A LIE HAS NO LEGS TO STAND UPON
There is this famous saying that “a clear conscience fears no accusation,” and ultimately truth has to prevail come what may. It is also a fact that distance drums sound fairer.
A wrong perception prevails within the country and abroad that the Dawn management feels pride in upholding the rule of law, but gone are the days when such perception had any weightage. Since the joining of Mr Nasir Abbas as Editor, there is no concept of the rule of law and there are lies all around, because Mr Nasir has surrendered all the powers of a professional editor to the Dawn management, nullifying the pride of Dawn which earlier used to function under a strong professional editor.
A classical example of such a lie can be judged from the fact that the federal government under the Cost Of Living (Relief) Act, 1973, had granted Rs300 per month Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) w.e.f. 01-03-1997 and Rs100 per month from 01-02-1998. Notwithstanding the legal obligation, the Dawn management instead of extending the above COLA to employees refused to abide by the same on false pretexts, leaving no option for me but to resort to legal action.
During legal proceedings, the true faces of Mr Hameed Haroon, Abbas Nasir & Co, who were party in the case, got exposed. One cannot believe but this is a fact that Hameed Haroon and Abbas Nasir took plea that they are already paying COLA since the issuance of notification by the federal government and claimed that ex gratia amount of Rs8,916 was being paid to the undersigned.
Knowingly that it was totally a misconception, and a false plea to escape from the legal obligation, Mr Hameed Hroon and Abbas Nasir, who otherwise claim themselves to be champions of rule of law, human rights, etc were adamant to refrain from payment of the legitimate amount to the undersigned and other employees of Dawn in the shape of COLA.
One would be really disturbed to learn how egoistic Mr Abbas Nasir and Hameed Haroon are that they filed appeals before the Labour Court and also moved in the Lahore High Court to try their luck to deceive the law under false pretexts, yet they could not succeed.
In all such false pleas, Hameed Haroon and Abbas Nasir spent more than Rs1 million as legal charges, apart from expenses incurred on lawyers and other staff of the Dawn management travelling to and fro to deceive the law, but they miserably failed in their game-plan.
One can judge from their conduct the cruel mentality of these gentlemen. It speaks volumes about their menial mental level, which also clearly indicaes that Dawn’s prestige and grace is being ruined by these persons with their rigid and anti-worker attitude.
How can Dawn, under the editorship of Mr Abbas Nasir, pen down summons in editorials criticising various departments for delaying development projects, causing escalation in cost and how can it criticise various organisations for not extending legal rights to their employees? All that glitters is not gold, and the myth of Dawn has been shattered by a handful of individuals like Mr Nasir.
With the blessings of the Almighty Allah, I succeeded in the legal battle and a copy of the cheque I have received (and reproduced here) reflects that “he that falls today may rise tomorrow.” He that is down needs fear no fall, he that is low no pride. He that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide. Truth always prevails!
Shamsul Islam Naz
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