Female garment workers in Pakistan: enlightened but discriminated

A recent survey report on female garment workers in Pakistan suggests that female workers are under represented, discriminated against, have more enlightened attitude and overall show a high level of job satisfaction.

The research report “Current status and prospects of female employment in the apparel industry in Pakistan” by Dr. Ehsan-ul-Haque is sponsored and published by Gen-Prom (Gender Promotion in Garment/Clothing Industry through skills development), a project of UNDP-Pakistan. It is for the first time that such an exhaustive survey of female employment has been undertaken in Pakistan and provides valuable insight into current female employment patterns and practices, their demographic profiles and general attitudes towards women’s employment.
The survey is based on a sample of 150 large, medium and small garment/textile companies based in 3 major textile cities, i.e., Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. The survey is based on 2140 respondents from workers, supervisors, managers and owners/GM’s cadre out of which 60% were male.

Here are a few interesting conclusions from this study:

Women workers comprise an average of 20% of the workforce in the garment sector. Karachi has the highest proportion of female workers followed by Faisalabad while Lahore came out as the least ‘woman-friendly’ city.

Females represent 20% of non-skilled workers, 22% of skilled workers, 12% of supervisory staff and only 3% of manager cadre which points to lower levels of education and skills as compared to men.

Data suggested that only 60% of the companies issue written appointment letters to their workers while life insurance is only provided to 50% of the employees and only 47% companies have maternity leave facility.

80% of the companies seem to have special facilities for women like separate bathrooms, prayer and rest rooms but in Faisalabad, while 97% companies provide separate prayers areas only 66% provide separate bathrooms. Overall, only 21% of the companies provide day-care facilities for children.

On supervisory level, male employees seem to be getting 24% more in wages as compared to their female counterparts while on worker level this difference is 22%.

Most managers and workers rate women as much productive workers than men. Even male workers agree but with less conviction but generally managers agree that women workers provide better quality, do not waste time, work harder, are more responsible, productive, loyal, honest and punctual than male workers.

The survey points that female workers seem to have enlightened attitude while their male workers/supervisors seem to have to have most conservative attitude. Most male supervisors/workers seem to agree that women of their households should not work. Most respondents also feel that Islamic injunctions do not prescribe female work outside home.

Interestingly, males seem to have a worse opinion of sexual harassment on streets than women themselves. However, they admit that most of it is in the form of ‘stares’ or ‘male gaze’. Also, both male and female managers believe that working women may find it more difficult to get married.

While 64% of managers are positive about hiring females, 62% of workers/supervisors are not in favor of allowing their immediate female relatives to work in their own organizations.

Managers interested in hiring women suggest unavailability of trained women, lack of transportation and restrictions from households as the key reasons for failing to employ more women. 90% manages are unaware of any government policy for increased participation of women in the industry.

Overall, organizations where managers are more inclined to hire women seem to be larger in size, are based in Karachi, have a more positive future economic outlook and export primarily to EU rather than US.

Whither online democracy?

A relationship would not be termed as exactly healthy where there is hundred percent agreement involved in each and every issue. Humans are designed to be disagreeable and there can be no such relationship where perfect harmony exists but our relationship with our respective governments is an exception to the rule. Once a government is elected we have to go along with their decisions for four or five years whether we like it or not.

Politicians promise us heaven and earth in their election campaigns but once they come in power they are allowed to do whatever they decide irrespective of the public opinion. Popular leaders can become unpopular very quickly in today’s fast paced world and the present system of ‘representative democracy’ does not allows us to disagree till the leaders’ term expire. So I keep asking myself, why we have to go along with our government’s decisions on all the issues for four or five years when popular public opinion does not support them.

The answer lies in a term called ‘direct democracy’. Direct democracy is a system of government in which the actual governing is carried out by the people governed, as contrast to representative democracy where the power to do so is granted by them.

Although the idea of direct democracy was visualized long ago but we have yet to see it implemented and the only way forward is to have ‘online democracy’. Can’t we have a system whereby governments hold instant referendums on major issues facing a country and form a decision based on public feedback? And the answer to that is ‘No’.

In 2001, Internet Policy Institute carried out a major review of the options for Internet voting. The study concluded that “remote Internet voting systems pose significant risk to the integrity of the voting process and should not be fielded for use in public elections until substantial technical and social science issues are addressed.”

Technical issues have especially to do with security. Another worry relates to fairness, and the possibility of restricting voting to those with computer skills and Internet access. The study concluded that the concept of electronic and online voting still makes sense in principle, but as long as practical problems of this scope remain, it may truly be “too far ahead of its time.”

For now, we can only wait and hope!

Free-fall continues: a review of Pakistan’s textile exports for 1st Quarter 2009-10

Provisional first quarter figures for the fiscal year 2009-10 of Pakistan’s textile exports shows no letup as free-fall continues. The declining trend is really alarming because exports continued to decline in the same period (Jul-Sep) last year and in comparison current years’ figures are really dismal.

Overall, textile and clothing sector shows a decline of US$ 316.5 million (-11%) in the first three months of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last year.

Raw cotton exports continue to increase, which registered an increase of US$ 11.4 million (39%) in this period. High prices of cotton in the local market and subdued purchases from the textile mills seem to be the reason for this increase. Processed cotton (carded or combed) shows a decline of US$ 5.8 million (-88%), showing that the importing countries are processing cotton themselves.

Cotton yarn shows a slight increase of US$ 11 million (3%), while man-made yarn exports increased substantially by US$ 2.8 million (39%). This trend shows increased activity in this commodity especially in synthetic yarn which is not a traditional export.

Fabric exports also show declines as cotton fabric exports declined by US$ 212 million (-35%) and knitted/crocheted fabric declined by US$ 2.2 million (-13%).

The only positive aspect is the slight increase in exports of readymade garments which grew by US$ 11.7 million (4%). Knitwear exports, on the other hand, declined by an alarming US$ 69.6 million (-13%).

Bedlinen, another traditional and major export declined by US$ 72.5 million (-15%). While export of towels declined by US$ 25 million (-14%).

Artificial silk and synthetic textiles, another non traditional export, increased substantially by US$ 29 million (33%) while exports of tents and canvas products fell by US$ 5.4 million (-33%).

It is now expected that export figures for the next quarter will register better results because of shipments for approaching Christmas season and because of the steps taken to stem decline in the recently announced Textile Policy 2009-14.

Taliban within us

Being a Taliban is not about a way of life, it is a state of mind and many of us Pakistanis are prone to suffer from this condition at least once in his/her life time. The way I see it, we are all Taliban but the degree of extremism varies from person to person. Whether we like to be called it or not, in a way, we are all moderate Taliban.

To my untrained eye, I see so many Talibans around me and it scares the hell out of me. Maybe, I am being paranoid here but just writing about them gives me goosebumps.

The below list is not complete and nor it is compiled according to any particular ranking. Psychologists need to understand this ‘state of mind’ and put a label on each for our easier understanding and comprehension.

• People who resort to violence, they are Talibans of the 1st degree, no doubt.
• People advocating holding ‘peace’ talks with Talibans come next.
• People venting their anger on America, they come next on my list.
• People who claim that their religions is the only true religion and that they are the best for ever and ever; yeah, you too buddy, you’re next on my list.
• People, who say that it is their primary duty to spread religion on the four corners of the world, are also included therein.
• Then there are others who want a revolution (in the real sense) in Pakistan.
• Some others have a problem with young men and women mingling around. These people are pretty high on my shit list.
• Last but not the least, there are people who have this unstoppable urge to cast stones at stray dogs and cats mating in the streets. I label them as ‘looney Talibans’.
  

From the above noted irrational behavior it can be safely assumed that Talibanisation can take any form of shape ranging from pure militancy to utter hypocrisy. It can exist under the roof of any high mansion or hide under the thin shelter of any poor man’s hut.

I am sure this piece of mine will not go down easily with many people and some may declare it as an outright war against religion but we need to recognize that these are not healthy behaviors and we cannot go on fighting this war against extremism indefinitely.

Here I would like to add from a recent article by journalist Thomas L. Friedman who points out that ‘in places like Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan or Pakistan have violent religious extremist movements fighting with state security services. … And while the regimes in these countries are committed to crushing their extremists, they rarely take on their extremist ideas by offering progressive alternatives. And when these extremists aim elsewhere … these regimes are indifferent. That is why there is no true war of ideas inside these countries — just a war.’ Mr. Freidman further adds that ‘these states are not promoting an inclusive and tolerant interpretation of Islam that could be the foundation of people power.’

Textiles from Swat valley: A strategy to make ROZ’s work

The idea of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZ's) was proposed by Mr. Obama in March 2009 to provide duty-free access for Pakistani textiles and apparel produced in certain remote areas bordering Afghanistan. At that time Pakistan's textile industry strongly opposed this idea because of the security situation and also because major export products were not included. No work has been done on ROZ's so far but now with the success of army operation in Swat, there is a good chance to bring about employment opportunities to the poor people who are most affected by terrorism.

Here is how it can be done:

Textile is a labor intensive business and by setting up small scale stitching units in Swat will help employ the poorest of the people especially the women. Yet another way to make this work is linking these stitching units with local schools where vocational training is provided to the children. In this way, the stitching units will be ensured a trained labor force. Also, by providing one time meals at schools, the female workforce will have an additional incentive to send their children to school.

Role of USAID:

USAID can play a very important role of facilitator, implementer and monitor in setting of ROZ's in Pakistan. As a facilitator, it can encourage joint ventures between US textile importers and Pakistani's textile manufacturers. As an implementer, USAID can offer ready-made projects to the joint venture companies. Also, by ensuring a registered workforce will speed up setting up of ROZ's. As a monitor, USAID can monitor and verify exports from ROZ's and also ensure that ROZ's are working according to the laws of International Labor Organization (ILO).

Marketing strategy:

Swat valley is now world famous as it was here that the march of Taliban was halted. Now a brand can be developed by the name "Textiles from Swat valley" and a marketing campaign can be devised for consumers who will buy these products knowing that their money will go to the people who are directly affected by terrorism.

This strategy can very well enhance ties between America and Pakistan and if successful, it can also be replicated in Afghanistan.

Time value of money: mother of all evils?

Time value of money is one of the most fundamental concepts in finance. Simply put, this concept states that “a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow." According to this concept money in hand today is worth more than money that is expected to be received in the future. Text books on finance tell us that rationale behind this concept is straightforward: A dollar that you receive today can be invested such that you will have more than a dollar at some future time.

To clarify further, suppose you have won $10,000 and are given two options, a) receive the money now or, b) receive the money after three years. Which option would you choose? If you're like most people, you would choose to receive the $10,000 now because you can do much more with the money if you have it now because over time you can earn more interest on your money. Now suppose that the going interest rate is 4.5%, then you should receive $11,411.66 after 3 years, if you decide to take the second option. Therefore, $10,000 of today is worth $11,411.66 after three years given the interest rate at 4.5%.

Time value of money results from the concept of interest and serves as the foundation for all other notions in finance. It impacts business finance, consumer finance and government finance.
As a student of finance I have read this concept many times and many times I have wondered is it a flawed concept because it only takes into consideration justification and utility for existence of the key financial institutions; the banks. Suppose if $100 of today is worth the same tomorrow then the banks would certainly be out of the picture as they will have no other utility then besides being just a custodian of depositors money.

There is much more to the concept of time value than meets the eye, because it takes us to the heart of the problem: greed. Just because a dollar today is worth more than the future, we want more and more returns on our future money as we can get. Just because the banks are offering 4.5% interest on our money we try our best to invest somewhere where we can get more than the going interest rate or otherwise our money will fall prey to inflation.

Economists have always argued that a little inflation is always good because it makes economies grow. On the other hand, in order to remain over and above the inflation rate, a person has to struggle all his life otherwise his money will simply won’t grow.

If we do consider a world where value of tomorrow’s dollar is same as today’s, wouldn’t we be better-off being out of that rat race for more money? Here we should also consider whether it is really worth the struggle just to keep the financial sector up and running? With 89 banks failing in the US alone, can the financial pundits really be trusted to give us right concepts about finance or are they just making us run around in circles?

Lessons taught by the Taliban

Besides suicide-bombing-made-easy, there are actually a lot of lessons Pakistani society needs to learn from the ongoing insurgency of the Taliban. The whole Taliban debacle has certainly opened up Pakistani society just a wee bit. People have now started talking on issues which were previously considered taboo. People now do tend to analyze religious clerics and what they stand for. The Pakistani society did stand up for the murdered Christians of Gojra and showed their rejection to the politics of hate. But we still have far to go before we can claim Pakistan as a religiously tolerant society and following lessons should be learned:

Why do we have such fiery religious clerics?

All Muslims say that Islam is a religion of peace yet we continue to see the system producing successive militant clerics. These clerics blame all our troubles to be caused either by America or Israel or India, yet they never bother to address issues which are all around them and can be solved just by taking a small initiative. Our society should look into the system which is producing such hatred. There is now a strong need that we start looking at our religion from a fresh perspective.

Can there be a moderate Taliban?

Can there be such a thing as a moderate Taliban? I certainly don't think so. Taliban follow a very rigid religious philosophy according to which they have right to eradicate social evils by taking matters into their own hand. They consider it their rightful duty to prevent girls being sent out to schools, shaving of beards, etc. Those who advocate talking to ‘moderate' Taliban should know that these moderate Taliban will always make life miserable for the people by enforcing their own brand of Islam. If moderate Taliban are let loose, we will continue to see baton-charging-burqa-brigades and morally-right-mullahs.

Education for the people

It seems that the Taliban were following a very well thought out strategy by blowing up schools in Swat and other adjacent areas. Around 100 schools, mostly girls' schools, have been blown up. This strategy shows that the Taliban wanted to keep the masses, especially women, illiterate. By keeping the poor illiterate and by allowing no commercial activity, the Taliban wanted to induct more and more deprived people to their ‘noble' cause.

Justice to the poor

Pakistanis took really serious note of the Taliban issue when government announced enforcement of Sharia Bill in Swat. The Sharia Bill called for speedy justice handed down by the Qazis (religious judges). The Taliban, through this Bill, wanted to get hold of civil administration in Swat by exploiting the corruption and inability of the conventional courts. They had very wisely realized that their movement will get strong support if they start dispensing justice quickly.

As Pakistanis, it is very important for us to take serious note of these lessons as taught to us by Taliban so that we may never again face such an insurgency.

Human rights abuses in Swat: is it a balanced view?

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for an independent investigation on reports of extra-judicial killings by Pakistan army. HRCP Chairperson Asma Jehangir said that the commission had documented accounts of mass graves found in the Swat valley and reports of suspected Taliban militants being thrown out of helicopters and of relatives of suspected terrorists being dragged in public. The army spokesperson, Major General Athar Abbas, on the other hand, has said that his outfit is ready for a full-scale investigation in the presence of independent journalists who would be provided full security.

Now the question which burns in my mind is whether HRCP is really taking a balanced view here? In order to analyze HRCP's stance we should consider that the army operation was called an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis who were disgusted with Taliban's utter disregard to the value of human life and were fed up a series of suicide attacks on civilians. We should also consider numerous Taliban propaganda videos showing army personnel literally being slaughtered using blunt knives.

From my point of view, it does seem that the army had been carrying that grudge for a long time and went in all guns blazing when they got the opportunity. Now I ask myself, was the army wrong in doing whatever it did?

I know that whatever happened in Swat is against basic human rights but is the other option of trying Taliban under a civilian court is even remotely feasible? They will simply be out on bail for lack of evidence and go back to their militant ways.

We should also consider the past beatings, public floggings, beheadings and other numerous other human rights violations committed by the Taliban. Did HRCP consider its duty done just by condemning those heinous crimes against humanity?

Lastly, the role of HRCP acting only as a ‘watchdog' in situations like these also comes to my mind. Is it their only duty to stand on the line and cry foul in such a deep rooted insurgency situation?

I hope if I have made the readers catch my drift as I certainly don't have any answers to these tangled questions. I would request readers to give their comments on this issue.

Textile Policy 2009-14: hard work still ahead

The first ever Textile Policy 2009-14 was announced by the Federal Minister of Textile Industry Rana Farooq Saeed Khan on Wednesday. The policy sets an ambitious target of achieving $ 25 billion over the next 5 years as compared to exports of $ 9.6 billion achieved during last fiscal year.

The policy is really a broad based document which encompasses areas like technology up gradation, infrastructure development, skill development, etc. and addresses rationalization of fiscal measures for the ailing textile industry along with removal of regulatory bottlenecks.
The government has for the first time, addressed all sub sectors of this industry separately with special emphasis on the value added sectors.

The policy provides many measures to address the falling trend of textile exports, but the most notable are as under:

Tiered drawback scheme with maximum benefit to the value added sub sectors.

• Full refund of past R&D Claims.
• The availability of export refinance at 5%.
• Priority in gas and electricity load management.
• Relief on existing long term loans.
• Zero rating of exports.
• Tax free import of machinery.

Although the textile policy is a very comprehensive one and covers almost all the relevant areas of the textile industry like skills development, market support, zero rating of exports, incentives for employment of women and disabled persons, etc. but the government will have to devise a proper SOP framework in order to implement and monitor policies which are contained in the policy. It is really advisable that the government should consider a fast and transparent procedure for the disbursement of funds allocated for various programs. By breaking the overall target of $ 25 billion into intermediate yearly targets will also help the industry in monitoring its own progress. Only timely government decisions will make this policy meaningful and any delay in framework formulation will make this policy ineffective.

Textile Policy 2009-14 is certainly a welcome initiative taken by the government. This policy seeks to revive the ailing textile sector through some key immediate measures and sets a vision for transforming the present textile industry into a new era. The policy looks at the industry from almost every perspective and identifies key areas where investment can bring about fruitful results.

Now that the policy has been unveiled, hard work follows. The government now needs to set its priorities and bring about a framework which will give practical meaning to this policy. Needless to say that this framework should be formulated ASAP, keeping in view that it should be transparent, works fast and should be meaningful to the industry.

By presenting this policy, the government has also recognized that only textile sector can be an engine for rapid growth for Pakistan's economy. If this policy is properly implemented and if due market access is provided, Pakistan's textile industry certainly has the capacity to bring about rapid progress and prosperity which may not be limited to industrial areas only and which may easily spill into the remote areas where progress is really needed.

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/apparel-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=76139

Pakistan: “Schools out” for legislators

ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: The federal cabinet decided on Wednesday to do away with the condition of bachelor’s degree for candidates for the Senate and the national and provincial assemblies, in line with the Supreme Court judgment of April 21 last year. Briefing reporters after a cabinet meeting, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said Pakistan was the only country to have such a condition in a democratic dispensation. (Dawn news)

Now why do legislators need education in Pakistan, as it is certainly an exercise of futility for them and when this exercise spans atleast 14 years, it would certainly seems like a life imprisonment for them. Why would they need education when they can surely confirm parliament seats for their next generations by having this law done away? Do they need to be taught manners which education teaches us? They certainly don’t need it. Why would they need education when their entire world revolves around their huge mansion, their shiny SUV’s and their endless police escorts? Why would their children need education when they are surely to follow in their fathers’ footsteps? What good does education brings when they only have to nod at their party bosses? What good would it do to a legislator by reading this article? We ordinary Pakistanis need ask this first from ourselves and then from our esteemed legislators.

What a great rationale has been given by our Information Minister that as the whole world doesn’t have that condition, therefore Pakistan should follow suit. Do I need to remind the honorable minister that our literacy rate is one of the poorest in the world and by throwing away this a law he is spelling doom for our country? Would he even care about that?

If the same rationale is followed then why do we need education afterall? Why do we need to throw away 20 odd years of life after this exercise in futility? If I can become a legislator without having one why can’t I become a doctor or a lawyer without it?

Maybe we need more of such legislators who first hailed the enforcement of Sharia in Swat and within one week turned around and applauded the army operation. Maybe we need more of same kind who termed killing and burial of women in Balochistan as their ‘custom’. Maybe it would do good for all of us if we just let Taliban blowup all the schools allover Pakistan?

Maybe I should immediately take my child off his school and enlist him in a political party as he certainly don’t need the bloody education and I certainly don’t have the spare money to go through his laborious exercise in futility which in the end would do him no good.

Change we really need (part II)

The Repentance

"And O my people! Ask forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him (in repentance): He will send you the skies pouring abundant rain, and add strength to your strength: so turn ye not back in sin!" Verse # 52, Surah 11. Hud (The Boundry?)

And so Greed Inc. under the able leadership of its CEO, Mr. Adam Smith, may have closed its doors for now but there is a big chance that the corporation would stage a stronger comeback unless something is done about it.

The change which we now look forward is the change in concept of ‘equity’ in corporations. Why can’t the concept of ‘equity’ can now be changed from one of amassing wealth to equal distribution of wealth? Now why the true strength of corporations judged not from the monetary reserves which they have but rather from the prosperity which they distributed to their employees and their communities? Why would only shareholders continue be the stakeholders?
This is indeed the true change we now need from the future generation of entrepreneurs who will now be flexing their wings to take flight. This is certainly the change expected from them which will herald a new era of change elsewhere in our lives.

It is He, Who doth show you the lightning, by way both of fear and of hope: It is He, Who doth raise up the clouds, heavy with (fertilizing) rain! Verse # 12, Surah 13. Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder)

Textbooks on biology do not tell us that the human race is actually a parasite, but I consider it so. We continue to suck out vital natural resources from the belly of our host body, the mother earth, which are badly needed by us in order to sustain our daily business. Scientists are looking to the stars for our continuing survival and the mankind will hop to some new planet as the mother earth slowly dies. The change we really need now is to look for alternate ideas which are in harmony to nature rather than our ‘slash-and-burn’ policies which are actually spelling our doom.

I ask myself if I am too big a dreamer to dream of change in governments and their attitudes towards their people. We certainly need and would welcome a change in this regard. Why would people continue to be a number in the hands of economists only to show how many have died of hunger and malnutrition? Why cant people replace statistics? And why market forces be allowed to roam free forcing farmers to destroy their excess crops when millions go hungry everyday?

Now its our choice whether to pay heed to wakeup call from God or we have a choice to go about our ways and wait for yet another wakeup call which may be not as subtle as this one.

And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death, they will certainly reply, "(Allah)!" Say, "Praise be to Allah." But most of them understand not. Verse # 63, Surah 29. Al-‘Ankabut (The Spider)

Change we really need (Part I)

Wake-up call

They ask thee to hasten on the evil in preference to the good: Yet have come to pass, before them, (many) exemplary punishments! But verily thy Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind for their wrong-doing, and verily thy Lord is (also) strict in punishment. Verse # 6, Surah 13. Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder)

We all saw history in making when the almighty Wall Street came down. Maybe I make it sound more dramatic than it actually was but whoever thought that such giant corporations would come down like houses of cards. To me, fall of Wall Street giants and the subsequent recession that followed is certainly a catastrophe of biblical propitiations. We may not admit it as a global catastrophe because there was no death-toll attached to it but natural calamities have only regional impact while this catastrophe touched almost all or us in one way or the other, whether it is a lost job, or lost sales or a lost opportunity.

And now that it has happened and shouldn’t we consider this as a subtle wake-up call from God but do we listen? Subtle it was indeed, because God is certainly capable of much more. The Lord works in mysterious ways and the Empire of Greed came crushing down.

The Resurrection

See they not how many of those before them We did destroy?- generations We had established on the earth, in strength such as We have not given to you - for whom We poured out rain from the skies in abundance, and gave (fertile) streams flowing beneath their (feet): yet for their sins We destroyed them, and raised in their wake fresh generations (to succeed them). Verse # 6, Surah 6. Al-An'am (Cattle, Livestock)

The concept of resurrection tells us about new beginnings and of starting over. So the Wall Street went down and the after shocks took down countless giant corporations all around the world. These corporations were also the extensions to the same Greed Inc.

Now that we are all set to starting over and for sure this change will bring countless opportunities to many. This change has now created a huge vacuum which will usher in a new generation of entrepreneurs to the helm of affairs. These men and women will now have a chance to bring their innovative ideas to work. How these men and women will fare, only the future will tell us but we now have a fair idea of the real change we need in ourselves and in our societies.

To continue……….

Our purpose in this world

Many times I have pondered on this question, “for what purpose we have been sent in this world” and the answer doesn’t come easily, I tell you. First, I turned to my religion which tells me that we have been sent here to serve God. This doesn’t explains much, “are we here to serve His ego by dutifully going through this hardship called life?”, I asked myself that and the answer came back as “no”. So I was back to square one. The answer, rather, came in bits and pieces and I shall try to explain.

Globalization is a dirty word, I know, but can we escape it? No, we cannot. Globalization isn’t necessarily all that bad, I tell you. This world keeps getting smaller and technology plays a vital part in this globalization. So I publish a post and the whole world can see it in 2 minutes and this process will get shorter and shall pave way for newer, better technologies. Now consider a world of tomorrow where you can go anywhere in 10 minutes (like Startrek, beam me up Scotty). Will we have our respective governments in that world? Would we need visas and passports then? No, governments will become obsolete in the future it has been written.

Technology is also opening borders and more people have started voicing their concerns and opinions, which is again good. We are now seeing people rather than citizens of another country and I feel amazed to learn that somebody in Alaska has issues which are similar to mine. The world is opening up on the wings of technology and this is bad for politicians who are being exposed. People, it seems, are taking over this world and they continue to join hands.
Through technology we are also seeing similarities we have. We continue to learn that all the religions have many things in common only things have been labeled differently. We also learn that people who do not believe in God point to nature, etc., in order to explain things as they see it.

The whole point of the above was to explain that we, as a human race, are actually going in one direction, whether we like it or continue to resist it. And that is the whole point of my essay. Yes, we have been sent in this world with a mission to serve God. To me, the purpose of sending us in this world is to become one. When the whole of humanity will join as one, this purpose will be served. This may take time and generations may pass but this will happen.

So how do we serve God? You may be asking. By serving humanity we are actually serving God, I can say for sure. By serving humanity, I do not mean that we should take up charity work. Rather, being considerate to others we are also serving God.

Serving God or humanity doesn’t necessarily means undertaking a big mission in life. We need to understand that by giving a simple smile we are also doing God’s work.

America as I see it

Recently much has been written on America’s role in Pakistan’s politics. One school of thought in Pakistan suggests that America should stop its interference and withdraw is forces from Afghanistan immediately. These people point to American policies of past and suggest America cannot be trusted. This argument has some truth in it and same was admitted by Mrs. Clinton during her various discussions at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meetings. The other school sides itself with Mr. Obama and his promise for change. These people are forward looking and are willing to let go of the troubled past. I, on the other hand, have a slightly different perspective which I shall try to explain.

To me, America is truly a great nation not because of its economic, political or nuclear power but because of its people and for the values which they hold true. History tells us that the American nation had its share of troubles on which they had to take very painful decisions but the people of America always took decisions as dictated by their conscious and which proved them right. If we go through America’s history we will learn that they fought their independence way back when the British were still trying to establish their hold on the Indian subcontinent. The proclamation of Fist Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement are just a few examples and there are many others.

One recent example of these great decisions is the election Mr. Obama for presidency. I do not praise American people for selecting the man; Obama, for his promise of change but I praise them for electing a man whose race was brought to America as slaves not so long ago. This can only happen in America. Although, our religion Islam tells us not to discriminate on the basis of color or caste but we, the Mulims, are not morally strong enough to take such a step. Obama has promised much and he may or may not make good on his promises, we the Muslims have yet to see that and so does the Americans. Still, even if Mr. Obama fails there would certainly be many many “Obamas” to come, that is what I expect of the American nation. I do not expect a smooth ride on this hopeful thought but progress of mankind has always been a two-step-forward-one-step-back process but that’s the way God works.

In the end, Mr. Obama may fail and I may get lynched for writing this but I have already decided to place my bets with the American people because they are the ones who truly understand the meaning of the words, freedom and democracy.

Who let the Dawgs out?

"Yesterday I was a dawg. Today I'm a dawg. Tomorrow I'll probably still be a dawg. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement." - Snoopy

All is still not lost I say to ye, my fellow dawgs and if you tend to agree with Mr. Snoopy Dawg, you may consider yourself as an enlightened dawg. Every dawg is allowed one bite, as the saying goes and this dawg is willing to take his chances before his dawggy day comes. We are told almost every dawg-gone day not to respond to a barking dawg but I am fed up of getting the same ol’ dawggy biscuits. So I’m no mo’ a mister nice dawg. I know, that you all will be gearing up by now to bark at me but lets just consider the Chinese saying, ”one dawg barks at something, the rest bark at him”, and that’s the way of us fellow dawgs. You may also wanna give this dawg a bad name and hang him but lately I consider myself a dawg on some days and on others I’m a hydrant. “Are you gonna bark all day little dawggy, or are you gonna bite?”, I know you must be getting impatient by now, you dawg!

Dawgs are getting bigger according to a leading dawg manufacturer and this poses a direct threat to our masters. Fortunately, our dawg-gone world is still a leaderless ground (err no, Snoop Dawg is not our leader, he is just an entertainer). So I consider this an opportunity, because if we dawgs ever take over the world, and we chose a king, we should not just go by size, because I bet there are some little dogs with some good ideas. So I remain an optimistic and a democratic dawg.

Indeed most of us dawgs don’t like to read because we cannot find time in our dawggy lives but just consider the following what is being written about us dawgs:

"Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dawgs spend their lives”…. "Like dawgs in a wheel, ambitious men still climb and climb, with great labor, and incessant anxiety, but never reach the top”….. "[My dawg] can bark like a congressman, fetch like an aide, beg like a press secretary and play dead like a receptionist when the phone rings"….. "The dawg is a yes-animal. Very popular with people who can't afford a yes man"….. "If you pick up a starving dawg and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dawg and a man”….. "No one appreciates the very special genius of your conversation as the dawg does”…. "I love a dawg. He does nothing for political reasons”….. "They say a reasonable amount 'o fleas is good fer a dawg -- keeps him from broodin' over bein' a dawg, mebbe"…… "You learn in this business: If you want a friend, get a dawg"….. "My dawg is usually pleased with what I do, because he is not infected with the concept of what I "should" be doing"….. "If we value the pursuit of knowledge, we must be free to follow wherever that search may lead us. The free mind is not barking dawg, to be tethered on a ten-foot chain”…. "If dawgs could talk, perhaps we would find it as hard to get along with them as we do with people"…… "A dawg is a dog except when he is facing you. Then he is Mr. Dawg"…."Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice dawggie!', till you find a rock"…."Dawgs have more love than integrity. They've been true to us, yes, but they haven't been true to themselves"…."Know yourself. Don't accept your dawg's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful"….."One reason a dawg is such a lovable creature is his tail wags instead of his tongue"….."My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dawg thinks I am"….. “Happiness to a dawg is what lies on the other side of a door”….”Like a dawg, he hunts in dreams”…..”It is the way of a dawg that if he is hit by a stone, he bites a fellow dawg”….. “Our dawgs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage"…… “If a dawg's prayers were answered, bones would rain from the sky”…..”Money makes dawgs dance”……."When a man's dawg turns against hime, it is time for his wife to pack her trunk and go home to momma"…."Every boy who has a dawg should also have a mother, so the dawg can be fed regularly”.

Awww, my poor little dawggies, did I made you cry? This is degrading, you must be saying, afterall dawgs are people too. I know that from a fellow dawg's point of view, his master is an elongated and abnormally cunning dawg but our masters don’t know yet that a dawg wags his tail, not for them, but for their bread. “Beware of a silent dawg”, I say to you. Yes indeed, we are told repeatedly that is a dawg-eat-dawg world out there but actually dawg does not eat dawg, remember that.

I know there are some good dawgs of all sizes out there and one barking dawg sets the whole street barking. Till now, our masters have only heard our “yelp” but now the time is at hand that they should hear our growl as well.

"Life is like a dawg sled team. If you ain't the lead dawg, the scenery never changes." - Lewis Grizzard

My beef with spiritualism

Actually my “beef” is not with spiritualism itself, it has to do with how it is preached and practiced in Pakistan. Some of you may recall my previous essay on this topic under the heading “Lost Sufis of Pakistan” on which I got a lot of flak as usual. But that essay was intended for another audience altogether and in this essay I will try to explain the basis for my skepticism against the various popular forms and shapes of spiritualism / Sufism / mysticism in Pakistan. I will also try to shed light on some popular myths on this subject matter which I find contradictory with the teachings of the Quran.

One of the comments I got in the last essay that spiritualism has to be actually “felt” from within and Allah gives guidance to whomever He chooses. Now the first part of this statement is quizzical to me, it implies that guidance is for a selected few who can actually feel it, for those of us who cannot “feel it” are destined to be doomed without any hope of salvation? Islam is not a religion for an enlightened few; it is for the whole mankind. Indeed, Allah gives guidance to whomever He chooses but we must not forget that there is a prerequisite to it; we have to seek guidance first. Come near to Me and I will come towards you, the Quran claims. Allah does not give salvation to those who do not seek it.

In the Quran Allah says that He is all seeing and all hearing. He also says that I am nearer to you than your own jugular. Now when He actually says that, is there any space left for any intermediary to convey our grievances and prayers to Him? Here, you may also claim that prayers are more potent when conducted through the pious ones, if I accept that for a minute then, there is actually no need for Allah to say the above, He could have said the same in the Quran thus leaving no ambiguity whatsoever.

Yet another popular belief is that the student of spiritualism has no right to question his teacher. He has to obey his teacher without any shadow of doubt. Again I say, when the Quran is telling us to think and open our minds then why are we being told the contrary? People should also realize that by not questioning these pirs and faqirs, we simply handover a blank cheque to them and they gleefully play havoc with our money and our minds to say the least. Do we not read of rape and plunder by these so called pirs and faqirs almost everyday in the newspaper?

Once again I would like to clarify that I am not at all against spiritualism. Who am I to refute it? Spiritualism is indeed found in different forms in almost all regions practiced in this world. It is my belief that first we have to act upon the “physical” aspect of our religion and by striving to attain that Allah shall give us guidance to the next level; the spiritual level. Why do we always have to go for short cuts in all aspects of our lives including the religion?

I would like to end this essay with a quote from the Quran which, I hope, some of you will find meaningful:

“And the Day whereon We shall gather them all together, then We shall say to those who did set partners in worship with Us: "Stop at your place! You and your partners (whom you had worshipped in the worldly life)." then We shall separate them, and their partners (so-called gods) shall say: "It was not us that you used to worship."

"So sufficient is Allah for a witness between us and you, that we indeed knew nothing of your worship of us."

There! Every person will know (exactly) what (all) he had earned before, and they will be brought back to Allah, their rightful Lord, and their invented false deities will vanish from them.

Surah # 10 Yunus (Jonah), Ayat 28-30

We must realize that much of what is being taught today as a Sufi way is actually not what these Sufi’s actually said. I say again, it is for us to seek the truth for ourselves.

A Man Called Dawg!

A man comes home at 8:15 pm. Greets his wife and kids. His wife tells him that he needs to go to the market and so he goes. Comes back and its already 9 pm. The family has their dinner together and then he plays with his children for a while. Its 10:30 now and he sends his children to bed. He switches on the TV and watches news. There is a war going on, TV tells him. He watches and says nothing. It now midnight, and he goes to bed. His wife gives him a roundup of today’s events, he listens, says nothing. He sleeps.

He wakes up at 8:30 am from his dreamless stupor. Children already left for school. Takes a bath, eats his breakfast. Wife hands over the electricity bill to him. He notices a 30% increase in it despite severe loadshedding. He puts the bill in his pocket, says nothing and heads towards the office.

It’s now 9:30 am and he is already late for work. His boss calls him into his office and gives him the usual hell. He listens quietly and then goes to his seat. Tea is served and he chats with his colleagues. During the grapevine, he mentions the electricity bill, his colleague tells him that he needs to pray more. “Yeh sub qayamat ki nishaani hai” (the Day of Judgment is upon us), he is informed. He goes back to his seat.

It’s now 11:45 am and he gets a call from the accounts department. Tax slab has been raised, he is informed, and his salary will be taxed accordingly. He grumbles and hangs up the phone. Tax matters confuse him. He goes back to his work.

After the lunch hour his boss for calls him again. Due to the bad economic conditions we have to let your subordinate go, he is notified. He opens his mouth to say something but stops when informed that it’s either him or the subordinate. He goes back and breaks the news to his colleague. Better him than myself; I have a family to support, he thinks and resumes his work.

It’s now evening and he prepares to go home. On his way back he notices two armed men snatching cell from a motorist. He looks and he hurries on. No concern of mine, the government should take care of these goons, he thinks.

He reaches his home and notices a big pile of garbage right next to his door. The government does nothing, he thinks. He opens the door and the clock tells him that its 8:15 pm.

Pakistani Textiles: Condition Red!

The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) recently released the export figures for the month of May. These numbers paint a very grim picture for the largest industrial and employment generating sector of Pakistan and for the economy as a whole.

For the 11 months of the current fiscal year (Jul-May 2009), the textile sectors’ exports decreased by US$ 931 million, a fall of 9.6% compared to the same period last year. Almost all the sub-sectors are in red now especially the made-up sectors i.e. the bedlinen and the garments, which declined by US$ 184 million (10%) and US$ 331 million (11%) respectively. Only two sub-sectors i.e. towels and raw cotton, are showing a marginal increase. Towel exports increased by US$ 16 million (3%) while raw cotton exports surged by US$ 18 million (28%) during the 11 months of current fiscal year. It is worthwhile to mention here that increase in export of raw cotton is not a matter to rejoice because raw cotton is a commodity which sells very cheap and saps the down-stream value-added industry of valuable raw material.

Implications of the above figures can be felt far and wide in our economy. Couple of months back there was an article in the largest English daily which claimed that more than 300 textiles units have so far been closed rendering more than 700,000 people unemployed. But as there are no updated official figures on employment the figures would actually be much higher than what is claimed.

It is really alarming to know that despite this grim picture, the government has yet take single step to stem the faltering textile sector or the economy. The anticipated trade and textile policies are yet to be unveiled despite news that it is being given final touches for the past couple of months now. In any case, seeing the performance of this government in the past year, it can be claimed with certainty that these policies will not contain anything radical and so we should not be too optimistic. The ineffectiveness of this government can be gauged from the fact that the only demand put forward by the industry was a duty-free import status from USA and EU considering the tight financial conditions in Pakistan, even this demand has not been taken up properly despite Pakistan being a key ally in war against terror.

Only the government alone is not to be blamed for this whole scenario and the industry should be criticized here also. The industry is still running without any sense of direction or vision despite Pakistan being a cotton rich country. The industry has only managed survived on subsidies and doles handed down by the successive governments in the past. The industry has concentrated on taking only without giving anything back to Pakistan.

Pakistan: A Secular State??

My God, you maybe thinking, this guy has really lost it now, what does he wants? What nonsense he keeps on writing? First he was teaching us about our Islam, and then he was spreading rubbish about beards and now, this? This is too much, you must be saying, this guy is a public nuisance and ought to be locked up pronto before our children read this. Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and he is now claiming it as a secular state? Blasphemy, you may shout out aloud, who the hell he thinks he is? Amrikan agent, saala!

This is indeed an alien idea to many of us but the point of writing the above paragraph is that I know what people think about this subject and no doubt many will find it outright appalling but, yes, I will write about it and shall try to give my arguments as to what we stand to lose if we do consider Pakistan as a secular state for arguments’ sake. And no, I am not an American agent as I feel brother Hussain Obama’s recession right in my pocket and the traffic on my blog suggests that I have yet to make a single cent for what I have written. So now we can get down to business.

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State…. You will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”

[Aug 11, 1947, Quaid-e-Azam M. A.Jinnah’s address to the First Constituent Assembly]

Oh well, so the great Quaid said this, so what? Can’t he be wrong for once? Was he not a lawyer and a politician first? Maybe he was just playing to the masses; you have a right to think that. But let’s go through the various arguments given against Pakistan being a secular state.

Pakistan was created in the name of Allah as a separate nation for the Muslims, is one of the point that is often raised. By declaring Pakistan secular (Naouzobillah) will lead to nudity and obscenity in the streets as it will drive our children away from Islam, is yet another argument. This will halt propagation of Islam in the world, as Muslims it is our primary duty to spread Islam in the four corners of the world, is often said. There may be hundreds of other arguments but just to keep this essay short and readable, I will try to give my point of view.

Yes indeed, Pakistan was created to safeguard the rights of Muslims in the subcontinent but we must also realize the Muslims were coexisting with all other religions in united India for centuries but did this coexistence made our forefathers lose the faith in Islam? We should also remember that Mr. Jinnah started the Pakistan movement only after he realized that the rights of a Muslims minority in India will be at stake in the face of growing Hindu nationalism in a united India and soon after the creation of Pakistan he gave the speech in the assembly. Otherwise he could have simply told the minorities in Pakistan to leave. We should also consider that by claiming Pakistan as an Islamic state are we not taking away the rights of so many minorities living in our country and giving the same message which the Hindus gave us before creation of Pakistan? We should know that Pakistan was indeed a liberal country till Zia’s regime. Lastly, we should consider our religion is not so weak that it will not stand the test of time.

Young generation will lose their way if we allow the virus of secularism into our ranks, is a very weak argument. Unfortunately, our generation has been trumpeting our version of Islam for so long now and has this propaganda made us any better a society? I have a serious doubt. Instead, we should put some trust our younger generation as I see in them better humans and better Muslims than us. Morality is already at its lowest, I think, can it go down any further?

By showing a gun trotting and a myopic version of Islam has not helped our cause to propagate Islam in the west. We have made enemies rather than friends this way, should we not consider revising our strategy and show a more humane approach? Would we not inspire others if we show our society to be better?

Again, I quote the great Mr. Jinnah to end my lengthy essay:

"Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non-Muslims-Hindus, Christians and Parsis – but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan."
[Feb. 1948, Quaid-e-Azam M. A. Jinnah’s broadcast address to the people of the United States of America]

Indeed, we the Muslims of Pakistan, have a lot of soul searching to do to separate facts from fiction. May Allah have mercy on our souls.

The Quran 101

I have often read that the Quran should not be read without the guidance of a learned moulvi. It has also been written that by reading the Quran without such guidance one can become ‘gumrah’ and may forever lose his soul to the devil. So, being an eternal rebel and a reader, I decided to take this risk. Whether I lost my soul or not, I leave for you guys to decide but I would definitely like to share why I consider this Book to be truly sacred and a gift from God to mankind.

First of all, it was very puzzling for me to think that a book which was meant to challenge the intellect of a nomad sitting right in the middle of a desert almost 1500 years ago cannot be understood by a modern man, is it so complicated? If a man is at risk of losing his soul by reading it, then why make it public? If I do accept that it is complicated then why did our Prophet (SW) and his companions took so much pain to compile and write it down? Why did they not allow it to be passed from one generation to the next verbally? What secret things have been written in it which only a moulvi can decipher and I cannot?

As I cannot tell you what I lost by reading the Quran, I want to share with you what I gained from it:

· In sharp contrast to what we have been told, in so many places in the Quran, Allah tells us to THINK about His creations and see things around us because in His creations we will find clues which all point to a presence of a single Supreme Entity; Himself. So when Allah is asking us to think then, why do we close our minds and label everything unconventional as “un-Islamic”?

· Every time I go back and read the Quran again, it opens some new avenues for me to think. Every single time I read it, it seems that I am reading it for the first time. It always gives me something new to ponder. No other book till date has given me this feeling.

· The Quran is based on simple facts; I have yet to find a single Ayat which can be termed as disputable or refutable. The Quran is solely based on logic. Here, I dare others to read and find something which they can claim as controversial.

· In so many Ayats, a single incident has been described and always from a different angle in order to highlight a different aspect. This is the true beauty of the Quran.

It is about time that we realize that the Quran starts from the word Iqra (read). Now if I lookup the word “read” in the dictionary, it means “interpret written material”, “learn something by reading”, “understand something intuitively”, “give particular interpretation to something”. So now you tell me, do we really “read” the Quran?

Sanctity of Beard

It pains me when I see very respectable Muslim brothers with long flowing beards, park their huge shining SUV’s right in the middle of the road because they are in a hurry to offer Juma prayers. It pains me when I see such people breaking traffic signals in Ramazan because they are in a hurry to break fast or in a rush to offer Maghrib prayers. I feel pained when I see a noble looking man with a great white beard breaking a queue so that he can be the first one in line. I see respectable man sporting a beard sending his son to Iqra School to become a Hafiz, yet he never had the time to read the Quran. I see another endorsing potato chips as halal and asking four million rupees, three shalwar suits and a pair of shoes for the ad (that’s what someone from the ad agency told me). I can go on and on here as the list is very long but I see………hypocrisy!

Big deal, you may say, we are Pakistanis and that makes us natural hypocrites but why is my anger specifically directed towards men with beards? Now that, is a very valid question and I will try to explain.

It is indeed very unfortunate that a very ‘weak’ Muslim like me needs to explain this but do these people realize that when they decide to keep a beard they are representing something sacred? Do these people know that by keeping a beard they are under obligation to God that their words and actions which should be inline with the teachings of Islam? Do they forget their obligation to humanity is first and foremost? Does their Islam absolve them of their duties to their society? Are they setting an example for other to follow?

So why can’t a “good Muslim” be a “good person” first, I ask? Unfortunately, Muslim scholars, thinkers and philosophers over the ages have only stressed upon our obligations to Allah while understating or altogether neglecting obligations to humanity. Only a few reformers like Abdus Sattar Edhi and Dr. Zakir Naik really stress that in order to be a good Muslim one has to be a good human first. As usual, these thinkers have often been labeled as non-believers by “enlightened ones”, for speaking something unconventional.

Do we really need some divine signal to make us realize that parking cars properly should also be considered as a Sawab? Or, that patience is virtue cherished by Islam? Or, that by stopping on a red light we are following yet another teaching of Islam; discipline?

Lets not embarrass ourselves anymore……lets think !!!!

Al-Asr

Surah No. 103 Al-Asr (The Declining Day)

This Surah has 3 Ayaat and was revealed in Makkah

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

103.001
YUSUFALI: By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),
PICKTHAL: By the declining day,
SHAKIR: I swear by the time,

103.002
YUSUFALI: Verily Man is in loss,
PICKTHAL: Lo! man is a state of loss,
SHAKIR: Most surely man is in loss,

103.003
YUSUFALI: Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.
PICKTHAL: Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

SHAKIR: Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.

Surah Al-Asr is considered to be one of the most important Surah of the Quran, yet remains the least understood. Imam Shafe has said that if the people only considered this Surah well, it alone would suffice them for their guidance.

I have gone through several commentaries by notable scholars but almost all of them ponder upon why Allah has drawn the testimony of Time (Asr) in this Surah. The commentary by Zohurul Hoque & Husain Nuri do shed some light on the point which I would like to highlight and which in my humble opinion forms the crux of this Surah and which makes this surah so beautiful yet so easy to understand.

In the first two Ayaat Allah says “By Time, the man is in loss”. In my opinion, the testimony of time is sought because time is a reality and nobody can refute the reality of passing time. Here I am also in complete agreement with all the scholars who point to different versions of the word “Asr”.

In the last Ayat, Allah says “except those who believe and do good, and exhort one another to Truth, and enjoin one another to perseverance”. The verse affirms three and not four key activities that determine who would not be at a loss (in my opinion, the fourth one is rather a consequence of doing the earlier three). The very first activity is to believe in Allah or Eman. The second requirement is to do good (Amal-e-Swalihat). Amal-e-Swalihat can simply be put as to do good to one’s own soul by constant self-improvement, followed by doing good to humanity. The third requirement is to speak the truth (haq). Lastly, the verse points out to steadfastness (Sabr) one has to endure in the course of action for following the three previously stated activities. The literal meaning of perseverance is a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. So in order to escape the loss, one not only has to remain steadfast himself but also need to engage other people of similar beliefs to motivate and keep the spirits high due to discouragement.

Now coming back to my point, after Eman, Allah has emphasized on doing good (Amal-e-Swalihat). In my opinion, “Amal-e-Swalihat” are primarily and solely directed towards humanity. By specifically used the term “Amal-e-Swalihat” right after “Eman”, Allah has pointed out that salvation lies in doing good to the humanity also.

Now, why do we forget is important aspect is my question is to my Muslim brothers? why can’t we realize that by doing good to the humanity we are very rightly following the teachings of Islam? Why do we forget that by serving humanity we are in turn serving Allah?

Lastly, I would like to declare that what I wrote above is in true earnest and would accept all the responsibility for my words in front of Allah. So help me God !

Help the people of Swat

The silent majority who called for decisive action against the Taliban now must realize that they now have the responsibility to help all those who fled the fighting and are now living in desperate conditions in different refugee camps.

By helping generously through cash and kind we must show our solidarity to our brothers and sisters from Swat , Dir and Buner. We should not let these people think that all their sacrifice has gone in vain.

As in the past, the governments support to these deportees will either come very late or may not come at all, therefore, the civil society and the NGO’s must do all they can from their own initiative.

Also, the civil pressure on authorities should be continued till Pakistan Army finishes what it has set out to do. We must show our support to our army for taking on these savages.

Policy making at a snail’s pace

Dawn: Monday, 04 May, 2009

WE, the stakeholders of Pakistans textile industry, are amazed by the inactivity shown in the policymaking process. We have been told several times that the eagerly-awaited textile policy is now ready but it will be announced some time in June, as it is being given ‘final touches’.

We have been pointing out that textiles exporters were facing difficulties for a couple of years now, and textile exports were showing a downward trend even before July 2008.

Now a recent news report emphasises that about 700,000 jobs have been lost and more than 300 textile units have been closed over the past two years. The report also pointed out that some local industrialists are shifting their units to China due to numerous tax incentives and superior access to world markets.

It may be pointed out here that China has increased rebates on exports of textile products several times since August 2008 due to the global financial crisis. The Chinese government is also providing free land for creating factory premises and there is no condition of paying income tax by the investors.

Now as global recession is starting to bottom out and major retailers rebuild their stocks, China’s textile exports surged 82 per cent in March from February, according to Chinas National Development and Reform Commission.

Beijing has also stockpiled a huge inventory of domestic cotton and has benefited from low prices of cotton in the international market. Experts also point out that 83 per cent of Chinas huge trade surplus since 2001 is entirely contributed by its textile industry.

India, on the other hand, has also announced several incentive packages, including increased subsidies, interest rate cuts, moratorium on repayment of term loans and several other incentives. It is now looking for exploring alternative markets like Japan, South Africa and Latin America to counter demand contraction in key export markets like the US and Europe.

The situation for Pakistans textile industry is very unique indeed. On the one hand, we are hit by job cuts and mill closures because of lack of export orders and, on the other hand, the price of raw cotton has jumped by about 33 per cent since December 2008, thus making the upstream value-added sectors totally uncompetitive.

The government inaction in the current situation can be gauged from the fact that the pending research and development claims, since June 2008, have still not been fully settled despite repeated assurances from the authorities.

It is indeed very inspiring to see countries several times our size acting in tandem with market conditions and macro-managing their economies effectively while our policymakers take years to give final touches to their policies.

We must realise that economies shine not because of their sheer size; they shine because of a constant check on their pulse and by policymakers’ quick economic management decisions.

Duty-free access for textiles

DAWN, Karachi Thursday, 09 Apr, 2009

I WOULD like to draw readers’ attention to the Obama administration’s proposed duty-free access in the US for Pakistans textile goods, which is a sheer mockery of the administration’s claim to help Pakistan.

According to media reports, President Obama last week said, while unveiling ‘New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan’ (March 27), he would strongly support duty-free access for Pakistani textiles and apparel produced in certain areas bordering Afghanistan.

Under the new trade preference, duty-free access would be granted to textiles and apparel made in certain parts of the tribal areas and the NWFP.

In addition, a series of products would be excluded from the duty-free benefits, including cotton knit shirts and cotton trousers (which are the main products being exported to the US from Pakistan).

The House version of the bill also includes a complex system for verifying that textile and apparel plants in Reconstruction Opportunity Zone (ROZs) that must actually comply with core labour standards.

Several obvious conclusions can be drawn from the above. First, no such industry exists on the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan and under the current situation no entrepreneur would even be interested in setting up a unit even near to the proposed ROZ’s.

Second, the labour available in those areas is either unskilled or does not have any know-how of textile or garment manufacturing. Third, the products to be granted duty-free access include items which are either not being made in Pakistan or their share is negligible.

Third, the bill proposes a ‘labour official’ to be named by the Pakistan government for “developing and maintaining a registry of textile or apparel -exporting enterprises” and coordinating a monitoring programme which would be actually conducted by the ILO (International Labour Organisation).

Our textile industry is very sceptical of such a policy, while the US importers are already warning that such a policy would be rather ineffective and expect widespread malpractice from Pakistani exporters.

We strongly urge our government to take up this matter with the US administration, otherwise Mr Obama’s dream to turn suicide bombers into ‘stitching machine operators’ will not be realised, at least for this generation.

Misconceptions about Pakistan’s textile industry

I would like to highlight several misconceptions on Pakistan’s textile industry through this letter. Many times I come across well educated gentlemen who point out that textile industry is always asking for concessions and is a burden on our economy. This view is totally incorrect. Our textile industry is a major foreign revenue earner, largest employment generator and the highest tax payer segment in our economy. It is the only manufacturing sector that makes the country proud by introducing its products to leading companies all around the world.

It is true indeed that the industry does asks for certain concessions from time to time but the fact of the matter is that textiles is a labor intensive sector and wherever in the world there is textile industry it is always always protected directly or indirectly because its employment generating nature. The idea behind free trade is to concentrate industries where they have natural advantage thus making products economical for all but unfortunately our successive governments have been going against this theory and have tried and failed repeatedly to make other industries parallel to textiles. Although it is very important for Pakistan to diversity its product base but to do this on the cost of an industry which has a natural advantage makes no sense.

I am sure that all stakeholders would agree with me when I say that textile industry is ready to play its role in the economic uplift of the country in this dire time of need. All we want is to get GSP+ facility from EU and a proper FTA with USA for our products. If these two treaties are penned properly, we are more than sure that our textile exports would double to touch US$ 20 billion in next 4-5 years thus eliminating the need of begging for financial aid from anyone or putting any burden on our economy.

All we want from our government is to provide a level playing field vis-à-vis our global competitors and if this is provided we are sure that the textile industry will lead Pakistan out of these dark times.

Taliban Exploit Class Rifts to Gain Ground in Pakistan

I could not agree more with Jane Perlez and Pir Zubair Shah’s article published on April 16, 2009, as I had came to the same conclusion after reading the complete text of ‘Nizam-e-Adl regulation 2009’ which seems like a well thought-off scheme by the Taliban to hit a soft spot on public’s imagination i.e., to provide swift justice to masses. Pakistan’s civil society in general and the judiciary in particular should take notice that the onus of this regulation is on a simple fact that justice has been delayed too long. I sincerely hope that Pakistan’s judiciary should read between the lines of this regulation and realize that there is a strong need for judicial reforms otherwise the Taliban’s scheme of playing to the masses will definitely take hold once public realizes that the Qazi courts are disposing cases much faster than our conventional judicial system.

The politicians, especially the provincial government of NWFP, who came to power on a secular vote, are first to be blamed for this. All the major political parties, except one, have been completely myopic as they have no idea that they have signed their own execution order. The PPP led government is only paying lip service by giving the message to the west that “if we go, you go”, while trying to get support from the ignorant masses for what it has done. The main opposition party, PML-N has their own agenda which, in my humble opinion, would be unknown even to them. The army has been stretched to its limits because of tension with India and the ongoing fighting in FATA. Impression is given from the media that general public is content with the fact that peace will come to their doors through this deal. The ‘silent middle class’ remains confused and silent as ever. Only a few are speaking out against this and they may also be deemed ‘infidels’ by these militants.

While the west, especially Americans are constantly urging us to “do more”, yet they are unwilling to open their market for a country which has barely a total of US$ 20 billion in exports.
As a thinking Muslim, I do not agree with Taliban’s philosophy. I am not prepared to be taught Islam by some illiterate militant and fearing the worst for my children, I have decided to take up the only weapon I know how to use; my pen or rather my keyboard !