Pakistan's Self Proclaimed Master of Finance Ishaq Dar Set Out to Destroy PSM

On 1st December Ishaq Dar ordered the Pakistan Steel Mills to settle its debts to the state owned banks as well as foreign creditors. In a drive to privatize National institutions, Pakistan Steel Mills has been finalized to be privatized and investors from China have shown interest to bid when its privatization process starts. 

Moonis Elahi pointed out that PSM has been reporting losses since a decade and neither the Zardari nor PMLN government could assign talented people to take its charge and bring it out of the mess it has fallen due to corruption. The workers have been staging protests as their salaries haven't been transferred since months. In a meeting held at Islamabad between the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, PSM Management and Privatization Committee, the issue of PSM's outstanding debts was discussed. 

The minister issued orders for the steel mills to sell its assets and settle the Rs. 51 billion loan it owes. Moonis Elahi has said the nation is in shock over the news and widely questions if the Sharif brothers policies can make their personal steel mills to reap billions of profits a year, why are they hesitant to implement the same policies for a State owned company that could have saved it from destruction? If assets are sold, the company would further decline in value and it would soon be worthless. The country's largest industrial unit had been shut down for over a year and a half after SSGC had cut its gas supply over defaulting its Rs. 18 billion in terms of outstanding gas bills.

Dry Weather likely To continue Till January PMD Report

Punjab currently faces the driest winter ever witnessed. The cause ultimately is the climatic changes mainly due to "No Policy" on preserving ecology. The weather has affected most parts of the country with Punjab at the front. A top official at Pakistan Meteorological Department stated the weather would remain unchanged till January next year. He further warned the current weather would aggravate water shortage in the country.

While there still seems no concern by the PMLN government to make a national policy to counter the negative climatic changes faced by the country, no other politician other than Moonis Elahi raises concern over the issue. Vice President Dr. Ghulam Rasool, of World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), while speaking to the Express Tribune, a leading news site within the country, said that since September this year Pakistan has not received a good amount of rainfall. Even the northern areas which are hilly and mostly covered in snow during the winter have not received "Good Showers" and "Snowfall" is less expected to fall until January. While it is expected that some parts of the country will receive light to moderate rainfall, it is not enough to fulfill the need.

Under the current weather condition, days are warm while the nights are cold. For the winter season, this is not a good sign as due to clear skies the sun remains open throughout the day increasing the temperature. Clear skies mean less potential for rain in Punjab and less snowfall in the northern areas. Though PMD has warned of acute water shortage in the coming months, the concerned authorities have widely ignored these warnings, Moonis Elahi has once again raised his concern as we do not see any policy coming to shape regarding the abrupt changes in the climate of Pakistan.

For the first time ever Lahore had witnessed SMOG which was only due to cutting down of trees. To make roads for Lahore Metro Buses and destruction of plants in the city for the Orange Train, CM Lahore Shahbaz Sharif has caused an increase in the destruction of greenery in the city. Moonis Elahi has said time and again that unless the ecology system s kept in balance the country at large will face many climatic and health issues. People are reporting with ailments in hospitals mainly due to the dry weather. Dr Rasool has said the situation is alarming and the government should pay attention to it.

Pakistani Rupee Will Be At All Time Low In a Decade-Moonis Elahi

Economic prosperity is directly linked with education and Rs. 700 Million budget allocated for the Sindh education sector is a sheer mockery by the incumbent PMLN Government. Sindh education sector is under-performing and 10 years from now it will have an army of illiterates and under-educated people. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of a symposium, titled ‘International Conference on Transforming Economic Development: Policies and Strategies’, organized by the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC) at the ICCBS, Karachi University on Tuesday, said “Pakistan’s economy is likely to collapse in the next 10 years just like Greece’s”. Unless education sector is given the importance it deserves, a majority of Sindh’s population wouldn’t be able to cope with the future’s challenges.

Moonis Elahi expressed concern over the ill-treatment of education sector in Sindh. “Karachi is the hub of business in Pakistan. If it does not have proper educated people in the next 10 years, the business sector will likely fail and surely our economy will be in ruins”. During the PMLQ tenure, Pakistan on the whole witnessed a huge upsurge in the education sector with a great increase in education budget and through proper training of teachers and introduction of technology in government schools. He further said, Nawaz Sharif is the Prime Minister of Pakistan, not only Punjab and it is his duty to see that all provinces are equally treated.

Pakistan today faces many challenges such as illiteracy, poverty, corruption, inequity, energy crisis, poor governance and terrorism. The country has been divided in haves and haves-not classes. These issues have given roots to many new problems and have caused a direct negative impact on the economy. Moonis Elahi stated “N League government has failed to manage Pakistan and address its core issues. It has totally failed to accomplish the international Sustainable Development Goals”. They (PMLN) seem much concerned about constructing roads and develop housing societies that are clearly out of common man’s reach. While the nation demands attention on internal policies and good governance, the government is seen busy visiting foreign countries and pleasing Turkey and China.

Imran Khan on the other hand is a prominent leader with the country’s second biggest party but he too does not seem to be concerned about the country’s pressing issues such as education, energy and climatic issues. The 1 Billion tree tsunami is not enough to counter Pakistan’s climatic challenges and KPK must come forth to play an active role in promoting tourism. Moonis Elahi has raised the issue of Kalabagh Dam time and again but due to PMLN’s vindictive policies, anything presented by the opposition must be pushed under the carpet no matter how beneficial it may be for the country. Unless policies aimed for the benefit of Pakistan on the whole are not formed matters are bound to get worse and Pakistan’s economy is already at the precipice and 10 years from now, we will have an economy that would be worthless.

Moonis Elahi Opposes Adil Gillani's Appointment in Serbia

A senior official, on condition of anonymity has revealed the federal government is planning to appoint Adil Gillani famous for his 'favorable' survey reports since the formation of PMLN government, would be representing Pakistan as Ambassador to Serbia. 

Moonis Elahi has raised concerns over this 'favorable' appointment as non-career diplomats are in fact 'unfavorable' for the state. Nawaz Sharif is widely known to appoint corrupt people on key posts in organizations that may have the rights to keep a check on his performance. Upon pleasing their master Nawaz Sharif, these corrupt people are then rewarded by further appointments where they can travel abroad. This malpractice of PMLN results in creating further problems for the country.