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Defeat in elections
The elections in IIOJK have delivered a resounding defeat to Indian PM Modi and the BJP, with the Congress-National Conference alliance securing a clear majority. Out of the 90 seats contested, the alliance won 49, with the National Conference taking 42 seats, a blow to Narendra Modi’s efforts to solidify his grip on this occupied region. These results reflect the rejection of Modi’s oppressive policies in Kashmir, most notably the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019, which stripped the region of its special status. This election defeat is more than just a political setback for Modi’s BJP, it is also a symbolic failure of his government’s Kashmir policy.
The BJP’s revocation of Article 370 aimed to tighten India’s control over IIOJK, but the forced elections have confirmed the people’s rejection of Modi’s oppressive policies. His Administration has been marked by widespread human rights abuses, including arbitrary detentions, house arrests, censorship and assaults on dissenters. Despite these violations, Kashmiris have voiced their defiance through the elections, continuing their struggle for rights, freedom and dignity, with many still imprisoned after the abrogation of Article 370.
The international community remains largely indifferent to these atrocities as it turns a blind eye to Israel’s naked barbarity and brutality on Palestinians. The world’s obsession with India as an economic and geopolitical partner has left the Kashmiri people voiceless on the global stage.
The people of Kashmir deserve to be heard, and their rights must be acknowledged. From Palestine to Kashmir, the international community must stop turning a blind eye to oppression. Now the time has come to implement the UN Security Council’s resolutions to fulfil the demand of self-termination, allowing Kashmiris to determine their own destiny.
QAZI JAMSHED SIDDIQUI
Lahore
WB faults Pakistan power
It should not surprise anyone that the latest World Bank Development Update on Electricity in Pakistan attributes slow national economic growth to the defective power generation, distribution, supply & purchase system in Pakistan.
Not the elite but the street population in Pakistan has been clamouring for long for unnecessary higher costs of electricity, faulty distribution and nauseating frequency of cuts (load-shedding), and finally the World Bank has dittoed the shocks of the people of Pakistan. People of Pakistan are highly patriotic and any citizenry or national economic fall down affects their morale and they start raising protest voices.
Power production, distribution and sale in Pakistan is the special preserve of the much criticised IPPs. Indirectly (without naming them) the World Bank report hints at the inefficiency of the IPPs, an unnecessary burden-structure over the people of Pakistan. It was no political or administrative wisdom to mortgage electricity generation/distribution in Pakistan to IPPs – an unwise feature of 1992 and 1994 governance.
It is the commonest sense that sans electricity economic rise of any national society/country is just an unmet dream. The cheaper the electricity rate the faster comes the economic growth is an accepted gnome from centuries onward all across the world.
HAMEED SHAHEEN ALVI
Rawalpindi
When faith turns fatal
I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the killing of Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbhar in Umerkot, Sindh. This horrific incident underscores the alarming rise of violence perpetrated in the name of religion. It raises several critical issues, including the inadequacies of our law Enforcement, the dangers of blind faith and the phenomenon of religious lynching.
Dr. Shahnawaz was a dedicated physician at the civil hospital Umerkot. He had to leave Umerkot following blasphemy allegations and resided in Karachi. Despite his efforts to refute these allegations through a video on social media, where he explained his long absence from the platform, he was ultimately killed by a mob. To add to this tragedy, his body was subsequently set ablaze.
This devastating incident serves as a grim reminder of the extremist tendencies within certain interpretations of religion and the deadly consequences of religious intolerance. Notably, this kind of blind faith can take more and more lives. Our civil society is increasingly becoming a breeding ground for injustice, polarization and religious rigidity.
The response of law enforcement agencies to these issues must be critically examined. Not frequently, the response of the police turns up late, or in other words is unsatisfactory, and prolongs the misery for religiously lynched victims. In conclusion, urgent and constructive action is needed to address situations of violence like this, which could save thousands of lives in the future. To dismantle the perilous intersection of faith and intolerance, it’s imperative that we strengthen and scrutinize our law enforcement structures.
SAJJAD ALI
Islamabad
