Posts published in “Pak Media comment”

Almost halfway into his government’s five-year term, Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged his cabinet members to step up their game and stop making excuses. It was an unusually blunt and mostly welcome speech made on Tuesday, but not without causes for concern. One unfortunate example was when he said it took his party three months to understand the system. As we have previously written, top-tier governance cannot have a learning curve, especially in a…

Editorial in Pakistan Today,Dec 24, 2020While addressing cabinet members Prime Minister Imran Khan complained that he did not receive an extensive briefing like the one being provided to US President-elect Joe Biden. He confessed that it took him three months to understand things. He maintained that there were so many figures, particularly in the power sector, that for 18 months they could not decide which ones were correct. He insisted that every minister needed briefing…

At a special ceremony to sign ‘Performance Agreements of the Federal Government for the Year 2020-21’ in Islamabad, the Prime Minister assessed the performance of his government so far and told his ministers that the government’s output needed to rise to much higher levels in the remaining time of its five-year tenure. It must be said that the Prime Minister’s review of his own government’s performance was honest and earnest. There was less of the…

After two and a half years of governance, during which we have faced multiple crises, including a sugar crisis that has been repeated twice, a wheat crisis that has also been repeated twice and now a gas shortage crisis which returned for the second time, we have been told by the prime minister that the government is, in fact, still in its learning phase. This is somewhat alarming, given that the PTI government elected in…

ON Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan dropped some truth bombs that will no doubt be remembered by both his voters and political rivals for days to come. Mr Khan spoke at an event where he invited his cabinet to sign a ‘performance agreement’ for the coming year, with the aim that his ministers must deliver in the period before the next election. Mr Khan urged his ministers to deliver on key promises, as “the time…

THAT the results of the National Census 2017 were approved by the federal cabinet on Tuesday, three years after the fact, is an indication of how contentious the exercise has been. The MQM, which earlier had emphatically rejected the results but is now an ally of the PTI government, submitted a dissent note. It was decided at the meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, to send the census report to the Council of…

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s announcement to give health cards and housing facilities to Islamabad Police officials will indeed boost the force’s morale. The current government recognises that the welfare of public servants is of utmost importance. Giving incentives and benefits to the government officials can help in mitigating the menace of corruption. Some may say that it is of no use. However, if the things on offer eliminate corruption even by a bit and…

edit in The Frontier Post / December 23, 2020Yesterday, about 4000 Khasadars and Levies personnels completed four months rigorous Police training at different training locations in KPK. As per ISPR’s press release, the experts trainers of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and KPK Police provided training to these former Khasadars and Levies personnel in various disciplines including Physical training, Counter Terrorism, Policing, quick response Force, weapons awareness and handling, explosive and improvised explosives devices and firing…

edit in The Frontier Post / December 23, 2020Yesterday, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Line of Control (LoC) and met the Officers and Jawans rendering the sacred duty of defending the soil of motherland at forward positions. Army Chief appreciated the operational preparedness and high moral of the troops deployed along Line of Control (LoC). General Bajwa emphasised that unprovoked cease fire violations by Indian Forces particularly recent targeting of the…

by Durdana Najam report in The Express Tribune, Dec 24, 2020The writer is a public policy analyst based in LahoreThe War on Terror descended on Pakistan after July 2007, when the incident of Lal Masjid occurred. The suicide attacks became a routine matter after that. The advent of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hereafter, challenged the writ of Pakistan’s state across the country. The most vulnerable targets of TTP’s attacks were the state’s security apparatus, especially the…