Tuesday, January 25, 2022
آخری قہقہہ کس کا؟ - عاصمہ شیرازی -
ٹرانسپیرنسی رپورٹ، بھارت بھی پاکستان سے بہتر نکلا - وزیراعظم عمران خان کی حکومت کے کرپشن ختم کرنے کے دعوے دھرے کے دھرے رہ گئے۔
ٹرانسپیرنسی انٹرنیشنل کی کرپشن پر سیپشن انڈکس میں بھارت بھی پاکستان سے بہتر نکلا۔
وزیراعظم عمران خان کی حکومت کے کرپشن ختم کرنے کے دعوے دھرے کے دھرے رہ گئے۔
پی ٹی آئی حکومت نے کرپشن کے معاملے آصف زرداری اور نواز شریف دورِ حکومت کو بھی مات دے دی ہے۔
ٹرانسپیرنسی انٹرنیشنل کی رپورٹ کے مطابق 180 ممالک کی فہرست میں پاکستان کا پہلے 124واں نمبر تھا جو اب ترقی کرتے ہوئے 140ویں نمبر پر آگیا ہے۔
ٹرانسپیرنسی کی رپورٹ میں بھارت بھی پاکستان سے بہتر نکلا ہے، جو فہرست میں 85ویں نمبر پر ہے۔
ٹرانسپرنسی انٹرنیشنل کے مطابق ایسا صرف میڈیا آؤٹ لیٹس، این جی اوز کو بند کرنا اور انسانی حقوق کے کارکنوں کا قتل سبب ہوا ہے۔
رپورٹ کے مطابق صحافیوں اور سیاستدانوں کی جاسوسی کرنا پاکستان کی کرپشن پرسیپشن انڈکس 2021ء کو بہتر نہیں بناسکتا، حکومتیں اس کے برعکس کام کرنے کی کوشش کریں۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/1041856
#Pakistan - #PTI govt broke all records of corruption - Pakistan slides 16 spots, ranks 140th on CPI
In TI's Corruption Perceptions Index 2021, Pakistan scores 28 out of 100
The absence of a central agency to coordinate action against corruption was a core factor in driving Pakistan to its lowest in recent years on a global perceived corruption index in 2020, watchdog Transparency International said on Tuesday.
The group’s annual report on business leaders’ perceptions of corruption — which gave Pakistan a score of 28 out of 100, down from 31 in 2020 — also cited the “failure” of the state to uphold rights and consult citizens.
That put Pakistan, at 140, behind India in 85th place, while Bangladesh stood at 147 with a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 26.
The 2021 index ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index assigns scores of between one and 100, one being highly corrupt and 100 clean.
The score is derived from a range of 13 sources measuring corruption perceived by experts and business executives. It measures the use of public office for private gain, nepotism, bribery, the diversion of public money and state capture.
The score is also a reflection of the strength of integrity and anti-corruption systems, including “the existence of adequate laws on financial disclosure, conflict of interest prevention and access to information”.
Transparency trumpets the CPI as “the most widely used indicator of corruption worldwide”. But the high-profile and widely reported index has amassed its fair share of critics over the last two decades.
A Guardian report attacked the CPI’s reliance on the opinions of a small group of experts and business people. “This embeds a powerful and misleading elite bias in popular perceptions of corruption and can lead to inappropriate policy responses,” it said.
Pakistan is among two-thirds of nations across the world that are either stagnating or showing signs of deterioration in their anti-corruption efforts.
Under the government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which came to power on an anti-corruption platform, Pakistan’s ranking has gradually slid. In 2019, it was 120 out of 180 nations, 124 in the following year, and in 2021, it slipped further to 140.
In contrast, in 2018, the last year of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, the rating stood at 117 out of 180 governments.
Commenting on the report, the vice chairperson of the Berlin-based agency’s Pakistan chapter, retired Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal, observed there was no change in CPI scores of India and Bangladesh from 2020.
The top performers in the Asia Pacific are New Zealand (88), Singapore (85) and Hong Kong (76).
However, most countries sit firmly below the global average of 43. This includes three countries — Cambodia (23), Afghanistan (16) and North Korea (16) — with some of the lowest scores in the world.
“While countries in the Asia Pacific have made great strides in controlling bribery for public services, an average score of 45 out of 100 on the 2021 CPI shows much more needs to be done to solve the region’s corruption problems,” a Transparency report said.
The government is also battling to improve the regulations to avert being blacklisted by the global financial body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in what could be a bitter blow to an economy already beset by a weakening currency, rising inflation and slower growth.
Many have urged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to push banks to improve anti-money laundering systems and information sharing across the sector.
RESIGNATION OF GOVT SOUGHT
Commenting on the contents of the report, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif declared Transparency International testified for the second time the PTI government “has broken all records of corruption in the last 20 years”.
In a statement, Sharif, who is facing a plethora of corruption cases, claimed corruption had “decreased” during his party’s government as a result of “transparency, good governance and legal reforms”.
Under deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s “transparency [and] good governance”, corruption had declined as legal reforms of PML-N improved the ranking of Pakistan in the corruption index by 23 points and the country’s image improved in the world.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/01/25/pakistan-ranks-140-out-of-180-on-global-corruption-index/
#Pakistan - There are difficulties in regularizing the population of Gujjar Nala, but there is no obstacle in the regularization of Bani Gala – Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that he will save the Katchi Abadis across Sindh, and will give property rights to the residents there. He added that PPP has never opposed giving plots to any judge, bureaucrat, or anyone else, hopefully, no one will object to the poor getting their due share either.
Addressing an initial leasing ceremony for 150 people under a scheme to give property rights to residents of more than 8,000 houses in 19 mahallas of Larkana, Chairman PPP said that the first thing the incumbent Prime Minister had done after being elected was to regularize his Bani Gala home for a small fee. We hoped that when the Prime Minister was regularizing his house, the same policy would be applied to the slums across the country.
“Instead, one slum after another was demolished,” said Chairman PPP. “And it seemed as if all the forces of the country were united in snatching away roofs from atop the heads of the poor.”
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari further said that it is tragic that we face difficulties in regularizing the population of Gujjar Nala, but there is no obstacle in the regularization of Bani Gala.
“There are difficulties in regularizing the slums of Orangi Town, but Bahria Town is regularized,” said Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Chairman PPP said that he was proud of the people of Larkana who had formed organizations to save their homes and started a movement. Today, that movement has been successful. He said that a new journey begins today. Ownership rights will be given to slum dwellers across Sindh, where they have been living for forty years. He further said that the task of rescuing the slums will be intensified from February. We will do our best to give the poor people their rights.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that this is the difference of perception and opinion as to what kind of Pakistan you want to see. A Pakistan where a common man, a job seeker, a middle-class man, invests the savings of his whole life in projects like Nasla Tower. There are many other such oppressive examples. Or a Pakistan that is the Pakistan of Quaid-e-Awam and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, where every man from every class gets his due share.
“If the people support us, we will create a Pakistan where everyone is provided with the rights they deserve,” said Chairman PPP. “The journey that has started today from the slums of Larkana will start in the whole of Sindh, including Karachi.” He said that after the next general election, we will give property rights to the citizens living in slums all over Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari handed over lease certificates to 150 people in the first phase of the project to give property rights to the slum dwellers of Larkana.
Present on the occasion were Special Assistant to Chief Minister Sindh Liaquat Ali Askani, Members of Assembly and other leaders.
Monday, January 24, 2022
OPINION: Why Pakistan’s Army Wants the U.S. Back in the Region
For years, Chinese and Pakistani leaders have described their relationship, forged by a common rivalry with their neighbor India, as “sweeter than honey.” But the Pakistani Army’s view of the relationship with China appears to be souring — and diverging from the political leadership’s. Last month, after Prime Minister Imran Khan declined the Biden administration’s invitation to its Summit for Democracy, the Pakistani television news anchor Kamran Khan posted a video on social media denouncing the “wrong decision,” one he declared was made at China’s behest. (China was not invited to — or happy about — the summit.) The journalist lamented that, with that move, the prime minister had “put Pakistan openly in China’s lap.” He alleged that Beijing’s loans had “entrapped” Islamabad, and he even called for an “audit” of the pros and cons of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which has brought billions of dollars in debt-driven energy and infrastructure investment to Pakistan. In Pakistan, press freedom and politics lie in a gray area, with red lines carefully managed by the army. With a mere phone call or WhatsApp message, colonels can whip a transgressive editor or lawmaker into line. So the explicit call to reconsider relations with China by one of Pakistan’s most prominent media voices is no random hot take. It reflects the consent, if not the orders, of the country’s khaki masters. Indeed, Pakistan’s praetorian army would have preferred, according to a retired U.S. diplomat, that Prime Minister Khan had attended President Biden’s summit — to reinvigorate a relationship with a superpower that’s been giving it the cold shoulder. The generals, of course, have little love for democracy or, for that matter, America. What they do have is a sharp sense of realism and a firm belief that the army is the guardian of the national interest. (The army has directly ruled or commanded strong indirect political influence for most of Pakistan’s history.) The army leadership must know it has no permanent friends among political forces at home or abroad. It constantly seeks strategic maneuverability, balancing domestic and foreign forces in response to changing realities and to avoid dependence on a single patron, proxy or ally.The historically on-again-off-again U.S.-Pakistan relationship is a perfect example. The 9/11 attacks and subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan brought Islamabad and Washington closer. Army-ruled Pakistan had no choice but to accept a slew of U.S. demands, including aiding the overthrow of a Taliban regime it saw as friendly. But by the mid-2000s, Pakistan resumed covert support for the Taliban, aiming to force a negotiated U.S. withdrawal. Last year, Pakistan got what it wanted. But now, after spending two decades working to push America out of Afghanistan, the Pakistani Army appears to want it back in the region.
Because as U.S.-China competition intensifies, Pakistan’s army fears getting trapped in a cul-de-sac with Beijing. So it seeks to balance the two great powers by grasping on to areas of cooperation, including counterterrorism and trade, that could salvage relations with Washington. The prime minister, in contrast, appears to be more driven by personal sentiments. He admires China’s political system, especially its gains against poverty and its ruthless anti-corruption measures. And he has an anti-American streak, which helps explain why he might be more receptive to Chinese pressure. The army, though, doesn’t seem to hold such grudges. Its focus is the present and the future, which seem foreboding. Pakistan’s economy is sputtering, which could be a recipe for social and political unrest, as well as cuts in military spending.As the tap from China dries up — given Beijing’s growing aversion to lend to high-risk countries — and Pakistan’s economic woes worsen, much of the army command see Mr. Khan’s hypernationalism as counterproductive truculence, and the military leaders increasingly view him as more of a liability than an asset. This helps explain the overtures to Washington, which include not just the democracy summit messaging but also granting a U.S. diplomat rare access into the tightly controlled, Chinese-operated port of Gwadar.But the attempted pivot back to America most likely won’t go far. Goodwill in Washington has dried up, especially given Pakistani intelligence’s support for the Taliban. And Islamabad’s sins aren’t the sole driver of the U.S.-Pakistan divorce. Washington has wholeheartedly embraced India, seeking to advance its rise as a global power, even as that country moves toward Hindu nationalist authoritarianism. Time after time, Washington has allowed an “India exception” in its human rights or nuclear proliferation policies, emboldening New Delhi and endangering Islamabad. While Pakistan has in recent years grown ties with Russia and Turkey, China has become the obvious choice for a meaningful alternative to the United States. With relations with Washington at a nadir in 2011, Islamabad turned to Beijing to obtain military hardware it couldn’t get from America, including drones and advanced aircraft. China and Pakistan accelerated their joint manufacturing of a low-cost fighter jet that forms the backbone of Pakistan’s air force. And Pakistan became the only foreign country with access to the military version of China’s Beidou satellite navigation service. While Pakistan’s generals appear irked by the prospects of being trapped on China’s side in a new cold war, they also have benefited from Beijing’s new muscularity — like when India last year was forced to divert troops from the front lines with Pakistan toward the border with China. Fears of a two-front war with China and Pakistan have restrained New Delhi’s posture toward Islamabad for now. But they also tighten the Indo-American embrace. Paradoxically, Pakistan’s partnership with China may be paying off too well.To counter China, India is overcoming its inhibitions to align with the Americans, dilute its “strategic autonomy” and deepen bilateral defense cooperation. This in turn increases Pakistan’s dependence on China, its largest arms supplier and bilateral creditor. And that compounds the Pakistani Army’s fears of being strategically boxed in. Meanwhile, Pakistan has learned the hard way that when it comes to trade and lending, its special relationship with China isn’t so special. Islamabad in 2020 started trying to renegotiate the expensive electric power contracts it recklessly entered into with Chinese companies. Beijing not only refused to do so, but it insists that Islamabad repay $1.4 billion in arrears owed to Chinese power producers. Pakistan put nearly all of its eggs into one basket and is learning the limits of what it means to be an “ally” of China. Its predicament offers lessons for other smaller countries on navigating a new era of the U.S.-China rivalry: Don’t blindly pursue China as an alternative to the United States. In commerce and trade, China’s approach is mercantilist for friends and foes alike. And so while Pakistan’s army appears to be trying to distance itself, it might already be too late.
Pakistan’s farmers, agriculture and economy can only be protected after the puppet Prime Minister is ousted – Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
The PPP chairman said that people’s rule has to be established by removing the selected government.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the ineligible government that lacks everything to run the country has left country’s agricultural economy in a devastated condition while the people especially the crops growers are pinned to wall.
The ineligibility of this incumbent poor government has brought multiple crises and each only inflicted irreparable loss to country’s backbone sectors.
He said that the cash crops are not getting a fair price while the farmers have been left on mercy of the nature. In addition, cash crops are being damaged due to unfair distribution of water.
He further said that the wrong policies of the government have not only ruined the agricultural economy but also endangered food security.
He said that a few days ago farmers staged protests in districts of Punjab and Sindh as in Sahiwal, Layyah and Larkana. We are leaving the villages and standing in the city center to convince the rulers to solve the problems of the farmers.
He was of the view that that the prosperity of the farmers is equal to the prosperity of the entire nation.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reminded that when PPP was in power, it worked positively for the betterment of all sectors especially the agriculture. However, farmers are anxious to get a bag of fertilizer by standing in long queues for fertilizer today.
The PPP chairman pointed out that the country was suffering from problems even under President Pervez Musharraf. The crisis was overcome and we were able to export surplus wheat abroad. “Farmers are being killed economically today, which we will not tolerate,” he said.
Today the farmer goes to bed empty stomy, and it is feared that the food insecurity will drive the entire nation to devastation. At present, inflation and unemployment in the country have reached historic levels. We are tired of pointing out problems in the National Assembly but no action is being taken by the government. The selected government has no concern for the farmers.
Bilawal Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that if any government had any sympathy towards the farmers and the people in the country, it was the PPP leadership.
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, and former President Asif Ali Zardari had deep concern of the people. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto rebelled against the system of the country and gave rights to farmers, carried out historic land reforms, gave land ownership rights to farmers, while Shaheed Benazir Bhutto also loved farmers immensely.
The PPP chairman said that if Pakistan’s economy is to be saved then Imran Khan has to be ousted peacefully, lawfully and by all democratic norms and values. We have decided that we will leave Karachi on February 27. The people of Hyderabad will also join us and the people there. We will send this government home in a democratic, legal and constitutional way with the support of the nation.
He while criticising the ruling coalition said that the facilitators of the selected government belonging to Sindh are conspiring to harm Sindh. They are trying to harm the peace of Sindh. The ethnicity-based artificial conflicts deeply impede our struggle for the rights.
“I will not allow any injustice to be done to any Sindhi speaker, Urdu speaker or Pashto speaker.”
“Let the people thwart the conspiracy of these ethnic groups by maintaining their unity.
The PPP chairman said that those who call the new local body system introduced by Sindh Chief Minister a black law will have a remorseful impacts on minds. The people of Sindh will reject these rejected elements.
Addressing the people, he said that he wants the mayor of Hyderabad from PPP, a Jiayala.
He promised that he will work with the Jiala mayor to resolve the problems of the people.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that those who could not be faithful to their leader would not be faithful to anyone else. Those who used to applaud slogans against Pakistan are the enemies of this city.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, provincial ministers, lawmakers and party dignitaries were present.
Sunday, January 23, 2022
#Afghanistan - Taliban 2.0 aren't so different from the first regime, after all
The international community is closely monitoring the Taliban, after the group re-seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. There is legitimate reason for concern. The Taliban are again ruling through fear and draconian rules.The Taliban's last regime, in the mid-1990s, was marked by human rights violations, including massacres, mass detentions and rape. The regime collapsed on Nov. 14, 2001, shortly after the U.S. launched its global war on terrorism. Even after the Taliban officially fell from power, their subsequent two decades of insurgency produced various gross human rights violations, an encompassing term under international human rights law.When the Taliban regained control over Afghanistan last year, some outside observers speculated that an evolved version of the group might materialize. These spectators assumed that the Taliban recognized it cannot govern merely with fear and bans. Many Afghan people still expressed widespread fear and skepticism about the Taliban's return. Branding Taliban 2.0 The Taliban have now been in power for almost five months. A clearer image of the human rights and personal freedoms situation in Afghanistan is emerging.As political science professors specializing in conflict and violence, we find that the Taliban's changes are limited to international public relations campaigns on social media and other outlets. While promoting a moderate face to the world, with promises of living "peacefully" and respecting women's rights, the regime has continued to systematically violate human rights and strengthen its autocratic grip. Theories about what experts called "Taliban 2.0" continued after the group assumed control over Afghanistan. Representatives from countries such as Turkey and Qatar encouraged the international community to engage with the Taliban. While international donors have frozen about $5 billion in foreign aid to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, some Western countries, including the U.S., have announced increases in aid to address the country's humanitarian crisis. Limiting the flow of information The Taliban have undertaken a systematic media crackdown to achieve their contradictory goals of presenting a softer face to the international community while violating Afghans' rights. The group is forcing media to follow two of the Taliban's dogmatic and moral regulatory bodies' guidelines. The Taliban also announced the "11 journalism rules," which include forbidding journalists from publishing or broadcasting stories that are "contrary to Islam" or "insult national figures." About 40% of the country's media sources have shut down, 6,400 journalists lost their jobs, including 84% of female journalists. Violence against media and journalists has again become widespread. Many other journalists have left the country. The media crackdown has a practical reason: limiting the flow of information about the regime's continued rights violations. United Nations human rights experts say they have received credible reports of the Taliban killing civilians, as well as hundreds of former Afghanistan security personnel across the country. The Taliban have shown gruesome hangings of dead bodies and stoning of people to death. An emerging humanitarian crisis Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation has deteriorated under the Taliban. Approximately 23 million Afghans are facing hunger, including 3.2 million children who are suffering from severe malnutrition. The Taliban leadership denies any responsibility for alleviating the looming humanitarian crisis. In November 2021, Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hasan rejected the regime's responsibility for food insecurity in Afghanistan and asked people to "cry to God to alleviate famine and drought." Anas Haqqani, a senior member of the Taliban negotiation team in Doha, also downplayed the seriousness of the looming hunger crisis by rhetorically asking a BBC reporter if she had ever witnessed someone dying of hunger. Regressing on women's and girls' rights The Taliban's conduct toward girls and women also reveals a return to previous ways.The Taliban has banned women from traveling more than 72 kilometers from home without a male relative.In early December, the Taliban released a decree saying a woman is a "noble and free human being" and should not be forced into a marriage. The international community largely welcomed the announcement.However, a closer look at the decree reveals that the Taliban formalizes the regime's right to determine whether a woman actually consents to a union.The Taliban have systematically reinstated old restrictions on girls education and female employment.While most primary girls schools are closed across the country, secondary and tertiary education remains completely banned for girls.In 2017, U.N. Children's Fund figures showed that 3.7 million Afghan children were out of school, 60% of them girls. This percentage is now likely much greater with the Taliban's ban on girls education. This differs from the Taliban's recent public messaging on girls' and women's "right to education and work." To the domestic audience, the regime's messages are vague. Leaders condition reopening girls education, for example, to unclear economic and moral conditions. Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said recently that once "economic challenges are resolved, we will provide education for all those who want to pursue their studies." The Taliban have also banned most female government workers from returning to their jobs, resulting in a workforce restriction that would result in economic losses totaling $1 billion. The only indication of a "new Taliban" is a much more sophisticated and strategic public relations approach for masking ongoing human rights violations.
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/taliban.2.0.arent.so.different.from.the.first.regime.after.all/138058.htm
#Pakistan - Growing terrorism threat - The Afghan Taliban are not fully cooperating with Pakistan in dealing with the TTP
THE terrorist attack on a police check post in the heart of the federal capital earlier this week was a dangerous happening. It is good that the security agencies have taken the incident very seriously (they should be equally concerned about the security of other cities such as Lahore that witnessed a blast on Thursday). But what is questionable is the state’s penchant for talking to the notorious banned group that claimed the attack. The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has escalated terrorist attacks in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan, and the interior minister has indicated that the trend may continue in the coming weeks.
Last year too, two terrorist attacks were recorded in Islamabad in which the banned TTP killed three policemen and injured a couple of others. Indeed, the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi have witnessed sporadic terrorist violence in recent years despite perceptible security. During the last two years, the TTP and its factions have carried out 11 terrorist attacks in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, resulting in the deaths of 13 security, mainly police, officials. This week’s attack in Islamabad also targeted policemen. The second worrying aspect is that in the past the TTP remained active mainly in the outskirts of the federal capital, but the latest attack was reported from a busy sector in the heart of Islamabad.The attack reveals the intention of the terrorist group to create fear. If more such attacks happen, barricades and check posts on the roads of Islamabad will be brought back. Only recently, a sense of security had returned when the number of security check posts was reduced to a minimum. Though Islamabad has a functional safe city mechanism, the security of the federal capital remains critical and security departments can take any measures to counter threats. It will not be surprising if Islamabad comes under increased security surveillance when a so-called pro-Pakistan regime in Kabul is reluctant to hand over or act against terrorists causing insecurity in this country.
The Afghan Taliban are not fully cooperating with Pakistan in dealing with the TTP.
Some media reports indicate that certain Afghan Taliban leaders are trying to restrict the movement of the TTP leaders and impose an arms embargo on the group. But the situation on the ground is different and the TTP’s confidence is gradually improving. Meanwhile, Pakistan has reportedly initiated another round of peace talks with the TTP through a tribal jirga, which can only be interpreted as extending one more olive branch to the terrorists. One wonders why security institutions are obsessed with talking to the TTP, especially when the latter has taken a hard stance on talks and continues its attacks against Pakistan.
The killing of Mufti Khalid Balti, a former spokesperson of the TTP, has further increased the trust deficit between negotiators from both sides and their guarantors. In that context, if the mantra of talks is merely a tactic to create rifts in the TTP leadership then the cost is very high and still may not be enough to eliminate the threat. The TTP will continue to cause damage to Pakistan, and over time, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan will learn the tactics to avert pressure from Pakistan. After all, the TTP is their ideological brigade and shares the same view of establishing an Islamic order of governance.
Security institutions have to carefully craft the approaches to deal with groups like the TTP and Al Qaeda which are under the protection of the Taliban regime. The TTP is not only a major actor of violence in Pakistan, it is also a facilitator of the regional operations of Al Qaeda and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). Al Qaeda has maintained its ties with the Afghan Taliban and has reportedly also helped the TTP recover and regroup in recent years; some Al Qaeda-aligned Pakistani groups even joined the TTP. In April 2021, CNN claimed, based on its interviews with two Al Qaeda operatives, that the group would step up its operations in the region after the US exit from Afghanistan. The report claimed that the group was planning a comeback by relying on its partnership with the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
Any probable operational alliance between the TTP and Al Qaeda or with ETIM against Chinese interests in Pakistan can prove lethal and cause a diplomatic crisis. The TTP can overcome its internal differences and restructure its networks. The group has seen many crises but has not lost its sting. It was involved in 87 terrorist attacks in 2021, an 84 per cent increase over its attacks across Pakistan the year before. Apart from these, most of the cross-border attacks from Afghanistan in 2021 (12 out of 14) were also perpetrated by the TTP. The geographical spread and number of TTP attacks in 2021 indicate that while the group carried out most of the assaults in former Fata, it also showed it had a presence in northern Balochistan and the Rawalpindi-Islamabad area.
One can imagine the potential lethality of the group which it has already displayed. Its core strengths include its close association with the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and a narrative that still attracts youth from the peripheries and religious institutions. The Afghan Taliban have proved themselves a liability for Pakistan and have been negatively affecting the country’s counterterrorism policies. They are not fully cooperating with Pakistan in dealing with the TTP, nor are they collaborating with it to secure Pakistan’s western border.
The TTP itself and Pakistan’s tendency to negotiate with it are encouraging other terrorist groups. The militant Islamic State group’s so-called Khorasan chapter has also become active in Pakistan, where it carried out multiple attacks in 2021 on Hazara Shias, alleged Afghan Taliban members and associated religious scholars, as well as political leaders/workers in Balochistan and KP. Several of its associates were arrested from parts of Sindh and Punjab in multiple search operations conducted by law enforcement during the year.
Pakistan has to devise a different approach to deal with the TTP threat. A timely change of course can save many precious lives and damage to the country.
President Asif Ali Zardari’s message on the farmers’ tractor march
In a statement issued from Media Office Islamabad, the former president said that a prosperous farmer is the guarantee of an agriculturally stable Pakistan.
The PPP will uphold its tradition of justice to the farmers and make it easier for the farmers to get their crops to the market. He said that the manifesto of the PPP is an agriculturally strong Pakistan. The former president said that the purpose of the farmers’ tractor march is to raise a voice against injustice with the farmers.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26142/
#Pakistan - Message of Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on International Day of Education
In his message on the eve of International Day of Education being observed globally tomorrow, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that education remains top priority of his Party as it believes that the future belongs to our children and youth, and the dream of a bright future without education will remain unfulfilled. PPP governments always increased the education budget, whenever in power and established record number of universities and other technical education institutions in the history of country, he added.
He said that professional and technical education are key to a better future and for this purpose the share of education in budget has to be increased. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pointed out that expenditure on education has dropped to 1.5% of the GDP during the selected regime of Imran Khan, which shows a sorry state of affairs. After winning the next general elections, PPP government will further increase the education budget, he vowed.
PPP Chairman said those compromising on the educational promotion and making unbearable cuts in the budget of universities and their allied centers are in fact causing great disservice to the nation. “Such approach is extremely hostile to the people, when on the one hand, about 25 million children between the ages of 5 and 16 are out of schools, while on the other, there is a big difference in access to quality education among the children of poor and privileged classes in the country,” he added.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari pointed out that this is PPP’s manifesto that we will have to move beyond the traditional curriculum and teaching methods to an education system that will inculcate in children creative and critical problem-solving and decision-making skills. He pledged that after winning the next general election, PPP would ensure that, in accordance with the Constitution of Pakistan, the State provides equal access to quality education to all children, adding that, the peoples government will increase expenditure ratio of education to more than 3% of GDP initially and continue to maintaining our own record of establishing more and more universities, colleges and other technical education institutions.
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26140/
Saturday, January 22, 2022
Pakistan is paying the price for Dasu attack that killed Chinese workers — $11.6 million
SONIYA AGRAWAL
Beijing had demanded that the Imran Khan government pay $38 million to the families of 36 Chinese workers killed or injured in the Dasu dam terror attack in July 2021. Nine months after a terror attack on Dasu dam killed 10 Chinese construction workers in Pakistan, the Imran Khan government has finally agreed to pay less than half of what Beijing demanded — $11.6 million. The government approved the amount to be given to the families of the Chinese workers killed or injured in the terror attack that took place on 14 July 2021.The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of Pakistan, which is the prime minister’s consulting forum, met Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Friday and took the decision. China had previously demanded that the Pakistan government pay $38 million to the families of 36 Chinese workers affected in the attack. The attack had also claimed lives of four Pakistani workers. Allegations suggesting that the Chinese contractor had vacated the site and raised several demands as preconditions to resume work. But these were rubbished by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian in a press conference on Friday. He reportedly said: “I’m not aware of the situation you mentioned. As far as I know, the Dasu hydropower project has resumed.” “Recently, we have seen [the] president of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and some media’s positive comments on the progress made in the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) flagship project,” he added. The Dasu Hydropower Project in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has now resumed operation, is funded by the World Bank. It, however, is not a part of the CPEC. According to a statement by PM Imran Khan, the dam will provide low-cost, clean energy. “Phase one of Dasu Dam will be completed by 2025, which will add 2160 megawatts of electricity to the national grid. This capacity will increase to 4320 megawatts with the completion of its second phase by 2029,” he had said. Allegations on India In August 2021, former member of Senate Sehar Kamran alleged that the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghan National Directorate of Security was involved in the attack. Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had also made a similar statement, alleging that the bombing was carried out by terrorists backed by the Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies.Reports suggested that the Pakistani intelligence found the involvement of Pakistan Taliban in the attack and also claimed involvement of Indian and Afghan intelligence. It was also claimed that the vehicle carrying the explosives was smuggled into Pakistan.India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the allegations, calling them ‘absurd’. “This is yet another attempt by Pakistan to malign India, in a bid to deflect international attention from its role as the epicentre of regional instability and a safe haven for proscribed terrorists,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.https://theprint.in/go-to-pakistan/pakistan-is-paying-the-price-for-dasu-attack-that-killed-chinese-workers-11-6-million/810221/
Pakistan: 'WhatsApp blasphemy' death sentence reinforces dangerous trend
Aneeqa Ateeq, a 26-year-old Muslim woman, was arrested in May 2020 and charged with posting "blasphemous material" as her WhatsApp status, according to a summary issued by the court. A man urged her to change it, but she instead forwarded the material to him, it said.
Caricatures of Muhammad are forbidden by Islam. The court in the city of Rawalpindi found Ateeq guilty, gave her a 20-year jail sentence and ordered her to be "hanged by her neck till she is dead." The death sentence is subject to confirmation by the Lahore High Court. 'Revenge' for refusing 'to be friendly'? Ateeq, who has stated that she is a practicing Muslim, denied the charges. During the trial, Ateeq told the court that she believed the complainant, Hasnat Farooq, deliberately pulled her into a religious discussion so he could implicate her and take "revenge" after she refused "to be friendly" with him.Farooq contended that the accused shared the allegedly blasphemous material as a WhatsApp status and refused to delete it when he confronted her on the messaging platform.She "deliberately and intentionally defiles sacred righteous personalities and insulted the religious beliefs of Muslims," according to the charge sheet. Legal experts, however, said no proper legal aid was provided to Ateeq during the trial. "The defense lawyer failed to defend her during the entire trial period and even admitted her crime in the court proceedings, which led to Ateeq's death sentence," said Saiful Malook, a senior lawyer who represented Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who spent years on death row following blasphemy allegations before she was acquitted by the nation's top court in 2019. Blasphemy to settle petty disputes and personal vendettas Blasphemy is a sensitive topic in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, where about 97% of the 180 million inhabitants are Muslim. In 1947, Pakistan inherited the blasphemy laws from its British colonial rulers, who had made it a criminal offense to commit "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religious belief." In later decades, the Islamic military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq introduced extensions of the laws between 1977 and 1988, including life imprisonment for people found guilty of defiling or desecrating the Holy Quran. Later, the death penalty was declared mandatory for anyone blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad.According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, about 80 people are known to be jailed in Pakistan on blasphemy charges — half of whom face life in prison or the death penalty.People have been lynched and even killed following allegations of insulting Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. In December, a Sri Lankan working in a factory in the eastern business hub of Sialkot was killed by an enraged mob over blasphemy suspicions, an incident that grabbed global headlines. Activists and rights groups believe that Pakistan's blasphemy laws are draconian and are often misused. The laws are often employed in cases that have little to do with blasphemy and are used to settle petty disputes and personal vendettas. Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis — a minority Islamic sect — are often victimized as a result, they point out. "The current version of the blasphemy law is indeed draconian. It is often misused, abused and exploited by individuals for their own ulterior motives and vested interests," Tahira Abdullah, a human rights activist, told DW. Amending the 'untouchable laws' Rights organizations have long called on the government to amend or repeal the contentious laws. "The law should be amended, and, at the very minimum, there is a need to amend the procedural aspects of the Pakistan Penal Code Sections. For example, we need to change FIR filing process, enforcement of the 2017 law for the protection of the accused and witnesses and the judges' protection. The misuse of the cybercrime law (PECA 2016 law) also needs to be stopped," Abdullah said. "No law, including the blasphemy law, is untouchable," she added. Conservative and right-wing groups, however, have vociferously opposed allowing even a slight amendment to the blasphemy laws. Ayesha Ijaz Khan, a lawyer and columnist, told DW that it was impossible to have a rational conversation on the issue given the prevailing climate of fear. "It is impossible to speak freely about matters tied to religion in Pakistan, although calls for reform have cited examples from other Muslim-majority countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia, where prison sentences for blasphemy vary from 3 to 5 years and do not carry the death penalty," she said. Anti-blasphemy politics by religious-political groups Abdullah said Pakistani politicians appeared to lack the courage to tackle the problem. "They are too afraid of the noisy street power of the mullahs and religious-political parties like the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)," the expert underlined. TLP is a largely Barelvi (a sect in Islam) party, founded in 2015 by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, a firebrand cleric who died in November 2020. The core ideology of this party revolves around the "finality of Prophet Muhammad" and the protection of Pakistan's blasphemy laws. "Groups like TLP have been used over the years for short-term political gain while overlooking the damage they do to the fabric of society and rule of law," Khan said. She noted that the group had protested against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017 after the release of a proposed new version of an oath to be taken by lawmakers that omitted mention of the Prophet Muhammad. "The state capitulated to their demands, emboldening them. Later, this allowed them to demand the expulsion of the French ambassador over offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad published in France in 2020, she noted. Multiple reasons for the rise in blasphemy cases At the time of the 2017 protests, Prime Minister Imran Khan — who was then in the opposition — had sided with the protesters instead of with the then government, the lawyer said. "This came back to haunt him when they created mayhem again during his rule." Abdullah said the TLP's cynical manipulation of the blasphemy law to gain political objectives was not the only reason for the increasing number of blasphemy-linked court cases and vigilante killings. "Other factors include the misuse of religion for personal ulterior motives, the ignorance of the masses regarding the Quranic injunctions on the subject, the fear factor among witnesses, judges and lawyers, and the absence of political will to focus on the problems in the law itself," she said. Another big reason, Abdullah said, is "the ease with which vigilante mobs are permitted to carry out extrajudicial killings of blasphemy-accused individuals and then get away with impunity."https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-whatsapp-blasphemy-death-sentence-reinforces-dangerous-trend/a-60511046
Pakistan: Bilawal Bhutto Launches Tractor-trolley March To Protest Against Imran Khan Govt
Farmers protesting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI's) poor agricultural policies were joined by the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a tractor-trolley march on Friday. As per the report of Dawn, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told the farmers that "this handpicked government" has harmed the country's agricultural economy as much as it had harmed the overall economy in the last three years. He also stated that agriculture was the country's economic backbone and offered his support to farmers protesting the government's alleged inadequate agricultural policies. Since Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to power in 2018, he claimed that farmers have not been obtaining adequate prices for their crops, while input costs have skyrocketed.Farmers protesting the government's poor agricultural policies were joined by the chairman of PPP, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a tractor-trolley march on Friday.
PPP information secretary and MNA Shazia Marri stated on Thursday that farmers are facing major challenges like a lack of urea fertiliser and have been protesting the PTI government's anti-farmer policies, according to Dawn. She stated that a bag of urea fertiliser could get as much as Rs 3,500 on the illicit market and that the federal government was not helping farmers. She also said that the PPP would stage protests against the federal government's anti-farmer policies.Marches would be expanded to other parts of the country in the second phase
The party already held marches in Sindh's Larkana division and Punjab's Sahiwal division's Okara city during the first phase. Such marches would be expanded to other parts of the country in the second phase, beginning January 24, according to Dawn. The protest in Larkana will be led by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while the farmers' gathering in Okara will be led by Punjab PPP President Raja Pervez Ashraf.https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/pakistan-news/pakistan-bilawal-bhutto-launches-tractor-trolley-march-to-protest-against-imran-khan-govt-articleshow.html
Friday, January 21, 2022
کسانوں سے اظہار یک جہتی کیلیے اوکاڑہ اور لاڑکانہ میں پر امن ٹرالی مارچ کر رہے ہیں،24جنوری کو کسانوں کیساتھ ملک گیر احتجاج ہو گا۔ صدر پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی وسطی پنجاب، راجہ پرویز اشرف
لاہور(۔ )پیپلز پارٹی وسطی پنجاب کے صدر راجہ پرویز اشرف نے کہا ہے کہ کسانوں سے اظہار یک جہتی کیلیے اوکاڑہ اور لاڑکانہ میں پر امن ٹرالی مارچ کر رہے ہیں،24جنوری کو کسانوں کیساتھ ملک گیر احتجاج ہو گا۔کسان کیلیے باہر نہ نکلے تو تاریخ معاف نہیں کریگی۔آج کھاد ناپید ہو چکی ہے۔کنٹرول ریٹ پر نہیں ملتی،بلیک میں مل جاتی ہے۔وہ اوکاڑہ کے ٹرالی مارچ میں شرکت سے قبل ماڈل ٹاؤن سیکرٹریٹ میں جنرل سیکرٹری حسن مرتضی اور سیکرٹری اطلاعات شہزاد سعید چیمہ کیساتھ پریس کانفرنس سے خطاب کر رہے تھے۔اس موقع ہرپیپلز پارٹی لاہور کے صدر اسلم گل، اسرار بٹ، رانا جمیل منج،امجد جٹ۔افنان بٹ،چودھری اختر،ڈاکٹر خیام حفیظ ،ملک ندیم افضل،نیلم جبار،فائزہ ملک،بشری ملک،نعیم دستگیر،محسن ملہی،یاسر بارا،کامران وڑائچ،شاہدہ جبیں،صابر بھلہ،جمشید ملک،بھی موجود تھے۔راجہ پرویز اشرف نے کہا کہ پیپلز پارٹی اپنے۔منشور کے مطابق کاشتکار کا با عزت روزگار چاہتی یے،بھارتی کاشتکار کے احتجاج پر ہم خوش ہوتے ہیں اپنے کسان کو تشدد کا نشانہ بناتے ہیں،تمام مکاتب فکر کو کسانوں کیساتھ اظہار یکجتی کرنا چاہیے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ جنگ و امن میں صرف کاشتکار نے فوڈ سیکورٹی دی۔کسان کیساتھ اظہار یک جہتی پاکستان کیساتھ اظہار یک جہتی ہے۔انکے ہر مطالبے کو ہم جائز سمجھتے ہیں۔
انہیں سستی کھاد،بیج بجلی،ڈیزل اور پانی فراہم کرنا حکومت کی ذمہ داری ہے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ حکومت کی کوئی زرعی پالیسی نہیں،دکاندار،کارخانہ دار تک سراپا احتجاج ہے،حکومت فوری کسانوں کے مطالبات فوری تسلیم کرے۔کسان کوان پٹس فوری فراہم کی جائیں۔کاشتکار کواسکی محنت کا با عزت ثمر دیا جاے،راجہ پرویز اشرف کا کہنا تھا کہ آج کسی چیزپر حکومت کا کنٹرول نہیں۔پاکستان کی معاشی خود مختاری ختم ہو چکی ہے،معیشت کا نظام تلپٹ ہو چکا ہے۔سٹیٹ بنک کا نظام آئی ایم ایف کے پاس ہے۔حکومت کسی معاملے پر سنجیدگی کا مظاہرہ نہیں کر رہی۔سرکاری ملازمین سڑکوں پر ہیں ،
حکومت مسائل حل کرنیکی بجائے انکا مذاق اڑاتی ہے،زرعی یونیورسٹی میں ریسرچ کا فقدان ہے۔زرعی سیکٹر کو فروغ دینا ہو گا۔زرعی گریجوا یٹس کو اہمیت دینا ہو گی۔ساری دنیا میں ریسرچ یونیورسٹیوں میں ہوتی ہے۔ریسرچ کا بجٹ بڑھایا جائے۔،سانحہ مری میں ایس او پیز پر عمل نہیں کیا گیا،برف صاف کرنیوالی مشینیں نازک مقامات پر موجود نہیں تھیں،اسمبلی میں بھی آواز اٹھائیں گے۔یہ نا قابل۔معافی جرم ہے۔چھوٹا سا ہل سٹیشن حکومت مینج نہیں کر سکی۔قرضے لینے کا بھی کوئی طریقہ ہوتا یے،
عام آدمی کا بجٹ تباہ ہو چکا یے۔انکے اپنے ارکان اسمبلی سراپا احتجاج ہیں۔جب ایسے حالات ہوں تو پارلیمان کا کام شروع ہو جاتا یے۔ڈالر کنٹرول نہیں ہو رہا۔علاقائی کرنسیوں کے۔مقابلےمیں روپیہ بہت نیچے ہے،2018میں جنوبی پنجاب محاذ بنا تھا جس کے قریشی صاحب علمبردار تھے۔پونے چار برس پہلے صوبہ جنوبی پنجاب کیلیے خط کیوں نہیں لکھا گیا۔یہ۔مہنگائی بیروزگاری کنٹرول کرنے میں ناکام ہو چکے ہیں،
ایک سوال کے جواب میں راجہ پرویز اشرف نے کہا کہ پیپلز پارٹی کسی ہاتھ کی طرف نہیں دیکھ رہی،تحریک عدم اعتماد جمہوری راستہ ہے،کامیاب کرانے کیلیے زور لگانا چاہیے۔سینٹ میں عدم اعتماد نہ لانے کی وجہ ہمارے دوست ہیں ،اپوزیشن لیڈروں کی لائن وہی ہے جو بلاول بھٹو زرداری کی ہے ۔لانگ مارچ میں کوئی ہمارے ساتھ آنا چاہے تو خوش آمدید کہیں گے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ صدارتی نظام کے شوشے چھوڑنے والے یاد رکھیں،یہ گڈی گڈے کا کھیل نہیں۔حکمران ترقی کامطلب الٹ سمجھتے ہیں۔کوئی ایک معاشی انڈیکٹر بتا دیں کہ ہم بہتری کی طرف جا رہے ہیں۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/26133/