Exclusive: Proving Shaukat Khanum uncorrputed - National asset targeted for political vengeance

Introduction:  

Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital is a charitable organization working in Pakistan since 1994. Being headed by a notable politician, it is not unsurprising that rival politicians have often tried to defame SKMH. The following table shows, in brief, the milestone achieved by the hospital in treating scores of cancer inflicted patients patients in Pakistan.

Patient Statistics - Click to enlarge

This article, from an unbiased and non-political point of view, will serve to nullify the allegations made against Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) owing to PML-N's political rivalry against the chairman of this project.

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THE ALLEGATIONS:

            Khawaja Asif, a noted PML-N leader, accused Imran Khan of having transferred Rs 4.5 billion out of the country from SKMH accounts, which were donated by people in charity to the hospital, to invest in speculative real estate business in Masqat and Dubai. He also stated that Imran Khan incurred huge losses on those investments.

WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THESE ALLEGATIONS? :

These allegations clearly show a complete lack of understanding of the way charitable, non-profit organizations are run all over the world, since the money invested abroad was in-fact the "endowment fund" that all major non-profit, charitable organizations invest in a suitable business. Coming from a political figure, the lack of such knowledge is indeed disappointing, however that remains another issue and we move on to explain what Endowment Funds actually are.

WHAT IS AN ENDOWMENT FUND:

Nonprofit organizations, institutions, universities, hospitals, mosques and churches all over the world often make use of Endowment fund to secure an income even in the time of financial crisis. It is an investment made by an institution in any estate/business/capital from which regular withdrawals are made to facilitate ongoing operations or other specified purposes.

 To get a simple idea of it: Think of a mosque, the donations of which are used to set up a small general-items shop closeby. The profit earned from the shop is credited to the mosque so that in the time when donations are low, an adequate earning may be secured from the shop to keep the things running.
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With this background, we can move on to shun the points raised by Khawaja Asif against SKMCH:

1. Endowment Funds are a necessity and are used all over the world:

The details on the way Endowment funds are used is explained above. They secure an income in the time of crisis or when the donations are low, hence they are an absolute necessity and securing one for Shaukat Khanum was indeed A GOOD STEP.

http://www.shaukatkhanum.org.pk/news-a-events/events/273.html

EXAMPLES OF OTHER HOSPITALS AND FAMOUS INSTITUTIONS:

Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, a cancer hospital from Canada:  http://www.pmhf.ca/Pages/Donate/NamedFunds.aspx

"Building our endowment is essential because it will ensure Princess Margaret Hospital has the ongoing funding necessary to continue its leadership role in international cancer research"


Royal University Hospital, Canada: http://foundation.saskatoonhealthregion.ca/Page.aspx?pid=328
" Royal University Hospital Foundation manages a range of endowments with a combined value of approximately $8 million. The capital funds are held in perpetuity, while the annual distributable earnings support a variety of initiatives at Royal University Hospital."



 Harvard University, USA: http://www.hmc.harvard.edu/

 "Formed in 1974, HMC manages Harvard University’s endowment and related financial assets. HMC’s singular mission is to produce long-term investment results to support the educational and research goals of the University."


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2. The accusation was of "money laundering" but in-fact no money was taken out of Pakistan; only overseas donations were used: 

Shaukat Khanum receives upto 35% of donations from the overseas Pakistanis and the rest from within the country. A portion of the money from the overseas donations was directly transferred as the endowment fund and no money was transferred from Pakistan in PKR.
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3. No losses were incurred in this investment:

Mr. Imtiaz Hydari, the owner of the HBG Holdings where Shaukat Khanum invested for an endowment, had himself been a donor of Shaukat Khanum for over 20 years. HBG Holdings is a leading private equity group specializes in managing investment capital from private and institutional investors in the Middle East. The firm is owned by leading investors from the Middle East and manages about $1.8 billion in private equity, asset management and banking.

Imtiaz Hydari promised that Shaukat Khanum would be a share holder only in terms of profit and any losses on the part of the company would not be shared by Shaukat Khanum. The financial board invested in his company in the best possible interests and received the company's official statement.


Imtiaz Hydari himself stepped forward after the accusations were made and answered key questions for the media. (http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-124781-Khwaja-Asif-vs-Imran-investor-speaks-and-answers-key-questions)

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THE ABSOLUTE VERDICT:

In the light of the facts stated above, it is clear that all the accusations targeted at Shaukat Khanum
were either meant to purposefully defame it, or were spawned out of ignorance to the way charity hospitals and institutions are run all over the world.

Regarding Khawaja Asif, HBG Holdings chairman Imtiaz Hydari was right to say: "If he is a man of any substance, he will appear again on television to Apologise to Imran Khan, SKMT and Imtiaz Hydari."

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Shehbaz Sharif's Villainy & Young Doctors' Fight for Right

Introduction: 

Currently, there is a lot of talk over the young doctors of Punjab, who have been on a strike for several days, demanding the implementation of a proper service structure for their profession. These strikes have been exploited by the Punjab government, in collaboration with the media of Pakistan, to create a nationwide negative image of the doctors and their profession. Owing to the media’s manipulated and twisted depiction of the situation, the people have begun to see doctors as inhumane beings that care for money alone and not for their patients’ precious lives.

The demands of the doctors are not only just; but are also supposed to benefit the health system and the patients. The Chief Minister, being a hypocrite, has turned away from the promises he made last year; and teamed up with the media to create propaganda against the doctors.

                In this post, we will explain this issue from an unbiased and realistic point of view, explaining all the facts that the media purposefully twists or omits, to give the readers an insight into what REALLY is happening; summing up the discussion with some interesting facts that curiously evade the eyes of the media.

(PLEASE NOTE: Whatever we have stated about the government hospitals in this article is what we saw with our own eyes; provided we belong to Nishtar Hospital. Further details about any of the point regarding the government hospitals will be happily made available)

Topics:

1. The background of doctors' strikes

    a. The strike of March 2011

    b. The strike of June-July 2012

2. The Government's Violent Response

3. The role of media - a whore for money

4.  Some truths that everybody should know

5. The CM's "Revolutionary" steps for Health Department

6. The Absolute Verdict

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THE BACKGROUND OF DOCTORS’ STRIKES:

1.   The Strike of March 2011:

The public tends to view the doctors as “messiah” – the saviours; however it must be noted that the doctors are also humans and require an appropriate pay to fulfill their needs. Until last year, the doctors had but a meager pay of Rs. 18,000 (Please note that this was the pay of YOUNG recruited doctors; not the senior doctors).

Owing to this, the young doctors of Punjab went on a strike last March, demanding a pay raise along with the implementation of a service structure. The following table highlights the main points behind the demand of the doctors:

                Back then, the government of Punjab showed an extremely rigid attitude, but after a tireless effort by the young doctors, agreed to fulfill their demands. The pay of young recruited doctors was raised to Rs. 24,000 for House Officers and around Rs. 40,000 for PGRs. The government promised to make arrangements for a service structure in the following budget.

(NOTE: Service 

2.   The Strike of June-July 2012:

As mentioned, the government had promised to implement a service structure for doctors in the upcoming budget, but when the time came; they broke their promise (as was expected from them)

The doctors went on a PEACEFUL STRIKE wearing black ribbons on their arms for 2 weeks, during which the government paid no heed.

In countries with an educated government, a peaceful protest by the cream of the nation is enough to provoke a negotiation (e.g. the strikes of Germany this year, in which the doctors wore black ribbons for 2 hours; provoking a favourable response from the government)

Unfortunately, the government of Punjab isn’t good at all, and as a result, the doctors were forced to take measures like closing down the Out-patient Department. (This doesn’t mean that the patients were left to die; they were simply referred to the emergency or indoors; and were treated as needed. The operation theatres were functional as well)

THE GOVERNMENT’S VIOLENT RESPONSE:

On 1^st of July, as the doctors of YDA sat for a meeting at Services Hospital Lahore - prior to a scheduled press conference - they were brutally attacked Punjab police. Punjab police started to arrest doctors as if they were terrorists, raiding the hostels and torturing the detained. This all occurred before the doctors could even officially announce the results of their meeting. 

The following morning, the hospitals were teeming with policemen, arresting many doctors and threatening them; after which the hospitals’ emergencies had to be shut down; the young doctors could not work in a hostile environment where they would be arrested on sight.

Dr. Nadeem placed on ventilator

Dr. Nadeem, a YDA representative from Gangaram was brutally tortured, suffering a paralysis of the right side, and has been on a ventilator since.

Dr. Usman Zafar was also tortured and moved to an unknown location; his status is currently unknown.

Both of the legs of Dr. Aamir were broken along with a spinal injury.

Even the homes of the doctors were raided. The 2-years old daughter of Dr. Mazhar, a YDA representative from Multan, was taken from her home; and was returned on the condition that Dr. Mazhar would offer his own arrest.

The lady doctors were humiliated by being forced out of their hostels at 2 a.m. in the night; with nowhere to go for shelter.

Right now; more than 350 doctors are under detention and are facing torture.

Dr. Usman Dar's son in a silent protest to release the captive doctors and roll back the false accusations

 THE ROLE OF MEDIA – A WHORE FOR MONEY:

Throughout the strike, the print and electronic media, being heavily paid by the government, played a FILTHY and DISGUSTING role. The print media and TV channels showed ads full of lies in order to provoke the people into hating the doctors.

 An inside report tells that Rs. 1.6 million per day was spent wasted each day for huge ads against the doctors in newspapers; and 450 million for ads in TV channels. These resources could have been used in a better way.

The entire blame for the natural deaths of the patients was put on the doctors. The media tried to show that the doctors are striking for payraise; while infact they were only demanding a service structure that was already promised to them.

The media is quick to attribute the dozen natural deaths to the doctors; but it does not mention the pitiable health facilities provided by the government (that we mention below); nor does it pay attention to trivial issues conditions e.g. each day 1132 people die due to poverty; WHY doesn’t the government get blamed for that??

The media of Pakistan has been notorious for false propagandas.

Have all the people forgotten the planted interview of Malik Riaz, the false reports on Ajmal Qasab, the false reports on Osama Bin Laden and many more?

What a shame; even forwarded text messages find their way into the news (as we proved in our article here: http://absoluteverdict.blogspot.com/2011/10/exposing-pakistani-media-exclusive-look.html)

SOME TRUTHS THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW:

1.       During the strike, no patient died at the hands of the doctors! When the OPDs were shut down, the patients were admitted through Emergency Dept. and the Operation Theatres remained functional. 

2.       The doctors demanded a service structure that was promised to them; they did NOT ask for a pay raise as was portrayed in the Government’s print ads.

3.       The pay of the young doctors is NOT over Rs. 70,000 as the Government’s ads stated. This pay is achieved when the doctors come to the level of Asst. Professor after 20 years of service. The pay of the young recruited doctors is Rs. 24000. The salary of grade 17 doctors is 42000 to 44000 per month with all the allowances, and the salary of grade 18 doctors is 52000 to 54000 which is contrary to the claims to the Punjab Government who have presented false figures regarding the salaries of the doctors in media. According to the government the salary of the grade 17 doctors is form 60000 to 76000 and grade 18 doctors is 61000 to 1,36000.

Payslip of a grade 18 doctor

4.       The natural deaths in the hospitals were attributed to the young doctors. The media did not state the causes of death in any of the patients. In Pakistan, a huge number of patients turn up in the hospitals only at the terminal stages of their illness, due to which natural deaths upto the number stated are not uncommon.

5.       Reports stating that doctors purposefully killed patients (e.g. a child with a drip) have also been proven to be false. (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=415971275110938)

THE CM’s “REVOLUTIONARY” STEPS FOR THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT:

After the above discussion, it also seems appropriate to shed some light on the actual progress of the health dept. , something that curiously evades the media.

1.       The current budget allows only 1.3% of the total to the health department; which is lower than most of the developing nations. According to this budget, each individual in Punjab receives only Rs. 120 for his hospital expenses.

2.        The medicines provided in the government hospitals are of EXTREMELY POOR QUALITY and POTENCY and come from infamous firms. These medicines are not available in any market and are supplied only to these hospitals. According to a report, the nameless firms making these medicines belong to one of the acquaintances of the Health Secretary (Details available on request). The government doctors are forced to violate the rules and ask the patients to buy medicines from the pharmacy stores for their own safety.

Ironically, the media has also not shown anything about the real culprits of the recent deaths that occurred in Punjab Institute of Cardiology due to substandard medicine.

3.       The CT Scan, MRI, X-Ray and OT equipment in the government hospitals are mostly out of order, and when functional, of poor quality.

4.       The CM has not appointed a Health Minister throughout his 5 year term. A field as broad as health deserves a dedicated ministry, preferably led by a doctor, rather than a mental patient like himself who owns 18 ministries to his name.

THE ABSOLUTE VERDICT:

The above discussion makes it clear – the doctors are just in their demands. The culprit to blame is the Chief Minister of Punjab, who took extreme, violent and criminal measures for a cause that was easily negotiable; endangering thousands of lives, wasting millions of Rupees in fooling the nation and living upto his reputation as an enemy of the health department.

Calling the army for aid will not help; 150 army doctors can not possibly take the place of the thousands of young doctors. Negotiation is a necessity to solve a situation like this.

If you don't even have the sense to negotiate, you do not even deserve to be called a leader!!

We would really like to question: “Khadim-e-aala” or “Kaatil-e-aala”????

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Hazrat Aisha's Real Age at Marriage Time - The Most Complete Explanation

There is a lot of misunderstanding in the Muslim world regarding the age of Hazrat Aisha at the time of her marriage to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This misunderstanding has often led to the belief that child marriage is permissible in Islam; and still remains one of the favourite points used by many non-Muslims to create skepticism against the religion of Islam.

              The popularly believed notion is that Hazrat Aisha was 6 years old when her Nikah was performed in Mekkah; and 9 years old when she moved in to live with the Prophet (PBUH).

              However, an in-depth study of historical facts and authentic ahadith actually reveals that this information can not be true, and Hazrat Aisha was atleast 16-19 years old when she was married to the Prophet (PBUH).

    We will prove this fact in two parts:

1. Invalidating the authenticity of the narration(s) that state Hazrat Aisha's age to be 9 years at the time of her marriage.
2. Proving the actual age of 16-19 years via several ahadith from the AUTHENTIC books on ahadith
   

PART 1: 
              First, we must consider that there is ONLY ONE HADITH reported by Hisham bin Urwah that states Hazrat Aisha's age to be 9 when she moved in. (Note: Although this information is widely quoted and found in many Hadith and history books, it must be noted that this information has come from a single person, i.e. Hisham bin Urwah, who is the last narrator in this Hadith's chain of narrators, on the authority of his father. Thus, this Hadith is primarily a single Hadith. In general, a Hadith has more credibility if it is narrated by more people independently from diverse chains of narrators. In this case, there is basically only one source.)

              Hashim bin Urwah lived for 71 years. In the first part of his life, he lived in Madina. Following 131 AH, he moved to Iraq. Hashim had a huge number of students at Madina, and NONE of them - not even the most famous ones like Malik ibn Anas - reported to have learnt any such hadith from him. Practically, all the narrators of this Hadith were Iraqis. 

However:

• It is reported that Hisham bin Urwah's memory suffered in his later years in Iraq - to the extent that some of the traditions reported from Hisham bin Urwah could not be trusted for authenticity. (Mizanu'l-ai`tidal, by Al-Zahbi , Arabic, a book on the life sketches of the narrators of the Hadith, Al-Maktabatu'l-athriyyah, Sheikhupura, Pakistan, Vol 4, pg 301).

• Yaqub ibn Shaibah is reported to have said, "narratives reported by Hisham are reliable EXCEPT those that are reported through the people of Iraq". 

•  Even Malik ibn Anas, the most popular student of Hisham, discredited all narratives of Hisham that were reported through people of Iraq. (Tehzibu'l-tehzib, by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Arabic, Dar Ihya al-turath al-Islami, one of the most well known books on the life and reliability of the narrators of the traditions of the Prophet (PbuH), vol 11, pg 48 - 51).

 
PART 2:


              There are ahadith from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and also from earlier Islamic histories, that suggest that Hazrat Aisha must have been older than nine when married. We list some of them below:

• According to ahadith in Bukhari and Muslim, Hazrat Aisha is said to have joined the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on the raid that culminated in the Battle of Badr, in 624 CE. However, because no one below the age of fifteen was allowed to accompany raiding parties, Hazrat Aisha should have been at least fifteen in 624 CE and thus at least thirteen when she was married following the Hijra in 622 CE.

•  The earliest surviving biography of Hazrat Muhammad PBUH (Ibn Hisham’s recension of Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rashul Allah), records Hazrat Aisha as having converted to Islam before Hazrat Umar ibn al-Khattab, during the first few years of Islam around 610 CE. In order to accept Islam she must have been walking and talking, hence at least three years of age, which would make her at least fifteen in 622 CE.

• According to many Ahadith in Bukhari, it is believed Hazrat Aisha participated in the battle of Badr and Uhud. Also in Bukhari (Kitabu’l-maghazi) Ibn `Umar states that the Prophet did not permit me to participate in Uhud, as at that time, I was 14 years old. But on the day of Khandaq, when I was 15 years old, the Prophet permitted my participation. So if it was not allowed to participate in Uhud for people younger than 15, then Hazrat Aisha would be atleast 15 in those battles, indicating she could not be 9 at the time of her marriage.

• Tabari (an authentic and early history of Islam) reports that Hazrat Abu Bakr wished to spare Hazrat Aisha the discomforts of a journey to Ethiopia soon after 615 CE, and tried to bring forward her marriage to Mut`am’s son. Mut`am refused because Hazrat Abu Bakr had converted to Islam, but if Aisha was already of marriageable age in 615 CE, she must have been older than nine in 622 CE.

• Tabari also reports that Hazrat Abu Bakr’s four children were all born during the Jahiliyyah, the pre-Islamic period, which could be said to have ended in 610 CE, making Hazrat Aisha at least twelve in 622 CE.

• According to Ibn Hajar, Hazrat Fatima was five years older than Hazrat Aisha. Hazrat Fatima is reported to have been born when Muhammad (PBUH) was thirty-five years old, meaning Hazrat Aisha was born when he was forty years old, and thus twelve when Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) married at fifty-two.

• According to the generally accepted tradition, Aisha was born about eight years before Hijrah. However, according to another narrative in Bukhari (Kitaab al-Tafseer) Hazrat Aisha is reported to have said that at the time Surah Al-Qamar, the 54th chapter of the Qur’an , was revealed, “I was a young girl”. The 54th Surah of the Qur’an was revealed nine years before Hijrah. According to this tradition, Hazrat Aisha had not only been born before the revelation of the referred Surah, but was actually a young girl, not even only an infant at that time. So if this age is assumed to be 7 to 14 years then her age at the time of marriage would be 14 to 21.

•  According to almost all the historians, Hazrat Asma (the elder sister of Hazrat Aisha), was ten years older than Hazrat Aisha. It is reported in Taqreeb al-Tehzeeb as well as Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah that Hazrat Asma died in the 73rd year after migration when she was 100 years old. Now, obviously if Hazrat Asma was 100 years old in the 73rd year after Migration to Medina, she should have been 27 or 28 years old at the time of migration. If Hazrat Asma was 27 or 28 years old at the time of hijrah, Hazrat Aisha should have been 17 or 18 years old at that time. Thus, Hazrat Aisha – if she got married in 1 AH (after Migration to Medina) or 2 AH – was between 18 to 20 years old at the time of her marriage. 

  
THE ABSOLUTE VERDICT: 


              In the light of the above discussion, it is quite certain that Hazrat Aisha could not have been 6 years old at the time of her Nikah; or 9 years old when she moved in to live with the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). She was about 18-19 years old at the time of Nikah Prophet’s house and around 21 when she moved in to live with him.

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April Fool’s Day – Removing the Muslim World’s Misconceptions

Intro: For the past several years, some highly emotionally charged stories regarding the origin of the April Fool’s Day have been circulating all over Pakistan, and to a great extent, the entire Muslim world.

Since most of our fellow Pakistanis and Muslim brothers seem very keen to take up such stories without really bothering to verify them, so we thought we’d write a little feature on it.

Falsifying the April Fool stories that we hear in Pakistan (and the Muslim world):

Several stories about the origin of the April Fool’s Day have been circulating in Pakistan, usually through text messages but sometimes through emails and blogs.

We shall falsify the two major ones here:

1.     FAKE THEORY NO. 1: Reported online with the name of a fictitious scholar ‘Aasim Ibn ‘Abdullaah Al-Qurawayti,  the most famous story is summarized below:

           “When the Muslims ruled Spain, approximately one thousand years ago, they were a force that could not be destroyed. the disbelievers sent their spies to Spain to study and find out the secret of the Muslims’ strength, who attributed it to their taqwa.

           To break this strength, the Christians began to send wine and cigarettes to Spain for free.

           The faith of the Muslims began to weaken,and the western Catholic Christians subdued the whole of Spain and put an end to the Muslim rule of that land which had lasted for more than eight hundred years. The last stronghold of the Muslims, in Grenada, fell on April 1st; hence they considered this to be the “trick of April."

FALSIFYING THIS THEORY: The last stronghold of Granada fell not on 1st April, but on January 2, 1492, when Muhammad XII of Granada surrendered the Emirate of Granada, the city of Granada, and the Alhambra palace; following the Granada wars. 

Moreover, it would be worth mentioning that cigarette was not yet invented when Isabella and Ferdinand were planning to take over Granada in the 1480s. In fact, tobacco itself was not yet known to the Europeans.  

Furthermore, Reconquest was not so easy as to have been accomplished by making Spanish Muslims addicted to smoking cigarettes. It took almost 500 years of ceaseless Christian military campaigns in spite of anarchy and dispersion of power that had prevailed in Muslim Spain since the fall of Spain’s Umayyad dynasty in 1031 CE, and 11 years of cleverly crafted strategy of Ferdinand-Isabella team to unseat an incompetent Muslim monarch.

2.      FAKE THEORY NO. 2: In 1492 when Spain was captured, the Christians promised the Muslims that they would be transported to Africa safely; but they were burnt alive in the ships on 1^st April, and hence they celebrate the April Fool’s Day to spite us.

FALSIFYING THIS THEORY: Although Spain was captured in 1492,  the Muslims were not expelled until the 16^th century. 

In addition, the order to expel the Muslims was given on 9^th April, 1609. So once again, this event is clearly not linked to the 1^st of April!

The Actual Origin of April Fool’s Day:

There is more than one theory about the origin of April Fool’s Day.

The most credible of these theories states that the tradition began in 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1583. The transition was in accordance with the orders of Council of Trent, the 16^th century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church.

People who were not aware of the transition kept on celebrating the New Year during the last week of March through 1 April instead of 1 January. And they became the objects of jokes and hoaxes such as placing a paper fish on their backs and was also called "poisson d'avril" (April fish) meaning an easy to fool person.

(Some people disagree with the above theory, stating that the OLDEST mention that we find about the April Fool dates back to 1392 in Chaucer’s book “Canterbury Tales”. That is explained as below:

In Canterbury Tales, the "Nun's Priest's Tale" is set “Syn March bigan thritty dayes and two”. Readers apparently believed this line to mean "March 32", i.e. April 1. Somewhere in the storyline, the vain cock Chauntecleer is tricked by a fox; implying to the reader’s that this refers to April Fool’s Day

 Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, “Syn March was gon thritty dayes and two.” Thus the passage originally meant 32 days after April, i.e. May 2, the anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia, which took place in 1381.)

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The Absolute Verdict:

The above discussion makes it clear that the April Fool's Day is not a tradition made to spite the Muslims.

 Reacting to these rumours over the internet, Abdul-Halim V, has rightly remarked on Planet Granada blog: "...sometimes I get the feeling that as a group, Muslims need to develop a lot more critical-thinking and need to learn not to pass on everything we hear from so-and-so as the truth".

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New Year - 5 Simple Reslutions All Pakistanis Should Make!

 This is a VERY short but meaningful post for the New Year! :) Explanations have been deliberately omitted for brevity and simplicity.

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Everyone makes bright plans and resolutions for himself/herself as the new year approaches. The practice is effective if followed properly; it helps them improve themselves and live more comfortably.

But apart from the personal resolutions which you all must have made, why not make some SIMPLE but highly valuable resolutions for the good of our homeland Pakistan?

The 5 resolutions given below, though exceedingly simple, will surely do wonders for Pakistan if you follow them well!


1. Say "No" to Provincialism; and "Yes" to Nationalism. Eliminate provincialsm from your heart.

2. Put an end to racism and hate-promoting factors e.g. sms campaigns against certain casts, people and races; jokes are jokes only when they don't hurt anyone.

(Note: We have emphasized these points in detail in other articles by us.
http://absoluteverdict.blogspot.com/2011/12/appeal-to-all-pakistanis-unity-faith.html
http://absoluteverdict.blogspot.com/2011/10/all-pakistanis-please-put-end-to-jokes.html )

3. Keep your homeland clean, make a small habit to not throw trash/wrappers or anything at all on the roads.

4. Speak up against what is wrong and try to change it: violence, injustice, child abuse, racism etc.

5. Convey the beneficial points you discover/learn to everyone you know. Spreading your enlightenment is necessary to bring about change on a huge scale.

I request you to keep these points in your mind at all times! :)

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In the end, the Absolute Verdict Team wishes all the readers a very happy new year! May you all achieve all your noble desires and play your role in Pakistan's rise! :)

Thanks for being with us! :)
Best wishes!

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APPEAL TO ALL PAKISTANIS! - "Unity, Faith, Discipline", Do we follow Quaid's Message?

Introduction:

“Unity, Faith, Discipline” – this was the motto of our national hero, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Pakistan was built on the cardinal principles of these three words, and Pakistan is to survive on these three words. But today, do we follow our Quaid’s words? Have we got what it takes to survive? This post is an appeal to the reader, to ponder over and to understand the depth of the issue, and to spread his/her enlightenment and understanding to others.

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Unity – a great force and a vital necessity is sadly lacking to a great extent among the Pakistanis. Division due to racism, provincialism and language are ever so high. Prior to our independence of Pakistan, nearly 200 years of torment were required to make us realize the necessity of unity. In the present crises, we need unity more than ever, and we should surely not turn a blind eye to our past experiences.

For the good of our nation, we urge you dear reader, to understand the need for unity AND convey it to all those who you see suffering from the poison of racism, provincialism and other elements causing division. Mere understanding is not enough; you need to spread the message as is your duty as a Pakistani. (This includes practically shunning hate-promoting factors like Pathan jokes, etc, read our post here: http://absoluteverdict.blogspot.com/2011/10/all-pakistanis-please-put-end-to-jokes.html)

In the words of our Quaid, Muhammad Ali Jinnah:

                "We are now all Pakistanis--not Baluchis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, Punjabis and so on--and as Pakistanis we must feet behave and act, and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else." (Reply to the Civic Address presented by the Quetta Municipality on 15th June, 1948.)

                "Yet this is a truth people so easily seem to forget and begin to prize local, sectional or provincial interests above and regardless of the national interests. It naturally pains me to find the curse of provincialism holding sway over any section of Pakistan. Pakistan must be rid of this evil." (Reply to the Civic Address presented by the Quetta Municipality on 15th June, 1948)

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Faith – referring to both - our religious values, and the essence of hope that drives our struggles -is also a vital necessity for us in this time. We should not despair and give up hope (as we see most people when it comes to Pakistan). People seem to think that Pakistan can not be brought back to the right track and everything they do for it will go in vain. They are WRONG!

Understand this fact, dear readers, and never give up your hope for Pakistan if you truly are a patriot.

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Discipline – a system of rules of conduct, or a method of practice – is also of utmost importance. A regiment or any army without discipline is a mere mob. We should organize ourselves with discipline in our struggles to bring about changes in Pakistan.

                "In our solidarity, unity and discipline lie the strength, power and sanction behind us to carry on this fight successfully. No sacrifice should be considered too great….” (Broadcast Message February, 1948)

                “Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students, who are nation builders of tomorrow. They must fully equip themselves by discipline, education, and training for the arduous task lying ahead of them.”

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Unity, faith, and discipline, although are strong words on their own, but neither word taken alone can help us take Pakistan to its destiny of greatness. For us to bring about any meaningful change in Pakistan, these three words have to be taken together as a single entity. Together, these three words form the spirit of the Quaid, with which he achieved the impossible.

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THE LAST WORDS:

I hope, dear readers, that you will not take this post merely as an article for reading, but shall act upon it to take our beloved Pakistan to the greatness that the Quaid dreamed of! (as he expressed below)

                “I have full faith in my people that they will rise to every occasion worthy of our past Islamic history, glory and traditions.” (14 Aug 1948)

                “Remember! We are building up a State which is going to play its full part in the destinies of the whole Islamic World.” (12th April, 1948)

In the light of all the above facts, consider what we wrote your duty as a Pakistani, and do it with good faith! Best wishes! :)

                “I can assure you that there is nothing greater in this world than your own conscience and, when you appear before God, you can say that you performed your duty with the highest sense of integrity, honesty and with loyalty and faithfulness.” (Broadcast Message February, 1948)

 
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NOTE: You might also like our post containing tributes to Jinnah from significant people in history. Click below:

Tribute to Muhammad Ali Jinnah - Testimonials from Politicians, Leaders and Historians

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Tribute to Muhammad Ali Jinnah - Testimonials from Politicians, Leaders and Historians

This post, written for the occasion of Quaid-e-Azam Day (25th December), is a tribute to one of the greatest man the world has ever seen - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, known to Pakistanis as "Quaid-e-Azam" (The Great Leader). This man, the voice of one hundred million Muslims, fought for their religious, social and economic freedom. He was a man of solid character and a deep sense of honour, impartiality and justice. His bravery, courage and devotion to his mission are unparalleled throughout the history.


Prof. Stanley Wolpert writes in his book "Jinnah of Pakistan" (1984) :
         "Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three." 

         He left his impression on all the people who had the chance to interact with him. Hence, he was the recipient of some of the greatest tributes paid to any one in modern times, some of them even from those who held a diametrically opposed viewpoint.

         The following are the tributes/comments given by significant people in the history about Muhammad Ali Jinnah:


Allama Iqbal (Pakistan's national poet): "He is incorruptable and unpurchasable" [Ghulam Dastagir Rashid, Asrar-i lqbal (Hyderabad Deccan, 1944), p. 41.]

Gandhi (Indian leader and national hero): "Jinnah is incorruptible and brave" [Interview with Louis Fischer]

John Biggs-Davison (Member of UK Parliament): "Although without Gandhi, Hindustan would still have gained independence and without Lenin and Mao, Russia and China would still have endured Communist revolution, without Jinnah there would have been no Pakistan in 1947."

The Aga Khan (Imam of Ismaeeli followers) considered him "the greatest man he ever met", and added "I have met many politicians in my life, like Churchill, Mesoleni, Kaizon, Gandhi; but Jinnah was different from all of them. There was no other politician with such a strength of character"

Lord Mountbatten (Last Viceroy of India): "Muslims will perhaps never get such an honest leader."

Sir Stafford Cripps (British Labour politician who brought Cripps mission to the Sub-continent): "A most accomplished lawyer, outstanding amongst Indian lawyers, and a fine constitutionalist."

Sarat Chandra Bose (Indian barrister & Freedom Fighter): "Mr Jinnah, was great as a lawyer, once great as a Congressman, great as a leader of Muslims, great as a world politician and diplomat, and greatest of all as a man of action, By Mr. Jinnah's passing away, the world has lost one of the greatest statesmen and Pakistan its life-giver, philosopher and guide." [My Brother(1987),biography by Fatima Jinnah.]

Abdul Rahman Azzam Pasha (Secretary General of the Arab League): "(He was) one of the greatest leaders in the Muslim world."

Gordon Johnson (Director Center of South Asian Studies): "He set a great example to other statesmen to follow by his skill in negotiation, his integrity and his honesty."

Harry S Truman (US President): "[He was] the originator of the dream that became Pakistan, architect of the State and father of the world's largest Muslim nation. Mr. Jinnah was the recipient of a devotion and loyalty seldom accord to any man"

Lord Lothian (British politician and diplomat): "Though Jinnah’s scheme of partition was good, it would take at least 25 years to take shape. But great wars and great men shorten history, and Jinnah was such a man who could alter the history of a nation"

 Lord Wavell (Viceroy of India 1943 - 1947 who brought the Wavell plan): "Mr. Jinnah was one of the handsomest men I have ever seen; he combined the clear cut, almost Grecian features of the West with oriental grace and movement."

Nelson Mandela (Ex-South African President): Ali Jinnah is a constant source of inspiration for all those who are fighting against racial or group discrimination.' (Nelson Mandela had come to Islamabad in 1995 and had insisted on including Karachi as a destination to visit Jinnah's Grave and his house in Karachi where upon reaching he drove straight to the Quaid's Mazar) At another occasion while addressing the ANC Mandela mentioned three names Ali Jinnah, Gandhi and Nehru as sources of inspiration for the movement against apartheid.'

Beverley Nichols (author of `Verdict on India’) called him “the most important man in Asia”

Dr. Kailashnath Katju (the West Bengal Governor in 1948) thought of him as “an outstanding figure of this century not only in India, but in the whole world”.

Sir Patrick Spen (the last Chief Justice of undivided India): "There is no man or woman living who imputes anything against his honour or his honesty. He was the most upright person that I know, but throughout it all, he never, as far as I know, for one moment, attempted to deceive any body, as to what he was aiming at or as to the means he attempted to adopt to get it"

Mr. M.C Chagla (Foreign Minister of India): "Jinnah was a pure artist in the manner and method of his presentation. Even the most complex facts became simple and obvious when he waved his wand over them. He could be ferociously aggressive and almost boyishly persuasive as and when the occasion arose, and what particularly helped him in his advocacy, was the absolute clear head that he possessed, and on which he justly prided himself. He had common sense, that most uncommon of qualities in an uncommon degree"

Mr. Frank Moraes (Chief Editor of The Indian Express): "Watch him in the court room as he argues a case. Few lawyers command a more attentive audience. No man is more adroit in presenting his case. If to achieve the maximum result with minimum effort is the hallmark of artistry, Mr. Jinnah is an artist in his craft. He likes to get down to the bare bones of a brief. In stating the essentials of a case, his manner is masterly. The drab courtroom acquires an atmosphere as he speaks. Juniors crane their necks forward to follow every movement of his tall, well groomed figure; senior counsels listen closely; the judge is all attention."

Secretary of State Montagu - 1918: "Jinnah, young, perfectly mannered, impressive looking, armed to the teeth with dialectics and insistent upon the whole of his scheme --- he would rather have nothing if he could not get the whole lot. ---Chelmsford tried to argue with him and was tied up into knots. Jinnah is a very clever man, and it is of course an outrage that such a man should have no chance of running the affairs of his own country."

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NOTE: We highly recommend you to read our follow up post regarding Quaid-e-Azam's motto, and how we Pakistanis have forgotten it.

APPEAL TO ALL PAKISTANIS! - "Unity, Faith, Discipline", Do we follow Quaid's Message? 

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