Give Shah Mahmood Qureshi the Peace Nobel for Palestine ceasefire. Forget his CNN interview

NAILA INAYAT

CNN still got the best version of the Pakistani foreign minister, if his previous national television appearances are anything to go by.

K

isses, blanket and ‘indecent’ activities aside, this is a tale of what we now know as a successful airplane ride. No, this isn’t the return flight of Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi from the United States. It could well have been, given the rousing hero’s welcome he received earlier this week. Why? For having upped the morale of the nation with his “deep pockets” remark, and that “they (Israelis) control media” assertion in a now-viral CNN interview. Then for being called out for anti-Semitic rhetoric in the same interview. Not to leave out his signature smirk and laugh, which is now a meme of our times. 

An always agitated Qureshi in his 10-minute stay on CNN scored big when he corrected the news anchor that he was the foreign minister and not an ambassador. He was right, for who knows what she could have called him next — President of the United States? — anything looked possible in that moment. The foreign minister took it on himself to hold a mirror to the Western media. The irony is rather rich. Lecture the West while the media back home faces rampant censorship, assaults on journalists, and press freedom stoops every day.

The hush on Uighur Muslims

When confronted with the question on the genocide of Uighur Muslims in China, Qureshi was clear that “we use our diplomatic channels. We do not discuss everything in public.” Which is actually surreal, because Prime Minister Imran Khan says he, frankly, doesn’t know much about that. Pakistan’s national security advisor is already 100 per cent satisfied that Uighurs are a “non-issue” and that the country has zero concerns. Does no one share notes with the foreign minister on these zero concerns?

On the CNN interview, Qureshi reiterated that he’s “never been anti-Semitic and…never will be”. But when you’re used to raking up emotions by making controversial statements — “Like Mahmud Ghaznavi, I have come out to destroy the Somnath temple” — and the crowd cheers you, you do tend to forget if it is CNN or a local jalsa.

CNN still got the best version of the foreign minister, if his previous national television appearances are anything to go by. ‘Deep pockets’ have been his concern without fail. Keeping an eye on those with ‘deep pockets’ should be seen as an occupational hazard for the career saint. Nothing anti-Semitic about that, right? Qureshi had once asked a news anchor if he was working on someone’s “agenda”, for he dared to question the minister on the tabling of a resolution on Kashmir in the United Nations Human Rights Council. On being pushed regarding his own statement and prime minister’s tweet that Pakistan has support of more than 50 UN members for a resolution, Qureshi had a meltdown and repeatedly asked the anchor to show him his tweet, “Abhi nikalo, abhi nikalo, I want my tweet”.

Qureshi’s believe it or not

Being the top diplomat, if Qureshi tells you one day that Article 370 is India’s internal matter and of no interest to Pakistan, then believe him. Because two days later, he will tell you that it is not what he meant to say, when he said what he said. Believe that too. Same applies to his explanation on ‘are we talking to India, are we not?’ There is a back channel but that is not a formal channel because these people in the establishment are just updating each other on the situation. This actually sounds like India-Pakistan dating in Covid quarantine, each in their own home.

All the times you have been told that Pakistan is in no hurry to talk to India and that there are no secret talks with the help of the United Arab Emirates, believe all of it is true.

They “create storm in a teacup,” it is known to all by now that all controversies are India-made. Even the one in which the prime minister scolded Pakistani diplomats, noting that Indian embassies were more proactive or when the foreign minister was not holding his own umbrella on the visit of Russian counterpart. Chattri diplomacy is a new fad, it is not for everyone.

Haters will hate, but the recent yatra was a huge diplomatic win in a universe beyond anyone’s reach. That’s foreign minister Qureshi’s reach. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders and loyalists alike may have garlanded the minister, but the truth is he deserves nothing short of a Nobel Peace Prize. Why else do you think the Israeli Prime Minister agreed to a ceasefire? Winning Qureshi the title of “Mein Führer” with his supporters. It was the good public display of affection that we saw for the foreign minister — the red roses and the shabashi. After all, it is his theatrics that keep the show running and diplomatic wins coming.

https://theprint.in/opinion/letter-from-pakistan/give-shah-mahmood-qureshi-the-peace-nobel-for-palestine-ceasefire-forget-his-cnn-interview/666793/ 

PPP determined to thwart PTIMF budget in Parliament, says PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the upcoming budget will be dictated by the IMF, and it would serve their interests, instead of those of the Pakistani people. The PPP is fully prepared and determined to thwart the PTIMF budget in the Parliament, he added. Passing the IMF’s proposed budget would be tantamount to undermining the freedom and integrity of the country, and the Pakistan Peoples Party could not, in good conscience, allow the puppet PTI government to make Pakistan a vassal state.

In a statement, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the selected Prime Minister Imran Khan is always fond of proclaiming that Pakistan is on the verge of an economic miracle in the coming year, but the year comes and goes and we are left stuck further in the quagmire of inflation, debt, and economic decline.He question how an anti-people selected government could manage to bring about any positive change into the lives of the people, when they served the interests of the IMF. How shamelessly will the selected PM present his budget as a positive for Pakistan, when every lived experience in Pakistan says otherwise. Levying heavy taxes on the already poverty stricken masses to fill the exchequer, would not lead to real economic growth. And plunging Pakistan further into debt with no plan for true growth would never lift the economy from ruin, he said.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that for all the tall claims of growth, the common man is still unable to buy food or medicine. The Chairman PPP said that this talk of growth was tantamount to pouring salt on the wounds of the millions of Pakistanis his government has pushed below the poverty line. The selected PTI-led federal government now has a history of extorting money from the masses while it allows its cronies in and out of government to plunder the state. This selected federal government favours the elite with amnesty schemes while it deprives the people of their right to live with dignity, hre said adding that every policy this PTI-led federal government has pushed serves the interests of their crony capitalist backers. On the other hand, the PPP has always worked to protect the rights of the people, and it has always formulated policies it believed were in the best interest of the people. The PPP will always fight for the rights of the people at ever forum, added the Chairman PPP.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24928/

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#EDITORIAL - #Pakistan - Another rape - A Country where Couple's kissing outrages Pakistanis more than a Rape of a Minor Girl

 

Pakistan is going backwards. At a time when alliances across the world have made ending violence against minors their top priorities, the systemic rape culture continues to be reinforced–at every level–around us. That the shocking details of a said abduction and gang rape of a 14-year-old in Faisalabad (or Sukkur, according to some) managed to fall on deaf ears, is a tight slap on those who claim to be living in safer times. What could be more embarrassing than the fact that we have come to terms with the gross idea that men simply cannot be expected to control their sexual impulses after laying eyes upon any lightweight? The dreadful allegations of these perpetrators playing a religion card! As per viral reports making rounds on social media, the poor victim was tortured to recite the Kalima. There’s more! Upon her refusal, the suspects reportedly shaved her head.

Given the many, many ugly layers that make up this abhorrent crime, the ruling PTI must bring the full might of law upon its investigation. We cannot afford to waste any time in ensuring a proper, fool-proof prosecution. Already, the privacy of the victim has been egregiously compromised after her graphic picture spearheaded a campaign by netizens. While Twitter hashtags called on PM Khan to take immediate action against the perpetrators, police officials in Faisalabad and Sukkur have jumped to denials of any such crime taking place in their respective cities.

There can be no denying of the dismal reality that with every such case, humanity takes a deeper plunge into a dark, dreary, loathsome pit. Child abuse is a heinous reality that continues to plague Pakistan. Last November, a co-accused murdered a suspect just a day after he was arrested for raping a woman as well as her five-year-old daughter. A month before, an eight-year-old was found hanging from a tree in Killa Abdullah. He had been strangled to death after the rapists were done with him. Who can forget the horrific details of the rape and murder of Kasur’s Zainab? The bone-chilling list continues. We are decades behind in putting the onus where it matters–the rapists–instead of indulging in the senseless details of what (the victim was wearing?), where (was she standing outside the “chaar diwari?) and when (because monsters are set loose upon us after sundown). However, this obsession with pushing the onus onto the victim sounds even more foolish when talking about children. For minors lack the agency to stop the unwanted harassment. Most of the times, they are not taken seriously when they confide their agony in someone. It is this nonchalance that makes them the perfect targets for the sick monsters moving within us. And this vulnerability is what Islamabad needs to consider before pulling its socks.

Already, the religious affiliation of the victim has rendered extra sensitivity to the abuse case. Going by the previous examples, hawks sitting on the other side of the border would not bat an eyelid before needlessly interfering in Pakistan’s internal matter using the minority card. It would be unwise to forget the scathing attacks by former Indian minister Sushma Swaraj when two young Hindu girls were allegedly abducted in Sindh. Since Pakistan’s reputation as a haven for the white in its flag is already on the rocks, we need a proactive nexus of government and security agencies. It is a matter of life and death. Quite literally speaking! 

#Pakistan - Educating all children

Faisal Bari

THAT basic (10-odd years) education has been declared a fundamental right of children and the fact that it is also considered a basic right in many countries and jurisdictions is not enough to convince a number of people here that all children should be educated.

All children irrespective of their family income, gender, religion, geography, ability, etc have the right to education. Not only that, in most countries, education is considered mandatory. Even if a child or her family do not desire that the child be educated, she can be ‘forced’ to be educated. The public good element and positive externalities have made education in most jurisdictions obligatory. An educated child contributes more to society at large than an uneducated child. It is as simple as that.

In the case of Pakistan, here is how the ‘right’ to education is worded in our Constitution. “Article 25-A: Right to Education: The state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.” Article 25-A was inserted in the Constitution as part of the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. It is in the fundamental rights section of the Constitution. It is important to highlight how the Article is worded, ie “free and compulsory”. The ‘compulsory’ part articulates that it is obligatory.

And yet there are people in Pakistan who feel that we should not or cannot afford to educate all our children. They clearly do not understand what the notion of a ‘right’ is. Fundamental rights are supposed to be trump cards: their provision has to trump all other considerations. If you are calling for 10 years of education to be a fundamental right for all children, this provision has to trump all other considerations that do not invoke other fundamental rights. This should be enough reason to provide education to all children. But, it seems, rights mean little in our country. So, let us look at further considerations.

When developed nations decided to invest in education they weren’t as rich as they are today.

Unemployment, amongst the educated youth, is high. It tends to be high in countries where the economic growth rate and job creation rate are not high enough. In these countries, the rate at which jobs are created, compared to the rate of entry of young people into the labour force, is lower and this creates a situation of excess supply. But, how can this be a reason for denying the right to education? Growth rates change a lot even over the short to medium run while the provision of education takes place over decades, that is, you cannot start/stop education systems on the basis of short- to medium-term considerations.

Educated people drive both innovation and growth; they come up with new ideas and new ways of organising and delivering services. Education has large positive externalities on the sociopolitical front as well — in terms of reduction in fertility and population growth, health and education benefits for families of educated mothers, female empowerment and labour force participation, age of marriage, and the working of democracy in a country. Even if the rights argument is not considered strong enough, how can all of these benefits be sacrificed at the altar of growth rate and unemployment rate fluctuations?

View this problem from the other side as well. Imagine we do not educate our young. Pakistan is a young country that is still going through a demographic transition. Can we afford to have millions of uneducated youth to look after? Education opens up avenues for people for individual and family transformations. Can we afford to not offer this opportunity to all of our children? What will Pakistan’s future be if we have millions of uneducated youth who we need to cater for? Daron Acemoglu, professor of economics at MIT, in a recent lecture pointed out that the way the labour markets are changing, due to technology change, countries with large populations of uneducated youth are going to face very difficult economic, and consequently social and political, circumstances. Does that look more promising than trying to educate all children and the challenge of unemployment for the educated?

Another major argument for denying the right to education to all is based on the idea of limited financial resources. It is argued that Pakistan does not have the financial resources to educate every child. We only raise 10-odd per cent of our GDP as taxes and given the needs in other areas, we cannot afford to spend 5pc to 6pc of GDP on education alone. Even the current 2pc of GDP that we spend on education is with great difficulty and hardship.

It is true that financial resources are tight. Do bear in mind, though, that they are and have been tight for all countries across time. But others have made different choices. When the developed countries of today decided to invest in the education of their citizens, they were not as rich as they are today. Look at the history of mass education in the UK or Europe, the US and even Japan. All of them decided to go for mass education, for a variety of reasons, at a time when they were also struggling financially. But education, for all, was considered important to a) produce better labour, b) not fall behind other nations, c) craft a notion of citizenship, etc.

Even over the last few decades we have seen developing countries make choices for education that have been different from the choices made by Pakistan. India, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka provide interesting examples even from our region. Are these not resource-constrained countries?

It is hard to believe that even today we are still debating whether or not the right to education should be extended to all children in Pakistan and there are still people who think that we should not and that we cannot afford to. I guess this reflects quite vividly the country’s political economy issues. The rights of all are trumped by the needs of the elites — a pattern that is also reflected in many other decisions of the state.

History shows that the country has seen some of the most progressive economic and agricultural policies under the PPP government – says Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

 

The Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has said that the disastrous economic policies of the selected Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi have deprived 16 percent of Pakistanis from even one square meal a day. Extreme poverty is robbing our people of their most basic needs, he added. Today, the people are demanding Roti (Bread), Kapra (Clothing), and Makaan (Shelter), but the corrupt PM and his incompetent government have deprived them of their most basic needs.

In a statement issued from the Media Cell Bilawal House, the Chairman PPP said that the PPP was the only political platform that actively represented the will of the people, and even its critics would agree that its policies are aimed at empowering the most marginalized.
He added that the PPP has the potential and vision to create jobs, and that the PPP had a proven track record for providing employment to the people and youth of the country. Any honest reading of history would show that the country has seen some of the most progressive economic and agricultural policies under PPP governments.
The incompetent PM on the other hand has a revolving door policy for this country’s financial advisers. What more could underscore the absolute lack of vision than the fact that the Finance Minister has been changed thrice, the Board of Investment chairman has been changed thrice, the Chairman FBR being changed four times, and theSecretary Trade being changed four times as well in this governments two and half years of power.
“No matter who the selected PM changes, the results will be the same because the PM does not have the vision or the ambition to do anything but serve his crony capitalists and his benefactors.”
The situation in Pakistan will remain bleak as long as we are ruled by a PM and government that announces and trumpets a policy one night, only to change its mind overnight and rejects it in a cabinet meeting the next day, he added. The short rule of the PM has badly exposed his ineptitude and incapability of governing a country, and the masses know that all the talk of Tabdeeli (Change) was just an eye wash for Imran Khan to play out his megalomaniacal fantasies , the Chairman PPP said.
He said 33 months and 11 days into this governments term, the country was still waiting for the selected Prime Minister to fulfill his commitment of fixing Pakistans problems in 90 days. It is patently clear that the remaining 813 days will be marked by the same incompetency and misrule that is synonymous with the government.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24921/

#Pakistan #YoumeTakbeer #ShaheedZulfiqarAliBhutto - Bhutto’s obsession with Islamic bomb, the architect of Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program

 Syed Ishrat Husain

Just before the beginning of the month of Ramzan this year, Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan advised country’s youth that they can learn Islamic ethics and values while watching Turkish tv serial Ertugrul. I want our children and youth to know what the difference is about our culture. The show was already a hit in many countries. Prime minister’s promotional speech made it more popular in Pakistan than in any other country.

I believe in diversity because it reduces narrow mindedness. It is always good to know about the

cultures and history of different Islamic nations. But let me remind you, that even as on today June, 14, 2020 Pakistan still is the only nuclear state within Islamic world. How many of you out of 22 billion are aware of the struggle behind to become a nuclear state? I can assure you, you can count them on fingers. Unfortunately even PPP’s own governments didn’t do anything to raise awareness among the masses about the challenges and obstacles faced by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto writes from his death cell: My single most important achievement which I believe will dominate the portrait of my public life is an agreement which I arrived at after an assiduous and tenacious endeavour spanning over eleven years of negotiations. In the present context, the agreement of mine, concluded in June 1976, will perhaps be my greatest achievement and contribution to the survival of our nation. We were on the threshold of full nuclear capability when I left the government to come to this death cell. We know that Israel and South Africa have full nuclear capability. The Christian, Jewish and Hindu civilisations have capability. The Communist powers also possess it. Only the Islamic civilisation was without it, but that position was about to change. What difference does my life make now when I can imagine of my countrymen standing under the nuclear cloud of a defenceless sky.

Bhutto’s eleven years of negotiation began around 1965. It was the year of Indo-Pakistan war. It was the year in which Pakistan had its US military aid suspended and Bhutto declared, if India builds the bomb, we will eat grass or leaves, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own. We have no alternative, atom bomb for atom bomb.

Few weeks after the fall of Dhaka on 20 January 1972, Bhutto called together his eminent scientists at Nawab Sadiq Hussain Qureshi’s residence in Multan. Bhutto told them that fate had placed him in a position where he could make decisions that would lead the country to become Nuclear power. Can you give to me? He asked. There was a pin drop silence. According to most estimates Pakistan was at least twenty years behind India. Bhutto scowled, one of the young scientist recalled. He looked at the junior scientists before him for a positive response. Bhutto repeated his question: Can you give it to me? Some of the junior scientists replied, yes it would be possible, Sultan Bashir Uddin Mahmood shouted. Bhutto fired back: But how long will it take to build a bomb? When Bashir Uddin mumbled, maybe five years, Bhutto thrust three fingers into the air. I want in three years. It isn’t making firecrackers, you know, one of the scientist piped up. We don’t know how long it will take. But one of the younger scientist Sulfikar Ahmed Butt shouted it: It can be done in three years.

Bhutto smiled. Well much as I admire your enthusiasm, this is a very serious political decision, which Pakistan must take. So can you do it? Everybody present agreed to agree that Pakistan could do it, given sufficient resources and facilities.

In 1976 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ordered test tunnels to be constructed at two locations in Ras Koh range in the Chaghai District, and Kharan desert Balochistan. In the autumn of 1976 an army corps led by Brigadier Sajawal Khan Malik, was ordered to help A. Q. Khan raise a nuclear facility at the Kahuta site. Brigadier Sajawal would remain a key aide until Khan retired in 2001.

US secretary of the state Henry Kissinger had tried to head Bhutto’s nuclear ambitions during a meeting in New York, offering him a deal. Bhutto was to terminate his reprocessing project in favour of US supplied facility that would be located in Iran and be made available to all countries in the region. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld had devised the scheme arguing that Iran needed a nuclear programme to meet its future energy needs. But Bhutto rejected the offer. The US Senate proposed an amendment to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act to block economic and military aid, threatening to cut off Pakistan’s annual $162 million aid package. The noise from the US Congress suited Bhutto, as he had no intention of going ahead with the costly reprocessing plant. Bhutto hoped that if Pakistan was seen to abandon its reprocessing plans under US pressure it would not have to compensate the French when it finally pulled out of the deal.

In 1977 Bhutto was fighting a four sided battle. On one side he was provoking Carter to put pressure on France. On a second front he was trying to keep the Kahuta plant concealed from the West. On the third front he was fighting with the agitation in the country and on the fourth front he was keeping a check on the generals by meeting them every day. And during this period he was casting a net across the world for the purchase of necessary parts for the research laboratory.

During an emotional address to the National Assembly, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto charged Washington with financing a vast colossal, huge international conspiracy to oust him. The bloodhounds are after my blood, foreign dollars were flooding into Pakistan to pay for the rising agitation. He claimed that Henry Kissinger had personally told him, that if he failed to fall in line over the nuclear issue, we will make a horrible example of you. Bhutto revealed how US diplomats had been intercepted plotting his downfall on the phone.

Back in 1979, the Israelis had been shown a classified US memo by their counterparts in RAW. Intercepted on its way from the US embassy in New Delhi to the secretary of state, it confirmed that the US privately believed Pakistan would be able to explode a bomb within two or three years, most likely by 1981.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/626209/bhuttos-obsession-with-islamic-bomb/

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#Pakistan - Attack on journalist

IT is a matter of concern that yet another journalist has been attacked in the capital city, which has been described as the most dangerous place for mediapersons in the country. Asad Ali Toor was attacked by unknown assailants, who thrashed him inside his apartment in Islamabad’s Sector F-11. Mr Toor later uploaded a video in which he said that the attackers had demanded information about the “source” of his “funds”. In recent years, the modus operandi of those intimidating journalists has become more brazen.

There might still be warnings, calls for explanations or threatening messages but now, the quarters who want critical voices silenced have gone one step further and demonstrated that they have no qualms about ‘disappearing’ journalists or subjecting them to brutal assault in broad daylight outside their homes or in some other part of the city.

According to the latest report put together by the media watchdog Freedom Network, there has been a 40pc increase in attacks on journalists over the past year. Only last month, senior journalist Absar Alam was shot at while strolling outside his house in the F-11 sector of the capital. Last year in July, senior journalist Matiullah Jan was kidnapped from outside his home in G-6 in broad daylight. He was lucky to be released 12 hours later after vociferous protests from the journalist community and human rights bodies.

All this is happening under the watchful eye of a democratically elected state and its law-enforcement apparatus. Why is the government so hesitant to issue regular warnings that silencing criticism in this way will simply not be tolerated? It is appalling that the latest attack should have occurred soon after the detailed Protection for Journalists and Media Professionals Bill, 2021 was tabled in the National Assembly. The provisions aim to ensure the independence of journalists and let them work without fear of intimidation and harassment. Once the bill is passed, will the government ensure the law’s enforcement in letter and spirit?

https://www.dawn.com/news/1625936/attack-on-journalist

Watchdog reports 40% increase in attacks on Pakistani journalists

 Watchdog Pakistan Freedom Network on Friday declared Islamabad as the most dangerous city for journalists and reported that there was a 40% increase in attack on journalists in Pakistan.

In its report, the network said that overall, there has been a 40% increase in the attack on journalists and Islamabad had reported 51 of those cases. The breakdown showed that Sindh was in second place with 38 cases, Punjab in third with 39 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in fourth with 13 cases, Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the fifth place with nine cases and Balochistan was in the last place with eight cases.

The network also reported that 148 different types of attacks on journalists were reported across Pakistan between May 3, 2020, till April 20, 2021.

The data showed that out of a total of 27 cases, 25 of them were related to detention or confinement, 15 were linked with violence and physical assaults, seven were of assentation attempts, six of murders, while five were related to abductions.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/348118-watchdog-reports-40-increase-in-attacks-on-journalists-pakistan

Sindh is only demanding its share of water from IRSA, Sindh Minister Irrigation Sohail Anwar Sial

 Sindh Provincial Minister for Irrigation Sohail Anwar Sial has said that there is constant injustice with Sindh. Sindh does not want anyone’s share of water. Sindh’s share should be given under the agreement. IRSA is supporting Punjab and the PTI government is abusing Sindh in collaboration with IRSA. When I am raising the issue of water, a notice has been sent by the NAB, he said. PPP chief media coordinator Nazir Dhoki was also present at the press conference in Islamabad.

He said that the issue was going on in Sindh due to water shortage for many days. The KP Chief Minister was present in the meeting with the Prime Minister today but Balochistan was not represented in the meeting. He said that the Taunsa-Panjnad (TP) link canal has been opened on the 24th and it was said that it has been opened at the behest of the chairman standing committee for agriculture, Nawab Yousuf Talpur while Talpur has denied it.
The Punjab Minister said that TP Canal will not be closed. He said that water should be distributed under Water Accord even though there is continuous injustice meted out to Sindh. We demand our share of water. Water should be provided according to the water accord. No decision could be taken in the meeting with the Prime minister. He said that Sindh’s water is being stolen by Punjab with the connivance of IRSA. He said that the share of Sindh’s GDP is 23% in agriculture of Pakistan. The representative of Balochistan was not present in the meeting.
I came to know about the press release of NAB at the same time when I was attending the meeting with the prime minister. Sial said that I asked the Chairman NAB to call DG NAB Sukkur and inform him that the case against me is false and concocted. The case is being initiated at a time when I am raising water issue. He said that the chairman of IRSA has abused the IRSA member of Sindh. We have raised this issue.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24915/
Sial said that he would meet the Chief Minister tomorrow and report back to him about today’s meeting and inform Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as well. He said that this issue is not a political issue but a provincial issue. Sindh Assembly has passed a resolution to remove the chairman of IRSA who is also a member Punjab in IRSA. Sial said that the cotton cultivation starts after April 20. Sindh needs water now but Sindh is being given less water. We are only demanding our right, he concluded.

عمران خان کے اقتدار میں آنے کے بعد بیرونی قرضے 95 ارب ڈالر سے بڑھ کر 21 ارب ڈالر اضافے کے ساتھ 116 ارب ڈالر ہوچکے ہیں، چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹو زرداری

پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ عمران خان قرضوں پر ملکی معیشت چلاکر آئندہ آنے والی نسلوں کیلئے گڑھا کھود رہے ہیں جبکہ سخت شرائط پر قرضے لے کر معیشت چلانے کا تجربہ آئندہ حکومتوں کیلئے بھی مسائل پیدا کرے گا،

 میڈیا سیل بلاول ہاؤس سے جاری اپنے ایک بیان میں چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا تھا کہ عمران خان کشکول اٹھائے واشنگٹن، ریاض، دبئی اور بیجنگ گھومتے رہے اور ملکی وقار خاک میں ملادیا جبکہ سلیکٹڈ وزیراعظم نے پاکستان کے فیصلے قرض دینے والے ممالک کے ہاتھوں میں سونپ دئیے ہیں، چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے مطالبہ کیا کہ اس سے پہلے کہ ملک بند گلی میں پہنچ جائے، وزیراعظم مستعفی ہوکر گھر جائیں، 

پی پی پی چیئرمین نے بتایا کہ صرف اس سال عمران خان 35 فیصد اضافے کے ساتھ 10 ارب ڈالر کا بیرونی قرضہ لے چکے ہیں جبکہ عمران خان کے اقتدار میں آنے کے بعد بیرونی قرضے 95 ارب ڈالر سے بڑھ کر 21 ارب ڈالر اضافے کے ساتھ 116 ارب ڈالر ہوچکے ہیں اور اگر عمران خان اسی رفتار سے قرض لیتے رہے تو قوم کو مستقبل میں سخت حالات کا سامنا کرنا پڑسکتا ہے،

 چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا تھا کہ عمران خان نے پاکستان کے بچے بچے کو قرض کی دلدل میں دھکیل کر ملک کے

 مستقبل کو داؤ پر لگانے کی کوشش کی ہے، اپنی نااہلی سے واقف ہونے کے باوجود عمران خان نے صرف اپنی انا کی تسکین کیلئے پاکستان کو معاشی تباہی سے دوچار کردیا، وزیراعظم کی کابینہ ادھار کے پیسوں کو کرپشن میں اڑارہی ہے، انہوں نے عمران خان کو مخاطب کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ وزیراعظم صاحب! معاشی ترقی کے دعوے کرنے سے قبل ایک تنخواہ دار عام آدمی کے گھر کے حالات کی خبر لیں جہاں مہنگائی نے قیامت ڈھادی ہے

https://www.ppp.org.pk/

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Anthony Fauci: Booster Shots Will Likely Be Needed But When Remains Unknown

 

By Nina Golgowski

“I don’t anticipate that the durability of the vaccine protection is going to be infinite — it’s just not,” he said Wednesday.

Americans vaccinated against the coronavirus will likely need a booster shot to ensure they remain protected. But exactly when still remains unclear, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday.

“I don’t anticipate that the durability of the vaccine protection is going to be infinite — it’s just not,” the infectious disease expert testified before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. “So I would imagine we will need, at some time, a booster. What we’re figuring out right now is what that interval is going to be.”

Fauci said researchers are continuing to monitor those involved in the vaccines’ original clinical trials to determine their resiliency. Thus far, it’s been determined that the protection can last anywhere from six months to a year.

The CEOs of vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna also suggested last week that Americans could need a booster shot eight to 12 months after completing their inoculations.

“People at highest risks (elderly, healthcare workers) were vaccinated in December/January. So I would do [a] September start for those at highest risk,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told Axios.

Fauci has discouraged naming a timeline, however, until one is certain.

“We may not need it for quite a while,” he said in an interview last week with The Washington Post. “We are preparing for the eventuality that we might need boosters, but I think we better be careful not to let the people know that inevitably X number of months from now, everyone is going to need a booster. That’s just not the case.”

Offering increased protection against emerging variants may also be a reason for booster shots, as one infectious diseases expert recently told HuffPost.

“We know increasingly reassuring information about durability, but the variant question remains open — and a little ominous, I think, as you see what’s happened across the subcontinent, and how we’re getting a rise here in the United States of the Brazilian variant,” said Cameron Wolfe, an associate professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases with Duke University’s School of Medicine.

Vaccine makers have said they are preparing to make alterations to their vaccines to better fight variants. Moderna recently announced that it has developed a variant-specific booster shot that has been shown to protect those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 against the variants from Brazil and South Africa. Both of those variants were detected in the U.S. in January of this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fauci-unknown-when-booster-shots-needed_n_60ae91b6e4b0d56a83f23e3e

OPINION: The Public Deserves to See This Legal Memo About Donald Trump

By Neal K. Katyal

The Biden Justice Department appears to be making a serious mistake by trying to keep secret a Trump-era document about former Attorney General William P. Barr’s decision to clear his boss, former President Donald Trump, of obstructing justice.

The American people have a right to see the memo. Then they can decide whether Mr. Barr used his power as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer as a shield to protect the president.

This month, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court in Washington ordered it released. Were this an ordinary criminal case, her order would represent a remarkable intrusion into prosecutorial secrecy, and I would have appealed when I was acting solicitor general.

But the document is anything but ordinary. It concerns attempts at the highest levels of government to shield the attorney general’s boss from criminal liability. It is, in essence, the people’s memo, and with its appeal, the Justice Department is attempting to hide it from public scrutiny.Faced with a Freedom of Information Act request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to release the document, Judge Jackson engaged in a thorough review of the material. Her conclusion was startling: Mr. Barr was “disingenuous.” And the affidavits the Justice Department used to justify withholding the materials “are so inconsistent with evidence in the record, they are not worthy of credence.”As an institutionalist, I believe the long-term interests of the Justice Department generally do not swing from one administration to the next. My tenure in the Obama administration running the Solicitor General’s office, which decides for the federal government whether it will appeal judicial orders, was devoted to that principle.So it’s understandable how the Justice Department reached its decision in this case. We generally don’t want prosecutors to have their internal analysis released to the public, for fear of undermining ongoing law enforcement investigations and for chilling frank advice and discussion. That is, I suspect, why the Justice Department authorized the appeal. It doesn’t want the Freedom of Information Act to be used as a weapon to undermine prosecutors.

But in this case, absent additional information, that rationale seems wrong. The appearance, if not the reality, of what Mr. Barr did to the Justice Department cannot be ignored: He used his mighty prosecution powers to protect the Trump administration and its friends, including the president.

That is what Judge Jackson’s opinion, in the end, was all about. After reading a full set of documents related to the memo, she said: “So why did the attorney general’s advisers, at his request, create a memorandum that evaluated the prosecutorial merits of the facts amassed by the special counsel? Lifting the curtain reveals the answer to that too: getting a jump on public relations.”

These shenanigans came after Mr. Barr was revealed to have written a memo for Mr. Trump while a private citizen, a long document that concluded that, yes, you guessed it, the president was not guilty of obstruction of justice.

The Justice Department is the one cabinet agency that has a value in its name — “justice.” Its iconography — a blindfolded Lady Justice — underscores the idea that everyone has to play by the same rules. Mr. Barr appears to have desecrated that cardinal principle. The public has a right to know what he and his Justice Department lawyers did and why they did it.We already had one by-the-book official, the special counsel, Robert Mueller, try to apply regular principles to a deeply abnormal presidency, and we witnessed the result: a distorted impeachment and the nullification of potential criminal charges.The problem for the new Justice Department is: What does it do now? Should it depart from ordinary rules because the last administration did so? If it doesn’t appeal Judge Jackson’s decision, isn’t the department allowing a precedent to be set that private litigants can ask for and get all sorts of prosecutorial materials?No. Good surgeons don’t always operate, and good appeals lawyers don’t always appeal. Here, Justice Department lawyers could have safeguarded the department’s interests by saying they disagreed with the decision, but because it was a trial court decision, it was not precedential for other cases and not appropriate to appeal.And the department then could have voluntarily released the memo without conceding that it was required by the Freedom of Information Act. When the Justice Department doesn’t appeal a decision, that doesn’t mean it agrees with it. Lawyers there decide not to appeal all the time for many reasons. In short, there were better solutions here that would have walked the tightrope between the public’s need to know and the Justice Department’s general need to protect prosecutorial interests.

In the end, there must be a zone of confidential government decision-making and privacy. Good government depends on it. But that zone is a two-way street: It also depends on government officials who behave as if they deserve to be there. The Justice Department’s decision to appeal Judge Jackson’s order treated this case like any other garden-variety case.

It wasn’t.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/opinion/trump-barr-obstruction-justice-doj.html

ساقی غاړ می راوړی په زنار یې زینتي کړه - آهنگساز: ناشناس - Pashto Music

Both the incumbent and former federal government has deprived the people of lower riparian of their rightful share of water – says Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

The Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said that there is dire need for a new water accord, based on justice, equality, and free from political partisanship. Water should be distributed among the provinces with complete transparency and without favoring one province at the cost of the other. The PTI-led federal government, however, had shown that it can not rise above partisan politics and is willing to collectively punish Sindh for rejecting the selected. The issue of depriving Sindh and Balochistan of water are of national importance, and core to the stability of the federation, and it is extremely condemnable that the federal government has actively deprived provinces it doesn’t rule of their fair share, the Chairman PPP said.

While addressing a press conference at the village of Bashir Ahmed Halepoto in Talluka Matli, the Chairman PPP said that the water crisis in Sindh was a serious issue as the future of the people of Sindh is directly linked to smooth and equitable supply of water to Sindh. Unfortunately, both the previous and incumbent federal governments have played with fire by depriving the people of the lower riparian of Sindh of water. He added that the water accord-1991, one the PPP opposed even then, was unbalanced from the start, and the incumbent selected PTI-led federal government were depriving Sindh of its rightful share even based on that unbalanced formula. The Chairman PPP regretted that Sindh’s representative member in IRSA was subjected to attacks and slander for voicing the concerns of the Sindhi people in meetings.

The selected PTI-led federal government should know that the answer to the genuine issues this country faces won’t be found by launching vitriolic ad hominem attacks to deflect from their criminal actions of depriving the people of Sindh and Balouchistan. The Sindh government, by lining over 1500 km of water courses and canals with cement, has already done much to for smooth delivery of water prevent water loss and has also allocated Rs.7 billion in the current fiscal budget to continue lining water courses and canals in Badin. The people of Badin would find that this would resolve most of their water woes and their issues with the LBOD, he added. The Chairman PPP went on to warn the the selected PTI-led federal government that the PPP would continue to challenge the ineptitude and corruption of the federal government in and outside the Parliament for as long as PTI continued to serve vested interests at the cost of the economic welfare of the Pakistani people.

“A government and its economic policies should serve the needs and aspirations of the people, not drafted and promulgated on the dictation of the IMF.”

In response to a question, the Chairman PPP said that it was common knowledge that he had discarded the sham show cause notice, and that he still stood by his decisions. The PPP is not answerable or beholden to either Nawaz Sharif or Maryam. As Leader of the opposition and President PMLN; Shahbaz Sharif is officially in charge of PMLN and henceforth, the PPP would engage with him for matters of national interest.He added that the PPP leadership holds Maulana Fazlur Rehman in high regard, and that the PPP was always engaged in principled politics. The PPP doesn’t believe in creating drama in the streets, while secretly cutting backdoor deals to come into power. Those who truly believe in democracy and civilian supremacy should join hands with the PPP rather than opposing it.In reply to another question pertaining to the attack on the journalist Asad Toor, he said that if the journalist fraternity was unsafe in a city like Islamabad under the nose of this sham of a federal government, then how could any journalist feel protected in the country. The fact that this incident occurred two days after the government tabled a bill on journalist safety, showed that the federal government was all talk and no substances.

The federal interior minister Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed, he added, instead of interfering and criticising others would do well to protect journalists in Islamabad. This incident has to be investigated thoroughly and the perpetrators and masterminds must be exposed, he added. To another question, the Chairman PPP said that it was on record that the selected PTI government have repeatedly stated that they owe no duty of care to the people of Sindh. The federal interior minister had gone so far as to sink to the levels of diatribes against the people of Sindh and that he owed the province an apology. The peace and tranquility in Sindh was a result of the painstaking combined efforts of Sindh government and Sindh Police, and it was of pivotal importance that all the departments work in complete harmony to ensure the continuity of that tranquility, he added.The Chairman PPP also condoled with the newly elected MPA Dada Muhammad Halepoto and Shahzad Halepoto on the sad demise of late MPA Bashir Ahmed Halepoto, in Bashir Halepoto Village in Talluka Matli.

Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah, ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and Suhail Anwar Sial, MNA Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, and MPAs Taj Muhammad Mallah, Ejaz Shah Bukhari, Mir Allah Bux Talpur, Arbab Lutfullah and Tanzeela Qambrani, Special Assistants to Sindh CM, Jawaid Nayab Leghari and Pir Noorul Haq Qureshi, office-bearers Mir Sohrab Marri, Haji Ramzan Chandio, Asghar Halepoto, Sain Bux Jamali, Haji Rasool Bux Chandio, Khurram Karim Soomro and Tariq Ali Shah Jamot accompanied the Chairman PPP.

Following the press conference at Badin, the Chairman PPP inaugurated the Phuleli Canal restoration project at 30-miles cross regulator in Tando Muhammad Khan. Sindh Irrigation Minister Suhail Anwar Sial briefed the Chairman PPP on Phuleli Canal restoration project, which would irrigate over 1.5 million acres of agricultural land. The Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) managing director Preetum Das and Left Bank Canals Area Water Board (LBCAWB) Chairman Qabool Muhammad Khatyan assisted the minister Sial in briefing to the Chairman PPP. The Chairman PPP also visited the site of Phuleli Canal Restoration project that services and irrigates agricultural land in Badin and Tando Muhammad Khan. He commended the Sindh Irrigation Department on completing the public welfare project which cost Rs.3 billion. The Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was accompanied on his visit to the Phuleli Canal restoration by the Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah and Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24905/

­­­­PPP demands not to use the name “PDM” without the PPP

Secretary General Pakistan Peoples Party, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari has said that “like-minded” people should not use the name PDM without PPP which is the party that has laid the foundation of this platform. He said that PPP as a political party believes in mutual respect in politics and defamatory attitude is intolerable.

Nayyar Bukhari said that PML-N and JUI’s bipartisanship is hurting democratic forces. He further said that the formation of Pakistan Democratic Alliance is based on the vision of Chairman PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Maulana Fazlur Rehman should tell us that who is benefitting from the criticism of PPP which is the leading party of PDM?
Nayyar Bukhari said that on one hand, Shahbaz Sharif invites the PPP at a dinner and on the other, his party’s second tier leadership hurls accusations at the same PPP. He said that the PPP was right to think that the people using the name of PDM were escaping from the action plan to get rid of the rulers and were also avoiding taking part in the elections.
Nayyar Bukhari said that the IMF backed people are preparing to impose more heavy taxes on the people in the budget and the PPP is opposing the government which has brought the tsunami of inflation and unemployment.
Pakistan Peoples Party will continue its struggle for constitutional, economic and human rights of the citizens of Pakistan and for strengthening democracy.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/24908/

#Pakistan - Asad Ali Toor - Another day another journalist attacked

 

Asad Ali Toor, a Journalist and Youtuber was assaulted by unidentified assailants outside his residence in Sector F-10 late on Tuesday night. CCTV footage shows three men leaving the journalist’s apartment in a hurry. Another clip shows Toor, struggling as he walks out of his apartment and neighbors untie him and help him.

The journalist was taken to a private hospital and images of his bleeding elbows were posted by several people. Later, it was reported that his condition is stable.

The matter gained popularity on social media however, the platform seems divided. Some are blaming the military establishment while others are claiming that the incident was staged.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry took notice and ordered the Islamabad police chief to look into the matter.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari tweeted on the matter saying that this incident will only allow Toor’s voice to grow “stronger and louder”.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif stated her shock and sent prayers to the journalist in a retweet.

Moreover, Fatima Bhutto an acclaimed author and niece of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto condemned the attack in a tweet.

Amnesty International also took notice of the incident and tweeted on the contrasting incidents of presentation of the Protection of Journalists Bill in the National Assembly and the attack on Toor.

Last year, the journalist was accused of defaming the military and faced charges against him. The FIR lodged against him accused him to indulge in propaganda against Pakistan and its institutions on social media. However, the Lahore High Court absolved him of the charges as no evidence was found to support the charges.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/761798/another-day-another-journalist-attacked/

صحافی اسد طور پر حملہ، آصفہ بھٹو بھی بول پڑیں

اسلام آباد میں صحافی اسد طور پر نامعلوم افراد کے تشدد کے واقعے پر سابق صدر آصف زرداری اور شہید محترمہ بے نظیر بھٹو کی چھوٹی صاحبزادی آصفہ بھٹو کا بھی بیان سامنے آگیا۔

سماجی رابطے کی ویب سائٹ ٹوئٹر پر جاری کیے گئے بیان میں آصفہ بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ ’اسد علی طور پر حملہ کسی فرد پر  نہیں بلکہ یہ ہماری بنیادی آزادیوں پر ہے۔‘

آصفہ بھٹو زرداری نے اپنے بیان میں موجودہ حکومت پر شدید تنقید بھی کی۔

اُنہوں نے کہا کہ ’حکومت کا یہ یقین بالکل غلط ہے کہ دھونس، ہتھکنڈوں اور ٹارگٹڈ حملوں سے حقیقت خاموش ہوجائے گی۔‘

آصفہ بھٹو کے ٹوئٹ پر صارفین کی بڑی تعداد اُن کی حمایت کرتے ہوئے کہہ رہی ہے کہ وہ اسد علی طور کے ساتھ کھڑے ہیں۔

دوسری جانب چیئرمین پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری، مسلم لیگ نون کی نائب صدر مریم نواز اور جمعیت علمائے اسلام (ف) کے سربراہ مولانا فضل الرحمیں کی جانب سے بھی صحافی اسد علی طور پر حملے کے واقعے کی شدید مذمت کی گئی ہے۔

واضح رہے کہ اسلام آباد میں نامعلوم افراد نے صحافی اور بلاگر اسد طور پر گھر میں گھس کر بہیمانہ تشدد کیا۔

جیونیوز نے صحافی پر تشدد کے بعد ملزمان کے فرار کی سی سی ٹی وی وڈیو حاصل کرلی، وڈیو کے مطابق تین ملزمان کو اسد طور کے فلیٹ سے فرار ہوتے دیکھا گیا۔

ویڈیو میں اسد طور کو بھی بندھے ہوئے ہاتھ پیروں کے ساتھ زخمی حالت میں اپارٹمنٹ سے باہر نکلتے اور مدد کے لیے پکارتے بھی دیکھا گیا۔

https://jang.com.pk/news/932376