Kashmiris mark ‘Accession to Pakistan Day’ amid renewed calls for right to self-determination
Kashmiris mark ‘Accession to Pakistan Day’ amid renewed calls for right to self-determination/node/2552361/pakistan
Kashmiris mark ‘Accession to Pakistan Day’ amid renewed calls for right to self-determination
A Kashmiri protester holds a placard as she takes part in a protest to mark the fourth anniversary of abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government, in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir on August 5, 2023. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Kashmiris in parts of the world are observing the “Accession to Pakistan Day” today, Friday, with a renewed pledge to continue struggle for their right to self-determination, Pakistani state media reported.
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from British rule in 1947. Both countries rule parts of the Himalayan territory but claim it in full and have fought two out of three wars over the disputed region.
On July 19, 1947, Kashmiri representatives had unanimously passed the resolution of Kashmir’s Accession to Pakistan during a meeting of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference in Srinagar. The resolution called for the accession in view of aspirations of Kashmir people and their religious, geographical, cultural and economic proximity to Pakistan.
The Accession to Pakistan Day is observed by Kashmiris every year to renew their pledge to complete the merger. The Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) government has announced a public holiday on the occasion to facilitate the masses to participate in the special programs.
“Wide-scale programs have been chalked out to observe the day throughout Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK),” Pakistani state-run APP news agency reported.
Pakistan calls for the right of self-determination for the people of Indian-administered Kashmir and urged New Delhi to hold a plebiscite in line with the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
The day is being observed at a time when the part of the territory administered by New Delhi has been witnessing an uptick in violence.
Four Indian soldiers were killed and at least six others were wounded in gunbattles with militants in Indian-administered Kashmir, a senior police officer said this month. Prior to that, two soldiers and six suspected militants were killed in two separate gunbattles in the Kulgam district, police said.
Separatist groups have waged an insurgency since 1989, demanding independence for the territory or its merger with Pakistan. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and rebels. India accuses Pakistan of supporting the separatists, a charge denied by Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday Pakistan seeks to increase collaboration with China across various economic sectors, including agriculture and artificial intelligence, during a meeting with the Chinese envoy, Jiang Zaidong, in which he applauded Beijing for continually improving strategic relations between the two countries.
Authorities in Islamabad and Beijing have been working together on several infrastructure and connectivity projects under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). While these projects are spread across different parts of the country, China has made major investments in the country’s volatile southwestern Balochistan province, which has witnessed low-level insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatist groups for decades.
Last month, an armed faction launched coordinated attacks in different parts of the province that killed over 50 people, raising concerns the area’s security.
Pakistan has also tried to address Beijing’s security concerns in the past after attacks against the Chinese workers in different cities.
“Pak-China friendship is essential not only for both countries but also for regional and global peace and development,” the prime minister said during the meeting. “Pakistan seeks to enhance collaboration with China in information technology, artificial intelligence, modern agriculture and other sectors.”
He said the strategic partnership between the two states had withstood the test of time.
“China has always provided unconditional support to Pakistan during difficult times,” he added.
The prime minister visited China on a five-day trip in June this year, where he met with political leaders and representatives of Chinese companies operating in various economic sectors, encouraging them to invest in Pakistan.
The two countries have also been negotiating to advance CPEC to the next level by establishing industrial zones, with Pakistani officials saying the new phase will be driven by the private sector through business-to-business collaborations.
Pakistani authorities have also noted that several Chinese companies have expressed interest in setting up industries in the country.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed satisfaction over the reduction in inflation after the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported it had dropped to single digits for the first time in three years, standing at 9.6 percent in August.
In recent months, Pakistan has witnessed widespread protests as citizens express frustration over the rising cost of living and escalating inflation.
Inflation has surged significantly in recent years, exacerbated by the government’s decision to implement stringent economic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for external financing. These reforms included reducing subsidies and increasing power tariffs, leading to an inflation rate that peaked at 38 percent in May last year.
Subsequently, organizations like the World Bank reported in April this year that 40 percent of Pakistan’s population had fallen below the poverty line.
“The 9.6 percent inflation rate in August reflects the government’s efforts toward economic improvement,” the prime minister said in a statement.
“The decrease in inflation is in line with the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Outlook Report, which predicted that inflation in August 2024 would remain between 9.5 and 10.5 percent,” he added.
Sharif said economic experts were already predicting a further decrease in the inflation rate in September.
“The positive results of the government’s economic reforms are beginning to reach the public in the form of prosperity,” he continued. “Achieving Pakistan’s development goals is not possible without making the life of the common man easier and ensuring their economic well-being.”
The prime minister said Pakistan’s economy had not only stabilized but was on the path to progress.
A landslide hits a bus in northern Pakistan and kills 3 people
The deceased include two security officials, police said
Such accidents are common in Pakistan during rainy weather
Updated 02 September 2024
AP
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A landslide struck a passenger bus in northern Pakistan on Monday and killed three people, including two security officials, police said.
An additional passenger was injured in the accident in Kohistan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to local police chief Abdul Rahim.
The bus was heading to Dasu district, where Pakistan’s biggest hydropower project is being built with Chinese help.
Local police official Abdul Rahim said the bus was struck by a landslide triggered by rains, and not by a land mine as was initially thought. Such road accidents are common in Pakistan during the rainy weather.
‘Going in around circles’: Pakistani economist slams government for not cutting spending
Dr. Kaiser Bengali last week resigned from the government’s austerity committee and said the administration ‘lacks commitment to reducing expenditures’
Pakistan set up the committee in Feb. to cut expenses and implement institutional rightsizing reforms to revive the fragile $350 billion South Asian economy
KARACHI: A prominent Pakistani economist, who last week resigned from the government’s high-powered austerity committee, on Monday said he stepped down because of the government’s lack of commitment to reducing its expenditures, lamenting that the cash-strapped country had been “going around in circles.”
Since avoiding a default last year, Pakistan, faced with low forex reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation, has been making desperate attempts to boost trade and investment to revive its $350 economy, and reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July for a new $7 billion loan to keep the dwindling economy afloat.
The South Asian country formed an austerity committee in Feb. this year to reduce expenditures and implement institutional rightsizing reforms and included Dr. Kaiser Bengali, who has a master’s degree in economics from Boston University, the United States, and a PhD degree in economics from the University of Karachi, in the panel in March.
But the economist resigned from the committee on Aug. 29 and said in his resignation letter, seen by Arab News, that the government “lacks the commitment to reducing expenditures.” On Sunday, the Pakistani finance ministry responded to Dr. Bengali’s observations on recommendations of the austerity committee, saying they reflected a “lack of communication.”
“I joined this committee because I thought the government had an interest in controlling the budget deficit,” Dr. Bengali told Arab News. “I realized that we are just going around in circles and no serious decision is about to be made so that is why I resigned.”
He dismissed the finance ministry’s response to his observations and maintained that the first step to resolve the country’s economic woes was to control the budget deficit, criticizing the government for failing to take “significant steps” to shut down inefficient government departments and to reduce expenditures.
“They evaluated 53 organizations and decided to close only one,” the economist said. “There is no misunderstanding. It’s just that out of 53, half of them should be shut down but they [government] insist on maintaining them so there will be no reduction in expenditure, which means no reduction in budget deficit, which means continued reliance on loans. Economy cannot run like that.”
Dr. Bengali also questioned the functioning of those departments that had been delegated to the federating units, or the provinces.
“It was said that those subjects, the ministries will be closed down. They have not closed it,” he said. “When a subject is not a federal subject, why have the ministry in the federation?”
To a question, he said Pakistan was not being placed on agenda of a recent IMF executive board meeting for the approval of the $7 billion fresh loan because of the country’s budget and trade deficits, both of which had different solutions.
The government formed austerity committees in the past which had presented similar recommendations, but they were never implemented, according to the economist.
“The committee submit reports and the reports are then put on the shelves and forgotten,” he said. “This process must not be allowed to die. This process must not go on to a shelf, we must have actual reduction of expenditure.”
He said he feared the existing committee would meet the same fate, which was why he did not want to be a part of it and resigned.
In his detailed report to the committee, Bengali said, he had recommended abolishing 17 divisions and nearly 50 government entities that “would have reduced a substantial number of BPS 20-22 positions and effected annual savings of over Rs30 billion in non-salary costs.”
“The economy was in a state of collapse and has been surviving on a debt-ventilator,” he said, noting that even the IMF and friendly countries were now reluctant to extend any further loans to Pakistan and the privatization process had stalled as no one was bidding for state-owned enterprises.
“Moreover, a number of foreign investors are leaving the country — a process of reverse Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he said.
“The economy in a state of collapse and has been surviving on a debt ventilator. However, even IMF as well as friendly countries were reluctant to extend any further loans and the privatization process has stalled as no one was bidding for state-owned enterprises,” he continued, adding a number of foreign investors were leaving the country -a process of reverse FDI.
He criticized the highly aggressive tax mobilization efforts using “methods bordering on extortion” and said the economy was structurally weak and could not generate inure revenues. The economist said the answer to addressing the large budget deficit lied in reducing the government’s expenditures, including non-combat defense spending.
While dismissing Dr. Bengali’s observations on Sunday, the finance ministry said the country was rightsizing all government positions from basic pay scale 1 to 22 in a bid to reduce official expenditures.
“The Rightsizing Committee has so far examined six Ministries in the first phase,” the finance ministry said. “One of these Ministries has been approved to be abolished, while two others are being merged, which means that at least two BS-22 and several positions in BS-17 to 21 will be abolished, rendering surplus an equivalent number of officers in same grades.”
It said the government was also working on an “obligatory severance package” in conjunction with requisite amendments in the Civil Servants Act, 1973 to make the package applicable to officials without any favor or preference.
“The rightsizing committee is reviewing ministries, attached departments, autonomous bodies, and state-owned enterprises against the clear criteria assigned to it, objectively and across the board,” the finance ministry added.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday held a meeting with the Pak-Kuwait Investment Company (PKIC) leadership to discuss “strategic initiatives” and future directions of the joint venture in Pakistan, the Pakistani finance ministry said, amid Islamabad’s ongoing efforts to seek external financing avenues.
The South Asian country is currently struggling to meet external financing needs as part of a $7 billion bailout agreement reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in July that is pending approval by the IMF executive board.
Established as a joint venture between Pakistan and Kuwait in 1979, the PKIC is Pakistan’s leading development financial institution engaged in investment and development banking activities in the country, with a total equity of Rs34.3 billion ($122 million).
The Pakistani finance minister, who was accompanied by other senior officials of his ministry, held a meeting with PKIC Managing Director Saad-ur-Rehman Khan, wherein they agreed to continue collaboration to enhance the effectiveness of various joint ventures.
“Khan provided an overview of PKIC’s current portfolio, highlighting the PKIC’s initiatives in the real estate sector leveraging Islamic finance structures to fund major infrastructure projects addressing Pakistan’s investment needs while ensuring that investment activities adhere to Islamic principles, thereby attracting a broader range of investors,” the Pakistani finance ministry said in a statement.
“The discussions also highlighted PKIC’s dedication to supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Pakistan.”
The finance minister commended the PKIC for its strategic contributions to Pakistan’s economy, especially in sectors vital to the nation’s long-term development.
“The minister specifically acknowledged PKIC’s proactive approach to integrating Islamic finance into its operations, noting that this approach not only aligns with Pakistan’s development priorities but also resonates with the broader goals of ethical and sustainable growth,” the statement read.
Aurangzeb has held a flurry of meetings with heads of foreign banks and companies in recent weeks in a push to bring in more investment. Last month, he held meetings with top officials of Dubai Islamic Bank and Mashreq Bank to “discuss the economic outlook and explore investment opportunities in Pakistan.”
He also met Antti Partanen, a representative from Finnish development financier Finn Fund, and reiterated the federal government’s commitment to make Pakistan’s investment climate “favorable and conducive” for foreign investors.
Pakistan is currently in talks with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and China to meet gross financing needs under the IMF program, Aurangzeb said in July, following a trip to China to seek energy sector debt reprofiling. Rollovers or disbursements on loans from Pakistan’s long-time allies, in addition to financing from the IMF, have helped Pakistan meet its external financing needs in the past.
But tough conditionalities placed by the IMF, such as raising tax on agricultural incomes and lifting electricity prices, have prompted concerns about poor and middle-class Pakistanis grappling with rising inflation and the prospect of higher taxes. Bringing in foreign investors might also be harder for Pakistan amid a deteriorating security situation.