L AW MINISTER, SPEAKER NA DISCUSS ELECTORAL REFORMS BILL , PENDING LEGISL ATIVE BUSINESS

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

FEDERAL Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar held a meeting with Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf in his office on Monday to discuss matters related to pending legislative business and electoral reforms bill The delegation of Lawyers community of Gujar Khan Bar Council was also present in the meeting The meeting discussed the issues being faced by the lawyers community in Gujar Khan Raja Pervez Ashraf that said resolving the problems being faced by the lawyers of Gujar Khan Bar Council had been his top priority He said that the role of the lawyers’ community was of key importance for ensuring rule of law supremacy of the

NEPRA , Gov t under fire over proposed Rs7.50 per unit power tariff hike

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Naeem directed criticism at NEPRA for their approach particularly in Karachi He further emphasized the predicament facing Karachi: without K-Electric s license renewal, the city would be left without a viable alternative for electricity provision, as no other power distribution license applications have been received to date

The industrialists from Karachi also rejected proposed increase in electricity rates and said that Karachi was contributing 42 percent in revenue but electricity rates for industries were being increased that would hit the industrial sector The criticisms during the hearing shed light on the prevailing challenges faced by NEPRA and the government in addressing the power tariff issue The hearing brought to light the complexities and challenges faced by NEPRA and the government in addressing the power tariff issue The final decision on the proposed hike will have far-reaching implications for consumers and the energy sector, urging authorities to carefully assess all aspects before reaching a verdict

Effor ts for Dar’s nomination as caretaker PM suffer major setback

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Khawaja Asif said a caretaker PM plays the role of an umpire in a caretaker set-up He added that Ishaq Dar ’s name was not considered for the caretaker PM s slot on any platform He added that the federal government did not even give any hint at appointing Dar as the caretaker premier The report was actually leaked by a reputed journalist in the media To a question, Asif said that Nawaz Sharif will definitely return to the country soon However he did not mention a specific time for Sharif s return PML-N confirms Dar s candidacy: On Sunday top leaders of PML-N confirmed about amending the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) law in order to empower the caretaker set-up and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar candidature for the next caretaker prime minister

According to sources the PML-N leaders have been pushing Dar ’s name for the caretaker premier position

In response to questions about his candidacy Dar stressed that he did not aspire or lobby for any office and that he had already fulfilled his responsibilities as the finance minister during his political career Dar emphasised the importance of not allowing the nation’s three-month transition period to be spent solely on day-to-day affairs noting that such an approach had led to past inefficiencies He argued that significant decisions especially concerning the country s economy needed to be made during the caretaker government s term to ensure a smooth and productive transition constitution and promotion of democracy in the country

The NA Speaker said that it was very encouraging that the 15th National Assembly was about to complete its constitutional term He said that the current National Assembly of Pakistan had held regular sessions during the last 14 months to discuss issues of public importance along with enacting important legislation and proposed their solutions

Pervez Ashraf also appreciated the cooperation of the Ministry of Law and Justice in this regard The pending legislation was also discussed in the meeting and it was agreed to bring the pending bills to the House for consideration Azam Nazeer Tarar appreciated the Speaker ’s keen interest in supporting and enacting public friendly legislation He also assured all possible cooperation from the ministry

India’s economy to hold top spot for GDP but not so much for jobs growth: Reuters poll

PR OFIT

R e u t e R S

India s economy will grow at a solid pace for the rest of this fiscal year and next but well below its potential rate according to a Reuters poll of economists who also said the employment situation will improve only slightly The world s most populous country aspires to leapfrog to the status of a developed nation, riding on the unprecedented demographic dividend which demands an annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of around 8% for the next 25 years

But reaching this milestone hinges on implementing key reforms in education, infrastructure, healthcare and technology If we want to realize that 8% growth potential this decade the biggest challenge before policymakers is to reallocate the surplus labour from agriculture to more productive sectors with gainful jobs in them said Dhiraj Nim economist at ANZ Research If India s reform momentum is lacklustre a less exciting picture is on the cards

The latest Reuters poll of 53 economists taken between July 13 and 21 showed the Indian economy would grow 6 1% this fiscal year, a respectable rate when other major economies are expected to slow maintaining a conducive environment for job creation

It was forecast to grow 6 5% next fiscal year with expectations of 6 2% growth this quarter followed by 6 0% and 5 5% The outlook was largely unchanged from a June poll I think

6 0% to 6 5% is a very achievable and a very conservative forecast for India’s growth trajectory,” Nim added World Bank President Ajay Banga recently said the key to India s growth story is through more jobs as

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he outlined the opportunity to cash in on the China Plus One strategy, a scheme adopted by many companies to build manufacturing units outside of the People’s Republic DEMAND VS SUPPLY

Asked how the employment situation will change over the coming year 17 of 25 economists said it will improve slightly The unemployment situation hasn t improved yet and the skilling to some extent is also missing So, there is a gap in terms of the demand versus the supply,” said Radhika Piplani, chief economist at DAM Capital Advisors

Asked what impact the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme designed to attract foreign manufacturers to set up factories in India would have on the country s GDP this fiscal year, 21 of 27 economists said it will only increase it modestly

The remaining six said the PLI scheme, which allocated billions of rupees as incentives from the Union budget in 2023-24 will have no impact

All the sectors where PLI has started are seen booming but the actual impact of it to on-the-ground employment – that is still something which is yet to be seen, Piplani added While India has a lot more ground to cover to replace China as the world s manufacturing hub, some economists acknowledged the PLI scheme was a step in the right direction

More economic reforms could bolster the scheme s prospects and create millions of jobs they added Manufacturing needs to see strong growth and that is possible only when we iron out the issues that are preventing fresh investments in the sector, said Suman Chowdhury, chief economist at Acuite Ratings and Research

Pakistan plans to launch Rs23 kharabs Sovereign Wealth Fund but how will price determination take place?

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The recent staff level report of the IMF has hinted towards the fact that the government should look to sell some of its state owned assets to foreign investors and official bilateral creditors including foreign sovereign wealth funds By using this avenue, the government can look to limit some of the losses that are a drain on the exchequer and also fetch a good amount of funds which can be used for future development and investment in the country CONCERN OF TRANSPARENCY AND PRICE DISCOVERY

At this point in time, there are concerns over the price discovery and transparency of any such transactions taking place Companies like Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) have huge government investment in them Based on the interest by UAE in the oil and gas sector, these two companies can prove to be sold at good valuations

However, the stock market of the country is seeing low market prices currently as compared to the book values This is due to the fact that the country has faced more than 15 months of uncertainty on the political and economic front Due to this the equity markets and valuations have been battered and the valuations being quoted are depressed The industry feels that selling these national assets at depressed prices will be detrimental as these assets can bring in higher valuations

It would be difficult to sell companies through the stock market at this point as local interest rates are too high and the general market valuations are very low Due to a lack of liquidity and market valuations being low, it is felt that the government should use avenues other than the stock market to get better price discovery ” added Farooq

Elon Musk posts new Twitter logo X to replace blue bird

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Matt Rhodes, strategy lead at creative agency House 337, told Reuters any changes to a brand so established in popular culture was a risk

“Only a few brands have become verbs or seen themselves referred to in global news outlets as often as Twitter has he said

Anything that makes it harder for people to find or want to open the app on their cluttered phone screens risks harming usage

‘EVERYTHING APP’

Weeks before completing his Twitter acquisition last year Musk had said that buying the company would

ISLAMABAD S h a h z a d pa R ac h a

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet Rs50 billion funds for parliamentarians schemes just before the expiry of government term

The move apparently looks like an effort to influence the voters just months ahead of upcoming elections and may attract attention of international observers and election monitors as such development projects worth billions of rupees may tantamount to prepoll rigging Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar chaired the meeting of ECC ECC on the request of the Ministry of Housing and works, Power and Petroleum divisions approved more than Rs50 billion funds for execution of development schemes under SDGs Achievement Program (SAP) in Punjab Sindh Balochistan and KPK provinces Meanwhile the Ministry of National Food Security & Research submitted a summary for allocation of PASSCO s Wheat amongst recipient agencies/ provinces /areas for the year 2023-24 and informed that the recipient agencies have made their demand of 2,488,000 MT for the food year 2023-24 The ECC after discussion allowed allocation of wheat amongst speed up his ambition to create an “everything app” called “X” by three to five years Musk bought x com back from PayPal in 2017 saying it had sentimental value Musk had cofounded x com as an online bank in 1999 which later transformed into PayPal

While Twitter s official page on the platform has been renamed as “X”, the domain x com is not active

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity –centred in audio video messaging payments/banking creating a global marketplace for ideas goods services and opportunities

Yaccarino tweeted on Sunday Yaccarino the former advertising chief at NBCUniversal who started as Twitter CEO on June 5, has taken over when the social media platform is trying to reverse a plunge in advertising revenue

Since the takeover of Twitter the company has faced tumultuous times with layoffs a sharp drop in advertisers and the meteoric rise of Threads Meta s response to Twitter

The last few months have been tumultuous at Twitter, and I don’t think a new brand is going to solve everything,” Drew Benvie, CEO of social media consultancy Battenhall said

This is less about reinventing Twitter and more about building a brand around Elon Musk s empire including SpaceX where the X branding really connects a little more closely

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

In a game-changing collaboration ABHI a leading embedded finance platform has partnered with BlueEx Pakistan s only listed e-commerce logistics company, to offer e-commerce Revenue, Cash on Delivery Financing and inventory financing in Pakistan, a complete solution for financing needs of not only eCommerce Companies but also other SMEs in Pakistan (AbhiCOD) Amidst the rising inflation e-commerce platforms have faced financial hurdles that demand strategic solutions In response to these pressing needs they ve introduced AbhiCOD which is an innovative short-term Shariah-compliant loan solution tailored to meet the financial needs of ecommerce businesses serving as a lifeline for them striving to thrive in today's competitive landscape "AbhiCOD represents our commitment to empowering businesses during challenging times Our equity with BlueEx has created an unmatched solution, allowing businesses to unlock their true potential by accessing growth financing to capture the opportunities that arise amidst uncertainties," said Omair Ansari, Group CEO of ABHI Notably, prominent figures like Mr Wasim Akram a pre-IPO shareholder in BlueEx have extended their support to promote AbhiCOD Their endorsement highlights the significant impact this innovative solution can have on businesses, making it an invaluable asset for entrepreneurs and industry professionals are vigilant and actively monitoring the weather forecasts and are on standby to address any eventuality KE teams are also in touch with the relevant departments to quickly address any faults and ensure a smooth supply With intermittent rain is forecast over the next few days it is important to follow safety precautions Citizens are advised to keep a safe distance from electrical installations including utility poles and transformers Illegal kundas and unauthorized TV/internet cables also pose as significant safety risks and are a known hazard during this rainy season For further assistance, customers can remain updated about the power supply situation via KE’s social media platforms SMS KE Live App or WhatsApp service or helpline at 118

ABOUT K-ELECTRIC:

K-Electric (KE) is a public listed company incorporated in Pakistan in 1913 as KESC

Privatized in 2005 KE is the only vertically integrated utility in Pakistan supplying electricity within a 6500 km square territory including Karachi and its adjoining areas The majority shares (66 4%) of the company are listed in the PSX owned by KES Power, a consortium of investors including Aljomaih Power Limited of Saudi Arabia, National Industries Group (Holding), Kuwait, and the Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF) The Government of Pakistan is also a minority shareholder (24 36%) the recipients @ 50% local and 50% imported on weighted average price of the stock

The ECC further directed that all recipients would pay full price of wheat and incidental charges of PASSCO as there would be no financial liability on part of the federal govt for supply of the wheat to the respective provinces/entities The ECC also directed the provincial governments to pay the pending liabilities of Rs 149 billion of PASSCO before signing of MoU for the procurement of wheat for the current year

The ECC approved summary of Ministry of Industries and Production regarding amendments in the EPZA Rules, 1981 and EPZs

Care tak e r ru m o u rs

BY the time this editorial was written, the PPP s Sherry Rehman had clarified that there was no truth to the rumours That there hadn t been some sort of consensus within the ruling PDM on the League’s Ishaq Dar as caretaker prime minister

The decision would have been symbolic - and catastrophic - as the ruling coalition would have thrown away even the pretense of a neutral caretaker regime by appointing perhaps the most important cabinet member after the PM himself, as the caretaker PM

Yes we cannot take the government to book over mere rumours, but the way Dar himself addressed these rumours in media appearances seemed to imply that the possibility was being seriously discussed They should have been strongly denied instead of the faux humility and halfdenials of a man being selected for a job

In fact, so bad was the government’s media management regarding the issue that the PTI is set to already include it in its arsenal of complaints, even if it didn’t happen (“They were even about to ”)

As things stand now, the odds are stacked against the former ruling party with a huge chunk of the leaders having jumped ship, most of them, under reported - and apparent - duress The party’s chairman is facing a bevy of court cases (some under clownish charges others not so much) and there is a bit of a gag order on him on the mainstream legacy media

The times were tough for the news media and the political opposition during the previous dispensation; Pakistan had moved several rungs down on the press freedom index under the government of Imran Khan and the then opposition were facing cases that were clearly farcical That things are worse under the current administration is a sad sign of the times Pakistan s political class is now supping with the devil just to make shortsighted gains against foes with whom they have more in common than the devil would like them to believe

On this front even though at the moment the blame lies squarely on the ruling coalition for acquiescing to the onslaught it would also bode well for the erstwhile ruling party to do some introspection The major two parties of the PDM have had a lot of serious gripes against each other but they did decide to bury the hatchet The PTI s chairman, on the other hand, almost made it some sort of virtue to not even treat them like representatives of a quantum of people much larger than the ones that had voted in the PTI

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami

Arif Nizami (Late)

Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Editor

M A Niazi Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor

PA K I S TA N a nation of over 220 million people has faced its fair share of economic challenges in recent years The nation has been grappling with a severe economic meltdown characterized by depletion of reserves and an overwhelming burden of ungovernable debt The country is currently confronted with mounting challenges such as soaring inflation political strife between different political parties and a surge in terrorism These factors along with Pakistan s massive external debt obligations, have placed the nation at risk of default In addition, the devaluation of currency has resulted in the highest inflation rate in the country since its inception which in return accelerated poverty affecting human development which is ranked 161 h in the current ranking of HDI

The IMF has reached a Staff-Level Agreement with Pakistan on a $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement

Though, this deal has had some positive impacts, like the inflow of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia and $1 billion from the United Arab Emirates and it may help Pakistan in gaining investor confidence but all of these are short-sighted In the long run it will not help Pakistan solve its economic crisis completely Instead it will worsen the country s debt position

Therefore, the stability of Pakistan depends upon the outcome of the escalating economic crisis caused by the current political turmoil in the country

C u r r e n t l y P a k i s t a n i s u n d e r t h e s t r e s s o f u ngovernable debt The Country has borrowed extensively from international sources to finance budget deficits development projects and meet its financial obligations The IMF has expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan s commitment and its ability to secure funds for meeting external financing requirements Moreover the country’s external debt was totaled $126 3 billion Roughly $45 billion owed to multilateral creditors including $18 billion to the World Bank $15 billion to the Asian Development Bank and $7 6 billion to the IMF This debt comes with a great repayment pressure, since Pakistan has to pay an external debt of $77 5 billion from April 2023 to June 2026 In 2024-25, debt repayment burden will be around $24 6 billion and by 2025-26 it will be $23 billion Hence almost 50% of the total budget is allocated in the repayment of the external debt which is Rs7 3 trillion out of Rs14 4 trillion

Thus, for a $350 billion economy, this is a huge financial burden

One of the key factors contributing to Pakistan’s economic meltdown is the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves Foreign exchange reserves serve as a lifeline for any country enabling it to stabilize its currency fuel economic growth and meet its international obligations Pakistan s foreign exchange reserves have declined to $3 5 billion, marking the lowest level since February 2014 - an amount insufficient to cover even a single month’s worth of import expenses This decline in reserves coincided with a period of political instability in Pakistan as former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed from power through a parliamentary no-trust vote

The level of reserves is barely sufficient to cover the cost of imports for a month

Currently, Pakistan

Owing to this the depletion of foreign exchange reserves had a major consequence on the national currency, leading to the devaluation of over 21% throughout 2022 The US dollar closed at 226 43 against rupee in the interbank market on the last trading session of the year on December 30 After this, the Pakistani rupee experienced a decline of 3 02% in relation to the US dollar reaching a trading rate of 299 in the interbank market This decline in the currency has resulted in growing foreign debt, increasing the cost of imports for Pakistan As the debt burden grows, there is a possibility that investors will worry about the country’s capacity to meet the financial obligations, leading to decrease in the demand of Pakistani rupee Here again the value of the Pakistani rupee relative to US dollar may decline If we strengthen our foreign trade and encourage export it can contribute in solving this problem

Moreover, frequent changes in the government or shifts in political power can lead to economic crisis

The major cause of economic crisis in the country is the political uncertainty The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) a US-based Think Tank suggests that the prevailing political uncertainty in Pakistan has the potential to further worsen the economic crisis As long as Pakistan s political conditions are unstable, its economic conditions cannot get any better The political stakeholders are continuously in a fight

R e g i o n a l i s m a n d D i p l o m a c y

The SCO summit which was held virtually Modi regime lacked credible explanation for not holding SCO summit in physical or hybrid mode Indian Foreign secretary failure to give even one credible reason for having a virtual summit indicates that India is moving away from the approaches which led it to become an SCO full member in 2017

Theme of the Sum- mit was Towards a SE-

CURE SCO The term SECURE stands for Security, Economy and Trade Connectivity Unity Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity and Environment

PA K I S TA N is always committed to dialogue and diplomacy It prefers the resolution of disputes through peaceful means Pakistan s existence is itself evident of its commitment towards dialogue over war History of Pakistan-India relations also highlights frequent shift towards peace processes initiated by Pakistan such as Composite Dialogues Pakistan also played crucial role in bringing warring groups in Afghanistan on table Even on regional platforms Pakistan always prioritized the significance of forum over its enmity As a committed member of the SCO since joining in 2017, Pakistan recognizes the important role of regionalism in enhancing security stability and economic growth

Regardless of its strained relations with India Pakistan did not back off from the regional forum undermining credibility of platform over India s hostile approach While, on other hand India always tries to sabotage the regional arrangements via blame gaming or refusing to participate such as 19 h SAARC summit, in which Pakistan was host but got cancel Contrary to this Pakistan is committed towards regionalism a in last SCO meet of foreign ministers in Goa Pakistan s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari attended the meeting despite of having war of words with its India s counterpart at UN India blamed Pakistan for spreading terrorism, calling Bilawal Bhutto spoke person of terrorists India’s animosity towards Pakistan drives India to exploit every regional platform to degrade Pakistan On other hand Pakistan was aware of India s attention still attended the meeting owing to its commitments to the principles and charter of SCO Pakistan accepted India’s invitation to the 23 d meeting of SCO Council of Head of States (CHS) The event held virtually with SCO member states heads joined the meet along with Iran Belarus and Mongolia invited as Observer States where Iran joined as new member The heads of six regional and international organizations were also invited including UN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building

Measures in Asia (CICA)

India is needed to raise against the regional politics in interest of all the regional states. The region can only prosper and regionalism can prevail if India stops manipulating mutual issues such as terrorism, extremism, and Kashmir conflict for diplomatic gains and move towards collectively addressing these issues

Though the term was coined by Narendra Modi, but if one analyze Indian government under Modi these elements of SECURE were sabotaged by Modi himself India s hegemonic designs under Modi have blatantly tarnished the concept of Security within state where Manipur is burning Minorities are at verge of Genocide Sikhs are fighting for their rights, Kashmiris are struggling against state oppression, and Muslims are victim of discriminatory policy of state Bulldozer politics is one of the tactic by Modi regime to silence the sane voices As far as the respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty is concerned, the Balakot Crisis and the Brahmos Missile incident is the utter violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of its neighboring state India is needed to implement these elements contributing towards regional stability Even regionalism is the main factor that can contribute towards economic growth of whole region These regional platforms should not be ex- ploited for petty vested interests and diplomatic point scoring As India again attempted to exploit virtual summit via blame gaming on Pakistan for terrorism Though this time, China hard handedly deals with India, Xi Jinping said: We should keep in mind the overall and long-term interests of our region and make our foreign policies independently We must be highly vigilant against external attempts to foment a new Cold War or campbased confrontation in our region ” India is needed to raise against the regional politics in interest of all the regional states The region can only prosper and regionalism can prevail if India stops manipulating mutual issues such as terrorism extremism and Kashmir conflict for diplomatic gains and move towards collectively addressing these issues The way European Union successfully contributed towards thwarting war and boosting economic growth

The Eurasian region can also overcome its internal rifts through such platform as SCO boosting durable peace and stability in the region

The SCO provides an excellent opportunity for such engagements where Pakistan and India along with other regional states can collaborate towards paving way for sustainable peace and stability in the region The SCO could prove to be an effective platform where steps must be taken to promote peace trust and cooperation between the two nations

The writer is Research Officer at Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS), AJK against each other not paying heed to the worsening conditions of Pakistan They have to sideline their personal interests and engage in a constructive dialogue to find common ground for collective gain against these issues

It is argued that political uncertainty and economic crises has a negative impact on human development The current economic crisis has put Pakistan on the 161 t position out of the 185 countries and it is among the 25 countries with the lowest human development in the world

This has led to an increase in poverty which is because of decline in income due to ever increasing inflation

All these factors have widened the gap between the rich and the poor Due to the increased financial strain people have reduced access to healthcare and education, contributing in the decline of human development

There is dire need of taking short and long term measures to curb with the current crisis Pakistan needs to encourage domestic industries to produce goods that are currently being imported This can reduce the reliance on imports conserve foreign currency and boost local production Restricting unnecessary foreign imports can reduce the demand for foreign currency and will help in revaluation of the currency By prioritizing healthcare, education and skills development of the citizens of Pakistan the level of human development can be improved In the long run Pakistan should work on enhancing its exports base in order to increase its competitiveness in the global market

The writer is working as a Research Assistant at Balochistan Think Tank Network (BTTN) Quetta

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y

Post-grad crisis

H AV I N G completed my graduation I have now spent two years in the professional arena focussing on developing my practical skills During conversations with my friends, we often end up wondering what was the point of four academic years if we still have to spend two years learning the ropes in a real-world scenario

We question whether our university and teachers ever anticipated this crisis and how the curriculum prepared or failed to prepare us for this challenging phase Many young graduates including myself struggle to find a way out of this existential trap often feeling suffocated

The pressure to join the rat race of securing a private-sector job, pursuing the Pakistani American dream of a government job, succumbing to the fallacy of owning a home and car right after graduation, and the desire for financial independence to support our families and repay them for their financial and moral support during our education; it all becomes outright overwhelming In addition to the challenges and pressures we face during the post-graduation phase there are also moments of introspection and self-doubt We question whether we made the right choices, whether we are on the right path, and whether our education has truly equipped us for the real world Imagine how nice it would be if the universities offered a course specifically designed to address the post-graduation crisis This course could provide valuable insights guidance and practical tools to help fresh graduates navigate through this challenging period

Such a course could cover various aspects including self-reflection career exploration and personal development It could help fresh graduates identify their passions, strengths and values, allowing them to align their career choices with their authentic selves Through workshops, seminars and mentoring sessions, students could gain clarity about their career goals and develop strategies to achieve them Additionally the course could focus on developing crucial skills for professional success such as effective communication networking and adaptability It could teach graduates how to leverage their education and experiences to create opportunities whether it be through entrepreneurship, freelancing or joining established organisations Moreover, the course could address the emotional and psychological challenges that often accompany the post-graduation phase It could provide guidance on managing expectations coping with uncertainty and maintaining a positive mindset Fresh graduates would learn resilience perseverance and strategies for overcoming setbacks

RAKHSHANDA ABBAS GILGIT

Law yers’ strikes

C O U RT S are the only place where it is believed that justice is administered, and that is why people approach them to get justice and their rights But, regrettably in Pakistan, the situation is contrary to it, for there is neither the rule of law nor is quick justice provided to the common man

Unfortunately despite the backlog of millions of cases and the judiciary s ranking at 130 out of 139 in the World Justice Project Ranking the clashes between judges and the bar members have not reduced

The courts in Malir are a case in point, where the strike by bar against the conduct and administration of a district judge recently led to a halt in proceedings in all cases Such a rift between the bench and the bar affects only the people who despite their harsh economic conditions take time out and wait outside the courts from 8am hoping that it would be the day when they would get at least an inch closer to getting justice But that does not happen often On the matter of strikes the Supreme Court in one of its landmark judgments, cited as 2023 SCMR 421, held that the strikes by lawyers for their personal means consequently injures the fundamental rights i e right of due process of law, fair trial, liberty, right of equal protection of law guaranteed by the Constitution, of an accused, who is behind the bar are violated”

Itip my hat to every single Israeli demonstrator the heroes who converged onto the streets for 30 consecutive weeks to protest the government’s sinister design to “reform” the judiciary They know full well the dire implications to the country that these reforms the first stage of which has just passed at the time of writing will have It is no secret that the government wants to usurp the power of the impartial Supreme Court, the crown jewel of Israel s jurisprudence that ensures the democratic nature of the country, and place it in the hands of biased and corrupt elected officials who put their self-serving interests and lust for power above the national interest

The opposition parties rightfully claim that the passage of the first legislation of reasonableness will allow the government to exercise unchecked power, removing the safeguard that shields the rights of the individual and minorities In addition, it will dangerously further polarize the country between secular liberals and ultra-religious messianics and create a permanent schism that could lead to widespread violence between the two sides a prospect that will destroy the country s remarkable achievements in all fields of life which were earned through the hard work and dedication of many Israelis, and pave the way for a creeping dictatorship

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s disingenuous statement that the judicial reform will in fact strengthen rather than erode Israel s democracy flies in the face of what democracy is all about as it is largely practiced in the Western hemisphere But Netanyahu who is totally self-consumed by his inflated ego, his authoritarian design, and his radical ideological bent, forgot what a democracy stands for Let me remind him

Democracy is not merely limited to fair and free elections where the majority of voters elect a representative government In a true liberal democracy everyone is granted equal rights under the law and to secure equality, an independent judiciary becomes a prerequisite In a democracy, there is a clear separation between the state and religion, and there is no discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, language, or culture Freedom of speech and the press are sacrosanct in a democracy

Finally albeit not exhaustively the state budget should benefit all segments of the population equally