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Kashmir Solidarity Day
Kashmir Solidarity Day is being observed on 5 Feb each year since 1990 in Pakistan as a day of protest against India-occupied Kashmir (IoK). The day is also observed to commemorate the brutal killing incident of 55 innocent Kashmiri civilians in Srinagar. It is important to mention that this time the day is being observed after India revoked the special status of occupied Kashmir in August last year in total breach of all international laws and since then has imposed an indefinite curfew and cut off all communication links there.
India has always denied the right of freedom to the innocent Kashmiri masses and tried to suppress their voice through extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, ruthless and inhuman torture and sexual molestation of Kashmiri women using Indian security forces. Pakistan has reiterated its support to stand by the suppressed people of Kashmir in their mandated and justified struggle for freedom.
Pakistan has assured its diplomatic, political and moral support and the civil and military leadership of the country has also vowed to stand by the people of Jammu & Kashmir. In a nutshell, the forceful/unilateral abolition of Kashmir’s constitutional status stands as a vivid reminder that India is but an occupation force, clamping down on the rights of the Kashmiri people.
AFIA AMBREEN
Rawalpindi
*****
On 5 February every year, the Kashmir Day is observed to express solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir. As we know, the Indian bellicosity has been on the climax in occupied Kashmir since last 6 months and left the people of Kashmir in the lurch. Indian government confined and made Kashmir the biggest prison in the world.
The folks are in very trouble but the world leaders are doing nothing except pleasing Indian government. The Muslim world should boycott India and all the diplomatic ties with her should be cut off. On this day, woes of the people of Kashmir are highlighted, but, we forget the predicament of the Kashmiris afterwards. We should do protest and make the Muslim world leaders awake to ponder over situation of Kashmir.
SYED WAQAR ALI
Karachi
Price hike
The government must finally overcome its sense of denial and treat inflation as its number-one problem. According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Saturday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) went up by 1.97% from last month, hitting 14.6% in January, the highest in 12 years. In the face of wheat and sugar shortage, the government failed to control the prices of food items in both urban and rural areas. The most price inflated items remained wheat, flour, pulses, sugar and edible oil.
Overall, the inflation hit rural areas the hardest where essential food items, especially vegetable and fruit, were sold at higher rates than in urban areas. Whereas the government has withheld increase in natural gas prices to save urban areas a little, it looked the other way when dealers increased the price of LPG cylinders, the only means of fuel for the rural population. The hike in inflation is again the by-product of exchange rate depreciation and higher international commodity prices besides regional and international conflicts. Moreover, harsh weather can also be attributed to the price hike in vegetable and fruit.
As per the PBC data, food inflation went up in urban areas by 19.5% in January on a yearly basis and 2.7% on a monthly basis. Likewise, inflation increased by 23.8% on a yearly basis and 3.4% on a monthly basis in rural areas. The data speaks for itself that rural areas have been the worst hit by food inflation where people with modest means are finding it increasingly difficult to make both ends meet. The people who were dreamed for “Change” and “Naya Pakistan” are disappointed during a short tenure of present PTI government. Now they are wishing a real “Change” through a fair and free election.
JAMSHED ALAM SIDDIQUI
Lahore
Two professions
We are modern people of the 21st century. Still, we consider only two professions. The first one is doctor and the second is engineer. Every girl wants to be a doctor. Every boy wants to be an engineer. Besides these two professions, every professional study is considered unprofessional. Like, we have so many talented artistes, writers, singers, producers and painters in our town. But people don’t recognize them in a professional category. Faisalabad has a few professional institutes.
People are moving from Faisalabad to other cities for their professional study. The number of doctors and engineers is growing drastically. That’s the only reason, we are lacking in other fields. Due to a greater number of doctors and engineers, the job vacancies are getting short. Besides these two professions, every institute should offer other professional education too. We need to uplift other professions.
NIMRA ANJUM
Faisalabad
India’s Union Budget 2020 disappointing
India’s Union Budget 2020 is a bit disappointing. It hasn’t unleashed the expected big-bang reforms and measures to address the present entrenched economic slowdown. While it has brought cheers to the salaried middle-class people, the announcement to sell a part of the government’s holding in LIC via an IPO would in all likelihood invite stiff opposition on the ground.
The announcements such as Kisan Rail to transport perishable agricultural goods, dairy/marine products and solar pumps for farmers as part of the government’s efforts to double farmers’ income, allocation of Rs 4,400 crore for clean air, linking of one lakh gram panchayats through Bharat Net, and the closure of thermal power plants with emissions above prescribed limits are welcome.
Rather than ushering in concrete steps to kick-start rural demand and revive private investment, for it holds the key to lifting the economy out of its current morass, the Finance Minister has taken recourse to incremental measures and broken her own record of having made the longest Budget speech by any Finance Minister in the history of independent India.
JUBEL D’CRUZ
Via email
PIA affairs
In the first six months of the current year, PIA witnessed a significant increase in its revenues owing to an increase in real yield and there is an overwhelming increase in seat factor to over 80 per cent. However, in line with the guidelines of probably the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Stock Exchange, PIA cannot release exact figures until the external audit for 2019 is completed and financial statements are approved by the board.
These trends were helped by factors beyond the airline’s control like depreciation of the Pakistan rupee by 30pc against the US dollar and a significant increase in finance cost because of the increase in policy rate (average policy rate, 2019: 12.39pc and 2018: 7.26pc). PIA manages its liquidity by cash generation from operation and financing against guarantees of the government. Owing to the fiscal constraints because of the IMF programme, PIA’s approved guarantee limit of the government was significantly reduced by MoF in July 2019, which created liquidity problem for PIA. Let us hope the management is able to turn around this organisation into what it used to be a few decades ago.
ADNAN AHMED
Islamabad
