Dawn Editorials 08 June 2021

Dawn Editorials & Opinions
8th June 2021

DAWN
EDITORIALS
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Opposition’s demand The situation in Afghanistan remains

unstable ‫ غیر مستحکم‬as the peace talks
Editorial 08 June 2021 between the US and Afghan Taliban
have hit a roadblock ‫رکاوٹ‬. The intra-
PARLIAMENTARIANS ‫پارلیمینٹاریان‬ Afghan dialogue ‫ مکالمہ‬also appears to
belonging to the PPP have demanded be a non-starter ‫ شروع نہیں ہو رہے‬and
that the government take parliament into violence ‫ تشدد‬is refusing to abate ‫کم کرنے‬.
confidence ‫ اعتماد‬about the emerging Pakistan has played a central role in the
regional situation in light of the US peace process, including persuading
withdrawal ‫ واپسی‬from Afghanistan. ‫ راضی کرنے‬the Taliban leadership to
Addressing a press conference, former participate ‫ حصہ لینے کے لئے‬in it, and
deputy speaker of the National continues to urge all sides to agree to a
Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi and power-sharing arrangement so that the
Senator Rubina Khalid said there should country does not descend into chaos
be no closed-door meetings on the issue ‫افراتفری میں نہ آجائے‬. However, officials in
and that parliament should be fully Islamabad have also voiced fears ‫خوف‬
briefed ‫بریف کیا جائے‬. The opposition that if a civil war were to break out ‫پھوٹ‬
alliance ‫ اتحاد‬PDM has also called for an ‫ پڑی‬in Afghanistan once the US forces
in-camera joint session ‫ مشترکہ اجالس‬of have withdrawn within their stipulated
parliament on the Afghanistan issue. deadline, ‫ مقررہ آخری تاریخ‬، Pakistan
These demands have come in the wake could face adverse repercussions. ‫منفی‬
of reports that the US may be asking ‫ نتیجہ‬In such an unsettled ‫غیر مستحکم‬
Pakistan for use of facilities ‫سہولیات‬ situation, it is important that the entire
including bases for military ‫ فوجی‬use. political leadership is brought into the
Pakistan has categorically ‫واضح طور پر‬ loop as far as Pakistan’s policy options
denied ‫ تردید کی ہے‬agreeing to any such and decisions are concerned. The
requests and Foreign Minister Shah opposition is justified in demanding that
Mahmood Qureshi has said in no the government and its concerned
uncertain ‫ غیر یقینی‬terms that as long as institutions provide a detailed briefing
Imran Khan is the prime minister, ‫ تفصیلی بریفنگ‬to parliament and allow
Pakistan will never provide its territory them to provide recommendations
‫ عالقہ‬for any US bases. ‫ سفارشات‬and suggestions ‫ تجاویز‬for all
possible scenarios. ‫ منظرنامے‬One way
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could be for the concerned authorities to the poorly managed railway, and
brief the relevant parliamentary refurbish ‫ تجدید کرنا‬its aging ‫عمر رسیدگی‬
committees. This could be followed by tracks ‫ عمر بڑھنے پٹریوں‬and erratic
an open debate in both houses. The ‫ غلطیوں سے بھرپور‬signal system for
policy on Afghanistan needs to be well- improving passenger safety.
deliberated ‫ اچھی طرح سوچی سمجھی‬and
bipartisan ‫ دونوں اطراف کا اتفاق رائے‬in Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted that
nature. We should learn from the he was “shocked ‫ چونک گیا تھا‬by the
mistakes of the 1980s and 1990s and horrific train accident ‫خوفناک ٹرین حادثے‬
carve out a long-term approach to ‫ ”سے‬and had ordered a “comprehensive
Afghanistan. The government has taken investigation ‫ جامع تحقیقات‬into railway
a sensible step ‫ سمجھدار اقدام‬in engaging safety fault line”. Is that enough? We
all ethnic groups in Afghanistan as well have heard such words so many times
as regional countries. It should follow before that they have lost their meaning.
the same approach towards parliament. Everyone is well aware ‫ آگاہ‬of why train
accidents happen and what needs to be
Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2021 done. But no one in the government
appears to be bothered ‫ پریشان ہونا‬about
Another train tragedy fixing the problems. It is, indeed, unfair
‫ غیر منصفانہ ہے‬to blame ‫ الزام لگانا‬the
Editorial 08 June 2021 current government for the huge mess
the railway is in today. Yet, it should not
THE loss of over 40 lives in a train
escape ‫ نہیں بچنا چاہئے‬scrutiny ‫جانچ پڑتال‬
collision ‫ ٹرین کا تصادم‬near Daharki in
for its own contribution to PR’s
Sindh on Monday morning is a stark
(Pakistan railways) decline ‫ تنزلی‬by
‫ غمگین‬reminder ‫ یاد دہانی‬of Pakistan
passing the entire buck to its
Railways’ abysmal ‫ انتہائی پست‬passenger
predecessors. ‫پیش رو‬
safety record and the unfulfilled
promises ‫ ادھورے وعدے‬of successive Pakistan has a long history of train
governments to revamp ‫از سر نو تشکیل دینا‬ accidents caused by a decaying ‫بوسیدہ‬
its broken infrastructure. The accident railway infrastructure. Apart ‫ عالوہ‬from
also raises questions about the major accidents, scores of minor
incumbent rulers ‫’’ موجودہ حکمران‬ incidents of derailments ‫پٹری سے اترنا‬
commitment to modernising ‫جدید بنانے‬
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take place every year but are not ‫ حکمت عملی‬as any previous government.
mentioned in the news. Most of these Apparently, ‫ بظاہر‬it has been hoping that
accidents occur ‫ رونما ہوتے ہیں‬because of the promised Chinese investment of
dilapidated tracks, ‫ خستہ حال پٹریوں‬، a $6bn in the Main Line-1, connecting
faulty ‫ ناقص‬interlocking signal system, Peshawar to Karachi, would save the
‫ آپس میں سگنل نظام‬aging rolling stocks, dying railway. With China reluctant
‫ گاڑیاں‬،‫ بوگیاں‬etc. A look at PR’s record ‫ گریزاں ہے‬to invest its money in the
would show that the frequency ‫ تعدد‬of project, the government does not have a
accidents, including fatal ones, has strategy to fall back on to resuscitate
increased over the last few years owing ‫ بحال کرنا‬the bankrupt department. ‫دیوالیہ‬
to ‫ باعث‬decades of underinvestment ‫کم‬ ‫ محکمہ‬With or without Chinese money,
‫ سرمایہ کاری‬in rail infrastructure and the the job of putting the railway back on
absence ‫ عدم موجودگی‬of passenger safety track will not be easy; it will take a long
standards. The prime minister has time, large investments and strong
repeatedly instructed the railway political will. Turning a company the
authorities to take steps to counter size of Pakistan Railways is never easy.
decades of neglect ‫ غفلت‬and ensure However, the government can always
safety protocols, and to hold officials start by investing in the rehabilitation
responsible for neglecting passenger ‫ بحالی‬of the infrastructure to save lives.
safety, but nothing has come of it.
Instead, the government has drastically Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2021
‫ تیزی سے‬slashed ‫ کمی کی ہے‬funds for
railway rehabilitation ‫ بحالی‬in the last Sindh-centre sniping ‫نشانہ بازی‬
couple of years. Last July, it had
Editorial 08 June 2021
promised additional funds for repairing
the tracks and signal system, and A WAR of words ‫ الفاظ کی جنگ‬between
purchasing new passenger coaches ‫بوگیاں‬ the centre and the Sindh government has
and locomotives ‫ انجن‬this fiscal year. But been underway ‫ زیربحث رہا ہے‬for the past
the promise remains unfulfilled. several days, with both sides accusing
‫ الزام لگانا‬each other of doing nothing for
Political rhetoric ‫ سیاسی بیان بازی‬aside,
the province. Sindh Chief Minister
the administration appears as clueless
Murad Ali Shah had written to the prime
‫ بے خبر‬about a revival strategy ‫بحالی کی‬
minister accusing the PTI-led federal
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government of harbouring ،‫بڑھاوا دینا‬ light of day as deadlines for its

‫“پرورش دینا‬abject bias” '' ‫مکمل طور پر‬ inauguration ‫ افتتاحی‬keep getting pushed
‫ متعصب‬against the province, while also back indefinitely. ‫ غیر معینہ مدت تک‬On
criticising the proposed PSDP (public the other hand, the Sindh government is
sector development program) allocations also prone ‫ شکار‬to announcing
‫ مختص‬as “lopsided ‫یکترفا‬, ‫”غیر متوازن‬. seemingly ‫ بظاہر‬impressive schemes
Planning Minister Asad Umar hit back ‫متاثر کن سکیمیں‬, often with funding from
at the Sindh administration, claiming foreign lenders. Yet after nearly 13
that “never before has any federal years of post-Musharraf rule over the
government in history … spent so much province, can the PPP in all honesty
money in Sindh”, while adding that the claim that it has brought positive
centre had earmarked ‫مختص کیے تھے‬ changes to Sindh? Karachi, the
funds for both the urban and rural parts provincial capital, is in an advanced
of the province. state of disrepair, ‫ مایوسی‬while even in
the ‘interior’ of the province — which
This testy exchange ‫ آزمائشی تبادلہ‬between happens to be the PPP’s stronghold
the centre and the province would ‫ —مضبوط گڑھ‬health, education and civic
actually have been quite amusing for the facilities ‫ شہری سہولیات‬are in an
people of Sindh had the situation on the extremely ‫ انتہائی‬poor state. The fact is
ground not been so pathetic ‫قاب ِل رحم‬. The that instead of politicking ‫سیاست کرنا‬,
fact is that neither Islamabad nor the both the centre and Sindh government
PPP-led provincial administration has need to get down to the serious work of
done anything worthwhile ‫ قابل قدر‬for revamping ‫ تجدید کاری‬the province’s
Sindh, as the infrastructure of the infrastructure and civic services.
province’s rural and urban parts
crumbles ‫ ٹوٹ پھوٹ‬The federal Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2021
government has announced grandiose
schemes ‫ عظیم الشان اسکیمیں‬for Karachi
and other districts. But what has
practically been done? ‫عملی طور پر کیا کیا‬
‫ گیا ہے؟‬Take the Green Line bus scheme.
The federally funded transport project
that kicked off in 2016 has yet to see the
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Dawn Editorials & Opinions

8th June 2021

Opposition’s demand The situation in Afghanistan remains

government of harbouring ،‫بڑھاوا دینا‬ light of day as deadlines for its

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