Epaper_24-04-25 LHR

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed his disappointment over the lack of support from the federal government in initiating new development schemes in the province, during a meeting held at the CM House in Karachi The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif aimed to address various issues concerning the development of Sindh following the premier s arrival in Karachi for a day-long visit CM Murad highlighted that over the past four years the

Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq as well as chief ministers and governors from Sindh and Punjab Accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation, including the foreign minister cabinet members senior officials and business representatives Raisi visited Islamabad Lahore and Karachi In Lahore he paid his re-

joint statement also highlighted commitments to strengthen fraternal relations by promoting academic, cultural, and tourism activities, enhancing tourism to historic religious sites, and forging regular cooperation between political military and security officials to combat various threats including terrorism narcotics smuggling and human trafficking Efforts are underway to finalize the FTA, with plans to hold upcoming sessions of the Annual Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) and Joint Business Trade Committee (JBTC) as well as the 22nd round of negotiations of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) Additionally, both countries aim to facil-

itate the regular exchange of economic and technical experts and delegations from chambers of commerce to intensify economic cooperation Other agreements include the operationalization of barter trade mechanisms full implementation of the TIR Convention for efficient and barrier-free trade and expansion of connectivity between Gwadar and Chahbahar ports On the international front, both countries condemned terrorism in all its forms, stressed the importance of peaceful dispute resolution and called for the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue and an end to Israeli aggression against Palestinians

Furthermore, they expressed support for combating Islamophobia and welcomed the adoption of

nations During his stay President Raisi engaged in meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz

which, he said, could not be possible without the support of the business community As regards the sugar situation in the country the prime minister said the government might opt for export of the commodity in case its stock was in surplus He said the government was also focusing on curbing smuggling of the commodity PM Shehbaz highlighted that due to the efforts of interim and current governments, positive news were being received about macro economic indicators

Finance Minister predicts reser ves reaching $9 billion to $10 billion by end-June

IF the prediction made by the Finance Minister comes true that foreign exchange reserves will reach $ 9 billion to $10 billion by the end of June, comes true, it means that the current mode of crisis management, where what should be a given (avoiding default) is deemed an achievement, is probably over, and the light at the end of the tunnel becomes visible, albeit faintly However, the all-time high of $27 billion in August 2021 shows that reserves can be built up, but they are subject to depletion, particularly as debt servicing payments fall due The present reserves target pales in comparison to India s existing reserves, which are at $643 billion, while Bangladesh s are $25 2 billion

The real source of foreign exchange can only be exports Pakistan has apparently given up any hope of achieving a surplus on the balance of trade, and prefers to rely on workers remittances, which is a sort of export of labour However, it is only by an export of goods that Pakistan can hope to pay for the imports of fuel, edible oil and medicines that it has to import Mr Aurangzeb is placing reliance on the final tranche of the Stand-By Arrangement just concluded, and presumably has hopes that the IMF will grant another programme However, the forex reserves themselves are lower than they appear to be No less than $3 billion, and due to go up to $5 billion, consists of a Saudi deposit, which has been made on the express provision that it is not to be used for making payments

The IMF programmes are essentially loans meant to repay earlier loans Initially, the loans had been made by other lenders, but now IMF loans are falling due, and have to be repaid by new loans Previously, when forex reserves were built up, it was on the basis of loans, which was not really a sensible policy, as we are now finding out as the loans start falling due Mr Aurangzeb shows symptoms of the disease that has afflicted so many of his predecessors, of paying our way though the world by borrowing rather than earning Perhaps most worrisome is that Mr Aurangzeb has not come up with a definite strategy for increasing exports Talk of software export, the latest mantra, is airy fairy In fact, the only solid part of the programme is the one about borrowing more

Editor

Twere identified and killed by BLA terrorists From a security standpoint, the attack cannot demoralize Pakistan’s brave armed forces which have been fighting tirelessly to eradicate the menace of terrorism and extremism from the society The rugged terrain vast and sparsely populated areas and the complex tribal dynamics make it difficult for security forces to operate effectively and root out insurgency without causing collateral damage that fuels further resentment However, they are still fighting valiantly against non-state actors The terrorist incidents in Balochistan cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader regional and international dynamics The province s strategic location at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, coupled with its coastline along the Arabian Sea, makes it a geopolitical hotspot Hostile elements are proactively carrying out propaganda against projects of CPEC in order to derail Pakistan s socio-economic development However this international interest has also meant that the conflict in Balochistan has implications beyond its borders There are serious concerns about foreign involvement, with various actors accused of supporting insurgent groups as a means to counter rivals or influence the direction of CPEC Moreover the situation in Afghanistan with the return of the Taliban to power has added another layer of complexity The porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan allows for the movement of militants, further complicating the security landscape

I n p r a i s e o f s h e n d i a n d s h a l i m a

Let us be grateful for small mercies!

not

but

to the mother-of-all-practical-matters– marriage In the here and now we must recognize our limits and be thankful for small mercies like shendi and shalima Some words of autobiography are in order here Circumstances beyond anyone’s control saw to it that there was only one ‘proper ’ event in my wedding a good two decades ago (in hindsight a shendi although it was years before the word was invented) It was purely accidental but since I had always considered mega weddings of the look-this-is-how-it-isdone ilk to be too self-assuming and vulgar, I did not have any reason to complain Nor did I make any attempt to right the ‘wrong’ later It may have been forced on me but, being a positive thinker I like to think that I was a good 20 years ahead of the time It

Achieving peace in Balochistan requires a multi-pronged approach that addresses both the symptoms and the root causes of the conflict

First and foremost, there needs to be a genuine effort from the Pakistani government to address the economic and political grievances of the Baloch people This includes ensuring that the benefits of local resources and development projects like CPEC are shared equitably with the local population

Secondly, there must be a shift in the security paradigm While security measures are necessary to maintain order, law enforcement agencies must put robust mechanisms in place to cater this menace while neutralizing terrorists Building trust with the local community is crucial and this can only be achieved through transparent security practices The government has also offered general amnesty to all non-state elements while asking them to lay down arms and join the mainstream politics of the province and work with provincial authorities Regional cooperation is essential Iran and Afghanistan must work with Pakistan to secure borders and prevent the movement of militants

It is not only the responsibility of Pakistan to fight against these non-state actors International partners, particularly those involved in projects like CPEC should also play a role in promoting development The Noshki attack is a reminder of the persistent challenges in Balochistan However it also presents an opportunity for a renewed focus on addressing the deep-seated issues driving the conflict

Likewise media

maiyon mehndi baraat and walima meant a whole week of festivities if not more The more religious

U n t i l f a i r ly r e c e n t ly, t h e t r e n d i n t h e d u r a t i o n o f w e d d i n g s w a s s t r i c t ly o n t h e r i s e . M u l t i p l e d h o l k i s , m a i yo n , m e h n d i , b a r a a t , a n d w a l i m a m e a n t a w h o l e w e e k o f f e s t i v i t i e s , i f n o t m o r e . T h e m o r e r e l i g i o u s fo l k s h a d r e p l a c e d m e h n d i a n d d h o l k i s w i t h q aw w a l i n i g h t s , g i v i n g t h e w h o l e a r r a n g e m e n t a t o u c h o f p i e t y w i t h o u t t a k i n g a ny t h i n g aw ay f ro m i t s p o m p a n d s h ow ( t h e w ay r e f e r r i n g t o t h e e n g a g e m e n t c e r e m o ny a s d u a - e - k h a i r d o e s )

Various incidents of killings have been repor ted in Balochistan in the recent past In all these incidents, Iranian links emerged as those terrorists were using Iranian soil Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Iranian government to under take stringent actions against such elements who are using their soil, which could affect bilateral ties of Iran and Pakistan

HASAN AFTAB SAEED

scolding them that they are rude and have no sense to talk and they are advised to make do with what they are getting Why is this not so for boys?

Athat they can do anything they want, and even break all rules and regulations which are prohibited universally and religiously No one will ask them why they do so If their daughters ask for their basic rights they start

not give space to girls so they can also breathe in the open air?

raise girls to make them more sensitive than they are From childhood we set a girl s mind: you do not need to study more than basic, if she studies and gets higher education then mothers tell them “you do not need to do a job remain at home you have nothing to do at all What will happen if you get higher education? You will just wash dishes after studies, so why would we spent money on your studies? She had no right to wish She does not even have the right to tell her likes and dislikes She does not have the right to choose a man for marriage She has no right to refuse a man because she does not want to marry him she does not like him she does not get good vibes from him, nothing at all, there is no right for her Mothers do emotional blackmailing her by saying “I gave birth to you;

Unnecessary obstructions from any girl s house made her mentally tortured It s not just the end, and this is the tragedy of our society We do raise our sons like lions, but we forget to teach them basic things such as how to live how to talk with females and how to respect them even with their mother and sisters how to take care of everyone s self-respect and how to keep oneself in already set limits; so we make them savages We do not raise our girls like warriors so that they feel confident, face society bravely, and feel strong We do not teach them how to survive in this cruel society how to protect themselves how to face the problems alone how to take big decisions for themselves and how to tackle the opposite gender if they harass them This is because we do not want to see our daughters independent We want to see them dependent on their fathers brothers husbands and sons Even after any mistake if any doubt will come to the male members of her house it will be her end on the name of their socalled Ghairat (honour), without knowing the truth and without giving them a chance to explain, they are killed by their own family members What is the actual definition of Ghairat? On what premises do we define it? This Ghairat comes up in every girl-related issue Where, by forgiving the daughters for any mistake, by lovingly understanding to tell her there is a need to forget what happened by giving her a chance to explain herself, and where there is a need to resolve the issue with patience we didn’t do it Why do

r d r a m a a t t h a t t i m e w h e n t h e r e s t o f t h e f a m i l y m e m b e r s w a n t t o s l e e p , w h y a r e yo u f o r c i n g h e r t o s l e e p i f s h e d o e s n Ê t w a n t t o ? S h e h a s n o r i g h t t o g o o u t s i d e w i t h f r i e n d s , s h e h a s t o r e m a i n a t h o m e , s o w h y a r e w e n o t a l l o w i n g h e r t o s t a y a t h o m e w i t h h e r o w n w i l l o n h e r c h o i c e s

N D I A N S have begun voting in the

Iwho had reluctantly joined the Indian Union, told a visiting American couple that any Constitution that sanctioned universal suffrage in a land of illiterates was “crazy” A Madras editor complained that “a very large majority [will] exercise votes for the first time: not many know what the vote is why they should vote and whom they should vote for; no wonder the whole adventure is rated as the biggest gamble in history And the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Organisation weekly Organiser loftily remarked that Pandit Nehru would live to confess the failure of universal adult franchise in India

Yet the gamble worked A variety of parties and individuals representing different ideological persuasions contested the election, and adult men and women freely chose among them The successful holding of that first election was a major milestone in Indian history Later elections in 1957 1962 1967 and 1971 consolidated the gains made in 1952 The second truly significant general election in our history was held in March 1977 For, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency in June 1975 it was assumed by many people that this marked an end to open competitive politics that India had joined the ranks of countless other Asian and African countries which had come under authoritarian rule Indeed, the streets were noticeably peaceable all through the second half of 1976 as I can testify from personal experience There was no challenge or threat to Indira Gandhi s rule no reason for her to lift the Emergency and call for fresh elections Yet she did Historians have highlighted three aspects of those elections of 1977 that made them particularly noteworthy The first is that they were held at all The second is that their results confounded the pollsters since it was generally expected that Indira Gandhi would win Mrs Gandhi was thought to be extremely popular; it was believed that the aura of the military victory against Pakistan in 1971 still hung around her Besides, her party organisation was in good shape and well-funded not least because a majority of the top industrialists had supported the Emergency On the other hand the Opposition was fragmented and underfunded, and its leaders and cadres had just spent a long spell in jail Yet, in a striking refutation of the pollsters, the Congress fell well short of a majority and even Mrs Gandhi failed to win her seat This meant that for the first time in the history of independent India a

party other than the Congress would come to power in New Delhi

That they were held, that the Congress lost, and that India was not henceforth to be a single-party State – to these three noteworthy features of the 1977 election should be added a fourth namely that the long dominant Congress was defeated by a coalition of parties pragmatically contesting under a single label The so-called Janata Party consisted of four parties of widely different provenance and belief systems which had come together with the sole objective of defeating autocracy and restoring democracy

Between 1977 and 2014 no single party or coalition was in power in New Delhi for more than two terms This alternation of power was altogether good for Indian democracy Freed from the fear of long-term domination by a single party, in those years the press was more free the civil services more independent and the judiciary more assertive A competitive polity with no party in power all the time was also very good for Indian federalism, with states having greater leeway to pursue their individual economic and social agendas

one should definitely not be complacent This is because the BJP brings with it the hatefilled and divisive ideology of Hindutva DOWNGRADED

It is true that like Indira Gandhi before him, Modi has authoritarian instincts and a desire for total domination However, there is one significant difference between her political situation and his; namely that in 1977 the Congress was in power in all but one state (Tamil Nadu where too the chief minister at the time was deferential towards New Delhi), whereas in 2024 the BJP is out of power in all of South India and in several important states in eastern and northern India as well

The absolute silencing of a democratic Opposition that Mrs Gandhi and the Congress were able to achieve between 1975 and 1977, will be far harder for Modi

Or buy up legislators with equal abandon? Either course would be tempting, and in keeping with their amoral methods, yet each shall be bitterly opposed by the millions of citizens of those states who do not subscribe to the cult of Modi or vote for the BJP Because the BJP s hegemony does not embrace large parts of the country, India is very unlikely to return to the full-blown authoritarianism of the Emergency years Nonetheless, even if one need not be alarmist,

Will these ongoing elections reverse the trend? Most pollsters seem to think so They believe that Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are almost certain to win a third successive majority What happens then? A commentator I otherwise respect, Parakala Prabhakar, has been quoted as saying that if Modi and the BJP win a third term there won t be any more elections in the country

make Central universities IITs and IIMs centres of Hindutva propaganda and further weaken the structure of Indian federalism The reallocation of Lok Sabha seats according to population will be set in motion such that the demographic advantage of the North where the BJP is strong will be converted into an enduring political subordination of the South where the BJP is weak The South is unlikely to submit meekly to its suppression; but Modi and the BJP may proceed with their plans regardless In a book published in 2007 I characterised India as a “50-50”

Usued by the US State Department earlier

Some Western media also hold a cautious view of this visit The New York Times said “Blinken goes to China with potential trouble on horizon” as the visit comes as Democrats and Republicans are vying to appear tougher on China Reuters said Blinken arrived with bilateral ties on a steadier footing, but with a daunting array of unresolved issues threatening the stability of relations between the two countries

The Associated Press also listed the major divisions between China and the US and key issues that Blinken is going to bring up on the trip including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, tensions in the Middle East, the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue Just before Blinken boarded his plane the North America and Oceania department of China s Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefed the media on Monday, providing a 3,000-plus-word statement about the details of the visit It not only reiterated a welcoming at-

titude but also elaborately outlined the five main objectives of the visit, including establishing correct perceptions, enhancing dialogue effectively managing differences advancing mutually benefi cial cooperation and jointly undertaking the responsibilities of a major country

The briefing is also considered a negotiating memorandum provided to Blinken, experts said “There is a gap in attitudes between China and the US which relates to the ways and ideas both sides take to handle bilateral relations Wu Xinbo director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told media on Wednesday The fundamental approach of the US is to view China as its most significant strategic competitor and its most severe geopolitical challenge so the US adopts measures to contain and suppress China under the guise of containment while

DWE extends training to 300,000 workers of 350 industries in twin cit y ISLAMABAD

S ta f f r e p o r t

Directorate of Workers Education (DWE) a subsidiary of the Overseas Pakistanis and Human Development Foundation, is providing training to 300,000 workers of 350 industries in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in phases, Rai Muhammad Akbar, the director of the DWE said He mentioned that individuals seeking opportunities to work abroad are receiving training in German Arabic Japanese and Korean languages Moreover online training initiatives are in progress for students intending to pursue their education abroad Addressing an event aimed at land cleanup and expressing solidarity with sanitation workers, jointly organized by the Directorate of Workers Education (DWE) and the Japanese organization KOMATSU at G-8 Islamabad Park he emphasized the vital role of sanitation workers in maintaining cleanliness in society He underscored the importance of everyone s responsibility in ensuring cleanliness Hafiz Abdul Sami, deputy director of education and training at DWE, Zainab from Komatsu Pakistan Soft, employees from both Organizations and youth from the Sanitation Department of CDA also attended the ceremony He mentioned that the DWE has initiated professional training programs focusing on language proficiency in the destination countries for Pakistanis seeking job opportunities abroad He highlighted the ongoing training provided to Pakistanis visiting the Protector Office daily They are also initiating online mandatory training programs for expatriates abroad soon to be implemented he said He emphasized that their organization primarily ensures workers rights, and providing technical training and safety awareness to every worker Agri Connections triggers agri growth environment for investment

LAHORE: Pakistan will soon start exporting dairy products to China through a state-of-the-art farm developed in Sheikhupura to meet the export requirements of China This was revealed by Masaud Anwar Secretary Livestock Government of Punjab at Pakistan Agricultural Coalition s Agri-Connections 2024 at Expo Center here on Wednesday “A team of China Customs has recently visited our FAM Farm in Sheikhupura and unofficially approved Pakistan for exports of dairy products to China,” said Anwar Secretary Agriculture Government of Punjab Iftikhar Sahoo on the occasion said that private sector is the future of agriculture addressing the audience full of corporate and financial sector players S ta f f r e p o rt

RUDA takes stern ac tion against pyrolysis plants at its river site

p r e h e n s i v e s t r a t e g y t o c o u n t e r t h e m e n a c e o f s m o g a n d a d d r e s s the issue of environmental degrad a t i o n t h r o u g h n u m b e r o f i n i t i at i v e s w h i c h i n c l u d e p

Former Google exec utive returns to D igital Pakistan projec

Google executive Tania Aidrus who previously spearheaded the Digital Pakistan initiative in December 2019 under ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan s administration, has once again joined the federal government s digitization efforts This return comes with the approval of the current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Aidrus who formerly served as Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Initiatives on the Next Billion Users (NBU) team at the US tech giant has been appointed as the convener of the Digital Pakistan committee as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication According to the ministry, the committee will be chaired by the federal state minister for IT, with the IT ministry secretary also included in the team The committee would compile recommendations for the country s ambitious

global tech industry before being approached by the former Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) administration aiming to uplift government processes matching the global standards of the digital age She holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management and a