Beyond the IMF
Concerning the cover story of SouthAsia Magazine, which appeared in November 2024, I would like to add some important points to the issue. To help stabilize Pakistan’s economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $7 billion loan, which is, by some measures, good news for the country. Led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the new coalition government immediately approached the IMF right after assuming power earlier this year for the 25th time loan. Though the Pakistani government has met all the conditions set by the IMF to qualify for a new loan, it is high time for the cash-strapped country to think beyond the IMF and take some decisive, long-term measures to stand on its own feet.
Fahad Anjum,
Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Afghanistan is not Taliban
The global community continues to punish the Taliban at the cost of the overall well-being of the Afghan population. To make this worse, Afghanistan’s central bank reserves are frozen owing to a host of undue sanctions, and it is more than an arduous task to transfer money into and out of the country. The people living aboard say the global community imposes no such sanctions to invest in Afghanistan, but in actual fact, it’s much more problematic than that. The Taliban are not ready to move on things like girls’ education, women’s rights, gender inclusivity, etc. The country’s population growth is 3 percent per annum and will be 100 million by 2060, and there is a need to make sure its populations don’t starve to death because of no access to food. Since the country is still struggling with poverty, opium production, unemployment, terrorism, and human rights abuse, it is incumbent upon the global community to expedite its relief measures and remove sanctions imposed on a war-torn country. After all, Afghanistan is not Taliban.
Abdul Ghani,
Kabul, Afghanistan.
Off-Balance Analysis
This is about the book review of ‘Tragedy and Defiance: The Lives and Poetry of Sylvia Plath, Forugh Farrokhzad, and Perveen Shakir’ by Mahmood Ali Ayub. The writer Basit Ali reviewed the book. In my opinion, the book reviewer could not do justice to the book, as it was primarily written to pay tribute to the three leading women poets of their eras, and that’s why the book ‘Tragedy and Defiance: The Lives and Poetry of Sylvia Plath, Forugh Farrokhzad, and Perveen Shakir’ was by itself a miscalculated commentary and miserably failed to discuss the three poets on merit. The book can be termed as a blatant attempt to eulogize the women because they are women while casting aspersions on men as, after all, they are men. This logic is totally nonsense. There is a marked difference between authorship and feminisation of literary history. The book is a big letdown and is an off-balance commentary about the three women poets and their literary contributions.
Dr. Fayyaz Maqbool,
Karachi, Pakistan.
Welcome to Booming Bhutan
Bhutan’s tourism sector is booming, thanks to the exemplary leadership of the current Bhutanese regime. Bhutan is the world’s only nation that has long prioritized good governance and a balanced yet happy life over financial gain, setting the example for the rest of the world to follow. To achieve happy living and revive its struggling economy, the tiny Himalayan country has embraced cost-conscious travelers, who are more independent yet willing to pursue natural beauty in a tension-free climate. Bhutan is seeing increasing foreign currency reserves and high levels of youth employment, which are significant levers to pull in the country’s economic and financial sectors.
T.F. Zelfa,
Thimphu, Bhutan.
Long Way to Go
Having lived through over four centuries of subjugation and colonization, Sri Lanka happens to be the world’s only nation that has also experienced over three decades of civil war across the island and a slew of terrorist attacks incited by unruly linguistic, religious, and ethnic factors. To make things worse, a severe economic crisis erupted in 2022, which was primarily caused by poor governance and maladministration by a dynasty-like family-led regime. Although the financial crisis is almost over, and Sri Lanka is back on track, the country has a long way to go to reclaim its lost glory in the international community.
Pramodha Weerasekera,
Colombo, Sri Lanka.
On the Path of Economic Recovery
In last year’s presidential elections, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s victory altered the Maldives, political landscape following the massive defeat of the MDP party’s former president, Ibrahim Mohamed Salih. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu campaigned based on compelling pledges and issues throughout its presidential campaign. However, in economic recovery, the Maldives’ government must secure foreign support to promote foreign direct investment in the archipelago. The most recent of these efforts was the second Maldives Investment Forum in Dubai, the UAE, following the Invest Maldives Forum at the Fuzhou Strait International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Fuzhou, China. Regarding its principled approach to democratic, geopolitical, and liberal priorities, the incumbent government of the Maldives appears to be more conservative than its MDP predecessor. Overall, the Maldives is well on the path of economic recovery, and the rhetoric of Muizzu’s government seemingly pursues a nationalistic agenda while accompanying democratic and liberal values.
S. Ahmed Kilbani,
Malé, the Maldives.