Najm us Saqib<\/p>\n
The young man looked per\u00adplexed. So did I when he asked me a couple of ques\u00adtions I never reflected on dur\u00ading my 35 years in the For\u00adeign Office. To protect his career, I shall not reveal his name. However, this bright fellow has start\u00aded his career in the Min\u00adistry of Foreign Affairs after clearing the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam recently. This was his second visit to me. A few years back, he came to me to understand the dynam\u00adics of the CSS exam as well as the foreign policy of Pakistan. He did well in the exam and got his first choice. The two-hour session saw us trying to find answers to a few intriguing questions.
\nOfficer: Looking at the Gaza sit\u00aduation, the UN\u2019s helplessness speaks volumes about the organi\u00adzation\u2019s ineffectiveness. Add into it the Ukraine war and you have a recipe of utter dismay. Millions of dollars are being spent on the UN staff to produce impractical doc\u00aduments. I don\u2019t think the world needs the UN anymore. In addi\u00adtion, the kind of convoluted lan\u00adguage they use – it makes me sick.
\nMe: What do you mean by con\u00advoluted language? They are the ex\u00adperts in the field.
\nOfficer: After noting, welcoming, recalling, reaffirming, highlighting, commending, stressing the need for, and echoing God knows what, they call upon both sides to contin\u00adue to engage. What does it mean in reality? Subsequently, they would urge for the implementation of some document and request the Secretary-General to submit a re\u00adport thereon before deciding to re\u00admain seized of the matter. Mean\u00adwhile, a whole population is being annihilated by the aggressor.
\nMe: That is the diction of any multilateral forum. Every word must be incorporated carefully and to the satisfaction of all present.
\nOfficer. Exactly. The idea is not to address the issue. The objective is to keep the organization\u2019s rele\u00advance intact while following the dic\u00adtates of the powerful. Providing jus\u00adtice would never be the aim. Then they use a whole page to say \u2018may\u00adbe\u2019 whereas the situation would de\u00admand a clear-cut yes or no.
\nMe: Taking note of something also means a kind of development. In the drafting committee, one must possess extraordinary pro\u00adficiency in knowledge as well as technical skills.
\nOfficer: If this is the result of \u2018ex\u00adtraordinary proficiency\u2019 and \u2018tech\u00adnical skills\u2019, I must say it needs a lot of courage and effort to move in circles.
\nMe: You are visibly disturbed. Tell me about the Foreign Office and your experience in one of the finest institutions of Pakistan.
\nOfficer: I have come to know that our Ministry has a negligible role in the process of formulating for\u00adeign policy. Even the consular sec\u00adtion is not being managed proper\u00adly. Hence, the officers are busy in securing desirable PERs and post\u00adings of their choice. No one is in\u00adterested in safeguarding the legit\u00adimate concerns of the officers and the staff let alone promoting the national interest. The morale is at a low ebb. Those who have better options are leaving the Ministry. Those who are stuck, like me, have been left to sulk.
\nMe: In our days, being a diplo\u00admat was a matter of pride. Our Foreign Secretaries used to defend us. I remember \u2026\u2026
\nOfficer: Sorry to interrupt you, Sir. Could you kindly tell me the criteria for becoming the Foreign Secretary?
\nMe: The best of the best, I sup\u00adpose. I mean, whosoever is consid\u00adered fit for the post by the govern\u00adment of the day, no?
\nOfficer: No, Sir. The would-be Foreign Secretary must either be very well-connected or should possess the eternal propensity to accept all instructions without asking any questions. As I would never be able to meet the criteria, I know I don\u2019t stand even a chance to head the Institution.
\nMe: Don\u2019t be disheartened, young man. You have just joined the Service. Give yourself some time. Meanwhile, I think, you should choose one of the specific areas on the political side and try to become an area specialist.
\nOfficer: Area specialist? This is another illusionary paradigm. You become a UN expert after serving once in New York or Geneva. Serv\u00ading in the Ministry at the relevant desk also makes you an area ex\u00adpert. Surprisingly, serving in other places don\u2019t make you an expert or maybe you don\u2019t want to be an area specialist in countries of Central Asia, South America, and Africa. You can easily be called a Mid-East spe\u00adcialist if you know Arabic or have served anywhere in the region. Be\u00ading an expert or an area specialist is a self-created bubble, Sir. The iro\u00adny is that others also start believing it. Secondly, to be noticed, you must be a logophile \u2026.!!
\nMe: Logophile?
\nOfficer: Yes, Sir. Logophile. Your drafting must include a few not-so-commonly-used words like co\u00adgnoscente, connoisseur, or crack\u00aderjack to look authentic. Instead of saying artful, you should use ad\u00adjectives like adroit and bravura. Include expressions like quintes\u00adsential, circumlocution, ephemer\u00adal, serendipity, and modus viven\u00addi to make your draft \u2018effective\u2019. A \u2018competent\u2019 officer refrains from using ordinary words. For sweet, he will say dolce. Secretly or hid\u00adden? No, surreptitiously. So much so that a minute-taker would not like to use the word \u2018meeting\u2019. Say\u00ading \u2018conclave\u2019 instead makes his draft look royal. The interesting part? No one questions that a con\u00adclave is a specific assembly of car\u00addinals for the election of a pope. It cannot be an ordinary meeting.
\nMe: Being mindful of the relat\u00aded issues is the first step towards awareness. I think you already have enough know-how about the work\u00adings of the Ministry. You will be fine.
\nOfficer: How could you deduce that, Sir? I think I am a complete misfit.
\nMe: The system teaches you cer\u00adtain things quietly. You don\u2019t recog\u00adnize the change. Didn\u2019t you use the word \u2018logophile\u2019? You could have easily said \u2013 a person who loves words\u2026.!! Trust me. You will be fine.<\/p>\n
The writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of eight books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib1960@msn.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Najm us Saqib The young man looked per\u00adplexed. So did I when he asked me a couple of ques\u00adtions I never reflected on dur\u00ading my 35 years in the For\u00adeign Office. To protect his career, I shall not reveal his name. However, this bright fellow has start\u00aded his career in the Min\u00adistry of Foreign Affairs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12978],"class_list":{"0":"post-418663","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-najm-us-saqib"},"yoast_head":"\n