The Express Tribune Editorial 2 November 2019

‘Azadi March
The ‘Azadi March’ is on the go – formally declared open by Maulana Fazlur Rehman after the Friday prayers. The JUI-F is in the lead, with the ANP also exhibiting sizeable presence. Support from the PML-N and the PPP is limited, but their eminent leaders have showed up at the event and made fiery speeches targeting the incumbents and their policies. Whatever you call it – a rally, a march or a sit-in – the fact is that the event has turned out to be quite a big show of street power. The protest venue, spread over one hundred acres in the heart of the federal capital, is brimful of a charged crowd hailing from various parts of the country. With kitchens and lavatories readied, the protesters appear in no hurry, having camped out in the arena along with their belongings and necessary supplies in a zealous attempt to pressure Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign.
So, all the signs are there that the crowd is not going to disperse anytime soon. They are here to stay, but for how long, can’t be said with certainty right now. The size of the crowd, as well as its liveliness, was enough to drive Fazl, the spearhead, into adopting an unusually harsh tone as he made his first formal address to the ‘Azadi March’ participants in the evening yesterday. While other opposition leaders, like Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, were customarily critical of the government, the Maulana went to the extent of asking the state institutions to be impartial and withdraw support from the PTI-led government. He gave the incumbents two days – i.e. till Monday – to tender their resignations, calling them the product of a rigged election.
So far so good, from the Maulana’s point of view. But what next is the key question. What will it be like on Monday? To what extent are the pumped-up protesters ready to go for getting their demands accepted? And to what extent will the authorities go for tackling the protesters in case they violate the terms of an agreement whereby they are bound to stay peaceful? Well, there can be yet another deadline on Monday.

 
 

New Arab Spring?

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has offered to resign if political parties can agree on his replacement. An announcement to this effect has been made by President Barham Saleh who is also drafting a new election law to will allow early elections. The resignation comes as thousands of Iraqis continue protesting in Baghdad, Karbala, and elsewhere against corruption while demanding more jobs and better social services. More than 250 have been killed in clashes with security forces.
According to reports, tens of thousands of demonstrators have tried to swarm Baghdad’s Green Zone, where Iraq’s governing class lives. They have been met by Iraqi security forces firing tear gas and live ammunition. The death toll is believed to have passed 250 people. The protests against Mahdi began on October 1. The initial grievance was the delays in reforms he had promised upon coming to power last year. The protests escalated nationwide after security personnel killed around 150 people in the first week of agitation. The economy remains the biggest driver.
Even though security has greatly improved since Daesh was fought off in 2017, Iraq’s economy remains off track. The government remains highly dependent on oil, and almost half the budget is spent on bureaucrats’ salaries, pensions and perks. And joblessness is so high that the government stopped releasing unemployment statistics in 2017, when, according to the Wall Street Journal, “the jobless rate was 13% and youth unemployment nearly double that.” At the same time, electricity and water supply remain problematic, while health and education are in woeful condition.
The fall of two Middle Eastern governments in quick succession has raised whispers of a new Arab Spring, but a fairer argument is that it is really a continuation of the last one.
The uprisings of 2011 did not bring freedom from tyranny in most of the affected countries, but they did open the gates to wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya, and bring a new military dictator to power in Egypt.

 
 

Opportunities for workers

Japan plans to hire Pakistani skilled workers in large numbers. Japan is one of the richest countries of the world. It has a large trade surplus. The Japanese ambassador to Pakistan has announced recently that Tokyo will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with Islamabad in this connection. This is good news for Pakistan where the unemployment rate is high. The envoy says that Pakistani workers will be allowed long-term work visas, and after five years of stay in Japan, they will be allowed to bring their families. He says Pakistani workers will have to learn the Japanese language, which is one of the easiest languages to learn; and by learning the Japanese language Pakistanis will be saved from culture shock.
Many Pakistanis are already working in Japan and sending precious foreign exchange to the home country. Pakistanis working in Japan sent home remittances of nearly two million US dollars in October 2018. Remittances from Japan reached the highest level in April 2018 when Pakistanis sent 5.898 million US dollars home. Pakistan also has a flourishing bilateral trade with Japan. Japan exports automobiles to Pakistan besides other things. The Japanese government has also been inviting Pakistanis to Japan to train our engineers and scientists in higher skills.
The two countries also have regular and reciprocal visits of cultural delegations. This has been strengthening cultural relations between the two countries. Pakistanis are quite familiar with Japanese writers and poets like Haruki Murakami and Kazuo Ishuguro. Haiku, a Japanese genre of poetry, is popular in Pakistan. Many Pakistanis compose Haiku, a three-line poem. Pakistanis are quite familiar with the celebrated Japanese film director Kurusawa and his movies, especially Rashoman. We have long and close relations with Japan in the spheres of economy, trade, education and culture.
We hope Japan hiring skilled workers would go a long way in easing Pakistan’s problem of joblessness. It is rightly said that the best way to appreciate job is to imagine yourself without one.

 

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