The Daily PakistanPolitics Sep16 - 30, 2018

• Sep20-2018--after the governments attempt to forcibly halt the economy inits tracks a report suggesting an IMF reccomendation to further devalue the rupee to Rs150 caused the rupee to slide to Rs127...The PTI seemingly wants too slow down the economy and their entire austerity policy seems tobe to wear donated clothes and sell primeminister house vehicles and buffaloes...somebody suggested that in the light of austerity policies Imran Khan milk the bufalos himself...since the buffalos food costs had soared to over a lakh per buffalo Imran khan reluctantly sold the prized buffalos one or two of which fetched over three lakhs each......apparently Bushra Imran suggests that Imran Khan wears only donated clothes...a poor millionaire at best...the attempts by the PTI to manage the economy only points to the influence of the prosperous classes in pakistan like the industrialists and businessmen...causing hardships to the bottom 99% of the people can hardly increase prosperity...non filers are legally justified and the government discrimination seems totally unjustified and is based on victimisation or the lack of influence of the poorer segments of soceity...The finance minister apparently used to make Rs50 million a month and can obviously not understand the problems of the people...
  
  
• Sep30-2018--five lieutenant generals to retire tommorrow including the ISI chief...these are generally known as the generals who honed their skills in the Fata terrorism wave...while terrorism has waned it has not been totally wiped out...most were appointed to their position after Bajwa became army chief
  
  
• Sep29-2018--six new lieutenant generals appointed..mostly from the GHQ..one each comes from the ISI and the FC
  
  
• Sep19-2018--doctors are poor administrators...says the CJSC and appoints a retired judge/adhoc committee to head the Punab liver and kidney tranplant authority which had been spending Rs100 million in salaries without doing a single transplant...pakistani transplant centers have a rogue reputation especially in the kidney field...
  
  
• Sep19-2018--In punjab it is understood that the kalabagh dam can only benefit Sindh so they have no cause to support it...The CJ in his water and dam decision says that sindh has been misled on the kalabagh dam and dams will be built as a national interest...while he has shown a certain craziness in suggesting that anti dam lobbies are guilty of treason...his suggestion that underground water not be used in cities is probably something that is not possible as most cities depend on underground water like rawalpindi and lahore and many other cities...increasing the cost of bottled water could also cause an increase in health problems...
  
  
• Sep19-2018--Imran Khan has suddenly decided that bengalis and afghans born in pakistan are his friends...he also thinks that they are the ones who cause problems in karachi and should be given citizenship...! that is probably not the case...if that is the law than they can acquire citizenship without government intervention...!
  
  
• Sep19-2018--The PMLn and PPP seek to insist that election rigging only benefited the PTI...how the PMLn and PPP won their seats with substantial fall in support seems unclear...however a parliamentary rigging body has formally been agreed to...while parliament is not an investigative body it still could result in the reformation of the election commission although parliament has no legal power over holding/correcting elections or even changing the election commission...most investigative powers rest with election tribunals...and a new law would be needed to even change the CEC
  
  
• Sep19-2018--The PTI announces a mini budget with no real change in directions...It did not change tax incentives given to the CPEC despite it being one of biggest programs in the country...No changes were announced in any allocations apart from a reduction of Rs 300 billion in development...The discrimination against non filers who are legally not bound to file income tax returns continues...they also announced joker provisions as 1000 and 2000 rupee taxations on people earning 0.4 million to 1.2 million annually...instead of announcing taxation on non filers... the FBR should do some work and look for people who earn more than non taxation limits...as soon as Rs200 million cars were sold by the primeminister house the primeminister and army chief took off on extended foreign tours...the primeminister apparently looking for financial aid or negotiations on yemen and the army chief as usual looking for new weapons...The finance minister did not announce any new programs or reorient/change old ones...therefore the PTI next year budget will probably show what they intend todo..until than it is going tobe just politics...Asad Umar should explain what his intentions are about the mini budget...
  
  
• Sep17-2018--Apparently when the talk of terrorism came up the pakistanis asked the US secretary of State for a couple of armed drones with which they could solve the afghan terrorism issue...however the USA refused...Now apparently the army chief is in China to ask them for armed drones and talks on CPEC which many say maybe grounding to a halt...the US says that pakistan buys $8-10 billion of chinese arms annually...the chinese who are low down on the list of armed equipment sales(fifth) still concerns the USA because they are now allied with the Russians...
  
  
• Sep17-2018--The PTI government seems tobe working at the same purpose as the IMF...anti people economics...The IMF wants everything tobe privatized, restructured and taxes increased...and they are sending in a gang of cutthroat economists of the Atif Mian type to manage PTI economics...The PTI onits own is trying to increase taxes by a whopping 1.1 trillion thru measures including reducing income tax breaks for rich military men and top beaurocrats and increasing gas prices which are already high if the government studies an average households gas bills...the increase in gas prices is meant for the people to pay for the industrialists use of more expensive LNG...they are also attempting to raise electricity prices by about four rupees to a high Of Rs19 per unit plus taxes...the pakistani budget has five main trillion rupee components provincial allocations, loan repayments, military budget, government expenditures, and development outlays...The loan repayments can be reoriented/rescheduled but takes time...the military spending is at an all time high of Rs1.3 trillion and can easily be reduced studying the army chiefs free for all spending...the provincial outlays also at an alltime high and non sustainable...among ministries the defence ministry probably has the highest outlays which include NUST, ISI, retirement army benefits, DHA spendings etc...other high spenders can be the ministry of interior which at best runs intelligence organisations...literally none of federal spending is people oriented so reducing large chunks from all five main groups should not affect the people...The government at the moment has only reduced development outlays and is not paying the provinces...That means that all development work small and large is probably halted...unless the government passes a mini budget and holds LG elections most if not all work is effectively halted...one wonders at what Imran Khan wants the IMF for...many suggest that even the chinese want the IMF so that their investments are protected...The government should end discrimination against non filers as 99% non filers are legally not bound to file income tax returns...