Page 23 - Pakistan Link - November 15, 2019

COMMENTARY NOVEMBER 15, 2019 – PAKISTAN LINK – P23

n By Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy Our Ghost Mathematicians up to almost eight years. These professors were paid monthly
Islamabad, Pakistan salaries which were deposited into their accounts opened in a
local bank with the help of SMS staff. It is not certain whether
cams and scandals shock no one in Pakistan. Why the professors themselves withdrew the money or someone else
should they? The corrupt are never punished except if pocketed it.
Sthey cross swords with those behind the scenes. With • When the committee wrote to 38 foreign professors for-
this dismal truth before me, I pen here an unusual story that merly at SMS asking them to verify their salary payments, just
would grab headlines in another country. To 13 replied. Official records show each receiving payments be-
be named below are several persons who tween $150,000 to $300,000. The reader, by browsing through
would have ended up behind bars in any the email correspondence, can sense that some professors were
country where there is rule of law. Several genuinely confused and had forgotten details from many years
others — whether complicit or negligent earlier. Several said that they received far less than the alleged
— would be shamed, reviled and removed amount. Others recall being asked to sign blank sheets of paper
from their current official positions. Know- by the SMS staff.
ing that nothing will happen here in Pakistan, this is still a • The committee also inspected the research publications
story I must tell. of foreign professors employed by SMS between 2003 and 2013
Briefly: between 2003 and 2013 dozens of European math- and found that these individuals showed their affiliation only
ematics professors were flown into Pakistan at government ex- to foreign institutions and not to SMS. It noted that “this [is]
pense. They came under the Higher Education Commission’s rather odd since if someone was employed at SMS for five or
so- called Foreign Faculty Hiring Program (FFHP). A big bud- six years it is natural to expect that they will show SMS as their
getary chunk went to the Abdus Salam School of Mathematical affiliation in their research papers”. Stated differently: why on
Sciences (AS-SMS), an affiliate of Government College-Uni- earth was Pakistan paying them?
versity in Lahore. SMS received Rs638 million from HEC for Hiring foreign professors to teach in Pakistan once seemed
salaries and airfare. an excellent idea. In 2003 when Dr Atta-ur-Rahman asked me
The imported professors were listed as full-time SMS fac- to create and head a FFHP committee for hiring physicists
ulty with Western-level salaries convertible to euros and dol- from abroad, I gladly accepted. Subsequently I requested Prof
lars. Some were paid for as long as eight years. They were sup- Riazuddin (died 2013), who was Pakistan’s finest physicist af-
posed to teach students all year round, supervise their research, ter Abdus Salam, as well as Prof Asghar Qadir, a distinguished
and add to overall national prestige by publishing high-level physicist, to join the committee.
mathematics research using their Pakistani institutional ad- Dr Riazuddin, Dr Qadir and I spent many hours in many
dress, i.e., that of SMS. Iqbal (convener), Prof Fiazud-in-Zaman, and Muhammad meetings poring over faculty applications and making recom-
This did not happen. Some foreign professors visited La- Imran Khan (administrative and finance officer). They deserve mendations for appointing the best applicants. We were hope-
hore for just four to five months of the year, others for half this our highest respect for the risk they took. ful that infusing foreign expertise would put new life into oth-
time, and still others for at most four to six weeks. Still, apart Bullet points gleaned from this report follow: erwise intellectually barren institutions across Pakistan. But
from those on short-term appointments, year after year all • FFHP was launched by HEC in 2003. On the HEC side after a full year’s work we found ourselves sidelined. Decisions
were paid a full 12-month salary. When later asked, some said the officials responsible for this program and disbursement of were made and appointments were made against the commit-
Lahore was too hot while others said it was too dangerous. funds to SMS were: Dr Atta-ur-Rahman (then HEC chairman), tee’s advice — and often without its knowledge. Thereafter we
Research publications of the foreign professors did not Dr Sohail Naqvi (then HEC executive director), and Wasim sent in our collective resignation to Dr Rahman. Other factors
carry SMS’s name although they were formally full time SMS Hashmi Syed (then FFHP project director). Presently, Dr Rah- seemed to be at work and we did not want our reputations sul-
employees. Clearly several were making brief junkets to Paki- man heads another major government education initiative in lied.
stan while actually employed elsewhere. How the ghost profes- the PTI government. Shall we hope that another disaster will Pakistan already has the distinction of having thousands
sors managed to supervise one hundred PhD theses at SMS is be averted? of ghost schools in its rural areas. Now it has set a world record
a mystery! The quality of these graduates is for the reader to • From 2003 to 2013 the SMS officials directly responsible by having hosted a ghost faculty program for a full 10 years
guess. for the disbursement of funds received from HEC under FFHP — and that too in high-level mathematics at one of its oldest
An investigative report can be found on the SMS web- were Dr A.D.R. Choudary (Director General, 2003-2014) and institutions. One hears of other scams in higher education but
site. Such detailed investigations are unknown in Pakistan’s Ejaz Malik (Director of Finance & Administration, 2003-2014). none as brazen. Either no one knew about this one or, more
academic history. Spread over 456 pages (including email cor- The committee repeatedly sought to contact both but received likely, many knew but none spoke up. All this happened right
respondence with relevant foreign professors) it was patiently no replies. They are said to have left Pakistan. under the HEC’s nose. One does not feel optimistic.
put together over two years by an officially constituted commit- • Fifty-eight foreign professors were hired at SMS under (The writer teaches physics and mathematics in Lahore
tee of three individuals presently employed at SMS: Prof Amer the FFHP program with durations ranging from a few months and Islamabad)
Proceed to Peshawar – from the Army Navy Club Library

n By C. Naseer Ahmad contest between Britain and Russia after Napoleon’s retreat in
Washington, DC which Afghanistan’s role was seen as a buffer between the Brit-
ibraries have a way to take us to some wonderful jour- ish Empire’s colony in India and Russia. In this high level game,
neys, transporting us through time and across the “Tibet, China, and even Mongolia later became factors, espe-
Loceans. The collection of books, magazines and other cially during WWII when the stakes were never higher.”
reading material provides an almost limitless resource of From one of the insightful reviews of the book by John
learning. E. (Jed) Williamson, Sterling College and the American Alpine
Some libraries, however, have a gravita- Club, one learns that Dr Hill inspired by this archive of the de-
tional pull that can feel stronger than that of a classified material “does more than describe the mission. He
black hole. Once you set a foot near them, it looks back at the political and historical events leading up to
is almost impossible to escape without learn- the journey and then forward to the present day. Thorough re-
ing something new. The library at the Army search and compelling writing will keep readers riveted. I was
Navy Club on the south eastern end of Farra- reminded that the Afghan people once liked us and that explor-
gut Square in downtown Washington, is both ers and climbers today have nothing on these men.”
magnificent as well as well stocked. If the reader’s appetite for enjoying a historical perspective
“Proceed to Peshawar” by Dr George J Hill was awaiting still remains to be filled, then Dr Hill’s interesting lecture sur-
the readers on the table along with other interesting books. It rounding this book can be viewed via YouTube also. In this vid-
is an interesting book about a secret US Naval Intelligence mis- eo, made available by the Naval War College, Dr Hill starts the
sion to the Afghan Border in 1943 – more than seventy years discussion by mentioning Chitral and then his father-in-law’s
ago. Once the book is picked up, it is hard to put it down until posting in Karachi from where this secret mission originated.
you have read one of the most intriguing stories about the land From his website, the reader will learn that George J. Hill
which has suffered many invasions, served as the graveyard of graduated from the Harvard Medical School and served with
empires, and has been part of the contest known as the “Great a distinguished career in the US Marine Corps and the Public
Game.” Health Service, retired as a captain in the Navy Reserve.
Through a painstaking effort – using his father-in-law’s The title “Proceed to Peshawar” has a certain ring to it; it
coded notes, Dr Hill narrates “a story of adventure in the Hindu is part a marching order and part a desire to begin a journey. It
Kush Mountains, and of a previously untold Military and Naval is also a reminder of something attributed to Peshawar almost
Intelligence Mission along about 800 miles of the Durand Line a year ago when cruel murderers cut short the many precious
in World War II.” He talks about the American officers who lives who could have discovered untold treasures hidden in the
passed through the Tribal Areas and the princely states of what libraries of the world or whose own journeys would have been
was the North-West Frontier Province (and now Khyber Pakh- just as riveting as what Dr Hill narrated.
tunkhwa) and into Baluchistan. His book “also provides an in- So it is appropriate to remember the statement made by
sight into the background and daily life of a Naval Intelligence then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after learning about the at-
Officer who was stationed in Karachi, India (now Pakistan), in tack on the Army Public School in Peshawar: “ I have decided
World War II.” His father-in-law Lt Alfred Zimmerman was to proceed to Peshawar ...These are my children and it is my
probably the first American official to travel to all of the prov- the unique expedition. loss. “
inces that are now part of Pakistan. From the de-classified material Dr Hill, Lt Zimmerman’s In this context, it is also important to note President Barack
In the words of one reader, the book is a “compelling ac- son-in-law, “finally delivers the edited journal, photos, and a Obama’s statement after the heinous attack on the Army Public
count of a fascinating journey in Central Asia during WWII.” ton of research and maps to fill in the gaps and bring the story School: “We stand with the people of Pakistan, and reiterate the
Through this book, the reader learns about the detailed ac- to life. The reader gets to know the characters involved, and commitment of the United States to support the Government
count kept by Lt Alfred Zimmerman of the journey during appreciates the historical context of the situation.” Dr Hill in- of Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism and extremism
which he took numerous high quality photographs to chronicle troduces the famous “Great Game” which involved strategic and to promote peace and stability in the region.”
www.PakistanLink.com