Daska to United Nations

Muhammad Aslam Mughal

Description

DASKA TO UNITED NATIONS is an autobiography as well as a travelogue. Its narration is very fluent and cogent; and describes the historical events of the countries, in detail, visited by Aslam during his journey of life. It is highly informative and educative and will provide an incentive to the readers to adopt normative values and resort to sustained arduous work to achieve their desired targets in life successively. I strongly feel that such autobiographies should be widely available to the people, especially the younger generations, by adding them in the libraries of educational institutions and public libraries.

Sujets

• UN
• Biography
• Daska
• United Nations
• Autobiography

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 01 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669862963
• Langue: English

Extrait

DASKA to UNITED NATIONS
 
 
 
 
 
Muhammad Aslam Mu ghal
 
 
Copyright © 2023 by Muhammad Aslam Mughal.
 

Library of Congress Control Number:
2023900976
ISBN:
Hardcover
978-1-6698-6298-7

Softcover
978-1-6698-6297-0

eBook
978-1-6698-6296-3
 
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 01/31/2023
 
 
 
Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
850215
Contents
Foreword
An Inspirational Narrative
An Autobiography Worth Reading
My Dear Friend
Preface
PART I: CHILDHOOD & EDUCATION
Family & Childhood
School Education
Government College Lahore
University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore (UET)
Michigan State University, USA
Syracuse University
PART II: PROFESSIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
Assistant Engineer WAPDA
Assistant Director Town Planning Lahore
Deputy Director, Master Plan Project Rawalpindi
Director, Town Planning Peshawar Region
Director, Physical Planning Punjab
Director General, Housing & Physical Planning Punjab
Chief Metropolitan Planner Lahore Development Authority
United Nations Advisor, Urban & Regional Planning and Makkah Project
Technical Coordinator Implementation Strategy of Dubai Structure Plan
Town Planning Expert For Feasibility Study of Dubai Metro Project
PART III: POST RETIREMENT LIFE
Return to Lahore
The International University (TIU)
Engagement with Welfare Organizations
Tehzibul Akhlaq Trust (TAT)
Abdul Hameed Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust (ARBT)
Middle East Association Of Pakistanis (MAP)
Professional Engagements
Punjab Spatial Planning Act
Managing Asian Cities-Case Study of Pakistan
Evaluation of Urban Regeneration Study
Institue of Planners
Association with Universities
Punjab Land Development Company (PLDC)
PART IV: MEMORABLE TRAVELS
Michigan To California, USA
Atlantic Cruise & Travel Through Europe
Japan & Far East
Jordan & Syria
India
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
China
Turkey
Uzbekistan
PART V: FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS
Blessings of Allah
Closing of a Long Chapter
A Brief New Chapter
A Short Family Reunion
EPILOGUE
FOREWORD
Aslam Mughal has honored me by his request to write the Foreword for his autobiography “Daska to United Nations”. Aslam served as the Chief Metropolitan Planner of the Lahore Development Authority when I was its Director-General, and was greatly instrumental in bringing to fruition the World Bank financed Urban Development & Traffic Study which laid the framework for converting Lahore from a somewhat sleepy provincial town into a vibrant metropolitan city. He also looked after the ‘greening’ of Lahore and later in the extension of planned civic facilities to a large number of katchi abadis.
Aslam was the fifth of nine brothers but, despite the large number of siblings, never lacked for affection and support from his loving parents which he repaid through his dedicated hard work which won him top positions in school, college and university including Government College Lahore, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore and Michigan State University USA. He also developed a deep and abiding faith in the Mercy and Blessings of Almighty Allah which has sustained him throughout his life.
Aslam comes across as very much a family man. The book is replete with anecdotes of inter-actions with family members in Pakistan and abroad. He also made many friendships over the course of his scholastic and professional career and his autobiography will no doubt lead to much reading pleasure for his wide circle of family and friends.
Aslam joined public service in the 1960s, first in WAPDA and then in the provincial government. He saw brief sojourns in Shorkot, Lyallpur, Rawalpindi and Peshawar before his prolonged stay in Lahore inclusive of the secondment to the Lahore Development Authority. During this period his lasting contribution was the concept of Outline Development Plans which could be replicated in urban areas in much shortened time periods. The present number of such plans is reportedly 125. However, it was his work as Chief Metropolitan Planner Lahore Development Authority that caught the eye of the United Nations Development Program New York and led to his appointment as Expert in Urban and Regional Planning with the Government of Saudi Arabia.
The initial appointment in 1981 was for a period of one year. At the instance of the Saudis it was extended from time to time for another seventeen and a half years. The notable tasks and achievements during this long tenure was the Makkah Project and the Al Baha project. His account about the Makkah Project makes for some fascinating reading. In the latter part of his stay in Saudi Arabia he also worked on a project for delineation of urban boundaries.
At the end of 1998 his assignments in Saudi Arabia came to an end and he transferred to Dubai for work on the “Implementation Strategy of Structure Plan of Dubai”. He completed this assignment in 2000 and returned to his first love, the city of Lahore. Aslam’s comparisons of life in Riyadh with life in Dubai are very revealing.
One notable feature of Aslam’s autobiography is the accounts of his foreign travels to all parts of the world during his student years, his service career and post-retirement’ He travelled whenever he could in the company of his wife Wasima. There are some, I am sure, who have travelled abroad as much as he has but there must be very few who have taken the trouble of delving into the history of the countries and cities that he visited and recording his impressions for posterity. I know from my own experience how foreign travel broadens the mind, expands the horizons of knowledge and instils tolerance of other cultures and ways of life.
Post-retirement has seen both joys and sorrows in Aslam’s life. There has been the inexpressible joy of holding grand-children in his hands but there has also been the inexorable march of time which has led to the passing away of so many loved ones including his wife Wasima. Post-retirement Aslam has also found to his cost that it is best to avoid business ventures for which no expertise was acquired during the working years. That said he has made meaningful contributions to the work of the Tehzibul Akhlaq Trust. and also, to the Ashiana Project of the Punjab Land Development Company. The Epilogue of the book contains some pertinent advice on the need to devote more attention to education and the promotion of tolerance.
The autobiography merits a place in all public and private libraries.
Shahid H amid
Former Governor Punjab
24 th June 2022
AN INSPIRATIONAL NARRATIVE OF FAITH, STRUGGLE & TRIUMPH
The autobiography of Aslam Mughal, ‘Daska To United Nations’, is a fascinating read. He takes you through the intriguing journey of his life with the effortless discourse of a seasoned storyteller. You see Aslam born in a small town in a middle-class family, introduced to basic values of hard work, humility and compassion for the poor. Armoured with this upbringing and an unwavering faith in Allah, he sets forth to pursue his dreams. The story unfolds, how a child who received his education in a run-down government school with minimal infrastructure, went on to study in premier educational institutions of the country and eventually, the United States of America (USA). We learn that while the relentless pursuit of one’s dream is important, to realize those dreams, a strategy and strong work ethic is essential. His story and successes validate the role of belief in Allah. He refreshes your faith with real life examples that even with an immaculate strategic approach and hard work, if a goal is not achieved then it should be accepted as the will of Allah. As a social entrepreneur, I was truly inspired and impressed by his humane attitude for the destitute. His early engagement with Anjumen-e-Himayat-e-Islam and links, even now, with a number of welfare organizations is clear proof of the childhood message ingrained in him by his parents. True to his chosen egalitarian path working for LDA, as an additional responsibility, he transformed the lives of 150,000 people in one year including the upgradation of 11 katchi abadis (ramshackle neighbourhoods) of Lahore. He describes his pleasure and satisfaction in doing this work by looking in the eyes of thousands of residents of those abadis. No doubt this powerful message will resonate with the readers. If all this was not enough to engage the reader, he devotes a section of the book to his memorable travels. This covers the realization of his lifelong passion for travel. There is a lively description of how as a child he boarded a bus to see Lahore without informing his parents. This childhood passion took him to numerous countries, as described in part IV of his autobiography. Now he takes you to fascinating lands, introducing their history, life, culture and people.