Rupee plunge
Sir,
Unexpectedly and suddenly the Pakistan rupee plunged 3.1% in the opening hours of forex trade on July 5, 2017, sparking a shortage of foreign currency in the market as dealers and traders prefer to usually hold rather than sell in such a situation. By midday, the dollar had risen to Rs108.50, before settling at Rs108.25 by closing. This was the largest single-day drop in nine years in the value of the rupee.
Many observers of the economy must be wondering how this happened. I, for one, believe that this surprising and intriguing fall might have been the result of a planned and concerted speculative attack on the rupee by some people in Pakistan who wanted to make a quick buck.
Pakistan has a huge current account balance which is expected to reach $8 billion by the end of financial year 2017 and this current account deficit is a big challenge for the country’s economic managers. Pakistan has sufficient forex reserves to finance its current account deficit, which will start improving once heavy machinery imported during the current financial year is installed and starts producing goods for the export market.
The rupee has been reasonably stable during the last four years since this government came to power and the stability of the currency has played a significant role in stabilizing the economy and putting it on a healthy track. I believe Pakistan’s economic fundamentals are strong and the potential for growth are positive. Therefore, I think the devaluation Pakistan’s rupee that we saw recently is neither warranted nor justified and I hope it will recover and stay stable. I also believe betting against the rupee will not be beneficial for speculators.
Ejaz Ahmad Magoon (FCA),
Dubai.
Democracy & ethics
Sir,
Pakistan has suffered enough during the past six decades from frequent interventions by a few in the Establishment and their political engineering, which has created more problems than solutions. Ruling families exist only in monarchies but in a democracy individuals are elected. The mediocrity of our politicians nurtured by the Establishment have proven to be devoid of competence and integrity, so vital for any country to survive and thrive economically, without which national sovereignty cannot be guaranteed. The survival and integrity of Pakistan lies solely in the adoption of democracy, with oversight by parliament and a strong independent judiciary.
A trained professional army dedicated to its sole constitutional obligation of safeguarding the territorial integrity of a country is vital. Unfortunately supra constitutional interventions by the likes of Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq, Pervez Musharraf and the political class they nurtured runs up against the Quaid’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state, which was to crack down with an iron hand on the biggest curses of bribery and corruption. Mohammad Ali Jinnah clearly elaborated the importance of the Constitution, upon which the foundations of Pakistan were to be built. But after his death the process of framing the Constitution was delayed and even when it was finally presented, it was subverted by adventurers and the result of such subversions is there for all to see. As a nation we must learn from our mistakes or else fall victim to the repeated abuse of power and greed of a few.
Napoleon once said, “There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.” Democracy is a government of laws with an effective inbuilt system of checks and balances, confining powers of the ruling elite to limits imposed by the Constitution and law. In a democracy the power of the ballot supersedes the brutal force of the bullet.
If a prime minister or president is given immunity from accountability for transgressions of power, or serious conflicts of interest, the system degrades to a sham quasi dictatorship, just like any tyrannical monarchy. In the words of John Adams, such a state is no better than “an aristocratic council, an oligarchical junta and a single emperor”.
Malik Tariq Ali,
Lahore.
Cyber harassment
Sir,
I must bring to your attention some excellent work being done by Nighat Dad and her team. The digital rights foundation has issued a six-month report on its cyber harassment helpline. The report gives the data collected by the helpline and recommendations on how to improve responses to online harassment.
The helpline is Pakistan’s first dedicated helpline that addresses online abuse and violence. The support staff gives legal advice, digital security support and psychological counselling to victims of online harassment. The toll free number (0800-39393) is available between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
“According to our findings, the Cyber Harassment Helpline has received 763 complaints in the form of calls, emails and Facebook messages from December 1, 2016 till May 31, 2017,” said a press release. “The helpline has so far received 703 calls out of which 569 people were calling for the first time. The Helpline has received an average of 82 calls per month.” Sixty-three per cent of the calls were made by women, whereas 37% of the calls were made by men.
Facebook remains the most widely reported platform where people face the most harassment. Among the kinds of harassment reported, complaints of fake profiles, non-consensual use of information, blackmailing, hacked accounts and devices and unsolicited messages were the most common ones, read the press release.
“Only non-personally identifiable information is collected from our callers to maintain their privacy,” it says. “While 21.2% of the callers did not want to disclose their location, we were able to identify that most of our callers on the helpline were from Punjab (44%). The helpline also received calls from Sindh (19.1%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (5%), Balochistan (1.6%), Azad Kashmir (0.6%) and the Federal Capital, Islamabad (8.7%).”
The Cyber Harassment Helpline also started identifying the mental health consequences of cyber harassment with a descriptive and psychological review of the calls. It was identified that out of a sample of 50 callers who gave psychological data, 18% experienced fear and 18% felt anger which further led to depression (17%), insecurities (19%), disturbed sleep (15%), withdrawal from family and friends (14%), anxiety/paranoia (10%), suicidal thoughts (5%), chronic stress (16%) and problems in relationships (4%).
Building on this data, said the press release, the DRF has identified some recommendations for the government and law enforcement agencies to improve the reporting mechanism regarding cyber harassment. “DRF recognized that the National Response Centres for Cyber Crime (NR3C) of the FIA have limited resources and are understaffed which has led to a delay in registration and investigation of cases. There is also a need to establish a rapid response cell in the NR3C since certain cases of cyber harassment are sensitive and require immediate action. Gender-sensitization trainings for current staff are extremely important along with better coordination with other departments working in gender issues. The FIA’s NR3C also needs to address the psychological needs of the complainant and maintain their privacy and confidentiality while registering a complaint. We identified that 50.6% of our callers cannot approach the FIA without leaving their city of residence, as they are currently limited to major cities of Pakistan. FIA’s National Response Centre needs to expand their operations to more cities to ensure every individual gets access to justice.”
Mrs Ahmad,
Lahore.
Differently abled
Sir,
Through your highly estimated paper, I would like to draw people’s attention to the issue that benefits should allow differently abled people to live and not just survive. A new census is being conducted and its results will be made public soon; I hope that statistics on disabled people are part of it because the ones from 1998, the last census, are just not good enough. That census stated that only 2.4% of Pakistanis are differently abled or 3.2 million people out of 132m. This is clearly not the right picture. People with special needs in our society or differently abled people do not have access to ways in which they can earn a living and work on quality of life.
People with “disabilities” need health care and health programs just like anyone else and need ways to stay active and a part of their community. Such people are at a high risk of injury and abuse. It is important for parents and other family members to teach their loved ones how to stay safe and what to do if they feel threatened or have been hurt in any way. If we look at our surrounding we see amusement parks, shopping malls and transport but they are not designed to be accessible to differently abled people. Our footpaths lack ramps, and the entrances to buildings are not designed for people who need wheelchair access. Furthermore, when you enter buildings that are used by the public you will not find wheelchair access restrooms. Often the elevators do not have enough space for a wheelchair.
Ayesha,
Lahore.
Women’s team
Sir,
The defeat of the Pakistani women’s team in the ICC Women’s World Cup against New Zealand at Taunton, United Kingdom on Saturday has defeated the hope of winning. It was the fifth defeat and Pakistan were the first side to be dumped from the tournament. Everyone was happy with our victory at the recent champions trophy, and it was hoped that the women in green would also put on a similar performance.
The cricket authorities are requested to also work on the women’s team in order to make it No 1.
Gulsameen Raheem,
Turbat, Kech.
60-day JIT
Sir,
A Joint investigation Team was formed by the Supreme Court to investigate the Sharif family’s acquired wealth and specifically, the money trail to the London apartments owned by his son and daughter. During its 60 days of investigation, the JIT held almost 58 meetings and its members took only two days of rest for Eid ul Fitr. All of them worked continuously. Now they have submitted their report to the Supreme Court. Whatever is done can’t be undone. Will this be the end of the Panama case? Will Nawaz’s government is dissolved? Will Nawaz resign if the report is against him? And what will be done if the JIT is unclear? Can Nawaz stay for coming election? Just the day is remaining to answer these questions.
Nizar Habib,
Turbat.
Congo Virus
Sir,
Another case of Congo virus has been registered at Fatima Jinnah Hospital in Quetta. The patient is said to have come from Helmand, Afghanistan. There have been reports of a case in a nine-year-old girl from Loralai as well. The health department of Balochistan should be alert.
Adnan Dost,
Turbat.
Witness protection
Sir,
Orangi Pilot Project director Perween Rahman was murdered in March 2013 because she dared to raise her voice against the mafias in Karachi. Perween is one of many people who have been silenced for raising their voice against criminals. How many Perweens do we need to put their lives on the line? Because of fears of reprisal no witnesses come forward to testify in courts and hence victims struggle to get justice. The criminals are not punished. The state should start a witness protection programme as we see in other countries.
MR Dost,
Karachi.
Careem rishta
Sir,
Careem has started a rishta aunty service. Perhaps it does not realise the risk it is putting vulnerable young people at? The woman in the car tries to take your personal information and photographs. Young people should be made aware of the risks of sharing such personal information. I am not sure if this is illegal—something this ridiculous is probably not covered in the law books. But I tried to book a ride to see what it was all about and the rides were all booked till evening, just giving me an idea of how fascinated people are with such gimmicks. It is perhaps a marketing ploy but Careem should worry about harassment or criminal activity that may result from these rishta rides. Also, it is a sad indicator of the state of our society where people are fascinated with getting married. In fact, getting married is perhaps the national sport. We certainly don’t prepare young people for their rights and responsibilities in marriage. Frankly, I am disgusted by Careem. But I must say, Uber had a great comeback.
Masha Mir,
Karachi.
FB India
Sir,
Facebook India is taking down profiles if Burhan Wani’s picture is uploaded on them. Why can Kashmiris not upload a picture of a martyr if they consider him their freedom fighter? This is apparently FB’s policy. So is social media all about toeing the government line? What are the UN’s guidelines on this?
P.,
Via email.
Walled Peshawar
Sir,
The historic walled city of Peshawar is being pulled down at great speed. This fresh photo shows a grand carved wooden structure of a centuries old Serai which existed inside the Hashtnagri gate of the city next to the British-era police station. The Department of Archaeology is legally responsible for protecting all kinds of heritage. The inexperienced government of the PTI hired a corrupt teacher as the head of the Archaeology department. He submitted a fake experience certificate. He is also being investigated by the anti-corruption department for the theft of antiquities. In order to appease the junior staff of the Peshawar museum, the department of Archaeology has promoted a whole bunch of 12 scale employees to grade 16.
The walled city authority of Peshawar actually colluded with the plaza mafia, who speeded up the demolition process of the heritage buildings. Shame on all of them.
A.,
Via email.
Skin grafts
Sir,
The million dollar question is what use is a burns centre without providing the service of skin grafting? Many lives in the tragic Bahawalpur oil tanker fire near Ahmadpur East on June 25 could have been saved had skin tissue grafting been available at Multan’s Jinnah and Nishtar hospitals. A non-government organisation called Community Tissue Service has reached out to the Punjab government with the offer to donate grafts to the survivors. The inferno had killed over 170 people and left scores suffering from severe burn injuries.
Then there is the question of donations. Both hospitals have the facilities but lack donors. I declare myself a skin donor. Parliament and lawmakers must also devise public-oriented donor laws and the media should spread awareness on the subject.
Dr Azhar Mukhtar,
Lahore.