Sunday, October 2, 2022
#Pakistan - TLP cleric calls supporter to carry attack on Ahmadi women
The International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) has taken notice of an incident where a Pakistani cleric belonging to TLP called on supporters to carry out an attack on Ahmadi women.
During his speech to supporters, TLP cleric Muhammad Naeem Chattha Qadri called his supporters to carry out attacks on pregnant Ahmadi women to ensure no Ahmadis are born. The IHRC called out the international community, human rights groups, and the government of Pakistan to take strict notice.
During the public gathering, he also warned police and agencies to not provide protection to the Ahmadi families. He said, DPO, DC, and SHO must understand now that we can’t be stopped.
Muhammad Naeem Chattha in a video circulating on social media from September 13 can be seen threatening and inciting violence against Ahmadis.
https://minutemirror.com.pk/tlp-cleric-calls-supporter-to-carry-attack-on-ahmadi-women-64687/
#Punjab, the epicentre of hate speech in #Pakistan
This report used a social media listening tool to detect common hate speech terms targeting different sects and religions in Pakistan. One important finding is that the majority of hate speech in Pakistan occurs in three cities: Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Lahore and Rawalpindi, the two largest cities in Punjab province, have together contributed around 45–50 per cent of the entire hate speech output detected. Karachi, which is the largest city of Pakistan, also generates a huge amount of hate speech, especially targeted at the Shi’a community.
The majority of hate speech against Christians, whose minority population is mainly concentrated in Punjab province, also originates from Punjab. The data indicates that most hate speech is recorded against Shi’a, who comprise the second largest group within Islam after the Sunni majority population. Ahmadis, who identify as Muslims but have been declared non-Muslim by the Constitution of Pakistan, are the second most targeted group in terms of hate speech, most of it originating from Punjab province, especially from the cities of Lahore and Rawalpindi. It is not surprising that both Karachi and Lahore are the cities producing the most hate speech, because they are also the two largest cities, and provincial capitals. Yet Rawalpindi is striking in these geospatial analyses in that it generates a considerable amount of hate speech, far higher in relation to its population than comparably sized cities in Pakistan. The findings of this study point towards the need for further research to understand the reasons behind Rawalpindi’s high level of hate speech targeting religious minorities.
The majority of hate speech against Christians, whose minority population is mainly concentrated in Punjab province, also originates from Punjab. The data indicates that most hate speech is recorded against Shi’a, who comprise the second largest group within Islam after the Sunni majority population. Ahmadis, who identify as Muslims but have been declared non-Muslim by the Constitution of Pakistan, are the second most targeted group in terms of hate speech, most of it originating from Punjab province, especially from the cities of Lahore and Rawalpindi. It is not surprising that both Karachi and Lahore are the cities producing the most hate speech, because they are also the two largest cities, and provincial capitals. Yet Rawalpindi is striking in these geospatial analyses in that it generates a considerable amount of hate speech, far higher in relation to its population than comparably sized cities in Pakistan. The findings of this study point towards the need for further research to understand the reasons behind Rawalpindi’s high level of hate speech targeting religious minorities.
https://minorityrights.org/publications/hatefull-places/
Pakistan’s Economy After The Floods – OpEd
By Shabbir H. Kazmi
When Pakistan received tranche of US$1.2 billion from International Monetary Fund (IMF), it was anticipated that PKR would find solid ground against the US$. However, against expectations, the currency continued depreciation. While the country’s borrowing needs for the year are fully met, the outlook beyond FY23 remains uncertain.As per the latest IMF document, Pakistan’s gross borrowing needs over the next 5 years are expected to top US$180 billion, meeting them or even rolling them over will be an uphill task. In the short term, the country’s borrowing needs may increase further as floods have washed away standing crops in Sindh and lower Punjab. The country will need to import various food items to fulfill local demand and the import bill will be driven by food items. With exports likely to remain lackluster, the onus falls upon inward remittances and FDI to balance the gap between inflows and outflows. However, the remittance inflow, which has picked up of late, has remained largely disappointing. The same can be said for RDA inflows which have also started to dry up over the past few months. The need of the hour is to increase monthly remittances and RDA inflows while stamping out currency smuggling from the country. Pakistan’s monthly current account deficit (CAD) for August 2022 nearly halved to US$0.7 billion, lowest since April 2022, despite hefty oil and food imports amid recent flood damages. Import curtailment gained support from administrative measures, reducing trade deficit to US$2.9 billion (a decline 4%MoM). Remittances also increased during the month to US$2.7 billion, cushioning trade deficit adequately. The month also saw a Balance of Payment surplus owing to US$1.2 billion received from IMF. Going forward, bilateral and multilateral loans and international aid for floods rehabilitation will likely provide external support. Trade deficit has declined by a mere 4%MoM to US$2.9 billion, largely owing to administrative measures on restricting non-essential items and policy rate impact. However, food imports have increased to all-time high of US$1.0 billion up 34%MoM. Petroleum imports have been recovered at US$1.9 billion, up 30%MoM) in August 2022. The month also saw trend reversal in PBS-SBP import difference, which has mostly remained short-lived historically. Resumption of energy supplies amid normalized working days and lack of Eid holidays, led to the rebound in textile exports, up 18%MoM. This has led to overall exports growth of 23%MoM; helping trade deficit to remain under US$3.0 billion level. Remittances recovered during August 2022, increasing to US$2.7 billion, up 8% MoM and cushioning the trade gap. Higher inflows from United States and Saudi Arabia have elevated overall base. Looking ahead, analysts expect decent growth numbers in FY23 backed by increase in Pakistani worker registration in GCC countries. As per Board of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE), around 531,000 Pakistanis have expatriated during 8MFY22 as against 288,000 and 225,000 during FY21 and FY20, respectively. Most of the expatriations have occurred towards Middle East countries which continue to enjoy better macros in a high oil price environment. The overall Balance of Payment (BoP) turned to positive and stood at US$440 million. This is largely owing to US$1.2 billion tranche received from IMF under EFF facility. But to support overall BoP and foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan needs further support from international organizations and friendly countries, the deliberations with these lenders have already started. Analysts believe, the stronger US$ has continued to impact PKR, besides the low foreign exchange liquidity in the country; pushed PKR to near to its all-time low of PKR240/USD. Pakistan has been severely impacted by the recent floods as it has led to massive damage to country’s physical infrastructure including damage to homes, roads, bridges etc. As per National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) a cumulative loss of 1.76 million houses (partially and fully damaged), 390 bridges and roads (distance of 12,718km) has already taken place till September 14, 2022. Therefore, there is a need to explore cement sector outlook, especially after floods. A brokerage house made an attempt to estimate the impact. The manufacturers cumulatively represent 76% of the total industry size in terms of plant capacity. The survey results show that 75% of the participants expect domestic cement dispatches to fall in the range from 0% to 10%YoY in FY23 as against 2MFY22 fall of 35%. Around 17% of the participants anticipate growth of 10% or above and 8% expect it to increase from 0% to 10%. This likely fall in local sales is better than initial expectation of a larger fall due to floods and economic slowdown. Cement manufacturers anticipate cement demand to pickup next year as 83% of the participants expect demand to remain in the range of 0% to more than 10% in FY24 whereas 17% of the manufacturers believe it will increase from 10% to 20% as construction activity will pick up once relief measures complete and the water starts receding. The survey results also show that rebuilding or reconstruction activity could at least take 3 to 6 months. 42% of the participants expect it to start after 1 to 3 months whereas 42% of the participants believe it will start after 3 to 6 months. On other hand, 17% of the participants anticipate that it will start after 6-9 months. https://www.eurasiareview.com/02102022-pakistans-economy-after-the-floods-oped/
Pakistan would rather 'mediate' between China, US than be 'geopolitical football': Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Minister says talk of US, China relations 'absolutely ridiculous' when Pakistan was going through climate catastrophe.Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday has said that in times of geopolitical division Pakistan wants to be a ‘bridge by uniting’ the United States and China. The PPP scion’s remarks came during an interview with Foreign Policy, where he maintained that Pakistan’s “unique position as a friend of both the United States and China” could help encourage cooperation between the two countries.Dubbing the claim of China not coming to Pakistan’s aid in its recent time of need as “absolutely incorrect”. He maintained that Islamabad’s relationship with Beijing was not new and had long bipartisan roots.“And I like to say that we wanted to be friends with China when nobody wanted to be friends with China. Now, everybody wants to be friends with China," Bilawal added. Responding to the interviewer's assertation that the US did not want to be friends with China, Bilawal said that “not everything is about the geopolitical conflict of the United States and China”. He stated that it was “preposterous” and “absolutely ridiculous” that a conversation about US and China relations was occurring while talking about Pakistan’s survival and ability to deal with “cataclysmic flooding”. The minister emphasised that climate change could not be confronted if the two superpowers did not work together. Commenting on Beijing’s lack of aid to Colombo during their economic crisis, Bilawal maintained that Pakistan’s context was “completely different” and that while the country was going “through a climate catastrophe”. The interviewer argued that Pakistan was going through both an economic and a climate crisis. “In the sense that that was solely an economic crisis of its own dynamics. But as far as what China does—whether it’s with Sri Lanka or Pakistan—that’s totally China’s decision. Just like it’s 100 per cent America’s decision in either of these circumstances,” the minister replied. He retained that Pakistan would rather continue to play its past role of bridging the gap between the two countries than exacerbate the gap. “Right now, particularly when we’re drowning in floods, I don’t want to play any part in exacerbating any tensions or being a geopolitical football,” he said. Regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the foreign minister was of the belief that the “broad consensus” within Pakistan had declared that the country did not want to be “dragged into this conflict”.“Particularly because we’re just coming out of a decades-long conflict in Afghanistan, and frankly, we’re exhausted by what war does and the consequences for any one country”.Talking about Pakistan’s level of cooperation for the US operation to kill al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bilawal stated that Islamabad was unaware of the location of the individual and the operation to take him out. He further said that Pakistan did not offer its airspace to the US because it was unaware of the operation.“We were not aware of this. I don’t think anybody was,” he said. Climate change FM Bilawal stated that he had proposed a Green Marshall Plan for climate-stressed countries, all of which “contribute negligibly to the global carbon funds”.He furthered that he had talked about climate justice and hoped to see it as a continuation of the “stated position of the president of the United States, and the leaders of many countries in Europe, that we need to invest, get the money together, not only for climate adaptation domestically but also internationally”. He maintained that the “great polluters” who caused the crisis would “fund” the plan. “We have to come up with out-of-the-box solutions, one of which is the proposal of a debt swap for climate, where countries that owe a debt to the great polluters would swap this debt,” he added.Bilawal urged the private sector to invest in climate adaptation and believed that the “public-private partnership model could be adopted not only for green energy but also for green infrastructure”. In response to questions about India, the foreign minister stated that Pakistan had not received nor expected any help from India. The minister had no comments for his Indian counterpart as their help was “their choice, their position”. “I didn’t ask for help from the United States—they volunteered it. Didn’t ask for help from China—they volunteered. Didn’t ask for help from the Middle East—they volunteered. In times of human catastrophe, I think it tests everyone’s humanity,” Bilawal remarked. Military role Discussing the army’s role in Pakistan and its government, Bilawal stated that the army has been “a powerful force” with a “turbulent history with the civilian government”.“But we have long advocated for all institutions within Pakistan conducting themselves within their legal mandate and transitioning away from the more controversial roles that we’ve had in the past,” he contended, adding that a significant development was the removal of former premier Imran Khan through constitutional and democratic means.“All prime ministers who were previously removed were either by being hanged, exiled, or through some sort of judicial verdict. So that’s a significant point in Pakistan’s political history, institutional development, and democracy,” Bilawal said. “If that indicates that our armed forces or our institutions are transitioning from what was a controversial role to a constitutional role, that should be encouraged across the board.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2379237/pakistan-would-rather-be-bridge-between-china-us-fm-bilawal