Pakistan In New Guinness Record for Tree Planting

Not all world records are created equal.

Being in the Guinness Book of World Records is as often a sign of being just weird as of having done something truly of import. Having the world’s longest nails or being the world’s fattest person is intriguing but not really consequential.

Sometimes, however, the record created is truly consequential. On July 15, 2009, one just truly consequential record was created when a team of 300 volunteers in Pakistan planted 5,41,176 mangrove tree saplings in the back waters of Arabian Sea near Keti Bandar.

This is consequential not because it is a ‘world record’ but because it is truly important for the world. In the midst of environmental degradation and rising sea levels the coastal Mangroves in Pakistan are natures defense against all sorts of environmental calamities, and this defense has been progressively disappearing. Bolstering the Mangroves can make a real difference not only to Pakistan’s environment, but to the world’s.

This was done as part of Pakistan’s “Year of the Environment,” a brain-child of Pakistan’s environment Minister, Hamidullah Jan Afridi. One of us has been closely involved in these discussions with the Minister and in advancing the idea that something big and bold needs to be done to capture public attention. This is certainly big and bold. And it has certainly captured public attention. For that the Ministry and the Minister needs to be congratulated. The real test, however, will be in what is maintained of this plantation and how it survives and thrives over time. That will require the same type of government resolve that has gone into setting this “world record.”

More details from a BBC news report:

A team of volunteers in Pakistan has set a new world record by planting more than half a million trees in one day. Guinness World Records confirmed that 541,176 trees had been planted in the southern province of Sindh on 15 July.

Some 300 volunteers, working in groups, planted mangrove saplings in the 750 acres of the Indus river delta region. They beat the previous team record for tree planting which was set in India just last month when 447,874 saplings were planted in Assam state.

Pakistan’s tree-planting marathon was witnessed by representatives of Guinness World Records and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Each group was issued saplings by a panel of experts which also monitored the planting process to ensure that standards set by Guinness World Records were met.

Aadil Ahmed, the Guinness representative, told the BBC he was there to ensure that no old plants were included in the count. Pakistan’s environment minister, Hamidullah Jan Afridi, said the event was part of a series of events being held to observe the national year of the environment.

“The government has set aside one billion rupees over a three-year period to protect these plants and help them survive,” Mr Afridi said. Mangroves grow in delta regions where the fresh waters of the river mix with sea water. Experts say the new saplings will have difficulty surviving because of diminishing river water in the region.

19 Pakistani girls in a smart car at a time - New world record

Pakistan (Karachi) A group of students from Karachi Grammar School and other schools made history when they set a new Guinness World of Records by accommodating 19 persons in a Smart Car.This historic event took place at DHA Creek Club, Karachi in front of a Jury and reported worldwide Wednesday in the presence of Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khoro who was chief guest on the occasion.The group led by Aymen Saleem Yousuf squeezed into a standard Smart Car to smash the record ealier set by the Climb Fit Team of Australia when 18 students compressed into a standard Smart Car at the Warringah Mall, Sydney Australia on January 25, 2010.The jury comprised of Nisar Khoro, Dr. Mirza Ikhtiar Baig Advisor to Prime Minister, Sharmila Farooqui Advisor to CM Sindh on Information, former cricket captain Waseem Akram, former hockey captain and olympian Islahuddin and Ishtiaq Baig Hon. Consul General of Morocco.

World Ideologies with reference to cows

(A humorous way to describe some of the worlds existing and erstwhile ideologies)

Feudalism:

You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

Pure Socialism:

You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you a glass of milk.

Bureaucratic Socialism:

Your cows are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs the regulations say you should need.

Fascism:

You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.

Pure Communism:

You share two cows with your neighbors. You and your neighbors bicker about who has the most "ability" and who has the most "need." Meanwhile, no one works, no one gets any milk, and the cows drop dead of starvation.

(Erstwhile) Soviet Communism:

You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the black market.

Perestroika:

You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the Mafia takes all the milk. You steal back as much milk as you can and sell it on the "free" market.

Cambodian Communism:

You have two cows. The government takes both and shoots you.

Dictatorship:

You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

Pure Democracy:

You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

Representative Democracy:

You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

Bureaucracy:

You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

Capitalism:

You don't have any cows. The bank will not lend you money to buy cows, because you don't have any cows to put up as collateral.

Pure Anarchy:

You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

Anarcho-Capitalism:

You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

India's Crony Capitalism:
You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them, when you can milk them or even pays you not to milk them. It decides what price you sell the milk. Then, it takes a third of the profit, gives it to "its friends" ! Both make millions and you and your cows soon starve to death.

Surrealism:

You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

Repentance

It was the title of a famous Western movie of Clint Eastwood released many years ago. Clint was the good man and Eli Wallach and Lee van Cleef were the bad and ugly guys. These western films once very famous in our country were in fact the Punjabi action films in English. The story would be the same, one good man and many bad men confronting each other on possession of a beautiful village girl, some disputed land or a hidden treasure.

The end of all these films is always similar; the death of the bad man or men or their repentance and becoming good men. But viewers only see the main part of the movie and skip the last 10-15 minutes of death of the evil or the ugly or repentance of evil or bad deeds. We would see children in the streets acting like Sultan Rahi (the good man or the Clint Eastwood of the Western films) rarely, but mostly like Mustafa Qureshi or like (the bad men). The bad men rule the films for its almost entire length, hence leave a lasting impact on the audience, only to be slain in the end by which time they had left the desired impression on their audience. And when there are social injustices in the society, they give a cue to many to learn the art of grabbing from the have, and even from the have nots.

This is also true in our real life as well. We have seen fate of many a bad man who ruled the darkness of nights, looted and killed anyone who came their way and made good with the booty. They rule as long as they have some kind of weapon in their hands. But when they are caught and de-armed, suddenly their once mighty gaze lowers and heads pulled down in shame and grief. This is exactly the same way when a snake is alive and venomous. But the moment it is killed, those who would never come nearby when it was alive, would kick it and children and would tie a string around its neck and drag it in the streets.

So it is the weapon or the power which makes a man bold, evil, wicked and ugly. He makes money, make poor poorer and lives like an almighty. They rape and plunder at will and care for no age and relation. They just rule. But when they are caught and sentenced for life, the suddenly grow a beard and their eyes remain in tears most of the time, pray for repentance and forgiveness. This is exactly what great men have said, “Bad men are full of repentance (Aristotle).”Because this is how bring an end to their sinful life, weeping and resentencing. Suddenly a man realizes the depth of his ugliness and wickedness, the harm done to the hapless and the helpless.

Despite knowing the end very clearly, bad men continue to be bad or ugly, caring less for the consequences for as long as they have power or strength. And then one day, they realize who bad they have been and repent. Look around and you would find many looting and many repenting. It is only a matter of time.

Another Bad Luck - Missing Pakistani Wicketkeeper

When the Pakistani cricket team was in England recently, there was uproar in the British media about the involvement of three Pakistani players in match fixing. Although despite many probes, even the Scotland Yard also jumped in, there was no concrete evidence found so far to affix blame on the Pakistani players. At that time, I wrote that we must protect our strategic assets against the underworld pressure tactics and save them from falling.
Perhaps like many other vows, that effort went waste, since today once again there headlines about Pakistani players – this time missing of the wicketkeeper from the hotel in Dubai. Zulqarnain Haider, - the hero hero of Pakistan's victory in the fourth ODI with South Africa, is said to have collected his passport last night and has been missing from his hotel room since six in the morning.
Now this is something unbearable. What was the security officer of the Pakistan doing? Sleeping in his room so that anyone could sneak out at liesure? Why was he handed over his passport last night? Didn’t warning bells sounded in the ears of the team manager and the security officer?
At the time of posting this write-up, there is news that Haider has aired him being threatened by someone to lose the last match. Haider is said to have told some friend of his that he was going to England instead of Pakistan. Even the team manager Intikhab Alam has been quoted as saying that he knows the whereabouts of the missing player – why doesn’t he tell where? While this jigsaw puzzle could have been a good input for Agatha Christie to write a new mystery book, but not for Pakistan in any case.
We have the habit of repeating our mistakes many times and make sure that these cause us maximum harm before there is no room is left for more harm to come. The missing of an ace players seems to be height our ignorance about matters related to our players’ security and leaving them at their own to succumb to the pressures which they bear all alone. For God sake get up and open your eyes – everyone…