KARACHI: Pakistani officials say the country suffered over $150 billion in economic losses in the last 20 years after siding with the United States as a frontline state in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington.
According to a report released by Brown University at the beginning of this month, the cost of the post-911 conflict exceeded $8 trillion for Washington and led to 929,000 deaths in conflict zones.
The report said that 423,000 people were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan alone, adding that the United States had to pay about $2.31 trillion for its war in the two countries.
According to Pakistan’s parliament, the country’s lost over $152 billion due to the prolonged conflict in Afghanistan that spanned about two decades, though experts say the emerging situation in the war-torn country has thrown up a new set of challenges after the withdrawal of international forces.
“Pakistan has suffered around $152 billion in economic losses since the war on terror began 20 years ago,” Aliya Hamza Malik, parliamentary secretary for commerce and investment, told Arab News on Thursday without sharing further details.
In an opinion piece published by The Washington Post last June, Prime minister Imran Khan said the cost of war for his country had gone beyond $150 billion.
“Our country has suffered so much from the wars in Afghanistan,” he said. “More than 70,000 Pakistanis have been killed. While the United States provided $20 billion in aid, losses to the Pakistani economy have exceeded $150 billion.”
Painting a dismal picture of the situation in Pakistan since the beginning of the conflict, the prime minister said: “Tourism and investment dried up. After joining the US effort, Pakistan was targeted as a collaborator, leading to terrorism against our country from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other groups.”
The spokesperson of Pakistani military’s media wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, said in January this year the economic losses of his country caused by the war on terror amounted to $126 billion.
Pakistan tried to officially quantify the cost of the war by mentioning it under a separate head in the Economic Survey until 2017-18, though it stopped recording the figure in its more recent publications.
According to the Pakistan Economic Survey of 2017-18, the country had incurred a cost of $126.79 billion due to the loss of physical infrastructure, foreign investment and industrial output along with monetary compensation paid to the victims of the conflict.
However, experts believe the number of losses presented by various administrations and private organizations are largely speculative.
“There is no real data as the loss is notional,” Husain Haqqani, a scholar at the US-based Hudson Institute and Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington, told Arab News. “If ‘X’ had not happened, our economy would have made Y amount. Therefore, Y is the loss we suffered due to ‘X’ is a notional estimate.”
“There are also those who argue Pakistan benefited economically from 9/11: more aid, IMF financing without fulfilling conditions, NATO transit costs and fees,” Haqqani added.
However, Imtiaz Gul, chairman of the Center for Research and Security Studies, described the losses as “immeasurable.”
“The actual losses inflicted on Pakistan after 9/11 are immeasurable since it is not always possible to quantify the opportunities that were missed by the country each passing day,” he said.
“Pakistan was viewed as a bad guy,” he continued, “which kept investors and financers away from the country. Therefore, we can only compute the real loss by looking at the economic impact of the negative perception built over the years which refuses to die.”
Gul noted that Pakistan had not received any major investment from a western country in the last two decades even when the US and others praised Islamabad for its support during the conflict.
He added the only state that tried to fill that void was China that invested in mega infrastructure and power generation projects.
Experts maintain the country suffered about 3 percent of the GDP on an annual basis in the last two decades.
“We lost tens of thousands of lives, our infrastructure was destroyed and social fabric ruined,” Sajid Amin Javed, senior economist at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, told Arab News. “Estimates show that Pakistan lost almost 3 percent of its GDP every year.”
However, US officials maintain Pakistan accrued several benefits by participating in the conflict. In one of his tweets in 2018, former American president Donald J Trump maintained that Washington had given over $33 billion to the country.
“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” he said on the social media platform.
The Pakistani prime minister acknowledged that his country had received $20 billion in his opinion piece, though he added that its losses far exceeded that number.
Security analysts say much of the money flowing into Pakistan were reimbursements for services provided to the US under the coalition support fund.
“Nearly 80 percent of the money the US claimed to have provided to Pakistan came under the coalition support fund,” Gul said. “These were basically reimbursements made to the country.”
He added: “The US did not provide anything new to Pakistan but gave us used C130s, Cobra helicopters and a lot of AK47 rifles.”
Faced with a huge security deficit and rampant suicide bombings, Pakistan launched several clear-and-hold military operations in the tribal areas adjoining Afghanistan in recent years and carried out intelligence-based counterterrorism operations in its urban centers under the National Action Plan.
With the withdrawal of international forces from neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistani analysts seem to be cautiously optimistic about the future stability of their country and the region.
“I think geopolitically Pakistan may benefit from a relatively stable situation in Afghanistan that is likely to allow it to reach out to Kabul along with other countries like Russia and China to start some economic revival and rehabilitation plan,” Gul said.
Economists said, however, the country’s financial losses were far from over since there was still a lot of uncertainty related to the emerging situation in Afghanistan.
“The worrying part is that the costs of 9/11 are seemingly not over yet,” Javed said. “If factional fighting begins in Afghanistan, Pakistan may continue to incur significant economic cost in the coming days.”
Officials say ‘war on terror’ caused over $150 billion in losses for Pakistan since 9/11
https://arab.news/2y3gx
Officials say ‘war on terror’ caused over $150 billion in losses for Pakistan since 9/11
- Economists warn Pakistan may continue to incur huge financial losses in the absence of political and economic stability in Afghanistan
- Analysts say conflict in Afghanistan led to missed opportunities while pointing out Pakistan did not get western investments in two decades
In Pakistan’s largest city, women are bound by a common misery: no public toilets
- Public toilets are a rare sight in Karachi, city of 20.3 million, which activists say severely impacts women’s mobility, safety
- Sindh High Court this month ordered local authorities to construct bathrooms in markets, parks, hospitals, other public places
KARACHI: For the past eight years, Mariam Hassan’s biggest concern while out doing her work as a TV health reporter in Karachi has been to limit her water intake lest she has to use the toilet.
Hassan’s problem speaks to one of Pakistan’s most serious public health concerns: public toilets. World Bank data shows 79 million people in the country do not have access to a proper toilet while a recent UNICEF study says 25 million people still practice open defecation.
The lack of toilets for public use is not just a matter of public health but also about safety, women’s rights and human dignity, rights advocates and urban planners say. Indeed, the problem is especially difficult for women, who are not allowed to use the same toilet facilities as men in the conservative Muslim country.
“There is no place available for women and the places that are available are so dirty that you can’t even imagine going there,” Hassan told Arab News, echoing the sentiment of dozens of women interviewed on the subject this week in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and home to over 20 million people.
She recounted an instance in 2018 when she worked tirelessly from 7am until 10 at night covering a protest in the city’s Azizabad area without being able to find a single public restroom in the surroundings.
“At last our cameraperson took me to his relative’s house which was quite embarrassing as you’re going to a stranger’s house just to use the restroom,” Hassan said.
The Sindh High Court, troubled by how many Pakistanis don’t have access to public toilets in the country’s commercial hub, has ordered the government to build new facilities and do maintenance work on existing ones. During the proceedings of the case earlier this month, it was revealed that none of the 182 graveyards, 33 prominent markets, 42 roads, 970 bus stops and 133 hospitals in the city has public toilets on their premises.
Asked about the issue, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, whose Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been ruling the Sindh province since 2008, acknowledged that access to toilets was an issue that had not received due attention in the provincial capital.
“Whether they are public parks, public spaces, buildings or shopping malls, these washrooms were part of the original plan,” he told Arab News. “And as an end result, today, it is evident that this basic necessity is not available to the public the way it should be in public areas.
“The existing toilets and washrooms that have either been encroached upon or converted [into other structures], we will speak to the relevant building associations through the Sindh Building Control Authority so that those washrooms can be reactivated to ensure that people have access to this basic necessity.”
Siddiqui said even before the high court’s ruling, steps had been taken by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to refurbish old toilets in the city’s zoo and two parks and there were plans to construct washrooms along Karachi’s main thoroughfares and redo washrooms in shopping areas that had fallen into disrepair or been turned into shops or other facilities.
MOBILITY
Rights activists say public toilets are essential infrastructure for cities to guarantee citizens’ right to sanitation and their comfort to circulate in public spaces. In Karachi, the lack of public toilets has particularly impeded women’s ability to go about their daily business, whether as working women out in the field and traveling to jobs or housewives out for shopping or other errands.
“Women also need to travel, women can also go to the market, do shopping, and go to their jobs,” Muhammad Toheed, an urban planner and geographer, said. “Whether women are going on a trip or going to the market, they should mentally prepare themselves that they may not find a restroom facility along the way.”
Javed Ahmed, a city dweller in his 60s, reminisced about a time around three decades ago when the city used to have public toilets but said they had gradually disappeared due to a lack of maintenance and “societal conduct.”
“Later on, perhaps they also introduced mobile toilets. I have seen those vehicles that used to roam around, but they have vanished also,” he said, adding that people from the working classes, especially laborers and rickshaw and taxi drivers, and women, gravely required access to restrooms in public spaces.
“Throughout the city, if I may say, public toilets are nowhere to be seen, and if they are present somewhere, half of them are locked or closed,” Summaiya Khursheed, a working professional, said as she shopped at a local market.
“Just like water and food are your basic necessities, toilets are also among your basic needs. Entire markets have been built for women, but it’s not considered that toilets are also a basic necessity for women.”
Housewife Uzma Hassan outlined the steps women had to take before leaving home, knowing they would not be able to find usable toilets.
“It’s stressful that we have to do it before leaving. We mentally prepare ourselves before leaving, thinking that there won’t be any toilets available. [We worry about] what we would have to do and what not to do, and we shop hurriedly so we may get free quickly to go back home,” she told Arab News.
“There are so many markets open in Karachi, with all kinds of people living here but there should be toilets in these markets and parks. The Sindh government should think about this because it is a very big issue, especially for women.”
Pakistan advises Hajj pilgrims to be careful about heatstroke risks during annual pilgrimage
- This year’s Hajj is expected to take place on June 14-19, coinciding with peak of sweltering summer temperatures in region
- The weather situation has raised concerns about well-being of millions of pilgrims gathering in Makkah from across the world
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hajj Mission (PHM) on Tuesday advised Pakistani pilgrims to take all-possible precautionary measures against heatstroke, especially during the Hajj pilgrimage, Pakistani state media reported, following a severe heat warning issued by the Saudi National Center for Meteorology.
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able.
This year’s Hajj is expected to take place from June 14 to June 19, coinciding with the peak of sweltering summer temperatures in the region and raising concerns about well-being of millions of pilgrims gathering in Makkah from across the world.
“We advise Pakistani pilgrims to avoid sun exposure, particularly during the five Hajj days in Mashair from 8-12 ZilHajj,” PHM Director-General Abdul Wahab Soomro told the state-run APP news agency.
“Drink plenty of water, preferably ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts), use umbrellas, and spend maximum time in air-cooled or air-conditioned tents and shaded areas/tracks.”
He emphasized that although the government of Pakistan had made timely and elaborate arrangements, including transport, accommodation, and catering in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalfa, there would be no homelike comfort in the tent villages.
“It will be a hard time amid millions of people and hot weather conditions, so be prepared for it,” he cautioned.
Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims this year, of which 63,805 people will perform the pilgrimage under the government scheme, while the rest will use private tour operators.
Soomro noted that the mission and its supporting staff, including doctors, nurses and paramedics as well as local and Pakistan-based assistants, were performing duties to extend round-the-clock to the “guests of Allah Almighty.”
Around 40,000 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims have so far arrived in Madinah and Makkah through 164 flights under the government scheme, according to the official. The number of pilgrims who arrived under the private scheme stood at 5,500.
He said the mission was providing best possible facilities in the most cost-effective Hajj package in the region, including residence, round-the-clock transport from hotel buildings to the Grand Mosque, and three meals a day, besides efficient online monitoring of the overall Hajj operation.
“The PHM was in close contact with all the intending pilgrims through the ‘Pak Hajj App,’ two toll-free helplines, and four WhatsApp numbers to address their concerns round the clock,” Soomro added.
Pakistan orders probe after forest fires erupt at 15 locations on Islamabad’s Margalla Hills
- The forest fires initially erupted at three different locations on Hiking Trails 3 and 5 of Margalla Hills
- Incidents come at time when Pakistan is experiencing heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 52°C
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into forest fires that erupted at 15 different locations on Margalla Hills on the northern edge of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the interior ministry said, amid a large-scale operation to douse the fires.
The forest fires initially erupted at three different locations on Hiking Trails 3 and 5 of Margalla Hills, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The authority said it had arranged helicopters after firefighters present on the ground faced difficulties in accessing the fire sites. The fires later erupted at nearly a dozen other locations.
Naqvi, while taking notice of the incidents, spoke to Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa and called for a comprehensive probe into the matter, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.
“Investigation must be held to bring out the facts whether the fires were deliberately ignited or they erupted accidentally,” Naqvi was quoted as saying by his ministry.
“A committee should be immediately formed to investigate the fire incidents at 15 places in a single day.”
On the directives of interior minister, the Islamabad chief commissioner and police chief have tasked officials with investigating the matter, according to the statement.
Margalla Hills, which are part of the Himalayan foothills, have an area of 12,605 hectares and several hiking trails that are frequented by hundreds of people on a daily basis and are famous with picnickers.
The fires have erupted at a time when Pakistan is witnessing a heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 52 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.
Pakistan has reported an increasing number of forest fire incidents amid increasingly hot weather, blamed on climate change, in recent years.
Earlier in the day, senior Islamabad officials visited the site of the forest fires to inspect efforts to extinguish them
“Firefighters are using all resources to put out the fires,” Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon said in a statement.
“Assistance has also been sought from other agencies to put out the fires, which will soon be brought under control.”
After ICUBE-Q, Pakistan to launch modern communication satellite into space on May 30
- The satellite will help usher in digital era in Pakistan by providing Internet to country’s remote areas, the national space agency says
- The satellite launch from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) will be broadcast live from agency centers in Islamabad, Karachi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be launching its latest modern communication satellite, PAKSAT MM1, into the space on May 30, Pakistani state media reported on Tuesday, weeks after it launched ICUBE-Qamar (ICUBE-Q) into the lunar orbit.
Pakistani satellite ICUBE-Q was launched on May 3 aboard China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission from Hainan, China. A major milestone in Pakistan’s space exploration efforts, the satellite successfully entered the moon’s orbit on May 8, and shortly after began transmitting the first images from lunar orbit.
The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), Pakistan’s national space agency, now plans to launch the communication satellite with Chinese assistance on May 30.
“The satellite PAKSAT MM1 would be launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC), China,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The SUPARCO MM1 Satellite is a result of the tireless efforts of Pakistani scientists and engineers and it is conceived keeping in sight the growing needs of the country in the broad spectrum of communication and connectivity.’
The satellite would help usher in a digital era in Pakistan by helping provide Internet to remote areas, the report read, citing Suparco officials.
The launch ceremony would be broadcast live from Suparco’s offices in Islamabad and Karachi.
Established in 1961, Suparco manages Pakistan’s space program, enhancing the nation’s capabilities in satellite communications, remote sensing and meteorological science.
Pakistan confers civilian award on Islamic Development Bank chief for his eminent services
- The IsDB is an international financial development institution that aims to foster socio-economic development in Muslim member countries
- Pakistan is also among 56 members of the IsDB where the IsDB has invested in various projects and third largest beneficiary of its financing
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmad Farooq on Tuesday conferred the ‘Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam’ medal on Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) head Dr. Mohammed Sulaiman Al-Jasser in the Saudi city of Jeddah, the Pakistani consulate said.
The Hilal-i-Quaid-i-Azam medal is one of Pakistan’s highest civil awards that is awarded to foreign nationals for their eminent services to Pakistan.
The award ceremony was attended by representatives from Pakistan’s missions in the Kingdom and to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
“The President of Pakistan has conferred this medal on Dr. Al-Jasser for his instrumental role and for IsDB Group’s leadership in supporting Pakistan’s economic and development agenda and support at important world forums,” the Pakistani consulate in Jeddah said in a statement.
The IsDB is a multilateral and international financial development institution that aims to foster socio-economic development in Muslim member countries. Pakistan is also among the 56 members of the IsDB where the IsDB has invested in various projects.
In March, Pakistan and the IsDB signed a financing agreement worth $200 million for the Sindh Flood Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project. The project aims to construct 700,000 houses, benefiting an estimated 4.2 million people in rural areas of the southern province, and will support the creation of 75,000 water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities for over 1.3 million individuals.
The Bank announced a $100 million loan to support Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts in December 2023, on the sidelines of the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai.
After the devastating floods of 2022 killed 1,700 people and inflicted losses worth $30 billion on Pakistan, the IsDB pledged $4.2 billion for the South Asian country over the next three years.
