Islamic Foundations

In Pakistan, one can find a list of formal foundations like Sultana foundation, Shaheen foundation, Al Khidmat foundation, Al Hudah foundation, Hamdard foundation, Shaheed foundation, Pakistan foundation fighting Blindiness, Pakistan Science foundation, Agha Khan foundation, Pakistan Press foundation, The Asia foundation, Education foundation and many more providing and strugglings for Socio-economic needs of the masses in Pakistan. In addition to these foundations, we do have a series of trusts like Edhi welfare trust, social security trust and a series of NGOs engaged in the provision of socio-economic needs of the society in Pakistan. The helping hand of Govt. can promote these organisations (formal and informal) – it is a policy issue.

Repeated water and power mistakes

As the Diamer Basha groundbreaking news flashes, one wonders how the Karakoram Highway is in such a pathetic condition. The road between Thakot to Chilas is even worse. Small trucks take 20 hours to reach from Besham to Thor Nala. We need to build a road for 22 wheeler trucks and even if FWO starts repair-work on Karakorum Highway it will take ages to make the transport of heavy machinery possible. If they give it to a private contractor it will take more than 10 years to do the job – if we remember it took 2 months to open KKH last year where only 2 bridges were broken.

Pakistan’s path of denial

I used to the think the Pakistani people were completely deluded; they kept electing the same parties, kept disregarding corruption, inefficiency and general stupidity that had been trademarks of the any party’s time in power. But if we consider that the average Pakistani is poor, uneducated, in debt, and has more children than he can look after. The thought that casting a vote that will bring a short-term benefit is not delusional, it is necessary for his survival. So my question, is whether having a long-term memory is beneficial to the average Pakistani? Does remembering all the wrongs and injustices change anything? Can we really expect him to look past his own survival and visualise the needs of the country?

Making elephants dance

The recent announcement of privatising the state owned enterprises depicts the inability of the government towards solving the current issues faced by Railways, PIA and many other state- owned organisations. Business models, either public or private both are of secondary importance, the people running the organisations are more important and can play a vital role in the success of an organisation. The solution is to induct loyal, honest and dedicated professionals to run these organisations, but this solution can’t be implemented because to have these professionals in a team, the people recruiting them must have these qualities, which I think almost all of our leaders don’t have.

Can we afford $35b for a holiday?

The recent announcement by the government, for business activity closure on Saturdays, will drastically affect the economy of Pakistan as mentioned by Shan. This decision shows the inefficiency and incapability of the leaders to solve the current energy crisis. The solution to any problem is not to change your ways but to face it. But our leaders instead of finding out the solution of energy crisis are just going for the easiest thing which they can do, instead of taking into consideration the overall impact it will have on the economy of Pakistan. I strongly believe that they should focus on renewable energy sources and instead of closing the markets on Saturdays, they should create awareness among people to minimise the energy consumption.

India outplays Pakistan in trade diplomacy

We have seen the true face of indians time and again...it is not a surprise. This dialogue business is a drama that should end pretty soon. The only way the indians would listen is when Pakistan forces them to listen, and that is where it will lead to. Every neighbor of india has a serious problem with this state and that is no accident. The mentality of the indian politicians/ media/military to toy around with its neighbors is no longer working. It has backfired and has only resulted in an isolated indian state in the region with a total Chinese-Pakistani dominance.

Islamic Banking

I pray that your recommendations are considered and implemented by policy makers in Pakistan. We need to keep building Islamic Banking as a real alternative to conventional banking; that includes educating ignorant consumers as to the inherent strength and stability of the Islamic financial system, which prohibits speculation, excessive risk-taking, most derivative transactions. It is crystal clear that Islamic Banking and its propagation is the prosperous way forward. We need to inculcate the Islamic philosophy in all facades of life and if we successfully implement Islamic Banking, I am a hundred per cent sure that our economy will prosper in the long run.

India’s deceitful tactics

India must understand that it will benefit in billions of dollars if it gets the transit trade deal, therefore it must not play cheap tactics to stall an aid programme that was meant for Pakistan in the wake of the most devastative floods in history that had an estimated impact of $43 billion on the Pakistani economy. Instead of supporting it, India is concealing a dagger behind a smile and a handshake. Such tactics are typical manifestations of deceitfulness from the other side of the border, and such evil must be nipped in the bud before the Indians forestall further lucrative moves from paying their share of dividends in our side.

Occupy Wall Street

So, we should be grateful for the monopoly they hold on wealth, the poisoning of our environment, the way they find a way to profit from our most basic activities and needs? These people see us as a commodity a slave pool...they are not designing gifts for us when they design an iPhone, they are looking for more ways to engage us into being a source of profit. I'm sorry, but they are not policing their activities, so we must. They will take things as far as we let them to their advantage... it is time for regulation and rules that protect humanity first, profit and products second.

Deterioration of PIA

PIA is being run by illiterates, whose only qualification is that they are all cronies of a crony of our President, a pilot whose name is Obaid Jatoi. Pilferages and plunder of revenues plague an airline, which has no dearth of passengers. This disaster struck PIA, when Ahmed Saeed took over and ever since than, incompetent and corrupt mediocrity has destroyed this airline. Two brothers namely Ahmed Saeed and Ahmed Mukhtar has done immense damage to PIA, along with men like Tariq Kirmani, Kamran Rasool, Ejaz Haroon and Nadeem Yousafzai.

Islamic banking as a policy tool

Recent trends in economical and financial situation of different countries, where economies based on conventional banking systems are facing a lot of problems and at the same time a tremendous growth has been observed in Islamic financial system, it can be concluded that Islamic financial system provides the perfect pathway for socio-economic development in a country. Pakistani government should realise the importance it has, over interest-based economy, and the state-owned institutions should not just stop resisting change towards Islamic system but they should also promote it as a central agenda item of development plans. SBP and other institutions should have a separate department, the experts over there will research on Islamic financial system and will provide the solutions of the newly arise economic problems based on Sharia' compliant rules.

Development in modern political thinking

A large number of institutions in Pakistan are not functioning properly since our political and economic system which is led by the bourgeoisie, does not encourage the distribution of rewards based on the talents of the people. Individuals with lack of information, ethics and a sense of fairness are leading markets towards disaster, and government seems to show complete apathy towards these issues. For Pakistan to be developed, it is the need of the hour that there should be effective allocation of resources and innovation in markets. This requires investment in education to improve human capital and to promote a sense of responsibility.

Better safe than sorry

The unpredictable enigma also knows as Karachi Stock Exchange ensures that investment is done only after a long train of thought, and in your “Average Joe Investor” piece this phenomena was highlighted extremely well. I can count myself as another Average Joe who keeps his eyes on the fluctuating trends of the market and has to check and recheck a million times before swooping in. The recent downward spiral and the plunges of various proportions make it impossible for us to rest assured and safe, since the unpredictability knows no bounds at all. At the moment, one can’t safely put a wager on a nailed on rise or even a fall.

No more wars

The prevailing circumstances have prompted me to write about peace. Not the peaceful feeling, but the absence of war. It is precious and it takes efforts to attain and maintain it. Some people have different view though. They go to war and others are deprived of the blessings of peace.

We have seen some of the worst wars in the recent history. From the invasion of Austria to the peace treaty in Sept 1945, from Vietnam War to the Kargil Conflict, war has destroyed us. People who advocated the cause of war profited from it but many boundaries were affected by such wars.

Today war is still very profitable and the motive for many is to maximise profit. This conflict of interest inherent in leadership, seeking prosperity but making money off war, leads to more wars for this reason, but it is the truth that brings and keeps peace.

We are divided by lies. We are all one species, but the great lie is that we are different, these identities are used to disparage others who identify differently, and predatory acts follow. One community does not make war on itself, communities make war on other communities, whether they are tribes, countries or religions. An earth at peace will look like individuals with one universally common identity, no enforced piety, and the freedom to tell the truth so others can share it.

We are divided by lies. We are one species, but the great lie is that we are different, these identities are used to disparage others who identify differently, and predatory acts follow. One community does not make war on itself, communities make war on other communities, whether they are tribes, countries or religions. An earth at peace will look like individuals with one universally common identity, no enforced piety, and the freedom to tell the truth so others can share it. Truth and peace are to each other like air and breathing.

KIRAN KHAN

Lahore

Bridging the rural-urban technological gap

The well-documented rural-urban divide is one of the principal antagonists that ensure that our nation doesn’t progress as it should – at least in unison. The propagation of ICTs is the need of the hour as we continue to lag behind as far as technological progress is concerned. Not only will this digital divide continue to broaden up, until some tangible actions is taken, it will further aggravate our socio-economic problems. Hence a joint effort is required on behalf of the government and the various businesses to enhance the digital markets. The rural population needs technological exposure or soon it would become impossible to bridge this ever increasing gap.