ICEP

DAWN EDITORIALS & OPINIONS

ANALYSIS
Dated: 29 August 2020

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 CONTENTS TABLE
Page Title Section/Category
04 Orphan city National Issue
06 Funds for LGs National Affairs
08 Christchurch conclusion Global Affairs
09 Tax relief for telecom sector National Policy
24 Classless education up ahead? – Pakistan Social Issue
27 Wading through reform National Issue
30 Pakistan – an equaliser to Indo China maritime Global Affairs
competition

COLOURS Used:

Red for Difficult Vocab

Green for Important Figures and contents

Others colours used where necessary

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 DAWN+ EDITORIALS SECTION

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Orphan city |DAWN EDITORIAL
• Why in news?

Karachi was plunged into chaos on Friday with power cuts, streets under
water and cellphone outages caused by heavy rains as authorities said at least
47 people had been killed in downpours the previous day.

• Karachi in shambles : Electrocution, urban-flooding, electricity

breakdown and no mobile services
IT seemed as though all the sins of omission and commission inflicted on Karachi over several
decades came together in one terrible, catastrophic day. Pakistan’s largest city and its
financial hub was on Thursday battered by record-breaking rains. At least 19 people were
killed in rain-related incidents, bringing the death toll to 30 during three days of torrential
downpour. Several were electrocuted, some drowned in the rising waters. Millions across the city,
even in the upscale DHA areas managed by the Clifton Cantonment Board, saw their homes and
businesses flooded. There was no electricity; even mobile phone services were disrupted. Karachi
was in effect rendered non-functional, with its residents largely left to fend for themselves.

• Record breaking torrential downpours

Undoubtedly this has been an unprecedented monsoon in Karachi: at around 485mm, the rainfall
in August this year has shattered an 89-year record. It is, however, equally true that the city
drowned under the weight of the criminal negligence and bottomless greed that have characterised
its governance for many years now.

• Crisis of governance in Pakistan’s metropolis

All those ruling Karachi now and in the past, as well as various other influential stakeholders, are to
blame for its descent(fall) into one of the world’s most unlivable cities. The city mayor, whose
tenure ended yesterday, belonged to the MQM, and the PTI in 2018 emerged as the largest
party in Karachi. Strident(harsh) (and correctly so) about the merits of devolution when it feels
threatened by what it perceives as the centre’s interference, the Sindh government nevertheless
refuses to devolve powers to the local level. In fact, through a legislative change in 2013, it
eviscerated(removed) the very concept of third-tier governance. Its indifference to Karachi’s
suffering, for the sake of preserving its political predominance and its control over the
massive funds that would otherwise go towards local government, is reprehensible in the
extreme. Meanwhile, the PPP’s top bosses are minting(Making) billions through their stakes in
high-rise construction projects of dubious provenance(history) all over the metropolis, recklessly
straining its already crumbling infrastructure.

• Karachi at the behest of political tug of war remained Orphan : Issues

highlighted
The MQM’s depredations (looting) are not far behind. Even when it ran a working local
government in Karachi, many among its leadership looked out first and foremost for themselves.
The party perfected the practice of ‘china-cutting’ whereby plots were sliced off from public parks
and other amenities and sold for huge profits.

i. No attention was given to urban planning,

ii. upgrading the drainage system or developing a sustainable solid waste disposal system.
iii. Instead, natural storm-water nallahs have been used to dump solid waste; or else encroached
upon, often with the collusion of those in authority.
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iv. In their obscene quest for self-enrichment, the political parties, and other players in the
highest echelons of power have treated Karachi as their personal fiefdom, to loot and plunder
at will, rather than a city meant to be the gateway to a progressive, prosperous Pakistan.

This must end now: enough is enough.

VOCABULARY DESCRIPTION
Eviscerated (verb)
Deprive (something) of its essential content.

“myriad little concessions that would eviscerate the project”

Third-tier government

In federal states, local government generally comprises the third (or sometimes fourth) tier of
government.

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Funds for LGs | DAWN EDITORIAL
• Why in news?

IN a generous move, Punjab’s ruling set-up has ‘in principle’ decided

to do a huge favour to local governments, which have been lying
suspended in the province, and allow them to utilise funds that had
been already allocated and transferred to them. During a visit to
Faisalabad the other day, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar broke the
news about ‘unfreezing’ LGs’ development funds.

• Brief overview of past and present of Local Government’s Funding in

Punjab
As these LGs are hardly among those who can choose what they want, the move must be
welcomed. The delivery of funds may help them finance some of their stalled, small schemes
aimed at providing basic amenities such as sanitation and potable water to citizens. In some lucky
cases, with a little bit of extra optimism, it can be presumed that a few roads may be repaired and
crumbling infrastructure patched up here and there. This would be no small transformation when
we consider that the same provincial government had forbidden the same LGs from using their
development funds last year. These elected local institutions, dominated as they were by the
opposition PML-N, were dissolved midway through their tenure last year to pave the way for the
replacement of the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013, with a new law. One reason to ‘freeze’
the LGs’ development funds was to prevent the possible misuse of public money by unelected
administrators during this transition period.

• Critical Analysis
The ruling PTI had promised to organise new polls within one year of the premature termination of
the elected LGs’ tenure. But it is yet to deliver on its commitment in spite of the passage of the new
Punjab Local Government Act, 2019, last November. The Covid-19 crisis is cited as the reason
for delay but a permanent deterrent in the way of LG polls is the aversion of the upper
elected tiers to share power with the grassroots representatives.

• Suggestions
Devolution of powers to the lowest units is critical to a strong democratic dispensation. This
unfreezing of funds for LGs now in an effort to revitalise the economy can turn into a lesson in
governance only if the rulers pay heed to the basic principles of popular rule. The change of heart
has come as the Buzdar government tries to stimulate stalled economic activities through public-
sector development investment. The truth is that ultimately rulers must reach out to the grassroots
to reach the people. The re-entry and temporary restoration of LG functionaries at this critical
moment best illustrates this point.

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 VOCABULARY DESCRIPTION
Change of heart (idiom)

If you have a change of heart, you change your opinion or the way you feel about
something:

She was going to sell her house but had a change of heart at the last minute.

‘OR’

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Christchurch conclusion | DAWN OPINION
• Why in news?

ON Thursday, the white supremacist who killed 51 people and injured dozens
more in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, was sentenced to life in
prison without the possibility of parole.

• Overview of the case

Over the three days prior, scores of emotionally charged victim impact statements were heard in
court. Delivering the first such and highest prison sentence in the country’s history, the judge said
that such punishment was reserved for only the “very worst murders”. Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern said that it meant the convicted killer would have “no notoriety, no platform ... Today I
hope is the last where we have any cause to hear or utter the name of the terrorist”. Thus
concluded the legal proceedings of an attack that irrevocably altered not only the lives of the
survivors and victims’ families, but also the nation itself.

• How countries should respond to Islamophobia : A glaring example of

Christchurch Case
The solidarity New Zealanders extended one another in the wake of tragedy, as well as the
collective shunning of any attempt to rationalise the killer’s deeds — as is symptomatic of
Western media coverage when the perpetrator is white — is a template for how countries
should respond to Islamophobia and other forms of racism. Beyond mere calls for tolerance of
diversity, Kiwis have emphatically upheld the rights of their fellow Muslims. It was the victims, not
the attacker, who were foregrounded in news coverage, public policy responses and trial
proceedings. There are lessons for non-Western, security-centric countries to draw from too.
Justice — centred not on the state but on people — was seen to be done, in which killers were not
glorified, affectees were heard, truth was aired, and traumas to the national psyche given a chance
to heal.

• Lesson to be taken
Contrast this with the manner in which trials and inquiry commissions into public tragedies, from
terrorist attacks to plane crashes, are conducted elsewhere — away from the public gaze, with the
full facts rarely submitted to the public record. Not only does this erode trust in institutions, it also
denies survivors and victims’ families answers — and closure.

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Tax relief for telecom sector | Pakistan Observer
EDITORIAL
• Why in news?

THE Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) on Thursday

referred various tax measures including the abolition of advance income tax
on the telecom sector to a Committee for further deliberation.

• Impact of the policy to be reviewed by the committee

The Committee has been asked to submit its recommendations in the next meeting after thorough
deliberation of the impact of the proposal on the existing tax policies by the Federal Board of
Revenue (FBR), Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Industries.

• Potential of Telecom Sector

The telecom sector has expanded rapidly in Pakistan and is contributing significantly to the overall
socio-economic development of the country including remote and backward areas. The sector is
paying taxes worth billions of rupees and provides jobs to hundreds of thousands of people
directly or indirectly. However, for quite sometime, the focus of the Government has shifted away
from facilitation of the sector to the imposition of heavy taxes, which are negatively impacting
upon its growth.

• Critical Analysis of the policy

At present, the telecom sector is paying 12.5% advance income tax and 17% federal excise duty
on telecom services. The IT Ministry has proposed that the Government should abolish the 12.5%
advance income tax and cut the federal excise duty to 16%.
The directions given by the ECC to the Committee clearly show the tilt towards revenue impact of
the proposal floated by the IT Ministry. But estimates of global institutions like GSM
Association show even a 2% reduction in advance tax will increase market penetration
through the addition of around 1.7 million connections over the next five years meaning
thereby that the abolition or reduction of tax would be properly compensated by increase in
subscribers.

• Way forward
It is age of IT and telecom and visionary approach and facilitation not only has the potential for
rapid growth of the sector but also a reliable source for earning of foreign exchange through
enhanced IT related exports. Pakistan earned over one billion dollars through IT exports last year
and is aiming to earn five billions in the next three years. The target can only be realized if
hindrances are removed and required incentives are offered to the sector.

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 Word of the day

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 Idioms

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 MCQs Section

Lebanon’s explosion was caused by 2,700 tones of ___________?

A. NH₄NO₃
B. NaOCI or NaCIO
C. C₂N₁₄
D. None of these

Which player is Ranked first in the ICC player Ranking For ODI Batsmen 2020?

A. Rohit sharma
B. Virat Kohli
C. Babar Azam
D. None of these

finance track for the G20 leaders summit 2020 is to be hosted by which country at the
end of 2020 ?

A. FRANCE
B. USA
C. UAE
D. SAUDI ARABIA

The Police Martyrs Day is observed on __________ in Pakistan?

A. August 01
B. August 02
C. August 04
D. None of these

Identify the chemical compound that caused a huge explosion in Beirut, Lebanon on
Aug 4, 2020 killing hundreds and injuring thousands.

A. Ammonium Sulphate
B. Ammonium Nitrate
C. Magnesium Sulphate
D. Magnesium Nitrate

How many countries are there in Asia?

A. 48
B. 49
C. 50
D. 46

Gawadar remained under Oman’s rule for ___________ Years?

A. 172
B. 174
C. 176
D. None of these

In which province the Uch Gas Field is located___________?

A. Sindh
B. Punjab
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C. Balochistan
D. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

When the Turkish President and founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk, transformed the Hagia Sophia building into a Museum?

A. 1940
B. 1935
C. 1949
D. 1901

Who was the first president of Turkey who issued presidential decree to transform the
Hagia Sophia Mosque into a Muesum?

A. Abdulhalik Renda
B. Adbullah Gul
C. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
D. Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Originally, when the Turks conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Hagia Sophia
was converted to a Mosque?

A. 1433
B. 1453
C. 1425
D. 1400

When the Friday prayer was offered in Sophia Mosque in Turkey after its conversion
to Mosque?

A. 23rd March 2020

B. 1st July 2020
C. 24th July 2020
D. 15th July 2020

Which prayer took place at Hagia Sophia Mosque in Turkey after its conversion from
Museum to Mosque?

A. Isha Prayer
B. Asr Prayer
C. Juma Prayer
D. Ishraq Prayer

What is the other name of Mohammad Ali Bogra Formula?

A. New Law of Pakistan

B. Pakistan Report
C. Third Report
D. Constitutional Formula

When first constitution of Pakistan was enforced?

A. 8th June 1956

B. 23rd March 1956
C. 14th August 1956
D. 25th December 1956

Who was the Prime Minister of Pakistan during enforcement of first constitution?

A. Mohammad Ali Bogra

B. Khwaja Nazim Uddin

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C. Choudhry Mohammad Ali
D. Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar

What official name was given to Pakistan in 1956 constitution?

A. United States of Pakistan

B. Republic of Pakistan
C. Islamic Pakistan
D. Islamic Republic of Pakistan

What age was prescribed for President in 1956 constitution?

A. 40 years
B. 45 years
C. 50 years
D. 55 years

In respect of religion what term was set for President and Prime Minister in 1956
constitution?

A. He may be a Muslim
B. He must not be Hindu
C. He must not be Christian
D. He must be a Muslim ( this condition applicable only on president. pm may be non-muslim)

What was the official language declared in 1956 constitution?

A. Urdu
B. Bengali
C. Hindi
D. Both a & b

Who abrogated 1956 constitution?

A. Ayub Khan
B. Tikka Khan
C. Iskander Mirza
D. Yahya Khan

When the first constitution was abrogated and Martial Law was proclaimed?

A. May 1958
B. June 1958
C. October 1958
D. December 1958

When Ayub Khan enforced new constitution in Pakistan?

A. 9th January 1962

B. 6th February 1962
C. 13th March 1962
D. 8th June 1962

Which kind of system of Government was introduced by the 1962 constitution?

A. Autonomous
B. Presidential
C. Bicameral
D. Confederate

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When the constitution of 1962 was abrogated?

A. 26th March 1969

B. 29th March 1969
C. 4th April 1969
D. 14th April 1969

Who abrogated 1962 constitution and became CMLA?

A. Gen. Tikka Khan

B. Gen. Ahsan Khan
C. Gen. Mansoor Khan
D. Gen Yahya Khan

When Mr. Z.A. Bhutto launched a new constitution in the country?

A. 11th August 1973

B. 14th August 1973
C. 17th August 1973
D. 21st August 1973

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 ENGLISH WRITING PRACTICE

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 Important Dawn + Vocabulary

758). Paragon
Meaning: Model, good example, apotheosis, exemplar, paradigm, acme, shining example
Definition: a person or thing viewed as a model of excellence
Usage: Your cook is a paragon.

759). Aesthetic
Meaning: Connoisseur, genteel
Definition: concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty
Usage: The pictures give great aesthetic pleasure.

760). Gregarious
Meaning: sociable, social, companionable, clubbable, convivial
Definition: (of a person) fond of company; sociable
Usage: He was a popular and gregarious man.

761). Abandon
Meaning: Desert, Leave, cast aside,
Definition: cease to support or look after (someone); desert.
Usage: Her natural mother had abandoned her at an early age.

762). Patronage
Meaning: Sponsorship, backing, funding, promotion, support, guaranty, protection
Definition: the support given by a patron.
Usage: The arts could no longer depend on private patronage

763). Traverse
Meaning: cross, negotiate, cross, pass over.
Definition: travel across or through.
Usage: He traversed the forest

764). Recuperate
Meaning: get better, recover, convalesce, get back to normal
Definition: recover from illness or exertion
Usage: She has been recuperating from a knee injury.

765). Alms
Meaning: charity, bounty, subsidy, largesse, endowment
Definition: (in historical contexts) money or food given to poor people
Usage: The riders stopped to distribute alms.

766). Attenuate
Meaning: diminished, impaired, reduced, decreased
Definition: reduce the force, effect, or value of
Usage: Her intolerance was attenuated by an unexpected liberalism

767). Vindictive
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Meaning: Vengeful, out for revenge, revengeful, avenging, unforgiving, implacable, bitter
Definition: having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge
Usage: The criticism was both vindictive and personalized

768). Discomfit
Meaning: embarrass, discomfort, unsettle, unnerve, upset, disturb, perturb, distress
Definition: make (someone) feel uneasy or embarrassed.
Usage: He was not noticeably discomfited by her tone.

769). Accusation
Meaning: allegation, charge, claim, asseveration, blame, criticism, complaint
Definition: a charge or claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong
Usage: accusations of bribery.

770). Indict
Meaning: Charge with, arraign for, take to court for, put on trial for
Definition: formally accuse of or charge with a crime.
Usage: His former manager was indicted for fraud.

771). cacophony
Meaning: din, racket, noise, discord, dissonance, jarring, grating, rasping
Definition: A harsh discordant mixture of sounds
Usage: A cacophony of deafening alarm bells.

772). Brink
Meaning: edge, verge, margin, rim, lip
Definition: the extreme edge of land before a steep slope or a body or water.
Usage: The brink of the cliffs

773). Conscious
Meaning: aware, awake, compos mentis, alert, responsive, reactive, feeling, sentient
Definition: aware of and responding to one's surroundings.
Usage: Although I was in pain, I was conscious

774). Induct
Meaning: admit to, allow into, introduce to, install in,
Definition: admit (someone) formally to a post or Organization
Usage: Arrangements for inducting new members to an organization

775). Perceive
Meaning: discern, recognize, tell, grasp, understand, deduce, conclude, sence, divine, intuit
Definition: become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand
Usage: His mouth fell open as he perceived the truth

776). Emphasis
Meaning: Prominence, importance, significance
Definition: special importance, value, or prominence given to something
Usage: They placed great emphasis on the individual's freedom

777). Evident
Meaning: Obvious, apparent, noticeable, conspicuous, perceptible.
Definition: clearly seen or understood; obvious
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Usage: She ate the biscuits with evident enjoyment

778). Impatient
Meaning: Irritate, annoyed, angry, testy, tetchy, snappy, cross, crabby, moody
Definition: having or showing a tendency to be quickly irritated or provoked
Usage: An impatient motorist blaring his horn.
779). Sonnet
Meaning: ballad, lyric
Definition: a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in
English typically having ten syllables per line
Usage: compose sonnets.

780). Mediocre
Meaning: ordinary, common, commonplace, average
Definition: of only average quality; not very good
Usage: He is an enthusiastic if mediocre painter.

781). Despicable
Meaning: Contemptible, loathsome, hateful, detestable, reprehensible, awful, heinous
Definition: deserving hatred and contempt.
Usage: A despicable crime.

782). Traumatize
Meaning: distrub, shock, bother, hurt, mortify, pain, upset
Definition: subject to lasting shock as a result of a disturbing experience or physical injury.
Usage: The children were traumatized by separation from their families

783). Atrocity
Meaning: iniquity, violation, crime, wrong, offence, affront, scandal, injustice.
Definition: an extremely wicked or cruel act, typically one involving physical violence or
injury.
Usage: A textbook which detailed war atrocities

784). incalculable
Meaning: inestimable, untold, immeasurable, uncountable, indeterminable, incomputable
Definition: too great to be calculated or estimated
Usage: An archive of incalculable value.

785). Myopic
Meaning: unimaginative, uncreative, narrow-minded, short-term, small-mind
Definition: lacking foresight or intellectual insight
Usage: The government still has a myopic attitude to public spending.

786). Pertinent
Meaning: Relevant, apposite, appropriate, suitable, fitting, fit, apt, apropos
Definition: relevant or applicable to a particular matter; apposite
Usage: She asked me a lot of very pertinent questions

787). Unsavoury
Meaning: unpalatable, unappetizing, unpleasant, disagreeable, uninviting, unattractive
Definition: disagreeable to taste, smell, or look at
Usage: They looked at the scanty, unsavoury portions of food doled out to them
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788). Perspective
Meaning: Outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, standpoint, position, stand, attitude
Definition: a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view.
Usage: Most guidebook history is written from the editor's perspective.

789). Rapture
Meaning: ecstasy, bliss, euphoria, exaltation, joy, transport, rhapsody, delight, pleasure
Definition: a feeling of intense pleasure or joy
Usage: Leonora listened with rapture.

790). Curse
Meaning: Execrate, imprecate, hoodoo
Definition: invoke or use a curse against.
Usage: It often seemed as if the family had been cursed.

791). Hinge
Meaning: depend, hang, rest, turn, pivot, centre, be conditional
Definition: attach or join with or as if with a hinge
Usage: The ironing board was set into the wall and hinged at the bottom.

792). Ballot
Meaning: Vote, poll, election, straw poll, plebiscite
Definition: a system of voting secretly and in writing on a particular issue.
Usage: A strike ballot

793). Disenchant
Meaning: disillusioned, disappointed, let down, fed up, discontented
Definition: cause (someone) to be disappointed
Usage: He may have been disenchanted by the loss of his huge following

794). Cohort
Meaning: unit, outfit, force
Definition: an ancient Roman military unit, comprising six centuries, equal to one tenth of a
legion.
Usage: A cohort of civil servants patiently drafting legislation

795). Presumption
Meaning: brazenness, audacity, boldness, temerity, front, pertness, forwardness
Definition: behaviour perceived as arrogant, disrespectful, and transgressing the limits of
what is permitted or appropriate
Usage: He lifted her off the ground, and she was enraged at his presumption.

796). Bigoted
Meaning: prejudiced, biased, partial, one-sided, dectarian, discriminatory
Definition: obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, and
intolerant towards other people's beliefs and practices.
Usage: A bigoted group of reactionaries

797). persuade
Meaning: prevail on, induce, win someone over, coax, convince, make get
Definition: induce (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument.
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Usage: It wasn't easy, but I persuaded him to do the right thing.

798). Persona
Meaning: image, face, public face, character, personality, identity, self
Definition: the aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others
Usage: Her public persona.

799). Astonish
Meaning: surprise, stagger, startle, stun, confound, dumbfound
Definition: surprise or impress (someone) greatly.
Usage: You never fail to astonish me.

800). Vicious
Meaning: brutal, savage, violent, dangerous, ruthless, heartless, callous, cruel
Definition: deliberately cruel or violent
Usage: A vicious assault.

801). Adherent
Meaning: follower, supporter, defender, advocate, disciple, votary, member, friend
Definition: someone who supports a particular party, person, or set of ideas
Usage: He was a strong adherent of monetarism.

802). Bystander
Meaning: onlooker, watcher, looker-on, passer-by, eyewitness
Definition: a person who is present at an event or incident but does not take part.
Usage: Water cannons were turned on marchers and innocent bystanders alike

803). Diligence
Meaning: assiduity, rigour, carefulness, conscientiousness, intentness
Definition: careful and persistent work or effort.
Usage: Few party members challenge his diligence as an MP

804). Eulogy
Meaning: accolade, panegyric, paean, encomium, tribute, testimonial
Definition: a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, especially
a tribute to someone who has just died.
Usage: A eulogy to the Queen Mother.

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 DAWN+ OPINIONS SECTION

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Classless education up ahead? - Pakistan |
DAWN OPINION

• Current scenario and critical understanding of underlying

loopholes in SNC
IT is official now: Cambridge O-A levels and International Baccalaureate will not be touched by
the PTI’s Single National Curriculum (SNC). This is fantastic news for those who once feared
privileged. education for the rich was in danger. Parents paying monthly fees between Rs15,000
and Rs45,000 per child in O-A-IB schools are breathing easily today. Talk about equal
opportunities for all turned out to be just talk — opium for the masses.

Personally I am pleased foreign certification hasn’t been banned. Having taught physics,
mathematics, and sociology across a swathe of Pakistani universities and colleges for 47 years, I
know there’s a world of difference between the analytical and reasoning abilities of O-A level
certified students and those of local boards. Yes, I’ve seen many brilliant exceptions. But
exceptions are, well, exceptions. So, although the government’s decision reeks of hypocrisy, I’m
still happy because I dread a total collapse of standards.

The federal minister of education, Shafqat Mahmood, puts things differently. In multiple TV
interviews and Zoom meetings he denies hypocrisy. His government is merely allowing elite
schools the right to choose, he says. In just a few years, he claims, the PTI’s superior local system
will render foreign examination systems unneeded. Sure! Didn’t we all hear Imran Khan’s
announcement atop his container that Pakistan’s revitalised economy would never need the IMF
again?

• Examining Foreign System and Education Quality

Let’s see what makes foreign systems so superior to local systems. It is not a matter of curriculum.
Blaming inferior education quality upon this is a political stunt. In secular subjects like science and
general knowledge all systems cover almost identical topics. The difference is entirely in their

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education philosophies. Foreign systems stress comprehension, reasoning and problem-solving.
Local systems build around rote memorisation.

Yoking(joining) ordinary schools to madressahs will impair the reasoning capacity

of children and job competitiveness.

• Why SNC should be feared?

What is SNC and why must it be feared? Parts of it are perfectly innocuous(harmless) . The new
stuff regarding secular subjects is actually rehashed(recycle) old stuff. Cutting through the
verbiage one sees that the released PTI curriculum is a near perfect copy of Gen Musharraf’s 2006
curriculum. Of course, neither was accompanied by implementation plans or financial outlays.

What’s dangerous and different is that — for the first time in Pakistan’s history — ordinary schools
will be yoked to madressahs. Students in both streams will use the same curriculum and books, and
take the same exams. But this is like forcing someone to board two trains at the same time, one
going north and the other south. It doesn’t matter which train’s engines and carriages are in good
condition or bad. What matters is that they have different destinations. The analogy is not far-
fetched.

Modern secular schools aim at preparing doctors, engineers, businessmen, scientists, etc.
Inquiry and questioning are fundamental and exams test conceptual understanding. But
madressahs prepare students for the hereafter. Memorisation and a passive mindset are
crucial and duly rewarded while questioning and critical reasoning are frowned upon. Were a
madressah student to put hard questions to his teachers he would likely be chased out.

Teaching science will not be straightforward. A widely watched religious TV channel recently
featured young students being lectured to by a madressah head. He told them emphatically that the
sun goes around the earth, not the other way around. One wonders what else they have learned.

Hybridising madressahs with secular schools has been tried but failed. Modern-era progressive
Muslim leaders like Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Kemal Ataturk of Turkey discovered this well
over a century ago. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries are following. They’ve figured out that
worldly success in the 21st century is difficult for students who go through the 11th-century
education system of Nizam-ul-Mulk.

Pakistan wants to buck this trend and prove that hybrids work — and that too without a pilot test
project. But it will pay dearly for such wild experimentation. Except for ones with foreign
certification, our students are at the bottom end of global educational achievement. Few
succeed as practising engineers and scientists. Just look at the composition of Pakistan’s overseas
work force. This is mostly unskilled or semi-skilled labour. According to GIZ and ILO, only
three per cent are high-level (engineers, doctors, managers, teachers, etc.) while the
remaining 97pc are mostly labourers, house helpers, drivers, carpenters, electricians, etc.

• SNC lacks at balancing school-madressah nexus

In its eagerness to bring madressahs into the fold of public education, the PTI government is
lowering standards and thus damaging Pakistan’s national interests. It knows that madressahs had
resisted reforms in the years after 9/11. In fact, some were pinpointed as sources of jihadist fighters,
a fact that they did not deny. Under American pressure, reform plans were made by Musharraf’s
government. They flopped. Most madressahs refused his government’s entreaties and
enticements knowing it would lead to their disempowerment.

So why have madressahs accepted a deal now? First, the changed situation on Pakistan’s borders,
together with FATF, has hugely reduced the need for extra-state fighters as well as their funding.
Second, the government welcomes madressah education as ideologically desirable. Public schools
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will henceforth teach much more religious content than before. In fact the amount exceeds that
presently taught in madressahs. Readers can check by comparing the published SNC document
with curricula on various madressah websites.

The madressah-poverty nexus can be broken if there’s a will. There are roughly 25,000
madressahs and 250,000 ordinary schools in Pakistan. That translates into a one to 10 ratio for
students. What if resources were saved by buying fewer tanks/aircraft or launching fewer prestige
projects? What if these resources were instead used to make regular schools that give free board,
lodging and a learning environment to the poorest of our children? This would amount to truly
caring for the downtrodden.

• Critical Analysis
A classless education system isn’t just a beautiful ideal. Approximations(estimation) exist in
parts of the world. A government that’s serious about levelling the playing field for all Pakistani
children should not go for cheap shots like single national curriculum. Instead, it must develop
what every modern education system needs: school infrastructure, a proper student assessment and
examination system, trained teachers who can teach the designed syllabus, and good textbooks.
Pakistan is severely deficient in all these areas.

The writer teaches physics in Islamabad.

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Wading through reform |DAWN OPINION

WATERS will recede, questions will not.

The great deluge in the metropolis has exposed much but none more so than
the unsustainability of the way things are done and not done. This could be —
should be — the tipping point in the tragic saga of Pakistan’s largest urban
centre.

Thesis Statement

• Key Issues of Karachi

So what now?

We have been repeatedly told by all and sundry that Karachi’s problems are ‘complex’; that they
cannot be reduced to mere cleaning of drains and appointment of an empowered mayor or
administrator; that the complications are entrenched deeply under layers of encroachments,
overlapping turfs, political interests and institutional clashes. In short, no government can solve
them through will or intent alone. As a result, the debate over decades on what ails(troubles)
Karachi has centred less on what can be done and more on why it cannot be done.

But the rains have done this debate in.

The waters will leave behind an urban soil fertile for fresh political and administrative plantation.
Now there will be less takers for letting the same way of governance continue. The conventional
arguments to do so will be greeted with richly deserved contempt(disregard) . Resistance to
change stands weakened; motivation for reform stands strengthened.

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Karachi finds itself at a tipping point. All institutions appear ready and willing to reform the
metropolis.

• Too many cook spoils the broth: Representation of Karachi’s local

government
It can all start with a principle decision to fix things. This decision is based on a premise that a joint
action team will need to be stitched together for this task. This is easier said than done. The PPP
government defends its constitutional turf jealously. When it comes to wielding executive authority
in the city, it is the sole wielder. The PTI is a stakeholder as it boasts 14 MNAs from Karachi but
this representation in the centre means little in the province other than in an advisory capacity. The
local government set-up is a wreck and the mayor will have sailed away into the watery night with
the chime of Friday’s midnight clock. With the city carved up into multiple municipalities,
authorities and boards, there is no single person who can wade(paddle) into the slush of the
city’s problems and dredge (drag) them out.

Before this latest devastating spell of rains, one committee’s formation had created a stir in Sindh.
To be headed by the chief minister, the committee included representatives of PTI and MQM —
and the members had tasked themselves to figure out how to fix the city’s problems. However, the
chief minister had made it amply clear this was not a joint governance mechanism —
executive power lay only with the provincial government — but an advisory body would
smoothen political hurdles that needed to be crossed. The committee did not happen in of itself.
In the politically polarised environment prevailing today, it could not have. Its formation was a
signal, if ever one was needed, that a strategic push was under way to make things move in
Karachi.

• Devising a joint committee

If there is indeed such a strategic plan behind saving Karachi, then stop-gap( short-term fix)
arrangements hurriedly woven together in silos(stockroom) will not happen. What should happen
is a joint venture that operates within the existing political and constitutional framework while
powering up decision-making through coordination and consensus. The strategic plan could —
theoretically — evolve into something like this:

• Objectives of the aforementioned committee

The committee is given a name and it acquires the functioning of an executive platform
working under the umbrella of the Sindh government. This platform will be chaired by Chief
Minister Murad Ali Shah and include not only the already nominated members from PTI and MQM
but other parties that have electoral representation from the city. In addition, it should be
empowered to call on the military for help wherever needed. Added to these will be technical
experts and advisers pertaining to fields that constitute problem areas in the city. This committee
could aim to achieve the following objectives:

1) Fast-track a local government plan through consensus and get the relevant legislation drafted and
passed through the provincial assembly;

2) Merge all authorities and bodies into one and design an administrative structure that brings all
functions under the mayor;

3) Figure out how to fit in DHA and other areas under cantonment boards within this matrix;

4) plan the removal of encroachments — many of which have led to massive clogging of
waterways — and figure out alternate plans for those people who will be uprooted from these
encroachments (including compensation and housing);

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 5) Formulate a policy that can lead to the politically difficult decision of laying off excess staff in
local departments that will be made redundant;

6) Draw up a blueprint for a drainage system that builds upon the existing one after the removal of
encroachments;

7) Set up a city-wide garbage collection mechanism with the required equipment;

8) Establish a public transport system that includes the Karachi Circular Railway, the Green Line
and other networks (metro?);

9) Reform building control laws in order to better plan and manage urban sprawl of the future;

10) Draw up a financial plan to fund these reforms through provincial and federal budgets.

• Critical Analysis
There are a hundred reasons why all this cannot be done. There are a thousand reasons why all this
must be done. Karachi finds itself at a tipping point. All institutions appear ready and willing to
reform the metropolis. The weight of the state is leaning towards Karachi and if applied at the
right points at the right time for the right reasons, this weight can demolish walls of
unnecessary resistance by getting all stakeholders under one roof to make the difficult
decisions and get them fully and speedily implemented.

• Conclusion
A perfect storm of dismay, anger and expectation is sweeping across the city. Every citizen appears
to be saying enough is enough. Karachi deserves better — much better. Now is the time to make
the change — whatever it takes. If the strategists are thinking right, they will stay away from silly
ideas like governor’s rule or making the city a federal territory, and opt for bringing about radical
reform that paves the way for Karachi to truly become the engine for Pakistan’s growth.

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Pakistan - an equaliser to Indo China maritime
competition |Daily Times OPINION
Bits of broken pottery are usually found ashore at many places all along the littoral states of
Indian Ocean. This depicts the history, revealing itself for any carbon testing to reach a
conclusion; IOR (Indian Ocean region) is a single contiguous region since centuries. Sea is the
place where future is invented in ebb and flow of waves riding the concentric circles of time. A
nation, who knows the importance of this and has a maritime bent, is only likely to survive the
coming vagaries of 21st century. It is just the beginning of this century and many countries are
already out of competition. 21st century has also reinvented the Mahan; soon his mural will be
made on every rock in the ocean. In Indian ocean this all started with china’s Malacca dilemma
and contestation of line dash-o-nine, India’s fear of string of pearls, USA’s pivot of Asia and
Pakistan’s coming out of sea blindness through the lens of Gawader. India thinks itself as the
net security provider in IOR with blue water navy and a huge seaboard. Pakistan navy is also no
more brown water force, it is well acclaimed regional navy and is growing with every passing
day (anti piracy operations of Pakistan navy deep in international waters had gained quite an
accolades from all and sundry). In any future Sino-Indian rivalry in Indian Ocean, Pakistan will
be the key factor and Pakistan navy the equaliser. In naval war the steps to engagements are
surveillance, classification of threat, localisation of the target for the kill chain and targeting
with suitable weapon delivery. Pakistani naval fleet is designed to achieve same as a lean and
smart machine. If the coming rivalry opens up here, India will definitely have few surprises in
the brown waters quickly turning blue. What’s the Sino-Indian rivalry is all about as far as the
maritime manifestation is concerned? This is very important to understand. There are three
main players, playing the roulette, China, India and USA. China offered India to join BRI being
a natural partner to this regional and trans-regional arrangement, India not only refused rather
started countering the initiative,even as late as 2019 China wanted India to join, then came the
abrogation of article 370 and 35A which made both China and Pakistan apprehensive to Indian
intentions beyond the red lines. This triggered the Ladakh crisis and the start of rivalry in IOR
as a consequence. General Bipin Rawat has said that other options are on the table if dialogue
fails with China on ladakh. These other options are to hit where India thinks that it is strong.
This is IOR, specially the seaboard defended by Pakistan navy. If situation deteriorates, a naval
war in Arabian Sea is not really out of question. China’s declaring of maritime arc from Persian
gulf through strait of Malacca to sea of Japan as the new maritime silk route has already
unhinged the strategic thinkers of USA,who strongly believe that USA cannot allow any one
power or coalition to dominate the Eurasian land mass(Mackinder laughing). Mearshemier the
biggest realist scholar has already said that ” China is single most threat to USA”. This brings
USA here, west of Andaman -Nicobars and the nine degree channel. Indian navy with its 290
ships and 16 submarines will be a potent threat but Pakistan navy is ready with half the size to
act as the David to take on the goliath. The professionalism, training and the history of combat
with India stands testimonial that big brother will be soon in for surprises. The 496 ships (all
type) of Chinese navy with 2 aircraft carriers will not be a bystander if USA moves its naval
assets in IOR. The term super power is going to be redefined as now the peer competition will
be in the domains and spheres known as global commons. The high sea, atmosphere, Antarctica
and space were the global commons as the world knows; China has redefined the two others,
the internet with digital/cyber space and the inflow and out flow of rare earth metals. So we
might be seeing the emergence of first global power of the world soon. No one except India
wants to be at the wrong side of the history, not even United States. Any maritime power has to
have a potent geography, maritime bent of its leaders,ship building capacity, size of seafaring
population, significant ports, merchant vessels and a strong navy. Pakistan has all of it now less
the enhancement of merchant vessels. The recent maritime policy given by the government
amply covers this aspect as well. Indian Ocean is known for three things,one its choke points,
like Malacca, Sunda and Lombok straits on the eastern side, the six degree and nine degree
channels between Andaman and Nicobar islands. Strait of Hormaz, Bab-ul-mandeb, Suez Canal
and the Mozambique channel on the western side. Second, its suitability for submarines due to
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temperature, pressure profile and salinity, this is known as an opaque sea,thirdly, the volume of
trade,over 120000 ships cross IOR in a year. There are a number of French and British colonial
islands in Indian Ocean which also makes them interesting players in any future competition.
USA’s naval bases are the Djibouti, Diego Garcia and Bahrain (CENTCOM). Indian naval
bases are at Visakhapatnam, east coast Mumbai, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. India is making
another base at Lakshadweep Islands near Western Ghats. Since 1992 India is conducting the
naval exercises with USA with the name of “Malabar”. The name itselfdepicts that which part
of Indian Ocean, India is interested in, the Western Ghats and beyond, obviously towards
Persian Gulf and Africa. Japan also later on joined the Malabar exercises along with Australia,
thereby making this annual naval exercise a precursor to the formation of QUAD which is the
geo- strategic alignment of states concerned with China’s potential challenge to their interests.
These four states of QUAD have to understand that in a world of admitted rivalry and peer
competition, balance of power is necessary but not sufficient, what is required is an architecture
of growth and progress in all the domains, commons and global commons, the way China is
doing. Balance of power in 21st century is half woven quilt, like an American mackintosh it
will never cover you all. As China- India competition is expanding into Indian Ocean, therefore
all three, Pakistan, China and India’s more maritime focused than in the past. The manifestation
of this is the weakening of Indian alliance system by China through making the entire littorals,
the strategic partner one way or the other. Therefore the illusion of India being net security
provider has gone in thin air. China has become Mahan’s state (both in real and allegorical
way), trying to reach out to the oceans from all sides. One, a land sea corridor under way from
China-Myanmar-IndianOcean,second, mainland China to South- China-Sea, third, the jewel of
crown, Gawader-Gilgit-Xinjiang. Pakistan navy’s modernization plan is very vibrant, based on
the principle of agility and outreach, the latest entry of frigate 054 is a force multiplier. It being
the four dimensional force is giving whole hog protection to Gawader , while conducting day to
day sea dominance operations in its territorial waters. Spotting an Indian submarine and then
letting it go was a message that balance of power is not necessary as a mere number game, other
vectors are much more important than the Indian arithmetic. General Bipin Rawat can pick his
monocle and see if there are more options on the table under the deck prism, if not , take a gig
and come along.

Spotting an Indian submarine and then letting it go was a message that balance of power is not
necessary as a mere number game, other vectors are much more important than the Indian
arithmetic

The writer is a Ph.D. scholar, freelance contributor and a cofounder of an upcoming security
related think tank. He can be reached at sindhulatif @gmail.com and tweets @Abid_Latif55

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