DAWN Editorials - 2nd January 2025
Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2025 4:36 am
Economic plan
THE ‘home-grown’, five-year economic plan Uraan Pakistan, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week, hopes to build on the country’s nascent economic recovery to boost growth. The initiative is based on the ruling PML-N’s five-point development agenda referred to as the ‘5Es Plan’. It focuses on exports, information technology, environment and climate, energy and infrastructure, and justice for all as a “unified roadmap” to make Pakistan a trillion-dollar economy — roughly triple its present size — by 2035. The roadmap aims to address key economic challenges through a ‘National Economic Transformation Plan’, providing short- to medium-term solutions for stabilisation and growth.
However, the targets are ambitious, if not unrealistic, as they seek to achieve a sustainable growth rate of 6pc by 2028 and attract $10bn in private investment each year to double exports to $60bn over the next five years. But then, the state minister for finance has downplayed the focus on the plan’s targets. According to him, the plan was an effort to give the economy direction so that it does not heat up when the growth accelerator is pressed.
The plan is elaborate regarding what the government desires to achieve over the five-year period but it does not offer any glimpse into the policy reforms or solutions it intends to implement to fix the problems ailing the economy. At best, it has set up a delivery unit at the Prime Minister’s Office to coordinate the implementation of sectoral plans and roadmaps with a view to executing the initiative and ensuring transparency and accountability. The nine-month track record of this government on promised structural reforms also does not inspire much confidence in its ability to follow through on its pledges. For example, we have seen the government capitulating on retail tax and SOE reforms.
That is not all. Many of its policies run counter to Uraan Pakistan’s objectives. On the one hand, it envisages encouraging IT exports and supporting start-ups; and on the other, it has slowed down internet speeds, despite warnings of IT export losses.
Furthermore, the programme points at decades of political instability, policy inconsistency, and repeated military-led disruptions in the political process as reasons for the current state of the economy. Yet, there has been little inclination to address these challenges. The absence of clear mentions of policy reforms backed by a solid strategy to execute the targets allows the bureaucracy a lot of space to wriggle out of responsibility. While monitoring and evaluation of progress on the initiative is important, they cannot be a substitute for real reforms and policy changes when it comes to fixing the economy to put it on the road to sustainable growth.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025
On life support
PAKISTAN stands at a precarious crossroads as we embark on a new year. Pildat’s Quality of Democracy report has painted a sobering portrait of democratic regression in 2024, marked by systematic efforts to centralise power and curtail fundamental rights. What makes this erosion particularly alarming is that it occurred not under martial law, but through legal mechanisms wielded by the civilian leadership in apparent cooperation with the establishment. The delayed 12th general election, marred by alleged pre- and post-poll rigging, has emerged as a symbol of this backsliding. The disenfranchisement of opposition parties, most notably the PTI, through manipulation of poll symbols and reserved seats, has raised doubts about the ECP’s impartiality. Constitutional ‘re-engineering’ through the 26th Amendment, which altered judicial independence, and the unprecedented extension of service chiefs’ tenures to potentially 10 years during peacetime, represent a concerning consolidation of authority. These changes, rushed through parliament with minimal debate, indicate our political leaders’ willingness to compromise democratic principles for short-term gains.
Equally disturbing is the increasing restriction on civil liberties. Media censorship has intensified, with the government blocking X and disrupting other platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram under the guise of national security. More troublingly, citizens’ discourse on social media has been labelled as “digital terrorism” by the establishment, setting a dangerous precedent for further curbs on digital rights. Military trials of civilians have raised particularly grave concerns about due process and judicial independence. After keeping 85 civilians in custody for over a year without clear legal status, military courts handed down convictions with prison terms ranging from two to 10 years. That these proceedings continued despite international outcry about fair trial rights, and that they were justified as serving “Pakistan’s public” rather than addressing their constitutional validity, speaks volumes about the state of civil rights. In addition, the ban on the PTM and the continuing incarceration of political opponents signal shrinking space for dissent and political opposition. The only glimmer of hope lies in the recent initiation of dialogue between the government and the PTI. However, for this dialogue to yield meaningful results, both sides must move beyond ultimatums and grandstanding. Democracy in Pakistan is on life support. Its revival can only occur with bold reforms and unwavering commitment to constitutional principles.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025
Harsh sentence
USING lawfare to swiftly get rid of political opponents makes a mockery of the legal system, especially when millions of Pakistanis have to wait years to get justice from the courts. The punishment meted out to former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khurshid Khan by a local antiterrorism court “for threatening security institutions” is a clear example of the state using law codes to penalise an opponent way beyond the severity of the alleged crime. Mr Khan, who belongs to the PTI, has been ordered to serve 34 years in prison along with paying a monetary fine, while the court has commanded that his CNIC be blocked. The ex-CM’s sentence exceeds the duration of a life term that courts in Pakistan hand out. Khurshid Khan has been convicted for a speech he made in Gilgit; he also faces other cases. Though Mr Khan’s whereabouts are not known, and he did not appear in the hearings of the aforesaid case, he issued a video statement in which he defended his speech, saying that he had criticised what he termed were undemocratic methods employed by certain state functionaries in removing his government. Mr Khan was disqualified in 2023 for allegedly having a fake degree.
While politicians and public figures often make controversial claims during speeches and rallies, it is a stretch to apply the antiterrorism law to such utterances. Mr Khan can appeal his harsh sentence before the GB higher judiciary. The state needs to reconsider its use of such legal tactics against opposition figures. The sad fact is that using lawfare against critics of the state has a long history in Pakistan, as towering political figures of the past have been accused of being ‘anti-national’, and worse. Ironically, those actually involved in terrorism and fanning hate manage to escape the long arm of the law. Moreover, using the legal system to target opponents will further reduce the confidence of the public in the governance structure.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025
THE ‘home-grown’, five-year economic plan Uraan Pakistan, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week, hopes to build on the country’s nascent economic recovery to boost growth. The initiative is based on the ruling PML-N’s five-point development agenda referred to as the ‘5Es Plan’. It focuses on exports, information technology, environment and climate, energy and infrastructure, and justice for all as a “unified roadmap” to make Pakistan a trillion-dollar economy — roughly triple its present size — by 2035. The roadmap aims to address key economic challenges through a ‘National Economic Transformation Plan’, providing short- to medium-term solutions for stabilisation and growth.
However, the targets are ambitious, if not unrealistic, as they seek to achieve a sustainable growth rate of 6pc by 2028 and attract $10bn in private investment each year to double exports to $60bn over the next five years. But then, the state minister for finance has downplayed the focus on the plan’s targets. According to him, the plan was an effort to give the economy direction so that it does not heat up when the growth accelerator is pressed.
The plan is elaborate regarding what the government desires to achieve over the five-year period but it does not offer any glimpse into the policy reforms or solutions it intends to implement to fix the problems ailing the economy. At best, it has set up a delivery unit at the Prime Minister’s Office to coordinate the implementation of sectoral plans and roadmaps with a view to executing the initiative and ensuring transparency and accountability. The nine-month track record of this government on promised structural reforms also does not inspire much confidence in its ability to follow through on its pledges. For example, we have seen the government capitulating on retail tax and SOE reforms.
That is not all. Many of its policies run counter to Uraan Pakistan’s objectives. On the one hand, it envisages encouraging IT exports and supporting start-ups; and on the other, it has slowed down internet speeds, despite warnings of IT export losses.
Furthermore, the programme points at decades of political instability, policy inconsistency, and repeated military-led disruptions in the political process as reasons for the current state of the economy. Yet, there has been little inclination to address these challenges. The absence of clear mentions of policy reforms backed by a solid strategy to execute the targets allows the bureaucracy a lot of space to wriggle out of responsibility. While monitoring and evaluation of progress on the initiative is important, they cannot be a substitute for real reforms and policy changes when it comes to fixing the economy to put it on the road to sustainable growth.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025
On life support
PAKISTAN stands at a precarious crossroads as we embark on a new year. Pildat’s Quality of Democracy report has painted a sobering portrait of democratic regression in 2024, marked by systematic efforts to centralise power and curtail fundamental rights. What makes this erosion particularly alarming is that it occurred not under martial law, but through legal mechanisms wielded by the civilian leadership in apparent cooperation with the establishment. The delayed 12th general election, marred by alleged pre- and post-poll rigging, has emerged as a symbol of this backsliding. The disenfranchisement of opposition parties, most notably the PTI, through manipulation of poll symbols and reserved seats, has raised doubts about the ECP’s impartiality. Constitutional ‘re-engineering’ through the 26th Amendment, which altered judicial independence, and the unprecedented extension of service chiefs’ tenures to potentially 10 years during peacetime, represent a concerning consolidation of authority. These changes, rushed through parliament with minimal debate, indicate our political leaders’ willingness to compromise democratic principles for short-term gains.
Equally disturbing is the increasing restriction on civil liberties. Media censorship has intensified, with the government blocking X and disrupting other platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram under the guise of national security. More troublingly, citizens’ discourse on social media has been labelled as “digital terrorism” by the establishment, setting a dangerous precedent for further curbs on digital rights. Military trials of civilians have raised particularly grave concerns about due process and judicial independence. After keeping 85 civilians in custody for over a year without clear legal status, military courts handed down convictions with prison terms ranging from two to 10 years. That these proceedings continued despite international outcry about fair trial rights, and that they were justified as serving “Pakistan’s public” rather than addressing their constitutional validity, speaks volumes about the state of civil rights. In addition, the ban on the PTM and the continuing incarceration of political opponents signal shrinking space for dissent and political opposition. The only glimmer of hope lies in the recent initiation of dialogue between the government and the PTI. However, for this dialogue to yield meaningful results, both sides must move beyond ultimatums and grandstanding. Democracy in Pakistan is on life support. Its revival can only occur with bold reforms and unwavering commitment to constitutional principles.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025
Harsh sentence
USING lawfare to swiftly get rid of political opponents makes a mockery of the legal system, especially when millions of Pakistanis have to wait years to get justice from the courts. The punishment meted out to former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister Khalid Khurshid Khan by a local antiterrorism court “for threatening security institutions” is a clear example of the state using law codes to penalise an opponent way beyond the severity of the alleged crime. Mr Khan, who belongs to the PTI, has been ordered to serve 34 years in prison along with paying a monetary fine, while the court has commanded that his CNIC be blocked. The ex-CM’s sentence exceeds the duration of a life term that courts in Pakistan hand out. Khurshid Khan has been convicted for a speech he made in Gilgit; he also faces other cases. Though Mr Khan’s whereabouts are not known, and he did not appear in the hearings of the aforesaid case, he issued a video statement in which he defended his speech, saying that he had criticised what he termed were undemocratic methods employed by certain state functionaries in removing his government. Mr Khan was disqualified in 2023 for allegedly having a fake degree.
While politicians and public figures often make controversial claims during speeches and rallies, it is a stretch to apply the antiterrorism law to such utterances. Mr Khan can appeal his harsh sentence before the GB higher judiciary. The state needs to reconsider its use of such legal tactics against opposition figures. The sad fact is that using lawfare against critics of the state has a long history in Pakistan, as towering political figures of the past have been accused of being ‘anti-national’, and worse. Ironically, those actually involved in terrorism and fanning hate manage to escape the long arm of the law. Moreover, using the legal system to target opponents will further reduce the confidence of the public in the governance structure.
Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2025