MFN Status Given To India

Pakistan Government have at last started the process of granting the status of MFN (Most Favorite Nation) to India which like every decision any Government makes gets mix (its true if u never heard the opposition to a decision this never means it never existed) reactions. I personally think its a great move in improvement of bilateral relationship. Nothing can bring two countries closer then economics and ease in travel restrictions. People who will be quick to point out Kashmir and the wars between both countries need to know that you cannot resolve any issue if you are not on the same table. The more you will have mutual understanding with each other the more easy it will be to come up with a solution for Kashmir. Also even if you don't agree but its a fact that 3 out of 4 wars we fight against India we were the aggressors but that is not the point of it. The point is that increase in mutual relationship and understanding can help in decreasing the tensions between both countries. Guys lets face it, if you think they hate us then are we also not doing the same. We are neighbors and if you like it or not or they like it or not this situation is going to remain same as whatever we do against each other in the end we still are neighbors.

Now my industrialist friends will start to say that it will have a very bad impact on the small and medium industries and also on agriculture. If increase in competition has a negative effect on there business then they should also start learn how to do there business effectively. I am not a business major and have very little knowledge about it I admit that but I also know that in many of our products the Industrialists are literally ripping the consumer off. But then again this is not the point the point is the industrialists in India will have a new market of 170 million people which is compared to there population is not a big increase but are we not going to have a market of near 2 billion people where we can sell our products. Just a food for thought. You can give a 100 thousand reasons against it among which some will be logical too but business is the name of taking risks and cashing on them. As we say no pain no gain.

Rest about agriculture then people are worried about the impact India can make on our agriculture. But we forgot to see that India is the biggest market for vegetables. Any Indian I met and we ever had a discussion on bilateral trade always raise one point that if both of these countries just start to trade vegetables it will help both countries a lot. Pakistan can export a lot of vegetables to India which are in high demand there. Yes the debate about profitable crops is a big one in which there are plus and minus but again we have the best rice in the world even if our exporters are so numb to sell it worldwide and then blame it on other things.

I know I cant change the mind of people who will take it negatively anyway. But its what I think that increasing the ties with your neighbors will only result in stability in the region. Look at China, how many disputes she has with every other country but did it resulted in stopping them from having economic relationship with anyone. Look at Europe, the countries who were thirsty for each other blood at right now sitting together.
Sentiments cant solve anything and that is the reason all countries including China are hailing it as a great decision. I know it will not normalize everything but every step counts and this is a step in positive direction.

TI and his Enthusiastic Supporters

After few good and many bad attempts of public gatherings by TI they finally staged a great show in Lahore on 30th October. Lots have been said about it good and bad but I am not going to comment on any of IK's (I am not into this nonsense of saying him Kaptaan people he is a politician not a cricketer anymore and this politics not a cricket ground) policies. The best thing I will say about the rally was that people really are enthusiastic about somebody. I saw many of my friends who use to say that politics is not for them or this is a gutter happily entering the same "gutter". Many of my friends who use to laugh at the idea of vote and when I use to tell them that they should be voting as this is not there right but responsibility I found then advertising about how to get your vote registered. Many of my friends went to the said rally themselves with TI flags which I feel really refreshing. Although been a lone "Jiala" in most of my friend circles I regularly face the recruitment efforts (most of them really miserable frankly) by the new "Jialas of Khan". One more important effect 30th October have on supporters of TI is that now they atleast know the names of some of TI top echelon otherwise all the poor supporters usually fail to answer the simple question of answering any two top people in TI except for IK and usually the answer use to be "IK" and "IK". Will IK be able to cash this momentum into seats in election only future can tell.

But one thing I fear like many other is that when IK will fail to deliver (dear friends its a big possibility and its coming, you accept it or not you can give a 100 thousand arguments against it but lets face it he has the same as in your words tested crew with him) all these young people who finally are participating in the electoral process will feel betrayed. They will then again get alienated from the process and will not know the importance of it. For me the most important is not that who is in power but that the process should keep moving and more people participate in it as we accept it or not but politics is part of our life. How much dirty it is or appear to be you cannot escape it as it directly effects each and every part of our social aspects. So I only hope that all these enthusiastic youth keep voting in the future no matter whom they vote whether Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Altaf Hussain or Munawar Hassan but the process need to go on as only this can result in stability and improvement. If people started to think again toward dictatorship then dear I can only say that testing will not lead you anywhere. Unfortunately democracy is a process which starts up slowly but have excellent effects on the long run on the other hand dictatorship starts well but then leads you straight to a dead end. Think about it.

Difference of Education: What we are teaching

On my class group we were just having a good discussion regarding the quality of education we are getting and other countries like India is giving. The comparison was off course in between our own University which we consider best in Pakistan UET Lahore (say it is our prejudiced regarding other universities of what but that's what we think :)) and IIT India.

I always praise one quality of my class group is that like any other group we all have different point of views on everything. Some agree with each other on one thing some don't but the discussion is always constructive and people are not penalized on having an opinion. Even if one is in favor of Islamic Khilafat or in Secular State we discuss this and even end our debate in an agreement to disagree. Its not a matter of enforcing one's opinion but to give your opinion.

So back to the topic, at least right now most of us were in agreement that our education system is just fulfilling the need of the industry and is not teaching us actual engineering. But the difference of opinion came when one group was saying that this is the right way and the other was arguing that the best university of the country should be creating engineers and scientists not technicians (if you are an engineer working in industry in maintenance dept and don't agree with this then my friend you are living in a fool's paradise :) and yes I also work in maintenance so I know how things work).

The difference in both arguments is that yes our industry needs engineers (mostly to fulfil requirements) whose requirements need to be fulfill by our industry but that is not the reasons why the universities are there. One of my friend Shoaib once pointed out in our first year engineering he was having an argument with a student of IIT about the level of education and my friend told him that he knows HOW to CONVOLUTE. In reply the IIT student simple replied that he knows WHY to CONVOLUTE. This difference of how and why is the key. We are teaching our student be it Textbook boards or Cambridge just how to get marks not to learn or understand what is written. I personally know many teachers who usually never allowed any person to ask any question in there classroom. And situation is worse in schools be it private or public.

Many people will try to point that it is due to poor curricula or many other things but in my point of view its about teachers. There are many schools right now in Pakistan who are taking fees in thousands of rupees and are preferring Cambridge studies over our local books but if you lives in the fool's world that these students in these big schools are taught better then the ones who are been taught in what you can say "taat" school then my friend you are wrong. Yeah they got these good classrooms, better services at there disposal and are taught only one special thing, a weird accent of English to give them a delusion that they are not "brown" but "white" which somehow I don't know why but give an inferiority complex to many. Education is not the way you have got it but what you have got it and the main element in it is the teacher. We are an unfortunate nation in this regard that people now join teaching as a profession, a profession with low salaries. Most of the teachers we have were not the brightest or even good students during there own tenure as students and when they start teaching they have no idea about student psychology, new developments going on around the world and new teaching methods and techniques been adopt. For them whats written in the book (or in the notes they have prepared to teach for next 30 years or so) is the "bible" and anyone even if try to put a toe outside the define line has committed blasphemy and need to be dealt accordingly. Whether you go to madrassas or schools you will meet the same behavior. Our education system are making mostly robots, robots who can think or rationalize they follow "hard coded" instructions taught to them over the years. So we need to ask ourselves do we need "Thinkers" or "Robots" and if you are trying to say "Thinkers" then are you any different.

Swiss Bank Director Statement and Logic

I have seen this news headlines in many newspapers, people quoting it and the columnists writing about it. The news in question is a Swiss Director reportedly said to a newspaper reporter off course anonymously that Pakistanis have 97 billion dollars in Swiss BANKS. Apart from the fact that Swiss banks and there employees (Except for couple of notable exceptions in recent history) are known for there professional behavior and leaking out such information is against all professional antiquates or that as there is no source of the information available except for all the news papers just printing it as the other newspaper is doing so and columnist using it as a stick to bash every other politician which off course is there favorite hobby. But I know our people don't go for such logical things as it lack the "tarka" or "masala" in them. I am not saying Pakistanis don't have any money in Swiss banks as it will be foolishly to say it about any bank. But before going any further let me ask everyone who is reading this a very simple question.

For example you go to let say Allied Bank in Pakistan and straight went to one of its Directors who is your best buddy and can never say no to you. You ask him that you need information about XYZ in Standard Chartered Bank so you need him to give this information to you. Can he give it to you?

The obvious answer is NO he cant not because he might be the most honest man present on planet earth but just because he don't have it. Its not possible that one bank employee or even owner will have such information regarding bank account holders and cash present in them about any other bank (Unless off course there is an owner who owns two banks which is another story ).

I have ask this same question to many of my friends already who have posted this news and till this date they all agree on this point that yes its not possible. I am not saying there is no corruption in Pakistan or there are no Swiss account holders but is this news authentic and then to make the list of things you can do with the money number which doesn't exist is really a laughable idea. I rest my case its up to you to decide that you want to go with logic or with any absurd theory of yours.