Better to learn English than Arabic...
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg1_1
Musharraf for end to student politics
LAHORE: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday empahsied that students should not get involved in politics and that political parties should stay away from educational institutions.
"Educational institutions should be free of politics,"President Musharraf said in his speech at the concluding session of the 2-day Punjab Students Convention 2004 at Aiwan-e-Iqbal.
Punjab Governor Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Atta-ur-Rehman, Punjab Education Minister Mian Imran Masood and vice chancellors of public and private universities were also present. President Musharraf praised Pervaiz Elahi's decision not to reorganise the Pakistan Muslim League's student wing in Punjab. "All political parties should emulate this and let students concentrate on their studies only," he said.
The president said that the education sector had fallen into a state of neglect in the past but his government gave education the highest priority so far. "The federal government allocated Rs 800 million only to education five years ago. This was too small a sum to benefit the education sector. Therefore we increased this sum to Rs 9.1 billion, registering a phenomenal 900 percent increase," he said.
He said the previous government allocated Rs 180 million for science and education, while the present government had allocated a huge sum of Rs 6 billion to science and education. President Musharraf stressed that students should acquire technical education to prepare for modern challenges. He also stressed improving the quality of education by reinforcing faculties at educational institutions. President Musharraf said that he did not believe in westernising society but wanted to make Pakistan an enlightened, moderate and progressive welfare state as envisioned by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The president said Pakistan had its own culture and tradition and which must be promoted by relinquishing fanaticism.
He said Pakistan's close ties with the United States was acceptance of the fact that the US was the only superpower in the uni-polar world. But he denied that Pakistan was solely dependent on the US.
He said the country needed national solidarity and Islamic principles and Jinnah's teachings gave clear guidelines to the nation on making the country a progressive and modern welfare state. "We need to be tolerant in our attitude towards transforming ourselves into a tolerant society," he said. He lamented that although Pakistan was an atomic power,
it was listed among the countries with poor literacy. He said serious efforts were under way to ensure quality modern education to young people. He said the government wanted to bring over one million seminaries' students into national mainstream. He stressed students graduating from seminaries should have opportunities for playing a role in national development instead of becoming a cleric only.
The president said Muslims occupied 70 per cent of natural resources of the world but had only 600 universities whereas there were 1,000 universities in Japan alone.
Musharraf said the Organization of Islamic Countries was being revitalised and special focus would be given on the promotion of education, especially scientific education and training.
He called on Muslims to learn English to meet the challenges of modern times, saying social reformer and educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had also asked Muslims to learn the English language. "Pakistanis should consider learning the English language." The president suggested setting up centres of excellence in Islamic states. He also emphasised improving Pakistan's image abroad.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg7_26
MMA says govt trying to make country secular
KARACHI: Central leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Sahibzada Maulana Ans Shah Noorani has claimed days of the army rulers are numbered, as the countrywide ongoing campaign of the alliance will soon throw them out of power.
He was speaking at a protest demonstration organised by the MMA against declaration by President Musharraf to continue as Chief of the Army Staff, outside Karachi Press Club on Friday.
Prominent among others who spoke at the protest demonstration were MMA MNA Mohammed Husain Mehnati and Mohammed Aslam Mujahid. Carrying banners and placards, protesters raised slogans against army rulers and " American intervention in the internal affairs of Pakistan." Maulana Ans Norrani appealed to ulema to play their due role in guiding the people and said the army-led government was bent on making Pakistan a secular state. "
Not only do the rulers want to eliminate ulema and seminaries and remove religion column from passport, but they are also ridiculing veil, beard and tenets of Islam.
They are doing all this at the behest of the US government," he added.
He claimed on the one hand law and order was deteriorating in the country and, on the other, people were facing unemployment, price rise and poverty. He accused President Musharraf of violating the constitution and befooling the people, and said: "His remaining the Chief of the Army Staff is not only against the principles of democracy, but it also amounts to continuation of martial law.
He has dishonoured the pledge he made to the nation one year ago to shed his military uniform." MNA Mohammed Husain Mehnati claimed the participation of a large number of people in today's demonstration showed the people had rejected the army rule, violation of the constitution and American intervention in the internal affairs of the country.
He said the people of Pakistan held the armed forces in high esteem, "but they will not tolerate the humiliation of ulema and efforts by the government to lower the status of seminaries." Mehnati vowed that the MMA would keep pursuing its struggle against "the unconstitutional and undemocratic regime of President Musharraf." staff report