Should Pakistan resume trade with India?

News International (October 29) takes a broader presumption of commercialized issues successful Pakistan saying, “Beyond the India-specific issues, Pakistan’s commercialized relationships crossed the portion stay importantly underdeveloped… Pakistani exporters person often shown a penchant for Western markets, which, portion valuable, entail precocious logistical costs.”

The wide takeaway from the media is, “Engaging much with determination neighbours, including Afghanistan, Iran, and adjacent distant Southeast Asian nations, could assistance Pakistan chopped costs portion fostering a much diversified commercialized network.” (News International, October 29)

Nijjar lawsuit allegations

The recent India-Canada fracas with the Canadian authorities accusing Indian officials of being progressive successful the Hardeep Singh Nijjar assassination is the spotlight successful Pakistan’s media.

According to Dawn (November 1), this “points to a run of state-sponsored coercion originating from New Delhi.” Urging India to rethink its tactics, the editorial says, “The BJP’s ‘muscular’ argumentation of targeting dissidents connected overseas ungraded has intelligibly backfired, and the Indian authorities needs to wantonness specified subversive behaviour.”

Express Tribune (November 1), connected the different hand, asks India to instrumentality accountability: “Delhi cannot conscionable get distant with knee-jerk reactions and indispensable travel to code these fissures successful each seriousness.”

The editorial besides points to a perchance larger signifier successful these accusations saying, “The unrest successful the ethnic, spiritual and communal realms — whereby Delhi wants to instrumentality a communal codification of societal enactment by snubbing the sentiments of minorities and denying them their rights — is present an planetary issue… The mode guardant for India is to ticker its steps, and not to spell connected intimidating minorities and transgressing diplomatic norms.”

Mastung weaponry blast

On Friday, a weaponry blast successful Balochistan’s Mastung killed nine, including 5 children, erstwhile an improvised explosive instrumentality (IED) attached to a motorcycle was detonated successful the vicinity of a schoolhouse and a hospital. According to immoderate sources, the intended people was a constabulary conveyance guarding a polio vaccination team.

With a surge successful violent attacks successful August and September successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Daily Times believes that this “targeting of a constabulary conveyance guarding a polio squad is yet different motion of the persistent menace Pakistan faces, wherever attacks purpose not lone to instil fearfulness but to hinder developmental and health-related programmes indispensable to nationalist welfare.”

Considering the bombing was adjacent a girls school, Dawn says, “Regardless of the perpetrators’ ideological background, the targeting of children is the worst signifier of terrorism, and needs to beryllium powerfully condemned by each quarters.”

PIA merchantability issue

The Pakistan authorities has been attempting to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), successful bid to adhere to IMF’s conditions, offering a minimum bid of PKR 85 billion. Of the six pre-approved groups, lone Blue World City, a existent property company, participated successful the last bidding. The connection presented by the institution was overmuch beneath the government’s anticipation — astatine a paltry PKR 10 cardinal for 60 per cent stake. The information that this bidding process was broadcast unrecorded has besides been taxable to scrutiny by the media fixed the unfortunate outcome.

The Nation powerfully objects to this connection saying, “As it stands, the authorities should firmly cull this bid. It’s not lone insufficient; it comes from a institution with nary expertise successful aviation.” Instead, it suggests that the authorities should deliberation astir “pausing the process, reassessing imaginable bidders, adjusting the terms, and trying again with a much strategical approach.”

News International raises a larger question here, with respect to the merchantability process: “The government’s attack to this privatisation debacle signals a broader issue; if it cannot efficaciously negociate the merchantability of a large authorities asset, what assurance tin we person successful its quality to grip different privatisation initiatives that prevarication ahead?”

[email protected]