02
Friday, 13 March, 2020
NEWS
SC QuEStioNS PayMENt of SalariES to PSM EMPloyEES dESPitE CloSurE iSLamaBad
t
STAFF REPORT
HE Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, while hearing a case pertaining to privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM), questioned the continuous payment of salaries to the employees despite the closure of the country’s largest industrial unit in June 2015. A three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed heard the case, directed the federal government to submit its response in the case. Justice Gulzar said the mills have been closed since 2015 and the employees are still receiving their salaries, adding that the “government is paying billions annually [in terms of salaries]”. The apex court ordered the secretary of Ministry of Industries to look into the matter immediately. Privatisation of the Mills is on the cards for quite some time now. Earlier in January this year, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Firdous Ashiq Awan announced that the govern-
ment is initiating a program to privatise a number of public institutions, including the Mills, to make them profitable. Privitisation Commission Secretary Rizwan Malik, who was also present on the occasion, had said the PSM is “being turned into a prof-
Coronavirus: Sindh schools closed till June, NSC summoned
itable institution once more and the process for its privatisation will be completed by the end of the [current] year”. During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Gulzar further ordered the government to lay off all employees, and appoint new
Parliamentary panel approves Justice Mazahar Naqvi's elevation to SC
Continued from page 1 On Wednesday, a 14-year-old from Skardu had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The first confirmed case in GB was of a 45-year-old woman, who arrived from Iran a few days to Gilgit before she was diagnosed. According to data shared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), over 0.8million people were screened, out of which 271 were suspected cases. Upon tests, 21 people were tested positive out of a total of 471. SINDH SCHOOLS TO REMAIN CLOSED: On the other hand, a meeting of the Sindh provincial cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah decided that summer vacations were being preponed in Sindh and all schools in the province will reopen on June 1. The Sindh government had earlier announced the closure of schools, colleges and universities as well as coaching centres across the province till March 13. Presiding over the meeting, Chief Minister Shah said that the federal government was not serious in the fight against coronavirus. During a meeting with Dr Mirza via video link, CM Shah said that his government was “fighting against the threat of coronavirus alone” and had to take “every decision individually”. The chief minister added that Sindh had detected so many cases because more people were being tested. He pointed out that people at the Taftan border were being kept in groups, adding that it “cannot be called a quarantine”. He urged the federal government to close the borders. Meanwhile, the Sindh government has also decided to hold HBL-Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Karachi without spectators. “Sindh government has decided that the remaining matches of PSL in Karachi will take place without any crowd. This decision has been made after consultation with all stakeholders, including the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),” its spokesperson said in a tweet. ‘HEALTH EMERGENCY IN PUNJAB’: Though the Punjab government claimed there were not any cases of the virus in the province, its health minister declared a medical emergency and urged people to “avoid public gathering”. “All the departments have to work together with the health department,” Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said while speaking to reporters in Lahore.
Silence doesn't mean surrender: Maryam Continued from page 1 Criticising the incumbent government, Maryam Nawaz accused the rulers of victimising the opponents in the country and added that the PMLN leader Ahsan Iqbal and Abbasi, Miftah Ismail and others were detained without any evidence. Maryam, who had been politically active since 2017 when Nawaz was disqualified as prime minister and was vocal about her opposition to the PTI’s government, has remained silent since her arrest in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case in August 2019.
people if it wants to keep PSM running. “It seems the entire national budget has been spent on it,” he added. Earlier this year, the government decided not to include Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework, reversing its earlier decision to offer the country’s largest industrial unit, which has remained closed for almost five years, exclusively to Chinese investors. The decision to sell PSM through international competitive bidding was taken at the prime minister’s level a few weeks ago, sources in the Ministry of Industries said. Prime Minister Imran Khan, Adviser to the PM on Trade, Commerce and Industries Abdul Razak Dawood, Planning Minister Asad Umar and Privatisation Minister Mohammad Mian Soomro were in favor of including PSM in the CPEC framework, the sources said. However, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and some other officials wanted that PSM should be privatised through open competition among all investors, they added.
iSLamaBad STAFF REPORT
A parliamentary committee on judges appointment on Thursday unanimously approved the nomination of La-
hore High Court (LHC) Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi for Supreme Court judge. Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) nominated Justice Naqvi for elevation to the SC. Two members of the JCP – Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice (r) Dost Muhammad Khan – opposed his nomination. The post fell vacant after the retirement of former CJP Asif Saeed Khosa. It was the incumbent CJ Gulzar Ahmed who had earlier proposed Justice Naqvi’s name. The Supreme Court comprises of the CJ, sixteen justices and two ad-hoc judges. Once appointed, the judges are expected to complete a designated term and then retire at 65 years of age, unless their term is terminated through resignation or impeachment by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). Currently, Justice Naqvi is the third senior-most LHC judge and is known for his expertise in criminal law. In case of his elevation, he will work as the Supreme Court judge until August 31, 2025.
two MorE Polio CaSES EMErgE iN KP ISLAMABAD: Two more polio cases have been detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, raising the total tally of cases across the country to 29. As per details, the cases of the crippling disease were reported from Lakki Marwat and South Waziristan area. A 14-month-old minor has been affected by the crippling disease in Lakki Marwat while another polio case has been diagnosed in a 13-month-old boy from South Waziristan. On Wednesday, a new case of poliovirus was detected in a 2-yearold girl in Balochistan’s region of Zhob. The child, who was diagnosed with the poliovirus had not been exposed to polio vaccination. Five cases of positive polio cases have been reported in the province in the ongoing year. STAFF REPORT
ECP issues notice to Qureshi for violating code of conduct
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued a notice to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for violating the electoral watchdog’s code of conduct. The notice issued by the ECP’s district monitoring officer states that even though election schedule had been announced for PS-52 Umerkot, Qureshi made a telephonic speech in the area on March 10. The ECP has demanded a clarification from the foreign minister within seven days and if the clarification is deemed unsatisfactory, the matter will be forwarded to the election commission for taking appropriate disciplinary action. STAFF REPORT
Govt striving to economically empower youth: Dr Firdous raWaLpindi APP
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday said the PTI government has launched the programme to economically empower youth in the country since it was the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Addressing the launching ceremony of National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) ‘Kamyab Jawan programme’, at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU), Dr. Firdous said over 38,000 youth including 10,000 females, have been provided skill scholarships under the programme. She said the government was taking solid steps to provide technical training to the new generation.
The past regimes had been investing in roads, bridges and other projects but, the PTI government was focusing on youth and spending huge amount to provide them best opportunities which would ultimately ensure development of the country, she added. The foundation of digital Pakistan has been laid and the youth would eventually benefit from this development process, she said adding the government was pursuing the mission of promoting economic activities and facilitating the businesses in the country. She said the PTI government allocated Rs one hundred billion for the first phase of ‘Kamyab Jawan’ Programme and added the program would provide opportunities to the youth to move forward by setting up their small and medium enterprises. She said it was the firm belief of Imran
Khan that the society would achieve progress and prosperity by promoting merit. Firdous Ashiq Awan said this program was a guarantee to put the youth on the successful path. She said the disbursement of loans under the program was a fulfillment of the promise made by the Prime
Bloodbath at PSX, index plummets over 1,700 points Continued from page 1 The rupee witnessed its third successive day of decline on Wednesday to settle at Rs158.42 per dollar after the greenback gained 98 paisas in interbank market. Over the span of the last three days, the value of PKR has gone down by 2.6pc owing to a Rs4.05 rise in the price of the dollar. Adnaan Sheikh, Assistant Vice President Research at Paki Kuwait Investment Company, however, said this was not an isolated event with regard to Pakistan. “Foreign outflows in India have topped $7 billion over March, while in Pakistan, the outflow during March has
been just over $400 million.” Soomro further commented, “Although the discount rate cut and oil prices plunge more than off-set the negative impact, it would take time for the dust to settle. We saw massive profit-taking in growth stories along with pressures on blue-chips. Next week should see the index bottoming out.” OPEC has recently revised its global demand to rise by 60,000 barrels per day in 2020, as opposed to previously expected 920,000 bpd. With the OPEC+ disintegrated and a price war between the two major oil exporters, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, prices are likely to lie low.
CMYK
Today’s bearish trading was in line with Monday’s pattern whereby a market halt was imposed for risk management purposes due to the KSE-100 Index slashing by nearly six per cent during intraday trading. Monday had marked the largest day slum in PSX’s history. GLOBAL FIASCO: Financial markets around the globe have been witnessing sharp declines in their stocks. With US President Donald Trump announcing travel bans, global economy is likely to feel the heat in terms of international trade. With the World Health Organization naming the coron-
Minister Imran Khan with the youth. She said that people, neglected by the past regimes, were now feeling a change and betterment in every sphere of life. The youth were precious national asset and the government was making hectic efforts for development of youth by initiating several programmes including ‘Kamyab Jawan Programme’ for the youth, she added. She said the program was initiated to make youth self-employed and overcome inflation and joblessness. Addressing the participants, Special Assistant to the PM on Youth Affairs Usman Dar said the government ensuring 100 per cent transparency in issuing soft business loans to the youth under the ‘Kamyab Jawan Programme.’ He said that the program would provide decent employment opportunities to 68 per cent population of the country.
avirus outbreak as a pandemic on Wednesday, the markets have responded accordingly. US S&P futures nosedived by 4.9pc in Asia following the S&P losing out on 4.89pc a day before. This leaves the market just shy of entering the bear territory. Umer Farooq, an analyst at AKD noted, “The KSE-100 plunge was in line with the moves in global markets, as the domestic market continued to track global equity indices. Black swans generally lead to convergence of all correlations to +1.” TECHNICAL SUPPORT LEVEL: Naushad Chamdia, CEO of Standard Capital said, “I see a support zone at 34,500 which is about 61.8pc down on Fibonacci level from its previous gain from 28,500 to 43,500.”