In Brief
INTERNAL
Country will go towards a civil war if elections are not conducted through legal and constitutional means, says Imran Khan; Don't dare to cross limits, says PM Shehbaz Sharif
On 1 June, Imran Khan in an interview with anchorperson Sami Ibrahim for Bol News programme Tajzia said, "We will see if they allow us to go towards elections through legal and constitutional means otherwise this country will go towards [a] civil war." Further, he said that there was "no question" of returning to the National Assembly as that would "mean accepting the conspiracy" that had removed his government.
On 2 June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in response to above remarks accused Imran Khan of "making naked threats against the country," labelling him "unfit for public office" and warning him against "talking about [the] division of Pakistan." He said, "While I am in Turkey inking agreements, Imran Niazi is making naked threats against the country. If at all any proof was needed that Niazi is unfit for public office, his latest interview suffices," adding, "Do your politics but don't dare to cross limits and talk about [the] division of Pakistan." (“Country to head towards civil war if elections not announced: Imran Khan,” Dawn, 2 June 2022; “'Don't dare to cross limits': PM Shehbaz warns Imran against talking about Pakistan breaking apart,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
Sindh and Punjab blame each other for water scarcity
On 2 June, Dawn reported that despite the recent flow measurements by Wapda’s International Sedimentation Research Institute (ISRIP) at Taunsa and Guddu, Sindh and Punjab have refused to work on the issue of river water flows at their barrages. According to Dawn, Sindh officials have blamed Punjab for not agreeing to an independent evaluation by the ISRIP that endorsed Sindh’s figures, while the Punjab officials have blamed the Sindh for choosing an irregular site at Guddu for monitoring and for ‘mal-regulation’ at the barrage. (Mohammad Hussain Khan, “Punjab, Sindh refuse to budge an inch on water issue,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
Government to deploy Frontier Constabulary as anti-riot force in Islamabad
On 1 June, the government decided to deploy Frontier Constabulary (FC) as an anti-riot force to help Islamabad police maintain law and order in efforts to block PTI’s next long march on Islamabad. This decision came during a meeting which was chaired by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. (Munawer Azeem, “Govt to use FC as ‘riot force’ in capital,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
PTI expert admits money transfers into ‘disowned’ accounts
On 1 June, while hearing the PTI foreign funding case, the expert who appeared on behalf of PTI claimed that donations received in the provincial bank accounts were not transferred to the party’s central accounts. He rather insisted that funds from the party’s central accounts were, in fact, transferred to provincial accounts that had earlier been disowned by the party. At this, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja wondered if the PTI was conceding it had concealed some accounts. After adjourning the hearing to another date, CEC while interacting with journalists explained that the next polls would have to be carried out on the basis of the 2017 census. (Iftikhar A Khan, “PTI expert admits money transfers into ‘disowned’ accounts,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
EXTERNAL
PM Shehbaz Sharif calls on President Erdogan and ministers for trade and investment cooperation
On 1 June, Pakistan and Turkey inked seven pacts, for enhanced cooperation in diverse areas of mutual interests. had discussed the regional and international issues in detail. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on tourism, education, logistic and civil aviation were some other sectors in which they had been working to enhance cooperation. PM Sharif noted that the connectivity projects between Pakistan and Turkey, in particular Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) Cargo Train, would provide additional avenues for the traders on both sides to conduct business efficiently and expeditiously. He asked Turkish companies to invest in diverse sectors including food processing, agriculture, automotives, information technology, hydel, solar, and wind energy. The PM thanked the Turkish foreign minister for Turkey’s principled policy on Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the people of Pakistan and Kashmir deeply appreciated Turkey’s support for this just cause. (“Joint Task Force to resolve trade issues: Shehbaz Sharif, Turkish President Erdogan pledge to upgrade bilateral ties,” The News International, 2 June 2022)
53 members Pakistani tribal jirga arrived in Kabul
On 1 June, a Pakistani tribal jirga comprising at least 53 members arrived in Kabul in an effort to seek a peace deal with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and its affiliates. The delegation was received by the Taliban’s Acting Interior Minister Siraj Uddin Haqqani who assured them that the Afghan Taliban would play a pivotal role in the peace deal between Pakistan and the TTP. (“Pakistan tribal jirga in Kabul pushing for peace with TTP,” The Express Tribune, 2 June 2022)
32-point MoU on boosting bilateral trade between Iran and Pakistan
On 1 June, the MoU was signed at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the Pak-Iran Joint Border Trade Committee in Zahidan, the capital of Iran’s border province of Sistan and Baluchestan in the presence of administrators and trade representatives. Under the agreement, 30 per cent of Pakistani freight vehicles would be allowed entry to Zahidan and 30 per cent of Iran’s freight vehicles would be allowed entry to Quetta. Joint border markets on both sides of the two countries would be established and activated. (Saleem Shahid, “MoU signed to boost border trade with Iran,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
PROVINCES
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Seventh case of polio reported in North Waziristan
On 2 June, Dawn reported that the seventh case of poliovirus was detected in North Waziristan in just over a month. The latest victim is a seven-month-old girl. Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel while speaking to Dawn said, “The outbreak in North Waziristan appears to be following the same pattern as was witnessed in 2014 and 2019 when there was a surge in cases in the same area. We are working tirelessly to ensure that we break this pattern.” (Ikram Junaidi, “Seventh child found infected with poliovirus in North Waziristan,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Political and civil society criticize ECP in unison over reduced NA seats in tribal areas
On 1 June, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued a preliminary delimitation report, which revealed that National Assembly (NA) seats in merged districts had been halved to six from the current 12. PML-N provincial vice president of KP explained that every NA constituency should have 788,933 votes, as according to him, the population of Bajaur was more than 1.5 million, which meant that the district should have two NA seats. Other political parties raised their voice against the decision to press the ECP to maintain the existing number of NA seats in the merged districts. (“ECP flayed for reducing NA seats in tribal districts,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
Punjab: LHC seeks replies from president, governor on Hamza's oath-taking
On 1 June, a Lahore High Court larger bench sought replies from the president of Pakistan and governor of Punjab through their principal secretaries in appeals of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) against the decisions of two different single benches regarding oath taking of Chief Minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz. The bench posed a query whether the constitutional immunity available to the president and the governor also protected them against violation of a constitutional provision. (“Punjab: LHC seeks replies from president, governor on Hamza's oath-taking,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
JUDICIARY
Supreme Court asks police and ISI for intelligence reports; PTI asks for protection from ‘state torture’
On 1 June, the PTI approached the Supreme Court to seek its protection from the alleged ‘state torture.’ Meanwhile, the SC directed the Islamabad police chief and chief commissioner, interior secretary, director generals of the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to submit reports within a week explaining at what time Imran Khan asked party workers to reach D-Chowk, and when, where and how did the crowd cross the barricade to enter a hitherto closed area. (Nasir Iqbal, “PTI seeks apex court’s protection from ‘state torture’,” Dawn, 2 June 2022)
ECONOMY
Double digit inflation in first 11 months is increasing across all commodities, says PBS
On 1 June, PBS released its monthly price indicators, revealing that the inflation rate in the country soared to 13.8 per cent in May -- the highest pace in nearly two-and-a-half years -- because of exponential growth in the prices of perishable food and transport groups. The core inflation is calculated after excluding the volatile energy and food prices also jumped to 11.5 per cent last month in rural areas, signalling a price growth gathering pace across most categories of goods and services. The government had set a target of 8 per cent as average inflation before the beginning of the financial year. (Shahbaz Rana, “Inflation spikes to 30-month high of 13.8%,” The Express Tribune, 2 June 2022)
Shadow economy accounts for 40 per cent of the GDP, says Ipsos
On 2 June, The Express Tribune reported on the recent report released by market research company Ipsos which highlighted that shadow economy in Pakistan accounted for about 40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and about 6 per cent of GDP was being stolen every year. Around 53 per cent of diesel, 43 per cent of engine oil, 40 per cent of tyres and 16 per cent of auto parts sold in the country were smuggled. Apart from these, 20 per cent of cigarettes and 23 per cent of tea were smuggled into the country. (Shahram Haq, “Shadow economy accounts for 40% of GDP,” The Express Tribune, 2 June 2022)
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