entered the room at 1.30 pm. The penal had a long day they already interviewed six candidates and i was the seventh
I entered the room and greeted the members Assalumuallakum sir
They welcomed me and told me to sit down
Now it is the General turn
Ok Owais sahab introduce ur self
(No chit chats from me)
I started iterating my practised introduction
I mentioned my education, my schooling and how I loved to participate in extracurricular activities. Mentioned I was the Scholl quiz champion, represented my school at zonal level. I participated in debate I was a sportsman, an athlete and then my college days and then what I did after my graduation, my tenure at Sanofi-aventis , and what I am doing now
(I tried to sell myself)
Penal looks disinterested. I think they had heard such self appraisal a lot that day
General was looking at me His first question was a searching one
Ok gentle man so you were an athlete what event u participated
He caught me off guard, however I replied quickly
Sir 100 meters, long jump
What was ur best time
Sir i guess 15 sec
What was ur best jump
(How could i remember i was dropped from the school team, I was eager but my school PTI could not figure my enthusiasm at that time)
Sir I guess 16 meters (I mumbled irrationally)
General was smiling. Wow u had set a world record
I immediately realized my folly and explained. Sir actually I don’t remember
I participated in a school event my competition was with my schoolfellows and there was no proper measurement as far as I remember, and as it is now a matter of nearly to 11 years I simply can’t remember the distance sir.
(Wow a bad start)
Any how the general shoot another one at me.
Now what is the implication of trade with idea?
Sir trade with India is in favor of both countries; the whole world is going towards regional trade E.U and SCO are examples However India is not treating us on an equal footing there are unseen and inherent tariffs and taxes in India
It has given us MFN but because of visa, clearance issue our exporter has to wander between the offices of India and Calcutta. Our goods are mostly perishable goods so delaying gets them rotten and also because of these entire unseen tariffs they become uncompetitive in Indian markets until India treats us on an equal footing, free trade with India is not in our best interest
General said what about nonperishable goods like surgical items and others
I replied there is lesser demand of them so we are not benefitted from their export
General molded the question Ok let’s say India resolve our complains then
Then it will benefit both countries both countries would benefit from the absolute and relative advantages of each other goods
There would be movement of capital and labor , Vested interest of both nation would formed and it will help resolving disputes among the countries like Kashmir and others
Any other advantage? General asked
Well there will be merging of the subculture of both countries and...
General interrupted me if there is merging of culture they would going to conquer us No need to fight with us, they are winning the battle with their cultural invasion like dances, films and dramas
I replied sir you are repeating the words of Sonia Gandhi However I believe as a nation we should be strong enough to be subversive to traits not akin to our values I believe most of our population adhere to Islam they read their prayers so there would be no question ,their culture would going to conquer us
Leave it yaar General said Hum yahan aik hafte se baithain hain .koi namaz nahi parhta .aur india key gande dances main to dekhta hoon aur kya tum nahin dekhyay. Jhoot mat boolna I am sure you watch them too
I was not expecting such guilelessness, in a bit of shock and a bit dismay I replied
Well sir I had watched that obscenity as you are mentioning but I don’t like it And I can say that I don’t watch them now However nudity and vulgarity is no culture and we Pakistanis may watch them but I believe none of us wants such activities to happen in our homes .We would not want our sisters and daughters practising such things As Muslims it is against our norms and mores.
Ok so any other advantages of free trade with India
Well I think we could benefit with their steel industry and software
General said so it will benefit us as because of low transportation
Yes sir definitely we are importing them from far flung regions (I stopped a bit and then decided to quote some relevant facts and incidences like Benelux phenomenon. Germany and France partnership so I said) sir if you allow, I like to put forward some relevant facts and data regarding the topic.
No No it is enough (I guess general had heard enough gibberish from me)
He told me that it is now the turn of Bukhari sahab
The other panelist asked
So do you think there is need to build consensus on kalabagh and it is in our nation best interest (he asked me in Urdu so I decided to reply him in minglish)
Sir Kalabagh dam is in the best interest of our nation. We are building Bhasha dam now and if kalabagh dam could also be build the longevity of our other dams would increase because of low slit however this issue is highly politicized and now it is a matter of our social integrity So kalabagh dam should not be the cost of our social integrity. For energy purposes we can go nuclear. We can develop our coal reserves, though it is lignite but as Germany had done it its autokary in 1933 and as South Africa is doing it now, we can also do so. We can also preserve our water by other means In current circumstances two of our ethnicities consider it a matter of their survival as Pashtoon are apprehensive of Naushera and there may be some justification as of the flood of river Kabul in 2006 this could divide them more from us.Yes I believe we need to build consensus and try to inform our brother that they are going to benefit from it but this should not be done on the cost of social integrity.
Ok there talk of constitutional package well what want amendments you like to be a part of our constitution?
Well I like to form the NFC as it was envisaged in 1973 constitution , do away with concurrent list , also would form such checks and balances so that legislature , judiciary and executive would work independently and freely and last I want provisions which would guarantee Islamic way of living in us.
Well gentle man state should not be concerned with religion. It should be secular, you are talking about sharia . Taliban like imposed sharia in Afghanistan. Do you support it? ( He is talking in urdu again. So I continued my minglish)
Sir for me the provision I like to see would be social justice, equitable distribution of wealth also the sense of duty and scrupulosity among our citizen. I am totally against Taliban perception of Islam that is I what I mean. And for secularism I must allude to the speech made by Quaid-e-azam on 15th of august 1947 after Mountbainten mentioned Akbar secularism. He reminded the audience that the ideal system based on true principles was found by Prophet Mohammad PBUH and we would be going to practise it.
But gentleman an institution like zakat if introduced in our system would u think people would follow it So much corruption, lying and deception (He was continuing urdu)
I replied in minglish Sir I thing the problem is not zakat or islam we should also focus on nation building too. Whatever system you introduce if we are not scrupulous and ethical
(Suddenly bukhari noticed my minglish he enquired do u will hesitant in expressing in English I said no sir he instructed me to stuck to English medium I immediately complied)
Sir I think we also should focus on nation building and inculcate morality, scrupulosity and ethical values among our people. They should be taught toleration, punctiliousness and that is how we would be progressing. This I think is enlightened moderation.
(Now I was trying to show the little vocabulary I have and also that I can express freely in English)
Now the state bank has increased the discount rate to two percent what will be implication for it.
I showed a smile and replied now sir this is a very interesting situation. Increase in discount rate is an essential part of monetary policy which is
1- Increasing interest rates from banks
2- Open market operation selling the government securities and bonds
3- Increasing bank reserve rates to central bank
Now all this to control inflation and decrease money supply but whenever there is general inflation there said to be boom in trade cycle but our economy is in recession because of law and order situation and flight of capital. So by increasing interest rate our economy would be damaged, our investors need money but they would not get debt at these outrageous interest rates which I read in some banks would reach 20 to 25 percent, so it is a quagmire in which we are in.
(Some other question was also asked by the member but I couldn’t recollect it now)
However now I was at the mercy of Masood Alam (He looked at the watch and then started quickly)
Well sir you mentioned Prophet Mohammad and mother Theresa as your favorite personality which alive personality are your role models
(I was expecting this to be asked from me so without a delay) Sir Nelson mendalla and Dr Adeeb Rizwi.
He checked my answer and then shoots one at me while looking at the paper
What is H5N1 (from nowhere it comes?)
Sir H5n1 it is flu, aah chicken…chickenpox ok (Now I composed myself) Sir this is the famous bird flu and there are four strains apart from the one you mentioned
Ok but does it has the same threat as it had such hype
Sir the threat is genuine. WHO quantified it having the same potential as of the pandemic of WW1 in which nearly 100 million people died as our poultry is not under regulation, the cases would represent the tip of the ice berg
What happens in it?
If the patient is not treated on exigency basis he might develop ARDS
Well so only butchers would be affected; at our eating habits could it infect us? (He was asking me in Urdu but I stuck to English, I had been warned)
Sir we cook our meal at high enough temperature however the restaurants and hotels use substandard oil resulting in raw meat attached at the bone, it has similar potential to infect.
Ok what is your mother tongue? (In Urdu too I think he was deliberately doing it)
Urdu sir
Well you mentioned you were doing house job at Burns centre CHK on Nishter park incident which had gory effects on you? Its enquiry was shelved who was responsible for the event? MQM?
(Now I was in a fix, I didn’t want controversy)
Sir I don’t think MQM was involved in plotting it because MQM is a stake holder in Karachi and the turmoil of that incident had shattered law and order situation and MQM as it considered being responsible for law and order was affected. The inquiry you were talking about was conducted by justice saeed jafary ( A look of surprise , I sensed) Well sir I was closely following it I was also kind of a actor in it so I think it was shelved because it was not the first and only event as there were a cascade of events afterwards so it was on the backburner
However many people would say as the whole leadership of Sunni therik was bombed and killed, MQM was involved but in my view if MQM were involved it was not a sane option for them because such incidents bolstered such moments and they are able to find new recruits so if they were involved they committed a folly However I don’t think MQM was involved.
Well in sindh there is a perception they are been ostracized and Punjab has exploited it and there is widespread poverty what do you say?
Sir I will give you firsthand information. During my tenure at sanofi-aventis I was entrusted to give demonstration in many cities I journeyed across the length and breadth of Pakistan
However the poverty I witnessed in upper sindh as compared to Punjab and lower sind was of more grave nature I seen sajawal, shikarpur and ….
But sajawal is in lower sindh
You are right sir but I think it is in the way to shikarpur , however also larkana, Jacobabad and other big cities I was shocked to see the detoriated law and order situation, wide spread poverty and tribal feuds
Especially larkana , The Paris of Asia I was shocked to see muddy houses, also the rice canal dirty and not to my imagination .
So the perception that Punjab is responsible and army had done it why the perception is there?
I think it has lot to do with MRD 1983
Well I want to know is there a reality to the perception?
No sir I don’t think so. It’s true that there is wide spread poverty but poverty prevailed in Pakistan
73.6 percent of our population is impecunious means this much strata lives under 2 dollar per day The poverty in upper sindh is because of regional traditional politics (I iterated the term of Gabriel almond) and tribal feuds . Many sindhi rose to highest state functionaries and held the highest political state offices I don’t think there is any reality to this perception
Ok do you know common wealth of independent states and what is going on there?
Sir now I am a bit confused You talk about CIS but I don’t think this forum is now functional , It was formed in 1989-90 after the dissolution of USSR The central Asian republic Uzbekistan ,Tajikistan and other eastern European states. But now 10 years has elapsed , many things change and now Oil Corporations are there and….
He interrupted me what is the difference between CIS and now the central Asian republics?
Well sir at that time pro Russian establishment was installed, former soviet generals in these states but now Uzbekistan is one of biggest non NATO ally and also western oil companies are there (I was now hoping to be questioned on silk road project and the great game of central Asia)
Ok that’s enough now tell us what happen to your attempt in css 2007
Sir I was failed in English
précis and grammar
( I made eye contact and replied in a firm tone)
Which subject you fail in
In English
précis and grammar sir
Ok thank you that is all