A path of fire.

In Pakistan, "Last week, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal stirred up a storm in a tea cup (pun intended) when he urged the nation to cut down on tea consumption as part of measures to help overcome the foreign exchange glut (sic)," Dawn. Glut means excess, whereas "Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest levels since November 2019, reaching $14,943 million, data from the central bank showed," Geo News. Apparently, "Pakistan is the largest importer of tea in the world, racking up an import bill of a whopping $589.8 million in 2020 alone." "According to the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP), the rupee depreciated sharply by Rs 2.45 to close to an all-time low of Rs 210.2 against the dollar," Dawn. "In the open market the greenback was trading at Rs 214." "The free fall of the rupee against the dollar continues as inflation marks a new high. The government's hopes of sealing the IMF deal and the promise of bailout from friendly countries have yet to be realised. The spectre of default stares us in the face," Dawn. "Is the country becoming ungovernable?" Dawn. "The current political polarisation is the obvious new factor." "Never before have people, society and families been so divided by their partisan preferences as they are today and resistant to accepting any view other than their own." Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari "said that disengagement -- specifically after India unilaterally made changes to occupied Kashmir's special status in 2019 -- had not helped the Kashmir cause, or addressed Islamophobia in India, while arguing that better ties could have aided Pakistan in tackling these issues with that country." On 24 October 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh "signed the 'Instrument of Accession' and handed over three subjects i.e. control of defense, external affairs and communications to the Government of India," jagranjosh. Pakistan retained control of a part of the state which is now called 'Azad Kashmir'. India is much better off than Pakistan. But, "India's raging unemployment epidemic makes itself felt once again -- in torched trains and young men sloganeering and protesting in the streets," ET. "The railways' recruitment drive indicated a glaring mismatch between the demand and supply of jobs -- a staggering 1.25 crore (12.5 million) candidates appeared for 35,281 vacancies. In April, data threw up a bigger worry. A growing number of people, more than half the working population, are no longer even looking for work." "The Yogi Adityanath administration has left nobody in any doubt what the bulldozer demolitions in the state are really about," DH. "The cover of municipal planning laws allows the ideological state to thus 'normalise' the use of bulldozers for the demolition of homes of a targeted class of citizens -- mostly Muslim." "There is logic. And then there is 'mogic' -- a special kind of logic patented by our Prime Minister," wrote Yogendra Yadav. "It could be overnight demonetisation, complete national lockdown or the farm laws. Before you have had time to absorb what has just been presented, you are rushed into the final step: Let's do it. Let's not waste time." 'Agnipath' means a 'path of fire'. Hope we are not following Pakistan.