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perpetrated ‫ ارتکاب کیا گیا ہے‬by religious

Agosta kickbacks trial - Newspaper - extremists ‫مذہبی انتہا پسند‬..
DAWN.COM
Soon however, French investigators
Editorial 21 January 2021
‫ تفتیش کار‬began to focus on the
possibility that the attack was
A POLITICALLY significant trial ‫اہم‬
engineered by elements in Pakistan as
‫ مقدمے کی سماعت‬opened in Paris
reprisal ‫ انتقامی کارروائی‬after President
yesterday. Former French prime
Jacques Chirac suspended ‫ معطل ہوئی‬the
minister Edouard Balladur is in the dock
commission payments when the practice
on charges ‫الزامات کی بناء پر کٹہرے میں ہیں‬
‫ مشق‬was criminalised in
that he used ‘retro commissions’ from
2000. (Although in the 1990s the giving
arms deals ‫ اسلحہ کے سودے‬to fund his
of such ‘gifts’ was legal in France, ‘retro
presidential bid in 1995. Along with his
commissions’ — in which the money
then defence minister, Mr Balladur was
was re-routed back to France ‫پیسہ دوبارہ‬
charged in 2017 with “complicity
‫ فرانس پہنچا۔‬through money laundering
‫ ملوث‬،‫ منسلک‬in the misuse ‫ غلط استعمال‬of
‫ — منی النڈرنگ‬were always illegal.)
corporate assets” ‫ کارپوریٹ اثاثے‬over the
What became known as ‘l’affaire
sale of frigates ‫ جنگی جہاز‬to Saudi Arabia
Karachi’ implicated ‫ ملوث‬not only
and the Agosta submarines to
prominent ‫ مشہور‬French politicians but
Pakistan. The suicide bombing on May
also some individuals in the Pakistani
8, 2002, outside the Sheraton hotel in
military and political elite. The deal for
Karachi that killed 13 French naval
the sale of three Agosta military
engineers visiting Pakistan to assist ‫مدد‬
submarines to Pakistan was worth
‫ کرنا‬in building the submarines was a
around $1bn; of this, some $50m were
seminal moment ‫ آخری لمحہ‬in the saga. It
set aside for kickbacks, of which $2m
turned what was until then a tale of
were found to be ‘retro
financial wrongdoing ‫ مالی غلطیاں‬into one
commissions’. The point to note here is
about a possible act of revenge.
that although the investigators’ efforts
‫ بدلہ‬Initially ‫شروع میں‬, coming as it did
were thwarted ‫ ناکام بنا دیا‬time and again
less than a year after 9/11 and only a
by interested parties ‫ دلچسپی جماعتوں‬using
few months following Daniel Pearl’s
their clout ‫سیاسی اثر و رسوخ‬, they
horrific murder ‫ خوفناک قتل‬in Karachi, the
continued to painstakingly ‫محنت سے‬
attack seemed most likely to have been
build their case over nearly a quarter of
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 Dawn Editorials & Opinions

a century. In June last year, six people Indian media scandal - Newspaper -
were convicted ‫ سزا سنائی‬by a Paris court DAWN.COM
and sentenced ‫ سزا سنائی‬to prison for Editorial 21 January 2021
their role in the scandal. Now it is the
turn of the former premier and the ex- IT is best if the fourth estate and the
defence minister to face the music.. government maintain a healthy distance,
because when members of the media get
In Pakistan however, aside from former
too close to the corridors of power, ‫طاقت‬
naval chief Mansurul Haq, who was
‫ کے کوریڈورز‬، independent journalism
forced into early retirement ‫مجبور کیا گیا‬
suffers ‫ شکار‬and the narrative ‫ وضاحتی‬of
‫ تھا‬and later had to return some of his ill-
those in government can trump ‫بوکیت‬
gotten gains in a plea bargain ‫التجا سودا‬
‫ ۔حاصل کرنا فتح حاصل کرنا‬the truth. The
NAB, virtually ‫ عملی طور پر‬no one has
recent scandal ‫ حالیہ اسکینڈل‬involving
been held to account. Some other naval
ultra-hawkish ‫پرامن اور سفارتی طریقوں کے‬
officials were also apprehended, ‫حراست‬
‫بجائے کچھ حاصل کرنے کے لئے طاقت کے‬
‫ میں لیا گیا‬، but a likely cover-up ‫پردہ پوشی‬
‫ استعمال کے حق میں‬Indian anchor Arnab
‫ کرنا‬by Gen Musharraf’s military
Goswami is a case in point. Mr
government prevented ‫ روکا‬all those
Goswami, not exactly known for
culpable ‫ مجرم‬from being proceeded
subtlety, ‫ لطافت‬fairness and accuracy
against. And they will probably go scot
‫ درستگی‬in reporting, has been accused
free ‫ — سزا یابی کے بغیر‬unless there is
‫ الزام لگایا گیا ہے‬of having advance
some advantage to be achieved in
knowledge of the Indian strike on
prosecuting ‫ قانونی چارہ جوئی‬them. Sadly,
Balakot in February 2019. The scandal
that is how accountability is in Pakistan,
erupted ‫ پھیل گیا‬after purported ‫مبینہ‬
a handmaiden of political opportunism,
WhatsApp messages between the anchor
‫ موقع پرستی‬something that can be twisted
and the head of an under-investigation
‫ مڑا جا سکتا ہے‬into whatever those in
ratings company were made public. In
power want it to be..
the messages, Mr Goswami appears
Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2021. ‫ دکھائی دیتے‬to be telling the other party
that “something major” would happen
vis-à-vis ‫ مخالف‬Pakistan, going on to
mention a “bigger than normal
strike”. Of course, the strike did occur,
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 Dawn Editorials & Opinions

and India was given a befitting ‫مناسب‬
reply for its adventurism ‫ مہم جوئی‬by this
country. However, the leak illustrates
‫ وضاحت کرتا ہے‬the dangerous nexus
‫ خطرناک گٹھ جوڑ‬that exists between right-
wing Indian media outlets and the Hindu
chauvinist ‫ جنونی‬BJP that rules from
New Delhi..
While ‘embedded ‫(ایک صحافی کا) تنازعہ‬
‫ ’کے دوران فوجی یونٹ سے وابستہ‬journalism
is not new and some media outlets ‫کچھ‬
‫ ذرائع ابالغ‬in this country are also seen to
be close to those who call the shots, the
recent scandal in India reveals ‫انکشاف‬
‫ کرتا ہے‬a far more dangerous ‫خطرناک‬
reality. In the Goswami case, sensitive
information ‫ حساس معلومات‬was shared
with a news outlet seemingly ‫ بظاہر‬to
help the BJP’s election prospects ‫انتخابات‬
‫ کے امکانات‬and boost the rightist media
outlet’s ratings in the process. This is a
dangerous game which, if not nipped in
the bud,‫ اگر ابتدا ہی میں ختم نہیں کر دیا‬can
have many negative consequences. The
first casualty ‫ وفات‬in such situations is of
course the truth, while media outlets
such as the one in the midst ‫ درمیان‬of the
scandal end up radicalising ‫ بنیاد پرستی‬the
public through their non-stop jingoistic
‫ مذہبی جنونیت پر مبنی‬broadcasts. Common
sense, factual ‫ حقیقت پر مبنی‬reporting and
ethics ‫ اخالقیات‬are all chucked out ‫باہر‬
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‫ پھینک دیا گیا‬the window in the maddening
race ‫ جنون دوڑ‬for ratings, influence ‫اثر و‬
‫ رسوخ‬and power. Instead of promoting
peace, such an unholy nexus ‫ناپاک گٹھ‬
‫ جوڑ‬between powerful media outlets and
the state only serves to amplify ‫ بڑھانا‬the
shrill cries for war in a volatile region.
‫ اتار چڑھاؤ واال عالقہ‬Saner ‫ عقلمند‬media
outlets and moderate ‫ اعتدال پسند‬political
elements in India need to address this
unhealthy trend ‫غیر صحت مند رجحان‬
before brinkmanship, ‫روکنے سے پہلے‬
‫حفاظت کی حدود تک خطرناک پالیسی اپنانے کا‬
‫ فن یا عمل‬fuelled by a pliant ‫اجنبی‬,
cheerleading media, ‫ خوش مزاج میڈیا‬،
leads to a potential disaster ‫ ممکنہ تباہی‬in
South Asia. Last time war was averted
‫ ٹل گئی‬thanks largely due to Pakistan’s
firm, mature response. However, such
shenanigans ‫بیوقوف یا اعلی حوصلہ افزا‬
‫ سلوک؛ فساد‬should not be tried again
simply for a few ratings points and votes
on election day..
Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2021.
Rising food prices - Newspaper -
DAWN.COM
Editorial 21 January 2021
FOOD inflation ‫خوراک کی مہنگائی‬
continues to challenge the resolve ‫ عزم‬of
the government to control the prices
Page 3 of 5
 Dawn Editorials & Opinions

‫ قیمتوں پر قابو پانے کے لئے‬of essential middlemen ‫ یا درمیانیوں‬- ‫— قیاس آرائیوں‬

kitchen items ‫باورچی خانے کی ضروری‬
‫ اشیاء‬as much as it does the patience ‫صبر‬
of millions of lower-middle-income
households across the country. In the
last two years, food prices have
increased by an aggregate ‫ مجموعی‬of
more than a third, forcing most families
to cut down on their daily caloric intake.
‫کھانے کے ذریعہ کھپت ہونے والی توانائی کی‬
‫ مقدار کے طور پر بیان‬Others have been
compelled ‫ مجبور کیا گیا ہے‬to reduce their
essential expenditure ‫ ضروری اخراجات‬on
education and health so that they can put
food on the table. Barring ‫ کو چھوڑ کر‬its
frequent claims ‫ بار بار دعوے کرنا‬of
moving the administrative machinery
‫ انتظامی مشینری‬against hoarders ‫ذخیرہ‬
‫اندوز‬, the government has mostly stood
on the side as a helpless bystander. ‫بے‬
‫ بس بھانڈر‬A report in this newspaper on
Wednesday lays bare ‫ ننگے رکھے‬the
government’s claims ‫ دعوے‬of having
brought food inflation down. The prices
of sugar and staple wheat flour ‫گندم کا آٹا‬
have risen again significantly ‫نمایاں طور‬
‫ پر‬in spite of the availability ‫دستیابی کے‬
‫ باوجود‬of sufficient stocks ‫ کافی اسٹاک‬of
the two commodities ‫اجناس‬. Similarly,
pulses, ‫ دالیں‬edible oil ‫ خوردنی تیل‬and
other items are also showing a rising
price trend. ‫بڑھتے ہوئے قیمت کا‬
‫ رجحان‬Traders blame speculators — or
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and increasing global commodity prices
for the return of this drift. Even the
threat of more sugar imports and wheat
seems to have failed to deter the
speculators ‫قیاس آرائیوں کو روکنے میں ناکام‬
‫ رہا‬from manipulating the
market. ‫مارکیٹ میں ہیرا پھیری کرنا۔‬Though
the government formed ‫ تشکیل دی‬a
committee earlier this month to take
action against hoarders ‫ذخیرہ اندوز‬,
nothing substantive ‫ بنیادی‬has been done
so far to provide relief to the citizens..
These have been very difficult times for
the majority of the population because
of the devastating impact ‫ تباہ کن اثر‬of
Covid-19 on an economy that was
already struggling. A large number of
people employed in the informal sectors
have lost their jobs as businesses
struggle to cope ‫ نمٹنے کے لئے جدوجہد‬with
the effects of the health crisis. Others
have had to bear heavy cuts in their
wages. The rising food prices in these
circumstances have underscored ‫کم کیا ہے‬
the government’s inability ‫حکومت کی نا‬
‫ اہلی‬to do its job properly and protect
citizens from profiteers and market
manipulators. It is time the government
stopped making hollow ‫ کھوکھلی‬claims
and started doing its job..
Page 4 of 5
 Dawn Editorials & Opinions

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2021.

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