Measured Response
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Committee to deliberate on the country’s response to India’s decision to suspend the Indus Water Treaty and restrict diplomatic engagement with Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Food Insecurity
The World Bank has warned that nearly 10 million Pakistanis may face acute food insecurity within the ongoing fiscal year due to a decline in agricultural production resulting from climate change. The report notes that key sectors for the poor—agriculture, construction, and low-value added services—have all experienced low or negative growth, stagnating real wages and boosting poverty.
Canals Controversy
Amidst a road blockade that has severed Sindh from the rest of the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to meet PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to chart out a way forward regarding the proposed Cholistan canals project. The PPP-led Sindh government maintains the project must be scrapped, while the federal government says it can “convince” opponents of its viability with “facts.”
Wheat Woes
Farmers in Punjab have threatened to slash their cultivation of wheat next year amidst ongoing protests over the government’s refusal to announce a support price or purchase the crop. The Pakistan Kisan Ittehad has also noted that farmers in all other provinces are facing similar issues, censuring political parties from trying to use the issue for political gains.
Health Crisis
Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho has warned that Pakistan has the fifth-highest incident of tuberculosis in the world, with women and children among its greatest victims. Stressing the curability of the disease, she has lamented that misuse of medication has given rise of drug-resistant strains, posing a grave threat to the national population.
Boon for Pensioners
The Public Accounts Committee has been informed that the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) has Rs. 600 billion in funds for approximately 800,000 pensioners nationwide. The EOBI has said it will raise pensions from May 1 and has stressed it is reforming its operations and will determine the age of beneficiaries on the basis of their CNIC in future.
Solo Flight
JUIF chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has announced his party will continue its political struggle against the incumbent government independently from its own platform and will not form any formal alliance in this regard. He has also reiterated his rejection of the results of the 2024 general elections, alleging they did reflect the aspirations of the public.
Opposition Alliance
The PTI-led opposition alliance has announced it will commence a nationwide mobilization campaign from next month with an “all parties conference” in Karachi on May 5 and a rally in Hyderabad on May 10. The alliance claims it will subsequently expand the protests to the rest of the country. Notably absent from the alliance is the JUIF, which has decided against fully supporting the PTI.
Boon for Real Estate
The federal cabinet will soon approve abolishing the 3-7% Federal Excise Duty levied on the transfer of plots and commercial property through the Finance Act 2024 in a bid to revive the country’s real estate sector. The decision stems from a failure of the taxation measure to boost revenue, highlighting the Federal Board of Revenue’s failure to recover funds effectively, as evident from a prevailing shortfall.
Pak-Bengal Trade
Pakistan will dispatch a trade delegation to Bangladesh after Eidul Azha as the two countries continue to inch toward stronger ties following the ouster of Hasina Wajid. The delegation’s visit will also follow-up on last week’s visit to Dhaka by Islamabad’s foreign secretary, during which Bangladesh sought a formal apology from Pakistan over the 1971 war.