| 29 May 2004 | Saturday | 09 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
A Punjabi moot in India
"Many of the soldiers are alive today because of the willingness and skill of the Pakistani soldiers who worked jointly in rescue operation. We are thankful to the people and army of Pakistan for sending such splendid soldiers to Somalia with whom we feel proud to serve.
Pakistani soldiers have been completely dependable even in the most difficult circumstances", said Major-General Thomas M. Montgomery, deputy commander of the UN Forces in Somalia.
"The Pakistani contingent showed professionalism, patience, determination and compassion, which indeed are the hallmarks of an effective peacekeeping force", said Lieutenant-General J.M. Sanderson of the United Nations mission in Cambodia.
There are numerous such remarks that commend Pakistani soldiers for their unprecedented services for restoration of peace and the rehabilitation work they have been rendering around the globe.
Pakistan, which firmly believes in the purpose and the principles of the UN charter, has since 1960 been actively participating in UN peacekeeping efforts around the globe.
Pakistani troops formed part of the UN contingent to the Congo in 1960 and remained engaged in peacekeeping activities for four years there, helping the country maintain its political independence.
In 1962, Pakistani troops were sent to West Irian to be part of the UN contingent that assumed control of the area when Dutch forces withdrew. They helped accomplish a smooth transition as envisaged by the world body. Pakistan contributed an infantry battalion to the mission.
In Somalia, Pakistani soldiers carried out peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance programmes under the aegis of the United Nations from April 1992 to March 1995.
The contingent lived up to the mission's nomenclature "Hope" and brought confidence and succour to a large number of starving and sick people affected by senseless fractional violence.
In 1992, Pakistani troops provided valuable assistance under the aegis of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, ripped apart by long internal strife, aggravated by foreign military intervention. Pakistan had contributed an infantry battalion, a logistic company, mine clearance and supervisory teams, and military observers.
Devastated by ethnic cleansing, the people of Bosnia- Herzegovina suffered untold miseries at the hands of their former compatriots, ethnic Serbs and Croats. Pakistan sent two battalions in May 1994 to form part of the United Nations Protection Force there.
These battalions were instrumental in restoring peace and providing protection to various UN agencies and the NGOs operating there. They also rendered humanitarian assistance in the form of medical care and distribution of food.
In March 1995, a Pakistan Army battalion was assigned to the UN mission in Haiti. Pakistani troops contributed in a big way towards the restoration of democracy in the region. On many occasions they came to the rescue of a large number of people, provided clean drinking water and constructed police stations.
In Eastern Slovenia, a Pakistan Army contingent comprising about 1,000 troops arrived in May 1996 as part of the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slovenia.
Pakistani troops maintained a high-profile presence in the area through extensive patrolling, manned tactically important posts located in thick forests and swampy areas and disarmed a large number of Serb soldiers.
In 2001, Pakistan contributed its troops to East Timor. The contingent comprised troops from the Engineers and Signals and took part in efforts to restore the country's communication infrastructure.
In May 2001 under the UN flag over 4,000 Pakistani troops were sent to Sierra Leone where they were deployed in the most sensitive area of the country. The Pakistani troops not only brought peace to the country but helped a great deal in rehabilitation work in the country which earned them worldwide accolade.
A batch of Pakistani troops comprising over 1,000 personnel has been working under the UN flag for the last one year in the Congo for restoration of peace and humanitarian assistance.
Another batch of over 2,000 formed part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2003. The mission continues to support the poor and needy people of the country.
Pakistan has also been participating in UN military observer groups in Yemen, Namibia, Kuwait, Western Sahara, Liberia, Georgia, Rwanda, Angola, Congo and Sierra Leone.
In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, a task force of Pakistan Army engineers performed recovery missions in a war- devastated zone spanning over 3,000 square kilometres in Bubian Island located north of Kuwait city.
Though the work was not carried out as part of the UN peacekeeping force, it helped Kuwait reclaim land vital for the country's quick recovery and its programme of reconstruction.
A batch of Pakistani doctors also went to Iran during December 2003 to provide assistance to the people of Bam after the devastating earthquake that hit the city.
A Punjabi moot in India
Last week, while attending the monthly session of the Adab Serai, I came to know that the chairperson of the organization, Shahnaz Muzammil, would be going to attend the Punjabi conference being held towards the end of the month in India.
Later, when I met Kazy Javed, the regional director of the Pakistan Academy of Letters, he told me that he was also a member of the delegation. His only worry at the time was the NOC, which was essential for all government servants proceeding to India.
Kazy told me that he was scheduled to deliver some lectures at the East Punjab universities. However, the most surprising news in this connection was that Agha Ameer Husain of the publishing house, Classeek, was also a member of the delegation. I really do not know how he qualifies as a writer of Punjabi. All in all, it is an over 150-person delegation that Fakhr Zaman was leading to India.
The mention of the Punjabi conference has brought to my mind the interesting controversy created recently about the Punjab's mother tongue. Fateh Muhammad Malik, who is posted these days to ensure that Urdu is adopted as the official language of the country, wrote something about the need for imparting education to children in their mother tongue.
At this, someone wrote that the mother tongue of the Punjabis was Urdu after which hell broke loose and those for and against Punjabi started playing the other down.
Now, without in any way trying to involve myself in the dispute, all that I have to say is that the mother tongue has always been considered the best medium of instruction during the early stages of education.
As the late Masud Khadarposh used to say, a Punjabi child is confused when shown a book in school with the picture of a buffalo and told this is a 'bhains' while he has all along heard it being called a 'mujh'.
There is no doubt that Punjabi has a rich literature and was there much before the greats of Urdu produced anything. But then, who can deny the essential need of teaching Urdu? A via media has to be evolved.
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I have already written about Azra Asghar's re-entry into Lahore after a long stay in Islamabad. It was during the time she spent there that she started publishing a literary monthly, Tajdeed-i-Nau, which kept appearing for quite some time.
At the same time, she launched a literary organization under the name of Bazm-i-Tajdeed that met with regularity. Soon after her arrival in Lahore last year, Azra Asghar revived the Bazm-i-Tajdeed and arranged its inaugural session at the residence of Dr Agha Suhail.
That was followed by some more while the fourth was held last week at the residence of Masud Zaidi, who produces the quarterly, Navadir. He lives in a locality which appears halfway to Multan but despite that, coupled with the blistering afternoon heat, quite a large number of people gathered at the venue.
It was nice to see the editor of the monthly Takhleeq, Azhar Javed, fresh from a long visit to India and Karamat Bukhari after his sojourn in Europe. Aizaz Ahmed Azar has been spotted quite often at various functions, but it was Mirza Hamid Baig whom I met after a long time.
Aslam Kamal was also there but Sheba Taraz, who was conducting the proceedings, promptly put him in the presidential chair. It was not a long agenda that afternoon as only Tasneem Minto had been asked to present a short-story.
She read out one under the heading, Hujum-i-Hamnafsan. It revolved around the present-day tragedy of broken families - the youngsters heading for foreign lands and the older ones left behind to fret for them.
Things come to a head when the parents find no one to look after them and are left at the mercy of neighbours. All those returning from abroad find themselves aliens in their own land and start shedding tears of self-pity. The story was highly moving and won appreciation of the knowledgeable people around.
Aal-i-Muhammad Bazmi, who lives in Karachi, happened to be staying with Masud Zaidi that day. Introduced to the audience, he told us that he had once been publishing a magazine from Karachi under the title Fikr-o-Nazar, and also wrote poetry.
Coaxed by those present, he did recite some of his verses. However, he spent more time in praising the Lahorites for arranging such 'dainty' literary sittings, which had become a rarity in Karachi.
* * * * *
I am obliged to Dr Syed Moeenur Rahman for sending me books of my interest. The latest is one based on the letters of Baba-i-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq. Going through it, I feel it would have been better if the letters had been placed chronologically instead of alphabetically according to the name of the addressee.
By adopting this method, the compiler has made it easier to locate a letter but the spirit of the time during which the letter was written is lost. I eagerly looked up the letters written to Qazi Ahmed Mian Akhtar whom Baba-i-Urdu used to call Aftab-i-Kathiawar.
I had the privilege of meeting him in Junagadh where he happened to be a jagirdar. I was sorry to find that all that has been included in the book was written on post-partition days.
Anyway, what greatly impressed me was that Baba-i-Urdu had written to Akhtar Junagadhi that he would be donating his pension to the Anjuman-i-Tarraqi-i-Urdu. But the best is further on in the letter written in 1952.
He says, "Very soon, I'll be getting some work which would provide me Rs150 a month which would suffice for my expenses". Great days and a great man, indeed.