Photography & Cameras

De: Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le: Lundi 17 Octobre 2011 12h04
Objet: Re: Photography

O Sir Jee ... aap kis zamanay mein reh rahey hein?

It was a decade ago that Sony overtook both Canon and Nikon in making highest grade digital photography systems. Yes it is true that Minolta, Canon and Nikon had expertise in making lenses but that was all about that. And it was several decades ago too. Nearly two decades ago, cameras started being more than the optics they contained. It was then that the manufacturers with excellence in electronics, digital signal processing systems, phase array algorithms and sensors, high pixel-density displays, ... the likes of Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc. swooped the photography market. First they kicked aging and sluggish Kodak, Konica, Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Pentax out of the compact everyday use market and then moved onto the pro SLR domain.

Please keep in mind, today's digital SLR is first 'digital' than anything else. As for the optics, Sony owns Minolta's optics manufacturing division. So, ALL Sony lenses are made by a manufacturer with twice as much experience as Canon or Nikon, and it makes lenses twice as good and solid. Most Canon lenses are too "plasticky" to even hold the glass elements inside, firmly. Moreover, Sony gets its highest-end lenses made by Carl-Zeiss, a specialized German manufacturer of high-grade industrial, aviation and aerospace optics for over 150 years.

If you ever get a chance, do allow yourself to hold, weigh, feel and try Sony-Minolta and Sony-Zeiss lenses. You will be pleasantly surprised by the professional build quality and super-fast, ultra-sharp focusing.

As for the LCD's and LED's, don't even ask. About four months ago, I wanted to buy me an LED-enhanced-LCD TV. I spent nearly three months doing a thorough research. I read the specs of over 50 displays from 12 different manufacturers. I visited several superstores to compare the TV's side by side, live. What I was looking for, was the quality of display, colors and true-to-life natural representation, above all else. Suffice to say, no other TV even came close to what Sony had to offer.
A brilliant display with a powerful processor for nearly zero delay for PS3 and XBox 360 gaming, a self-reconfiguring WiFi connectivity which gives you thousands of HD channels from the internet, all for free, and hundreds of other options like playing a video file (using the TV's long list of integrated codecs) from a Laptop or a HDD placed in another room! Add to that the solid build quality and scratch-less glass finish ... Samsung, Panasonic and LG are thoroughly beaten by a large distance. Please note that it was after 8 years that I was looking to buy a TV, I was upgrading from an excellent Panasonic CRT and I was surprised to see how well Sony has progressed in its core area of expertise even against Panasonic (my personal favorite in TV's).

Regards,
-- Waqqas
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/4242090177/
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From: Zulfiqar Mehdi
Sent: 16 October 2011 19:57
Re: Photography

Sony?? reminds me of an interesting comment, I got into a Renault Car for a short trip inside France. The french host asked me, "how do u like this car?" I said "well I'm a but uncomfortable; Renault is famous for trucks, so if they have made a car it has feeling of a truck, on the contrary Mercedes is famous for luxury cars, so even if they make a truck it has feeling of luxury in its cabin"
Let Sony be color [that too CRT] TV manufacturer who could not even maintain their edge in LCD era. Camera is either Minolta, Nikon or Canon. The purchase is now over 2 years old; Sony did not have the option to switch the lens, I had some good lens made by Canon that could be installed in my DSLR.
Mehdi
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De : Kamran Soomro
À : Waqqas Akhtar waqqas_akhtar[at]yahoo.com
Envoyé le : Ven 29 Janvier 2010, 17 h 08 min 32 s
Objet : Re: Sony A350

Thanks for the info sir. This is exactly what I was looking for. I must admit, I am heavily inclined towards the A550 now.
:D
Regards,
Kamran Soomro.
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On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 3:58 PM, Waqqas Akhtar wrote:

Wa-Alaikum Assalam,
No, that is not true. Entire Alpha series has ultra-sonic motors built right into the camera body and they're pretty quiet. My Sony Alpha 100 makes no more sound than that of Canon 450D of my Pakistani work fellow here but at the same time (and we tested it in a 1-to-1 race) it goes from 18mm to 150mm in almost the same time that Canon 450D takes to go from 18mm to 55mm. Sony's focusing system is super-fast.
As for my expereince with it, I am extremely satisfied with it and I love it beyond words can say.
I'd give you the following advice:
1. Consider buying A550 instead of A350. A550 has a much larger, 11.8Wh FM500H battery (A100 also has the same but it was dropped in A2xx/A3xx series) giving it an increased battery life i.e. 1,000 shots when using the viewfinder. Sony has also returned the separate Auto Exposure Lock buttons (which were also there in A100 but not in A2xx/A3xx). There is also a wider selection of external buttons for giving fast access to a variety of shooting settings such as drive mode, ISO and D-Range, freeing up the four-way controller for AF-point selection, which is a very convenient combination. Plus, it has a CMOS Exmor sensor (much better than CCD sensor), takes continous shots at 7fps (with focus and exposure locked) and sports an excellent HDR mode that combines multiple exposures with a new 5-level manually selectable Dynamic Range Optimization. But above all, it has the newest, industry leading, LIVE-Preview system.
2. It is recommended to drop the 18-55 kit lens and buy (atleast) the 18-200 Sony-Zeiss lens. You will see a marked difference in your photos.
Regards,
-- Waqqas.
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De : Kamran Soomro
À : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le : Ven 29 Janvier 2010, 11 h 59 min 02 s
Objet : Sony A350

A.A Sir,
I'm looking to buy a DSLR soon. I heard from someone that the Sony A100's motor makes a loud whirring sound when focusing. What is your experience with the camera? What would you say about the A350?
Regards,
Kamran Soomro.
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De : Waqqas Akhtar
À : Farrukh Majeed; Abdul Rauf Sher Khan
Envoyé le : Lun 11 Janvier 2010, 16 h 33 min 19 s
Objet : Compact Digital Camera Recommendation

The newest camera models from Sony that I was telling you people about (with Exmor CMOS sensor technology) are:
DSC WX1 & DSC TX1 but these are in the price range of ~ EUR 270 - 300.
I will however recommend you to go for one of the 6-month older models (as those have already seen the initial price drops) which are:
[1]. DSC W230 & DSC W290 in W-series (solid build quality, focused on functionality and lots of fine features)
[2]. DSC T90 & DSC T900 in T-series (stylish, glossy surface-finish, slim, easy-to-carry, touch-screen interface)
Normally, these are in the price range of € 175 - € 270 and mostly are a very good value for money.
See for example:
http://www.pixmania.com/fr/fr/r/sony-w290
It is being sold for € 175 (without the shipping price).
But if you have the patience to sift through ebay items and the time to wait for the arrival of the item (takes almost two weeks), you can get yourself an economy of almost € 50 for any item in both [1] and [2].
See for example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-DSC-W290-12-1-MP-BLUE-DIGITAL-CAMERA-W-ACCESSORIES_W0QQitemZ370313576826
Even with a shipping cost of $36, the camera will cost you $196 in total i.e. € 135 only!
Ebay is THE most inexpensive place for buying items, that is, anything that can be boxed and shipped, you should always consider buying it through ebay!
As for the comparison to Canon SX200 that Rauf has recently bought, this is the one that I was suggesting from Sony:
http://www.pixmania.com/fr/fr/3471485/art/sony/cyber-shot-dsc-wx1-or.html
OR,
http://www.cdiscount.com/photo-numerique/appareil-photo-numerique/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-wx1-gold/f-112012311-SONYDSCWX1G.html
I like it more (even though it has 10 MP as compared to 12.1 for Canon) because it comes with the newest generation CMOS (4-color resolution) sensor as compared to the older generation CCD (3-color resolution) sensor on-board canon, which increases the color depth and in the photos and extremely low-light efficiency by nearly 200% and all that at a slightly lower price than that of Canon!
And also because it can shoot at 10 frames per second as compared to just under 1 frame per second for Canon which helps it to make stunning panoromas with the built-in image stitch processor in one casual quick sweep (something that even my $1400 SLR struggles to do that well). In addition Sony offers an intelligent auto-focus (AF) technology that uses upto 40-point focusing in every photo that you snap as compared to just 9-point AF for Canon, which makes Sony WX1 more versatile for a wide range of shooting purposes with multiple subjects in a photo. Plus, Sony is offering a wide-angle capability starting at 24mm (as compared to 28mm for Canon) which means that you can fit a larger group of people in a Sony photo from the same distance as you can with a Canon (nearly 40% more). There are several other technical advantages that Sony has (in terms of ISO sensitivity and F-number) which are, as important as they are, slightly too technical for a common user to know of.
On a personal preference, I hate the fact that Canon cameras only record videos in *.mov format which are a big hassle to edit / crop / re(en)code on Windows platforms. On the contrary, Sony has already migrated to MP4 standard which is not only more disk-space efficient but also universally compatible with online video-sharing services (like youtube and dailymotion). It's almost time somebody tells Canon that sticking with Apple's standards is doing it no good.
However, I do like the impressive 12x optical zoom offered by canon in contrast to that of only 5x offered by Sony (although that makes the Canon camera nearly twice as fat as the slimmer Sony).
Regards,
Waqqas
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De: Waqqas Akhtar
À : Irfan Subhani
Envoyé le : Jeu 6 Août 2009, 18 h 29 min 52 s
Objet : Re: SLR camera guidance

Wa-Alaikum -as-Salam,
You're most welcome to ring me up anytime.
Mine is a Sony A-100 DSLR:
http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/sony-dslr-a100-guide.html
Since I keep a regular eye on what is going on in the SLR world and since I just love knowing of the amazing advancements there ;-) , for some time now I am much impressed by a pair of really nice SLRs (from Sony again :p) ... the Sony A-300 & A-350 ... take a look:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra350/

Copied below is a discussion with a few friends to give you some more info.
Regards,
Waqqas.
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De: Irfan Subhani
À: Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le: Jeudi, 6 Août 2009, 17h41mn 30s
Objet: SLR Camera Guidance

AOA,
I hope that you are fine. Few months back I saw your photography in link sent by you by a SLR camera. It was really impressing. Actually I want to buy a SLR camera. Can you please guide me in this respect. Also about the lenses.
Though it is quite debatable issue. Do you have any landline number so that I can talk with you. I shall be waiting for response and proper guidance.
Thanks.
Arfan Ul Haq SUBHANI
Doctorat
Arfan.Subhani[at]ensiacet.fr
Materiaux, Nanomateriaux et Multimateriaux
INP
4 Allée Emile Monso
BP-74233, 31432 TOULOUSE Cedex 04
Toulouse, FRANCE
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De: Waqqas Akhtar
À: Usman Javaid
Envoyé le: Lundi, 16 Février 2009, 09h30mn 40s
Objet: Your Gallery with Sony Alpha

Thanks dear :)
I hope you are doing fine too. Best Wishes to you as well.
As for buying an SLR, I have a Sony Alpha-100 with a Zeiss-Sony 18-200 mm lens and a super-fast Extreme-IV Compact Flash card.
Before I bought this one, I tested Sony Alpha-100, Canon 400D, Nikon D80 and Pentax K200D side by side in several stores and at the "Salon Mondial de la Photo", here in Paris. With all of these SLR's being within 1000 EUR price range (with kit lens but w/o external flash), each camera does have specific advantages which makes photographers recommend and select one over another, depending on whom you ask. :)
Plainly speaking, all of the above cameras are excellent choice, each for some of it's outstanding qualities.
For instance, Pentax K200D with the lowest price tag among these has economy on it's side. Canon 400D has the advantage of wide-range of Canon lenses available in the market if you ever need to buy specialized lenses later and Nikon D200 has much greater customization of menus/functions available as compared to other cameras in this list and that does come-in handy when you're snapping photos in bulk. But what steered me towards Sony Alpha-100 finally, were four outstanding features, all rolled into one:

1. It's the only camera in this group that has real optical image stabilization (Sony calls it Super SteadyShot technology) built into the camera body which actually works! It works by moving the CCD sensor in a split second in response to a last-moment camera shake. With this feature built into the body, you can use even less-expensive, non-stabalized lenses for low-light photography. Here's one such photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/1269821697/
2. It has a drive motor built into the camera body (unlike Canon 400D), which means you can use non-motorized lenses as well and enjoy the precision of auto-focus claculation algorithm with all kinds of lenses. Here's a photo with Sony's powerful 40-point auto Hue-Saturation-Light (HSL) metering:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/1799481060/
But the price-to-pay for built-in drive motor is the weight of the camera body. I believe it's the heaviest in the group. (Note: For me, I like the solid feel of Sony-Alpha in my hands when I'm shooting but some people prefer to move around with lighter cameras in thier neck, for, it can be quite tiring to carry it all day if it's heavy. You can trust me on that one ;) )
3. Alpha 100's rigid but user-intuitive interface, straight out from Sony's HCI labs impresses me. And a wonderful addition is a gyro-sensor in the camera body which detects and rotates the information screen upwards no matter the orientation of the camera. Now, that's a uniquely nice touch. :) Plus, Sony is the only one to offer light-intensity and camera tilt information on both the default screen panel and the view-finder, which is highly practical for night-time, time-lapse photography.
Like this shot for instance: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/3066889502/
4. 18-200 mm Sony-Zeiss lens. As much as the camera is important, in SLR photography the lens makes a hell lot of a difference. In my experience Zeiss lenses are some of the best out there. Since Sony offers this excellent 12X zoom lens in the package, it was the final deal-maker for me.
Here's one photo that I took at 10X zoom. See the sharpness:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/871407749/
Here's another one at 9X zoom. This time, with Super SteadyShot on. See the fine details in the hair:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/871718127/

Note: As far as kit-lenses are concerned, Canon offers a very low quality canon-built 18-55 mm (3X zoom only) lens which pulls the camera's capabilities down significantly and although Nikon was offering a nikon-built 18-70 mm (4X zoom) lens, which is somewhat better but then the lack of any kind of image stabilization and any kind of internal sensor cleaning technology in the camera body, coupled with the fact that Nikon is the most expensive in the list put Nikon on third place in my evaluation. Pentax K200D landed fourth primarily because of the limited range of Pentax lenses and the non-customizable, amateurish light-metering functionality.
Well, as for you, you have a choice among the newer versions of the above mentioned cameras. Sony Alpha-350, Canon 450D, Nikon D-90 and Pentax K20D
Although Nikon D-90 comes with vido clip recording feature but I would recommend you to consider buying Sony Alpha-350 for, it has among other enhancements, the revolutionary "Live View" technology. Now, because the screen doesn’t black out while you’re shooting, the A3xx is the first SLR family that lets you track a moving subject on the screen, shooting all the way. See this blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/technology/personaltech/06pogue.html
Other pleasing features are: Eye-start Autofocus, also from the A1xx family, which starts up the autofocus system so the camera's ready before you even match your eye up to the viewfinder. Super SteadyShot stabilizes images with any lens mounted. Sony has built into this model, up to 3.5 stops of extra exposure with their body-based image stabilization system. Anti-dust is also built in, with a static-free coating on the CCD's filter that is shaken each time the camera is powered off.
However I would strongly recommend you to buy the Alpha-350 kit which has either the Sony 18-250 mm lens or the Sony-Zeiss 18-70 mm lens. If you can invest slightly more, the kit with Sony-Zeiss 18-200 mm lens is the ideal pick! (that's the same lens that I bought).

Welcome to the world of SLR photography.
Regards,
Waqqas.
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De : Usman Javaid
À : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le : Dimanche, 15 Février 2009, 21h34mn 50s
Objet : Your Gallery with Sony Alpha

Hi Waqqas,
I really enjoyed watching your gallery on Flickr, great stuff.
Would you please tell which SLR do u have and what would you suggest me to buy.
Apart from that, life is great with me and hope you would soon be doing fine too. Good luck.
Thanks.
Usman
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De : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le : Mercredi, 23 Mai 2007, 22h56mn 32s
Objet : Re: Sortie Photos....

Salam!
The idea to go out for photography in Paris seems cool.
I shall be able to confirm you my presence by tomorrow evening or by Friday mid-day. Tomorrow evening we have a reunion requested by the Administration of the Centre de Parachutisme. News are that they may spare a few training instructors for this long weekend to allow us to do some more para jumps. If that is the case, I will be gone for 3 days starting Friday evening. But if I am not busy there (I have heard other rumors that the parachuting base is closing for full 3 days), in that case I will be free and will definately want to do some clicking and flashing! I will upadate you ASAP.
On the Camera side, first, thank you for congratulating me. Second, I have no words to express my excitement. The camera has exceeded all my expectations. After reading sooooo many reviews and after asking sooo many Canon, Nikkon and Sony users about their comments, I had set high expectations for Sony DSLR and I was afraid that I might be disappointed. So much so that, I decided not to buy the standard kit lens for the fear of getting less than optimal photos. Instead, I bought the Sony 18-200 AF Lens (manufactured by Konica-Minolta Lens division). The lens has 11 X-coated antishine elements and gives pretty sharp images. I am happy that I made this choice. I am attaching a photo I shot of the drop zone of the Parachuting base at near telephoto end (at 150mm). F/8, Exp 1/500sec, ISO100, Metering: Pattern, Exp Compensation: 0-step.
Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/1414924338/

Rest, you have to see the Sony beauty to feel it. ;-)
Regards,
Waqqäs
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De : Waqqas Akhtar
À : Ejaz Asi
Envoyé le : Vendredi, 8 Décembre 2006, 18h37mn 07s
Objet : Re: Greetings from Paris!

I have visited the flikr link you sent me. What a treat it is to watch your photography!
You have a highly developed sense, what I call the 'sense of scene'. Keep it up!
I would realy love to share my work with you sometime.
Which camera do you use? You have an SLR?
I am planning to buy Sony DSLR Alpha 100 or the recently launched NIKKON D-40.
I can't seem to decide among the two. Any opinions?
Regards,
Waqqäs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/waqqasakhtar/
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De : Ejaz Asi
À : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le : Vendredi, 8 Décembre 2006, 14h08mn 07s
Objet : Re: Greetings from Paris!

Thankoo...
I thoroughly enjoyed your email and yeah that night picture of yours look great.
Would share the pictures when it happens inshallah.
For now, you could feast your eyes at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejazasi/
I think you could upload yours at Flickr as well... keeps everyone in the loop na.
Thanks for remembering and best of luck for your future as well.
Ejaz
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Pakistani Cricket: This Win Is Not Just About Winning
By: Romesa Khalid

The first World 20-20 semi-final win for Pakistan is not just sports. For Pakistanis, who have seen their homeland go through the failures of their ruling elite and the trials and machinations of their scheming neighbours, it represents a desire for something more.



TORONTO, Canada — Pakistan always has been a nation of miraculous survival.

Burdened by war, distraught by multiple enemies, crumbling due to lack of stable economy, badmouthed in the cricket arena by critics across the globe. This one nation that has been salvaging itself over the course of history, rising above its challenges and challengers alike, has done it again in the T20 cricket semi-final.

They came with a bad physical and even worse psychological form, many of them hailing from cities that are constantly attacked by terrorists sent from Afghanistan. They came to England with a lot on their minds; the T20 World Cup was just one of them. They were not able to play any decent cricket for the past 2 years, almost. No one expected any thing more of them this time. The political crisis has become so intertwined with our cricket lives that even the commentators were (intentionally or not) using phrases like “this is the Pakistan to be afraid of”. I personally loved that.



But once again, the Pakistani nation rose to support the only group of people who we have relied and loved unconditionally since the beginning; our cricket team. Just this one, they forgot about the war, forgot about the politicians busy playing them behind their backs, forgot about the social maladies, forgot about the lack of money, forgot about all their troubles and put their country and its ambassadors to the forefront. The cricketers themselves worked to put all problems on the back shelf just temporarily and focus on this one ray of hope that can have such a huge psychological impact on a country no one has hope for any more.

Our team was criticised the moment it lost the warm-up match to India. It was criticised for experimenting with their batting line-up, it was criticised for losing where it didn’t even matter! India, on the other hand, had the whole world rooting for them. (That is a trademark Indian ploy, by the way.) Indians across the globe were ready to put Dhoni in a temple and start worshipping him. The arrogance in their step was unmistakeable. But their defeat was equally unwelcome and now caricatures of Dhoni are being burned on the streets! South Africa itself was being hailed as the perfect team, the ultimate T20 hotshot. They were undefeated throughout the tournament but ended up falling victim to the law of averages. You have to lose somewhere, and by the Grace of Allah, Pakistan lost at just the right moments.



And they won at the right ones, too. It is crucial to remember why Pakistan’s win is so important. This win is not about winning at all. It is about showing the world that once again, Pakistan has performed in the face of difficulty; death of their coach, attack on their country, bombing of their cities, exploitation of their money. A nation who the whole world had given up on has turned around to come out with a lot more than they expected. But they earned it. These players were working under the pressure of not only the game, but the political games being played with their loved ones in their hometowns. Sometimes, Allah sends motivation from unusual sources.



Younis Khan has even decided to dedicate the cup to Bob Woolmer should Pakistan take it home with them. Pakistanis around the world are praying that we do bring it home. We must continue these prayers and pray two Rakats of thanks to Allah for providing us with hope and motivation when all things were falling apart. Let it be known that our win is not defined by the World Cup (even though we are going to pray long and hard that we win it and win it GOOD). Rather, our win is defined by our ability to overcome difficulties, rise above the challenge and stand united so we can show our enemies we are not defeated; we will never be.



Pakistan Zindabad.

Ms. Khalid can be reached at romesa.khalid@utoronto.ca

Those exotic rankings

...............................................................
---------- Shiraz Bashir writes: ----------
"The 500 Most Influential Muslims"
Sorry Zulqarnain...
Your Zaid Hamid did not make it to the list. Zardari did along with Dr. Israr... Initial pages give good overview of various sects in Islam and some good summary of these influential leaders.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22854716/The-500-Most-Influential-Muslims
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---------- Waqqas Akhtar replies: ----------
>> Criteria: "... people whose influence is derived from the practice of Islam or from the fact that they are Muslims ..."

And that is the list of "most influential muslims" they've managed to come up with? Right!
While some of these gentlemen are definitely respectable fellows, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Most influential, says who?
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding? George-town university? Why don't we go and ask Vatican to "rank us" and then proudly distribute the ranking among ourselves? What happened to "questioning everything"?
"500 most Christianity-compatible Muslims" yes, "500 most pliable out there" maybe, but they're telling us that Zardari is "influential through parctice of Islam"? Who are they kidding?
Is this university trying to compete with Tora-Bora university?
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---------- Usman Ali replies: ----------
>> "...or from the fact that they are Muslims..."
While I generally dont read much into these lists, still Sir Waqqas, I highlighted those words "Green" for you.
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---------- Waqqas Akhtar replies: ----------
Thanx.
And you mean to convey ... ?
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---------- Usman Ali replies: ----------
That Zardari bhai is on that list because of the fact that his passport lists him as Muslim and his current role makes him the Chief Commander of the forces of the only majority-Muslim nuclear country.
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---------- Waqqas Akhtar replies: ----------
Well then, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of such a ranking.
Think about it. Why is this George-town gang so knowingly* intent at misnaming this exercise? Zardari did not win more votes than Sharif because he is percieved to be more "Muslim", nor is his influence derived from "the practice of Islam" in any way, nor has it anything to do specifically with "the fact that he is a Muslim". He, like many others on this list, are in countries where Islam is the majority religion and they happen to be its subscribers.
Presenting these individuals as a list of "Muslims" while ranking them on all criteria BUT their being good (or poor) followers of teachings of Islam is the very intellectual dishonesty that I am pointing out. Why bunch these individuals up on a criteria that had no evaluated effect on their percieved influence? Go ahead call it "The 500 most influential kings / rulers / politicians / landlords ..." and we won't mind.
In this context, the term "influential Muslims" is a mere marketing gimmick.
Example: "George W. Bush was among the most influential Christians of year 2004." ... what good is that statement? What information does it bring?
[*] I said "knowingly", as I am *really* hoping that they know about Islam. If they don't, they better get to that first.
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---------- Shiraz Bashir replies: ----------
So all these are not Muslim? Who has given you right to decide that? Are you God ?
Re, What does these rankings do
It tells user to find out who is who when it comes to discussion.
That's all to it. They are not going to come to you to make any decisions.
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---------- Waqqas Akhtar replies: ----------
One: All three of your questions are squarely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
I did not judge any of the individuals in there. They did.
Two: Your perception of what these lists are for is utterly personal, and is absolutely and only confined to you. What influence, perception and motivation others will derive from it will vary from person to person.
Three: Even if I take your version that "such a list tells a user to find out who is who when it comes to a discussion" and that it will not affect "making of decisions", this version is extremely self-negating. If a discussion is not to lead to a decision (through exchange of information and gaining of knowledge) what else is it for?
Four: Let's not push the discussion to inconsequential extremes. You're missing the question we should be asking: "How is the influence (or the lack of it) of these individuals "attached" to their being Muslims and where has this aspect been studied and evaluated?"
Unless that evaluation is carried out and included there-in, this is just another "fanboy" list with a fancy title coming from some George-town gang trying-out their Muslim-Christian understanding thing (as stated in the preamble).
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---------- Shiraz Bashir replies: ----------
Re, How is the influence (or the lack of it) of these individuals "attached" to their being Muslims and where has this aspect been studied and evaluated?"
I don't understand your question. You dont have yard stick to measure who is Muslims and who is not.
These all are Muslims. Their passport says that. They said shahada and believe in one God and essentials of Islam. Explain me by an example. What you think is top 5 influential Muslims? What criteria you want Georgetown University to use?
By the way it is well regarded University and has professors who know law and policy. So it would be great to ask this question directly to them and see what they say.
Re, My perception is personal. Of course it is. Just like your perception is personal about US. Dare I say based on conspiracy theories (like TTP is funded by CIA)
I use simple criteria about gauging influence of a Home Sapien* ruling a land where Muslims live. If I go to Saudia, King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques exerts total influence in region called Saudia. So on so forth.
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---------- Waqqas Akhtar replies: ----------
Oh com'on! that is like randomly spraying a discussion up with multiple disjointed assertions. Anyways, in the hopes that someone is actually reading it and learning something from it, I'm going to give it another shot. I'll try my finest to even give a reply to the ones not closely related to the discussion at hand.
1. As to explanation on why I find the bunching up of these people together under the category "Muslims" absurd, as I said earlier, go ahead call it "The 500 most influential kings / rulers / politicians / landlords / economists..." and it will amount to something. Presenting these individuals as a list of "Muslims" while ranking them on all criteria BUT their being good (or poor) followers of teachings of Islam is an implied intellectual dishonesty.
2. Yes, these all have declared themselves to be muslims and yes their passport says that. Nobody is counting if they're muslims or not. Nobody should be. Let me repeat: Nobody is required to rate Muslims just for being Muslims. Is it clear? Now, that we have gotten that out of the way, let's return to the real calibration question for this pseudo-list, i.e. what effect does their being Muslim has on their being so-called "influential"? And to what extent? And how does them being good followers of teachings of Islam (or otherwise) affect their being more or less influential? Where's all that study? If they had no study in that regard to put forth, then Georgetown gang, by using the word "Muslims" in the title is only deploying a marketing gimmick for this list of theirs in the hope that someone will bite and spread it around on forums and facebook and yahoogroups, etc. thereby giving these pseudo-intellectuals the status of deciders of who gets to be "role-model Muslim".
3. If it is a "well-regarded" university, it should continue doing that "well-regarded" stuff, whatever it is.
4. I don't see any point in asking them more and "seeing what they say". They had two hundred pages to say what they had to. Ranking criteria, study methodology, tests conducted, explanation to the choice of titles conferred, evaluation rationale all come as a basic requirement to carrying out any and all rankings. The fact that they've chosen not to share any of that in this fan-boy document, with the readers, is their "reply" to "what they have to say".
5. Any news, analysis, remarks and commentry where the letters, C and I and A appear do not automatically make it a conspiracy theory. Link: http://rt.com/v/2010-01-13/537574_cia-live-15-00.flv
6. The king of Saudi Arabia exerts influence in Saudi Arabia not because he is a muslim but because he is a king. George W. Bush was exerting influence in US not because he was a christian but because he was the President. As I asked earlier, how much sense would it make if some other "well-regarded" university, say Tora-Bora university, is to publish a list saying George W. Bush was among the most influential Christians of year 2004? What will that list accomplish? While a list of influential entrepreneurs or a list of influential physicists or a list of influential CEO's makes sense and serves some purpose for people who look up to them, since when have bundling up random people on the basis of faith become public service? And why would someone bite on that, and try to forward the missionary-zeal of a George-town gang to others around them, is completely beyond me.
********************************************************

Fund-raising for a Liver Transplant Operation: Experiences and Lessons Learnt

This is an extraordinary story (told in a chain of emails) of the seemingly impossible task of giving a new liver to a 5-month old girl to save her life, that started from Pakistan, spread to France, Germany and Sweden in Europe, US and Canada accross the Atlantic and ended in China. It is worth reading. It is inspiring, surprising and it contains lessons worth keeping.
It will amaze you to learn how a geographically dispersed group of students raised nearly $50'000 in just over a week. How they worked in synchronisation on almost a war-like footing. How the recepient family battled the visa procedures, overcame formidable bureaucratic delays and kept their hopes alive against despairingly dropping health of their 5-month old daughter. How a fake doctor robbed them of over $53'000 of their money. How the little girl was thrown from hospital to hospital even while she suffered from pneumonia. How a conscientious young chinese doctor helped save the little girl from the hands of inexperienced butchers. How the family managed to recover the looted money and were able to pay the medical bills. And how, by the grace of Allah, the girl finally received a new liver after a 13 and-a-half hour long operation.
***************************************************

De : Waqqas Akhtar
À : APPEC, Education-France, Pakistan-France, Pak-Nordic, Funding Abroad, Pakistanische Gemeinde, Sweden-Pakistan
Envoyé le : Jeudi, 1 Octobre 2009, 0h34mn 49s

Call for donation to save the life of daughter (5-month old) of a fellow NUST Alumni in Pakistan.
http://www.appec.durabledevelopment.com/

From: Shahkar Kakakhail
APPEC Communication: Call for donation
Assalam-o-Alaikum,
APPEC (Association of Pakistanis to Promote Education & Cooperation) calls for donations for the urgent liver-transplant treatment of this baby girl. We personally know the person (Kashif) for whose daughter these donations are being collected, through colleagues of NUST, Pakistan. We also personally know the whole team (mentioned in the emails below) actively campaigning to collect the target amount in various parts of the world, by October 10.
As stated below, the girl has a near 100% chance of living a normal healthy life if the transplant is performed. Plus, as stated below, Kashif has promised to treat the donations as a loan and return these if his request for government assistance / reimbursement is approved. But since that will take a very long period of time, we, on our end need to act immediately and collectively.
Please see what you can do. We have already received a few donations in this regard (currently 630 euros) and we shall InshaAllah transfer all the donations collectively to Pakistan on Saturday, October 10.
Noted below are a few speedy and convenient options available to you.
Paypal: The instructions are as under (French options indicated in parenthesis):
1. Login to your PayPal account.
2. In the top-horizontal menu, click on the second option 'Send money' (paiement).
3. In the 'To' field, please add: treasurers.appec[at]gmail.com.
4. Write your amount.
5. Leave 'Purchase Payment' (Paiement d'un achat) as blank.
6. In 'Remittances to a friend or family' (Envoi d'argent entre proches) choose 'Other' (Autres) and click on 'continue'.
7. The rest is self-explanatory. Before finalizing the transaction, please use the given email feature. In the body, please write your name, city, amount and remarks.

Bank Transfer: The association's account details are as under:
Bank name: Societe Generale, France
Account title: APPEC
Bank code: 30003
Branch code: 00990
Account number: 00037270242
RIB key (optional): 47
International Bank Account Number (IBAN): FR76 3000 3009 9000 0372 7024 247
Bank Identifier Code (BIC): SOGEFRPP
Along with your transaction, please provide "your name, city, amount,any remarks" at treasurers.appec@gmail.com. Please forward to the city mailing lists. If one person could volunteer for the collection at the city level, it will become much easier. On our part, we will keep the donors posted on updates regarding the transplant operation and recovery. If you have any suggestions/comments in this regard, please share.
May Allah Pak accept our efforts. Ameen.
Kakulala.
***************************************************

De : Shiraz Bashir
À : Alumni Association
Cc : Waqqas Akhtar ;
Envoyé le : Vendredi, 2 Octobre 2009, 15h56mn 35s
Objet: Re: [Urgent] [Donate to save the life of a Signalian's Child!] [Deadline 10th October, 2009]

Salam,
US$ 6,585 in 4 days! Super Cool!
Many people still have trouble sending money to Pakistan. Please advise them that they can have one of their family members, friend, colleague (who is living in Pakistan) to give money to our volunteers in Pakistan instead and they can pay them later...
Funds are trickling in at great pace. But we need a big push from all of you.
During this weekend if you can spend some time to send emails, call people personally.. it will help raise the desired amount.
Do emails and then call. Everyone is busy but you can always call 4-5 people.
Make a simple target that I will raise 500$ or 1000$ and then ask your close friends, family.
Here is what we have done so far...my aplogies if I have missed anything..
1. Wrote to Cowasjee so he can mention this appeal in 10/4 Sunday Column in Dawn.
2. Wrote to Dr. Adil Najam at Pakistaniat.com to publish message at Pakistaniat.com
3. Wrote to Leads of MSA/PSA at Princeton, Penstate, USA.
4. Asked Colleagues at GE.
5. Requested APPEC (Association of Pakistanis to Promote Education & Cooperation) in France to do fund raiser
6. Put the message on Facebook, Flickr, Linkedin
7. Sent to my political mentor in Pakistan.
8. Engaged Paskistan Students Federation (PSF) at Georgia Tech
9. Approached a very senior member of APNA (Pakistani Physicians of North America )
10. Requested Muslims Professional Association (MPA) and Islamic Society of Milwaukee (ISM), USA for announcing this on thier mailing list.
11. Wrote to popular bloggers to display message at:
http://deadpanthoughts.com/
http://teeth.com.pk/blog/
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/
http://www.razarumi.com/
http://waqqasakhtar.blogspot.com/
Thanks,
Shiraz Bashir, Tcc5
Co-Advisor to Alumni Association 
***************************************************

On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 12:35 PM,
To: Pakistanische Gemeinde, Sweden-Pakistan,
Waqqas Akhtar wrote:

Salam,
Thank you to all those who have contributed generously for the life-saving liver-transplant operation of Kashif's 5-month old daughter. Today I have transfered the donations that I had received personally and those that we had received in APPEC's account from students in various cities of France, Germany and Sweden to the team of NUST Alumni organizing the donation drive. I wish to thank all those who have donated and encourage others for this cause. Through your timely effort, we have contributed 1670€ (almost Rs. 2 lac) to make a difference in young Asma's life.
(Receipt attached for info on exchange rate)
Jazak Allah and may Allah grant us more strength and fortitude to help those who need us. Ameen.
Wa'Salam,
Waqqas Akhtar
ParisTech, France.
+33 (0)6 30 00 60 43
P.S. Fadil, I have sent you a separate email with the Western Union retrieval code for this transaction.
***************************************************

De : Fadil Aleem fadil.aleem[at]gmail.com
À : Waqqas Akhtar waqqas_akhtar[at]yahoo.com
Cc : Funding Abroad, APPEC, Education France, Pakistanische Gemeinde, Sweden-Pakistan, Pakistan France.
Envoyé le : Mer 14 Octobre 2009, 7 h 14 min 47 s
Objet : Re: Transfer of collected donations: Saving the life of daughter of a fellow NUST Alumni

Dear All,
Thanx a lot for your your gracious efforts. As always, it is nice to see prompt and generous help from this group of Pakistanis.
I will collect the funds soon and acknowledge.
If you ever need any help from College of Telecommunications (legacy Military College of Signals), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Fadil Aleem
Signalianz Alumni Association
Pakistan. 0345-4022058
***************************************************

De : Fadil Aleem
À : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le: Lun 12 Octobre 2009, 13 h 02 min 44 s
Objet: Re: Fundraising Update :: Important

Dear Sir, AoA.
I have talked to Maj. Kashif today. He is planning to go to Shanghai on 5th November. Total trip will be for 40 days.
The decision [from Ministry of Defence] for reimbursement of cost of operation will be here in 3-4 days and he is optimistic.
We have decided to park all funds in his account for the time being for easy tracking.
Breakdown for cost of operation is as follows (rough approx.):
1. Pre-op, op, post-op care (complete operation package): ~ USD 60,000
2. Return flights for 5 persons (including family, patient, donor): ~ USD 5,000
3. Payment to Donor: ~ USD 12,000
4. Apartment/Accommodation for all for 40 days: ~ USD 4,000
Total: ~ USD 81,000 (approx)
Maj. Kashif has personal funds amounting to around 22 lac (USD 36,500) acquired by selling maximum of his/family's property.
Mashallah, our fund raising has amounted to USD 53,000 so the total is close to USD 80,000.
We will transfer funds to his account and he will inform us about using them accordingly.
Funds raised: USD 53,073. Summary of funds:
With Sir Shiraz: USD 11,204 ($10,604 Pay Pal and $600 cash)
With Sir Mansur: USD 9,360 (sent from UK by bank transfer. To be received in 3-4 days)
With me (cash): USD 1,900
With me (citibank): USD 1,376
With me (To pick up from Western Union): USD 1,207
With Sir Zulqarnain: USD 240 (PKR 20,000)
Deposited directly in Askari Bank: USD 26,316
From Sir Waqqas: EUR 1,670 (From APPEC France & individual donors in France, Germany and Finland)
Sir Shiraz/Mansur/Zulqarnain, as soon as possible, please transfer the funds on your end to Sir Kashif's PKR account (Askari Bank).
Fadil Aleem.
NUST Alumni Asociation.
Pakistan.
***************************************************

De: Kashif Bashir
Envoyé le: Sam 10 Octobre 2009, 0 h 04 min 50 s
Objet: A Word of Gratitude

Assalamu Alaikum,
Dear Fraternity,
This is in fact my first email to you and I'll take this opportunity to be as elaborate as possible, so dont mind if the email is a bit lengthy... These eight days in which you campaigned to save my daughter's life changed the meaning of many things for me i.e association, friendship and compassion. Today, if I am confident that my daughter's operation shall materialize in earliest possible time, it's only because of you all. I cant tell what kind of mixed feeling I experience whenever I see your emails. I cant explain what it feels being surrounded in such an excellent class of sincere people blessed with extraordinary sense of humanity and compassion. In this whole episode of my baby's disease I went through three phases.
The first phase started when Dr. Iftikhar Jan (Shifa International) said, "well I am sorry to say that your child's only chance of survival past 8-12 months of age is a liver transplant and in Pakistan 99.9% of cases do not opt for that. We'll try to make her death as painless as possible". This sentence was the rudest shock I had ever received in my life. I was in fact angered at the fact that only finances stand between my dying child and a healthy life. There I decided that come what may I have to provide this chance to the little girl no matter what it takes.
It was the second phase which transformed me from a completely non-serious person (as most of you personally know me) to a desperate fund raiser. I initiated a case [to Ministry of Defence] through proper channel which against my expectations got recommended from everyone up the ladder and is awaiting final approval. But I could not blame the incumbent procedural delays if time ran out, so I thought I might undertake operation at my end and then get re-imbursement when the case gets approved. The exact cost package from China (option 1 now due to my sensitive employment) is yet awaited but in the rough order of magnitude they told me around 80'000$. Till first october from my own resources I could only generate 24'000$ in form of liquid cash and in form of sellable property (which is yet on sale due to fall of property all over the country). So disappointment and frustration started creeping in my mind and I started questioning myself whether I am over ambitious in trying to manage inside the lucky 0.01%. The defence ministry's procedures were inadvertently lengthy, the time was limited and my nerves were being wrecked..
In such precarious times I could never in my wildest dreams imagine that there would a third phase of the same episode awaiting me round the corner, in which my brothers and sisters of Alumni fraternity would rise up to the occasion and stand by me in generating the funds and regenerating my hopes. Today I am extremely proud to be a member of Alumni of prestigious institutions in particular and Pakistani youth in general. You have not only provided a chance to my kid (by the will of Allah) to a prospective healthy life, but cemented our faith in the potential of this upcoming revolution known as "The enlightened Pakistani Youth". We have no reason to be disappointed, no matter what the prevailing circumstances when we know that the driving seat of this nation will eventually fall to an extraordinary generation of people like you all. I simply can't explain how the warmth of your feelings has rejuvenated and energized my spirits in undertaking a firm stand against this challenge. I am not exaggerating but this would be indeed the first story I shall narrate to Asma (my 5 months old child) that how her uncles and aunts united to save her, leaving aside their left, right or center (mine) political camps.
Now coming towards as to how we plan manifesting the fund raising into a transplant operation. I am now considering China as my first option due to difficulties and delays involved in getting permission for India and US, as I am on an extremely sensitive employment. A pakistani liver transplant surgeon (Doctor Xxx - brother of Sir Xxx) is coordinating with Shanghai First Teaching Hospital which specialize in Paediatric Transplants. I am foreseeing that we will InshAllah be able to materialize our visit by end october or start november. The cost of operation is not yet received in exact terms but it would be in the rough magnitude of 80'000$.
My case for reimbursement (which is very likely to be approved) is with COAS and as soon as I am reimbursed, I shall most humbly and gratefully return all amounts. With this, however I consider myself totally incapable to pay back your sincerity and warmth even in ten lifetimes. In the last I can only say that I can't explain my gratitude in words and this campaign could not have been a better success. Please pray that the execution of the operation also meets same success as this is our end goal.
Remembering you all in prayers.
Best Regards
Maj Kashif Basheer
[NUST Alumni]
***************************************************

From: Fadil Aleem
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800
Subject: Update:: Maj. Kashif's Daughter's Operation

Dear All,
Maj. Kashif is in Shanghai, China right now with his family. His daughter's operation was supposed to be this week but is now postponed till next Monday/Tuesday as the baby's condition need more uplift and pre-op preparation.
He is requesting all of us to pray for a successful operation.
Fadil Aleem
***************************************************

De : Ayyaz MAHMOOD PARACHA
À : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le : Lun 18 Janvier 2010, 13 h 32 min 27 s

Hi APPEC members,
I hope all of you doing are great. Before going into the debate with other honorable members. I want to discuss one case with you guys and need your input. [ ... ]
P.S. Waqqas, have you got any update on Maj. Kashif daughter's operation. I hope and pray for her full recovery.
Regards
Ayyaz
***************************************************

De : Waqqas Akhtar
À : APPEC
Cc : Funding Abroad, Education-France
Envoyé le : Lun 18 Janvier 2010, 17 h 41 min 38 s
Objet : Update on 9-month old Asma Kashif (Liver Transplant Operation)

Please see the two eamils copied below.
Jazak Allah for the efforts of all those who contributed to this cause.
Regards,
-- Waqqas.
http://www.appec.durabledevelopment.com/

***************************************************

From: Shiraz Bashir
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 10:02:03 -0600
Local: Mon, Dec 7 2009 5:02 pm
Subject: 13.5 hours long operation of Maj Kashif's daughter is done and is Successful!

Salam,
Update: 13.5 hours long operation of Maj Kashif's daughter is done and is successful!
Thanks God! Next two weeks will be critical. Please pray for her speedy recovery.
Thanks
Shiraz
***************************************************

From: Fadil Aleem
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:21:03 -0800
Subject: Update :: Maj. Kashif's Daughter

Dear All,
Asma Kashif is recovering very quickly. The family will be coming back in a week or so INSHALLAH.
Fadil Aleem
***************************************************
 
From: Kashif Bashir 
To: Signalians-Café
Envoyé le: Mar 26 Janvier 2010, 11 h 34 min 33 s
Objet: Details of events in China - A story to rejoice which could have been otherwise

Assalam-o-Alaikum All,
I feel duty bound to apprise u all with the details of my entire episode at China. My story is too interesting and too shocking to be kept confined to myself. A brief chronolgy of events is given as under :-

a. Reached Shanghai alongwith Wife, sick child and donor on 4 Nov 09.
b. Defrauded & Robbed of 53000$ by same doctor who was coordinating on 5 Nov 09.
c. Expelled from Shanghai hospital on 12 Nov 09.
d. Reached Xi’an in pursuit of daughter’s transplant on 12 Nov 09.
e. Expelled from hospital at Xi’an on 17 Nov 09.
f. Recovered 47850$ (out of looted 53000$) from the cheat on 17 Nov 09 and went to Tianjin for transplant.
g. Baby underwent transplant on 7 Dec 09 at Tianjin First Central Hospital.
h. Recovered remaining 5150$ from the cheat on 21 Dec 09.
j. Baby declared fit to travel on 10 Jan 10.
k. Reached back Pakistan on 12 Jan 09 with healthy baby.

Shocked?
I know its too unbelievable but it happened but the story remained confined between me, Sir Zulqarnain, Sir Shiraz ,Sir Yasser and Fadil uptill now. Now I thought I must share the experience so that the word is spread and it may save any other Pakistani from falling in to the same trap. From here on I cut the suspense and share my conclusive email to the cheat which covers the entire episode with fair degree of comprehensiveness. I was reluctant in sharing this but I have been encouraged to do so.

MY EMAIL TO FRAUD DOCTOR COVERING WHOLE EPISODE

Mr. Xxx,
Let us cover what all happened between 4 Nov and till date. Background (extract of my previous email from back home - also shared with my Commander).
I reached Shanghai on night 4/5 Nov. On the morning of 5 Nov I was told by Doctor Xxx (of Pakistani nationality? and brother of Sir Xxx from a TCC course) that he has submitted 13'236 US Dollars to a hospital and if I don't submit another $17'000 to the same hospital within few minutes then the operation can not commence in a week's time. I was having all the money on me but I didn't have hard cash. He told me you are in a great fix and nothing can be done if u dont arrange hard cash. I received $17'000 hard cash on loan from an SPD Officer working in China on some project and gave that to doctor Xxx. Simultaneously, I transacted 13'326$ to Dr Xxx which he claimed he had submitted with the hospital. He shifted the baby alongwith me and my wife to a very ordinary hospital and told the donor to stay in hotel till last two nights before operation. Meanwhile he asked me to submit another 23'000$ in his account so that I shud not face any emergency with regards to operation. After I did that, the total transactions in his account were 53'000$, just on the trust as he is the brother of an Alumni of NUST. When we were admitted, it was as if they had totally forgotten the transplant thing and the baby was under supportive care at a hospital similar to our "Myo hasptal". I could take this for only one week and started pushing the chinese coordinator (Miss Alisa Qin) which doctor Xxx had placed for my facilitation (which he claimed was the assistant of Dr. Zhong - the transplant surgeon, but as I later found out, actually, was just a medical facilitator not even working at the hospital).
She arranged my meeting with Dr. Zhong. He simply came and said I can't undertake this operation in Shanghai, because it is illegal since this hospital is not approved to operate on foreign patients. Dr. Xxx said, "No problem. If not Shanghai then we'll undertake this operation in Xian". He claimed to work in that hospital as evident from his business card at the end of his mail which follows my this email. As I had no other option and all of my money was in his bank account so I agreed. We went to Xian on 12 Nov and were immediately admitted in the hospital. I was disappointed by seeing Xian it was much less developed and was similar to Gilgit and Skardu region (in Pakistan) but the hospital was okay. I forgot to tell u that he said total expenditure on transplant would be 60'000$. I asked him a million times would there be a legal issue in your hospital he said he can bet his a** on it that there would be no legal issue.We were happy when doctor Xxx told us that the operation date is 22 Nov and it is final.
Here, one thing bothered us that it appeared as if Dr. Xxx doesn't practice in the hospital. He was not well respected in the nurses and no one gave him any acquaintance looks, I mean Doctors etc. I was particularly alarmed when a young chinese doctor, who used to wake me up daily, started coming in at around 2300 hrs and would say in broken english, "Here, Operation, very risky, not performed, before." I didn't pay any heed until on 16 Nov he finally alarmed an Ethics Committee, who again asked to leave the hospital as it was illegal. The surgeon who had to perform the operation told me that I cannot perform the operation due to legality issues but I can help u in arranging it at Tianjin (where it is allowed) and is the best liver transplant center.
Doctor Xxx used to tell me that this is the worst transplant center with 30% survival rate and heavy mafia activity. In reality, I came to know from stats that the hospital at Xian where he coordinated my baby's operation had never conducted even a single paediatric liver transplant and that was what the conscientious young chinese doctor was trying to tell me but I didn't understand. U can well imagine my plight as I had laid blind trust in Xxx, totally played in his hands and was artistically deceived. I asked Xxx that I have two options - one to go back and the other to arrange at Tianjin. I asked him to return the money, so that I can go to Tianjin. He said that at Shanghai your 11000$ have been deducted because you were insolent to the surgeon. I told him, "Bull****! if my money is not returned in full I am going to the embassy to expose this all. I have all documentary proofs, u have sent me official invitation and expected expenditure on the signed letter heads of Hospitals, moreover I transacted all money in ur account. With remaining 49000$ I cannot undertake transplant but I can fight a legal battle in Beijing to bust your a** - to include your associates and the doctors at Shanghai."
He got the joke as I cleared the matter in very definte terms and I meant it. He went to Tianjin and arranged our admission through same persons whom he always dubbed mafia goons. And I got all the money refunded from him except $5150  for which he gave me fake bills. Imagine, at first he told me 11000$ and when I twisted his arm he released all money except $5150 for which he gives explanations in his email in which he reminds me of his excellent favors of getting me a rebate at Tianjin and high class consultancy (please read his email thoroughly, it is very interesting - full of crocodile tears).
In this predicament I was facing pressure from all corners, the health of my child had deteriorated a lot, its very hard to digest when u feel cheated and my family had imagined that I am running here and there without any reason and probably the baby has no cure (God Forbid). My family was literally pleading me to return to Pakistan. I was myself very disappointed but u know my nature, I don't except a failure specially if that was engineered. I went to Tianjin taking a leap of faith on Allah's will and it turned out well. Now if we try to analyse what was done to me through a flash back ...
Doctor Xxx (the fraudster) knew right from the outset that except for Tianjin, no transplant center in China is allowed to entertain foreigners. He put me through this ordeal just to get a cut of 11000$, which he couldn't in the end because I am part of a very powerful organization. With this however, he managed to dent our will, disappoint our families, irritate donor and his family and worst of all drew a pint of blood from my sick baby (who also suffered pneumonia due to extreme weather shifts) and inserted hundreds of dreadful intravenous injections to no avail. This is professional dishonesty at its max with a murderous appetite for money. Now just see him shedding crocodile tears in his email and trying to pamper me through rotten explanations. I am just giving this in your notice so that u must be in knowledge that what are the circumstances in which I was operating and what kind of vultures are on the loose to drink from the blood of even a critically sick child.

Accountability Time Mr. Xxx,
Let's get down to some serious business and accountability and lets set aside the trash of courtasies and politeness. I placed blind trust in u and I was right in doing so, as anyone who is merely a human being could not deceive me in the situation in which I was entrapped at that time. My whole ordeal was indeed an awakening and a revelation towards the lowest limits of ethics and morality to which a human can go. For your behavior I have coined a slogan, "Professional dishonesty at its max". From hereon I am done with personal assaults and will get down to the actual stuff. You robbed me off  total of around 48'000 CNY ($7058), from which 36'000 CNY were direct and 12'000 CNY were expended on my livelihood in those 13 days of hell which I spent with u. There can only be three possibilities if we try to make sense of what all happened to us between 4 Nov to 17 Nov '09 :-

Possibility 1 . You thought of entering new frontiers, that is lucrative business (big game) of liver transplant coordination - at my expense. You failed miserably due to inexperience, incapability and dishonesty. You had no access to surgeons at Tianjin so u thought opening a new franchise of your own (in connivance with Miss Alisa of overseas medical services) at Shaghai or Xian. Being unsuspecting I was an excellent training ground for u.
Possibility 2 . Right at the outset you had to take us to Xian for transplant and taking us to Shanghai was merely a decoy to raise expenditure and get a cut of 15000$ or more. Shanghai was just a fake activity and Xian arrangements busted due to stringent laws.
Possibility 3 . You never contemplated transplant at all and were interested in attriting and bleeding our resources by getting max or may be complete cut of our money before we finally decide to return to Pakistan as u probably thought baby may not survive this all (God Forbid).

In all probabilities u found out that it would be extremely hard to digest all money so u along with ur associates settled for minimum i.e 5150$. Now I would like to share a few findings with u :-
1. Right after reaching Tianjin I got all documents given by you (either physically or through your email id) verified from concerned quarters.
2. The invitation letter u despatched me was found out to be fake by Consulate at Shanghai.
3. All the bills of Shanghai Children Hospital and First Peoples Hospital (you didnt even bother to change the scanned blank bill which u used as background for both bills of First Peoples Hospital) have been found out to be fake by Shanghai Consulate.
4. The whole matter is in knowledge of DA Pakistan Embassy Beijing (he has closely monitored all our moves since we landed at Shanghai, went to Xian and subsequently reached Tianjin) and Consul General Shanghai, however I have told them not to take any action, till I give a go ahead.
5. I've informed my headquarter back home and the whole matter is a phone call away from Ministry of State Security (MSS) China.

Bundles of Lies: During the course of our interaction I found out the u r in habit of lying a lot. Some of your lies are quoted as under:-
Lie - 1 : Your arrangements in Shanghai are complete. [Bull!]
Lie - 2 : Your baby's operation will be carried out in First Teaching Hospital affiliated with Fudong University. [That never happened. It was never even planned at Shanghai].
Lie - 3 : I personally know Dr. Zhong. [He never knew that u even exist].
Lie - 4 : Alisa is Assistant of Dr. Zhong. [She is an employee of overseas medical services Shanghai].
Lie - 5 : Two operation theaters have been allocated for the dates of 10-11 Nov, but will be given to someone else if $30'000 are not given to you immediately.
Lie - 6 : Baby shall be admitted in Xinhua Hospital. [She was admitted in Shanghai Children Hospital].
Lie - 7 : I talked to health minister and communist party leader to get you people admitted. [You dont have authority to talk to their peons even].
Lie - 8 : Dr. Zhu of Tianjin hospital called me and said, "dont spoil my patients". [He doesn't know you and he doesn't have time for this].
Lie - 9 : I ll not let the operation stop due to legal issues at Shanghai.
Lie - 10: Xian is a top class liver transplant facility. [Right! Like u r a top class liver transplant surgeon and actress Meera is a Virgin].
Lie - 11: There is a Sudani awaiting liver transplant at Xian. [There were no foreigners there apart from us].
Lie - 12: Tianjin First Central Hospital has success rate of only 30%.
Lie - 13: 100000 CNY out of 115600 shall be returned from Shanghai. [Only 80000 were returned].
Lie - 15: There is no chance of a legal intervention at Xian. [U vanished when the legal intervention happened].
Lie - 16: I am a liver transplant surgeon at Xian. [There is only one Dr. Xxx in Xian, as per record he works in physiology and pathophysiology department].
Lie - 17: I have seen Dr. Zhu doing operation. [I doubt u ever saw a transplant operation - may be in dreams].
Lie - 18: I have assisted 22 Paediatric Liver transplants at Xian. [There wasnt even a single such operation performed].
Lie - 19: Dr. Zhong had seen the baby's reports before my coming from Pakistan. [Actually, he never saw any reports and was surprised at knowing about Kasai procedure (half of the reports which I sent you contained operation notes of Kasai procedure)].
Lie - 20: Shanghai Children Hospital is a top class hospital. [Actually, it was hospital for the under privilleged children].
Lie - 21: 20000 CNY have been spent on our air tickets from Shanghai to Xian and Xian to Tianjin .[Ticket from Shanghai to Xian was 450 CNY, for 5 persons it made 2250 CNY and ticket from Xian to Tianjin was 500 CNY, for 5 persons it made 2500 CNY - Total 4750 CNY. It is pertinent to mention that even our air tickets from Isb to Shanghai via Dubai costed us just 18000 CNY].
Lie - 22: The operation at Xian will be conducted on 22 Nov. [It was a Sunday].
Lie - 23: The card (which you gave me at Tianjin) has all the money. [It had only 2.75 CNY].
Lie - 24: Your memberships have been cancelled. [You never had any].
Lie - 25: Cadaveric liver transplant is being arranged on split technique for my daughter at Xian. [No transplant took place at Xian].
Lie - 26: Blood and other tests done at Shanghai shall be used at Xian. [Baby went through even a more fierce torture at Xian].
Lie - 27: I will operate the donor myself. [Even today the donor's pubic hair stand with fear when he imagines u with scisssors and scalpol doing honors on him].

My Response and Closure of Case With You:
I know u had been content with the way our deal closed on 18 Nov as I gave u a signed closure deed on a plain paper that there's nothing outstanding. Unfortunately for u it didnt, remember when I gave that undertaking on 18 Nov, all my money was in ur account. Your bank account statement for the month of Nov and of course ur email account will tell a lot of tales and u can run away from everything but your account statements which will be scrutinized in the event of legal complaint by me. U released a part of the money on 19 Nov, so I was forced to give that undertaking on 18th in order to get the money released so that I am able to proceed with operation. Mr. Khawar and the DA are in knowledge of this. So in case of a litigation that undertaking is as useless as a toilet paper, because it was a result of a black mail. To cut the story short, I have two proposals for u and u r free to choose any:-
Option 1: U ve 24 hours to settle all this mess. Time now is 0900 hours, By 1500 hours tommorow (I am giving you an allowance of 6 hours to cater for mail receipt and mail opening time) I want you here at Tianjin with 5150$ in cash (I am forgiving u 1908 $). No question will be asked and no humiliation will be subjected on u and I will give u indemnity on patent stamp papers,not the scanned ones. My address is Tianjin First Central Hospital and phone number is 15122031954. After this our ways shall be formally parted and I ll forget all.
OR
Option 2 . I ll tell DA and my headquarters to lodge a two pronged legal suite; an FIR of fraudulent misappropriation on account of farce medical coordination supported by a simultaneous investigation instituted by MSS (Ministry of State Security) China on request of my organization. The minimum you shall inshAllah face if you opt for this, would be deportation from China and permanent black listing. This is what embassy people have told me. When you are deported to Pakistan, the playing field between you and me would not be level and you can understand that there inshAllah you would find me on a vantage location. I ll not grant any time extensions, neither I shall entertain any explanations and no negotiation attempts at all (If I am approached by anyone or you on telephone for pardoning I shall take it as a personal insult and will institute option 2 without giving any time) . I know this will dent u financially but u asked for it and why should we be paying for your misdeeds and incapabilities.
Secondly, I want to teach u a lesson so that u dont repeat it with any other troubled Pakistani again. If u dont respond this email and dont intimate ur choice of option than I ll consider it option 2. If u r considering option 1, call on my no 15122031954 (just to notify that u r coming; I reiterate : no negotiation or explanation) or sms me before coming so that I dont accidentally initiate option 2. During the complete execution of option 1, I shall prefer minimum contact time (just to complete handing over of money by you and reciprocal return of indemnity on stamp paper by me), no talking, no crocodile tears or hypocratic verbosities and no apologizes, just hard core business closure.
Remember, last time u met me, I was a Father of a very sick child who could be taken for a great ride by any sicko; Now u r dealing with a relentless intelligence officer who knows no bounds, no ethics, no morals and no mercy when it comes to nailing and framing an absconder.

The email did the wonder and he remitted all the looted money before the given deadline.
Kashif Bashir Khan
***************************************************
 
From: Waqqas Akhtar
To: Kashif Bashir

Wow! That was an epic struggle.
I am glad that your daughter is in good health.
I appreciate you taking that fraudster to task.
I wish to ask you to let me put it up on the APPEC (Association of Pakistanis for Promotion of Education & Cooperation) website for educating other Pakistanis.
Regards,
-- Waqqas.
***************************************************

De : Kashif Bashir
À : Waqqas Akhtar
Envoyé le : Mar 26 Janvier 2010, 14 h 18 min 38 s
Objet : Details of events in China - A story to rejoice which could have been otherwise.

AoA Waqqas,
U may post the story anywhere u like as i believe it will help in saving any other troubled person like me.
Regards
Kashif Basheer.

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De: Muhammad Muzzamil Luqman (m.muzzamil.luqman[at]gmail.com)
À: Education-France@yahoogroups.com
Envoyé le: Ven 19 mars 2010, 12 h 33 min 21 s
Objet: Call for donations (Urgent: Help a suffering Pakistani teacher for liver transplant)

Assalamu alaikum everyone,
APPEC (Association of Pakistanis for Promotion of Education and Cooperation) is a registered association in France under the French law of 1901. It is a non-profit organization to foster philanthropy and volunteerism for the development and growth of socio-economic sector of Pakistan. The structure and functioning of APPEC are detailed on our website:
http://www.appec.durabledevelopment.com
Alhamdulilah, with combined efforts of the members who respond to APPEC calls for donations, the association in a short span of time has successfully completed a number of projects which include fund raising for IDPs, donation campaigns for earthquake victims, helping individuals for medical expenses and providing financial assistances to the needy.
A worth mentioning success story of APPEC's role in donation campaign for liver transplant is of baby Asma:
http://waqqasakhtar.blogspot.com/2010/01/fund-raising-for-liver-transplant.html

Once again we seek your help and generosity for a project which require an immediate attention.
Project: Liver Transplant of Mr. Sajjad Hussain (Primary school teacher in Azad Kashmir Pakistan and father to three young children (age<9 years)) The project details can be found on our website http://www.durabledevelopment.com/appec/2010/03/08/donationcampaign-livertransplant-sajjadhussain-kashimir/ A total of approx. €3000 has been targeted by APPEC for this project insha'Allah, (total liver transplant cost is 20 lacs to 40 lacs PKR). A portion of the required funds has already been arranged. We request you to please respond on real urgent basis for achieving the target ASAP. This call is not to save 1 person but to save a complete family dependent on this person. We spend 1,5,10 euros for fun very easily without even thinking and the joy hardly lasts a couple of minutes. However, this small contribution for saving someone's life will give you everlasting joy in addition to unlimited sawab from Allah. You can donate via cheque, bank transfer or online through PayPal. The bank and paypal accounts along with detailed procedure for transferring your donations can be found on APPEC's website under 'Rules and Regulations' at: http://www.durabledevelopment.com/appec/rules-regulations/ Once you have made the transaction, please do not forget to provide "your name, city, amount and remarks" to treasurers.appec[at]gmail.com. In case you have any queries or you require further information, please feel free to drop an email. Jazak'Allah for your contributions and thanks a lot for your efforts in spreading these words to your contacts, blogs, social networks and mailing groups.
Maa'assalama,
Muzzamil
***************************************************

De: Kashif Bashir (soulsrebellious[at]yahoo.com)
À: NUST Alumni
Envoyé le: Dim 21 mars 2010, 7 h 45 min 02 s
Objet: Re: Call for donations (Urgent: Help a Pakistani teacher for liver transplant)

AoA Waqqas,
Please guide the individual regarding following important information about liver transplant :-
Where is he planning to get the liver transplant? This is very important as different destinations have different implications.
(1) In India the cost is around USD 40-50'000, but the donor has to be only from the first relation. They validate it from DNA test.
(2) Non-related donors are only permitted in China and Singapore, however, cost in Singapore is around USD 130'000.
(3) At all these destinations there is a great risk of falling prey to coordination mafia (as happened in my case), where people promise transplant at cheaper rates and rob the patient of all their holdings. I caution this phenomenon is too much pronounced in India and China.
(4) Sheikh Zaid Hospital has recently announced their liver transplant program but I am not sure whether an actual transplant has been performed as yet or not. In that case also, the program could be termed as experimental and at least first 100 operations would have very meager success rates.
(5) In China, only one hospital (Tianjin First Central Hospital) is permitted to receive foreign patients; there cost of Living Donor Liver Transplant (small piece of living donor) is 55000 - 60000 $ and cost of Dead Donor Liver Transplant (complete liver of dead donor) is 150000 $. In case of arranging non-related donor due to matching issues or some health problems in related donors, a donor can be arranged from lahore for Rs 900000 to Rs 1100000 depending upon blood group (whether common or rare).
(6) In India, there are two reputed hospital; Shri Ganga Raam Hospital,Delhi(Dr. AS Soin Singh) and Apolo Hospital, Delhi (Dr. Subhash Chandar) who perform liver transplant of patients with only related donor. Dr. Soin takes 50000$ and Dr. Subhash takes 60000$. But they never entertain non-related donor whatsoever. www.livertransplantindia.com is the website where coordination / contact info of Dr. AS Soin is available. Dr. Subhash can be contacted from Apolo Hospital's official website. Coordinating through any other agent for cheaper rates can be too dangerous. Dr Soin has also established an office in G 10 Islamabad for coordination and visa assistance of Pak patients, where a Lady Doctor named DinarMehmood coordinates.
(7) For coordination in China Tianjin First Central Hospital has an official Pakistani coordinator named as Dr. Waqqas who has patronage of Pak Embassy also. His no is 008613752697254 and 00923334649325. He is the only reasonable person in this business and I declare with full responsibility that rest all Pakistanis involved in liver transplant coordination at China are bloody frauds. He can arrange donor also from Lahore @ Rs 900'000 - 1100'000 through an agent named as Zulfiqar Ali (I can arrange his no also if the individual desires). In Tianjin also there are two professors who perform transplant, one is Prof Zhu Zhejin and the other is Prof Shen, out of the two Prof Zhu is better as a person as well as in terms of success rates.
(8) Last word of advice, there is no such thing as a cheaper transplant in the world (I learnt it the hard way), as it is a very difficult and risky procedure in which two lives are placed in the harms way at the mercy of Transplant team. I agree one feels desperate due to meager resources and seeks alternatives but even if the life of patient has less hope otherwise, the life of donor will be unduly risked if the procedure is sought from some less experienced / reputed transplant centers and quake type transplant surgeons.
(9) I am copying exact pre transplant requirements for donor as well as patient . This info is particularly useful as it is imperative that matching is performed before departure because it is not possible to arrange donor in other country, if the donor taken along is rejected by the hospital (this incidence is very common as hospitals never take risks). Donor has to be finalized before departure. Also, if the patient's condition is complicated beyond certain stage,e.g his cirrhosis has turned in to cancer or spread out side liver, the hospital does not undertake the operation.

LDLT (SPLIT LIVER LIVING DONOR TRANSPLANT):
For this patient has to bring donor with him/her.
At present the cost in Hospital for living donor liver transplant is USD 55'000 to 60'000 depending on age and complexity, for both surgery and stay of both donor and patient in one room, medication, tests, nursing, service charges, translator fee, services etc.
Please note that it does not include lodging and meals, special nurses charges, stay of extra attendants outside or complications of patient and donor etc.

SELECTION OF DONOR:
- The donor's weight and height should be same or more than the Patient. With age ranging from 24 to 55, with good general body condition and health.

TESTS OF DONOR:
- Blood Tests
- Blood Group, CBC, HBV, HCV, HIV, HAV, CEA, LFT's, Kidney Profile.
- ABDOMINAL ULTRASOUND to rule out Fatty liver and any other abnormal finding in Liver and peripheral organs.
- BIPHASIC CONTRAST ENABLED CT-Scan of Liver. To see the percentage or sizes of both right and Left lobes of liver. Also to see the bifurcation of the bile ducts and Portal vein and Artery.
- As usually right lobe of the liver is taken so its very Important to check the lobes sizes.
Please ensure this information reaches the patient and his family before they make any decision, as it involves risk to human lives.

Thanks.
Kashif Basheer Khan
00-92-3005282077

***************************************************

De : Fadil Aleem {fadil.aleem[at]gmail.com}
À : Waqqas Akhtar {waqqas_akhtar[at]yahoo.com}
Cc : APPEC {appec[at]googlegroups.com};
Envoyé le : Jeu 8 avril 2010, 9h 23min 10s
Objet : Re: APPEC Final Call -- Transfer of donations from Signalians Alumni to APPEC

Dear Sir Waqqas,
Maj. Kashif is leaving for Africa tonight (UN Mission) and will be gone for a year. For the initial one month he will have no internet and limited phone connectivity. I discussed this case with him at length and he was re-emphasizing some facts which he had already mentioned in his initial mails.
I have compiled his suggestions in the attached word document and pasting here too. Please read it and then talk to the patient. APPEC and others) should also reconsider the fund-raising target. Euro 30,000 cost is unrealistic. Maj. Kashif cautions not to go for total cost expectations of less than USD 80,000.

For Operation in China (In case there is no donor in the family)
Coordination:
· In China, foreigners are allowed to be operated ONLY in First Central Hospital in Tanjin
· They are not allowed at all in any other hospital or any other city
· Fake Agents will offer to broker deals at other hospitals/cities but it is just a fraud. DO NOT waste precious time in trying for other places.
· There are more than 130 organ transplant centers in China. But the Govt., in order to keep a check on illegal organ trade, has deemed transplant of foreigners in other centers illegal. In Shanghai, there are 3-4 major hospitals with departments for organ transplant. In comparison, First Central Hospital in Tanjin is wholly dedicated to organ transplant.
· First Central Hospital in Tanjin is a dedicated organ transplant center in China. State Ministers and VIPs are also treated there. The building has 24 floors dedicated for organ transplants. Success rate is good.
· The only legal/proper/safe way for coordination at First Central Hospital in Tanjin is through the Pakistany Embassy. Dr. Waqas is the official coordinator (contact details shared in earlier mail by Maj. Kashif). He is a very helpful and nice person. Giving reference of Maj. Kashif is recommended as he was regularly in touch with him for more than 2 months.
Payment:
· DO NOT pay any agent/coordinator BEFORE entering China.
· Only the First Central Hospital in Tanjin will take payment from you.
· The hospital will first conduct tests for matching the donor. They will ask for USD 5,000 upfront for the complete tests (not all of the amount will always be actually used). If this step is not cleared, they will reject transplant at that stage and send you home. If it is cleared, they will offer you a ‘package’ deal for the whole transplant operation and post operative care. It will come out to be close to USD 60,000. Of you negotiate on compassionate grounds; they will finally lower it to USD 55,000. But it is necessary to try to negotiate.
Doctors:
· First Central Hospital in Tanjin has two main doctors who perform transplants:
· Dr. Shen – he is not an honest person. His success rate low – His agents offer transplant for only USD 45,000 but afterwards add allied costs that take the total to USD 75,000
· Dr. Zhu (pronounced ‘Choo’) - President of hospital. Extremely compassionate person - coordinates only through Dr. Waqas (Pakistani Embassy). Very high success rate . Asks for USD 60,000. This is the only available/recommended option.
For Operation in India (In case there is a donor in the family)
Shri Gangaram Hospital – Delhi
· Dr. A.S. Soin performs liver transplants
· They have a physical office in Islamabad (G-9 or G-10)
· The Pakistani coordinator in that office Dr. Dinar Mehmood is the point of contact
· If all of those to travel have their passports ready, Dr. Dinar takes USD 1,500 fee to arrange letter for visa.
· Visa is issued in 1 day if that letter is available (Medical Tourism Section, Indian Embassy).
Apollo Hospital
· Very popular and has good success rate
· No physical coordinator is available
· Coordination has to be done through internet
· Beware of fake agents

Costs
Item: Operation package
· Cost: USD 60,000
· Comments: Negotiate directly with Hospital Authorities, they have a cushion to reduce it to USD 55,000 on compassionate grounds!
Item: Donor
· Cost: USD 11,000
· Comments: Rate varies with blood group. Range: PKR 7.5 lac to PKR 11 lac
Item: Air tickets
· Cost: USD 3,500
· Comments: USD 1,100 per person from Paksitan. Minimum 3 persons: Patient, Donor, Attendant (Add 2 attendants if patient is too sick)
Item: Lodging
· Cost: USD 2,500
· Comments: 2 complete months. Cost for a nice 2 bedroom apartment (USD 2,000 + Utility Bills etc.) 3 Star hotel to cost USD 1,500. Hospital helps to arrange (recommend) Hotel and Apartment
Item: Misc.
· Cost: USD 2,000
· Comments: Cooking Utensils, Perishable Food (Tinned food to be taken from Pakistan), Phone Cards, Taxis
Item: Medicines after operation
· Cost: USD 2,000
· Comments: Have to buy from China before coming back
Total
· USD 81,000
· Range: USD 78,000 to USD 81,000. Target USD 80,000, not less!
Monthly Cost After Operation
· PKR 50,000
· 1 year For tests and medicines

Pros and Cons
China:
Pros:
· You are allowed to bring a donor from home country
· Excellent facilities/expertise for transplant (Tainjin - First Central Hospital)
· Dedicated Transplant complex with 24 floors for just organ transplants (Tainjin - First Central Hospital)
Cons:
· Foreigners allowed in only 1 hospital (Tainjin - First Central Hospital)
· Language barrier. Difficult to buy even bread etc.
· Many fake agents in Pakistan and China
· Fees to be paid in hard cash only.
India:
Pros:
· No language barrier
· Excellent success rate
· Option of 2 leading hospitals (Shri Ganga Ram – Delhi and Apollo)
· Shri Ganga Ram has physical office in Islamabad for coordination – no risk of fraud
· Visa issued in 1 day (after Hospital provided invitation letter at USD 1,500 cost)
Cons:
· You cannot bring a paid donor from your home country (only relative is allowed)
· Fake ‘coordinators’ for Apollo Hospital (fake agents)


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APPEC Donation Campaign Webpage

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Calling from Hell

President Musharraf, Queen Elizabeth, and President Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell. While there, they spot a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them that it is for calling back to Earth.
Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he's finished the devil informs him that the cost of the call is 1 million dollars. The Premier writes him a cheque.
Next, Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she's finished the devil informs her that cost is 6 million dollars. The Queen too writes him a cheque.
Finally, Musharraf gets his turn, dials Pakistan and talks for 4 hours. When he is finished the devil says: "That call was free and feel free to call Pakistan anytime".
When Putin hears that he is furious and he asks the devil: "Why does Musharraf get to call Pakistan for free?"
The devil replies, "Since the day Zardari became the President of Pakistan, whole country has gone to hell. Local calls are free".

Weighing-the-heads Democracy

------- Shiraz Bashir writes: -------
Waqqas, Switzerland 'approves minaret ban'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091129/ts_afp/switzerlandreferendumreli...
Talk of 'an elegant system' that Swiss have.. So tomorrow if one can collect 100,000 signatures to legalize human sacrifice in Switzerland, it will go to referendum?
Article 8 clearly states 'equality before law'.. if Swiss ban Minarets, they should also ban anything which resembles minaret on churches, synagogues and governmental building.
After all cross on Church represents the "political-religious claim to power" etc etc...heck they should ban cap on priests head as well..
This is great example of Tyranny of Majority in a governance system.
"A final tally of 26 cantons indicates that 57.5 percent of the population have voted in favour of the ban on minarets -- the turrets or towers attached on mosques from where Muslims are called to prayer. Only four cantons rejected the proposal brought by Switzerland's biggest party -- the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which claims that minarets symbolise a "political-religious claim to power." The SVP had forced a referendum under Swiss regulations on the issue after collecting 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters. The Swiss government was firmly against the call, arguing that accepting a ban would bring about "incomprehension overseas and harm Switzerland's image." Switzerland has an uneasy relationship with its Muslim population of some 400,000 in a country of 7.5 million people. Islam is the second largest religion here after Christianity."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_2_of_the_Swiss_Federal_Constitution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_No._10
-- Shiraz

------- Waqqas wites: -------
Yes, one can. In a "weighing the heads" kind of system of governance (as opposed to counting-the-heads d-e-m-o-c-r-a-c-y) 100'000 voices of educated (the bar being set at under-graduate level) citizens merit a legislation making referendum (again, among the remaining educated citizens only). The central assertion is: The right to have a say in choosing the leaders (and thus the legislation) has to be earned in a progressive structure, like most other earned statuses in life. What exactly is your problem with it? And what is your counter argument to this proposition (for Pakistan)? [I request you to keep your pointers limited to Pakistan's circumstances, as for most EU countries, where literacy rate is as high as 90 - 99 %, both systems effectively converge to one and the same thing.]
-- Waqqas

------- Mukarram Bin Tariq (مکرم بن طارق) wites: -------
Sad indeed. More coverage:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_minare...
Prop 8 in California last year, and similar measure in Maine this year are further examples of tyranny. US supreme court has yet to review whether these propositions were constitutional in the first place, so we will see. I think that a democracy without guarantees of basic rights is basically mob-rule. Further, AFAIK, Swiss law, unfortunately, puts these constitutional amendments beyond court review. There is still a sliver of hope though. The margin is not huge and I think that cogs would already be in motion to undo this law (thanks to freedom of speech guarantees).
I think that the formula in US is by and large good and guarantees of fundamental rights are very strong, and the bar for overturning these rights is very, very high. It prevents a lot of tyrannical laws to be formed in first place.
Lastly, as sad as this situation is, I think that Muslims minorities also need bit of self check. They at times abuse the very freedoms that allow them to practice their religion in personal capacities. In Britain they are campaigning for Sharia laws and stuff. The very freedom allows Muslim women to dress and act as they please, but they have trouble as their children embrace the freedoms. The sermons in many mosques in US seem to be promoting self-righteous behavior that will set Muslims on a collision course with the rest of the population. Muslims should learn to appreciate the fruits of liberation and understand "vulgarity" as necessary cost of having a free society (if they cannot rationalize it in any other way). If not, they will loose rational supporters in the general population and it will make the extremists on the other side to garner support and reach the high-bar needed to overturn the freedoms.
Before the Mullah party jumps on this, let me remind you that tyrannies in Pakistan are worse. Pakistan, for example, has an outright ban on promotion (tabligh) of religions other than Islam. Instead of using this law in Switzerland to justify what happens in Pakistan, we should use it as a learning experience. If it pinches us when minarets, scarves or call for prayer is restricted elsewhere in the world, then we should be reflective and fix these things in our societies. "We do not claim to be liberal", is neither an answer, nor a solution to the problems.
-- Mukarram

------- Fabulous Freak writes: -------
Please tell me, When the western schools of thought propogate Secularism and freedom, that is all humans are equal and every human has a right to practice whatever he/she pleases or none at all. but does the constituion also says that all religions are equal ? or is one religion better than the other ? I feel I am stuck in a paradox, being a practicing Muslim to acknowledge that Y religion is also OK ? and people who practice Y are just like me ?? what solution does the western system have abt this ?
-- Fab

------- Mukarram Bin Tariq (مکرم بن طارق) wites: -------
Main idea of secularism is that state and/or constitution must not favor or suppress any religion. Here is quote from first amendment to US constitution.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
It is pretty clear that it does not favor one or the other religion. Solution to your "paradox" is pretty simple. Religion is to be kept private, and if in that private life, you are fully entitled to feel superior to others based on your religion. If you wish to export the virtues to rest of the society, use the democratic process. You will find that very large fraction of laws in western countries are in fact well aligned with what you may think are virtues described in Islam. Secularism only seeks to prevent blanket and/or irrevocable protections to religions in a nation's legal system.
-- Mukarram

------- Fabulous Freak writes: -------
Agreed,
So if I get the logic right,
1. State will not promote / demote any religion, it will let every one practice what one wants.
2. Assume that a religion X is successful in gaining a large following, 90 % +
3. Via democracy, the same followers of religion then may cause legislation favoring a religious system.
At step 3, would the first amendment be violated ?
Knowing the predominant religion in USA has there been an attempt at stage 3? if yes what were the consequences? I think there must be some amendment in the constitution which deals with just this issue ?
Problem 2:
I can privately believe that the religion I practice is 100% correct and righteous. All religion except for X, would thus be wrong. I am allowed to express freely what I feel, my speech shall not be hindered. Thus I can declare publicly that all non X are non believers and on the wrong path? Is that assumption correct ? If YES, then how can one stop Mullah declare A B C Kafirs?
-- Fab

------- Mukarram Bin Tariq (مکرم بن طارق) wites: -------
Of course, you can use democracy to kill democracy. The idea is to set the bar high enough that it becomes very very hard. Case in point, Nawaz Sharif's 1997 government tried to push 15th amendment through parliament, which would have made "Sharia" supreme to the constitution, in a blanket and unequivocal way. They were able to pass the amendment through NA but it was stalled in Senate. One of the basic tenets of any legal system is that new laws cannot be conflicting with previously established guarantees. Thus if constitution is set up in a way that guarantees equality, or secular law, then a new law has to either modify the constitution to remove these guarantees, or new law has to be limited in scope, or it would be struck down by the Judicial system. A funny thing in the 15th amendment that Nawaz Sharif brought was that it expressly legislated that supreme court may not review this law. So sure, you can make mockery of the system, but end of the day if 80-90% of us are so screwed up, then we have a much bigger fish to fry.
In US, afaik, there have not been effort to declare Christianity a state religion in recent times. There are isolated, limited scope incidents, such as:
- Whether tenth commandments should be displayed on government/public properties
- Whether "One nation under God" (part of US national anthem) comprises a violation of first amendment, and whether children should be forced to recite it in schools.
In these two cases, judicial system has upheld the first amendment rights by and large, but sometimes allowed it as an expression of "culture" when the religious references appear on monuments or currency ("In God We Trust" is current US national motto and appears on US Dollar), and in their judgment do not violate the spirit of first amendment. "In God We Trust" is likely to go back to courts soon. Polls suggest that public thinks this phrase is religious and endorses religion. There is a movement to restore the original motto, "E Pluribus Unum" (One from many). "In God We Trust" appeared was popular in cold war days as a contrast to "Godless commis".
Sometimes, religious right has invoked phrases like, "US is a Christian state, we should uphold Christian values", in context of abortion and gay-rights debate. But this is never a legal argument. It can only be used to rally people, and in some cases, such as Prop 8 in California, and recently similar measure in Maine, have been successful in limiting rights of gay couples, using such rallying. All these measures, which are direct public votes, took place after courts had initially struck down laws made by state legislatures. Although these measures are narrowly defined, i.e., they do not ban gays outright, they just prevent them as getting "married", the legal status of these measures is still somewhat uncertain.
Bottom line is that it is inevitable that laws will reflect some preferences of the majority, and 100% equality has been hard to achieve, but that does not mean that we cannot have systems that try to mitigate discrimination based on religion, creed, race, gender, etc. Mullah declaring someone Kafir. If everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, then it does not matter what the Mullah or says. In Pakistan, at present, what Mullah says is important because laws are different for Muslims and Non-Muslim. If what a Mullah says has no legal bearing, I would not care about what Mullah says. At best, they can hurt my feelings, and I can hurt theirs in return :-). Over time, we will both learn to suck it up and focus on our own business than labeling each other.
-- Mukarram

------- Shiraz Bashir writes: -------
[To: Waqqas]
Is the following not close to your model? I will comment on your email later, once I hear your reply on this..
Let’s give gentleman from France a break ;-) I think that Waqqas wants to ensure that a system selects an "Ideal" candidate for the higher office. This is valid point. I believe that we need to closely review the process by which US Democratic Party picks its nomination for President of USA for general election.
I will again use Signalians [Alumni Association of College of Signals, NUST, Pakistan] as an example to explain:
Signalians need to elect next President of Alumni. Three courses in Signalians go for voting to select their preference (nomination) for next President of Alumni. For example sake, I am just using 3 courses.
1. Voting or Caucus in each course to determine a preferred candidate.
Every eligible member in every course is eligible to vote. Candidates indicate their willingness to run. Voting happens. If a person gets less than or equal to 10% votes, then that person is not a *viable candidate* and is removed from the race. In second round, people vote again for those candidates who got greater than 10% votes in first round. After second round, course A, B, C *preferred* candidate A, B and C respectively. See table at the end of this email.
2. “Pledged Signalians Delegates” (PSD) & “Super Signalians Delegates” (SSD)
There are a total of 30 delegates. There are two types Pledged Signalians Delegates (PSD) and Super Signalians Delegates (SSD). PSD are elected by each course, proportional to their preferred voting for each candidate. SSD are chosen by Alumni Association based on their past record and service to Alumni- e.g., Past Presidents of Alumni, Appointment Holders in college etc.
As we cannot totally ignore Signalians members, so rules state that 21 (70%) of total delegates are PSD and 9 (30%) are SSD. Each of the three courses gets an equal amount of PSD - 7 each.
3. Courses elect respective PSD's
Refer to table at the end of this email. After round 2 voting, Course A, B, C elects 7 ESD in following fashion:
Course A: 5 (70%) *PSD* are *pledged* to Candidate A & 2 (30%) are pledged to Candidate B.
Course B: 2 (25%) *PSD* are *pledged* to Candidate A & 5 (75%) are pledged to Candidate B.
Course C: 3 (45%) *PSD* are *pledged* to Candidate B & 4 (55%) are pledged to Candidate C.
So Candidate A, B, C get 7, 10 and 4 *Pledged Signalians Delegates* respectively. As Candidate C is not a viable candidate, so its delegates discuss and 3 PSD pledge their support for Candidate A and 1 pledge its support for Candidate B. So finally Candidate A gets 10 and Candidate B gets 11 PSD.
4. Alumni Association chooses Super Signalians Delegates” (SSD)
Alumni Association chooses 9 *SSD* based on their historical status in Alumni. For example these can be past Presidents, leading fund raisers, appointment holders in college or any alumni relevant criteria.
5. Signalians National Convention to pick President of Alumni.
21 Pledged Signalians Delegates, 7 from each of 3 courses along with 9 Super Signalians Delegates go to Signalians National Convention. In smoke, chai, samosa filled room, 30 delegates review viability of Candidate A, B based on his/her ability to execute aims and objectives per Signalians Charter, his/her past record and other criteria common for any leadership role. Remember: Before convention Candidate A & B have 10 and 11 Pledged Signalians Delegates. See point 3 above. So in general 9 Super Signalians Delegate will go along with decision of PSD i.e., vote for Candidate B. But 6 SSD review Candidate B’s credential and find that Candidate B is not a viable candidate. So they vote for Candidate A.
Candidate A wins by securing total of 16 delegates (6 SSD +10 PSD). So basically you have *preferences* from each course through their Pledged Signalians Delegates. And you have judgment from Super Signalians Delegate based on their experience and service to Alumni. Together, this ensures that we only 'allow' those candidates to run for election which represent Signalians values and don’t elect the one which cannot represent us well.
Elections for President of Alumni Association:

Round 1 Voting (all alumni association members)
Candidate A: 60%
Candidate B: 10%
Candidate C: 20%
Candidate D: 10%

Round 2-a Pledges by SSD's
Candidate A: 7 pledges
Candidate B: 10 pledges
Candidate C: 4 pledges
As Candidate C is not a viable candidate, so its delegates discuss and 3 PSD pledge their support for Candidate A and 1 pledge its support for Candidate B.
Candidate A: 10 pledges in total
Candidate B: 11 pledges in total

Round 2-b Voting (all alumni association members)
Candidate A: 20%
Candidate B: 70%
Candidate C: 5%
Candidate D: 5%

Signalians National Convention
Candidate A: 10 + 6 = 16 SD votes
Candidate B: 7 + 9 = 15 SD votes
-- Shiraz

------- Waqqas wites: -------
Sounds good.
Although I'd rather do away with SSD's. They had their time in the office. They did good. Now, thankyou and good bye.
In any case, even if we keep the SSD element or not, this system is superior in its filteration charachteristics as compared to the unfathomably manipulatable democracy that we have in Pakistan.
Why then such rigid opposition to my proposal for doing it (or a vriant of it) on a country-wide scale? Moreso, isn't it close to how the Caliphate system worked?
-- Waqqas.