Tag: rejection

  • Pakistan’s petrol relief proposal fails to convince IMF, causing further delays

    Pakistan’s petrol relief proposal fails to convince IMF, causing further delays

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistani authorities to provide additional information about a petrol relief package, which has caused further delays in the signing of a staff-level agreement.

    The petroleum ministry’s cross-fuel subsidy proposal was initially rejected by the Fund, which argued that more details are needed to verify its sustainability.

    The Ministry of Finance has distanced itself from the plan, which was announced without the IMF review mission’s knowledge, and has advised the Ministry of Petroleum to withdraw the proposal and work with the Ministry of Finance to iron out the policy details before approaching the IMF for the next review.

    According to The News, Minister of State for Finance, Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, has reportedly called the petrol subsidy plan “not workable” and clarified that there is no suggestion of subsidies on petroleum products. The Petroleum Division had suggested cross-subsidies on petroleum products, which is not feasible, she said.

    The talks with the IMF are ongoing, with the only remaining issue being the lender’s confirmation of external financing from bilateral countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which is currently underway.

    Pasha indicated that financial assistance is expected from bilateral friends soon, which will help finalize the staff-level agreement with the IMF.

  • Does the Pakistani man understand that no means no?

    Does the Pakistani man understand that no means no?

    A young girl was subjected to torture in Faisalabad. A final-year student, the girl alleged that her friend’s father became interested in her and even wrote her a formal proposal, which she declined. After she rejected the proposal, the accused pressurised her to change her mind. She received death threats. The complainant was even threatened that she could be raped. In videos that have now gone viral, she was subjected to physical and verbal abuse. Her hair was cut off and she was asked to lick shoes in order to humiliate her. She went through this abuse and torture only because she refused to marry a man who was also her friend’s father. This horrific incident shows how fragile Pakistani male egos are because they will not let a woman exercise her free will and choose to say no.

    This isn’t the first incident of its kind. Back in 2018, a bus hostess was murdered in Faisalabad for rejecting a marriage proposal. We witnessed the same shock and horror that we are seeing today but did it change anything? No. Are women allowed to exercise their free will and choose the men of their choice? No.

    In Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan, a total of 77 cases of physical assault were recorded in the month of July alone — 93 women in Punjab were abducted, and 47 cases of sexual assault cases were recorded. As far as domestic violence cases are concerned, Punjab reported 58 cases.

    Women face the same problems across South Asia. In India, Bilkis Bano — an Indian Muslim woman who was gang-raped in the 2002 Gujarat riots — said that her peace has been taken away after the Gujarat government released her 11 rapists. Her rapists were released on August 15, i.e. Independence Day of India. They were convicted in 2008.“How can justice for any woman end like this? I trusted the highest courts in our land. I trusted the system, and I was learning slowly to live with my trauma. The release of these convicts has taken from me my peace and shaken my faith in justice,” said Bilkis in her statement.

    With all the abuse, harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, and rapes being reported not just in our country, but around the region, where are we headed as a society? Where do we go from here? Where do we stand? Has humanity died? What about morality and protection in the name of rule and law? Will women ever be safe, anywhere? Women of Pakistan and across the world deserve better.