• Education for development

• Education as a right

• Is this education?

• What next for flood victims?

• Development aid failure

• How to deal with Katchi Abadis

EDUCATION is considered by many to have a close relationship with development. Usually the concept of development is confined to economic development i.e. education for better jobs or educated citizens for national economic development. 

This relationship does not fully describe the potential of education, or, for that matter, of development. 

A more holistic view of development would include the aspect of social development as well. This view suggests that large dams, long railway tracks, metallic roads, skyscrapers and big shopping plazas denote just one aspect of development. A more holistic notion of development, however, would include some other important aspects of human development, e.g., education, the environment, healthcare, food and other standards of living. 

This view of development has been highlighted by some leading economists including Amartya Sen of India and Mahbub ul Haq of Pakistan. Sen’s famous work, Development as Freedom, considers freedoms of choice and expression as important indicators of development. 

A fuller view of development which is sustainable in nature does not confine itself to the study of only sciences but encompasses a much broader range of subjects including the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. It is this broad spectrum of knowledge construction that helps us understand the notion of development and sustain it. 

When we talk of development we usually refer to development that is sustainable. We have seen development in the recent past, during Gen Musharraf’s era, which was artificial in nature as money was flowing in as a result of the post 9/11 situation. Our reserves were inflated and the economic statistics looked so very impressive. This situation changed drastically after a few years as the inflow of money was suddenly reduced. A simple definition of sustainable development that is cited by Unesco suggests that sustainable development seeks “to meet the needs of the present without compromising those of future generations”. The concept of sustainable development, thus, is incomplete without education and a literate society. 

It is through education that one learns useful skills, ideas, values and thoughts to become a thinking citizen of society. It is education that can turn an ordinary society into a learning-oriented society that could explore innovative solutions to the challenges we face today. 

A pertinent question, however, is whether or not it is the higher literacy rate that enhances the chances of development. The answer to this question is in the negative as it is not just the literacy rate but also the quality of education which plays a vital part in sustainable socio-economic development. 

If we were to examine the quality of education, in most mainstream schools, we would realise that the process of education resembles closely what Brazilian educator Paulo Freire refers to as the “banking concept of knowledge” where students sit back, teachers transmit information and students reproduce this information in the examination paper and score good marks. 

This process of teaching and learning is defective in essence and produces robots who cannot think on their own. A holistic concept of education should tap the learners’ knowledge, skills and attitudes. One of the major goals of education that paves the way for sustainable development, but which is missing in most mainstream schools in Pakistan, is enabling students to think independently and creatively. Education should empower students to apply knowledge in new situations while remaining sensitive to the requirements of the context. Education should also develop critical thinking skills among learners so that they do not merely fit into the slots of society but also show the courage to challenge some of the taboos imposed by society. 

How can such a qualitative change in education be made possible? There could be a number of factors that come together to improve the quality of education that in turn enhances the chances of sustainable development. Some of these factors include funds, infrastructure, physical facilities, curriculum, textbooks and assessment systems. All these factors are important and contribute their own bit to the qualitative improvement of education. There is, however, one factor, i.e., the teacher, who occupies a central position in terms of interaction with the other factors. To make the teacher community more effective there is an urgent need to empower it in terms of financial benefits, social recognition and professional development.One of the major sources of professional development of teachers is teacher education. Unfortunately, most teacher education institutes and departments in Pakistan are offering a stereotypical version of teacher education which is devoid of critical thinking and reflective practices. There is an obvious disconnect between theory and practice and the whole emphasis is laid on the method of teaching. 

There is an urgent need to revamp teacher education in Pakistan in order to make it relevant and effective by incorporating the components of reflection and critical thinking and by establishing a vibrant linkage between theory and practice. There is also a need to bring in insights from various disciplines of learning by employing an interdisciplinary approach. Teachers should be made to realise that there is a need to extend pedagogy by using ways and means of non-formal and informal education as well. It is only through effective teacher education that we can empower teachers professionally and it is through these empowered teachers one can hope for such education that ensures a holistic and sustainable development.

(By Dr Shahid Siddiqui, Dawn-13, 08/11/2010)

MUCH can be said of the remarkable benefits society earns by awarding education the status of a human right. Before that discussion, however, it would be reasonable to define the legal construct that defines a right. 

A human right refers to a sort of power or freedom guaranteed to an individual upon his or her birth. It is fundamental in acknowledging that the nature of man can only be preserved and enhanced by securing such a right. In fact, that is exactly the argument made by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), when it enshrines in Article 26 the right to education through an international legal framework. 

In the second clause of this article, not only is the right to free learning specified, so is the necessity for such a provision in law to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all nations, races and religious groups. In particular it emphasises mutual respect, tolerance and the ability to understand each other to further this ultimate goal. All this, the article asserts, can only be secured through the recognition of education as a right. There are two means of testing whether this assertion is valid. First, by studying the implications arising from Article 26 and second, by revising some research conducted to study a link between the provision of education and the upholding of other rights. 

Article 26 (i) implies the need for a healthy learning environment when it encourages states to ensure continued learning — beyond the basic level — for individuals. This can be studied firstly as the need for education that caters to individuals’ various learning requirements and expectations, for example as disabled students or with certain vocational inclinations. This need is echoed in Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which stresses on citizens’ ability to participate in a ‘free society’. 

Secondly, it could be a reference to the effective participation of the people, tools and institutions involved in education. In that sense, education as a human right in isolation is incomplete. It requires that many other rights be targeted as well, such as those of expression, women’s rights and freedom from discrimination and exploitative labour. The role, therefore, that even basic schooling can play in bringing women and other disadvantaged groups out of their extant plight is a legally acknowledged one (Article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination; Articles 10 and 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women). 

Further derivatives of the UDHR are found in Articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which emphasise regular school attendance and the completion of school courses. They also aim at fostering, through education, the development of respect for the child’s parents, cultural identity, values and language to guarantee that a child’s mental and physical faculties are nurtured to the highest possible capacity. 

If such requirements are met, they would guarantee accessible education of a quality that would aid children in growing up to respect other members of society and the duties that bind them in social contract to other citizens, regardless of racial, ethnic or financial background. Darling-Hammond (1996) believes this sort of education would be a useful means to preserving a democratic society. Additionally, Haveman and Wolfe (1984) associated some 20 benefits with education, including crime reduction, social cohesion and even a potential drop in birth rates. This shows fairly well, even if not perfectly clearly, the advantages reaped when education is approached as a right, not just as a service. 

Consider a situation (perhaps pre-Second World War) in which basic education was merely a service, not a state-protected right. If its distribution was only to be settled through, say, the forces of demand and supply, such a market structure may prove particularly significant in limiting the majority of citizens’ access to education. (As supply would exceed demand, the price of one year’s education would be much higher than a ‘fair’ price. I refrain from using ‘equilibrium’ price because equilibrium could be achieved subsequently where supply would meet demand, but this would not necessarily be the most affordable or just price.) 

In the trend towards the maximum privatisation of education, surely, we would reach a point similar to that of Bolivia’s water fiasco in the late 1990s. Education would become so highly priced, and therefore scarcely provided, that it could upset the natural progression of future generations towards more fulfilling lives. 

Of course, the many other benefits of the right to education include equipping a new or even the current generation with the skills, tools and concepts that ensure its basic survival and self-sufficiency. Furthermore, with learning comes the ability to rationalise the daily questions of life and the more complex social, political and moral dimensions of the spheres within which humans exist. As a means to securing further rights such as those of life, liberty, person and a decent standard of living, the right to education indirectly influences social stability, non-violent conflict resolution and other forms of socio-economic development. 

The Dakar Framework for Action (2000) outlines measures governments should take to ensure the provision of the right to education, which include expanding early childhood care, providing free and compulsory education and increasing adult literacy, especially for women. True, all of this may seem too much to ask of the state. However, investment in the right to education should be treated like that in a solar panel: the initial costs are significant, but over time its benefits far outweigh those of many other available policy options for a sustainable future.

(By Soufia A. Siddiqi, Dawn-6, 09/11/2010)

THE contribution public school textbooks make to the production of narrow-minded elements, even if all of them do not become suicide bombers, has not received due attention. It is time this attitude was abandoned. 

Many civil society initiatives have exposed the atrocious contents of textbooks. But the revised integrated curriculum has only confirmed its authors’ inability to address the demands of a plural, democratic society. 

Commenting on the new textbooks for classes I to III in Punjab, a curriculum expert observed that their content was insufficient to enable a child to gain basic knowledge in any subject and that these textbooks were overloaded with religious and moralistic preaching and paid scanty attention to themes related to nation-building. Even a cursory perusal of textbooks for classes I to V in Punjab shows that these are full of poorly written religious essays and are apparently designed to keep children ignorant of their society and environment. 

For instance, Meri Kitab for class I declares that Punjab, Frontier, Sindh, Balochistan and Kashmir are parts of Pakistan. Is it fair to tell children that Pakistan includes Kashmir? The provinces are mentioned in textbooks for primary classes but the Punjabi, Sindhi, Pakhtun and Baloch people are nowhere recognised. In the textbook for class IV students are told of two poets who wrote in Punjabi — Mian Mohammad Bakhsh and Mian Waris Shah — and both are essentially religious figures. It is only in the Urdu book for class V that Sachal Sarmast is introduced as the founder of the Kafi tradition in the Sindhi language “while Punjabi is rich in Kafis, thanks to Hazrat Bulleh Shah”. Sachal also is basically a religious figure. The Punjab Textbook Board is not aware of any Pakhtun or Baloch poet or any other figure or does not consider it appropriate to mention them in Punjab schools. 

The Urdu book for class V allows students to look beyond Punjab — at Quetta and Ziarat. While the lesson on Ziarat does not disclose that this town is in Balochistan, in the description of Quetta a reference to Balochistan is unavoidable: “In respect of area, Balochistan is the largest province of our dear homeland Pakistan…. Many tribes live in this province. Its inhabitants speak, along with national language Urdu, Balochi, Brahvi and Pushto.” 

There is no discussion on Pakistan’s non-Muslim citizens in the book for primary classes. Meri Kitab for class II only says that Pakistan’s population includes non-Muslims. Then in the Urdu book for Class V, while describing ‘Our Punjab’, non-Muslims are mentioned: “the majority of people living in Punjab are Muslim. The people order their lives according to Islamic teachings. [Delusion is sweeter than ignorance.] Here, besides Muslims, the inhabitants also include non-Muslims.” 

In all stories in these textbooks the children are Muslim boys and girls. None of them meets a non-Muslim child. The textbooks for classes I to V contain 41 poems but Allama Iqbal’s beautiful poem, Child’s prayer, which is supposed to be recited at each school before the start of classes, comes last in the class V Urdu book, possibly because it refers to the poor and infirm. 

It is easy to see what kinds of half-truths and distorted facts are dinned into children’s ears. The attempt at converting and reconverting Muslim children to Islam, and putting each hero in religious clothes can induce boredom or worse reactions. Introduction to religious belief is one thing. An obsession with religiosity is far less creditable. Apart from undermining the purpose of education such exercises confuse impressionable minds and cause a huge waste of time, to use an expression favoured by great religious authorities such as Aurangzeb and Sir Syed. 

However, if the textbooks for the primary classes attract criticism for distorting reality or their preference for selective factualness, civic textbooks contain much mischief. At a recent seminar in Karachi, the material contained in the textbooks in Sindh was criticised for being outdated and distorted. The situation in Punjab is equally pathetic. Here, too, the books on civics prescribed for classes 9 to 12 are full of subjectively edited quotations from the Quaid. He is said to have described Pakistan as a ‘laboratory’ for testing religious principles. All these books are loaded with controversial interpretation of many themes, such as the Pakistan ideology, the Islamic state and the continued relevance of the two-nation theory. 

For instance: 

— Democracy and dictatorship have seven merits and eight demerits each. A merit of dictatorship is that under it “the whole nation is inspired by the will to progress and each citizen considers honest labour as his duty and therefore the pace of creativity and progress is fast”. Another merit of dictatorship is that “because of the absence of opposition political parties the people are rid of partisan politics and factionalism; the people’s solidarity and national unity are assured and this makes the country prosperous”. (Civics, Classes 9-10) 

— “One merit of Urdu language is that it upholds Islamic civilisation and culture: therefore, its promotion is one of our important obligations from the religious and national point of view, too.” (Ibid) 

— “Provincialism is a curse that undermines national unity. Some opportunist elements fan provincial and regional affiliations; we should eradicate such trends.” (Ibid) 

— The Khilafat movement is discussed over four pages in the textbook for class 12 but there is no reference to what the Quaid thought of it. 

— A demerit of the federal system: “Dictatorial attitude of the judiciary”… “the central government and the governments of the units often quarrel with one another and this, on the one hand, weakens the federation and, on the other, the judiciary, as the superior guardian of the constitution, gets an opportunity to intervene”. (Book for class 12) 

When a student reads that it is necessary to practically enforce the divinely ordained system in Pakistan so that the Islamic revolution prevails across the globe (book for classes 9-10), he might wonder as to what is wrong with the Taliban. More objectionable are omissions such as the absence of any reference to the havoc caused in Pakistan by authoritarian regimes and war-mongers. 

Quite a few educationists claim that a review of civics textbooks was undertaken in 2008 but that the government has been sitting on recommendations that would have replaced the present material with new and democratic concepts of citizenship. Similarly, there are allegations that the curriculum review decisions of 2004 and 2007 have not been fully or properly implemented. If true, these claims reveal a scandal of the first order. Delay in revising school textbooks to promote the values of pluralist and participatory democracy, inter-faith harmony and human rights will render the government liable to indictment for laying, unwittingly if not deliberately, the foundations of religious extremism.

(By I.A.Rehman, Dawn-7, 11/11/2010)

THE narratives of Pakistan’s flood experience are drawing to a close. According to the National Disaster Management Authority’s latest data (Oct 30), 1,984 people lost their lives in the deluge that swept across large tracts of the country. 

Nearly 1.7 million houses were damaged and 20.1 million people affected. Gradually, the displaced persons are returning to what were once their homes. If the long queues of wretched flood victims sitting by the roadside awaiting relief are gone and TV talk shows have reverted to the stuff that passes for politics in Pakistan, it doesn’t mean that life is back to normal. Some flood victims still remain in tent cities. Their presence is a powerful reminder of the inept ways of a government trying to cut corners. 

Those left behind comprise mainly victims whose homes and lands are still flooded, as in Dadu district. A network of roads built thoughtlessly at an elevated level have facilitated communication no doubt but at what cost? They have trapped the water in the plains and now people simply have to wait for the water to evaporate. 

Even those who have managed to return do not have much of a future to look forward too — at least right now. A lot of scepticism is being expressed. In a natural calamity the immediate need is to organise rescue operations and provide relief to the victims to ensure their survival. That phase has passed. What next? 

The NGOs and community-based organisations that did a lot in the first phase do not have the financial resources and manpower for the rehabilitation stage. There is also the trust deficit vis-à-vis the government that marks the public’s perception of how the emergency was managed. Thus the truth may never be known about the breaches that were made in the embankments of rivers ostensibly to save the barrages. Besides, there is a widespread impression that the government is not performing. 

Isn’t it time for the government to draw up reconstruction plans and start putting its act together? It is important that transparency is observed at every step. Every government department now has its website. A ‘flood rehabilitation’ section must be created where the goals and timeframe for rehabilitation activities are posted. Information about the implementation of the plan should be given on a daily basis so that interested parties can monitor the official performance. The need is to make the government accountable to the public. 

This approach may cause less discord and it would certainly reduce the blame game in the provinces if Islamabad distributes the resources for flood rehabilitation among them, allowing them the autonomy of decision-making on issues of local concern. The criteria to determine each province’s share of flood relief funds should be the extent of damage caused and the number of people affected. 

In other words this means that the precise extent of the damage should be posted on the website even before aid disbursement begins. What form should this take? The idea of doling out money is simply repugnant. It is not good for the self-esteem of people to make beggars out of them. The complaints against the Watan cards demonstrate that a strategy of distributing funds for reconstruction is inherently flawed in a country where corruption is rife. 

As an emergency response it is understandable to initially help people by providing them cash. But thereafter it is important to provide them the means to help themselves. From Nadra’s account it seems a million cards will be processed. Even if we assume that they will go to deserving cases it works out to one card for 20 people — will Rs1,000 per head suffice? 

If we do not want starvation to be the next crisis it is time the government thought about the food shortage that is inevitable. The tillers of land should be encouraged to grow vegetables on small plots. Some have received seeds from NGOs. Others should also be provided seeds. 

Since most small farmers do not own the land they cultivate, it is important that they be allowed to grow their food on the fringes of the land where the cultivation of wheat, sugarcane, rice or other cash crops takes place. 

It is time the big landowners allow this facility to their haris — it is their moral duty to do so. No landowner is known to have assumed total responsibility for the relief and rehabilitation of his farmers. It is time the landlords were asked to do so. Most important of all, the reconstruction of the infrastructure that is undertaken should be guided by some basic principles. First, no contractor should be hired. Second, all labour should be indigenous. Third, jobs should be created and the flood-affected people hired on a cash-for-work basis. 

The floods have opened a window of opportunity for change. The tent cities set up by well-established organisations that collected data have come out with some horrifying information. Literacy rates and school enrolment ratios are much lower than what the government claims. The fertility rate in these areas is very high. The status of women is shockingly dismal. 

Anecdotal evidence suggests that accessibility to schools and health facilities is virtually non-existent in many areas. Either these institutions are non-existent or if they do exist they are dysfunctional for various reasons. 

A number of flood-affected children have tasted the joys of schooling and adults have experienced the comforts of healthcare in the tent cities where they were housed. It will not be easy to push them back into the Stone Ages and expect them to submit to the indignities of a subhuman existence again. Discontent will rise and its target will be the oppressors of the suffering haris. 

If good sense prevails, it is time the cataclysmic flood prompted our rulers to do some long-term thinking on the unfair tenancy laws, the inequitable land ownership pattern and the unequal taxation principles that hurt the poor and benefit the rich. Will those who have suffered put up with this injustice indefinitely? 

(By Zubeida Mustafa, Dawn-7, 03/11/2010)

HISTORICALLY Pakistan has seen large volumes of foreign development aid. The Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. reports that in 2007 alone we received $2.2bn in official development assistance making us the world’s sixth largest recipient. 

Yet we continue to see energy and water crises, a sub-par education and health system and considerable deficiency in public safety nets. The question then is: where does the money go? It would be easy to pin the blame on a corrupt system. There is no doubt that the lack of accountability or transparency on the ground means that many development projects do not reach fruition. The issue though lies at both the local and agency levels. 

Examining the source of development aid in a given year, it is typical to find provision from several foreign governments along with various international non-governmental institutions. For example, between 2004 and 2009 Pakistan received grant assistance from as many as 21 countries and seven international agencies in a fiscal year, with the largest bilateral players being the US, the UK, China and Japan. This plethora of aid players creates inefficiencies due to duplication at the donor level while leaving the government with the overwhelming task of coordinating the many aid activities. 

Moreover, it translates into disjointed developmental work on the ground as well as erratic inflow of funds from one year to the next. This results in pockets of exceptional work when there is real need for a large-scale overhaul of public provision. A significant proportion of the aid, up to 39 per cent in some years, is in the form of loans that need to be repaid. The World Bank and IMF have been a major source of repayable development-related loans to Pakistan. While the funds provided by these agencies have been crucial for keeping our economy afloat, they have also come with a hefty price tag. Aside from adding to our mounting debt burden, IMF and World Bank loans have typically been accompanied by extensive structural adjustments. Strictly speaking, the adjustments are policy changes that need to be implemented in order to get new loans from these agencies and target fiscal imbalances. However, in practice Structural Adjustment Programmes have usually been generic free-market policies that are applied without considering the local institutional context. 

These programmes include internal and external changes in the form of privatisation, deregulation and reduced trade barriers. In theory such measures make sound economic sense since they are meant to increase efficiency as well as competitiveness in the global market. Particularly in the Pakistani case the structural and stabilisation adjustments of the 1988-91, 1993-96 and 1997-2000 periods saw policies that reduced subsidies and monetary spending and increased the sales tax to name a few. 

The reduction in development subsidies caused a hike in the price of fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural inputs. Although the government instituted an increase in the price of agricultural output in the same time frame, the net benefits to the small farmer were minimal at best. At the same time, an increase in the general sales tax hit the poor exceptionally hard while contractionary monetary policies reduced the availability of credit. It comes as no surprise then that the Economic Survey shows a sharp increase in inequality for the same time period. 

Since 2002 the IMF and the World Bank have replaced Structural Adjustment Programmes with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. These aim to increase the borrowing country’s involvement thereby transferring the burden of ownership to them. However, these strategy papers have been alarmingly similar to the original structural programmes. Moreover, the Bank and the IMF remain overly involved in the policymaking process thus perpetuating the cycle of dependency. The matter of ownership is fundamental to the failure of development aid in Pakistan. While the works being sponsored by bilateral and multilateral agencies have been integral in getting such efforts as those related to women’s empowerment and disaster management off the ground, these projects are sustainable only so far as their funding agencies remain interested. If we hope to see systematic change then local players must take centre stage in Pakistan’s developmental work. The problem is that throughout our history the largest player, the government, has shown a regrettable lack of foresight with regard to the importance of a well-fed, healthy and literate population. Rather, the defence budget and interest payments on our loans have taken precedence. 

While lobby groups such as those for the sugarcane industry have been able to prevent reductions in subsidies for their product, the same has not held true for those interested in increasing or even maintaining the development budget. This is largely due to the impossibility of coordinating the millions of concerned citizens who do not want to see spending on education and health curtailed. Thus, we find that Pakistan’s development budget has seen continual cuts with the 2010-11 budget allocation for education at a mere two per cent of GDP. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of aid provision to Pakistan is the link between the region’s geopolitical conditions and the flow of grants. 

During the Soviet war in Afghanistan we witnessed a steady stream of aid funds. The end of the war resulted in a steady decline of grants with a minimum being achieved in 1998, the year of the nuclear tests. Since 2001, however, there has been a systematic increase. The link between aid and regional military activity has had a profound and adverse effect on the planning and spending practices of the government. 

Pakistan’s strategic geopolitical location has fostered a culture of dependence on foreign aid. Today the typical mentality at the federal level is that the international community cannot afford to allow our economy to sink as that would severely compromise its strategy for the region. Thus, rather than developing and following through on a long-term plan for investment in human capital, infrastructure and industry and hence sustainable economic growth, we wait for a bailout and rely on short-gap measures to carry us from one crisis to the next.

(By Hadia Majid, Daily Friday, 12/11/2010)

Even though six decades have passed since the creation of an independent homeland, a significant proportion of Pakistanis do not own their home. This article will focus on the issue of inadequate housing which has led to the mushrooming of katchi abadis in major cities of Pakistan. Such settlements are an informal market response to the failure of official planning. The genesis of katchi abadis goes back to the influx of Partition migrants who settled into camp settlements in cities. Resettlement delays led these camps to grow and slowly take the form of katchi abadis. They began to attract labourers migrating from other areas within Pakistan, as well as impoverished refugees pouring in from Afghanistan since the 1980s.

Two years ago, the World Bank estimated that around half the Pakistani urban population lives in katchi abadis, many of which lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation, regular electricity supply and paved roads. Initially, government officials tried demolishing these settlements, many of which had encroached on prime land. However, these attempts failed because squatter settlements were being built with the connivance of the land mafia, backed by political groups, and with the tacit approval or facilitation of members of law-enforcement agencies. As these settlements grew, the government realised that regularisation instead of resettlement would be a more effective option.

The proportion of katchi abadis that have been regularised is a very small fraction of the overall number of such settlements. Homes of residents in these non-regularised abadis remain under constant threat of demolition, leaving the poor and desperate families who live in them with the fear that they could lose their dwelling at any time. The All-Pakistan Alliance for Katchi Abadis is a modest attempt to mobilise katchi abadi communities to struggle for their rights instead of falling prey to political manipulation or extortion by land mafias. The Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi is a good example of a poor local community improving its living conditions on a self-help basis. However, these efforts need to scale up significantly to make a discernable impact. Our NGOs should learn from the work of Asha, an organisation doing excellent work for slum-dwellers in New Delhi. It works with almost 400,000 people in Delhi’s slums. However, even if our NGOs become similarly proactive, the government will still need to show more political will to solve the problem of poor urban residents; especially since the recent flood and conflicts in the northern areas have increased the pace of rural influx into our major cities.

(By Syed Mohammad Ali, DailyTribune, 22/10/2010)