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Tuesday, April 11, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version
No big beards in air force, NA told
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government defended on Monday a decision to forcibly retire (retrench) an air force officer who refused to trim his beard on religious grounds, Reuters reported.
Squadron Leader Mohsin Hayat Ranjha was retired in October and four of his colleagues were grounded for violating a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) dress code that allows trimmed beards, but bars long beards on the grounds they pose a safety risk. “There is no ban on any Pakistan Air Force personnel of any rank keeping a beard, but there has to be a limit to the length of a beard,” Tanveer Hussain Syed, parliamentary secretary for defence, told parliament after an MMA legislator raised the issue.
Oxygen masks worn by airmen flying at high altitude can malfunction as a result of beards being too bushy, Syed said, after Islamist politician Liaquat Baluch accused the air force of enforcing un-Islamic rules.
Syed said Ranjha was asked to trim his facial hair as a long beard made it difficult to fix the mask tightly on the face, which could be dangerous for both the pilot and the machine. “He not only refused to do it, in violation of the dress code of a PAF officer, but he also incited others to grow similar beards.”
PAF spokesman Air Commodore Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan confirmed Ranjha had been forced into early retirement and that the cases of four other PAF officers, including another squadron leader, were still under consideration.
Shahzad Raza adds: During the National Assembly session, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) legislators argued with treasury members when they criticised the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The PPPP members staged a token walkout in protest.
Referring to the oil for food scam, MNA Sherry Rehman of the PPPP said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was being used to victimise the former prime minister.
She said the military regime and the NAB were not investigationg the real culprits, saying A&A, Oil and Gas Service Group and BC International were involved in corruption in the UN programme. She demanded a parliamentary committee probe whether the latest NAB allegation against Ms Bhutto had legal grounds. Treasury MNA MP Bhandara endorsed Rehman’s view point, urging the NA speaker to form the committee.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, the PPPP secretary general, said NAB was being used for character assassination of country’s popular leadership. “It is being used for arm twisting, horse trading and rigging,” he said.
MNA Naheed Khan said that PPPP members would not let the house function if bad language and baseless allegations were made against Ms Bhutto. The NA speaker expressed his displeasure over Khan’s remarks. The NA speaker had to adjourn the session due to lack of quorum. The speaker resumed the session 15 minutes later and asked the opposition members not to point out the quorum.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...1-4-2006_pg1_5
No big beards in air force, NA told
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government defended on Monday a decision to forcibly retire (retrench) an air force officer who refused to trim his beard on religious grounds, Reuters reported.
Squadron Leader Mohsin Hayat Ranjha was retired in October and four of his colleagues were grounded for violating a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) dress code that allows trimmed beards, but bars long beards on the grounds they pose a safety risk. “There is no ban on any Pakistan Air Force personnel of any rank keeping a beard, but there has to be a limit to the length of a beard,” Tanveer Hussain Syed, parliamentary secretary for defence, told parliament after an MMA legislator raised the issue.
Oxygen masks worn by airmen flying at high altitude can malfunction as a result of beards being too bushy, Syed said, after Islamist politician Liaquat Baluch accused the air force of enforcing un-Islamic rules.
Syed said Ranjha was asked to trim his facial hair as a long beard made it difficult to fix the mask tightly on the face, which could be dangerous for both the pilot and the machine. “He not only refused to do it, in violation of the dress code of a PAF officer, but he also incited others to grow similar beards.”
PAF spokesman Air Commodore Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan confirmed Ranjha had been forced into early retirement and that the cases of four other PAF officers, including another squadron leader, were still under consideration.
Shahzad Raza adds: During the National Assembly session, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) legislators argued with treasury members when they criticised the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The PPPP members staged a token walkout in protest.
Referring to the oil for food scam, MNA Sherry Rehman of the PPPP said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was being used to victimise the former prime minister.
She said the military regime and the NAB were not investigationg the real culprits, saying A&A, Oil and Gas Service Group and BC International were involved in corruption in the UN programme. She demanded a parliamentary committee probe whether the latest NAB allegation against Ms Bhutto had legal grounds. Treasury MNA MP Bhandara endorsed Rehman’s view point, urging the NA speaker to form the committee.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, the PPPP secretary general, said NAB was being used for character assassination of country’s popular leadership. “It is being used for arm twisting, horse trading and rigging,” he said.
MNA Naheed Khan said that PPPP members would not let the house function if bad language and baseless allegations were made against Ms Bhutto. The NA speaker expressed his displeasure over Khan’s remarks. The NA speaker had to adjourn the session due to lack of quorum. The speaker resumed the session 15 minutes later and asked the opposition members not to point out the quorum.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...1-4-2006_pg1_5
There is also nothing wrong if the man dies because of that when he cannot pull out of a tail spin because of blackout due to lack of oxygen.
But what is wrong is that he will take a million rupees machine along with him and a country can hardly afford to lose machines because of a beard!
The Government is absolutely correct in its assertion!
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