Transformation in the daily life of Pakistan

Ahmed Ali Dhaku

10u0598

We may go for some little changes. For instance we may think of our clothing style. We may alter our room setting. We may change our eating habits and do whatever makes us feel happy.

Movement is the stuff and essence of life, both for individual and for the society. From the independence day of august 14, 1947 up to that. Pakistan’s has been a society a shift. The society of Pakistan is dynamic and therefore ever transformation and its patterns are changing transforming from time to time. The national security has been responding to the challenges of environment natural and manmade.  No department of life but it economic, cultural and recreational has been free from the effect of this great transformation in progress. The old system of classification and stratification of society are changing gradually and slowly but surely and certainly.

The factors and circumstances responsible for these changes can be enumerated as below; partition of subcontinent, technological and scientific change, growth of urbanization and industrialization, expansion of commercial activities and trade, change in economic structure of the country initiating the industrialization of its economy, the spread of literacy resulting in the rise of a secular intelligentsia, the effect of spread of different ideologies of different political parties of the country, the impact of high developed countries on our society, the working and union of trade co-operative moment, the expansion of the area reached by the mass media  of communication like radio, press, cinema, television, etc. migration and finally cultural diffusion.

Changes are the spice of life, is it true? Yes of course it is true! Because everybody needs a change in whatever he/she is doing. We want changes around us. Monotonous life just makes us feel bored. It is good to have a change. It’s not important that we should start from something big, the important thing that rather we take step or not. If we are seeking for a healthy entertaining life the somehow someone have to bring a change. Changes must be positive if we go for a negative one then it will have a negative impact on our lives. Negative impacts are accountable for some more negative changes so we need to be assiduous in this regard.

Although the process of changing believes is very slow.  But it has everlasting impact.  Until we take collective action to stop this vulgar culture or it can never be stopped. So we should collectively work to stop this to save our nation from destruction.

I acknowledge that enjoyment is a part of life and life become so colorless without this, but there are several means of enjoyment. Enjoyment should be productive free from prejudice, lies and all kind of cheatings. Now we should care about the norms and values of the society and we should work together for the sake of these.   

Reasons and consequences of the decline of the Film Industry of Pakistan

Humza Syed 10u543

During the Golden Era that is 1960’, movies were made in all languages and Lollywood was in direct competition with Bollywood. The black and white film reels brought good ransom to the industry and the film industry flourished. Pakistani film industry was producing the most talented and well known directors, producers, writers and actors. Stories were original and meaningful, and the execution was of good quality. The film industry was more than a source of entertainment; it was a medium for education. Today, Pakistani film industry has come to its decline because of the emergence of cable television, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamization, ban of Indian films in 1965 and eventually DVD piracy. Our research aims to look at revival efforts that are being made today, in order to restore the glory and standard of the Films that are being made today, in Pakistan.Today the Global entertainment industry is one the verge of its success, because of uniting various race, cultures and nations. Whereas the Pakistani entertainment industry, specially the film industry, has been facing a decline over the years. The Pakistani film industry is surrou8nded by a number of problems in various departments. A great attention needs to be paid on the scripts, music, producers, directors and actors, equipment and on the demands of the audience, in today’s world. Lack of talented people in the industry, is one of the major reasons, behind the decline. The scripts lack any sort of originality and fail to represent the culture of our society in truest essence. On the other side, the audience is not satisfied with what they get to watch today in the Pakistani films. The equipment that is being used in the films is obsolete, and the good quality equipment that is available, is not affordable. Today the actors do not have question what type of roles they would be doing, rather just do it for the sake of money. The producers are facing many budget issues and government support issues, and they suffer from the lack of knowledge regarding the changing trends in the audience preferences. 

The reasons behind the downfall of the film industry are not specific and precise; instead there are many reasons which are deep rooted. The causes and consequences of the downfall of the film industry  have been analysed time and over by taking interviews of representatives of respective departments namely: Producer/director Syed Noor, Actor Saleem Sheikh, Script writer Muhammad Tariq and Chairman of Cinema Management Association Pakistan, Qaiser Sanaullah Khan mostly. Along with mutually agreed upon views by all, there were some points that contradicted each other. According to Syed Noor, there is a dire need for government support in providing budgets and also technical equipment; whereas Sanaullah Khan stated that government has done whatever it could have in the form of tax exemptions from 150% in the 80s to 0% in 2010. Saleem Sheikh was of the opinion that the film industry will revive only when youngsters will come forward and a new wave will be introduced, which was the view of Syed Noor as well. We have arrived to a conclusion that it not one person’s task but a collective effort is required by the government, actors directors and producers to prevent the consequences of the downfall.

Social Media Revolution of Pakistan

Waleed  Zafar 10U0149 

 The first-ever international social media summit of Pakistan was held this weekend in Karachi.  Top bloggers, Twitter users, and other social media mavens flocked to it from all over Pakistan. was a big success because of the energy and creativity of its participants. Social media really does create a global village and it was a pleasure to see so many of its distinguished citizens. The event was struck by the talent, imagination, commitment of the young bloggers. 

 Pakistan has such a lively and active blogging community, with over three million citizen-journalists freely reporting on virtually every topic under the sun. Pakistan has one of the fastest-growing Facebook and Twitter-using populations in the world, with over four million Facebook users. Remarkably, the per capita internet access in Pakistan is between 10-15 per cent of the total population — more than double that of neighbouring India. Using even the most conservative estimates, 20 million Pakistanis are regularly online, or the equivalent of the population of four Singapores.

Pakistan enjoys tremendous freedom of information and online expression.By amplifying the diversity of voices, social media is making life a richer experience for us all. And this is possible because Pakistanis are using their freedom of expression every day, online. Blogging is reinforcing the backbone of democracy – freedom of speech – a freedom that is enshrined in the US Constitution.

In Pakistan, the freedom of the press was earned over time, through the sacrifices of its people, especially the sacrifices of those in the media community. Journalists and bloggers now play a central role in the effort to institutionalise these hard won freedoms.

We must never forget, the many journalists who have been killed or injured as they sought to report on the challenges facing us today. They take extraordinary risks to enlighten us with the truth. Nobody embodied this commitment more than Syed Saleem Shahzad, who was senselessly murdered trying to pursue this truth. All of us are diminished by his passing. But, there is no doubt that his work will continue and others will pick up the baton and carry on. It is up to each of us to honour his legacy and do all we can to support press freedom as a fundamental right to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere. Blog on.

Dynamics of Pakistani Culture and Youth

Natasha Haroon 10U1102 
Pakistan is a homeland to people of various castes, religion, race, colour and social status. Culture is dynamic by nature, many norms and values are blending with the western influence and many traditions are even being challenged to get eradicated. Pakistani youth, of the 21st century, is way more active and socially aware than the past generations. Whenever there is 'voice' there is 'resistance' as well. And all this adds to the basic dynamics of Pakistani culture.
I will discuss just one aspect for now which is that why is the Pakistani youth more inclined towards higher education from abroad, instead of studying in local institutes?
its been generations and still our country is facing the basic issue of 'brain drain'. Asians are considered to be the brightest and most intellectual of the students. We as Pakistanis have proven our potential on many of the international platforms. Then why is it that we're still not fully confident about ourselves? why do we still believe that if we have a diploma that mentions any XYZ foreign university, our future will be secured? Why don't we have the passion to serve our own country as professionals?
There are endless questions but that's not what we are supposed to waste time for. we need answers. Some concrete answers. I'm not here to explain why Pakistan is so brilliant, why we should stay back and think about serving our land with respect and dignity, and I'm certainly not asking u to bring a change for your country. All I ask, through this blog, is that just give a few minutes thought to yourself. Dedicate a few minutes of your busy life mind mapping about your actual goals in life, but the request is that despite the fact Pakistan has had tough times and probably we will have tougher times ahead of us, lets not lose hope and lets just promise to ourselves to serve our country wholeheartedly. This wasn't supposed to be an article, but just something related to my own personal thoughts and experiences. Hope it helps us all. Thanks! :)

Imf,s $73 billion debt trap for Pakistan

                                                           AHMED ABDULLAH  10U0579
Pakistan's external debt is continuously rising with alarming speed. In Feb 2008, the country was facing a default like situation. After securing Stand By Agreement worth $ 11.3 billion with IMF in Nov 2008, the PPP government though saved itself from immediate collapse but the country is caught in deadly debt trap. enormous external loans of $52 billion by December 2009 and domestic debt of Rs. 3.8 trillion.

Pakistan's total external debt is likely to further grow by more than 43 per cent over the next five years, to about $73 billion in 2016 from about $52 billion early this year. According a recent report released by IMF, Pakistan's foreign debt will increase by about 13 per cent, to $57.1 billion by the end of the current fiscal year and is estimated to increase by 12.3 per cent, to $64 billion by the end of the next year. IMF's estimate suggests that the external debt will further increase in 2012 and cross $72.6 billion in 2016.

The Asian Development Bank will have the single largest share in the external debt, which will increase from $9 billion in July last year to about $15.8 billion in 2015, by more than 75 % in five years. The World Bank debt will increase by about 29 per cent from $12 billion to $15.5 billion by 2015. Bilateral debt is likely to increase by 96 per cent from the current $16 billion to $31.28 billion in 2015-16.

Pakistan's public debt has exceeded 90 percent of its GDP and debt servicing accounted for over half of current revenues. Now on the dictates of IMF the current PPP government is levying more and more taxes and making the lives of common people miserable. A most oppressive Value Added Tax is under way going to replace the Sales Tax. Severe pressure from IMF is mounting up to impose VAT if Pakistan really wants to get released 5th tranche under SBA.

The official figures, released by the State Bank admit that in addition to external debt of over US$52 billion, the government has borrowed Rs. 3851 billion from the Pakistanis-horrifying figures as billions of rupees are now required just for debt servicing. There has been a lot of hue and cry about the foreign debt but the official economists and political leaders do not utter a single word about outrageous internal indebtedness. They try to hide the fact that we are now diverting nearly 42 percent of our revenue collection towards domestic debt servicing.

There is little hope to come out of debt enslavement in the near future-to stop looking towards International Monetary Fund, (IMF), World Bank, Paris Club, London Club and Asian Development Bank unless a well-thought pro people welfare-based plan is devised implemented for self-reliance. There are no signs yet for the civil-military bureaucracy and public office holders to stop squandering foreign funds, wasting public money and plundering national wealth.
The rationale of seeking more and more debt for curing the evils caused by the mounting debt itself is simply beyond comprehension. The only alternative is to stop taking fresh loans, identify illegal odious loans and refuse to pay the same. At the same time we must mobilize all our resources-our annual tax revenue potential alone is not less than Rs. 4 trillion. If we manage to generate resources of Rs. 5-6 billion per annum and cut unproductive expenditure to the extent of Rs. 600-800 million, reduce our military budget, we will be able to come out of this debt trap within a decade or so.

On the other hand parallel radical efforts are urgently needed to launch a public awareness campaign to understand deceitful financial policies and doubtful debt politics of the IFIs. Contracting debt agreements with IFIs and other financial institutions is usually seen as a success of the government. Only few realize the pitfalls in the way of debt agreements. Progressive forces should come forward to build pressure on IFIs to abolish odious debt and convince government to show political will by refusing to pay illegal debts.  

AUSTRALIA INVITES PAKISTAN FOR TRADE TALK

MUSTAFA ZIA ID:10U0683

PERTH, (Australia) (APP) - Australia on Sunday invited Pakistan for a meaningful dialogue to deepen economic ties, enhance cooperation in agriculture and undertake joint investment ventures to strengthen bilateral relations and as an effective means to counter-terrorism.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard extended the invitation to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani at a meeting on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here in Perth.
The Australian Prime Minister said her country looks forward to the bilateral visit in 2012 along with delegation comprising businessmen, investors and agriculturists so as to explore new avenues for cooperation between the two countries. Gilani is the first democratically head of government to have visited Australia which has emerged as its fifth largest development partner.
The current volume of trade between Pakistan and Australia has surged to $700 million, still far below the real potential between the two countries.
Ms Gillard said Australia considers development as an important component of counter-terrorism strategy and would widen the scope of cooperation with Pakistan in all areas.
PM Gilani also extended an invitation to the Australian PM to visit Pakistan and said there was a need to find new avenues of cooperation, particularly in areas of agriculture, energy, education, infrastructure and health. He said the international community needs to extend assistance to Pakistan to enhance its capacity to fight the terrorists who were a common enemy.
He said it was particularly important in the wake of the colossal losses to the country's economy because of terrorist activities.
He said suicide bombings cause flight of capital and scare away the investors despite the lucrative incentives offered by the government.
The PM gave detailed account of Pakistan's role in the war on terror in which about 35,000 people had been killed including 5000 law enforcement personnel, with an equal number disabled.
Gilani said poverty was the major root cause of terrorism and extremism and must be an important component of the counter-terrorism strategy.
PM Gilani said setting up of Reconstruction Opportunity Zones needs to be materialised to improve the quality of life of the people of FATA and to provide economic incentives to the people to stray away from indulging in extremist activities.
He said the government and the people of Pakistan were committed to fight terrorism and it was reflected in the successful operation in Malakand and Swat.
He however pointed that the military operation was not a sustainable resolution as political process has to be initiated to bring peace.
The Prime Minister said his initiative of political reconciliation was not taken seriously by the US leadership, but now his stance has been vindicated as the whole world was now urging a political solution for long term stability in Afghanistan, by bringing to the negotiation table of all Afghan factions.
Ms Gillard said she understood the criticality of the political reconciliation in Afghanistan, as it was intertwined closely to stability, development and good governance.
The Prime Minister said he visited Afghanistan thrice and also took along the Army Chief and the head of its Intelligence Service to meet the Afghan President to give impetus to the process of reconciliation and to find a solution, reflective of the aspirations of the Afghan people.
Gilani categorically said the solution of Afghanistan should not adversely affect Pakistan as happened in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal that left behind 3.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, and were an issue for Pakistan. He said that about 45,000 Afghans daily cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and it was impossible to identify a terrorist from a tourist or an ordinary traveller.
He said the difficult terrain and porous border between the two countries made it difficult for the security forces to hunt down the terrorists.
The Australian Prime Minister said Pakistan and Afghanistan had suffered a lot in the war against terror and her country would continue to assist both the countries in economic and political fields to bring stability and prosperity to the region.
Australia PM said her country strongly believed development was an effective counter-terrorism strategy to win the hearts and minds of the people.
She assured Australia will continue to help Pakistan and further strengthen trade links in the days ahead. The Prime Minister said that the trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkey in Istanbul was a manifestation of the commitment of the respective countries to seek a political settlement of the problem which was critical for peace and security of the whole region.
He said his country has also offered training for the Afghan Army, police and the civil administration so as to enhance their capacity to look after the security and the governance issues. He was also appreciative of the assistance of the Australian government during the earthquake in 2005 and the floods in 2010 and this year in Sindh.
Gilani also extended his condolences to the government and the bereaved families of the Australian soldiers, who were killed in an incident in Afghanistan on Saturday.
PM Gilani thanked the Australian government for an excellent opportunity to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and said it was the dividend of democracy as Pakistan's membership was restored after his democratic government came to office in 2008.
During the four-day visit of Prime Minister Gilani, Pakistan and Australia also inked the four-year "Australia-Pakistan Development Partnership" that lays the foundations for future engagement between Australia and Pakistan on aid and development. The partnership, signed by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar commits both countries to accountability and mutual responsibility for development results and joint reviews of progress against the partnership's commitment to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development goals. It will underpin activities in the health, education, and agriculture and rural development sectors.