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OPINION: Did the Midterms Save American Democracy?

ROSS DOUTHAT

For everyone furiously debating the condition of American democracy, the 2022 midterms were a beautiful thing — a gift to both sides of the argument, a Rorschach test that yields to either interpretation.

Suppose, first, that you were among the democracy-in-peril alarmists, for whom Trumpism and MAGA Republicanism represent not just a chaotic populism but an existential threat. What did you see happen?Well, you saw an embattled president, Joe Biden, decide to make the defense of democracy itself his key election theme. For this, he was scorned from multiple directions — for ignoring kitchen-table issues, for conflating normal conservative positions with authoritarianism, for failing to offer the kind of radical bipartisanship that his diagnosis would imply.

Yet in the end it seemed to work: Voters who were otherwise inclined to vote for G.O.P. candidates did tend to reject exactly the kind of “MAGA Republicans” — the Trump-endorsed and Trump-imitating, the most paranoid-seeming “Stop the Stealers” — that Biden’s argument tried to single out. The red wave predicted by fundamentals and history disappointed, in part, because Americans judged a subset of Republican candidates too extreme to entrust with normal democratic powers. The public did the work of de-Trumpification that Trump-era Republicans themselves had failed to do — and they did so, one could argue, precisely because of alarms raised on democracy’s behalf.

Thus the happy conclusion for the alarmist camp: Democracy was in danger, and for this cycle, at least, we saved it.

But then imagine yourself a non-alarmist, looking at the same results. For the last few years you’ve heard the alarmists argue that the problem isn’t just Trump or his epigones — that the entire Republican Party has been remade as an authoritarian formation, that its preferred election rules are basically Jim Crow 2.0., that the structures of American government are enabling permanent minority rule by a white-identitarian right, that the United States is on the brink of low-grade civil war, that Jan. 6 never ended and the right won’t accept any election result that doesn’t go its way.

Yet what did you see happen? Most Republican candidates losing their elections and conceding entirely normally, the MAGA candidates included. Georgia, supposedly ground zero for the new Jim Crow, delivering normal turnout and another strong performance for its African-American Democratic senator. The structures of American government delivering Republicans less power in Washington than their current raw vote totals would imply, with a Democratic Senate and the thinnest House majority for the G.O.P. despite their solid-seeming majority in the House popular vote. A continued migration of minority voters into the Republican Party, suggesting that the country is actually growing less polarized by race. And a conspicuous absence of the kind of violence that the new-civil-war prognosticators keep expecting.Between these two interpretations of 2022 — the alarmists celebrating a hard-fought victory for democracy and the non-alarmists seeing a predictable return to normalcy — is any synthesis or handshake possible?

Let me propose two possible concessions, one from each direction. First, the alarmists might concede that the unique shamelessness of Trump himself, joined to the wild, weird circumstances of 2020 — a pandemic, a wave of riots and protests, an on-the-fly remaking of election procedures — were probably more determinative of Republican voter-fraud paranoia and its Jan. 6 consummation than some deliberate ideological turn toward authoritarianism or semi-fascism.

In other words, the results of 2022 don’t vitiate the original alarmist idea that Trump is a dangerous figure who shouldn’t be entrusted with the presidency. But they do call into question the systemic alarmism, the belief that the entire Republican Party is seceding from normal democratic politics and that Trump’s ascent was just a trigger for that process.

Then likewise, the non-alarmist might concede that such fascism-on-the-march alarmism, overblown as it may seem, may itself be one of the forces that tends to stabilize a democratic system, by mobilizing and balancing against excesses and paranoias on the other side. That the hyperbole before the midterms — think of the TV historian Michael Beschloss envisioning a right-wing dictatorship arresting and executing children — may have been one reason among many why so many “Stop the Steal” candidates got pasted in their races. And that such alarmism has arguably always played a version of this balancing, stabilizing role, all the way back to the early days of the Republic when the various factions reliably traded accusations of monarchism and Jacobinism.

This last image, of extremisms and anxieties about extremism balancing one another out, also suggests a hopeful way for the alarmists and non-alarmists of the Trump era to think about our relationship to one another: not just as rival interpreters of our democracy’s discontents, but as partners, in some strange way, in its continuing stability.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/opinion/midterms-democracy.html

Video - @GulBukhari - #Pakistan - Long March Drop Scene

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Chinese CH-4B Drone Spotted Over #Balochistan; Reports Indicate #Pakistan Army Is Using Them To Crush Rebellion

 

Drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war that saw a surge in drone warfare, Pakistan has become the latest state to press its Chinese-origin combat CH-4B drones to hunt Baloch rebels.

Earlier this month, Pakistan allegedly conducted a massive military offensive against Baloch rebels in the Bolan region by deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fighter jets, and Gunship helicopters, along with SSG Commandos, according to Balochistan Post-English.

According to reports, the Pakistani Army deployed jets against Baloch nationalists in the highlands of Bolan in Balochistan.The Pakistani military operations were resisted by the Baloch militias, which, in turn, killed two SSG Commandos. EurAsian Times could not independently verify the number of Pakistani commandos killed by the rebels.

While the Pakistani Army has used fighter jets and armed helicopters against Baloch rebels for several years, the use of combat UAVs is new and is continuously increasing. The Balochistan Post-English tweeted that China and Turkey have supplied various models of combat UAVs to Pakistan.

According to the information on the microblogging site Twitter and Pakistan-based defense blogs, Chinese CH-4B UAVs were spotted over Bolan, Balochistan, where the rebels killed two SSG Commandos.

The Pakistani military is accused by the people of Balochistan of the excesses committed against them and has intensified its armed assault in recent times.

According to a recent report of The Balochistan Post, the Human Rights Council of Balochistan received 41 cases of enforced disappearance and thirty cases of extrajudicial executions in Balochistan during October 2022.

Pakistan received five Cai Hong 4 (Rainbow 4, or CH-4) multirole medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs from China in January 2021. At the time, it was not revealed which variant of the CH-4 drone was acquired by Islamabad.

However, later reports suggested it was the CH-4B variant.

A Chinese PLA detachment based in Pasni, Gwadar, allegedly helps the Pakistani military operate these CH-4 drones. The Pakistan military has a naval air station at Pasni known as PNS Makran. China is developing the Port of Gwadar under the China-Pakistan Economic Agreement (CPEC), a premise for deploying PLA troops in the region.

China pursues a “strategic strongpoint” concept, whereby its military can use strategically located foreign ports with terminals and commercial zones run by Chinese companies.

This makes it plausible that the PLA detachment would assist the Pakistani troops in operating the CH-4B. However, we could not independently corroborate this notion, and Pakistani netizens dismissed it as propaganda.

That being said, Pakistan’s use of combat drones against Baloch insurgents is yet another example of militaries turning to drones for combat after watching the deployment of UAVs in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The conflict has led to a proliferation of drones. Pakistan is slated to receive Bayraktar Akinci and TB2 drones from its ally Turkey.

CH-4B Drones

The ALIT and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)-developed CH-4 family of multirole MALE UAVs features a wide range of sensor options.

The People’s Liberation Army of China is known to use two variants: the standard CH-4A, which has a flight endurance of 30 hours and is primarily designed for reconnaissance missions, and the strike-capable CH-4B, which can carry a 345-kilogram weapon payload but has a shorter flight endurance of 14 hours. The Pakistani Army reportedly uses the CH-4B Strike variant.

Pakistan’s CH-4 drones were spotted at a Pakistani airbase close to India’s border in August 2021, as reported by EurAsian Times. Satellite imagery shared by an open-source intelligence showed four CH-4 combat drones at the Bahawalpur airbase in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The drone has attracted many customers worldwide. Just a day before the CH-4B was spotted over Balochistan, Chinese state media Global Times reported a record demand for the CH-4 drone in the international market.

Citing the manufacturer China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the report said it had sold over 200 units of CH-4 drones to international customers. 

The CH-4 has an 18-meter wingspan, a 1.3-ton take-off weight, and a 350-kilogram payload. The UAV can carry weapons, including Lan Jian 7 (Blue Arrow 7) laser-guided air-to-surface missiles, TG100 laser/INS/GPS-guided bombs, and the AR-1/HJ-10 anti-tank missile—the Chinese version of the Hellfire missile.

It has a weapon that can be fired from a distance of up to 5,000 meters and is made explicitly for high-altitude operations over land and water. The UAV also features a retractable electro-optical sensor turret and a data link to the ground control station.

In addition, the CH-4 has a contemporary, two-person control station that allows for both line-of-sight and satellite communications, according to Popular Science. According to military watchers, this Chinese drone resembles the American MQ-9 Reaper.

• 
  https://eurasiantimes.com/chinese-ch-4b-drone-spotted-over-balochistan-reports-indicate/

Bilawal asks protesting PTI to spare army chief’s selection week

While questioning the venue and timing of the PTI’s long march, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said it was former premier Imran Khan’s “last-ditch effort” to push the institution of army away from its constitutional role towards an unconstitutional role and appealed to the PTI chief to delay his protest till the completion of the process of army chief’s appointment.Also, the PPP chairman, in respo­nse to a question regarding the possibility of President Arif Alvi, who belongs to the PTI, creating hurdles in the army chief’s appointment process, told a presser that this was the last chance for Mr Alvi to let everything take place according to the law and Constitution after his failed attempt to dissolve the assembly. “If he [the president] tries to create an issue, he would have to face the consequences,” he declared.

“This is my appeal to Khan Sahib to behave sensibly and delay the protest for a couple of weeks so that the constitutional and legal process of the appointment of the army chief can be completed and so that I cannot make an allegation that you [Imran] are doing all this to make the appointment controversial,” the PPP chairman declared while speaking at the hurriedly-called news conference at Zardari House.

“Why has Mr Khan chosen the very week [for the protest] when the appointment file must move to the appropriate ministry for the nomination of the new chief of the army staff?” asked Chairman Bhutto-Zardari in an apparent reference to the Nov 28 retirement date of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He said everyone in the country knew as to why Mr Khan had selected Rawalpindi for the protest and on the same dates when the summary for the nomination of the new army chief would be moving. If such a precedent is set, every party will protest in Rawalpindi every three years, says PPP chairman

The PPP chairman said that if Mr Khan was allowed to set this precedent, then every party would be staging a sit-in in Rawalpindi after every three years. He was referring to the three-year term of the army chief and the headquarters of Pakistan Army in Rawalpindi. It would be “dangerous for the country and the nation” if politicians started raising slogans for their favourite generals in the army, he pointed out. “Now, we are sending a message to Imran Khan and ‘his backers’. Stop playing this game. Neither Pakistan nor its people can afford this. The precedent you are setting now is very dangerous for Pakistan’s future,” he went on to add.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari alleged that since the ouster of his government, Mr Khan had been making efforts “to sabotage the transition [process] in an institution from controversial to constitutional role”, believing that if it happened then he would not be able to play his role in the country’s politics. He alleged that Mr Khan had been making efforts to either force the government to hold immediate elections or to put the country under martial law, since the ouster of his government through a successful no-confidence resolution in April.

The PPP chairman recalled that in one of his speeches on the floor of the National Assembly at the time of the no-confidence resolution against Mr Khan, he had disclosed that the PTI government had threatened them either to accept early elections or be ready to face martial law. Since then, he said, Mr Khan had made two attempts to fulfill that agenda. According to him, Mr Khan had made the first such attempt when he attempted to create a constitutional crisis in Pakistan through dissolution of the assembly and then by “attacking” Islamabad during a similar long march in May and when the present government was talking to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of its programme.The PTI chief at that time tried to convince the institution that their “democratic experiment, the transition from a controversial to constitutional role, was a failure” and that either martial law or fresh elections were the only option for them. After failure of these two attempts, he said, Mr Khan was now making a last-ditch effort in this regard, he added.

The PPP chairman praised Gen Bajwa for refusing the offer of the then PM Khan to get a life-time extension. Stating that the PTI’s present “so-called long march” had no “democratic goal”, the young foreign minister alleged that Mr Khan had always done politics with the backing of the “undemocratic forces”. The country had already suffered due to “imposition” of Imran Khan on the nation after the 2018 general elections, he said. However, he said, it was heartening to see the army deciding not to play its controversial role and stay within the constitutional limits and every Pakistani welcomed it. “However, there are few characters, politicians, groups and lobbyists whose politics will be over if this decision [of the army] is practically implemented,” he said, adding that the political future of Mr Khan and some other politicians was linked to the “controversial role” of the institution.

He said the army chief’s appointment was the prerogative of the prime minister and the PPP along with the entire nation would accept the appointment made by him in a constitutional way.Responding to a question about the possibility of President Alvi creating hurdles in the army chief’s appointment process, Mr Bhutto-Zardari said this was last chance for the president to let everything take place according to the law and constitution, declaring that “if he [the president] tries to create an issue, he would have to face the consequences”.

Asked about the possibility of imposition of a governor rule in Punjab, the PPP chairman said that he would like to advise Mr Khan “to not compel us to make a decision that we do not want to take”.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1721984

آج کے بچے کل کے لیڈر ہیں، بلاول بھٹو

 وزیر خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا ہے کہ آج کے بچے کل کے لیڈر ہیں، ان

کے ذہنوں کو رواداری کے ساتھ پروان چڑھانے کی ضرورت ہے۔

بچوں کے عالمی دن کے موقع پر دیے گئے پیغام میں بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ بچوں کو تمام مطلوبہ سہولیات فراہم کرنا حکومت اور معاشرے کی ذمہ داری ہے۔

انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ تعلیم، صحت، صاف اور پُرامن ماحول بچوں کی صحت مند نشونما کے لیے ضروری ہیں۔

وزیر خارجہ نے یہ بھی کہا کہ پاکستان کو داخلی اور خارجی محاذ پر متعدد مشکلات کا سامنا ضرور ہے، ہماری اولین ترجیح ہے کہ ہمارے بچوں کا مستقبل ہونا چاہیے۔

ان کا کہنا تھا کہ پولیو کے تقریباً ایک چوتھائی کیسز محض پاکستان سے رپورٹ ہو رہے تھے، شہید بینظیر بھٹو نے بطور وزیراعظم اپنے دوسرے دور حکومت میں انسداد پولیو مہم شروع کی۔

بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے کہا کہ آج ہم پولیو سے پاک ملک بننے کے قریب ہیں، مساوات اور یکساں مواقع ہر بچے کے ناقابل تردید حقوق ہیں۔

انہوں نے کہا کہ سیلاب سے متاثر بچوں پر خصوصی توجہ دینے کی ضرورت ہے، سیلاب اور بارشوں سے متاثر 33 ملین افراد میں سے ایک تہائی بچے ہیں۔

وزیر خارجہ نے کہا کہ موسمیاتی تباہی کے نتیجے میں تقریباً 19 ہزار اسکولوں کو نقصان پہنچا، میں نے عالمی فورمز پر موسمیاتی انصاف کی افادیت پر زور دیا ہے۔

ان کا کہنا تھا کہ ہم مستقبل میں موسمیاتی آفات کا شکار پوری دنیا کا مقدمہ لڑ رہے ہیں۔

https://jang.com.pk/news/1161335

Music Video - NA JAANE KYA HUA - DARD - 1981 -

#Afghanistan - Gross Violations - Ignorant Taliban have quickly reinstated some of the harshest policies

A full year has passed since the Taliban’s takeover with human rights violations continuing to erupt at full capacity in Afghanistan even though the media’s attention has shifted elsewhere. Many feared the return of the Taliban after the US withdrew its forces from the country, but a few expected the terrorist organization to take charge of the country so quickly. Despite pledges of moderation and reform when they first assumed power, the Taliban have quickly reinstated some of the harshest policies.

Women have been systematically erased from public spaces and their fundamental liberties taken away, including the right to secondary school education. At the university level, women are constantly harassed, and their every move is surveilled so meticulously that many have decided to quit schooling altogether. Things hit a new low after a fatwa issued by the government last year that forbids women from going out in public without a male companion. As if this wasn’t mortifying enough, child and forced marriages have also experienced a violent surge under the Taliban government due to limited professional prospects for women. Even in areas where women are still allowed to work, such as primary education and healthcare, they are often unable to comply with the government’s oppressive stipulations. Female doctors, for instance, aren’t allowed to interact with male patients.

Religious minorities are also routinely subjected to violence-a recent attack against the Kaaj Educational Centre in September claimed 54 lives, of which 51 were Hazara women. Individuals associated with the National Resistance Front, an anti-Taliban military alliance, are also detained and tortured without prior notice with many pointing towards an increasing trend of “revenge killings” under the regime, with numbers exceeding the hundreds. Ethnic favouritism runs rampant in the government, which consists almost entirely of Pashtuns. When minorities demand more representation and protest, they are met with invasive raids and militarised crackdowns.

After western donors withdrew their billions of aid from the country, the economy completely collapsed; forcing the country into virtual isolation. Currently, Afghanistan is completely cut off from the world and this has emboldened the regime to clamp down on its people with an iron fist. With no one to keep them in check, the Taliban has free reign to do what it wishes. It is essential that governments abroad apply pressure on the Afghan government about its human rights record, so they know someone is watching.

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Video - Chairman PPP & FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's press conference at Zardari House, Islamabad

3Pakistan - Bilawal rejects rumours claiming Saudi crown prince’s visit postponed due to PTI’s long march

 Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Saturday rejected rumors claiming that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s scheduled visit to Pakistan was postponed due to the PTI’s long march and political turmoil in the country.

Addressing a press conference, Bilawal said, “I don’t think Mohammed bin Salman’s visit was postponed due to Imran Khan’s long march.”

Berating PTI Chairman Imran Khan, the foreign minister said that the party’s long march on Islamabad was aimed at making the appointment of the next army chief controversial.

“There is no democratic objective of Imran Khan’s long march,” he said, adding that the former prime minister had offered a lifetime extension offer to the incumbent army chief to avoid the no-confidence motion.

“Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa rejected the offer for the sake of Pakistan,” he added.

The foreign minister maintained that Imran Khan wanted to make the implementation of the constitution controversial.

He held the former prime minister responsible for the economic crisis in the country and said that Khan wanted to sabotage the deal between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The PPP chairman said that his party was against sit-ins since the beginning, adding that they adopted a democratic way to oust Imran Khan’s government

Responding to a question, Bilawal said that the army chief’s appointment is the prerogative of the prime minister. He advised the PTI chairman to let the process for appointing the new chief of army staff be completed and postpone his long march for a few days.

He suggested Imran Khan to not make the appointment of the army chief controversial.

It is the last chance for Imran Khan to fulfil his constitutional responsibility otherwise the president will have to face the consequences, he warned.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/453434-bilawal-rejects-rumours-claiming-saudi-crown-princes-visit-postponed-due-to-ptis-long-march

#Pakistan - FM Bilawal stresses need to review counter-terrorism policy to prevent militancy resurgence

"We won’t take a solo flight on the matter of recognition of the Afghan govt,” FM Bilawal says, urging int'l community to get engaged with interim govt.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Friday said Pakistan would not take a solo flight to recognise the interim government of Afghanistan and stressed reviewing the country’s counter-terrorism policy to prevent the resurgence of militancy.

Addressing a press conference held on the six months of the government’s foreign policy, Bilawal emphasised the need for an “in-camera review” to reform the approach to counter-terrorism in a bid to prevent the factors that gave rise to militancy in the past.

In response to a question regarding the link between peace in Afghanistan and countering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the foreign minister said it was important to internally review the policy.

“Never think that TTP’s matter is in black and white as either it would be war or negotiations with them,” he said, highlighting that Pakistan in recent years had undergone a successful journey to eliminate terrorism and extremism from its soil.

‘Won’t take a solo flight on recognition of Afghan govt’

Shedding light on the closure of the Chaman border, he said terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s security forces from the Afghan side led to the closure of the border and urged the Afghan government to take measures accordingly.

“When we came to power, we decided to engage with Afghan authorities regardless of our differences for the greater national interest. We won’t take a solo flight on the matter of recognition of the Afghan government,” he maintained.

He said peace in Afghanistan was crucial for Pakistan and the region, requesting the international community to get engaged with the interim government of Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian crisis.

Bilawal also called upon the authorities in Afghanistan to fulfil the pledges, especially related to human rights and women’s education.

‘Nothing wrong in reexamining our approach’

Bilawal said the coalition government had made efforts to restore the foreign policy objectives by holding “meaningful high-level diplomatic” engagements.

The foreign minister mentioned that the country’s foreign policy was on a positive trajectory to help achieve the goals of development by addressing important issues including counter-terrorism and security and economic cooperation.

He, however, said: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong in admitting we were wrong in some things and right in other things and reexamining our approach and recalibrating the way that we deal with this issue in the context of the developments in our region.”

Bilawal accepts terrorist attacks increased in last one year

The foreign minister mentioned that the nation’s whole-hearted support helped end terrorism from the tribal areas including North Waziristan.

However, he pointed out the involvement of a neighbouring country in carrying out nefarious activities of terrorism in Balochistan.

Commenting on the increasing terror attacks in Pakistan, FM Bilawal said: "Terrorist attacks have increased in the last year. The increase will have to be reviewed again."

The foreign minister, while speaking regarding the ongoing skirmishes at the Pakistan and Afghanistan border in Balochistan, said: "A terror incident has occurred at the Pak-Afghan border. An Indian spy was caught in Balochistan. But despite the difficulties, we want peaceful relations."

The minister added that the people of Pakistan kicked terrorists out of their territories.

‘Pakistan-US relations de-hyphenated’

The foreign minister said the government’s focus was to prioritise the national interest and emphasised maintaining a balanced relationship and a positive outreach with all countries including the United States and China.

He said the relations between Pakistan and the US had been “de-hyphenated”.

He mentioned that due to GSP Plus, the country’s export outlook witnessed an exponential growth of 80% in recent times.

The foreign minister emphasised focusing on “trade instead of aid” with other countries to put the country on the path of economic stability.

‘We welcome Imran Khan’s latest U-turn’

Commenting on PTI chief Imran Khan’s “U-turn” on alleged foreign conspiracy, Bilawal said: “We welcome the latest U-turn of Mr. Khan on leaving the American conspiracy behind”.

He stressed that there had never been a conspiracy by the United States as was earlier stated by Khan. “Pakistan and the US enjoyed a historic relationship in the interest of their people,” he maintained.

"Khan sahib's comment about American conspiracy exists. He himself accepts he took a U-turn. There neither was an American conspiracy nor it still is," the foreign minister said.

Terming the current political climate in the country “a storm in the teacup”, he said the discussion around Khan’s narrative about the United States conspiring against him should stop.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1011296-fm-bilawal-stresses-need-to-review-counter-terrorism-policy-to-prevent-militancy-resurgence

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Pashto Ghazal - Nashenas _ زه خو شرابي يم، زه خو شرابي يم شیخه څه راسره جنګ کړې برخې ازلي دي، کاشکې ما د ځان په رنګ کړې

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#Pakistan - The FAO has warned that about 6m people can face acute food insecurity in 28 vulnerable districts of Balochistan, Sindh and KP.

By Zofeen T. Ebrahim

@Zofeen28

JANIB Gul Mohammad can feel a pall of gloom as he enters his home. And when his wife Kasbano serves him a meat dish, otherwise a rarity, he knows why. Another animal has perished. For his wife, it is a day of mourning; to him, another huge economic loss.

As if the floods had not caused enough devastation — destroyed their home and the rice crop — it is sapping life out of their livestock too. A few days ago, it was the fourth time in the last one month that he ate meat.He and his wife rescued all their six animals when they fled the floodwaters that submerged their home and took refuge on the embankment of a canal for two weeks before returning.

However, soon after being displaced, one pregnant cow, a calf and two goats died, Gul Mohammad said over the phone from his village in Fateh Ali Buledi, in Sindh’s Kamber Shahdadkot district. The cow and goat that are still alive will soon succumb, he said, estimating a total loss of Rs250,000.

“Our animals are dying from hunger and sickness,” he said. Insufficient fodder and the stress of displacement is making them weak. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 85 per cent of farmers have observed signs of animal disease outbreak in their communities.

Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro, director general of the Sindh Institute of Animal Health at the provincial government’s livestock department, said the situation was alarming. In Balochistan, an estimated 500,000 animals perished; followed by 436,435 in Sindh; 205,106 in Punjab and 21,328 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. An estimated 1,164,270 animals have perished, while many more are on the verge of death.

Some animals drowned while others died of starvation as grazing land was covered with water. Consumption of contaminated water and eating wet fodder led to parasitic diseases making them weak.

With the veterinary infrastructure compromised the animals could not get vaccinated.

Livestock, the largest sub-sector in agriculture, contributed 60.1pc to agriculture value addition and 11.5pc to GDP during the 2020-21 financial year, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey. More than eight million rural families are engaged in livestock production and deriving more than 35pc-40 pc of their income from this source. There are 42m buffaloes and almost 51m cattle in Pakistan, according to the Ministry of National Food Security & Research. Sindh has an estimated 40m-50m livestock population, said Dr Kalhoro; it is also the worst-affected province in terms of losses, which he estimates to be Rs27,864,065,000. “Balochistan may have lost more animals, but it had smaller ruminants for personal use, not cash or dairy animals like the ones in Sindh.” With no income, the farmers are selling their livestock to middlemen from Punjab, at a huge loss. Last month alone, Dr Kalhoro said, an estimated 4.5m animals were sold. According to several studies, faced with a crisis, small farmers are often forced to choose between selling their assets to buy food for the family or reducing their food intake to protect assets. Either way they face a loss — economic or nutritional — pushing families into poverty. According to the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, the poverty ratio in Pakistan had declined from 57pc to 24.3pc in 2015 but has increased to 35.7pc recently.

Before the floods, the World Food Programme had carried out an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis of 28 vulnerable districts in Balochistan, KP and Sindh and estimated about 5.96m people to be in IPC phase 3 (crisis) and 4 (emergency) between July and November 2022, that would increase to 7.2m by March 2023. After the floods, the WFP and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) project the number of people requiring emergency food assistance (IPC3/4) to increase to 11m.

There was an acute shortage of fodder even before the floods. A major portion of by-products needed to make fodder was exported and small farmers were forced to import food for their animals. Now the situation has worsened and this has already resulted in a surge in the price of milk, meat, chicken and eggs, pointed out Shakir Umer, president of the Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association. The loss of buffaloes and cows means an acute shortage of milk. Although Punjab manages 90pc of the country’s milk requirements, for small farmers in Sindh it will result in the loss of income.

The FAO has warned that about 6m people, which is 30pc of the rural population, can face acute food insecurity in 28 vulnerable districts of Balochistan, Sindh and KP and about 15pc-16pc of the population overall. In the 2022 Global Hunger Index, Pakistan is 99th out of 121 countries. The situation is bound to get worse with crops destroyed and food prices rising daily. Latest official estimates show that the area affected by the floods represents about 35pc of the total area where cereal, sugarcane and cotton were sown for the 2022 Kharif season.

Unicef estimates half a million children to face severe acute malnutrition, needing immediate treatment, and an additional 80,000 needing urgent medical interventions.In addition, 18,624,000 (or 11.24pc) poultry and 1,156 poultry farms have also been lost to the floods. This can have a huge impact, not only on the nutrition, but also on the livelihood of women in rural households. It can take as many as 15 years to recover if things remain the same. Dr Kalhoro has come up with an emergency livestock rehabilitation plan for Sindh and if that is implemented, he is sure the sector can recover in four years.

This entails restocking among others. In the first phase, for instance, some 10,000 most vulnerable households may be provided with one milking buffalo; another 50,000 with five goats (one male among them) and 10 birds (one male). In addition, they can be provided with vaccination services, treatment of sick animals, feed, mosquito nets and spray, as well as construction material for the reconstruction of animal sheds.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1720440/livestock-loss

Imran Khan Pushes Pakistan to the Edge

By Sadanand Dhume 

The former prime minister challenges the idea that it isn’t a state with an army but an army with a state.

Is Imran Khan Pakistan’s savior or its destroyer?

His legion of passionate supporters hope his continuing confrontation with the country’s army will allow him to return to power—Parliament ousted Mr. Khan in April—and cleanse Pakistan of corruption and misrule. More likely, the 70-year-old former cricketer’s vainglory and taste for brinkmanship could tip an already turbulent nation into chaos. Either way, the U.S. and its allies should brace for instability in the nuclear-armed Islamic Republic.

The latest flashpoint came last week after a failed assassination bid interrupted a protest march by Mr. Khan and his supporters to pressure the government to call early elections, which aren’t due for about a year. The shooting killed one person and wounded Mr. Khan in the leg. Authorities say they quickly arrested the would-be assassin, a religious zealot. In a confession video leaked on social media, he accused Mr. Khan of seeking to rival the prophet Muhammad.

Mr. Khan isn’t buying this explanation. He blames the attack on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Faisal Naseer, a major general in the army’s Inter-Services Intelligence. Messrs. Sharif and Sanaullah have denied Mr. Khan’s charges, as has the army. In a statement, the army called his accusation “baseless and irresponsible” and suggested Mr. Khan was threatening “the honour, safety and prestige of its rank and file.”

Mr. Khan’s public tirade against a senior officer “suggests a vendetta and signifies a major breach in civil-military relations,” says Aqil Shah, a Pakistan expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This is all the more remarkable given both Mr. Khan’s longstanding friendliness with Pakistan’s army and the central role it plays in the country’s government. In the 75 years since independence, generals have directly ruled Pakistan for about 33 years. For much of the rest, the army chief has been the power behind the throne. As the old axiom goes, Pakistan isn’t a state with an army but an army with a state. Now that is threatened by a politician who used to be viewed as the army’s puppet.

Angered by the shooting, Mr. Khan’s supporters have blocked traffic and clashed with police in Lahore and Rawalpindi. In Peshawar an angry mob gathered outside the fortified home of the general in charge of the region. On Thursday, Mr. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, resumed its march to Islamabad, without the injured Mr. Khan. Mr. Shah thinks that Mr. Khan’s message to the army is clear: “If you don’t play ball with me, I will go all the way and discredit and shame you as an institution.” Since his ouster, Mr. Khan has called on the army to pressure Mr. Sharif for early elections, accusing him of delaying so that his government can appoint an army chief after the current one retires later this month.How the crisis unfolds matters beyond Pakistan’s borders. The military’s outsize role in Pakistan’s government has long presented a security problem for the U.S. and India, among other nations. The army has fueled a long-running insurgency in India-controlled Kashmir and provided safe haven to the Taliban during its successful campaign to oust NATO forces from Afghanistan. After the 9/11 attacks the ISI reportedly established a special cell to hide Osama bin Laden a stone’s throw from the country’s premier military academy. Jihadists as far apart as Bosnia, the Philippines and Indonesia have been linked to Pakistan. The army reportedly aided rogue nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan’s smuggling operations in Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Despite this malign record, the army has also earned a reputation as the most functional institution in a dysfunctional country. Its officer corps has largely resisted factionalism and remains bound to its chain of command by intense unity and discipline. Moreover, though the army controls vast business interests, it is generally regarded as immune to the kind of day-to-day bribery that marks the country’s civilian institutions. Some scholars regard the military as the glue that holds the country together. If the army collapses, Pakistan might collapse along with it. Mr. Khan’s public broadsides leave the generals with few good options. Firing or transferring Gen. Naseer, the ISI official responsible for domestic politics, would signal weakness in the face of Mr. Khan’s bullying. But not acting places them on a collision course with arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician. In either case, ordinary Pakistanis—already reeling this year from floods and a tanking economy—likely face even more instability.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/imran-khan-pushes-pakistan-to-the-edge-inter-services-intelligence-army-parliament-assassinations-election-taliban-11668115875?mod=opinion_featst_pos2

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Video Report - Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's interview with CNBC

Pakistan, Saudi FMs discuss political and security affairs

 

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Thursday held wide-ranging discussions on host of issues related to political and security domains.

The two Foreign Ministers held these discussions as they jointly chaired inaugural session of the Ministerial Committee of Political and Security Pillar of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Committee, held here in the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Underscoring the longstanding fraternal and strategic ties between the two countries, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed his resolve to further strengthen cooperation across entire spectrum of bilateral relations to realize the aspirations of the leaderships of the two countries, achieve common objectives and push their relationship to reach greater horizons.

The two sides shared assessment of the changing regional and global environments and reaffirmed their commitment to continue coordinating positions on all issues of common concern including, among others, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K), Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s firm support for safety and security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad said.

He stressed the importance of continued coordination between the two countries on combating activities of terrorist groups that aim to undermine the security and stability of the regional countries.

The Foreign Minister also highlighted the need to further strengthen institutionalized linkages between the two countries to counter threats in the security domain; including cyber security, counter terrorism and its financing, organized crimes, drug trafficking and money laundering.

He expressed satisfaction on existing military and defence ties between the two brotherly countries and underscored Pakistan’s commitment to further bolster cooperation in this area.

The meeting was held under the framework of Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council which is chaired by the Prime Ministers of both countries.

Senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign, Defence, Interior and the Security and Intelligence Services of both countries also attended the meeting.

https://www.app.com.pk/global/pakistan-saudi-fms-discuss-political-and-security-affairs/

Pakistan wants to further strengthen institutional linkages with GCC, members states: Bilawal

 

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Thursday said that Pakistan wanted to further strengthen institutional linkages with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and its member states, in line with the Joint Action Plan for Strategic Dialogue between the two sides.

The Foreign Minister, who met with Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf, Secretary General of GCC in Riyadh, said that Pakistan would be ready to host the next round of Strategic Dialogue at an early mutually convenient date in Islamabad, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Highlighting the importance attached by Pakistan to its relations with the brotherly countries of the Gulf, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Pakistan sees GCC as an important player in the region that can play a vital role in further expanding political and economic ties between Pakistan and Gulf states.

The Foreign Minister and the Secretary General reviewed the status of Pakistan’s ongoing engagements and cooperation with the GCC and its member states.

He expressed satisfaction on the trajectory of the relationship and underscored the need for continuing this momentum going forward.

The Foreign Minister also highlighted the need for early finalization of the ongoing negotiations on Pakistan-GCC Free Trade Agreements and asked technical teams from both sides to synergize their efforts to achieve this common objective.

The Foreign Minister and the Secretary General also shared views on regional and global issues including Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Afghanistan and Yemen.

He briefed the Secretary General on Pakistan’s position and assessment on these issues and highlighted that Pakistan and the GCC countries have convergences of interests and positions on all issues of common concern.

https://www.app.com.pk/global/pakistan-wants-to-further-strengthen-institutional-linkages-with-gcc-members-states-bilawal/

#Pakistan #PPP - Bilawal in Riyadh on two-day Saudi visit

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reached Riyadh on Wednesday on a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the Joint Sub-Committee meeting of the Political and Security pillar of the Saudi-Pakistan Supreme Coordination Council (SPSCC).During the visit, Bilawal would also hold bilateral talks with his Saudi counterpart. He would also meet with the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Foreign Office said. The foreign minister would also have an interaction with the local media and other dignitaries.

Bilawal reached Riyadh from Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was part of the Pakistan delegation, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to attend the COP27 summit. The Foreign Office said that the foreign minister’s visit would deepen Pakistan’s “engagement with Saudi Arabia for enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation”.

In the Egyptian Red Sea resort, Bilawal met with his French counterpart, Catherine Colona, on the sidelines of Conference of Parties (COP27) summit. During the meeting, the two foreign ministers agreed to strengthen bilateral ties in diverse fields.According to the Foreign Office, both sides expressed desire to collaborate on addressing the challenges of climate change. Bilawal lauded the efforts of French President Emanuel Macron as part of global campaign to mitigate the effects of climate change.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Bilawal also met with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry and Iraqi Foreign Minister Dr Fouad Hussein. During the meetings, the foreign ministers discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Bilawal congratulated Shoukry on the excellent arrangements for the COP27. He invited the Egyptian foreign minister to visit Pakistan early next year to commence the bilateral activities for celebrations of 75 years of friendly relations.In the meeting with Dr Hussein, Bilawal reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Iraq’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. He acknowledged Iraq’s success in the fight against terrorism and appreciated the resilience of Iraqi people in their efforts to overcome challenges and rebuild the country.Matters pertaining to Pakistani pilgrims visiting Iraq and the people-to-people contacts also came under discussion. While appreciating the measures taken by the Iraqi government for the well-being of the pilgrims, Bilawal requested his counterpart for facilitating the Pakistanis during Ashura Muharram and Arbaeen.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2385639/bilawal-in-riyadh-on-two-day-saudi-visit