blueoval79
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Found this opinion piece and I thought it would be interesting to read ....
Air force planes are meant to defend Pakistan against aggression. For this purpose Pakistanis have sacrificed the education, health and well-being of their children by providing the PAF with highly expensive, ultramodern planes and equipment. In peacetime the PAF is sometimes required to rescue people stranded in disaster areas. In this field its performance has been excellent. It has helped people in natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, saving many lives. In war it has shown grit and patriotism in facing the much stronger enemy. It has won laurels in battles against heavy odds.
However, I and many other people felt offended that the PAF rented out one of its planes to Law Minister Dr Babar Awan. He needed the plane for his whirlwind tour of the country to perform some unspecified "national duty." Apparently, Dr Awan rented the PAF plane on false grounds. Dishing out people's money to the bar associations does not fall in the category of "national duty." Dr Awan could easily have sent the money through a bank. But he wanted to be seen, in person, giving the money away.
It has transpired that the "national duty" meant giving away millions of rupees to various bar associations of the country. In fact, Dr Awan went on the spending spree to win over lawyers to the government's side. The annual elections of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) are due in a few weeks. With the use of the people's money, Dr Awan wanted to purchase lawyers' conscience. For two days he took the rented PAF plane to every nook and corner of the country to present heavy contributions personally to lawyers' associations.
He appears to be certain that he will achieve his government's goal of securing a friendly SCBA. But his self-confidence is premature, as is evident from the Lahore Bar Association's decision to invite Prime Minister Gilani to address the bar, provided Dr Awan did not accompany him.
Dr Awan is himself a lawyer and yet he does not understand lawyers' psyche. The lawyers may have divergent political views but they support democracy, an independent judiciary, rule of law, human rights and justice.
They put up a heroic fight for the restoration of an independent judiciary. During that struggle they did not allow their political affiliations to interfere with their movement. No amount of money could dissuade them from supporting restoration of the independent judiciary.
The legal fraternity mostly belongs to the middle class, as is evident from their modest chambers built in and around the law courts. They do not receive the extravagant fees that are paid to the top lawyers. Many in the latter category charge in tens of millions. Not because they are exceptional advocates, but because of their proximity to the political leadership and other areas that matter. They sometimes receive large amounts of money to buy favours.
Ministers, including Dr Awan, have no authority to hire a PAF plane unless this is sanctioned by the prime minister. It seems that Dr Awan had misinformed the prime minister about the purpose of his hiring the plane. He used the PAF plane for political purposes, which is a highly undemocratic and objectionable act. Prime Minister Gilani should put an end to the hiring of PAF planes by ministers. Otherwise a day will come when a minister would hire a PAF plane to ferry guests to his son's wedding from one city to another.
Rental planes
Air force planes are meant to defend Pakistan against aggression. For this purpose Pakistanis have sacrificed the education, health and well-being of their children by providing the PAF with highly expensive, ultramodern planes and equipment. In peacetime the PAF is sometimes required to rescue people stranded in disaster areas. In this field its performance has been excellent. It has helped people in natural disasters like earthquakes and floods, saving many lives. In war it has shown grit and patriotism in facing the much stronger enemy. It has won laurels in battles against heavy odds.
However, I and many other people felt offended that the PAF rented out one of its planes to Law Minister Dr Babar Awan. He needed the plane for his whirlwind tour of the country to perform some unspecified "national duty." Apparently, Dr Awan rented the PAF plane on false grounds. Dishing out people's money to the bar associations does not fall in the category of "national duty." Dr Awan could easily have sent the money through a bank. But he wanted to be seen, in person, giving the money away.
It has transpired that the "national duty" meant giving away millions of rupees to various bar associations of the country. In fact, Dr Awan went on the spending spree to win over lawyers to the government's side. The annual elections of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) are due in a few weeks. With the use of the people's money, Dr Awan wanted to purchase lawyers' conscience. For two days he took the rented PAF plane to every nook and corner of the country to present heavy contributions personally to lawyers' associations.
He appears to be certain that he will achieve his government's goal of securing a friendly SCBA. But his self-confidence is premature, as is evident from the Lahore Bar Association's decision to invite Prime Minister Gilani to address the bar, provided Dr Awan did not accompany him.
Dr Awan is himself a lawyer and yet he does not understand lawyers' psyche. The lawyers may have divergent political views but they support democracy, an independent judiciary, rule of law, human rights and justice.
They put up a heroic fight for the restoration of an independent judiciary. During that struggle they did not allow their political affiliations to interfere with their movement. No amount of money could dissuade them from supporting restoration of the independent judiciary.
The legal fraternity mostly belongs to the middle class, as is evident from their modest chambers built in and around the law courts. They do not receive the extravagant fees that are paid to the top lawyers. Many in the latter category charge in tens of millions. Not because they are exceptional advocates, but because of their proximity to the political leadership and other areas that matter. They sometimes receive large amounts of money to buy favours.
Ministers, including Dr Awan, have no authority to hire a PAF plane unless this is sanctioned by the prime minister. It seems that Dr Awan had misinformed the prime minister about the purpose of his hiring the plane. He used the PAF plane for political purposes, which is a highly undemocratic and objectionable act. Prime Minister Gilani should put an end to the hiring of PAF planes by ministers. Otherwise a day will come when a minister would hire a PAF plane to ferry guests to his son's wedding from one city to another.
Rental planes
