the morning angel and this is the way Allah meant it to be.

Junaid Jamshed Needs a Commitment ...To A Mental Asylum

First of all, a big shout-out to Tazeen who wrote an excellent post on her blog about that neanderthal proto-Talib Junaid Jamshed and what he said on that charlatan Aamir Liaquat Hussain (aka 'Dr' Evil)'s show Jaahil Online... er, Aalim Online.

You really should read the post and see the video of the show yourself, available thanks to vidpk. But basically, this is what Mullah JJ had to say about the tragic incident in Karachi wherein 19 women queuing up for free food rations lost their lives in stampede:

1. Allah has created the poor (and a few rich people) and that's the way it's meant to be
2. The poor should not complain and should show patience, even if it means starving
3. These women died because they had lost their faith in God and Islam
4. The biggest problem in Pakistan is that the poor have lost their faith
5. It's better to starve to death than lose your self-dignity

Of course, Mullah JJ can say all this because the closest he's ever been to poor people is when they irritate him by knocking on his car window, as he himself admits. And of course, the call by the rich (after all Mullah JJ is rolling in millions from his Vital Signs days, his clothing line and from doing the odd endorsement of Lays chips) for the poor to not become a nuisance, to accept the social and economic status quo as God-ordained, is nothing new. The Vatican had followed the same line for centuries in support of monarchs and emperors, which is why "liberation theology" that sprang out of socially left-wing clergy in Latin America was (and is) considered almost heretical. But it's interesting to see the Tableeghi Jamaat (of which Mullah JJ is an avid proponent) come full circle from the revolutionary interventions of Muslim scholars like Ali Shariati and Mohammad Iqbal and proclaim the same hackneyed principles of economic status quo so publicly. Mullah JJ is of course no Iqbal who had proclaimed:

"Jiss khait se dehqaan ko moyassar ho na rozi

Uss khait ke har khosha-e-gundum ko jala do"

[The land that does not feed its farmer / Burn every sheaf of wheat in that land]

It's highly unlikely that Mullah JJ has even read anything other than the washing instructions on his over-priced clothes. But what is particularly galling about this insensitive, arrogant wanker (man would be too dignifying for him) is that these women were not even protesting dire economic conditions, which Mullah JJ obviously does not like (the protesting, that is, not the dire economic conditions). They were simply trying to survive as best as they can in a time of rising inflation and unemployment.

But I don't really want to repeat what Tazeen has already eloquently written about. What I wanted to point out was something else Mullah JJ said, further on in the clip, which left me even more dumbfounded and is solid proof, if any were needed, that this idiot needs to have a straitjacket slapped on him and led gently into the confines of a padded room. This bit comes in around 22:45 on the clip and I am reproducing it verbatim here:

"Mehngai insaanon ki wajah se nahin aati. Subah ke waqt aik fareshta aata hai aur aa kar ailaan karta hai, aur..aur..chawal ke danay se le kar tael ke saaray nirkh tae kar ke jaata hai. Ab laga lo jo aap ne karna hai aap ne, jitni stock marketing mein karna hai, yeh karna hai, woh karna hai, jitni aqlain lagani hain laga lo. Bula lo finance minister ko bhi aur falaanay minister ko bhi aur uss minister ko bhi. Koi kuchh nahin kar sakta. Jab loag farmabardar ho jaatay hain tau Allah ta'ala ki taraf se moafaqat ke faislay hotay hain oopar se."

[Inflation is not caused by human beings. In the morning an angel arrives and announces the rates for everything from rice to cooking oil. Now, you can do what you will, try what you will, in the stock market or wherever. You an call the finance minister, or this or that minister, nobody can do anything. It is only when people become obedient that Allah takes decisions in their favour.]

Un-effing-believable. Not only that there are people still out there who actually believe in such  dangerous hocus pocus (dangerous because it chooses to ignore the real reasons of deprivation and hunger) but that they are provided a platform on prime time television to spout their baloney. (I suppose the angel also announces the Rs. 2000 pricetag for each Mullah JJ kurta as well!) One can only marvel at Geo which obvioulsy was not content with sharing the mealy-mouthed inanities of Dr Evil with the Pakistani public but felt there was some lunacy void in the programme that needed to be filled.

On  a final note (and as an eloquent response to Mullah JJ's theories of economics) I just want to share these lines from sufi Baba Bulleh Shah that were quoted by Jang columnist Munnoo Bhai in today's column:

Dekh O Bandeya

Asmaanan te ud-day panchhi

Dekh te sahi ki karday neen

Na o karday rizq zakheera

Na o bhukkay marday neen

Kadi kissi ne pankh pakhero

Bhukkay marday dekhay neen?

Banda ee karda ai rizq zakheera

Banday ee bhukkay marday neen.

[See, O Humans]

[The birds flying high in the skies

Just see what they do

Neither do they hoard their food

Nor do they starving die

Has anyone ever seen

Birds dying of hunger?

It's humans who hoard

And humans who of hunger die.]

Perhaps Mullah JJ can be provided some music of the same in his padded cell.

Civil Society... Not!

I don't even know what to say... On Javed Chaudhry's usually boring-as-hell show on Express 24/7 yesterday, PPP's Firdous Ashiq Awan implies PML(Q)'s Kashmala Tariq is from Heera Mandi and has bed-hopped her way into the parliament... all while the host and the new editor of The Nation, Shireen Mazari, look on stunned. Can't say I blame them.



Eegad! And we thought the blog comments on the Arif Nizami episode were veering into uncivil territory!

Meera and the Media

I was planning on writing something about the despicable hypocrisy and shallow classism of the media's handling of the Meera controversy, where the Pakistani actress' personal troubles with a man alleging to be her husband have become fodder for regular, snide reports on television. But Faiza S. Khan has beaten me to it on an Indian web magazine, so I will just reproduce it below.

But before you read Faiza's analysis (which I happen to agree with), do also take a look at some examples of what I am talking about.

Here's Geo's 'news report' giving its "unbiased" opinion on the developments of the Meera story:




Here's Geo showing its professional ethics by not only continuing to film after the subject (that would be Meera in this case) specifically asked for the cameras to be turned off, but then broadcasting the unauthorized footage:




Now, this is hardly the entire story. Geo's anchors have been the worst (unfortunately, I could not find the clips of the anchors' comments on youtube), using language and innuendo hardly appropriate for news presenters and offering their unsolicitied personal opinions on the issue, usually to make fun of Meera. Among the lines I have personally heard used in the headlines (Headlines!) are "Bakray ki maan kab tak khair manaye gi" ('How long can the lamb escape slaughter', announcing the discovery of the alleged nikahkhwaan) and "Urdu tak tau baat saheeh thi lekin Angraizi mein train pathri se uttar gayi" ('Matters were all right in Urdu, but English derailed the train', announcing Meera's statement to reporters outside the court). In other instances, channels have used the song "Jhoot Bolay Kawwa Kaatay" as theme music for their segments on Meera, and even implied that her protestations about the matter are just a big drama.

The question here is not whether Meera is being truthful or being disingenuous or even of her "moral integrity." The question is one simply of why the media has chosen to relentlessly attack her, sometimes for her alleged crime,  sometimes her personal morality, sometimes her language skills, and sometimes her "bold" scenes in films across the border. Could it be, simply, that Meera is a 'soft' target without power and influence? One who can be counted on not to be able to strike back, legally or otherwise?

One may well question the media wolf-pack whether they have ever been as biting on television about illustrious politicians, military generals or other public figures with far more egregious personal lives (I can think of many, many who have led far more scandalous lives but who receive utmost respect on our channels!). Or would they think it's fair game if they themselves - as public figures - were ridiculed and mocked in the same way for any of their indiscretions? What do you think, macho-man Javed Iqbal? I'd like to hear you speak some proper English myself.

In any case, on to Faiza's analysis:

A Girl Called Meera

By Faiza S. Khan

Meera’s story challenges the hypocrisies of the liberal-minded swish set in exactly the same way as Rakhi Sawant’s does.

News on the drawing room circuit this week revolves around the private life of a local media personality: the statuesque, achingly beautiful actress Meera, who, like Cher, goes by just the one name. Meera is a Lollywood film star, in so much as one can be a Lollywood film star. The Lahore-based Pakistan film industry hasn’t enjoyed anything resembling brisk trade since the ’80s and hasn’t seen quality cinema since the ’70s. Currently, a percentage of their talent is culled from sex workers. In an odd reversal, if you’re going to find successful actors and thoughtful directors, it’s most likely to be on television. Meera’s tried her luck that side of the border (where film sets are paved with milk and honey) but so far it’s come to naught. Well, almost naught. She was picked up by Mahesh Bhatt (for a movie, I hasten to add) in 2005. Her controversial kiss with co-star Ashmit Patel in Soni Razdan’s steamy Nazar made it to the international press due to the now customary death threats from lunatic extremists. While it remains unconfirmed, there are suspicions that some of the threats may have come from film-goers irked at having spent good money on a clumsy remake of The Eyes of Laura Mars.

It doesn’t really matter that the film was a turkey; Meera is not known for her acting and draws a sizeable income from advertising campaigns and personal appearances. She is known by the in-crowd primarily for her novel use of the English language. ‘Meera-isms’ regularly circulate at parties, a running joke being the time when she was asked what her favourite feature was and replied, ‘my ass’, obviously meaning her eyes, Meera announcing she has a headache in her stomach, and so forth. That she largely works in Pakistan and is fluent in both Punjabi and Urdu makes no difference. And if it isn’t bad enough being tittered at by pretentious socialites (many of whom think ‘rocking’ is an adjective), for not having had the opportunity to attend a Grammar School, there’s the most recent scandal that shows up an even uglier quality in society at large.

The rumour, which in itself isn’t terribly interesting, involves a Dubai-based businessman claiming to be Meera’s husband, complete with photographs of what appears to be their nikkah, attempting to take possession of the house she lives in, which he alleges belongs to him. According to Meera, he has threatened her with physical harm. She has responded by swearing up and down that she has never been married and will tell anyone who’ll listen that an opportunistic plot has been cooked up to use her fame to seize her assets.

I don’t particularly care if it’s true or not; like I said, not very interesting. I am however taken aback by the utterly disgraceful treatment meted out to her by the media. She’s presented as comic relief, shown as an exhibit at a zoo, worse yet, a contestant on a reality show. She’s patronised by smirking, smug little news anchors, who appear to forget that they’re not in fact opinion-makers, closer to human teleprompters. She constantly confronts hostile questions, has been filmed secretly having an off-the-record conversation and the footage of her crying at a press conference has been set to a jaunty little tune on YouTube. A particularly nasty blog included the comment, ‘I feel so bad for that man. All these bazaari women marry men for their money.’ Ah yes, as opposed to all those eminently respectable girls from ‘good families’, well, obviously money has never crossed their noble minds, which is why we see so many of them eloping with the milkman for love.

All the liberals (and we have many who wouldn’t be considered broad-minded if there weren’t the Taliban as a point of comparison), fully cognizant of the fact that women are particularly at risk in Pakistan, are too busy sniggering up their sleeves to care. There’s a self-satisfied air in the re-telling of Meera’s misfortune, a sense of justice that an upstart of dodgy origins, who flaunts her new money and her outrageously large Versace glasses, should be brought down a peg. The unsubstantiated suggestion lingers that some of her newly acquired wealth may have come from the world’s oldest profession. Here’s the deal: you create a society where women are neither permitted nor equipped to make a substantial living, a society where, out of sheer politeness, you’re supposed to be born and die on the same social echelon. Then you hate people for finding ways around this.

You’d think a country aged 62, itself a parvenu in the global arena, would be more forgiving, perhaps even encouraging of social mobility. Apparently not.

Arif Nizami's Termination - Update 2

So yeah, while the mud keeps flying between the Majeed and Arif Nizami camps - apparently nowhere more so than right here in the comments section of this blog - here's what Dawn reported today:

Arif Nizami to launch newspaper

By Our Staff Reporter
Sunday, 13 Sep, 2009 | 05:45 AM PST

LAHORE, Sept 12: Arif Nizami, who was recently removed as the editor of The Nation, plans to bring out his own newspaper “within months” and hopes to promote professionalism in the media.

Talking to Dawn about his future plans, he said he was not a rich man but could count on friends to help him launch his paper. He described the project as “a moral obligation” since one of his aims was to provide jobs to all those colleagues who had resigned to protest his sacking.

“The unprecedented support that I have received in the last few days only goes to prove my professional credentials,” Mr Nizami told Dawn by telephone. “It is heartening to see so many professionals standing by me.”

Arif Nizami’s departure last week from the group that was synonymous with his name has led to a raging debate in journalistic circles all over Pakistan. He has been hailed as someone punished for his professionalism and alternately described as a victim of internal strife.

Mr Nizami himself blames his ouster on a combination of “professional and personal reasons”. “Professionally, the space for independent journalism was getting squeezed with time because of certain economic and unprofessional pressures.

“During the last three months of my tenure, I was under intense pressure to resign. I withstood the pressure because I believed that the demand was being made of me because of personal and not professional reasons,” he said.

I guess what is interesting in this report , beyond the actual announcement, is the fact that Dawn has broken it. Keep in mind that Arif Nizami was always close to Dawn CEO Hameed Haroon. As for Majeed Nizami, I'm not really sure who he's ever been close to, professionally speaking of course. Other than Nawaz Sharif of course. Hmmm.

It's not that I haven't enjoyed the back and forth between the two camps, obviously coming from people rather close to the main parties on both sides. (And who knew people were so eager to spill all the deep dark secrets of each others' personal lives.) But really, folks, a little civility to each other would not be an unreasonable demand.

By the way, for all those holding up Hameed Nizami as some sort of shining beacon, he may rightly be called one of the pioneers of journalism in Pakistan, but he was hardly either an upholder of progressive values or a champion for workers and the under-priveleged. His editorial line was exactly what is wrong with Pakistan today - hypernationalist, pro-establishment and right-wing. McCarthyist would not be an inappropriate appellation for him with regards to the left / liberal sections in Pakistan. And en masse lockout of workers protesting non-payment of salaries was fairly common during his days.

Just to set the perspective straight.

Incompetent Authority Ad of the Day

Have a look at this quarter page PAID paean in today's Dawn, from Sindh Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani to his boss, buddy and former jail-mate, President Asif Ali Zardari...

In case you can't read it, or have missed it, this is what the copy says:

"The leadership of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari has given a consistant (sic) solidarity (sic) and peaceful political system (sic) to the nation. He fought hard to defeat the dictatoriship (sic) and striyed (sic) to implement the demoratic (sic) systemi (sic) in the country. During the short period of 1 year (sic), he did his best efforts (sic) to eradicate mis-management, terrorism and economical (sic) crises across the country."

"Saluate (sic) to (sic) our Hero, to his dynamism and consistant (sic) nature."

Saluate to him indeed! I'm no longer upset that public money, OUR tax money, is once again being used for shameless, unnecessary chamchagiri. I'm just over the moon that, thank God, Mr Durrani did not mention his hero's achievements in education or in appointing competent ministers or proof-readers!

Geo Does the Dirty Once Again

You need to view this report from Geo in its entirety to evaluate just how "revolutionary" and "progressive" our electronic media has been for Pakistan...

Yup, this is the side of "fearless journalism" that we never hear about from the champions of media freedom who do not tire from telling us about their "principles" (i.e. "Geo Asool" in this case) and their fight for a more just and educated Pakistan. That is, when they're not inundating us with prattling talk shows about petty political intrigues...

A few questions that come to mind about this report for the Geo Asool people to answer:

1. It mentions that the entire "issue" was first highlighted by Geo itself. Did Geo create this "issue" or was there actually some protest before Geo got their cameras in there?

2. The poor terrorised principal states that the same curriculum is being followed by other schools. Did Geo's reporters make any attempt to check this? And if so, why was it not included in the report?

3. Is there something inherently wrong about teaching biology? Human biology? Sex education? Geo should tell us what its position is on the matter.

4. The thrust of the report seems to be that these kids are much too young to be given information about sex or human biology. Really? Is puberty too young? Is Geo implying that it would be okay if this information came slightly later? Or not at all?

5. What is the background of the moronic "Adviser on Education, Naveed Zuberi" who claims that Pakistani 'kids' are not even aware of sexual issues before they get their National ID card? Is he qualified to discuss educational matters? Does he know that the 'age of consent' in Pakistan is 16? And does an 'adviser' have the authority to conduct 'raids' on a school?

6. The report goes on to accuse the school of using further 'objectionable' material in its curricula, without specifying what this is. What is this objectionable material and who has deemed it objectionable? We see the cover of one book on Islam, with the implication that this is the offending material. If it isn't, Geo owes the writer /publisher of the textbook and the school an apology. If it is, why was it not spelled out so as not to tar everything else with the same brush?

7. Why was this particular school targeted? What connection does the reporter / commissioning editor have with this school? A full disclosure is necessary especially since it has tarnished the image of an educational institution without anything being proven.

Can anyone take up these questions with Geo and it's self-righteous owners?

Arif Nizami's Termination Notice - Updated

So, here is the first update to my earlier post... just in case you thought I was making up the bitter tussle between chacha-bhateeja...

Here is the text of the notice sent out by Majeed Nizami to the staff of The Nation / Nawai Waqt:

Please note that the services of Mr Arif Nizami Editor of The Nation have been terminated with immediate effect.

You are informed not to deal with or to take any instructions from Mr Arif Nizami regarding the business of the newspaper of the company. The new Editor ie Ms Shireen Mazaari has taken charge from today and shall be responsible for the working of the newspapers.

Signed
(Majid Nizami)
Editor-in-Chief

Ooh. This is masala-time.

Update: Had missed this bit of live theatre, with Arif Nizami live on Aaj TV talking about how and why he was sacked. Thanks to khabardrama for pointing me in this direction... You don't need to watch the entire piece, it's only in the first few minutes. By the way, you can ignore Nusrat Javed's platitudes about the Nizamis, it's the kind of false crock that people come up with before they plunge in the knife... And that bit where Arif Nizami says that Majeed Nizami has become more self-centred and unable to hear opposing views with age... more crock, he's always been that way!

Nizamis Battle It Out, Lakhani Moves In

Apologies for being AWOL for so long. I couldn't explain it even if I wanted to.

In any case, some major developments in the media in the last few days, which really I should have posted as soon as I found out about them. But better late than never I guess.

First off, there has been a major quake in the house of Nawai Waqt. Yesterday, i.e. Monday 7 September, the grouchy old patriarch Majeed Nizami (who must be in his mid-80s now and, yes, the guy who claimed it was he who forced Nawaz Sharif to explode the bum by threatening to explode HIM if he did not) staged a coup of sorts in his own empire. He ousted the founding editor of The Nation, Arif Nizami, who it must be pointed out is his nephew and the son of the late Hameed Nizami, the founder of the Nawai Waqt group. In his place, he appointed... and this really beggars belief... Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf Secretary General and spokesperson, Shireen Mazari, as the editor.

A friend was joking that Majeed Nizami obviously thought The Nation was becoming too leftist a paper (ha!), and wanted to correct the dangerous tilt towards liberalism by bringing in the woman who makes no bones about her connections with the intelligence agencies of the country, and who has been on the warpath against the US ambassador of late. But jokes aside, it is being said that this coup has to do with family turfs - Majeed Nizami would like the "spoils" (a most appropriate term for the Nawai Waqt empire) to remain in the hands of his (adopted) daughter, rather than be taken over by his nephew. Nevermind that he himself took over the media house by default when his brother passed away. Shireen Mazari, according to this version, is merely keeping the seat warm. What it doesn't explain is how Majeed Nizami's benefactor, Nawaz Sharif, will see the PTI Spokesperson being appointed editor at his favourite English paper. And will the new editor continue in her role as the Secretary General of the most irrelevant party in Pakistan?

But there's more: today, according to some reports, the entire editorial team of The Nation has resigned to protest the sacking of Arif Nizami. This is now getting really interesting. Watch this space for updates.

Meanwhile, Sultan Lakhani, known more for selling consumer goods as Lakson Group and who began the Express newspaper and Express 24/7 channels mainly to spite the Jang Group - at whose hands he had received some not too positive coverage - is now thinking of launching a new English language newspaper. His son, Bilal Lakhani, is going around meeting all sorts of journalists on a major recruitment drive for the paper, which is set to be launched in the coming January or February.

Whether there is space for another English paper, I leave to you to judge. But so far the following people have already signed up: Dawn's former Islamabad resident editor and London correspondent, the veteran M. Ziauddin, will be the "Executive Editor". Abbas Athar, currently editor of the Urdu language Express, will be called the Group Editor, which I suppose means he will be higher in the heirarchy than Ziauddin. In addition, the Editor Reporting of The News (and ex-Dawn) Kamal Siddiqui has also apparently jumped ship, though as what, it's not exactly clear.

All those being recruited may want to ask one simple question of Mr Lakhani: what about Business Today? Some of you may remember that that paper, also owned by Sultan Lakhani, was shut down one fine day at 5 pm with Mr Lakhani coming in and telling the newsroom that the paper would not be publishing the next day and that everyone should henceforth go home. They may want to ensure that this is not the fate awaiting them one fine day down the road...

As I said, watch this space for updates...

Not your mother's intellectual property

Dr AQ has issued a clarification in The News about the plagiarization expose.

It reads thus:

"The acknowledgement as to the source was put at the end of Part II because it was originally written as one long article. Had Mr Dogar, who initiated this controversy, waited for the second part (Part I clearly said "To be continued"), all this would have been avoided.

"However, I would like to point out that a newspaper article is not the same as a research paper in a reputed magazine, which does, indeed, require full referencing. Since I had been receiving numerous requests from students to write on this topic I used notes I had made about seven years ago from various well-known university syllabuses, not even remembering which notes were from which university.

"I did not go online to any source. Obviously the syllabuses have not changed much in all these years! I purposely left the text in the same simple-to-understand original language because it was meant for students and laymen, not professionals. A university brochure is neither someone's personal intellectual property, nor does it require referencing.

"My friend and former colleague, Engineer Nasim Khan, provided information on various related American websites with comments -- what is wrong with that? Those who insinuated negatively about his professional capabilities are ignorant and disparate."

Disparate? Damn right they are!

How Big is YOUR Cabinet?

Someone just sent me a link to the CIA's publications website, listing the cabinet members of various governments. And what it contains on Pakistan is the list of ministers at the federal level. Here is the link to the Pakistan portion of the website.

As you can see, it's a long, long list. It got me thinking, yet again, about the absurdity of this "poor" country. And yes, I do mean country, not government. It's been pretty much the same situation under previous governments, including the PML(Q) one overseen by President Musharraf. But as far as this particular list is concerned, it is important to note the following facts:

1) These are only the FULL ministers, no ministers of state listed here. Apparently, that's another 30 or so bright young things.

2) By my count, there are now 47 ministries (!!!) at the federal level alone, not including the office of the Prime Minister.

3) In addition to these 47 ministries, we have a Prime Minister (obviously), a "Senior Minister" (less obviously) and a number of others with the rank and perks of a full minister, including, among others, the Governor of the State Bank, the Attorney General, the National Security Adviser, the Ambassador to the US, the Ambassador to the UN etc. etc. etc.

4) There are only 2 women full ministers in 47 ministries.

5) The following apparently irrelevant ministries have no one to head them (which simply means there's still scope for a cabinet increase):

- Culture

- Information Technology and Telecommunications

- Inter-Provincial Coordination

- Law and Justice

- Narcotics Control

- Women's Development

So I did a bit of research, just for comparison's sake. And this is what I came up with, just to put things in perspective. Not counting the President / Vice President (considered a part of the cabinet in the US) and the Prime Minister for any of the following countries, have a look at the statistics (sorry, can't seem to get the formatting right for a table):

Country / GDP / POPULATION

CABINET SIZE

USA /US$13.84 TRILLION/ 304 million

15 ministries (by law)

Japan /US$ 4.5 TRILLION/ 127 million

No more than 16 ministers (by law)

China /US$ 3.9 TRILLION/ 1,330 million

Approx. 50 members of the 'State Council'

India /US$ 2.97 TRILLION/ 1,148 million

52 ministries (but only 32 full ministers)

UK /US$ 2.3 TRILLION/ 61 million

22 full ministers

Pakistan/ US$ 167 BILLION/ 173 million

47 ministries (at least 47 full ministers)

Any thoughts?

Dr. A.Q. Khan Bombs... Yet Again

I was going to do a piece about our venerated Father of the Bomb, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, caught comprehensively, stealing other people's work yet again, but the good folks at fiverupees blog have beaten me to it (dammit, I always have too much work!).

So it would be fair if I simply linked to their post on the same. It pretty much sums up what I was going to say anyway.

But I do have an update on the issue: the Houdini of national interest thinks he can squirm, yet again, out of this embarrassment.

Keep in mind the timeline. A.Q. Khan publishes his 'thought piece' about the importance of computer technology on August 19 in The News. On the same day an Urdu version of the article appears in Jang. On August 24, a grad student at Carnegie Mellon University exposes his rather dimwitted plagiarism in the letters section of The News (see the link above). Two days later, i.e. August 26, Jang publishes the Urdu translation of the second part of A.Q. Khan's piece with the following addendum:

"Most of the information contained in this article has been taken from the syllabi of famous British universities."

Syllabi?!? Don't you mean, the web intros on their admissions pages? I mean, can we get more absurd? This guy is more stupid than I thought.

Updates on the Dunya of Sexual Harrassment

Some of you may have been wondering, like me, about what had become of the Maheen Usmani saga - you know, where the broadcaster resigned from Dunya TV alleging sexual harrassment by its Managing Director, Yousaf Baig Mirza, to be followed by attacks on her character from various sources (alleged to be in the pay of Dunya) and the rather spirited - if grammatically hilarious - defence of her by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Secretary General Shamsul Islam Naz (who incidentally is carrying on his own bitter war with his former employer Dawn).



Well, the issue may have receded from the public eye, but as I discovered, it's begun raging all over again within journalists' online forums, with all sorts of invective flying around.

Here's a brief rundown of the story since we last covered it. Maheen Usmani resigned on June 16. By June 30, the PFUJ had publicized the case internationally and even the International Federation of Journalists had weighed in. The Dunya management, which had initially chosen to keep mum, eventually agreed through its Director Current Affairs Nasim Zehra,to an inquiry. But Ms. Usmani rejected the committee that had been formed by Dunya as "biased" and called on independent figures to be part of a new committee. Some of the names suggested by her, such as columnist Kamran Shafi, excused themselves preemptorily but in any case Dunya TV never agreed to her demands, which led to Mr. Naz issuing another public statement calling for "sensitivity" from the Dunya TV management. Many journalists took issue with Mr. Naz for seeming one-sided and "having jumped the gun" before an inquiry had established the facts.

Apparently goaded into finally responding, YBM then fired off a letter to the PFUJ which Mr. Naz himself posted with a comment on a forum for journalists (I may have missed it in the press, but I don't remember anyone printing it). This was the letter:

July 4, 2009

Mr. Shamsul Islam Naz
Secretary General,
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist,
12- Nazimuddin Road, F-6/1,
Islamabad, Pakistan.

Subject: One-sided stance of PFUJ by widely circulating the resignation/complaint filed by Ms. Usmani

This is with reference to the resignation emailed by Ms. Maheen Usmani on the 15th of June, 2009. On the receipt of this email, it was extensively forwarded with one sided comments by the prestigious office of PFUJ to a large number of forums, government officials, private media and other individuals. This document is circulated without making an appropriate inquiry, understanding the whole issue or
listening to the other side manifests the inclined stance of PFUJ regarding this subject.

I, being a part of the media fraternity, hold PFUJ in very high esteem. The body has rendered valuable services for the cause of journalist community and must therefore be respected. But it was disappointing to see that in all sheerness, PFUJ has unfortunately acted in haste without probing into the matter or without knowing the background and understanding of this issue in its entirety. The matter has been blown up, politicized and publicized by distorting and twisting the facts; only to scandalize certain entities.

I was never contacted or consulted by the PFUJ on the matter before issuing this letter. I very profoundly wish that PFUJ would have at least for once made an initial inquiry before hurriedly jumping on to a predisposed conclusion generating a one sided email. I am convinced that it was unintentional oversight on part of PFUJ and was only done in a spur of the moment without rationally analyzing a highly emotional, verbose and angled email of resignation by Ms. Maheen Usmani. It is formidable for the whole media fraternity how this whole farce has been developed on the motives by an individual or a group of people hiding behind this malicious campaign.

I am sure that PFUJ in order to maintain their impartiality and credibility would not like to take any sides without knowing the facts of the case. I therefore, hereby request the prestigious office of PFUJ, keeping in view what the justice & fairness demand, that no verdict should be given without impartially taking into consideration the complete case, gathering undistorted facts and knowing the other side of the story. I therefore request a rejoinder to be issued (to same people to whom the previous email was sent) as a corrigendum by your office that PFUJ regrets to circulate this email."

I look forward to hear from you on this matter.

Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Yousaf Baig Mirza, Managing Director, Dunya Television Network

And Mr. Naz's comment to go with his posting - which actually was a sort of a climbdown from his own earlier fire and brimstone:

From Shamsul Islam Naz

July 9, 2009 7:22 pm

Without prejudice the PFUJ is of the view that it had not so far “given any verdict” about the “allegations of Ms Maheen Usmani”. But according to the words of Mr. YBM “justice & fairness demand, that no verdict should be given without impartiality taking into consideration the complete case, gathering undistorted facts and knowing the other side of the story”. The same contention was raised by Ms. Nasim Zehra “Dunya News takes such allegations seriously and hence an Inquiry Committee was immediately initiated.”

With giving any opinion or passing any judgment we are looking forward of out come of this incident by an “Inquiry Committee”, comprising of independent persons and known for their integrity, honesty, and credibility. In the meantime, I urge upon colleagues not to jump in the debate and pass any “verdict” in “favour or, or against” “any one”.

Shamsul Islam Naz
Secretary General PAKISTAN FEDERAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS

The matter then seemed to have cooled down for a couple of weeks, until once again some journalists began to question (quite rightly) what was going on with the inquiry. This soon degenerated into another round of invective-ridden emails that among other things referred to YBM as a "glorified pimp", claimed many more women would like to come out into the open against him, and one even declared there were "hundreds of God-fearing people and journalists, like myself, who would love to beat the hell out of YBM if he ever crosses their path". Some others implied Ms. Usmani was doing all this for cheap publicity.

So, this sets the stage for the fight to degenerate further, believe it or not, into one between two women journalists - Ms. Usmani on the one hand and Nasim Zehra on the other. Everyone else is weighing in on one side or the other, and it's not pleasant disagreement I can tell you that. Reproduced below are the exact emails from Ms. Zehra and Ms. Usmani, for readers to judge for themselves. Keep in mind I am not reproducing the diatribes from the supporters on either side.

But before anyone climbs down my throat, let me make one thing extremely clear. I DO think sexual harrassment is a very serious issue and that its perpetrators should be taken severely to task. However, I do think there is also ample opportunity for perceptions sometimes to be misplaced, for words to be misunderstood and despite my antipathy towards YBM (who I do personally think is a sleazebag), I also feel no one should be convicted without a fair inquiry and hearing.

Having added my explanation for not sitting in judgement, here goes (as is):

From Nasim Zehra

August 23, 2009 7:10 pm

Dunya News

Dear All

I have followed the resurfacing of this discussion. While all of us on this list are against gender harassment at any scale or in any form, the opening up of a settled matter serves no purpose. Many on this list maybe aware that the inquiry conducted within Dunya News and also externally came to the conclusion that the allegation made regarding sexual harassment was baseless.

May I please suggest that the matter of sexual harassment is a serious issue and one which must raised with utmost responsibility either at this or at other Forums.

Best Regards,

Sincerely,

Nasim Zehra

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From: Maheen Usmani

August 25, 2009 5:18 pm

Is Naseem Zehra the mouthpiece of YBM and Mian Amer?

Dear All,

This is not the first time that Naseem Zehra has surfaced on this site regarding the harassment I had to face at Dunya News. I chose to resign rather than respond to the nauseating overtures made by the MD, Yousuf Beg Mirza. In doing so, I did not ask for anything except an apology from the MD for abusing his position and authority.

Since my resignation, I have been subjected to a continuous hostile campaign of defamation. All kinds of vile and repulsive propoganda has been unleashed at me just because I have chosen not to compromise, and give in to unprofessional and unethical conduct which unfortunately seems to be the norm in the electronic media. I have been very committed to my work, but I would always choose my integrity and principles over fame and success if I had to pay such a heavy price for it. Perhaps the 'gentleman' in question has found it hard to deal with a woman who has no qualms about stating the truth. Despite all the filth that has been heaped on my head, I had consciously chosen not to stoop to the level of the management at Dunya News, with whom I have had the misfortune of working with. However, the latest salvo from Ms. Naseem Zehra has made it imperative for me to break my silence, because such people need to be stopped in their tracks without any further ado.

Who is Naseem Zehra? A struggling programme host who is employed by Dunya News? What does she have to do with this case of harassment? The eagerness she has displayed in coming to the aid of the Dunya management and being their mouthpiece time and again is indeed amusing, and greatly at variance with her carefully cultivated image of espousing the cause of the emancipation of women and the oppressed. In her alacrity to jump to the defence of the Dunya management yet again, she has chosen to be economical with the truth. She says, "The opening up of a settled matter serves no purpose. Many on this list may be aware that the inquiry conducted within Dunya News and also externally came to the conclusion that the allegation made regarding sexual harassment was baseless." The truth of the matter is that the Dunya News' internal inquiry was merely a face saving exercise which is why it comprised of junior employees of such departments as IT and Operations from Lahore. My repeated requests to have impartial and independent minded people in the committee, which was supported by the International Federation of Journalists, was not heeded to by Dunya News. Naturally, the internal 'inquiry' did not come to any conclusion and sank without a trace. As far as the external inquiry is concerned, the National Press Club has been unable to give a verdict because Yousuf Beg Mirza appears reluctant to appear before them, for reasons best known to him. Since neither of the two enquiries has given a verdict so far, how can Naseem Zehra declare pompously that the allegations are 'baseless' or that the matter is 'settled?'

Why has Naseem Zehra conveniently forgotten to mention that initially she was the Convenor of the internal inquiry set up by Dunya News? She had the audacity to write a letter after I resigned, asking for a ban on my entry into the Islamabad office of Dunya News for the purpose of the enquiry. Ms Zehra asked all the employees to sign this letter, because I had "hurt the sentiments of the Dunya team" by levelling these alleagations against their paragon of virtue, YBM. The drivers, guards, peons, electricians et al were forced to sign the letter by the administration, and then a Current Affairs producer, working under Naseem Zehra, took it into the newsroom where the first person to happily affix his signature was none other than our honourable Bureau Chief, Mr. Rao Khalid. However, Ms Zehra's plans were thwarted when many of my former colleagues refused to sign the letter and started questioning why my entry should be banned in office. On seeing the dissent and uncompromising mood of the reporters, the letter and it's bearer beat a hasty retreat. After this unsavoury incident which showed the real face of Naseem Zehra and the Dunya management, I wrote a letter to the HR, Dunya News, protesting at this malicious and underhanded action of Naseem Zehra's and asked that how could she be the Convenor of this inquiry when she was trying her best to pressurise and subdue me? Eventually, Ms Zehra had to withdraw from the committee.

While the enquiry was being conducted, Naseem Zehra wrote a letter to the PFUJ stating that this case of harassment was based "on only one phone call". May I request her to kindly add to her reservoir of knowledge by googling the term 'sexual harassment' to know exactly what it means. I don't know how many phone calls from unsavoury characters it takes for Naseem Zehra to cry wolf, but for me one was quite enough, thank you very much. Hearing the MD offering me financial reimbursements and asking me to go to another room "takay aap mujh say khul kay baat kar sakain.." made me furious. Why should any female journalist take this kind of crap, just because the man happens to be in a senior position?

I am aware that many female journalists choose to remain silent in the face of sexual harassment, because they have little choice in the matter which has emboldened such unsavoury characters to spread their wings in the media. I hope that their mouthpieces and agents realise that the time has come to bring about a positive change in our field, and to eradicate or minimise the role of such people who have reached their exalted positions by toadying up to those in power and currying favours.

Maheen Usmani

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From: Nasim Zehra

August 26, 2009 9:43 am

Ms Maheen's posting warrants a response from me.

I am a Director Current Affairs in the organisation and therefore feel responsible for what happens in the organization and to the organization. I am also responsible for the morale of my team and if such allegations are made on a continuous basis it is my responsibility to respond.

In the organization I personally ensured that any allegation of sexual harassment is taken seriously. For example when Ms. Maheen raised the issue of sexual harassment against an employee with the then Director News and he raised it with me I immediately inquired into the matter and took action. An internal inquiry was conducted. That gentleman was removed.

Subsequently when Ms. Maheen raised the issue regarding the MD an internal inquiry was conducted. According to the findings of the Inquiry there was no basis to the allegation of sexual harassment. Externally too media organizations looked into the matter but found no evidence of sexual harassment and therefore no action was recommended.

Ms. Maheen is correct in stating that initially I was the Convenor of the Inquiry Committee that was set up in terms of Company rules. We started the proceedings and requested Ms. Maheen to appear before the Committee which was to meet at Dunya Office in Islamabad. Ms. Maheen chose not to participate and instead objected to the constitution of the Committee. One of her objections rested on the false pretext that I had authored a letter demanding ban on her entry to Dunya Office in Islamabad. She was informed that the copy of the letter, forwarded by her to the Inquiry Committee, was addressed to me and could not have for that reason alone be authored by me. She chose to disregard the fact and continued to falsely assert that I advocated the ban on her entry to Dunya Office in Islamabad.

The Inquiry Committee examined the letter demanding that Ms.Maheen be banned from coming to the Dunya Office since she had insulted the organization by levelling allegations against the MD and requested a separate inquiry into who wrote the said letter. It was discovered that the letter was written and circulated by an infotainment producer not working under me. This unfair and baseless demand by the employee was obviously rejected.

As for the Inquiry Committee that looked into the allegations of sexual harassment levelled by Ms. Maheen, I made sure that the proceedings were held at Islamabad office so that Ms. Maheen could attend and assist the Committee in the inquiry. Ms. Maheen was requested to participate but she chose to not attend. When Ms. Maheen chose to state in a web posting that the letter addressed to me was in fact written by me I clarified the matter. However, I also chose to withdraw from the Inquiry Committee voluntarily as Ms. Maheen had chosen to falsely accuse me of authoring a letter advocating ban on her entry to the Islamabad office.

Ms. Maheen has raised the issue of the letter again and repeated her baseless allegation that I wrote the letter. I have decided to institute action before an appropriate forum as for reasons best known to her alone, Ms. Maheen appears determined to unreasonably and falsely claim that I authored a letter to myself.

Best regards

Nasim Zehra

---

From Maheen Usmani

August 26, 2009 4:33 am

The lady doth protest too much

Dear All,

It only took a few hours for Nasim Zehra to do the bidding of her shady employers at Dunya News. My respect for the lady has multiplied manifold. Quite an embodiment of the adage "more loyal than the king."

Despite being a self declared champion of the truth, Ms. Zehra does not seem averse to doctoring stories left, right and centre. No wonder her show's ratings are perpetually plunging. There is something known as belabouring the point, and her incessant and increasingly desperate attempts to shore up support for her wayward boss are beginning to remind one of Chinese water torture.. drip, drip, drip ad nauseum.

Nasim Zehra mentions the sacking of an employee for sexual harassment. As usual, she has chosen to omit facts. The elderly employee belonged to a group which was opposed to YBM since Beg's days in PTV. Nasim Zehra claims that she inquired into the matter and "took action". Well, maybe her understanding of this verb is faulty, because the employee stayed at Dunya. It was only later that he was fired on some other charges when he was caught perusing porno websites while clutching a tasbeeh.

Then there is the curious case of the letter written by Nasim Zehra, asking for my ban in Dunya office. Despite "being responsible for what happens in the organisation and to the organisation", it appears that she was blissfully unaware of the existence of this vicious letter, until I brought it to the notice of the Dunya HR. In that case, she has no business being Director, Current Affairs, if she is so divorced from reality. If she did not write the letter as she claims, then why did the Admin Officer, Mr. Karam and producer, Mohammed Yasser, who works under her, take it into the Newsroom and insist that the reporters sign it immediately? And even if we buy her far fetched notion of an anonymous "infotainment producer" writing the letter and putting her name instead of his on the letter, why was no "action" taken against such unethical and unprofessional conduct? What was the name of the producer? Why was the producer not shown the door by the moral brigade headed by the formidable Nasim Zehra?

The reality is that until June 15 when I left there was no infotainment producer in Islamabad office. Again, sadly, Ms Zehra is being economical with the truth.

Where was Nasim Zehra's touching "concern for the morale of my team" and much vaunted espousal of womens' rights when a fellow female journalist's reputation was being torn to shreds by the baying pack of wolves unleashed by the management of Dunya News on the internet? When these dirty and reprehensible tactics did not work, these people went to the extent of mailing my husband obnoxious emails and then calling him in office. Why did Ms. Zehra choose to look the other way when the MD, Yousuf Beg Mirza, talked about me in a highly negative and malicious manner to people whom he asked to cover up this issue, and not support me in any way whatsoever? I realise that truth is not a commodity Yousuf Beg Mirza sets much store by, but his far fetched and egoistical stories about me really smack of dementia. Now that Dunya's management is feeling the heat, they have asked a few acquaintances to intervene and ask me to put a lid on this matter so they can sweep it under the carpet. Since leopards don't change their spots, these gentlemen continue to malign me while saying that this incident may affect their families. And what of my family, pray? Are they made of stone to stomach your widely disseminated crap? And before Nasim Zehra cudgels her scholarly brain to come up with an appropriate response, let me say that I have witnesses to these incidents who will come forward at an appropriate time and at the right forum.

As far as the internal and external inquiries are concerned, it looks like Nasim Zehra is living in cuckoo land because she keeps insisting that the verdicts revealed that there was "no basis to the allegations of sexual harassment." Time for you to take off those rose tinted spectacles, Madam. Neither of the two inquiries have reached any verdict yet. The internal inquiry comprised of the lackeys of the Dunya Lahore office which was an eyewash, but even they were unable to exonerate their honourable MD and acquit him. The enquiry currently underway at the National Press Club has been hampered by the absence of Mr Yousuf Beg Mirza who cannot spare time to appear before the tribunal, despite being a regular visitor to Islamabad.

Finally, Ms. Nasim Zehra, I have news for your crass MD of Dunya, Mr. Yousuf Beg Mirza, which I'm sure you'll be good enough to pass on. This time he picked on the wrong female journalist. I don't take nonsense from anyone. I am not one of the many bimbos he has exploited to mutual benefit many, many times in the past. I expect an apology from him, because no amount of his ham handed tactics and pressurising techniques are going to work. There should be a code of conduct established and implemented in letter and spirit in all media houses, and policy of zero tolerance in place so that no woman has to endure harassment, or ridicule and defamation on this scale if she chooses to resign and walk out rather than work with such unappetising characters.

Maheen Usmani
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I'm sure there'll be more coming. Will keep you updated.