Thursday, December 2, 2021
#Pakistan - Silencing opposition - Pakistan must cut away from its royal, colonial and dictatorial legacy.
DESPITE a democratic Constitution, there seems to have been a move towards authoritarian rule in Pakistan with a concerted effort to silence and delegitimise any voices of opposition, political or otherwise. These efforts have been augmented through regulatory directives, undemocratic ordinances, extra-legal measures, and aggressive public messaging. The only capitulation by the state seems to be in the case of opposing parties that direct violence towards it under the pretence of religion.
Whether it is media, social media, human rights movements, political leaders, or even judges, there have been concerted efforts to silence them and get them to toe the line of the state.
Through attempts to put restrictions on the media, first through covert pressure on media houses to fire columnists and TV anchors who do not toe the state line, and then by proposing draconian ordinances such as the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA), press freedom guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution is routinely violated. This was also seen when channels and newspapers with critical opinions were relegated to the end of the channels list by cable operators and banned from circulation in cantonment areas respectively. The government also stopped its advertisements for media groups that were critical, violating the right to information of citizens as guaranteed by Article 19-A as they were deprived of public messaging.
The state response to human rights movements has been even worse. The peaceful Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) has ruffled feathers due to young and unarmed Pakhtuns demanding basic rights and protections guaranteed by the Constitution in a region ravaged by the war on terror brought to their lands by a reckless dictator. Instead of embracing the young of the former tribal areas, even their popular elected representatives have been imprisoned by the state with complete disregard for the democratic mandate they hold.
It is time that Pakistan cut away from its royal, colonial and dictatorial legacy.
Ali Wazir still remains incarcerated despite being granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, with other cases pending against him, while members of the movement and others have contrasted the treatment meted out to them with the olive branch consistently extended by the state to the violent TTP that killed thousands, and the violent TLP that on many occasions has held entire cities hostage. Such capitulation should only be extended to peaceful groups and certainly not to those who commit grave crimes including mass murder.
Similarly, the state has cracked down on NGOs by introducing stringent registration requirements that make functioning almost impossible under the excuse of foreign funding, overlooking the fact that the most foreign-funded entity in the country is the state itself. This was seen again last month with the government officials’ outburst at the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore where thrice-elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif was invited to address the closing ceremony in line with the tradition of the annual conference.
Even if he is considered a ‘convict and absconder’, despite the partiality with which the National Accountability Bureau targets opposition politicians, there is nothing in Pakistani law that prohibits convicted political leaders from addressing gatherings. However, the high-handedness and paranoia of the state was apparent in the suspension of internet services by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority in the vicinity of the conference in the centre of Lahore, something that ought to be seen as illegal, disproportionate and excessive.
This is not about Nawaz Sharif. This is about selective attacks against civilian politicians whose ability to compete in a democratic system is constantly undermined through all sorts of innovative tactics, ranging from blasphemy insinuations weaponised through extremist groups to the all-time favourite accountability laws that only seem to apply to opposition politicians to the use of treason clauses of the law that are used to accuse everyone that the state is displeased with, with the exception of those whom they should actually apply to for abrogating the Constitution. But these attacks haven’t even spared the apex court for raising questions regarding interference in politics by those who are meant to guard our borders.The onslaught on social media freedoms has been building since 2015 with Peca being passed the next year, and the latest social media rules, despite constant questions over their constitutionality including by the Islamabad High court, being incorporated. TikTok has been banned four times, most likely out of fear of the digital inclusion it enables for people at the margins and how it lends them the ability to have a voice with the viral factor. And Peca continues to be abused to silence journalists, activists, young citizens and political opponents for daring to exercise their guaranteed freedom of speech on the internet.It is time that Pakistan cut away from its royal, colonial and dictatorial legacy to become the completely democratic state that its Constitution envisages. This is not possible without the pressure of its citizens that have always been eager to resist attempts to put them under control, and political parties that must learn to mobilise without considering backroom deals to save their slice of the power pie that history shows always gets eaten by another eager entity.
Enforced disappearances, bogus cases, dictatorial tactics and online attacks to skew narratives have to be controlled. It is crucial that the independence of the judiciary is upheld, which may not be possible if the press is not free. Constitutional protections exist for a reason, and the roots are in our history of resistance against anyone who tries to impose their will on us.
Presidential systems or one-party systems do not belong in our vibrant democracy with a diverse populace, which is why the autonomy that the 18th Amendment gives to provinces was welcomed across the board. Let us work together to reap its benefits rather than try to upstage one another.
The censorship of opposing voices cannot continue, and the future belongs to an inclusive democratic system. If the government insists on burying its head in the sand, it must realise that the grains of sand around its head belong to the people who lend them legitimacy, and the people are not fools.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1661474/silencing-opposition
#Pakistan - The wages of the #IMF
Durdana Najam
IMF, World Bank have been of no use other than exacerbating Pakistan’s economic woes, says American economist.Despite having some of the best internationally recognised minds to manage Pakistan’s financial affairs, why is there no exit from the economic woes? Is there a probability that these able minds have been working as the so-called economic hitmen to keep Pakistan financially bankrupt? This is not an illusion of a conspiratorial mind as the readers might be tempted to think. There are reasons for the doubt. For instance, take the case of the IMF’s six billion dollar package. We have not even received half of the total package as the debt is released in bits and pieces. With every new tranche, a list of dos and don’ts is handed down for compliance. Being negotiated currently is a tranche worth $1 billion. So far, the walk on the tightrope has been made possible with the massive devaluation of the rupee, high electricity and gas tariffs, elimination of Rs350 billion worth of subsidies, the reincarnation of petroleum levy by Rs33, cut in the development budget to the tune of Rs300 billion and imposition of new taxes. Soon a mini-budget will be floated to give a legal cover to these demands. According to experts, this will be one of the biggest mini-budgets in the history of Pakistan. How will this affect a common man? That is not on the agenda of the government economic wizards. What is on their hit list is compliance with the IMF demand. Now let us talk about the illusion part. As compared to the $1billion IMF tranche, which is so far behaving like a sinking boat that may tumble the country with it if not rescued, Pakistan has earned $6 billion from textile export in the first four mounts of the current fiscal year. Juxtapose the part receipts of the IMF package with $6 billion from only four months of textile export, and you will find yourself questioning the justification for the anxiety to keep the IMF boat afloat. With an industrial output sufficient to overcome the so-called current account deficit, why have we tied ourselves to the IMF programme, which for all its purposes is only tightening the noose around common men’s neck? The question is: what justifies our eagerness to meet the IMF unjust demands for a $1 billion tranche, especially when our economy has the potential to wade us out of solvency — if there is any? Recently, Dr Arthur Betz Laffer, an American economist, was in Pakistan to attend Pakistan Prosperity Forum — 2021 arranged by the Prime Institute in Islamabad. During his address, he advised Pakistan’s economic heads to refrain from taking dictation from the IMF and the World Bank. Adding further to his anguish against the lending institutions, he said that the IMF and the World Bank have been of no use other than deliberately exacerbating Pakistan’s economic woes. He reminded us that we were not their slaves and that we should act independently. This advice of acting ‘independently’ brings to mind the ardent opposer of the IMF and the World Bank, Mr Yanis Varoufakis, a Greek-Australian economist and politician. He served as Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015. During his stint as finance minister, he refused to bend to the demands of the lending institutions and instead said that “…we are insolvent, and we have to embrace our insolvency.” Varoufakis equated these creditors with terrorists. Like terrorists, they instil fear and trepidation so that their targets bend and give in. The weapons used in this warfare are the economic experts drawn usually from the targeted countries. They deliberately make flawed policies. Each policy digs a hole in the exchequer. Eventually, a time comes when this leaking bucket becomes a burden to the community of greedy and expedient politicians, military personals and businessmen, who had been raised over the period to make this leaking bucket a reality. Later, each hole is patched from the creditor’s debt in return for more taxes, exorbitant utility bills, and inflationary pressures. Varoufakis met Barack Obama at the Greek Independence Day celebration in the East Room of the White House and was asked to “swallow bitter stuff” like he did to survive the 2008 economic crisis. Varoufakis replied, “You inherited a mess when you came to office, but at least you had your central bank behind you. We inherited a mess and we have a central bank” — the European Central Bank — “trying to choke us”. The creditors wanted Greece “to privatize state assets, such as Athens’s port; reform institutions and practices perceived to be inefficient, including its health-care and welfare systems, in ways likely to result in mass dismissals; and adjust its budget through further tax increases and spending cuts, to the point where Greece’s income significantly exceeded its spending on everything but its repayments”. From Laffer to economic experts like Dr Ikramulhaq, government is advised to downgrade income and sales tax to widen the tax net. However, the government has no appetite to hear sane voices. Instead, it is fuelling the 134 non-functioning state-owned organisations with an annual injection of $4 million. How does Pakistan’s economic wizard justify this loss is anybody’s guess.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2331970/the-wages-of-the-imf
#Pakistan - Chairman #PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s message on International Day of Persons with Special Abilities
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the time has come for the state to stop resorting to excuses and depriving those with special abilities of their rights. Everyone must now come to the same page on the issue of rights, health, education, and employment of more than 3 million special people.
According to a statement issued by Media Cell Bilawal House, the Chairman PPP in his message on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities further said that people with special abilities do not need our attention and help, but the aid we provide them is a test of our responsibility and humanity. Creating a balanced and equitable society without full implementation of the rights of persons with special abilities is a dream that needs to be accomplished.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that during the tenure of the selected Prime Minister, special people have been severely affected by historical inflation, unemployment and poverty. The government has left them helpless like other downtrodden sections of the society.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also said that the PPP has always been responsible and committed in including the talents of specially qualified persons in the national development. The introduction of 5% quota for employment in government departments and the interest-free loan scheme of Rs. 1 – 2 lakh with the Benazir Income Support Programme are a few groundbreaking initiatives taken by PPP.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Sindh government of Pakistan Peoples Party has shown remarkable performance in all the standards of implementation of UN conventions on persons with special qualifications. The Sindh Assembly passed the Sindh Differently Abled Persons Act-2014 in 2017, under which persons with disabilities were declared as persons with special abilities.
The issuance of driving licenses for the deaf and the establishment of a Center for Autism Rehabilitation and Training in Karachi are the hallmarks of the peoples government of Sindh. The Department of Special Education in Sindh is also in the process of setting up special children’s schools along modern lines.
The PPP chairman said that Pakistan Peoples Party is the only political party in the country whose manifesto includes a revolutionary strategy for the protection of the rights and development of persons with special abilities. He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party government to be formed after the forthcoming elections, would take effective measures to ensure full implementation of the rights of persons with special abilities. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has promised to abide by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was ratified by the government led by former President Asif Ali Zardari in 2011.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25863/
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