KARACHI: Pakistanis should stop looking to others at solve their problems and must become self-reliant in every way. Though there is great talent and resources available in the country, sadly the prevalent system does not reward merit and fears accountability.

These views were expressed by noted nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan at the concluding ceremony of a four-day workshop on tools and techniques in Biotechnology at the Dr AQ Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (KIBGE) at University of Karachi (KU).

Dr Khan said that young scholars, students and professionals must master advanced tools and techniques and share their knowledge with others so that they can also benefit from their skills and expertise. He added that the culture of research should be promoted and used to serve people rather be limited to simply publications of articles.
He advised the participants to work hard and gain excellence in equipment handling as it would play a major role in their success in the field. “Proper use of instruments plays a major role in producing the best results. Along with theory, hands-on training and eagerness to learn will help you all in achieving your dreams.”

Dr Khan said that during his tenure at the Khan Research Laboratory, he learned how to operate different types of equipment and advised others to do the same.

“The KIBGE was initiated around 18 years ago and now it is recognised as a renowned institute around the world. All the trainees and students should apply what they have learned during this workshop and enhance their abilities to serve the country even better,” said Dr Khan.

He regretted that people with higher professional degrees were jobless and unfortunately there were no plans to make use of their skills and abilities, though it was vital for a prosperous Pakistan.

Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan said that after a struggle of 13 years, he was able to get Thalassemia Act approved from the National Assembly. “I personally drafted the Bill in 2004 and sent it to the House in 2005, but the assembly members were not interested in even looking at it. When I become senator in 2009, I started a campaign again to get it passed, but the goal was achieved much later.”

He said that it was disappointing to see that economics, education and health sectors were not performing well in the country for the past many years and added that there was no culture of research and development in Pakistan.

He said that industrialists and corporate sectors pay Rs7,000 billion to the government but never see corresponding investment in economics, education and health-related projects.

Prof Dr Anwar Ali Siddiqui of KIBGE said that the research should aim to improve society, rather than simply gain funding from the Higher Education Commission or other donors. He said, “The donor agencies are forcing scholars to focus on the impact factor due to which the standard of research has been compromised. Pakistani journals are increasing, but the impact of research on society is hardly visible.”

One of the trainees from Bolan Medical College in Quetta, Dr Saima Erum, said that a large group of people in Balochistan were suffering from Thalassemia, but unfortunately there wasn’t sufficient information or medical facilities to curb the disease. “I came here to attend this workshop so that I could be able to serve Thalassemia patients better. Thalassemia-free Balochistan is my dream and I will chase it my whole life,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18th, 2018.

WASHINGTON DC: Bill Gates says he has paid more than $10 billion in taxes over a lifetime but billionaires like him should pay “significantly” more because they benefit more from the system.

The Microsoft co-founder, the world’s second richest man after Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, was critical of a recent US tax overhaul that slashed corporate taxes and lowered the top bracket for individual income.

“I’ve paid more taxes, over $10 billion, than anyone else, but the government should require the people in my position to pay significantly higher taxes,” he said.

He said the tax overhaul passed in December favors the rich despite Republican claims it will help the middle and working classes.

“People who are wealthier tended to get dramatically more benefits than the middle class or those who are poor, and so it runs counter to the general trend you’d like to see, where the safety net is getting stronger and those at the top are paying higher taxes,” he said.

With a sixth of the US population living in what he called “disappointing” conditions, he said US policymakers need to think about rising inequality and ask, “Why aren’t we doing a better job for those people?”

Pakistan now has female bike captains as a part of Careem’s women empowerment scheme. These women are Pakistan’s first female bike captains. Riffat Shehraz shines as one of the first few who have taken on this task in Lahore.

These women stand as symbols to the world that women are capable of doing anything they put their mind to.

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Riffat said that she is glad to have gotten a platform to bring out the best of her passion.
“I have been driving the bike since I was 12 years old and I was passionate about riding the bike,” she said.

Riffat believes that bike riding services aren’t restricted to gender or by gender. “If you are scared, the fear will lead you nowhere. Today, if you are going to be scared, then tomorrow you will not be able to do anything.” She believes that women are capable of achieving a lot more than they are given the opportunity to.

Amid rising tensions on security issues for women and children, Riffat says that she would have never made the effort of visiting places that she does now because of her passengers. She says that this experience also shaped her confidence greatly.

“I am also a female and I also want to take rides at the 11th hour but I know that I have to wake up early and start my day therefore at 10 pm, I take my last ride,” she said of her daily routine. She wakes up at 9 am to initiate her day.

However, Riffat doesn’t have to comply with a set number of rides, “I can take as many as I want to, sometimes I take them till 9 pm and sometimes it’s 10 pm but I don’t want to say no to anyone ever. I try my best to make my passengers happy.”

Riffat believes she is lucky as she didn’t have to face any major issue regarding her passengers. “Everyone respects me,” she said, adding that neither male nor female passengers caused her any hassle.

“I feel, if you respect men, then they respect you in return too, all my rides so far with the males have been very nice and ended on cordial terms,” she narrated.

“I have gone as far as Thokar Niaz Baig, a place I have never visited, so the commuting and distance is not an issue for me at all. It is sometimes from Wapda Town or Model Town that I go to faraway places,” she said.

Riffat is a source of pride with all that she has achieved. She also is a proud part of Careem as that is the platform that encouraged her to pursue this.

In November 2015, the company had announced that they will start hiring female captain drivers.

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has called his experience of coaching the Asian team fantastic and full of emotions, colour and intensity.

Arthur was appointed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after former coach and bowling legend Waqar Younis resigned from his post after some dismal performances in the two limited-over formats.

“If I had to encapsulate it in one word, then it’s been fantastic,” said Arthur as quoted by The Cricket Monthly. “I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Yes, it has been challenging. But I’ve thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had finished my career without coaching a subcontinent side, it would’ve been a glaring miss on my CV.

He continued by explaining the roller coaster ride his time with Pakistan team has been and what he plans to achieve with the team in the future. “The passion, the intensity, the focus, the colour, the emotion — we’ve experienced that all this year, and what I’m trying to do is bring some stability, to bring standards, to bring high performance, to bring structure. And trying to just keep pushing our players to be the best they can possibly be. For me, that’s the energy of the job.”

‘I’ve got lots to offer Pakistan’

Before working with Pakistan, Arthur had South Africa and Australia on his resume and he hopes to bring the experience of coaching both teams to help Pakistan become a better side.

“I feel I’ve come in [to coach Pakistan as] a far more experienced coach,” he said. “I feel like I’ve got so much to offer, to this structure, this country, this job. Because if I can bring the best of South Africa and the best of Australia and somehow fit it into this Pakistan side, the world’s our oyster.”

On creating a legacy

Under Arthur, Pakistan won the Champions Trophy for the first time but for the South African, player and structural development takes precedence.

“I would like my legacy to be structure, or high performance, or standards, because ultimately you get those results from there,” he said. “More than wins and losses, to me player development and this excellent structure are the most important things. And that’s how I’d like to be remembered. Wins and losses come and go. But ultimately you’ll be remembered for the structure you brought in and the players that grew under you.”

‘Amir has been outstanding’

Mohammad Amir was trying to fathom his responsibilities in the teams after a comeback when Arthur joined the team and he believes the left-arm pacer has come a long way during his tenure.

“Amir has been outstanding,” explained Arthur. “I must admit, seeing him in England and seeing him now, he’s a totally different character. In England he was very reserved, whereas now he is very much part of the team. He was finding himself as well. I’m incredibly fond of Mohammad Amir and I admire the way he’s gone about it so much. He’s just such an incredible talent with the ball.”

Arthur heaped more praise on the 25-year-old pacer by calling him a player who craves a big occasion and then makes sure he shines in that moment.

“What I do know about Amir is that he is a big-match player,” said Arthur. “The bigger the occasion, the more he rises to it. That is not prevalent in every player. A lot of cricketers in those big, big moments disappear. Amir doesn’t. He wants those big moments. He craves those big moments. And generally, he’s pretty successful in them.”

A Day In the Life of Allama Iqbal
An Interview with Mian Ali Bakhsh

Q. When did Iqbal usually get up in the morning?
A. Very early. As a matter of fact, he slept very little. He was keen on his morning prayer. After the prayer he read the Qur’an.

Q. In what manner did he read the Qur’an?
A. Before his throat was affected, he used to recite the Qur’an in a clear and melodious voice. Even after he got the throat disease he used to read the Qur’an but not loudly.

Q. What did he usually do after he had finished his prayer and recitation?
A. He used to sit in an easy-chair. I would prepare his “hookah” and place it before him. He would study the briefs of cases which were to come up in court that day. Now and then, while still at his files, he would have moments of poetic inspiration.

Q. How did you know when he was in his poetic mood?
A. He would call me and say: “Bring my note book and my pencil.” When I brought these, he would write down the verses in pencil. Now and then, when he did not feel satisfied with his composition, he was extremely restless. While composing he would often ask for the Qur’an to be brought to him. Even otherwise he called for the Qur’an a number of times in the day.

Q. What time did he usually go to court when he was practising at the bar?
A. He used to leave 15 or 20 minutes before court time. As long as he lived in Anarkali [his house, which is no longer in existence, was where the New Market, Lahore, is now] he used to go to court in his horse carriage. Later, he bought a car.

Q. How long was he active as a legal practictioner?
A. He was in practice until he got his throat disease which was around 1932 or 1933.

Q. What did he do on return from court?
A. Before doing anything else he used to ask me to help him take off his court clothes. He was never fond of formal dress and used to put it only for the court and that also with effort.

Q. What did he do after changing his dress?
A. He composed verses whenever he felt like it.

Q. Did he sleep in the afternoon?
A. Not usually, but he did so now and then.

Q. At what time did he take his meals?
A. Between 12 and 1 o’clock in the day. He ate only one meal. Normally he did not eat in the evening.

Q. What were his favourite dishes?
A. He was fond of pulao, mash-ki-daal seasoned with ghee, karela stuffed with minced meat, and also khushka.

Q. Did he like many dishes at his meals?
A. No, there were only a few dishes at a time. He was a poor eater.

Q. Did he take any exercise?
A. In the early days, he did. In those days he used dum-bells, and performed dand [a stretching exercise].

Q. Was he interested in games and sports?
A. He was interested in watching wrestling matches.

Q. Was he in the habit of going out in the evening?
A. Getting out in the evening was almost an impossibility with him. In the earlier days when he was living inside Bhati Gate [where he lived before going to Cambridge, England in 1905], he would sometimes walk as far as the platform outside the house of Hakim Shahbazuddin [a close friend of the poet]. Once in a while Sir Zulfiqar Ali [of the ruling family of Malerkotla; author of book on poet ‘A voice from the East’] would come in his car and take him out.

Q. When did he go to sleep in the evening?
A. In the evening a number of friends and visitors used to call on him. These sittings went on till 9 or 10 o’clock. After this he sat alone with Ch. Mohammad Husain and recited to him the verses he had composed during the day.

Q. How long did Choudhry Sahib normally stay?
A. Up to 12 or 1 o’clock in the night. After this Doctor Sahib would go to bed, but would get up for his Tahajjud prayer after he had hardly slept for two or three hours.

Q. And after the Tahajjud?
A. He used to lie down for a short time until it was time for the morning prayers.

Note: The above extracts are from an interview with Mian Ali Bakhsh, the life-long domestic assistant of Allama Muhammad Iqbal. It was conducted by Pakistani man of letters Mumtaz Hasan on 23 September 1957. It’s from “Tribute to Iqbal” by Mumtaz Hasan, collected and edited by M.Moizuddin

[republished with permission from www.jaihoon.com]