News and views selected from May 11 Pakistan Urdu dailies

NEWS

1. Gilgit-Baltistan Opposition has decided to use all constitutional and legal means to depose the Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The Opposition vowed to take united steps for resolving the problems of Gilgit-Baltistan. (Daily K2, Baad-e-Shimal)
2. Islami Tehreek Pakistan (ITP) has decided to start a campaign for the constitutional rights of Gilgit-Baltistan.  The ITP leaders said people of Gilgit-Baltistan have suffered a lot in the past due to injustices. Dr. Shabbir Mesmi, Syed Nazir Abbas Taqwa, and others ITP leaders have vowed to end injustices to Gilgit-Baltistan.    “We will raise our voice for our rights without fear” they said and added that they would not accept the Single National Curriculum (SNM) (Daily K2, Baad-e-Shimal)
3. Four persons were arrested for waving Afghan flags and chanting slogans against Pakistan on Eid-ul-Fitr and several other occasions in the Garden Police Thana area of Karachi. The Police has charged them with spreading unrest. (Jasarat)
4. The Shahbaz Sharif government has decided to raise the prices of electricity, and roll back subsidy on petroleum products, according to sources. The Finance Ministry will form a plan for new prices within a week.  (Ausaf Daily)
5. Sindh government has expressed concern over Punjab drawing water from the Chashma Jhelum Link canal when Sindh is experiencing acute shortage of drinking water in the province. The Sindh government asked IRSA to shut down the canal, which is designed to let out excess flood water.  take measures The chief minister told the state cabinet that IRSA is discriminating against the Sindh and is not properly implementing the Water Treaty 1991.    (Ibrat)
6. Police used lathi-charge and tear gas shells to disperse a demonstration of Workers Welfare Fund employees outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. Police also arrested 12 employees. They were demanding permanent jobs.   The protestors shouted slogans against the provincial government and had jammed the Khyber Road for traffic. They charged the KPK government of ignoring the Supreme Court order which was in their favour.   (Urdu Point, Islam Daily)
7. Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Security Shazia Ata Marri has criticised police action against the demonstrating Workers Welfare Fund employees in Peshawar. She termed the action as very shameful and said it was reprehensible. Shazia Murree lamented that women employees were not even spared and said that they were brutally tortured. “KPK Chief Minister Mehmood Khan is following in the footsteps of Imran Khan”, she said. (Urdu Point)
8. The Sindh cabinet has decided to put electronic devices on the bodies of the criminals to keep a watch on their movements. Some members of the assembly objected to it for being against human rights but the majority of them approved it. The ‘Sindh Habitual Offenders Monitoring Bill 2022’ seeks to make the city streets safe. When a criminal is out on bail, the monitoring device will be put around his hand or leg like a bracelet. If he tampers with the device, he will be fined 10 lakh rupees and put in jail for three years. (Intekhab Daily)
9. The provincial General Secretary of Jamaat e Islami Balochistan and the leader of the ‘Give Rights’ campaign Maulana Hidayat Ur Rahman Baloch has said that they will participate in the civic elections on the plank of honest and sincere rule. He pledged to provide constitutional and economic rights, jobs for youth and drive against drugs. “The persons in power never treated the people of Balochistan as human beings. We will make Balochistan a progressive and prosperous province”, he said. (Intekhab Daily)  
10. National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that he will decide on PTI members’ resignations if they do not appear before him in person. He said that the process of confirmation of resignations was underway.  The resignation letters should be hand written and the member concerned should confirm his/her resignation. This rule applies to all PTI members including Imran Khan. If they do not do so, they will be deemed to be member of the National Assembly, the Speaker said. (Ummat)
11. The US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said more than 9 Lakh people have lost their jobs since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August last year. The proportion of women who lost their jobs is higher than that of men. This trend is steadily increasing, with between 7 Lakh and 9 Lakh people expected to lose their jobs by mid-2022, he added in a report. (Nawaiwaqt)
12. Miss Pang Chunxue, Chinese Charg d’Affaires, called on Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. Both agreed to further expand bilateral relations and facilitate visas for Chinese nationals. They also decided to make the security of Chinese nationals foolproof. (Nawaiwaqt)

COLUMNS

Pir Makram Al Haque in Ibrat

Imran Khan is clamouring for early polls. Otherwise, he wants martial law in the country. These twin demands are in fact in conflict with each other. His sympathizers and aides seem to have told him that in either case, be it early polls or martial law, his party, PTI, will get an opportunity to form the government and return to power. It is strange that PTI leaders who continue to be at high posts are not going by the constitution. The President keeps PM’s advice aside for replacing the Punjab governor.   If Article 6 B of the constitution is applicable to generals, it can be applied against civilians too. The prevailing scenario expects the judiciary to make all those who violate the constitution accountable. (Pir Makram Al Haque in Ibrat) 

Anwar Sajidi in Intekhab Daily

The present situation in Sri Lanka is a grave warning to us. The ruling Rajapaksa family had taken practically total control of the country. Nearly half of the cabinet consisted of the family members of the Rajapaksa brothers. The PML-N is doing the same thing in Pakistan. One brother is the Prime Minister of the country and his son is the Chief Minister of a province. It is possible that Nawaz Sharif may become the President and Mariam Nawaz the Chief Minister of some other province or a federal minister. After taking control of Sri lanka, the Rajapaksa brothers have heavily borrowed from China and the IMF and used that money for personal interests. Now the situation is that China may take control of the seaport and airport since Sri Lanka has declared bankruptcy. People have no money to buy their meals. They have risen against the ruling family. It is a very dangerous situation. Our economy is also deteriorating very rapidly and instead of paying any attention to it our politicians are busy in power games. Can’t they learn a lesson from Sri Lanka? (By Anwar Sajidi in Intekhab Daily)

 Lt. Colonel Retired Ghulam Jilani in Daily Pakistan, May 10

A reader asked a question: if the America considers them as slaves why do most Pakistani military officers go to the US for higher training. Well, the Americans are well ahead with their tech and inventions not only in military arena but also in civilian fields. They are far superior to Russia, China, Britain, France, Italy and Germany. That is why the various armies of the world send their officials to American educational institutions. The Americans also send their officers to Pakistan’s military establishments like Command and Staff College in Quetta and War College in Islamabad. This is considered a bilateral exercise. Americans purpose is not to learn here in Pakistan but to know our administrative, military and technical inadequacies. Pakistani officers who are sent to the US agencies do not find a place in the top intelligence agencies of US war technology. The United States welcomes only “British officers” to areas of the US Armed Forces where heavy weapons and critical equipment are produced. The point is the United States does not allow Pakistan to track its advanced war technology. (Lt. Colonel Retired Ghulam Jilani in Daily Pakistan, May 10)

EDITORIALS

1.The unanimous adoption of a resolution in the National Assembly condemning the use of inappropriate language against national security agencies and distorting historical facts by former Prime Minister Imran Khan is a unique incident in the political and parliamentary history of Pakistan. There is no precedent of a former PM targeting the state institutions in such a way that it was applauded in a hostile country like India. The resolution, tabled by Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi, said the House was convened to condemn what PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan had said against the armed forces and his distortion of historical facts. Blaming national institutions for political purposes is not a service to Pakistan, it said. As a result of Imran Khan’s politics, the nation has been divided, the atmosphere has been poisoned.  All politicians have to change their attitude or they will not be able to escape the fire they are setting. There is no doubt that Pak Army has been used or dragged into politics by all political parties whether big or small for political benefits. Pakistan is still in the state of war; so much so, the political parties should let the forces concentrate on their real duties. And stop using the army and giving wrong statements against the Army. (Edits in Jang, Jasarat, Aeen, Asas, Ausaf Daily & Jehan Pakistan)

2. Our humble request to our rulers and political personalities is not to vitiate the atmosphere to such an extent that that democracy gets derailed leaving them all high and dry. (Pahenji, Edit, May 10) 

3. Imran Khan’s popularity has started declining with the same speed with which it had registered meteoric rise in his hey days. The tone and tenor of his public speeches is far from acceptable in civilized countries. The campaigns by his admirers on social media are adding fuel to fire; what happened to our PM and other delegation members in the Saudi masjid has not only hurt Muslims but the entire country. What kind of politics is this that even sacred places of worship too are not spared? This particular incident, in Saudi masjid, has done great harm to Imran Khan’s image much beyond his imagination. People had pinned a lot of hopes on Imran Khan for doing good to Pakistan’s image abroad but what has happened is just contrary to expectations. Be it case of misbehavior in Saudi masjid or protests by PTI sympathizers abroad, all the democratic norms, values have been thrown into thin air making Pakistan a big laughing stock before the world community. We fail to understand who the PTI is trying to appease by being so reckless and critical of our own institutions. Does he think that disturbances in a country are more important than national security? If not, then he must immediately stop such activities and if it does not stop his controversial activities, then PTI leadership will have to face peoples’ wrath. We Pakistanis are very sensitive when it comes to issues like national security. We Pakistanis can bear personal losses but we cannot pardon any intentional or unintended harm/loss/bad name to our institutions. (Ibrat, Edit) 

4. The federal government and more particularly provincial governments should take effective measures against traders hoarding wheat. hoarding; measures must be taken to stop its smuggling. Flour prices must be controlled so that it can be given to the poor at subsidized prices. (Kawish, Edit, May 10) 

5. Punjab is taking water from Chashma Jhelum Link Canal and thus creating more water shortage in Sindh but IRSA is unmoved and is keeping quiet. Sindh intelligentsia and political parties are on the same page and will never compromise on issues like water. It is time Punjab realises that Chashma Jhelum Link Canal is designed to release excess flood waters, and not for irrigation.  What is happening year after year is that Punjab keeps taking water from this canal to irrigate its lands while Sindh farms are getting reduced to barren patches. Sindh must get its share of water without any more delay. Shut down Chashma Jhelum Link Canal immediately. (Edit in Sindh Exp) 

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