THE government is in no mood to let PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif leave the country. The opposition leader was stopped and turned back by FIA officials at the Lahore airport, though a court order issued that day gave him one-time permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Although the court said Mr Sharif’s name should be removed from the ‘black list’ — which in itself is steeped in legal controversy — the PML-N said it appears his name has now been added to a new no-fly list. In a video clip of the episode at the airport, FIA officials told Mr Sharif that the ‘system had not been updated’ in accordance with the court order, hence travel was blocked. Later, accountability adviser Shahzad Akbar also tweeted the finer details of Mr Sharif’s name being off one list and not the other. The reason for preventing him from travelling, however, goes deeper than a small technicality.
Key government members have been up in arms about the court’s decision from the moment it was announced. They have criticised the court for a “hurried” decision and are considering an appeal once court activity resumes after Eid. The government’s reaction is unsurprising, given that their decision to allow former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to travel is a sore point, but their defiance of a judicial order can amount to contempt of court.
Why is the government that paranoid that Shehbaz Sharif will not return? After all, he is the opposition leader and party president, and has in the past returned to the country even after living in London for some months. The attitude of the government here is only strengthening the perception that it is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to hounding political rivals — a criticism opposition parties have levelled against it for the last two and a half years.
The hurdles in the way of the PML-N chief’s journey are by no means over. But if and when he does make it to London, his meeting with his elder brother will have serious implications for the future of the party. It will be the first time they will meet after Nawaz Sharif called out the security establishment for interfering in governance — a narrative at odds with Shehbaz Sharif’s less confrontational approach.
Editorial: Shehbaz Sharif has tough challenges ahead of him, from family dynamics to a fractured alliance
While every party has individuals who are not always fully on board, Shehbaz Sharif is more than a regular party member. He is seen as the de facto heir to the PML-N throne, a position held by Maryam Nawaz during his incarceration — and one that saw her gain popularity both within the party and with the voter. As Shehbaz Sharif acclimatises to the party’s changing dynamic, his meeting with Nawaz Sharif will no doubt set the tone for his future role. First, however, he must battle the bureaucratic hurdles the government will doggedly create to prevent him from travelling.
PCB’s parental policy
THE Pakistan Cricket Board’s announcement of its parental support policy earlier this week is praiseworthy, for both the signal it sends and the substance of the concessions now offered, particularly to female players. Women cricketers are now entitled to avail up to 12 months of paid maternity leave, with the guarantee of a contract extension the following year. They can also choose to transfer to a non-playing role in the days leading up to their leave. Upon their return, new mothers are entitled to medical and physical rehabilitative support, and, if required to travel, are entitled to travel with their infant child and another caregiver of their choice. Men are also given the option of availing up to 30 days of paid leave within the first two months of their child’s birth. With the policy for cricketing parents coming into immediate effect for all players, the scheme already has its first beneficiary in Bismah Maroof, who in April announced her indefinite leave from cricket as she is set to begin a new chapter of her life as a mother.
Women’s cricket has long languished due to a lack of investment compared to the men’s team, but the PCB appears to be holding firm to its more recent commitment to provide their female players the resources and support they require — by improving the terms of their central contracts, expanding the network of girls’ academies and organising regular domestic tournaments. All the same, the parental support policy represents a huge leap forward for the cricket board as a progressive and women-friendly organisation. Not only does it attempt to offer players a better work-life balance in between the gruelling training sessions and lengthy match schedules, it enables women to have the choice to continue pursuing their sporting careers even if they decide to start their own families. Clearly, the PCB recognises the value of their players and wishes to ensure that they can have long, successful careers without it being at the expense of their personal lives and well-being. More organisations should follow suit.
Amazon opportunity
THE decision by global e-commerce giant Amazon to add Pakistan to its sellers’ list is expected to unleash enormous business opportunities for the country’s small and medium manufacturers and entrepreneurs to market and directly sell their products globally. It is also a major breakthrough for the country’s growing e-commerce industry, as well as companies and professionals working in the digital space. Pakistan is the only South Asian state, which is not on the list of the 102 countries on the Amazon platform in spite of being the second biggest economy in the region. The new development will hopefully put Pakistan on the global e-commerce map, opening up a new era of business boom by connecting its entrepreneurs and goods with millions of consumers across the world. The best thing about the new development is that Amazon will now provide a new venue to individual sellers to ship their products in small parcels to consumers outside Pakistan. This will afford them a chance to work on and develop their own brands for better prices. Moreover, they will not have to worry about their payments as Amazon will directly transfer the money into their local accounts.
The advantages of being on Amazon can be gauged from the fact that in India, which is a small contributor to the e-commerce giant’s total global sales, some 100,000 sellers are exporting products worth more than $2bn a year. That shows the opportunities Amazon can provide to small Pakistani sellers, especially women and entrepreneurs, who have goods and products needed by consumers outside Pakistan but cannot afford to have a big export set-up. For instance, they have a large Pakistani diaspora scattered across the countries, especially in the Gulf, to cater to. The significance and use of online marketplaces such as Amazon has increased immensely since the outbreak of Covid-19. Pakistan’s e-commerce market itself has grown dramatically over the last one year and is estimated to have expanded by 35pc in the first quarter of the current fiscal to Rs96bn from Rs71bn a year ago. But there are several impediments to its expansion, the poor quality of goods being the main hurdle together with the absence of a mechanism to address product complaints. Amazon, like other international companies and brands, is a highly consumer-centric marketplace where customers’ reviews of a product are taken very seriously. Therefore, our entrepreneurs will have to be careful if they desire to benefit from the opportunity.
