Monday, 7 December 2020
Two teenage sisters from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) — who had strayed into occupied Kashmir allegedly after a domestic squabble — were repatriated by Indian authorities on Monday.
The repatriation of 17-year-old Laiba Zubair and her younger sibling, 13-year-old Sana, took place through the Tetrinote-Chakan da Bagh crossing point in Poonch district along the Line of Control (LoC) at 12:30pm, said Yasir Riaz, assistant commissioner of Hajira, who was present on the occasion along with Pakistan Army and police officials.
Both the girls, who were given gifts and sweets by Indian authorities as a goodwill gesture, were examined by a lady doctor at Tetrinote terminal before they were sent to neighbouring Abbaspur sub-division, where they lived.
On Sunday, India media had reported that two young girls from AJK had inadvertently entered their side of the LoC in Poonch sector and had been detained by the Indian army.
In a video clip shared by Indian officials on social media on Monday, the elder girl was heard saying, among other things, that they had “lost their way” and landed across the divide.
According to official sources and local journalists in Abbaspur, the father of the girls — who worked as a butcher in town — had died around six months ago. Ever since, his family, comprising two wives and eight children, was facing a lot of hardship.
It was being assumed that both girls had left their home on Saturday evening after a domestic squabble. However, in a “disappearance report” lodged by their brother at the Abbaspur Police Station on Saturday, no such thing was mentioned.
From Tetrinote, the girls were taken to the Abbaspur Police Station for completing procedural formalities before being allowed to go home.
Apart from police officials, Abbaspur Assistant Commissioner Syed Tasawwar Hussain Kazmi also conducted an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the incident.
“In fact, theirs is a heart-breaking story […]. After the death of their father the family was left destitute and that would trigger squabbles at their small home almost daily.
“It’s because of this miserable situation they took this step and I think that society as a whole is responsible for what they have done,” he remarked, expressing the hope that the state and affluent members of society would take care of them in the future.
The unmarked LoC that splits the Himalayan region of Kashmir often witnesses inadvertent crossings by villagers on either side as they cut fodder, herd cattle or pluck medicinal plants.
However, despite an agreement between the two sides for early repatriation of the inadvertent crossers, Indian troops have on several occasions shot dead such people.
Recently, the Indian army had shot dead a 40-year-old differently-abled AJK resident, Kamran Nazir Chak, after he had inadvertently crossed the LoC in Pandu sector, instead of taking him into custody.
This is the reason why many people, who had expressed apprehensions about the safety of the two girls, heaved a sigh of relief on their return.
“It is fortunate that for once #IndianArmy has not doubted these minor girls as terrorists, something they have been habitual of doing in the past. Thank God the young girls are back in their homes contrary to widespread fears,” tweeted Naila Altaf Kayani, a famous Kashmiri social activist.
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
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BUCHAREST, DEC 7 - On Monday evening, Prime Minister Ludovic Orban made a statement at Victoria Palace, on the basis of the information according to which he would intend to submit his mandate. The reaction of the incumbent prime minister came an hour after the press statement made by President Klaus Iohannis , with whom he had previously had a meeting.
Ludovic Orban's main statements:
- We need a responsible government.
- I'm not clinging to the post of prime minister.
- I end my term as prime minister after a year and a month in which Romania faced an extremely difficult period.
The initial news. The executive recently announced that Ludovic Orban will give a press statement at 19:00 at Victoria Palace.
The announcement comes amid reports that the chief executive intends to resign.
The information comes in the conditions in which PNL obtained a lower score than expected in Sunday's parliamentary elections, and in a few days, once the election results are validated, negotiations for the formation of a new Government begin, after a parliamentary majority coagulates.
President Klaus Iohannis admitted on Monday that the low turnout could have been caused by the fact that many people are simply dissatisfied - with him, the parties, the entire political class or certain measures that have been taken.
Also on Monday, Iohannis stressed that the election results show that there is no clear winner of these elections, and if we look at the provisional results at the moment we see that PNL in 2016 obtained 20%, now it has obtained 25%, so a clear increase. USR, meanwhile, together with PLUS obtained 8% in 2016, meanwhile they have 15%, obviously an increase, and PSD, which had obtained 45%, dropped dramatically to 29%.
He specified that a center-right coalition is crystallizing that will be able to propose a coalition government and announced that in a few days he will convene consultations with the parties that won seats in the new Parliament.
On Tuesday, at 17:00, the president would meet with liberal leaders and members of the government.
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COURTESY universul.net
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Pakistan’s cricket team have been cleared to leave managed isolation in Christchurch on Tuesday, pending final health ministry approval, after no positive results were recorded in a fifth round of Covid-19 testing, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said.
The team had their exemption to train revoked last week after eight members of the 53-strong squad tested positive during their stay in isolation.
NZC said the team had been tested five times since arriving in New Zealand.
Pakistan, after being given final approval, are to head to Queenstown for intra-squad warmup matches before the Twenty20 series starts on Dec 18.
“Additionally, the member of the squad who was taken into quarantine in Auckland after arriving from Dubai feeling unwell but subsequently testing negative, has also been cleared to leave the facility,” NZC said in a statement.
Another member of the squad, who tested positive on the sixth day of their 14-day mandatory isolation, would remain in the biosecure facility until cleared to leave by the health ministry.
Pakistan play three Twenty20 matches and two tests in New Zealand, while a Pakistan ‘A’ tour is being run concurrently.
Coach Misbahul Haq said on Sunday the team had been affected by being restricted from training while in isolation.
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 7 – “CPEC is a transformational project. There is a complete national consensus on CPEC’s indispensability for our national development efforts. Pakistan and China are firmly committed to the timely completion of CPEC projects and making it a High-Quality Demonstration Project of BRI”, this was underscored by Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood in a meeting with Chairman CPEC Authority, General (R) Asim Salim Bajwa.
Reviewing the progress of CPEC projects, Foreign Secretary maintained that CPEC energy and infrastructure projects had created thousands of jobs and had boosted industrial growth and productivity. It testified to the fact that CPEC’s contribution to strengthen Pakistan’s economic landscape has been real and substantial, he emphasized.
The Foreign Secretary underlined that Pakistan’s focus in the next Phase of CPEC was on industrialization and socio-economic development, areas that will create vast job and growth opportunities for the common people. Three out of the nine CPEC SEZs, namely Rashakai, Dhabeji and Allama Iqbal, have been prioritized and Pakistan would welcome foreign direct investment in those projects.
General (R) Asim Salim Bajwa underscored that the CPEC Authority was committed to ensuring that CPEC projects were completed on time. He hoped that the 10th JCC, likely to be held in the near future, will create more economic opportunities and contribute to further expansion of CPEC projects. He reaffirmed that Pakistan would welcome relocation of industry from China and in that regard will institute a regime that could encourage inflow of Chinese investments to Pakistan.
The Foreign Secretary underlined that the Government was particularly focused on strengthening agricultural cooperation between Pakistan and China. In that regard, a Plan of Action, detailing the contours of this collaboration, was already being discussed between the two governments. The Foreign Secretary hoped that the Plan of Action will be expeditiously implemented.
It was reaffirmed in the meeting that post-COVID-19, through collective efforts of China and Pakistan, CPEC would become the hub for the regional trade and connectivity and will deepen people-to-people exchanges at a wider level.
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ISLAMABAD, Dec 07 - Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is exclusively focusing on raising the quality standards in both academic and research fields through collaborating with national and international universities as well as expanding its network across the distant geographical regions of the country.
This was stated by Prof Dr Zia Ul Qayyum, Vice Chancellor, AIOU while addressing MOU signing ceremony between AIOU and Hazara University.
According to the MoU, both the universities will collaborate in teachers and students exchange program, joint academic and research projects as well other programs of mutual interest. Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum, further, said that within the limited time period of two years, AIOU has raised the standards of quality education by incorporating the use of latest ICT and provided educational facilities to the distant regions of the country and specially to underprivileged segments of the society by expanding its regional network system. He extended support to Hazara university by providing access to utilize AIOU regional centers’ facilities.
While addressing the ceremony, Prof Dr Jamil Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, AIOU said that his university is primarily focusing on collaborating with different universities to enhance quality of education by providing latest facilities to its students. He, further, said that it is a matter of great pride for Hazara university to sign MoU with AIOU which is a prestigious national institute of international recognition and fame specially in mass education.
This cooperation would be fruitful to the students of Hazara university in all respects. Dr Latif Gondal, Director, ORIC described the aims and objectives of the MoU. Both the Vice Chancellors signed MoU from their respective universities. Deans of all four faculties, Registrar and faculty members were present at the occasion.
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More than 4.6 million young people aged between 18 and 34 are on the permanent lists of the BEC. Of these, only 1.18 million voted on Sunday, December 6th.
This means that only 25.39% of them got to vote. Therefore, 3,478,386 young people did not come to vote in Romania. The number of young voters represents 20.43% of the total number of those who voted in the country on Sunday, writes.
83,120 young people voted in the diaspora, representing about a third of the total number of voters from abroad.
It is the lowest turnout of young people in the country in the last four years, with five elections. Attendance at the Parliament is traditionally low, but the turnout of young people has been 6% lower than at the 2016 Parliament.
Compared to the September local elections, where there were 1.8 million young people , 620 thousand of them were absent from this election.
The presence of young people between 18-34 years old, broken down by sex, shows that women were more absent from voting than men, if we refer to the permanent electoral lists. Specifically, only 562,841 women came to the polls, out of the 2.2 million registered. That means 24.79%.
By age groups, at national level, young people who have not yet reached the age of 25 were 80% absent: out of 1,606,921 people, only 443,223 (20.06%) voted.
And between 25 and 34 years old, only 24.24% participated in the vote.
Most young people voted in the Capital and the counties with university cities, Iași, Cluj, Timiș, on the last places of the list being the counties of Brăila, Ialomița, Covasna and Tulcea.
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 7 /DN/ - Pakistan on Monday welcomed the reported progress towards resolution of the rift in the Gulf region.
The spokesman said, “We particularly appreciate Kuwait’s sincere efforts for helping to bridge differences and promoting reconciliation among the countries in the dispute’.
Pakistan hopes that enhanced confidence and understanding among these countries will foster durable peace and prosperity in the region.=DN
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The spontaneous change in the life of human kinds comes through the pandemic called COVID-19. Approximately 7.8 billion world populations’ feels threatened and larger confined at home. In many parts of the world borders are closed, trade stops, hotels, businesses shut down, churches, mosques, learning institutions close, stock market crashes, economic collapse, etc. The government takes unprecedented measures to stop the spread of coronavirus. The pandemic first outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Later on, it spread around the globe and on 30 January 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Public Health Emergency of International Concern on and recognized it as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
China’s experience so far shows that the right policies make a difference in fighting the disease and mitigating its impact. Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. Older people and those with underlying medical problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer are more likely to develop serious illness. Coronavirus disease spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or an object that has the virus on it and then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. Simplest protection from coronavirus is to wash your hands frequently, avoiding touching your face, and avoiding close contact with people who are unwell.
This pandemic doesn’t only affect your social life but it really impacts the state economy. Some authors believe that this pandemic is even worse than the great depression which was happened between 1929-1933. The implication of coronavirus on Pakistan economy specifically, real impact on the future progress of the government. Let’s discuss the case study of Pakistan that coronavirus has become a threat to the pace of development.
Pakistan reported its first case of COVID-19 on Februrary26. Majority of the cities are partially lockdown but due to the 18th amendment which gives autonomy to the province, the central and provinces are not in one page on the lockdown. The prime minister of Pakistan Imran khan several times raises the fear that more people can die with hunger instead of the corona. He also said that we cannot feed 220 million people for a long period of time. However, the government also announced 200 billion rupees for the daily labour class in which 10 million people will get a lump sum amount. Planning Ministry has estimated that due to coronavirus pandemic it is expected that 12.3 million to 18.5 million people will become jobless. On the other side, the government is also determined to increase business activities despite virus fear.
The federal government has announced to support funds for the businesses which include Rs. 100 billion. The provincial government is also preparing the relief package. As Pakistan budget is already in debt and Pakistan financial capacity is very small to fight against this pandemic. So Pakistan will need financial assistance from the world institutions such as IMF, world bank etc. but regarding this, Pakistan received a piece of good news on April 16 when the International Monetary Fund approved US$1.4 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument to address the economic impact and fight against the COVID-19. Furthermore, the IMF and World Bank also announced to give one-year breather for Pakistan paying back loans.
Due to the pandemic budget deficit expected to rise to the highest peak in the history of Pakistan. Pre COVID-19 it was projected at 7.3% of gross domestic product (GDP) but after this pandemic, it is expected to increase up to 9.2% of its GDP. The inflation rate is also expected to remain at 11% this year.
As the government takes strict measure to make possible not to spread coronavirus but transporters specially goods transportation who play a key role in the state economy facing a lot of hurdles and problem but governments also have relaxed certain restrictions on transporters to ensure a smooth supply of essential items in the country. However, they are facing problems on the highways. According to the report, goods transportation activities have declined up to 80% as hostelling and workshop facilities on highways remain suspended amid the lockdown. Goods Transporters complain of various issues such as the health issues, from lack of basic facilities on highways to rising transportation prices, as well as a labour shortage as this is one of the big issues that due to the lack of labour and restrictions the supply chain affected. Although, Prime Minister has taken action regarding this issue and order that goods transporters’ concerns be resolved so that there should not be any issue regarding the supply chain.
According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) report, it’s stated that the virus outbreak could cost Pakistan economy in the range of $16.387 million to $4.95 billion, or 0.01 % to 1.57% of Gross Domestic Product.
In the Asian development bank report which was published on March 6, explains both the best, modern and worst-case scenario regarding the pandemic outbreak. As per the report the “best-case scenario”, the loss would be $16.23 million, of which Pakistan’s agriculture and mining sectors could sustain a loss of $5.5 million, business trade, personal and public service a loss of $5.54 million, hotels and restaurants a loss of $0.67 million, light and heavy manufacturing a loss of $3.6 million, and transport services incur a loss of $0.92 million. In the “moderate-case scenario”, the projected loss that Pakistan may suffer is estimated to be $34.2 million. In the worst-case scenario, ADB estimates Pakistan to suffer a loss of $5 billion, of which $1.5 billion loss will be incurred in the agriculture and mining the sector, $1.94 billion in business and trade, $253.7 million in hotel and restaurants, $671 million in light and heavy engineering, and $565.6 million loss of transport services. The report also highlights that this loss would plunge Pakistan’s GDP by at least 1.57 per cent and trigger 9, 46,000 job losses. The Asian development bank also releases $50 million for Pakistan against the fight with the pandemic.
Furthermore, the United Nation also estimates the effect of COVID-19 on the tourism industry. International tourism to drop 3% due to virus resulting in a loss of $50 billion globally, which is another bad news for Pakistan tehreek-e-insaf government which is, committed to increasing tourism exports. Same case in the Aviation industry that Pakistan International Airline (PIA) loss almost Rs12.50 billion during the initial period.
Due to the pandemic, the investors fear from the crash of stock exchange and economic growth and it is also the reality that especially in Pakistan the investors have always concerns on the government policy and they also believe that the government action may not enough to stop the decline. But for their concern, the central bank like in Pakistan state bank decrees the interest rate from 11% to 9 %.
It is also a fact that some Businesses just like online stores and delivers services reported a huge demand from the customer due to the lockdown and fear from the outside. Another important thing is due to the lockdown not only in Pakistan but around the globe the pollution drop-down continuously.
In the global world coronavirus question the credibility of the world superpower and first world countries as they are militarily so strong but in the basic health facilities, they lack. There have been widespread reports of shortages of pharmaceuticals, ventilator, mask, protective dress, health facilities etc. even third world state just like Pakistan faces this sort of issues but due to this pandemic first world countries are exposed regarding the health facilities. As the coronavirus spreads around the world, the stock markets have experienced their worst crash in the 21st century. Many states in the globe with large economies, such as Italy, the US, Spain, have enacted quarantine policies. This has also led towards the disruption of business activities in many economic sectors. Global conferences, events, fashion shows, and sports are being cancelled or postponed. Major sporting events were cancelled or postponed, including the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which was postponed until 2021.
The pandemic has impacted the productivity of science, space and technology projects, and to the world’s leading space agencies – including NASA. The pandemic really affected the educational sector worldwide, which leads towards the closures of schools and universities. According to the UNESCO, school and university closures due to COVID-19 implemented nationwide in 165 countries. This affects around 1.5 billion students worldwide.
As the statistics show that the outbreak of pandemic really affect the Economy not or the short time but its impact remains there for a decade to sustain again especially for the under-developing country like Pakistan, where the economy is already in its downfall and conditions, are worst it took a long time to come in the sustainable line.
This pandemic is an invisible and unknown enemy. We all have to fight with determination and hope and to win this war we have to follow the precautions and keep social distancing and wear the mask.
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Raja Furqan Ahmed
The writer is a student of International
Relations and Freelance journalist currently based in Islamabad, Pakistan. He
can be reached at furqanraja1122@gmail.com
England’s One-day International series against South Africa has been cancelled after reported breaches of the teams’ bio-secure environment in Cape Town, reported on Monday.
One South Africa player and two hotel staff are confirmed Covid-19 cases from within the bio-secure hotel, while England said on Sunday that they had two “unconfirmed positive results” among their touring party.
The news will be a massive financial blow to embattled Cricket South Africa (CSA) and also casts doubt on their ability to host future tours, with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia all set to play in the country in the coming months.
The South Africa team and Vineyard Hotel management said they had investigated how the coronavirus may have been contracted within the bio-secure environment without success, though they denied any players or staff had left the venue without authorisation.
It is a disappointing end to what was supposed to be a welcome, money-spinning return to international cricket for South Africa, who had been inactive since March when they cut short a limited overs tour to India.
Since then they have seen tours to Sri Lanka and West Indies postponed, placing enormous financial pressure on CSA.
They did manage to play three matches in a home Twenty20 series against England prior to the ODI series that were all won by the tourists.
But the 50-over series, which was due to start on Friday, was at first postponed to Sunday when an unnamed South Africa player tested positive and now has been scrapped altogether as concerns over the bio-secure environment grow.
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ISLAMABAD, DEC 7 – Health authorities are negotiating with China and Russia, among others, to procure coronavirus vaccines, an official said on Monday.
“We are in talks with China, Russia and some other countries for procurement of the [Covid-19] vaccine after narrowing down our priority list,” Dr Faisal Sultan, special assistant to the prime minister on health, told Anadolu Agency.
The vaccine, he said, would be available in Pakistan sometime between January and March next year, and administered to health workers and senior citizens in the first phase.
“There is nothing final yet; however, I can tell you that we have to rely on more than one source,” the adviser said. “We will procure the vaccine only after its efficacy and safety is proven.”
While Russia has started the distribution of its Sputnik V Covid-19 shot nationwide, China is testing its vaccines in many countries, and supply deals are being signed.
Other vaccines seeking emergency use authorisation are produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca.
Islamabad has already earmarked an initial sum of $150 million to purchases the doses. In a press conference earlier this month, Dr Sultan had said that the authorities will request the government to approve more funds if required.
Last week, Nausheen Hamid, the parliamentary secretary for health, said all citizens would be administered Covid-19 vaccines free of charge, and the drive will begin in the second quarter of 2021.
According to Dr Sultan, the vaccine will be administered to the Pakistani population in stages: frontline healthcare workers will be the first priority; in the second stage, the elderly and at risk-population, in addition to other healthcare workers, will get the vaccine; and the common public will receive the vaccine in the third stage.
Pakistan has witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths in recent weeks. The country recorded 3,795 new infections today, the highest single-day tally since July 3.
The total caseload in the country of 220 million people has reached 420,294, including 8,398 related deaths. Pakistan has tested about 5.8 million people for the virus to date.
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COURTESY DAWN NEWS
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Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan
Constitution is the “Bible” of modern democratic political system. It regulates functions of the different organs of the “State”. It upholds “checks & balances”. It strengthens “separation of powers” It protects the basic right of the people. Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the ideal combination of all the golden principles of modern political system based on participatory democracy, accountability, respect for people’s will, people’s friendly and above all “custodian” of common people’s socio-economic prosperity and political association.
Constitution of Uzbekistan was promulgated in 1992 which reflected the collective political wisdom of its political parties and people alike. It stood for fair play, equal rights, social justice and above all democratic principles.
It guarantees basic civil rights, freedom of press and association and last but not least, rights of the minorities in the country. It provides “blue print” to a newly independent country, Uzbekistan to move forward to achieve the desired goals of socio-economic prosperity, reduction in poverty, high exports, empowerment of women through Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs), and last but not least, political stability.
The constitution of Uzbekistan now stands as a viable legal framework in providing spiritual, social and political progress, and most importantly, sustainable economic development and welfare of the people.
The rich historical path of development of the Uzbek statehood, modern ideas of constitutional development, universal democratic principles, as well as advanced constitutional experience of developed countries were taken into account in developing the Basic Law in the constitution. It is the basis for stable and sustained development of the country on the path of democratic development, the implementation of the principle ‘From a Strong State to a Strong Civil Society’.
Its preamble says the people of the Republic of Uzbekistan, solemnly declaring their commitment to human rights and the principles of state sovereignty, aware of their ultimate responsibility to the present and the future generations, relying on historical experience in the development of Uzbek statehood.
It affirms their commitment to the ideals of democracy and social justice, recognizing priority of the generally accepted norms of the international law, aspiring to a worthy life for the citizens of the Republic. It sets forth the task of creating a humane and democratic rule of law, aiming to ensure civil peace and national accord, represented by their plenipotentiary deputies adopts the present Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan’s constitution is forward looking and pragmatic. It has been played an important role in the overall socio-economic and geo-political transformation since its inception. It regulates the most important public relations among citizens, society and the state. It establishes the foundations of the constitutional system and the principles of organization of state power. It is the foundation upon which rests the legal and political system, the system of the protection of the rights, freedoms and lawful interests of individuals.
It has six parts and 26 chapters covering all aspects of politicization and democratization, protection of basic human rights, concept of citizenship, salient features of foreign policy, equitable division of different organs of the state, political, social and economic rights, decentralization of local bodies, defence and security etc.
According to its constitution, Uzbekistan is a presidential democracy with a bicameral i.e. two elected houses of parliament (Oliy Majlis, and Senate). The Main Law has laid the foundation for human rights and freedoms, peace and harmony in the society, which allows the constructive work in political, economic and social spheres. The Constitution also defines the parameters of political and legal system, public authorities and development of civil society institutions.
The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoev signed the Law “On introducing amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan” on 6 April 2017. The document was adopted by the Legislative chamber on March 17 and approved by the Senate on March 28, 2017.
Amendments to the Basic Law were promulgated in accordance with the presidential decrees dated October 21, 2016 “On measures for further reforming the judicial-legal system, strengthening guarantees of protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens” and dated February 21, 2017 “On measures to radically improve the structure and efficiency of the judicial system of the Republic of Uzbekistan”.
The main purpose of the said amendment was to improve and increase the efficiency of the judicial system, further strengthening the judiciary and ensuring genuine independence of the judiciary in the Republic of Uzbekistan. It contained fundamental provisions on the implementation of the tasks defined in the Action strategy of five priority directions of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021, where the extension of the guarantees of reliable protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens, increasing their access to justice, efficiency and quality of judicial processes, further improving the system of selection of candidates and appointment of judges have been secured as the key areas of reforms in judicial-legal sphere.
Right from the beginning it incorporated the fundamental provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other fundamental international instruments, the Constitution preserves the priority of human rights, interests and freedoms over state interests and defined by its main essence to create decent living conditions for the people and proclaimed the social justice principles. Its constitution is the continuation of its centuries-old traditions based on democracy, humanism, freedom, tranquility, equality and above all respect for minorities. It is ideal combination of east-west in terms of golden traditions of Uzbekistan and modernity of the west i.e. democratic principles.
Right from the beginning, radical reforms were promulgated and implemented to liberalize the legal system. The independence of the judiciary and specialization of courts were institutionalized, turning it into a truly independent institution reliably protecting human rights and freedoms. More than 16 codes and more than 600 laws have yet been adopted, and over 80 international human rights documents were ratified.
The Constitution has also cemented the principles of the national, multi-structured economy, set the priority of private property by establishing conditions for a decisive transition from unjustified, bankrupt, centralized, command-and-distribution system to a free market economy. President H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoev introduced many meaningful reforms in the country which has actually revolutionized its macro-economy, further strengthened independence of judiciary, empowerment of parliament, further strengthening the spirits of accountability and the last but not the least, people’s friendly policies.
Now, Uzbekistan is politically more strong and stable. It is economically more sustainable. It is societally more open and interactive. It is administratively more people’s friendly. It has now more profitable propositions for regional as well as international investors to invest in the country most importantly small business and private entrepreneurship have turned into crucial sector of country’s gross domestic product structure, covering the majority of the socially active population. SMEs share in GDP is now more than 55.8 percent and 75 percent of its population engages in SMEs sector.
High social development is the resultant of its constitution. Poverty has been reduced and marginalized. Now, it has enterprising “middle class” in the region which personal and private rights are protected. Immense social development has further strengthened the politicization and democratization process in the country. Currently, the GDP of Uzbekistan, compared with 2000 has increased by more than 3.5 times, per capita more than 3.0times, the volume of exports by 4.4 times, nominal wages in comparable prices by 22 times, the average pension 12.7 times, while real income per capita 8.4 times. Uzbekistan is among the few countries worldwide which managed to ensure for the last 5 years the GDP growth on average of 8.3 percent, and in this year it will be around 8.1 percent. Furthermore, recently “free-floating” of its national currency has achieved more financial and banking stability in the country.
New President Mirziyoyev issued decrees aiming at the improvement of the business climate in Uzbekistan. The creation of four new free economic zones was announced In November 2016. New tax reforms have been announced as well as decisions to invest in a modern IT infrastructure and a national “Silicon Valley.”
The “Strategy for the further development of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021” has been announced in February 2017. It stressed the need to improve the efficiency of the state to enhance people’s trust. Reforms of the law enforcement system particularly the police have been set up, and an anti-corruption program has been launched.
Constitutional amendments introduced a Supreme Judicial Council and expanded the powers of the Constitutional Court. The newly created “virtual receptions” of the president and other offices became very popular, serving as “public complaint boxes.”
Uzbekistan has been taking leading role in introducing and implementing different legal reforms in the country in the CIS. Its constitution reflects the collective wisdom of its rulers and people alike. It promises the basic necessities of life. It assures free education, health and life. It is anti-discriminatory. It is people’s friendly. It is business and investment friendly. It guides all the organs of the state and strengthens democratic transition in the country. It portrays inspirations of its people. It guarantees the fulfillment of all the dreams of its people.
The Economist (2019) named “UZBEKISTAN COUNTRY OF THE YEAR”. Child labor has now been eradicated. Brain-drain has been reversed. It has no political prisoner. Contributory role in the socio-economic growth of Afghanistan has further strengthened its regional and extra regional diplomatic posturing.
Uzbekistan has become the world’s number one exporter of gold and the recent increase in the metal’s value owing to the Covid-related increase in global demand has led to a remarkable indicator of its economic health due to which Uzbekistan was the almost unique country not to record a recession during the Covid crisis. The government of Uzbekistan has now achieved optimal level of diversification of national economy i.e. metamorphose from exporting raw materials to manufacturing products and launching a hi-tech sector.
Constitution of Uzbekistan guarantees the FDIs and domestic funds. It encourages private sector participation, transparency, productivity and increased privatization of state industries. It has now joined the accepted indexes such as FTSE and MSCI.
Being prominent regional expert of Uzbekistan & CIS I uphold that the constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan has great significance in terms of political stability, creation of absolutely new national statehood, forming of political and economic system based on democratic principles and last but not least, legal framework to move forward after independence. Uzbekistan succeeded to maintain unmatched political stability in the CIS and South Caucasus and continuation of economic reforms because of the constitution and consistent implementation of laws adopted on its basis.
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