Archive for category Nawaz ‘s Dauphin

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Pakistan: the army and the civil administration – a looming crisis? Part 1

by Natalya Zamarayeva

05 May 2014

“The Pakistani Army is defending the integrity of all state institutions, preserving its dignity and institutional honor at a time when the country is facing internal and external challenges,” Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif stated in “response to the military’s concern about the undue criticism of the army in the recent days”.These statements made by the General on April 7, 2014 at the Special Service Group Headquarters in the Ghazi Military Base located in the Tarbela region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have led to mixed reactions within society.

The very fact that the highest military officer addressed a message to the ruling administration is without precedent. Various Pakistani media have openly begun discussing a new crisis in the relationship between the civil administration and the generals; their relationship has already been uneasy in the recent months due to a number of issues. However, the reason for openly warning the federal administration was the decision issued by the Special Court on March 31, 2014 which accused the country’s former president and retired General (former Special Forces) Pervez Musharraf of high treason. This crime carries the death penalty.

The generals intended to demand an explanation. A few days prior to the decision, a meeting was scheduled for April 1, 2014, between the Prime Minister, General Raheel Sharif and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Director General Lt. General Zaheer ul-Islam. However, the Prime Minister declined to attend the meeting due to “being extremely busy”. The army was always one of the centers of influence within Pakistan’s political system. As of today, there are three centers of influence: the federal government and the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament), the opposition (the minority in the National Assembly and the majority in the Senate (the upper house of parliament)) and the generals.

The relationship between the generals and the civil administration has always been strained throughout Pakistan’s short history. The military has taken power four times, with the previous coup taking place in 1999. Then Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif from his post as Prime Minister (February 1997 to October 1999). The coup was followed by a trial for the former premier, an official sentence of high treason, political exile in 2001 and the return of Nawaz Sharif back to Pakistan only at the end of 2007.

In May of 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) headed by Nawaz won the parliamentary elections for the third time and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif thus took up the post of Prime Minister. During the formation of the cabinet in May-June 2013, Nawaz filled key positions in the government with members from his own party. The post of defense minister was given to a civilian, which breached military traditions. However, as early as August of 2013, the new Finance Minister Ishaq Dar swiftly reassured the generalship that, despite economic difficulties, “the country’s defense will remain the government’s priority”.

Without forgetting his previous strained relations with the general’s office, Nawaz Sharif was not too quick to appoint a new Chief of Army Staff. He was waiting for November 28, 2013, when General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would complete his term in office as Chief of Army Staff and on November 29, 2013, Nawaz appointed General Raheel Sharif to the now vacant post. As with Pervez Musharraf’s case in 1998, in 2013, Nawaz Sharif also followed his personal preferences and, as such, violated long-standing military tradition of promoting generals along the career ladder. This led to certain dissatisfaction within the military. However, Nawaz was primarily depending on the general’s support.

The sentence for Pervez Musharraf caused a tidal wave of outrage, which simply gained momentum as time went on. Statements that the court’s decision should be carried out swiftly came from various MPs, members of the Pakistan Muslim League (N), in particular, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, whose criticism was also further supported by Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique. The army voiced its support for their former chief. We can only speculate as to the meaning behind the general’s “undue criticism” – has Musharraf’s trial been blatantly politicized, is Musharraf receiving a just trial, and so forth.

There are several overt reasons for the army’s dissatisfaction with the current civil administration (besides the Musharraf case). One of the main reasons is the process of peaceful negotiations between the administration and the prohibited terrorist organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In December of 2013 on the first day of negotiations, General Raheel Sharif emphasized the government’s full support and agreed, for a time, to halt military operations against the militants in various regions where Pashtun tribes reside on the Afghanistan border. However, he also noted that he will not tolerate any terrorist attacks and will react to any attacks swiftly and effectively.

Yet in February of 2014, armed clashes with TTP militants in the Mohmand Agency led to the death of 23 federal army officers. The government was quick to accuse the army of being the first to use force during the days of negotiations. The generals then stated their demands – a ceasefire beginning on April 1, 2014 (which has been breached by the militants multiple times). The army’s discontent led to the government’s decision to free 16 arrested TTP militants. Henceforth, all failures during negotiations and any breach of the ceasefire were blamed on the army.

Pakistan: the army and the civil administration – a looming crisis? Part II

The public statement by Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif defending the army’s honor and dignity during a time of internal and external challenges to Pakistan has caused a wave of criticisms by the opposition parties. The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has stated that the country cannot afford a dictatorship and a judiciary that “accidentally takes the life of an individual”.

The dissatisfaction exhibited by the Pakistan National Party, one of the main political opponents to the ruling party, is caused by several issues: the premier’s authoritarian methods; ignoring the opinion of the opposition in the National Assembly; the desire to review the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (2010), which grants the provinces significant powers; the politics of Punjab-izing the country (extensive infrastructure investment projects are implemented primarily in the Sharif clan’s home Punjab province) and others.

The Pakistan National Party saw their own pillar of support within the statement made by General Raheel Sharif and, at the same time, a warning to the premier and his entourage. However, they did not openly confront the Pakistan Muslim League (N). In answering the question of whether his party was with the army or with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) party, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah stated that “his party is with the masses”.

The Pakistan National Party used the strain in the relations between the generals and the ruling administration to their own advantage; for example, within a very short period of time, they were able to push to have joint discussions of the draft Protection of Pakistan Bill in the National Assembly, which is aimed at reassessing provincial rights. It is very rare that Pakistani military make such public statements. On November 5, 2012, then Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani “had warned detractors of military against undermining the institution and behaving as the ‘sole arbiters’ of national interest”.

General Raheel Sharif’s statement also caused a mix of responses within the military. A formula to normalize the relations between the generals and the ruling civil administration was offered by former Army Chief and retired General Mirza Aslam Beg (August 1988 – August 1991),

“1. The criminal trial accusing General Pervez Musharraf of high treason must be stopped and the General needs to be allowed to leave the country.

2. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority shall guarantee that no television channel will broadcast any statements that undermine the army’s prestige.

3. Ministers and politicians should be forbidden from publicly criticizing the army and making statements against people who have defended this country with their own life”.

Mirza Beg believes that the “situation will normalize in no time if the government acted in light of his suggestions. Otherwise, the generals will be doing the same thing that was done by General El-Sisi in Egypt.” The former Chief of Army Staff is certain that the country’s constitution “would not be able to block a military intervention if the rulers do not give the army its due respect”. The statement suggesting the censorship of the media with respect to army activities has led to contradicting opinions in society.

The “culprit” behind these tensions was soon found and the conflict was resolved before it could heat up further. The Ministry of Defense sent a written notice to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) administration stating that the Geo News channel has breached PEMRA provisions by broadcasting a report that was offensive to government institutions, bringing bad publicity to the ISI, by which the channel damaged national interests; the administration was urged to shut the channel down and revoke its license. On April 22, 2014, the regulatory authority demanded an answer from the channel before May 6, 2014.

Nawaz Sharif did not externally show any fear after General Raheel Sharif’s statement, however, he was quick to secure support from the opposition and met with his long-time main political opponent Asif Ali Zardari. His clan heads the Pakistan National Party which holds a majority in the upper house of parliament. However, the Pakistan National Party, in trying to avoid any conflicts with the military, was also quick to state that “It should be seen as the democratic forces standing united to strengthen institutions. It should not be taken as against an institution or institutions.”

Many people in Pakistan believe that the crisis in the relations between the generals and the civil administration will not be developing along the route of curtailing democratic gains. Nawaz Sharif’s stance also heavily influences the resolution of this crisis. Will he retire Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and instead hand the post over to the army leadership or will he continue on his present course? Nawaz Sharif is also not very keen on confrontations. At the invitation of the general’s office, the Prime Minister arrived to the PNS Akram military base where he stated that the political and military leaders are working jointly to make Pakistan a developed, safe and peaceful country: “we will work jointly to overcome the challenges being faced by the country”.

It would seem that the civil administration and the generals will, in the future, take steps to avoid confrontation. As of today, the open opposition between the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff has been neutralized. However, the military has issued a warning and the army still retains the means to influence the civil administration.

Natalia Zamarayeva, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Pakistan at the Institute of Oriental Studies in the Russian Academy of Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

Reference

admin · Sunday, May 04, 2014

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: About 1.3 billion people in the world are living without electricity; two-thirds of them being in 10 countries and four of them, including Pakistan, in the Asia Pacific region, says a report of the United Nations. Agriculture Sector

According to the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific-2013 released by a UN commission on Tuesday, an estimated 60 per cent of capacity-addition efforts in future will be focused on mini-grids and off-grid connections in which renewable energy sources will play a vital role.

In the generation of electricity from renewable sources, the Asian and Pacific region led the world in 2010. But this amounted to only 15.8 per cent of the region’s total electricity, which is below the world average of 19.4 per cent.

With less than 400 kilowatt-hours per capita, the annual household electricity consumption in the region is the second lowest among the world’s regions, after Africa where it is 200kwh.

About 2.6bn people in the world and 1.8bn in the region use solid fuels for cooking. The WHO estimates that more than 1.45 million people die prematurely each year from indoor air pollution caused by burning solid fuels with insufficient ventilation.

Women’s economic empowerment

The report says that despite its economic growth, the region lags behind in economic empowerment of women. It calls for targeted policy measures to facilitate women’s economic empowerment.

Women still bear the burden of unremunerated productive work, shouldering the major share of household management and care-giving responsibilities.

The report says that in Pakistan women spend 5.5 hours a day on housework and 1.2 hours on childcare whereas men spend 2.5 hours on housework and 0.9 hours on childcare.

It also says that women are overrepresented in sectors and positions that are vulnerable, poorly paid and less secure. For instance, 42 per cent of working women/girls belonged to agriculture sector in 2012 compared with 36.0 per cent of male workers.

Courtesy DAWN

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Islamabad diary

Power Drunk Control Freak Nawaz Sharif is a Kughoo.He never learns from his past mistakes and continues to repeat them.He is not too bright in the hard drive in his head. Or he does not know how to use it, because,he lacks critical thinking skills and Emotional Intelligence which goes with it

Nawaz Sharif at loggerheads with the army again, the old pattern of 1999 repeating itself. Cruel destiny…is Pakistan doomed to walk the paths it has trodden before? What is at work here… the army’s overweening ambition or PM Sharif incurable?

Nawaz Sharif’s problem is not the army. His problem is himself, and his inability to be at ease with any but loyal yes-men. More than most mortals he is also given to that oldest of human vices: flattery. Since his rise to political prominence in the 1980s – when Governor Lt Gen Jilani chose him as Punjab finance minister – he has surrounded himself with the trained butler-type of civil servant. As prime minister for the third time this tendency remains unchanged.

The trouble with the army is that no chief, no matter how obliging and self-effacing, can be his master’s voice. He cannot, in open durbar, sing praises of Mian Sahib’s sterling leadership qualities. Politicians are good at this; bureaucrats, especially the breed we see nowadays, are past masters at this game; but it is unreasonable expecting the same from a chief of the army, commanding its divisions and holding the key to the country’s nuclear arsenal.

It’s not that he is a Caesar or someone in that mould. It’s the nature of the position. The present Punjab Inspector General of Police, Khan Baig, can be considered obliging beyond the call of duty. Make him army chief and see the transformation. Even he will start behaving differently…and Mian Sahib will smell a conspiracy.

Army chiefs are no angels. Let us not fall into this trap. There are other things they can do: start unwanted wars and then lose them. An entire army can surrender, as in East Pakistan. Generals can have as keen an eye for wealth and property as any laird of Nawabshah or baron of Raiwind. But bowing and scraping and singing songs of unadulterated flattery army officers usually will not do…unless of course it is a Ziaul Haq performing a role, but then other phantoms will be dancing in his mind.

Mian Sahib has a problem understanding this. Remembering the demons of the past, he thought long and hard about who to appoint army chief and then settled on Gen Raheel Sharif, and everyone said what a brilliant choice, what a thorough gentleman and from what a martial background. And within just a few months Mian Sahib’s telltale smile, which tells all being a bellwether of his feelings, has vanished from his face as he finds himself virtually at war with his own appointee.

No issue of war and peace is involved here, no policy disagreement, just plain human psychology and the inadequacies of a man not comfortable with the mental give-and-take of a genuine discussion.

Forget Gen Raheel Sharif for a moment. Nawaz Sharif has had problems with every army chief he has had to deal with. True, Gen Aslam Beg was flying so high at the time that anyone would have had problems with him. So let’s forget him too. But then Nawaz Sharif couldn’t get along with Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua, nor Gen Kakar, nor – and this beats everything – Gen Karamat. And when Karamat, a civilised man to his fingertips, gave in his papers, no one thrust Gen Musharraf upon Nawaz Sharif. As army chief he chose him himself, and what became of that we know too well.

We may well say Musharraf was an adventurer and a buccaneer and there was bound to be trouble with him. What about Raheel Sharif? Has he too begun looking like a buccaneer, the wolf emerging from the sheepskin?

Army officers generally say nice things about Gen Raheel. But he could have been a saint, a warrior of the steppes, conqueror of Samarkand and Bokhara, and Nawaz Sharif still would have run into problems with him…simply because Gen Raheel would not have clicked his heels enough nor dipped his tongue into jam and sugar when speaking to the prime minister. Nothing more complicated than this.

With a chief who is your appointee and who by all accounts is a reasonable man, what was there that could not be discussed…India, the Taliban, the Musharraf trial? But this would have required some mental interaction, some intellectual engagement with the military brass. Trouble is that even to hint at such an exercise in relation to the lords of the present dispensation may be to ask for too much.

Persons close to Nawaz Sharif, with his interests at heart, told him not to get embroiled in the Musharraf trial. I have it from well-placed sources that the PM would listen but say nothing. The urge to settle scores with his old nemesis was simply too compelling to resist. Even when a way out of the imbroglio had been found – by allowing Musharraf to go abroad – the revenge urge proved more powerful than any words of wisdom and the PM, according to more than one account, went back on his word. And the army saw red and postures stiffened.

Wiser counsels seemed to prevail once more when the PM went to the passing out parade at PMA Kakul and, in what must have been a first in the history of the Academy, went out of his way to hold up the virtues of the army chief for young army officers to emulate.

When all this bonhomie was on display in Kakul, the same evening the attack on Hamid Mir took place. This was a golden opportunity to further mend matters between the government and GHQ. When the ISI was accused of being behind this attack and a media civil war was flaring up over this allegation, all that was required was a four-five line statement saying that the issue should not be pre-judged and no institution should be attacked without the burden of proof.

But the government just could not bring itself to say this, feeding the perception that it was taking sides not only in the media civil war but standing against the army and ISI. The PM visited Hamid Mir in Karachi but said not a word about the accusations against the ISI. The army’s riposte came in the form of the army chief’s visit to ISI HQs in Islamabad a day later, confirming, if any confirmation was needed, that the breach between the two sides was now wide open.

In 1999 it took the Kargil conflict and much more to push Pakistan to the brink of the October coup. This time round, even before Nawaz Sharif has completed his first year in office, it has taken much less to bring the country to a similar pass. Musharraf, down and out, forlorn and lost, can be forgiven for chuckling to himself.

Some consequences we can already note: (1) without the army’s backing the Taliban talks are as good as dead; (2) India must be looking very carefully at the prospects of doing business with a beleaguered government; and (3) channels of communication between the civil and military spheres have gone dead. Call this the brilliance of Pakistani statesmanship.

And the outlines of a new line-up are visible on the national horizon. When in times past the army stood against democracy, rightwing forces and Islamist parties stood with the army. When the army is supportive of democracy and searching for a national consensus against the threat from the Taliban, all its erstwhile allies have deserted it, to join forces with the new rightwing, and pro-Taliban coalition, on the other side.

The old ideological alignments have thus been made to stand on their head. Call this the new paradigm, a first for Pakistan and something entirely new for the army.

Email: [email protected]

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PORTRAIT OF BADZAAT “KASHMIRI” NAWAZ SHARIF’S TREACHERY:GIVING SECRET INFORMATION TO INDIA:PAK ARMY MUST KEEP NUKE LOCATIONS FROM HIM
Hamaray bhi hein leader kaisay kaisay……..

NAWAZ SHARIF PASSED STATE SECRETS TO INDIA

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Change is desperately needed by Shams Abbas

The principle is that, a political party and a television channel with doubtful credentials and loyalties cannot collude to destroy the most important security institutions of Pakistan.

The Armed forces are the backbone of any country. To deride them is an act of treason. To humiliate them is an act of schizophrenic mindset .To make money and gain political power at their expense is an act of Fascist and mafiostic Perversion.
To assault the Armed forces merely to settle past scores and for satisfaction of egos is a dastardly and gravely delinquent manifestation of immature and undeveloped leadership. Such a leadership cannot take the country forward.

One just has to scan the past track record of the current PM who is apparently once again showing signs of psychopathic disorders. Himself a product of Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Jilani, In the first instance he targeted Benazir Bhutto.
In the second episode, he targeted Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah just because the CJP was determined to hear Nawaz Sharif’s cases of alleged corruption. Subsequently, under the direction of Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N goons attacked the Supreme Court and physically humiliated the judges.

Not quite satisfied Nawaz Sharif engaged in quarrels with Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua and later with Gen. Jehangir Karamat, who had merely proposed the formation of a NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL which had been the need of the hour and is the norm in most countries.

As if this was not enough, instead, of putting a stop to rampant corruption, Nawaz landed himself in a tussle with President Ghulam Ishaq khan,who had earlier advised him to improve governance. Not willing to look inwards and because of his arrogance, the relationship became worse and could not be resolved.
The Army at this point of time could have taken over but did not. As a compromise it was decided and both the President and Prime Minister had to go.

In his next tenure, he needlessly criticized the Army for it’s conduct of a tactical cum strategic operation in KARGIL. Rather than exercising good management techniques to understand the dynamics behind the sincerely meant effort to regain the advantage of the heights, lost through the illegal occupation of SIACHIN by India, Nawaz lambasted the COAS and the Army. KARGIL could at best be termed controversial but certainly not completely without underlying professional motivation and compulsion.

Strangely Nawaz Sharif, apologized to Vajpayee and said “We have stabbed you in the back”. India rejoiced .Vajpayee was delighted. Nawaz Sharif overnight became India’s hero .The Army became the VILLAIN. Remains so till today in India.
NS’s utterances vilifying his own Army are a subject of discussion in Indian media till today.

To cap it all; in an act of brazen madness, he ordered the diversion of Gen Musharraf’s plane “ONLY BECA– — USE HE WANTED TO SACK HIM WHILE HE WAS AWAY”. Call it hijacking or by any other name, this was a desperate and unwanted act, seemingly a result of a very inferior, conniving, insecure and visionless person who could easily have achieved the objective In a legally and morally convincing way. He thus stood on a very weak wicket and gave cause for turbulence and dissatisfaction. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by one of the most honest judges Rehmatullah Jaffery whose integrity remains unquestioned even by Nawaz Sharif himself.

In his current tenure as PM, Nawaz Sharif started off, reasonably well; declaring that he would leave the past behind, he will not be vindictive, he will respect Institutions and so on. People trusted him and voted for him including my own son. Much as we thought that he would, he backtracked.

Even if one were to give him allowance for seeking revenge and having a cause against Gen Musharraf, his responses and attitude in the Hamid Mir case belies logic, rational analysis and justification. His interior minister has done better than him. His brother is meaningfully quiet.

The two KHWAJAS have apparently a profound hold on him and he is falling into the trap laid by warring egoistical maniacs, who want to settle personal scores at the expense of national interest and people’s welfare.

In backing a media channel and allowing his courtiers to bash the Pakistan Armed Forces, in needlessly launching vendetta trials, in trying to dominate, subjugate, coerce and humiliate the Armed forces directly or indirectly through henchmen, he is sowing the seeds of the ultimate discord and division in society.
The people are with the Armed forces. Fortunately the PTI, PML Q, ANP, MQM and even PPP is against the approach adopted by Nawaz and his cronies. Fortunately there are opposing voices within the PML-N. I think there is a need for PML-N to look inwards. There is a total failure at the top leadership level. The deficiency existed all along but we kep giving concessions thinking that repairs and corrections will be made the next time round. But it is patently clear that Nawaz Sharif lacks the qualities of head and heart which makes good leaders.

As a shrewd businessman, he is a good wheeler dealer and has compromised with his erstwhile enemy Zardari, but when it comes to the Army (previously it was the judiciary), whether right or wrong, he has an obsession to win.and to be revered, saluted, accepted as the AMEER UL MOMINEEN.

It is time to think if this man is Indeed capable to lead a nuclear nation state..
It is time to think that the consequences of his actions whether it is talks with the TTP or alliance with one channel against the Army, can lead to instability and destabilization of the country.

At a time when the Army wants to stay away from politics, this is an opportunity for an In-house change within the PML-N. Perhaps Shahbaz Sharif at the top could do better. He is a democratically elected leader, generally more intelligent and wiser than his elder brother. Being from the present PML N dispensation, this could be a way forward.

But is this asking too much from the PML-N? Is there any visionary in the party leadership to think. A thrice tried Nawaz Sharif has time and again proved to be extremely erratic and destructively rigid.

It is time for change…………

Shams Z Abbas, Lahore

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Archive for category Nawaz ‘s Dauphin

Pakistan: the army and the civil administration – a looming crisis? Part 1

by Natalya Zamarayeva

05 May 2014

Pakistan: the army and the civil administration – a looming crisis? Part II

General Raheel Sharif’s statement also caused a mix of responses within the military. A formula to normalize the relations between the generals and the ruling civil administration was offered by former Army Chief and retired General Mirza Aslam Beg (August 1988 – August 1991),

Natalia Zamarayeva, PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Pakistan at the Institute of Oriental Studies in the Russian Academy of Sciences, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

IPPs : The Stealth Economic Hit Men Sent to Destroy Pakistan Economy Under Incompetent Nawaz Sharif

Debt of Rs1 billion per day or Rs 41 million per hour

Sunday, May 04, 2014

Dr Farrukh Saleem

Fact 1: On June 5, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took the oath of the prime ministerial office.

Fact 2: Soon after coming to power, the PML-N government paid off Rs480 billion worth of accumulated circular debt.

Fact 3: Over the past 330 days, the government has accumulated Rs330 billion worth of brand new circular debt – Rs1 billion per day, every day of the past 11 months.

Argument 1: The government argues that the cost of production of electricity is higher than the sale price – and thus the government ends up accumulating multi billion-rupee circular debt. Why is the government then not doing anything about the cost of production of electricity?

Just consider this: Pakistani Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are consuming up to 24 kg of oil to produce 100 kWh. Internationally, power plants take in 14 kg of oil to produce 100 kWh. Why isn’t the government after the IPPs?

Now consider this: Pakistani IPPs are consuming up to 12,000 BTUs of gas to produce a unit of electricity. In India, they are producing the same unit of electricity by taking in a mere 5,000 BTUs. Why isn’t the government questioning the IPPs?

Conclusion: The government, by design or by default, is focusing on all the wrong places. The government, by design or by default, is missing the elephants in the room. The elephants in the room are the IPPs. The IPPs are gulping down way too much oil. And the IPPs are taking in way too much gas.

Pakistan among 10 countries facing severe energy crisis: Agriculture Sector

ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: About 1.3 billion people in the world are living without electricity; two-thirds of them being in 10 countries and four of them, including Pakistan, in the Asia Pacific region, says a report of the United Nations. Agriculture Sector

According to the Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific-2013 released by a UN commission on Tuesday, an estimated 60 per cent of capacity-addition efforts in future will be focused on mini-grids and off-grid connections in which renewable energy sources will play a vital role.

In the generation of electricity from renewable sources, the Asian and Pacific region led the world in 2010. But this amounted to only 15.8 per cent of the region’s total electricity, which is below the world average of 19.4 per cent.

With less than 400 kilowatt-hours per capita, the annual household electricity consumption in the region is the second lowest among the world’s regions, after Africa where it is 200kwh.

About 2.6bn people in the world and 1.8bn in the region use solid fuels for cooking. The WHO estimates that more than 1.45 million people die prematurely each year from indoor air pollution caused by burning solid fuels with insufficient ventilation.

Women’s economic empowerment

The report says that despite its economic growth, the region lags behind in economic empowerment of women. It calls for targeted policy measures to facilitate women’s economic empowerment.

Women still bear the burden of unremunerated productive work, shouldering the major share of household management and care-giving responsibilities.

The report says that in Pakistan women spend 5.5 hours a day on housework and 1.2 hours on childcare whereas men spend 2.5 hours on housework and 0.9 hours on childcare.

It also says that women are overrepresented in sectors and positions that are vulnerable, poorly paid and less secure. For instance, 42 per cent of working women/girls belonged to agriculture sector in 2012 compared with 36.0 per cent of male workers.

Courtesy DAWN

​Nawaz Sharif’s problem is himself – NOT the Army.

Islamabad diary

Nawaz Sharif at loggerheads with the army again, the old pattern of 1999 repeating itself. Cruel destiny…is Pakistan doomed to walk the paths it has trodden before? What is at work here… the army’s overweening ambition or PM Sharif incurable?

​​

NAWAZ SHARIF PASSED STATE SECRETS TO INDIA…I.K.GUJRAL

PORTRAIT OF BADZAAT “KASHMIRI” NAWAZ SHARIF’S TREACHERY:GIVING SECRET INFORMATION TO INDIA:PAK ARMY MUST KEEP NUKE LOCATIONS FROM HIMHamaray bhi hein leader kaisay kaisay……..

Change is desperately needed by Shams Abbas

Change is desperately needed by Shams Abbas

The principle is that, a political party and a television channel with doubtful credentials and loyalties cannot collude to destroy the most important security institutions of Pakistan.

Not quite satisfied Nawaz Sharif engaged in quarrels with Gen Asif Nawaz Janjua and later with Gen. Jehangir Karamat, who had merely proposed the formation of a NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL which had been the need of the hour and is the norm in most countries.

In his current tenure as PM, Nawaz Sharif started off, reasonably well; declaring that he would leave the past behind, he will not be vindictive, he will respect Institutions and so on. People trusted him and voted for him including my own son. Much as we thought that he would, he backtracked.

Even if one were to give him allowance for seeking revenge and having a cause against Gen Musharraf, his responses and attitude in the Hamid Mir case belies logic, rational analysis and justification. His interior minister has done better than him. His brother is meaningfully quiet.

The two KHWAJAS have apparently a profound hold on him and he is falling into the trap laid by warring egoistical maniacs, who want to settle personal scores at the expense of national interest and people’s welfare.

As a shrewd businessman, he is a good wheeler dealer and has compromised with his erstwhile enemy Zardari, but when it comes to the Army (previously it was the judiciary), whether right or wrong, he has an obsession to win.and to be revered, saluted, accepted as the AMEER UL MOMINEEN.

It is time to think if this man is Indeed capable to lead a nuclear nation state.. It is time to think that the consequences of his actions whether it is talks with the TTP or alliance with one channel against the Army, can lead to instability and destabilization of the country.

But is this asking too much from the PML-N? Is there any visionary in the party leadership to think. A thrice tried Nawaz Sharif has time and again proved to be extremely erratic and destructively rigid.

It is time for change………… Shams Z Abbas, Lahore

Nawaz Sharif’s problem is himself – NOT the Army.

PORTRAIT OF BADZAAT “KASHMIRI” NAWAZ SHARIF’S TREACHERY:GIVING SECRET INFORMATION TO INDIA:PAK ARMY MUST KEEP NUKE LOCATIONS FROM HIM
Hamaray bhi hein leader kaisay kaisay……..

It is time to think if this man is Indeed capable to lead a nuclear nation state..
It is time to think that the consequences of his actions whether it is talks with the TTP or alliance with one channel against the Army, can lead to instability and destabilization of the country.

It is time for change…………

Shams Z Abbas, Lahore