Tag: Pakistan

  • انگریزی کا ہیضہ

    انگریزی کا ہیضہ

    کہنے دیجئے کہ  ہمیں بطور قوم انگریزی کا ہیضہ ہو گیا ہے  ۔ جی چاہ رہا ہے کہ    ملک کے   انگریزی سے نابلد عوام کو بتاؤں کہ تم کیا  اردو  یا کسی اور زبان میں خیالات کی چڑیا اڑاتے رہتے ہو انگریزی زبان کے در پر اپنا ماتھا ٹیک دو گیان وہیں سے ملے گا۔    کینولی والی خواتین  کی تحقیر آمیز ہنسی ، مینیجر اویس کی واضح بے چینی  معاشرے میں زبان کی بنیاد پر پائی جانے والی ایک نا محسوس لسانی تقسیم    کی طرف اشارہ کرتی ہے  جو باقاعدہ طبقاتی تقسیم میں ڈھل گئی ہے۔  تقسیم در تقسیم کے شکار  معاشرے میں اگر کوئی کمی رہ گئی تھی تو  اس پر   انگریزی زبان  کی بنیاد پر پائے جانے والے احساس کمتری نے  چار چاند  لگا د ئیے ہیں۔

    اس واقعہ نے اور کچھ نہیں کیا سوائے اسکے کہ ہمارے روز مرہ کے معاشرتی رویوں کی ایک جھلک دکھا دی ہے جہاں    انگریزی بولنے  پر اگلے کے دل میں ویسے ہی ایک رعب پڑ جاتا ہے کئی در تو صرف دو فقرے بولنے سے ہی کھل جاتے ہیں چاہے سامنے والا زیادہ عقلمند اور صاحب علم کیوں نہ ہو اسکی ساری قابلیت انگریزی زبان نہ جاننے کی بنا پر ٹھس ہو جاتی ہے۔ بھائی انگریزی ایک زبان ہے جیسے باقی زبانیں ہوتی  ہیں اس میں کون سا سرخاب کے پر  لگے ہوئے ہیں  ہاں اسے  بولنا سیکھنا ایک مہارت یا اہلیت تو گردانا جا سکتا ہے  فوقیت نہیں ۔ ہاں اگر انگریزی زبان کی وجہ سے زیادہ ارفع و اعلیٰ خیالات آتے ہوتے تو بات بھی تھی لیکن افسوس سوائے اسکے مجھے تو کوئی ایسی خوبی نظر نہ آئی کہ انگریزی زبان دنیا میں رابطے کی بڑی زبانوں میں سے ایک ہے اور شاید مختلف بولیاں بولنے والوں کے درمیان پل کا کام کرتی ہے۔  اس  میں  میسر علمی مواد  بھی اچھا خاصا ہے لیکن روسی ،چینی ، ہسپانوی اور دیگر زبانوں میں بھی اسی پائے کی چیزیں پائی جاتی ہیں بلکہ بعض زبانوں کے ادب ، فصاحت و بلاغت کے سامنے تو انگریزی زبان پانی بھرتی ہے۔

    خلا میں روسی انگریزی زبان جاننے کی بنا پر تو پہلے نہیں پہنچ گئے تھے یا چین کی معاشی ترقی کا راز انگریزی زبان کی وجہ سے تو نہیں ہے بلکہ عظیم چینی رہنما چو این لائی سے منسوب جملے کے بقول ‘ چین گونگا نہیں ہے’۔ صاحب دوسری زبانو ں کو چھوڑئیے اپنی  اردو کوہی لیجئے  بھلا  میر غالب کے پائے کا شاعر اور داستان امیر حمزہ جیسی دیومالا  جس زبان کے پاس ہوں اسے تو بڑے چاؤ  اور ناز سے  رکھنا چاہئے۔ یہ الگ بات ہے کہ ہم نے اسے نصاب کے رٹوں تک محدود کر کے رکھ دیا ہے ۔

    خیر بات بھی کہاں سے کہاں نکل گئی دیکھنا یہ ہے کہ  اس  واقعہ سے حاصل کیا ہو گا؟ سماجی رابطوں کی ویب سائٹس پر ہر ایک نے اپنے دل کی بھڑاس نکال لی، جی بھر کر صلواتیں  سنائیں اویس صاحب کو ان لوگوں نے بھی نوکری کی پیشکش کر دی جو اپنے ملازمین کو چھ چھ ماہ تنخواہ کی مد میں  لٹکائے رکھتے ہیں  ، ہاں جو چیز ہم   بھول گئے  وہ یہ کہ  دو خواتین جو ایک زبان پر پوری طرح سے مہارت نہ رکھنے پر ایک دوسرے انسان کا مذاق اڑا رہیں تھی وہ کوئی اور نہیں میں اور آپ تھے۔ کیا  انگریزی زبان نہ جاننے یا اس پر پوری قدرت نہ رکھنے کی بنا پر ہم  بھی  کیا دوسرے کا مذاق نہیں اڑاتے ؟ کیسا لگا آئینہ میں اپنا اصل روپ دیکھ کر جس پر پتا نہیں کس کس ریا کاری کی پرت چڑھا رکھی ہے  اصل میں  ہم نے کبھی اس گٹر کے ڈھکن کو اٹھانے کی زحمت ہی نہیں کی جہاں زبان کی بنیاد پر ، رنگ اور شکل کی بنیاد پر  اور کسی دوسرے انسان  کے رہن سہن کی بنیاد پر اسے اپنے سے نیچا سمجھا جاتا ہے۔

    اگرچہ اس واقعہ میں  مظلوم اردو بن گئی ہے لیکن  کیا یہی معاملہ ہم اپنے ملک کی دیگر زبانوں کے ساتھ نہیں کرتے ؟ پشتو، پنجابی ،سندھی اور بلوچی بولنے والے کو اردو میں بات کرنی پڑ جائے تو اسکا مذاق بن جاتا ہے ۔ اسی لئے مسئلہ اردو انگریزی کا نہیں    بلکہ ، عدم برداشت، معاشرتی رویوں اور سماجی آداب کا ہے ہم سب کے اندر چھوٹی چھوٹی کینولی آنٹیاں بستی ہیں ، ان کو صلواتیں سنانے سے پہلے اپنے گریبان میں بھی جھانک لیجئے۔

  • Has Elon Musk trolled Pakistan for ‘no electricity’ while PM plans to meet Tesla executives?

    Has Elon Musk trolled Pakistan for ‘no electricity’ while PM plans to meet Tesla executives?

    With multiple media outlets reporting that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will be meeting Tesla executives to discuss investment opportunities in the Pakistani Electric Vehicle (EV) market, the screenshot of a tweet by Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk “mocking” Pakistan has started doing the rounds on social media.

    Tesla Inc is an American EV and clean energy company based in California. Its current products include electric cars, battery energy storage from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar roof tiles, as well as other related products and services.

    PM Imran is reportedly due to meet Tesla executives as Pakistan announces its plans to promote EVs and India gears up to welcome the Musk-run company.

    However, the news of the premier’s meeting was followed by a screenshot of the tweet wherein Musk had purportedly taken a dig at Pakistan’s power shortage vows.

    “First bring electricity,” read the tweet that seems to be nothing more than a meme since it could not be found on Musk’s Twitter handle.

    As for the PM’s reported plans of meeting Tesla executives, the news came from renowned journalist Sabir Shakir via a video clip shared on Javed Afridi’s social media page.

    In the video, Shakir states that Afridi, who is a key stakeholder in MG Pakistan, has already had a couple of meetings with the officials at Tesla Motors. He said that the world’s largest and most prolific EV maker had already expressed interest in investing in the Pakistani automotive market.

    Pakistan’s new EV policy was introduced by the government late last year, wherein it had announced a number of benefits and incentives for both interested investors in the local EV sector and potential buyers.

    Reports say Afridi has been at the forefront of campaigning for EVs to be made the norm in Pakistan. Additionally, MG is also set to introduce the ZS EV in Pakistan, reportedly in the first quarter of 2021.

  • Twitterati slam Cannoli owners for ‘non-apology’

    After the owners of Cannoli Café Soul sparked outrage for mocking their manager for his English speaking skills, they issued an apology which reeks of privelege and arrogance.

    In an official statement, the café said: “We are saddened and appalled by the reaction of the people, how they have misconstrued our banter with a team member.”

    The owners explained that the video showed “casual gup shup” between the owners and their team, adding: “This video depicts the gup shup between us as a team, and is never meant or taken in a hurtful or negative way. If anyone was hurt or offended we apologise, however that was never our intention.”

    The statement further said: “We are not required to prove or defend ourselves as kind employers. Our team has been with us for a decade, that should speak for itself.”

    “We are proud Pakistanis who love our language and our culture,” the statement concluded.

    However, social media users are not buying Cannoli’s apology, with some wishing they had never issued one.

    One user had predicted the entire apology statement.

    https://twitter.com/MirTharkiMir/status/1352214340087279619?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Shehzad89/status/1352231146638225421?s=20
  • Is Ertuğrul’s Esra Bilgiç in Pakistan?

    Is Ertuğrul’s Esra Bilgiç in Pakistan?

    Dirilis: Ertuğrul’s Esra Bilgiç aka Haleema Sultan has left fans in a tizzy after she posted a picture of Islamia University Peshawar with the caption “The City of Flowers”. This led to fans and followers speculating if the star was in Pakistan.

    While it has not yet been confirmed whether the star is in Pakistan, it is being speculated that Esra will be visiting soon as she has reportedly signed a contract with Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi.

    Shortly after Esra posted her story, Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi posted one on his Instagram account writing “The City of Flowers” and tagging Esra, further convincing fans.

    Earlier in July 2020, Afridi had asked Zalmi fans what they thought about having the cast of Dirilis: Ertuğrul as the brand ambassador of the team.

    Responding to Afridi’s tweet, the Turkish actress had said: “I will be sharing some good news with you soon.”

    https://twitter.com/esbilgic/status/1279772401853702150?s=20

    Recently, several Turkish actors from the super hit drama series have visited Pakistan for different purposes. From Engin Altan Düzyatan (Ertuğrul Bey) to Cavit Çetin Güner (Dogan Alp) and Celal AL (Abdur Rehman Alp), almost every prominent actor from the drama series has visited different cities of the country.

    While it is too early to say if Bilgiç is in Pakistan, we are sure she will be coming soon.

  • CPEC to come down crashing? Foreign media report claims ‘most serious disagreement’ between Pakistan, China

    Pakistan and China are embroiled in their most serious disagreement relating to the Belt and Road Initiative, causing the annual bilateral summit of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to be delayed, the world’s largest financial newspaper has claimed.

    The Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) is CPEC’s principal decision-making body. It is jointly chaired by Pakistan’s minister for planning, development and special initiatives and the vice chairman of China’s National Development and Reform Commission.

    The first JCC meeting was held in August 2013 and the last in November 2019. The 10th JCC was scheduled for early 2020, but remains postponed.

    Initially, the COVID-19 pandemic was the reason, but later disagreements between the two countries over the Main Line 1 (ML-1) railway project and special economic zones became the main points of disagreement, Nikkei Asia has learned from informed sources.

    Asad Umar, Pakistan’s minister for planning, development and special initiatives, told local media in November that the 10th JCC would be held the following month. However, officials in the Planning Commission of Pakistan, who asked not to be named, recently told Nikkei that the meeting will not take place for at least three months — by far the longest JCC gap to date.

    ML-1 is the largest CPEC project and worth $6.8 billion. China is expected to lend $6 billion of this, which Pakistan wants to borrow at a concessional interest rate of less than 3%.

    China offers a mixture of concessionary and commercial loans for such projects. This could significantly increase the aggregate interest rate Islamabad will face, according to the planning commission officials.

    “China is reluctant to lend money for ML-1 because Pakistan has already sought debt relief to meet G-20 lending conditions and it is not in a position to give sovereign guarantees,” Nasir Jamal, a senior journalist in Lahore covering business and the economy, told Nikkei. He said Beijing’s appetite for lending money for large infrastructure projects has diminished because these projects are vulnerable to local politics that delay returns on investment for China. That has hindered agreement on the finance framework for ML-1.

    Andrew Small, a senior trans-Atlantic fellow with the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund, a U.S. think tank, said China tends to base its decisions about interest rates for loans to Pakistan on a couple of criteria. Firstly, do low-interest rates encourage projects that do not make sense financially? Secondly, what precedents are set for other countries looking for similar concessions?

    “China is much more comfortable deferring payments or providing new financing than it is offering concessional rates in the first place,” Small told Nikkei. He said this approach provides Beijing with greater leverage and control even if they are willing to be very flexible at the back-end.

    With host countries under pressure to repay at higher rates, China trades payment deferments in return for influence, which helps it get more favorable arrangements.

    The delayed JCC meeting and unsettled ML-1 financial framework is complicating matters for Pakistan. Early this month, Pakistan Railways asked the government for 11 billion rupees ($69 million) to provide ML-1 security. Without the Chinese financing framework being agreed by the JCC, it is hard for Islamabad to come up with such a large amount given the state of the economy and severe budgetary constraints.

    The other major disagreement between Beijing and Islamabad delaying the JCC meeting relates to SEZs. In the second phase of CPEC scheduled for 2020 to 2025, Chinese companies are due to start producing goods in Pakistan and exporting from there.

    Currently, the industrial cooperation framework for the SEZs is limited to a memorandum of understanding without detailed modalities. Matters such as tax exemptions and requirements for employing local labor have not been finalized. These need to be agreed by China for confirmation at the JCC. The Board of Investment of Pakistan submitted the draft agreement for the industrial cooperation framework to the Chinese government last month and is still awaiting a response.

    In December 2020, during a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Industrial Cooperation under CPEC, Asim Ayub, the project director for industrial cooperation at the Board of Investment, pressed for early signing of the industrial cooperation framework agreement.

    The seriousness of the delay is clear from China’s unprecedented reluctance to schedule a JCC meeting. In the past, JCCs were always held in time, and China agreed to Islamabad’s requests most of the time. Some experts believe the delay is evidence that CPEC is derailing.

    According to Small, there were plenty of announcements about CPEC last year, but actually setting deals in motion was another matter. “The optics do matter to China so I still expect them to figure out terms in the end, and certainly to keep some narrative of continued progress alive,” Small told Nikkei. “But that doesn’t mean they’re willing to agree on something that doesn’t make sense for other reasons just to speed things up a little.”

    Pakistan is currently renegotiating its $6 billion extended fund facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was suspended in April 2020. The IMF reportedly will only resume the program if Pakistan does not take out any new commercial loans, and that is one of the reasons it is looking for concessions on loans for the ML-1 project.

    An important long-term implication of this case for other BRI countries could be that China will be more wary of lending to countries that have entered loan agreements with global lenders such as the IMF.

    Hasaan Khawar, an Islamabad-based public policy analyst, views the situation from a different perspective. “The back-and-forth with China by Pakistan on the interest rate and additional guarantees for the ML-1 project is a good sign,” he told Nikkei. “The Pakistani side is appraising the terms carefully and trying to negotiate a better deal.”

    The report originally appeared on Nikkei Asia

  • Former general replaces career diplomat as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

    Former general replaces career diplomat as ambassador to Saudi Arabia

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appointed Lt Gen (r) Bilal Akbar as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, removing Raja Ali Ejaz, a career diplomat.

    The outgoing Ejaz, who was on his first ambassadorial posting, had been given the assignment around two years ago.

    The latest change has brought Islamabad at par with Riyadh in one term that now both countries have envoys with a military background in each other’s capitals. 

    The Saudi ambassador in Pakistan Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki was from the Royal Saudi Navy and retired as Rear Admiral. He had been appointed as the defence attaché of the Saudi mission in Islamabad and later elevated as the ambassador here four years ago.

    The sudden shuffling by Pakistan is being seen as significant amid reportedly weakening bilateral ties at a time when India’s relationship with the Kingdom is improving. 

    Amid the present scenario, key task of Lt Gen (r) Bilal Akbar, who retired as Pakistan Ordnance Factories chairman, would be saving the ties from further deterioration. 

    The former three-star rank lieutenant general also served as X Corps Rawalpindi commander, chief of general staff (CGS) at GHQ, Pakistan Rangers Sindh director general and the general officer commanding (GOC) of the 11th Infantry Division Lahore.

  • Foreign investment falls by 30%

    Foreign investment falls by 30%

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 30 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year (H1FY21), according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    According to a report based on the data compiled by a local media outlet, Pakistan received $952 million in foreign investment during July-December FY21 compared to $1.357 billion in the corresponding period last year.

    In addition to the damage done by the pandemic, the impact of heavy outflow from the portfolio also played a key role in making the balance sheet poorer in the first half of FY21. The data shows that the outflow during July-December was $244m compared to a net inflow of $18.8m in the same period last year.

    The breakup further shows that China made 38pc contribution to the overall $952m FDI the country received in July-December period of FY21. However, the FDI inflows from China also contracted to $359m in the period under review compared to $396m in the same period of last fiscal year.

    The other significant contributions were from the United States and UK at $65m and $63m, respectively, both improved from $44m and $58m in the same period of last fiscal year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has started disinvesting; however, in July-December FY21, the inflow was $16.3m.

    The country received the highest foreign investment of $261m in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sectors. While an inflow of $137m was noted in financial and insurance sectors.

  • PTI UK member claims Buzdar govt official told him to run Twitter campaign against Aurat March, critics

    In a first, a worker of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) United Kingdom (UK) wing has stepped forward with damning allegations against a key person of the Usman Buzdar administration, Azhar Mashwani.

    In a video message, Arslan Mushtaq, who was appointed as the deputy head of PTI UK Twitter in September last year, has accused Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Buzdar’s Focal Person on Digital Media Azhar Mashwani of telling him and others to run smear campaigns against critics of the PTI government and Aurat March participants among others.

    “I lead [PTI] UK’s Twitter. What do you do there? Have you not told us to run campaigns against people such as [journalist] Amber Shamsi and [Ahmad] Waqass Goraya? Did you not use to tell me what to tweet against Aurat March participants? Did you not use to send me voice notes, telling me what message to send in which groups?” Mushtaq asked as he confronted Mashwani in the video message.

    He went on to accuse the Punjab CM’s aide of seeking retweets and help to make videos against political opponents such as Maryam Nawaz of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) go viral.

    While the announced sequel of the video message has not yet been released, the claims are doing rounds over the social media, leaving users asking if campaigns against critics were “government-approved”.

    Twitter users in Pakistan have time and again been left shocked to find that most of the top trends on the popular microblogging site included such cuss words against journalists, activists and government critics, which cannot be reproduced here.

    Recently, a hashtag calling for the arrest of journalists briefly became the top Twitter trend in Pakistan, deepening concern over a shrinking space for dissent in the country.

    Many users accompanied such tags with a composite photograph of prominent journalists and TV anchors, some of whom regularly criticise the government led by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Women journalists have especially been targeted time and again. Months ago, the routine had prompted a group of well-known Pakistani women journalists and commentators to seek protection against what they termed “vicious attacks” directed at them through social media, allegedly by people linked to the ruling PTI government.

    While Baloch’s claims add weight to what several targets of online trolls seem to always have believed, the same have been rubbished by those he accused.

    Speaking to The Current, Mashwani called Baloch a “pathological liar”.

    “It’s funny that a pathological liar and imposter’s statement, who was exposed by me, is being quoted against me. That too without any evidence,” he said.

    Terming the claims as “totally baseless and ridiculous”, Mashwani has also not shied away from tweeting his side of the story.

    In conversation with The Current, Mohammad Kamran, the PTI’s social media head, said that an episode transpired on Twitter Sunday night between Mashwani and UK deputy head Baloch.

    “They had a fight in private, which led to a public fight on Twitter. Some things were said that were not true. The fight was settled and they deleted their tweets but as you know, once something goes on social media, it will be questioned. An inquiry against our deputy lead Baloch has been called by Overseas head Zeeshan.”

    Kamran further said he would send the case to the disciplinary committee. “It is our internal matter that will be heard by our disciplinary committee and then any needed action will be taken against whoever is at fault,” he added.

  • Kashmir Committee chief Shehryar Afridi ditches Kashmiris on UAE trip: report

    Kashmir Committee chief Shehryar Afridi ditches Kashmiris on UAE trip: report

    Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir Chairperson Shehryar Afridi ditched Kashmiris on his recent trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as he did not meet any Kashmiris living there and neither was the Kashmir issue mentioned in the press statement released by the Pakistan diplomatic mission in Dubai, it has emerged.

    According to a report by The News, Afridi visited the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai on Sunday but Kashmiris were not invited. Pakistan Consul-General to Dubai Ahmed Amjad Ali briefed Afridi about the consular services provided to Pakistanis and the COVID-19 operations for repatriation of Pakistanis.

    Kashmiri leaders, namely Sardar Shabbir, former adviser to the Azad Kashmir government Sardar Javed Yaqub, Azad Kashmir Assembly candidate Farooq Baniya among others, also raised the issue of Afridi’s inactiveness in meeting Kashmiris and discussing the region’s problems.

    They said Afridi heads the Kashmir committee, but unfortunately did not bother to meet or invite the “Kashmiri people”. 

    As the chief of the Pakistan Kashmir committee, Afridi could have informed the community and taken them in confidence about the efforts the government has been taking to resolve the Kashmir issue, the report quoted Shabbir as saying.

    Other Kashmiri leaders said many of their relatives had been living on the Line of Control (LoC) and facing unwarranted cross-border aggression by Indian forces. “We wanted to inform Afridi of this.”

    When asked about Afridi’s visit to the consulate and Kashmiris, Press Counsellor Shazia Siraj initially declined to comment. She later said if Kashmiris had shown interest to have a meeting with Afridi, the consulate could have arranged it.

    Siraj, however, did not comment on why Kashmir issue was missing in the consulate’s press statement.

    Afridi was appointed as the chief of the Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir in May 2020. The committee that comprises senior members of the National Assembly and the Senate, monitors human rights violations and atrocities being committed by Indian forces in occupied Jammu and Kashmir besides raising the same in all necessary forms.

    Other objectives of the committee include increasing awareness within as well as outside the country about the Kashmir issue, mobilisation of world opinion in support of the cause of right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir as well as the principle stand of Pakistan, and provision of political, moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris in accordance with the United Nations (UN) resolutions.

  • #WesupportIqrar: Celebrities back Iqrarul Hassan after netizens demand apology for praising India

    #WesupportIqrar: Celebrities back Iqrarul Hassan after netizens demand apology for praising India

    Social media users are demanding an apology from television anchor Syed Iqrarul Hassan for praising India. The Sar-e-Aam host was replying to a tweet that stated that India is the ‘vaccine hub’ of the world.

    “India vs Pakistan,” Hassan had written in response to the tweet. “We are not even sure that we ordered the vaccine or not, banana to door ki baat (making it is another story).”

    Muqabla kerna hai to taleem main kerain, science main kerain, khail main kerain, infrastructure main kerain, economy main kerain, technology main kerain … aur such ka samna kerain (If you want to compete, do it on the basis of education, science, sports, infrastructure, economy, technology … and face the truth).”

    Later, the television host also compared the public transport facilities of the two countries.

     Hassan then went on to highlight how even Pakistan’s currency is at a much lower value than other developing countries.

    Soon after these Tweets, Twitterati started calling him out and demanded an apology.

    https://twitter.com/yes_im_moonali/status/1350985716570972164?s=20

    Following the backlash, several celebrities, and social media users supported the anchor with the hashtag #WeSupportIqrar trending on social media. Shoaib Akhtar, Kamran Akmal, and Imran Ashraf were among those who came forward to defend the anchor.

    https://twitter.com/SyedGhayasAhma3/status/1351013489867948033?s=20