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India Playing Double Game with China, Russia and US: Chinese Media

India Playing Double Game with China, Russia and US: Chinese Media

 

The Chinese media have accused India of playing a “Double Game” with China, Russia and the US to get benefits from all the three sides. While the US has adopted stiff sanctions against Iran and Russia which has affected almost everyone, but India has managed to get the best of both the worlds, according to Chinese MediaGlobal Times.

According to Chinese Media, the two plus two dialogue between the US and India took place in New Delhi, during which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis held talks with their Indian counterparts – External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, over a variety of issues including bilateral defence cooperation, US sanctions against Iran and India’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defence system.

Prior to the dialogue, experts believed that the US demand to halt India’s oil imports from Iran and purchase of Russian S-400 air defence system would thwart US-India defence partnership. Surprisingly, Washington made concessions on both these issues. An important step forward, the US and India signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), and agreed to hold joint exercises involving the air force, navy and the army off the eastern Indian coast in 2019.

 

Even though the two plus two dialogue was postponed twice, but it was finally held demonstrates the urgent needs of both the US and India to deepen strategic Defence cooperation. The Logistics Support Agreement, COMCASA, and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation are the three basic agreements that the US signs to form military alliances with other countries. Now only the third has yet to be signed between the US and India.

 

The two plus two ministerial dialogue mechanism has long been established between the US and its regional allies such as Japan and Australia. With the establishment of the one between the US and India, it’s anticipated the Japan-India and Australia-India strategic cooperation mechanism will be further upgraded. If so, the formation of a quadrilateral security dialogue comprising the US, Japan, Australia and India is not far away.

One of the main reasons for the formation of the US-India two plus two ministerial dialogue and the inking of the COMCASA is to counterbalance, even contain, China’s rise. The US hopes to form military alliances to confront China and exclude it from the process of globalization as it did with the USSR.

As seen in the interactions between India and the US, there have been more and more convergences between India’s China strategy and the US’ Indo-Pacific strategy. India views China as the principal opponent in the region. It not only aims to counterbalance and contain China with help of US strength but also wants to overtake China. Therefore, enhancing defence cooperation with the US is India’s established strategy.

The past few months have seen a rapprochement in China-India relations and sound interactions between the two. Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe concluded his India visit just several days before the US-India two plus two dialogue. But from the Indian side, this is just a tactical adjustment rather than a strategic one.

After the China-India Doklam standoff, India has been trapped in an awkward situation – relations with China and other neighbouring countries deteriorated; moving closer to the US didn’t exempt it from tariffs imposed by the Trump administration but led to an alienated India-Russia relationship.

The diplomatic predicament unquestionably would negatively affect Indian PM Narendra Modi’s election next year. In such context, Modi recalibrated his diplomatic policy, holding an informal meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi while keeping a distance with the US at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

This won India diplomatic maneuvering room and motivated Washington to make concessions over a range of issues in the US-India bilateral relations.

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America, NATO and Russia: Why War and Not Peace? by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

America, NATO and Russia:  Why War and Not Peace?

 

Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher wrote in Critique of Practical Reason, imperative of a moral human conduct requires to “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means”.

 

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

The on-going war syndrome between America, NATO and Russia typifies what can go wrong when human thinking evolution is restricted to imaginary temptations and compulsions of animosities. Often myth of war is manifested in self-interest and its evolution becomes unquestionable on the rational screen of reason and moral values. We see immature leadership surrounding conditions of egoism and primacy of will to clarify the reality of warfare. As of this moment, there is no emerging war on the ground,  alleged “aggression” or dynamic syntax of compelling move to unleash war either by Russia against Ukraine or Russia vs. America and NATO. Rationally speaking, the myth of contemporary ground warfare is incomprehensible to an outsider. The mass media propaganda appears to set the psychological conditions of “Russian war” and “aggressions” without realizing its real-world affects, it spreads frightening waves of fear and hatred across the globe.

Is the media propaganda a weapon of conquest of human minds, soul and future-making? The imaginary foresight of any futuristic war captions the secret of unknown and unthinkable. All wars have consequences. The global humanity is not over with the aftermath of even the 2nd WW as books, live stories and movies are constantly haunting the human intellect – what were the motives of the 2nd WW and why did Europeans killed each other in millions and destroyed the human habitats. Those who had planned and carried out the war atrocities have long disappeared to be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.

Scott Ritter (is a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who served in the former Soviet Union implementing arms control treaties, in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm, and in Iraq overseeing the disarmament of WMD): “What War with Russia Look Like”                        (Global Research: 01/11/2022): explains the irony of current affairs:

If the U.S. tries to build up NATO forces on Russia’s western frontiers in the aftermath of any Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia will then present Europe with a fait accompli in the form of what would now be known as the “Ukrainian model.” In short, Russia will guarantee that the Ukrainian treatment will be applied to the Baltics, Poland, and even Finland, should it be foolish enough to pursue NATO membership.

Is there an Irony of Political Wickedness and Paradox of Egoism?

 

If you know the nature of warmongering, you will certainly know yourself from the annals of formative history. Are we, the People of the 21st century knowledge-based age detached from the Nature of Things – who we are and where we are?. How would one rationalize the role and actions of NATO in a global theater of strategic interests? The history of NATO and its plans and ideological motives are equally distorted and disfigured on the global screen of reason, honesty and accountability. NATO lost its importance by siding with the US for its invasion and participation of war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. The current tensions draw divergent and conflicting perceptions and order of wisdom to analyze its short and long terms impacts.

NATO and Russia: towards a new Cold War. – The Mackenzie Institute

All political configurations carry much evil and much good in any rational optimistic outlook. Russia embarked on massive military buildup on the Ukrainian border to endanger its security. Its impact is alarming to most NATO allies assuming an imminent attack on Ukraine. Not so, deny most Russian officials, it is an exercise on Russian territory. America –led NATO believes it as a challenge to its vulnerability and strategic presence in the region. How to analyze the intentions in a knowledge-based strategic foresight? True knowledge is always benevolent not concealing or retaliating. America and NATO reacting to a tense situation requiring logical clarification of hidden intentions. If time and history are a reference point, those obsessed with invincible armies cannot solve the emerging political crises.

Is Russia exercising its own right to hold usual military drills? There is no alleged “aggression” or any hostile acts performed so far against the Ukraine sovereignty.  America and West Europeans are keen to strike a balancing act by stationing their troops to the adjacent East European countries to remind the Russian of any consequences if they strike at Ukraine. If we are open to adaptability and an enlightened fortitude and respect for state’s sovereignty, could Russia be helping Ukraine to strengthen its strategic capacity and telling the US-led NATO to be aware that Russia has strong defensive capacity in all emerging unusual situations.  Russia, NATO and America cannot possibly be participants to a self-destructive formula. Rationality finds it hard what Russian can or will gain if Ukraine is attacked. Is it a puzzle game launched by the policy makers on both sides of the iron curtain?

Often crises have multiple spillover agendas. President Putin and President Zellensky of Ukraine could be meeting at Beijing Winter Olympic this week. Both know well their future survival lives in peace and harmony, not in conflict-making or conflict-keeping. German Chancellor and French President Macron are active to bring the both sides to some diplomatic resolution. President Endogen (Turkey) has offered Russia and Ukraine to hold peace talks in Ankara. Could America-NATO be surprised if Putin and Zellensky come to a meeting of mind and sign a diplomatic peace agreement?  Both nations share an enriched geography and history together. Could we witness the coming of a new age of relationship between Russia, Ukraine and America-led NATO when even most exemplary political vigilance could be liable to unusual surprises?

 

Leader of Reason to Think before They Act

The voices of reason are loud and clear as global humanity cannot suffer the penalties of tyranny and war-mongering.  It is wasting our time and consuming our precious thoughts and energies for man-made insidious cruelty. We, the People live in a splendid Universe in which planet Earth floats ordained by the commands of God. We are moral beings unlike animals that possess the eyes, ear and other senses but cannot draw logical conclusion from their senses. We, the People draw rational results what we see and what we hear, therefore, we are different, and we cannot act or live animals. There is a moral sense of spirituality and humanity to co-exist in harmony with the rest of all creations on this Earth. Modern wars represent sadistic and cruel minds to undermine human rights, dignity and life. They destroy all that is built over the ages that we call human civilizations. All of the Abrahamic Faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) reveal the truth of “Trust” – human beings took to be responsible and be at peace with the Nature of Things.  Any favorite perversion would contradict this Trust and embark on killing and destruction of human habitats as history has witnessed during the Two WW, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and ongoing in Yemen. This TRUST and its reminder are explicitly mentioned in (The Qur’an, Chapter 33: 72):

 

 “We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth; And the mountains but they refused; To undertake it, being afraid thereof: But man undertook it; He was indeed unjust and foolish.”   

 

The Earth is a living entity and is meant for us – the human beings. We, the People wonder who else except God created life, the Earth and the living Universe floating in space well balanced and functional since time immemorial. Who else other than God determined the Earth spinning of 1670 km per hour? Who else than God ordained it to orbit the sun at 107,000 km per hour?  And who else than God made it to spin at 28,437 km per hour at the equator? (https://www.newscientist.com/question/fastearthspin/#ixzz7C8p37S9X).    Be aware that earth average distance to the Sun is about 93 million miles (105 million km); the distance of Moon from Earth is currently 384,821 km equivalent to 0.002572 Astronomical Units and if the distance between the Earth-Sun or the Earth-moon were ever to change, there will be no sign of life or habitats left on Earth.

We, the People, wish to rejoice truth, not evil. We, the people of the world enjoin focused minds and imagination to articulate a new world of One Humanity, brotherhood and peaceful co-existence amongst all, free of hatred, fear, wars, encroachment and animosity. We, the people of the globe possess understanding – how to change the egoistic and embittered insanity of the few hate-mongers and warlords into equilibrium of balanced relationship between Man, Life and God- given living Universe in which we reside all.

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/2019.

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Golden Jubilee of Pakistan Navy War College: Reminiscences of a great institution by Admiral(Retd) Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Sri Lankan Navy

 

The Pakistan Navy War College, Lahore, celebrated its 50th anniversary, last month. The Pakistan Navy War course conducted by this prestigious College is ten months long and includes a number of industrial visits, military exercises and a foreign tour. Approximately 70 students, majority of them from the Pakistan Navy and two each from the Pakistan Army and Air Force attend the course besides 10 officers from friendly countries. I followed the 24th course in 1995/96. The College was then located in Karachi and known as ‘Pakistan Navy Staff College’.

Foreign officers and their families were provided with accommodation. I was there with my family. My son was only three-years-old and he started attending Kindergarten while I was following the course.

Pakistan military personnel are very fond of their Sri Lankan counterparts. They always help us. Thanks to a generous stipend from Sri Lanka, we lived very comfortably in Karachi and I had the opportunity to take part in Inter-Staff College sports activities.

Out of the distinguished foreign alumni of the War College, eight officers commanded their navies during the last 50 years—Major General Rowland Leslie Makandu of Tanzania Navy in 1989, Staff Brigadier Khaflan Al Room UAE Navy in 1996, Major General Said Shusan Omary Tanzania Navy in 2006, Staff Major General M Al Muhammad Ahmed UAE Navy in 2005, First Admiral Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Othman Bin Hj Suhaili Royal Brunei Navy in 2005, Rear Admiral Houssain Khamzadi Islamic Republic of Iran Navy in 2007 and Colonel Hishan Kharkiv Aljarrah Royal Jordanian in Navy 2013.  I became the Commander of the Navy of Sri Lanka in 2015. I am the only foreign alumnus to become a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Armed Forces. Further, I am the only recipient of the highest medal awarded by Pakistan – Nishan-e-Imtiyaz (Military) medal (Order of Excellence) from the Pakistan President at a special investiture Ceremony in February 2019 in Islamabad.

 I was invited to the celebrations as a guest of the Pakistan Navy Chief.

The Golden Jubilee celebrations commenced with the alumni dinner. The Chief Guest was Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, the Chief of Naval Staff, Pakistan. He has been the Commandant of PN War College.

Seated next to me was a tall, very smart elderly gentleman who introduced him self as “Vice Admiral Tasnim retired from the Pakistan Navy”. During our brief conversation at dinner, he mentioned that he was 86 years old and he  had undergone his basic naval training at Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), Dartmouth, UK with “Midshipman Asoka De Silva” in 1950!  I immediately recognised his class.

Old Royalist rugby player Asoka de Silva represented Navy Rugby team as full back. He has commanded ships and craft and served in high positions in Trincomalee, Jaffna and Naval Headquarters. When he was Chief of Staff of our Navy, he encouraged me to join them.

Admiral Asoka de Silva was the 9th Navy Commander of Sri Lanka from 1983 to 1986. His son, Sajith, was one year senior to me at  Royal, and we both were keen scouts. Vice Admiral Tasnim said he had been in PN Staff College serving as Directing Staff member (instructor) and later became the Commandant.

That night with the intention of finding more details about this veteran Pakistan Naval officer, I consulted Google Guru. I keyed in “Vice Admiral Tasnim of Pakistan Navy”. What a surprise!

He and his crew became heroes in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War. He Commanded Pakistan Navy Submarine PNS Hangor and patrolled the Arabian Sea.

However, naval action was somewhat different. Indian Admirals towed three missile boats by bigger war ships and targeted the Karachi port and fuel tanks there; the port was in flames  for many days.

However, the action of Pakistan Navy Submarine PNS Hangor (S- 131) (nickname Shark) led to the sinking of Indian Navy ASW Frigate on 9 Dec 1971 off the Gujarat coast. It was the first time following the World War ll, a submarine was able to sink a warship!

The then Lt. Commander Ahmad Tasnim was the submarine Commander. It is very difficult for surface ships to detect submarines. Main sensor on surface-and-air warfare does not work underwater as electro-magnetic waves (radar) do not travel through water. Electro-magnetic waves move at the speed of light in air. Therefore, we use sound waves, which, however, have a very limited range.

INS Khukhri Sunk By Pakistan Navy’s  Submarine PNS Hangor

The speed of sound moving through water depends on three factors—pressure (which increases with depth), temperature and salinity. The greater the pressure, the higher the speed. The same is true of temperature and salinity. So, detecting a submarine by using equipment called SONAR is a very difficult task. There are two types of SONARs– active and passive. Active SONARs are the ones that transmit sound waves and enable us to listen to the echo of the target. Passive SONARs are just hydrophones that help us listen to under water sounds. (The present-day Bangladesh Navy Chief (Admiral Sheen Iqbal) and I were Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) specialists, following the same course in 1989/90 at ASW school, Cochin, India.)

During the 1971 war, on 09 December Pakistan Submarine PNS Hangor targeted two Indian Frigates, INS Khukri and INS Kirpan . INS Khukri was sunk with two torpedoes whereas INS Kirpan survived the attack. The Captain of the sinking Indian Ship Khukri, Captain Mahendra Nath Mullar decided to go down with the ship following the tradition of seafarers. He was awarded with second highest gallantry medal of India, Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) posthumously. INS Khukri is the only ship Indian Navy has lost in battle to date. Eighteen officers and 176 sailors of Indian Navy died in this attack. Only 64 survived.

There is so much to learn from sea battles. The Sri Lanka Navy also should also build up a small submarine unit as Bangladesh and Myanmar have done.

Edited Version 

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PAKISTAN’S BRILLIANT SON – Friends heap praise on Pakistan-born doctor behind pig-to-human heart transplant

  • Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin led a US team that successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a gravely ill man
  • The surgery raised ethical questions – given Mohiuddin’s Islamic faith – but none of that worried his former colleagues, who remembered him as an ace student
Surgeon Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin (centre) led a US team that successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a man. Photo: EPA-EFE/UMSOM
Surgeon Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin (centre) led a US team that successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a man. Photo: EPA-EFE/UMSOM

Friends and former classmates of the Pakistan-born surgeon behind the world’s first pig-to-human heart transplant say they earmarked him for greatness from his medical school days.

Karachi-born Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin made headlines last week as the co-founder of the US university programme that successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified pig into a gravely ill American man.

While hailed as a medical breakthrough, the procedure also raised ethical questions – particularly among some Jews and Muslims, who consider pigs to be unclean and avoid pork products.

None of that worried Mohiuddin’s friends and former colleagues in Pakistan, who remember him as an ace student with a passion for medicine.

“He would be so interested, always there, always available and always ready to get involved in surgery,” said Muneer Amanullah, a specialist who attended Karachi’s Dow Medical College with Mohiuddin in the 1980s.

Dr Muneer Amanullah attended Karachi’s Dow Medical College with Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin in the 1980s. Photo: AFP
Dr Muneer Amanullah attended Karachi’s Dow Medical College with Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin in the 1980s. Photo: AFP

College vice-chancellor Muhammad Saeed Qureshi said pride in Mohiuddin’s achievement had flooded the campus.

“There was exhilaration that this has been done by a graduate from this college,” he said.

Mohiuddin was quick to share the limelight with a team of 50 from the University of Maryland Medical School.

“They were all experts of their respective fields,” he said by phone.

“They are the best surgeons, the best physicians, the best anaesthetists, and so on.”

In religion, no deed is as supreme as saving a human life Mohiuddin, transplant surgeon

While the prognosis for the recipient of the pig’s heart is far from certain, the surgery represents a major milestone for animal-to-human transplants.

About 110,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and more than 6,000 patients die each year before getting one, according to official figures.

To meet demand, doctors have long been interested in so-called xenotransplantation, or cross-species organ donation.

“We were working on this model for 18 years,” Mohiuddin said.

“Those 18 years were dotted with different phases of frustration – as well as breakthroughs – but finally we have done it.”

Karachi’s Dow Medical College where doctor Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin studied. Photo: AFP
Karachi’s Dow Medical College where doctor Muhammad Mansoor Mohiuddin studied. Photo: AFP

The surgery is not without controversy, however, especially given Mohiuddin’s Islamic faith.

Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims and Jews – and even some Christians who follow the Bible’s Old Testament literally.

“In my view, this is not permissible for a Muslim,” said Javed Ahmed Ghamdi, a prominent Islamic scholar, in a video blog where he discussed the procedure.

But another Islamic scholar in Pakistan gave the procedure a clean bill of health.

“There is no prohibition in sharia,” Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi said, calling it a “medical miracle”.

“In religion, no deed is as supreme as saving a human life,” added Mohiuddin.

In Karachi, the surgeon’s fellow alumni feel their former colleague may now be destined for even greater glory – medicine’s top prize.

“I think … the whole team is in for it, in for the Nobel Prize,” said vice-chancellor Qureshi.

Read more

US doctors transplant gene-edited pig heart into human patient in a medical first

US doctors transplant gene-edited pig heart into human in medical first

Read more

‘Potential miracle’: pig kidney works in human patient

‘Potential miracle’: pig kidney works in human patient

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Spirit of Riyasat-i-Madina: Transforming Pakistan by News desk

Spirit of Riyasat-i-Madina: Transforming Pakistan

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PM Khan praises FBR for reaching historic growth of 18%

Imran Khan Prime Minister of PakistanTHE rise and fall of nations are different from the rise and fall of civilizations. Nations can be raided, redrawn or re-imagined exogenously but civilizations cannot be killed from the outside, they only commit suicide.

The core of every civilization is its spiritual principles; when they die, the civilization dies. In Islamic civilization, the manifestation of our spiritual principles happened in the Prophet’s (saw) Madina.

Besides many other important principles, there were five very important guiding principles upon which the state of Madina was built. These principles are unity, justice & rule of law leading to meritocracy, strong moral and ethical foundation, inclusion of all humans in progress and prosperity, and finally, the quest for knowledge. To help revive the spirit of the covenant of Madina, National Rahmatul Lil ‘Alamin Authority (NRA) has been formed.

The first principle which laid the foundation for Riyasat-i-Madina was of unity. The idea of unity (Tawhid) comes from the Quran and in a sense, the entire religion is based on that. From unity of God to unity of mankind, it is the most fundamental principle of Islam.

Remember that our Prophet, who was mercy for all mankind, unified people of diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds into a single community. Besides Muslims, there were Christians, Jews, Sabeans and other groups who were all woven into a unitary communal whole under the state of Madina.

The second founding principle was Rule of Law which resulted in justice and meritocracy. The Prophet (saw) made it clear that no one was above the law. He said that nations perish when two sets of laws exist, one for the rich and another for the poor:

“O people, those who came before you were destroyed because if a person of high status committed theft among them, they would spare him, but if a person of lower status committed theft, they would apply the punishment upon him. By Allah, if Fatima the daughter of Muhammad were to steal, I would have cut off her hand.” [Sahih Muslim 1688]

If one looks at the world today, one can easily witness that most successful states also have the most robust application of the rule of law.

Be-sides several Western nations, one witnesses those East Asian economies that have recently prospered, strictly practiced this principle. Japan, China, South Korea are good examples.

Whereas in those nations where rule of law was sub-verted, seem to be sinking into poverty and chaos. In many countries of the Muslim world, despite the prevalence of tremendous resources, there is less progress, which is attributable to lack of rule of law. Another good example is South Asia. In today’s India, the apartheid rule of law has immediately brought about poverty and countless insurgencies that threaten the union of their country. In Pakistan, not adhering to the rule of law has led to siphoning off of billions of US dollars which has imposed collective poverty on our public.

The pattern of politics and devel-opment in many countries of Africa and Latin American suggest the same. The so-called ba-nana republics are the way they are because of lack of rule of law. This cause and effect relation-ship between rule of law and socio-political harmony cannot be emphasized enough.

The third founding principle of Riyasat-i-Madina was of an ethical and moral transforma-tion of the people – the concept of Amr-bil-maroof-wa-nahi-an-al-munkar (doing good, for-bidding evil). The Holy Quran declares it as the defining mission for the Ummah:

You are the best community that has been raised for mankind. You enjoin good and forbid evil and you believe in Allah. [Aal-e-Imran, 3:110].

Enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil is a collective duty that leads to moral trans-formation of a society.

Nobody would dispute this principle, but there are elements in our soci-ety that are of the opinion that ethical develop-ment of people should be left to the people, the state should remain neutral about good and evil as conceived by religion.

This approach is quite outmoded and problematic because it handcuffs the state from performing its ethical and moral duties and allows adversaries of the country to come in with handfuls of money and subvert our values using our own educational systems and channels of information. NRA will endeavor to engage in amrbilmaaroof by teaching seerat-al-nabi (saw) to our youth in schools and universi-ties in the hope to raise the level the ethics and morals in our society.

The fourth founding principle was of inclusive development through creation of a welfare state where society takes care of its poor and vulner-able and everyone is a stakeholder in the devel-opment of society and state.

State of medina was first recorded welfare state of mankind where the state took responsibility of its weak. Since we must emulate the example of our blessed Prophet (saw), our citizens should learn to be strict with themselves and generous with others.

Keep in mind, however, that in recent times the idea of welfare state has been colored by the Western European experience. Indeed, the West created impressive welfare systems from 1950s to 2010s, of which the most impressive were the Scandinavian ones.

However, most of the West-ern welfare states were not sustainable envi-ronmentally because these were very high con-sumption societies that produced enormous waste. If the whole of non-West were to copy these welfare states, then our pattern of produc-tion, consumption and waste would resemble theirs, and by some estimates it would require us six more planet earths to act as sinks that would absorb our waste.

Such a welfare state is neither possible nor desirable. Since Islam is the middle path, only moderate prosperity and consump-tion would be ideal, just enough to fulfill our ba-sic needs with dignity and honor, with universal health care and education.

And finally, a knowledge-based society that doesn’t confound literacy with knowledge. Liter-acy may lead to illuminative knowledge that may guide us to good behavior, but some of the high-est crime zones of the world also have very high literacy rates. One must not lose sight of an im-portant historical fact that nearly all scholars of early and medieval Islam had deep roots in spiri-tuality.

Hence literacy alone may not be sufficient for a happy society. Knowledge with spiritual trans-formation from cradle to grave is important. All sources that impact human behavior should dis-seminate knowledge which produces self-control, self-discipline, patience, forbearance, tolerance and a spirit of service and volunteer-ism.

Lastly, in the light of our ideals, we have em-barked on the road to the welfare state with some great initiatives.

Despite tight financial means, we allocated unprecedented amount of money to our initiatives such as the Ehsaas Pro-gram which was launched back in 2019. Ehsaas Program isa social safety and poverty alleviation program necessary for the vulnerable groups in society.

This was one of our key initiatives to-wards building a state that cares about the wel-fare of our citizens. By far, one of the greatest programs in history of Pakistan is the Sehat Sa-hulat Program which offers our citizens univer-sal health coverage. This is not just to protect vulnerable households from sinking into poverty who often borrow money for medical treatment, but it also leads to a network of private sector hospitals all over the country, thus benefiting both the public as well as the private sectors in the field of health.

Just Punjab government alone has allocated Rs. 400 billion rupees for this. The Sehat Sahulat Programis an important milestone towards our social welfare reforms. It makes sure that certain low-income groups in Pakistan may have access to their entitled medical health care quickly and honorably without accruing many financial obligations. In the wake of global economic hardship brought about in the post-COVID era, we have not neglected the fast trans-forming educational arena.

Our Ehsaas scholar-ship program would ensure that talented stu-dents within the underprivileged and poor strata of society would get a chance to pursue decent education that would augment their chances of getting better livelihoods. This program com-bined with all our other scholarships amounts to six million scholarships worth Rs. 47 billion. This too is unprecedented in the educational history of Pakistan.

In conclusion, I will reiterate that the most ur-gent of all challenges facing our country right now is the struggle to establish the rule of law. Over the last 75 years of Pakistan’s history, our country has suffered from elite capture, where powerful and crooked politicians, cartels and mafias have become accustomed to being above the law in order to protect their privileges gained through a corrupt system.

While protecting their privileges they have corrupted state institutions, especially those institutions of the state that are responsible for upholding the rule of law. Such individuals, cartels and mafias are parasites who are not loyal to our country and defeating them is absolutely necessary in order to unleash the real potential of Pakistan.

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