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Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, 'Cost of climate inaction'
Dawn, 5 October 2023
"The absence of the provinces from strategic-level climate decision-making has further trapped the country in climate passivity. This cycle is vicious: the less we prepare our communities to brace for climate action, the more vulnerable our economy becomes. Some initial actions on the ground can help us build credibility, which is the weakest link in the chain. The climate summit in the UAE next month will unleash the revision process of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by all countries, including Pakistan. The revisions will be based on the recommendations of the global stocktake that will be presented at the summit."
F.S. Aijazuddin, 'Only time will tell'
Dawn, 5 October 2023
"According to the ECP website, the only election he has ever conducted was in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, where in 2016 as chief secretary AJK “he ensured peaceful, free and fair elections”. (AJK has 2.7 million registered voters; Pakistan has 127m.). The last ‘free and fair’ elections in Pakistan were conducted in 1970, under president Gen Yahya Khan. The CEC at the time was a Bengali, Mr Abdus Sattar. The political maelstrom that followed left Sattar stranded in West Pakistan. Eventually, he returned to Bangladesh, where in time he became its seventh president."
Editorial, 'Reimagining politics'
Dawn, 5 October 2023
"While there is no shortage of political parties in Pakistan, and the prospects of the trio’s new outfit may not be too bright considering the crowded field, it would be worth looking at the factors that drove the three leaders from their old parties. Mr Abbasi was reportedly uncomfortable with the dominant, and unchallenged, role of Maryam Nawaz in the PML-N, while Mr Ismail was unceremoniously moved from his position as finance minister in the PDM government to make way for Ishaq Dar, another Sharif family member. Meanwhile, Mr Khokhar has talked of being uncomfortable with decisions taken in “closed rooms” by parties, hinting at the lack of internal debate."
Husain Haqqani,' Conspiracy theories, slogans, myths'
The News International, 5 October 2023
"There is an old adage, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Applying it to Pakistan’s general media discourse, one would be compelled to believe that much of it is conducted by average or small minds. The public has access to little that can be described as serious ideas. Few people question catchphrases that are repeated without examination or evidence. The Oxford Dictionary defines a slogan as “a word or phrase that is easy to remember, used for example by a political party, or in advertising, to attract people’s attention or to suggest an idea.” But Pakistanis seem to embrace slogans without much thought and are swayed by them without asking simple, logical questions."
Editorial, 'Farrukh Javed Abbasi,The Sharif legacy?'
The News International, 5 October 2023
"Nawaz Sharif and his advisers haven’t negotiated with bilateral partners and friendly Middle-Eastern countries since 2015-16 when there was an Iran conflict and low interest rates. Saudis would use dollars to increase their soft power in Pakistan while the Chinese wanted to access our ports, and low interest rates made it easier for them to give out projects and other loans to Pakistan. Commercial banks also had access to cash and with Covid, quantitative easing made borrowing so easy that it became possible for that government to start big projects all over Pakistan."
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