Khawaja Naveed to be keynote speaker at Harvard Law School symposium

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Renowned lawyer and a former Judge of the High Court of Sindh, Khawaja Naveed Ahmed has been invited by the Harvard Law School, USA, for participation in the Harvard ILJ Symposium which opens on February 20. He has been honored by the Harvard Law School to open the symposium and deliver keynote address. 

The topics of Khawaja's keynote address will be transnational corruption, state-sponsored economic espionage, extra-judicial killings and target killings. He flew out of Karachi for Boston, USA, on February 18. 

The symposium will be spanned over three sessions in which the invited panelists would discuss this year's topic of State Ethics: Controlling The Behavior of Governments and Their Partners.

Khawaja Naveed Ahmed is a practicing lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and has 37 years standing at Bar. He has held the offices of Advocate General Sindh, Pakistan, and has served as the Judge of the Sindh High Court of Pakistan. Ahmed is a human rights activist and had been Chairman of the Legal Aid and Human Rights Committee of Sindh Bar Council, Pakistan, for five years. 

He also had been elected as the Senior Vice President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. Presently, Ahmed is member of the Managing Committee of Red Crescent (Hilal-e-Ahmer). 

Khawja also writes columns as a political analyst and frequently participates in talk shows on popular T.V. Channels. He also hosts a mock trial legal education show on one of the prominent T.V. Channels. The program is very popular amongst communities in Pakistan, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Canada.

Other panelist Christof Heyns holds the degrees MA LLB University of Pretoria; LLM Yale Law School; and PhD University of the Witwatersrand. He is Professor of Human Rights Law and Co-director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria. 

Jeffrey Laurenti is senior fellow at The Century Foundation on international affairs. He has served as director for TCF’s international task force on Afghanistan in its regional and multilateral dimensions and as co-director of TCF’s peace and security initiative with the Center for American Progress. 

James Ross is Legal and Policy Director at Human Rights Watch, where he has worked since 2001. He previously worked in the Humanitarian Affairs office of Médecins sans Frontières in the Netherlands, in Bosnia for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, in Cambodia for the International Human Rights Law Group, and in the Philippines for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights. 

The Symposium moderator Gabriella Blum will be Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Harvard Law School. 

Zakir Ali Khan passes away

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Zakir Ali Khan, a great protagonist of the vision and mission of great reformer and educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, passed away in Karachi on February 8, after a protracted illness. He was 86.

Born in July 2026 in Rampur, Zakir Ali Khan did his matriculation from Rampur, B.Sc from Aligarh in 1945 and B.Sc Engineering from the same university in 1948.

In his professional career, the late Khan had served as Managing Director of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KESB), Chief Engineer, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Honorary Vice-Chancellor Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Founder Member of Board of Governors SSUET, Founder Member Governing Body Aligarh Institute of Technology, President, Pakistan Association of Scientists and Scientific Professions, Karachi University Syndicate and Academic Council and Selection Board.

He was elected as General Secretary of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA) in 1960 and occupied this position till his death.

Zakir Ali Khan was the recipient of Alumni Award given to him by Aligarh Alumni Association New York in 2000 and was awarded the First Sir Syed Ahmed Khan International Award for Literature by Aligarh Muslim University, India in 2008.

He was the author of 10 books and represented the best qualities of social engineering through the promotion of professional education thereby impacting the life of a large multiple.

He was also instrumental in creating a new sense of pride and confidence as being a part of modern Islamic heritage through his writings.

He played a significant role in establishment of Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association and since the last five decades had remained in Honorary Secretary.

He was actively engaged in the promotion of sports events and also went as team manager to various countries. He worked hard to promote hockey and served as Secretary of Karachi Division Lawn Tennis Association. 

He had great passion for tennis in particular, having played this sport in his younger days. His sons, Nadir Ali Khan and Babar Ali Khan, represented Pakistan’s tennis team in Davis Cup quite a few times.

SSUET classes for batch 2012 start, Orientation Ceremony held

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The Orientation Ceremony for newly admitted students of Batch 2012 was held at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) was held on January 23 thus heralding the start of new academic session.

The students have been admitted to Computer, Electronics, Civil, Bio-Medical and Telecommunication disciplines of engineering and Computer Science after a long process which involved written test and interviews.

Addressing the ceremony as chief guest, Sardar Yasin Malik, a former Federal Minister and ex-Chairman state-owned PSO, told the new students that to become a successful man in their future is in their own hands as they can gain success by sheer hard work and not the luck.

He particularly advised the female students, who have been admitted to the university in a relatively large number this year, not to sit at their homes after graduation and do some part time works even after they are married or else it would amount to  national loss.

He paid glowing tributes to Chancellor Z.A. Nizami for his dedication and commitment to the cause of this university established as the biggest engineering university in the private sector and its students.

Sardar Yasin Malik observed that today the newly admitted students must be very happy for starting a new chapter of their life, but their parents must be having mixed feelings as now-a-days it is not (not) easy to study in a university or college or school even.

He noted that after graduation many students go abroad for further studies but not many return to their country which is a loss to the country and their parents as well.

Similarly many girls become engineers after graduation but instead of yielding any benefits to the nation they start performing home responsibilities - a national loss which Pakistan cannot afford.

Recalling his past during which he studied in schools in areas like Kharadar and Lyari, lived in a small house which was devoid of electricity, slept on footpaths and studied under pole lamps and conveyed a message to students that anyone can achieve anything in the world provided he/she accepts the challenge.

“If a boy of a newspaper hawker ca achieve an elated position after having graduated from this university, then you people, who enjoy better opportunities, cannot achieve their desired goals”.

He told them that Islam is their basis and they will become successful if they would follow the teachings of Islam and Holy Prophet Muhammed (SAW).

Earlier, Chancellor Z.A. Nizami, who presided over the ceremony, complimented Sardar Yasin Malik for his unwavering commitment to the cause of education and particularly this very university and its students.

He quoted Mr Yasin Malik having said that no student should be deprived of education merely for his/her financial constraints.

Engr Nizami said that today SSUET has become the biggest center of engineering excellence in the private sector having collaboration with over a dozen foreign universities.

“We at SSUET follow the traditions of great reformer and educationist, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and established this university after him 96 years after his death”.

Engr Nizami said that Sir Syed Ahmed Khan wanted the students to have Quran on one side and science and technology on other side of the shoulder. “We at this university wants the same from our students”, he emphasized.

On the occasion the Chancellor made a special mention of world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional Late Arfaa Karim and said that she had her elementary education from this university.

In his address the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr Saiyed Nazir Ahmed called upon the students to understand the difference between the university, college and school education and said that they will emerge successful in their life if they would dedicate themselves towards acquiring knowledge and gaining results during their 4 year stay here and will be successful in their future career.

He told them that as students of this university, they would enjoy the brotherhood of Alagarhians Associations and SSUET Old Boys Associations world over.He advised them to be punctual and ensure to attend classes regularly. He pointed out that in foreign universities students lacking 100 percent attendance are dropped.

Earlier Registrar SSUET Shah Mahmood Hussain Syed, said that this university is fifferent from other universities as personality of students here is groomed besides imparting of knowledge to them.

He said that students achieving 3.5 % GPA with 85 percent attendance automatically become entitled to scholarship while poor students are also provided financial support provided they earn 3 % GPA and 85 percent attendance and parents’ income being less than 3 lacs.

Earlier the Chairmen of all the engineering departments including Dr Imran Beg (Electronics), Dr Misbah (Computer Engineering), Dr Naurin Samad (Bio-Medical), Dr Mumtaz-ul-Imam (Computer Science), Dr S.M. Makhdoomi(Civil Engineering)  and  Dr Najib Siddiqi, Associate Dean of Engineering also addressed the students and reminded them of their responsibilities with stress on the element of punctuality, proper dressing, good behavior.

The stress was also laid on students to have grasp over English which would be the language of communication at the university.

Vaneeza Ahmad on Jumbo Karachi Guide

"I am thrilled that Karachi will now also be having a guidebook of its own, showcasing the premier events like the much talked about Karachi Fashion Week, besides putting together wealth of information of general interest.”

“Jumbo Karachi Guide will surely be helpful in facilitating the entrepreneurs in particular but it indeed has utility for everyone on the move. Having so much information at our fingertips certainly puts us at an advantage.”

“We may be in a nascent stage in many fields but thankfully we have the right ingredients to get there. As a nation we need to be more open and practical. We are blessed with immense talent and it’s just a matter of time to get things in order to lead the turnaround. Good luck Jumbo!"

Senior Aligarian Qarni visits SSUET

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

The Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET) has achieved commendable success in developing information and communication technology and emerged as a modern educational technology hub contributing significantly to both knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation. 

This was stated Engr by Z.A. Nizami, Chancellor, SSUET, at a reception hosted to welcome O.M. Qarni, a senior Aligarian from the United States and now on a visit to Karachi.

Engr Nizami pointed out that new initiatives have further ignited and accelerated the creative and research potential of SSUET’s faculty and students. The robust measures undertaken have infused a new sense of confidence and energy in the academic and administrative work culture of the university. 

On the occasion, Mr Qarni, who served a long spell of civil service in Pakistan in various administrative positions, recalled his memories of stay at Aligarh Muslim University and said he spent a very eventful and productive life while in Aligarh. 

Despite difficulties of various magnitudes, the major initiatives took place to reposition AMU on a resurgent growth and expansion track, he remarked. 

AMU, he said, witnessed an era of transition of great significance and during the last four and half years, a new wave of expansion and capacity building has brought into its academic and administrative fold, a heightened sense of confidence and achievement. 

He described the establishment of the SSUET in Karachi a historical and epoch-making initiative which proved to be a milestone in the educational development of the nation.

He narrated a number of interesting episodes of student life at Aligarh Muslim University when new entrants, merely out of fun, used to be taken by seniors to the “childhood grave” of great reformer and educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan.

On the occasion fateha was offered for late Pir Saheb Pagara, who was also an Aligarian and had stayed in Aligarh from 1943 to 1946 before he was taken to Oxford. He recalled his first meeting with Late Pir Pagara at Khairpur where he was posted as Deputy Commissioner.

Chancellor Engr Nizami informed that during his life time, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had refused to name Aligarh University after him but said that anyone, establishing a university after his death, can name the same after him. He said it was after 96 years of Sir Syed’s death that this University came into being after his name.

He said that 100 years have passed to the establishment of Aligarh Muslim University but even the present younger generation continues to harbor the same Aligarh spirit.

He said that Aligarians living in the United States have made generous contributions and donated Rs 80 million worth equipment to this university which is being run on no profit no loss basis in keeping with the traditions set by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. 

On the occasion fateha was also offered for Arfaa Karim, world’s youngest Microsoft Certified Professional who made Pakistan nation grieved with her death recently. Engr Nizami informed the visiting Aligarian that Arfaa used to visit this University and she was very impressed with Aligarians.

New York’s City University to facilitate SSUET Sikh student in doing Ph D

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

Santosh Singh, student of Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), who belongs to Sikh community and graduated from this university in 2009 will do his Ph.D. in IT at the expenses to be borne by City University New York from where he did his Masters.

This was stated by his father Sardar Heera Singh when he called on Engr Z.A. Nizami, Chancellor, SSUET, in his office in Karachi on January 11.

Heera Singh, who remained Advisor to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto when she was in government and is now chairman of Arambagh Gurdwara Trust, had come to thank the Chancellor for his help which he had extended to him in providing admission to his son Santosh at a time when he was financially unable to pay admission fees for his son.

Heera Singh informed the Chancellor that after graduating from SSUET in Computer Engineering, his son went to S and obtained admission in City University New York with the financial help of his brother, a doctor in the US.

He said Santosh did his Master’s with bright colors and in recognition the University has undertaken to let him do his Ph.D. at its expenses and also provided him an exalted job in the very university making him in charge of the telecommunication department.

Visibly moved, Heera Singh once again deeply thanked the Chancellor whose help, he said, paved the way for his son to achieve his goals.

Engr Mr Nizami told Heera Singh that in Sir Syed University admissions are provided with out taking religion, cast, color or creed into consideration. He said that in keeping with the traditions of greater reformer and educationist, no student is allowed to give up his education in this university just for financial constrains.

Heera Singh informed that Aneel Singh, his doctor son, spent Rs 40 lac to let his brother Santosh continue his higher studies and doing Masters in the City University New York. He said his daughter Aneela is also a doctor in New York.

SSUET carrying out research work on leaders of freedom movement

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi  

A lot of work is going at Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), Karachi, on the lives and achievements of leaders of freedom movement and their history is being compiled.
This was stated by Chancellor SSUET, Engr Z.A. Nizami, while speaking as chief guest at a “Jauhar Day” function organized at the university to commemorate the memories of great freedom fighter Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar.
He said this work is going on in keeping with the traditions set by great educationist and reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and in this regard lot of information on the mission and struggle waged by Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar and Maulana Shaukat Ali Jauhar had been collected.
He recalled that when he was Director general of the then Karachi Development Authoruty,  Gulistan-e-Jauhar was named after Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar.
Recalling the traditions set by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the Chancellor informed the audience that Aligarh College had started with only few students and today it is a huge university complex.
He said that some dedicated followers of Sir Syed had approached him to seek his consent to name the university after his name. But he refused saying that if some one may think that he had done something for the Muslims, they can establish an institution after his name but after his death.
He said that it was after 96 years of the death of great leader that this university was established after his name as Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology.
Today, he informed, that this university has collaboration with 22 well known universities in the US and UK.
“We try to follow the same spirit which was maintained by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Quaid-e-Azam”, Engr Nizami stated.
In this context, he pointed, SSUET is the only engineering university in Pakistan where Pakistan Studies and Islamic Studies are being taught as compulsory subjects as the university desired its students to qualify in these subjects.
Chancellor Nizami  said this university observe Jauhar Day every year obn January 4 and commemorate the days of other freedom movement leaders in the same manner.
He referred to the speeches made by the students of this university on Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar and deeply complimented them for their knowledge and vision about the great leader.
Earlier, Muhammed Umer Khan, Umer Ali, Muhammed Adnan Akhtar, Fatima Faiza Ahmed, in their speeches threw light on the life, struggle and mission of Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar for the cause freedom and emancipation of Muslims of South Asia.
They described the great leader a reflection of continuous struggle for the rights of Muslims and said he learned this from Holy Prophet Muhammed and the Muslim’s army of 313.
They said that Maulana Muhammed Ali Jauhar had been a ray of light and beacon of hope for the Muslims who spent his life in fighting against the colonialists to have freedom for the Muslims of South Asia who considered him as their hero.
They said he was not the leader of Muslims of sub-continent but the entire world Muslim Community and after his death he was neither buried in his native home town Rampur nor anywhere else in India but in Baitul Muqaddas.
On the occasion, Khumar Farooqi, a noted poet and University’s honorary consultant for literature and culture, presented poetic tributes to great freedom fighter amidst applaude from the audience.      

IEEE International Multiple conference at SSUET

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi  
The three-day 14th IEEE International Multiple conference, being held at the Sir Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, entered into its second day on December 23 and continued whole day with various technical sessions being attended by delegates from home and abroad.  
The heavy schedule of three days of deliberations included 13 scholarly lectures, 68 paper presentations besides seven workshops. After the inauguration on December 22 the conference schedule included 2 lectures and two tutorials on first day.  
On December 23 the morning and afternoon sessions included three lectures and three tutorials. On the concluding day, December 24, the deliberations would include 8 lectures and two tutorials. Besides, the ICT Research and Development Fund, will also be giving five demonstrations of various projects being financed by it.  
The scholarly lectures are being delivered by Ahmed E Kamal from Lowa State University on the topic of advances in network coding-based self-healing in Autonomic networks; by Dr Faraz Zaidi from KIET Karachi, on “Fuzzy sets and visual analysis”; by Qamarul Wahab from Linkoping University NEDUET on “Graphene, the Noble Prize for 2010”, by Dr Zia Amavul from SUNY Fredonia, NY;  on “ block-sorting transformations with Pseudo-distance technique for lossless compression of color-mapped images”; by Dr Syed Khaliqur Rehman from KIET Karachi on “WBAN Protocols”; by Prof B.S. Chowdhry from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro on smart structural health monitoring WSN based bridged monitoring as a example”; by Dr Junaid Zuberi from SUNY Fredonia, NY on “sensor network programming and applications”; by Dr Muhammed Moinuddin from Iqra University on “collaborative spectrum sensing for cognitive radio networks”; by Dr Jawwad Shamsi from SUNY Fredonia, NY on “understanding cyber security”’ by Dr Rehan Qureshi from Iqra University on “adhoc interconnected mobile  networks”; by Dr Haroon Rasheed from Telecom Department SSUET Karachi on “next generation wireless technologies beyond 4 G.  
Among the seven tutorials to be held during the course of conference deliberations, one tutorial of importance and interest would be given by Dr Raziq Yakub from the University of Tennessee on the topic of “applications of communication technologies and controls in existing power grid in Pakistan for energy efficiencies”.  
Other tutorials will be given by Dr Kashif M. Rajput from NUST, by Dr Jawwad Shamsi from FAST; by Dr Shoaib Zia Khan/Dr Khawaja Bilal Mahmood from NUST;  Prof Dr Quratul Ain Tariq from NEDUET Karachi,; Dr Syed Faraz Hasan from NED University.  

Wi-tribe Pakistan Celebrates Qatar Day

Wi-tribe, Pakistan’s highest rated broadband company for customer satisfaction, celebrates with the people of Qatar on their National Day, recognizing the tremendous progress and achievements under the leadership of His Highness Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.

While celebrating the auspicious occasion of Qatar’s 133rd National Day, the CEO of wi-tribe, Mustafa Peracha said, “On behalf of wi-tribe Pakistan, I congratulate the people of Qatar and Qtel on your National Day. Qatar has risen to become a leader in scientific and technological development and a hub of educational and cultural advancement. Having won the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, one of many recent milestones, Qatar shows immense promise for future expansion and development in the GCC region.”

Qatar and Pakistan share many valuable relations, of which one is wi-tribe Pakistan, a proud part of the Qatar Telecom family. Together, we celebrate this day in great honor and happiness, looking forward to continued prosperity.

About wi-tribe Pakistan:

wi-tribe launched its largest operations in Pakistan in July 2009, and is currently operating in five regions; Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad.

wi-tribe is passionate about providing a unique and personalized customer care experience, teamed with instant connectivity and simplified service bundles and applications.

Backed by unrivalled experience, knowledge and ability, wi-tribe group, a Qtel Group company, was born in April 2007. The vast experience these world leaders bring to the table has fuelled the growth of this new venture, launching wi-tribe globally as part of Qtel’s 2020 vision.

Souls Unshackled to be launched at KIBF on December 17

Paramount Publishing Enterprise will launch another unique title in two languages which is a story of a young prisoner, who has completed his education while facing charges connected to the murder of a local boy in Swat.

The launching ceremony will be taking place at 4 pm on December 17 in the Hall Number 2 of the Expo Centre where the 7th Karachi International Book Fair 2011 is being held with great fanfare.

The book is being launched in two languages. While the edition in English has been titled ‘Souls Unshackled’ the book in Urdu has been named ‘Na Qafus Na Ashiyana.’

Dr Masuma Hasan,. Chairperson, Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA), and a former Ambassador, will be the chief guest in the launching ceremony to be presided over by Niaz Ahmed Siddiqui, Former Inspector General of Police, Sindh.

A large number of intellectuals, media professionals and the industry leaders are expected to grace the launch of a harrowing and heroic autobiographical account of a prisoner.

(Jumbo Publishing. Com)