EDITORIALS

• The World Health Organization has said in its report that 116 out of 154 districts across Pakistan are affected by floods. At least 888 health centers are damaged. Pakistan is already fighting several epidemics, including Corona. If the health facilities are obstructed, the spread of diseases will increase greatly in the current situation. (Edits- Jasarat, Daily Pakistan)

• The Shehbaz Government has put a new petrol bomb in the lap of the people by increasing the petroleum prices. There would be a new storm of inflation now as petrol hike will directly affect the prices of all commodities. (Aeen Edit)

• After inundating several areas in Balochistan, flood waters have started flowing into Sindh; waters are also flowing into the Sindh from mountains. By now, there is high level of flooding in Indus and at all the three big barrages, Sukkur, Guddu and Kotri. Khairpur Nathan city is under heavy flood waters. The locals blame ruling party representatives for this state of affairs in the city. There are rumors that the elected representatives are trying to save their agricultural lands and crops. If this is indeed true, then these leaders would find it difficult to get votes in next year’s elections. The Sindh authorities should look into peoples’ grievances and frame some strategies to handle rain waters.  (Kawish, Edit, Sept.1)   

• The rain related conditions are going from bad to worse in the Sindh due to political interference. Hence bureaucrats are given a free hand so that they can function independently and help people. We would like to point out that if the administrative machinery fails to realize the gravity of the situation and fails to help the people, then conditions will turn more grim. (Pahenji, Edit, Sept.1)  

• Despite a fall in global crude oil prices, the government has raised petrol prices by Rs.2 plus. It also hiked prices of high-speed diesel and kerosene. Government’s decision is adding salt to peoples’ wounds. People are going through very challenging times. People need some relief. Not this hammering from price hikes. This is sheer injustice to people. If rulers cannot give any relief to people, they should at least see to it that they do not add to peoples’ plight by raising prices of essentials. We reject government’s such decisions and do not see them as good omen for times to come because such decisions will only dent rulers’ reputation as being anti-people. (Edits- Ibrat, Jehan Pakistan, Naibaat)  

• Even as people in flood hit areas are living mostly under the open sky, the meteorological department has announced that one more heavy spell of rain is about to hit Sindh and Balochistan in mid-September. If proper shelters are not provided to people before the predicted spell of rain, there will be more problems for the flood-affected people. The flood water has not been drained out yet. The temperature is rising; drinking water is not available. These factors are causing widespread typhoid, gastro, diarrhea, and lung diseases. According to health experts, in the absence of proper medication, more than 50 lakh people will be affected by these diseases. Shelters and proper medication must be provided to flood-affected people at the earliest. (Edits-Dunya Daily, Qudrat)

• Decision of the Government to import food commodities from neighboring countries is a welcome step in view of damage caused to standing crops.  Hoarding can be discouraged if the Government strictly monitors import of food commodities; this way hoarders cannot sell local grain and food commodities at the price of the imported goods or even higher rates. (Jehan Pakistan Edit)

• State Bank of Pakistan has received 1.16 billion dollars from the IMF. This will stabilize our foreign exchange reserves. Access to funds from other multilateral and bilateral sources will also become easy now.  We cannot deny the fact that despite the agreement with the IMF, Pakistan is still in the grip of economic, political and economic crisis. The most important factor leading to a country becoming unviable is dysfunctional economic system and policies. Since 1980, almost every government that had come to power has acted in a fiscally irresponsible manner, which is causing great damage to the economy. For the past several decades, the inability to address the country’s problems has meant low levels of savings and investment. The confluence of political crisis and economic downturn is now pushing Pakistan towards the risk of becoming extremely vulnerable. Pakistan is the seventh nuclear power in the world but lacks the ability to repay its debt installments. One of the reasons for this state of affairs is spending loan funds on non-productive projects. (Edit, Daily Express)

NEWS

• Addressing International Majlis Tahaffuz-e-Khatm-e-Nabuwat Conference at Mazar-e-Qaid, religious leaders said that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and it would survive only in the name of Islam. The protection of the belief in the end of Prophethood is a duty of all Muslims. Only Muslims can hold important government and state positions.  Necessary steps should be taken to ban Qadianis through the constitution and law. All political and religious parties should put Islam and Pakistan first while formulating their priorities and policies and stay away from pro-Qadiani people. (Jang)

• An atmosphere of fear developed in Boner District upon confirmed presence of armed groups after a peaceful period of more than one decade. Peshawar Police have confirmed that armed groups are seen roaming in many areas of Boner District but the police avoided establishing their links to any banned outfit. ANP leader Sardra Babak alleged that these armed groups were allowed to enter Boner from Torgar road without any protocol and the Police is not allowed to even go near them. However, the Police has made it clear that no armed group will be allowed to disturb peace in the region. (Aeen)

• Addressing the media in Larkana, PPP Sindh chief, Nissar Khoro, who is also a senator, said the province suffered colossal damage in the current floods. Paddy crops in over 50 lakh acres have washed away. He said he fears a food crisis in the days to come. He therefore appealed federal government to take measures to avert a food crisis. (Ibrat)  

• UNICEF has warned that the lives of 30 lakh children are at risk in Pakistan on account of epidemics and food crisis created by recent floods. In its report, the world body said there is need for immediate help to save children from multiple ailments. (Sindh Exp.)  

• More areas are being declared calamity hit in Balochistan. Train operations are suspended in Sindh and Balochistan. There is shortage of medicines in Sindh. Reports from across Sindh say cracks have developed in water courses and canals leading to waterlogging.   Bodies of Nathan Shah residents, who had fled the city on account of rising flood waters, are being found in trees. Meanwhile weather department has issued another alert of bitter cold season this year, (Sindh Exp.)  

• The Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, Athar Minallah has said that our criminal and civil court system is a century old. The entire world has changed but we are still using obsolete systems. Addressing an international seminar at Islamabad about speedy justice he said that the biggest problem we are facing is the delay in getting justice. Corruption is also a reason for the collapse of the system. We need reforms to provide speedy justice to the people. The administration is also responsible for the judicial delays because district courts and police are not working properly.  (Dunya Daily)

• People in different parts of flood-hit Sindh staged protests against the provincial government. They had many problems. Flood water is not drained out. Relief is not provided and above all the water from canals is being released on the lands of poor farmers by the influential landlords. The protesters were complaining it is the second time that the powerful and influential landlords have released water on their land, drowning their homes and fields. People also complained that they are not getting any relief. In fact, relief camps are not formed.  (Dunya Daily)

• A member of the National Assembly, Saira Bano, who is connected with the Grand Democratic Alliance, has refused to pay her one month’s salary to the flood relief fund set up by the Speaker saying there is no transparency. She also complained that members of the National Assembly were not taken into confidence on the modalities of the fund.  In a letter to the Speaker, she  said it  is the right of the members to give donations to the organization of their choice. My one month’s salary should be equally divided among the Al-Khidmat Foundation and JDC. (Dunya Daily, Nawaiwaqt, Daily Express, Daily Jinnah, Ummat)

• Flood-affected areas of Balochistan are suffering from an extreme shortage of food items. In Nushki, mobile networks as also water and electricity are absent for a long time. And now flour has vanished from the market. Even a single bag of flour is not available in the market. A dealer said that all roads ahead of Quetta are closed. The roads are unmotorable. So, the trucks of food items can’t reach Nushki. For the last 10 days, electricity is not available in Nushki, so all flour mills and other grinding shops are closed. People are unable to talk with their relatives and friends because mobile networks and the internet are not working. (Intekhab Daily)

• Tariq Bajwa, who contested election from NA-117 in Nankana Sahib as an independent has joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf.  He was formerly member of the provincial assembly on the Pakistan Muslim League-N ticket. (Urdu Point)

• Peer Azmat Nawaz Qadri of Astana Aliya Patriata Sharif Islamabad along with thousands of his devotees joined the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek. (Urdu Point)

• Train services from Punjab to Karachi are still suspended with railway track submerged under water. People are unable to travel from Lahore by train to Karachi for more than a week and a half., Ummat)

• Flood-affected people in Swat Valley have started repairing their damaged roads on their own. Yesterday, elders decided to restore the roads in the spirit of self-help. Their call met with a good response particularly from the youth. (Nawaiwaqt, Daily Express, Daily Jinnah, Ummat)

• The Auditor General of Pakistan has detected serious irregularities in the affairs of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board that resulted in a heavy loss to the national treasury. The auditors have accused the former management of the board of embezzlement, fraud, misuse of powers, fake supply of books, sale of free books in the market, and underpayment of royalty to the writers. (Jang)

COLUMNS

• Bruce Riddle’s book “What We Won! America’s Secret War in Afghanistan’ is considered to be an important work on the subject. The author analyzed the personalities, thoughts and strategies of General Zia-ul-Haq and General Akhtar Abdul Rehman. This analysis is important in many ways. The News, Karachi recently published some important excerpts in the form of an article. Regarding the Afghan war, Pakistan’s secular and socialist elements have tried their best to popularize the idea that Mujahideen’s jihad against the Soviet Union was an American project. This project was started by America and also ended by America. The capital for this project also came from America and the strategy also came from America. But what Bruce Riddle has written contradicts this idea. He writes that when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, General Zia-ul-Haq asked for briefing from the ISI chief General Akhtar Abdul Rahman. In his briefing, Rehman opined that the Soviet Union would not be limited to Afghanistan, sooner or later it would occupy Balochistan. He also expressed the apprehension that since India and the Soviet Union were allies, it is also possible that as   the Soviet Union attacks Pakistan from the West, India may attack from the East. He advised General Zia-ul-Haq to increase aid to the Afghan Mujahideen to turn Afghanistan into a quagmire for the Soviet Union. That’s what had happened. Pakistan not only increased its aid to the Afghan Mujahideen, but also began to organize them as a nightmare for the Soviet Union. This meant that in the initial phase of Afghan Jihad, America was nowhere on the horizon and only Pakistan was behind the resistance that Pakistan was organizing in Afghanistan. That is, the Afghan Jihad was not an American project in any sense. Bruce Riddle has written that General Akhtar Abdul Rehman insisted on Pakistan’s complete control over jihad and the Mujahideen. It is true that rules were made to regulate the relations between the ISI and the American CIA, which were named “Reagan Rules”, but only the ISI had direct contact with the Mujahideen. Prominent personalities from America such as vice president, top CIA officials and members of Congress etc. who came to Pakistan were met with Mujahideen leaders but only for photo Ops. The Americans had no direct contact and relationship with the Mujahideen leaders or the Mujahideen. The entire system of training Mujahideen was in the hands of Pakistan only. Bruce Riddle has written that controlling Mujahideen parties and Mujahideen commandos was the headache of the ISI. These people often used to fight and argue with each other in Peshawar. Even in Afghanistan, their differences were visible on the surface. Unity of command in this scenario was provided only by ISI. General Akhtar Abdul Rehman is a controversial character in Pakistan in many respects. It is known that he made a big fortune from Afghan Jihad. He also played a negative role in the internal politics of Pakistan. But Bruce Riddle has praised General Akhtar Abdul Rahman as a highly talented intelligence officer. He stayed away from the press. He didn’t like having his pictures taken. He was cold-tempered and isolated from people. Before him the number of ISI personnel was only 2000 but General Akhtar Abdul Rehman expanded the circle of ISI a lot. During his time, the number of ISI operatives increased to 40 thousand. At that time the budget of ISI was one billion dollars. General Akhtar Abdul Rahman had fought two wars against India in 1965 and 1971 and he considered India as an enemy that could never be appeased. He devised a system to collect information from every city and every village of Pakistan. During his time, every telephone call within the country was listened to. Many Pakistani politicians were on the “payroll” of the ISI. According to Bruce Riddle, the expansion of the ISI’s sphere was aimed at keeping General Zia-ul-Haq in power. But this expansion also played an important role in the Afghan Jihad. According to Bruce Riddle, General Akhtar Abdul Rehman was the envy and fear of his officers. Bruce Riddle has written that the Soviet intelligence agency KGB was after General Akhtar Abdul Rahman and had placed a heavy price on his head.   Ultimately the Soviet Union was defeated. The victory was attributed to the United States, but Bruce Riddle has written that Pakistan’s leadership did not only play an important role in the Afghan Jihad, but also played a central role in the defeat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War.  Bruce Riddle has written that General Zia-ul-Haq and General Akhtar Abdul Rehman were not just generals, they were also “strategists” and “diplomats” of the highest order. Undoubtedly, the Afghan Mujahideen played an important role in the Afghan Jihad, but they could not have defeated the Soviet Union without Pakistan. The decision to block the Soviet Union’s path in Afghanistan was unusually bold. Importantly, General Zia and General Akhtar Abdul Rahman never let the boiling water in the Afghanistan kettle get hot enough to allow the Soviet Union to leave Afghanistan and enter Pakistan. According to Bruce Riddle, from the initial stage of Afghan Jihad, General Zia-ul-Haq started preparing for the second stage of Jihad. The second phase of Jihad was related to Jihad in Occupied Kashmir. According to Bruce Riddle, a part of the US aid to Pakistan in connection with the Afghan Jihad was used for Jihad in Occupied Kashmir. Pakistan quietly started helping Kashmiris. Several meetings were held between Kashmiri Mujahideen and ISI officials in Saudi Arabia. The tragedy of Ojhri camp is an important event in the history of Pakistan. More than hundred people including five ISI officers were killed in this tragedy. Bruce Riddle has also mentioned those responsible for this tragedy. Bruce Riddle has written that a depot was established at Ojhri outside Rawalpindi to supply arms and ammunition to the ongoing jihad in Afghanistan.  There were 10,000 tons of arms and ammunition in this depot, which was blown up on April 10, 1988. According to Bruce Riddle, he was told by two Indian intelligence officials in 2012 that the Ojhri camp was destroyed by India and that the purpose was to balance Pakistan’s role in Kashmir and Indian Punjab. Bruce Riddle has also discussed the plan crash that killed General Zia-ul-Haq on August 17, 1988. Many military officers including General Akhtar Abdul Rahman were killed, and the American ambassador was also killed in this crash. Bruce Riddle has written that the joint team of the Pakistani and American Air Force came to the conclusion that the accident was the result of criminal actions and sabotage; however, according to Bruce Riddle, neither the United States nor Pakistan were interested in identifying the culprits. The meaning of this analysis is obvious and that is that the US was also involved in the accident and elements of the Pakistani establishment also played their role. If this were not the case, those responsible for the accident could have been identified and punished. Bruce Riddle has written that if General Zia-ul-Haq and General Akhtar Abdul Rahman had lived, the history of Afghanistan would have been different. These two people would have played a role in keeping Afghanistan stable after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. (Shahnawaz Farooqi, Jasarat)

• We have received substantial aid from other countries. More is pouring in. Iran too has sent hundreds of trucks carrying relief items. But, when will we spend our own funds and on whom? We also need to make strategies for distribution of relief received from abroad or else people will only face more hardships. We have experiences of recent COVID when all aid and relief went to wrong places and wrong people. We must keep this very clearly in mind that if relief does not reach the affected people, there will be a rise in law-and-order problems; otherwise too we know that a hungry man is a very angry man. People in Sindh are not living happy times otherwise too and hence any rise in their hardships and inconvenience will only be like adding salt to their wounds. Also, let us not make our people habitual of free doles, but provide them with basic relief without any hassles so that they can pull on with their life. (Ibrat, Aijaz Mumnai) 

• Nathan Shah city is drowning again in floods. It drowned also in 2010 floods. Is there no one in Nathan Shah, who could question elected representatives and the bureaucrats   as to how the city drowned once again? It is too much to call it just a natural calamity and not fix responsibility on government machinery for the drowning of the city! In fact, the judiciary too can play a big role here. But judiciary can do something only when there are people who raise hue and cry on what is happening, and question as to why time and again the city is getting   water-logged. How can judiciary act if local people do not rise and lodge complaint? (Sindh Exp, Aijaz Mungi) 

• Polls will not be possible in the near future. The current situation will not allow it. Any protests being planned by PTI seeking early polls are not likely to work and on the contrary all such protests would get washed out in the current mood of the nation. At one stage it looked that PDM government, after getting IMF loan, will like to give some relief to people by end of the year with larger aim of conveying to people that PDM government is more people-friendly than PTI. Current government has a tough job on hand. It has not only to control prices and bring the economy under control but also rehabilitate people made homeless in current heavy flooding. If the PDM government succeeds in this pursuit, then surely it will make people see the PDM government as people-friendly. If the PDM government can do it, then it will make it easy for all parties in the PDM coalition government to approach and get peoples’ votes. But this is no easy task. It is surely an uphill task. It will not be wrong or exaggeration to say that current heavy rain spell in country is going to play very determining role in success or defeat of parties in the polls whenever they are held. (Pahenji, M B Soomro, Sept.1)      

• Finance Minister Miftah Ismael has said that the flood has destroyed food crops and vegetables and now we have to import certain food items from India. The Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto has clearly announced that the time has not come to trade with India. The spokesperson of the Foreign Office has said Pakistan’s policy has not changed regarding trade with India. After the steps, India had taken in Kashmir on 5^th August 2019, trade was banned between the two countries. But people are not aware that indirect trade is going on via Dubai. There will not be a hue and cry by the public or politicians if we import vegetables via Dubai. But there is only one problem: the items will be costlier than the direct trade through the Wagah border. (Doctor Rasheed Ahmed Khan-Dunya Daily) ###