Nawaz Sharif has been in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019 owing to health reasons.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday urged Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif to come back and lead the election campaign in the country as well as also become the PM for the fourth time, Geo News reported.
While addressing the central general council meeting of the party, PML-N, Sharif said that he was waiting for his elder brother to return to Pakistan and then hold the party meeting so he could hand over the PML-N’s president back to him. It is pertinent to mention that Nawaz Sharif has been in self-imposed exile in London since November 2019 owing to health reasons.
“The election commission’s sword was hanging which is why this meeting was held,” the prime minister added.
Premier Shehbaz was given the PML-N’s presidency after his predecessor — Nawaz, the three-time prime minister — was disqualified by the Supreme Court and barred from holding any party office, according to Geo News.
He also said that the PML-N needed young leadership, and commended Maryam for her hard work.
“You will see that the map of politics will change when Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan,” PM Shehbaz said.
Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif (Photo Courtesy Twitter@MaryamNSharif)
This statement came a few weeks after Pakistan President Arif Alvi signed the Supreme Court Review of Judgements and Orders Act 2023, clearing the first step for Nawaz Sharif to exercise the right of appeal against their lifetime disqualifications within 60 days.
Under this new law, now an appeal can be filed against the court decisions in cases under Article 184(3). The law now applies to past verdicts as well, Samaa News.
Pakistan Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case on July 28, 2017.
The apex court banned him from holding any public office for life for hiding unpaid salary from his son in the Panama case. A year later, the court while announcing the verdict on petitions challenging the Elections Act 2017 said that a person disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 cannot serve as the head of a political party, Pakistani news channel Geo News reported. (ANI)
The Pakistan Prime Minister said an agreement is not being reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that an agreement is not being reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but underscored that Chinas support will play a crucial role in preventing the country from facing any potential default.
During his address to industrialists and businessmen in Karachi, Prime Minister Sharif said that Pakistan has successfully met all the stringent conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), emphasising the government’s commitment to completing the IMF programme, Samaa TV reported.
Sharif said that China has demonstrated support by rolling over its commercial debt, highlighting the goodwill of friendly countries towards Pakistan’s development.
He further stated that Pakistan enjoys positive sentiments from its friendly nations, reflecting the collective desire to see the country progress, Samaa TV reported.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The premier pointed out that the previous government had violated the agreement with the IMF.
The country has experienced political instability for a year, which continues to persist. This prevailing instability has further contributed to the rise in prices, exacerbating the issue of inflation
Sharif underlined the significance of investors who willingly take risks and invest in Pakistan, considering them as ambassadors of the country.
The Pakistan Prime Minister lamented that the coalition government was making all-out efforts to convince the IMF officials to release a tranche of $1.1 billion
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday emphasised that the country has met all “tough” conditions laid forth by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and now the lender has “no excuse” to delay the staff-level agreement.
The premier however, lamented that the coalition government was making all-out efforts to convince the IMF officials to release a tranche of $1.1 billion, Geo News reported.
Acknowledging the woes of the people because of historic high inflation, the premier accepted that Pakistan had “no choice” but to accept all strict conditions laid forth by the IMF to secure a much-awaited bailout tranche from the Washington-based lender.
Pakistan signed a $6.5 billion bailout package with the IMF in 2019, but has repeatedly reneged on conditions and so far just $3 billion has been released.
On Friday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed financial support of $1 billion to Pakistan making it the third country, after Saudi Arabia and long-time ally China, to come to Pakistan’s assistance, as external financing is needed to fully fund the balance of payments gap for the fiscal year that ends in June.
The commitments were one of the IMF’s last requirements before approving a staff-level pact to release a tranche of $1.1 billion, delayed for months, that is crucial for Pakistan to resolve an acute balance of payments crisis.
“Such tough conditions were set which weren’t easy for Pakistan to fulfil,” the premier said, adding that in the last one-and-a-half-month, the coalition government has made a lot of efforts, Geo News reported.
The Prime Minister added that Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir also contributed to these efforts after which Saudi Arabia and the UAE committed funds.
In the phone call, Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Iran in all areas of mutual interest…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif talked over the phone with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on bilateral ties, according to the Prime Minister’s office.
In the phone call, Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Iran in all areas of mutual interest, particularly trade, energy cooperation, security and regional stability, the office said in a statement on Thursday.
The Prime Minister emphasised the need for enhancing people-to-people contacts, including cultural and educational exchanges, to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the two nations, the statement added.
Congratulating the Iranian President on the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Sharif highlighted the Iranian leadership’s efforts in promoting peace and stability in the region, Xinhua news agency reported.
During the telephone conversation, both leaders reiterated their commitment to maintaining close contact on all matters of mutual interest, the Prime Minister’s office said.
There is a very slim chance that Pakistan may be able to win Saudi Arabian support for the resumption of its IMF programme, but if it does, this will be a temporary respite …. A special report on the economic affairs of Pakistan by Dr Sakariya Kareem
Pakistan’s economy is “in a tailspin, moving from crisis to catastrophe”, its renowned US-based economist Atif Miah has warned as the International Monetary Fund’s sorely-awaited bailout is nowhere near sight and Saudi Arabia shows a cold shoulder.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s biggest benefactor, has reportedly invited the Sharif family, including Prime Minister Shehbaz and his self-exiled elder brother Nawaz, to end Ramadan and celebrate Eid. This may indicate the reinforcement of close political ties. But economists caution against the repeat of past Saudi bailouts.
They say Saudi under Crown Prince, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, insists that its surplus funds, earned from the recent oil money boom in the last year, are not for “free lunch.”
“There is a very slim chance that Pakistan may be able to win Saudi Arabian support for the resumption of its IMF programme, but if it does, this will be a temporary respite,” analyst Mosharraf Zaidi wrote in The News International (April 04, 2023).
“Pakistan will not be able to secure any major package of economic support from Saudi Arabia today or in the foreseeable future because the model for such blanket support simply does not exist anymore. Saudi Arabia has changed rapidly (and for the better) – and its rulers, whilst maintaining very strong feelings for Pakistan, simply do not have the capacity to continue to allow Pakistani elites (military and civilian) to convert those fraternal bonds into unconditional bailouts,” Zaidi said.
Motorcyclists wait at a gas station in east Pakistan’s Lahore.(Photo by Sajjad/Xinhua/IANS)
Atif Miah’s warnings have gone unheeded in Islamabad. He was invited by former Prime Minister Imran Khan to join his government, but he reneged under pressure as Miah is an Ahmedia, an Islamic minority declared non-Muslim in Pakistan.
The latest putdown has come from the New York Times (April 3. 2023). Writers Vivian Nereim and Vivian Yee echo Zaidi’s warnings that Riyadh will no longer offer funds to Pakistan and others who refuse to reform their economic infrastructures.
“The kingdom is still sending money abroad. But much of it is now geared towards international investments for profit and influence and kick-starting new industries at home. The Saudi government has also taken on a role similar to the IMF, which gives it even greater sway over regional politics,” the NYT said.
The changes in Saudi Arabia over the last decade, and especially since the middle of 2017, it said, have rendered traditional ways of working in Riyadh obsolete.
According to Zaidi, “Pakistani military and civilian rulers can continue visiting Riyadh and asking for the same thing over and over and over again. The absence of the traditional blank cheque from Saudi Arabia should have indicated to Pakistani authorities the drastically different scenario for how this new Saudi Arabia makes decisions.
“No bilateral relationship captures the incredible incompetence of the Pakistani elite better than the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relationship,” Zaidi said.
His comments come amidst unprecedented economic chaos, not just of foreign exchange reserves that have depleted to pay for only a fortnight, but amidst industrial slowdown, falling exports and shortages of essential commodities. The holy month has seen food riots and even deaths of poor people standing in long queues awaiting relief at government shops.
Zaidi says: “Saudi investment in Pakistani assets requires basic paperwork and due diligence. Understand also that Saudi officials have every reason to treat Pakistan as a priority investment destination. Yet, despite all the incentives for Saudi investments to be formalized and closed, four years after the MBS visit, none have materialized. The reason is simple: Pakistan has repeatedly failed to provide even the very basic paperwork and due diligence required to close divestments of some of the publicly owned assets under discussion.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The “harsh truth is”, Zaidi writes: “Pakistan has neither the bureaucratic capability nor the decisive national leadership to allow for investments from Saudi Arabia (or the UAE or Qatar for that matter) to materialize.”
“Old Pakistanis trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel have already been relegated to embarrassing caricatures as they continue to Jurassic Park their way around the region and the world. There are lessons from Saudi Arabia that need to be learnt and applied in Pakistan. But an elite that never learns from what is right under its nose is unlikely to benefit from the experience of a true friend, ally and now archetype – beyond its borders,” says Zaidi.
I am sceptical that the Pakistani political leadership has had a change of heart regarding its relations with India, says Prof. Sumit Ganguly in an interview with Asian Lite’s Abhish K. Bose
Sumit Ganguly is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science and holds the Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the co-editor (with Eswaran Sridharan) of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Indian Politics. An author of a number of books on South Asia, Prof Ganguly is widely considered as an expert on South Asia. Asian Lite’s Abhish K. Bose asks Prof Ganguly some pertinent questions on the crisis being faced by Pakistan.
Abhish K. Bose: While Pakistan is confronting a rare economic crisis, one of their longstanding strategic partners, the U.S., is doing nothing substantial to bail out that country, which is facing its own share of domestic headaches. Does it indicate a significant shift in geo-political perceptions and priorities on the part of the US? If yes, why? What added bearing will this have on Indo-US relations?
Sumit Ganguly: The US, at the moment, is preoccupied with the war in Ukraine, the issues it faces with the PRC in Asia and beyond and with a range of domestic issues. Under these circumstances, Pakistan’s fate is a relatively low priority for the United States. Nevertheless, there are some in the US Department of State who are trying to keep the relationship alive in the forlorn hope that they can elicit some form of counterterrorism cooperation from Pakistan. This, in part, explains the recent decision to upgrade its fleet of F-16s. Ironically, Pakistan is paying about $400 million for these upgrades at a time when it is faced with near bankruptcy.
Abhish K. Bose: Pakistan is indebted foremost to the Chinese banks. Why doesn’t China intervene to avert a collapse? Is Pakistan going the Sri Lanka way? If, like in India, Pakistan had a stable democratic mode of governance, could the outcome have been different to what it is today? Or, a theocratic State, irrespective of the role of the army, unviable in the long-term?
Sumit Ganguly: To begin with, Pakistan is not a theocratic state. A theocracy is a state that is ruled by clerics. It is, however, a state based on religion. That being said, even if both India and Pakistan were robust democracies it is not entirely clear that they could resolve their differences amicably. From its founding Pakistan has had an irredentist claim to Kashmir. This claim has not been abandoned regardless of which government has come to power. Of course, had democracy been consolidated in Pakistan, one wonders if a different outcome might have obtained.
Abhish K. Bose: What is the role that patronising and funding militancy and cross-border terrorism has played in causing the present disarray in Pakistan? What, if any, are the lessons that countries like India can learn from the plight of Pakistan?
Sumit Ganguly: India learnt its lesson from the Sri Lankan fiasco. After all, it is well known that RAW supported and trained the LTTE. This lead to a serious, eventual blowback. Yes, Pakistan’s dalliance with a range of irregular forces and terrorists have come to haunt it. Yet, far too many Pakistanis have deluded themselves into believing that that they are victims of terrorism.
Abhish K. Bose: The recent statement of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif that after three wars with India Pakistan has become sensible enough to want to live in peace with India. Is a civilian government in Pakistan free enough from the control of its army to choose the path of peace with its neighbours? Will religious extremists in that country tolerate such an option? If this change in perception is due to an economic crisis, will it not revert to the old mode of antagonism when the crisis blows over? Or, do you think there is a genuine change in perception and priorities?
Sumit Ganguly: I am quite skeptical that the Pakistani political leadership has had a change of heart. Even if they have it is far from clear to me that they have the requisite ability to dramatically change course when it comes to relations with India. The military still remains primus inter pares and controls the relationship with India. Furthermore, distrust and hatred of India has become woven into Pakistan’s political culture. More to the point, the rise of Hindu nationalism in India is adding fuel to the fire.
Abhish K. Bose: To what extent, do you think, has the Russia – Ukraine war accelerated the economic downslide of Pakistan, already strained by the pandemic-induced slowdown?
Sumit Ganguly: I think that the war has exacerbated matters. However, the problems were of long standing and indeed structural.
Abhish K. Bose: How significant is the role of Pakistan in furthering the geo-political roadmap of China? China has invested hugely in Pak as part of the belt and road project. What will be the role donned by Pakistan if and when China emerges as a major global player?
Sumit Ganguly: The Sino-Pakistani nexus was forged after the 1962 war. For both countries, this is one of the few alliances that has endured. China’s commitment to the BRI is both designed to serve its own parochial, material interests while making Pakistan even more dependent on the PRC.
Abhish K. Bose: Taking into account the border disputes India had with China and Pakistan, and China creating periodic tensions in the border, what would be most prudent strategy for India to fend off these adversaries? What should be thrust areas?
Sumit Ganguly: India has to pursue two simultaneous strategies. First, it needs to bolster its domestic military capabilities. Second, it needs to strengthen its security partnership with the United States. For the foreseeable future it will lack the necessary wherewithal to cope with the threat from the PRC.
Border Security Force exchange sweets with Pakistan Rangers at JCP Attari on India’s 73rd Republic Day, in Amritsar on January 26, 2022. (Photo Pawan Sharma_IANS)
Abhish K. Bose: The Pakistan PM has recently demanded the mediation of UAE in the Kashmir issue. Do you think India will take kindly to internationalising the Kashmir issue? Wouldn’t it serve the political interests of the BJP better to keep the Kashmir pot stirring?
Sumit Ganguly: India has never taken kindly to any effort to internationalize the Kashmir issue. This government will prove no exception to the rule. Actually, apart from its drastic decision to dispense with Article 370 which had conferred a special status on the state of Jammu and Kashmir the BJP does not have any compelling reason to stir the pot in Kashmir. All they want is political quiescence.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto with his Singapore counterpart Dr Vivian Balakrishnan at Singapore City
Pakistan’s economy is in the doldrums, youth is misguided and employed in violent services, and the socio-political atmosphere is a mawkish drama we have all watched for 70 years, the actors keep changing but the absurdity remains the same…. A special report by Ruksana Saleem
As Pakistan hangs by a thread, it should take some time out from being the flag-bearer of Kashmiris, and maintain focus on its failing governance. The failed state is tirelessly swimming in the flood waters of 2022 which has pushed nine million people to poverty, left four million children on the brink of death, and 32 million displaced.
The citizens of the nation do not have access to sanitation facilities and safe drinking water, the paramount necessities of a human’s existence. Public health facilities, schools, and cropland exist only in past. By December last year the economy was at risk of default, security has been a joke, and the unpopular government continues to face international humiliation. But despite the state’s perpetual ordeals, last week Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called up India to resolve “burning issues such as Kashmir”. Later Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari raised the Kashmir ‘issue’ at the World Economic Forum in Davos, but was left embarrassed when no global leaders shared his sentiment.
Pakistan secures over $ 10.5 bn in flood pledges
On a visit to J&K UT, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Micheal Rubin, declared – “Pakistan is in trouble. While Kashmiris under Pakistani control remain hobbled by a moribund economy and suppressed by Jamaat-e-Islami extremism, Kashmiris in India have security, taste freedom, and thrive.”
Today J&K UT is bubbling with developments. Youth is at the forefront of all activities. Gun culture and terror have been replaced with entrepreneurial tools and an enterprising mindset. Separatists and Pak-supporting elements are standing with begging bowls on streetcorners, unnoticed by people. Kashmiris have understood who truly cares for their well-being. They lived miserably in penury in the hands of sold-out leaders for decades. And they will not be deceived again.
In current situation, Pakistan can’t even think of Kashmir again; not just today but in the future too. While India is building a strong foundation for the youth in terms of education and self-employment opportunities paired with world-class learning centres and heavy cash inflow to jolt start-ups off ground, in Pakistan “public education is not a priority”, as published in the local daily Dawn.
64 percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30 and is still suffering the aftereffects of Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamization of education. When extremism and sectarianisation of education are tolerated at educational institutes, which themselves are supervised by religious scholars and conservatives rather than independent thinkers, one can only imagine the condition of the country in the coming years.
A recent survey claimed that 70 percent of Pakistani youth wanted to migrate to other countries in whatever capacity they can be employed. In the local government elections in Karachi last Sunday (15th January 2023), the youth turnout was a mere 20 per cent, showing a lack of interest. A young man claimed to have voted for Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) because it is in “fashion” these days.
Many believed since “polls are already rigged”, what is the point of casting the vote?
This is the “new blood” of the nation. More than 27,000 schools have been wiped out due to the flood and with that, we can predict more than half of the school-going children will never see the inside of a classroom because the schools will not be rebuilt in at least coming ten years (parallel to the 2005 Pakistan earthquake aftermath). Their hopelessness and frustration foreshadow the doom the country will befall in absence of timely measures.
Rescuers evacuate flood-affected people in Jamshoro district, Sindh province, Pakistan, Sept. 15, 2022. (Str/Xinhua/IANS)
Pakistan is running on life support, more so in recent years, living off of donations. It depends upon them to fire up the economic engine. The UAE loan of $3 billion ($2 bn existing debt and additional support of $1 bn) and $10 billion for flood recovery from Geneva, can buy time but will not keep them afloat as a nation.
Amid all this on January 17, Pakistan’s parliament amended and toughened its blasphemy law, sparking fear and unrest among minority groups who have fallen prey to its abuse throughout history. Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali of the rising Jammat party said it was necessary to make it stringent. Even when half the nation has no food to eat and innumerable water-borne diseases are killing hundreds daily.
The country’s economy is in the doldrums, youth is misguided and employed in violent services, and the socio-political atmosphere is a mawkish drama we have all watched for 70 years, the actors keep changing but the absurdity remains the same.
Every few years, the state falls back to a familiar place of despondency. The rouge country neither has the capacity nor the bright future to rise unless it invests its energies into itself. A false sense of stability and raising questions on Kashmir will only humiliate them further. It should focus on first standing on two feet without clutches, and forget Kashmir.
The prime minister said that he had visited several flood-affected areas including the under-developed southwestern Balochistan province, and personally witnessed the tremendous work carried out by the civil servants….reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the civil servants of the country to work hard to steer the nation out of the challenges it has been facing.
Addressing the passing-out ceremony of probationary officers of the Pakistan Administrative Service on Saturday in Lahore, Sharif appreciated the active service of the new civil servants during their training period in the areas which were affected by the devastating floods last year, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The prime minister said that he had visited several flood-affected areas including the under-developed southwestern Balochistan province, and personally witnessed the tremendous work carried out by the civil servants.
He said Pakistani public servants can serve the nation very well given that they are provided with a conducive working environment and their services are properly acknowledged.
Sharif reminded the young officers that after assuming their basic responsibilities in practical life, they would be confronted with issues like unemployment, poverty, disease, lack of education and delayed response to public problems.
The prime minister expressed hope that they would be able to deal with these challenges successfully.
The slump follows the repayment of loans worth USD 1.2 billion to Dubai-based commercial banks….reports Asian Lite News
Amid the depleting foreign reserves in the country, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on January 10 to seek an emergency cash deposit from its west Asian partner.
Shehbaz Sharif would fly to the UAE on Tuesday along with his Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari where they are expected to be joined by Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, who is already on a trip to the middle east, sources confirmed to The Express Tribune newspaper on Sunday. The Pakistan prime minister is reportedly undertaking the visit in connection with the worsening economic crises in the country. It comes as foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are reduced to just USD 4.5 billion and left with an import cover of only under a month.
The slump follows the repayment of loans worth USD 1.2 billion to Dubai-based commercial banks. The development left Pakistan with an import cover of only under a month, as the country grapples with a deteriorating economic crisis while trying to bring down imports amid a dollar shortage, Geo News reported citing sources.
The report said a breakup shows that USD 600 million was returned to Emirates Bank, while it repaid USD 420 million to Dubai Islamic Bank.
According to the report, the Pakistani government would try to mobilize foreign funding worth USD 1.5 billion in the upcoming International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan next week.
Before the trip to UAE, Sharif will travel to Geneva on Sunday. He will lead a high-level delegation comprising federal ministers to Switzerland where he will co-host the conference — along with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres — on January 9.
The conference aims to assist Pakistan’s people and government recover more effectively from the recent devastating floods.
“Maybe our friendly countries are waiting for the donors’ conference so they can help us (and provide loans),” Pakistan’s Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal told Geo News’ Shahzeb Khanzada last month. (ANI)
During his speech, the Prime Minsiter had also claimed that the Fund’s managing director had contacted him….reports Asian Lite News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Sunday said that a call between Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took place on the request of the PM — a statement that indicates Islamabad has not refrained from doing politics despite nearing default, media report said.
“The call took place in response to a request by the Prime Minister of Pakistan to discuss the International Conference on resilient Pakistan,” Esther Perez, the resident representative of the IMF confirmed to The Express Tribune.
It is pertinent to note that on Friday an official handout released by the Prime Minister’s Office had read that “the IMF managing director called premier Shehbaz on the phone.”
During his speech, the Prime Minsiter had also claimed that the Fund’s managing director had contacted him.
It seems that the Pakistan government is not yet ready to mend its ways as it makes questionable claims of strength despite risking sovereign default with only $4.5 billion foreign exchange reserves in hand, The Express Tribune reported.
The remaining reserves are enough to finance only three weeks of imports. Pakistan’s three months (January-March) debt repayments stand at $8.5 billion. This includes $2 billion to the UAE which the government is trying to get a rollover for.
Such factually incorrect statements may create more problems for Pakistan to convince the IMF, particularly when there is a long history of mistrust between both sides, Express Tribune reported.
The country has long been in difficult relationships with the IMF due to its habit of making promises at the time of getting a loan tranche but then abandoning these commitments once the tranche has been disbursed. This has created a wide gulf.
A spokesperson of the IMF in a statement to the media also said that “the Managing Director had a constructive call with Prime Minister Sharif in the context of the International Conference on Resilient Pakistan to be held in Geneva on Monday, January 9.”
