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First Post
2 hours ago
- Business
- First Post
PM Sharif admits Pakistan's financial woes, says no ally expects him to come with ‘begging bowl'
The Pakistani prime minister was addressing military personnel in Quetta on Saturday as he admitted the country's financial woes read more In what comes as a huge embarrassment for Pakistan, PM Shehbaz Sharif has recently revealed that none of Islamabad's allies expected him to come to them with a 'begging bowl'. His statement came amidst Pakistan's heightened tensions with India and weeks after a four-day military conflict with the Indian armed forces. Sharif said both the government and the army were no longer willing to carry the weight of the country's economic dependency. The Pakistani prime minister was addressing military personnel in Quetta on Saturday (May 31). In his speech, he called China 'a time-tested friend' and Saudi Arabia a 'trusted' ally. Pakistan reportedly used China-made military equipment, including jets, in its conflict with India in May. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'China is the most time-tested friend of Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is one of the most reliable and trustworthy friends of Pakistan. This applies to Turkey, Qatar and the UAE,' he said. 'But let me point out abundantly here that they expect us now to engage them in trade, commerce, innovation, research and development, education and health, investments, and profitable ventures mutually. They no longer expect us to go there with a begging bowl,' PM Sharif added. Sharif emphasised that Pakistan must fully leverage its natural and human resources to overcome economic difficulties, stating that both he and Field Marshal Asim Munir are unwilling to continue bearing the weight of dependency. 'I am the last person, along with Field Marshal Asim Munir, to carry this (economic) burden any more on our shoulders. The Almighty has blessed us with natural and human resources. We must make full use of them and deploy them for these very profitable ventures,' he further said. The Pakistani PM's comments were made as allies like Turkey supported Islamabad and criticised India's strikes on terror camps in the neighbouring country. On May 7, India initiated Operation Sindoor , targeting nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. The operation resulted in the deaths of 100 terrorists from Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bablu's Phuchka Model: Global supply chain, local love story
With my fondness for Nirvana, German Expressionism, and Guinness, it may come as a surprise that I'm a vocalist for local. There's a certain kind of happiness I feel when I buy chicken, go out to have phuchka , get a haircut, or buy medicine from my course, the chicken is probably of distant (read: non-neighbourhood) provenance. The barber uses tools, creams, and lotions made in different parts of India (the fan in his saloon is China-made). Barring the potatoes and chillies in Bablu's perfect phuchka cocktail being locally sourced (our area is urban-agricultural), the atta, tamarind and everything else are most likely from 'outside'. And my stash of Met XL50 that I get from the local med store is manufactured in Guwahati by a company headquartered in Kandivili each contribution of dosh to my immediate 'desh' - my locals for whom I harbour a disproportionate amount of material and metaphysical loyalty - is part of a larger, great chain of economic being. Of course, it would have been grand if my neighbourhood manufactured printers, made EV batteries, had bookstores that I would gladly have I'm not a postcolonial nutter who thinks manufacturing GPUs is one hop away from spinning khadi. Truth be told, my Swadeshi Lite is firmly based on availability, ease of procuring, and quality, with the hope to see my neighbourhood grow more prosperous by the main difference - heck, the only difference - between Trump's call for a swadeshi andolan and Modi's shout-out to Make India Great Again is in their nuance. The former, French farmers' union style, doesn't want anything that is consumed by the American people to be produced outside America. The latter, Bapu-style, doesn't want the Indian people to consume anything that is produced outside India. It's a subtle difference, but a telling both versions - 'make what you consume' vs 'consume (only) what you make' - the real intention is to see that the Country-That-Must-Not-Be-Named is denied two of its biggest markets. If all goes well, the Country-That-Must-Not-Be-Named will shrivel to the size of an economic shih tzu, while America returns to its rightful place in the comity of nations that it had in the 1950s-1960s, and India goes back to its own hallowed position from which it was displaced before the very moment Babur crossed the Chenab in a self-sustaining economy should not be a problem for a country that makes everything it uses. For a country that doesn't have much use for jet skis, like, say, landlocked Vatican City, not having a homegrown jet ski-manufacturing industry isn't a problem. Unless, for some sentimental reason, the new pope decides to start exporting jet skis to Peru and/or problem is that the Country-That-Must-Not-Be-Named has, over the years, infiltrated their merchandise everywhere in almost everything. And we're not just talking about Ganesh idols that Kiren Rijiju may have bought online by mistake. We're talking about also infiltrating things that go into making things that make all this gung-ho hungama about ' Make in India ', everyone is thinking only quantitatively. This may be understandable for a country that takes (perverse) pride in having more people than any other country - 'Kya hai tumhare paas? 'Mere paas demographic dividend hai!' But quality has a quantity of its own that goes beyond shifting units Soviet Union ball a reason why after the swadeshi movement did what it had set out to do, we didn't quite become a nation of charkha spinners. Tagore was bang on in his 1925 essay, 'The Cult of the Charkha': 'I am afraid of a blind faith on a very large scale in the charkha in the country, which is so liable to succumb to the lure of short-cuts when pointed out by a personality about whose moral earnestness they can have no doubt.'Instead, we invested in the tech descendants of the spinning jenny, despite its Lancashire 'satanic mills' origins. If we do get seriously vocal for local - and I think it's a splendid idea - we mustn't fall for any cult. Instead, invest monetarily and imaginatively in making things that will make us want to buy if Bablu's phuchkas were Chinese, you think people wouldn't have lined up to gobble them? They're just 'world-class', you see.
Economic Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Economic Times
Bablu's Phuchka Model: Global supply chain, local love story
With my fondness for Nirvana, German Expressionism, and Guinness, it may come as a surprise that I'm a vocalist for local. There's a certain kind of happiness I feel when I buy chicken, go out to have phuchka, get a haircut, or buy medicine from my neighbourhood. Of course, the chicken is probably of distant (read: non-neighbourhood) provenance. The barber uses tools, creams, and lotions made in different parts of India (the fan in his saloon is China-made). Barring the potatoes and chillies in Bablu's perfect phuchka cocktail being locally sourced (our area is urban-agricultural), the atta, tamarind and everything else are most likely from 'outside'. And my stash of Met XL50 that I get from the local med store is manufactured in Guwahati by a company headquartered in Kandivili West. So, each contribution of dosh to my immediate 'desh' - my locals for whom I harbour a disproportionate amount of material and metaphysical loyalty - is part of a larger, great chain of economic being. Of course, it would have been grand if my neighbourhood manufactured printers, made EV batteries, had bookstores that I would gladly have visited... But I'm not a postcolonial nutter who thinks manufacturing GPUs is one hop away from spinning khadi. Truth be told, my Swadeshi Lite is firmly based on availability, ease of procuring, and quality, with the hope to see my neighbourhood grow more prosperous by the day. The main difference - heck, the only difference - between Trump's call for a swadeshi andolan and Modi's shout-out to Make India Great Again is in their nuance. The former, French farmers' union style, doesn't want anything that is consumed by the American people to be produced outside America. The latter, Bapu-style, doesn't want the Indian people to consume anything that is produced outside India. It's a subtle difference, but a telling one. In both versions - 'make what you consume' vs 'consume (only) what you make' - the real intention is to see that the Country-That-Must-Not-Be-Named is denied two of its biggest markets. If all goes well, the Country-That-Must-Not-Be-Named will shrivel to the size of an economic shih tzu, while America returns to its rightful place in the comity of nations that it had in the 1950s-1960s, and India goes back to its own hallowed position from which it was displaced before the very moment Babur crossed the Chenab in 1519. Being a self-sustaining economy should not be a problem for a country that makes everything it uses. For a country that doesn't have much use for jet skis, like, say, landlocked Vatican City, not having a homegrown jet ski-manufacturing industry isn't a problem. Unless, for some sentimental reason, the new pope decides to start exporting jet skis to Peru and/or America. The problem is that the Country-That-Must-Not-Be-Named has, over the years, infiltrated their merchandise everywhere in almost everything. And we're not just talking about Ganesh idols that Kiren Rijiju may have bought online by mistake. We're talking about also infiltrating things that go into making things that make things. In all this gung-ho hungama about 'Make in India', everyone is thinking only quantitatively. This may be understandable for a country that takes (perverse) pride in having more people than any other country - 'Kya hai tumhare paas? 'Mere paas demographic dividend hai!' But quality has a quantity of its own that goes beyond shifting units Soviet Union ball bearing-style. There's a reason why after the swadeshi movement did what it had set out to do, we didn't quite become a nation of charkha spinners. Tagore was bang on in his 1925 essay, 'The Cult of the Charkha': 'I am afraid of a blind faith on a very large scale in the charkha in the country, which is so liable to succumb to the lure of short-cuts when pointed out by a personality about whose moral earnestness they can have no doubt.' Instead, we invested in the tech descendants of the spinning jenny, despite its Lancashire 'satanic mills' origins. If we do get seriously vocal for local - and I think it's a splendid idea - we mustn't fall for any cult. Instead, invest monetarily and imaginatively in making things that will make us want to buy them. Frankly, if Bablu's phuchkas were Chinese, you think people wouldn't have lined up to gobble them? They're just 'world-class', you see. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. What's slowing Indian IT's AI deals? The answer is hidden in just two words. Jolt to Çelebi could turn a big gain for this Indian firm that once had deep Turkish ties Nestlé India's outgoing CEO Narayanan weathered the Maggi storm; Tiwary must tackle slowing growth Uncle Sam vs. Microsoft: Which is a safer bet to park money? ONGC squandered its future once. Can it be different this time? Will revised economic capital framework lead to higher RBI dividend to govt? These large- and mid-cap stocks can give more than 30% return in 1 year, according to analysts Buy, Sell or Hold: Emkay Global upgrades SAIL to buy; YES Securities sees 13% upside in VA Tech Wabag Railways stocks: Time to be contrarian; will bearish analysts go wrong again? 6 stocks, 2 with buy recos, 4 with sell recos
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
ECRL's longest tunnel in Southeast Asia set for breakthrough next month
KUANTAN: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) is poised to achieve a significant milestone next month, with the breakthrough of the Genting Tunnel — Southeast Asia's longest rail tunnel — expected by the end of June. Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Darwis Abdul Razak said only 200m remained of the tunnel's full length of 16.39km. "We're making excellent progress… with just 200m left, we anticipate the Genting Tunnel breakthrough by the end of June. We are on track," he told reporters at the ECRL KotaSAS Central Station today. Darwis said this after officiating the first article assessment ceremony, which marked the successful installation of communication, information, and signalling (CIS) systems at the KotaSAS station — the first along the ECRL alignment to complete this critical phase. Construction of the twin-bore Genting Tunnel, a core component of the ECRL, began in June 2022. Excavation works have utilised two state-of-the-art, China-made tunnel boring machines (TBMs) — the largest ever deployed for a rail project in Southeast Asia. The tunnel traverses the Titiwangsa Range via Bukit Tinggi, connecting Bentong in Pahang to Gombak in Selangor. On the subject of ticket pricing for the ECRL, Darwis said the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Transport Ministry and the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad). "It's premature to discuss ticket fares at this stage. Pricing will be determined by the Transport Ministry and Apad," he said, adding that Transport Minister Anthony Loke had previously assured the public that fares would remain affordable. Darwis was responding to remarks made by Pahang assemblyman Datuk Wong Tat Chee, who used an artificial intelligence (AI) tool — ChatGPT — to estimate hypothetical ticket prices. Wong had suggested a fare of about 10 sen per kilometre during last month's state assembly sitting. Separately, Darwis welcomed a recent announcement by the Pahang state government expressing its readiness to implement high-impact development projects surrounding all seven ECRL stations within the state. "We've been informed that the state government will prioritise infrastructure and public facilities within a 15km radius of each ECRL station. "The 258km alignment within Pahang includes seven stations — Cherating and KotaSAS will serve passengers only, while Kuantan Port City, Paya Besar, Maran, Temerloh, and Bentong will handle both passenger and cargo traffic," he said. On May 7, Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail announced plans for transit-oriented development (TOD) around the stations , incorporating housing, commercial, and educational zones. The ECRL project, which spans Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Selangor, is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2026, with operations slated to begin in January 2027.
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
China evasive on performance of its weapons in India-Pakistan conflict, slams US over space militarisation
A Chinese spokesperson remained tight-lipped when asked about the use and performance of China-made weapons during the India-Pakistan conflict. Speaking at a regular Thursday press briefing, spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang evaded the question but urged both sides to remain calm. According to Chinese state media Global Times, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense was asked to comment on the performance of Chinese equipment in the recent India-Pakistan conflict. The spokesperson was also asked for the ministry's comment on the remarks by Indian military officials that "Pakistan received support from China's air defense and satellite systems, but the performance of these systems was below average." Zhang responded on Thursday, saying, "We would like to stress that India and Pakistan are neighbours that cannot be moved. We hope both sides will remain calm and restrained to avoid further complicating the situation." "China is willing to continue playing a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability," he was quoted by Global Times as saying. Zhang also responded to a question on whether it is true that India had obtained the powerful PL-15E beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile during the India-Pakistan conflict and whether this could lead to reverse engineering of related military technology. Zhang said the missile in question is an exported piece of equipment that has been displayed at multiple domestic and international defence exhibitions. The statement came amid reports of India recovering an unexploded PL-15E missile, a Chinese-made beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. Pakistan and India announced on May 10 a cessation of hostilities. The announcement came following four days of Operation Sindoor, India's response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. The Chinese ministry spokesperson also criticised the US for its "space militarisation" and its move to unveil plans for the Golden Dome missile defense system. Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said on Thursday that the US presses ahead with the Golden Dome system and deploys space-based weapons, continuously expands its military build-up and stokes an arms race in outer space. "Such acts violate relevant principles of the Outer Space Treaty, heighten the risk of turning the space into a war zone and triggering a space arms race, and shake the international security and arms control regime," he said. The spokesperson then warned, "Its actions will once again open the Pandora's proves again that no country has done more than the US in militarising space and making it a battlefield." "We urge the US side to stop expanding military build-up in space, and take concrete actions to uphold global strategic stability," he said.
