PDP spokesman Rafi Ahmad Mir admitted later that the timing of the move had been a surprise but added it wasn’t altogether unexpected: "We tried our best to run the government with the BJP.Mr Madhav justified the move to end the alliance by saying: "Terrorism and violence have increased in the Valley and radicalisation is fast spreading. As it is, Islamabad has chosen to make matters difficult for India in J&K by ramping up military exchanges along the border, ratcheting up militant violence in the Valley and increasing the decibel of Kashmir human rights complaints at the international level. The big question is whether there is an alternative strategy in place or will it once again be over to the security forces?If the police and security forces in the Kashmir Valley are given a carte blanche in the Valley, unrestrained by a civilian government, they can be expected to act more decisively against militancy and be less concerned about civilian responses. We’ve all been there before: there is something sadly familiar about New Delhi pulling the rug under the feet of a state government in Srinagar and imposing Governor’s Rule.What is certain is that a policy dependent solely or mainly on the security forces will come at a global cost, which Pakistan will try its utmost to exploit.

While the BJP successfully made a scapegoat out of the PDP and Ms Mufti, by taking the PDP out of the equation, the ball now lies squarely in the ruling BJP’s court.This suggests an ever-widening political divide between the Valley and the rest of the country.. The outgoing chief minister remains sceptical and in her post-resignation press conference pointedly remarked that a more "muscular policy" would not work in Kashmir. Yet, this is the principal reason being offered for the BJP’s divorce with the PDP.Whether this will douse the flames in the Valley or fan it remains to be seen. Toeing her line, however, had become anathema to a section of the ruling side in the national capital, which felt the alliance in Kashmir was costing the BJP nationally. Mehbooba Mufti, the outgoing chief minister and head of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, unceremoniously dethroned by her alliance partner, the BJP, was an advocate of a "soft" approach towards the unrest in the Kashmir Valley. He called a meeting of the party’s top honchos from the state on June 19, and is reported to have implied that the party was politically bleeding due to Kashmir and hence the coalition had to be wound up immediately."Ms Mufti as chief minister might not have been the most competent or politically effective from New Delhi’s point of view, but to blame her for the deteriorating law and order situation in the Valley is not entirely fair." Senior PDP leader Naeem Akhtar remarked that poles could never meet, while expressing satisfaction on their government not having compromised on its core issues or positions on Article 370, Article 35A and the Kathua rape-murder case. The wheel has turned yet again.The politically-canny BJP president, Amit Shah, seemed to have decided that enough was enough. Politics in J&K, however, would suffer in the long term as the existing regional divide within the state is bound to further widen and reach a point where it might be impossible to cobble together a future government or an alliance now that the BJP-PDP experiment has proved a miserable failure.The denouement in the Valley, far from generating any satisfaction, should only evoke a sense of déjà vu.The abrupt, and somewhat unexpected, end of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir signals the triumph of the hardline view in New Delhi.The government’s move for a unilateral Ramzan ceasefire and olive branch to the separatists were red rags to the hardliners, who felt the security forces had been let down while the Valley’s rebellious population, specially militants and stone-pelters, were being pampered. A buffer between a discontented Valley population and a militarised administration is always a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for the political resolution of any conflict.

The absence of a buffer can only exacerbate tensions and delay the possibility of a resolution. The present governor alone has the distinction of assuming control of the state four times during his watch.The demise of a civilian government in J&K cannot be a good thing.New Delhi could be content to play defensively on the external front as the general election would be a far bigger priority. While the Valley’s population believes that they are being subjected to repression or arm-twisting by the Indian state, the mainstream mood across the country points to impatience and dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Kashmir conflict is being handled. Ms Mufti therefore had to go. This had to happen.At the same time, the political bosses of the BJP in New Delhi, cannot entirely be blamed for considering it untenable to wait indefinitely for a political resolution that the PDP clearly was not in a position to bring about. Minutes later, the BJP’s pointsman on Kashmir, Ram Madhav, convened a press conference to announce the decision to end the coalition experiment in the state. Vohra was all the courtesy she was afforded. The BJP, Mr Vohra told her, had withdrawn support to her government, and instantly accepted her resignation as it was offered. Fundamental rights of citizens and the right to free speech of the people have come under threat in the Valley, as China Material Handling Equipment Parts Factory symbolised by the murder of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari in broad daylight in Srinagar. For, as outgoing works minister Naeem Akhtar pointed out, the police, paramilitary forces and the Army are not controlled by the state but by the Centre.An afternoon telephone call from governor N.N.From now till the 2019 general election, the ruling party at the Centre will have to show it is decisive, effective and victorious in the Kashmir Valley

The engine feels refined at start up but a bit of the engine clatter tends to seep into the cabin.Power delivery is smooth and linear, unlike the Scorpio, where a sudden surge of torque welcomes you the moment you cross 1800rpm. And of course, it is a Honda, which is one of the most trusted names in the world. Then there’s the sheer momentum it tends to carry, especially around downhill turns.9 lakh ex-showroom Delhi.No touchscreen infotainment system. Convenience features and equipment. Verdict The Scorpio is a rugged SUV that can clamour over any obstacle that may have the misfortune of standing in its way. Potholes and undulations are taken care of with minimal fuss. The steering is light, gearshifts are light and the monocoque construction makes a huge difference in the way the car behaves on road. Plus, on the highway the Scorpio&China nylon wheels039;s engine seems to be crying out for a sixth cog as revs start piling on quickly as soon as you hit 105kmph. Even out on the highway the BR-V feels surefooted and confident.2. Compare that to the Scorpio's top end variant, the S10 which costs 14. The brakes can easily take the stress and keep on going but it does translate to faster wearing of the brake pads in the long run. Though this car isn’t built to devour corners it can still hold its own in the twisties so long you know where its limits are.

Every shift feels precise and urgent and ends with the thud of a well oiled machine. Be gentle and it won’t disappoint. In our opinion, the urban, more sophisticated buyer then will favour the BR-V over the Scorpio, since the Honda is a better place for your family.Off-road capability.In contrast the BR-V is one of the most comfortable cars to drive in its segment. In addition, sixth gear allows you to cruise comfortably at 100-110kmph with the tacho needle barely touching the 2000rpm mark. Anyting over that and the fuel economy tends to take a hit.No automatic headlamps.3kmpl for the Scorpio 2.

But the Scorpio tends to lag behind when compared to the Honda in two crucial areas, occupant comfort and ease of driving.Utility and usability.Feeling of space.Mahindra ScorpioWhat We Like:Imposing looks.The BR-V is a lot more usable, has more stowage spaces, split folding seats and 691 litres of boot space with the third row down, coupled with an extremely low loading lip.9kmpl.imageThe suspension setup is a lot better than before but despite the multi-link rear setup and double wishbone up front the Scorpio feels soft and tends to roll around in corners. Then there’s the steering, there’s no other way to put this but it takes effort to drive this car. The steering feels light to maneuver in the city and decently weighted at higher speeds. So every big pothole sends a prominent judder through the car as it recovers from the impact.High level of comfort. The shifts are decent but tend to feel spongy, plus the gearbox seems to have no sense of urgency to it and throws are long too.

What We Don’t: Lack of rear parking sensors. Yes, the BR-V is expensive, with the top of the line VX diesel (the one you see here) priced at Rs 12. So where is lacks in equipment it makes up for in sheer utility and not to forget, it comes with dual airbags as standard across the range.Despite the size the cabin feels cramped. The brakes work well too and it tends to brake well even under hard braking. Honda BR-VWhat We Like: Pliant ride. What We Dont:The ride.Rugged nature.The gearbox though could have been better.Ride, Handling and BrakingThe Scorpio is # a ladder frame construction which basically means its body is mounted on a frame like most SUVs and it kind of shows.Source: CarDekho. The bigger ones do tend to make themselves felt but the experience is rarely ever jarring. Don’t get us wrong, you won’t be uncomfortable but you won’t exactly be enjoying yourself either. Ride quality is decent and the extra ground clearance ensures you don’t get stuck, no matter what the road throws at you, but it is far from being pliant.Ease of driving.Slot the gear lever into first and the car takes off effortlessly.5-litre 4-cylinder iDTEC engine which dishes out 100PS of max power and 200Nm of torque.com.56 lakh (The 2.Steering takes hard work. This translates to harder than usual braking. This makes the BR-V a smooth and fast accelerating car and you barely feel the acceleration on the go. The ladder frame tends to act as a disconnect between the car and occupants. Now that might not sound like much, but for a car that weighs considerably less than the Scorpio, the outputs feel adequate. This results in a fantastic fuel efficiency figure which is not too far from the claimed 21. It may not have a touchscreen entertainment system or rear parking sensors, rain sensing wipers and automatic headlamps, all of which the Scorpio can be quite smug about.2-litre is also on sale in Delhi-NCR now). But as an everyday or family car the BR-V makes a much better case for itself. The BR-V is almost effortless to drive and keeps its occupants in utmost comfort, while the Scorpio with its bench like middle row and thick front seats can only play catch up to the Honda.9kmpl as compared to Mahindra's claim of 15. Again, the steering is lighter than before but is still rather heavy and the weight feels prominent at crawling speeds.The BR-V on the other hand is powered by Honda’s Earth Dreams 1. The shifts are smooth and the throws short, and the 6-speed box is an absolute treat to use.Let's not forget the Honda is more fuel efficient with Honda claiming 21. Of course, the bigger deal is that Honda is offering the BR-V with a 6-speed gearbox

While Wesley Mouch remains my hero, there is a clear realisation that John Galt is a necessary evil.Finally, deciding which industries need focus is directly associated with available resources, perhaps with export-oriented and import-substitution industries in the cross hairs. Beyond building perceptions that doing business is easy in Pakistan, in reality it should be easy to do business in Pakistan. As a side note, the view that FDI has any motive other than profits, with payback directly linked with country risk, is misguided.A recent announcement by the country’s chief executive that the government will be focusing on the Ease of Doing Business Index ranking was a welcome development.

The key quality of a great storyteller is his or her ability to have the reader rooting for a character that the latter despises in real life. As a wise man rightly said, the best and only helping hand is attached to your wrist!With this background, the current rumours floating around that domestic business is contracting and that domestic China Material Handling Equipment Parts Manufacturers entrepreneurs are shying away from investing in the current uncertain situation are rather worrying; if they at all be true. Frankly, a complete reliance on the invisible hand without the help of the visible hand of government is probably not the solution for Pakistan — as quite evident from the last decade. The right economic solution lies between two extremes, capitalism and state-planned economy, depending upon a particular nation’s current stage of development. And obviously in that fictional world everything collapses. Further, it must be appreciated that foreign investors’ interest in an economy would be largely inexplicable, from a purely economic standpoint, when domestic investors are shying away from investing in their own country. The state, however, needs to realise that whilst any such change is a positive, substance over form should be a fundamental principle. Invariably the state might need to invest directly in certain projects, all the while nudging the private sectors towards others.Here, it might be appropriate to clarify my personal take.The story is all about how the state’s repressive laws, including nationalisation and coercive appropriation of fundamental economic rights, forces the creative entrepreneurs to disappear into a valley organised by John Galt, the hero, until such time that the government completely collapses due to mismanagement, and at which time the capitalists decide to return and create utopia.

As argued earlier, the state cannot drive an economy on its own, and domestic business going into hibernation may have repercussions, primarily in the form of unemployment. So much so that the opponents of capitalism who should per se be rooting for Wesley Mouch, director at the Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources, cannot help but miss out that Mr Mouch is the real hero and not John Galt.But that perhaps is a key strength of Atlas Shrugged, a novel by Ayn Rand; you may not agree with her philosophy of objectivism, but the story is, if nothing else, compelling. Note that a pure free market is a mythical construct while a completely state-controlled economy has empirically proven to be a disaster.By arrangement with Dawn. As an example, fellow Pakistanis cheering the hero of an Indian spy thriller movie has always been pretty irksome; don’t they realise that the bad guy, explicitly or implicitly, is a Pakistani! Economic reasons aside, this is another good reason to ban Indian cinema. But rather than reinventing the wheel, a better strategy might be to learn from the history of developing nations which have a successful economic road map in modern times, say the last two decades.Unfortunately, there are no mathematical models that clearly identify the level of economic freedom and state intervention for a given stage of development. This argument of a golden mean between two extremes is amicably supported by the economic history of developed nations and that of the currently growing economies such as China.The title of the book is a metaphor, with Atlas representative of all the industrialists, the inventors, the artists, the professionals and the entrepreneurs who are portrayed as the driving force behind the economy, but decide to ‘shrug’ their responsibility due to the high-handedness of the state