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Rush for industrialisation thru 20th century led to serious social problems: CJ

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Saeedduzzaman Siddiqui has said the great rush for industrialisation by the developed and the developing world throughout the century created imbalance in the society leading to serious social problems and unmanageable environmental issues.

Mr. Justice Siddiqui was speaking as the chief guest at a special programme on "Computer's Breakthrough into the new Millennium" held at the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology on Saturday.

He said, "We may perhaps find more stress on environmental progress in coming years justifying naming the new century as the century of environmental control and progress."

The chief justice said that the breakthrough in the fields of science and technology had on the one hand improved the quality of life of the people and on the other had created social and environmental problems for them.

He said the development of weapons of mass destruction was a gift of technological advancement. The weapons of destruction in the hands of the developed countries were a potential threat to the very existence of human life and resources, natural and untapped so far, on this planet.

Mr Justice Siddiqui said the establishment of the Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology was the most befitting tribute to Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who pioneered modern education among the Muslims of the Sub-continent. He paid glowing tributes to the work and services of Sir Syed and congratulated the management of the university who had emulated Sir Syed in sowing the seeds of higher technical education on modern lines.

He also appreciated the work being done by the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association. He noted that since its inception in October 1993, SSUET had made tremendous progress and turned it into a centre of excellence in a short span of six years.

Mr Justice Siddiqui said the coming generation would have to be computer literate because no progress would be possible without it. It was encouraging to note that the SSUET had devoted its major efforts towards computer education.

Earlier, Chancellor Z A Nizami, said the university would soon establish Sir Syed Technology Software Park for which a software technology incubator as the nucleus had been set up providing a dynamic model of viable business operation.

He said the new millennium would be the millennium of computer. He referred to Y2K millennium bug and said that while its impact the world over was still to be seen, in Pakistan, the Sir Syed University was the first institution which took a lead purely in the national interest and helped some 250 organisations in overcoming the problem with remedial measures. In Pakistan, the effect of Y2K problem would be negligible in respect of smaller organisations.

He said the university had the country's biggest computer laboratory with 300 computers and very recently the US-based Pakistani engineers had donated 51 crates of work station free of cost.

The general secretary of the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association, Zakir Ali Khan, also spoke on the occasion.