TMagazine - 21 Marc 2021

SUNDAY March 21, 2021

EDUCATION

ART & LITERATURE

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500

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All we can recall from our childhood is fights between gangs — Muhammad Faheem

or more individuals have been executed by Pakistan since 2014

How can someone with 16 years of education be equal to one with 18 years? — A PhD student

Cultural and related industries were never taken seriously on a strategic level — Talat Masood

CULTURE & SOCIETY

Story by: Rafay Mahmood

The media phenomenon that is Dirilis: Ertugrul has kicked up a fascination with the Ottomans and ancient tribal life in Pakistan. Its transnational appeal owes as much to the history of its genre as it does to an attempt to ‘refashion’ history

W

hat makes something a media phenomenon?

Pop cultural manias come and go, and for now, a certain Turkish serial has a significant number of Pakistanis enthralled. So much so that it has some of our own media producers up in arms about ‘neo-Ottoman cultural imperialism’. What explains the fascination ‘Dirilis: Ertugrul’ has garnered among Pakistani television viewers? Can it be replicated?

To be honest with you, I myself started watching the show in hopes to find material to pick on friends and relatives who all of a sudden seem to have found ‘Turkish roots’. As I followed the show, and witnessed the missionary in my kin grow like creepers on an empty wall, the link between Qarol Bagh in old Delhi and pre-Ottoman Turkish tribes became less of a mystery than what makes perfectly rational people draw that implausible connection.

The last time my family had so wholeheartedly agreed on something was on Imran Khan as their supreme leader and that Ayeza Khan deserved that slap from Savera Nadeem in Mere Paas Tum Ho.

Early Egyptian cinema favoured a romanticised version of Bedouin life and culture as a backdrop for tales of love and adventure More than meets the eye It may sound unfair when I say it, but if you take a closer look at any Pakistani drama serial, you will realise it actually does have a lot in common with Ertugrul than not. Like the Turkish export, our own home-grown TV fiction formula revolves around the protagonist of an ‘ideal man’ with a moral compass. Like the onscreen avatars of Turkey’s historical ‘heroes’, he too is vexed by the women he interacts with.

Speaking of the women, they usually find themselves pitted against each other for one reason or another as well, and all this hullabaloo does is distract the ideal male hero from leveraging his ‘morality’ into doing what is best in everyone’s interests. Throw in bits of infidelity, now also on the behest of conniving men such as Adnan Siddiqui’s character in

up their imagined target Mere Paas Tum Ho and you audience. will have the formula for a In some ways, the surefire ratings flex. women of Ertugrul are Every other drama on the no different than their Pakistani telly uses and often onscreen counterparts abuses similar narrative in Pakistan. They too are tropes to mine the ‘house assigned similar feminine wife’ who watches the tropes of tenderness and chronic 8 pm serial for TRPs. gossip but they display Subtract the swords and the Anthropologist Laila Prager those characteristics while horses, and you get an idea sporting a dagger by their of how the Turkish show’s acceptance across Pakistan’s intersection has very little to do side or overseeing a handicraft business in addition to with Prime Minister Imran’s endorsement and a lot more with the cooking responsibilities. As veteran actor Sania Saeed the sheer brilliance of the cathartic experience it guarantees, puts it, “The women in Ertugrul are industrious, working season after season. I myself am convinced it is actually a good women. They move freely in their tribes, lead them and run the economy. They are physically strong, which means watch. their bodies were not limited and are free. They feel safe in A question of feminine agency their environment.”

Take for example the hot-favourtite and often policed You may wonder if Pakistani soaps and Ertugrul are so similar, then why is the foreign product creating such a Esra Belgic’s character of Halime Hatun who chooses the sensation in our country’s mediascape. Alternately, you may beloved over her throne only to become an integral part jump to the conclusion that the Turkish series is successful of the Kayi decision-making process while staying true to here for the same reason some of our own serials, like Mere her ‘soft’ and delicate, feminine composure. While the naysayers might take this to be a smart way of covering Paas Tum Ho and Humsafar were a hit at home.

But there is a difference between what is popular on deep-rooted regression with superficial agency, you then television and what is ‘great television’, and some of those see the roles switch drastically when Aslihan Hatun agrees differences could be where we can trace the appeal for to marry on the condition of that will not abandon the Ertugrul. Our soap operas and movies, save for a scant few leadership of her tribe. exceptions, can be divided into two categories: there are those prey on and reinforce widely held stereotypes, and From tribal life to TV sets there are those that subvert for the sake of subversion to We can go and on about the women who play an important role appear ‘creative’. An example of the latter would be a show in our Turkish ideal but it will be a disservice to the masterpiece where the woman, not the man, is accused of cheating. and TV studies at large to reduce the brilliance of the show to Another would be a show that attempts to show the ‘other just the portrayal of women. The show, quite incredibly merges side’ of the picture because the #MeToo movement has religious history and mythology with formulaic storytelling to started to gain some traction. create a thoroughly engaging soap opera; something that the A few years back, Vasay Chaudhry spoke about this ‘chaotic local audiences and to an extent producers welcomed like a creativity’ with The Express Tribune. “The peak of creativity breakthrough in televisual storytelling, but the Arab TV world in Pakistani drama is to show the woman as a tawaif always knew as ‘musalsal badawi’ or Bedouin soap opera. (courtesan),” he commented at the time. While it would be In the simplest of words, Bedouin soap opera can be wrong the buy into the industry stereotype that the ‘women explained as native tribal wisdom meets ‘kahani ghar ghar of the household’ control television sets and that they are‘only ki’. This does not just refer specifically to the long-running interested in formulaic drama serials’, women do make for a Indian soap, but to the literal sense of the term – the story of huge chunk of Pakistani viewership. Our creative industry every household. professionals, as such, craft female characters in manner The genre is often traced back to early Egyptian cinema, they conceive of as ‘palatable’ to the stereotype that makes which was developed by a cohort of locals who returned

Bedouin soap operas were more concerned with the articulation of differential tribal identities

to the country after receiving an education abroad. This group of expatriate Egyptians would make movies that were inspired by Western conventions but still revolved around local culture. By the 1970s, the genre would be picked up by television producers in Jordan and undergo a metamorphosis of sorts.

Early Egyptian cinema favoured presenting a romanticised and fictionalised version of Bedouin life and culture as a backdrop for tales of love and adventure. Interestingly, they aided the proliferation of certain stereotypes about Arabs and the Middle East, such as belly dancers. In Jordan, as anthropologist Laila Prager writes,“The musalsalãt (Bedouin soap operas) in the long run were more concerned with the articulation of differential tribal identities, genealogies, and histories, though the initial Jordanian variants were not yet accentuating tribal segmentations but promoting the image that the Bedouins constituted the true autochthones of the Jordanian nation-state.” Prager’s framework looks at important issues such as authenticity, memory, tribal memory and an overall romance with one’s glorious past in the context of the Arab media ecology.

Deconstruction of Ertugrul as a Bedouin soap helps us understand our audience as part of a larger set that shares affinity for Islamic ideals Her brilliant work gives us enough foundation to base Ertugrul Ghazi as a contemporary example of the genre and how effectively the show has not only been able to penetrate global media industries but also managed a transnational flow of ideas such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Jihad and other neo-Ottoman ideals, to Muslim countries such as Pakistan. The deconstruction of Ertugrul as a Bedouin soap also helps us understand the Pakistani household not just as a case study for the Pakistani society but a part of a larger subset of audiences that share a common affinity for not just Islamic ideals, but also a shared yearning for the ‘glorious golden age’ of Islam.

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COVER STORY

Liberal ethos in tribal life A question that may pop in our minds is that would a Bedouin show perhaps have picked up in Pakistan had it not been for the religious overtones and the valour Ertugrul displays for the cause of the Islamic Kingdom? Is the audience really just composed of ‘empty vessels’ who choose to consume pre-digested accounts of ‘history’ or do they choose to ignore the accuracy of the content if it is in line with the dominant ideology? Is there room for a successful Pakistani Bedouin soap opera now that Ertugrul has set the tone?

Playwright Zafar Mairaj who hails from Balochistan and has written extensively about the Bedouin tribes of the region feels mainstreaming the essence of our Bedouin culture would be too hard to digest for mainstream media. “The Bedouin culture is way too liberal for your producers and audience to digest,” Mairaj tells The Express Tribune. “Apart from being very liberal and egalitarian, the essence of Bedouin culture lies in religion being an individual matter. You are individually answerable to the God under whose sky you survive each day and help each other.”

Mairaj feels Ertugrul has been so successful in Pakistan because it portrays a very clearly cut-out sense of religiosity and eventually relies on the sword to achieve those means. “Religion is hardly a concern among the Bedouin, so much so that the notion of pardah in our Bedouin tribes is about the man not looking at the breastfeeding mother instead of her covering her body,” says Mairaj. “It’s very equal, it’s very inclusive and I doubt any Pakistani channel head is even aware of this mannerism, let aside the intricacies of it.”

Back in the PTV days, Mairaj recalls the structure was such that there was at least a crossregional conversation going among the content producers working within the so many stations that would usually produce region-specific programming. “I wouldn’t say that diversity has been killed due to a consorted effort by the state. I think it has been eliminated by illiterate and unaware people deciding what people want to see and what they don’t want to see,” he reiterates.

Ertugrul is an extension of the genre that picked up in Turkey in 2003, with shows such as Valley of the Wolves and Century that gave a disclaimer for similar inaccuracies as Ertugrul. “The people and institutions in our programme’s account of events from this dark, clouded Turkish valley are entirely a work of fiction,” was the text that included before the beginning of every episode. On the contrary, “In the case of Ertugrul, however, the message is what might more properly be called a claimer. “Between the title credits and the first scene of each episode, the following text appears on the screen: ‘The source of inspiration for the story and characters in this series is our history,’” Carney writes. “Here, history simply ‘is’ the source and, notably, this is not some impersonal history but, rather, ‘ours’.”

Tapping the zeitgeist In his paper, Carney suggests that the growing Ertugrul obsession in Turkey and abroad could

Bedouin culture is way too liberal for your audience to digest. Its essence lies in religion being an individual matter Playwright Zafar Mairaj have a direct connection with contemporary political developments. He suggests a relation with the “broader rise of authoritarian, nationalist, and reactionary politics across the globe: The resurrection of a style of leadership that many had hoped to leave safely buried in the past.”

According to Carney, where Century’s presented Islam as an important social current of the time it portrays, in Ertugrul, Islam is the “underlying logic that foreordains the success of the Ottoman line.”

“This underlying logic is not merely prospective, anticipating a future in which the Ottomans will lead one of the most formidable empires in history; it is also retrospective, hailing a mythical past that suggests noble lineage,” he adds.

This, Carney suggests, is fundamental to the show’s success in history. “TRT’s rendition of Ertugrul’s story is unimpeachably glorious precisely because there is no historical basis for critique,” he says. “When compared to Century, weaker history

Historical re-creation, at least in Ertugrul’s case, could be seen as a ‘performative attempt’ to reproduce aspects of an idealised past makes for far stronger claims.”

The researcher further suggests that re-creation, at least in Ertugrul’s case, could be seen as a ‘performative attempt’ to reproduce aspects of an idealised past’.

“This approach foregrounds ‘Truth,’ ownership of the past, and the kinds of identity claims based upon such ideals.”

However, Bedouin tribes of Pakistan, some of which have graduated to the rural and semi-urban settlements over the decades, is a rich source of stories and learning that must continue to be tapped, says Mairaj. “You know the issue is that the producer of today is so basic and unrefined that most of them aren’t even aware that such tribes still exist in Pakistan.

And if they do, they end up confusing feudalism with tribalism, and somewhere in there the story of a Bedouin tribe is getting rotten.”

‘True history’ and cultural monoliths

The blindspot of history Having said that one cannot disregard historical accounts while producing or studying historical fiction of any kind. While Dirilis: Ertugrul’s craft as a piece of storytelling that picks up phenomenally after a rather redundant second season deserves all the applause, historians however are not able to narrow down Ertugrul as a religious leader. All they are aware of is an individual by this name fought many wars and may or may not have been central to the pre-Ottoman Muslim conquest.

“Ertugrul sidestepped such pitfalls by selecting a hero and an era with very little documentation. In fact, no historical records from Ertugrul’s lifetime note his existence, and his most important feat, fathering Osman [of the Ottoman Empire], is attested only by a single coin from the latter’s reign. It is not until the generation of Osman’s successor, Orhan that reliable documents begin to emerge, and these are sparse,” writes Josh Carney in the 2019 edition of The Middle Eastern Critique.

Debates continue to surround the life and times of Osman I himself, even though historians know comparatively more about him. His name itself is the subject of some of these debates, with certain historians arguing that his name was either based on the Turkish title Ataman, used to denote a leader of a roving band. Indeed, there is the possibility that his name was originally something else entirely, and that either he or his descendants refashioned his title into the Arabic Osman as they integrated further into the Islamic world.

While the Bedouin Soap opera is the most apt way of understanding the narrative aesthetic behind the execution of Ertugrul, Carney points out that the Turkish soap under discussion is also the first of its kind to endorse the historical inaccuracy as a historical account of sorts. He mentions in his paper that the

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MARCH 21, 2021

While what Carney suggests can also help demystify Pakistan’s Ertugrul mania – or the wider fascination with media representations of Islamic history – there is another factor that The Express Tribune

Debates continue to surround the life and times of Osman I himself. Even his name could be a refashioning of the Turkish title of Ataman

discussed in an earlier piece as well.

For the vast majority of people with little more than a passing interest in how historical research is conducted, there is a yearning for ‘facts’ and ‘true history’. That approach is reinforced in how pop culture presents history through bestselling books and documentaries, as well as fiction.

In most cases, a certain version is presented as ‘definitive’.

The same definitiveness is something many of us seek in terms of culture. In trying to identify ‘us’ and ‘them’, we unconsciously fixate on sameness and consistency. Hence the arguments many of us no doubt hear and engage in about ‘our culture’.

This process is amplified by the very nature of nation building. States need stories and creation myths, and while these may or may not have a strong foundation in real events, the narrative is less concerned with accuracy and more with justifying its own existence.

As a political identity, Pakistani is a relatively young one. While the history of our land is ancient, there have been at most five generations of people who could identify themselves as ‘Pakistani’. What is more is that only starting with the millennial generation are Pakistanis growing up with no concept of being anything other than Pakistani.

All cultures and communities have a need for tracing their lineage. For most young Pakistanis, a lack of emphasis on our actual history creates an impetus to latch onto alternate regional narratives.

Photos: File

CULTURE & SOCIETY

A house of love, a sanctuary for peace Five residents of the once violence-filled neighbourhood of Lyari band together to revive culture and promote positivity amongst the youth

A YUSRA SALIM & SHEHARYAR ALI KARACHI

They grew up in the narrow streets of Lyari. They witnessed first hand the violence that once marked that side of Karachi. From friends and neighbours rushing to join militant factions, to watching people be gunned down in broad daylight, they had every reason to chose a welltrodden path paved with blood.

And yet, five young minds from one of the oldest parts of the city chose a vastly different path. Instead of letting the violence that marked much of their life define them, Muhammad Faheem, Saqib Haroon, Sarfraz Hussain, Zohair Ali Bhouy, and Parveen Naz have instead chosen to create a safe space in Lyari.

Driving over the Chakiwara road when you cross the zonal office, the old building constructed in 1948 Habibia building is the one you have to visit if you want to see Lyari’s own T2F called ‘Mehr Ghar’ (which means a house of love).

Naz, who is the founder of this group, came up with the idea of the enterprise, MehrDar Art and Production’ (MAD). Founded 10 years ago to promote documentary, film making, photojournalism and community build up to come out of the terror which Lyari and its youngsters has faced.

“We started the enterprise to engage youth who went through trauma and have experienced violence in their daily lives,” explained Naz. “After the establishment of MAD, we felt that we needed to provide the youngsters with a safe space to gather and enhance their skills.”

The main idea behind establishing Mehr Ghar is to polish the capabilities of youngsters and as the area, which houses a population of 2.2 million people lost community centres to violence. “There are several community centers named under different communities but none of them are open for youth to learn something but are only used for two purposes: one is marriage ceremonies and other for funerals and that too is not free of cost,” shared Faheem, who is a co-founder, adding that though it took them three months to build and renovate the space, the struggle itself spanned over ten years.

Out of the 2.2 million population, 1.3 million are youngsters and after all the damage done to their youth and neighbourhood, the government hasn’t done anything to help them. “When we started our social work, we knew there was an absence of a place where we could gather different communities under one roof,” he said.

He went onto add that before the operation in Lyari, the area did comprise such community halls where regardless of any difference, people would engage with each other. The main reason behind these centres was to create harmony between different ethnicities and faith however, since most of these centres had eventually been occupied by gangs or turned into religious seminaries, these centres were shut down during the crackdown.

To make the space more vibrant, the first wall you see after entering is painted with all the monuments of Lyari

will branch out into something similar in the future,” shared Naz attired in.

Lyari has many community centres but each of them is affiliated with a specific community. Sharing the namesm Naz kept on going from Muslim Azad, Katchi baradari, Anjuman-e-Balochan and so on but their idea was to establish a space where noone has to worry about which caste, colour, religion or language he or she is coming from. “Our doors won’t be closed just because he or she does not same language as ours,” she said.

The centre is a 2,400 sq ft area with a co-working space, library, media room, event and community hall as well as a café. “This place was in shambles when we first came here. It took us so much thought and hard work to convert it into what it looks right now,” said Faheem, who is a documentary filmmaker and a father of two, “The total cost to renovate this place and turn it into a safe space is Rs1.3 million, which all the founding members and other similar minds invested with our savings and the prizes that we won from different competitions.”

I had all the reasons to join the fascinating militancy, and I was almost there but then deep down in my heart, I knew this was the wrong path Saqib Haroon The space was given by the owner of the building, which houses 42 families inside. Mehr Ghar is at the ground floor inside the premises of this building, “The actual rent of this place is around Rs 125,000 a month but the owner really liked our efforts and the work we are doing and he wanted to help us in building a space like this so he has given us the place in just Rs25,000 a month and while the place was being renovated, he didn’t even charge us the rent,” said Faheem.

To make the space more vibrant and give it a Lyari touch, the first wall which you see after entering from the huge door is painted by artist Tehmina Makonjia with all the monuments of Lyari including, Cheel Chowk, Lee Market Tower and Kashti Masjid – all monuments that were plastered across on tv screens by the media while breaking terror-related stories of the area. The wall that is directly opposite is painted with calligraphy by a local of Lyari named Rashid Ali. Different words are hidden in this wall and a game or an activity to find the concealed words would later be designed for the visitors.

Mehr Ghar not only provides a physical space but has ensured an internet connection as well as a 24-hour generator-backed electricity supply to ensure an airconditioned environment for the café for those who come to the case to work long, hectic hours on their thesis and need to stay awake. Commenting on the future and sustainability of the project, Faheem said that they are not worried about the financial loss. “Our motive was to make such spaces in the society and that is what we want to achieve. Loss of acceptance is greater than financial loss,” he said.

The basic idea until now which the team shares to sustain is that they will provide memberships to students or people who are regular visitors to use the space and facilities to maintain the space and manage bills. While still not finalised, the membership cost will most likely be between Rs5,000 to 8,000 a month.

Women empowerment The only cinema in the neighborhood, Crown Cinema, was also closed following the daily firing and killings in the area. The artists had nowhere to perform and show case their talents. “To keep reviving our neibourhood, we have decided that in next five years we will make at least two more Mehr Ghars,” said Faheem.

Also, to encourage youth from other parts of the city which have similar stories as Lyari, like Ibrahim Hyderi, Baldia, Sultanabad, Shireen Jinnah colony, Korangi and many others, they have asked members of those neibourhoods to join their cause and start building up such spaces to reclaim their areas and invest in talent.

Walking inside the huge gate of the old heritage building, the 18-feet high ceilings and turquoise-colored gate immediately grab your attention. Stepping inside, the mural-painted red brick walls, the contemporary art hangings one, colourful chairs and piles and piles of books inside, completes the aura of this intellectual safehouse which is due to open its doors on March 20th.

Naz, sitting across from in a maroon Balochi dress, explains that the idea of this name ‘Mehr Ghar’ comes from Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy of Shantiniketan, which was a school that offered unconventional ways of learning. “Our concept isn’t the same but we

Photos: Yusra Salim/Sheharyar Ali

With Lyari being an ethnically diverse neighborhood, it also possesses gender diversity which was affected with the rise of violence in Lyari. Talking about how the community centre will help access of women in the community, Naz commented that women are now restricted to their homes and are only seen at either weddings or funeral. “Women are more impactful in eliminating the divide in different communities, hatred is always at the minimum amongst the women thus young women coming here will create great impact,” she added.

Naz who is a social worker herself added that during lockdown, men after losing their jobs regretted not allowing the women in their family to work, otherwise their financial conditions would have been much better.

“After this realisation many have already approached us to learn stitching or to study different subjects so that they can at least teach in schools and earn their bread and butter,” said Naz who taught in the same school she has studied in, in order to give back to the community she has taken from.

To help build a stronger network among women, Saqib Haroon shared how they have taken all the stakeholders into confidence for this purpose. “We are operating inside a family building, this will encourage women to come and see what we are doing and they can also enhance their skills which will eventually help them in

learning new things and feel empowered,” he explained.

The road of trauma that lead to Mehr Ghar Each soul and family have lost something or the other during the times that Lyari faced violence, sitting in the safe space each face had a sad notion when they try to remember why they are here together and what made them all decide that a place like Mehr Ghar is the need of the time.

The rise of militancy and the subsequent operation by law enforcement agencies made Lyari safer from militancy but it fractured it along the way and left permanent scars upon the memory of its residents. SarFaraz Hussain recalls how his friends from other parts of the cities stopped coming to see them, how they were denied jobs which actually created great frustration among the youth and the militancy then attracted them. Young men aged between 14 and 25 became parts of the gangs, parents of their friends were afraid and never let them meet, friendships ended and youth in Lyari had nowhere to go. “Stadiums, playing grounds, community centres, everything was taken away from us, we had nowhere to play cricket or sit around the corners of the street to talk to friends,” he said heavy heartedly.

“I had all the reasons to join the fascinating militancy, and I was almost there but then deep down in my heart, I knew this was the wrong path,” shared Saqib Haroon.

He mentioned that his mother was a house maid while his father was a drug addict but with his mother’s financial support he continued his studies, became a hawker and even sold biryani but never gave a thought about militancy.

With teary eyes, he shared, “I used to in live in UC-12, my house was just behind Uzair Baloch’s home.

I was denied various jobs in various banks despite being competent and having an in MBA degree just because of the address on my CNIC was of Lyari.”

All Haroon went through made him so disheartened that he tried committing suicide three times because the trauma and violence which he has seen still haunts him and he doesn’t like to recall what he has gone through.

The colourful and artistic surroundings of this newly built Mehr Ghar suddenly turned black and white as Haroon recalls bloodshed memories of his teenage days.

Sitting in front of the wall that depics all the past violence and terror of Lyari, Haroon says, “All we have is present and the future, while the past haunts us.”

“Chauda, pandara…” Haroon Fumbles but collects himself and continues to narrate the story: “Chauda Pandra saal key do larkey merey ghar k paas marey huey parhe they, sar me goli lagi thi, khoon nikal raha tha. Koi qareeb nahi aaraha [Two young boys, aged between 14 or 15 years, were lying dead with bullets in their heads, outside my house one day. Not a single person came to near the bodies to pick them up]. He recollects how when he went near them, he realized that their blood was still fresh blood. Haroon went onto add that few other friends of were also killed, some others became victims of cross fire between the gangs.

“Our past is full of bullet-riddled bodies, drugs, rejection from society, neglect from the government but we do not want the next generation to suffer. Thus Mehr Ghar is the foundation to protecting the future of our

The main idea behind Mehr Ghar is to polish the capabilities of youngsters and provide a community centre to the people of Lyari children,” he concluded.

Faheem recalling when he realised that he needs to give back to the society and fight these odds, shared that in 2011, one day a few gang members came to his door and said that they wanted to use their terrace as bunkers. “What option did I had that time other than taking my cancer patient mother and three sisters with me and shift out of Lyari? Otherwise they would have killed me,” he says. Faheem was only 18 years old at the time and returned to the same house in 2017 after the operation cleared his house.

“As children, we were born right in the hub of gang and drug violence, all we can recall from our childhood or teenage days is fights between gangs, every third person on drugs and a town going nowhere but down south towards destruction,” he said.

Naz who is the eldest among the five members and has seen the four grow up in front of her eyes recalls how when in 2000 she used to go to teach at the school, young children were forced to take drugs so that they would slowly get addicted. “In those narrow streets I have witnessed child abuse and have seen kids falling into the traps the drug sellers set for them.”

Price for safety

1.3m

rupees was the total cost of renovating the premises of Mehr Ghar

MARCH 21, 2021

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The pains of higher learning

No. of PhDs produced in Pakistan

25

Before Partition

56

1947 - 1960

123

1961 - 1970

328

Design by: Mohsin Alam

Embarking on a PhD is a daunting endeavour. For many Pakistanis who choose the option, challenges begin from the outset and last beyond their programme

1971 - 1980

673

1981 - 1990

1,623

1991 - 2000

Caught in policy schizophrenia

A OUR CORRESPONDENT KARACHI

Since the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was founded in 2002, they have every so often changed their policies. This in turn, has resulted in setting off a chain reaction of confusion among students as well as institutes.

The most recent announcement – that students who have completed a BS programme, which makes a total of 16 years of education, are eligible for PhD programmes – has kicked off both lengthy debates and a cold war between the federal body and universities. Neither universities nor HEC itself seems to be clear as to what programmes are still continuing or which are being closed down.

Sharing the idea behind the introduction of this new policy, HEC’s Director General of the Human Resource development, Aayesha Ikram said, “HEC would like to encourage the best students to enroll in PhD programmes, and build an integrated programme to groom them for future academic leadership. This is why the previous split programme (MS followed by PhD) has been replaced with a single integrated programme.”

“The eligibility does not entitle admission but merely opens a pathway for admission to the exceptional BS graduates,” she said. “Further, the criteria for admission to a PhD programme is laid down by the faculty and they will determine whether an applicant with a BS degree meets the admission criteria or not.”

“PhD studies require sustained mentoring and those who wish to do an MS programme first and continue Phd may do so and now BS graduates may also apply for admission to PhD directly,” she added. “If they are good enough to pass the rigorous admission criteria they will be selected. This is in line with global practice that allows any student with demonstrated academic and research ability to be eligible for admission in a PhD programme.”

Fast track option?

16 years

4,650

2010

4,013

2009

3,639

2008

1,759

2006

2005

1,306

2004

1,038

2007

2,475

No of articles published in Pakistan

SOURCE: NOSHEEN WARRAICH & MUZAMMIL TAHIRA (2014) ‘IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’

Under the new policy, each institute will make decisions about the transfer of credits on a case by case basis Credit hours and international transfers The recent policy change has raised many questions including credit hours. What if any student wants to leave in between or how will the credit hours be completed in a minimum of three years? The given timeline from the HEC is minimum three years and maximum eight years, which can later be extending for two more years. The increased credit hours for students joining PhD programmes straight after completing their BS programme, have to complete 48 credit hours to complete their degree.

MARCH 21, 2021

Students’ despair “I was admitted into an MPhil programme in 2016 and due to the uncertainty of the situation, I am not able to submit my synopsis till date and the year I was admitted we were not eligible for MPhil leading to PhD due to changes in the policy,” shared Umair*, a student enrolled in University of Karachi. The student, who graduated at the top of his MA course in Mass Communication and won a gold medal, said that HEC’s continuous changes in policies every two to three years is making difficult for students to decide and plan their goals. “I could have done PhD by now if this policy or at least an MPhil leading to PhD would have been allowed earlier at the time I was enrolled,” Umair lamented.

“Even university administration do not properly guide their students correctly in such circumstances,” he said. “One has to keep running between departments to get things done and complete his or her MPhil programme.”

Another student, Sarah*, who was enrolled in MPhil last year shared how difficult it is to get enrolled in MPhil and majority complete 18 years of education so that they can get enrolled in PhD programmes but the policy and rules war between universities and federal regulatory body makes it difficult for students. “How can someone who has completed 16 years of education and someone who has completed 18 years of education be equal?” she said while adding, “These regulatory bodies have made a joke out of students and their efforts. They need to realise that not everyone wants to move out of Pakistan or can even afford to do so.”

Universities’ stance

of education are needed to enrol in a PhD programme, under the new HEC policy

4

Responding to how the credit hours be utilised, Ikram said, “The hours are a requirement and specific guidelines are being prepared at the moment. In their absence, the previous policy is to be followed. While the academic standing of MS or MPhil degrees remains unchanged. Students can enter job market and also apply for PhD and get partial credit for this.”

Under the new policy, the eligibility change is effective from January 1, 2021.

The international acceptability of graduate course credits earned in Pakistan, each institute will make decisions about transfer of credits on a case by case basis. If Masters is done in Pakistan, they will get credits transferred but in case of foreign universities, it will differ from university to university.

“It is totally unacceptable that two year’s MPhil is not necessary to apply for PhD programme,” said Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association’s (FAPUASA) representative Shakeel Faruqi.

The whole idea of forming HEC was to make Pakistan’s education system research-oriented and when it was established it was to be followed on the American system with Masters to be completed at 18 years of education.

Initially, teachers association and FAPUASA tried really hard to stop any such confusion and wanted the HEC to accept the conversion to degrees but the HEC was adamant and did not agree on this conversion and demanded MS or MPhil only to be eligible for PhD. “What they have come up with recently is very surprising as now they have made students of BS to be eligible for PhD programs. HEC itself seems confuseed and crazy because it looks like they themselves don’t know what they are doing or want to do,” said Faruqi angrily.

Pursuing excellence

1,368

is the number of Pakistanis enrolled in foreign universities to complete their PhD studies Sharing his personal experience when he was applying for a doctorate at an American University, he said that there was some initial hurdles that he faced in terms of credit transference but his professor ultimately wrote a letter to the university which clearly stated the credit hours he had completed and after which his doctorate school accepted 30 credit hours from his Msc course in genetics.

“But since HEC has made its obscure rules, the world doesn’t accept MSc as a Masters course and the Pakistani Masters programme seems something lesser than the world’s master’s program,” he added.

“Also, the number of PhD students and their work is not helping Pakistan in any way. The quality of research and work which is happening here is mostly substandard and of no use,” he said. “Such laws and rules in doctorate and acceptance of the world has made mediocrity a new normal in Pakistan.”

“The BS programme, which is acceptable by the world but in Pakistan majority of the market wasn’t accepting it in the first place and also comparing BS to BSc, BCom or any such 14-year education degree. The change created confusion and several students decided to go back to BA hons or BSc hons from BS programs,” he said. “To ease out their confusion and problems the university

SOURCE: NOSHEEN WARRAICH & MUZAMMIL TAHIRA (2014) ‘IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: A CASE OF UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB-PAKISTAN’

EDUCATION

3,723

2001 - 2010

2,733

2011 - 2013

Neither universities nor HEC itself seems to be clear as to what programmes are still continuing or which are being closed down administrations decided to offer conversion of degrees and students can decide what degree they want to attain but even with that each department had to run three degrees simultaneously which is why general universities stopped taking admissions in BS and went back to admission in BA (Hons) and BSc hons.”

Founder and first chairman of HEC, Dr Ata-ur-Rahman told The Express Tribune, “Pakistan has international standards and our students want to work on such standards, the issue is that the BSc program is not taken seriously internationally due to the lack of a systematic education system.” He further shares that the basic idea was to start and follow the bologna protocol of higher education. “When we started BS which was equivalent to 16 years of education a lot of universities started violating the rule and started offering parallel degrees,” he concluded.

But how will the province’s biggest state university deal with the issues faced by its students? The Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi, Dr Khalid Iraqi while talking to The Express Tribune said, “The new PhD policy will be adopted by the varsity after formal analysis, reviews and approval or deliberation from statutory bodies which includes academic council, syndicate, board of studies and faculty.”

“The matter will be decided after final deliberations with the Government of Sindh and the office of secretary universities and boards with formal strategies and academic planning as the universities comes under provincial government,” he said. “All such matters are includes legislation and also have consequences, which is why the university cannot take or reject any decision all alone.”

Responding to an inquiry about how the credit hours will be compensated in the programme, Dr Iraqi said, “The credit hours policy is pre-defined.

However, it can be upgraded according to the new given policy by the HEC for PhD. Also, the University of Karachi announces PhD admissions twice a year, which already reflects increase in the number of admission or seats at the varsity. Increase in numbers of seats means requirement of more funds and after the eligibility criteria changed to BS programme, the number of students applying for PhD will increase eventually and to run such programmes, more funding will also be needed,” he said. “HEC is not providing any grant for research fund right now. At least 1 billion must be granted every year till 2026 for the formal strengthening of this programme,” he added.

To clear the air whether this new policy will make any impact on the importance of both the degrees, he said that there will be no impact as the credit hours will increase for students joining after completing their BS programme.

“The importance of M.Phil. or MS remains unchanged as per the International QAA Standards,” he said.

EDUCATION

More degrees, more problems?

SHAZIA MEHBOOB

ISLAMABAD

While the public sector universities are running short of qualified staff, ‘politicallymotivated’ hiring processes have left hundreds of PhD scholars jobless. This is due in large part to the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) lack of power to bind higher education institutions to regularise jobs of its qualified candidates after their interim placement.

“During my one-year job under the HEC interim placement programme, along with teaching courses to students at Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan, despite having won two research projects for the university and publishing a research paper in a well-reputed international research journal, my performance was not good enough to have impressed the management enough for regularising my position,” said Dr Abaid Ullah.

Dr Abaid is the winner of an HEC indigenous scholarship along with a six months foreign research fellowship in Vienna, Austria. The microbiologist, who completed his interim placement in 2016, has been struggling to secure a job at a permanent faculty in any university of Pakistan.

Bleak prospects

1,200

PhD scholars in the country are jobless The young PhD scholar says that he spared no job opportunity in any university of Pakistan but his outstanding educational career and professional expertise was not enough to impress people sitting in the academia sector.

It is important to mention here that Dr Abaid Ullah was awarded with a letter of appreciation by BZU Multan for his outstanding performance during his one-year interim placement.

“I was excited as I thought that the letter of appreciation would be helpful in strengthening my position for a permanent faculty position as per the HEC set criteria but the varsity took three years to advertise jobs,” the botanist deplored.

“Even the varsity took three years gap to advertise jobs. I applied for all the subjects which were relevant to my areas of specialisation and paid a handsome amount as registration fee just because I didn’t want to miss any chance of getting hired. After the deadline line of registration is over, when I approached the varsity to get an update, I was told that the hiring had been postponed due to the death of the varsity vice chancellor,” he added.

Abaid belongs to a salaried-class family and could not afford paying the hefty registration fee yet after taking a loan from a colleague he paid then.

Despite financial constraints, he repeated a similar approach for the next two jobs announcements at BZU as well.

For the second announcement, he was on the top of the candidates list but the varsity suspended the hiring process again on the pretext of changes in the hiring strategy. And the third time, the varsity dropped his name from the list raising objection over relevancy of his degree, the young scholar maintained.

Despite submitting the HEC certificate of relevancy against the objection, the management maintained its objection, even in its response to a letter of question dispatched by the Prime Minister’s Citizen Portal team after he registered a complaint against the varsity for using delaying tactics against his hiring.

Research pool

8,142

is the number of PhDs in Pakistan, out of which almost 5,000 were awarded under HEC The jobless scholar says the faculty members at BZU Multan are overburdened due to high number of students and low ratio of teachers, adding that the varsity has various vacant posts which can accommodate many jobless PhD scholars to ensure a teacher-student ratio of 1:20 as per the HEC policy. However, despite that, their hirings have been few and those too have been nepotism-based rather than merit-related.

Abaid said that despite his specialisation in the relevant subject and research experience consistent with the job advertisement, Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB) had also turned him down twice for different positions.

Later, Abaid said that he learned from varsity sources that he could not be hired because the

advertised position was already given to another candidate with strong political connections.

Dr Abaid said that he was working for COMSATS University Islamabad under a research project but the university not only separated him from the project after availing his services for eight months but didn’t pay his salary either.

Irks of jobless scholars “I was on the top of the candidates’ list in Kohat University of Science and Technology and was also serving there as teaching faculty under HEC interim placement yet the varsity ultimately chose to hire of an unqualified candidate because of his political connections,” said Dr Muhammad Imran.

“The candidate had done MPhil while the post requirement was a PhD degree,” he added.

Imran went through a similar experience at the University of Balochistan where he said that he was on the top of the candidates list but the hiring board in the end, preferred the induction of a son of the varsity vice chancellor instead.

Dr Imran has done PhD in Pharmacology from Tehran, on full scholarship.

He has also won two international awards for his research work.

After completing his research work in 2015, he started searching for good job opportunities in Pakistani universities but according to him, the ‘corrupt and political system’ didn’t allow his entry.

The HEC is nothing more than a redundant body now as it has no control over academia but over poor PhDs holders, Adnan said, adding that no Pakistani university follows the hiring standards set by the HEC. Dr Tariq Aziz, a jobless scholar from Faisalabad said that he was about to complete his research work some four years back when he had approached the HEC for his placement as he wanted to translate his foreign research experiences into local market value without wasting any time but the higher education authority could not make his placement in the past four years.

Dr Aziz has done his PhD in Agronomy from Ondokuz Mayıs University Samsun-Turkey on an open merit scholarship.

“The higher education authority is not only responsible to put the system on fast-track but to ensure transparency and merit in the hiring process but both requirements demand a dedicated and highly motivated team, which is unfortunately not available currently,” Dr Aziz deplored.

Heavily invested

$126m + 10.72m

has been spent by HEC on the PhD studies of Pakistan students in foreign universities Dr Adnan, another PhD scholar, said the higher authority should stop its PhD programme until it doesn’t ensure induction of all job seeking qualified scholars. Irked by the politically influenced system, he also advised the PhD aspirants to not opt for higher studies until the state doesn’t introduce a transparent hiring process in the country.

Dr Tayyaba Batool, who has done an Instructional Design and Technology degree from Old Dominion University Norfolk VA, USA said that as she did not have a relevancy certificate, her application was rejected wherever she applied for a job. She has been trying to get the relevancy certificate from HEC but so far she has been unsuccessful.

One of her colleagues, who was in the same batch, with a specialisation in Instructional Design and Technology has received equivalence certificate from HEC and only because his degree title was not PhD but EDD. If EDD is equivalent to a PhD then what is the issue? She questioned. She has also lodged a complaint with the citizen’s portal but in vain.

Dr Batool while deploring the higher education authority for its failure to implement its policies asked if the education ministry and its designated authority are not obliged to craft such policies that can translate into job market values then which designated authority is there to approach for their problems?

Petronas, Malaysia in October 2017 by availing the university’s scholarship as graduate assistantship. “There must be proper rules and regulations that without a proper number of faculties no universities should be allowed to start taking admissions,” she said.

“Actually rules exist but universities use their references with HEC and bypass the rules,” said Dr Yasir, adding that the system must be monitored.

Dr Yasir was teaching in a campus of University of Central Punjab (UCP) as a visiting faculty. She said the campus has few regular faculty members and the rest are visiting like her. She applied in several universities but only few sent her interview letters and never received a job confirmation letter.

Recalling one such job opportunity, she said that she was about to receive an appointment letter from Riphah International University Gujrat but her hiring couldn’t get approval from the HEC for some reason. She said the managements in many universities when she asked for reasons for her rejection said that hiring needs strong reference which doesn’t hold.

Dr Rukhsana Shah, another jobless PhD, said it is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders to take measures. “There is a need to design the areas of specialization, which not only translate into local market values but international as well. What kind of market value is needed if the concern authority doesn’t address the issue? Our issue of joblessness cannot be resolved,” said Dr Shah.

In search of utility

550

have completed research work in foreign universities under HEC scholarships and are presently seeking jobs Many protests but no results “Around 200 of us PhDs scholars have staged protests outside the HEC office and PM Imran Khan’s Bani Gala Residence to bring our problem into the knowledge of the government and the higher education authority but to no avail,” said Dr Sher Afzal, another job seeking scholar.

After every protest, they were invited for a meeting and promised by HEC Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Imran Khan on Political Affairs (late) Naeemul Haque that their issues would be resolved, “But they never met their promises,” said Dr Afzal. Dr Banuri had also assured them that the HEC will take concrete steps not only to ensure the implementation of its policy in letter and spirit, but to improve the quality of research in universities, he recalled their negotiations at the end of every protest.

“Unfortunately the HEC neither addressed our problems nor could ensure implementation of its policy regarding teacher-student ratio of 1:20,” said Dr Afzal. Late Haque had also assured them that he would arrange their meeting with Prime Minister Khan but all his assurances proved hollow as he didn’t even move their file to the premier. Dr Afzal said that they also held a meeting with Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood to bring their problems to his knowledge but he straightforwardly refused to take any responsibility and said, “it’s not the government’s responsibility to arrange jobs for PhD holders.”

PhDs produced by Pakistani Universities (2010 - 2014)

Public Sector

Private Sector

775 in 2010

883 in 2010

952 in 2011

1,024 in 2011

1,038 in 2012

1,118 in 2012

1,142 in 2013

1,211 in 2013

1,248 in 2014

1,351 in 2014 SOURCE: HEC

In conversation with

HEC Chairman Tariq Banuri

A politically influenced hiring practice

What is HEC’s role as a regulatory body?

Dr Aziz said securing a position in university is an easy task for those who have good references with people associated in academia sector, adding that getting a job in university is a herculean task for those who don’t have such references.

“If you are a relative or a son or a daughter of a university professor or a member of university administration, your hiring is confirmed as soon as you complete your degree. It doesn’t even matter if that degree is from a low quality university,” he added.

“An approach-based system is a major obstacle hampering merit-based hiring of PhD degree holders in universities,” said Dr Adnan, adding that the ‘corrupt and political system’ and incompetency of the HEC has only exacerbated their troubles. He has done PhD in analytical chemistry under the HEC indigenous scholarship programme, and since 2014, he is struggling to secure a faculty position in universities.

Dissatisfied with his professional growth, Dr Adnan said that the TTS system takes years to promote candidates, adding that he has already wasted five precious years of his career in looking for jobs.

The young PhD scholar said that he had a job offered at the university in the United States where he completed his research work under the HEC scholarship programme for PhDs but he preferred to serve his country.

“There is a lot of space in universities and all jobless PhDs can get regular positions if the HEC takes concerted measures,” Dr Adnan maintained. “There are at least 10 permanent positions lying vacant in the university where I am teaching as visiting faculty and if the varsity fills its vacant posts all visiting faculty members could be regularised.”

Dr Samina, another job-seeking PhD scholar said despite the universities being bound to hire permanent faculty under the HEC set rules, they are promoting the culture of visiting faculty.

She said that senior faculty are afraid of hiring fresh candidates due to their exposure to latest techniques and equipment.

The permanent faculty wants to maintain its monopoly to earn money both as regular faculty in the morning and visiting faculty in the evening, Dr Samina said. Dr Samina has also availed foreign research fellowship to Vienna, Austria in 2014. She has been jobless since she completed her interim placement in a local university.

Dr Madiha Yasir, completed her PhD from University of Technology

“A teacher-student ratio of 1:5 is necessary for a permission to start a PhD programme. If a university violates this requirement, they are forbidden from admitting students into the programme. Admissions have been stopped in a number of programmes, in which universities were not able to maintain these targets. However, the teacher-student ratio is not the only determinant of quality

Is there political influence in the hiring process?

A vast majority of such complaints are made only about public sector universities. These universities are subject to their legislative charters, under which these decisions are made by the statutory bodies, namely syndicates, senates, and governing boards, and reviewed by chancellors. This is a core element of university autonomy, and HEC has no intention of setting up a parallel recruitment system or undermining university autonomy.

However, if a problem is brought to HEC’s attention, we try to involve the statutory bodies, both to resolve the grievance and strengthen university autonomy. We have also established grievance resolution committees to resolve outstanding complaints.

In any case, public sector universities are public institutions and it is the media’s responsibility to publicise any problematic decisions.

Is there a saturation of PhDs in certain fields?

There is much speculation on this issue but no concrete evidence of saturation in any field is available. There are vacancies in every single field.

HEC requires universities to assess market demand for postgraduate degree programmes before submitting applications for NOCs. HEC is also collecting information on the jobs situation in order to provide guidance to prospective students in this regard.

The decision whether or not to pursue a particular academic programme can be made only by the student, himself or herself. A PhD is not a pedestrian degree; it should only be pursued if someone wants to add to the state of knowledge in a particular subject.

Only the student would know whether they are excited about the questions raised by a particular discipline. If they are not excited by these questions, it will be impossible for them to succeed in the field. HEC’s philosophy is to treat students as adults, and trust them to make the right judgment. The only programmes that HEC will ban are those that are lacking in quality.

It is not HEC’s role to deprive the students of their own right to make decisions. The only programmes that will be shut down are those that are lacking in quality. There is no saturation as far as high quality programmes are concerned.

Has the HEC failed to accommodate PhD holders?

Of the 550 PhDs, who applied for the IPFP placement, the number of HEC scholars returning from abroad is close to zero. The others either got their PhDs from Pakistan or studied on other scholarships. There is no intention to review the five-year rule.

MARCH 21, 2021

5

HISTORY & HERITAGE Nestled in the heart of new Lahore with Gulberg nearby and Model Town right next to it, is the century-old Walton Airport. In 1918, a group of aviation enthusiasts requested the British Raj to create a landing strip, where the latter allotted 158 acres of land for it. The airstrip was officially launched in 1920 and registered as Northern Indian Flying Club by 1922 and thereafter used by enthusiasts seeking to enjoy the thrill of flying planes.

In 1930, in order to officially be able to collect funds for its improvement and upkeep, during an annual meeting of the club, it was decided to officially transform the club into a company. In 1932, the club was officially registered as a company, changing once and for all its importance and prestige. More planes were also acquired by then.

In 1933, creator of Walton Railway Training School, Sir Colonel Cusack Walton was asked to head the flying club and by 1935, this flying strip was given the name ‘Walton Airfield.’ During World War Two and again during the 1971 war, the flying strip was also used an airbase.

The ongoing case has not deterred the progress of the planned business hub.

In Feb, a foundation stone ceremony took place Later, after the creation of Pakistan, it was historically the first location of the nation’s founding father, Quaid-e-Azam’s initial arrival to Pakistan. After partition of the Indian subcontinent, Northern Indian Flying Club changed its name to Lahore Flying Club and the airport itself was used as the official airport in Lahore. In 1951, the then governor of Punjab, donated Rs 20,000 to the Lahore Flying Club and during a 1953 subsidy scheme, director general of the Civil Authority Association entrusted the club with the training of commercial pilots. When Pakistan International Airport acquired its first jet aircraft Boeing 720, Walton airport was unable to handle the load of a jet aircraft and it was then that the government decided to create the new Allamah Iqbal International Airport in 1962.

Recently, it was announced that the historical airport is to be relocated as its location, in the heart of Lahore, is dangerous and should be relocated to a more remote location. A new ordinance was introduced on 4th February called ‘The Lahore Central Business District Development Authority Ordinance’ and under it a new development authority in Lahore called Lahore central Business District Development Authority headed by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar is to be set up.

Currently five different flying clubs operate at the Walton Airport: Lahore Flying Club, Hybrid Aviation Pvt Ltd, Hybrid Flying Club, Airborne Aviation and Ultra Light and Sports Flying Club. Hundreds of students training to be pilots fly at the airport. According to the CAA, presently about 2,000 flights operate a month from the airport.

In 2012, a two-seater plane on a training flight crashed into the lawn of a house in Model Town. Both the trainer and pilot died in the crash. Another plane crashed in May 2018 near Ferozepur Road during a training session at the old airport. The pilot and copilot only suffered minor injuries. In another incident in September 2020, a plane crash landed at the airport where after the crash, the front wheel of the aircraft broke off however, no injuries were sustained by the trainee pilot flying the plane.

According to Shuja Imran, who is a cadet pilot and a video blogger for a Youtube channel catering to aviation enthusiasts, “Walton Airport is the only airport in Pakistan that is completely dedicated to training student pilots.”

Since every airport in Pakistan is in the middle of the city, this argument in itself is flawed Cadet pilot Shuja Imran There are approximately 100 student pilots currently actively partaking in aviation training at the soon-tobe relocated airport while an additional 100, who are participating in classroom preparation before they can commence their training. While some news has been received that the airport will be relocated to Sheikhupura, no official statement has been made revealing concrete plans as to when and where the relocation will be. Imran, who has been flying at the airport since 2017, says the decision will impact him and several others as it will be more difficult to commute to the new location. “This will affect both the students and the trainers as it will add additional travelling time to the new location,” he said. “It will

6

MARCH 21, 2021

Story by: Maheen Irfan Ghani | Design by: Umar Waqas

A quarter of a trillion rupees is the official price put by the federal government on the longstanding history of Walton Airport Shahzaib Anzar, who received his commercial pilot license in December 2019 and is currently undertaking a Flight Instructor Trainee course with Hybrid Aviation.

According to him, “From a safety perspective, there should be a 1,000 feet of clearance that should be added on top of the tallest building in the area. However, there is so much construction around Walton Airport that should not have happened and that affects

also be difficult for the flying clubs to reestablish themselves at the new location.”

The relocation may be a deterrent for both the students who may wish to enroll in the future, which could possibly impact the future of aviation altogether in Pakistan- a fact that is alarming after its existing state where a trained and a professional number of pilots is meagre as it is.

“In essence an airport should not be located in the middle of the city but since every airport in Pakistan is in the middle of the city, this argument in itself is flawed,” says Imran.

“If this is the reasoning for shifting the airport, then both the Allama Iqbal International Airport and Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport should be relocated too,” he said. “There should certainly be more safety parameters in place, which the CAA should be implementing but apart from that, this is not a valid argument.”

flight safety. On the right of Walton, there is Falcon Complex and on the left you have Naval Housing society and Askari V. Most of these have been built right alongside the airstrip.”

“The residents of that area throw a lot of trash outside their homes and that attracts birds, which can be a flying hazard,” he said. “Incidents have happened where birds have hit the screen of the aircraft window and in some cases, they have broken the window and come inside the plane too.”

According to Anzar, there are around 100 flight instructors between the flying clubs operating at the airport who are gaining flight hours experience. All of them are Lahore-based and this will add additional commute for them. “Now tell me, the students who are based in Lahore, won’t they naturally shift to the flying club at Allama Iqbal Airport? Isn’t that going to affect the business of the flying clubs who are being shifted from Lahore. What student is going to commute an additional hour to learn when he or she can just do that at Allama Iqbal Airport?

“The airport has been destroying by governments who haven’t prioritised what it stands for. Who cares about heritage after all?” he added.

“Same goes for Allamah Iqbal International Airport.

There’s been constructions around there too that according to world flight safety are hazardous for flying,” he said. “So slowly that airport is going to rendered unsafe too and that’ll have to be moved too.”

The airport, which is surrounded by a small forest spread over 20 acres and comprises 9,000 trees, is also likely to be lost if the business hub is developed here a move that seems counterproductive to the presiding government’s climate change commitment to increase greenery through tree plantation across the country.

The decision could also be particularly damaging to the city that is already the second most polluted city in

the world with an Air Quality Index rating of 247 and an air pollution level recorded at PM2.5 concentration of 197 µg/m³.

Currently no provisions have been made in the existing ordinance to preserve the heritage of the airport while creating the new business district.

Anthony Chaudhry, who has been the Secretary of Lahore Flying Club since 1986 says, “It has been operating since before the partition. It is basically heritage and should be preserved [as such].”

According to Chaudhry, “There are crashes all over the world, even at the main airport. This is no argument [for closing Walton Airport]. There already so much pollution in the city and eradication of the forest will just further increase that pollution.”

As a counter to the argument that the airport is smack in the middle of Gulberg and Model Town and impeding further business development in the area, he blames the planning of Lahore. “The heritage of the airport should have been preserved and those areas should not have been planned and built around the airport to begin with,” he says.

“The airport was there earlier than all the buildings.

Those buildings shouldn’t have been built so close to the airport. They are illegal basically.”

“Walton should be preserved as it is,” he says at the end. And that is perhaps should happen even if that preservation looks different to what we may have in mind. The airport could be relocated for ensuring safety of the area but the structural integrity of the existing structure and strip should not be paved over the new district either. A third solution that honours the heritage of the area, while still repurposing it into a business area should be considered more closely.

Lahore Flying Club has filed a petition in Lahore High Court moving for the court under Article 199 of the Constitution for ‘prohibiting the respondents from hindering the smooth operational functioning of the petitioner that is carrying out its lawful functions at Walton Airfield.’ The petition further notes the move to be ‘detrimental to the ownership of the petitioner’ and ‘prejudicial to the environment/ cultural heritage of Lahore.’ The court in its last session on the matter, adjourned proceedings in this case for March 16th.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Public Relations Officer Saad Bin Ayub and Civil Aviation Authority Lahore declined to comment on the matter citing that the CAA is not allowed to speak on it.

There are crashes all over the world. This is no argument for closing Walton Airport LFC Secretary Anthony Chaudhry However, the ongoing case has not in any way, shape or form deterred the progress of business hub.

In the last week of February, a foundation stone-laying ceremony took place where Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the ceremonial first stone for the new business district. At the ceremony, the premier dubbed it an ‘out-of-the-box’ initiative for wealth generation and estimated that during the first phase alone, some Rs 1,300 billion would be generated, which he says would offer the federal government, Rs 250 billion in the form of tax revenue.

During the ceremony when asked by a reporter, the premier did say the forest would be kept intact during the building of the district. However, this hasn’t been laid out in the ordinance itself. No provisions have been made in the ordinance to the preservation of heritage value of the site either.

The closing down of Walton Airport a testament to the country’s leaders continuous disregard for preservation of history. It is yet another decision, in a long-standing tradition of decisions in the country, to opt for short-termism. While economic activity is an integral need, the decision should not be an ‘either or’ but rather an elaborate long-term plan to develop an authority that commemorates the heritage of the area as well as lays out a solution to reuse it for wealth generation.

Photos: Lahore Flying Club/Shuja Imran

ART, MEDIA & LITERATURE

The strategic side of creative industry Nations around the world continue to invest in art and culture as a means to cultivate soft power. In Pakistan, not only is the sector historically neglected, but also far removed from strategic discourse IMDAD HUSSAIN ISLAMABAD

It is unlikely more than a few among Pakistan’s Generation Z, or millennials for that matter, know of Naheed Siddique. But to an older generation, who remember her from the height of her popularity in the 1970s, the Kathak dancer – whose impressive resume includes introducing the art in to the dance curriculum of UK’s University of Surrey – is no less than a household name.

Siddique has had students across the globe from different backgrounds. But despite winning several accolades at home and abroad, including Pakistan’s Pride of Performance, her professional life these days is shockingly lacklustre.

Prominent expert on cultural affairs Professor Salima Hashmi while narrating her life story said that she was exiled during the military regime of Ziaul Haque and spent almost 12 years in London. “And she is leading a miserable life now.” This, no doubt, is a hard case, which in essence describe Pakistani society’s attitude towards cultural and creative industries.

Similar cases are not uncommon in Pakistan. For instance, veteran sarangi player Faqeer Hussain, who is now 89 years old, once contributed his talent to numerous national songs and is also as a member of PIA cultural troupe. However, his entire life is full of sorrowful stories mainly due to his economic conditions. “Bearing daily expenses was a real problem in my life. Let alone arranging marriages for my siblings, paying for their education and health expenses,” he said.

These are not isolated stories of two legends, rather the fate of hundreds of thousands other people linked to cultural and creative industries - a widely misperceived and misunderstood area in Pakistan.

The potential of Pakistan’s culture and creative industries is much deeper if explored UNESCO officer Javad Aziz As opposed to the general misperception in Pakistan, the cultural and creative industries – a business worth thousands of billions US dollars globally – is not concerned alone with art or music. It envisages several economically significant areas including handicrafts, creative arts, media, publications, digital culture and others. Numerous reports have long explained how they can serve a nation’s strategic aims around the world.

Take for instance the US Central Intelligence Agency’s clandestine Operation Long Leash in the late 40s. The operation was aimed at funding Abstract Expressionist art as a means for Western culture to ‘undermine’ the ‘rigid and conformist’ ideals of the Soviet Union. These days, culture industries are understood to play a major role in deterring violence and terrorism, and helping the cause of social justice around the world.

According to prominent defence analyst Lt-Gen (retd) Talat Masood, cultural and related industries were never taken seriously on a strategic level.

While mentioning consequences of the policy at the government level, Salima Hashmi said that it was ignoring cultural aspect that finally led to economic issues and separation of East Pakistan.

Pakistan has been witnessing violence, sectarianism and terrorism - all alien to its local cultures and history

Photos: Agencies

however, all of these have managed to infiltrate into the society because of several factors but on top of the list of reasons is less attention given to culture and its power for job creation.

Though no specific up- to-date data is available in this regard, a report of the UNESCO Institute of Statistics states that the total exports of cultural goods from Pakistan stood at only $437 million (approximately Rs 67 billion) and in 2004 the total volume of such exports was mere $60. When compared with other countries in the region and beyond, such revenue generation and job creation is discouraging for obvious reasons.

According to the latest UNESCO report, the Cultural and Creative Industry (CCI) revenues worldwide exceed those of telecom services, which are US$1,570billion globally and surpass India’s GDP of US$1,900 billion.

The report also sheds light on the regional revenues, Asia-Pacific accounts for US$743billion in revenue (33% of global CCI sales) and 12.7million jobs (43% of CCI jobs worldwide). The Asian market is driven by a large population, and the region is home to CCI leaders such as Tencent, China Central Television and Yomiuri Shimbun. Europe and North America are the second and third largest CCI markets. Today Latin America, and Africa including the Middle East rank fourth and fifth, respectively — but CCI players see great development opportunities in these two regions. Though symbiotic, each world region is developing a momentum of its own.

Some experts have speculated that Pakistan’s potential for earning revenue from CCI is much greater than its existing status. If corrective steps are taken, it could generate $ 1.5 billion in the near future. Pakistan could potentially earn billions of dollars in exports and imports, and generate millions of jobs in the sector.

National Officer (culture) at UNESCO Javad Aziz says that in Pakistan’s cultural and creative industries do have the potential for tourism, housing societies, historical sites like Gandhara (among others) and many other segments. “The potential of Pakistan’s culture and creative industries is much deeper if explored and it can generate revenue in billions of dollars,” says Aziz.

According to him, one Bollywood film alone based on a historical concept and utilising a single Indian historical site is able to generate handsome revenue for the industry. Analysts say that if properly drafted with inputs from experts, a cultural policy and CCI can also resolve issue of youth employment that could be satisfying for implementing the prime minister’s vision of employment.

“The cultural aspect signifies issues from environment to education, from economy to identity and nationality, security, peace and so on, if it is dealt strategically and a careful policy was drafted, it can resolve a number of issues in Pakistan,” said Executive Director Lok Virsa Talha Kushvaha. “CCI is definitely related mainly to culture that can have an immediate effect on the economy and the jobs sector.”

Astonishingly, it appears no government data is available on the sector. Even the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce Ayesha Humaira was not ready to comment on the issue and referred the matter to another department - all grave indicators for how little is known or being done for this sector.

The first report for formulating a policy on the arts and culture was presented in 1968 to the Standing Committee on Art and Culture, which is sometimes known as Faiz Report (after the poet, Faiz Ahmad Faiz) but it was set aside till the 1970s.

According to retired Professor of Fine Art at National College of Arts Lahore Salima Hashmi, who also hap-

pens to be the daughter of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, that report was later approved by the Bhutto government but only partially implemented.”

Pakistan still has no comprehensive policy to optimise the CCI sector. According to sources at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, while the institute is trying to restructure itself and introduce reforms on a policy level, there are challenges on several fronts that are not allowing them to achieve their objective.

Pakistan, has so far not yet ratified UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression.

According to Javad Aziz, the UNESCO has been working with National Heritage and Cultural Division since 2016 and has organised a number of awareness raising workshops and consultations with relevant provincial and federal departments, academic institutions, local NGOs and creative entrepreneurs on the promotion of cultural and creative industries, and the benefits of the ratifying and implementing the UNESCO 2005 convention.

“The national heritage and culture division is leading the process and getting feedback from relevant departments before submitting the case to the cabinet for ratification,” said Aziz.

When asked for his official version, Deputy Secretary at National Heritage and Cultural Division Nazeer Ahmad said that work on issues related to the convention is in progress. “So far we have taken views of all the stakeholders and certain ministries and have forwarded it to the ministry of foreign affairs,” he said.

Though provincial governments have greater role in creating culture-based employment, they are also doing little to implement a detailed policy on the matter.

Though Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government has exceptionally approved a cultural policy in the near past but its implementation is a new dilemma. Similarly, the government of Punjab launched a support programme for artists, which provides them with minimum support through a cash stipend.

The cultural aspect, if it is dealt with strategically, can resolve a number of issues in Pakistan Lok Virsa Executive Director Talha Kushvaha that no serious steps are being taken for addressing the issues at hand.

When asked for his official version Federal Minister for National History and Literary Heritage Shafqat Mehmood, though declined to comment on strategic aspect of CCI, said, “Compared to the past, employment in this regard has increased and the government is taking care of the cultures as well as [taking] steps to promote Pakistani culture.

He also acceded that when compared with other regional countries, the CCI segment in Pakistan is lacking efficiency. “Though [Pakistan] is far behind compared to the regional countries or other countries in the world, but as compared to the past we have improved.”

CIA’s Operation Long Leash in the late 40s was aimed at funding art that would ‘undermine’ the ‘rigid and conformist’ ideals of the USSR So far, according to data shared by Deputy Secretary at the Planning and Cultural Division of Punjab Naveed, the beneficiaries of this programme are 1,918 people in the current year.

Significant circles in Pakistan some time openly and at the other time secretly complain about cultural onslaught in the globalised world and sometimes cultural imports from the neighboring rivals. But it is surprising

MARCH 21, 2021

7

LAW & JUSTICE

Story by: Hasnaat Malik

sin Alam

Design by: Moh

International human rights groups were long critical of the Pakistani judicial system when it came to cases of mentally ill suspects and prisoners. That was until last February, when a landmark judgment by the Supreme Court held that where a medical board confirms and certifies that the defendant is no longer able to appreciate the rationale behind the crime and their death sentence, he or she cannot be executed.

In their ruling, which was celebrated all over the world, a larger five-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik adjudicated three questions: Firstly, how should the trial court deal with the plea of an accused that he/she was suffering from mental illness at the time of commiting the offence?

Secondly, how should the trial court deal with the claim that due to mental illness, an accused is incapable of making his/her defence?

And lastly, whether a mentally ill condemned prisoner should be executed? The judgment also opposed the execution of mentally-ill convicted persons.

The United Nations Human Rights office of the high commission welcomed the decision by the court of Pakistan and released a statement after the judgement that read, “We applaud the Supreme Court for recognising that executing such individuals ‘does not meet the ends of justice’.”

The apex court gave this ruling while hearing the cases of three mentally ill prisoners. Imdad Ali committed the murder of Hafiz Muhammad Abdullah on January 21, 2001 in Burewala district. He was sentenced to death the next year by a trial court. During the course of his 18-year imprisonment, he was repeatedly diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and several medical reports have confirmed over the years that he is suffering from psychotic symptoms actively and is “a treatmentresistant case.” He spent the last four years of his imprisonment in solitary confinement in the hospital cell of district jail, Vehari.

When black warrants were issued for his execution on July 26, 2016, his wife Safia Bano filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court to delay her husband’s hanging till the recovery of his mental illness. That plea was rejected by the high court on August 23, 2016.

She then approached the apex court with the same plea. A three-member Supreme Court bench headed by then Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali upheld the decision of the high court in a short order on September 27, 2016. The Supreme Court had ruled that a psychiatric disorder like schizophrenia does not subjugate the death sentence.

Later, rights organisations and senior lawyers questioned that order. In a letter dated September 26, 2016 United Nations Human Rights Commission said that if the sentence to execute Ali was carried out it would “represent a further departure by Pakistan from the world trend toward the abolition of the death penalty.”

If a condemned prisoner, due to mental illness, is found to be unable to comprehend the rationale and reason behind his or her punishment, then carrying out the death sentence will not meet the ends of justice Supreme Court judgement In view of the heavy criticism of the ruling, the Punjab government filed a review petition against that judgment. Former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar formed a larger bench to hear a review petition against that decision. Kanizan Bibi and Ghulam Abbas cases were also clubbed in with the Imdad Ali matter.

According to details, Kanizan Bibi began working for a wealthy, landowning family when she was only 14 years old. Two years later, in 1989, Kanizan and her employer were arrested for killing the employer’s wife and five children. After her arrest, over a course of 15 days, the police subjected her to torture. She was badly injured and eventually transferred to a hospital for a few days. The police were eventually able to extract a confession from her which she later retracted before the high court on appeal.

Her lawyers challenged the confession unsuccessfully and after 18 months in detention, she was sentenced to death in 1991. Kanizan has always maintained her innocence and till date, Kanizan is Pakistan’s only woman prisoner scheduled to be executed. She suffers from severe schizophrenia and has spent more than 30 years in prison.

In 2000, her first execution warrant was issued but it was halted by the president of Pakistan. She was first shifted from Lahore Central Jail in Kot Lakhpat to Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) in 2006 and then again in 2018 and was constantly being treated for her mental illness. During the course of her incarceration, her medical condition deteriorated so much that she has not spoken a word in decades.

In a letter dated 3rd June 2020 by the United Nations High Commission to the Government of Pakistan, referred to Kanizan’s trial, where the prosecution leaned into a narrative that painted Kanizan as a promiscuous

8

MARCH 21, 2021

A look back into the cases that changed the way how the judiciary and Pakistan as a whole views and deals with mentally ill suspects

woman who was having an affair with her employer. Their proposed motive of the crime relied heavily on ‘gendered tropes’ and referred to the court’s conviction as having “overlooked key evidentiary gaps.”

Ghulam Abbas was arrested in September 2004 for fatally stabbing his neighbour in a dispute over an electricity bill. He was sentenced to death by a Sessions Court in May 2006. His subsequent High Court and Supreme Court appeals were dismissed in 2010 and 2016, respectively. In 2018, a SC review petition was also dismissed. Ghulam’s mercy petition was eventually rejected by the Presidency on 22 April, 2019. His most recent medical evaluation, by a board constituted by the Supreme Court in September 2020, declared that Ghulam is suffering from schizophrenia.

In 2018, a larger SC bench ordered a medical evaluation of all three mentally ill prisoners. Rights organisation Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) represented and litigated on behalf of all three prisoners and argued that they should not be eligible to be executed because of the severity of their mental illnesses. Two years later, the larger bench resumed the hearing of the case in September last year, wherein a special medical board was reconstituted to evaluate their mental illness. After holding several hearings since September 2020, on 10th February, 2021, the Supreme Court of Pakistan commuted the death sentences of Kanizan and Imdad to life imprisonment and gave comprehensive guidelines in order to reinforce the rights of mentally ill defendants in the criminal justice system.

Regarding Ghulam Abbas case, the Supreme Court directed that a fresh mercy petition be filed on his behalf mentioning his plea of mental illness, along with copies of his entire medical history and record, copies of the report of the Medical Board. The Court stated: “...we expect that the mercy petition filed on behalf of condemned prisoner Ghulam Abbas shall be disposed of after taking into consideration all the circumstances including the observations made by this Court in the instant judgment.” In doing so, lawyers say that the court has judicially reviewed the entire mercy petitions review process and effectively delineated the minimum guidelines that must be followed in the consideration of mental illness as a ground for clemency.

According to JPP, the Supreme Court has established key safeguards for mentally ill defendants on death row. Likewise, the Supreme Court reiterated and upheld protections that must be afforded to persons with psychosocial disabilities at every stage in the criminal justice system. It has also “barred the execution of individuals who are severely mental ill,” said JPP in its report. JPP in its report stated that the Supreme Court held that “if a condemned prisoner, due to mental illness, is found to be unable to comprehend the rationale and reason behind his or her punishment, then carrying out the death sentence will not meet the ends of justice.”

However, the court clarified that not every mental illness shall automatically qualify for an exemption from carrying out the death sentence; it will only be applicable where a medical board consisting of mental health professionals certifies after a thorough examination and evaluation that the condemned prisoner no longer has the higher mental functions to appreciate the rationale and reasons behind the sentence of the death awarded to him or her. To determine whether a condemned prisoner suffers from such a mental illness, the Federal Government (for Islamabad Capital Territory) and each provincial government shall constitute and notify, a medical board that is composed of qualified psychiatrists and psychologists from public sector hospitals.

The apex court has also directed that restrictive terms like ‘unsoundness of mind’ be replaced with internationally recognised definitions of mental illness and mental disorder. It opined that limited definition of the terms ‘mental disorder’ or ‘mental illness’ should be avoided, and the provincial

legislatures may, in order to better appreciate the evolving nature of medical science, appropriately amend the relevant provisions of the mental health laws to cater to medically recognised mental and behavioral disorders as notified by World Health Organisation through its latest edition of International Classification of Disease.

The court also recognised that outdated terms such as ‘lunatic’ and ‘insane’ in the Code of Criminal Procedure, Prison Rules and the Pakistan Penal Code be replaced with terms that are more inclusive and sensitive.

The court held that where the accused raises any specific plea, permissible under the law, including a plea under section 84 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the onus to prove such a plea is on the accused.

However, while proving such a plea, the accused may benefit from any material, oral or documentary, produced or relied upon by the prosecution.

JPP in its explainer stated that regarding the plea of the accused before or during trial, the court made the following observations. Whenever the trial court is put to notice regarding the issue of incapability of an accused to understand the proceedings of trial, this shall be taken seriously while keeping in mind the importance of procedural fairness and due process.

While forming a prima facie tentative opinion, the court may give due consideration to its own observations in relation to the conduct and demeanor of an accused person. Once the court has formed a prima facie tentative opinion that the accused may be incapable of understanding the proceedings of trial or make his/ her defence, it becomes obligatory upon the court to conduct an inquiry to decide the issue of incapacity of the accused.

The court directed the Federal Government and all the Provincial Governments to immediately make necessary amendments in the relevant laws and the rules in the light of observations given in this judgment, and that the Prison Rules should be appropriately amended so as to bring the jail manuals of all the Provinces in harmony.

The Supreme Court has also directed the federal government and all the provincial governments to immediately establish and create high security forensic mental health facilities in the teaching and training institutions of mental health for assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of under trial prisoners and convicts who have developed mental ailments during their incarceration. This is the first time that a direction has ever been passed to set up forensic facilities by a superior court.

The Supreme Court, through its better-late-than-never judgement, which only arrived after years of international pressure and at the cost of irredeemable time and unspeakable duress of Imtiaz Ali, Kanizan Bibi and Ghulam Abbas, will undoubtedly benefit the condemned prisoners on death row who suffer from psychosocial disabilities.

Likeiwse, under-trial and convicted prisoners with mental illness will also benefit from this ruling.

It can be seen as a reset of the criminal justice system by its recognition of the evolving nature of mental health sciences, giving mental health experts the responsibility to assist the courts in diagnosing mentally ill defendants Barrister Sarah Belal However, the real challenge will be the implementation of all directions given by the apex court in its ruling. All federal and provincial authorities must comply the Supreme Court’s judgment with full letter and spirit, in order to see a change in the treatment of mentally ill prisoners by the justice system of Pakistan. Similarly, the Supreme Court may seek relevant authorities regarding the compliance of its ruling, which is being widely welcomed all over the world.

Executive Director JPP Barrister Sarah Belal says that progressive and holistic judgement has provided much-needed clarity on the issue of the execution of mentally ill prisoners, highlighting existing safeguards and implementing new ones where most needed.

“It can be seen as a reset of the criminal justice system by its recognition of the evolving nature of mental health sciences, giving mental health experts the responsibility to assist the courts in diagnosing mentally ill defendants and by enacting mandatory capacity building trainings for key stakeholders within the system,” she said. “This is a new beginning impacting everyone involved in the criminal justice system, especially the mentally ill prisoners the judgement will benefit.”

Since 2014, Pakistan executed over 500 individuals including those with mental illnesses. Munir Hussain, the 100th man to be executed, was severely mentally ill, according to his family, he had no recollection of his arrest or of his family members prior to his execution.