Wednesday, April 01, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas: Over a million dollars have been raised, more than half by the Pakistani community in America, to set up the first privately funded permanent chair for Pakistan Studies at the University of Texas, which is named after the famous hero of the Afghan war against the Soviet Union, US Congressman Charlie Wilson. He was also a close friend of General Ziaul Haq.
The Charlie Wilson Chair will be set up at the College of Liberal Arts at the Austin Campus of the University of Texas. However, it has already raised a controversy in the local press because it is named after Charlie Wilson, who is considered to be a controversial figure by some Texas intellectuals because of his role in the Afghan war.
In August last year, some University of Texas (UT) professors protested publicly, saying Wilson had done far more harm than good over there (Afghanistan). Fatima Bhutto, daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, had also joined the controversy when she wrote on a website: “It’s worth noting that of all the people to name a chair of Pakistani Studies after, Charlie Wilson is possibly the stupidest.”
She wrote: ìPersonally, this is a source of great revulsion for me. My aunt, Benazir, and I never agreed on much, and though she’s no longer alive to debate the point, my guess is that the idea of such a chair would be one more thing we’d not see eye to eye on — she had quite a different relationship with the Taliban than I do.”
Prof Randy L Diehl, Dean College of Liberal Arts, UT, who supervised the whole project, however, told The News that the Wilson Chair would bridge the gap of misunderstandings between Pakistan and the US, especially now that the two countries are allies in the war against terrorism.
The Pakistani community raised more than half million dollars in just six months after a prominent Pakistani-American businessman of Austin, Texas, got involved. Prof Randy had special praise and a lot of thanks for Iqbal Sheikh, President and CEO of CyberTex, the company which was recently placed among the ëtop 500 emerging firmsí of the US. He was also elected as Vice President of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce of USA.
Sheikh told The News that the Pakistani community was given the task of raising the matching amount of $ 500,000 some time back. “In August 2008, I had the privilege to lead the fund raising drive which was successfully completed within a few months, thus enabling the university to set up the Pakistan chair in a short time.”
A press release by his office said an internationally respected professor would be selected by the University of Texas to head the Pakistan chair, which would use the funds to support research and teaching of Pakistanís history and culture, and issues of geopolitical importance. The funds would also be used for research on the Urdu language and for hosting conferences and inviting distinguished scholars, policy-makers and other Pakistani dignitaries.
“The chair will go a long way to raise the level of understanding about Pakistan in the US and try to correct the negative image of the country. It will be the first concrete achievement of the Pakistani community to serve their home country in a positive and constructive manner in the United States.”
Sheikh said: “The fund raising drive for the half million dollars was conducted totally by individual and private resources and funds were raised and deposited directly by the donors with the University of Texas. It has been the first such exclusive endeavour by the Pakistani community without any financial support from the government of Pakistan.”
Iqbal Sheikh, a PR official at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry until a few years ago, also received a unique honour recently when the Senate of Texas passed a special resolution to applaud the services of his company for the state.
“I was honoured by the Senate of the State of Texas which passed a special resolution in March, highlighting the achievements of my company. The resolution was presented to my company at a special ceremony by Senator Kirk Watson this month.”
