EDITORIALS

• The current situation in the country is unacceptable to the majority of the people. Therefore, before the atmosphere of civil war is created, the rulers, especially the opposition leaders, should exercise common sense and balance their attitudes. If bullying, threats, and violence are not avoided, Pakistan will suffer irreparable damage. At this stage of economic crisis, the country cannot afford political chaos. It must be avoided. (Edit Jang)

• As and when demand is made to make the police force active enough to restore law- and- order in Sindh, we are told that the poor state of law- and- order is because of black sheep in police. Now, the question arises: Is it difficult to separate sheep from the police force? Need of hour is a joint operation by the army, rangers and police force. It is not just people who are getting kidnapped. Very peace of Sindh is held hostage. (Pahenji, Edit, March 21)   

• Every province has its price control department. If this department does its job sincerely, it should not be difficult to ensure the sale of various essential items at the government fixed rates. But this department is not doing its job well and as a result prices keep rising. Now, if the government is committed to giving relief to people, then the price control department should be made to work and deliver. As and when petrol gets costlier, prices start shooting up. Now that price of petrol has been brought down, prices should come down. Let better strategies be made to ensure that deserving people get benefit from petrol price cuts. (Kawish, Edit, March 21)  

• Water and electricity are key issues in Sindh today; water in particular, is very crucial one for our survival. Also, major parts of Sindh are still without electricity and parts that have this facility are without power for about 18 hours every day. Now, the federal government has decided to hand over power distribution companies HESCO and PESCO to the Sindh governments but it does not want only authority to distribute power. It is also asking free hand in power generation without any control of the Federal government.   Sindh should be independent in power generation, power distribution and power tariff fixation for better planning. With regards to water issues, we would like to add that Punjab has been doing injustice to Sindh on water issues. Punjab is getting more water not just in comparison to Sindh but in comparison to other provinces too. With rising sea levels, water is getting more and more hard and hence at most places it is not potable and not fit for use even for farming. The Sindh government has written a letter to IRSA pointing out that the kharif season starts from April and Sindh should be given its share of water; if Sindh is not given its share of water, it will not only affect crops but will also add to Sindh’s economic distress. Both are burning issues in Sindh and hopefully federal government will give due consideration to them to a find a suitable way out. (Sindh Exp., Edit)  

• At last, the government has accepted that the country is passing through the worst period of its history. During the last 11 months, everyone has realized that the government has failed to solve the economic and political problems. It is busy teaching a lesson to the PTI and for that, it is using every kind of force but is not successful so far. A murderous attack was made on former Prime Minister Imran Khan and now his home was raided by the police. The government is still following the strategy of the ’90s decade. The problem is that the PDM leadership does not have a political vision. It only knows how to promote money laundering and smuggling. The government is taking the same steps that had divided Pakistan in 1971. The government is eager to wipe out PTI using state machinery. If a handful of ignorant people are thinking that they will be able to enslave the 23-crore people of Pakistan by killing Imran Khan, they are wrong. The government can’t kill more people than the Shah of Iran. It does not have more resources than America and NATO, who had to flee from Afghanistan. Today people are peaceful because Imran Khan is alive. If he is killed then people will no longer be peaceful. They know who are the killers. The revolution of France will be repeated. Don’t make a mistake.   (Edit-Intekhab Daily)

• Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the campaign against the army chief is intolerable. It is a conspiracy against the institutions is still going on. Overseas Pakistanis should not be part of this conspiracy. The nation stands by its institutions and stands united against the miscreants. Why some people in our country blame their own national institutions. A certain group claiming to be Pakistanis pursues a policy of blaming state institutions for political and sectarian purposes, and is thus hiding their incompetence and their failures. Even our enemy cannot spread such poisonous propaganda about the national security agencies that we ourselves are doing. In the past, the anti-Pakistani forces tried their best to create a rift between the Pakistani people and the army, but history is witness that such efforts failed miserably. Today’s dangerous scenario reflects that even within Pakistan, efforts are being made to misinform the ordinary people about the state institutions. An extreme pressure is being applied to destroy the economy of Pakistan. Exacerbating internal conflict, lawlessness and political instability are part of this strategy. Terrorist groups and their facilitators and financiers want a clash of military and civil institutions. Pakistani institutions, business class, social organizations and media persons should forget for some time what is happening around Pakistan and focus only on what is happening inside the country. If we are strong internally then external enemy will not have the courage to plot against our country. (Edits- Daily Express, Jehan Pakistan, Naibaat)

NEWS

• PTI senior and former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary has warned of unprecedented backlash if any attempt is made to disqualify Imran Khan or ban PTI.  In a tweet, he said that more than 500 members and workers of PTI were are taken under custody during  past two days. Many places are raided to arrest PTI workers. People are agitated by these acts of injustice and atrocities. The government should get ready for the final push. He said that the constitution is practically ignored and a group is imposed on the country which has no respect among people. The group is existing only by use of brutal force.  (Dunya Daily)

• A meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries will be held on April 13 in Tashkent, reliable sources said. Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will also take part in the deliberations.  The non- recognition of the Taliban government and steps to deal with the threat of Afghanistan based terrorism will be discussed. (Jang)

• The federal government has decided to start the second phase of CPEC for industrial development. The Federal Cabinet has approved a 3-year industrial cooperation agreement with China. Under the MoU, officials and CPEC-related workforce will go to China. Pakistani officials will be trained on China’s successful industrial model. The industrial cooperation agreement will be effective till 2025; it can be further extended to step up capacity building of the Pakistani CPEC workforce, and for skill development. (Jang)

• The TTP has developed rifts after heavy loss of lives at the hands of the security forces. According to a private TV channel, the TTP units of Mohmand, Swat, and Bajaur are enraged with the central leadership and are considering to separate. One reason for the differences is the uneven distribution of resources. The other reasons include preference to Mehsud and Wazir tribes, non-consultation with other groups, and using Afghan militants for sabotage in Pakistan.  (Intekhab Daily)

• Martyred Brigadier Mustafa Kamal Barki belonged to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He had played an important role in tracking and killing terrorists involved in the APS Peshawar attack in particular, according to USPR. Barki belonged to DI Khan. He is survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter.  (Jasarat)

• In the early morning of Tuesday, 50-year-old Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi Naqshbandi was shot dead by unknown armed assailants riding a motorcycle in Block 9 Magsi Chowk Street No. 3 of Gulistan Johar Police Station area. On receiving information about the incident, police, rangers, and law enforcement officers reached the spot while the crime scene unit was called to collect evidence. Immediately after the incident, central leaders of the Pakistan Ulama Association and Sunni Ulama Council, officials, madrassa students, and local residents reached the spot in large numbers and staged a protest.   The slain Maulana was a member of the Pakistan Ulema Association (Jasarat)

• The Thar desert is still in darkness though generation started from the 2300 MW plant based on Thar coal.  For the entire area, hardly 50 MWs is required.  This is yet another example of the gap between announcement of development projects and reality. Thar people have no health, education, and water facilities. (Jang)

• Government’s plan to provide free flour under Ramzan package has failed across Punjab including Faisalabad.   The Utility Stores insist on buying good worth Rs 2000 to get a bag of floor. There are long queues at places. Due to the end of the cheap flour scheme, the flour mill owners have increased prices of flour. Price of 10 kg bag has gone up from 648 rupees to 1158 rupees. People are demanding that the flour mill owners should be banned from supplying flour in the market at controlled prices. (Jasarat)

• Two persons died while standing in the serpentine queues for flour in Punjab. One of them a woman (50) collapsed due to the heat wave and breathed last. Another person suffered a heart attack and died in Multan. At Bahawalnagar three women were injured when crowds who had gathered for free flour went out of control. At Shukargarh, the miscreants looted a truck carrying flour bags. People staged protests at Multan and Sadiqabad as they did not get flour. (Sindh Exp.)  

• Getting free flour has become a matter of life and death in the country. A senior citizen died in Faisalabad due to mismanagement and disorder during the free distribution of flour. The mayhem was at its peak in Peshawar during the free distribution of flour. People broke the gates of the flour mill. A woman’s hand was fractured. Heavy rush was observed in Hafizabad for getting free flour. Many people including women were injured. Police used force to control the violent mob. Other cities also witnessed heavy rush for free flour. Many people failed to get free flour due to some mistakes in the Identity Card, or non-eligibility. They went back disappointed. The caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has ordered better management at flour distribution centres. (Islam Daily)

• The All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association has written a letter to the governor of the State Bank that the textile industry of the country is very near to bankruptcy. About 70 lakh people have lost their jobs. The letter said that the textile industry is facing many problems. It is running at 50 percent of its production capacity, so the sector is moving towards default and 70 lakh people connected with this industry have become jobless. If the textile sector is closed down then more than one crore people will become unemployed. The restrictions on the textile sector had caused a loss of 10 billion dollars in exports. The floods and rains have reduced the production of cotton to less than 50 percent. The textile sector needs to import one cores bales of cotton but the banks are not opening LCs and the stock in the mills is about to be finished. If cotton is not imported then the textile sector will be completely shut down. (Intekhab Daily)

• Balochistan Zamindar Action Committee Chairman and Balochistan National Party leader Malik Naseer Ahmad Shahwani has complained that the Federal and the provincial Government are not paying their dues to KESCO. This is resulting in power disconnection and it is affecting the local economy. (Urdu Point)

• Ameer Muhammad, Ayaz Wazir, Khan Muhammad and Hasan Khan Mehsud, parents of Government School children from Lower Waziristan and Upper Waziristan districts have complained that text books have not been given to students and classes have not started so far.  They were talking to the local media. (Urdu Point)

• A girl committed suicide in Karachi’s Orangi Town due to extreme poverty. (Baad-e-Shimal)

• During the year 2022, 12 children were victims of sexual violence every day. A total of 4253 children were targeted. Among them 2325 were girls and 1928 were boys. These statistics were presented yesterday by Sahil, a non-governmental organization working against sexual violence against children. (Nawaiwaqt, Qudrat)
•  One policeman was martyred and another injured in the firing of bandits in the Maripur area of Karachi. According to SSP, the policemen went  to Maripur Machar Colony on the report of looting, and the robbers opened fire on seeing them. A bandit was also shot but he escaped with injuries. (Ummat)

• Punjab Police have claimed that two of the miscreants arrested during the Zaman Park operation were in constant telephone contact with banned organizations. The accused have been identified as Qadir Khan and Mohammad Irfan.   The police have since handed over both of them to CTD for further investigation. (Ummat, Daily Express)

• In Dera Ismail Khan, 3 soldiers were martyred and three terrorists were killed in an exchange between security forces and terrorists between Monday and Tuesday night, according to ISPR. The terrorists fired at the police check post in Khoti area. Security forces immediately surrounded the area.  And in the  fierce exchange of fire, all the three terrorists were killed. (Ummat, Daily Jinnah)

Columns

• The way Punjab is behaving and reacting against the establishment is strange and unbelievable. At one time, Punjab used to be politically passive and always in agreement with the  establishment, but today its role against establishment is more than roles of other provinces that are comparatively smaller and also have been screaming against their exploitation. We do not get to hear slogans in Balochistan just as ones are being heard in Punjab. Likewise, Sindh too is silent. We cannot believe today’s Sindh is same that used to be very vocal against the federal system in the times of Zia regime. Sindh played historic and exemplary role against dictatorship under Gen  Zia. Sindh’s political role is regrettably low today and anybody instead of being proud will be worried over the PPP role. This is a moment for Sindhis to introspect and start analyzing as to why there is so much lull around. The way Zardari has brought Sindh under his spell, is something to ponder over and ask: is it Sindh’s rise or decline? Sindh has lost its political role and our political leaders have become either irrelevant or weightless. The more pitiable part is that if anyone speaks against Sindh’s continuing decline, he/she is silenced. If we compare Sindh’s political role with Punjab, we are just taken aback. There were times when we used to laugh at Punjab and always used to hit Punjab saying they were compromising their conscience for petty gains. But today’s Punjab is more like a lightning strike and political activities are much ahead of even provinces often complaining of their exploitation at the federal hands. Whatever be the reasons, today’s Punjab is much ahead in its political role as compared to Sindh. Punjab is fighting today against the very establishment that looted and exploited other provinces for betterment of Punjab. Political observers are taken aback at Punjab people giving up their politics of opportunism and rising against the establishment.  We will have to accept the historic change in Punjab; not accepting it will be nothing but not accepting truth of the day. (Sindh Exp. Omar Qazi)  

• Ever since promoters of Imran Khan dumped him, he has become like one who can neither be “swallowed” nor “digested”.  His supporters are openly beating police; police vans are being set afire, every institution is under attack by PTI leaders. Despite so much happening, State is very quiet. The way the State/establishment has become helpless, it has started making people in other provinces in the country wonder if similar attacks can be made in Sindh, Balochistan and even KPK too. Apparently, such things cannot even be imagined in other provinces by any progressive thinker or party like it is happening in Punjab at the hands of PTI and Imran Khan,   who was promoted and pampered by the establishment itself. As a result of PTI’s activities, the State has been thrown into internal chaos. What will happen to the country if we in Pakistan face an Iran-like revolution which Imran Khan talked about in his speech through a video link on Sunday. We wish more strength to Imran Khan so that he can go on setting historic mistakes of the past right and keep moving ahead just as he has been doing these days. (Sindh Exp. Arshad Lagari) 

• A lot is being said about Imran Khan but fact of the matter is he never was a politician and never had any ideology. He has neither political understanding and nor has he any organizational plans. One day he makes childish announcements of jail bharo and next day he moves courts for bail. His supporters also courted arrest one day and were out next day on bail. Most of them went home after taking selfies in front of police vans. Over the years, he has been changing political partners; in 1993 he was with Nawaz Sharif; in 2000 he was with Musharraf; in 2001 he was with Taliban; in 2002 he voted for Fazl ur Rehman instead of  Jamali; in 2006 he was with Iftikhar Chaudhary; in 2008 he was with Qazi Ahmad Hussain of Jamaat-e-Islami in KPK; he was with Tahir Qadri in 2014 while in 2015 he was with MQM in local body polls in Karachi and with ML (N) in Lahore, with JuI in Mardan, and with ANP in Buner.  He was with Jamaat and ML (N) during Senate polls in 2016 and with PPP during Senate chairman election in 2018 whom he now calls chor chor. His relations with Punjab’s Chaudhary’s are blow hot and blow cold. At one time, he was a pampered favorite of Bajwa and today he is very critical of Bajwa. Conflicting acts and statements have not only dented his personal image but have done lot of damage to country’s image too. His other name is arrogance and stubbornness. One thing where he is coming true is when he said that once out of power, he would be more dangerous. That is coming true for the country with each passing day. He is accompanied by his “armed forces” when he heads to courts, and he gets bail in just 17 minutes in nine cases and on the other hand, poor and meek keep languishing in jails for years. (Pahenji, Zaheer Hussain Hyderi, March 21)  

• Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan developed a weapon to fight the enemies of Pakistan, which has made the defense of Pakistan impregnable but how did the rulers treat this benefactor of the nation? He spent the last days of his life in detention. He continued to complain that Pakistan’s autocrats had crossed the limits of conspiracy and oppression. After the fall of Dhaka, he promised himself to make Pakistan invincible. Mohammad Ali Jinnah created Pakistan. Dr. Abdul Qadir Khan completed the projects for the security of our Pakistan. Our young generation opened their eyes in independent and nuclear capable Pakistan. I can say one thing with absolute certainty that the nation will never tolerate any adventure that would affect the nuclear program of Pakistan. This nation will eat grass in real sense but will never compromise on atomic bomb. (Athar Qadar Hassan, Daily Express) ###