#Punjab political crisis

[dailyanarchistposts]

Water is essential for all life on Earth. But one-third of the world’s population do not have access to a supply of safe drinking water (a situation that is worsening). A third of all deaths in the world are the results of water-borne diseases. Water is a limited but endlessly renewed resource; its pollution, mismanagement and overuse by corporations, governments and people (turned into ‘consumers’ in a world that is not of their making) threaten to turn a global crisis into a long-term planetary disaster. The Vice-President of the World Bank, Ismail Seregeldin, stated in 1995 that “the wars of the next century will be over water… by the year 2025, the amount of water available to each person in the Middle East and North Africa will have dropped by 80% in a single lifetime”.

Disputes and Wars

40% of the world’s population depend on water from a neighbouring country. Over 200 large rivers are shared by two or more countries. In modern times the existence of vast cities, irrigated agriculture and the demand for hydro-electric power have led countries to claim or steal water resources once used by others. The cutting up of river systems by state boundaries has aggravated the problems of responding to floods. The political and engineering structures that bring economic power and political control to national and international elites also threaten lives and livelihoods. One reason for Turkey’s refusal to grant autonomy to the Kurds is the importance of water resources in eastern Turkey. Attempts to divert the sources of the River Jordan in South Lebanon and the Golan Heights provoked the Israeli-Arab War of 1967. Following this, Israel began to appropriate water supplies to support new settlements and supply towns and industry in Israel proper: Israel annually pumps 600 million cubic metres of water (over 30% of its supply) from aquifers that lie wholly or partly under the West Bank. 115 million cubic metres are allocated to the 1.4m West Bank Palestinians and 30m to 130,000 Jewish settlers; the rest (455 million cubic metres) goes to Israel. West Bank Palestinians have been barred from digging new wells or renovating old ones since 1967. Egypt offered Israel 400m cubic metres of fresh water a year to settle its conflict and assist the Palestinians; but there is still no agreement over water for the West Bank. There is a continuous threat of water wars in South Asia between India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. Large-scale deforestation upstream results in increasingly widespread flood disasters below. Punjab water was an important contributory factor to the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. Hindu nationalism has been fuelled by the unfair distribution of India’s water to the Sikh Punjab and led to the storming of the Sikh Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984.

Modern wars depend on the destruction of the civilian population’s means of life and livelihood. In 1991 in Iraq, for example, the deliberate destruction of power supplies by bombing and war created a huge health problem. Over 90% of sewage treatment plants were disabled with huge amounts of untreated domestic and industrial sewage being pumped into rivers, creating an increase in water-borne diseases. Agricultural production was slashed by the breakdown of the electrically powered irrigation network. Before the Gulf War Iraq produced 30% of its food. Prior to the US-UK assault on Iraq in 2003, the figure was 10–15%.

[warningsine]

Violent clashes have broken out in Pakistan between security forces and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan after he was arrested on Tuesday.

Protests are erupting nationwide, and at least one person has been killed in the city of Quetta.

The United States and UK have called for adherence to the "rule of law".

Mr Khan was arrested by security forces at the High Court in the capital, Islamabad.

Dramatic footage showed dozens of officers arriving and detaining the 70-year-old, who was bundled into a vehicle and driven away.

He was appearing in court on charges of corruption, which he says are politically motivated.

Mobile data services in the country were suspended on the instructions of the interior ministry on Friday as protests grew, many of them taking place in front of army compounds.

Pakistan's army plays a prominent role in politics, sometimes seizing power in military coups, and, on other occasions, pulling levers behind the scenes.

Many analysts believe Mr Khan's election win in 2018 happened with the help of the military. Now in opposition, he is one of its most vocal critics, and analysts say the army's popularity has fallen.

Footage from Lahore posted on Twitter appeared to show a crowd breaking into the military corps commander's house destroying furniture and belongings inside.

Speaking from Washington, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he wanted to make sure that "whatever happens in Pakistan is consistent with the rule of law, with the constitution".

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, speaking alongside Blinken, noted that Britain enjoyed "a longstanding and close relationship" with Commonwealth member Pakistan, and wanted to "see the rule of law adhered to".

On Tuesday evening, supporters of Imran Khan gathered outside the Pakistan High Commission in London to protest against his arrest.

'Chaos and anarchy'

Mr Khan was ousted as PM in April last year and has been campaigning for early elections since then.

General elections are due to be held later this year.

Speaking to the BBC's Newshour, Mr Khan's spokesman, Raoof Hasan, said he expected "the worst" and that the arrest could plunge the country "into chaos and anarchy".

"We're facing multiple crises. There is an economic crisis, there is a political crisis, there is a cost of livelihood crisis and consequently this occasion will be a catharsis for them to step out and I fear a fair amount of violence is going to be back," he said.

A member of Mr Khan's legal team, Raja Mateen, said undue force had been used against him at the court.

"Mr Khan went into the biometric office for the biometrics. The rangers went there, they broke the windows, they hit Mr Khan on the head with a baton," said Mr Mateen.

Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called on its supporters to protest. In the hours after he was detained, violence was reported from cities including Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.

On the streets of Islamabad, hundreds of protesters blocked one of the main highways in and out of the capital.

People pulled down street signs and parts of overpasses, lit fires and threw stones. During the hour or so that the BBC was there, no police or authorities were visible.

Protesters said they were angry about Imran Khan's arrest.

"This is absolutely the last straw," said Farida Roedad.

"Let there be anarchy, let there be chaos. If there is no Imran, there's nothing left in Pakistan. No one is there to take over."

Writing on social media, police in Islamabad said five police officers had been injured and 43 protesters arrested.

It said at least 10 people, including six police officers, had been injured in the south-western city of Quetta in clashes between Mr Khan's supporters and security forces - with one protester killed.

A statement from the inspector general of Punjab police said the arrest of Mr Khan had been ordered because he was accused of "corruption and corrupt practices".

The case involves allegations over the allotment of land in the so-called Al-Qadir Trust, which is owned by Mr Khan and his wife, Dawn newspaper reported.

Mr Khan, who is being held at an undisclosed location, denies breaking any law.

In a video message filmed as he travelled to Islamabad - and released by the PTI before his arrest - Mr Khan said he was ready for what lay ahead.

"Come to me with warrants, my lawyers will be there," he said. "If you want to send me to jail, I am prepared for it."

Security was tight in the centre of the capital for the former PM's court appearance.

Dozens of cases have been brought against Mr Khan since he was ousted from power.

The security forces have tried to detain him on a number of previous occasions at his Lahore residence, but were blocked by his supporters, resulting in fierce clashes.

On Tuesday, police had blocked roads into Islamabad, so the number of supporters with Imran Khan was not as high as on previous occasions, making it easier to arrest him.

He was elected prime minister in 2018, but fell out with Pakistan's powerful army. After a series of defections, he lost his majority in parliament. He was ousted after he lost a confidence vote in April 2022, four years into his tenure.

Since then, he has been a vocal critic of the government and the country's army.

In October, he was disqualified from holding public office, accused of incorrectly declaring details of presents from foreign dignitaries and proceeds from their alleged sale.

The next month, he survived a gun attack on his convoy while holding a protest march.

On Monday, the military warned him against making "baseless allegations" after he again accused a senior officer of plotting to kill him.

[abominablecreeture]

"The Green Revolution has been heralded as a political and technological achievement, unprecedented in human history. It was designed as a techno-political strategy for peace, through the creation of abundance by breaking out of nature’s limits and variabilities. Paradoxically, two decades of the Green Revolution have left Punjab ravaged by violence and ecological scarcity. Instead of abundance, Punjab has been left with diseased soils, pest-infested crops, waterlogged deserts, and indebted and discontented farmers. Instead of peace, Punjab has inherited conflict and violence.

...

The Punjab crisis is in large measure the tragic outcome of a resource intensive and politically and economically centralized experiment with food production. The experiment has failed – even though the Green Revolution miracle continues to be advertised on every platform of every agency that stood to gain from it, the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, the World Bank, the seed and chemical multinationals, the Government of India and the various agencies it controls.

It is misleading to reduce the roots of communal conflict to religion, as most scholars and commentators have done, since the conflicts are also economic and political...At the heart of these conflicts and disillusionments lies the Green Revolution.

...

The received view on societal violence identifies ‘material scarcity’ as the underlying determinant of man’s inhumanity to man. From pre-neolithic times, it is argued, societal groups have always lived in environments too poor to satisfy their material needs. Nature has thus been seen as a source of economic scarcity, scarcity has been seen as a source of conflict over scarce resources, and conflicts have in turn been seen as a source of violence.

‘Development’ then becomes a strategy to ‘combat scarcity and dominate nature’ to generate material abundance. This view of scarcity and of violence is shared by both the left and the right. Capital accumulation through appropriation of nature is seen by both ends of traditional political spectrum as a source of generating material abundance, and through it, conditions of peace. This orthodox view holds that ‘the unprecedented control of the environment facilitated by a high-level technology, thus the possibility of eliminating toil and poverty is the necessary pre-requisite for overcoming the struggle between men themselves.’ The Green Revolution was conceived within this orthodox view of scarcity and violence. The Green Revolution was prescribed as a techno-politic strategy that would create abundance in agricultural societies and reduce the threat of communist insurgency and agrarian conflict. The British-American-sponsored Colombo Plan of 1952 was the explicit articulation of the development philosophy which saw the peasantry in Asia as incipient revolutionaries, who, if squeezed too hard, could be rallied against the politically and economically powerful groups. Rural development in general, and the Green Revolution in particular, assisted by foreign capital and planned by foreign experts, were prescribed as means for stabilising the rural areas politically ‘which would include defusing the most explosive grievances of the more important elements in the countryside’. This strategy was based on the idea of an agricultural revolution driven by scientific and technological innovations, since such an approach held the promise of changing the agrarian relations which had previously been politically so troublesome. Science and politics were wedded together in the very inception of the Green Revolution as a strategy for creating peace and prosperity in rural India.

However, after two decades, the invisible ecological, political and cultural costs of the Green Revolution have become visible. At the political level, the Green Revolution has turned out to be conflict-producing instead of conflict reducing. At the material level, production of high yields of commercial grain have generated new scarcities at the ecosystem level, which in turn have generated new sources of conflict. ...Control over nature and control over people were essential elements of the centralised and centralising strategy of the Green Revolution. Ecological breakdown in nature and the political breakdown of society were essential implications of a policy based on tearing apart both nature and society. The Green Revolution was based on the assumption that technology is a superior substitute for nature, and hence a means of producing growth, unconstrained by nature’s limits. Conceptually and empirically it is argued that the assumption of nature is a source of scarcity, and technology as a source of abundance, leads to the creation of technologies which create new scarcities in nature through ecological destruction. The reduction in availability of fertile land and genetic diversity of crops as a result of the Green Revolution practices indicates that at the ecological level, the Green Revolution produced scarcity, not abundance."

Vandana Shiva, The Violence of the Green Revolution

[drmaqazi]

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts

in so-caled Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is neither Islamic nor Republic, 

UNFORTUNATELY 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

When Bandial ruled in favor of early elections in Punjab, a number of top judges ruled that PTI’s suo motu request was dismissed on the ground of maintainability. The objection from the judges was based on their understanding that such action should not be taken without consulting all members of the court, and that the issue was pending in provincial courts and didn’t qualify as an issue of public interest.

The ruling coalition is in no mood to implement the top court’s rulings, which it believes may undermine its electoral prospects in the upcoming general elections.

Meanwhile, the ECP has complained that its constitutional authority has been undermined by the Supreme Court as the latter issued a date for Punjab assembly elections without its consent.

To find a way out of the situation, the parliament has tried to enact legislation to curtail the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) with regard to unilaterally taking suo motu actions. However, earlier this month Bandial ruled that the bill curtailing the CJP’s powers will remain ineffective even if it becomes law. The ruling virtually undermines the legislature’s ability to do its work.

The situation has gotten to a point where the state seems to be in a revolt against the top judge’s orders over the elections. The State Bank of Pakistan has refused to obey the chief justice’s order to directly allocate funds to the ECP without the parliament’s approval. The Defense Ministry has made it clear that it cannot allocate security personnel as they are busy with military operations across the country. Meanwhile, the government has refused to enter into negotiations with PTI leadership under pressure from the Supreme Court.

This is not the first time that the apex court’s chief justices have tried to intervene in matters that are beyond their remit, undermining the judiciary’s legitimacy and harming Pakistan’s interests at home and abroad.

Rulings by Supreme Court judges have in fact left Pakistan weaker and caused trouble for policymakers and concerns for international investors. One of the most notable examples in this regard is the verdict handed out by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary in the Reko Diq deal in 2013. The ruling damaged Pakistan’s reputation among investors and cost it financially too.

During his term at the helm, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar gave several controversial verdicts that were beyond his constitutional authority. Not only was Nisar behind the scandalous initiative of establishing a fund to collect donations for the construction of a dam but also, he repeatedly interfered in daily administrative affairs by using suo motu authority of his office to an unprecedented extent.

The Supreme Court is tasked with providing a fair and impartial interpretation of the law. However, its recent decisions have created an atmosphere of uncertainty in the country as citizens are unsure of how these decisions will be implemented. It is now up to the Supreme Court to prove that it can remain impartial and make decisions as per the Constitution rather than politics. Only then can it restore public trust in the judiciary and prevent further damage to the institution and the country.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Diplomat

[smqazi]

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/06/23/politics-at-bench-pakistani...

The Diplomat

[buzz-london]

Bankrupt Punjab? | Punjab's Financial Crisis - 7/11/23

Punjab has been handled, or more like mishandled by many governments until today. Once India's second-richest state during the Green Revolution, today Punjab has become a current debt-ridden one. But how did it get here?

In this video we unfold the intricate details of Punjab's financial woes, its overdependence on subsidies, and how political decisions have contributed to the state's fiscal challenges. With insights into the recent actions taken by the AAP government, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of the state's economic situation and its uncertain future. But the question is, will Punjab be able to ever reclaim its former glory?

[truescoopnews4]

The Significance and Impact of Live News Reporting

In today's fast-paced world, staying informed about current events and breaking news has become an integral part of our daily Punjab News lives. The advent of live BBC news Punjabi reporting has revolutionized the way we consume information, making it more immediate and accessible than ever before. This blog will explore the significance and impact of live Punjab news in English reporting on our society, examining the benefits and challenges it brings.

The Rise of Live News Reporting

Live news reporting, also known as real-time or live journalism, has become increasingly popular due to the evolution of technology and the widespread availability of the internet. It allows news organizations to provide instant updates on Punjab school news, covering events as they unfold.

This immediacy offers several key advantages:

1. Real-Time Information:

Live news reporting like Indian news in Punjabi delivers information as it happens, ensuring that the public has access to the latest developments in various fields, including politics, sports, weather, and more.

2. Engagement:

Live news reporting allows for viewer engagement through interactive features, such as live chats and real-time social media discussions, enabling the audience to participate in the conversation and ask questions.

3. Transparency:

Viewers can witness events as they occur, reducing the chances of misinformation or distorted narratives. This transparency is crucial for building trust in journalism.

4. Crisis Reporting:

In the case of emergencies or crises, live news reporting is instrumental in disseminating vital information quickly, helping people make informed decisions and stay safe.

[dhaliwalmanjit]

Punjab's River Water Crisis: Legal Political and Economic Aspects

[xtruss]

Leaders | Soldiers, Go Home! Pakistan’s Perma-Crisis. Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Most Popular Politician, Must Be Free to Contest Timely Elections

— June 1st, 2023 | The Economist

The One & Only, The Legend of Legends and The Most Honest Politician in The History of Pakistan: IMRAN KHAN!

Imran khan was a terrible prime minister(Bullshit). In office from 2018-2022, the Pakistani cricket star turned populist leader appointed corrupt ministers, locked up his opponents and hounded the press(More Lies and Bullshit). As Pakistanis rapidly went off him (Bullshit.), he peddled desperate anti-American conspiracy theories (Bullshit. He didn’t become American Puppet likes Corrupt Politicians, Army Generals and Judges). Had his government limped on to the general election due later this year, his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (pti) party would probably have been trounced (More lies).

That is how democracy is supposed to work. Bad governments get summarily ejected. Fear of a reckoning encourages politicians to do better. One government’s failures are a lesson to its successors. Yet Pakistan, tragically, has experienced little if any of that. Its Arrogant Corrupt to Their Cores Army Generals, the Real Power in the Country of 240 Million Since Its Independence in 1947, Have Not Permitted a Prime Minister to Complete a Five-Year Term. Mr Khan, an erstwhile military favourite, was handed power after the generals toppled his predecessor, and was then himself Dismissed last year following an Army-orchestrated No-confidence Vote. Thereby, the generals helped turn a failed politician (Bullshit) into a Populist Hero (Because He is an Honest Man, Not Corrupt like Generals, Politicians and Judges. He Refused to Become a Puppet of the US and the WEST), whose rabble-rousing (Bullshit) has become a threat to order (Again Bullshit), even as Pakistan faces a balance-of-payments crisis (It’s not his Fault). It is a textbook example of the incompetence, as well as power-hunger, of the men who presume to run the world’s fifth-most-populous country.

Were Mr Khan’s party allowed to contest the scheduled election, he would now probably be swept back to power in Islamabad. So the army intervened again. It had him charged (Illegally) with ‘Multiple Crimes, From Blasphemy to Terrorism, and Placed Under de-Facto House Arrest’, and then set about dismantling his party. Thousands of pti activists have been arrested and most of the party’s senior leaders (Under Corrupt Generals’ Gunpoint) leant on to renounce Mr Khan. Whether the Corrupt Generals will even let the election go ahead is unclear.

Pakistan’s woeful governance is a direct consequence of such military meddling. The country’s political parties, as the pti is now demonstrating, are shifting bands of opportunists, their members united by little more than an appetite to capitalise on whatever brief opportunity to get rich the generals afford them. Its governments, formed at the army’s behest and in the knowledge that they are unlikely to last a full term, have little incentive to take tough political decisions. No wonder the current administration of Shehbaz Sharif has balked at the eye-watering tax rises and subsidy cuts that the IMF is demanding for its latest bail-out of Pakistan, which would be the 23rd. The courts, an instrument of army control, are often intimidated and corrupted by the generals’ fixer-spies. Ditto the media.

The cost of the dysfunction is incalculable. Dominated by the agriculturally rich state of Punjab, Pakistan was for a long time a match for its much bigger Indian rival. Its army arguably lost four wars against India, but narrowly. Its cricketers were better than their neighbour’s. In 1990 the two countries’ average income per head was almost the same. Now Indians are, on average, 50% richer than Pakistanis. And whereas India is fast becoming a global power, Pakistan, beset by economic, environmental and social crises that its governments scarcely seem to comprehend, has become a global menace. It is abysmally governed, violent, unstable and nuclear-armed. Owing to the public anger Mr Khan is whipping up, it is now also at risk of civil strife. All this in a country whose population is projected to be more than 100m bigger in 2050 than it is today.

This mess has only one solution. The generals must, once and for all, get out of politics. Pakistan otherwise has no chance of getting the better governments it needs and deserves. The time for this is now. The election should be held to schedule and Mr Khan and his party—unimpressive though they are (Not True, again same bullshit)—be free to contest it. It is for Pakistani voters to choose who should govern them. They could scarcely choose worse than their Turkey-cocking Corrupt to their Cores, Arrogant, Schizophrenic and Boak Bollocks Generals. Those self-appointed guardians of Pakistan have done little except lower, weaken and immiserate it. ■

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Soldiers, Go Home"

[wiseedition]

Pakistan Finance minister cancels US visit amid domestic political, judicial crisis

The development came amid the widening chasm between the judiciary and the federal government over holding polls in the country's politically crucial Punjab province.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has cancelled his visit to the US to attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF and hold talks with officials to unlock a much-needed USD 1.1 billion IMF bailout, amid deepening domestic political uncertainty and developing judicial crisis, according to a media report on Friday.

During the visit, Dar was to meet the International Monetary Fund management for the removal of bottlenecks in the staff-level agreement on the revival of the stalled bailout package.

Sources said that Dar would not attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and the IMF that will take place from April 10 to 16 in Washington, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

"I am not going due to the domestic state of affairs," the newspaper quoted Dar as saying.

The deepening political uncertainty and developing judicial crisis were said to be the reasons behind the cancellation of the trip to Washington, the paper said.

Dar had the plan to address the financial and political worlds' concerns regarding the continuity of the Pakistan government, future economic plans and bridging the once again trust deficit with the multilateral lenders.

The sources said that Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq would also not go to the United States due to the prevailing uncertain political conditions.

The economic affairs minister always represented Pakistan at the World Bank.

Ayaz is considered very close to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and also handled the political affairs of the allied parties.

The development came amid the widening chasm between the judiciary and the federal government over holding polls in the country's politically crucial Punjab province.

The federal government asserts that it has the power to delay the polls and hold them with the general elections in the country after August this year.

However, former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party has been pushing for early polls and demanding that instead of delaying the elections in the Punjab province, the national assembly should be dissolved and general elections called in the country.

Finance Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh and Economic Affairs Secretary Kazim Niaz would now represent the government at the WB-IMF spring meetings.

During the visit, Dar scheduled meetings with the presidents of WB, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – the three multilateral creditors that were very crucial for Pakistan's plans to raise USD 6 billion in additional loans to meet the last IMF condition.

Cash-strapped Pakistan is awaiting a much-needed USD 1.1 billion tranche of funding from the Washington-based IMF, which was originally due to be disbursed in November last year.

The funds are part of a USD 6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.

The IMF programme, signed in 2019, is going to expire on June 30, 2023, and under the set guidelines, the programme cannot be extended beyond the deadline.

The pending 9th review was scheduled to be completed in December 2022 and the 10th review should have been kick-started from February 2023.

The 11th review was scheduled to commence on May 3.

Pakistan and the IMF have been negotiating the resumption of the stalled programme for months but have yet to reach an agreement.

There is no easy solution available to fix the ailing economy of Pakistan and the government is of the view that they have taken all the tough decisions for reviving the stalled IMF programme.

Pakistan, currently in the throes of a major economic crisis, is grappling with high external debt, a weak local currency and dwindling foreign exchange reserves, enough to shore up for barely one month's imports.

The current volatile political situation in Pakistan has become a factor in delaying a much-needed deal with the IMF.

[gazetteweekly]

Pakistan-origin Humza Yousaf elected as Scotland's first Muslim, ethnic minority leader

The 37-year-old Glasgow-born son of South Asian immigrants is set to be confirmed as first minister during a session of the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

LONDON: Scotland’s governing party elected Humza Yousaf as its new leader on Monday, making him the first person of color and the first Muslim to lead the country of 5.5 million people.

Yousaf narrowly defeated rival Kate Forbes after a bruising five-week contest that exposed deep fractures within the pro-independence Scottish National Party as it faces an impasse in its quest to take Scotland out of the United Kingdom.

The 37-year-old Glasgow-born son of South Asian immigrants is set to be confirmed as first minister during a session of the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

Yousaf, who currently is Scotland’s health minister, beat two other Scottish lawmakers in a contest to replace First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. She unexpectedly stepped down last month after eight years as leader of the party and of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government.

SNP members chose Yousaf over Scottish finance minister Forbes by a margin of 52% to 48%, after third-placed candidate Ash Regan was eliminated in a first vote. Turnout among the 72,000 members was 70%.

Yousaf faces the challenge of uniting the SNP and reenergizing the stalled independence campaign.

“Just as I will lead the SNP in the interests of all party members, not just those who voted for me, so I will lead Scotland in the interests of all our citizens whatever your political allegiance," he said in an acceptance speech at Edinburgh's Murrayfield rugby stadium.

Yousaf paid tribute to his late grandparents, who emigrated from the Punjab to Glasgow more than 60 years ago.

“They couldn’t have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that two generations later their grandson would one day be Scotland’s first minister,” he said. “We should all take pride in the fact that today we have sent a clear message: that your color of skin, your faith, is not a barrier to leading the country we all call home.”

Yousaf is widely seen as a “continuity Sturgeon” candidate who shares the outgoing leader’s liberal social views.

A formidable leader who led the SNP to a dominant position in Scottish politics, Sturgeon failed in her aim of taking Scotland out of the U.K. and divided the party with a contentious transgender rights law.

The three candidates to succeed her shared the goal of independence, but differed in their economic and social visions for Scotland.

Forbes, 32, is an evangelical Christian who has been criticized for saying that her faith would have prevented her from voting in favor of allowing same-sex couples to wed, had she been a lawmaker when Scotland legalized gay marriage in 2014.

Both Forbes and 49-year-old Regan opposed legislation championed by Sturgeon to make it easier for people in Scotland to legally change their gender.

The gender recognition bill has been hailed as a landmark piece of legislation by transgender rights activists, but faced opposition from some SNP members who said it ignored the need to protect single-sex spaces for women, such as domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers.

Yousaf has promised to push forward with the bill, which has been passed by the Scottish parliament but blocked by the U.K. government.

The SNP holds 64 of the 129 seats in the Scottish parliament and governs in coalition with the much smaller Greens. The smaller party had warned it might quit the coalition if the SNP elected a leader that doesn’t share its progressive views — meaning a victory by Forbes or Regan could have splintered the government.

That split has been avoided, but the pro-independence campaign remains adrift. Scottish voters backed remaining in the U.K. in a 2014 referendum that was billed as a once-in-a-generation decision. The SNP wants a new vote, but the central government in London has refused to authorize one, and the U.K. Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland can’t hold one without London’s consent.

Yousaf said he would ask the Conservative government in London for authorization to hold a new referendum. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said the answer remained no.

Yousaf has also said he wants to build a “settled, sustained” majority for independence. Polls currently suggest Scottish voters are split about evenly on the issue.

“To those in Scotland who don’t yet share the passion I do for independence, I will aim to earn your trust by continuing to govern well,” Yousaf said.

The acrimonious SNP leadership contest has sent the SNP’s poll ratings plunging — to the delight of the Labour Party and the Conservatives, which hope to gain seats in Scotland during the next U.K.-wide election, likely next year.

Critics say Yousaf, who served in several posts in Sturgeon’s government, bears some responsibility for Scotland’s long health care waiting times, homelessness problem and high drug death toll.

Independent pollster Mark Diffley said that while the SNP members who elected Yousaf are passionately concerned about independence, the new leader “will now have to pivot really quite sharply towards what public priorities are, which is not the same."

“It’s more about supporting people through the cost of living crisis, getting economic growth, improving public services,” Diffley said. "That’s where reality will bite, I think, pretty soon.”

[hostor-infotech]

Pakistan’s president slammed for declaring poll date in provinces | Elections News

Islamabad, Pakistan – Yet another political crisis is brewing in Pakistan after President Arif Alvi bypassed the country’s election commission and unilaterally announced election dates for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. In a letter to Sikandar Sultan Raja, Pakistan’s chief election commissioner, Alvi on Monday said he was using his constitutional authority to declare April 9 as the poll…

[cryptosecrets]

Pakistan’s president slammed for declaring poll date in provinces | Elections News

Islamabad, Pakistan – Yet another political crisis is brewing in Pakistan after President Arif Alvi bypassed the country’s election commission and unilaterally announced election dates for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. In a letter to Sikandar Sultan Raja, Pakistan’s chief election commissioner, Alvi on Monday said he was using his constitutional authority to declare April 9 as the poll…

[762175]

Pakistan’s president slammed for declaring poll date in provinces | Elections News

Islamabad, Pakistan – Yet another political crisis is brewing in Pakistan after President Arif Alvi bypassed the country’s election commission and unilaterally announced election dates for Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. In a letter to Sikandar Sultan Raja, Pakistan’s chief election commissioner, Alvi on Monday said he was using his constitutional authority to declare April 9 as the poll…

[drmaqazi]

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts 

IN SO-CALLED ISLAMIC REOPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN, WHICH BY DEFINITIOIN IS NEITHER ISLAMIC NOR REPUBLIC, 

UNFORTUNATELY! 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

When Bandial ruled in favor of early elections in Punjab, a number of top judges ruled that PTI’s suo motu request was dismissed on the ground of maintainability. The objection from the judges was based on their understanding that such action should not be taken without consulting all members of the court, and that the issue was pending in provincial courts and didn’t qualify as an issue of public interest.

The ruling coalition is in no mood to implement the top court’s rulings, which it believes may undermine its electoral prospects in the upcoming general elections.

Meanwhile, the ECP has complained that its constitutional authority has been undermined by the Supreme Court as the latter issued a date for Punjab assembly elections without its consent.

To find a way out of the situation, the parliament has tried to enact legislation to curtail the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) with regard to unilaterally taking suo motu actions. However, earlier this month Bandial ruled that the bill curtailing the CJP’s powers will remain ineffective even if it becomes law. The ruling virtually undermines the legislature’s ability to do its work.

The situation has gotten to a point where the state seems to be in a revolt against the top judge’s orders over the elections. The State Bank of Pakistan has refused to obey the chief justice’s order to directly allocate funds to the ECP without the parliament’s approval. The Defense Ministry has made it clear that it cannot allocate security personnel as they are busy with military operations across the country. Meanwhile, the government has refused to enter into negotiations with PTI leadership under pressure from the Supreme Court.

This is not the first time that the apex court’s chief justices have tried to intervene in matters that are beyond their remit, undermining the judiciary’s legitimacy and harming Pakistan’s interests at home and abroad.

Rulings by Supreme Court judges have in fact left Pakistan weaker and caused trouble for policymakers and concerns for international investors. One of the most notable examples in this regard is the verdict handed out by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary in the Reko Diq deal in 2013. The ruling damaged Pakistan’s reputation among investors and cost it financially too.

During his term at the helm, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar gave several controversial verdicts that were beyond his constitutional authority. Not only was Nisar behind the scandalous initiative of establishing a fund to collect donations for the construction of a dam but also, he repeatedly interfered in daily administrative affairs by using suo motu authority of his office to an unprecedented extent.

The Supreme Court is tasked with providing a fair and impartial interpretation of the law. However, its recent decisions have created an atmosphere of uncertainty in the country as citizens are unsure of how these decisions will be implemented. It is now up to the Supreme Court to prove that it can remain impartial and make decisions as per the Constitution rather than politics. Only then can it restore public trust in the judiciary and prevent further damage to the institution and the country.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/06/23/politics-at-bench-pakistani...

The Diplomat

_______________

SHORT

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/06/23/politics-at-bench-pakistani...

The Diplomat

[smqazi]

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts 

IN SO-CALLED ISLAMIC REOPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN, WHICH IS NEITHER 

ISLAMIC NOR REPUBLIC, 

UNFORTUNATELY! 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

When Bandial ruled in favor of early elections in Punjab, a number of top judges ruled that PTI’s suo motu request was dismissed on the ground of maintainability. The objection from the judges was based on their understanding that such action should not be taken without consulting all members of the court, and that the issue was pending in provincial courts and didn’t qualify as an issue of public interest.

The ruling coalition is in no mood to implement the top court’s rulings, which it believes may undermine its electoral prospects in the upcoming general elections.

Meanwhile, the ECP has complained that its constitutional authority has been undermined by the Supreme Court as the latter issued a date for Punjab assembly elections without its consent.

To find a way out of the situation, the parliament has tried to enact legislation to curtail the powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) with regard to unilaterally taking suo motu actions. However, earlier this month Bandial ruled that the bill curtailing the CJP’s powers will remain ineffective even if it becomes law. The ruling virtually undermines the legislature’s ability to do its work.

The situation has gotten to a point where the state seems to be in a revolt against the top judge’s orders over the elections. The State Bank of Pakistan has refused to obey the chief justice’s order to directly allocate funds to the ECP without the parliament’s approval. The Defense Ministry has made it clear that it cannot allocate security personnel as they are busy with military operations across the country. Meanwhile, the government has refused to enter into negotiations with PTI leadership under pressure from the Supreme Court.

This is not the first time that the apex court’s chief justices have tried to intervene in matters that are beyond their remit, undermining the judiciary’s legitimacy and harming Pakistan’s interests at home and abroad.

Rulings by Supreme Court judges have in fact left Pakistan weaker and caused trouble for policymakers and concerns for international investors. One of the most notable examples in this regard is the verdict handed out by former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary in the Reko Diq deal in 2013. The ruling damaged Pakistan’s reputation among investors and cost it financially too.

During his term at the helm, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar gave several controversial verdicts that were beyond his constitutional authority. Not only was Nisar behind the scandalous initiative of establishing a fund to collect donations for the construction of a dam but also, he repeatedly interfered in daily administrative affairs by using suo motu authority of his office to an unprecedented extent.

The Supreme Court is tasked with providing a fair and impartial interpretation of the law. However, its recent decisions have created an atmosphere of uncertainty in the country as citizens are unsure of how these decisions will be implemented. It is now up to the Supreme Court to prove that it can remain impartial and make decisions as per the Constitution rather than politics. Only then can it restore public trust in the judiciary and prevent further damage to the institution and the country.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/06/23/politics-at-bench-pakistani...

The Diplomat

_______________

SHORT

The Problem With the Implementation of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Verdicts 

The recent ruling fixing a date for the Punjab provincial assembly elections is deeply controversial as it lays bare the apex court’s partisan bias.

Recent rulings by the Pakistan Supreme Court have thrust it into the middle of the ongoing political crisis in the country. These decisions, often made by partisan judges, are eroding the stature of and public confidence in Pakistan’s judiciary.

For over a year now, Pakistan’s political parties have been wrangling over the holding of elections. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been pushing for elections to the National Assembly (NA) to be advanced and for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial assembly elections to be held before general elections. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)- led government prefers the elections to be held at the same time. Elections to the NA are due later this year.

Amid this political wrangling, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial has come under scrutiny for his suo motu action on the Punjab assembly elections. Earlier this month, a three-member bench led by Bandial fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab assembly. In doing so, he quashed a decision by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to defer polls in the province from April 10 to October 8.

This Supreme Court ruling is a major setback to the Shehbaz Sharif government, which has been trying to defer elections to the Punjab assembly, which was dissolved on January 13. The ruling PML-N-Pakistan People’s Party alliance is opposed to holding assembly elections in Punjab ahead of national elections.

As per the rules, elections are to be held under a caretaker government. With an elected government in place in Punjab, especially should that be led by the opposition PTI, the chances of victory for the ruling combine in Pakistan’s most populous and electorally crucial province in the general election could be undermined.

Sharif’s government has openly objected to the Supreme Court order to hold assembly elections in Punjab on May 14, saying that this is meant to facilitate victory by the PTI. The PTI, which enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan, believes it can win the upcoming election in Punjab, which will give it an upper hand administratively in the province when the NA elections take place subsequently across Pakistan.

Chief Justice Bandial’s authority and neutrality have been further eroded following revelations that the Supreme Court judges objected to the initiation of proceedings under Article 184(3) of the Constitution on the PTI’s petition regarding polls in Punjab.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/06/23/politics-at-bench-pakistani...

The Diplomat