Replacing Governor House wall with jangla

Im a builder & Im pained to share the cost of dismantling & erection of a wrought iron wall around Governor House Lahore.
1.  1 kanal 60×90 plot has 300 running feet.
2.  Governor House sprawls over 700 kanal.
3.  Total running feet 300 × 700 = 210,000 rft
4.  Dismantling Rs 10 per rft of 10 feet tall wall= Rs 21,000,000 (21 Mn) (including rubble disposal )
5.  Erection of cheapest wrought iron Jangla of 7 feet height with 6 inch span is Rs 1000 per rft
6.  Total cost of Jangla around Governor House 210,000 × 1000= 210,000,000  (Rs 210 Mn)
7.  Total cost of dismantling + Jangla = 21 + 210=  241 Mn
8.  15% cost of builder 241 + 36.15 = Rs 277.15 Mn

Why do we need to spend Rs 277.15 Mn to replace existing brick wall with Jangla around Governor House with increased security requirements?
On one hand, the economy is showing no signs of improvement & on the other hand such pointless/ nonsense spending just to fulfil a ridiculous election slogan.
With all his car selling, buffalo selling & down-sizing at PM House, PM boasted of saving Rs 150 Mn in past 3 months & he is spending double that amount on something as grotesque as a Jangla with zero added value.
Would some durbari puff some sense into PM's head to stop this crazy adventure.
Only Allah Knows the whole Truth

Dearth of economic leadership

There is dearth of men in every walk of life what they callقحط الرجال ۔ -but we are seriously short on Economists. Whether it was volley of Finance Ministers during PPP tenure 2008-13 or Munshi saab from 2013-17 followed by 'one letter' Finance Minister Miftah Ismail or over-rated Asad Umer, its been a nose-dive & our economy continues to plummet.
True that its too early to call it but Team PTI has failed to inject any optimism on economy. Every passing day 'uncertainty' is causing further devaluation of currency, crashing stocks & growing inflation.
There is no pressure on govt from people, opposition or institutions except judiciary which does not prevent govt from delivering on economic front. There are no signs, no indications or any positive graphs to suggest that things are getting any better. Obviously, there are question marks on capability & capacity of Asad Umer & his Economic Advisory Council & Economic Coordination Committee. They are all well educated economists but most of them are going through on job training. Secondly, they are not leaders, most of them have been mid & higher level managers at various organizations they worked for & few exceptions as CEOs. None of it gurantees economic leadership. Renouned financial  institutions in Pakistan like IBA & LUMS are producing only a handful of entrepreneurs & majority managers.
Under the circumstances, one can only hope that Asad Umer & Co learn economic leadership & learn it fast. Lets hope their on-job training is short. Lets hope it ends before its too late to recover.
The only admirable act of govt in first 100 days had been the clamp down on Tehreek-e-Labaik. Probably, because it was an impromptu challenge which didn't reqiure any planning but decision making. Lets hope this spontaneous decision making comes handy in other spheres of governance particularly economy.
Only Allah knows the whole truth.

Economic recovery & change

People are still questioning Buzdar's capacity & abilities as CM. Confusing issues is an art of politicians but here it seems pointless. CM is a dummy & nothing is confusing about it. PM wants his 'foot'hold in Punjab. He wants to control & run Punjab all by himself. He doesn't want a wise well rounded decision maker in Punjab, he just wants a decoy & Buzdar is his man. He unequivocally announced that Buzdar was there to stay. Imran is playing genious & Buzdar is playing dumb in both literal & figurative meanings. Buzdar is the perfect natural for a ghoofy character. How honest & simple he can continue to play, remains to be seen. He already crossed the line in DPO Pakpattan's case which also exposed Maneka Family's shameful show of power along with Ahsan Jameel Gujjar. Does CM learn fast or learn at all also remains to be seen.
With executive powers at his disposal & keeping Interior Ministry along with direct control of Punjab & KPK, IK is up to something big. But any amount of change; little, significant or substantive, will come with economic stability. So first priority shall be economy. After initial turbulence (nearly until a year), things may start to improve at all fronts.  Might have to give him 1000 days (nearly 3 years) instead of 100 because there is a mess of seven decades that needs to be cleaned up. Whereas, his team is niether prepared nor seems capable for the task. How long IK can pull this ship-wreck on his own again remains to be seen.
In any case, corrupt are in for a ride. IK seems geed up for a conclusive round of anti corruption drive in the country. There is a lot of political mileage in anti corruption gains but is it a diversion from shambolic economy or they really mean it? Will they be able to weather the economic typhoon side by side political slonangeering of 5 million homes, 10 Miliion jobs, anti corruption campaign, equality in education plantation, local bodies' empowerment, police reforms, health department upgradation & accessibility, tourism, dams, etc etc.
For the past couple of weeks, govt played information monster's onslaught on to its opponents quite well. Followed by PM's speech yesterday, just to secure support for bye-elections. Excellent electioneering ploy. It may yield good results as well.
But our expectation is not only a politically aware PTI which latches on every given political opportunity like other stereotypes, but also the one which promised change. That little promise of change is subject to economic recovery & subsequent stabalization. PTI govt's real test has begun. If they couldn't put genie of economy back in to the bottle, they would be able to change very little. Hoping for good is our only option.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth

Good times for investment in property

Since last quarter (July-September 2018) there is a surge in real estate & property business. We as property developers entered into this business 3 years back when this business was at its lowest ebb. Hitherto, it was the only profitable business where people were willingly investing both from home & abroad. But it was purposefully eroded through levying taxes, filer conditions & other regulatory strangleholds by the last govt. People were deterred and discouraged which resulted in nearly three years' slump in this business. Consequently, money laundering became the only way forward for profitable investments. Investors were left with no choice but to launder money to Dubai & Europe. Hence, we witnessed money laundering bonanza in past decade. Expats lost faith in the property investments. Part of the reason was collusion of Bharia Town with PPP Government where both made biblical hay till the sun shone over Mr Zardari's fluke cum genius tenure. Bharia Town left its entire market to handful/ faithful investors who created fake bubbles & burst them at will as & when they wanted. Since Bharia Town had become a brand to reckon with, it pocketed unreal profits through its loyal but brainless avaricious investors. It was a flawed strategy which thwarted small scale investor and the most important person in the whole equation; the end user. Rest of the damage was done by one of the four notorious Ps i.e. Property Dealers ( other three are politicians, prostitutes & press-titutes). They are so amazing at their art that truth sounds outlandish & too good to be true in the face of their lies. People interested in buying property of any type or scale happily get deceived by falsehood than listening to plain truth. This disease is here to stay & there seems no good end in sight.

However, above stated doom & gloom might prove the darkest hour before dawn. Good news is that in last quarter things are changing with Tabdeeli. According to property data wizards, half of the expats remittances are being invested in property in Pakistan. Association of Overseas Pakistanis (OAP) is actively promoting real estate investment opportunities among expats. It deserves due credit towards restoration of lost confidence in this business.

Other good news is that monopoly of Bharia Town owing to its over reliance on its core investors is withering away. New, more efficient, reliable & profitable real estate brands are available in market. For laymen, its best advised to size up the credentials of both developer & marketeers before deciding to invest in any project. Both should have delivered in their respective domains because for those who have had completed / delivered projects in the past, repute matters a lot and this is where you can confidently invest.

Tabdeeli government also seems keen on promulgating easy regulations on real estate & property development business; glimpse of which was visible in mini-budget where non-filers have been allowed purchase of property. Plus its ambitious 5 million housing units construction plan can only work through private-public partnership where govt allocates land, developers & marketeers get their share on investment/ effort. And ordinary people get easy installment plans for owning a home. This subject warrants a full blog entry which shall follow soon.

Bottom line is, its good time for investment in property of any size & budget. At the turn of the year in just three months, prices of property are going to gain 10-15% in their current prices which is not bad at all. Remember, its always the timing in investment that matters & fruition of investment in property is linked again with timing & patience.

Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Diplomatic row with India

Diplomacy is a hot subject in Pakistan thesedays. And ongoing diplomatic row between FOs of Pakistan and India has further spiced up the whole scenario.
Few positives of foreign ministry to include newly elected PM's symbolic first visit to FO. Second is proactive diplomacy; since we have a Foreign Minister now who seems busy as bee on foreign affairs of Pakistan. FM SMQ wasted no time in factually correcting US State department's statement in the backdrop of Imran-Pompeo phone call. Lastly, it was brilliant to write letter to Indian PM Modi for diplomatic engagement. Indian nervousness was vivid on initially agreeing & then disagreeing to meet on pretext of lame excuses like dak tickets & imaginary killing of some ghost soldiers in IHK. It is very easy for India to manipulate the information relating IHK for its strict control on local, international media & internet. For Pakistan, its a moral binding to standby Kashmiri brethren & expose Indian atrocities. For India, sky is the limit; kill, pelt, pallet, shoot, repress & rape; let no credible information go out of the Valley and continue to fix baseless blame on Pakistan. As if their fictitious surgical strikes were not enough a hoax, they intend celebrating 'surtrikoversary'. And to top it all, General Bipin Rawat believes 'it is time'.
Now lets break it down to understandable pieces.
Good that out of all ministeries, PM made his first pit stop at Foreign Ministry. Diplomacy is antidote to friction & feuds between nations. Making a dormant ministry active does not require creating friction on petty issues. So Shah Sahab might want to take it easy & keep it proactive not reactive or over-active. Correcting factually incorrect statements of 'apparently friendly country' could have been handled better.
Making India jittery through PM's letter to his Indian counterpart served the purpose well. But it must be said that Indian FO played below belt by singling out IK in its statement rescinding respective FMs' moot during current UN General Assembly session. However, even bigger mistake was PM's Tweet on 'small men in big offices'. Chai Wala is a small man and there is no dispute on this even in greater part of India & across the globe. Our FO could have issued a 'tit for tat' statement or any big mouth from ruling party could have done the same. Talking of Big Mouth, none other fit the description better than our Information Minister both in literal & figurative sense. PM responding under TTS ('Trump Tweeting Syndrome' ) was like playing right into the hands of Chai Wala & his Dhabba politics. With Indian General Elections nearly half a year away, it is obvious that every decision of BJP Government would be weighed against political gains versus losses. Indian politics is still Pakistan-centric whereas Pakistani politics, despite its frailties has grown out of India-centric mania. Lastly, whether its frustration with growing Kashmir Freedom Movement, embarassment of Rafale aircrafts deal with France or pure 'suck up' to show 'solidarity' with BJP Government in the wake of upcoming General Elections, General Bipin Rawat's bravado is no more than a loser's bluff. And if not, then I like hundreds & thousands of others am on reservists' list and  sweating to get back in action.
Only Allah knows the whole Truth.

Political ideals & realities of 'change'

Too much TV is not doing any good to newly elected govt. Everyday whether 6 September Defence Day or 7 September Air Force Day Dam Message (which is strange), we hear about State of Medina. And it seems that PM is missing the point. Medina was an ideal state built by an Ideal Man PBUH through an ideology which was in its purest form. There is absolutely no harm in 'trying' with 'In Sha Allah' as supporting words.Though we wish Pakistan moves in the same direction.
PM is setting the bar way too high. Too much rhetoric. Whereas, its time to walk the walk.  And asking for money from overseas Pakistanis like this seems like a diversion attempt planned & executed in haste & nervousness. Atif Mian issue was not well weighed before hand & govt had to retract. His addition to economic committee was announced by Zartaj Gul (another wanna be who is unable to get over with her excitement on becoming an MNA) on her fb wall. Totally planned move. People reacted. PTI buckled & changed the decision which was not a bad move but too many times social media has dictated/ reverted PTI's decisions. Should they not put up every issue for debate to those social media biffs & smart phone supporters for pre-decision validation. Get a grip ruling party, device a mechanism of sound decision making.
Or it was pure leadership instinct of Kaptan from his cricketing days to come on media & talk to nation overtaking already a noble cause started by a noble man, our CJ. Agreed that the issue was going no where. Only 1800 million were accumulated all this time. If we take out Army's contribution then it would be embarassingly less amount. But build up is very important for sustenance of such issues. National debate which travels overseas. So not integrity but method of dams fund idea is in question.
His Cancer Hospital & University projects were a great success. But the difference is big, he was a celebrity & now Chief Executive of the country. Look I don't mind if OS Pakistanis pay for the dam and we get at least one dam ready in five years but the manner, the tone, the timing, nothing was right about this message. Reasons behind it may remain a mystery like so many other decisions in the history of this nation.
Lastly, just came across Najam Sethi's article of today titled 'Doomed Reset'. All doom & gloom. Trump is angry. Trump wants this and that. India & Afghanistan nexus. Its coming after us. All his pain was vivid in his words. It is amazing how these people defy truth. It is amazing he couldn't sense the 'change' in peoples' mood. Nation seems happy & he is painting all gloom. After a long time, there is a rejuvinated sense of pride in the nation. Beauty of this society is that even Najam Sethi along with his averagely talented spouse & off-springs made a name for themselves. They survived & prospered in this society & will continue to do so. Afterall, snakes are part of the eco-system.
Notwithstanding, the high & low points of Najam Sethi's life, it is great to see Govt & Military on the same page. How long this honeymoon lasts, remains to be seen. One can safely bet its here to stay which is good for Pakistan. For a Pakistan which extends beyond its geographical boundaries for its ideology & for an Army tipped & tagged for bigger things like Gazwa-e-Hind.
Only Allah knows the whole truth.

Tribute to Sipahi Maqbool Hussain

It is the sacrifice of our people which kept this country together. We all must acknowledge their sacrifice. Our next generation must be familiar with the price of freedom paid by our ancestors.This Defence Day, my 10 years old has researched & wrote a tribute to Late Sepoy Maqbool Hussain:
 

Sepoy Maqbool Hussain was from Azad Kashmir Regiment. He with his five unit personnel had a mission across the border in 1965 .They carried out sixteen blasts and killed seventy people. The Indians were extremely annoyed and they planned an ambush on them. But they could only injure Sepoy Maqbool Hussain and they took him as prisoner. He was considered MIA (Missing in Action) and was believed to be Shaheed. He spent forty years in prison. One night his Sikh friend opened his cell lock and told him the way to the railway station. The next day, he reached station but after few minutes he was captured again. In those forty years, whenever Indians questioned him, he only said one thing,” PAKISTAN ZINDABAD”. The Indians got so annoyed that they ripped his tongue off. Even with the blood coming out of his tongue, he wrote “PAKISTAN ZINDABAD”. After nearly four decades of his capture, during prison exchange in 2005, he was released and entered Pakistan from Wagah Borders. Unfortunately, his close relatives were not in this world to receive him. Whenever, he was asked for his identity he wrote this number 331539. It was his army number. So the army verified his number and they realized that it was Sepoy Maqbool Hussain. He passed away few days back. For his sacrifice for the nation he was awarded by Sitara- i- Jurrat.

A TRIBUTE TO ACKNOWLEDGE SACRIFICE, PATRIOTISM AND COURAGE OF LATE SEPOY MAQBOOL HUSSAIN

ON DEFENCE DAY

6 SEPTEMBER 2018

BY

HAMZA BIN ASAD

I have nothing to add.
May Allah bless the departed soul. Ameen