Wednesday, June 12, 2019
#Pakistan - Last of the Kalash?
A PHOTOGRAPH of Kalash women captured in their distinct, traditional attire was printed in yesterday’s newspaper — smiling as they took a selfie. Naturally, the colourful image stood out. In the 21st century, however, it seems as if the camera has both immortalised the Kalash and presented the latter with their greatest survival challenge. There are only 3,500 to 4,000 members of the tribe remaining in the northern parts of the country. And yet, in nearly every travel book on Pakistan, in the various music videos and advertisements flashing on television screens, images of the Kalash are used disproportionately to highlight the country’s cultural beauty and diversity. While the intention may be well meaning, these images have frozen the Kalash in time, as they are reduced to two-dimensional, inanimate objects, untarnished by modernity, and viewed as an aesthetic, to be seen and rarely heard; in fact, an ancient, indigenous people perceived as foreigners in their own land. There have been several reports of intimidation and threats to the tribe by religiously motivated militants in recent years. But less reported is how local tourists have harmed the Kalash way of life and threatened the tribe’s basic human need for privacy.
Stirred by the images they see in popular culture, full of curiosity and wonder — and lust, in many instances — local tourists make their way to these remote parts of the country, in the hope of capturing the few remaining Kalash on their cameras and film. Intentionally or not, however, many end up behaving in ways that are deemed intrusive and disrespectful by the local population, since they are not sensitised to their customs, or are misinformed due to harmful rumours. Some Kalash women have taken to wearing veils to protect themselves from the prying eyes of male tourists, while others have mentioned not wanting to celebrate their festivals any more. It would be a great tragedy of our generation if we lose this unique tribe due to the ignorance of some.
Pakistan’s economy is in for a lot of pain
ANDY MUKHERJEE
Pakistan is the new emerging market crisis brewing in Asia & the only hope for Imran Khan is opportunities created by the global trade wars.
Pakistan is flirting with a textbook emerging-market crisis. An unsustainable investment boom has ended. The central bank has raised interest rates to squeeze a current account gap. Growth has collapsed to a nine-year low; youth unemployment is in double digits; and inflation is getting there. Government revenues are stalling.
Getting Islamabad out of its jam is once again the job of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has put together the country’s 13th bailout since the late 1980s, but it doesn’t want its $6 billion of rescue funds to be used to pay Chinese loans for Belt and Road projects. The fund’s suggestion to let the currency float freely could extend its 30% decline against the dollar since December 2017.
Throw in fiscal austerity, which had an unmistakable imprint on the government’s budget on Tuesday, and the pain’s bound to get worse before it gets better. Rather than having to deal with stagflation and balance-of-payment deficits, Prime Minister Imran Khan is probably wishing he was in England at the Cricket World Cup, which Pakistan won for the first and only time under his captaincy in 1992.
At that time, Pakistan’s per capita real GDP, adjusted for purchasing power of the currency, was 65% higher than India’s. Now it’s 28% lower than its neighbor’s level, and the IMF expects the gap to keep widening.
India’s economy is probably growing much more slowly than the 7% rate claimed in official statistics, but its arch rival is faring a lot worse. The construction frenzy sparked by the $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has petered out. Three cement makers are among the biggest losers on the Karachi Stock Exchange’s KSE100 Index this year, with price drops ranging between 45% and 55%. Even the worst performer on the index – Fauji Foods Ltd. – can chalk up the collapse in its shares to the souring of a deal with Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co. The Chinese firm was supposed to buy 51% of the Pakistani dairy company.
So how will the IMF turn Pakistan around? For an answer, try cotton terry towels, trousers and shorts. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war against Beijing intensifies, American buyers are diversifying their supplier base away from China, the No. 1 exporter of these goods to the U.S. Already, Bangladesh is close to snatching the trousers-to-towel crown. Pakistan, at No. 6 last year, has grown its own shipments to the U.S. by almost 12% this year. It may overtake India, which has seen virtually no improvement.
The good news is that the Pakistani rupee has fallen by almost 20% since 2017. That’s virtually wiped out the currency’s overvaluation adjusted for inflation differences with trading partners, as estimated by the IMF. If the currency slides further and inflation doesn’t accelerate, Pakistani exports should receive a boost, provided global growth and cotton availability for the textile industry hold up.
Auto sales shrank 24% from a year earlier in April. With two-fifths of sales financed by loans, only a meaningful reduction in interest rates can spur demand, especially with carmakers passing on the bulk of the burden of a weak exchange rate (on import costs) to consumers. Only two analysts out of 14 tracked by Bloomberg rate the shares of Pak Suzuki Motor Co. a buy. Subsidized interest rates on low-cost housing could plug the demand shortfall to some extent. But the fiscal elbow room to run such ambitious programs is too limited. Besides, boosting agricultural yields may be a bigger priority than supporting urban consumers.
Khan’s administration was hesitant to tap the IMF, knowing how tough it is to persuade the public of hardships that must be endured as the economy is wrung dry of past excesses. Structural adjustments could also have political costs. Khan, who took charge nine months ago, is the nation’s 19th elected prime minister. None of the 18 before him managed to complete their five-year term.
Now he has no choice but to embrace the conditions that come with the rescue. The prime minister can only hope that the reordering of global supply chains will create opportunities and ease the pain of Pakistan’s recovery. A world cup win would also lift sentiment, but the odds on that are rather long.
#Pakistan - #PTI government is victimizing the Opposition
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that throwing opposition leaders in prison in fake charges is not accountably but victimization and revenge.
In a statement, Chairman PPP said that his spokesman and Chairman for Senate’s Human Rights Committee Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar was faced with an secret FIR by the Islamabad Police and their act of hiding it is condemnable. Chairman Bilawal said under what law was the FIR filed and why it was not revealed.
He added that such shameful acts of oppression are only carried out during a dictatorial rule. He said that it is a person’s lawful right to know what charges are being pressed against him. PPP has always supported the promotion of law and the judiciary. He asked the judiciary to take notice of the government’s blatant disregard and ignorance for the law.
Moreover, Chairman PPP was called on by GB PPP President Amjad Hussain Advocate and they discussed the political situation in the region. Former CM GB Mehdi Shah, Ali Haider and Muhammad Musa were also present on the occasion. The delegation invited Chairman Bilawal to GB and he accepted the invite while assuring them of his visit in August.
عمران خان رات کو چھپ کر تقریریں کررہے ہیں، خورشید شاہ
پیپلز پارٹی کے سینئر رہنما خورشید شاہ نے کہا ہے کہ عمران خان رات کو چھپ کر تقریریں کررہے ہیں، وہ گو نیازی گو کے نعروں سے گونجتے ملک میں دن کی روشنی میں عوام کا سامنا کرنے کے قابل نہیں رہے۔دوسروں کے بچوں کے ملک سے باہر ہونے پر تنقید کرنے والے عمران خان کے اپنے بچے کہاں پل رہے ہیں؟
پیپلزپارٹی کے سینئر رہنما خورشید شاہ نے وزیر اعظم عمران خان کی تقریر پر ردعمل میں ایک بیان میں کہا کہ عمران خان کی منافقت کی انتہا ہے کہ وہ بسم اللہ پڑھ کر جھوٹ بولتے ہیں۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ کیا صرف اپوزیشن رہنماؤں کی گرفتاریاں کرکے اب نیب پی ٹی آئی کے منشور کی تکمیل کرے گی؟ کیا اپوزیشن رہنماؤں کی گرفتاریاں ہی ریاست مدینہ کے قیام کا طریقہ ہیں؟
خورشید شاہ نے کہا کہ ساٹھ برسوں میں اتنی تیزی سے قرضہ نہیں لیا گیا جتنا پی ٹی آئی نے 10 ماہ میں لیا۔مہنگائی اور بے روزگاری میں اضافے سے توجہ ہٹانے کے لئے عمران خان کرپشن کا راگ الاپ رہے ہیں۔
خورشیدشاہ نے کہا کہ اگر عمران خان کرپشن کے خاتمے میں سنجیدہ ہیں تو علیمہ خان، جہانگیر ترین، پرویز خٹک کی کرپشن کیوں نہیں بتاتے، نیب آصف زرداری پر ایک روپے کی کرپشن اب تک ثابت نہیں کرسکی۔
انہوںنے کہا کہ عمران خان آصف زرداری پر وہ الزام لگارہے ہیں، جنہیں تین دہائیوں سے ثابت نہیں کیا جاسکا،دو این آر او دے کر عمران خان کے نزدیک ملک کو تباہ کرنے والا سب سے بڑا مجرم دبئی میں بیٹھا ہے، عمران خان قائد ایوان ہیں، ایوان میں تقریر کرنے کی ہمت کریں۔