Pakistanis respect their well-trained army, says ex-Sindh governor

The people of Pakistan respect the army. This is because of their purposeful and good training. This tribute to the armed forces was paid by Lt-Gen (retd) Moeenuddin Haider, former Sindh governor, while speaking as chief guest at the launch of the book, “Mongolian Pot”, by noted banker Sirajuddin Aziz at a local hotel on Friday evening.“The world respects and admires the Pakistan Army for having successfully countered terrorism and re-establishing the writ of the government in areas which were taken over by the terrorists,” he said.“In a country with a political scenario like ours, what the politicians need to do is to bring the intellectuals, the brains, and technocrats into governance instead of their favourites and their backers to revamp the system and bring professionalism and efficiency into governance,” he said.The former governor said that among the things mentioned in the book, political bankruptcy was one of them and it was still very much there. He thanked the speakers who had lauded the army in their speeches.“The best way to reform politics is by getting right into it,” said former federal minister and former senator Javed Jabbar in his tribute to the book by Sirajuddin Aziz.“Going right into politics implies that one refrain from accumulation of wealth, resolve to serve the masses, and the country.“The people produce the politicians. They are the ones who vote. The elite and the rich don’t bother to go and vote. It’s just the poor and those affected by issues who go to the polling booths,” he said.He praised Sirajuddin Aziz’s book and said that he couldn’t recall a banker who wrote with such candour and courage. The book also reflected compassion, he said. Ikram Sehgal, chairman, Pathfinders Group, said that he was struck by many things in the book.Talking about democracy, he said, “No functional local bodies, no democracy.” Democracy today, he said, was a farce. “Today the rulers have colossal properties overseas, while the condition of the country and the common man continues to go down,” he said.Pervaiz Iqbal, publisher of the book, lauded Sirajuddin Aziz for his venture and also lauded Javed Jabbar for his patriotism which, he said, was reflected in his Pakistaniat. Hassan Aziz, Sirajuddin Aziz’s son, expressed his admiration for his father and mentioned how his father in the most affectionate and fatherly of manner always rendered such valuable advice.Mairajuddin Aziz, the author’s brother, also lauded his brother for his venture. Sirajuddin Aziz, it may be mentioned, is the chief executive officer, Group Financial Institutions, Habib Bank AG Zurich. The book contains 140 essays about issues and dilemmas facing Pakistan and other countries of the world too.

from The News International - Karachi http://bit.ly/2Ij3taH