A turbulent world - Newspaper

dawn.com/news/1696962/a-turbulent-world

June 27, 2022

FOLLOWING a visit to Gayan, one of the areas in Afghanistan’s

Paktika province hit by last week’s earthquake, a foreign
correspondent posted an evocative photograph. A group of sun-
dappled Afghan men stand around a bowl of ripe, tempting
apricots. The journalist tweeted in praise of Afghan hospitality,
explaining that the men were insisting that the media crew have
one apricot each. This, despite surviving one of the worst
earthquakes in decades, which has left a 1,000 people dead, and
over 1,500 injured.

The journalist is not alone in highlighting the beauty of humanity

amidst the earthquake’s toll. Social media is littered with images
of Afghans from neighbouring villages rushing to the aid of the
affected, or of street children putting their meagre earnings into
donation boxes. They are meant to soothe the pain of tragedy, but
instead serve to romanticise it, glossing over the horrors, and
once again putting a false sense of hope in ‘resilience’ — that
dreaded euphemism used to describe people who plod on
because they have no choice.

Such nuggets prevent us from accepting the real extent of the

disaster in Afghanistan. The earthquake was the last thing
Afghans needed when their country is facing a humanitarian and
economic collapse. Quake survivors were rushed to hospitals that
lack funding, equipment or medicine. Those who made it out will
resume life in horrifying circumstances. The UN says 97 per cent
of Afghans will live below the poverty line this year, and half the
population is food insecure.

And while the Taliban has used the earthquake as an opportunity

to demonstrate its capacity to govern — organising relief flights
to transport survivors to urban hospitals, promising
compensation for victims’ families — the overall picture is bleak.
Women’s rights are curtailed, girls remain out of schools, the
media is muzzled, and former government officials and other
Taliban opponents go missing, are tortured or killed. Minorities
remain under threat, as evidenced by the Kabul gurdwara attack.
Afghanistan is not the only country facing a crisis.

Sadly, Afghanistan is not the only country facing such appalling

humanitarian and economic conditions, though it is among the
worst. A global food shortage is upon us, driven by climate
change and fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Up to 1.6
billion people cannot be sure of getting enough to eat, and
hundreds of millions face famine. In Somalia, children are dying
of starvation. With weather-related disasters increasing five-fold
over the past 50 years, such horrifying conditions will replicate
elsewhere.

But there is little acknowledgement of this reality. Each natural

disaster or climate change-induced crisis is framed as an isolated
event. The failure to holistically narrate the climate crisis in a
way that makes people understand its scale and urgency is
increasingly understood. But a narrative of shocking global
inequality is also missing.

For while the people of Paktika face calamity after calamity,

global wealth remains concentrated among 1pc of the world
population. Extreme inequality is creating conditions where any
crisis — earthquakes, or supply chain shocks — can prove fatal
for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. But this is a big
picture no one feels like drawing.

Pakistan was quick to offer support for the earthquake victims,

with the NDMA supplying tents, blankets and medication. This
isolated effort is palatable, even welcome. But the same
Pakistanis praying for Afghanistan’s calamity-hit are moaning
about the one-time ‘super tax’ that has been levied on Pakistan’s
top-performing industries, many of which have until recently
enjoyed record profits. This measure has provoked outrage, and
accusations against the government of kowtowing to the IMF at
the expense of economic productivity.

The focus on the (de)merits of IMF bailouts is distracting from

the broader argument: that the current global system of wealth
distribution is untenable.
A few people are too affluent, their interests mutually assured by
a cadre of cynical elites in politics, law-enforcement, and even
the judiciary. And too many people are completely helpless,
literally starving and dying, with only social media aphorisms to
acknowledge their plight.

This cannot last. Desperation of the scale that the quake will
leave behind in Paktika can only result in political unrest and
conflict. We need another approach.

While the super tax may have its flaws, the broader principle of
fairer taxation — including stemming tax dodging by corporates
that costs poor countries $100bn each year — is the obvious start,
to unlock state funds for health, education and infrastructure.
From that will flow the critical need for the freedoms, systems
and institutions — from free courts to media to civil society
organisations — that ensure public accountability. The only way
forward from the extreme horrors of today, is to get back to
basics.

The writer is a political and integrity risk analyst.

Twitter: @humayusuf

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022

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Comments (1)

500 characters
COMMENT MOD POLICY

Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:58pm

They are helping each other and donating, because they are
experiencing a worst form of crisis and gone through this that's
why. But in the land of pure, elites have never gone through such
crisis, they had never go to bed with empty stomach so they don't
feel pain of the poor.

Reply Recommend 0
Bloc politics - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
dawn.com/news/1696959/bloc-politics

June 27, 2022

USING the platform of the 14th BRICS Summit, Chinese President

Xi Jinping has made some interesting observations about the
state of global politics, particularly the danger military alliances
and blocs pose to world peace. In a clear swipe at the US and its
allies, Mr Xi, addressing the virtual conclave, said that bloc-based
confrontation would result in “more turbulence and insecurity”
while also observing that sanctions were a “double-edged sword”
that “politicise the global economy”. The Chinese leader, instead,
urged BRICS member states to support “true multilateralism”. In
light of the Ukraine crisis, as well as US-China tensions,
specifically over the Taiwan issue, the call to reassess military
alliances and bloc politics needs to be heeded seriously, if any
semblance of an international rules-based order is to survive.

After the Cold War, there were expectations that the end of
confrontation between the two rival blocs might bring global
stability. But while the communist Warsaw Pact went quietly into
the night, Nato — the West’s sword arm — is very much alive and
kicking. And as the Ukraine crisis has shown, the hatreds and
mistrust that marked relations between the Eastern and Western
blocs are very much alive. Undoubtedly, the Russian invasion of
Ukraine is totally indefensible. But, from a historical perspective,
Moscow undertook its military adventure after its desire to join
the Western military alliance two decades ago was reportedly
rebuffed, and Nato started absorbing more and more former
Soviet satellites, eventually ending up at the doorstep of an
insecure Russia. Elsewhere, the Western bloc has firmed up
military alliances against China, such as AUKUS and the Quad.
Ironically, while India sits with Russia and China in BRICS, it is
also a member of the anti-China Quad. While Russia and China
are hardly role models of democratic governance, their
opposition to Western militarism appears justified, especially in
the eyes of the Global South: Vladimir Putin undertook the
Ukraine offensive after witnessing the US-led West lay waste to
Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. The fact is that if the West
forges ahead in its attempt to isolate Russia and China, both
powers will push back, and the resultant confrontation will have
a debilitating effect on the global economy, particularly affecting
the developing world. Therefore, both de facto blocs need to back
off from their maximalist positions and disengage from conflict.
Expansion of the conflict in Europe, or a military dimension to
US-China rivalry, bodes ill for global stability.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022

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Comments (2)

500 characters

COMMENT MOD POLICY

Omar
Jun 27, 2022 09:56am

Good Analysis.India’s double role in quad and BRICS is confusing.

Reply Recommend 0

Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:15pm

Russia- China are emerging powers and perhaps China will be

the best economy across the world by2030. So, US and its alliance
should refrain themselves from Russia -China curtailment.
Otherwise the world will face third world war.

Reply Recommend 0
Opinion
Civilian supremacy?
dawn.com/news/1696963/civilian-supremacy

June 27, 2022

AN interesting consequence of the change of government in April

is public displays of anger against the military leadership from
PTI supporters. While most of this anger remains online,
placards and slogans were also raised in a number of public
demonstrations held in the preceding three months. This anger
has found further encouragement through fairly pointed
remarks on the (feigned) neutrality of the establishment by
former PM Imran Khan.

For observers of Pakistani politics, this reaction poses a couple of

interesting questions. Does the bitter complaint of being ‘left
stranded’ by the establishment suggest a turn in the PTI’s political
platform? In other words, will it now rethink its strategy to
become more self-sufficient as a political actor, rather than
relying on the military’s political influence as a useful crutch in
and outside of office?

Read more: The importance of being neutral

A second related question is that since every mainstream party

has experienced a very public falling out with the military (at
some point); will we see a correction in the civil-military
imbalance? This is based on the fact that there are no easily
trustworthy options available to play their role as a ‘junior
partner’ for an extended period of time.

Less charitable observers say that PTI’s current resentment and

the anger of its supporters amount to a tantrum that is probably
limited to the current military leadership. Such sceptics argue
that there is no ideological opposition to the establishment’s
extra-constitutional role in politics, and that if given the option,
they would be more than happy to cede governing space to the
military in exchange for being back in power — as was the case
prior to this current phadda (fight).
The establishment is an entrenched political actor and is unlikely to lose
influence in key matters of the state overnight.

On the face of it, this sounds very similar to what other parties
have done at various points in the past. So while the critique that
says PTI’s anger is a post break-up tantrum may be valid, it
applies to nearly every other party’s approach towards civil-
military issues as well. Either everyone has ‘anti-establishment
potential’ or no one passes a stringent purity test given how
bargains are struck so frequently.
Another oversight that we often make while thinking about the
civil-military imbalance is assuming it to be a switch that can flip
from one end to another. That there will be a day when suddenly
— and I seek forgiveness in advance for this pun — the boot will
be on the other foot. That a single moment in time will mark the
rectification of this long-standing hurdle in Pakistan becoming a
constitutional state.

This is unlikely to be the case. The establishment is an

entrenched political actor, which has institutional experience of
operating in the political domain. It is unlikely to lose influence
in key matters of the state overnight. A more accurate analogy
for the imbalance would be that of a sliding scale that can move
in either direction. Progress towards greater civilian control can
be made, but it can also be undone to some extent. A quarrel
today may be patched over tomorrow, while resentment may
linger on for a while longer.

The audacious Twitter trends and acidic remarks by the ex-PM

should be seen in light of this sliding scale. In the current
moment, the military leadership is experiencing a downturn in
its public image and its options have narrowed because of some
vocal opposition to its role in politics, regardless of how
personalised the opposition may be to the current leadership.

More importantly, all three mainstream parties and segments of

their core support now know that the issue is not about their
performance in office that puts them on a collision course with
the establishment, but rather about the degree to which they can
exercise constitutionally granted power.
This realisation may be voiced as a personalised tantrum, or as
fancy ideological rhetoric, but it is a substantial one and its
widespread presence among politicians and supporters from all
parties raises the cost of external meddling and interference. The
fact that there is some resentment among upper middle-class
urbanites who have historically been aligned with the military’s
vision of the country and far more accepting of its political
interference in the past also opens up new possibilities for
political evolution.

Read more: 'Why did country's defenders not stop conspiracy?'

asks Imran

Regardless though, it is probably inaccurate to treat this as a

moment of great constitutional awakening, this time being
spearheaded by a new party. While being clear on who should
call the shots in power is a major component of it,
constitutionalism also involves a commitment to parliamentary
supremacy, acceptance of the role of the opposition, and
adherence to what’s actually written in the Constitution. All
parties fail to uphold these to varying degrees, and the PTI
proved itself to be no different.

The party’s populist approach undermines the principles set out

under which a multiparty parliamentary democracy is supposed
to function. This is reflected in the zero-sum attitude of its
members and supporters. Either you are with Khan unreservedly
or you deserve to be politically vanquished. Such brinkmanship
ends up being counterproductive, and opens up space for other
actors — namely the judiciary and the military — to intervene
and decide political conflicts. We have seen this happen multiple
times in the past decade already.
Being clear about the civil-military question is of utmost
importance given Pakistan’s political history, but it needs to be
supplemented with a recognition and acceptance of other
constitutional norms among both politicians and the electorate.
The tragedy is that while we occasionally get great clarity on the
first aspect, the second bit is often left unaddressed. This leads to
destabilising conflict among politicians and partisan supporters,
which opens the door for murky deals and interventions,
bringing us back to square one.

The writer teaches politics and sociology at Lums.

Twitter: @umairjav

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022

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Comments (14)

500 characters

COMMENT MOD POLICY

Fastrack
Jun 27, 2022 08:18am

What about PMLN chief's recent open threats? And why is he still
so scared despite ruling the country?
 Reply Recommend 0

M. Emad
Jun 27, 2022 08:52am

'Civilian supremacy' NOT possible in Pakistan.

Reply Recommend 0

Ahmad
Jun 27, 2022 09:01am

What do neutrals do? Political meddling, enforced

disappearances of civilians, negotiating with terrorists, real
estate business, forced capturing of important highways. Not a
single good thing, all bad.

Reply Recommend 0

Khalid Khan
Jun 27, 2022 09:15am

Civilian heads of govt/ state since 1947 have been 40 out of 45.
Can you mention anything any one of these did that inspires us
with confidence? That will give us reason to tilt in their favor.

Reply Recommend 0
Mahnaz Qaiser
Jun 27, 2022 09:52am

The army should stay out of politics,if for no other reason than
its political incompetence.

Reply Recommend 0

M. M. Amin (Old Ravian )

Jun 27, 2022 10:56am

Subject matter has been covered except the political history of it .

Our political elite has not gained any maturity, keeps stumbling,
and there little sign of it any time soon .

Reply Recommend 0

fayyaz ali khan

Jun 27, 2022 11:12am

one of the most important topics that needs threadbare

discussion by all the stakeholders

Reply Recommend 0

Rao
Jun 27, 2022 11:31am

As long as Pakistan exists, Army will ensure it reigns supreme,

subverting the political establishment by any or all means
 Reply Recommend 0

SHAHID SATTAR
Jun 27, 2022 11:48am

I.possible to achieve. One side hell bent upon maintaining its

supremacy and total control upon the other. The farce being
staged is a different matter altogether.

Reply Recommend 0

Ali Alvi
Jun 27, 2022 12:10pm

Well written and impartial diagnosis of current political

maladies.

Reply Recommend 0

Kashan abdullah
Jun 27, 2022 12:29pm

Lucidly written

Reply Recommend 0

Mujahid Hussain
Jun 27, 2022 12:50pm
Civilian government should get help from turkea and get started
to restructuring of military establishment.

Reply Recommend 0

Oneliner
Jun 27, 2022 02:11pm

There can be no civilian supremacy until and unless Kashmir

issue is settled one way or the other

Reply Recommend 0

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Jun 27, 2022 03:46pm

United we stand, divided we fall.

Reply Recommend 0
Electorate’s youth bulge
dawn.com/news/1696964/electorates-youth-bulge

June 27, 2022

PAKISTAN’S electorate of over 124 million voters reflects the

youthful demographic profile of the country, among the youngest
in the world. Sixty-four per cent of the population is under 30
years. Around 47pc of the electorate is between the ages of 18
and 35. A third of total registered voters is under 30. This
pronounced youth bulge among voters has transformed the
electoral landscape with important implications for politics,
political parties and elections.

But this has mostly been an understudied factor in recent years,

save for Pildat’s ongoing work on youth and Gallup Pakistan’s
2021 report, which assesses exit polls over the years. UNDP’s
Pakistan National Human Development Report of 2017 was the
most comprehensive examination of the role of youth in human
development, that captured the aspirations and expectations of
young people. For Adil Najam, co-author of the report, its main
political conclusion was that Pakistan’s political culture will be
defined in future by the young, and not its elites.

Read more: 'Only 25pc youth cast votes in general elections'

Young voters are a potential game changer who can transform

the country’s traditional voting patterns. Elections in coming
years can be decided by young voters, who are a sizeable
constituency — almost 58m in the 18-35 age group. This benefits
parties that appeal to the young. PTI is ahead in this game. PML-
N and PPP lag behind, even though the latter, in its earlier
decades, enjoyed strong support among students. Both parties
seem complacent about their ‘stable’ vote banks, which may
explain their lack of outreach to the young. They need to rise
above the weight of traditional politics and dial their clocks to
2022 to attract young voters.

A big unknown is whether the young would vote differently than

older voters, which is presumed to be largely on the basis of
traditional loyalties, personalities, dynastic politics, patronage
considerations, ethnicity, biradari alignments or religious
reasons. Evidence from other countries shows that voting
patterns of youth are different. If they vote differently here, that
could be a real game changer. Successive opinion surveys show
inflation and unemployment to be young people’s top concerns.
So is the quality of education, honest and responsive government
and religious extremism. In a recent survey, Voice of Youth, Pildat
asked members of a nationally representative ‘youth parliament’
it regularly convenes what inspired them to support a political
party. Thirty-eight per cent cited a party’s past performance, 36pc
party platform and 17pc charismatic party leadership.
 Young voters can shape outcomes but they have to turn up at the ballot box.

This suggests that issues are more important for them than
personalities. The most encouraging finding was faith in
democracy of the overwhelming majority — 85pc of respondents.
This, despite their mistrust and low confidence in the country’s
institutions. According to the NHD report, “never has there been
a generation of young people in Pakistan so invested in the
future of their country, so aware that solutions to their problems
will not come from above or abroad, who know that it is they
who can and must be the change that must start from within”.

But here lies the paradox. For young voters to play a key if not
decisive political role, their participation in elections should be
significantly high. So far, turnout among younger voters has been
exceedingly low. Official statistics are lacking on this. But the
Gallup report, relying on exit polls conducted since 1988, finds
youth turnout to be much lower than overall voter participation.
It shows that usually only a quarter of young voters turned out to
vote. In the past two elections, their participation was only a
third compared to the average overall turnout of 52pc. This
compares poorly with the turnout of female voters, which
averaged 40pc in these polls, although this also affects the youth
turnout number. According to Gallup, the highest turnout was
among 30- to 49-year-old voters. The head of Pildat, Ahmed Bilal
Mehboob, has also examined this phenomenon and refers to the
low turnout of youth as ‘absentee voters’, urging changes to
promote greater participation.

Among reasons deemed to contribute to the low turnout is lack of

voter registration and non-possession of CNICs, cynicism that
elections won’t change anything, disillusionment with political
leaders, and little interest in the political process. Many young
voters also doubt the fairness of elections. This is another reason
that swells the ranks of the large non-voting electorate.

Although youth voter turnout is low, even a modest rise can be

consequential to electoral outcomes. This is due to several
factors. The first is the sizeable number of marginal and tightly
fought seats in general elections in a first-past-the-post system.
Well over a hundred National Assembly seats were won by a
plurality, not a majority of votes in the 2018 election. Eighty-
seven National Assembly seats were won by a margin of less than
1,000 votes, and 26 seats by a margin of under 2,000 votes. In 51
constituencies, the winning candidate’s margin of victory was
under 6,000 votes. Most of these were in Punjab — where general
elections are won or lost. With the average size of Punjab’s
national constituencies around 780,000, these are fragile margins
of victory. Given these margins, young voters can shape
outcomes if they participate in elections in greater numbers.

Read more: Majority of youth believe next general elections will

be fair

A related point is the three-way nature of electoral contests now

— between PML-N, PTI and PPP in most national constituencies.
In 2018, vote splitting between the two traditional parties
enabled PTI candidates to win several marginal seats on narrow
pluralities. With the vote dividing between three parties in many
constituencies and among others elsewhere, this opens up
possibilities for young voters to tip the balance.

New voters are continuously added to the electoral rolls — 18.7m

voters were registered in the four years since the 2018 elections.
Most, though not all, are young voters. Many may not have any
prior party preference. This offers opportunities to parties to
reach out and win their allegiance. But the youth vote can only
be consequential if more young citizens register and turn up to
cast the ballot. Some surveys do indicate their eagerness to vote.
Political parties should translate this eagerness into mobilising
them to vote, while the ECP should facilitate higher registration
of young voters.

The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK & UN.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022

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Comments (17)

500 characters

COMMENT MOD POLICY

M Emad
Jun 27, 2022 08:23am

Millions of Pakistani youths are unemployed.

Reply Recommend 0

Wo Kon Tha?
Jun 27, 2022 08:39am

"PTI is ahead in this game; PML-N and PPP lag behind in

outreach to the youth." Finally some truth. The youth is the
future and the youth knows whats the best for the country. We all
know how the elderly have messed up by voting for the wrong
people.

Reply Recommend 0

Dementia friendly
Jun 27, 2022 08:46am

PMLN and PPP shouldn’t exist! Sharif family ranks most corrupt
family in the world not just Pakistan!

Reply Recommend 0

Fastrack
Jun 27, 2022 08:50am

Why are you still treating PP and PMLN as separate parties?

Where did PDM go after removing IK?

Reply Recommend 0

Fastrack
Jun 27, 2022 08:51am
PP and PMLN cannot win anything if they go to their voters as
PDM (erstwhile enemies of each other).

Reply Recommend 0

M. Emad
Jun 27, 2022 08:53am

Millions of Pakistani youths are jobless.

Reply Recommend 0

SALMAN ALI
Jun 27, 2022 09:01am

Thank you for this insightful article. PTI recently invited leading
Tik Tokers to meet Imran Khan. An initiative of Shehbaz Gill.
Seems a right initiative.

Reply Recommend 0

Cris Dăn
Jun 27, 2022 10:37am

Will Maliha write what happened in Sindh local bodies elections

yesterday and how the management should conduct itself.

Reply Recommend 0
Riaz. A
Jun 27, 2022 10:47am

vice often appears more attractive than virtue to the young. the
education system doesn't instil a sense of maturity in the youth

Reply Recommend 0

Fazal Karim
Jun 27, 2022 10:53am

Good article, In Pakistan due to poor education and lack of

inquiry, our youth are likely to vote on the bases of traditional
loyalties, ethnicity and religious bent of mind. More than half of
country population live in villages, most of them are extremely
poor and under some sort of obligation to vote as directed by
zamindar. No matter PPP performance has been very poor, still
people( including youth) in rural Sindh vote for PPP.

Reply Recommend 0

Abbas shah
Jun 27, 2022 11:03am

Younger groups will be busy on social media Twitter in their cozy

rooms creating imaginary chaotic conditions at polling booths!!!

Reply Recommend 0
Wo Kon Tha?
Jun 27, 2022 12:23pm

Youth are the future and they know who's good for them. Elders
have messed up with their experiments but youth know how to
make their own decisions.

Reply Recommend 0

Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:48pm

I have seen, youth of the country is not willing to caste a vote in

favor of any party.

Reply Recommend 0

Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:49pm

Well, PTI is getting popularity among tick-tock and YouTube

users. But, rest of the youth is not happy with Ik.

Reply Recommend 0

Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:50pm

A thought-provoking piece of writing.

 Reply Recommend 0

M. Saeed
Jun 27, 2022 01:59pm

Our young generation would only vote, if it is online through

their mobiles. Almost the entire lot of semi-literate youth is now
hard to disengage from their 'phones, even for a few seconds.

Reply Recommend 0

Khan
Jun 27, 2022 02:08pm

Youth should focus on education. Let army and dynasties decide

who will rule over us

Reply Recommend 0
LNG crisis - Newspaper - DAWN.COM
dawn.com/news/1696960/lng-crisis

June 27, 2022

CASH-STRAPPED Pakistan’s energy crisis is set to worsen over the

next several weeks as it struggles to procure LNG at an
affordable rate when little is available in an international market
that has been sorely affected by the political fallout of the Russia-
Ukraine war.

The global LNG shortages have sent the fuel’s price spiralling to
record highs. The state-owned LNG Ltd last week scrapped the
only, but most expensive offer it has ever received against a
tender for four cargoes of LNG for July shipments.

Read more: Pakistan ranks 29th among countries having gas

reserves

Qatar had offered an LNG shipment at just below $40/mmBtu,

which would have been the priciest for Pakistan if it hadn’t
rejected it. The most expensive cargo that Pakistan has ever
purchased was at $30.65/mmBtu in November 2021. This is
Pakistan’s third failed attempt to buy LNG cargoes for next
month as it faces the threat of an escalation in blackouts that
people are already trying to cope with across the country. The
earlier two tenders issued in May and June had attracted three
offers in total, which were scrapped as none was technically
responsive.

Though the government says it is talking to various gas

exporters, including Russia, to ease domestic shortages, it has so
far not been able to lock any new deal to ease power outages
amid surging electricity prices. Spawned by Covid-related supply
disruptions and exacerbated by Russia’s war on Ukraine, the
spike in global energy prices has pushed domestic electricity fuel
costs by more than 100pc.

The government plans to raise power tariffs by 47pc from next

month to recoup some of the losses being incurred on account of
expensive fuel imports. According to a report, LNG prices in
Pakistan have already gone up by 40pc in recent months, despite
most cargoes coming from cheaper long-term contracts with
Qatar owing to expensive spot purchases by the present
government in April to meet the power demand. Hence, the
decision to reject the priciest LNG shipment was a prudent one.

Read more: Pakistan losing LNG bidding war to Europe

With Russia determined not to let up until it secures its strategic

targets, chances are that international gas supplies will remain
tight and their prices elevated over the next several months. The
situation may worsen if global supplies don’t normalise before
winter, when shortage of the fuel for heating will create more
problems for cash-strapped countries like Pakistan.

The current supply gaps are already forcing developed nations

like Germany to initiate gas rationing and consider retracting on
their commitment to halt financing for overseas fossil fuel
projects in a reversal of their plan to tackle global warming. Even
if Pakistan manages to overcome its balance-of-payments crisis
and raise funds to finance energy imports, it may face difficulty
in procuring LNG due to its unavailability in the market. This
looming winter supply gap calls for formulating a strategy to
both minimise gas wastage and ration fuel while it is possible.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022

Energy Crisis
Newspaper

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Comments (23)

500 characters

COMMENT MOD POLICY

Pakistan----The Elite-Captured Country

Jun 27, 2022 07:56am

This clearly reflects the corruption and incompetence of our

ruling elite. They have turned Pakistan into a decrepit state.

Reply Recommend 0

Fastrack
Jun 27, 2022 08:24am

The present government is a failure on all accounts. A terrible

news for Pakistan and the Pakistanis.

Reply Recommend 0
Fastrack
Jun 27, 2022 08:25am

From success after success in IK's time to failure after failure

under the 12 party looter alliance.

Reply Recommend 0

Zaman
Jun 27, 2022 08:36am

Blame it on PTI

Reply Recommend 0

Jehanzeb Ahmad
Jun 27, 2022 08:42am

Only if instead of setting up these LNG and furnace oil power

plants, we had set up solar plants, there would be no load
shedding, no balance of payment crises, and no increase in
electricity rates. Solar rate is Rs 6 per unit, whereas LNG is
costing Rs 28 per unit.

Reply Recommend 0

Agha Mahazeb Khan

Jun 27, 2022 09:23am
It is foretold that Pakistan will be facing much more intense
situations in the near future, which may halt the country at one
place.

Reply Recommend 0

Shehryar
Jun 27, 2022 09:26am

Please don't get it from Iran which is your next door neighbor
and which has no competition with Europe etc due to sanctions.
Pity on Pakistan

Reply Recommend 0

GHALIBJEEE
Jun 27, 2022 09:27am

So What's New . But don't worry does who are getting Electricity,
Gas Water for Free. Will keep on getting it 24/7. However does
who pay for it will face extreme shortages. amazingly the
shortages never seem to have any impact on their bills.

Reply Recommend 0

Rizwan
Jun 27, 2022 09:27am

Our Imported experience Government has failed again

 Reply Recommend 0

Salman
Jun 27, 2022 09:39am

Hopefully, the tag line for this government,for this problem, as

was the case of previous government, will be "it is the fault of the
previous mis-governance. We are doing everything possible to
manage it."

Reply Recommend 0

Ravi Inder
Jun 27, 2022 10:25am

Why not work quickly on TAPI and Iran Pakistan India Gas
Pipeline ? It is best for all of us .

Reply Recommend 0

Imran
Jun 27, 2022 10:56am

Meanwhile army officers get everything for free!

Reply Recommend 0

Abbas shah
Jun 27, 2022 11:00am

@Pakistan----The Elite-Captured Country, Very well said.

Reply Recommend 0

Atif
Jun 27, 2022 11:31am

Qatar is an Islamic country. It should help fellow Muslim country

Pakistan.

Reply Recommend 0

Salman
Jun 27, 2022 11:44am

Well done PDM!

Reply Recommend 0

nouman
Jun 27, 2022 12:12pm

@Zaman , Blame it on PTI for failure of your beloved corrupt

government? What fantasy world do you live in?

Reply Recommend 0
Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:35pm

Why the country is not purchasing Russian oil in cheap price, if

Sri Lankan and India can purchase why not we? Are the US
sanctions only for the land of pure?

Reply Recommend 0

Sheeraz Mirjat
Jun 27, 2022 12:37pm

Ask Mr Khaqan Abbasi, what he did with LNG.

Reply Recommend 0

GC
Jun 27, 2022 01:17pm

@Pakistan----The Elite-Captured Country, Please explain the

correlation between exponentially rising LNG prices in world
markets, and corruption and incompetence of anybody? Have to
be an imagined corruption of political elite obsessed die hard IK
fan who can not add two plus two, and just dish out vitriolic
narrative with a foaming mouth.

Reply Recommend 0

Bazinga
Jun 27, 2022 01:18pm

Why OIC doesnt give free fuel

Reply Recommend 0

Asif A. Shah
Jun 27, 2022 01:19pm

Pakistan should ask the United States to exempt it from sanctions

if it buys gas from Russia. Unavailability of gas is a very serious
matter for Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan has given a lot of
sacrifices for the strategic interests of the United States.

Reply Recommend 0

M. Saeed
Jun 27, 2022 02:06pm

We were talking recently, about a Gas corridor for Russia before

Ukraine crisis.

Reply Recommend 0

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Jun 27, 2022 03:23pm

As you sow, so shall you reap.

Reply Recommend 0
Opinion
Politics of art - Newspaper
dawn.com/news/1696961/politics-of-art

June 27, 2022

THAT politics is the art of the possible we have all heard. That
there exists such a thing as ‘the politics of art’ is also true. From
expos such as Dubai 2020 to the arms bazaar quite
disingenuously called ‘IDEAS’, to a literature conference here and
a language symposium there, to biennales from Karachi to Venice
— the themes, exhibits and crowd-pullers are all unmistakably
political.

Hacks far outnumber the authors at lit fests, and ‘installations’

jostle for space with classical paintings and sculptures at art
extravaganzas. Climate change, empowerment of the
marginalised and giving a voice to the voiceless have become
rallying calls at global art events.
Technology, social media, Covid-19 and the resultant economic
downturn have both enabled and necessitated the path to ‘soft
power’. Amid the tax-free behemoths of the Gulf, Pakistan had a
chance to make its presence felt — and girl, did it grab it with
both hands! The public-private partnership that went into the
making of the Pakistan Pavilion at the Dubai Expo helped turn it
into the main draw at this mega event. That we won the best
exterior, and the second-best interior design competition shows
that if the government restricts its role to facilitation and allows
creative space to its true ambassadors — the artists — the ‘soft-
power’ machine gets turbo-charged.

The ongoing Venice biennale, the most celebrated event on the

artsy circuit, is themed ‘The Milk of Dreams’ this year. According
to the international media, the contrast between the ‘deserted’
Russian pavilion and the Nordic exhibit swarming with visitors
could not have been starker. The former weighed down by the
invasion of Ukraine was, despite its size and heft, no competition
for the nimble-footed Nordics, who smartly shone a light, instead
of sweeping under the rug, a problem brewing in their front
yards — ie the Sami issue. The artistic manifestation of
disaffection felt by the marginalised Sami people was in full
display in the Nordic pavilion.
The real artists better be allowed to express themselves.

The so-called gypsy population across Europe known as Roma

are said to have their origins in the indigenous tribes of the
subcontinent. It is fascinating to read the exposition of the Sami
at the Venice Biennale, because our very own Shah Abdul Latif
Bhitai refers to them throughout his writings. The Sami are
mentioned as much as the Jogi. The latter term is usually taken to
mean snake charmers in its narrower connotation, but across
South Asian cultures, its broader meaning has always carried a
sense of mystique attached to a people constantly on the move.
Both expressions convey a sense of guarded attraction towards a
community that is attractive, yet not known enough to be readily
accepted into a settled community. Even today, one finds the
khana badosh or ‘gypsy’ communities in Sindh frequently
referred to as ‘Sami’. One of Bhitai’s couplet goes: “Sami kami
prein lae, kusi theaa kabab: jehro disan doh khey, tehro tin
sawab”(The Sami, the labourers [of love] simmer in the beloved’s
desire: those seeking others’ faults, will only find that).

Amazing that a country whose birth witnessed history’s largest

and, unfortunately, bloodiest migration, and whose very
economic survival is tethered to the remittances of migrant
labourers from all over the world, would pay scant attention to
the travails of migrant communities, the Jogi, and the Sami.
There is a silver lining though. We are known for waking up to
things once they are taken up by the West. After all, it took Peter
Gabriel and the Last Temptation of Christ to introduce us to our
very own genius from the backstreets of Faisalabad, qawwali
maestro Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It took the Biennale de Paris
award for Sadequain to get recognition back home. He was
commissioned to do murals at hydropower dam sites. Alas! since
then, the dams’ business has been handed over to another type of
artists — con artists.

Back to the soft power and politics of art: while politicians can
pursue their pet projects of spiritual universities, and
professional diplomats can play ‘cable operators’ all they want,
the real artists better be allowed to express themselves at home
and freely participate in every lit fest, biennale, expo,
conference, mela, fair and congregation in the world. We, in this
part of the world, are practitioners of traditions like Jaggan Nath
Mela — hence the term ‘juggernaut’ — Maha Kumbh, and a
mammoth pilgrimage like Haj. That spirit of inclusivity needs to
be infused into policymaking as well.

If there is one aspect of spiritualism we most need, it is the spirit

of participation and inclusion. That spirit alone can guarantee
that we realise our true potential. After all, our region is the
melting pot of civilisations, and we are heirs to that eternally
restless soul so wonderfully described by Khwaja Farid as ‘jogi
jadogar’, or magicians on the move.

The writer is a poet. His latest publication is a collection of satire

essays titled Rindana.

shahzadsharjeel1@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2022