Air Cdre Rizwanullah Khan Shaheed Memorial Trust

The Kohat crash left behind 16 widows and 36 orphans. I personally know only a few of them. Riffat Razzaq and Ruby Saleem are longtime friends from whom I have received extraordinary affection. I got to know Fauzia Javaid and Azra Tabassum after Rizwan took over as PSO to CAS. Samina Aftab and I share not only a name but also a common bond of our husbands’ course, 66th GD(P). But as I grieve with these friends and Billie Apa’s beloved children Nabeel, Minaal and Maseel, I am disturbed that my protocol-conscious world has not trained me to break the officer-airman barrier and reach out, uninhibited, to others whose hearts are as anguished as mine. Undeterred, I have obtained a list of the affectees of the Kohat crash and have pieced together some interesting trivia about my newly acquired family – the wives and children of those honourable men and woman whom my husband accompanied on his last journey.

For example, amongst the children of the officers who perished in the crash, Nabeel Ali Mir is the oldest orphan at 27 while my Bilal is the youngest at 3 years. The handsome ADC to CAS, Wg Cdr Tabassum Abbas, left behind 3 equally beautiful children, the youngest of whom, 8 year old Kazim, has his father’s “hanstee hui aankhen” but is paraplegic. Only 4 of the 36 orphans are married and that there is a serious tilt of the children’s population towards female. I have also discovered that the youngest orphan amongst the airmen’s children is a little girl merely 5 months old, that one of the airmen had two wives, that another had just celebrated his first wedding anniversary, that one of the officers of the aircrew was wholly responsible for his younger brother and sister, and that crew member Khush Qadam left behind only an old mother as next of kin. I also find that the sweet, blue-eyed photographer who was ubiquitous yet skillfully inconspicuous at PAFWA gatherings was on board. Today, approximately 2 months after 16 women and 36 children of Pakistan suffered a devastating tragedy, my personal pain seems less significant as I discover the daunting challenges that these chosen few now face. How many of these children will never have access to quality education because their under privileged mothers can not afford it? Which of the young boys will go astray because they do not have a father to discipline them? Will the girls not be able to marry well because their uncles and brothers are less concerned about their future than their loving fathers would have been? Will Kazim’s young mother be able to care for him without her husband’s support and will my Bial remember how madly in love his father was with him? Will the little 5 month old baby understand that her father paid his debt to the nation by attaining shahadat?

I am no scholar and, every now and then, my faith breaks free and skips away. Struggle as I do, my logic-ridden mind is unable to find an answer to the question “why were so many promising lives cut short when they seemed to have so much to contribute to this world?” What I have been able to come to terms with, though, is the less complex question “now that this has happened, how will we make sure that the contribution to this world happens anyway, in the name of the dearly departed?”

It is in this spirit that I have launched a humble effort which I would like to introduce to you today. With Chowk’s permission, I have taken the liberty of simply pasting the Intro document of the Trust. I request your indulgence in reading it and sending all queries to rizkhantrust@hotmail.com.


Introduction

The Trust honours the memory of Air Cdre Rizwanullah Khan, S Bt, who embraced shahadat along with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir and Begum Bilquis Mushaf Ali Mir, as well as 14 other worthy colleagues on February 20, 2003, when the Chief of Air Staff’s Fokker flight crashed into the hills near Kohat. Air Cdre Rizwan was assigned as Personal Staff Officer to Chief of Air Staff and was part of the entourage that was on its way to PAF Base, Kohat for a routine inspection.

Besides the CAS and his PSO, the Air Force also lost two of its most promising senior officers: Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq and Air Vice Marshal Saleem Akhtar Nawaz. In addition, Air Commodore Javed Sabir, Group Captain Aftab Cheema and Wing Commander Syed Tabassum Abbas of the CAS’s staff as well as other officers and men of the crew also embraced shahadat.

Outside of war, this accident was the most costly in terms of human life and professional investment in the history of the PAF.

Air Commodore Rizwanullah Khan left behind a legacy of professional and personal excellence. He was passionate about gaining knowledge to improve himself as a human being and an officer, to the ultimate benefit of his family, his organization and his nation. He believed that to achieve success certain factors were critical: absolute faith in Allah, total confidence in one’s capabilities, and extreme hard work to prepare oneself for the day the opportunity for success arises in one’s life.

While he was thoroughly primed for worldly success, Air Commodore Rizwan’s destiny was to humbly sacrifice his life while on duty. In honour of the values he practiced and inculcated in those around him, the Trust aims to provide the opportunity to capable Pakistanis to prepare themselves to a level of excellence that will help them succeed personally and professionally.

This is an introduction to the Trust to present its Mission, Objectives and Strategy. These are in rudimentary form. They are expected to evolve with the contribution of trustees, supporters, scholars and donors. They will also evolve based upon the supply, i.e. funds, and the demand, i.e. scholarship requirements, generated.


Mission

To contribute towards nation building by facilitating quality education of young scholars to achieve excellence in academics. To provide this service regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion.


Objectives

It is the Trust’s objective to bring the service, i.e. quality education, to the children rather than take the children to the service.

1. We intend to provide sustainable scholarships to capable children - those who qualify the entrance criteria for specific educational institutions but can not afford to attend these, so they may get a chance to use their intellect, develop their skills, improve their quality of life and, eventually, add to the nation’s pool of skilled human resource.

2. We intend to monitor the progress of these selected scholars throughout their academic careers in order to engender in them the principles that Air Cdre Rizwan personified - hard work, self-confidence, healthy and honest competition, and absolute faith in Allah so they stand prepared to take advantage of life’s opportunities when they present themselves.

3. Although the foremost criterion for allocating a scholarship would be a child’s financial need, our scholars will not simply be children who seek financial aid. After identifying a group in need of support, scholars would be selected from the group through some manageable procedure of screening and filtering, hopefully with the cooperation of the institution’s faculty, so that a combination of need and ability is identified. Of all the aspects of this venture, this would perhaps be the most challenging – choosing the optimum candidates for the program.

4. In order to make the venture effective, majority of scholars would be selected from specific age groups. For example, pre-schoolers and primary school children would not be the ideal candidates though they would certainly be considered for support. The ideal scholars would emerge from the age group of 12 to 19, those who are readying for Class 8 to those entering university . The first group would be targeted for entry into reputable high schools whereas the second group would be potential candidates for elite colleges and universities. Thus, it must be clear to all stakeholders that this Trust is not an attempt at unregulated charity. It is a support structure for those who qualify on several different criteria.

5. A key aspect of our venture is mentoring of scholars. We feel it is not enough to fund a candidate’s education. Rather, it is necessary to add further value by interacting with the candidate on a regular basis to improve his performance and, generally, his or her academic experience. Thus, just like our own children, our scholars would be our responsibility beyond finances. For this, we hope to call upon the worldwide Pakistani community to assist. Mentors will be appointed from volunteers who can choose the institution or the program or academic speciality with which they would like to be associated.

6. The Trust’s activities do not include building of schools. We do not envision limiting our activities to a particular geographic location within the country. We intend to use the educational facilities already available inside and outside the country, such as FAST NU, NUST and LUMS. We have already started communicating with those institutions that Air Cdre Rizwan attended such as Cadet College Hasanabdal and PAF College Sargodha. The Trust’s programs will not be limited to boys. We have started correspondence with the management of College of Education for Women and The Presentation and Jesus & Mary Convent Schools. Selected children would be placed in schools of their choice in localities where attendance is convenient for them.

7. Our programs would not be limited to institutions named above. Any reputable educational institute can be approached for collaborative programs. If, and when, the Trust can afford it, we intend to sponsor scholars for international degree programs, hopefully even into Ivy League institutions. This is a revolutionary idea considering most charitable ventures successfully support primary and secondary education only. This Trust would build upon the efforts of existing non-profit ventures and sponsor higher studies for scholars drawn from these programs or from the community at large.

8. The Trust is committed to unconditionally supporting the children of those individuals who have lost their lives in the line of duty. This support will probably span over several years for the children’s education.

9. One of the Trust’s basic objectives is to keep the memory of Air Cdre Rizwanullah Khan alive. To this end, we intend to sponsor publications related to his life, covering his educational career, his professional association with the PAF and his vision for a prosperous Pakistan. We will involve our scholars in creation of these publications as well as in using them to build a better life for themselves. It is the Trust’s aim to inculcate Rizwan’s “life values” in “Rizwan’s scholars”.


Management & Administration

The Trust has been registered as a non-profit, non-political, non-government organization with the Government of Pakistan. The registration number is 1054/1. In case a copy of the Trust deed is required for confirmation, kindly send an email to rizkhantrust@hotmail.com. A scanned copy of the deed as well as our tax exemption certificates will be forwarded.

The Trust is being managed on a voluntary basis for the first 6 months. Besides the trustees, it is under care of Sheraz Karim, a qualified accountant and Zeb Ayaz, a professional with experience in finance and marketing. In addition, Mr. Afnan Kundi of Kundi & Kundi Law Associates has vetted and approved the Trust deed, and Mr. Shibli Islam Rehan of Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder Qamar & Company has advised on the management of accounts.

The Trust’s bank accounts are held with Union Bank Limited, F-7 Branch, Islamabad. There are three separate accounts, one for the endowment fund, another for Zakat, and yet another for expenses. Please note that no operational expenses are paid from the endowment fund account. All expenses are paid from the expense account which is funded by the monthly pension received by Air Cdre Rizwanullah Khan’s family. Since the Trust is being managed on a voluntary basis in the initial stage, and since the office space has been volunteered, expenses remain limited to minor items such as stationary, mailing and courier service, website development etc. Important points also are that the Trust has an NTN no. 1530405-1 and is exempted from tax for donors (Approved u/s 2(36) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 (No 2(36)CIT(c)/02-03/J.Br/5485 dated 16.04.2003)).

All above information as well as the balance in endowment fund account will be posted on the website and updated on a regular basis. In the meantime, any further information can be obtained by writing to the email address rizkhantrust@hotmail.com.

The Trust website order has been placed with Enabling Technologies (Pvt.) Limited, Karachi. The website is expected to be up by end of May, 2003. The website will have all information related to management, administration, accounts, NTN no., tax exemption no. etc.


Conclusion

It is written in the Holy Quran (Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 154):

“And call not those who are slain in the way of Allah dead; Nay, they are living, only ye perceive not.”

It seems appropriate to bear witness to the “living state” of those who are good of heart and are called to Allah at the prime of their life by doing good works in their name. This would also engender a spirit of “Jehad”, i.e Struggle, amongst the living of this world, as was intended by Allah when revealing the beautiful Surah describing Shahadat. Thus, while we may not receive an answer to the question “Why was a promising life cut short when it seemed to have so much to contribute to this world?”, we can certainly answer a less complex one “Now that this has happened, how will we make sure that the contribution to this world happens anyway, in the name of the dearly departed?”

I have a dream that, someday, there will be a thousand “Rizwan Scholars” who will come together and proclaim, in unison; “we understand the reason for the heartache that Allah caused to the families of the Kohat crash. Without it, we would not be here today – educated, confident, capable – primed to take the place, in the nation-building task, of those 17 precious Pakistanis who did not live long enough to complete their mission.”

With your support and goodwill, I am confident this dream will come true.