Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Saudi’s helping hand
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained steadfast relations for decades. The latter on this front has helped us in a number of ways extricating us from being embroiled in economic misery. Whenever Pakistan gets into troubled waters, it finds Saudi ever ready extending its utmost support. On this Tuesday, Pakistan received $2 billion from its close ally – KSA, to deal with ongoing economic challenges the country is confronting these days. The package seems quite promising as it will enormously help us drift the country towards socio-political and socio-economic growth.
However, the real challenge lies ahead whether or not the poor strata of society get some sigh of relief from the excruciating pain of inflation. Having already reached $3 billion with the IMF, common people do not see this move as a good omen for them since inflation will take new heights thereby. No doubt, the IMF bailout was crucial to save the country from economic default; however, it should have offered better yields for the masses as well. Saudi’s help on this front bodes well for the people of our country as the incumbent government has mustered confidence within and can embark on an arduous journey of adhering to tough IMF conditions and curtailing soaring inflation.
Expecting this optimistic approach from the ruling coalition is a far cry given how it has exploited the current political landscape replete with tumult for satisfying its personal gains, taking the country’s vulnerable economy for granted. Whatever happened on 9th May is a condemnable practice but the government’s victimizing mindset against its political adversaries is a great cause of concern. Thereby, it necessitates a dire need for altering the miserable circumstances of the masses by extreme levels of inflation & high unemployment.
AAMIR ALI
Shikarpur
Lawlessness
As far as development is concerned, the country is unable to make it and confronts numerous impediments merely because the internal system is quite weak. Though, the country is facing countless challenges since its very inception and will face them unless its system is fairly functioning.
One of the major reasons why the youth of Pakistan want to leave the country is because of lawlessness. In recent times, I’ve witnessed the worst days of my whole life. The thing is, there was an attack on a police mobile by a few of the people who, unfortunately, belong to my caste, and they snatched the weapon of the policeman as well. I strictly condemn the attack, but to castigate others is not what the law says. Albeit, the police have lodged an FIR against me and some of my relatives who belong to the “Dero” caste. Whereas, the real culprits are still outside at large but the framed ones are enduring the brutality led by the police.
What kind of law is just prevailing here? Is there even a law? When will this lawlessness come to an end? The youth of the country are asking the same question. City police are continuously torturing us and they raid our entire Dera Village. I am under 18, and an intermediate student. Lodging an FIR against the student who was not there even at the time of the incident is a demonstration of sheer lawlessness. We, assuredly, want a fair investigation, and the concerned authorities must deeply look into this issue. Being a student this FIR and the brutality of the police have entirely disturbed my studies, career and life.
SAHIL DERO
Dokri
We are in pollution
Environmental degradation has adverse impacts on human health and socio-economic aspects. We are inflicted very badly by the destruction of our environmental fabrics and posed by heinous deteriorations. According to IQAir, Pakistan is the third most polluted country in the world. It has experienced the worst air quality in the Central and South Asian regions in 2022.
Actually, we are living in the vicinity of Pak Arab Fertilizers Pvt. Ltd. located at Khanewal Road, Multan. The factory is running day and night, to produce tons of fertilizers and unchecked enormous amounts of poisonous pollutants to go into soil and environment to toxify air and water bodies. Anthropogenic activities endanger human existence on planet earth. No doubt, factories are essential for a country to run its finances and economy. But wrong operations and functions caused deleterious effects on Mother Nature, thus we are facing them nowadays.
Continuous operations of said factory are a major factor to disturb the health of the populace through poisoning air, soil and water and ultimately poisonous food chain in vicinity. People need to sleep on the rooftops of their residences in the summer season because of load-shedding and price hiking of electricity bills. The factory is running even at night and produces acid fumes having PM2.5 (particulate matter) and other impurities that not only cause asphyxiation but also a number of diseases including lung cancer, heart disease and stroke (according to the WHO.
Children and old-age-people suffer seriously from the air pollution caused by the wrong operations of the factory.
A CITIZEN
Multan
Pak economy
With the IMF, KSA and UAE having extended their utmost support at a time when Pakistan was prone to default, our ruling elite have yet an arduous journey to embark on to revitalize the economy of the country.
Since current loans won’t sustain longer, our leadership at the top must address key issues confronting Pakistan in terms of economic instability. It is worth noting that no country can drive economic growth merely through loans and that if we are serious about economic stability, we must undertake deep-rooted policy changes.
Given the worst economic scenario, the underlying reasons for our lagging economy must be discussed in depth. Most importantly, our rising internal and external circular debt of around $126 billion excluding recent loans is a major impediment in our pathway towards coveted growth.
The PTI Chairman Imran Khan, during his tenure in premiership, constantly blamed circular debt for the sluggish growth of our economy. He maintained that high debt trap coupled with soaring interest rates with low GDP growth are major concerns clipping wings of our economy to take new heights. Also, our economy is being incessantly plagued by a balance of payments crisis wherein our imports weigh heavier than our exports.
With each passing year, the crisis is getting doubled due to surging demands of imported items and our government’s failure to produce value-added commodities. Unless we do not bridge this gap, our economy will keep taking such a downward trend. Additionally, reduced FDI inflows in Pakistan, especially in the current fiscal year, serve as a bulwark of resistance against our economic stability.
AAMIR ALI
Shikarpur
Box letter
NTS
It is absolutely right to say that wherever the testing agency does not share carbon copy with candidates, it means there is something fishy/skeptical. NTS has become notorious for this disgusting act. Almost all candidates have been claiming on social media platforms that the test NTS has conducted for the youth of Sindh for Vaccinator in Expanded Programme on Immunization Sindh has been a ploy of political and monetary influence. The candidates are afraid of such a corrupt and disgusting act. It becomes more skeptical when NTS delays the results for months. The youth want their results as early as possible and expect merit and transparency from NTS and other higher authorities concerned.
IMTIAZ ESSA HALEPOTO
Jamshoro
