Pakistan warns Afghan nationals against supporting electoral candidates; World Bank warns Pakistan about its short-term measures
In Brief
ON AFGHANISTAN
Pakistan summons Hafiz Gul Bahadur to return to Pakistan
On 28 November, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, the office ordered an Afghan representative from the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad to elucidate and condemn the suicide attack targeted on the security forces convoy in the Bannu district on 26 November by an Afghan citizen. The office condemned and demanded that the Afghan government should take necessary actions to curb the insurgencies from happening. The representative was also asked to seize Hafiz Gul Bahadar to prevent such incidents in the future. On 27 November, according to ISPR, “A motorcycle-borne suicide bomber, affiliated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur and later identified as an Afghan national carried out the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in northwestern Pakistan. Seven civilians and three soldiers were injured in the attack”. The Foreign Ministry concluded the meeting by stating, “Hafiz Gul Bahadar should be handed over to Pakistan, and prevent Afghan soil from terrorism against Pakistan.” (Mariana Baabar, “Afghan embassy representative told to hand over Hafiz Gul Bahadur,” The News International, 29 November 2023)
Pakistan warns Afghan nationals against supporting electoral candidates
On 28 November, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry issued a warning to Afghan nationals residing in the country against supporting or funding electoral candidates ahead of the upcoming general elections. The ministry emphasised that such activities were illegal for Afghan residents and warned of deportation for those failing to comply, regardless of their legal status. The directive is part of Pakistan’s efforts to address undocumented migrants, with the country previously announcing plans to expel over a million undocumented migrants, mostly Afghans. The ministry also cautioned Pakistani citizens against employing illegal aliens and encouraged reporting such instances. (“Afghans can’t fund electoral candidates,” Dawn, 29 November 2023)
ECONOMY
World Bank warns Pakistan about its short-term measures
On 28 November, Pakistan’s short-term measures were highly criticized by the World Bank. This includes Pakistan’s domestic debt that attracts one-shot investment via a new civil-military initiative. World Bank urged that Pakistan should address the country’s issues such as climate, human capital, and taxation rather than small initiatives. The World Bank’s regional vice president for South Asia, Martin Raiser apprised the “creation of a new institution is no quick fix” to facilitate investment without procuring a taxation system. He added the administration’s Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is a good initiative. However, it does not solve the business climate and tax dispensation. He further added, “Pakistan’s economy is stuck in a low-growth trap with poor human development outcomes and increasing poverty. Economic conditions leave Pakistan highly vulnerable to climate shocks, with insufficient public resources to finance development and climate adaptation.” (Khaleeq Kiani, “World Bank urges Pakistan to look at the big picture,” Dawn, 29 November 2023)
PROVINCE
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: to encompass NAB in its agenda
On 28 November, the interim administration of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stated that it had incorporated the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the “conception, planning and execution” projects in the region. At the meeting of the KP Urban Mobility Authority’s board of directors, the chief minister apprised Syed Arshad Hussain Shah “Not only will this whole exercise ensure transparency in the development works, it will also give confidence to working officers, who won’t feel hesitation and fear regarding the implementation of projects.” In the meeting, the Shah also advised all the authorities to make sure that everything related to developmental projects must be kept transparent so that NAB could uplift the projects. ( “KP govt to involve NAB in planning and execution of uplift projects,” Dawn, 29 November 2023)
Punjab: Asian Development Bank plans to give USD 180 million
on 29 November, USD 180 billion was approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to facilitate water supply and solid waste management services in two major cities of Punjab. The plan is anticipated to benefit 1.5 million people. By expanding and modernizing urban water supply and solid waste management systems the project aims to prevent excessive groundwater extraction and urban environment degradation. The ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, Yevgeniy Zhukov stated, “This project will help make municipal services in these two cities more sustainable, resilient, and less carbon-intensive.” ( “ADB commits Rs180m for Punjab’s urban facelift,” The Express Tribune, 29 November 2023)
POLITICS
PTI controversy overstatement regarding Imran Khan dropping out of intra-party polls
On 28 November, controversy emerged after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President, Sher Afzal Khan Marwat, said that Imran Khan made the unprecedented decision to not contest the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman position in the upcoming intra-party polls. He stated that Khan “himself has decided that he will not contest,” and has instead picked Barrister Gohar Khan for the post. Following this, the PTI central information department issued a statement “strongly denying” these claims, adding that “discussions are ongoing on all important issues regarding the holding of intra-party elections.” Despite this, Marwat maintains that all the information he shared “is correct,” saying that he cannot “understand who is behind the contradiction.” (“PTI bickers over Imran’s ‘choice of successor’,” Dawn, 29 November 2023; Rizwan Shezad, “Imran ‘picks’ Barrister Gohar for PTI chairman slot, Dawn, 29 November 2023)
IHC division bench to hear Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against corruption cases
On 29 November, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his conviction in the two corruption cases and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Sharif was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in 2018 in the Avenfield Apartments reference, along with a fine of GBP eight million, for owning assets beyond disclosed sources of income. He was then convicted in the Al-Azizia reference by the NAB in the same year, where he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and two separate fines of PKR 1.2 billion and USD 25 million. Sharif filed appeals against these convictions in the IHC, before leaving for London in 2019 for medical treatment. An IHC division bench is now set to hear Sharif’s appeal against these cases, as well as the NAB’s appeals to increase Sharif’s sentence in the Al-Azizia case as he is guilty of all charges and should serve more time. (“IHC to hear both Nawaz, NAB’s appeals today,” The Express Tribune, 29 November 2023)
PPP aims for coalition government, criticises PML-N’s electoral prospects
On 28 November, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Central Information Secretary Faisal Karim Kundi announced the party’s intention to form a coalition government with its allies in the upcoming general elections. The statement comes amid efforts by the PPP to solidify electoral alliances in response to the PML-N’s attempts to expand into PPP’s political stronghold of Sindh and other provinces. Kundi criticised PML-N’s electoral prospects, pointing to their by-election performance in Punjab and cautioning against unfavourable consequences for the nation if PML-N were to gain prominence. He emphasised the importance of a fair and unbiased election conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). (“PPP seeks to forge coalition govt with allies: Kundi,” The Express Tribune, 29 November 2023)
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“At present, elements hostile to Pakistan are making numerous conspiracies against Pakistan through internal and external facilitators, but Alhamdulillah, Pakistan Army is keeping the country and nations united by thwarting every conspiracy. #PakistanArmy”
- Khan Zadi
“#Makran Coastal Highway, Pakistan, The N-10 or National Highway 10 is a 653 km national highway in Pakistan which extends along Pakistan's Arabian Sea coast from Karachi in Sindh province to #Gwadar in Balochistan province. It passes the towns of Ormara and Pasni #Pakistan”
- Palwasha Umrani
“Salute to the bravery and commitment of #Pakistan's security forces! Their successful intelligence-based operation in Sararogha reflects their unwavering dedication to eradicating terrorism. We stand united with our forces in ensuring peace and security. #IsraeliNewNazism #Gaza’
- NaghmaTajik
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Ajaz Ahmed, ‘Climate adaptation’
Dawn, 27 November 2023
“SOCIETIES across the globe face the hardest and most long-lasting challenge to human progress in terms of climate change. Many regions are already feeling the severe impact of climate change. The developing countries, with their limited preparedness to respond to natural disasters triggered by climate change, are especially vulnerable. Thus, reducing the risk of climate catastrophes and developing the resilience of vulnerable communities has become an increasingly urgent task. However, tackling the impact of climate change in fragile settings requires transformative, and not incremental, action. This is practically impossible without having adequate resources and the technical expertise required to make infrastructure and livelihood resilient to climate change. Yet, there is a substantial shortfall of resources, resulting in an adaptation gap, which is the difference between the climate adaptation needs of a society in terms of resources and what has been done to make social and economic systems resilient to climate change.”
Dr Farzana Bari, ‘Invisible women’
The News International, 27 November 2023
“The recently released UNDP 2023 Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) reveals the shocking persistence of gender biases globally. The index tracks people’s attitudes towards women across four dimensions – political, education, economic and physical integrity in both lower and higher HDI countries. Covering 85 per cent of the world’s population, the GSNI reveals that a staggering nine out of 10 men and women still hold gender biases against women, indicating that 90 per cent of the world’s population holds at least one bias against women. Twenty-five percent of the population believe it is justified for a man to physically harm his wife. Nearly half of the respondents believe men are better suited for political leadership, and 43 per cent hold the belief that men make better business executives compared to women. Furthermore, 28 per cent people think that higher education is more important for men than for women.”
Enem Ali Abbas, ‘Creating public value’
The News International, 27 November 2023
“Countries like Pakistan struggle for reforms because they struggle with perception more than the dearth of resources required to deliver on these reforms. Most of the decisions the government takes cannot be termed entirely as informed or more appropriately intelligent decisions because of the perception factor backed by abnormal public reaction to the same. This engages government machinery in a rut of routine affairs and quick fixes. Take torrential rains for example; the explanation by the chairperson of the PPP was quite logical but it was made fun of. Rains flood modern cities all over the world but the moment it rains in our country, we start comparing our country with modern countries – that too without any clue. We want government machinery to dry out cities miraculously even before the rain stops. This does not rid government machinery or public representatives of their duties to ensure drying of ponding points, but this asks for bigger questions at the same time.”
Sarwar Bari, ‘Beyond level-playing-field’
The Express Tribune, 27 November 2023
“Since 1970, no government ousted from the Centre ever won the election that followed. Not because the electorates didn’t vote for the ousted party again. In fact, they did. And in some cases, even with higher numbers. Yet, the parties would lose seats disproportionately. For instance, in GE-1988, PPP secured 7.5 million votes, and its nearest rival, the PMLN-led IJI, got 5.9 million. The PPP’s government was not even allowed to complete two years in power. In the next election, the PPP’s vote bank in fact surged to 7.8 million, but its seats in National Assembly dropped from 93 to 44. IJI’s vote bank also increased by 2 million to 7.9 million, but its seats increased from 54 to 105. PMLN-IJI formed the next government, but faced the same fate that it had designed for the PPP only a couple of years back. Isn’t it magical that in 1993 election, PPP’s vote bank dropped to the 1988 level, but its seats increased by two-fold to 86. While PMLN maintained its vote bank of the 1990, its seats dropped by 32 to 73. Resultantly, it faced the same fate that the PPP had faced in the 1990 election.”
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“The future trajectory of this critical relationship has far-reaching repercussions for the world.”
- An opinion in Dawn, US-China thaw?
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