Thursday, July 14, 2022
Pakistan’s rising debts, decreasing exchange reserves raise concern
https://theprint.in/world/pakistans-rising-debts-decreasing-exchange-reserves-raise-concern/1039551/
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Monday, July 11, 2022
Is Society Finally Ready for Male Birth Control?
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/11/opinion/male-contraception.html
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Pakistan - China: CPEC resumption
Pakistan’s $1 Billion Gas Tender Flop to Worsen Energy Crisis
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-07/pakistan-s-1-billion-gas-tender-flop-to-worsen-energy-crisis
ہم نے ملک کو بچانے کیلئے سخت فیصلے کیے، یوسف رضا گیلانی
سابق وزیر اعظم یوسف رضا گیلانی نے کہا ہے کہ ہم نے ملک کو بچانے کے لیے سخت فیصلے کیے۔
یوسف رضا گیلانی نے درگاہ موسی پاک شہید پر نمازِ عید ادا کی جس کے بعد اُنہوں نے میڈیا سے گفتگو بھی کی۔
میڈیا سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے پیپلز پارٹی رہنما یوسف رضا گیلانی نے کہا کہ سابقہ حکومت نے آئی ایم ایف سے معاہدے کیے۔
یوسف رضا گیلانی نے کہا کہ ساری حکومتوں کو مدت سے پہلے ہٹایا گیا۔
اُنہوں نے مزید کہا کہ کسی نے عدلیہ اور فوج کے خلاف بات نہیں کی، اگلے الیکشن کا انتظار کیا۔
https://jang.com.pk/news/1109824
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Women And Political Power In Pakistan – OpEd
By Saad Hafiz
Developing countries are increasingly recognising that including women as equal partners in political, economic, and public life is crucial to nation-building. Pakistan has a long way to go as women are under-represented in decision-making positions. Political power remains firmly the domain of men, except for a few elite women with dynastic political backgrounds.Low political representation, together with entrenched religious and cultural patriarchy and rampant sexism, is the primary cause of the dismal conditions for women in the country. The personal and political emancipation of women is not a national priority. And the uneven distribution of political power, heavily skewed towards men, limits women’s contribution to nation-building. It also leaves women alone to struggle for gender-sensitive legislation and fairer laws and practices. Yet Pakistan needs the active engagement of women as agents of change in politics and society. Women can help to improve abysmal human and economic development statistics. For example, women’s contribution in Pakistan is a mere 24% of GDP (mainly through unpaid household labour), well below competitors, leaving significant room for improvement. Ultimately, women must have input in the male-dominated political, economic, security, and social decisions that affect the country’s future. While it is hard to contemplate based on existing conditions, women must have actual political clout, leadership roles, and meaningful decision-making power. It is an enormous task because society does not bring women up to be leaders. Women are not prepared or conditioned to challenge a hierarchical system that promotes subservience to men. We know that the cultural norms that restrict the advancement of women in society in a male-dominated country are multi-faceted and difficult to overcome. But women can increase their political clout through the power of the vote in an electoral democracy like Pakistan. For instance, female voters can choose political parties that give more representation to women in politics. Their votes should go to political parties that field more female candidates, appoint more female ministers, support women candidates during elections, and expand their social base to fit in more women from rural and poorer backgrounds. But recent data on the participation of women in the democratic process in Pakistan is not encouraging. A frequent complaint is that women’s votes do not matter: a part of the systemic suppression of women’s political participation. Male family members also prevent a section of rural women from voting in elections. As a result, despite increasing voter turnouts, women are underrepresented in the halls of political power and have limited access to financial resources. According to IPU data, a global organization of international parliaments, Pakistan ranks 112th for its percentage of women in national parliaments. Political parties are reluctant to throw their weight behind female candidates who take on men in open seats as they expect them to lose. It is because women lack voter constituencies that take years to build. Hence, political parties mostly pick women indirectly on reserved seats through a gender quota in Parliament. It limits women legislators’ power and influence. Overall, Pakistan is a tough place for women. It is made worse due to state-led anti-feminism. Women face gender discrimination, endemic sexual violence, and harassment. Successive governments have not attempted to remove the structural disparities and inequalities that hinder gender empowerment. Male politicians often make ignorant and offensive statements about women legislators. Government leaders blame the victims for the violence perpetrated on women. Political parties pandering to the religious right find it easier to advocate the policing of women’s bodies, choices, and agency. There is no strategy or commitment to repeal the anti-women Hudood ordinances and anti-minority blasphemy laws. It is little wonder that Pakistan is ranked third to last on the 2020 Gender Development Index (GDI). And the 6th most dangerous place for women globally, according to a 2021 report by the Women, Peace and Security Index. Pakistan has been especially slow to include women in political decision-making. And women in leadership positions will remain a sensitive issue. But the country has made progress spurred by women’s growing presence in politics through reserved seats. In addition, the Election Commission of Pakistan has partnered with NGOs in rural areas to increase female voter registration. The next step is to move away from symbolic representation for women to have more female politicians in influential decision-making positions. Securing women’s political, economic, and social rights can go a long way in nation-building and shared prosperity. Nothing less will do. We know that the structures of repression that marginalize women will not disappear rapidly. Despite the challenges, women and girls must continue their fight against patriarchal forces. Women mostly have to drive the struggle for gender equality in political leadership. https://www.eurasiareview.com/08072022-women-and-political-power-in-pakistan-oped/
Why does Pakistan fear another COVID wave?
https://www.dw.com/en/why-does-pakistan-fear-another-covid-wave/a-62381465
Pakistan: Business experts warn of social unrest amid deepening economic crisis
https://theprint.in/world/pakistan-business-experts-warn-of-social-unrest-amid-deepening-economic-crisis/1032514/
IMF Intends To Ban Pakistan From Seeking More Chinese Loans: Report
Pakistan is obligated to pay more than PRs. 350 billion power dues to multiple Chinese IPPs operating in the country.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) intends to ban Pakistan from borrowing more from China, according to reports.
Islamabad's plan to seek PKR 7.9 billion from China for China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects is now likely to hinge upon the IMF recommendations.
Driving Pakistan's economy with the help of external doles is unsustainable and Pakistan desperately needs structural reforms. The IMF has raised objections to Pakistan's loans from China and arbitrarily high payments made to Chinese independent power producers (IPP), suggesting Islamabad renegotiate its energy agreements with Beijing, reported Financial Post.
Pakistan is obligated to pay more than PRs. 350 billion power dues to multiple Chinese IPPs operating in the country. IMF's demand follows Beijing's rejection of modifying the conditions of agreements for projects under the CPEC.
A major part of the budget expenditure PKR 3,950 billion (USD 19.5 billion) - more than 40 pc of the total federal budget expenditure (PKR 9,502 billion; USD 47 billion) is allocated for debt servicing which is 29.1 pc rise over the previous year.
Pakistan's economy is facing a challenging task as the budget for FY 2022-23 has failed to address the key structural issues which are proving as an obstacle to the revival of the country.
The country's economy is already marred with a huge deficit while inflation is getting out of control with an imminent threat of looming default. With the IMF deal hanging in balance, the authorities should have endeavored to take up bold structural reforms, but the budget disappointed, as per the media portal.
Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail's USD 47 billion federal budget for the ensuing fiscal year has done very little to address the fundamental problems Islamabad's economy faces.
#Pakistan - Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, LCCI for economic diplomacy
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40185173
Friday, July 8, 2022
The Japan Times Editorial: A despicable attack on Shinzo Abe — and a nation
Japan is a democracy, so the murder of a former prime minister is an attack on us all.
The editorial commentary originally scheduled to fill this space was a cri de coeur to the United States, a plea for it to come to its senses and halt the devastating gun violence that has become a fact of daily life in that country. It is with extraordinary sadness and anger that we instead are forced to substitute this comment decrying the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
As we write this, there is little that is known about the shooting. It would be irresponsible and reckless to speculate about the motives and reasoning behind the incident. Nevertheless, we can say two things with absolute certainty. First, we offer our deepest condolences to the former prime minister’s family and loved ones. Second, this was an act of terrorism and there is no place for such behavior in Japan. We live in a democracy where disputes and differences are resolved by voting in elections, not with violence.
Abe was attacked Friday morning in Nara on the first stop in a three-prefecture swing to campaign for Liberal Democratic Party candidates in Sunday’s Upper House election. He was shot twice in the chest from behind allegedly by a Nara resident who was seized at the scene and taken into custody. Abe reportedly went into cardiac arrest while being airlifted to a local hospital, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries. We stand with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who called the shooting “a heinous act … barbaric, malicious, and it cannot be tolerated.”
Thankfully, acts of political violence are rare in Japan. Aum Shinrikyo was the last major terror group to wage war against this country, releasing sarin gas on Tokyo subways in 1995, which killed 13 people, seriously injured 54 others and affected 980 more.
The most prominent political assassination in contemporary Japan occurred in 1960 when a rightist attacked the socialist leader Inejiro Asanuma. In 1978, a man attempted to kill then-Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira, but he only mingled with reporters outside the Prime Minister’s Office and never actually got close to Ohira. In the two latter cases, the weapons were a sword and a knife.
In 1992, Shin Kanemaru, an LDP heavyweight and the deputy prime minister was attacked by a man with a gun, but was not injured. Two years later, a gunman shot at Prime Minister Hosokawa Morihiro, but he too was unharmed. In 2007, Nagasaki mayor Ito Itcho died after a gunman shot him.
Mercifully, guns remain a rarity in Japan. In fact, this country has one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the world. According to a police white paper, there were 21 arrests for the use of firearms in 2020, and 12 of them were gang related. World Health Organization figures show that Japan had just nine firearm-related deaths in 2018, down from 23 the year below. The rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people is 0.01; for comparison, the U.S. number exceeds four per 100,000.
Much of the credit goes to strict gun control laws, which were, ironically, written by the U.S. Occupation authorities. Those laws have been loosened a little but the culture here remains fundamentally hostile to gun possession. There are reports that the person who attacked Abe may have built his own weapon, which indicates that while existing gun controls work as intended, they may have to be updated to account for new dangers.
| BLOOMBERG
There is a more fundamental issue at hand: respect for democracy and the absolute imperative to resolve political differences through the ballot box exclusively. Half a world away, another political leader has been removed from power through the political process as he lost the confidence of his party. That is how political change is done.
There is no place for violence in this process. The attempt by any individual or group of individuals to impose their will on the country through violent means is terrorism, pure and simple. That is unacceptable and must be condemned by all — whatever the political stripe or inclination.
Japan is a democracy and it is currently engaged in the purest expression of the democratic pageant and process. The attack on former Prime Minister Abe in Nara on Friday is attack on us all.
As Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, “Such violence cannot be permitted.” We must join together to condemn this violence, show that it has no place in our lives or our country and reaffirm our commitment to Japanese democracy and the peaceful resolution of political differences.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2022/07/08/editorials/shinzo-abe-assassination/
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
#Pakistan - No Mercy for Minorities in Jails
https://www.newsweekpakistan.com/no-mercy-for-minorities-in-jails/
#Pakistan - Where are the women in Pakistan, their perspective is missing in national policies, laws, and institutions
The gender gap in Pakistan is high along with key indicators and aspects of life – health disparity, education disparity, economic disparity, legal disparity, political disparity and cultural disparity. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 published by the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked 153rd out of 156 countries on the gender parity index, only above Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan. This is alarming. With fewer women in decision-making positions, there is a significant lack of gender perspective. Such a lens is about bringing women’s experiences into decision-making to ensure that laws, policies, rules and regulations have a greater impact in achieving their objectives. A ‘gender-aware’ perspective considers how gender-based discrimination shapes the immediate needs, as well as the long-term interests, of both women and men. In a policy context, such a perspective makes women’s as well as men’s concerns an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres, so that women and men benefit equally and gender-based inequalities are not perpetuated. In Pakistan, there are multiple challenges involving assumptions and mindsets about women. It is generally assumed that women are weak, both physically and intellectually; that women are poor administrators and cannot make effective decisions; that they are temperamental and emotional. In the workplace, men frequently address women as sisters and daughters and fail to recognize them as equal colleagues. How long should we make these assumptions and presumptions about women when there is no scientific basis for them? The solution lies at many levels but educating the mindset, creating more opportunities and reducing stereotypes is a start. Women are denied equal opportunities in all spheres of life despite our constitution providing for the equality of citizens (Article 25) and Pakistan’s formal legal acceptance of various international conventions. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women states that “State parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country and, in particular, shall ensure to women, on equal terms with men, the right to participate in the formulation of government policy and the implementation thereof and to hold public office and perform all public functions at all levels of government” (Article 7). Pakistan is also a signatory to the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 as well as the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Pakistan has also signed the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, which set out gender equality as a key goal. Pakistan, having signed these international instruments, is obliged to promote gender equality. To do this, three steps are worth highlighting. First, women should be given adequate representation in the legislature, executive, and judiciary so that women’s perspective is reflected in laws, policies, and judicial decisions. Existing quotas in the provincial and federal legislature and government jobs, for example, should change or be supplemented with other policies giving representation to women proportionate to their population in Pakistan. A mere quota does not increase or improve representation. There have to be structural and institutional changes to make equality substantive. Representation of women based on open merit and population would strengthen democracy, promote good governance and improve the quality of justice. Second, women should have due representation on key bodies, which make decisions regarding the appointment of judges and civil servants and the regulation of corporate entities such as the Judicial Commission of Pakistan as well as statutory bodies like the federal and provincial Public Service Commissions and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Third, women should have administrative power for example, in terms of dealing with different government departments, postings, and transfers, budgets and accounts etc. Administrative experience would enable women to contribute more effectively to public service and thus national development. The stories of Benazir Bhutto, General Nigar Johar Khan, and Justice Ayesha Malik show that women can perform as well as men. It is unfortunate how we have allowed just a few women the opportunity to rise to high ranks. But, to make Pakistan stronger, we have to move from the few to the many.It is worth recalling the words of Muhammad Ali Jinnah: “No nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with the men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men. There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women.” We often fail to appreciate this third power. How can any law, policy, or decision be effective without including women’s perspectives? Women judges, for example, can help promote a gender-aware perspective by writing gender-sensitive judgments like the Sadaf Aziz case in which the two-finger test and the hymen test in sexual abuse or rape cases were declared unconstitutional, discriminatory, invasive and an infringement on the privacy of a woman to her body, blatant violation of the dignity of a woman, and devoid of any legal, scientific or medical basis. Men must support women. Taboos and traditions have to give way to innovation and creativity. The ability and merit of women must be recognized not as a concession but as a matter of fundamental right. The government should introduce more gender-responsive policies and initiatives. Both men and women’s perspectives should be appreciated, equally, to produce a balanced gender perspective in Pakistan. https://www.geo.tv/latest/426157-where-are-the-womenAlthough women comprise 48.54% of the total population in Pakistan, their perspective is missing in national policies, laws, and institutions. Legal rights and opportunities to contribute to national progress are systematically restricted for women, especially on issues that disproportionately harm them – rape, harassment, and domestic violence. To achieve a more balanced approach, we must understand the nuances of a ‘gendered’ perspective and the challenges of promoting gender awareness in Pakistan.
A Christian mechanic in Pakistan gets the death sentence for ‘blasphemy’. He said ‘Jesus is supreme’
REVATHI KRISHNAN
As per National Commission for Justice and Peace data, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus were booked for blasphemy from 1987 to 2018.
More than five years after his arrest, a Christian mechanic booked on the charges of blasphemy was sentenced to death by a Lahore court Monday. Masih has been in jail since 2017 and his case riddled with adjournments. The accused, who has a wife and a daughter, also lost his mother in 2019 while he was behind the bars.
According to reports, in June 2017, Masih got into a dispute with a Muslim customer in Lahore after he repaired the latter’s bike. When Masih asked for payment, the customer did not pay the entire amount and asked for a waiver on grounds that he was a religious devotee. Masih refused the request, saying he believed in Christ. The issue of money led to a heated argument and a crowd gathered, accusing Masih of “disrespecting” the Prophet Muhammad. The mechanic had allegedly said that for Christians, Jesus was supreme. This was enough for his arrest.
Since 2019, the case has witnessed multiple adjournments, rescheduling, judge not showing up, witness failing to turn up and even the complainant’s lawyer not registering their presence.
In 2019, Masih was released on parole to attend his mother’s funeral. After he was arrested, it has been reported that the family fled from Lahore in fear.
On multiple occasions, in different court appearances, Masih can be seen chained and in handcuffs.
This is not the first time a judge in Pakistan has sentenced someone to death under the blasphemy law. In September 2021, a local Lahore court sentenced a school principal to death. The charge against the principal was that she had claimed to be the ‘Prophet of Islam’ in pamphlets she distributed and denied the finality of Prophethood.
In yet another incident in January this year, a 26-year-old woman was sentenced to death for posting ‘blasphemous material’ as her WhatsApp status. She had sent caricatures of Prophet Muhammed.
Pakistan inherited the blasphemy laws after Partition in 1947. However, during General Zia-ul Haq’s regime between 1980 to 1986, a number of clauses were introduced that included a provision to punish blasphemy against Prophet Muhammed and the penalty for this was “death, or imprisonment for life”. It has been used in these cases of death sentences.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that Muslims constitute the majority of people booked under the blasphemy laws, followed by the Ahmadi community. According to data by the National Commission for Justice and Peace, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians and 30 Hindus have been booked under the blasphemy law from 1987 to 2018.
ملک کی پہلی جمہوری حکومت پر 45 سال قبل شب خون مارا گیا، شیری رحمٰن
نائب صدر پیپلز پارٹی سینیٹر شیری رحمٰن کا کہنا ہے کہ 45 سال قبل آج کے دن جنرل ضیاء نے پاکستان کی پہلی جمہوری حکومت اور آئین پر شب خون مارا تھا۔
سینیٹر شیری رحمٰن نے 5 جولائی کے حوالے سے اپنے پیغام میں کہا کہ شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو،کارکنان اور تمام جمہوریت پسند عوام نے آمریت کا ڈٹ کر مقابلہ کیا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ شہید ذوالفقار علی بھٹو،کارکنان اور تمام جمہوریت پسند عوام کو سلام پیش کرتی ہوں۔
شیری رحمٰن کا کہنا تھا کہ ضیاء الحق نے 11 سال آئین پاکستان معطل کر کے ملک میں مارشل لاء نافذ کیا، آمریت کے ان 11 سالوں کو ہماری تاریخ کے سیاہ ترین دور کے طور پر یاد رکھا جائے گا۔
پی پی سینیٹر کا کہنا تھا کہ تقسیم،نفرت اور انتہا پسندی کی بنیادیں رکھیں گئیں جن سے پاکستان آج تک نہیں نکل سکا، 45 سال پہلے کے اس آئینی اور جمہوری سانحہ کے اثرات ہمارا آج تک پیچھا کر رہے ہیں۔
شیری رحمٰن کا مزید کہنا تھا کہ شہید بھٹو کی آئینی حکومت پر شب خون نا مارا جاتا تو آج پاکستان کا دنیا میں الگ مقام ہوتا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ عوامی حکومت کا غیر آئینی طور پر خاتمہ نہ ہوتا تو آج عوام کی تقدیر بدل چکی ہوتی، ہمیں نہیں بھولنا چاہیے کہ پاکستان کی ترقی اور استحکام آئین اور جمہوریت میں ہے۔
وفاقی وزیر خارجہ و چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری - 5 جولائی 1977ء قومی تاریخ کا سیاہ ترین دن ہے۔
وفاقی وزیر خارجہ و چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا کہنا ہے
کہ 5 جولائی 1977ء قومی تاریخ کا سیاہ ترین دن ہے۔
چیئرمین پی پی پی بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے اپنے ایک بیان میں کہا ہے کہ آج کے دن ڈکٹیٹر نے پاکستان کے پہلے منتخب وزیرِاعظم ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کی حکومت کا خاتمہ کیا تھا۔
ان کا کہنا ہے کہ پاکستان جن سیاسی، معاشی، معاشرتی بیماریوں کو جھیل رہا ہے، اس کے تانے بانے ضیاء دور سے ملتے ہیں، ضیاءالحق نے پاکستان کی سیاسی، معاشرتی زندگی میں لسانیت و فرقہ واریت کی سوچ کا زہر گھولا۔
بلاول بھٹو کا کہنا ہے کہ ضیاء الحق نے جمہوریت اور وفاق پرست سیاسی جماعتوں پر زمین تنگ کر دی تھی، شہید بھٹو کو سیاسی منظر سے ہٹانے کے لیے عدالتی قتل کا اسٹیج تیار کیا گیا، ضیاء نے پیپلز پارٹی کی قیادت اور کارکنوں کو جیلوں میں ڈالا، کوڑے مارے، جلا وطن ہونے پر مجبور کیا۔
انہوں نے کہا کہ پاکستان کے عوام نے ضیاء اور اس کی غاصبانہ حکومت کا ڈٹ کر مقابلہ کیا، پاکستان کے عوام آج تک ڈکٹیٹر ضیاء کی سوچ اور باقیات سے نبرد آزما ہیں۔
بلاول بھٹو نے کہا کہ شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو، بیگم نصرت بھٹو، تحریکِ بحالیٔ جمہوریت کے جیالوں، سیاسی کارکنوں کو سلام پیش کرتا ہوں، تحریکِ بحالیٔ جمہوریت کے دوران عوام نے انتھک جدوجہد کی اور بے مثال قربانیاں دیں۔
وفاقی وزیرِ خارجہ نے یہ بھی کہا ہے کہ پیپلز پارٹی آئین، جمہوریت، پارلیمانی بالادستی کے محافظ کا کردار ادا کرتی رہے گی، یہ قائد اعظم کے نظریے کی علم بردار جماعت ہے۔
واضح رہے کہ آج سے 45 برس قبل 5 جولائی 1977ء کو سابق وزیرِ اعظم اور پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے بانی چیئرمین ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کی جمہوری حکومت کا تختہ اُلٹ دیا گیا تھا۔