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Posts published in “Pak Media comment”

Still on grey list:Editorial in Pakistan Today, Oct 25, 2020

Pakistan has made good progress on the FATF front; fulfilling 21 conditions of the 27-point action plan put forth by the global terrorist funding and money laundering watchdog, but the country will still remain in the grey list until the remaining six conditions are fulfilled. The deadline to do this has been extended to February next year and the FATF has urged Pakistan to “move swiftly” as “all action plan deadlines have expired”, suggesting the…

A little bit of sun: edit in The News, Oct 25, 2020

While the grey clouds which have hung over Pakistan since the Financial Action Task Force placed it on its grey list continue to linger, there is some evidence that rays of sunlight are beginning to shine through. Although, disappointingly the FATF has ruled at its three-day meeting that Pakistan will not for now be removed from the grey list, it has also said that Pakistan has completed 21 of the 27 tasks given to it…

NAB on the rampage: Editorial in Dawn, October 24th, 2020

IT is hardly a coincidence that the National Accountability Bureau has ramped up its efforts against members of the opposition parties in recent days as they go full throttle in their criticism of the PTI government. Just days after Prime Minister Imran Khan in a fiery speech expressed his frustration with the accountability process and demanded the speedy conclusion of cases, NAB approved a spate of references against PML-N leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, his ex-secretary…

The winter of discontent? : op-ed by Abdul Basit in The Nation, Oct 24, 2020

As winters set in, a political storm is gathering momentum in Pakistan. Following the formation of Pakistani opposition parties’ anti-government coalition on September 20, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), political temperature has soared in Pakistan. Since then, both the government and PDM have hardened their respective positions, posturing to fight it out right down to the wire. The resulting political impasse has left Pakistan’s fledgling democratic system at a crossroads once again. The PDM has…

Unprecedented : op-ed by M Ziauddin in The Express Tribune, Oct 24, 2020.

The writer served as executive editor of The Express Tribune from 2009 to 2014Never ever was the sanctity of Quaid’s mausoleum violated allegedly so crassly as it was done on October 18. Next, never ever could the PPP hold such a huge public meeting in Karachi as it did on the same day late in the evening under the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) banner. Both events were unprecedented. The forcible entry of security agencies into…

Rules to rule: op-ed by Fahd Husain in Dawn, October 24th, 2020

The writer is Dawn’s resident editor in Islamabad.IT is hard to outrun evolution. The frantic pace at which events in Pakistan are hurtling towards an undetermined conclusion reinforces this adage in a twisted way. The opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — buoyed by its two successful jalsas — is now gathered in Quetta for the third rally scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday). The Quetta event will reinforce the narrative that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government…

FATF grey list: edit in Daily Times, Oct 24, 2020

While the government would like to see the glass half-full and project only that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has acknowledged that blacklisting Pakistan is off the table, it is still very bad news that the country stays on the grey list for now. Pakistan made progress on 21 out of 27 action items demanded by FATF but clearly it will have to do something about the remaining six as well or the trauma…

Student sit-in: edit in the News, Oct 24, 2020

Over three dozen students from Balochistan marched from Multan and camped outside the Punjab Assembly to demand the restoration of scholarships for students from Balochistan and also those from reserved groups in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and the formerly federal tribal areas. The students have said that these scholarships are not being given to those who were granted them. And, as a result, these students are being denied the right to education. The students had…

3,990 terrorist incidents between Jan 2015, Sept 2020 in Pakistan

report in Daily Times, Oct 24, 2020 The Interior Ministry presented details before Senate on Friday regarding the martyred and wounded persons in terrorist incidents which occurred between January 2015 and September 2020. In its written response, the interior ministry detailed that the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) is compiling data of martyred persons in terrorist incidents since 2015. However, the statistics do not contain details of terrorists killed in different actions. The Senate was…

Dashed dreams: by Irfan Husain in Dawn, September 7th, 2019

RECENT events in our region have served to puncture the myth of the Muslim ummah. When Raza Rabbani, the PPP senator, suggested we should leave the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he was just stating the obvious. Far from being part of a vast, united brotherhood, Muslims have proved to be their own worst enemies. Over the centuries, they have spilled each other’s blood with a ferocity unmatched by any of their non-Muslim enemies. And…

Ditched by the Ummah: by Pervez Hoodbhoy in Dawn, September 7th, 2019

The writer teaches physics in Lahore and Islamabad. FOR five weeks, day after day, Pakistanis have been tearing their hearts out complaining that the world has turned a deaf ear to India’s forcible annexation of held Kashmir. They were shocked when some of Pakistan’s closest allies — including the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — appeared to either side with India or stay silent. When PM Khan invited the foreign ministers of…