Incompetence Galore

challenge, this time the old and tried, the security situation marred by terror waves. Peshawar unfortunately became yet another target of a terrorist attack on January 30, in one of the biggest attacks in the city and its law-enforcing agencies.

the regime has also sent gangs of rss-BJP volunteers to be permanently stationed in the occupied Kashmir. Despite the use of chemical weapons, pellet guns and phosphorus bombs, Kashmiris have accelerated the war of liberation,, as recognized by the related uN resolutions.

Notably, during the partition of the sub-continent, the people of Jammu and Kashmir which comprised a Muslim majority, decided to join Pakistan. But, Dogra raja, sir Hari singh, a Hindu ruling Kashmir in collusion with Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Governor General Lord Mountbatten, joined India.

Particularly, Pakistan’s missions abroad also commemorate special events to inform the international community about the persecution faced by Kashmiris under the illegal Indian occupation.

the radcliffe Boundary Award gave Gurdaspur District,a majority Muslim area, to India to provide a land route to the Indian armed forces to move into the J&K. Indian forces invaded srinagar on 27 October, 1947 and forcibly occupied Kashmir in utter violation of the partition plan. When Pakistan responded militarily, on December 31, India appealed to the uN security Council to intervene and a ceasefire ultimately came into effect on 1 January 1949, following uN resolutions calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

the security Council adopted a resolution of 21 April 1948, which promised a plebiscite under uN auspices to enable the people to determine whether they wish to join Pakistan or India. On 5 February 1964, India backed out of its plebiscite commitment. Instead, Indian Parliament declared Kashmir-an integral part of the Indian union.

Western media, human rights groups, leaders of various countries and the uN have repeatedly condemned Indian illegal measures and human rights recently, the uN General Assembly has adopted a Pakistan-sponsored resolution on “universal realization of the right of the People to self-determination with the consensus of 72 countries. On this day, special transmissions were broadcasted on media to highlight the Kashmir cause. However, the current situation is the worst in recent history, as through cotinuous illegal and unilateral steps, Modi’s government has created an environment of fear and chaos for the Kashmiris.

Kashmir has become the world’s largest prison, and the most militarized zone on earth. In this respect, Pakistanis and Kashmiris abroad also highlighted Indian atrocities and continued struggle for the Kashmiris’ legitimate right of self-determination at various international forums, emphasizing the Kashmir issue should be resolved in accordance with the related uN resolutions. Particularly, Pakistan’s missions abroad also commemorate special events to inform the international community about the persecution faced by Kashmiris under the illegal Indian occupation. Islamabad will continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to just cause of people of Held Kashmir till realization of their right to self-determination in accordance with the uNsC resolutions. February 5 iwa observed Kashmir solidarity Day to pay homage to Kahsmiri martyrs and to show solidarity with the freedom fighters who continue the war of liberation, demanding their legitimate right of self-determination, as recognized by the uNsC resolutions.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations and can be reached at: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com

Justa few months ago everyone thought that the looming political crisis was the biggest challenge that Pakistan faced and with 2023 marked as the election year, it was expected that we would get rid of this political crisis and return to normalcy. As 2023 approached, the dream of normalcy started to fade away. Pakistan was in the stranglehold of another crisis, this time on the economic front. One Finance Minister was replaced with another in a hope that the new one would take the challenge more effectively, but to everyone’s dismay the newer one turned out to be more of the same.

Just when the egos of our ruling elite allowed the much-awaited and much needed return to IMF and when the things were expected to change for better, we faced another

On the same day, Pakistan desperately awaited the uAE President to land in Islamabad, so much so that a public holiday was announced in the Capital. However, at the eleventh hour, he backed out of his visit citing bad weather as a reason, while the authorities in Islamabad were left dumbfounded in the broad daylight on this last moment cancellation. It is hard to recall any other incident when the government in Islamabad was so desperate to host a foreign dignitary and the visitor equally uninterested. It is a new low in the country’s diplomatic history that has brought nothing, but consternation, if anyone could feel it.

Now, rewind back to March 2022, not even a year ago. When National GDP was growing by 6 percent, Pakistan did not need foreign dignitaries to bail it out. those who visited Pakistan, visited for goodwill and mutual interests. Pakistan hosted a 50 plus delegation of foreign dignitaries in an OIC conference in Islamabad in March 2022. Everything might not have been rosy at that time but things were certainly a lot better and more stable than what is found today.

Considering the deteriorating security situation in the country, one would imagine that the prime agenda of the intelligence agencies would be to counter the threat which is looming on their heads. Pakistan certainly needs to take it on war footing, as more than 80,000 Pakistanis have lost their lives to terrorism, more than any other war that the country has fought. In the recent incident, more than 100 people have lost their lives in one of the biggest cases of intelligence failure, in the heart of Peshawar. 100 lives lost mean 100 families destroyed forever, in a blink. In any other civilized nation, heads would have rolled, but not here. In Pakistan, the masses don’t even know who is going to take the responsibility if they are the next ones to lose their lives in another attack and then be forgotten by the state as “collateral damage”. Incompetence galore, indeed! Not just that, in the same week more than 50 youth lost their lives in Kohat because an overloaded boat drowned in a river and the passengers were not following the safety measures. Not surprising, because, the bureaucracy selected through the Css examination (which itself needs to be reformed)seems to be more interested in the photo ops than their actual duties of management and administration. similarly, more than 40 plus people lost their lives in an unfortunate bus accident in Lasbela, Balochistan, because the bus carrying the passengers did not meet the safety guidelines. the bus was carrying smuggled petrol from Iran which caused the fire. Not so surprising again, because for many of the elite in our country the dollars earned through smuggled items are more precious than human lives. today, our Parliament has no Opposition per se. two of our major provinces have no provincial assemblies. It has been weeks since the provincial assemblies of Punjab back with excuses. Cherry on top, that our justice system looks clueless on this abrogation of the constitution. Incompetence galore, indeed. there is a growing sense of despondency among Pakistanis at the moment, especially the younger lot. Professionals and highly qualified youth are choosing to migrate out of their native country because they feel that the state has failed them enough of the experiences, let them be the deciders of their own destiny. Let the path of normalcy lead through political stability, which can ultimately lead to economic stability and a secure environment. Pakistan, for once, deserves better. Pakistanis deserve better and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved.

Article 105(3) of the Constitution says that the new elections must be announced within 90 days of the dissolution of the assembly, but both the Governors and Election Commission of Pakistan when reminded about this constitutional obligation are replying the junior officers of KP Police are threatening mass resignation if the perpetrators of Peshawar Attack are not brought to justice. Nowhere else in the world, security personnel are seen protesting for their own security. the situation in the country is not less than chaotic, somewhat like a volcano, ready to erupt.

From justice system to political system, security apparatus to quality of life, the future looks bleak to them. there are cases of growing human rights abuses, media persons are gagged, politically-informed masses are threatened and chased down, beaten, humiliated and even killed. Hence, brain drain is another major concern that Pakistan faces today.

Let us be very clear that Pakistan at the moment is too fragile to bear the weight of tainted politicians. the masses have had enough of the experiences, let them be the deciders of their own destiny. Let the path of normalcy lead through political stability, which can ultimately lead to economic stability and a secure environment. Pakistan, for once, deserves better. Pakistanis deserve better.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Terrorism, Parliament, and the Superclass

The lesson of history vis that we learn nothing from history answered by Khawaja Asif himself as the Defence Minister and by his colleague, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari because Khawaja Asif asked the parliamentarians whether we are sovereign or a mortgaged nation. He is also not clear about who is taking decisions in the country.

Khawaja Asif, while remembering Ziaul Haq's era, mentioned that Pakistan provided services to the usA on rent for fighting Afghan Jihad against russian troops.

Khawaja Asif’s questions are appropriate but he knows he cannot hold anyone accountable because the powerful do not like to answer what they do and they are not answerable to anybody.

WItH a big bang terrorism is back again in Pakistan, the sacrifices of over 80,000 innocent people have gone down the drain and we are standing where we were in early 2013. Our sons in uniform who gave their lives in anti-terrorism operations have the right to ask from their graves whether they sacrificed their souls to reinstall terrorists in Pakistan. their questions can include why they left their families by choice at the mercy of monsters who had been invited back to live in Pakistan.

On February 3, an Apex meeting was held in Peshawar to review the law and order situation in the country after the massacre of over 100 people who were praying in the Police Lines mosque, Prime Minister shehbaz sharif was asking, who relocated terrorists from Afghanistan to Pakistan?

Do we not remember that the Parliament was briefed when the PtI-led government invited terrorists back to Pakistan and briefings were given by the former COAs and former DG IsI to politicians including shehbaz sharif? the PML(N) is blaming former Prime Minister Imran Khan for reinventing terrorism by rehabilitating terrorists in Pakistan while Imran Khan is naming the former COAs and the former DG IsI for this action.

We know that whosoever was responsible for this reckless action would never be questioned. therefore, wasting the time in raising such useless questions that had answers within them must be avoided and we must move forward. We always move forward by forgiving and forgetting what had happened to us and who was responsible for our disasters. We are a very resilient nation indeed.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on February 2, informed parliamentarians that the PtIled government after the Fall of Kabul sent a message to the then opposition (now the government) that “talks could be held with terrorists.” Khawaja Asif claimed that nevertheless briefings were given by the then COAs and the then DG IsI but meetings had remained “inconclusive” and politicians were only informed about the decisions that had already been taken and Parliament never endorsed decisions. I can only be sorry that a Defence Minister is asking Parliament who should be held accountable for the bloodshed nowadays Pakistan is facing.

Khawaja Asif raised questions that must be

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Proving one’s loyalty

WEhave often been critical of the West, especially the united states and the united Kingdom. But we, especially our politicians, never follow what political leaders and even royal family members in the West do to serve their society, country and the people in the name of loyalty to the national cause. For example, in some European countries, royal family members are required to serve in the armed forces and this service is mandatory for them. Going through the rigours of military training is mandatory, and in some instances royal family members have even served the military and were sent to the conflict zones, like Afghanistan.

Prince Harry, for instance, joined the British military and spent time in Afghanistan as a military helicopter pilot and saw actual combat there. this mandatory military service made him loyal to his country and a good, honest citizen. It is unfortunate that our politicians, who are more royal than the British royals, become what they are only to have luxuries for themselves and their families. And these political bigwigs enjoy these luxuries not without the support of their voters who revere them and vote them to power. Can we even imagine sons of our politicians going through military training, serving in the armed forces at some location in the country, leave alone experiencing action in a war and putting their lives at stake for the nation?

Honestly speaking, we cannot blame only the politicians for being our masters and demagogues. We have chosen to be their slaves on our free will. Most Pakistanis are devoted and loyal to a political or a religious party. All constitution violations and acts of corruption of the politicians are ignored and, even worse, defended by their followers who just about worship them. I wonder why. Can we proposer and stand along with developed nations having such sickening and slave mindset?

TARIQUE KHAN KARACHI

work as the second fiddle to the superclass. these allegations are not unfounded because the superclass tailors the system where only handpicked and chosen ones can reach the political institutions that are responsible for decisionmaking. remember former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had been selling the dreams of sharing political opportunities with the working class, fielded only electable candidates in the 2018 general elections. Now he claims that others were taking decisions for his party as well as his government.

Inclusive curriculum

Itis imperative to understand that the purpose of a curriculum is two-fold: one is to enhance employability, and the second is to promote citizenship. the 2017 National Education Policy draft called for a uniform curriculum in Pakistan. In this regard, two phases of single national curriculum (sNC) have been completed based on standardised minimum learning objectives for each grade and subject area, model textbooks, teacher training, and concept-based assessment framework.

Questioning someone is possible when you have at least some status and some leverage of power over that which is being enjoyed by someone you are questioning. How can a civilian Parliament ask anything from anybody that is a member of the all-powerful and supreme elite?

Terrorism, Parliament, and the Superclass

If all best become superclass they rule the rest, then history tells us go through drastic free the

David rothkopf, an American scholar in his famous book superclass: the Global Power Elite and the World they Are Making, writes that the network of business, government, military and cultural elites are redefining power in the global era. He is of the view that each one of them is over a millionstrong and they run our governments, our largest corporations, the powerhouses of international finance, the media, and, from the shadows, the world’s most dangerous criminal and terrorist organizations. they are the global superclass, and they are shaping the history of our time. you can disagree with him but questions he raises in his book need thoughtful introspective behaviour to understand that somehow or other, his viewpoint cannot be just thrown away.

He discusses commonalities among partners of the superclass and their common approach to controlling their own countrymen. His more important question is who sets the rules for a group that operates beyond national laws? the answer to his question needs in-depth investigation and this superclass that also controls aids and funds needed for research organizations would never allow working on this in-depth investigation. Meanwhile, the corporate media which is a softpowered tool of the superclass redirects such questions toward poor, powerless, and orphan democracies.

Many of today’s corporate sector-sponsored thinkers and researchers say democracy is responsible for every ill in Pakistan because politicians are corrupt, incompetent, outdated, and

Our democracy is a legacy of Greek and roman political systems where state-friendly philosophers like Plato and Aristotle favoured a kind of democracy that could ensure “the rule by the best over the rest, an aristocracy based on merit rather than blood”. Aristotle also said that a good monarchy was better than a democracy. Aristotle’s criticisms of democracy were often insightful and farsighted. His key objection to democracy was that it undermined the rule of law while a functioning state requires that laws govern everything. Aristotle might understand that the superclass had resources and means to subjugate poor and weak politicians and it is difficult to control rich and powerful monarchies. Anyhow it is a long discussion of what Aristotle thought about democracy and what kind of monarchy he promoted. Aristotle wanted the “rule by the best over the rest”. Do we find the best around us? the best are those who have the skill to acquire power and resources and they obviously are part of a superclass. If all best become superclass and they rule the rest, then history tells us societies go through drastic changes and nature finds some way to free the “rest” from the “best” because, without this natural course, there is nothing to stop those who hold the most power doing what they want and tyrannizing everyone else.

While finishing my degree in Political Philosophy, I extensively read German philosopher Hegel because his ideas influence the generations to come since his death in 1831. He believes that “rulers, statesmen, Nations, are used to be emphatically commended to the teaching which experience offers in history. But what experience history has taught is - that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it”.

The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist.

However, sNC has faced criticism on account of numerous curriculum deficiencies. First and foremost, the National Curriculum Council (NCC) has no robust statistical regime. there is not a single tehsil in Pakistan for which we have accurate data regarding the number of educational institutions within its jurisdiction. second, the model textbooks are of low quality, meaning sub-standard, with no supporting documents available. this not only serves as a learning hurdle for the students, but also makes it difficult for teachers to facilitate. third, the proposed students learning outcomes-based examination policy promotes rote learning. Instead of promoting learning by doing, we are promoting doing by learning approach; hence, there is a need to reverse the trend so that we may develop critical thinkers. Fourth, the compulsion of overflowing religious content has raised serious concerns. Excessive content related to any single subject is difficult for the students to absorb at a young age. Lastly, the sNC content is not enough to fulfil the learning objectives of private schools. In turn, this is affecting the performance of students associated with the Cambridge system. Moving forward, we need to identify the end goal of our national curriculum. What kind of student do we want to shape? some serious consideration in pursuit of an inclusive national curriculum would include the need of a robust list of schools at disaggregated level, incorporation of middle-tier curriculum stream, inclusion of heritage content covering local culture and traditions, and introduction of climate change as a core subject. Besides, the existing gap between curriculum development and publica-tion of textbooks should be reduced. BILAL AFTAB ISLAMABAD

European Union: A missionary based organization

EurOPEANunion is a missionary based Organization. this is comprised of European states without united Kingdom and the exemplary unity has made the member states as welfare countries. the union has the positive attitude towards sister member states. the euro currency has proved its strong image among other international currencies.

Aims and values

Aims: the aims of the European union within its borders are: Promote peace, its values and the well-being of its citizens; offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders, while also taking appropriate measures at its external borders to regulate asylum and immigration and prevent and combat crime; establish an internal market; achieve sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability and a highly competitive market economy with full employment and social progress; protect and improve the quality of the environment. the aims of the Eu worldwide are: uphold and promote its values and interests; contribute to peace and security and the sustainable development of the Earth contribute to solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights strict observance of international law.

VAlues

The european union is founded on the following values: equality: Equality is about equal rights for all citizens before the law. the principle of equality between women and men underpins all European policies and is the basis for European integration. It applies in all areas. the principle of equal pay for equal work became part of the treaty of rome in 1957.

Human dignity: Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected, protected and constitutes the real basis of fundamental rights.

Freedom: Freedom of movement gives citizens the right to move and reside freely within the union. Individual freedoms such as respect for private life, freedom of thought, religion, assembly, expression and information are protected by the Eu Charter of Fundamental rights. Democracy: the functioning of the Eu is founded on representative democracy. A European citizen automatically enjoys political rights. Every adult Eu citizen has the right to stand as a candidate and to vote in elections to the European Parliament.

Rule of law: the Eu is based on the rule of law. Everything the Eu does is founded on treaties, voluntarily and democratically agreed by its Eu countries. Law and justice are upheld by an independent judiciary. the Eu’s values are laid out in article 2 of the Lisbon treaty and the Eu Charter of Fundamental rights. In 2012, the Eu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

HUMMA MUSARAT, LAHoRE