OFFENSIVE INTERFERENCE

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/09/28/offensive-interference/

Many nations- some more than others- now agree, at least in principle, that it is wrong to cause offence to groups of people, and that their actions and language should reflect this resolve. Although the idea seems to have bypassed the current inmate of the White House who has said, among many other things, that “if you need Viagra you’re with the wrong girl.” It is now no longer politically correct to, for example, call mentally disabled persons ‘retarded’, instead of a person with ‘special needs.’ One does not use the word ‘negroes’ because that term carries too much baggage from a past where persons of colour where abused and allowed to be so. The correct term is now ‘black’.

However, political correctness itself can become a tool in manipulative hands. Justin Trudeau’s black-face for example, a youthful gaffe, has been used strategically at election time by a media greedy for a scoop.

Although one may express an opinion, it is not one’s job to interfere in the values of others, certainly not to be offensive about them. If this point were understood in this country, it would be transformed into an infinitely better place.

Universities in Pakistan seem to be particularly prone to such interference, which, other than being offensive can be acutely embarrassing. Earlier this year Bahria University issued a directive that male and female students ‘must maintain a six-inch distance from each other at all times.’ You wonder if 5 and ¾ inches would incur a penalty, and who is lumbered with the task of walking around with a ruler to perform those measurements. Respecting personal space is right, and it must be observed as a norm, but it cannot be enforced by directives.

The most incredible and recent is a notification (since rescinded), issued by an official of Bacha Khan University which has claimed that ‘un-Islamic, un-cultural relationships’ are on the rise in the University. It has therefore banned the ‘coupling’ of male and female students, and any ‘correspondence’ between the two. Let’s not even go into the incorrect use of words here.

Certain Eastern cultures are both too conservative where gender issues are concerned and too liberal in matters of personal privacy. There is also a lack of awareness regarding when public statements verge on slander, or sheer nonsense

In their obsession with sex, persons fail to understand that each gender has wisdom to offer to the other and it would be a shame, not to mention impossible, to prevent this exchange. This applies in day-to-day matters as well as in academic. Besides, how do you prevent ‘correspondence’ between the sexes in a university that enrols both? Is a group assignment subject to disapproval? What about a thesis jointly produced by a student of either gender? Or a plain get-together between friends over a cup of tea?

If the credibility of governments rests on the persons they appoint to office then since 18 April 2019, this present government in Pakistan is sunk because that it is when the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting came into office under the PTI flag, after holding office successively as a member of the PML-Q and the PPP. Each of those other tenures were equally replete with her gem-like utterances, such as when the good (medical) doctor was federal minister for national regulations and services in a previous government and failed to appreciate that Adalat-30 was a time release capsule. This very basic lack of knowledge had dire consequences for certain personnel, and only the Minister herself appeared to have moved on to greener pastures, such as becoming the advisor to the PM in the present government.

She has now ‘blasted’ and ‘flayed’ (not her terms, they’re simply favourites with our media so it is incumbent to use them) Malala Yousafzai and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for doing nothing about the crisis in Kashmir. Before this the SAPM had cracked a joke or two about the recent earthquake that rocked the northern parts of the country in which many lives were lost.

What prompts people to step so outrageously out of their remit, and just what allows them to be so offensive?

It is expected that some mutual rules of interaction should be adhered to. Pakistanis today appear to be not well-versed in these rules. Certain Eastern cultures are both too conservative where gender issues are concerned and too liberal in matters of personal privacy. Men and women in Pakistan for example are awkward interacting with each other, whereas in public they will persist in stepping over the mark with regards to physical personal space among strangers, such as in queues. There is also a lack of awareness regarding when public statements verge on slander, or sheer nonsense.

Such things must be taught in schools and of course in homes. But you do expect people in public office to be aware of them, which they are not.

A REVEALING DIRECTIVE

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/09/21/a-revealing-directive/

• Though rescinded, it revealed a mentality

Somewhere in this country recently, a house was burgled. Diamonds worth a fortune were stolen. The police made no attempt to locate the thief or thieves. Instead they arrested the woman who lived in the house because she was the owner of these diamonds.

“Diamonds,” the woman was told, “must be kept in a locker in the bank. If you keep them out of the bank you are responsible for the theft.”

As punishment the woman was made to sit in the sun until she collapsed with heat stroke.

That event above did not take place. It is an analogy for what is discussed below.

The dress code for young female students has come under scrutiny lately. It seems that a uniform which covers the entire body, a shalwar kameez and dupatta, were not enough for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, which issued instructions for girls to wear, in addition to this uniform, an abbaya or a chador.

“A good number of girl students have developed a habit of wearing dupatta or ‘half chador’, which is not sufficient to cover their bodies,” the official issuing the directive said. It seems there were incidents of harassment, or ‘eve-teasing’ as it is called, and hiding every inch of the body with as many further layers of fabric as possible would help in preventing those incidents. The directive is supposed to also be “in line with the tribal values and the traditions of Islam”.

There it is, the mandatory reference to Islam that manages to make everything legitimate. You wonder whether such careless, ill-judged references to religion themselves ought to be as penalised as not adhering to the actual thing seems to be?

Abrupt changes in policy make you wonder what the intention is. Are the interests of the people being considered, or is the policy a morale boost and a one-up for re-election for those promulgating it?

As for tribal values, there are many examples of those which are nothing if not questionable. To quote a comparatively benign case, a couple of years ago, MNA Ayesha Gulalai was denied a place on the stage with tribal men by the organisers of a protest against the proposed merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). She was told it was against tribal customs and traditions for a woman to sit on stage.

Murtaza Haider reports that according to a survey conducted by the USAID, almost 59 per cent of rural women in KPK reported being subjected to physical abuse since they turned 15, and one in 10 rural women in KPK and Balochistan each routinely experienced domestic physical violence.

Is the government of Pakistan there to go along with these customs or to help change those that require changing?

The order for an extra abaya or chador has since been rescinded in another one of those U-turns which is becoming increasingly common in officialdom these days. It was, nevertheless a revealing directive.

This directive now rescinded displayed a complete absence of reason. Why, if two layers of fabric are insufficient to protect a woman from harassment, will three layers do the trick? In addition, how are the parents of girls in government schools to afford this extra item of their daughter’s uniform, given that running a household is now at least twice as expensive as it was about a year ago?

This was a policy that was not put through proper channels. It is what democracy is about that such matters should be considered by persons involved in the implementation and those it is aimed at before they are issued, in this case students, parents and schools. This directive came as a surprise, in most cases not a pleasant one, to all of these.

Government schools do not come with air-conditioned classrooms. In many if not most cases classes are conducted in the open. For girls to wear chadors in the heat under such conditions is cruel. To add a further layer on top of this in the school and while walking to and from home is cruel in the extreme.

But over and above all this, the question remains: why are the thieves of women’s freedom, the male members of this society, not targeted? Why are they not taught to respect women, and to lower their gaze, and this is directed by Islam.

A modest dress, or a chador or a hijab, none of these are any protection for a woman when faced with a man who is bent on assaulting or harassing her. What needs to change are men and their attitudes. Not the dress.

Abrupt changes in policy make you wonder what the intention is. Are the interests of the people being considered, or is the policy a morale boost and a one-up for re-election for those promulgating it? If it were genuinely in the public’s interests, it would be able to stand on its own merits, regardless of social media.

It is time that women are stopped being used as tools towards someone else’s personal gain and viewed for what they are: citizens as much as any other, and above all else as human beings.

KEEP IT DOWN

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/09/14/keep-it-down/

• Pakistan must tackle climate change

The world climate is becoming steadily warmer, because its growing population contributes to climate change and global warming. The population of the world is at present 7.5 billion, due to touch almost 10.9 billion by 2100 according to a UN forecast. If the population continues to grow, as it seems set to, the results will be even higher temperatures, increased drought, more and stronger hurricanes, and a melting of one of the biggest reservoirs of water for this earth, the polar ice.

An increase in population may be the primary reason behind global warming but it is not the only one. Other factors that go hand in hand with larger populations are more gases which, trapped on earth, produce the greenhouse effect. These gases are methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. There are others, but these are the worst offenders.

Methane is about thirty times as potent as carbon dioxide. Landfill waste, agriculture and the digestive processes of cattle are a major source. By inoculating cattle with certain probiotics these emissions can be brought down

According to the World Resources Institute, although agriculture contributes a quarter of all emissions, rice is the major offender, responsible for almost 1.5 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. There are ways of reducing this.

Nitrous Oxide yet another powerful greenhouse gas is produced when soil is cultivated and fertilizers used, when fossil fuel is burnt, and because of cattle urine. The greater the population the more soil needs to be cultivated, the more fuel is burnt, the more cattle we rear.

Carbon Dioxide has increased more than threefold in the earth’s atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, and as a result of deforestation, burning fossil fuel etc. For the increased population in Pakistan more trees are cut down for firewood and living space. We have seen severe deforestation in Pakistan within a single generation.

Every country aspires to produce more, and when it can, to consume more. It is no coincidence that China and the USA, the first and the third most populous countries of the world respectively, with highly consumer, industrialised societies, also have the greatest carbon footprints.

Education helps in almost every case, but the quality of education is what really counts. In Pakistan the concept of climate change and global warming is generally unknown, and not believed in if known

The UK has managed to bring down its carbon emissions. Although its population has increased, just 20 per cent of the country’s CO2 emissions in 2017 came from burning coal, oil and gas to produce electricity. This is down from 34 per cent in 1990 from the same source. This is because the UK is now burning just five per cent coal, down from 67 per cent in 1990, and just one per cent oil, down from 11 per cent in 1990. These fuels have been replaced to a great extent by gas, wind and bioenergy which are now producing electricity in the UK.

The China Pakistan Energy Corridor is heavily invested in coal to overcome the acute energy shortage in Pakistan. You wonder why, when Pakistan has such a plentiful supply of potential solar energy? Has the Pakistan government considered this?

The equipment to produce solar energy should be more affordable so that people can afford to use power privately as well as industrially to cope with their growing needs.

A major reason for the tremendous population growth in Pakistan and other similar societies is that the right-wing segment of society does not believe in population control, and has been allowed the power prevent it. It uses that power from the pulpit, supported by social norms. The government does not possess the courage to face down this opposition, and to educate this segment of society. If this is done Pakistan will be immensely better off in many ways. It will certainly possess a more sustainable population that might have the time to pay attention to its environment.

Women need easier access to birth control and control over their bodies. In an actual case, a contraceptive device placed in a woman by a doctor was removed by her mother-in-law. That is among the less horrific examples of the lack of control that women in this part of the world possess over their own bodies.

Our resources cannot keep up with the current population, let alone a drastically increasing one.

Education helps in almost every case, but the quality of education is what really counts. For clarification refer to the movie 3 Idiots. In Pakistan the concept of climate change and global warming is generally unknown, and not believed in if known. Given that most of the population of the country is illiterate anyway, it is easy to explain the drains choked with trash, mainly plastic that will never ever break down. We need to improve the quality of education and include practical demonstration, so that issues such as this can actually be witnessed to prove a problem exists, and people understand its magnitude.

Another aspect that needs attention is the quality and availability of waste management. In certain areas of the north of Pakistan, where the Indus flows through the valleys, the most common method of disposing waste is to throw it into this majestic river. When asked the people will tell you that they do this because there is no alternative. In Karachi, that richest and most populous of Pakistan’s cities, waste management has been given no attention by the government of the province. The result is as pointed out by Shaniera Akram, medical waste washing up on the beaches, and the havoc following this year’s monsoons.

We need a government that makes honest, competent and forceful, definitive decisions about this and the myriad other problems facing the country.

IF YOUR HOUSE IS BURNING

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/05/11/if-your-house-is-burning/

The Prophet Muhammad would target the leaders of a community when spreading his message. This was not because he was a sycophant, but because he knew that values trickle down.

On Wednesday one of Mr. Trump’s supporters said, “Shoot them!” when referring to migrants to the USA, and President Trump let the supporter’s comment go with an indulgent laugh. Mr. Trump’s reaction carries much more resonance than the supporter’s because Mr. Trump is the President of the country.

After hearing many angry responses to the episode, among them several saying that such a reaction from the top brass should not be allowed to slide, you wonder what happened to the comment made by our own PM about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the one where he called him ‘sahiba’. There is no difference between this comment and Mr. Trump’s reaction. In fact, the likeness between the two leaders reveals itself regularly, and quite astonishingly.

The fight for gender equality has been going on for generations all over the world, including here in Pakistan. By that one comment Mr Khan set back years of hard work by activists everywhere, including at home

Because he is the PM, what Mr Khan says, matters. His comment demeans the female gender because he used the term ‘sahiba’ as a joke. And true enough, The Guardianrecently reported that in Pakistan, ‘stories of murdered women are recorded with grim regularity in one and a half inches of a single newspaper column.’

Mr Khan’s comment not only lays him open to an accusation of libel, it was vulgar, and it dropped a ton of heavy bricks on the fight against discrimination that cross-gender persons everywhere have been fighting for generations all over the world. It also tells us much more about our PM himself than anything else he has said or done to date. Aside from anything else, it shows him to be attempting deception.

“End your ego, think of your nation,” said Mr Khan once. Yes, he was thinking of the nation and of himself as its leader, with that comment against Bilawal, because he was appealing to the lowest and largest denomination in the country, the uneducated segment, the segment that is in a majority, from where any leader gets most votes. And yet he is on record as saying that he has always believed that one should not be scared of losing.

“Bravery is standing with the truth, and the right,” he also said at some stage. How brave is it to pander to the largest, most convenient segment of society without having the guts to fight its prejudice? Where, for example, is the action against extremist groups? “Visionary leaders do not make popular decisions, they make the right decisions,” he also said once, in which case he was referring to someone else, not himself. And the list goes on.

The hardest battle to be fought in this country, as in many countries, is the one against bias of every kind which is to be found throughout society. Those who give in to prejudice have not thought about the matter and are often in no habit of debating ideas, certainly not debating beliefs that they have grown up with. For such persons, violence rather than debate is the weapon closest to hand. These are the people who are easiest to influence and indoctrinate, who shoot at innocent children and teachers in schools, who kill worshippers in places of worship, who indoctrinate children to blow themselves up at shrines and other such places. It is a mistake to generalize, but few people will disagree that this is where the most gender bias is to be found, both against women and against cross-gender persons. And this is where our Prime Minister has irrevocably slotted himself.

No one, with any intellect worth mentioning, should care how Mr. Bhutto Zardari categorises himself, gender wise. What this poor country needs is a person with guts and integrity. Nothing else matters. Mr Bhutto Zardari has shown himself to be neither for now, but he is young and has not had the opportunity yet.

Mr Khan is neither young and he has ample opportunity. What has he shown himself capable of? One must give him his hospital and his universities. They are an undoubted achievement. Perhaps he ought to have remained involved with these things and let the country alone.

The fight for gender equality has been going on for generations all over the world, including here in Pakistan. By that one comment Mr Khan set back years of hard work by activists everywhere, including at home.

“If your house is burning,” our PM said once, “wouldn’t you try to put out the fire?”

Yes, but we’re waiting for you to drop the matches, Mr. Khan.

CHILDHOOD IMMUNISATION

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/05/05/childhood-immunisation/

As medical knowledge currently stands, it is clear that immunisation protects the immunised person, and society, from the spread of infectious diseases. Immunisation is, therefore, beneficial and important. One of the greatest disservices done to Pakistan was by the man Shakil Afridi who called himself a doctor yet conducted a fake hepatitis vaccine programme in Abbottabad in collusion with the CIA, the aim of which was to flush out Osama bin Laden then in hiding in that area. Afridi gave credence to the anti-vaxxers’ suspicion of vaccinations, by associating immunisation campaigns with what is vaguely and ominously termed ‘foreign agendas’, or attempts by outside forces to manipulate snd harm the people of this country. As always, when there is anything important at stake involved, our ultra-religious brethren used this fear and they stand solidly against vaccinations and vaccinators. They are responsible for the illness and suffering of countless children and their families, and the death of many vaccinators doing their job.

Educators should also make sure that students know how dangerous childhood diseases can be. This should be taught to science and humanities students alike, since the children of today are the parents of tomorrow and will one day have to decide whether or not to vaccinate their child

As a result, during the course of the most recent polio campaign, after a violent mob burnt down a government health facility, and a polio vaccinator died – the latest of many in the past, the federal government suspended the campaign, at least for the present.

Polio is still to be routinely found in Pakistan (as well as in Afghanistan and Nigeria). The matter cannot be ignored. So, what is to be done?

One could make vaccinations mandatory and protect the vaccinators by more stringent means, such as calling in the army to provide the protection. Or one could educate and persuade the anti-vaxxers to change their minds.

Mandates and bans have never proven to be the solution. To quote a passage from a Harry Potter novel, when the headmistress banned the students from reading Harry’s interview, Hermione says: “Don’t you see? If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in the school will read your interview, it was banning it!” And she was right. By the end of the day, although the printed copy of the interview was nowhere to be seen, every single student was quoting it.

Mandates set people’s backs up, create a following for the thing being forbidden– just because, and generate further violence. Ten protestors dying following riots and ten children of disease, the result is the same.

Mandatory vaccination was first attempted in the UK in the 19th century but was later abandoned. In today’s world, when people are considerably more resistant to anything smacking of State intrusion, even in Pakistan, it would not have been a popular move.

In France, up until last year just 70 percent of the population was vaccinated.  Early in 2018, 11 childhood vaccines have been made compulsory. The penalty for infringement is that the unvaccinated child is barred from creche, nursery, school or summer camp, public or private. The move would not have a leg to stand on in Pakistan, where the bulk of children do not attend nursery, school or summer camp, public or private. In France, there is also the threat of fine and imprisonment, but that was theoretical, and the French government was expected to increase monitoring last year. The exceptions were for children whose parents could produce a written medical exemption. In Pakistan where every medical form can be obtained for a price, this is not a solution either.

The only remaining option appears to be awareness by means of campaigns and education. It generally boils down to that. It is a long-term measure but really, the only one. The government might give a mind to if it has any to spare after its petty brawls.

There is an obvious difference in the two segments of society: the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Children who have had MMR and polio vaccinations for example do not get Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Polio. Those who have not been vaccinated, do.  This is one gap that can be bridged without a large financial outlay. Creative, well designed campaigns to highlight this fact and bring it to people’s conscious notice can be conducted, routinely, exhaustively.

Vaccinations should come with incentives. Health centres should BE very well protected, and should possess a pleasant environment for children and attractive facilities for parents of vaccinated children only, such as a meeting place with the occasional screening of free movies, free teas, and so on.

Schools much teach how disease occurs, show students bacteria under microscopes, and provide information on these bacteria can be destroyed. At present, science students in government colleges are quite unfamiliar with microscopes, and some have never even seen a magnifying glass. Educators should also make sure that students know how dangerous childhood diseases can be. This should be taught to science and humanities students alike, since the children of today are the parents of tomorrow and will one day have to decide whether or not to vaccinate their child.

THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT GO WITH IT

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/04/28/the-responsibilities-that-go-with-it/

One angle to events such as the horrific tragedy, the massacre in Sri Lanka is that the people apparently responsible for the murders call themselves ‘Muslim’ or ‘Islamic’, the same as you and I do, and we should resent that. We feel murderers should not be allowed to use that label for themselves. On the other hand, given their understanding of the subject, they probably wouldn’t want us to call ourselves Muslim.
Who’s to judge?
We all have our own definitions of things and are as convinced that we are right and the other wrong as the ‘other side’ is of the reverse. The matter, therefore, should be out of our jurisdiction, which means that we may hold an opinion on a given case but should not be able to enforce it legally. For those of us who believe in a divine authority, such matters are for Him to judge alone. We know where this is headed, and we also know that declaring Ahmadis non-Muslim was a political move, meant to satisfy extremist views. We know too, that it has achieved nothing beyond grief and violence.

The responsibilities that go with calling this country the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, or simply with considering ourselves Muslim, do not appear to have sunk in

Isn’t it time, when the brain has become the most prolific organ of all, when human scientific achievements are so mindboggling, when implants are turning thought to speech, when we have actually seen a black hole for the first time, when a severe immune-deficiency disorder can be cured by means of gene therapy… for us to use our brains to reason out some of the conundrums supposedly stemming from religion? Such as the strange question to be found on the Pakistani passport form, probably the only country other than India to demand an applicant’s religious affiliation. There is probably a similar question on the Saudi passport, I wouldn’t know. After all, the male citizens in that country can even deny their family members the right to travel if the family member happens to be female.
Here is an extract from an application for a Pakistani passport. This declaration may be found at the end of the form:
(sic) DECLARATION IN CASE OF MUSLIM. I, s/d/w/of — aged adult Muslim, resident of — hereby solemnly declare that: a) I am a Muslim and believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him) the last of the prophets b) I do not recognise any person who claims to the prophet in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever after Muhammad (peace be upon him) or recognise such a claimant as prophet or a religious reformer as a Muslim c) I consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani to be an impostor nabi and also consider his followers whether belonging to the Lahori or Qadiani group, to be NON-MUSLIM.
…………………………………….
No segment of society should be tagged in such a way, but that is a different matter. The question here is to identify what these questions achieve on the form. If someone holds a different set of beliefs, specifically those who believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be a nabi, are they to be treated differently in some way? Denied education? Denied loans? Healthcare?
What if the person signing this document believes quite differently to what he/she declares, how is it to be proved?
Can we deny our citizens the right to travel based on their religious affiliation? If not, what is the point of that question on the passport for? If it is for the purpose of statistical record, this question should be in the census form instead, since only a small segment of the population of Pakistan possesses a passport.
Once again, who’s to judge who is Muslim and who is not? Are extremists and people who murder innocent civilians Muslim? Yet these are the people being sheltered in this country, it has been admitted. These people are allowed to stage protests and shut down roads, whereas others, peaceful nationals who happen to hold different views about some religious matters, are hounded. If this is Islam, it is unrecognisable as such.
The responsibilities that go with calling this country the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, or simply with considering ourselves Muslim, do not appear to have sunk in. This name makes… or should make us more inclusive, more humane, much more averse to violence, and very much more rational. That it is the reverse is the result of a lack of education, and a lack of humane instinct.

THIS PERPETUALLY BURNING BUILDING

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2019/04/21/this-perpetually-burning-building/

On April 15th at around 16.30 GMT, a fire broke out under the wooden roof of the 850-year-old Notre Dame Cathedral, one of France’s most iconic buildings. The spire and the roof collapsed, but the main structure including two bell towers, and the artifacts inside the cathedral, were saved.

Since then, all in the space of a couple of days, French billionaires, organisations and citizens have pledged almost €900 million in donations to rebuild the cathedral. Imagine what they could achieve if they pledged instead to solve the greater issues facing the world Hunger, lack of medical care, illiteracy…the list goes on.

Speaking generally of the people of this world, Tennessee Williams said, “We live in a perpetually burning building.”

Yes, we do. And in Pakistan, the roof caved in when the first martial law was declared in 1958. The main spire collapsed further damaging the roof, when the country split into two with such cruel violence, in 1971. The scaffolding of the burning building, composed of millions of people, can be seen through the hole in the roof, and the falling embers make it a precarious place to live. People continue living here though, because they have nowhere else to go. And the fire keeps burning because the smoke is useful to shield mainly those who claim to help but aim to hurt.

It is Pakistan’s philanthropists, those with hearts of gold, who have made the place liveable. There are many such people, only some are mentioned below.

There are many organisations, to all of whom the people of this country owe a debt of gratitude. Those responsible for them are the country’s most influential people, because rather than generating hope, they actually make it come true. Although hope is useful and one cannot live without it, help in time of need is what we need most

Abdul Sattar Edhi started work as a pedlar in Karachi and then became an agent selling cloth in the wholesale market. After a few years of this work, the Memon community to which he belonged helped him to set up his first free dispensary, and then the Edhi Trust and Edhi Foundation were born which– with the help of Edhi’s wife Bilquis, established maternity homes, the largest fleet of ambulances in the world, orphanages, food kitchens, women’s shelters, clinics and nursing training institutions. Help is provided indiscriminately by the Edhi Foundation to whoever needs it.

In 2014, two years before Edhi’s death, his Foundation was robbed of £400,000 in cash. The Edhi Foundation and Edhi sahib himself have also often been targeted by Pakistan’s extremist groups.

Dr Adeebul Hasan Rizvi graduated from Dow Medical College in 1968. He worked in the UK for a while, then returned to Pakistan and set up a small urology ward at the Civil Hospital in Karachi in 1970, which became the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT). It has since grown to be Pakistan’s largest Urology and Transplantation Institute. Dr Rizvi is the President of the Transplant Society of Pakistan. In 2003 he led a team of surgeons to perform the country’s first liver transplant.

Treatment at SIUT is totally free for everyone because the founder believes that access to quality healthcare with dignity and compassion is every person’s right. Over a thousand patients are treated for free at the Institute, and to date it has been responsible for 5878 transplants, and about 970 dialyses take place every day.

In 2001 there was a plot to murder Dr Rizvi, which was foiled.

Ruth Pfau, who has been called Pakistan’s Mother Teresa, was a German whose home was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. She escaped to West Germany and studied medicine, becoming a doctor. She converted to Roman Catholicism and became a nun in 1953. Her Order sent her to India from where she came to Pakistan. She decided to spend her life here battling leprosy, and she did.

Ruth Pfau ran the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi, which was later expanded to a larger institution and rehabilitation Centre for leprosy patients. Currently, along with the head office in Karachi, the centre has expanded to 157 health centres all over the country.

There are many other people who make it possible for the people of this country to exist. Ramzan Chhipa, who owns the Chhipa Welfare Association that runs a large fleet of ambulances in Karachi, second only to that run countrywide by the Edhi Foundation. There is the Aurat Foundation and the Agha Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), the Ansar Burney Trust and Dar-ul-Sakun for people with disabilities who could not otherwise afford care. And the Shaukat Khanum Hospital, Imran Khan’s greatest achievement to date.

There are many more organisations, small and large, to all of whom the people of this country owe a debt of gratitude. Those who are responsible for them are the country’s most influential people of all the years that Pakistan has been in existence, because rather than generating hope, they actually make it come true. Although hope is useful and one cannot live without it, help in time of need is what we need most.

As for the rest of us, we need to find out who lies behind the smoke, and why the smoke is allowed to shield them before we can put out the flames that are burning this country down to the ground.