K-P refuses ministers’ demand for pay raise

The ministers of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) asked the provincial government to increase their salaries. The K-P government, in an interesting turn of events, refused.

According to sources, some of the ministers reasoned that keeping in mind the general price-hike, the government needed to consider raising their salaries in the upcoming budget.

A minister, on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that they were being paid a mere Rs16,000 a month.

He added that some of the ministers were given official houses in addition to the monthly salary, while others were given housing rent apart from the salary.

“Our salaries are equal to that of a police constable and we cannot manage within that much,” the minister said. “This is not the first time that we have asked for our salaries to be increased … we discussed it with the chief minister earlier, but he flatly refused.”

K-P senior minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour was of the same view. “Yes, the salary of a minister is equal to that of a police constable and when the utility bills of a minister exceed the limit, the amount is then deducted from his or her salary,” Bilour added.

Low income is an issue which has also been at the heart of the doctors’ strike in the province. However, no one has paid heed to their demands either.

A dreamlike, ambitious `Tree of Life’

A dreamlike, ambitious `Tree of Life’

Gorgeous and ambitious, pretentious and baffling, tightly controlled yet free-flowing, “The Tree of Life” is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. And yet it’s very much the culmination of everything Terrence Malick has done until now – all four features he’s made over the past four decades.

All his thematic and aesthetic signatures are there from earlier films like “Badlands” and “The Thin Red Line”: the dreamlike yet precise details, an obsession with both the metaphysical and the emotional, an ability to create suspense within a languid mood.

It is simultaneously mesmerizing and maddening as it encompasses nothing less than the nature of existence itself. As writer director, Malick ranges far and wide, from intimate moments with a growing family in 1950s Texas to the dawn of time – complete with awesome images of the cosmos and, yes, those dinosaurs you’ve surely heard about – and back again.

“The Tree of Life” is deeply spiritual, but Malick isn’t one to preach. Instead, he gives you the sense that he’s genuinely asking questions to which the answers may be unknowable – he’s putting them out there for himself, and for us all. Of course, we’ll never know his intentions: Malick is notoriously elusive, which is admirable from an artistic perspective but probably frustrating for those who’d like to know what the hell he means by all this.

But if you’re open to letting the imagery wash over you, to allowing yourself to get sucked into the film’s rhythms and fluidly undulating tones, you’ll be wowed. And even if you’re not a spiritual person yourself, given to the kind of seeking that frequently marks the characters’ voiceovers in “The Tree of Life,” you’re unlikely to find the film’s religious themes alienating.

“Lord, why? Where were you?” wonders the mother in the family, played as an idealized vision of nurturing womanhood by Jessica Chastain. “Who are we to you? Answer me.”

Malick offers an intriguing contrast between these heavy, eternal concepts and prosaic childhood memories: light, wispy snippets of sight and sound, of trees and sky and grass, of a mother’s voice. (The technical elements here are just stunning, including Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography, Jack Fisk’s production design and Alexandre Desplat’s score). These moments are intentionally impressionistic – and “The Tree of Life” feels defiantly plotless and, sometimes, self-indulgent – but they all represent an accurate depiction of how our early recollections can come back to us in fragments. Some are idyllic, while others are frightening.

Eventually, “The Tree of Life” becomes rooted in the reality of the O’Brien family: a father (Brad Pitt), mother (Chastain), and three little boys. Pitt makes the character an intimidating figure, a capricious mix of toughness and tenderness, and it’s probably the best work of his career. Chastain, a relative newcomer to the screen, balances him out with sweetness and grace but also with a playful nature and an open, expressive face; you get the sense that she only wants happiness for her children, in whatever form it comes to them.

But Hunter McCracken, the young actor playing Jack, the eldest of the three sons, has a startlingly confident and commanding presence, especially given that this is his first film. McCracken more than holds his own opposite Pitt, with whom he repeatedly clashes: He’s truly the star. Jack will grow up to be played by Sean Penn, a Houston architect who’s still shaken by a family tragedy decades later. This is one of the chief weaknesses here: Malick has Penn available to him, and all he does is ask him to walk around moping in Armani suits.

Still, “The Tree of Life” changed my mood for the rest of the day, too – and when you see a lot of movies, most of which tend to flee your memory leaving nary a trace on your heart or mind, that’s rare. And it can’t easily be dismissed. (AP)

KU blues

University of Karachi (KU) is not only one of the most depressing universities of Pakistan; it is also perhaps one of the most testing. And I don’t mean that in an academic way.

If the dry, unwelcoming terrain and shabby, unmaintained infrastructure doesn’t put you off, the academe entirely, the administrative staff’s cold and condescending behavior surely will. However, if you still find yourself young and exuberant enough to face the many challenges flung at you as you try to get even the simplest of tasks done on the university campus, you will probably give in to the exhaustion caused by running from one inhospitable—and usually also quite misguiding—office to another. If you survive all of this and then some, you don’t only deserve the degree you signed up for; you deserve a medal.

My relationship with the university began a few years ago when my brother and I decided to enroll ourselves in its external graduate program like many other students who do so while pursuing studies in Accountancy from Pakistani Institutions and English Associations. After all, a quick complementary degree from KU these days has got to be worth more than the education it pledges, right? Especially if it’s genuine!

The first blip came on the very first day; the day I went in to submit my initial registration forms. My confident swagger and definitive gloat as I walked into the office holding my shiny A-Levels certificates were thwarted almost instantly by a bored looking man who didn’t seem the least bit impressed by my better-than-decent grades. So an Equivalence Certificate it would have to be. I mean, other than the fact that it callously reduced my 90 Cambridge percents to 75 HEC percents, and that it is possibly one of the most pointless piece of papers I have in my academic records, the incomprehensible need for this document and the two-week delay caused by it was obviously an unfortunate episode I could have easily avoided had I not been a slave to the Brits and their pretentious board of examinations.

I returned to the University assuring myself that that was it; I was beyond the initial obstacle and things would progress smoothly now; that I will graduate with honour.

Or so I thought until a few weeks later when I found myself standing in a mile-long line, all sweat and sand, ready to fight a bunch of abaya-clad course mates for breaking queue at the infamous Silver Jubilee gate on exam registration day. And then as I gave the actual exam, in June, in a fan-less room packed to the hilt with fifty sweaty men. And then as I gave another exam under the open sky with a crow accompanying me throughout, and another in a dark, gloomy corridor with the invigilator brushing up against me every time he walked past my creaky, swiveling desk. And another time when a few of my exam mates and I had to spend the first twenty minutes of the paper sitting cross-legged near the door because the room we were assigned to didn’t have enough seats. And then the last time, when the tent we were sitting in collapsed on us, mid-exam.

All good memories though

And the best of them, for it truly offered an insight on just how despicably rotten our educational ideals have come to be, was the one where after giving an exam, I was approached by an otherwise civil looking man in his mid-thirties, who after casually introducing himself as an experienced teacher from a well known chain of tuition centers, offered to give my next exam for me at a “very reasonable” sum of ten thousand Rupees. A ten grand someone had paid him to give his exam that very day. A ten grand he had been charging crafty students with rich, resourceful parents for years on end. A ten grand that would include the oh-so-deserving pay-offs of at least four other respected abettors inside various University departments.

But what can you say, really, when you live in a country that hasn’t a Higher Education Commission and some very smart, very influential people walk free and proud with distended chests and fake degrees in their pockets. At least my exam-giving friend from outside the exam hall knew what a university looks like. And to be honest, nothing teaches you how to be thankful for small favours better than being a Pakistani civilian standing on the wrong side of the official desk these days.

My brother and I learned that lesson, perhaps for the gazillionth time, standing in a certain Karachi University department’s chairperson’s office the other day—our emotions proliferating for we had only recently received our amusingly satisfying post-graduation results after eight months of nail-biting anticipation—where we were told with a heartless shrug that according to some godforsaken new policy, we’re no longer eligible to pursue a doctorate in our chosen discipline from the university we were finally beginning to grow a soft spot for. The chairperson was kind enough to offer her invaluable advice though, and for a minute I was actually going to listen to her and enroll myself in the English department instead of a PhD in 17th century Irish poets! After all, when you go to school in Pakistan, it’s not education you’re after, but a degree to frame and flaunt. And if you earn a medal or two along the way, well…there’s nothing like it!

US Senate move on anti-terror powers

WASHINGTON: The US Senate moved Thursday toward extending controversial counter-terrorism search and surveillance powers at the heart of the Patriot Act adopted after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

In a procedural move, US lawmakers voted to end debate on the subject which would allow them to pass to a formal vote on extending the act just hours before it expires at midnight (0400 GMT Friday).

The Senate voted 79-18 against to close debate. But with the clock ticking, they still had to agree to waive the usual 30-hour waiting period after the end of debate before proceeding to a vote.

President Barack Obama — currently on a European tour — would also have to sign the act for it to pass into law.

FBI and intelligence officials have warned that if the Patriot Act is not extended by the deadline they would be robbed of crucial tools in the fight against terrorism — including wiretapping.

“I have no doubt that the four-year Patriot Act extension, that members of both parties will agree to today, will safeguard us from future attacks,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said.

In recent months, Congress has debated whether to extend the act just temporarily, longer-term or permanently. In February, Congress approved a three-month extension to allow time for negotiations.

In play are provisions allowing authorities to use roving wiretaps to track an individual on several telephones; track a non-US national suspected of being a “lone-wolf” terrorist not tied to an extremist group; and to seize personal or business records or “any tangible thing” seen as critical to an investigation.

While the White House backs extending those powers, the law has drawn fire from an unusual coalition of liberal Democrats and Republicans tied to the arch-conservative “Tea Party” movement who say it goes too far.

Republican conservative Rand Paul sought to impede the adoption of the extension by adding on several amendments, including a ban on inspecting some archives of arms sellers during terror investigations.

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy called for greater congressional surveillance in counterterrorism inquiries.

FBI director Robert Mueller wrote to Congress leaders on Wednesday to warn them of the urgency of the matter.

“It is important that these tools be reauthorized without lapsing,” Mueller wrote, opposing proposed amendments which he said “would adversely impact our operations.”

“Certain amendments currently being proposed would impose unique limitations on our ability to investigate foreign spies and terrorists and protect Americans against foreign threats.” (AFP)

Budget deficit to cross Rs1 trillion

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic the difference between what the government spent over the past twelve months and what the government managed to collect will cross Rs1,000,000,000,000.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in his first speech as prime minister had introduced a number of austerity measures: PM Secretariat’s budget will be cut by a wholesome 40 percent; all ministers will travel economy class; no minister will travel in a car of more than 1600 cc.

On 26 December 2009, PM Gilani had constituted a Special Committee to “prioritize and oversee the implementation process of the austerity measures.” On 21 December 2010, a meeting of the cabinet, presided by PM Gilani, approved “major austerity measures.”

Twelve months ago, our budget drafters had expected net revenue receipts of Rs1.37 trillion and current expenditures of Rs1.99 trillion-the budgetary deficit was set at Rs685 billion. Over the past twelve months, two things have happened: First, current expenditures at the Cabinet Division, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the Household Allowances of the President have all gone through the roof. Second, there has been a massive shortfall in revenue receipts.

Twelve months ago, the Government of Pakistan (GOP) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had agreed on a budget deficit target of around 4 percent of GDP. Over the past twelve months, the GOP has ended up spending in excess of Rs1 trillion over and above its receipts and, as a consequence, the budget deficit may have crossed 7 percent of GDP.

Figure fudging at Block Q of Pak Secretariat, according to some insiders, is now in full swing. If the wizards at the Ministry of Finance can somehow inflate the GDP the budget deficit as a percentage of the GDP will look much, much smaller than it really is. That will be the best of both worlds-we will have a swollen GDP, pumped-up per capita income and a half bearable budgetary deficit. Only if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

At Block Q midnight oil is once again being burnt. Budget 2011-2012 is scheduled to be announced in a week’s time. Once again we will have inflated revenue receipts, a healthy developmental allocation, a constrained steam of expenses and an awfully alluring budgetary deficit. At Block Q the motto is: A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent making real budgets.