Saturday, December 19, 2020
A Covid-19 Surge and Conspiracy Theories Roil Pakistan
By Zia ur-Rehman and Emily SchmallPublic apathy and suspicion, and the government’s inability to enforce health restrictions, are feeding a second wave in a country with a limited social safety net.Iqbal Shaheen, a taxi driver, drove his sick father to this city’s three main hospitals. All of their intensive care beds and ventilators were occupied. Mr. Shaheen was told there might be room at a private hospital, for $625 a day, far above what his earnings of $10 a day could cover. He took his father home to die. “The poor cannot afford to be sick,” Mr. Shaheen said. “Without political connections, a coronavirus patient cannot get admitted at a public hospital, while paying a private hospital’s bills is unthinkable.” As winter sets in, cold weather, pollution and public apathy to the coronavirus are weighing heavily on Pakistan’s limited health care system. Pakistan’s Covid-19 positivity rate has rocketed up to about 7.7 percent of tests administered in recent weeks from only 2 percent in October, prompting a plea from health experts and doctors in Karachi for the government to impose a strict nationwide lockdown. Prime Minister Imran Khan has closed schools but has ruled out a second lockdown, saying it would decimate the economy. “We don’t want to lead people to death due to hunger, while saving them from coronavirus,” Mr. Khan told journalists in November. By official figures, Pakistan is weathering the coronavirus better than the United States, Europe and neighboring India. Total infections have reached 448,522, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University using official figures, and more than 9,000 people have died. Still, cases are surging, and limited testing compared with other countries suggests the virus could be racing through the country at an even higher rate. Health experts cite ineffective government limits on personal contact and widespread doubts, often fueled by conspiracy theories, that Covid-19 poses a threat. Pakistan was also lulled into a false sense of security. A widely predicted rise in infections over the summer failed to show up in official numbers. Government restrictions on travel or the overall youth and resilience of Pakistan’s population may have contributed. “Pakistanis remained safe during the first wave and didn’t face a serious situation like seen in other countries, mainly because of God’s special blessings,” said Dr. Qaiser Sajjad, a leader of the Pakistan Medical Association. The second wave is proving more lethal. Some hospitals are turning away patients. In Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital in Karachi, managers are scrambling for beds. “The government seems to have failed to enforce health guidelines,” Dr. Sajjad said. At the Holy Family Hospital in the city of Rawalpindi, virus wards that had been nearly empty are beginning to fill. Now, about a quarter of the 120-bed facility has been taken up, said Dr. Akhtar Mehmood, the hospital’s coronavirus coordinator, though patients are in worse condition than during the first wave. “This is a major difference,” he said, adding that the hospital can take more patients as needed. Despite the rise, people in Karachi show few signs of concern. Even as the positive testing rate topped 18 percent in the city of 20 million, markets were packed with shoppers without masks. Buses were full. Overflow passengers rode on the roofs. Winter is wedding season. At night, people embrace and shake hands at crowded indoor ceremonies.
Over the summer, when official figures showed infections falling, Mr. Khan’s government credited its strategy of limited lockdowns. It had called in the Pakistan military, which plays an outsize role in the democratic country’s politics and is relatively well-organized and disciplined compared with the civil government. It also cited knowledge it had gained through a polio eradication effort.
“One clear consistent hallmark has been a coordinated, professional, data-driven, epidemiological response,” said Dr. Faisal Sultan, an adviser to Mr. Khan and Pakistan’s de facto health minister. “That’s the one thing that differentiates Pakistan from other countries.”
Dr. Sultan faulted the rising caseload on lax compliance with health guidelines on mask wearing and strangers mingling at weddings and protests. Still, he said, data showed that state interventions were working.
Other evidence cast doubt on the effectiveness of the government’s response. Under pressure from religious groups in the deeply conservative country, the government weakened many social distancing efforts almost immediately after enacting them.
When police tried to prevent worshipers from gathering at mosques for prayers during the peak of coronavirus cases in April, they found themselves under attack. In Karachi, some worshipers chased the police through narrow alleyways, pelting them with rocks and sending several officers to the hospital.
The government has proved equally ineffective at imposing restrictions as it battles a second wave.
Thousands of people have attended anti-government rallies in recent weeks. Religious congregations have ignored the official ban on assemblies.
“People are not following safety precautions and therefore the situation at the health facilities is getting more serious day by day,” said Dr. Ismail Memon, a senior official at Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital.
As the rate of infection grows, anxiety is also rising among the ranks of small merchants, who were badly injured by Pakistan’s monthslong lockdown.Haji Dilbar, who sells secondhand shoes out of a cart in a lower-income Karachi neighborhood, said anyone who wears a mask is treated like a pariah.He believes, as surveys show many Pakistanis do, that the government has exaggerated the Covid-19 threat to “earn dollars” from western countries in the form of foreign aid.A survey conducted in October by Gallup Pakistan showed that 55 percent of respondents in Pakistan doubted that the virus was real and 46 percent believed it was a conspiracy. Those attitudes make it tougher to enforce mask-wearing and other preventive measures and could complicate the distribution of vaccines when they become widely available.“You do have the challenge of some vaccine resistance,” said Dr. Sultan, Mr. Khan’s adviser, “and I expect that there will be some anti-vaxxers.”
Places like the village of Manga in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on the border with Afghanistan, will present particular challenges. Fear broke out in March in Manga after one person died and more than 50 people tested positive. As the virus ebbed, some wondered whether the government exaggerated the danger.
Some people are conjuring up conspiracy theories similar to those that have haunted a national campaign to eradicate polio, which includes allegations that politicians are pocketing aid money.“First the government made money in the name of polio,” said Syed Nawab, a Manga resident, “and now they are selling coronavirus to earn dollars from western countries.”
Politicians and clerics have sown doubts.
A recent video of Faisal Raza Abidi, a former senator, claiming that Covid-19 is “a massacre ultimately aimed at Iran and Pakistan as they don’t accept Greater Israel” has circulated widely.In April, Tariq Jamil, a popular Islamic preacher, used a televised sermon that was attended by Mr. Khan to assert that the virus was God’s wrath over women dancing and dressing immodestly. In another video spread on social media, Kaukab Okarvi, a cleric, accused doctors of killing patients.Rather than take on powerful political and religious figures, the government has aimed new health restrictions at small businesses. It is levying fines for staying open late or failing to make customers wear masks, leaving some merchants grumbling.“Instead of stopping them from holding rallies, government personnel harass small traders, restaurant and marriage hall owners, and mint money in the name of Covid-19 health regulations,” said Hakeem Shah, a merchant who organized a protest against restrictions earlier this month.
The government has also closed schools. About one quarter of the country’s 220 million people are school-age children. Private schools for Pakistan’s tiny elite have resumed online classes, but most schoolchildren lack computers, internet connections or even electricity.
“Low-cost private schools and thousands of public schools and colleges are in no position to provide the facility of online education,” said Ikramullah, an education activist in Karachi who uses one name.
Some parents are sending their children to madrasas, or Islamic schools, that have refused to close their doors.
“We follow the directions of our top religious scholars,” said Mufti Shabbir Farooqi, a teacher at a Karachi madrasa whose enrollment has swelled to 1,400 students from 900, “not the government ministers or law enforcement officers for whether to open or close the madrasas.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/world/asia/pakistan-coronavirus.html
بے نظیر بھٹو کی پکار۔۔۔ الوداع پاپا
تحریر: ملک سراج احمد
ایک تیز رفتار جیب میں ہمیں جیل پہنچا دیا گیا۔حفاظتی افواج کے پیچھے خوف زدہ لوگوں کا ہجوم تھا جنہیں اپنے وزیراعظم کی قسمت کے متعلق کوئی خبر نہیں ، جیل کی میٹرن نے میری والدہ اور میری تلاشی لی ، ایک مرتبہ جب ہم سہالہ کے قید خانہ سے روانہ ہوئیں اور دوسری مرتبہ سنٹرل جیل پہنچیں
آج تم دونوں اکٹھی یہاں کیوں آئی ہو؟میرے والد نے اپنی کال کوٹھڑی کی دوزخ سے آواز دی
میری والدہ نے کوئی جواب نہ دیا
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو :کیا یہ آخری ملاقات ہے؟
میری والدہ جواب دینے کا یارا نہیں رکھتیں
بے نظیر بھٹو :میرا خیال ہے ایسا ہی ہے
وہ جیل سپرنٹنڈنٹ سے پوچھتے ہیں
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو :کیا یہ آخری ملاقات ہے ؟
ہاں
جواب میں جیلر کہتا ہے جیل سپرنٹنڈنٹ حکومت کا یہ پیغام دیتے ہوئے شرمسار محسوس ہوتا ہے
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو: کیا تاریخ کا تعین ہوگیا ہے ؟
جیل سپرنٹنڈنٹ : کل صبح
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو: کتنے بجے؟
جیل سپرنٹنڈنٹ : جیل قواعد کے مطابق صبح پانچ بجے
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو: یہ اطلاع تمہیں کب ملی؟
جیل سپرٹنڈنٹ : کل رات۔۔۔۔۔ اس نے رکتے رکتے جواب دیا
میرے والد اسے نظر بھر کے دیکھتے ہیں
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو :اپنے اہل وعیال سے ملاقات کا کتنا وقت دیا گیا ہے
جیل سپرٹنڈنٹ : نصف گھنٹہ
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو : جیل قواعد کے مطابق ہمیں ایک گھنٹہ ملاقات کا حق ہے ۔
جیل سپرنٹنڈنٹ : صرف نصف گھنٹہ ۔۔ سپرنٹنڈنٹ دہراتا ہے ۔ یہ میرے احکامات ہیں
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو : غسل اور شیو کرنے کے لیے انتظامات کرو۔ دنیا خوبصورت ہے اسے میں اسی حالت میں الوداع کہنا چاہتا ہوں
صرف نصف گھنٹہ اس شخص سے ملاقات کے لیے ۔۔۔۔ صرف نصف گھنٹہ جو مجھے زندگی کی ہرشے سے زیادہ عزیز ہے سینے میں درد سے گھٹن محسوس ہوتی ہے مجھے رونا نہیں چاہیے مجھے اپنے ہوش بھی نہیں کھونے چاہیں کیونکہ اس طرح میرے والد کی ازیت بڑھ جائے گی۔
وہ فرش پر پڑے گدے پر بیٹھے ہوے ہیں ان کی کوٹھڑی میں اب صرف یہ فرنیچر باقی رہ گیا ہے جیل حکام کرسی اور میز لے جاچکے ہیں چارپائی بھی وہاں سے اٹھائی جاچکی ہے۔میگزین اور کتابیں جو میں پاپا کے لیے لاتی رہی تھی وہ میرے حوالے کرتے ہوئے کہتے ہیں
ذوالفقر علی بھٹو پنکی سے : انہیں لے جاو میں نہیں چاہتا یہ لوگ میری کسی چیز کو ہاتھ لگائیں
وہ چند سگار جو ان کے وکلا وہاں چھوڑ گئے تھے میرے حوالے کرتے ہیں
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو ؒ میں آج شب کے لیے صرف ایک رکھ لیتا ہوں ۔شالیمار کولون کی شیشی بھی رکھ لیتے ہیں ۔وہ اپنی انگوٹھی بھی مجھے دینا چاہتے ہیں لیکن میری والدہ نہیں کہتی ہیں اسے پہنے رکھیں وہ کہتے ہیں اچھا ابھی میں رکھ لیتا ہوں لیکن بعد میں بے نظیر کے حوالے کردی جائے۔
موت کی کوٹھڑی میں روشنی مدھم سی ہے میں انہیں صاف طورپر نہیں دیکھ سکتی۔ اس سے قبل ہر ملاقات کوٹھڑی میں ان کے پاس بیٹھ کر ہوتی رہی لیکن آج ایسا نہیں ہے ۔کوٹھڑی کے باہر دروازے کی سلاخوں کے ساتھ میں اور میری والدہ سکڑ کر بیٹھی ہوئی ہیں۔باتیں کھسر پھسر کے انداز میں کرتے ہیں۔دوسرے بچوں کو میرا پیار دینا وہ میری ممی سے کہتے ہیں۔
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو : میر، سنی ، اور شاہ کو بتانا میں نے ہمیشہ ایک اچھا باپ بننے کی کوشش کی اور میری خواہش ہے کہ کاش انہیں بھی الوداع کہہ سکتا ۔۔ میری والدہ سرہلاتی ہیں منہ سے کچھ نہیں بول سکتیں
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو : تم دونوں نے بہت تکالیف اٹھائی ہیں ۔۔ وہ کہتے ہیں ۔۔۔وہ آج مجھے قتل کرنے جارہے ہیں۔میں تمہیں تمہاری مرضی پر چھوڑتا ہوں اگر چاہو تو پاکستان سے اس وقت تک باہر چلے جاو جب تک آئین معطل ہے اور مارشل لا نافذ ہے اگر تمہیں ذہنی سکون چاہئے اور زندگی نئے سرے سے گذارنا چاہتی ہو تو یورپ چلی جاو میری طرف سے اجازت ہے ۔
نہی نہیں ممی کہتی ہیں ہم نہیں جاسکتے ہم کبھی نہیں جائیں گے جرنیلوں کو کبھی یہ تاثر نہیں دیں گے کہ وہ جیت چکے ہیں
اور تم پنکی ۔۔۔ میرے والد پوچھتے ہیں
میں بھی کبھی نہیں جاسکتی میرا جواب ہے
وہ مسکراتے ہیں ۔۔ میں بہت خوش ہوں ۔۔ تم نہیں جانتی مجھے تم سے کتنا پیار ہے
تم میری لعل ہو اور ہمیشہ رہی ہو
وقت ختم ہوچکا ہے
سپرنٹنڈنٹ پکارتا ہے وقت ختم ہوچکا ہے
میں سلاخوں کو پکڑ لیتی ہوں
براے مہربانی کوٹھڑی کا دروازہ کھول دو میں اپنے پاپا کو الوداع کہنا چاہتی ہوں
سپرٹنڈنٹ انکار کردیتا ہے میں دوبارہ التجا کرتی ہوں میرے والد پاکستان کے منتخب وزیراعظم ہیں میں ان کی بیٹی ہوں یہ ہماری آخری ملاقات ہے مجھے ان سے مل لینے دو۔۔ سپرٹنڈنٹ انکار کردیتا ہے
سلاخوں کے درمیان سے میں اپنے والد کے جسم کو چھونے کی کوشش کرتی ہوں وہ اس قدر نحیف و ناتواں ہوچکے ہیں۔ملیریا ، پیچس اور ناکافی خوراک کھانے کی وجوہ سے جسم بالکل نحیف اور باریک ہوچکا ہے لیکن وہ سیدھا اٹھ بیٹھتے ہیں اور میرے ہاتھ کو چھولیتے ہیں۔
ذوالفقارعلی بھٹو کے آخری الفاظ
آج شب علائم دنیا سے آزاد ہوجاوں گا۔ چہرے پر ایک چمکتی روشنی لئے کہتے ہیں
میں اپنی والدہ اوراپنے والد کے پاس چلا جاوں گا۔ میں لاڑکانہ میں اپنے اجداد کی زمینوں کی طرف واپس جارہا ہوں تاکہ اس سرزمین کا ، اس کی خوشبو اور اس کی فضا کا حصہ بن جاوں
خلق خدا میرے بارے میں گیت گاے گی میں اس کی کہانیوں کا جاوداں حصہ بن جاوں گا
وہ مسکراتے ہوئے کہتے ہیں لیکن لاڑکانہ میں آج کل بہت گرمی ہے
میں وہاں ایک سائبان تعمیر کردوں گی۔میں بمشکل کہہ سکی۔۔۔ جیل حکام آگے بڑھتے
الوداع پاپا
میں والد کی طرف دیکھ کر پکار اٹھتی ہوں اور میری ممی سلاخوں میں سے ان کو چھو لیتی ہیں۔ہم گرد آلود صحن میں سے گزرتے ہیں ۔ میں مڑ کر پیچھے دیکھا چاہتی ہوں لیکن حوصلہ نہیں پڑتا ۔مجھے معلوم ہے میں ضبط نہیں کرسکوں گی۔
ہم جب پھر ملیں گے اس وقت تک خدا حافظ ۔ مجھے ان کی آواز سنائی دیتی ہے
محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو کی خودنوشت مشرق کی بیٹی سے اقتباس۔
https://samachar.pk/
‘Soft diplomacy’ #Pakistan style — Qatar royals get special permission to hunt endangered bird
By BISMEE TASKIN
Islamabad’s only zoo shuts down
Weeks after Kaavan, the world’s loneliest elephant, was rescued from the Islamabad Zoo, two Himalayan brown bears named Babloo and Suzie were also airlifted Wednesday to a sanctuary in Jordan. They were the last inhabitants of the zoo, which has now shut down. It was the only zoo in the city.
The Islamabad Zoo had drawn international criticism for its treatment of the lonely elephant and severe living conditions in the premises.
US singer Cher, who had campaigned vociferously for Kaavan’s rehabilitation, had said that the Islamabad High Court’s decision to shift the elephant to a sanctuary in Cambodia was “one of the greatest moments of her life”.
https://theprint.in/go-to-pakistan/soft-diplomacy-pakistan-style-qatar-royals-get-special-permission-to-hunt-endangered-bird/569167/
#Pakistan #PPP - Holding the fort: Aseefa Bhutto Zardari
By Sharmila Faruqui
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s (SMBB) assassination had left the whole nation in tears and the whole world in unfathomable shock. Her legacy indeed left a deep footprint in the landscape of Pakistani politics as countless miss SMBB in times of political chaos, national disunity and also in dire pursuit of a true leader. She continues to enthuse and motivate women, especially the marginalised both in the country and abroad. Today, with the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who brought in 13 different political parties together through the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) another mesmerising development has taken root, giving us all renewed hope. The sight of a young woman who looks much like the late SMBB, entered in the political landscape of Pakistan, bringing in refreshed and progressive vibes. That young woman leader is no other than SMBB’s youngest daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari. She has a striking resemblance with her mother’s persona and poise. During her maiden speech at the PDM Multan Jalsa, many had to rub their eyes in order to differentiate between Aseefa and her later mother. Pakistan still remembers the historical address of SMBB in Lahore, 1986 and the same Pakistan witnessed the zeal and charisma in her daughter’s speech. Aseefa indeed triggered the reminiscences of her mother and Bhutto family, in a very powerful and galvanising way. She was not only fearless and brave to slam the PTI government’s ineptitude which has left the nation in doldrums, but also spoke in grace—just like SMBB. SMBB has entered the Pakistani political landscape by playing a crucial role in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), in times of political crises. Today, with illiberal values rampant throughout the country, young Aseefa officially started her career by participating in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) platform. Aseefa formally joining the PPP platform is not a surprising development at all. Her maternal grandfather—Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had also groomed SMBB, to come into politics at a very grim time for politics and as well as for the Bhutto family. There is no doubt that difficult times have always leaned the members of the Bhutto family into the mainstream political landscape of Pakistan. Let’s not forget that it was the life of politics that chose SMBB and Bilawal to join it from a very young age. It is also important to point out that Aseefa had already been involved in numerous progressive and constructive programmes in Pakistan. She is not only Pakistan’s Ambassador for Polio Eradication but was also the first Pakistani child to receive the polio vaccine in the country. With polio cases on the rise today, we need leaders like Aseefa to come forward and advocate for its eradication. Moreover, she has been vocal about promoting animal rights, in a country where little emphasis is given to this neglected topic. In 2016, she had strongly condemned the culling of stray dogs in Karachi. In Pakistan, there is an urgent need for women to become policymakers and come into the spotlight through the political platform. A new United Nations (UN) Women study shows that around 60 percent of women do not participate in politics due to fear of violence. Women must break the glass ceiling in order to join the public and political sphere. Aseefa joining the mainstream politics is a clear and vibrant example for every young girl—that they too can come forward and make a huge difference. In 1980s’ Pakistan, even when hyper-masculinity was rampant, SMBB took on politics on her own terms. She even brought the famous phrase in action, that ‘women can have it all’ by giving birth while also being the prime minister. She was the first female Prime Minister to give birth while being in office. Let’s not forget that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, himself has been quite vocal about empowering women in the political realm of Pakistan. During the Gilgit Baltistan elections of 2020, when PPP’s Sadia Danish was oppressed and denied basic electoral rights by the PTI government, Bilawal was quick to respond and assist her. PPP is the only political party which has been crystal clear about empowering women from every walk of life. Aseefa has the same skills set of mass mobilisation and connecting with the local masses as SMBB. With her exhilarating style, she certainly has the ability to play a significant role in Pakistani politics. At a time when the country is facing predicaments of unprecedented scale and nature, the youngest member of the Bhutto family is a ray of hope. Aseefa’s rise will be one to watch with close attention.
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s (SMBB) assassination had left the whole nation in tears and the whole world in unfathomable shock. Her legacy indeed left a deep footprint in the landscape of Pakistani politics as countless miss SMBB in times of political chaos, national disunity and also in dire pursuit of a true leader. She continues to enthuse and motivate women, especially the marginalised both in the country and abroad. Today, with the leadership of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who brought in 13 different political parties together through the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) another mesmerising development has taken root, giving us all renewed hope. The sight of a young woman who looks much like the late SMBB, entered in the political landscape of Pakistan, bringing in refreshed and progressive vibes. That young woman leader is no other than SMBB’s youngest daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari. She has a striking resemblance with her mother’s persona and poise. During her maiden speech at the PDM Multan Jalsa, many had to rub their eyes in order to differentiate between Aseefa and her later mother. Pakistan still remembers the historical address of SMBB in Lahore, 1986 and the same Pakistan witnessed the zeal and charisma in her daughter’s speech. Aseefa indeed triggered the reminiscences of her mother and Bhutto family, in a very powerful and galvanising way. She was not only fearless and brave to slam the PTI government’s ineptitude which has left the nation in doldrums, but also spoke in grace—just like SMBB. SMBB has entered the Pakistani political landscape by playing a crucial role in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), in times of political crises. Today, with illiberal values rampant throughout the country, young Aseefa officially started her career by participating in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) platform. Aseefa formally joining the PPP platform is not a surprising development at all. Her maternal grandfather—Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had also groomed SMBB, to come into politics at a very grim time for politics and as well as for the Bhutto family. There is no doubt that difficult times have always leaned the members of the Bhutto family into the mainstream political landscape of Pakistan. Let’s not forget that it was the life of politics that chose SMBB and Bilawal to join it from a very young age. It is also important to point out that Aseefa had already been involved in numerous progressive and constructive programmes in Pakistan. She is not only Pakistan’s Ambassador for Polio Eradication but was also the first Pakistani child to receive the polio vaccine in the country. With polio cases on the rise today, we need leaders like Aseefa to come forward and advocate for its eradication. Moreover, she has been vocal about promoting animal rights, in a country where little emphasis is given to this neglected topic. In 2016, she had strongly condemned the culling of stray dogs in Karachi. In Pakistan, there is an urgent need for women to become policymakers and come into the spotlight through the political platform. A new United Nations (UN) Women study shows that around 60 percent of women do not participate in politics due to fear of violence. Women must break the glass ceiling in order to join the public and political sphere. Aseefa joining the mainstream politics is a clear and vibrant example for every young girl—that they too can come forward and make a huge difference. In 1980s’ Pakistan, even when hyper-masculinity was rampant, SMBB took on politics on her own terms. She even brought the famous phrase in action, that ‘women can have it all’ by giving birth while also being the prime minister. She was the first female Prime Minister to give birth while being in office. Let’s not forget that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, himself has been quite vocal about empowering women in the political realm of Pakistan. During the Gilgit Baltistan elections of 2020, when PPP’s Sadia Danish was oppressed and denied basic electoral rights by the PTI government, Bilawal was quick to respond and assist her. PPP is the only political party which has been crystal clear about empowering women from every walk of life. Aseefa has the same skills set of mass mobilisation and connecting with the local masses as SMBB. With her exhilarating style, she certainly has the ability to play a significant role in Pakistani politics. At a time when the country is facing predicaments of unprecedented scale and nature, the youngest member of the Bhutto family is a ray of hope. Aseefa’s rise will be one to watch with close attention.
EDITORIAL: #Pakistan - External debt servicing
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government must come up with an explanation on the reports released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs that the country has received $23.6 billion foreign loan since the inception of the government back in 2018.
Why so much loans when one can hardly see any landmark project in the offing by utilizing these loans? If the government is taking loans only for the balance of payments, this will not benefit the country in the long run as it will eventually lead to economic collapse. Another noticeable thing is the almost 45 per cent ($ 4.5 billion) hike in the foreign loan inflows from July 2020 to November as compared to the corresponding period in the last fiscal year.
These are not unusual numbers as given the pandemic onslaught and the world over economic slow growth, the government had to rely on foreign loans and assistance. There are reports that the country just returned a $1 billion loan to Saudi Arabia, which it had taken last year, after taking a loan from some Chinese commercial banks. According to the ministry, during July-October of 2020 total servicing of external public debt was $2.45 billion against the annual repayment estimates of $10.363 billion for the entire fiscal year.
The government could repay $2.035 billion as principal sum and $415 million as interest on the outstanding stock of external public debt. The government has been trying to diminish the impact of the circumstances by cutting down development funds and taking up several austerity measures. The government resumed economic activities after a lull of three months when the provincial government imposed lockdown while aviation and shipping services remained at a halt in the world.
The early resumption of the economic activities has changed the commerce outlook to some extent. A record increase in remittance and a gradual increase in exports are a welcome sign.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/703356/external-debt-servicing/