Change is Inevitable & Yes We Pakistani’s have a lot to Offer….

Change is Inevitable & Yes We Pakistani’s have a lot to Offer….

Robert Gallagher said that change is inevitable - except from a vending machine. It is inevitable that structures and processes and relationships will change in our day-to-day lives. It is inevitable that we will face new challenges and it is inevitable that things may seem a little different in the years ahead. Yes, life is definitely going to become a little "shaken up and stirred".

But as we look back on a journey - a journey that started out with hesitant, tentative steps, in retrospect, we see just how far we have progressed. I would like to share a memory - memory that serve to illustrate that while some things will change and rightly so - the core fundamentals in our lives will remain the same.

This brief illustration is about a sports event in a school with parents invited as well. A youngster is sitting next to the sports field trying to put on his sock. The sports teacher walked past. The boy stands up, hopping around on one leg, his sock in his hand and he greets, "Sir" He sits down again intent on putting on his sock. The teacher walks on a little way and watch. The youngster it seems has chosen a bad spot. At least six other parents happen to walk past him, separately, but in relatively quick succession. And, every time, without fail, he clambers on to his one foot and greets, "Sir or Ma'am!" I'm not sure if he eventually did get his elusive sock on - but I can testify to the exceptional manners that were witnessed - manners that are so firmly ingrained that they are almost intuitive.

This phenomenon of ‘change’ is visibly coming up in the form of extreme ‘competitiveness’. The world is becoming very competitive in every sense. Let’s take golfing and tennis, aspiring players graduating from academies with stringent intake criterion and undergo untiring trainings.

There is astounding research going on in the fields of Engineering and Medicine. The advancements in the area of Telecommunications are beyond ones comprehension. The desktop machines are become outdated with laptops becoming common at affordable prices. In academia, now we get to hear of close to perfect scores in exams such as GMAT and GRE and intake of top schools are becoming stringent. In the field of defense there is sophisticated weaponry with unmanned air craft’s offering high precision and accuracy and GPS technologies literally offering street views at few clicks of any part of the world. And the list goes on. These are all few examples of how world are evolving and are becoming very scientific.

Now given this backdrop that change is inevitable and it is the most constant thing in this world, let’s see what we have to offer as a Pakistani as we have to be on our toes to meet the demands of the ever changing paradigms of this world.

We are living in difficult times and unfortunately our beloved Pakistan has few threats. We all have to face the current turmoil with brave hearts. I am a firm believer that we the Pakistani’s are one of the most talented nations in the world.

"If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." ~Thomas Edison

"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." ~Walt Disney

Although the list of great Pakistani’s is never ending but I would like to take this opportunity and share few names who made all of us proud.

• Jahangir Khan the greatest player of all times made history in the game of squash. He won world open record six times and won the coveted British Open ten times. He also had an honor of being unbeaten for record 5 years, a record breaking winning streak in the history of squash. I am not sure how many of you know that Jahangir underwent multiple surgeries as a child and was advised strictly by doctors to avoid any physical exertion as he was extremely week.

• Wasim Akram the great cricketer made it to hall of fame as he holds the record for the most number of wickets in one day cricket (502) which is no mean feat.

• Cadet Ghulam M. Malik (retired as Lt. Gen G.M Malik) is the first Asian to win the prestigious Queens Medal at Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in UK.

• The gifted Junior Under Officer Uqbah Hadeed Malik (Now Capt) merely at the age of 22, wins the coveted sword of honor at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in UK as he was declared as the best overall international cadet.

• 18 year old Ali Moeen Nawazish, a wiz kid from Rawalpindi made a world record by securing 22 A’s in A level examinations of University of Cambridge. He is also acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records at this tender age for outstanding achievement.

• Dr. Atique Samdani awarded ‘physician of the year’ award in USA.

• The world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional is a Pakistani

There was one common denominator amongst all of them, they all had an extra-ordinary ‘will’ do to do well in their respective areas and they were extremely focused in their pursuits. And surely they were able to adapt to the best of their abilities to the ‘change’ in pursuit of their goals. The above are few examples of Pakistani’s who have outshined other nations which suggest the talent which we all can leverage provided we have the ‘will’ and right ‘intentions.’

And then there are other phenomenal achievements of recent times in the field of Telecommunications and biometrics databases:

• There were 300,000 mobile users in Pakistan in year 2000 and within a span of few years the number stands at around 98 million mobile users.

• Pakistan is the most connected country in South Asia, with the highest teledensity in terms of mobile access per hundred people which stands at 62%

• Pakistan has the world's largest biometric database (NADRA); this system (not the data) is now being provided to allied countries

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

The following extract from a speech by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling who spoke to Harvard graduates on June 5, 2008 offers a very unique perspective when he says…

“If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to change the world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better”

And our great founder of the nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah rightly points out…

‘With faith, discipline and selfless devotion to duty, there is nothing worthwhile that you cannot achieve’.

The greatest example of a man who really brought an extra ordinary change for the generations to come can be attributed to our beloved Quaid Muhammad Ali Jinnah, when somebody very rightly points out….

"The change in the world is always brought by one man, whom we call "the leader". Who has the vision and the force not only to make people dream, but to reach and live that dream. He is intelligent enough to foresee tomorrow. He is selfless and courageous to the extent of being ready to scarifies everything and express truth even if it defames him. People fellow him where he takes them. He is the one who accelerates history and for whom nature proclaims itself. "What a man""

God bless Pakistan

Sheikh Taimur Nawaz