PARANOIA followed by overreaction — that best describes how the Pakistani state views and responds to any form of independent thought. The latest instance veers into the realm of the farcical. On Friday, hundreds of youth in various cities took part in the ‘Student Solidarity March’ to voice their demands for free education, committees against sexual harassment on campus, provision of internet facilities and the restoration of student unions. The rallies were peaceful: the speakers…
Posts published in “Pak Media comment”
by Mohammad Ashfaq in Dawn, Nov 30, 2020PESHAWAR: Thousands of small and medium level non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have suffered during the government’s campaign to regularise their affairs in a bid to fulfil the requirements of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog for illicit financing. The mapping of NGOs was stared in May 2019 to fulfill the FATF requirements. The provincial government deregistered earlier this year around 3,851 NGOs of the total 4,935, working…
In an interview with a private TV channel broadcast Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan did not mention the Covid-19 pandemic resurging in its second wave, not even to blame the opposition rallies which he had earlier accused of spreading the disease, ignoring the rallies he himself has been holding of late. However, he did take the opportunity of attempting a claim of independence by saying that he had not received any pressure on either foreign…
by Amjad Mahmood in Dawn, November 30th, 2020LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif has called for a national dialogue among political forces to steer “the country out of the present crisis”. “Socio-economic conditions in the country have worsened too much and can only be improved through collective efforts. There is a dire need for a national dialogue,” he said while talking to reporters who visited him here on Sunday to condole with him…
by Huma Yusuf in Dawn, Nov 30, 2020The writer is a freelance journalist.…..Pakistan’s big — arguably, biggest — problem is water scarcity. The country faces acute water scarcity by 2025, and will be the most water-stressed country in South Asia within two decades. Almost 30 million Pakistanis have no access to clean water. But you may not know this because we have yet to articulate a compelling narrative about the water crisis. One would think…
The strength of state depends how active its institutions are. Visionary leadership invests in institutions which have the responsibility of national security. Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the head quarter of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) where a comprehensive briefing was given to the national and military leadership on regional and national security situation. On this occasion, the Prime Minister appreciated tireless efforts of ISI for national security and expressed satisfaction over its professional preparedness. Over the…
The writer is a freelance columnist;More than one prophesies are being aired about the future prospects of Afghan peace process. Afghanistan’s Presidential Palace has confirmed the predictions by many other individual thin tanks and individual strategists that there had been no progress in Doha Talks. Taliban have effectively time out Donald Trump. And they are looking forward for a fresh start with Joe Biden. There have also been suggestions about a breakthrough in the talks,…
by Waqar Gillani in TNS, Nov 29, 2020The author is a staff reporter.The extraordinary attendance at the TLP chief’s funeral shows the popularity of an extremist idiom, and the challenges ahead for societal harmony Khadim Hussain Rizvi, a firebrand cleric who mobilised hundreds of thousands of Sunni Barelvi activistswith his provocativerhetoricand turned his Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) into a major street protest force, is no more. TheTLP and Rizvi appeared on the political landscape of the…
THE move was not unexpected. The government had made clear its intentions of sacking over 9,300 remaining employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills in June — despite all the pre-election promises of the PTI to revive the entity with the help of the existing workforce and through improvements in the company’s management. Friday’s service termination orders to 4,544 PSM workers indicates just the start of the implementation of a new government plan to ‘reform and…
The writer is a security analyst.SPECULATIONS persist regarding the future of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan after the demise of its chief Khadim Husain Rizvi. For many, this is the beginning of the end for the TLP as it has lost not only its leader but also the charisma he possessed. However, it would be unwise to underestimate the power of the TLP narrative. The TLP under Rizvi has been an amalgamation of charisma and religious narrative;…
Political Melodrama of Pakistan: op-ed by Muhammad Zikriya in The Frontier Post / Nov 30, 2020
We all live in a free independent state that enjoys complete autonomy in its affairs. But the idea behind the liberation of Pakistan was not simply to provide a piece of land, as the sub-continent was doing the same. The idea was to provide a sense of security, to have religious autonomy, to provide a place which we could call home and not a house alone, a place which subdued all forms of indifferences. As…