Logic and Critical Thinking

Submitted by:
Yasir Bilal
Roll No: 2207-BH-PS-17
Section A-2
 Assignment: Determining the strength of arguments

Article Name: Women’s visibility

Author: Bina Shah
Newspaper: Dawn
Publishing Date: December 16, 2018

Conclusion: Women, in Pakistan, are largely invisible in the areas of governance, policy-
and decision making, and representation.
Supporting Arguments:
Major Premises:
1. Presently, there are only three federal ministers and one Punjab minister who are
women
2. There are no women judges in the Supreme Court, nor on the Economic Advisory
Council. Women are shut out of the highest levels of the bureaucracy.
3. In recent elections ,Only eight women were elected to the National Assembly on
general seats, out of 183 running, largely to satisfy the Election Commission of
Pakistan’s requirement that 5pc of party tickets be given to women.
Minor Premises:
4. Pakistan still ranks last in women’s turnout in the world, with informal social taboos
and underhanded deals preventing women from voting freely.
5. In 2018, the paucity of women in public office reflects that gender equality issues
and women-friendly policies have been relegated to a low priority for the new
government
6. Women in governance have been left out of key decision-making roles in
economics, business and trade, security, defense, foreign policy and education, even
though their contributions to these fields would result in tremendous progress for
our nation

Counter Arguments:
1. In the recent elections, Pakistanis demonstrated that women do belong in
government. Strong electoral reforms promoted women’s participation in the
elections, both as voters and candidates. As a result, women represented 44pc
of registered voters nationwide
2. Benazir Bhutto’s election as prime minister shows in 1998 shows that women
have representation in the government.
Analysis:
The argument of the author is strong because she has provided strong supporting arguments.
The counter argument that women represented 44% of the total vote nationwide remains
weak because Pakistan has still the lowest turnout of women in the world. Moreover , author
has provided facts to support her claim. Therefore, her argument is strong.

Article Name: Sustained democracy: Pakistan’s key to a prosperous future

Author: Frank F Islam
Newspaper: Daily Times
Publishing Date: JULY 24, 2018
Conclusion: Pakistan has a potential to be a beacon of hope for democracy in the world.
Supporting Arguments:
Major Premises:
1) Pakistan has achieved major feats during this democratic tenure, especially in the areas
of security and economy. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2017, incidents of
terrorism have been on the decline in Pakistan for the last three consecutive years. The
improving security situation has attracted foreign investments, including those related to
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
2) Pakistan’s economy also faired relatively well under the democratic governments. The
Economic Survey 2018 revealed the percentage of Pakistanis living below the poverty
line has fallen to 24.3 percent in 2015-16 from 50.4 percent in 2005-06The country’s
GDP growth rate has gone up from 1.71 percent in 2008 to 5.7 percent in 2018.
3) Economic indicators have managed to improve over the last five years. After the
transition to democracy in 2008, these victories have the potential to make Pakistan a
role model for the countries which are still under autocratic rules.
Counter Arguments:
1) Pakistan’s democracy has not been able to achieve its optimum level in terms of
providing better living conditions to the population so far. An article about Pakistan’s
democracy in The New York Times revealed how the rural population in Pakistan is
still unable to reap the full benefits of the best system of governance. “In our villages
and small towns, we don’t have political leaders; we have brokers and thugs who sell
our votes to federal politicians and their backers in the military establishment.
Democracy serves a singular purpose in the village: to maintain the power of our
feudal lords and to further enrich them and their families,” wrote Ali Akbar Natiq, a
poet and novelist from Pakistan in his article.
2) Also, a large portion of Pakistanis living in urban areas still lack access to quality
education and healthcare facilities. According to the latest National Human
Development Report launched this year, Pakistan is one of the countries that has the
largest population under 30 and the second youngest population in the South Asian
region after Afghanistan. The report says 64 percent of the total population is below
the age of 30 while 29 percent is between the ages of 15 and 29 years. This youth
bulge will critically impact Pakistan as a country if not dealt with appropriately.

3) Clean drinking water is another ticking time-bomb for Pakistan

4) Also despite the introduction of democracy, there are complaints of discrimination

against women and minorities, human-rights violations and curbs on press freedom.
5) There are curbs on the freedom of Speech in Pakistan. Pakistan must free its free press
and take the steps and actions necessary to enable the press to speak the truth. It must
protect journalists and their right to freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed
by Article 19 of the Constitution.
6) unlike in the US, civic education has never been a major part of the curriculum in
Pakistan nor has it had a targeted focus nationally.
7) Over the last few months, the economy has struggled against the rising dollar and
foreign debt.
Analysis:
The above stated claim of the author is weak because the counter arguments outnumber the
supporting arguments. The writer has made his claim on the basis of reduction in terrorism
and improvement in economic development. However, to be a beacon of democracy, a
country must provide quality education, freedom of speech, health care facilities, better living
conditions and sustained economy. However, Pakistan has not provided these facilities yet.
There, the argument that Pakistan can be a beacon of democracy is weak.

Article Name: Political stability vital for governance and development

Author: Nimal Sanderatne
Newspaper: The Sunday Times Sri Lanka
Publishing Date 1/19/2018
Conclusion: The election of a politically stable government is crucial for good governance,
national solidarity and economic development.
Premises:
Major Premises:
Only a stable government can ensure social harmony, law and order, the rule of law and good
governance that are prerequisites to economic development
An unstable government would not be in a position to take bold and often unpopular
decisions for the country’s economic advancement.
Only a stable government can resolve the issues like Ethnic violence, political instability, and
inconsistent economic policies to make the country attractive for foreign investment
Minor Premises:
National unity and social harmony in the country would remove a foremost distraction to
economic development that has persisted for many decades and unleash the full potential of
the economy. It would enhance agricultural and industrial production, attract tourists, and
provide a more conducive environment for foreign investment.
Political stability is most important for economic policy making, especially for adoption of
long-term policies that are vitally important for socio-economic development. The next
government must have a long-term perspective on policies that would ensure sustained
economic development.
A government that is unstable would not be able to undertake the reforms that would enhance
productivity in the long run

Analysis:
The argument of the author is moderate. The author claims that political stability is
indispensable for good governance, national solidarity and economic development .However,
the author does not support his whole claim. His premises provide the support to only half
part of his claim i.e. political stability is vital for economic development. He does not explain
clearly how political stability ensures good governance and national solidarity. Moreover, he
has not provided any example to support his claim.

Conclusion:
The mechanism introduced by the Election Commission of Pakistan in order to make reforms
in the electoral process is complex and can lead to the disenfranchisement of massive
Pakistani citizens.

Premises:
1. It is naïve of the ECP to think that most Pakistanis can download and print Form 21
from the ECP’s website or they will take a day off from work to visit an ECP office
to get their polling addresses changed. A random survey of 100 persons revealed
that not even one person knew where an ECP office was.
 2. The complex and clumsily-designed Form 21 cannot be filled by an ordinary
Pakistani .The form is full of redundant questions such as “confirm you are a
Pakistani citizen” — when a CNIC has already been attached with the application.
3. Millions of individuals in today’s environment are frequently required to relocate
themselves from one city to another. It is impossible for them to get their ‘mojuda’
address repeatedly changed on their CNICs.

The deadline to complete this task is December 31, 2018 .It seems highly unlikely
that millions of the people would be able to change their address by visiting ECP
office within this short span of time. Many illiterate people are unaware of this
program.
Conclusion: Electoral process is complex as proved by premises. The problems narrated are
genuine and exist as it is. So, argument of the author is strong.
 Articles
IN the first 100 days of Imran Khan’s government, analysts have pointed out where the government has triumphed, where it has
stumbled, and where it needs to hold the course. Their focus has largely been on security, the economy and foreign relations, with a bit
of development and education thrown in. But one area that everyone has ignored is the fact that this government has rendered women
largely invisible in areas of governance, policy- and decision-making, and representation. Sometimes pictures speak louder than
words: the stream of official photographs and videos released by the government throughout the weeks illustrates that
committees, panels, delegations, talks and high-level meetings are all filled with men. Perhaps one woman is sitting at the table;
perhaps two or three aides or assistants are hovering in the background. There is a dearth of women in both the federal and
provincial cabinets. The overwhelming picture is that men make the decisions, women stay in the background. It represents a
giant step backwards. Our nation is in the doldrums when it comes to women’s equality; it ranks bottom on the Gender Gap
Index, second to last in the WEF Gender Equality Forum, and constantly appears on the list of most dangerous countries for
women. We own a tainted history when it comes to women’s rights, with violence against women and girls at unacceptably high
levels today. The ‘chador aur char diwari’ refrain of the Zia years still affects our mindset. Yet women’s visibility in all areas of
life, including public life and governance, is vital if Pakistan wants to close the gender gap. Women’s visibility is not important
just for cosmetic reasons, or to fulfil a ‘feminist agenda’ and please ‘Western’ interests. When women are included in powerful
positions and decision-making, they represent the interests of 50 per cent of Pakistan’s population. They monitor the effect that
government policies have on women, shaping policy so that it serves all genders — men, women and Trans. They fight for more
resources to be allocated to spend on women; women’s political authority and leadership become more socially acceptable.
Men make the decisions, women stay in the background.
Benazir Bhutto’s election as prime minister in 1988 made headlines around the world; she was the first woman leader of a
Muslim nation, and a lot was expected of her. However, her government was ineffective in repealing Zia’s discriminatory laws,
or achieving any significant pro-women legislation. Pakistan had to be content with the symbolic achievement of a woman
occupying the highest office; we still look back to her as the pinnacle of women’s visibility in governance, if not its apex in
freeing women from societal and legal oppression. That memory is not enough for us. In the recent elections, Pakistanis
demonstrated that women do belong in government. Strong electoral reforms promoted women’s participation in the elections,
both as voters and candidates. As a result, women represented 44pc of registered voters nationwide, but Pakistan still ranks last
in women’s turnout in the world, with informal social taboos and underhanded deals preventing women from voting freely in
July. Only eight women were elected to the National Assembly on general seats, out of 183 running, largely to satisfy the
Election Commission of Pakistan’s requirement that 5pc of party tickets be given to women.
Since the Women’s Protection Bill was passed in 2006; women parliamentarians have achieved tremendous success in
formulating legislation and reforms that address gender-based violence, discrimination, harassment, and other protections for
women and girls. But lack of funding, implementation and enforcement hampers the laws’ effectiveness at the provincial and
national level. In 2018, the paucity of women in public office reflects that gender equality issues and women friendly policies
have been relegated to a low priority for the new government. Over the years, Pakistani women have made great strides in
achieving higher prominence in public office, but this seems to have been reversed; presently, there are only three federal
ministers and one Punjab minister who are women. There are no women judges in the Supreme Court, nor on the
Economic Advisory Council. Women are shut out of the highest levels of the bureaucracy; the chauvinism of that institution
merits another essay alone.
What’s worse, women in governance have been left out of key decision-making roles in economics, business and trade, security,
defense, foreign policy and education, even though their contributions to these fields would result in tremendous progress for
our nation. Twenty years on since we first elected a woman as prime minister, the Pakistani government must increase women’s
representation in leadership positions, or risk perpetuating injustice and stagnation instead of eliminating it as promised. Our
daughters deserve at least this much.

While democracy appears to be on decline in the United States and elsewhere after the election of President Trump, it is heartening to note
that one of largest Muslim nations in the world, Pakistan is heading towards another democratic transition through general elections this
month. Successful completion of two consecutive democratic terms for a country like Pakistan — which has seen extensive military rule
since its inception in 1947 — is definitely an achievement. Despite its flaws, democracy is the best hope for over 200 million Pakistanis, a
quarter of whom are still living below the poverty line. Please note, no democracy could be called perfect in this age, but it has still proven
to be the best system of governance across the world. When democracy was born in the 5th century BC at Athens, it was meant to provide a
political system of self-governance for the citizens, aimed at serving the interest of the majority. For much of the twentieth century, the
United States of America was the leader in promoting and promulgating democracy and democratic values internationally. With the Trump
presidency, that leadership has eroded and virtually disappeared. The obsessive emphasis on America First and the withdrawal from
alliances and international agreements combined with the instigation of trade wars will only lead to the inevitable conclusion of America
being alone and last. A nation cannot lead from that position. There is a significant vacuum that must be filled if democracy and the search
for it is to be a defining characteristic of this century. Pakistan could become an example too for the world, with its transition from a
developing to a developed country through sustained democracy. During the last two terms, Pakistan has come a long way. Pakistan has a
potential to be a beacon of hope for democracy in the world. Pakistan has achieved major feats during this democratic tenure, especially in
the areas of security and economy. According to the Global Terrorism Index 2017, incidents of terrorism have been on the decline in
Pakistan for the last three consecutive years. The improving security situation has attracted foreign investments, including those related to
China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).Pakistan’s economy also faired relatively well under the democratic governments. The
Economic Survey 2018 revealed the percentage of Pakistanis living below the poverty line has fallen to 24.3 percent in 2015-16 from 50.4
percent in 2005-06. The country’s GDP growth rate has gone up from 1.71 percent in 2008 to 5.7 percent in 2018. Over the last few months,
the economy has struggled against the rising dollar and foreign debt, but economic indicators have still managed to improve over the last
five years. After the transition to democracy in 2008, these victories have the potential to make Pakistan a role model for the countries which
are still under autocratic rules. However, no one can deny that Pakistan’s democracy has not been able to achieve its optimum level in terms
of providing better living conditions to the population so far. I was reading a very interesting article about Pakistan’s democracy in The New
York Times which revealed how the rural population in Pakistan is still unable to reap the full benefits of the best system of governance. “In
our villages and small towns, we don’t have political leaders; we have brokers and thugs who sell our votes to federal politicians and their
backers in the military establishment. Democracy serves a singular purpose in the village: to maintain the power of our feudal lords and to
further enrich them and their families,” wrote Ali Akbar Natiq, a poet and novelist from Pakistan in his article .In today’s digital age, a
party can’t perpetuate its rule without improving its performance. If democracy is allowed to flourish, it is bound to improve the lives of the
citizenry

Also, a large portion of Pakistanis living in urban areas still lack access to quality education and healthcare facilities. According to the latest
National Human Development Report launched this year, Pakistan is one of the countries that has the largest population under 30 and the
second youngest population in the South Asian region after Afghanistan. The report says 64 percent of the total population is below the age
of 30 while 29 percent is between the ages of 15 and 29 years. This youth bulge will critically impact Pakistan as a country if not dealt with
appropriately, depending on how the country invests in the youth by providing them with quality education, employment and meaningful
engagement opportunities. Clean drinking water is another ticking time-bomb for Pakistan and Pakistan needs to find a solution to this
challenging problem. Also despite the introduction of democracy, there are complaints of discrimination against women and minorities,
human-rights violations and curbs on press freedom. Pakistan would also need to address these complaints to become a true democracy
which respects all the values attributed to this form of governance .To become a true democracy, Pakistan must free its free press and take
the steps and actions necessary to enable the press to speak the truth. It must protect journalists and their right to freedom of speech and
expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution. Much work is needed, but, I am cautiously optimistic. Also, unlike in the US,
civic education has never been a major part of the curriculum in Pakistan nor has it had a targeted focus nationally. It needs both. The youth
of today are the citizens of tomorrow. Pakistani educational, civic and political leaders must recognize this and collaborate to develop an
effective civic education approach to be implemented in classrooms across the country. In my opinion, a sustained democracy has the
potential to solve many of Pakistan’s current challenges. As the saying goes “even the worst democracy is better than dictatorship”. In
today’s digital age, a party can’t perpetuate its rule without improving its performance. If democracy is allowed to flourish, it is bound to
improve the lives of the citizenry. The people should be allowed to decide who governs them. Over the last 10 years, Pakistanis have
witnessed the performance of two mainstream parties. Now the time has come for Pakistan to vote for multi-parties. Now the decision is in
the hands of 105.96 million voters who will be out on July 25 to elect the next government. We should trust their judgment and hope that
Pakistan will emerge as a peaceful, prosperous and stable country and a strong democracy under the new government.

The election of a politically stable government is crucial for good governance, national solidarity and economic development.
Only a stable government can ensure social harmony, law and order, the rule of law and good governance that are
prerequisites to economic development. An unstable government would not be in a position to take bold and often unpopular
decisions for the country’s economic advancement. Although peace was achieved six years ago the satisfactory settlement of
minority grievances remains an important problem to resolve. The new government must find a permanent political solution to
the grievances of the people in the North and East to ensure national solidarity and social harmony. It is only a stable strong
government that could resolve this problem. National unity and social harmony in the country would remove a foremost
distraction to economic development that has persisted for many decades and unleash the full potential of the economy. It
would enhance agricultural and industrial production, attract tourists, and provide a more conducive environment for foreign
investment. Social harmony is a fundamental prerequisite for sustained high economic growth.
Good governance
In as much as economic policies and reforms are essential for economic development, good governance is a vital prerequisite
to economic development. Democratic freedom, law and order, the rule of law, an efficient police system, an independent
judiciary among others, contribute towards political stability and economic development. The guarantee and protection of
property rights are fundamental prerequisites that the government must ensure for economic development. Therefore, a
government that ensures good governance is vital for economic development. Political stability is most important for economic
policy making, especially for adoption of long term policies that are vitally important for socio economic development. The next
government must have a long term perspective on policies that would ensure sustained economic development. These policies
include good fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies. And there must be consistency, certainty and predictability of
economic policies. Bold and unpopular decision making is needed to restore economic stability and to put in place economic
policies that are beneficial in the long run.

Public finances: The stringent situation in public finances requires strong action to replenish the government coffers. There
should be taxation reforms and better tax administration. A country that obtains only 12 percent of GDP as revenue, when other
countries of comparable per capita incomes generate 20 percent of GDP as revenue, implies the need for drastic reforms and
strong administrative measure to enhance the efficacy of the tax collection systems. A strong stable government is essential to
achieve this revamping and reforming of the taxation system to increase revenue to about 15 per cent of GDP.
As important as it is necessary to increase revenue, there is a need for the new government to ensure that extravagant and
conspicuous spending by the state, corruption and wastage are curtailed so that public expenditure can be reduced
significantly. Economic and financial resources are limited. Their prudent allocation on the basis of economic and social
priorities is crucial.
Foreign investment
There is a strong relationship between foreign investment and economic growth. Larger inflows of foreign investments are
needed for the country to achieve a high trajectory of economic growth. For the economy to grow by over eight percent a year
there is a need to invest around 40 percent of GDP. Since national savings fall far short of this, foreign borrowing and foreign
investments have to meet this investment savings gap. Rapid economic growth cannot be achieved with domestic resources
and private investment alone. It is critical to attract large foreign direct investments to establish export industries. FDI in such
investments are risk free to the country and bring] with it the advantages of advanced technology, management practices and
assured markets. In due course there is a technology transfer as the local workforce gains knowledge of the manufacturing
processes and management practices. The value added in these industries is a contribution to GDP and foreign exchange
earnings and their employment increases incomes, especially of skilled and semiskilled workers in these industries.
Although successive governments have attempted to provide various incentives to foreign investors, foreign investment has
been far below expected levels and low in comparison with many other Asian countries. Several factors have militated against
FDI in the past. Ethnic violence, political instability, inconsistent economic policies and inadequate skilled personnel for hi tech
industry have discouraged foreign investors in the past. Only a stable government can resolve these issues to make the
country attractive for foreign investment. The preconditions to attract FDI are an attractive investment climate, consistent
macroeconomic policies, good governance, economic stability, guarantee of property rights, rule of law and absence of
corruption are among the conditions required to attract FDI. Consistency and predictability in economic policies and political
stability are preconditions to attract FDI. Stable government
For the reasons adduced above, it is in the national interest if one of the contending parties would obtain a majority in
parliament to form a government that would be stable for the next five years. The immediate economic challenges are
formidable and stringent and bold measures are needed to regain macroeconomic stability. The longer term economic
development strategy requires a pragmatic vision, policies that would be conducive to domestic private investment and attract
foreign investment into exportable industries for agricultural and fisheries and livestock development. A government
that is unstable would not be able to undertake the reforms that would enhance productivity in the long run .Alternative In the
event that a government is formed by a coalition, it should be one where the conflicts among the coalition parties are minimal
and the economic policy framework acceptable to all members of such a coalition. If a government is formed with diverse views
on the economy, such a regime would be unstable and unable to pursue consistent economic policies to achieve economic
development. But this is a poor second best.

The fact that some 15 million individuals are likely to be disenfranchised if they do not seek correction in their polling
address by December 31, 2018 and the fact that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is issuing this warning four
years before the actual date of election should be viewed as a welcome development. This not only suggests that the ECP is
beginning to take notice but also draws attention to the monumental disenfranchisement likely to happen in the next
elections. There is a serious concern that even now the ECP has little idea of the magnitude of this disenfranchisement. In
order to understand this issue, let us consider, as an example, a Pakistani citizen having three possible addresses, A, B and
C. These could be a ‘Mustaqil’ address A, a ‘Mojuda’ address B and any other address, say C, at which an individual may have
been registered for voting. The ECP’s latest pronouncements require that individuals who are registered at an address C,
should approach the ECP in person and do the necessary paperwork to have their voting address changed to either the
‘Mustaqil’ or the ‘Mojuda’ address mentioned on their CNIC. Simple that it may sound, it reflects the ECP’s naivety and lack
of understanding on why this scheme is not workable. The ECP has never acknowledged the fact that it disenfranchised
some 10 million people in 2018 elections because they were registered at their permanent address while they actually lived
in another city. Nudged by the Elections Act of 2017, the ECP now realizes that another 15 million people will not be able to
cast their vote next time as their voting address is registered neither at A nor at B.The root cause of this ma ssive
disenfranchisement does not lie in the polling addresses. It lies in the inability of the ECP to provide an easy mechanism of
making a change. The proposed process is complex beyond words and not likely to be followed by more than 5% affectees. A
short survey reveals that a small segment of the affected population got to read this ad or know its contents. It is naïve of the
ECP to think that most Pakistanis can download and print Form 21 from the ECP’s website or they will take a day off from
work to visit an ECP office to get their polling addresses changed. A random survey of 100 persons revealed that not even
one person knew where an ECP office was. Does the ECP really think that the complex and clumsily-designed Form 21 can
be filled by an ordinary Pakistani? The form is full of redundant questions such as “confirm you are a Pakistani citizen” —
when a CNIC has already been attached with the application. Clause 37 of the Elections Act of 2017 needs to be changed to
enable all citizens (and not just the government employees) to vote from any location. It must be understood that millions of
individuals in today’s environment are frequently required to relocate themselves from one city to another. It is impossible
for them to get their ‘mojuda’ address repeatedly changed on their CNICs. The concept of forcing citizens to personally visit
government offices to deliver an application is outright colonial and archaic. A completely re -engineered voter
registration/address change system needs to be designed where no citizen is required to visit any ECP office. Using a
phone/SIM registered on one’s own name, a short code SMS, similar to 8300 could enable a citizen, to provide information
such as name, CNIC and the requested voting address. Such a request could include additional information such as the
name and phone number of the employer or neighbor . This would bypass the impossible process of Form 21, CNIC copy,
thumb impression, certificate of employment or a visit to the ECP office. There are numerous smart ways in which the ECP
can create simple mechanisms to verify statements made by an individual. The idea of completing this task by December 31
is beyond sanity and should be spread over a longer period to allow sufficient time for a campaign on TV and re ceiving
change requests followed by meticulous verification. Sticking to the existing proposal could disenfranchise about 25 million
voters in the next election.