IMF employee's appointment as SBP governor akin to 'colonisation of Pakistan': Rabbani
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Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Raza Rabbani on Sunday branded the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the "new East India Company", adding that the appointment of the Fund's Dr Reza Baqir as new governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was "deplorable" and akin to "colonisation of Pakistan by international financial imperialists".
The former Senate chairman said that "the SBP governor being an employee of the Fund which is giving a bailout package is a conflict of interest as it is obvious that his loyalties will not be with Pakistan."
He said "it is a matter of shame that provincial finance ministers were made to appear before a middle ranking officer of the IMF (Baqir) and make promises of good behaviour."
Rabbani said that Baqir's appointment coupled with Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh's induction into the cabinet as the prime minister's adviser on finance means that the IMF has its "men in place" and "Pakistan's financial sovereignty and national security has been compromised."
The senator's sentiments were also echoed by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, who in a series of cryptic tweets suggested that the government has surrendered the economy to the IMF.
"We will not go to the IMF; we will instead call the IMF here and hand over Pakistan to them," Nawaz said, sarcastically referring to Prime Minister Imran Khan's pre-election statements of never asking the Fund for another package when in power.
She further said that Pakistan has been removed from the equation and "now the IMF will itself settle the bailout package with the IMF."
Baqir was used to oust Umer from office: Shah
Another PPP stalwart Khurshid Shah claimed that Baqir was also involved in former finance minister Asad Umar's ouster from the office last month.
"According to my information, Baqir was used to remove Umar," Shah said. "The message was conveyed through him that the IMF was unhappy with Umar for not taking strict measures.
"The Fund thought that Umar did not know anything. It was even said that the IMF package would not be given in Umar's presence."
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Comments (85) Closed
May 05, 2019 11:24pm
IMF employee's appointment as SBP governor is a good move. If you can not manage effectively, bring an outsider, which is a common international practice.
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May 05, 2019 11:29pm
Good luck to PTI and should ignore the noises being made by all looters. IK is doing everything possible to ensure that Pakistan do not default on debt repayments of loans incurred by previous governments of PPP and PML-N by employing the most professional people.
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May 05, 2019 11:30pm
Despite more than 70 years of independence we are still mentally slaves.
We think that a foreign qualified and foreign experienced person can do any thing good for the country?
When he does not not know the governance of country's economy, how will he govern the State Bank of Pakistan?
He will also become a case of 'touch and go' in near future.
Let's not do experiments on the country any more.
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May 05, 2019 11:34pm
Senator Rabbani should leave name calling inside the Parliament.
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May 05, 2019 11:34pm
Who cares ?? Can Baqir or anyone else for that matter help Pakistan unless it’s people decide to change themselves.
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May 05, 2019 11:35pm
One of the guys who was working in Citi bank USA came to SBP Hq on temporary assignment. They does not have proper laser printer very few copiers. Not proper Rest rooms. So much complaints ha had three days of his stay. I do not know how these people coming out side will get adjusted to Work culture of 10 to 5.
Big learning curve if they have not worked in Bureaucracy here.
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May 05, 2019 11:36pm
As a government official Rabbani would have collaborated with the British East India Company. Who is he kidding?
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May 05, 2019 11:37pm
Things are now becoming clear. Hafiz Shaikh, Reza Baqir and the new FBR Chief, Mujtaba Memon, are all IMF people and they came to mortgage Pakistan perennially to the IMF.
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May 05, 2019 11:45pm
This time, he is 100 percent right.
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May 05, 2019 11:47pm
Not everything thing imported is impressive or worth. Only time will tell.
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May 05, 2019 11:51pm
What is the harm if an IMF economist comes?
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May 05, 2019 11:59pm
During multiple PPP and PML-N governments all state bank governors were ex world bank and IMF employees.
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May 06, 2019 12:02am
PPP and NLeague have colonised Pakistan - the two families are calling the shots and people like Rabbani sadly do not carry any weight.
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May 06, 2019 12:03am
These are same incompetent PPP and PLM-N people who over the last 40 years needed to be bailed 12 times by IMF because they mismanaged of the national treasury.
In 2012, Transparency International (TI) calculated that Pakistan had lost more than Rs 8.5 trillion in corruption, tax evasion and bad governance in the PPP-led coalition government from 2008 to 2013.
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May 06, 2019 12:07am
When money was laundered abroad from Pakistan I never heard a single comment from this person. They are afraid of IMF colonization but not afraid of looting the public money and made investment in western countries. Hypocracy is at its height!
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May 06, 2019 12:13am
All these so called stalwart politicians who are objecting this appointment of SBP have no clue of economics especially Maryam Safdar.
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May 06, 2019 12:20am
How can an I.M.F employee head an institution which has a lot of national secrets.
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May 06, 2019 12:21am
Such a ridiculous claims, Dr Raza he is Pakistani first. Every Pakistani has right to work in pakistan at any position.
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May 06, 2019 12:22am
Very true. The Tariq Bajwa was resisting the pressure to make rupee free floating now this would be done by IMF. Expect further devaluation of rupee and more inflation. the extreme slavery metality has led to this day where most important finance institution is handed over to IMF. This is utterly shameful, now we are sold.
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May 06, 2019 12:25am
@Fowez, How it calculated and whats this organisation worth. Pakistan total GDP was not that much of amount so how could they calculated so many trillions. You need to correct yourself otherwise I'm next post you can write hundreds of thousands trillions.
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May 06, 2019 12:29am
Everybody is helpless in this new Pakistan, even the inevitable Imran Khan.
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May 06, 2019 12:32am
This is no different than if Imran were to appoint the retired head of Indian Intelligence as adviser on national security. Day by day, the naya Pakistan is fast resembling like a rudderless ship, aimlesly floating in the open seas. Imran is also emulating Trump in the way he is firing his key members of government.
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May 06, 2019 12:37am
These corrupt politicians and plunderers of national wealth are criticizing government who is trying to fix things at their best. No shame at all.
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May 06, 2019 12:41am
IMF making sure that this time the money IMF lends is only used the way IMF wants.
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May 06, 2019 12:47am
Agree with Rabbani SB.
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May 06, 2019 12:48am
@Swiss Neutral, not necessarily we manage as desired by outsiders
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May 06, 2019 12:54am
@Fowez, it’s PM IK prerogative to appoint SBP Governor or FBR Chief. The opposition is again opposing for the sake of opposition. They have freedom to oppose, and we have freedom to listen.
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May 06, 2019 12:57am
What happens after the three years of IMF bailout package. Another package after three years? Anyone can answer please.
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May 06, 2019 01:09am
I can bet that PM Imran never met Dr Baqir who we don’t even know if he is a Pakistani citizen. Did he ever check his resume or a background check for this prized post? We suffered a lot because PM Shoukat and Moeen Qureshi was imposed from nowhere.
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May 06, 2019 01:14am
@Shahrukh Inayat, conflict of interest
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May 06, 2019 01:16am
IMF policies never helped any developing and least developed countries. Pakistan went to IMF so many times and every time they come up with a new set of policies. If their policies are so good, then why Pakistan is going into deeper and deeper economic and financial policies? With the appointment of Dr Baqir as the Governor of the SBP, the IMF is in control of all financial institutions of Pakistan at a low price of 5-6 billion dollars. Pakistan will never be out of the clutch of the IMF.
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May 06, 2019 01:17am
Good choice.
Get on with business of managing effectively and live within means.
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May 06, 2019 01:41am
Mr. Rabbani, your boss Asif Zardari through his US Ambassador Haqqani, made Pakistan a hunting ground for CIA operatives. Unfortunately, you never uttered a word then. What is bothering you now is not the IMF issues but the fact that your party is out of power.
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May 06, 2019 01:43am
@Adnan A, However never in the history before an employee of IMF was appointed as state bank governor to negotiate directly with his/her employer
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May 06, 2019 01:43am
One of the biggest Thugs of our time Raza Rabbani the so-called liberal should not open his mouth. He is one of the beneficiaries & one of the protectors of the most deceitful province of Pakistan, Singh. He & his Masters Zardari-Talpur-Bilawal systematically destroyed the very essence of humanity in Sindh.
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May 06, 2019 01:54am
Good honest educated successful Pakistanis will all be working for these big western banks or organisations the crooks will be working for the likes of Sindh bank or Omni Group.
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May 06, 2019 01:58am
IMF money comes with their own terms. They are just trying to make sure that their money will be paid back. Don't like their terms? Then don't take their money.
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May 06, 2019 02:00am
Opposition's criticism is unjustified rather ironic since they themselves brought Pakistan's economy to this stage that the current Govt must take some hard and unpopular decisions to get the things going...
Besides that, as an example, a few years ago Dr. Manmohan Singh appointed Dr. Raghuram Rajan (an IMF man) as Governor of RBI. Did that move turn out to be colonization of India by international financial imperialists??
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May 06, 2019 02:22am
When you don't set your own house in order, someone else will try to. Don't talk about sovereignty when you guys yourselves had squandered nation's wealth
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May 06, 2019 02:37am
When down ... what is a few kicks ... to restart economy
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May 06, 2019 02:43am
This is a classical example political point scoring. If Hafeez Sheikh's induction is akin to colonisation of Pakistan, then why did he serve as the finance minister for 3 years during the PPP era? If Asad Umar was ousted for not taking strict measures, it was the PPP and PMLN, which stopped him from doing so, knowing fully well that stricter measures are needed to repair the damage done to Pakistani economy during their tenures. These PPP and PMLN stalwarts know next to nothing about economy, and do everything to hinder any progress, in order to protect their personal political interests.
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May 06, 2019 03:01am
@Swiss Neutral, How many countries have an outsider heading their State Bank?
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May 06, 2019 03:02am
So, you don't consider such people Pakistani? Since when these corrupt politicians had this right? When someone points fingers at them for their proven corruption they agitate.
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May 06, 2019 03:15am
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad, PMIK is smarter than the person who told that. PMIK has made huge economic strategic geopolitical planning that no one can even dream of. Period
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May 06, 2019 03:16am
@Shahrukh Inayat, perfect answer. PMIK decisions are great
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May 06, 2019 03:25am
Pakistan needs financial discipline, hope this appointment will help in that respect.
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May 06, 2019 03:38am
He may be a very brilliant economist but has lived abroad too long to really understand local conditions. What is good for foreign financial institutions is not necessarily good for Pakistan.
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May 06, 2019 03:45am
Your Haqqani was also outside, and an agent, where were you sleeping?
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May 06, 2019 03:47am
The very purpose of IMF and WB, and also ADB, is to put shackles on development, and get into the decision-making systems. This guy will have access to all foreign transactions, especially military, if allowed. Unless he is vetted for security [clearance] he should not be allowed close to anything related to foreign transaction - especially CPEC and defense procurement.
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May 06, 2019 03:57am
Rabbani should be last person to talk about pakistan's Economy. He was person who brought in 18th amendment which has weakened the Federal government
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May 06, 2019 04:06am
Incorrect discussion
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May 06, 2019 04:16am
Do you not know that during PPPS term, a person who was in the governing board oh IMF wa appointed Finance Minister
But that wa not ":colonisation" - was it. Ans the current FM was also the FM during PPP term so there
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May 06, 2019 04:21am
As a Barrister i read some of these comments and i am really surprised at the thinking mode applied by people in Pakistan. The lack of understanding is why the politicians get the vote even with poor track record. Raza Rabbani is intelligent lawyer and he raises important points on conflict of interest as SBP Governor is a important financial position. It is really sad that as a country we can not run our iwn affairs we have to import people to educate us into how we shpuld financially manage our country. Shameful.
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May 06, 2019 04:36am
If for past 10 years you folks hadn’t borrowed all the money then we wouldn’t be in this situation.IMF job is to loan you so much that you never can repay.
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May 06, 2019 04:38am
@Rajput, he is clearly qualified for the job, so this objection is removed.
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May 06, 2019 04:40am
@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad, is he qualified? Yes. You prefer Ishaq Dar economics and fiscal policies, he wasn't qualified. Agree on the basis of reason, not emotion, or feeling.
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May 06, 2019 04:42am
@Fowez, agree. Naysayers are irrational.
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May 06, 2019 04:42am
Some one please throw Rabbani out of Senate. He should talk bout principles while belonging to PPP.
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May 06, 2019 04:42am
Who cares
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May 06, 2019 05:15am
Let's give Raza Baqir a chance and see what he does. His remit is as Governor SBP. So he has a limited fiscal role, he is not the Finance Minister of Pakistan. We must eventually judge him on his performance in improving the SBP's performance and regulating matters falling under his purview in an effective, competent and honest manner.
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May 06, 2019 05:18am
NEWSFLASH for PML-N, its because of you that the government is having to get a bailout, and by the way, at least the new government is not hiring family members like you did. Boy these parties cannot wait to make a mess of everything, sure wish they would show some support for once, after all, its all for Pakistan.
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May 06, 2019 05:18am
Right person for right jobs.
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May 06, 2019 05:18am
When you need a plumber, you don't call an electrician.
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May 06, 2019 05:23am
That was the only way out the prevailing deteriorated situation reached by the past regimes.
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May 06, 2019 05:30am
Read Confessions of an Economic Hitman to get an idea about how international financial advisors operate...
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May 06, 2019 05:33am
Rabbanis and Shahs are now charaters of the past. They could not come to terms with fast changing global economic phenomena.
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May 06, 2019 05:34am
Colonisation = PPP/PML-N
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May 06, 2019 06:13am
Good move.
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May 06, 2019 06:20am
If IMF is been now seen as critical why was AU removed ? He did all the hard work even convinced IK it was critical for our economy. Is it all about who gets the credit if the economy gets fixed ?
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May 06, 2019 06:21am
@Adnan A,
Mr. Adnan A,
You are right but Mr. Raza Rabbani is not in sense because PPP, PML-N and JUI have brigade of senseless people.
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May 06, 2019 06:23am
@James,
Mr. James,
Correct.
Mr. Raza Rabbani doesn't have dignity and respect.
It would be better for him to stay at home.
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May 06, 2019 06:24am
@Fowez,
Mr. Fowez,
The members of PPP, PML-N and JUI are corrupt and criminal, nothing else.
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May 06, 2019 06:28am
Has IMF, appointed him ?
What have our NOn IMF personnel done for Pakistan ?
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May 06, 2019 06:48am
If you cannot beat them be with them.. What is wrong to have an IMF employee running Pakistan economics, will be millions time better than Ishaq Dar.
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May 06, 2019 06:56am
He is right; if the government starts appointing people on merit, then how people close to politicians will be hired on key posts regardless of competence!
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May 06, 2019 07:20am
Both PPP and PML (N) responsible for the position that Pakistan is. Rabbani and Maryam are hypocrites of the first order. Both parties cannot fool the people of Pakistan any more. Gone are your days in the sun.
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May 06, 2019 08:57am
Very shocking indeed. Are we being pawned to the world monetary bodies?
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May 06, 2019 11:38am
Really! Can one remind me who was Shukat Aziz or Moein Quershi?
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May 06, 2019 12:48pm
Rabbani you were in senate and never ever pointed out the corruptions of Zardari, Dar and and Nawaz Sharif as you was interested in your perks only. You never take action for increasing borrowing and imports. Why,,, and now you are commenting. It was all done in last 10 years.
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May 06, 2019 12:49pm
Better take from media as most of the scholars are sitting there.
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May 06, 2019 12:58pm
Beautiful move by PMIK. Only by PMIK
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May 06, 2019 01:09pm
he is a highly qualified individual & Pakistani national i dont see any harm in giving this job to a highly qualified & experienced person ...
We remember PMLN & PPPP used to induct matriculate & people such as Saeed etc who were there partners in loot & plunder ...
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May 06, 2019 05:45pm
These political rhetorics meant to remain in the news by these politician, who are the main culprits in bringing the country to the brink of bankruptcy should be taken with a pint of salt. How come this second appointment of a Pakistani expatriate to the post of GSBP becomes selling of country while previous one decade did not? It is a real dilemma of Pakistan that highly technical department are made to run by career bureaucrats with no formal technical training or background but take charge due to be favoritism by the political bosses.
Not withstanding the unnecessary ongoing debate of who was instrumental in his appointment to become GSBP, it is satisfying that he is a Pakistani expatriots who has earned his doctorate from prestigious university & employment service record with world’s leading financial institutions. With debt to GDP ratio touching 75.3% & fiscal deficit reaching 8.7% in near future, his appointment to this key post will definitely avert waiting economic collapse.
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May 08, 2019 04:27am
“Pakistan's financial sovereignty and national security has been compromised." “ the government has surrendered the economy to the IMF.”
Pakistan’s financial sovereignty was squandered by decades of financial mismanagement and corruption. What Pakistan is experiencing now is the result. As for national security, that’s never existed in Pakistan.
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May 08, 2019 04:40am
@Syed A. Mateen,
Pakistan is a 70 year experiment! It is not a good example of an independently run country, and is a disaster. Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan, Germany, are examples to follow.
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