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Pakistan

'Spiritual democracy and its followers'

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1 year ago

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There are such 'seasoned and shrewd' politicians present in Captain's cabinet who are crying out for wisdom every day to invite us to think.
Imran Yaqub Khan Profile Imran Yaqub Khan

The pearl of the latest wisdom was discovered when Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, while addressing a gathering, told the people about the recipe for combating inflation. He said: "9% inflation is nothing in the country. Eat nine less morsels of bread out of 100 morsels and consume nine sugar grains out of 100 grains." 

What the minister said is in fact an example of the captain's vision, in fact "spiritual democracy" is at work in the country. Yes! Spiritual democracy. The new system was unveiled on the captain's birthday on October 5, when renowned singer and filmmaker Salman Ahmed premiered a documentary on the Prime Minister's birthday-- "Spiritual Democracy" --at the Governor's House in Karachi. When the announcement was made, I was shocked to hear the name of the film, but when the detailed report of the premiere came, I was satisfied that there is indeed democracy in the country which does not look like me because it is "spiritual".

The documentary includes a detailed interview with the captain, in which the captain uses the term super virtual democracy and defines it. He says "being human is spiritual and where democracy is in the interest of the people it is spiritual democracy". Wow, what to say. The philosophy of the system of government that emerged from ancient Greece and what form it took when it reached Pakistan is amazing.

Inflation is setting new records every year during the PTI's three-year rule. It's common practice for food items to disappear from the market and then return to the market at double the price. The price of sugar, that disappeared from market, was more than doubled by the government and was brought back to the market with new rates. When the flour disappeared, it appeared with a new rate. The petrol pump owners stopped the supply of oil and set an arbitrary price. We used to consider these three years of "successful" measures as bad governance and incompetence because we were unfamiliar with the "spiritual version" of democracy.

One of the basic requirements of "spirituality" which is also called mysticism and behavior is self-purification ie less food, less sleep and less talking. In fact, the captai's spiritual government continued to increase the prices to guide the nation, so that the nation would eat less, if the stomach was full, then the nation would fall asleep in a state of negligence. Efforts have also been started on talking less, like most journalists and anchors usually speak, the Media Development Authority Bill has been introduced to get rid of this habit. When the media will be quiet, the nation will also have no topic to discuss and debate. Thus the basic requirements of self-purification will be fulfilled automatically.

Ali Amin Sahib is a high-ranking Sufi (saint) involved in this spiritual government, so those who misunderstand his advice to eat less as a government official are misguided, they should immediately repent and be afraid of being caught.

One of the most important virtues of spiritual democracy is "U-turn". There is also an explanation of this in the interview included in Salman Ahmed's documentary. The captain was asked, "You have issued many statements in the past but later did the opposite." To which teh prime minister stated, "If you make a statement somewhere, you have no idea that the surrounding conditions may change".

Salman Ahmed's documentary and the minister's statements have opened the eyes of less knowledgeable people like me. Growing poverty, unemployment and other economic and social problems are now to be solved under the spiritual system, giving jobs to the people is not the mission of the government, the nation should spend its time in "meditation" and should go to anchorage in case of being hungry. Earlier, instead of providing employment opportunities, the policy of anchorages could not be exposed to the ignorant and in my ignorance I committed the sin of criticizing it as well, which is now the time to repent.

The first and foremost requirement of spirituality is "Iradat Sheikh" ie perfect follower of the Murshid (Who is followed). Since spiritual democracy is established in the country and the Prime Minister, as the head of this spiritual democracy, holds the rank of Murshid Kamil (Who is followed in total), any criticism of him is nothing but misguidance and disobedience can lead him astray. The government sometimes arranges "light" punishments with the help of law enforcement agencies and, if necessary, with the help of unknown individuals to bring the lost to the right path and teach obedience to the Sheikh.

Most of the misguided and disobedient people are also from media and opposition but true followers of Murshid Kamil bring some new prescription every day to bring the rest of the nation on the right path. Whether its new NAB ordinance or Media Development Authority Bill ... and so on, many prescriptions have not only been proposed but will also be strictly enforced. If the government completes its term, the entire nation will have reached many levels of spirituality and will be seen wandering everywhere.

Young poet Syed Shadab Asghar of Rohtas India says in his poetry: 

کچھ تو اس کی بے حسی سے مر گئے
اور کچھ سادہ دلی سے مر گئے

Someone should explain to the spiritual democrats that the dervishes have no interest in the government, they have nothing to do with the court and the government, politics and government have nothing to do with spirituality, mysticism and conduct. The one who has to reach spiritual heights should wear green robes, go to the deserts and sit in solitude and enjoy meditation.

Those who recommend eating less snacks may not be aware that people don't even have one meal at a time. The lower middle income scale was used to measure poverty in Pakistan, according to data released by the World Bank in June this year on people living below the poverty line. In this regard, the number of poor in Pakistan was 39.3% in 2020-21 and is likely to remain 39.2% in 2021-22.

If you look at the data of the World Bank, it is estimated that there is hunger in every house and the dervish ministers are advising to reduce the number of snacks.

I am recalling the poem of Balwan Singh Azar at the moment:

لوگ بھوکے ہیں بہت اور نوالے کم ہیں
زندگی تیرے چراغوں میں اجالے کم ہیں

 

Imran Yaqub Khan

Imran Yaqub is senior journalist and analyst

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Pakistan

ECP releases preliminary delimitation lists

The publication of preliminary constituencies is set to span 30 days, commencing from September 27 and concluding on October 26.
Published by Hussnain Bhutta

Published

7 hours ago

on

Sep 27, 2023 07:48 PM

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Islamabad:  The preliminary delimitation lists were released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday, marking a significant step in the electoral process.

In a statement released by the ECP, it was disclosed that the preliminary delimitation report, in conjunction with Form 5 lists and initial delimitation maps, has been made accessible on the commission's official website.

The publication of preliminary constituencies is set to span 30 days, commencing from September 27 and concluding on October 26.

During this period, voters of the respective constituencies are invited to submit objections or representations regarding the preliminary constituencies.

Originally, the ECP had outlined an initial delimitation schedule on August 17, with plans to finalize the initial delimitation process on October 7 and subsequently release preliminary delimitation proposals and accompanying reports on October 9. However, on September 1, the ECP announced a 14-day compression of the delimitation timeline, with the aim of concluding the process by November 30 instead of the initially planned December 14 date.

This development paves the way for the Election Commission to make a decision on the scheduling of elections, tentatively set for the last week of January. The specific election date has yet to be officially announced.

The report also detailed the methodology employed by the ECP in delimiting national and provincial assembly seats. It explained that the population of each province or area was divided by the total number of general seats, resulting in the average population per National Assembly seat.

A similar process was applied to provincial assembly seats, with fractions exceeding 0.5 being considered as one seat, and fractions below 0.5 disregarded.

Furthermore, the report acknowledged the unique situation in Balochistan, where multiple districts were amalgamated to form a single seat. This approach was also utilized in other provinces as needed, with district shares determined by dividing the district's population by the quota per seat for the National or Provincial Assembly, as applicable.

According to the report's findings, Punjab has the highest number of seats in the National Assembly, followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Islamabad. Punjab, with a population of 127.6 million, was allocated 141 National Assembly seats, each constituency based on a quota of 905,595. The Punjab Assembly was assigned 297 seats, with a quota of 429,929 per seat.

In Sindh, 61 National Assembly seats were designated for a population of 55.6 million, with a quota of 913,052 per seat. The Sindh Assembly had 130 seats, each with a quota of 428,432.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with a population of 40.8 million, was granted 45 National Assembly seats, each with a quota of 907,913. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was allotted 115 seats, with a quota of 355,270.

Balochistan, with a population of 14.8 million, was allocated 16 National Assembly seats, and each constituency was divided based on a quota of 930,900. The provincial assembly of Balochistan comprised 51 seats, with each seat divided based on a quota of 292,047.

Meanwhile, Islamabad, the federal capital, with a population of 2.3 million, was allocated 3 seats, and each seat's quota was determined to be 787,954.

Last week, the ECP announced that the general elections in Pakistan would be held in the last week of January 2024. The electoral body also indicated that the final list of constituencies would be published on November 30, following the consideration of objections and suggestions related to the delimitation.

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Business

NEPRA hikes Rs 1.48 electricity tariff for KE consumers

The higher power cost will be paid by K-electric customers in the months of October and November 2023.
Published by Baqar Raza

Published

4 hours ago

on

Sep 27, 2023 11:23 PM

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Karachi: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has hiked power tariff for K-Electric consumers on monthly fuel adjustment charges on Wednesday.

According to details, after the federal government granted NEPRA's request for a rise in power rate, the price of energy has increased by Rs 1.48 to Rs 4.45.

The higher power cost will be paid by K-electric customers in the months of October and November 2023.

In addition, the price of electricity increased by Rs. 1.48 for users of 300 units, by Rs. 3.21 for customers of more than 300 units, and by Rs. 4.45 for consumers of 5 kilowatts and e-vehicle charging stations.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has already authorized the rise in power users' unit prices by Rs 0.46.

The power regulatory body authorized the increase in the power tariff under fuel adjustment charges (FAC) for the month of July in accordance with the notification that was published.

The notification stated that the surge in power tariff would be applied to the bills of September, meanwhile, the hike will not be applicable to Lifeline and K Electric customers.

It is important to note that distribution companies (DISCOs) power invoices had inconsistencies when the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) noticed them.

A high-level committee was established, according to the official announcement, to investigate the effectiveness of DISCOs.

The NEPRA communique stated that the committee was constituted because of the recent irregularities in the electricity billing and will present a comprehensive report within one month.

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Crime

Girl allegedly raped by ward boy at Shikarpur hospital

The latest reports suggest that the victim had come there along with her ailing mother.
Published by Hussnain Bhutta

Published

6 hours ago

on

Sep 27, 2023 09:23 PM

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Shikarpur: In a deeply disturbing incident, a young female attendant was allegedly raped by a male ward attendant at the Civil Hospital in Shikarpur on Wednesday.

According to the victim's statement in the First Information Report (FIR), she had accompanied her ailing mother to the hospital just two days ago when the alleged rape occurred during the late hours of the night.

The law enforcement authorities took swift action by apprehending the accused ward attendant, and a thorough investigation is currently in progress. The Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital Shikarpur has expressed that additional details regarding the case will be revealed upon receipt of the medical examination report.

In a separate incident today, a 16-year-old girl fell victim to a horrifying crime in Jhelum, Punjab. She was abducted and subjected to sexual assault by three assailants.

According to available information, three individuals forcibly abducted a young girl who worked at a brick kiln in the town of Kala Gujran, Jhelum. After the assault, they callously discarded her on a roadside.

The victim courageously reported the crime to the authorities, leading to the registration of a case of sexual assault. The preliminary medical examinations corroborated the young girl's claims, confirming that she had been sexually assaulted.

The police officials vowed to pursue the perpetrators relentlessly, assuring the public that the culprits would be swiftly brought to justice.

 

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