Dawn Editorials 13th April 2023

AJK PM disqualified

AS tensions continue to simmer in Islamabad, on Tuesday, some 100 km away from the federal capital, another clash of institutions saw a prime minister sent packing by the courts over a transgression that, from the face of it, perhaps ought to have been treated with a little more leniency. The High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s surprise decision to punish PTI’s Sardar Tanveer Ilyas over ‘contemptuous’ remarks against the AJK judiciary have caused quite a bit of a stir, perhaps due to expectations in some quarters for similar rulings to be issued by the top court in Islamabad. Mr Ilyas was deemed by the court to be unfit to remain a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly or to hold public office for two years and was consequently removed from office as prime minister of the territory. While the court said it had issued a “lenient” sentence — Mr Ilyas was punished till the rising of the court, much like Yousuf Raza Gilani was in 2012 — it nonetheless seemed excessive considering the gravity of Mr Ilyas’s ‘crime’.

The now-former AJK premier had been hauled up for indirectly criticising the judiciary for interfering in the workings of his government and tying his hands through the issuance of various injunctions. Though Mr Ilyas quite readily admitted before the court that his remarks may have crossed a line and, on the court’s instructions, even tendered a written acknowledgement of the mistake and apologised for it, the six judges hearing the matter were unanimous in their decision to send him home. The judges’ dim view of contempt stands in stark contrast to the tolerance generally shown by Pakistan’s superior judiciary, which has largely chosen to ignore provocations from various political leaders and taken a more magnanimous view by writing them off as politics. Contempt proceedings, especially against public representatives, are a sensitive matter given the delicate equilibrium of power between the branches of the state. We hope the AJK Supreme Court takes this into consideration when it takes up Mr Ilyas’ re-filed appeal.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023


Srinagar meeting

THE G20 is sending the wrong message by letting India organise events linked to the bloc in held Kashmir. While the summit of the world’s top 20 economies will be held in New Delhi in September, a meeting related to tourism is to be held in Srinagar next month. This is a cunning attempt by India to ‘legitimise’ its illegal occupation of the disputed territory by organising a multilateral event there, while the G20 states seem to be playing along without batting an eyelid. Reportedly, only China supported Pakistan’s stance and objected to the meeting being held in occupied Kashmir. The Foreign Office has termed the move “irresponsible” and reminded the international community that IHK remains a disputed region while New Delhi continues to brutally suppress the Kashmiri people.

The BJP-led government has pulled out all the stops to create new ‘facts on the ground’ where IHK is concerned. The most brazen of these moves was the August 2019 decision to do away with the region’s limited autonomy. But what is particularly disturbing is the international community’s silence over Kashmir’s plight. The G20 contains many Western states that claim to be the standard-bearers of fundamental rights. However, when it comes to the people of occupied Kashmir, these rights can apparently be held in abeyance. The West has collectively raised a hue and cry over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, yet the over seven-decade-old Indian occupation of Kashmir seems to be a non-issue in Western capitals. The Muslim world’s silence is even more galling. None of the Muslim states within the G20 — Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey — have objected to the scheduled event in Srinagar. Moreover, some of Pakistan’s friends in the Gulf are reportedly investing millions of dollars in the held territory. The world’s attitude towards Kashmir’s plight is a result of Pakistan’s failures on the diplomatic front, and the double standards being pursued by ‘the great and the good’ in the comity of nations. There is still time for the G20 to take a moral stand. If the bloc were to boycott all events in IHK, it would send a strong message to New Delhi and shake its arrogant assumption that it can do anything in the occupied region and get away with it. Will the G20 stand with the oppressed people of Kashmir, or will realpolitik triumph?

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023


Sinking feeling

IN the last six months since October, we have witnessed an unmistakable deterioration in the country’s economic fundamentals, with gloom overtaking whatever little hope the people had regarding their future.

Global rating agencies have downgraded Pakistan’s credit score further into junk territory, saying Pakistan is hurtling towards sovereign default because of its balance-of-payments crisis and severe dollar crunch.

Indeed, it is surprising that the government has so far dodged default despite the delay in the finalisation of the IMF bailout deal. However, the costs of this economic downturn have been too steep to bear for people and businesses.

Multilateral lenders such as IMF, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have also slashed their growth and employment forecasts in recent months.

For example, the IMF has downgraded its projection for the country’s GDP from a reasonable 3.5pc to just 0.5pc in this six-month period. Its latest GDP growth prediction is closer to the forecasts of the World Bank (0.4pc) and ADB (0.6pc). These lenders have also predicted significant loss of jobs as factories shut down or cut their output across different economic sectors.

Against this backdrop, the warning from foreign firms operating in the country of ‘mass industrial unemployment’ over raw material shortages — thanks to import restrictions meant to stop the outflow of whatever foreign currency reserves we have left — was only to be expected.

The statement by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry chief that business continuity was at stake for most foreign players in Pakistan sums up the economy’s precarious condition. OICCI members are also facing delays in the repatriation of profits and dividends to the tune of $1.5bn and are holding back — at least temporarily — new investments of close to $2bn.

But foreign investors aren’t the only ones facing hardship caused by the unavailability of raw material, currency depreciation, price inflation, the dollar crunch, suppressed demand, etc. National companies, including exporters, face the same issues. Unending political instability has made matters worse in the last one year, taking the government’s eyes off the economic ball.

The IMF says the unemployment rate will rise from 6.2pc to 7pc due to the downturn. However, economists like Hafeez Pasha believe that the unemployment rate is likely to hit 10pc, with the number of jobless people increasing by over 2m to 8m by the end of the current fiscal year.

He has repeatedly stated in interviews that the country is set to face another year of negative GDP growth rate. The last time the economy shrank like this was during the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020. What worries one most is the grim future. Once nations fall below a certain economic threshold, they may find it extremely hard to recover.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2023

 

About The CSS Point

The CSS Point is the Pakistan 1st Free Online platform for all CSS aspirants. We provide FREE Books, Notes and Current Affairs Magazines for all CSS Aspirants.

The CSS Point - The Best Place for All CSS Aspirants

March 2024
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
top
Template Design © The CSS Point. All rights reserved.