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Express Tribune
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Nation observes Youm-e-Tashakur to celebrate victory in Operation Bunyan Marsoos
Pakistani people celebrate after the ceasefire between Pakistan and India, in Hyderabad, Sindh province, on Saturday [Akram Shahid/AFP] Listen to article Youm-e-Tashakur (Day of Gratitute) is being observed across Pakistan today to mark the historic victory of Marka-e-Haq and to pay tribute to the armed forces and the resilient people of the country following the success of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. The day began with the recitation of the Holy Quran and special prayers in mosques throughout the country. A 31-gun salute was presented in Islamabad and 21-gun salutes echoed across all provincial capitals, including Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan, as Pakistan marked Youm-e-Tashakur to celebrate the historic victory of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. The ceremonial artillery fire symbolized the nation's gratitude and recognition of the Pakistan Armed Forces' success in Marka-e-Haq, a decisive operation in response to Indian aggression. The skies across the country reverberated with patriotic chants including 'Takbeer – Allahu Akbar,' 'Pakistan Zindabad,' and 'Long Live Pakistan Armed Forces.' Gun salutes, change of guard ceremonies, and floral wreaths laid at monuments to the fallen were part of the day-long events honouring the courage and sacrifices of Pakistan's defenders. Change of guard ceremonies were held this morning at the mausoleums of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi and Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore. Special floral wreaths were laid at Yadgaar-e-Shuhada to honour the sacrifices of the martyrs. In Lahore, members of the Clean City Labour Union held a celebratory demonstration at the Lahore Press Club to commemorate the achievement of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. Special meetings are being held with the families of martyrs to pay tribute to their sacrifices. Local governments and military officials are personally visiting these families, recognizing their contribution to the nation's defence. In his earlier address, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced that Youm-e-Marka-e-Haq would be observed annually on May 10 to commemorate the successful defence of the homeland and the bravery of the armed forces. He emphasized that this day symbolizes national unity and pride in the military's professional capabilities. President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Shehbaz have also issued special messages to the nation on the occasion of Youm-e-Tashakur declaring the success of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos as a joint victory of Pakistan's armed forces and its proud, dignified people. In his message marking the day of thanksgiving over Pakistan's resounding success in response to Indian aggression, President Asif Ali Zardari said that the nation is celebrating Youm-e-Tashakur to honour the triumph of Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. He paid tribute to the brave soldiers and commanders of the armed forces, saying this victory does not belong to the military alone but is shared by the entire nation. President Zardari praised the professional and powerful response of Pakistan's military to Indian provocations. 'The world has acknowledged Pakistan's patience and recognized our operational excellence,' he said. He reiterated that Pakistan is a peaceful nation with no aggressive ambitions, but will never compromise on its sovereignty or territorial integrity. 'Any aggression against our soil will be met with a decisive response,' the president warned. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his special message on Youm-e-Tashakur, stated that the Pakistan Air Force's falcons turned the enemy into a cautionary tale within a few hours during the recent confrontation. 'Today, the nation is expressing gratitude to Allah Almighty for the glorious victory against India's open aggression and provocation,' the premier said. He extended gratitude to General Syed Asim Munir for his wise and courageous leadership in achieving this great victory. He also praised Chief of Air Staff Zaheer Babar and his 'falcons' for their exemplary performance and saluted Admiral Naveed Ashraf of the Pakistan Navy for safeguarding the country's maritime frontiers.
Express Tribune
18-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
PSDP spending fails to go beyond 40%
Listen to article The coalition government has so far spent hardly Rs424 billion or less than 40% of the annual downward revised development budget, impacting construction work and cash flows of hundreds of projects, including schemes of the provinces and merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The only exceptions to lower spending were the projects related to parliamentarians, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), showed the official documents. The official data of the Planning Commission showed that from July through the middle of April (nine and half months), the development expenditures amounted to Rs424 billion or 39% of the annual budget. The downward revised Public Sector Development Programme is worth Rs1.1 trillion, which is spread over 1,071 projects. Under the Finance Ministry's release strategy, 60% of the annual budget can be spent during the first nine months of this fiscal year. But the spending remained below this threshold by at least Rs260 billion. This is despite the fact that the Planning Commission had authorized Rs890 billion spending during this period but the actual expenditures were far lower than the budget spending strategy and the authorized spending. When contacted, the Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said that compared to the last year, the spending during the nine-month period was still higher by Rs102 billion. He said that the monthly spending in March this year was also higher by Rs27 billion. However, the details showed that despite being higher than last year's spending; the overall situation was not good, which impacted many projects. The official documents showed that the already approved Rs1.1 trillion budget is not adequately spent on the development schemes. According to these documents, the government had allocated Rs276.5 billion for projects in provinces, special areas and merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. But the actual spending till April 15th remained at Rs98.5 billion or 36% of the annual allocation. Within this spending, an amount of Rs56.6 billion was spent on AJK and GB projects, which was equal to 76% of the annual budget and higher than the ceiling. But on the merged districts of KP only Rs15.8 billion or 23% of its Rs70 billion allocation was spent. These merged districts are adversely affected by the terror attacks and are under-developed but yet it could not get the attention of the Prime Minister. For the provincial projects, Rs132 billion have been allocated but the spending remains at just Rs26 billion or 20% of the annual allocation. The Planning Ministry did not respond to a question about the annual allocations for Balochistan projects and the actual spending during the first nine and half months of this fiscal year. But details showed that there were 200 federally-funded projects going on in Balochistan having a total cost of Rs1.4 trillion. These projects need little over Rs1 trillion more for completion and the government has already allocated Rs130 billion for this fiscal year. An official of the Planning Commission said that the finance ministry was not releasing the funds despite authorization due to its International Monetary Fund related commitments. But such constraints did not impact spending on the parliamentarians' small schemes. As against the annual allocation of Rs50 billion, Rs35 billion or 69% of the annual budget has already been spent on the parliamentarians' schemes in this fiscal year. The Water Resource Ministry's annual budget was Rs170 billion and so far Rs71 billion or 42% of the annual allocation is spent. The Water Resources Ministry has already requested additional Rs60 billion cover for spending the foreign loans on its schemes. But the Planning Commission has so far not been able to provide the cover. The National Highway Authority's annual budget is Rs161 billion but spending remains at only Rs54 billion or little over one-third of the annual allocation. The Balochistan's project that will get petroleum levy funding is also under the purview of the NHA. The Power Davison's annual budget is Rs95 billion but the spending is just Rs51 billion or little over half of the annual allocation.
Express Tribune
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Utopian claim
Listen to article India, at times, thinks it can simply get away by ignoring the reality. That apparently has been the political discourse of BJP dispensation for long as it floats unrealistic visions such as Ghar-Wapsi and Hindutva. Similar was an utterance at a Chatham House in London wherein External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar urged Pakistan to "vacate" Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), and quite undiplomatically termed it as the "stolen part of (Indian) Kashmir". The exalted minister-cum-diplomat has undermined his stature by echoing the sentiments of RSS and the likes, that are literally in contravention of stated principles of bilateralism between India and Pakistan, as well as writ of UN resolutions on the disputed territory. Pakistan was quick to reject the utopian claims by India, and reminded it that the dispute of Kashmir is yet to be resolved, and that too in accordance with the wishes of the people of Jammu & Kashmir through an independent plebiscite. Moreover, Islamabad has left no stone unturned in convincing New Delhi to hit the table for talks, and its civilian and military leadership have walked extra miles to purport the idea that normalisation of relations can precede before the dispute is addressed at an opportune moment. The world, and Mr Jaishankar, need to be once again reminded that it is India's leadership that had spoken from the pulpit of 'invading' Pakistan and carried out extraterritorial missions by flying sorties inside AJK. Thus, comments such as "return of the stolen part of Kashmir which is under illegal Pakistani occupation" are unwarranted, and go on to exhibit India's hegemonic mindset. The substance cited by the Indian minister that it is close to 'resolving' the dispute by abrogating the occupied state's special status under the Indian constitution, and by ushering in development are meant for political consumption. The fact is that an unresolved Kashmir is a threat to regional peace and security, and possesses the potential of pitching two nuclear states in utter annihilation. India would be better advised to think globally but act locally by resolving the Kashmir dispute.
