Judgmental Approach

What I see is that most of the problems in our society come from judgmental approach that we have. This is a very common practice in our society that we judge everything and make our mind accordingly. What I feel is that if you want to get to a conclusion, you have to have detailed and in depth knowledge of the problem, supporting facts, figures, statistics and background situation otherwise you can not make a conclusion and always you will end up in a biased approach that will not only make the problem more intense but mislead you. We get confused with decision making and judgmental approach quite often. There is a way difference in these two approaches as decision making is a very desired function at every level right from individuals to organizational and country's level but when we become judgmental on limited information, it creates fuss. If we, at individual level start thinking in more details of every problem that we come across, we will find ourselves in a better position to take decisions that will not only benefit at that point but also in times to come.

Teenage girl flogged by Taliban in Swat

The video, lasting for about two-minutes, was shot using a mobile phone, and shows a burka-clad female, held by two men, while another man repeatedly whips her.

While being flogged, the 17-year-old girl begged the men to stop. 'For God's sake, stop it ... hang on, hang on,' the girl cries as the man beats her across the buttocks. A militant commander off-camera can be heard giving orders as the girl squirms and whimpers under the blows:

'Hold her feet tightly, hold her hands tightly.'After 34 lashes the men stop and the girl is led into a building by them.

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed responsibility for the flogging, Guardian said. The girl was punished for having committed adultery, Guardian quoted Muslim Khan as saying. He also defended the Taliban's right to thrash women shoppers who were improperly dressed.

Samar Minallah, a Pashtun documentary maker and anthropologist, interviewed by the Guardian, said the video was being passed between Swat residents through mobile phones.

'It was distributed deliberately by the militants to harass residents and make the point that they can keep on doing what they like,' Minallah said.

Residents condemned the beating.

'It's inhuman. If that's their Islam, sorry to say but I don't want it,' said shopkeeper Abdul Kabir.

Mechanic Nasir Khan said the authorities should do something: 'Why aren't they taking action against those who did it? It's criminal silence.'

Minallah said the punishment had been inflicted within the last 10 days, following the signing of a peace deal under which the provincial government ceded control of the valley to the Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM).

Local sources, many of whom requested anonymity, confirmed the video was recent, however estimates of its timing varied between one and three weeks ago. Muslim Khan said it predated the peace deal.

The female in the video, named as Chaand and aged 17, was flogged in Matta, 25 miles from Swat’s regional capital Mingora, the Guardian report said.

Sources said the girl was punished for allegedly having an illicit relationship with a married man. The girl did not receive a trial. ‘The whole case is based on the suspicions of one neighbour,’ Guardian quoted Minallah as saying.

The girl’s brother is among the men pinning her down, Minallah added.

The leader of Pakistan's main Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, played down the incident.

'It's a small thing. We should talk about drone attacks, not minor things,' said Munawar Hassan, referring to attacks on suspected militants by pilotless US aircraft that have angered many Pakistanis.

Yeh Watan Tumhara Hai

Ye Watan Tumhara Hai
Ye watan tumhara hai,
Tum ho pasban is ke,
Ye chaman tumhara hai,
Tum ho naghma-khuaaN is ke.

Ye watan tumhara hai,
Tum ho pasban is ke.

Iss chaman ke phoolon par,
Rang -o- aab tum se hai,
Iss zameen ka har zarrra,
Aftab tum se hai,

Ye fiza tumharee hai,
behr-o-bar tumharey hain,
kehkeshan ke ye jaley,
rehguzar tumharey hain.

ye watan tumhara hai,
tum ho pasban is ke.

Iss zameen kee mitti main,
khoon hai shaheedon ka,
arz-e-pak markaz hai,
qaum kee umeedon ka,
nazam-o-zabt ko apna,
meer-e- karwan jano,
waqt ke andhron mein,
apna aap pehchanno.

ye watan tumhara hai,
tum ho pasban is ke.

ye zameen muqaddas hai,
maan ke pyar kee soorat,
iss chaman mein tum sab ho,
barg-o-bar kee soorat,
dekhna gawana mut,
dolat-e-yaqeen logon,
ye watan amanat hai,
aur tum ameN logon.

ye watan tumhara hai,
tum ho pasban is ke.

meer-e-karwan ham thay,
rooh-e-karwan tum ho,
ham to sirf unwaN thay,
asl dastan tum ho,
nafraton ke darwazey
khud pe band hee rakhna,
iss watan ke parcham ko,
sar baland hee rakhna,

ye watan tumhara hai,
tum ho pasban is ke
ye chaman tumhara hai,
tum ho naghma-khwan is ke

PIA - Brand of the Year 2008

AREN’T we living in interesting times? The Pakistan International Airlines, the sole national flag carrier which because of its mismanagement has suffered a colossal loss of Rs32 billion in the last 10 years while in the first three months of the current year has lost Rs3,954 million, has been awarded ‘Brand of the Year 2008’.

The award was conferred by the prime minister on Nov 30 at a ceremony held on behalf of the Brands Award Council and was received by Capt Mohammad Aijaz Haroon, managing director of the national carrier, as reported in Dawn’s advertisement supplement of ‘Brand of the Year Award’ (Dec 8).

The ‘Brand of the Year Award’ has been organised by a Brands Award Council of Pakistan (BCP) in collaboration with the Brands Bureau International Ltd, UK, and the first awards were distributed in the year 2007.

The selection criteria for nomination are: a) Company profile, b) Current Year Brand Market Standing and c) Nationwide Consumer Survey. Of course there is no free lunch as the aspiring company has to pay Rs35,000 as fee and subsequently Rs65,000 (net of all taxes) through cheque in favour of ‘The Exhibitor (Pvt) Ltd’, which organises the whole show, just to find place of its ‘success story’ in the brands year book.

The condition for prequalification is prior registration along with submission of complete company profile, which is to be reviewed by the BCP according to the selection criteria which will be forwarded to the Brands University for Focus Group and Survey.

This organization, in collaboration with Brands Bureau International, London, will then conduct a nationwide consumer survey to determine current market standing of the brands and their popularity amongst the consumers. The report prepared on the basis of the survey shall then be handed over to the Brands Awards Council which will congratulate the successful candidates for achieving the ‘The Most Acclaimed Brands of Pakistan’.

At least from a consumer satisfaction point of view no company in Pakistan, barring some exceptions (if there are any), can satisfy the ‘Nationwide Consumer Survey’ if the assessment is conducted transparently.

Here, because of the nonavailability of effective consumer protection societies and proper regulatory systems, the companies find themselves at liberty to make as much profit as they can without maintaining even the required health standards; they feel hardly any moral and ethical duty in providing standard goods to the people.

The resistance of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association towards installing equipment to purify sugar, as referred to by Badar Jatoi in his letter, “Pakistan’s standard enforced on sugar quality” (Nov 26 and Dec 7), is a case in point.

Similarly, the BCP’s selection of an organisation like PIA on the basis of ‘quality’, ‘familiarity’, ‘affordability’, ‘availability’ and ‘brand market standing’ as the best airline leaves much to be desired. How the loss-incurring airline that has lost its most lucrative European market recently for not maintaining aviation standards can turn out to be the best in 2008 is quite baffling. Besides, adverse reports published sporadically through the Letters to the Editor coloumn about poor consumer services is an everyday affair.

I think it is time we accepted our failures instead of living in cocoons by saying that “the winning of this award is a proud reflection of PIA’s popularity”.

This is the only recipe to put an end to self-delusions so that right decisions can be taken to come out of the serious and multiple predicaments the organisation is suffering from.

The ‘Brands of the Year Award’ group, claiming to be associated with a UK-based organisation, having registered with the Chamber of Commerce, Stock Market, IPO Pakistan and, above all, the organisation like the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority can only prove its worth and credibility if it selects those businesses/companies which are providing best quality services to the people of Pakistan.

Picked from Letters to the Editor, Daily Dawn (Monday, December 15, 2008)

ALTAF HUSSAIN QURESHI

Hyderabad

Man kills wife on suspicion

This is a news in today's (Monday, December 15, 2008) Dawn that a man killed his wife on suspicion. He with the help of three brothers killed his wife with a TT pistol. Taking someone's life is that easy for some people. I would just end it by asking myself that "Are women human and worth respecting or a tool to be used to escape himself when taking revenge"

Human Rights

On December 10, entire world celebrated Human Rights Day with a commitment to ensure the human rights for all the people living on this earth. Campaigns were launched and speeches were made. I am curious to know about the percentage of people who have ever read about their rights or about general human rights. We live in society where we interact with people, create relations, develop expectations and justify our acts. Do we have some standards. Everybody has his own interpretation of laws, religious orders, norms, values and customs. Do we at some point consider that we need to know what are the expectations from us...what is the common interest of society and people. I believe that we all should think seriously to bring a change from within. Lets see what are the rights that UN has in its charter. This is a brief document and detailed document can be seen on UN website.

Intersex people - An object of ridicule

Ever wonder why don't we find any columns or rights for third gender “intersex” for the people having both male and female sexual characteristics and organs. These intersex people are humans just like us with all the feelings, sentiments, relations and belongings but the treatment of people with this gender is so very disappointing that they can not even take education with others and same is with their professions. We leave them alone to beg on signals and roads or to get involved in weird sexual activities. Intersex people get their gender by birth and should be treated equally but reality tells another story.
In Pakistan these intersex people have virtually no right and due to the pathetic and narrow-minded social taboos, we even refuse to recognize this problem. Moreover, these intersex people are an object of ridicule, fun, derogation, and they are merely used and abused by the people for their warped sexual fantasies. As intersex people are not entertained anywhere in education, jobs or welfare, they resort to prostitution and crimes for their survival.
To address this issue, Government of Pakistan should take serious steps by not only allocating quota for them but also giving them all the due rights as humans. What we need to do is to change our attitude towards them and accept them like others. They should not be not left as inactive part and should be respected as civilians. In this technologically advanced era, we are still living with stone age approaches. Lets try to see this issue with a different eye.