Malicious campaign against Rector NUST

Mir Adnan Aziz
“Rumour is a pipe, blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures and of so easy and so plain a stop that the blunt monster with uncounted heads, the still discordant wavering multitude can play upon it.” — Shakespeare
IN Pakistan, unabashed slanderous campaigns go unpunished taking its extreme toll on institutions andinnocent victims. One such false campaign was initiated in 2016 against Lt Gen Naweed Zaman (Retd), an officer of impeccable professional and personal integrity. Gen Naweed’s 37-year exemplary service remains personified in key appointments from Siachen to Waziristan. Despite the stellar run, the spate of false allegations started after his retirement. This campaign was (is) run by a motley group consisting of individuals settling personal scores and military bashing activists. The ever-lurking India pounced upon the opportunity to make this campaign viral through its toadies and troll brigand. The nefarious design is to impact the minds of Pakistanis hence creating a civilian-military divide and those of soldiers and officers hence demoralizing the army as an institution. The malicious campaign targets Lt Gen Naweed with absolutely false allegations of monetary misappropriation of billions culminating in a 3 billion rupee NAB plea bargain. NAB has categorically denied the same in an official handout.
On 4 May 2016, the then DG ISPR, in a live TV interview, denied the allegations as absolutely baseless. He also stated categorically that no inquiry in this regard had ever taken place. The same year, Gen Raheel Sharif (COAS) nominated Lt Gen Naweed as Rector National University for Science and Technology (NUST) in his capacity as Chairman BoG NUST. The BoG comprises Chairmen HEC/PEC and five federal secretaries. This nomination was ratified by the Senate, National Assembly and Senate Committee on Science and Technology. Gen Naweed assumed responsibility as Rector NUST in November 2016.
This nefarious campaign then went about spreading falsehood that he, like all army officers, was only a PMA graduate; a blue-eyed appointed to head a university. Gen Naweed, apart from being a PMA sword of honor holder, is a graduate of Command and Staff College Camberley (UK), National Defence University (NDU), Royal College of Defense Studies (UK) and also holds a BSc (Hons) degree in War Studies from Balochistan University. He has a Master Degrees in International Affairs from King’s College London, in Defense and Strategic Studies from Quaid-e-Azam University and one in International Relations from Balochistan University. He has also served as Commandant Armed Forces War College at NDU.
Lt Gen Naweed continues to be Rector with General Bajwa’s fourth year in office. The collective effort spearheaded by the Rector has seen NUST attain the coveted number one ranking in Pakistan. Ceoworld Magazine Best Global Universities Ranking saw NUST leapfrogging to the 246th place among the top world universities. QS Rankings 2020 places NUST among the top 200 universities in Computer Science and Information Systems. NUST students continue to earn laurels for Pakistan. One such example saw them winning first place in the Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge 2017 held in California. The NUST team competed against groups from MIT, Virginia Tech, Cornell and Stanford Universities.
Lt Gen Naweed has nominated 20 (identified) individuals on 9 August asking FIA to lodge an FIR against them under the Cybercrime Act. Since then, four, including a journalist, have tendered their unqualified apologies. This slanderous campaign has virulent fallout. NUST has over 18000 students, like all students, the future of Pakistan. This campaign creates doubts and pollutes young minds. It also negatively impacts NUST’s international education and research collaborations. Moreover, it creates suspicion in the minds of donors; a criminal setback to sabotage NUST’s quest for excellence.
Hitler devastated Europe. German nationalism against a ‘common enemy’ was fomented by the propaganda machine of Joseph Goebbels. The Propaganda Minister’s famous dictum was: “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”. Repeated lies and falsifications, overtime, remain a lie but are perceived as the truth. This is classic fifth generation warfare; a battle of perception, a lethal tool in enemy hands. It has been said that “accusations are convictions in the public mind; you are guilty until proven innocent”. It is imperative that the government take up these nefarious campaigns with the relevant social media platforms. Enforcing agencies should also ensure that the perpetrators in this case and other such campaigns are brought to justice. Social platform representative offices in Pakistan shall be a first step at thwarting the rampant 5th generation warfare. It shall also be a step towards ensuring that policies and conduct of these platforms strictly adhere to their stated policies.
—The writer is freelance columnist.