In Picture: UET Lahore Welcome Party Of `12 Session Baloch Students

A great get together of Baloch Students of Lahore welcoming the new session honored by special guests:

University Law College of Balochistan Students Awarded in Moot Court Competition

New Delhi: Students of the University Law College of Balochistan were awarded with top honours at the International Moot Court competition for law students of India and Pakistan that was held over the weekend in New Delhi.

The subject was the vexed issue of Kashmir and every aspect of the dispute that has bogged the two countries down in hostility was looked at purely from a legal point of view. Issues that came up for discussion included rights of migrants, which of the two countries were on a right footing legally, the legality of the treaty of accession and whether the UN resolutions on Kashmir are binding.

Talking to The Hindu news, winners Ayesha Bibi, Asmatullah Kakar and Arbab Muhammad Amjad, University Law College principal Adnan Kasi, said “Among the suggestions that emerged at the end of the two-day moot court were amending the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and Article 370, and having a dialogue that involves representatives of the Kashmiri people brought to the negotiating table through an election held under the watch of the international community.”

The team from Balochistan was one of the five Pakistani teams which participated in the moot court; the other four representing the International Islamic University (Islamabad), the Lahore University of Management Sciences, the Shahid Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Karachi), and the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Muzaffarabad).

< Saach Tv  >

Baloch youth ready to sacrifice lives for Pakistan, says Magsi

QUETTA: Youth from Balochistan are ready to sacrifice their lives for Pakistan, said Governor Balochistan Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi in an impressive passing out ceremony of Baloch recruits in Quetta.

According to a press release, 1614 recruits participated in the parade who will join various arms of Pakistan Army. That will make a total of 18300 soldiers from Balochistan inducted in Pakistan Army in last four years.

The governor in his address congratulated the recruits on successful training and said that with this high standards of training imparted the fresh inductees in Army will enhance the pride of nation in future.

He applauded the efforts of COAS General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani for being considerate to the youth of the area by establishing of training center in the province and relaxing the enrollment criteria for them.

He said he takes pride in informing that there are more than 18000 soldiers and over 700 officers from Balochistan who have joined Pakistan Army. He said Pakistan is passing through a difficult time and with unity and harmony we will defeat the nefarious designs of our enemies. He highlighted that undoubtedly Pakistan Army is the guarantor of security and integrity of the country.

He appreciated the efforts of Pakistan Army in socio-economic development in the province including technical education to the youth in Quetta and Gawadar where more than 5000 students have already completed their training. Pakistan Army is planning to expand this educational programme to other areas of the province.

Sui Education City in Dera Bugti District is one of the glaring examples where Army has established a Military College in which 400 cadets from the area are undergoing quality education up to college level and Balochistan Public School in Sui which is imparting up to matric level education of local children.

Under Chamalang education system Army is providing free of cost education and boarding/lodging to 4300 local children in Army Public Schools/Colleges across the country. A Medical College has also been established in Quetta by Army where 100 local students are undergoing training.

Chamalang Coal Mines remained disputed between two tribes for over a decade. Pakistan Army negotiated and resolved the dispute and paved the way for employment of thousands of locals besides ensuring a major step towards the economic development of the province. The credit of economic activities in Duki and Musa Khel Coal Mines also goes to the Pakistan Army.

During recent 52 days long strike by doctors in the province, CMH Quetta established an emergency cell to deal with helpless patients and treated free of cost over 16,000 patients besides admissions, lab tests, medicines etc. Organisation of Field Medical Camps in the remote areas are a regular feature of Army’s Southern Command in the province. Over 50,000 patients have been given free medical treatment in the camps in this year alone.

The chief guests also appreciated the relentless efforts of Pakistan Army for relief and rescue of the public in the natural disasters like floods of 2010 and this year and earthquake in Ziarat area.

< The News >

More than 1500 Baloch youths join Pakistan Army

QUETTA: Passing out parade of more than 1600 recruits from Balochistan held here at EME centre on Thursday, Geo News reported.

According to ISPR, 1614 recruits participated in the parade. Passing out cadets will join Baloch units of Pakistan army.

Special Baloch center is established to impart training to the youth joining army from the province, ISPR said.

More than 15,000 officers and soldiers have joined Pak army from Balochistan till now, it added.

< Geo News >

BUITEMS Admission Policy

Vice Chancellor BUITEMS: Engr. Ahmed Farooq Bazai

They are provided opportunities to equip themselves with knowledge and confidence of facing and handling the challenges of practical/professional life. With a vision for being among one of the leading universities of the world accessible to all, BUITEMS clearly devised its admission policy allocating 90 per cent seats reserved for the students of Balochistan and 10 per cent on all-Pakistan open merit basis.

This policy has been duly approved by the statutory bodies of the university. The candidates hailing from Balochistan, who fulfill the basic eligibility criteria for admission, if not admitted in programme of their first choice, are allowed admission in other programmes of studies relevant to their qualifications.

As such, the candidates from Balochistan who meet the minimum criteria of Pakistan Engineering Council and other accreditation councils are not denied the privilege of the university.

Thus 90 per cent of BUITEMS’s student intake is from Balochistan including the remote areas. After graduating from BUITEMS, these students have brought significant change in living standards of their families and are seen as role models by youth of their areas, motivating them for acquiring higher education and improving economic profile of their region.

BUITEMS was ranked fourth in computer science and IT category by the HEC and earned ISO 9001-2008 certification in 2011. All academic procedures are automated by campus management solution. Every third student gets financial assistance. A farm is dedicated to research in life sciences at its Chiltan campus.

BUITEMS has maintained steady growth in physical facilities, human resources, nature and number of laboratories, number of programmes of study and the student body.

A sizable number of faculty members have been awarded scholarships for MS, MS leading to PhD and PhD studies in reputed national and international universities, either sponsored by faculty development programme of BUITEMS/HEC or by winning Fulbright scholarship, while some of them have been awarded scholarships either by the Australian or the Chinese government.

In the short span of 10 years the university has won seven Best University Teacher Awards, two international awards, one regional award and one national award. Three thousand alumni are serving in national and international organisations. Over 6,000 students are enrolled, and BUITEMS has the credit of being the largest engineering university in Balochistan in terms of numbers of study programmes.

The vice-chancellor of BUITEMS, Ahmed Farooq Bazai, is an internationally acclaimed educationist in the fields of engineering, management and academic administration. He has been recently conferred three prestigious international awards: Visionary Leader Award by Asian Confederation of Businesses, Outstanding Contribution to Education Award 2012 by World Education Congress, and International Socrates Award by Europe Business Assembly which has also chosen BUITEMS as one of the best representatives of national education.

He is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. As vice-chancellor of BUITEMS, he introduced good governing practices, hierarchical administrative and academic structures in the university.

BUITEMS has emerged as a beacon for the youth of Balochistan and is being recognized as a premier seat of learning in the region.

M. ASLAM NASIR
Public Relations Officer
BUITEMS, Quetta

< Dawn >

PIA to begin Quetta-Kandahar flights

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday expressed the confidence that the new management of Pakistan International Airline Corporation (PIAC) would bring about a turn around in the national flag carrier with a new passenger friendly face. The Prime Minister made these observations, during a briefing made to him on measures taken by the new management of PIAC to improve the operations, at Prime Minister's House.

The Prime Minister directed that all the grey areas must be addressed and loopholes plugged and economic viability of PIAC ensured. He further directed the PIAC to consider feasibility of running more flights to Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. The Prime Minister was informed that PIA will start flights on Quetta-Kandhar route from December 25 this year. This is the first time that a new destination has been initiated after a very long time in the history of airlines.

The Prime Minister was also informed by Managing Director PIAC, M. Junaid Younus that a business plan of the corporation is being firmed up with emphasis on facilitating the passenger so that business can be attracted. The business plan being worked out is being prepared with the objective of attaining a break even by 2013, he added. The present share of PIA in the international passenger business generating from Pakistan is 32 per cent while PIA has a share of 71 per cent in the domestic market, said the Managing Director PIAC.

The Prime Minister was also informed that PIAC has earned operational profit in September and October this year, which sets the tone and pace of recovery. The Managing Director PIAC informed the Prime Minister that PIA is acquiring the first airbus, which will join in February 2013 followed by four in March and three in second half of 2013.

These narrow body aircrafts will be fuel efficient and lead to massive savings in fuel cost, which presently constitute 55 per cent of total revenue earned by the airlines. The Prime Minister was also told that a proposal is under consideration to outsource non-core operations to reduce employee to aircraft ratio, which is presently 485 employees per aircraft.

The Chairman, PIAC and Secretary Defence, Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik (Retd) said that the new management envisages an airline, which will neither be employee or government friendly but passenger friendly. The meeting was also attended by high officials of the government.

< Business Recorder >

Rafiullah Kakar, Balochistan’s first Rhodes Scholar in 40 years

Rafiullah Kaker, Getting 5 Lakh Checque from Raisani

Rafiullah Kakar, 23, is all set to live “a dream come true”. He is the 2013 Rhodes Scholar for Pakistan. The Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in UK, one of the most prestigious awards in the world, is given to one Pakistani every year since 1951.

Kakar does not belong to a feudal family. He grew up in one of the most hostile and backward regions of Pakistan and no one had gone to college in his family before him.

His transformation from a boy who did not learn Urdu until the seventh grade to a Rhodes Scholar is a story of hard work, family support, perseverance and the pursuit of personal ambition.


Humble beginnings

Right on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Killa Abdullah District is famous for its headquarters, Chaman. But there’s more to the district than the gateway city to Afghanistan.

Gulistan Tehsil, centred on a city by the same name some 80 kilometres southeast of Chaman, is the district’s other subdivision. It has around 20 villages, one of them called Killi Ahmad Khellan. That is where Kakar was born, to a family of four brothers and eight sisters.

The area is “dry, mountainous, arid,” according to Kakar. People, including Kakar’s father, usually tend to gardens of grapes and apples, but the agriculture, affected by lowering water tables, load shedding and poor economic conditions, is fading away. Some have moved out of the area. Others, who have survived the infighting among tribes, have taken to human and drugs trafficking.


Personal transformations

In 2001, Kakar, a smart student from the beginning, got “lucky”. He got a scholarship to study at the Balochistan Residential College (BRC), Loralai, on the district quota.

But he felt isolated among the children of the elite, kids who had studied at Quetta’s grammar schools and who spoke fluent English. He could not understand a word of the English-medium textbooks. The first year was especially difficult. “I had gone there from an institution where I only knew Pashto,” Kakar says. “I did not know Urdu and absolutely no English.”

He stuck to his studies and did not flunk. Memorising the texts, he built up his Urdu and English vocabulary. It took him a while.

“In two years, I covered the language gap,” he says, in almost pristine English, just a hint of a Pashto accent hanging from his vowels. “After that, I never looked back.”

Winning declamation contests, representing BRC at national conferences and graduating among the top three of the pre-engineering exam for Balochistan’s intermediate board, Kakar kept building from strength to strength.

In 2007, he got admission at the Government College University (GCU), Lahore, to study political science. The switch from engineering to social science was one he made at the request of his family. He could not refuse them.


Family matters

Kakar says he could not have done it without his family’s support, especially his older brothers. When he first got the scholarship, his father was against him leaving for Loralai. But his brothers intervened.

Kakar says it might have been because of their personal unfulfilled ambitions to continue their studies. He remembers how his brothers would drive him back to the school every six months after holidays, the whole family would bid him good bye in a procession of tears.
Pushing the boundaries

In Lahore, Kakar encountered a new world, a “culture shock”. “I came across many stereotypes, many assumptions that I had not heard of before [in Balochistan],” he says. So he started interacting with his Punjabi friends and teachers, trying to understand their perspectives.

“GCU was another watershed in my life. My time there truly opened the windows of my mind.”
He chose ethnic politics and religious extremism in Pakistan as his academic area of interest. Kakar had expected GCU’s academic life to be tough, but when he realized he was cruising in academics while being active in extra curricular activities, he decided to challenge himself.
He tried to get into the Lahore University of Management Studies. That didn’t happen, but he was selected for the Global UGRAD student exchange programme of the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan.

He spent his seventh semester studying at Augustana College in South Dakota in fall 2010. Kakar admits he had some biases and conventional prejudices before he left for the US. But that changed while he was there.

Kakar says answering the questions of his international friends helped him understand the realities of Pakistan better.

“If I have to say two things that hurt Pakistan’s political culture the most, they will be bad governance and conspiracy theories.”

He says there’s a positive side to Pakistan but we should not live in a state of denial, always looking for external factors for domestic problems. When he got back from the US, he came up with an ambitious plan to do his graduate studies at either Harvard or Oxford. He could not do it without funding, so he applied for the Rhodes Scholarship.


What the future holds

Rhodes Scholars form an elite international club with members such as Waseem Sajjad and Babar Sattar. For now, Kakar will be studying International Relations at the Oxford University.
But Kakar is a planner. While applying for Rhodes, he has also been preparing for the Central Superior Services examination. His long-term plan, however, is to become a politician whenever he gets a chance, because he believes “You cannot change anything without being in power.”

< Express Tribune >

NHA to remove snags in Balochistan projects completion

File Photo: Qila Saifullah, Balochistan

Islamabad—Progress on some of the ongoing National Highway Authority (NHA) road projects in Balochistan was slow due to various factors including adverse law and order situation and delay in payments. However, the NHA was taking steps to remove hindrances in completion of ongoing projects in the province, a NHA source informed APP here on Wednesday.

To a question, the source said that the NHA was persuading FWO to remobilise on Hoshab-Pangjur-Nag-Basima-Surab Highway (N-85). Moreover NHA was considering to award contract from completion of balance works on Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab section of M-8 and Khori-Wangu Hills section of M-8 to FWO. The source said that 37 percent of NHA’s road network falls in Balochistan.

Talks were in advance stage with USAID for financing balance work of Kalat- Quetta-Chaman Highway (N-25), one of the major projects to be completed with foreign loan. Kalat-Khad Khoocha and Quetta-Qilla Saifullah sections of the project have been completed while work on Khad Koocha-Quetta and Qilla Saifullah-Chaman sections is being completed and progress on these sections is 70 percent, he added.

< Pakistan Observer >

NDMA distributed 58,250 food bags in Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has distributed 255,495 food bags among the flood-hit people of the country. According to an official, the NDMA has distributed 58,250 food bags in Balochistan, 176,245 in Sindh and 21,000 in the Punjab. He said the NDMA had distributed 47,300 tents including 13,000 tents in the Punjab, 14,000 in Sindh, 20,000 in Balochistan while 300 tents were distributed in Azad Kashmir by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).

Furthermore, the NDMA is taking care of 141,843 flood-hit people in 108 relief camps established in flood-hit areas of Sindh. To a question regarding flood damage, he said a total of 12,121 cattle heads have perished and 14,151 villages were affected by flash flooding including 1,512 Punjab villages, 11,894 villages of Sindh and 753 villages of Balochistan.

< The News >

The Baloch: Faiz Mohammad Baloch

Name: Faiz Mohammad Baloch
Father Name: Sheer Mohammad Baloch
Born: 1900
Place of Birth: Qasar Qand (Iran)
Died: 1900-6th May 1980
Place of Death: Quetta(Balochistan)
Famous Songs: "Laila O Laila" & "Yeh Pakistan Hamara"

He Received the pride of Performance from the Govt. of Pakistan. He visited China, Russia, USA, Canada, Afghanistan, Germany, France, South Korea,Lebanon, Spain, Aljazire, & England.

He Visited most of the country with best price of honour, & expren his talent.Faiz Muhammad joined Radio Pakistan in 1948 regularly. He taught by Ustad Noori and Ustad Kher Muhammad(Mama Khero).

He also got education of Classical Music by Ustad Ramzan.

Student from Balochistan wins Rhodes Scholarship

ISLAMABAD: A student from Qilla Abdullah, a backward area of Balochistan, has been selected for Rhodes scholarship 2012.

Only 80 students are selected for the scholarship from 23 countries every year. Former chairman senate Wasim Sajjad and former US president Bill Clinton were also winners of the scholarship.

Rafiullah Kaka, in his early 20s, told Dawn there is only one middle school in his native district and those who wanted to study had to travel many miles every day.

He said that he had eight sisters and five brothers and he completed his studies up to intermediate from Balochistan and then came to Lahore for further studies. It was difficult for his family to afford his expenses because his father ran a shop of mobile phones, he added.

“I am aiming to do MPhil in International Relations and will come back to serve my country,” he said.
Assistant secretary Rhodes Pakistan, Agha Afzal told Dawn that this year, 188 applications were received for the scholarship. “Only Rafiullah from Pakistan could be selected, which is an honour for us,” he said.—A Reporter

< Dawn >

Balochistan Plans Gifiting 200 Acres to the Sultan of Oman

File Photo: EX-PM of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani and Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id

Pakistan’s Balochistan province is planning to gift 200 acres to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said as a token of gratitude and honor for Oman's commitment towards the development of the region and the port city of Gwadar in particular.

Speaking during a private visit to the sultanate, Muhammad Syed Faseih Iqbal, former senator and senior member of the Pakistan Press Council, said that the move would also help to boost the close historical ties between Oman and Balochistan.

“Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani, the chief Minister of Balochistan is planning to gift 200 acres to honor His Majesty the Sultan as a goodwill gesture to the people of Oman. The topography of Gwadar is the same as Oman. Government-to-government relationship is fine but we want to revive the Balochi-Omani bond.”

Iqbal said that he personally witnessed Oman handing over Gwadar to Pakistan in 1958. “Gwadar is strategically positioned and shares a 'deep historical link' with the sultanate. The Balochistan government is also taking care of the Fort of Sultan Said Taimur.

“Balochis in Oman share a long history with their counterparts in Pakistan dating back at least 300 years. Many Balochis are permanently settled in Oman. I feel that ties can still be improved and people on both the sides can be brought closer through education, business and trade. We would like to invite the Omani government to construct a university and a hospital in Gwadar. Gwadar has none of these and this would help in bringing people closer.”

H E Nawabzada Aminullah Khan Raisani, the Pakistani Ambassador to Oman, welcomed the proposal of gifting the land and said, “His Majesty the Sultan has done a lot for people of Gwadar. The Balochistan government's initiative is a token of appreciation and I am sure the Pakistan government will welcome the move.”

His Majesty the Sultan had announced a US$100mn (RO38.5mn) grant during his 2001 visit to Pakistan. Out of this, US$64mn (RO24.64mn) was allocated for development work in Balochistan. Reports stated that US$17.5mn (RO6.73mn) was earmarked for the development of Gwadar International Airport and US$27.5mn (RO10.5mn) for Gwadar city.

Iqbal said that the grant has been utilised to boost infrastructural facilities like the building of 300km Gwadar-Turbat-Hoshab road and electrification of Gwadar city. “We believe that there was a strong link between Omanis and Balochis in the 16th and 17th centuries and would like to revive the same bond.”

< Muscat daily  >