After the Oil Crisis Inquiry Report became public there was an immediate discussion on this report which resulted in Kamran Khan hosting a debate between Minister of Energy Nadeem Babar and ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
The debate was interesting but I’m glad to note that it remained respectful, my opinion was that Nadeem Babar had facts to share which Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had very little proof and based his discussion on speculation and heresy. Nadeem Babar scored and 8-2 victory. I do feel Kamran Khan gave a lot more time to Shahid Khaqan to express his views which was a bit unfair
This oil crisis inquiry report once public is going to irk quite a few. Although, this will point towards incompetence of authorities, you can’t take the credit away from the PM.
OGRA Ordinance was promulgated in 2002. The rules were not made till 2016. 14 Years of running on SROs, having no legal value. #OilinquiryReport
All oil import decisions are based on data provided by a non-statutory body i.e. OCAC. There is no mechanism in place for the government authorities to verify the authenticity of data provided by a representative body of all OMCs. 90% of the OMCs did not maintain requisite 20 day stocks during Jan-Jun 2020. DG Oil remained mum. In cases of some OMCs the stock suddenly jumped from 0 in may to over 100 days in June. Classic case of hoarding.
NaikRoohhas done a detailed twitter thread regarding some reporting issues of some media outlets & journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately there seems to be a deliberate attempt to create panic stories, propaganda reports and even click-bait fake stories to confuse the public and create a degree of mistrust between the govt and the public. It has been essential to counter these stories in a timely manner but credit to NaikRooh who does well to document their flaws in the last few months. I share below his entire thread for sake of documentation
Role of Media Outlets & Some Journalists During COVIDー19.
This thread shall cover few of the many instances where Pakistani media channels & some journos were caught spreading disinformation due to obvious reasons.
Analyzing Pakistan’s ‘Handling‘ of the Coronavirus and India’s ‘Mishandling‘ of the pandemic
India & Pakistan demographics are quite similar (cultural, poverty & possibly a weaker virus strain?) but the number of cases are drastically different
My observations below ↓
India in terms of population is 6 TIMES more populus than Pakistan (1,382 mln vs 221 mln)
In population terms Pakistan should have by now over 528,000 cases but it’s fortunately ‘⅒’ of India
Pakistan has avoided the disaster – even Bangladesh is no where near India’s disaster
The struggle against COVID-19 in Pakistan is going to touch 6 months. We have lost precious lives in this time & have saved lot more. PM Imran Khan’s vision to combat the pandemic now stands as an applauded recommendation by @UN & @WHO, but this wasn’t always the case…(1/n)
2) The testing efforts caught pace from March and the govt. was quick to take some bold decisions. PM Imran Khan had been advocating smart lock down long before anyone else, simply because our economy can’t support the poor and the homeless. But, this thought was opposed…
3) Punjab kicked off the response by turning public sector hostels into quarantine centers, announcing a 1000 bed hospital, setting up a 6000 person quarantine center in Multan, and running a mobile awareness campaign through bikes & rickshaws… @UsmanAKBuzdar@Dr_YasminRashid
These last two years have been immensely interesting, to say the least. Where one claim is that the sitting government isn’t performing, the other side is all praise for the leadership.
All in all, the conclusion is one – we’re moving forward, despite the situations. (1/n)
2) So, I sat down to do some research to draw a quick summary of what’s been happening. Since transparency is Imran Khan’s motto, it didn’t take very long.
Following is a quick look at what’s to be applauded in the last 2 years and especially the last few months.
written by Aon Abbas Buppi – Managing Director of Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal
Usman, Speaking to the guests at the Presidency on the World Thallasemia Day
While going through my messages at this hour (morning of 31st May 2019 during Sehri time) I have just received a call from a colleague of mine sharing the news that Usman, The Rehri Wala has, died …….
The story begins in last year November when Rauf Klasra sb sent me an article from one of his friends Mr Nasir Sheikh from Multan who wrote about a young brave 23 year old boy from tehsil Mailsi (District Vehari) who have been fighting for his life with Thallesemia. Usman was the fourth son of his parents and his three brothers had already passed way due to Thallesemia. I had promised Rauf Klasra sb that I will go and visit Mailsi soon.
Finally I went on 21st November, I met this boy Usman (The Rehri Wala). He used to sell popcorns on a Rehri and earn his livelihood through this. So as usual, I asked if I can be of any assistance and he replied that I don’t need anything and can earn enough to have blood transfusion and he also commented that he can afford to have the iron Chelation drug (a necessary medicine given to all thallesemic kids to control the excessive iron in blood due to continuous blood transfusion needed throughout their lives and normally costs RS 150,000 per month). But instead he requested me to arrange this iron Chelation for 300 registered thallesemic kids of Mailsi who can’t afford this medicine. His passion and love for other kids moved me and I decided to set up a Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal Thallesemic center in Mailsi.
It’s been a long hard struggle which truly started with MQM / Altaf Hussain in 2013 and we were handed the Panama papers in 2015 and this movement finally culminated today with the conviction of Nawaz Sharif
Many critics will find it hard to accept that it has been Imran Khan’s commitment and perseverance which has finally led us to this moment of conviction for Nawaz Sharif – IK had promised us a Naya Pakistan and the struggle to unseat these behemoths has not come easy, could you have imagined all this to happen back in 2013 – mashallah Imran Khan delivered on many fronts – true genuine opposition actually strengthens democracy — PTI fought the battle on the streets, but at same time stood back at some extremely critical junctions to allow judiciary to take over and cast the final decision – Justice in our society must remains Supreme
On 28th April about more than 10 days back – ARY hosted a recording program “Eidi Sab Kay Liyae by Fiza Ali” at Baharia Town Islamabad – during the recording the scaffolding holding the stands collapsed – Many people were injured and I think one lady succumbed to injuries – imagine it’s been over a week not a whimper of a news from any media outlet even #GEO maintained a pin drop silence even against their arch nemesis #ARY
Read the narration of one victim published in The Nation a few days back
… The “improbable” happened. The stalls beneath us collapsed like a house of cards, through a height roughly the equivalent of two and a half floors. In the first 10 seconds following the incident, we were too dazed to notice anything but the sudden change of scenery in our immediate vicinity; from a stepped structure with seats bolted into it, to flat wreckage on the ground.
It took us a moment to acknowledge our injuries: our bleeding feet, our bruised skin, our misshapen limbs. Our first instinct was to cry out for help to those around us. That was until we realised that everyone around us was struggling through the same wreckage that we were….
I guess Malik Riaz ka paisa Bolta hai – so much for independent media ! This letter by Baharia Town confirms the incident and the videos I have received lends us a shocking reminder of what the people of Pakistan NEVER saw on TV being reported
Working hard to develop a future strategy at the World Dental Federation – the goal is to provide Optimal Oral Health to the global population
Many obstacles exist but how to overcome them so that each of the 8+ billion global population either keeps his/her teeth clean or has easy / better access to dental care
Today at CBC office MPA Samar Ali Khan and his team went to strongly argue for the water supply in this area, There is already a water crisis in the area, to make matters worse CBC has decided to charge an additional Rs 500 from all water tankers coming into the area, taxpayers, who already are paying water tax for “no-water” have the right to protest this
The Additional CEO was very abusive to all attendees including to the MPA, and asked them to immediately leave his offices, all stood their ground, the CFO then scampered off to the CEO’s office claiming that 100’s of people have ransacked his offices, the video will show a normal number of people peacefully arguing the issue of water.
After a few hours of stand-off PTI has decided to launch a stronger protest on Thursday morning 8:30am at CBC offices
Water supply is a menace, a constant battle with the crooks from PPP and KW&SB (fully infused with PPP & MQM bhartis) they run this tanker mafia to make millions each day depriving genuine Pakistanis from the basic fundamental rights of water.
Dr Arif Alvi along with Samar Khan and Khurrum Sher Zaman with their entire team who visited Dhabeji and Pipri last week to see the situation there – water supply is “a bit better” from their previous visits but ironically not much of a difference is seen in our areas – because these hydrants siphon off the water well before it reaches the city
To simply shut down these hydrants is not the entire solution as the problem will persist, as previously with efforts of Dr Arif and his team of MP’s they had shut down (via SHC) a few hydrants – but quite immediately more propped up further up the line (like this one) & immediately drove the prices upwards – this vicious cycle shall continue, since the PPP Looters and the Miskeen MQM (despite all their crying wolf & screams) contribute to making themselves millions, help protect this mafia, while depriving Karachiites of their basic human necessity of water. Continue Reading
Watched Kong at Capri Cinema #Karachi, it was a top class experience, a huge screen with an amazing surround sound & comfortable seats – tickets were about 300-400 & an affordable concession stand probably making the whole experience more affordable – I think this is where the mass market potential lies – strongly suggest to try this more often.
Lets not forget a few years back, a mob protesting in Karachi against the Blasphemous cartoons published in Netherlands mobbed and burnt this place down, it has taken years to rebuild from scratch but I must say, a job well done
Must admit the songs being played over the PA system brought back some fun fond memories of college days 😆 — only in Pakistan can the crowd yell “once more” and the song is re-played
World Oral Health Day is today – the global focus is to create awareness of the importance of your oral health by brushing twice a day for two minutes and flossing once a day and have a dental checkup every 6 months
Dr. Arif Alvi pioneered this at the FDI World Dental Federation while he was a councillor there and mashallah this continues – it is estimated that millions of people around the world will be made aware of the importance of brushing and keeping their teeth clean Continue Reading
All these are nowhere near the billions spent for cosmetic projects spent by the so-called economic experts (PML) where our generation and the future generations will have pay-back billions in loans and compounded interest for many many years to come