Wahaj Siraj’s Post

Better to fail than to cheat your way to success When we started our business 25y back from a small PC shop, there were dozens of computer shops in town. Friends asked “why people would buy from you?” We said, “we will neither lie nor cheat and will focus on quality”. Integrity and quality have been our guiding principles and top reason behind our success, from 2 to 2,400 team, from zero to billions in revenues, from unknown to a national brand of quality and trust. We may have been rough at times, failed, but never cheated anyone - customers, shareholders, creditors, etc. I’m extremely careful with spending shareholders’ money because it’s imanat and not my own money with which I could do anything. When businesses are scaled up, their success depends upon its team members who innovate, initiate, improvise daily, delegate powers, empower others, decentralize decision making, and side by side implement financial discipline, structure and robust processes. Honesty, trustworthiness and integrity must reflect in culture and processes. Nayatel’s independent credit ranking upgradation by The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited [PACRA] from A to A+ is manifested from same culture, making Nayatel among highest rating in fixed line telecom in Pakistan. All banks and financial investors prefer to see this rating before lending/investing their money. You can win in short term by cheating but can’t make a great brand based on lies and dishonesty. We’re a perfect creation of Almighty God. If we trust God and take Him as Truth (Haq), trustworthiness must reflect in everyone of us as God’s given individuality. That’s sure way to success in this world and world hereafter. #integrity #honesty #quality #innovation

Many congratulations Zarrar Khan as first ever Secretary Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication from private sector. Many congratulations to Azfar Manzoor on appointment as Special Secretary MOIT. Both of them are great professionals and hopefully this leadership duo would be able to get critical reforms done in IT & Telecom sector of Pakistan.

Salaried Class and Manufacturing sector take brunt of taxes in Pakistan (upto 40%ُof income) while retail, wholesale, agriculture, etc making 43% of country’s GDP pay only 1% tax (Finance Minister presser 3 Sept). Gross injustice has to end. Insult to injury: gov not reducing its luxuries and keeps sucking blood of salaried class to pay for their palaces, escorts, etc. Media coverage for our 16 August Islamabad protest. Momentum needs to increase. لینا ہو گا حق - اب نہیں تو کب؟

How a care society is established? Pleasantly surprised to receive a letter of recognition from Social Security Islamabad. In last 12 months, Nayatel paid PKR 48.153 million to Social Security departments for its 15 city offices across the country. While only one or two of these departments provide acceptable level of healthcare and other services to “secured workers”, majority lack basic facilities with poor quality hospitals, etc. An employer after paying social security, shouldn’t worry for medical treatment and kids’ education of its workers but good employers still have to provide medical and allied facilities to their employees in addition to paying social security charges. This system, often neglected by governments and elites, needs a massive upgrade as it is backbone of a welfare society. History remembers Caliph Omar (RZ) as the first person who established a state department purely for social security and to pay regular stipends to poor and needy. Omar (RZ) took guidance from Quran (59:6-7) that the wealth, land, etc., which is not directly captured in the battle ground and becomes state property due to overall power and status of the government, should be exclusively used to help poor, orphans and needy. Any other use of such state property is strictly forbidden in Quran and Sunnah. Omar (RZ) diverted income of all state lands to a fund which was solely used for social security purposes, in a stark contrast to present day practice in some countries where state land is distributed among favoured wealthy and elites. Lesson is simple. When state cares for its people, people care for the state. This is how a care society is established.

Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) elections for Governing Body (GB) 2024-27 were held on 18 August across Pakistan and the Election Committee (I’m one of its 5 members) announced official results yesterday. Elections and vote counting at polling stations in prsence of polling agents of candidates was held in fair and transparent manner. Polling was suspended for 3 hours due to outage in NADRA’s biometric verification system and polling time was extended for 4 hours to compensate for the time lost. Congratulations to all winners! Let’s hope that new PEC leadership would focus on major issues of engineering profession including job creation for fresh graduates, enhancing quality of engineering education and implementing engineering standards in all industries so as to improve quality of Pakistani products and services. Hopefully new GB would also decide to conduct 2027’s elections electronically to as to enable majority of voters within and outside Pakistan to cast their votes and elect competent leadership.

Cast your vote in Pakistan Engineering Council Elections on 18 August. Elections of PEC Chairman, Sr Vice Chairman, 4 x Vice Chairman and 40 Governing Body members, 2024-27 term, are being held on Sunday 18 August, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at 155 Polling Stations across the country. Details at www.pec.org.pk. PEC, with 350K+ registered professional engineers, is apex regulatory body for implementing quality standards in engineering education and profession in Pakistan. An independent Election Committee is conducting elections through NADRA biometric verification in a transparent and smooth manner, inshaAllah. I’m part of this Election Committee. In 2021, 41,000 engineers cast their vote and more are expected this year. If you’re PEC member, do cast your vote as it counts in electing right leadership for this important institution for betterment of engineering profession.

Protest aganist draconian taxes on salaried class, 16 August, ISB, joined among hundreds others, by a lady teacher with her 4 months old twins 👶 ٹیکس کو - کم کرو کچھ تو - شرم کرو حکومتی عیاشیاں - بند کرو تنخواہ دار کو - جینے دو

Pakistan zindabad! All colors go green….

How to survive in a hostile environment? Survival of fittest is the law of jungle and weak and sheep are eaten by strong and wolves respectively. Our society is somewhat similar. So what would the weak and sheep do? Would they wait to be eaten up by wolves and die? I asked this question to the aspiring teachers at Teach For Pakistan’s 11th cohort coming from 43 cities and 38 leading universities of Pakistan, where I was invited to share some practical life experiences. I told them only those sheep are eaten up by wolves who live alone, outside flock. Because if sheep are in pack or flock and don’t run, no wolf would ever attack them. The key to survival where there’s no rule of law is, therefore, to live in a community. But how to live in a community? Help others without expecting anything in return and when your time would come to seek help, Allah would make someone available who would come to help you. This is how you survive and thrive in a hostile environment. اوروں کے لئے بھی جینا تو خود اپنے لئے بھی جینا ہے Teach For Pakistan recruits inspired graduates for 2 year fellowship teaching in gov schools where fellows work with students to produce path-changing academics and personal growth for students. Under able and passionate leadership of Khadija Shahper Bakhtiar, Teach for Pakistan’s fellows are working with 4,000 gov school students in rural areas of Islamabad and 302 alumni leaders are working across Pakistan. Eleventh cohort comprises of 14% graduates in International Relations, 8% in Public Administration and 78% in Science, Engineering, Social Sciences and Psychology with 84% bachelors degree holders while 16% have masters qualification. Their energy, passion and diversity were super inspiring. #teaching #mentorship #survival