Talking with the Overseas Pakistanis weekly “Baladi” magazine the Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr. Farooq Sattar stated that he was aware of the deteriorating system for the education of Overseas Pakistanis children in Pakistani schools abroad. He blamed it all to the so-called division/rift between the Pakistani community in those countries. He disclosed that he wa considering to bring all such Pakistani schools abroad under the control of his Ministry and as a first step he was offering a big amount from Overseas Pakistanis money for the purchase of land for a Pakistani school in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Abdul Sattar is a highly educated person from a really educated and the second best disciplined MQM but appears to be the most misinformed Minister from amongst the present cabinet. For example in his same interview he repeated that the bank charges on remittances will be reduced. The fact is Pakistani banks abroad since about 15 years are charging nothing on remittances. So if a charge already does not exist how the Minister is going to reduce that further is a point to educated citizens. This is purely the game of his bureaucracy. While the previous Ministers for Overseas Pakistanis at least tried to do something though very little, so far Dr. Farooq has practically done nothing except for showing his this good intent and that intent. In his interview he admitted that due to his heavy engagements with his party he was not able to pay due attention to his Ministry which may perhaps too be the reason for this. The running of the Pakistani schools abroad is a complex matter the main reason of which is involvement of Pakistani embassies in those countries. Late Irshad Ahmed Haqqani once wrote two columns detailing how the concept of Pakistani community schools abroad started when some Pakistanis and their wives started teaching their own children collectively in two rooms of their own residence. The other needy Pakistanis also rushed their children there which were with open heart welcomed and soon it turned into a home based school. The Europeans living in that Arab country also started sending their children to this home-cum-school. When later it got a formal shape, the Pakistan Embassy bureaucracy entered into its affairs and since then it is the most favorite “hobby” and the “most prioritized duty” of the Pakistani Embassies all over the world. Irashad Ahmad Haqqani shedding his tears gave particularly the example of pitiable condition of Pakistan School in Bahrain. In whatever country there is a Pakistani community school the name of the Pakistan repeatedly remains coming in local press there with reference to the School there and of course the Pakistan Embassy. May it be Saudi Arabia, UAE, Syria or Bahrain the serious readers so often read stories both in Pakistan as well in the foreign press about these schools. Fortunately or unfortunately all such schools with exodus of manpower have become mega institutions with huge continuous monthly income and that is what makes the Pakistani bureaucracy uncomfortable and thus the rift “in the community” which actually is “manufactured”. As in case of our beloved country there are people always ready to become “taseers, wahabs and marvis” likewise there is no dirt of this special commodity amongst the Pakistani community abroad. These taseers, wahabs and marvis act as their peers wish and manufacture trouble amongst the community and act as “rent collectors” for the masters. In every country where there is a Pakistani community school, our embassies select their own taseers wahabs marvis who at one hand act as the cover for the embassies vested interests, on the other hand create rifts in the community. We have stitched many unique feathers in our national cap. One such was when in my presence there the national newspaper of the State of Bahrain published an article few years back titled “There is rift between Pakistan Embassy and the Pakistani community”. This was perhaps the first ever headline about any country’s embassy and its community. This newspaper was pro Pakistani and used to write up weekly a good newsletter about Pakistan. His concerned sub editor who was a Pakistani national was threatened by the Pakistan Ambassador for writing this article when the newspaper stopped this weekly pro Pakistani article. This rift was a manufactured one and the local newspapers for two years now are full of rising reports on school matters. While Irashad Haqqani wrote about worsening general affairs of these schools almost at the same time the well reputed honest notable late Pir Baniyaman Rizvi wrote two articles titled “The dear sons of our Foreign Affairs”. The veteran Pakistan movement worker stated that while earlier well influential used to struggle for getting a posting in the Customs, today the first priority to get a job is posting abroad but specifically in a country where existed a Pakistani community school. Late Rizvi further wrote that for “sons of MOFA” these schools are goldmine from for which “share” according to one’s worth properly reaches everyone upto Islamabad. He wrote that in order to prolong their stays these “MOFA Sons” send back to Islamabad stories of their unseen achievements on basis of which they get extensions in their stay. Most of these schools are under Pakistan Embassies though under so called Boards of Governors who mostly are taseers wahabs marvis. Where these community schools are under private managements the affairs are not that different. To quote there is an other Pakistani school in Bahrain which also is a community school founded 40 years ago for which each Pakistani shopkeeper, housewives, labourer donated one “Rupia”. This school today is a mega school a real gold mine. Though this school too has a Board comprising of taseers wahabs marvis but actually it is remote controlled by a single person who “business” empire day over day is increasing world over. This month’s story how a favouritee of Mr. Asif Zardari within only 5 months of his posting as Pakistan Ambassador in Syria replaced the old teachers with her wife appointed as the Principal and her daughters, grand children, cousin, children of sister in law, uncle etc on 2-3 time higher salary in the name of better education. A senior writer commenting on it questioned “was it not the first duty of a new ambassador to first see relations between the two countries” rather then prioritized the school. If one goes in study it will be found that the Ambassadors in such countries may come to embassy or not almost without fail daily visit schools. Though recently the media on the recent income declarations by the elected representatives commented that MQM parliamentarians were on top whose income rapidly increased, yet it is a well known fact that so far no finger has ever been raised against Dr. Farooq Sattar from MQM. It appears someone from the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation desires as to why tables should now not get turned towards them hence raised this beautiful idea through some usual bureaucratic Summary to get control of these schools. After all the taste of spending 35 millions on “not physically present development” and many other similar cases is not forgettable and is too delicious as a new recipe for someone in the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis. Otherwise the observation a few years by the National Assembly Accounts Committee is very self explaining sincerity of the proposed move. NA Committee in its report stated that the Government, the Ministry of Overseas Pakistan and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation have no interest with the Overseas Pakistanis whereas the India has done so and so. It is generally said that if traffic on an intersection is keep going smoothly just bring a traffic constable and it would within minutes become chaotic. If one really an honestly intends to provide proper education for the children of Overseas Pakistanis, then all direct or indirect involvement of Pakistan Embassies be prohibited and these schools be allowed to be run by the community itself. No doubt due to vested interests and the ills present in the system due to long presence of Embassies in the system the path will not clear immediately but surely as it is wisely thought that whatever is the present democracy it should let go for better to come, likewise with the passage of time and with the complete freedom from any control the community will learn to better manage in times to come.
Re: Pakistani schools abroad
Thank you for the cut n paste 