Baithak Desi Jun 10: Fauji Gift, Nadeem Paracha, Eqbal Mehdi, M Abul Fazl, News & Views, Cartoons

Fauji Gift: Amongst others the retired/serving Generals serving the Gilani government include Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Zubair, Member Planning Commission; Lt Gen (retd) Prof Dr KA Karamat, advisor (Health), Planning Commission; Lt Gen (retd) Javed Hasan, Rector National School of Public Policy (NSPP); Chairman FPSC Lt Gen (retd) Shahid Hameed; Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Ahad Najmi. Member FPSC; Rear Admiral (retd) Nishat Rafi, Member FPSC; Vice Admiral (retd) Ahmad Hayat, Chairman Karachi Port Trust; Air Marshal(retd) Shahid Hameed, Chairman Alternate Energy Development Board (recently removed); Vice Admiral (retd) M Asad Qureshi, Chairman Port Qasim Authority; Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmad, Deputy Chairman ERRA, repatriated to Army by the present regime; AVM (retd) Muhammad Ateeb Siddiqui, MD Federal Employees Benevolent and Group Insurance Funds; Rear Admiral Ahsanul Haq Chaudhry, Chairman Gwadar Port Authority; Lt Gen Syed Sabahat Husain, Chairman Pakistan Ordinance Factories; Air Marshal Khalid Chaudhry, Chairman Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Board, Kamra; AVM (retd) Ayaz Mahmood, Director General Ministry of Interior; Vice Admiral Interior Iftikhar Ahmad, MD Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works; AVM Sajid Habib, Deputy DG Civil Aviation Authority; AVM Iqbal Haidar, Ambassador to Libya; AVM Interior Shahzad Aslam Chaudhry, Ambassador to Sri Lanka; Admiral (retd) Shahid Karimullah, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Lt Gen (retd) Khateer Hasan Khan, Ambassador to Thailand; Lt Gen (retd) Shahid Siddiq Tirmizi, Secretary Defence Production; Maj Gen (retd) Syed Asif Riaz Bukhari, DG Civil Service Reforms Unit; DG NIPA Lahore Maj Gen (retd) Sikandar Shami; Maj Gen (retd) Farooq Ahmad Khan, Chairman Prime Ministerís Inspection Commission; Maj Gen Akhtar Iqbal, Deputy Chief of Staff to President; Press Secretary to President Maj Gen (retd) Rashid Qureshi, who had actually retired as Brigadier from Army but was given shoulder promotion as Maj Gen by Musharraf; Maj Gen Tariq Salim Malik, Additional Secretary Defence Production Division; Maj Gen (retd) Muhammad Jaweed, Chairman Evacuee Trust Property Board; Maj Gen Mahmud Ai Durrani, Ambassador of Pakistan to US and now adviser to Prime Minister on National Security; Maj Gen Asif Ali, Surveyor General, Survey of Pakistan; Rear Admiral (retd)(retd) Syed Afzal, G Ports and Shipping wing, Port Qasim Authority; Maj Gen (retd)Syed Haider Jawed, Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam; Maj Gen (retd) Tahir Mahmud Qazi, Ambassador to Malaysia; Maj Gen (retd) Syed Shua-ul-Qamar, Chairman National Telecommunication Corporation; Maj Gen (retd) Ali Baz Khan, Ambassador to Indonesia; Maj Gen (retd) Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Ambassador to Ukraine; Maj Gen (retd) Muhammad Yasin, Member Administration, Federal Bureau of Revenue; Maj Gen (retd) Fahim Akhtar, DG Intelligence and Investigation, FBR; Maj Gen (retd) Syed Shahid Mukhtar Shah, DG National Institute of Science and Technology; Maj Gen (retd) Inayatullah Khan Niazi, Chairman Federal Lands Commission; Maj Gen (retd) Shahzada Alam, Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority; AVM Tariq Matin, MD Stedec Technology Commercialization Corporation of Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd; Maj Gen Imtiaz Ahmad, Chairman National Highway Authority (NHA); Maj Gen (retd) Zaheer Ahmad Khan, Chairman State Engineering Corporation; Maj Gen (retd) Zafar Abbas Chairman National Fertilizer Corporation Ltd; Maj Gen (retd) Muhammad Javed, Chairman Pakistan Steels (recently removed); Maj Gen (retd) Shahida Malik, DG Health; Maj Gen (retd) Masood Anwar Executive Director National Institute of Health; Maj Gen Wajahat Ali Mufti, DG MI&C, Ministry of Defence; AVM M Kamal Alam, Director PIA; Maj Gen Syed Khalid Amir Jaffery, DG Anti-narcotics Force; Maj Gen Muhammad Siddique, Deputy Chairman NAB reverted to Army by the present regime; Maj Gen Aftab Ahmad, reverted to Army from NAB by the present regime; Maj Gen Mukhtar Ahmad, DG NAB, reverted to Army from NAB by the present regime; Maj Gen Shahid Ahmad Hashmat, DG NAB, also reverted to Army by this government.
The Brigade of the serving and retired Brigadiers include Brig Javed Iqbal Ahmad, DG Federal Directorate of Education; Brig Bilal Hameed, Inspector General Development Projects, Planning Commission; Brig Abdul Qadir, Secretary Health Gilgit; Brig (retd) Syed Ghulam Akbar Bukhari, MD PEAC; Brig (retd) Muhammad Sarfaraz, MD Baitul Maal; Brig (retd) Muhammad Younus, Deputy MD Baitul Maal; Brig (retd) Tariq Hamid Khan, DG National Security Council; Brig (retd) Faroghuddin Anjum, Director Education; Brig (retd) Atiqur Rahman, GM PTDC; Eng Brig (retd) Usman Shafi, GM Planning PTDC; Brig (retd) Dr Khaliqur Rahman Shah, Project Coordinator Higher Education Commission; Commodore (retd) Muhammad S Shamshad, Chairman Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Islamabad; Brig Shahryar Ashraf, GM NHA; Brig Zaheer Ahmad Rashad, GM NHA; Brig (retd) Hafeez Ahmad, MD Utility Stores Corporation; Brig (retd) Allah Ditta, Coordinator Franchise Utility Stores Corporation; Brig (retd) Naseem Ahmad, Incharge Development Cell, State Engineering Corporation; Brig (retd) Abdul Qayyum, Principal Executive Officer Pakistan steel; Brig (retd) Akhtar Zamin, Chairman Employees Old-Age Benefit Institute; Brig (retd) Shakeel Ahmad, Consultant Pemra; Brig Riaz Ahmad Noor, DG Frequency Allocation Board; Brig (retd) Muhammad Mazhar Qayyum Butt, DG PTA; Brig (retd) Aslam Shahab Hasan, DG PTA; Brig (retd) Muhammad Zubair Tahir, Consultant PTA; Brig (retd) Asad Munir, Member CDA; Brig Nusratullah, Member CDA; Brig Zahid Ahmad Malik, Secretary NTISB, Cabinet Division; Brig Raja Imitaz Ayub, Cabinet Division; Brig Shahid Majid, Member NHA; Brig (retd) Ghulam Haider, GM NHA; Brig Sohail Masood Alvi, DG NHA; Brig Arshad Wahab, GM Pakistan Steel; Brig (retd) Asad Hakeem, DG PASB Department; Air Cdre M Najib Khan, GM PIA; Brig (retd) Sikandar Javaid, Project Director CDWA; Brig (retd) Muhammad Musaddiq, Director NAB; Brig (retd) Inayatul Ilyas, Consultant NAB; Brig (retd) Khalid Pervaiz, Consultant NAB; Brig (retd) Muhammad Ashfaq Ashraf, Consultant NAB; Brig (retd) Muhammad Irfan, Consultant NAB; Brig (retd) Farooq Hameed Khan, Consultant NAB; Brig (retd) Amir Najeed, Consultant NAB; Brig Abdul Rahman Raza Khan, COS NAB Headquarter, returned to Army by the present regime; Brig Sajjad Bakhshi, Director NAB, now returned to Army; Brig Tariq Suhail, director NAB; Brig Ihsanul Haq, Director NAB; Brig Gul Farid Khan, COS NAB; Brig (retd) Muhammad Ali Asif, GM OGDC; Brig (retd) Muhammad Khalid S Khokhar, MD Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation; Brig (retd) Mukhtar Ahmad, GM Sui Southern Gas Company; Brig (retd) Zulqarnain Ahmad, GM Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd; Brig (retd) Syed Tariq Hassan, Director Punjab ASB Department; Brig (retd) Muhammad Akram Director Punjab ASB Deptt; Brig Babar Idress, ANF; Brig Sultan Mahmood Satti, Director ANF; Brig Pervez Sarwar Khan, Director ANF; Brig Amjad Pervez, Director ANF; Brig Faizul Karim Khan Kurki, ANF; Brig Pervez Khalid, ANF; Brig Muhammad Asif Alvi; Brig Saleem Mahmood; Brig (retd) Muhammad Younas, DG Board of Investment; Brig Riaz Arshad, Additional DG, Cabinet Division; Brig Ahmad Nawaz Zafar, Chief of Staff, PMís Secretariat; Brig Muhammad Anwar Khan, Director Civil Works, Ministry of Defence Production; Brig Ijaz Mahmood, Commandant, Ministry of Industries, Production and Special Initiative; Brig (retd) Saleem Ahmad Moeen, Chairman Nadra; Brig (retd) Shahid Akram Kardar, Member Directing Staff, Pakistan Administrative Staff College; Cdre M Saeed Kureshi, DG Ministry of Ports and Shipping; Air Cdre Zafar Iqbal Haider, OSD, Ministry of Defence Production; Brig Pervez Sarwar Khan, Director, Narcotics Ministry; Brig Ghulam Hafiz, Chief Engineer, Ministry of Information Technology; Brig Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, Member Erra; Brig Muhammad Salik Javed, Member Erra; Brig Shahid Saleem Lone, GM, Karachi Port Trust; Brig Abid Husain Bhatti, OSD, Defence Production Division; Brig Waqar Iqbal Raja, DG Erra; Air Cdre Abbas Petiwala, Chief of Calibration, Defence Ministry; Brig Akhtar Javed Warraich, DG Erra; Brig Muhammad Arshad Abbasi, Director General Wafaqi Mohtasib Secretariat; Brig Javed Iqbal, GM Ministry of Information Technology; Cdre Muhammad Ali, DG Gawadar Port Authority; Brig (retd) M Ashraf Siddiqi, DG Defence Production Division; Brig (retd) Muhammad Anwar Khan, DG, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Brig (retd) Tariq Hamid Khan, DG National Security Council; Cdre Azhar Hayat, GM Ministry of Ports and Shipping; Brig Nadeem Mahmood, Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Ports and Shipping; Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema, DG National Crisis Management Cell, Interior Ministry; Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Sattar, Directing Staff, NSPP; Brig (retd) Anwar-ul- Haq, Directing Staff NSPP; Brig (retd) Zubair Ahmed Chaudhry, Directing Staff NSPP and others. The above list may include some names of serving officers, already repatriated to GHQ, or those ex-servicemen, who may have left during the recent weeks and months. Ansar Abbasi


Disappointed, I surfed away from the channel and landed at a large local news channel. Of course, the whole CJP thing was still on and while bouncing between various other local news channels, I was left numb watching at least seven breaking news bits on four separate channels in a matter of 20 minutes or so. The bits were about the same thing but all the four channels claimed it to be exclusive. The only difference was that one channel called it News Just In, the other News Alert and another News Flash or something like that. While all the channels claimed the news was exclusive to their channel, it really wasn’t. In fact, it didn’t even qualify being called news at all. It was a tidbit about a famous lawyer talking about Habib Jalib. How does that constitute as being news? Or more so, ‘breaking news’? It has become a trend amongst our news channels that after covering hours and hours of a particular event, all of them usually end up becoming the event. What to do, na? - Nadeem F. Paracha


IN MEMORIAM: Eqbal Mehdi (1946-2008)
Eqbal Mehdi impressed many with his selection of subjects and treatment of imagery. Often the beautiful female figures were drawn and painted with a lot of jewellery, covered in drapery that offered a range of surfaces and details of the background, writes Quddus Mirza

At 6.41 pm, on 19th May 2008 I received a text message which read, “Artist Eqbal Mehdi has passed away.” Texts like these make you think about the need, necessity and the nuisance value of the mobile phone, which is employed for transmitting such news, but often in an impersonal, cold — and rather cruel manner.

I didn’t know Eqbal Mehdi personally, nor had I ever met him, but I recall being a young boy eagerly waiting each week for the new issue of Akhbaar-i-Jehan. Not that I was interested in the tales of three women, political commentary, reports of street crime, gossip about the actors and scandals of film actresses. Nor was I keen to read the sports column and children’s jokes or seeing the wedding pictures of newly married couples. The only thing I was anxious to see was the illustration on the inside cover, executed in pen and ink by Eqbal Mehdi, usually accompanied by a piece of poetry.


Ahmed Shawki, (1868-1932), the poet laureate of Egypt, was an important figure in the Arab nahda (or renaissance) of the late nineteenth century. The movement was almost entirely in response to the Western cultural impact and resulted in the modernisation of the Arabic language. Shawki, among other things, reinterpreted the great Arab love story Laila Majnoon. Poetry cannot be translated. So it is best rendered in English in prose. Qais goes late in the evening to the tents of Laila's father to borrow fire and runs into Laila. He tells her, "How many times have I asked the dawn if you sighed in the middle of the night. How many times have I questioned the winds, which, I thought, must have rustled your perfumed dress; or a gazelle whose eyelids stole the black of your eyes." Good poetry. But it lacked the base of a popular theatre.
South Asia accepted Western influence towards the end of the nineteenth century, when the novel appeared in Urdu and Bengali, followed by the short story. But our music was too developed and rich to allow us to be impressed by any other. The region had a tradition of operettas on religious themes. And Amanat's secular opera, Indar Sabha, was so good as to be patronised by the ruler of Awadh himself. Two interpretations By M. ABUL FAZL

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