With this letter, I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the delay in the disbursement of pensions to the retired employees of the University of Karachi. Timely pension payments are crucial for the well-being and financial stability of our retired colleagues, who have dedicated many years of service to the university. The delay in receiving their pensions has caused considerable distress and financial hardship, affecting their ability to meet daily expenses and medical needs.

It is imperative that the university addresses this issue promptly to ensure that our retired employees receive their rightful dues without further delay. I also request the federal and provincial governments to investigate the cause of the delay in pension payments, expedite the process to clear any pending payments at the earliest, and implement measures to prevent such delays in the future.

Dr Intikhab Ulfat

Karachi

This letter refers to the editorial ‘State of terror’ (July 5, 2024). The nation has been living in constant fear for a very long time. Fear of conventional war with India has always been there since Pakistan was born. The unending race to amass war machinery and weapons has continued in order to ‘prepare’ for the threat. Then came the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and we started to reinforce our defences against the aggressor reaching and, in doing so, got ourselves engulfed in another country’s war.

Then came a wave of terrorism in which ordinary Pakistanis became targets on a more micro level with our streets, neighbourhoods and infrastructure under constant threat of violence and bomb blasts. This slippery slope continues, unfortunately, as some states have now adopted the use of terrorism as a state tool to carry out their subversive activities. The need is for someone to collect all states on a UN forum, lay the evidence of what they have done before them and call a spade a spade. Perhaps this would instil some sense in the people who can make a difference in their countries.

Anas A Khan

Edmonton

Canada

ISLAMABAD: In a twist of events, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has announced that he has not accepted the resignation of Omar Ayub on the direction of party founder chairman and directed him to continue as the party’s Secretary General (SG).

PTI’s Parliamentary Party and Core Committee through unanimous resolutions had recently recommended to Imran Khan and Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan not to accept Omar Ayub’s resignation, who is also the leader of opposition in the National Assembly.

“Omar Ayub Khan resigned as PTI Secretary General on June 27, 2024. However, the parliamentary party as well as core committee through separate resolutions reposed trust in him and commended his services and requested him to continue as PTI secretary general,” says a notification issued by Gohar.

Gohar said in the notification that Imran Khan appreciated his services and acknowledged his sacrifices for the party. Accordingly, on the instructions of PTI founding chairman, the resignation of Omar Ayub Khan is not accepted. He shall continue as secretary general, and we all hope the party will benefit from his experience and leadership.

Pakistan is dealing with a scorching summer of high temperatures accompanied by plenty of humidity, both of which make the weather unbearable. The effect of the weather is only being exacerbated by loadshedding. Loadshedding takes place in order to either manage the load — so as to save the system from tripping — or as a punishment for areas involved in electricity theft or the nonpayment of bills, in which case not only the electricity thieves but also those who pay their electricity bills regularly suffer. Recently, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and PTI workers have taken the law into their own hands and are forcibly restoring power supply to affected areas, thus challenging the writ of the state and endangering the entire electricity supply system of Pakistan. Such irresponsible acts aimed at boosting one’s popularity are jeopardizing national assets and inviting extreme measures from the state. The saner elements in the party should now act and take control of affairs in KP as the party is already in trouble due to the May 9 incident.

Malik ul Quddoos

Karachi

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said in an interview that no other political party could have presented a better budget keeping in mind the present conditions of Pakistan. The current economic conditions have forced the government to prepare a budget that best fits the resource situation. The government was left with no other choice.

He said the economic downfall that started after 2018 has led the country to its current situation. The federal government’s net revenue was 7,000 billion rupees, while 8,000 billion rupees were needed to repay loans. He emphasized the severe economic difficulties inherited from the previous government, noting that an additional 1,000 billion rupees had to be borrowed to repay debts, resulting in a budget heavily reliant on loans.

Ahsan Iqbal said that in 2018, the CPEC projects lost their momentum due to which Pakistan’s development projects being done in collaboration with Chinese support suffered immensely. The country is knee deep in inflation because the interim government was busy making political enemies. The leaders were made victim of false allegations and propaganda due to which the state machinery lost its ability to make effective decisions.

All important decisions of the state were sidelined in interim government. The projects on which work was started in CPEC became unnecessarily delayed and Chinese investors lost their confidence and trust in our stability.

The minister also said that the interim government’s accountability chief Shahzad Akbar and former minister Fawad Chaudhry had maligned him, Rana Sanaullah, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Miftah Ismail by making false allegations. This propaganda was spread by PTI workers to change the mind of masses. The narrative was the PMLN is looting the country and the country was badly polarized as a result. Seeds of hatred and polarization were sown which stunted the ability of masses to think without bias. He further said that recently during WEF in Davos, world leaders were asked about the biggest challenges that the world was facing today. Collectively, all leaders named disinformation as the greatest challenge. Today, PTI leaders cannot name any substantive achievements made during their four-year tenure. But on social media all they show their crazy antics. Future politics will have to be based on truth and performance, not baseless accusations. He further said the PTI government also killed Vision 2025 by sabotaging it. They could not even present any alternate vision to follow during their tenure. The minister said that for the next five years, the government has prepared the 5Es Framework, a cornerstone of the National Economic Transformation Plan. “The fate of our country is in our hands. We have to maintain an equilibrium of development and ensure policy stability.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the visit to China saw that Chinese people were keen on accelerating CPEC phase 2, he added.

Ever since the independence of Pakistan, our leaders have tilted towards the US. But our relations have witnessed unprecedented instability. Now, the US Congress has adopted a resolution with an overwhelming majority urging our government to ensure free and transparent elections, freedom of the press and the freedom of speech under this incumbent government. The passing of this resolution has received mixed response from various diplomats and international relations experts. The US Congress must understand that the incarcerated leader of a political cult is serving his term in prison for his alleged involvement in various graft and embezzlement cases perpetrated during his tenure.

He has also incited his political workers to spread anarchy in the country, culminating in the May 9 incident. An independent judiciary is functioning in the country and it is its mandate to adjudicate upon various ongoing cases being prosecuted in various courts of the law and it is their prime obligation to decide the cases against the incarcerated leader on their merits. Likewise, our national parliament has passed and adopted a counter resolution to condemn such unwarranted meddling in our national and internal affairs.

Sajjad Khattak

Attock