by M.B. Kalhoro in Dawn, December 28th, 2020• Maryam lambastes ‘violators of constitution’• Zardari asks PDM to mull over ‘filling jails’ LARKANA: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders, who gathered at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the occasion of the 13th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, said that the days of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government were numbered as it was bound to collapse under its own burden. Addressing the public gathering via video link, PPP…
Posts published in “Pak Media comment”
The blast in Panjgur outside a football stadium is a condemnable incident that led to the loss of two lives. It is always a tragedy when something like this happens, but it is also important to see the silver linings; a remote-controlled IED in the past could have led to the deaths of countless citizens. The fact that the damage was minimal is testament to the efforts of the security forces of Pakistan. Where once…
by Huma Yusuf in Dawn, December 28th, 2020The writer is a freelance journalist.IT has been a bleak year in most respects. So it’s not surprising to learn that 2020 has also been a dire year for press freedom globally. Recent reports from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) underscore the threat to free media, and highlight the worsening situation, even in ostensible democracies. CPJ found that the number of journalists murdered in retaliation for their…
The writer holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, UK and works in Islamabad.There are mainly two reasons for discussing the One Unit episode in our history in this column. First is that in 2020, it was the 50th anniversary of the dissolution of One Unit, which after 15 years of experimentation was abolished in 1970. The second is the present drive of the government to roll back the 18th Amendment, which will essentially…
Despite being a direct beneficiary of unregulated social media that helped propel the party into being a mainstream political contender, the PTI, since coming to power after winning the 2018 general elections has made all-out efforts to control the type and flow of content on the internet without having to outright ban major platforms and websites. To achieve this, it has to regularly request social media behemoths such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to take…
THAT one of the most dangerous and devious militants in Pakistan may be on the verge of gaining his freedom is a disturbing prospect. On Thursday, the Sindh High Court set aside the provincial government’s detention orders for Omer Saeed Sheikh and three others convicted for the abduction and murder of Daniel Pearl and directed they be released forthwith. It is the latest development in a case where there have been several unexpected twists and…
The writer is Editor, Pakistan Today.Prime minister Imran Khan’s recent lament that, “one should never come to power without homework,” can be generally perceived as an implicit admission of defeat. As if the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf) government is a mega corporation rather than a political party, for the umpteenth time ministers have been asked to fill a performance report. The PTI crossing half way through its five-year tenure, the prime minister has reshuffled…
by Hina Butt in Daily Times, Dec 27, 2020The writer is a LUMS graduate and currently serves as PMLN MPA.Sometimes you don’t know whether to disagree with this government or just feel sorry for it. For the gist of all our disagreements with it centred on its inability to govern. In fact, we have long argued that “selecting” it to run the country was like taking a terribly sick patient to the local quack instead…
The PDM has plans like resignations from the assemblies, a march to Islamabad and a sit-in aimed at paralyzing the federal administration. Attempts to create dissensions in the opposition alliance have failed to achieve the purpose. The JUI has expelled four of its leaders while the PML(N) and PPP have categorically rejected the move suggesting the release of their leaders in return for an end to the ongoing protests. The JUI(F) chief would not be…
The writer is a Supreme Court advocate, former federal minister for law and former president of the SCBA.The recent declarations by the top leadership of Pakistan’s main political parties who have formed an umbrella alliance called the PDM – that they would resign from their seats in the national and provincial assemblies and resort to a long march to force the prime minister to resign – are legally aimless. Let me take the issue of…
Temporary respite: Editorial in Dawn, December 28th, 2020
THE IMF is reported to have accepted a request from Pakistan to delay some “significant sales tax and income tax reforms” for six months in view of resurging Covid-19 infections. These reforms are part of the $6bn loan deal reached last year to help shore up the country’s deteriorating balance-of-payments situation. The IMF is understood to have allowed the reprieve during technical-level talks on delaying tax measures in the sales tax act and on changes…