Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Umar and Azam Swati reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its \’Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi\’ on Wednesday.
PTI supporters took to the streets in Lahore on Wednesday to kick off the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’. 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders will voluntarily give their arrest to the authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.
PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders including Swati and Umar converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.
In a series of tweets, the PTI chairman had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country\’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.
\”We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,\” he tweeted.
\”It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.\”
In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.
\”This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.\”
Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.
On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.
However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.
After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.
While talking to the media outside the Imran\’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.
“The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said \”miscreants\” will be arrested except for \”women and poor workers.\”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Umar and Azam Swati reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its \’Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi\’ on Wednesday.
PTI supporters took to the streets in Lahore on Wednesday to kick off the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’. 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders will voluntarily give their arrest to the authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.
PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders including Swati and Umar converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.
In a series of tweets, the PTI chairman had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country\’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.
\”We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,\” he tweeted.
\”It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.\”
In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.
\”This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.\”
Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.
On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.
However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.
After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.
While talking to the media outside the Imran\’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.
“The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said \”miscreants\” will be arrested except for \”women and poor workers.\”
The dean of Harvard Medical School was emphatic and unambiguous when he announced that it would end its participation in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.
“Rankings cannot meaningfully reflect the high aspirations for educational excellence, graduate preparedness, and compassionate and equitable patient care that we strive to foster,” Dean George Daley wrote.
Harvard thereby became one of more than a dozen medical schools and more than 40 law schools ranked by U.S. News that have said they will no longer provide information to it. They say the rankings formula discouraged them from admitting promising graduates of less-prestigious colleges who hadn’t performed as well on entrance tests as applicants from top schools, and that they were penalized in the rankings when their graduates chose careers in public service over more lucrative options.
But the exodus has also called attention to the lack of other easy-to-find reliable information available to consumers to help them make one of the most consequential and expensive investments in their lives.
Harvard Yard. Harvard’s law and medical schools have both announced that they will stop participating in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Credit: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Where can prospective applicants to not only law and medical schools but also undergraduate colleges and other graduate programs find the clear and independent facts they need to choose among them?
On that question, higher education’s elite are more muted. Almost none of the institutions that withdrew from the rankings would respond to it.
Consumer information about colleges and graduate and professional schools
For law schools: The American Bar Association collects bar passage rates, employment outcomes and other information about the 199 U.S. law schools it accredits, requiring that deans attest personally to their accuracy and occasionally auditing data that raises red flags.
For medical schools: The Association of American Medical Colleges provides basic information about medical schools in the U.S. and Canada, obtained from scores and surveys of people who take the Medical College Admissions Test, which the AAMC administers. More detailed information that can be compared among schools requires a $28 subscription. Additional free facts from AAMC about medical schools are here.
Undergraduate education: The U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard provides information about undergraduate colleges and universities. Though postgraduate earnings are drawn from IRS data, most of the rest of this information comes from the institutions themselves. Graduation rates shown reflect the proportion of students who finish within eight years.
Tuition Tracker lets families see what they will actually pay, depending on their household income, for any U.S. college or university. Data is collected by the nonprofit journalism organization The Hechinger Report and comes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the National Center for Education Statistics, which in turn is an arm of the U.S. Department of Education.
“We would urge you to pose your question to independent experts elsewhere,” a Harvard Medical School spokesman wrote.
The issue is compounded by the problem that the information higher education institutions provide about themselves — their costs, postgraduate placement rates, whether credits will transfer and other important measures — has historically been, and in many cases still is, not accurate.
Some graduate and professional programs say they are trying to address this problem. Many business schools have started streamlining the data they provide and have added a sort of seal of approval attesting that it’s true. And law school deans will meet March 1 to talk about how to deliver more and better information about their institutions.
“We all know that the data is out there. We want to make sure we get it to our students in the most useful ways,” said Heather Gerken, dean of Yale Law School, who is heading up the conference in conjunction with her counterpart at Harvard.
There is already independently corroborated information about law and medical schools available from accrediting organizations, sometimes for a fee; in several cases it exists in part precisely because of previous scandals in which professional schools falsified their data. The federal government also offers consumer information about undergraduate universities and colleges, though it can be misleading if it’s not read closely.
It includes information on application fees, acceptance rates, the GRE scores and diversity of accepted students, faculty race and gender, tuition and fees, estimated living expenses, scholarships and dropout and transfer rates, plus the proportion of graduates who pass the bar, how many have found work and whether or not it’s in jobs that require a law degree.
“If you’re a law school, you’re likely not going to lie to your accrediting agency. So there’s a great degree of confidence that the data the ABA has is accurate,” said Mike Spivey, founder of the Spivey Consulting Group, which works with both prospective applicants and law school admissions offices.
The Yale University campus. After withdrawing from the U.S. News & World Report rankings, Yale Law School is running a conference in collaboration with Harvard Law School about new ways to make information available to prospective applicants. Credit: Yana Paskova/Getty Images
Employment data given to the ABA must be certified personally by the dean and senior career services officer of every law school, and the ABA can order an audit if it spots red flags.
That’s in part a result of scandals in the 2010s, when some law schools, including those at the University of Illinois and Villanova University, were found to have inflated grades and entrance-exam scores. As the job market for lawyers slumped, other law schools were sued by at least 15 of their own graduates for exaggerating placement rates. One alumna of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, for instance, alleged that the 80 percent of graduates the school reported had found jobs included one who was a convenience store clerk. But courts have generally ruled that students enroll in higher education at their own risk.
The Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, which accredits medical schools, also offers information about them in a resource it calls Medical School Admissions Requirements, or MSARs. Harvard’s dean, in his statement withdrawing from the rankings, referred people there.
The most detailed information in MSARs requires a $28 subscription and is collected from the scores and surveys of people who take the Medical College Admissions Test, which the AAMC administers. Users who pay the fee can compare up to 10 medical schools at a time, said Tami Levin, AAMC’s director of premedical and applicant resources.
“That’s how we’re different: We don’t have the schools provide the data to us; we provide it to them,” Levin said.
Only around half of people with graduate degrees think they were worth the cost, according to a Gallup poll. Fewer than one out of four law and business students think their graduate educations prepared them for the workforce.
But some observers point out that accreditors have flaws, too; several undergraduate accreditors have continued to accredit failing institutions with what the U.S. Department of Education’s office of the inspector general has found is inadequate oversight.
“I’d be skeptical of any approach that relies on accreditors to be the brokers of that information. I think they’re conflicted,” said Beth Akers, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute.
“I’m probably supposed to be arguing for smaller government,” Akers said, “but there is a role for bigger government in this space. It’s a travesty that we don’t have independent sources of information about this product.”
For undergraduate colleges and universities, the U.S. Department of Education has a website called College Scorecard that reports students’ average annual costs, after discounts and financial aid, along with typical student loan debt, median earnings 10 years after enrollment and other information that can be compared among schools.
Median earnings come from the IRS, as reported by employers and taxpayers; the rest of the data is supplied by institutions directly and not independently checked, and can be misleading. For example, a user would have to click on the fine print to learn that the graduation rate for four-year colleges shows the proportion of students who finish in eight years, not in four.
“The fact that we are reporting eight-year graduation data when colleges are advertising the programs as taking four years is outrageous,” said Brendan Williams, a financial aid expert at uAspire, which helps low-income students go to college. “To think consumers understand this is asking a lot.”
Nor do colleges’ track records make advocates for students confident about the information they report themselves, whether to the government or directly to prospective students.
“Applicants often say, ‘Well, the admissions officer told me this or that,’ ” said Spivey. He said consumers need to do the same independent vetting they would if they were buying a car. “I don’t necessarily believe everything the car salesman tells me.”
Langdell Hall library at Harvard Law School. The law school is one of more than 40 that have stopped cooperating with the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Credit: Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images
A General Accounting Office investigation in November found that 91 percent of colleges and universities misrepresented their expected cost of attendance, something Virginia Foxx, Republican leader of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, called “inexcusable and outright shameful.” Families “make one of the most critical financial decisions of their lives when they accept their financial aid offer,” said Foxx, who requested the investigation. “Schools should not hide the true cost of college from them.”
“They don’t view students as consumers, and that’s one of the underlying issues,” said Williams. “When you talk to a college, they’ll say, ‘Don’t view it as a commodity.’ But students need to know how much this product is going to cost them before they make a decision. They deserve that.”
Information on the job placement of graduates — the second-most important reason students pick a university or college, after academic reputation, according to a survey of freshmen nationwide by an institute at UCLA — almost universally comes from email questionnaires of alumni, something universities sometimes fail to disclose or mention only in the small print.
On average, they hear from only slightly more than half of former students, a proportion euphemistically called the “knowledge rate.” So when a university says that 98 percent of its graduates are working or pursuing further education, it means 98 percent of the half from whom the alumni office heard back — a very different number.
With consumer information lacking, hard to find and sometimes wrong, there is a considerable amount of buyers’ remorse in higher education. Only a quarter of recent grads in another survey, by the educational publishing and technology company Cengage, said that, if they could do it again, they’d take the same educational path. More than four in 10 bachelor’s degree-holders under 45 did not agree that the benefits of their educations exceeded the costs, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve.
Only around half of people with graduate degrees think they were worth the cost, according to a Gallup poll. Fewer than one out of four law and business students and fewer than one in three other master’s recipients think their graduate educations prepared them for the workforce.
“When you talk to a college, they’ll say, ‘Don’t view it as a commodity.’ But students need to know how much this product is going to cost them before they make a decision. They deserve that.”
Brendan Williams, financial aid expert at uAspire
That’s on the heels of a significant investment. The average amount of student loan debt owed by graduates of medical schools is $241,560; of law schools, $142,870 and of graduate business schools, $65,090, federal figures show.
Yet there continues to be less information about higher education than for other services and products people buy.
“In other marketplaces, people know to be skeptical,” said Akers. Higher education, on the other hand, “has been something that we talk about as if it’s some sort of magical transformational experience. The thought that we’d need to measure and assess the quality of education in this coldhearted financial way is inconsistent with the way we’ve thought of it historically. But that’s changing.”
As law schools meet to consider creating more transparency, the Graduate Management Admission Council is tightening its guidelines for how graduate business programs report information about themselves. Starting this month, those that comply with the new reporting standards will be able to show a badge that they are in compliance, though this isn’t mandatory and the information won’t be audited or vetted, the GMAC said.
U.S. News has said it will continue ranking schools, whether they provide information to it or not. Still, for all of the attention given to the rankings, only 15 percent of freshmen in that UCLA survey said they relied on them to pick a college.
The rankings dust-up has at least provoked a conversation about how to help students pick a college or professional or graduate school, said William Hoye, associate dean for admissions and student affairs at the Duke University School of Law.
“I really hope there’s going to be a groundswell to think of new ways to capture information and data and new ways to help people make these very, very important decisions,” Hoye said.
The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn\’t mean it\’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.
Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company that buys used cars from dealerships and rents to customers via a subscription model, has raised $100 million in equity and debt from a wide range of investors.
Naspers, through its early-stage investment vehicle, Naspers Foundry, co-led the $15 million equity round (the SA-based investor also led Planet42’s previous $30 million round in late 2021) alongside ARS Holdings. The equity round welcomed participation from existing and new shareholders, including Rivonia Road Capital; the Los Angeles-based global alternative asset manager provided a $75 million credit facility. Planet42 also received $10 million in debt funding from private investors.
According to the company, the new financing, comprised of equity, credit facility and debt, will rapidly scale its business and provide a million cars globally to people excluded from traditional car financing.
So far, the Estonia-founded mobility startup that offers rent-to-buy car subscriptions has bought over 12,000 cars for its customers in South Africa and Mexico. When co-founder and CEO Eerik Oja spoke to TechCrunch in an interview in December 2021, Planet42 claimed to have distributed more than 7,000 cars to customers in South Africa; according to a statement released by the company, it purchased over 5,000 vehicles in the African country in the last 12 months. Also, the six-year-old mobility startup commenced an expansion drive into Mexico last year and has delivered 250 cars to customers there.
Planet42 says its expansion to Mexico is part of its strategy to address transport inequality on a global scale. Only half the world’s urban population has adequate access to public transportation, according to the UN, and many of those excluded from access to reliable public transport are wage-earning workers in emerging markets who, despite having bank accounts and stable incomes, are unable to get financing from traditional financial institutions to buy vehicles of their own.
In South Africa, 70% of vehicle finance applications get rejected by banks, according to Cars.co.za, Planet42 dealers, which has increased from 700 in 2021 to 1,000 dealerships, report up to 90% rejection rates. Planet42 is one of the few upstarts, including Moove, Autochek and FlexClub, focused on the African market tackling this inequality via different mobility offerings.
For Planet42, it uses proprietary scoring algorithms to assess risk in underbanked customer segments. And with its algorithms, customers can find out what budget suits them and choose new or pre-owned cars from Planet42’s dealerships network. After that, Planet42 buys the car and rents it to the customer on a subscription basis. Planet42 claims that of all the customers served so far, 89% would have had no other means of gaining access to a personal vehicle. Dealers in Planet42’s South African network have reported an average increase in sales of 26% since becoming partners, the company said in a statement.
“Safe and reliable transport is a key driver of social and economic inclusion in emerging economies. It enables people to access opportunities like jobs, education and public services more easily when public transport is often unreliable, painfully slow, unsafe – and usually all those things at once,” Oja, who founded Planet42 with CFO Marten Orgna, said in a statement. “We are here to make transport more accessible and are constantly working on making Planet42’s car subscription offering accessible to people unfairly ignored by banks.”
The company has raised over $150 million in equity and debt from investors such as Naspers, Change Ventures, Startup Wise Guys, Martin Villig (Bolt), Ragnar Sass (Pipedrive), and Andrew Rolfe. It became carbon-neutral certified in 2021. According to Daniel Zinn, the founder and managing partner of Rivonia Road Capital Rolfe, one of Planet42’s newest investors, “Rivonia Road is excited to partner with Planet42 by providing the capital needed to address this market inefficiency and help democratize access to mobility for thousands of underserved consumers around the world.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday officially announced the beginning of the party\’s Jail Bharo Tehreek – a drive to court arrests in an effort to register its protest against the \”attack\” on fundamental rights and the economic \”meltdown\” brought on by the incumbent government.
Taking to Twitter, the former premier elaborated upon two reasons behind the protest movement: \”One, it is a peaceful, non-violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights […] Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the people, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation and rising unemployment.\”
Today we start our Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi for 2 main reasons. One, it is a peaceful, non violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.We are facing sham FIRs & NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists & social
media ppl. Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth & gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, esp the poor & middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation & rising unemployment.
He lamented not only the economic woes of the nation but also the \”sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people\” that PTI\’s supporters and leaders have faced since the party\’s ouster from the government.
Previously, the PTI maintained that the goal of courting arrests by its workers and supporters is to drive the country towards the \”establishment of the rule of law\” and to push the government to call general elections.
In a video posted on the PTI\’s official Twitter account earlier today, the PTI chief urged all citizens to join the party\’s movement to build a \”free and prosperous Pakistan\”.
\”That is only possible if the state protects your fundamental rights, therefore, this Jail Bharo movement is a jihad [holy war]\” which he deemed synonymous with \”freedom\”.
\”I believe the more of you that would participate, the sooner we will arrive at our objectives, that we will attain true freedom for our country,\” he added.
PTI all set
Meanwhile, PTI stalwarts Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar volunteered to court arrest in Lahore to formally begin the drive.
Speaking to the media outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in the provincial capital, senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry announced that the “historic movement” would commence from Lahore.
Both senior party leaders and activists will court arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk on Mall Road, he said.
Fawad maintained that during a meeting, the PTI leadership had decided that all senior party leaders and workers would court arrest to support the party\’s new drive.
Senior party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar have volunteered to court arrests on the first day of the movement, he added.
However, the participants of the meeting insisted that the party should stick to the programme that had already been decided.
Meanwhile, party sources indicated that PTI leaders, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal and former Punjab education minister Dr Murad Raas would also present themselves for arrest on the first day of the movement.
Lahore under Section 144
On the other hand, the caretaker provincial government has already imposed Section 144 for a week in three areas of the provincial capital, including Mall Road.
As per an official notification issued by the additional chief secretary last Monday, the government had outlawed all gatherings, protests and processions from Mian Mir Bridge to Istanbul Chowk on Mall Road, including its immediate vicinity, the Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads and Main Boulevard Gulberg.
The notification stated that Section 144 prohibited all kinds of assemblies, gatherings, rallies, processions, demonstrations, protests, and other similar activities in these areas.
It added that rallies and protests posed significant security risks as Mall Road and main boulevard Gulberg Lahore were historically significant and contained business centres as well as highly sensitive historical installations.
“Moreover, Pakistan Super League would shift in Lahore from February 26, where a large number of spectators are likely to visit Qaddafi Stadium, via Main Boulevard Gulberg. Hence, the government imposes Section 144 in Lahore,” the notification said.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition appears to be at odds with each other about what the government\’s next move should be.
According to political sources, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have advised the government not to arrest the PTI workers.
A faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also against making arrests. However, the party’s central chief organiser is an active supporter of the arrests.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday officially announced the beginning of the party\’s Jail Bharo Tehreek – a drive to court arrests in an effort to register its protest against the \”attack\” on fundamental rights and the economic \”meltdown\” brought on by the incumbent government.
Taking to Twitter, the former premier elaborated upon two reasons behind the protest movement: \”One, it is a peaceful, non-violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights […] Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the people, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation and rising unemployment.\”
Today we start our Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi for 2 main reasons. One, it is a peaceful, non violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.We are facing sham FIRs & NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists & social
media ppl. Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth & gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, esp the poor & middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation & rising unemployment.
He lamented not only the economic woes of the nation but also the \”sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people\” that PTI\’s supporters and leaders have faced since the party\’s ouster from the government.
Previously, the PTI maintained that the goal of courting arrests by its workers and supporters is to drive the country towards the \”establishment of the rule of law\” and to push the government to call general elections.
In a video posted on the PTI\’s official Twitter account earlier today, the PTI chief urged all citizens to join the party\’s movement to build a \”free and prosperous Pakistan\”.
\”That is only possible if the state protects your fundamental rights, therefore, this Jail Bharo movement is a jihad [holy war]\” which he deemed synonymous with \”freedom\”.
\”I believe the more of you that would participate, the sooner we will arrive at our objectives, that we will attain true freedom for our country,\” he added.
PTI all set
Meanwhile, PTI stalwarts Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar volunteered to court arrest in Lahore to formally begin the drive.
Speaking to the media outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in the provincial capital, senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry announced that the “historic movement” would commence from Lahore.
Both senior party leaders and activists will court arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk on Mall Road, he said.
Fawad maintained that during a meeting, the PTI leadership had decided that all senior party leaders and workers would court arrest to support the party\’s new drive.
Senior party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar have volunteered to court arrests on the first day of the movement, he added.
However, the participants of the meeting insisted that the party should stick to the programme that had already been decided.
Meanwhile, party sources indicated that PTI leaders, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal and former Punjab education minister Dr Murad Raas would also present themselves for arrest on the first day of the movement.
Lahore under Section 144
On the other hand, the caretaker provincial government has already imposed Section 144 for a week in three areas of the provincial capital, including Mall Road.
As per an official notification issued by the additional chief secretary last Monday, the government had outlawed all gatherings, protests and processions from Mian Mir Bridge to Istanbul Chowk on Mall Road, including its immediate vicinity, the Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads and Main Boulevard Gulberg.
The notification stated that Section 144 prohibited all kinds of assemblies, gatherings, rallies, processions, demonstrations, protests, and other similar activities in these areas.
It added that rallies and protests posed significant security risks as Mall Road and main boulevard Gulberg Lahore were historically significant and contained business centres as well as highly sensitive historical installations.
“Moreover, Pakistan Super League would shift in Lahore from February 26, where a large number of spectators are likely to visit Qaddafi Stadium, via Main Boulevard Gulberg. Hence, the government imposes Section 144 in Lahore,” the notification said.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition appears to be at odds with each other about what the government\’s next move should be.
According to political sources, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have advised the government not to arrest the PTI workers.
A faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also against making arrests. However, the party’s central chief organiser is an active supporter of the arrests.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday officially announced the beginning of the party\’s Jail Bharo Tehreek – a drive to court arrests in an effort to register its protest against the \”attack\” on fundamental rights and the economic \”meltdown\” brought on by the incumbent government.
Taking to Twitter, the former premier elaborated upon two reasons behind the protest movement: \”One, it is a peaceful, non-violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights […] Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the people, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation and rising unemployment.\”
Today we start our Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi for 2 main reasons. One, it is a peaceful, non violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.We are facing sham FIRs & NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists & social
media ppl. Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth & gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, esp the poor & middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation & rising unemployment.
He lamented not only the economic woes of the nation but also the \”sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people\” that PTI\’s supporters and leaders have faced since the party\’s ouster from the government.
Previously, the PTI maintained that the goal of courting arrests by its workers and supporters is to drive the country towards the \”establishment of the rule of law\” and to push the government to call general elections.
In a video posted on the PTI\’s official Twitter account earlier today, the PTI chief urged all citizens to join the party\’s movement to build a \”free and prosperous Pakistan\”.
\”That is only possible if the state protects your fundamental rights, therefore, this Jail Bharo movement is a jihad [holy war]\” which he deemed synonymous with \”freedom\”.
\”I believe the more of you that would participate, the sooner we will arrive at our objectives, that we will attain true freedom for our country,\” he added.
PTI all set
Meanwhile, PTI stalwarts Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar volunteered to court arrest in Lahore to formally begin the drive.
Speaking to the media outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in the provincial capital, senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry announced that the “historic movement” would commence from Lahore.
Both senior party leaders and activists will court arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk on Mall Road, he said.
Fawad maintained that during a meeting, the PTI leadership had decided that all senior party leaders and workers would court arrest to support the party\’s new drive.
Senior party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar have volunteered to court arrests on the first day of the movement, he added.
However, the participants of the meeting insisted that the party should stick to the programme that had already been decided.
Meanwhile, party sources indicated that PTI leaders, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal and former Punjab education minister Dr Murad Raas would also present themselves for arrest on the first day of the movement.
Lahore under Section 144
On the other hand, the caretaker provincial government has already imposed Section 144 for a week in three areas of the provincial capital, including Mall Road.
As per an official notification issued by the additional chief secretary last Monday, the government had outlawed all gatherings, protests and processions from Mian Mir Bridge to Istanbul Chowk on Mall Road, including its immediate vicinity, the Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads and Main Boulevard Gulberg.
The notification stated that Section 144 prohibited all kinds of assemblies, gatherings, rallies, processions, demonstrations, protests, and other similar activities in these areas.
It added that rallies and protests posed significant security risks as Mall Road and main boulevard Gulberg Lahore were historically significant and contained business centres as well as highly sensitive historical installations.
“Moreover, Pakistan Super League would shift in Lahore from February 26, where a large number of spectators are likely to visit Qaddafi Stadium, via Main Boulevard Gulberg. Hence, the government imposes Section 144 in Lahore,” the notification said.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition appears to be at odds with each other about what the government\’s next move should be.
According to political sources, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have advised the government not to arrest the PTI workers.
A faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also against making arrests. However, the party’s central chief organiser is an active supporter of the arrests.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Wednesday officially announced the beginning of the party\’s Jail Bharo Tehreek – a drive to court arrests in an effort to register its protest against the \”attack\” on fundamental rights and the economic \”meltdown\” brought on by the incumbent government.
Taking to Twitter, the former premier elaborated upon two reasons behind the protest movement: \”One, it is a peaceful, non-violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights […] Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the people, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation and rising unemployment.\”
Today we start our Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi for 2 main reasons. One, it is a peaceful, non violent protest against the attack on our constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.We are facing sham FIRs & NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists & social
media ppl. Two, it is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth & gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, esp the poor & middle class, under the burden of spiralling inflation & rising unemployment.
He lamented not only the economic woes of the nation but also the \”sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people\” that PTI\’s supporters and leaders have faced since the party\’s ouster from the government.
Previously, the PTI maintained that the goal of courting arrests by its workers and supporters is to drive the country towards the \”establishment of the rule of law\” and to push the government to call general elections.
In a video posted on the PTI\’s official Twitter account earlier today, the PTI chief urged all citizens to join the party\’s movement to build a \”free and prosperous Pakistan\”.
\”That is only possible if the state protects your fundamental rights, therefore, this Jail Bharo movement is a jihad [holy war]\” which he deemed synonymous with \”freedom\”.
\”I believe the more of you that would participate, the sooner we will arrive at our objectives, that we will attain true freedom for our country,\” he added.
PTI all set
Meanwhile, PTI stalwarts Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar volunteered to court arrest in Lahore to formally begin the drive.
Speaking to the media outside PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s residence in the provincial capital, senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry announced that the “historic movement” would commence from Lahore.
Both senior party leaders and activists will court arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk on Mall Road, he said.
Fawad maintained that during a meeting, the PTI leadership had decided that all senior party leaders and workers would court arrest to support the party\’s new drive.
Senior party leaders Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Asad Umar have volunteered to court arrests on the first day of the movement, he added.
However, the participants of the meeting insisted that the party should stick to the programme that had already been decided.
Meanwhile, party sources indicated that PTI leaders, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal and former Punjab education minister Dr Murad Raas would also present themselves for arrest on the first day of the movement.
Lahore under Section 144
On the other hand, the caretaker provincial government has already imposed Section 144 for a week in three areas of the provincial capital, including Mall Road.
As per an official notification issued by the additional chief secretary last Monday, the government had outlawed all gatherings, protests and processions from Mian Mir Bridge to Istanbul Chowk on Mall Road, including its immediate vicinity, the Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads and Main Boulevard Gulberg.
The notification stated that Section 144 prohibited all kinds of assemblies, gatherings, rallies, processions, demonstrations, protests, and other similar activities in these areas.
It added that rallies and protests posed significant security risks as Mall Road and main boulevard Gulberg Lahore were historically significant and contained business centres as well as highly sensitive historical installations.
“Moreover, Pakistan Super League would shift in Lahore from February 26, where a large number of spectators are likely to visit Qaddafi Stadium, via Main Boulevard Gulberg. Hence, the government imposes Section 144 in Lahore,” the notification said.
On the other hand, the ruling coalition appears to be at odds with each other about what the government\’s next move should be.
According to political sources, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have advised the government not to arrest the PTI workers.
A faction of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also against making arrests. However, the party’s central chief organiser is an active supporter of the arrests.
The PTI has announced the launch of a movement to court arrest and fill up the prisons from today with the aim to “prevent the violation of the constitution and fundamental rights”. There is no doubt the reason for the anticipated delay in elections by the PDM is to prevent PTI coming into power. The army leadership apparently supports postponement due to disturbed security situation and its reservations about Imran Khan’s independent thinking and quality of governance.
In short democracy and constitutional obligations are being undermined and the will of the people is being trampled. History seems to be repeating itself for we never seem to learn as lust for power overrides principles. The other serious fallout of the weak coalition is that at a time when the country is facing multiple problems covering a whole range of economic, political and security related issues, we ought to have garnered maximum national response. No one expects that if PTI or any other party comes to power through fair elections the economic crisis would be over but at least it would be better equipped to govern and take difficult decisions. This is not to overlook the past when PTI too has been leaning on the establishment for support and by its own reckoning it helped the party in 1988 to win the elections. Imran Khan ignored the parliament while in power and in opposition his politics is centred around demonstrations and street power. When in recent past serious floods affected nearly one-third of the country even then the urge for a joint effort was missing. These failings have to be corrected if Pakistan has to have a future. But when that moment will come and how that fragmentation and political chaos would end. More significantly, as the internal slide continues, dependence on major powers will increase and become a part of our culture. It is rare that these weaknesses are seriously debated in the parliament. A dispassionate analysis of national challenges and their remedies need to be worked out. For we are not destined to be where we stand today. But this would only be possible if PTI reverts to parliament, abandoning its demonstration of street power. And the PML-N government instead of remaining captive of its own manipulations announces a firm date for elections within the stipulated timeframe of three months.
Moreover, we are facing a serious security situation as TTP is intensifying its hostile activities and the government has left it primarily to the army leadership to deal with it. Apart from using kinetic force, economic development of the border areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and fuller participation of its people in political and economic decision-making process is a must. Pakistan’s greatest weakness has been its neglect of human resource. Pakistan’s educational level is one the lowest in the region with a significant percentage of younger generation being denied even basic education.
We have been frequently mentioning the attributes of our geostrategic location but year after year we fail to actualise its natural potential. In fact, it is the opposite that has been happening. Most of the ills of the region have seeped in as inimical forces have taken full advantage of our geographic location. Terrorism, smuggling, flow of narcotics and drug trafficking move faster than our exports. It is obvious that we have created favourable conditions into crippling disadvantages through our follies, making the corrective course more difficult.
The question that arises is how to steer through this mess and unlock the nation’s potential. No miracle will happen to correct the country’s course. Most sensible approach would be to ensure elections on time so that uncertainty is removed. There is need to build pressure on leaders, if necessary, through mass movement to ensure elections are held. No single party or institution should stand in the way of elections. Pakistan cannot afford arbitrary decisions imposed on its people. The logic that this is not the right time for elections is not sound. If Britain and European countries could have elections during World Wars, what prevents Pakistan to hold elections now. Any delay or postponement would be considered a diversionary tactics to deny the people their fundamental right to choose the political party and leaders of their choice. An imposed or unrepresentative government will not have the capacity or the will to steer the country in these trying times. Moreover, any departure from the constitutional obligations will further hollow the foundations of the country. We are told political governments have failed miserably in the past. To answer this, we need to introspect honestly. Have we ever allowed any political party to take independent decisions or the political system to follow a natural course so that the process of elimination or selection is left to the collective wisdom of the masses? We are not realising how much of our national energy is going waste or being withheld.
In the maze of intra-party rivalries and undemocratic practices, we as a nation have ignored the value of education. Seldom do we hear any political leader talking seriously about matters related to education. The fact that 26% of children are deprived of schooling does not stir the conscience of our leaders, nor do they realise the adverse impact of it on the overall growth and development of the society and on the economy. Many of our industries are medieval in their character and it is not surprising that our exports are suffering as it becomes difficult to compete with those nations that have built a strong science-based and technology-oriented educational system. Our agriculture productivity has been equally affected as only a small percentage of farmers are benefiting from the use of modern techniques to increase productivity and improve quality. Similarly, advanced technology is playing a major role in enhancing the capability of nations and there is a continuous race to excel and stay ahead.
We as a nation cannot afford to remain oblivious to the incredible progress the world is making in multiple directions.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2023.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup (L) speaks to his UAE counterpart, Mohammed Al Bowardi, during a visit to the latter`s ministry in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on Feb. 21, 2023. (South Korea`s Ministry of National Defense)
The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday agreed to expand joint development and production of weapons, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Emirati counterpart Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi discussed defense and arms industry cooperation among other pending issues at in-person talks in Abu Dhabi, according to a statement by South Korea’s Defense Ministry.
The bilateral defense ministerial meeting comes a month after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the UAE for a summit with Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in January.
The two defense chiefs discussed concrete ways to implement the agreements made in January between Yoon and the Emirati leader.
They agreed to explore ways to expand bilateral cooperation in jointly developing and producing weapons based on the memorandums of understanding on strategic defense industry cooperation and on the joint development of multirole cargo aircraft signed in January.
Both sides agreed on cooperation in the fields of joint investment, research and technological development, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry.
In particular, they committed to identifying requirements for new weapons systems that can be jointly developed and produced as potential areas for joint research, the ministry added.
Lee and Al Bowardi also agreed to strengthen military cooperation in the fields of cybersecurity, space and realistic training exercises conducted with cutting-edge simulation combat systems. However, it did not provide further details.
In the past, South Korea and the UAE have promoted exchanges and cooperation in defense, including staging combined military exercises.
The UAE is notably the only foreign country where South Korea has dispatched an overseas unit for the purpose of military cooperation.
The Akh unit, which Lee visited on Sunday, has been carrying out various missions including providing education and training for the Emirati special forces and conducting combined exercises with the Emirati special forces in Abu Dhabi since its establishment in 2011.
During the meeting, Al Bowardi reportedly said the Akh unit, which is a symbol of defense cooperation between the two countries, has been instrumental in strengthening the combat capabilities of the Emirati armed forces. Akh means “brother” in Arabic.
After the meeting, Lee also visited Emirati troops operating South Korean-made M-SAM II surface-to-air missiles, also called “Cheongung II,” in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
In January last year, South Korea exported the M-SAM II — which can defend military and industrial facilities against enemy air attacks — to the UAE. The UAE also clandestinely purchased Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers from South Korea.
Lee attended the International Defense Exhibition & Conference, the largest and only arms and defense technology trade show in the Middle East and North Africa, along with around 30 South Korean defense contractors including LIG Nex1, Hanwha Corp. and Hyundai Rotem at the invitation of the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed also attended the defense exhibition, and met Hanwha Systems CEO Eoh Sung-chul on Tuesday, according to a pool report by the press corps of the South Korean Defense Ministry.
After the meeting, Eoh said Sheikh Mohammed showed his interest in the long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) interception system which South Korea has been developing with the aim of completion in 2024. The L-SAM has been designed to shoot down hostile missiles at higher altitudes than the Cheongung II and altitudes of 50 to 60 kilometers.
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