In Brief
POLITICS
No pension benefits for public sector employees hired after the current fiscal
On 7 November, The Express Tribune reported that in accordance with the new “pension reforms,” people who join public sector jobs from the incoming fiscal year will no longer be entitled to pension benefits from the government. Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb informed that instead of state-funded pensions, the employees will be required to deposit a part of their monthly salary which will constitute a pension on retirement. He also pointed out that the repeal of state-funded pensions will be a relief for the government as the latter spends around PKR 800 billion to 1 trillion per year on the running of the scheme. He, however, did not provide any clarity on providing pensions to people who recently retired and those employees whose joining dates are before 1 July 2025. (Salman Siddiqui, “No state pension for new employees from next fiscal,” The Express Tribune, 7 November 2024)
“Government did what it had empowered itself to do through 26th amendment: it chose the bench,” argues an editorial in Dawn
On 7 November, an editorial in Dawn titled “Fait accompli” discussed the recent appointment of judges in the newly formed constitutional bench within the ambit of the Supreme Court. Justice Aminuddin Khan who is placed fourth in terms of seniority has been recently appointed as the head of the constitutional bench. The editorial opined that for the appointment of judges in the constitutional bench, the viewpoint of Chief Justice of Pakistan and the two most senior judges were not taken into consideration. The editorial argued that this was precisely for which the government had earlier introduced the 26th amendment which was to pick and choose judges that favored it. The editorial noted that Justice Aminuddin Khan had not judged in favor of the decision on “PTI reserved seat case” and termed had termed it “unconstitutional.” The editorial highlighted that the pending review petition on “reserved seats judgment” would be an interesting case to follow in order to how the newly formed constitutional bench tackles it. (“Fait accompli,” Dawn, 7 November 2024)
ECONOMY
Finance Minister claims economy is on the upswing
On 6 November, Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb in his speech at the “The Future Summit” claimed that Pakistan is seeing an upturn in its economy. The current government has been able to stabilize the currency, increase foreign currency reserves, and reduce inflation and interest rates. He predicted that credit ratings of the country would further improve sometime in late 2024. He also informed that inflation in the prices of food produce is also coming down. He further claimed that the government has been receiving positive responses for the measures it has taken to reform the economy. He requested the private sector to be the flag bearer in research and to not depend on the government and expressed skepticism over the latter’s capabilities to do research in the agriculture sector. He assured the private sector of all the state support to conduct these research activities. (Shahid Iqbal, “Economy is on the mend: Aurangzeb,” Dawn, 7 November 2024)
IMF SOS mission to visit Islamabad for revealing ‘mini budget’
On 7 November, The News International reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that a “SOS mission” will be visiting the capital in the coming week to reveal a “mini budget” given that Pakistan has not been able to meet the targets set by the IMF. Reportedly, Islamabad was not able to persuade the IMF about its resolve to initiate “course correction” measures. The SOS mission is, however, separate from the team that will be doing the review of the performance criteria set by the Extended Fund Facility (EEF) which is expected to take place in the first three months of 2025. Former adviser to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Khaqan Najeeb, opined that the current IMF programme is one of the harshest which has been agreed upon by Islamabad. He further predicted that the incoming team will emphasize on “indicative targets, quantitative performance criteria, continue performance criteria and structural benchmarks” for the months from July to September. (Mehtab Haider, “IMF team due on 11th for talks on programme performance,” The News International, 7 November 2024)
Power consumers to be compensated for September electricity rates
On 7 November, The News International reported that some customers had paid a higher rate of electricity per unit than the cost of generation for September 2024. Therefore, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) declared that it would reimburse PKR 1.2754 per unit to the customers who were charged higher rates. Previously, customers had received PKR 0.3692 per unit as reimbursement for the electricity bills of July. Further, Nepra has pointed towards the massive amount that goes down the drain because of the ineptitudes in the sector and demanded that the concerned authorities resolve the issue so as to increase the competence of the system. (Israr Khan, “Nepra announces Rs1.27; unit refund in Nov bills,” The News International, 7 November 2024)
“IPPs are not the sole reason why electricity has become unaffordable for most customers” argues an editorial in Dawn
On 7 November, an editorial in Dawn titled “IPP contracts” discussed how the government pressurizing Independent Power Producers (IPP) across the country to revise the terms of their agreement would not provide any benefit to the customers. The editorial argued that though IPP forms a significant component of the power sector, it is not exclusively responsible for the high prices of electricity provided to customers. It opined that the revised terms of the contract which has been materialized for the fourth time since 1997 would not provide any benefit to the customers, though the government might see a momentary reduction in their spending. The editorial suggested that instead of hounding IPPs, the government must introduce measures to lessen “system losses” and theft of electricity. It further suggested that the government must move towards using non-conventional energy resources and denationalization of “distribution companies.” (“IPP contracts,” Dawn, 7 November 2024)
ENVIRONMENT
Pakistan needs to develop its home-grown solutions against climate change, suggests an editorial in The News International
On 7 November, an editorial titled “Climate challenge” in The News International discussed Pakistan’s concern for climate change. The editorial noted how the country bears the brunt of increasing global temperatures, such as the 2022 floods which left about a third of Pakistan “underwater.” The editorial cites a statement by the Acting President and Senate Chairman, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, during the 27th Sustainable Development Conference where he had stated that creating a climate-resilient subsistence system and protecting agricultural output from the harsh effects of global warming was a necessity. The editorial pointed out that no matter how “well-meaning” these statements are, the policy implementers have failed to deal with issues related to food insecurity. The root cause behind this is the lack of consistency. The state of political polarization within the country is so extreme that every time a new government comes to power, it reuses the “same old” initiatives, pushing Pakistan to begin its progress process from scratch. Another factor that must be considered is that Pakistan is heavily dependent on foreign funding. The country has been negotiating to convert these loans into grants, however, it has not succeeded in this right. The editorial observed that this practice should have been enough to convince the state authorities to develop “home-grown solutions.” The editorial suggests that Pakistan should establish collaboration at the regional level and even the federal level in order to come up with homegrown solutions which may be used to combat climate change. (“Climate challenge,” The News International, 7 November 2024)
SECURITY
Separate attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province leads to the death of five security officials and two children
On 7 November, Dawn reported that four Frontier Corps personnel died in three attacks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. In the South of Waziristan, an improvised explosive device (IED) was used to attack a bomb disposal vehicle in the Ladha tehsil. The explosion was followed by shooting which led to the death of four army personnel, while five others sustained injuries. Two of the injured were in critical condition. They were shifted to the Scouts Hospital in Wana; the area was sealed off and an investigation operation was launched. A similar incident took place in the Daza Ghundai area, which led to the death of a Counter-Terrorism Department official and injury to two other civilians. Separately, a mortar shell caused a fire in the Bhutan Shareef area. It was reported that the shrapnel affected six children and two children succumbed to their injuries as they were being shifted to a hospital in Peshawar. (Adam Khan Wazir & Ibrahim Shinwari, “4 FC men martyred in South Waziristan attack,” Dawn, 7 November 2024)
PAKISTAN OCCUPIED KASHMIR
PM Shehbaz announces development measures in Gilgit-Baltistan
On 7 November, The Nation reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has declared that PKR 1 billion in funding for universities in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). he also sanctioned electricity transmission worth 100 megawatts for the region. PM Sharif informed that the federal government is planning to set up “Daanish schools” in the province, similar to Punjab. He also assured that his government is working towards encouraging tourism in the province and that Qatar’s government has shown its willingness to invest in the sector. He also urged the administrative authorities in GB to set up basic facilities in the Ghizer district such as teaching institutes, grounds and electricity transmission and instated a “model village” whose purpose is to provide accommodation facilities for the victims who lost their houses in 2022 floods. The Chief Minister of GB Gulbar Khan expressed gratitude towards PM Sharif for helping the people of his province when they needed it desperately. (Imran Ali and Mateen Haider, “PM announces 100 MW power supply, Rs 1 billion endowment fund for GB,” The Nation, 7 November 2024; “PM announces 100 MW power supply Rs 1bn endowment fund for Gilgit Baltistan,” Dawn, 6 November 2024)
“With the right investment and a forward-thinking mindset, Gilgit-Baltistan could become one of the most visited regions in the country,” suggests an editorial in The Nation
On 7 November, an editorial in The Nation titled “Investing in GB,” suggested that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif must shift his his focus towards Gilgit Baltistan. In his recent announcement, he promised to provide a power supply of 100 megawatts to the region. Besides just power supply, the Gilgit-Baltistan region heavily relies upon the federation for implementing policies and development projects. The editorial explained that other than addressing issues related to education and power supply in “remote areas grappling with extreme temperature fluctuations,” the prime minister must also shift focus towards boosting tourism in the region. The way to go about this is by first listening to the people of Gilgit Baltistan and adopting a more nuanced and sustainable approach. The editorial observed that only developing infrastructure to accommodate incalculable tourists may not only “overwhelm” the region but may also damage its aesthetics. The editorial suggested that the investment in the region must be well thought out. It should not only take accessibility into account but even measures towards protecting the environment must be considered in order to “preserve the beauty” of the region. The editorial also noted the Qatari government’s interest in investing in the region’s tourism thereby providing the government an advantageous opportunity. (“Investing in GB,” The Nation, 7 November 2024)
EXTERNAL
Different reports emerge regarding operation near the Pakistan-Iran border emerge
On 7 November, ahead of the Iranian Foreign Minister’s visit to Pakistan, conflicting reports emerged regarding an operation carried out by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the border area located in the Sistan and Balochistan province. According to the reports, the Iranian side claimed that the 18 Afghan-Tajik “suicide bombers” had entered Iran disguised as oil tanker operators. The Iranian forces had reportedly neutralized them as a part of its operation launched in the areas of Rasik, Chabahar, and Parwad. Separately, according to a Pakistani news outlet, The Khorasan Diary, personnel stationed at the borders from both the Pakistan and Iranian sides were conducting a joint operation against smugglers at the Balochistan border. (Saleem Shahid, “Conflicting reports of ‘operation’ near Pak-Iran border,” Dawn, 7 November 2024)
Army chief meets Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince
On 6 November, according to a press release from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir met Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in Riyadh. During his official visit to Saudi, Gen Munir engaged in conversations pertaining to defence, security, peace in the region, bilateral relations, and cooperation. According to the Saudi Press Agency, both parties discussed areas of opportunity to develop their relationship further. The General also met with Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister, Prince Khalid Bin Salman. Both officials promised to further bolster their cooperation in the areas of defence as well as security. (“Army chief calls on Saudi Arabia's MBS,” Dawn, 7 November 2024)
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I will not run away from the country under any circumstances. Put my name permanently on ECL I didn't go out. First Nawaz Sharif went abroad, now his daughter also went abroad, the treatment abroad is very expensive and his entire family is sitting outside. Their properties and their money are outside the country. If I had stolen like Nawaz Sharif and Zardari, I would have made a deal and fled the country
Imran Khan
- PTI
Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump on his historic victory for a second term! I look forward to working closely with the incoming Administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-U.S. partnership.
- Shehbaz Sharif
Imran Khan took such decisions to please America which harmed Pakistan.
Leader Muslim League (N) Khurram Dastgir
- PMLN Digital
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