Epaper_02-04-2023 ISB

Ruling allianCe exPResses ‘no ConFidenCe’ in CJP-led THRee-membeR benCH

g CALLS FOR FORMATION OF FULL COURT TO DELIBERATE UPON PUNJAB POLLS

ISlAmAbAd M i a n a b r a r

THE top eadership of the ruling a liance on Saturday expressed ts mistrust in the

three-member Supreme Court bench hearing the postponement of pol s n Punjab and cal ed for formation of a full court to del berate upon the matter

A three-member bench is current y hearing the PTI s p ea against the Election Commission of Pak stan s (ECP s) decision to postpone e ections to the Punjab Assembly til October 8

The three-member bench compris ng

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar

Ata Bandial Justice I azu Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar was consttuted after the origina five-member bench was d sbanded fol owing the recusals of Justice Aminuddin Khan on Thursday and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhai on Friday In this regard, the coalit on government and its senior leaders sat together to discuss the current crisis situation and d scussed var ous ways and means to dea with the stand-off between the rul ng PDM alliance and the udic ar y Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the meeting held to devise a future strategy for the government am d the countr y s judicial crisis on

g FAZAL ACCUSES ‘FEW JUDGES ’ OF TRYING TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO IMRAN

top of long ongoing economic and political cr ses According to a press release issued by the Pr me Minister s Office PM Shehbaz addressed the meeting via video link from Lahore

The meet ng expressed no conf dence in the three-member bench headed by the ch ef justice Just ce Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb Akhtar and demands that the present court proceedings be terminated by accepting the four- udge majority udgment of the suo motu no 1/2023 the press release reads

The sad fact is that the chief justice of the Supreme Court wants to mpose the decis on of the minority on the decision of the ma ority Th s conduct s not only a serious constitutional and political cris s in the countr y but also a clear example of dev ation from the Constitut on and prevailing legal procedures which s also a clear violation of the basic concept of the d vision of powers of the state the statement added The meeting was referring to the Supreme Court s 3-2 verdict ssued

on March 1 that e ections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab both of which have been under caretaker governments since the provincial assemblies were dissolved in Januar y should be held within 90 days

The bench was reconstituted to a five-member bench after four judges from the in tial nine-member bench had raised ob ections on the constitution of the bench as well as the nvocation of the apex court s suo motu jurisdiction by the chief just ce

Qureshi for joint effor ts to ‘thwar t PDM’s unconstitutional actions’

isl aMabaD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) V ce Chairman Shah Mehmood Quresh stressed the need to bring al the democratic political forces on a oint platform under a well-conceived PTI plan to protect the supremacy of the constitution and independence of the judiciar y by thwarting the unconstitutional act ons by the PDM Talking to media here on Saturday a ong with Majl s Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas Qureshi said that he held meeting with MWM chief to discuss the prevai ing pol tical situat on in the countr y and to find out a workable so ution to get the countr y of the quagm re of prob ems created by the PDM government durng the over last one year Keeping in view the preva ling uncertain po itical situation Quresh said that PTI decided to take onboard the other pol tical forces In the meeting with MWM chief they agreed to hold jo nt efforts to ensure the supremacy of the constitut on the independence and autonomy of the judic ar y Qureshi made it clear that the PTI would continue to strive for ensuring of supremacy of rule of aw and constitution, add ng that he would hold meeting with other politica parties PTI Vice Chairman stated that Election Comm ss on of Pakistan (ECP) violated the constitut on by giving October 8 date for the election He expressed his surprise that the government had enough funds for laptop scheme and MNAs but it did not have Rs 20 billion fund to hold elections in the countr y to steer the countr y out of the prevai ing uncertain pol tical situat on s ta f f r e p o rt

Peshawar High Cour t swears in first-ever female chief justice

PESHAWAR

s ta f f r e p o r t

In a historic appointment Justice Musarrat Hilali was sworn in as the first female chief ustice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Saturday

The ceremony held at the Governor House in Peshawar, saw Justice Hi a i take the oath of office, wh ch she wi l hold until a regu ar ch ef justice is appointed by the Judic a Commiss on of Pakistan (JCP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ha i Ghulam

Ali administered the oath and extended h s congratulat ons and best wishes to Justice Hilali a sen or puisne judge of the court

In attendance were several senior udic al and government officials includ ng awyers KP po ice chief Akhtar Hayat Khan provincial Law Secretar y Masood Ahmad and Spec al Assistant to Caretaker Chief Minister Pir Haroon Shah, among others Justice Hi a i ’s profile on the PHC website reads she obtained her law degree from Khyber Law College Peshawar University She began her lega career as an advocate of d strict courts in 1983, followed by an enrollment as a awyer of the h gh court in 1988 In 2006 she was enrolled as a barrister of the Supreme Court Her llustrious career also includes being the first woman addit onal advocate general of KP a position she held from November 2001 to March 2004 Hi ali was also appointed as the first woman chairperson of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Tribunal Should Justice Hilali be appointed as the regular chief ustice she wou d become only the second woman to ser ve in th s capac ty n any of the high courts Just ce Syeda Tah ra Safdar was appointed as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) n 2018

FbR fails to achieve revenue target of Rs5,460b

ISlAmAbAd s h a h z a d pa r ac h a

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has failed to achieve nine months revenue target of Rs5 460 bil ion

Sources sa d that FBR has collected Rs 5156 b llion in the first nine months against the target of Rs 5460 bill on ind cating a shortfall of over Rs 300 billion from July to March FBR has collected Rs 663 billion in March 2023 against the target of Rs 727 b llion, indicating a shortfall of 64 bill on n March

Overall FBR has now col ected Rs 2484 billion tax in the ast quarter to meet the year y rev sed revenue target of Rs 7640 b llion

The government imposed Rs 170 bi ion revenue measures to meet the financing gap as instructed by the Internat ona Monetar y Fund (IMF)

Add tional y on Fr day also ncreased petroleum deve opment levy on petrol and d esel to Rs 50 per liter to fulfil IMF s demand

Sources also said that FBR ’s field offices are know ngly sending notices to recover Super Tax to compan es that do not have any taxable income and are already suffering taxable losses for the year Rather tax authorities are deceitfu ly comp u t i n g t h e m p u t a b e i n c o m e b a s e d o n t h e a m o u n t s s e p a r a t e

Fatal stampede at Karachi factor y results in police case against owner and staff

KARACHI s ta f f r e p o r t

The owner and adm nistrat on staff of a factor y linked to a deadly stampede at a free ration d stribution point in Karach have been booked by po ice, according to reports on Saturday

At least 11 women and children were k lled on Friday after hundreds of people gathered at a factor y in Sindh Industr al Trading Estate (SITE) the city s industria area, to col ect edib es which is part of char ty dr ves that locals hold ever y Ramadan to he p the needy according to Geo News

An admin stration official sa d 600 to 700 peop e were coralled in the small compound When they opened the main gate all the people rushed in added 22-year-old Fatima Noor whose sister died in the crush

The case has been registered at the SITE A po ice station and is be ng pursued under Sections 322 337-H(2) and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) by sub-inspector Ma ik Asif Zia

The first nformation report (FIR) sa d that negligence by factor y staff caused the stampede

It also revealed that two factor y managers had been distributing cash as zakat on behalf of the factor y owner Abdul Khal q for several years

The nominated suspects inc ude Khaliq the managers, and seven others, and eight suspects, including the owner and managers have a ready been detained for questioning Murad Al Shah the chief m nister has ordered an investigation into the incident He a so asked char ties and business owners to inform the pol ce before organising such Ramadan handouts

There was no comment from the prime minister s office That is a provinc a subject a government offic a told The Associated Press CM Sindh can respond the official added

It is the deadliest stampede at a food distribution po nt since the start of fasting during Ramadan

With the latest incident the death toll from stampedes at free food centres across the countr y has risen to at east 21 since last week Pakistan’s f nances have been hobbled by decades of financial mismanagement and political chaos The situat on has been exacerbated by the global energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the crippl ng monsoon floods last year wh ch submerged a third of the countr y

Weekly inflation is 45 percent, unseen since Pakistan got its independence from British colon a rule in 1947 R sing food costs and soaring fue bills have raised fears of publ c unrest

The nation is deep n debt and must enact tough tax reforms and push up utility pr ces if it hopes to unlock another tranche of a $6 5 bil ion Internat onal Monetar y Fund (IMF) bail-out and avoid defaulting

Domestic inflation smashes all records; jumps to 35.37pc in March

ISlAmAbAd G h u l a M a b b a s

While the government is st ll ready for taking ever y step to flatter the International Monetar y Fund (IMF) for unlocking a desperately needed bailout package the year-on-year inflation in the countr y shattered all prev ous records to h t 35 37 percent in March 2023 data re eased by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reflected on Saturday

The inflat on rate as per documents is the highest one since the available data i e July 1965

As a countr y needs bill ons of dollars of f nancing to ser vice ex st ng debt supporting dwindling foreign exchange reser ves the move of ncreasing taxes restricting imports, increasing exchange rate etc are ult mate y increas ng the burden on the masses Poor Pakistanis are feeling the brunt of the econom c turmoi

The data from PBS suggests that the countr y was fast heading towards hyper-

inflation, with at least three consumer goods groups already in the terr tor y of around a 50% surge in prices yearly

The ministr y of finance through its

Monthly Economic Update & Outlook shared on Fr day had also ind cated that inflation s expected to stay at an e evated leve ow ng to market fr ctions caused by relative demand and supply gap of essential items exchange rate depreciat on and

reached 31 6pc in Februar y, the highest in six decades RuRal anD uRban inFl ation: The PBS reported that the overall nflation rate recorded an increase in both the urban and rural areas CPI inf at on in urban areas increased to 33 0% on a year-onyear basis in March 2023 as compared to an increase of 28 8% n the previous month and 11 9% n March 2022

On a month-on-month basis it increased to 3 9% n March 2023 as compared to an increase of 4 5% in the prev ous month and an increase of 0 7% in March 2022 Meanwhile, CPI inflation in rura areas increased to 38 9% on a year-onyear basis in March 2023 as compared to an increase of 35 6% n the previous month and 13 9% n March 2022

On a month-on-month basis it increased to 3 5% n March 2023 as compared to an increase of 4 0% in the prev ous month and an increase of 1 0% in March 2022

the CPI

Consumer prices have risen sharply over the past several months with annual inf ation stay ng above 20pc since June last year

As per PBS data, the food group, which commands a signif cant weight e 34 58% in the nflat on read ng remained the ma or driver beh nd the ncrease It increased from 170 06 in March 2022 to 250 25 in March 2023 a ump of over 47% The transport group

w tnessed an increase of 55% YoY

The non-food inflation rate was recorded at 24 1% n urban areas and 28 5% in rural areas compared to 10 4% and 12 5% in the same month last year

The inf ation situat on has worsened to ts worst steeping the masses whose purchas ng power has eroded by leaps and bounds into miser y as the price of almost ever y edible item has gone through the roof over a per od of months

Core inflat on, which was calculated after excluding the vo atile energy and food prices increased in March to 18 6%

in urban areas and 23 1% in rural areas

The Economic Adv ser s Wing of the finance min str y also conceded ineffective policy measures and the haplessness of the authorit es in containing the inflationar y spiral

Despite SBP s contractionar y monetar y policy the inflationar y expectations are not settling down it sa d and also tried to attribute the challenge to Ramazan-oriented demand pressures

It warned that bulk buying dur ng Ramadan m ght cause a demand-supp y gap and result in esca ation of essential items prices a though the government was alert to the situation and had already taken on board al provincial governments to ensure a smooth supply of essential items

Additionally the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to convene a meeting of the Monetar y Pol cy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday to deal with the emerging risks to the economy due to uncertain deve opments

ExClusivE: india rEgul aTor ProBing soME adani offshorE dEals for PossiBlE rulE viol aTions

the listed Adani entities or their subsidiaries

Tremors in Balochistan kill three children

Abadi Balazi area collapsed, killing three children The children were between the age of 8 and 23 years Rescue sources said five other people were injured in the incident

Punjab interim CM orders launch of app for reuniting lost persons

LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t

The interim chief minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, has instructed officials to ensure that the public app of Punjab police Mera Pyara is made functional soon

The app aims to reunite lost individuals with their loved ones especially children elderly persons and those suffering from dementia and schizophrenia

The app will contain biodata photos fingerprints and ID card and B-form details of lost individuals along with their family members information DNA tests of lost persons and their families will also be conducted

To support the effort, data on lost persons in Punjab police stations, orphanages, Dar ul-Aman, and other institutions will be uploaded to the app Citizens can upload reports of lost individuals through cell phones, front desks, security centres, and service centres

Naqvi praised the efforts of the Lahore Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) for reuniting a lost child with his family after six years The child had been waiting for his family at the Gujranwala Child Protection Bureau for six years as the father had passed away while searching for him

During his visit to Gujranwala he directed the police to locate the child s family

This fact like all other material information required to be reported has been disclosed to the regulatory authorities in the past and also as and when required the spokesperson added without commenting on the regulatory probe into offshore entities Vinod Adani could not be reached for comment Requests for comment sent to his holding company in Dubai, Adani Global Investment DMCC, were not responded to The probe comes after U S short-seller Hindenburg Research’s Jan 24 report alleging improper use of tax havens and stock manipulation by Adani Group among other things – charges it has denied Hindenburg s report eroded more than $100 billion in the value of shares in Adani group of companies India s Supreme Court asked SEBI in March to investigate the Adani Group for any lapses related to public shareholding related party rules or regulatory disclosures

SEBI s investigation into Adani s possible related party transactions with offshore entities with links to Vinod Adani has not been reported before While SEBI investigations are continuing top regulatory officials are due to give a status report to a court-appointed panel on Sunday, the two sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as investigations are private ‘D

and Investments Ltd and Electrogen Infra in Dubai There was no response from Krunal, Gardenia and Electrogen Infra to e-mails requesting comment While the sources said that other similar transactions are also under regulatory examination, Reuters could not ascertain the names of other entities and their possible violation of ‘related party’ transaction rules SEBI suspects there were “disclosure violations on some of those transactions said one of the two sources If proven it could lead to monetary penalties and the matter may be referred to India s Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for transactions that are beyond SEBI jurisdiction, the source said

After Mashwani, another PTI social media activist goes missing in Karachi

KARACHi S ta f f R e p o R t

A PTI UC chairman has gone missing after attending a party protest against enforced disappearances outside the Karachi Press Club yesterday evening family and police said on Saturday

Mohammed Salman the general secretary of PTI

Sindh s social media wing and chairman-elect of Union Council-8 at Burnes Road has been missing since

Friday evening said his brother Muhammad Rauf

He said his brother had left their home in the New Chali neighbourhood of the city on March 31 at 4pm to attend the party protest at the Karachi Press Club, but when he phoned his brother for Iftar, his cell phone was off Rauf added that he spoke with Salman s friends who confirmed that he attended the rally He went missing in the evening and was allegedly taken

away from the area Rauf said

Rauf said he considered the enforced disappearance of his brother as a part of the alleged crackdown on PTI activists, as so far four other social media activists have been taken away from Karachi only” Salman’s brother said he visited Artillery Maidan police station at 3am on Saturday to lodge a first information report (FIR), but after much persuation, the police received his application and gave a “chit” to him South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Syed

Asad Raza confirmed that the family had submitted an application He said the PTI held rally outside the KPC on Friday evening but it was not known from where he went missing The SSP said he has asked an the police to approach the family and get information from them about it Meanwhile the brother told media they are going to file petition before the Sindh High Court against the alleged abduction of Salman

Pakistan, UAE agree to enhance cooperation in diverse sec tors

iSLAMABAd

S ta f f R e p o R t Pakistan and United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors The understanding was reached during a meeting of UAE delegation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad The delegation was led by Chairman of Hayat BioTech and a member of the ruling family of the UAE Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook al Maktoum Welcoming the delegation the Prime Minister said brotherly relations between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates are deep rooted in history He underlined that Pakistan attached

great importance to further expanding brotherly ties with the UAE in diverse fields including trade and investment The PM welcomed the keen interest of Hayat Bio-Tech to invest in Pakistan s pharmaceutical sector especially in vaccine manufacturing He also invited the visiting delegation to invest in the

renewable energy sector and assured that foreign investors would be provided all possible facilitation O n t h e o c c a s i o n S h e i k h A h m e d D a l m o o k a l Maktoum said they are aware of h u g e i n v e s t m e n t p o t e n t i a l o f P a k i s t a n a n d U A E i s l o o k i n g forward to further expanding its f o o t p r i n t i n t h e e n e rg y a n d h e a l t h s e c t o r s H e e x p r e s s e d k e e n d e s i r e t o f u r t h e r e x p a n d U A E ’s i n v e s t m e n t p o r t f o l i o i n P a k i s t a n T h e d i g n i t a r y a l s o briefed the Prime Minister about t h e i r o n g o i n g 1 2 0 0 M W p o w e r p l a n t p r o j e c t u n d e r t a k e n i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f S i n d h w h i c h would be a hybrid power plant of solar and wind energy

On Saturday afternoon PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi also alleged on Twitter that four social media workers were picked up Our social media correspondents Arshad Siddiqui, Mudassar Rehman, Fahad Siddiqui and Salman Sahil were picked up from Karachi,” he said

“Their only crime is to stand with the truth and raise their voice against oppression You are spreading hatred against you for a whole generation it is dangerous for Pakistan Wake up!”

PTI social media team is also running a Twitter trend with hashtag #ReleaseSalmanKhan PTI Secretary General Asad Umar said it was a complete breakdown of law in the country Taking to Twitter he said: Rampant abductions of citizens happening on a daily basis This is not happening in some report corner of the country but in Karachi Lahore Peshawar Quetta and other major cities of the country

Punjab police release repor t on anti-dacoit operations, over 965 gangs arrested

LAHORE

The Punjab police have released a report detailing the success of their operations against dacoit gangs over the last two months According to the report a total of 965 gangs were arrested from across the province During these operations more than 32 kilogrammes of narcotics were seized In addition the Counter-Terrorism

Department (CTD) arrested 69 alleged terrorists in 301 intelligence-based operations However four dangerous terrorists were killed in retaliatory firing on CTD teams Suspected robbers and criminals fired at police 139 times, resulting in 61 suspects being killed The report also said that in all the encounters over the 70-day period, 80 dangerous criminals and passersby were injured One police officer was killed and 21 injured in police encounters In total over 62 000 criminals wanted for various crimes were arrested across the province Punjab Inspector General of Police Usman Anwar has ordered the crackdown on criminals to be intensified

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Istifsar ’ – A Poetic Inquisition

SyEd AfSAR SAjid

Istifsar a poetic inquisition

Syed Afsar Sajid

Title: Istifsar

Author: Ghulam Murtaza Aatir

Publisher: Nasta liq Publications, Urdu Bazaar, Lahore

Page: 192 – Price: Rs 500/Ghulam Murtaza Aatir (Dr ) is currently a professor of English at GC University Faisalabad He is a bilingual writer/poet His first major (and innovative) poetic work in English titled Straggling through Fire: An anthology of Proemistry appeared on the literary scene with a bang in 2021 The following year he came out with another creative sensation Istifsar , a miscellany of his Urdu verse comprising Hamd, Na at, Salam, nazm, and ghazal A mix of some famed veteran and up-andcomimg young academics/litterateurs like Prof Saghir Afrahim ex-Chairman Urdu Faculty Aligarh Muslim University

Traffic yet to be restored on Kohlu-Sibi Highway after flooding

KOHLU: Sibi-Kohlu National Highway could not be restored following disruption three days ago due to the parts of the road were swept away rains triggered flooding According to official, parts of the National Highway Sibi-Kohlu section were swept away in heavy flooding at Fazal Shah Gradh Wadh and Sonari in recent heavy rainfall Vehicular traffic was suspended after landslide at various points Staff RepoRt

Prof Dr Khwaja Ikramuddin, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Delhi Prof Soya Manay Osaka University Japan Dr Saeed Ahmad (GCU Faisalabad) Dr Tariq Hashmi (GCU Faisalabad) Mudassar Ali (GC Gojra) Sajjad Mahmood (GC Samundri) and Khawar Jilani (Faisalabad) have contributed prefatory/appreciatory notes to the book Aside from Hamd, Na at and Salam, the book contains a good number of nazms and ghazals (45) bespeaking the author’s apt conversance with the art of versification and its contextual ramifications The author’s poetic manifesto is amplified in the nazm titled Shayari as well as Yeh nazm unkay liyay likhi hai The continuity of tradition and its timely renewal and updation by individual talent in a successive generic lineage – the past-ness of the present and the present-ness of the future – finds a loud echo in the opening stanza of the first poem

which proclaims that the poet’s function is to look into the past with a view to revamping the literary tradition of his predecessors in the purview of what is happening on today s literary scene so that the creative artist or the critic may advance into the future with sound vigour and vision Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future Permanence in change is the rule here The poet thus finds himself arrayed against a multitude of harrowing existentialistic realities such as pain, penury, perfidy, perjury, perversity, and pusillanimity to say the least In the instant poem the author dilates on the multiple functions of poetry deeming its creator the poet as an enumerator and healer of men s griefs their fears failures and fumblings besides being a historian of the chequered past of mankind and a harbinger of the future course of human history In a sad but exclamatory tone,

the poet seemingly dedicates the second poem to those whose dreams of a happy life remain unrealised who miserably falter in their pursuit of a meaningful existence void of disheartenment and turmoil who are obligated to rot in anonymity like a swarm of little odious vermin The poem betrays a sardonic zest characteristic of a Sahir (Ludhianvi) or Habib Jalib in their dialectical fulminations against socio-political evils of class-distinction, selfaggrandisement, exploitation, deceit, hypocrisy, hegemonism et al It is a kind of a proletarian stance, as it were, that the poet has adopted in this poem implying that poetry is not alien to life and its dreadful problems The title of the book tends to soliloquise its imagistic undertones which are rooted in the language of common speech employing the exact word hard and clear free from vague generalities and couched in new rhythms phonetically closer to the workaday idiom of the spoken language of the day

ai ExPErTs disown Musk-BaCkEd CaMPaign CiTing ThEir rEsEarCh

fO U R artificial intelligence experts have expressed concern after their work was cited in an open letter –co-signed by Elon Musk –demanding an urgent pause in research The letter dated March 22 and with more than 1 800 signatures by Friday called for a six-month circuit-breaker in the development of systems more powerful than Microsoft-backed (MSFT O) OpenAI s new GPT-4 which can hold human-like conversation compose songs and summarise lengthy documents

Since GPT-4 s predecessor ChatGPT was released last year, rival companies have rushed to launch similar products

The open letter says AI systems with

human-competitive intelligence pose profound risks to humanity citing 12 pieces of research from experts including university academics as well as current and former employees of OpenAI Google (GOOGL O) and its subsidiary DeepMind Civil society groups in the U S and EU have since pressed lawmakers to rein in OpenAI s research OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment

Critics have accused the Future of Life Institute (FLI), the organisation behind the letter which is primarily funded by the Musk Foundation of prioritising imagined apocalyptic scenarios over more immediate concerns about AI such as racist or sexist biases being programmed into the machines

Among the research cited was On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots a well-known

PMl-n looking for unconstitutional ways to avoid polls: asad

iSLAMABAd S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretary

General Asad Umar has made it clear that in reality, the PML-N did not have any issue with composition of the bench but the representatives of the government were making all hue and cry to find any unconstitutional way to escape the polls because verily elections are a political death warrant for PDM PTI Central Secretary General in a statement on Saturday said that the PDM government especially the PML-N was targeting the superior judiciary was meant to build pressure on the Supreme Court to find any unconstitutional way to defer the polls which was constitutional requirements to be held within the stipulated 90 days Asad revealed that the PML-N leaders neither had any issue with the composition of the bench nor with the rules of the SC but they were scared of the elections, which the constitution mandated to be held within a given timeframe PTI Central Secretary General stated that they were making noise and shouting to avoid the political death that was the reason they threatened not to accept the apex court’s decision until the formation of the full court Asad went on to say that the PML-N was now publically threatening to revolt against the constitution He stated that the PML-N representatives pleaded that it was a case of important nature; hence it should be heard by the full court However Asad Umar said that according to the rules of the SC a two-member bench could hear a case of this nature He asked the government think tank to tell the nation that whether the suo moto notice by the SC as a result Imran Khan-led elected government was removed, was heard by the full court Asad reminded that the fear of the election badly disturbed their memory, hence he should tell them that the case was heard by a 5-member bench and not by the full court He said that the PTI government not only accept the decision of the 5member bench but thanked the honorable court and did not attack like PML-N PTI Central Secretary General noted that since they had no legal and constitutional justifications to avoid the polls; hence they dubbed these judges who were part of this bench were biased

pESHAWAR a z i z B u n e R i

The Water and Sanitation Company Peshawar (WSSP) has accused the P e s h a w a r E l e c t r i c S u p p l y C o m p a n y ( P E S C O ) o f o v e r b i l l i n g a f t e r t h e c o m p a n y c u t o ff power supply its tubewells The WSSP said that it had paid bills on time and n o t r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e e x c e s s i v e a m o u n t o f b i l l s A l e t t e r w r o t e b y t h e C h i e f E x e c u t i v e W S S P c h i e f executive to PESCO’s Chief Commercial Officer said t h a t p o w e r s u p p l y h a s b e e n s t o p p e d t o s e v e r a l tubewells during Ramazan from 27th to 30th March without any notice being issued T h e W S S P c h i e f t e r m e d P e s c o s t a ff u n p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d s a i d t h a t t h e c l o s u r e o f t u b e wells could cause a law and order in the city

The WSSP has 534 tube wells in Peshawar and it u s u a l l y p a y R s 7 0 t o 8 0 m i l l i o n o f m o n t h l y b i l l s

According to the WSSP, during the ongoing financial year, the finance department has paid over Rs700mn to PESCO from the WSSP funds toll February and the

paper co-authored by Margaret Mitchell who previously oversaw ethical AI research at Google Mitchell now chief ethical scientist at AI firm Hugging Face criticised the letter telling Reuters it was unclear what counted as more powerful than GPT4 By treating a lot of questionable ideas as a given, the letter asserts a set of priorities and a narrative on AI that benefits the supporters of FLI, she said Ignoring active harms right now is a privilege that some of us don’t have ” Her coauthors Timnit Gebru and Emily M Bender criticised the letter on Twitter, with the latter branding some of its claims “unhinged” FLI president Max Tegmark told Reuters the campaign was not an attempt to hinder OpenAI s corporate advantage

It s quite hilarious I ve seen people say Elon Musk is trying to slow down the competition he said adding that Musk had

no role in drafting the letter This is not about one company RISKS NOW: Shiri Dori-Hacohen an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut also took issue with her work being mentioned in the letter She last year co-authored a research paper arguing the widespread use of AI already posed serious risks Her research argued the present-day use of AI systems could influence decisionmaking in relation to climate change, nuclear war, and other existential threats She told Reuters: “AI does not need to reach human-level intelligence to exacerbate those risks ” “There are non-existential risks that are really really important but don t receive the same kind of Hollywood-level attention Asked to comment on the criticism FLI s Tegmark said both short-term and long-term risks of AI should be taken

seriously

If we cite someone it just means we claim they re endorsing that sentence It doesn t mean they re endorsing the letter or we endorse everything they think, he told Reuters Dan Hendrycks, director of the California-based Center for AI Safety, who was also cited in the letter, stood by its contents, telling Reuters it was sensible to consider black swan events – those which appear unlikely but would have devastating consequences The open letter also warned that generative AI tools could be used to flood the internet with propaganda and untruth

Dori-Hacohen said it was pretty rich for Musk to have signed it citing a reported rise in misinformation on Twitter following his acquisition of the platform, documented by civil society group Common Cause and others Twitter will soon launch a new fee structure for access to its research data, potentially hindering research on the subject “That has directly impacted my lab’s work, and that done by others studying misand disinformation ” Dori-Hacohen said “We’re operating with one hand tied behind our back Musk and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment

CPNE felicitates S ohail Ali K han on posting as S ecretar y Information

T H E Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) congratulated Sohail Ali Khan on his posting as Secretary (in-charge) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and expressed the hope that print media issues will be prioritized in his secretariat In a statement, the CPNE office-bearers said that under the secretaryship of Sohail Khan, relations between the government and print media will be further improved They also expressed the new secretary will

pay due heed to the long-standing problems being faced by the print media The print media is suffering from severe crisis which warrants immediate solution and attention of the government and the able new secretary information will

Increase of Rs2.8 per unit for power consumers!

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NEPRA said the power division claimed that presently the financial obligations of the government stood at around Rs 2 6 trillion which includes over Rs 1 7 trillion payables to IPPs and Rs 765 billion of Power Holding Limited loans

Through the decision, the total surcharge would be around Rs 335 billion, which will cover Rs 126 billion of the Power Holdings Limited (PHL) markup, and the remaining Rs 209 billion to cover the flow of circular debt On March 6, NEPRA had already allowed the government to charge Rs 3 82 per unit surcharge for the remaining four months of the current year and then continue on a permanent basis with Rs 1 43 per

unit surcharge for next fiscal year

However, the government reverted to NEPRA after two days with a fresh petition saying the Rs 1 43 per unit surcharge for next year was not enough to meet the financial requirements and requested an increase of Rs 1 80 to Rs 3 23 per unit from July to mop up Rs 335 billion for paying off debt and cost of power theft of inefficient power companies

The power division said the government was empowered under the NEPRA law to collect surcharges from the consumers for the fulfilment of any financial obligation of the federal government with respect to electric power services within the bracket of 10% of the aggregate revenue requirement of all power suppliers

In a swift turn of events, Swyft Logistics undergoes major

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The appointment of an interim CFO

management changes

give due attention to these problems to help the printmedia come out of the crisis” the statement added

Similarly there was no increase in advertisement rates since 2017 it said The office-bearers said that in a recent meeting with the CPNE delegation Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had issued special instructions in this regard while approving the increase in advertisement rates and quantum They hoped that in the interest of the country and the media the Secretary (In-charge) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Sohail Ali Khan will make every possible effort and will get all possible support from CPNE

imran’s spouse moves ihC against naB notices in Toshakhana case

iSLAMABAd

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s spouse Bushra Bibi on Saturday moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the call-up notices issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in a reference regarding Toshakhana gifts

The former first lady has challenged the notices served on her on March 16 and 17 through her lawyer Khawaja Harris She has made the NAB chairman and additional director of Rawalpindi respondents in the case Bushra Bibi has pleaded with the court to declare the notices null and void She also requested the high court to bar the NAB from taking any disciplinary action against her on the basis of the notices The petitioner asked the court to stop NAB from converting the case inquiry into an investigation The development comes after she failed to appear before the anti-graft watchdog to join the inquiry proceedings in the reference A notice issued to Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and others in the Toskhana case in February this year states

The P M L - N c o a l i t i o n h a d r e j e c t e d t h e v e r d i c t a n d i n s i s t e d t h a t i t w a s a 4 - 3 v e r d i c t i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t s favour Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail part of the original nine-member and reconstituted five-member b e n c h o n We d n e s d a y a l s o s a i d t h e s u o m o t u h e a r i n g w a s d i s m i s s e d b y a m a j o r i t y o f f o u r t o t h r e e F o l l o w i n g t h e m e e t i n g , M a u l a n a F a z l u r R e h m a n , p r e s i d e n t o f t h e P a k i s t a n D e m o c r a t i c M o v e m e n t ( P D M ) s a i d S a t u r d a y t h e r u l i n g a l l i a n c e h a s n o t r u s t i n t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t ’s t h r e e - j u d g e b e n c h h e a d e d b y C h i e f J u s t i c e U m a r A t a B a n d i a l h e a r i n g t h e e l e c t i o n d e l a y c a s e We h a v e n o f a i t h i n t h i s c o u r t P D M d o e s n t t r u s t t h e b e n c h c o m p r i s i n g t h e s e t h r e e j u d g e s a s s e r t s F a z l w h o i s a l s o t h e c h i e f o f J a m i a t U l e m ae - I s l a m - F a z l ( J U I - F ) w h i l e a d d r e s s i n g a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e h e r e i n I s l a m a b a d

r a t i o n d u e t o f a u l t y t r a n s f o r m e r s w h i l e 7 t u b e w e l l s o n Wa r s a k R o a d h a v e n o t b e e n s u p p l i e d w i t h e l e c t r i c i t y d e s p i t e f u l l p a y m e n t t o

PESCO

T h e a v e r a g e m o n t h l y p o w e r c o n s u m p t i o n o f t h e c o m p a n y i s 5 , 5 0 0 e l e c t r i c i t y u n i t s , s a i d t h e l e t t e r, H o w e v e r, P e s c o h a s a d d e d a d d i t i o n a l u n i t s i n t h e a r e a s w h e r e m e t e r s a r e d a m a g e d T h e c o m p a n y h a s identified 13 places where from 5 500 to 13 000 units electricity has been consumed T h e W S S P s a i d t h a t w h e n P e s c o w a s a s k e d f o r c o r r e c t i o n o f w r o n g b i l l i n g t h e m a t t e r w a s d e l a y e d f o r s e v e r a l m o n t h s T h e C h i e f E x e c u t i v e W S S P r e q u e s t e d t h e P e s c o a u t h o r i t i e s t o r e s o l v e t h e i s s u e immediately and asked for cooperation in providing facilities to the citizens in the month of Ramazan

ruling alliance comprising 13 political parties decided to boycott the said bench in a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Lahore on Saturday w h e r e P a k i s t a n M u s l i m L e a g u e - N a w a z ( P M L - N ) supremo Nawaz Sharif also backed their decision D u r i n g t h e p r e s s e r F a z l a l l e g e d t h a t t h e c h i e f j u s t i c e a n d t h e o t h e r t w o j u d g e s s h o u l d m o r a l l y recuse themselves from this case The PDM president a l l e g e d t h a t a f e w j u d g e s w a n t t o p r o v i d e r e l i e f t o Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan w h o s e p a r t y h a s f i l e d a p l e a a g a i n s t t h e d e l a y i n t h e p o l l s H e f u r t h e r a l l e g e d t h a t t w o m a j o r c u l p r i t s o f r i g g i n g a r e o n t h e l o o s e a n d n o n o t i c e i s b e i n g t a k e n against them and said that elections should take place o n t h e s a m e d a y a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y t o t a k e p l a c e t o k e e p t h e c o u n t r y u n i t e d

“Imran Khan wants divisions within institutions ” F a z l s a i d h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e i m p a c t o f t h e P T I c h i e f s p l e a i n t h e a p e x c o u r t

COnTinUEd fROM pAgE 01

Ruling alliance expresses ‘no confidence’ in C JP-led three -member bench

WSSP acc uses PESCO of overbilling af ter suspension of power to tubewells

Need to Stand by the Constitution

tHE inflation figures are horrendous, and not just because the government faces a general election this year March saw the Consumer Price index up 35 4 percent year-on-year compared to 31 7 percent in February and 12 5 percent in March 2022 this is the worst figure for March since 1965 as Pakistan headed towards war with india later that year the predictions are that this rate will be maintained for another two months, and the slowing of inflation after June would be because inflation slowed down, as because of the arithmetic effects of having a high base Making matters worse for the hard-pressed consumer is that Ramazan has had the effect of worsening matters the inflation figure’s main component is food inflation which was up 47 percent year-on-year transport witnessed a 55 percent increase year-on-year both because of higher petrol prices and increased car prices Both hikes can be ascribed in the fall of the rupee against the dollar

Much of the inflation is imported, in the shape of higher fuel prices though there has been a fall in the international oil prices, it has not been enough for the government to pass on more than a token cut in the month s price fixation Most prices were kept unchanged as the government tried to raise revenue to meet the demands of the iMF for the tranche that has not been released One conclusion that can be drawn is that the hikes by the state Bank in the interest rate which is now at 21 percent have not worked Whether that is because the hike has not been big enough, or whether the economy does not work the way textbooks say it should work, the state Bank s Montary Policy Committee is likely to go for another big hike that hike might not contain inflation, but it will probably drive many businesses, already on the ropes, into default as they cannot afford to service such expensive debt the resulting higher unemployment would keep down purchasing power and act as a further drag on industry Perhaps the worst aspect of the whole sorry affair is the haplessness of the government

While it concentrates its whole attention on avoiding a default, it seems it runs that risk because of lackadaisical fiscal management

Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif

Yousaf Nizami Editor

THE cat is out of the bag! the PDM succeeds in evading to enter the electoral arena terrified by the fear of losing the provincial assembly elections in the Punjab and khyber Pakhtunkhwa to its archrival, the Pti, it sticks to its earlier stance of delaying the elections, for as long as positive results are not ensured

For the time being it got a six months reprieve from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which postponed the general election in Punjab until October 8 and taking a cue from the Commission’s announcement the Governor of the khyber Pakhtunkhwa also conveyed (after 67 days delay) October 8 to be the date for polling in that Province the detailed order of the ECP gives two reasons for the delay: one, security concerns, and two, funding constraints it explains that the agencies of the Federal Government in particular the Ministries of interior Defence and Finance and the Chief secretary of the caretaker Government of the Punjab, expressed their inability to assist the Commission in holding elections seemingly the Commission found itself in agreement with the Government point of view and readily postponed the elections

Whereas the alliance between the Federal Government and Caretaker Government of the Punjab, as regards their common object to frustrate the Pti struggle for early elections is an open secret the echoing of their stance by the Ministry of Defence (the Establishment), is a disturbing development Disturbing because only recently it had announced withdrawal from active politics and gave assurance of remaining neutral in the political parties power game Quite obviously, the Ministry of Defence failed to furnish sound reasons/justifications for their refusal to perform a vital national task/duty which it had been performing earlier on their joining hands with the executive organ of the sstate reveals the formation of a ‘grand alliance’ between the real powerwielders in the current political dispensation that the ECP too chose to shun impartiality and become a pawn in the power game, is regrettable and condemnable to say the least these are disturbing developments not only for the sustenance of democratic dispensation in the country but continuation of the legal and constitu-

Why Pakistan faces a persistent economic crisis?

democratic institutions as politics and economics are linked closely and influence each other a f t e r t h e d e m i s e o f Q u a i d - e - a z a m

tional system of governance it adds to the problems of the general public, already faced with the multiple malaises of rising incidents of terrorism/militancy increase in street crime near collapse of the economic/financial system and spiraling inflation suffering the pains and agony of unemployment, malnutrition and disease they see a bleak future for themselves and their future generations On the contrary, the ruling class is bereft of the feelings to empathize with them With a few honourable exceptions the political class whether in power or in opposition working in the legislature or executive organs, has thoroughly disappointed the nation their non-stop mutual bickering abuse/ and misuse of power and authority inept system of governance and prevalence of massive corruption, have wrought untold sorrow and suffering for the hapless nation the general public therefore looks forward to a saviour in earlier times it would have been coup d etat and imposition of martial law this would have momentarily pacified the bulk of the general population But not anymore such an option is out of course and out of fashion in Pakistan, which suffered greatly in terms of loss of territory and threats to its security solidarity and national cohesion during such administrations Besides the recent disclosure regarding the role of the Establishment in the post-2018 General Elections scenario; their earlier support to the Pti government through half its term, followed by switching sides and installing the PDM government, is looked upon by the people with a sense of disgust and revulsion More so because the experiments failed and such political engineering is quoted as the reason for the impending economic disaster and spiralling inflation Besides times have changed and the current international scenario does not support any such adventurism by a Bonaparte in the circumstances all eyes are turned towards the third pillar of the state namely the judiciary and especially the supreme Court the effort should be to rescue the democratic dispensation and constitutional system of governance necessary for good governance rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights the law and the Constitution are clear and categorical on the subject of fixing timespan for holding elections to the provincial legislatures article 224 (2) and 105 (3) provide for organizing elections within a maximum period of 90 days, following the dissolution of the Provincial assembly the date is to be fixed by the Governor this point was borne out in the supreme Court order in the suo Moto Case no 1 of 2023 the Court ordered the ECP to fix the date after consultation with the President as required

The country can ill afford to continue to tread on the path of ongoing political confrontation between the PTI and PDM The Chief Justice may consider constituting a full court to ensure that the constitutional command of free, fair and impartial election is strictly adhered to, and the executive authorities, including the armed forces, provide the required help and assistance to the Commission in conducting free, fair and timely elections of the electoral bodies

under section 57 (1) of the Election act 2017 as regards the province of khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Court charged the Governor for breach in discharge of his constitutional responsibility the supreme Court further reminded the Federal Government of its obligation [under article 148 (3)] “to ensure that the Government of every Province is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution the Court clarified that such obligation includes the organization/holding of timely election to the provincial assembly the Court further asked the Federal/Provincial Governments to assist the Commission in its task of organizing free and fair elections and directed the ECP to proceed forthwith and avoid deviation from the election schedule Following the constitutional command and supreme Court order, it is hard to imagine how the ECP can delay the polling date the reasons and grounds for the delay security threats and financial constraints, are lame and untenable; indeed once accepted elections will never be held in the country there is nothing in the law or the Constitution authorizing the Commission to delay the elections its functions merely include making arrangements for holding free and fair elections and guarding against corrupt practices no wonder then that while announcing the delay, the Commission did not refer to any provision of the Constitution the ECP, Federal Cabinet, the caretaker set-up in the Punjab and Governor khyber Pakhtunkhwa are seemingly in breach of the Constitution as well as in contempt of the supreme Court for disobeying its order, together with others, who are conspiring and/or aiding/abetting the contemptuous act the Court needs to stand by the Constitution and uphold its orders/directions, otherwise there will be chaos, posing threat to the very survival of the nation Given the impending economic/financial collapse and rising inflation coupled with the increasing incidents of terrorism and crimes, the country can ill afford to continue to tread on the path of ongoing political confrontation between the Pti and PDM the Chief Justice may consider constituting a full court to ensure that the constitutional command of free fair and impartial election is strictly adhered to and the executive authorities including the armed forces, provide the required help and assistance to the Commission in conducting free, fair and timely elections of the electoral bodies T h e w r i t e r s e r v e d a s R e g i s t r a r, S u p re m e C o u r t a n d S e c re t a r y L a w a n d J u s t i c e C o m m i ss i o n o f P a k i s t a n

E d i t o r ’ s m a i l

S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan today, 4 - S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h L a h o re P a k i s t a n E - m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan today e x c l u s i v e l y

Playgrounds for youth

Pakistan is facing one of its worst economic crises currently the country's foreign exchange reserves have fallen to about $3 billion, which can cover only less than a month’s worth of imports the fiscal deficit is growing, public debt service is rising, and the balance of payments situation is deteriorating day by day the current public debt is approximately 74 percent of GDP, with external debt exceeding $113 billion or approximately 45 percent of GDP in 2022 the country had to pay around $12 billion to service its external debt and it may rise further in 2023 the Pakistani Rupee has fallen more than 35 percent in the last year the price of essential goods has increased rapidly the general people are struggling to s u r v i v e d u e t o t h e h i g h c o s t o f l i v i n g t h e economic crisis also intensified the political crisis and further deepened the political and social unrest in order to get out of the economic crisis, the Pakistan government has been in negotiation with the international Monetary Fund (iMF) for over a month, but no agreement has been reached if the iMF loan is not approved quickly the country’s economy may face serious consequences including default on foreign loans this is, however, not the first time that the country has experienced an economic crisis since its independence in 1947 the country has gone through various economic crises and sought continued assistance from the iMF and other bilateral and multilateral donors it has already received its 13th bailout from the iMF Pakistan is a big country with good natural resources, well-developed agricultural and irrigation infrastructure and a hard-working population the question arises why, despite having good resources and a large hard-working population the country suffers from frequent economic crises even after 75 years of independence to understand the underlying causes of the recurring economic crises, we must first understand the country’s politics particularly the civil-military relationship and its

Muhammed ali Jinnah and Liaquat ali khan the civil and military bureaucratic forces consolidated their power and took control of the country s destiny the military has ruled the country for more than 30 years in its 75-year history the dominance of the military in the decision-making process due to perceived internal and external threats have marginalized the political institutions and civil bureaucrats i n t h e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g p r o c e s s D u e t o f r eq u e n t m i l i t a r y i n t e r v e n t i o n s i n p o l i t i c a l p o w e r t h e c o u n t r y w a s u n a b l e t o d e v e l o p a robust and vibrant political process and demo c r a t i c i n s t i t u t i o n s We a k d e m o c r a t i c a n d e c o n o m i c i n s t i t u t i o n s c o m b i n e d w i t h f r equent political and social unrest, affected economic performance badly Unhealthy and unbalanced civil–military relationships and power-sharing mechanisms between them have produced several contractions and conflicts in P akis tan' s politics and economics influential families and their allies have always dominated political parties the elite group holds strategic positions in the bureaucratic civil political military and economic decision-making structures as well as controls over the country s economic, military, and political institutions they have collaborated competed and collided in various ways to gain and maintain power and authority in societies the military establishment played a pivotal role in national politics no Prime Minister has ever completed a full five-year term in the country s history Only three Prime Ministers could serve their longest four-year term imran khan was recently ousted from power in a no-confidence vote it is generally believed that the military establishment supported khan s rise to power but he lost the military’s confidence when he took some independent decisions this is thought to be the primary reason khan lost his position as Premier nawaz sharif, another elected Prime Minister was ousted thrice in a civil-military conflict in 1971 the Pakistan army was directly involved in a conspiracy to bring Zulfikar ali Bhutto in the power against an elected leader sheikh Mujibur Rahman the Quaid in his Presidential address to the Constituent assembly of Pakistan on 11 august 1947 stated that "if we want to make this great state of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, especially the masses and the poor " the irony is that shortly after independence the elites- civil military political business, and landlords- captured the state of Pakistan and they have forgotten the masses

and the poor With the elite capture the country s economy has been marked by contradict i o n s a n d i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s W h i l e i t p r o d u c e s sophisticated nuclear weapons and missiles it fails to provide adequate food and nutrition to the majority of the population this contradiction is reflected in the economy and society in v ar io u s w ay s F o r in s tan ce w h ile o v er a quarter of Pakistanis are struggling to survive and standing in a long queue for cheap food, a n o t h e r c l a s s a w a i t s i n l o n g l i n e s f o r a n e xpensive cup of coffee from a Canadian multinational coffee shop the elite capture has led to a fundamental political contradiction in the country in politics the richest represent the poorest; the industrialists represent the labour class; and the f e u d a l c l a s s r e p r e s e n t s t h e p e a s a n t s t h e s e contradictory political and economic realities h e a v i l y i n f l u e n c e d e c o n o m i c d e c i s i o n m a king the state has given priority to the intere s t s o f t h e i n f l u e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l g r o u p s , t h e military establishment the industrialists and the landed elites who have close connections with the corridors of power as a result, issues like land reform poverty inequality health education or nutrition have not received serious priority in the country s policy Priority was given to modernizing a large army and constructing large infrastructure about one-third of the government budget goes to the military, civil administration and pension with limited resources available for development expenditures apart from the huge political power the military has gained significant corporate business interests over the years according to ayesha siddiqa s book inside Pakistan s Military Economy the military now controls approximately 23 percent of the corporate sector's assets in the country two foundations Fauji Foundation and army Welfare trust represent two of the country s largest conglomerates to avoid and overcome future economic crises major economic reforms based on basic economic principles rather than the priorities of the elite class, would be needed again, to improve economic management it is necessary to improve governance and resource allocation reduce corruption, and bring transparency and accountability along with major economic reforms major political reforms will also be required in line with the Quaid s s advice: focusing on the well-being of the general masses rather than the interests of the elite groups Finally, the civil and military establishments should have a balanced and healthy relationship following the democratic principles as expected by Jinnah

LikE many senior citizens i have been enjoying for the last more than two decades my morning walks at the aunty Park in Clifton s Block 5 Recently, the park has been renovated by the German consulate after which one saw even more people young and old walking in the morning as well as in the evening

Recently, however, the park has become a sort of cricket ground there are at least 10 teams of young children playing cricket they all make sure that they hit the ball hard and score a six One day a ball struck hard ended up hitting me in the face i was lucky that i escaped unhurt and even the father sent the child to apologise to me, a gesture which i appreciated i wonder about the solution to this issue the children at their age deserve to have fun and as a working paediatrician myself i have to advocate physical activity and fun for these children s emotional and physical growth should i be tough and ask them not to play cricket in this particular park since it was created specifically for walking and jogging? i may be right in doing so but then where should these children be playing? are there enough playgrounds where these children should go and play? no should i and other senior citizens stop our health walks? no Health walks are as important for our health as having fun is for the younger ones in society Can the government authorities take notice of this quandary so that the senior citizens do not have to scold these children for playing in the park? i once saw a woman, a senior citizen, shouting and calling those children illiterate uncivilised and even using abusive language it was just her frustration showing

Over the last few years, several parks have been established in the area, including the new Justice Bhagawandas Park and the Education Park

Besides the Moin akhtar Park and the Hosh Mohammad sheedi Park are there close by indeed, there is an empty ground around a school in the area should some of these facilities not be converted into playgrounds so we may ask these children to play in designated playgrounds and let the people walk in parks without having to risk an injury?

there was a discussion in the park amongst the seniors recently and the opinion was seriously divided about keeping the children out of the park with both sides having legitimate concerns Children need playgrounds and senior citizens need parks so that their rights are not violated and both groups may enjoy good health Converting some of the unutilised parks into playgrounds may serve the purpose DR MUMTAZ LAKHANI KARACHI

Loss of digital vision

DiGitaL Pakistan initiative was planned in 2018 with the aim of achieving connectivity improving digital infrastructure and investing in digital skills and literacy of both the officials and the masses this had happened because a number of factors compelled Pakistan to go digital in terms of governance and economy However the vision demanded elementary understanding regarding what this technology is, and how locals are using it in Pakistan

Excessive use of various social media platforms has disconnected us from the vision of Digital Pakistan Data shows that only a few people know how to run computer software programmes among a large population of youngsters who are more interested in browsing the internet through their cellphones a report released by LiRnEasia states that Pakistan’s internetenabled mobile owners use less diverse range of applications and spend time mainly on social media voice and messaging apps Evidence on gender equality shows that only three per cent women in Pakistan are able to copy or move a file on a computer nearly 30pc of poor Pakistani women find it a challenge to afford a digital device all things put together lack of ownership or accessibility to devices and low digital literacy rate are contributing to the nation’s lack of exposure to the actual magnitude of the larger digital experience

Dr Golam rasul

islAMAbAD M i A n A b r A r

tH e Great Hall of the People in Beijing saw a busy Friday as Chinese top leader met with leaders of Spain Malaysia and Singapore to further boost bilateral relations and exchange views on topics of shared concern with experts pointing out that the interactions among top leaders after the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference will inject positive impetus into the region and the world amid a growing geopolitical crisis

On Friday, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Malaysia s Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Beijing D e e P e n i n g c o o P e r at i o n :

During the meetings especially with two foreign guests from ASeAN, leaders

also stressed upholding multilateralism and deepening cooperation in boosting regional and global development, vowing to support the core position of ASeAN and reject Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation This strong momentum shows that the cooperation between China and ASeAN won t be affected by US-led decoupling moves, as such cooperation is rooted in the fundamental interests of the two sides experts said During Anwar s visit China and Malaysia reached a consensus to jointly build a China-Malaysia community with a shared future which will surely open a new chapter in the history of bilateral relations, Xi said He called on the two sides to make coordinated efforts to advance the development of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields in the next stage push for steady and sustained growth of China-Malaysia relations and inject new impetus into the prosperity

and development of the two countries and the region at large China’s unswerving pursuit of highstandard opening-up and Chinese modernization will bring new opportunities for the development of Malaysia and other countries Xi said calling on the two sides to continue to raise the level of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, advance key projects, foster growth areas in the digital economy green development and new energy and explore cooperation on people s livelihoods so that China-Malaysia relations will bring more benefits to the two peoples The Chinese President also emphasized that China is willing to work with Malaysia to support the core position of ASeAN rejecting the Cold War mentality and camp confrontation

Anwar said that the China-proposed Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Civilization Initiative (GCI) echo Malaysia Madani – a policy framework

Finnish prime minister fighting for re-election

TAMPERE

A F P

that focuses on good governance and sustainable development He also recognized China’s protection of mosques and respect for freedom of religious belief and said Malaysia is willing to deepen dialogue on civilization with China

China recently successfully brokered the Iran-Saudi Arabia dialogue in Beijing which also showed that it is playing a constructive role in promoting peace Malaysia opposes bloc confrontation and being forced to pick sides Anwar said

During a meeting between Xi and Lee, the two leaders also stressed the importance of safeguarding the benefits of regional peace and development and of firmly rejecting hegemony and decoupling

Xi said China gives diplomatic priority to Singapore in its neighborhood diplomacy He noted that during Lee s visit, the two sides elevated bilateral ties to an allround high-quality future-oriented partnership charting the course for the future development of bilateral relations

Trump says ‘ready to fight criminal charges

NEW YORK

Ag e n c i e s

Former US president Donald Trump is due to be fingerprinted and photographed in a New York courthouse next week as he becomes the first ex-president to face criminal charges in a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels Trump s expected appearance before a judge in Manhattan on Tuesday as the Republican mounts a comeback bid for the presidency could further inflame divisions across the country

The first US president to try to overthrow an election defeat inspiring the deadly assault on the Capitol Hill has signalled he will continue to campaign even as he faces charges

“I am not afraid of what’s to come,” he said in a fundraising email on Friday

Those specific charges have not yet been made

public as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN reported that Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud Susan Necheles, a Trump attorney, said the former president will plead not guilty

Another Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said Trump will not have to wear handcuffs at his court appearance and will likely be released without having to post bail “He’s ready to fight He’s gearing up ” Tacopina said Pa rt i s a n b r aw l Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president, said the charges send a “terrible message” to the world about US justice I m very troubled by it Pence a possible 2024 candidate, said at a forum in Washington Senior Republicans in the House of Representatives have vowed to investigate Bragg and demanded he hand over documents and other confidential material from the investigation Bragg said on Friday that Congress does not have authority to interfere with the case and accused the lawmakers of escalating political tensions Bragg’s office has been the target of bomb threats in recent weeks

From steering her country into NATO to headlines about partying, Sanna Marin is a modern, feminist leader who has nonetheless proved a polarising prime minister of Finland The 37-year-old became the world’s youngest elected head of government in 2019 running a centreleft coalition with five women party leaders, four under the age of 35

She is now fighting to stay in power at the legislative elections on Sunday Having deftly navigated Finland through the Covid-19 pandemic and led its historic NATO membership application process Marin is the country s most popular prime minister this century, according to polls

She has also proved one of the world s most vocal critics of the war in Ukraine and of President Vladimir Putin in Russia which neighbours Finland But her Social Democrats are facing stiff competition from two parties on the right, with all three hovering around 20 percent in the polls in the final days of the campaign Before Marin few people abroad knew the name of any head of government in the small country of 5 5 million

But in just a few years she went from a relative unknown in Finland to one of the most recognised leaders around the world

First elected a member of parliament in 2015 she became prime minister in December 2019 and was almost immediately thrown into the global Covid-19 crisis “Solemnly, usually dressed in black, she gave very clear instructions managed to calm the people and create the impression that the government had the pandemic under control, said Marko Junkkari, a journalist at Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat Party sanna

Her popularity peaked during the pandemic, building her reputation as an unwavering crisis leader Navigating those difficult years while keeping her clashing coalition in check shaped Marin into a pragmatic, assertive leader But she was soon entangled in headlines relating to her private life polarising her reputation

In August 2022 leaked social media videos showing Marin partying with a group of Finnish celebrities made news around the world prompting her to take a drug test to clear suspicions of wrongdoing

In December 2021, she came under sustained criticism after it was revealed she stayed out dancing until the early hours despite having been exposed to Covid-19 For some the criticism overshadowed her political accomplishments

CPJ urges Afghan Taliban to revoke ban on women-run radio

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) an independent watchdog body on Friday urged the Talibanled Kabul government to review its decision to allow women-run Radio Sada-e-Banowan to continue its work and called on the authorities to stop the crackdown against the local media in the country The Taliban authorities in Faizabad a city in Badakhshan province had shuttered the broadcaster ’s operations and sealed its office on Thursday according to news reports and an employee of the radio station who spoke to CPJ on the condition of anonymity the media watchdog said in a statement

The officers at the scene, from the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture and Directorate of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, accused the outlet of illegally airing music during the holy month of Ramadan

According to CPJ, the radio station employee who spoke to the watchdog said she was not aware that any music had been aired and

believed that the decision was retaliation for the station’s programmes focusing on women’s education and job opportunities in Badakhshan

The Taliban should immediately reverse its decision shuttering the Radio Sada-e-Banowan broadcaster and allow the outlet to reopen and work freely, CPJ Asia Programme Coordinator Beh Lih Yi said in a statement

The Taliban have deprived Afghan women of everything from jobs to education Shutting down a

DHAKA Ag e n c e s Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged Bangladesh to suspend plans to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, warning conditions there would not be safe for the persecuted and stateless minority

B a n g l a d e s h i s h o m e t o a r o u n d a m i l l i o n R o -

7 m i l i t a r y c r a c k -

down in neighbouring Myanmar that is now subject to a UN genocide investigation

A delegation from Myanmar s military regime travelled to Bangladesh this month to interview potential candidates for return and jump-start a stalled repatriation scheme

But any return to Myanmar would put the lives and liberty of refugees at grave risk , Human Rights Watch said in a statement “ Vo l u n t a r y s a f e a n d d i g n i f i e d r e t u r n s o f R o -

h i n g y a r e f u g e e s t o M y a n m a r a r e n o t p o s s i b l e w h i l e t h e m i l i t a r y j u n t a i s c a r r y i n g o u t m a s s a c r e s a r o u n d

the country ” said Meenakshi Ganguly HRW’s South

A s i a d i r e c t o r

Rohingya in the camps told HRW they were lied to, deceived, or otherwise coerced by Bangladesh administrators” into meeting the Myanmar delegation the watchdog said

Some of the 15 refugees interviewed by the watchdog said they had been lured into the meetings on the understanding they were to discuss possible resettlement to a third country

The Rohingya are widely viewed in Myanmar as interlopers from Bangladesh despite roots in the country stretching back centuries and are stateless after Myan-

women-run radio station shows there is no reprieve for the Afghan media even during the holy month of Ramadan

The Taliban must correct its course and stop cracking down on journalism, ” she added Radio Sada-e-Banowan was established in 2014 and is owned by Afghan female journalist Najla Shirzad Local Taliban officials allowed the radio station to restart operations not long after the group retook power It has six employees, according to the person who spoke to CPJ

mar ceased recognising their citizenship in 2015

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing who has dismissed the Rohingya identity as imaginary , was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown

The International Court of Justice is probing allegations of systematic rape murder and arson against Rohingya by Myanmar s security forces

Rights groups have accused the junta of planning to orchestrate a “token” return of refugees to avoid the court s censure

‘repatriation will be voluntary’

A junta spokesman said this month that Myanmar could accept “around 1 000” members of the minority as soon as mid-April

But a senior foreign ministry official in Bangladesh, speaking on condition of anonymity said that the amount of preparation still needed made that timeframe doubtful

He also denied his country would force refugees to return “Repatriation will be voluntary,” he said

Human Rights Watch said Bangladesh had been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods movement and education in an apparent effort to coerce refugees into considering returning to Myanmar ”

Thousands of Rohingya risk their lives each year making perilous journeys from camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia

Last week around 180 Rohingya attempting to flee to Malaysia from Myanmar s Rakhine state were arrested by authorities, according to a security official

They did not specify why the group had been arrested but the Muslim minority faces restrictions on travelling within Myanmar, where rights groups say they live in apartheid-like conditions

corporate corner

NOT-BY- PROFIT

SBP ImPoSeS fIneS on exPorterS del ayIng receIPt of PaymentS

date of shipment, whichever is earlier

Secretar y Industries Ehsan Bhutta pays surprise visit to TEV TA College

lahore: Secretary Industries and Commerce Ehsan Bhutta paid surprise visit to the Government College of Technology, Printing, and Graphics Arts TEVTA

During his visit Ehsan Bhutta looked after the academic process attendance labs play area and cleanliness He also visited classrooms and discussed different matters with teachers and students He also praised the industry-academia linkages of TEVTA with Arts and the graphics industry While speaking on occasion he said that close coordination with industry is the real spirit of technical education He also visited all labs, overviewed cleanliness, and green lines, and visited the roofs of the college building He also advised to maintain the cleanliness of roofs along with other parts of the building so that the drainage of rain water reremain smooth He also visited the Centre of Excellence which will be established in coordination with Asian Development Bank p r

HBFC posts after tax profit of PKR 1.48b in 2022

K A R A C H I: The 17th Annual General Meeting of the members of House Building Finance Company

Limited was held at HBFC Head Office on Thursday

The meeting was attended by members of the Board of Directors Institution s senior management shareholders and statutory auditors During the annual general meeting a brief presentation on institution s financial performance was given to the shareholders The participants were apprised that during the year 2022, institution s Balance Sheet grew by 42% and reached the level of PKR 37 3 billion During 2022, the institution s income increased to 3 28 billion from 2 38 billion in FY'21 showing a strong increase of 38% The institution's

aC C O R D I N G to an article in The Express Tribune, Pakistan's central bank has recently issued new regulations aimed at tightening the process of repatriating export earnings back to the country

Under the new rules exporters who delay bringing their export earnings into Pakistan will face fines of up to 9% of their realized export proceeds

The fines will be imposed if export proceeds are realized fully or partially after the prescribed period of up to 180 days, or earlier in some cases

Exporters often delay receipt of payments from their global buyers in anticipation of a better rupee-dollar exchange rate, creating an artificial shortage of US dollars in the domestic economy and triggering depreciation in the local currency Such delays also reduce the supply of US dollars in the economy causing unnecessary rupee depreciation against the greenback Pakistan which

iSlamaBad S ta f f r E p o r t

Chairman of the Capital Development Authority Captain Noor ul Amin Mengal on Saturday visited various ongoing projects in the city Member Engineering, Member Finance, Member Planning, Member Estate, Member

Environment and officers of concerned formations accompanied the Chairman during these visits

In this regard Chairman Capital Development Authority visited Park Enclave Phase-II and III and inspected progress of development works on the

is already managing with critically low foreign exchange reserves and a high risk of default on foreign debt repayments, cannot afford such delays

According to a notification released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday, in cases where export proceeds are realized (fully or partially) after the prescribed period (a maximum of 180 days in the majority of cases or earlier in some cases) authorized dealers (mostly commercial banks) will convert the export proceeds at the prevailing market exchange rate and credit the same into the exporters account They will also mark a 3% lien on the amount of export proceeds delayed by up to 30 days, 6% on realization of export proceeds delayed by more than 30 days to a maximum of 60 days, and 9% on export payment received with a delay of more than 60 days

The new instructions will be applicable with immediate effect and the fines will be deposited with the SBP However the instructions will not be ap-

project Chairman CDA directed that the speed of development work should be accelerated and superior quality work should be ensured He further said that the possession of the developed plots in Park Enclave II and III should be handed over to the owners immediately Chairman Capital Development Authority Captain Noor ul Amin Mengal also visited Sector I-15 and reviewed the development works

While expressing his dissatisfaction over the substandard works, he also reprimanded the officers He said that he will not compromise the on quality of work and no laxity will be tolerated He

plicable in the case of export bills/export receivables discounted by the exporters to the authorized dealers

Moreover, in view of the representation received from various stakeholders, it has been decided that exporters who are able to bring their delayed export proceeds to Pakistan by April 30 2023 will not face any deductions and their export proceeds will be converted into rupees and released to them in a normal fashion according to the notification

The central bank has also instructed authorized dealers to release the amount withheld or deducted early under the previous regulations made on February 13, 2023 "The amounts withheld by the ADS in pursuance of (previous) instructions will also be released to the exporters," read the central bank's notification

The Foreign Exchange Manual 2002 and a concerned circular elaborated that "exporters are now required to repatriate the export proceeds on the due date for payment or within six months from the

further directed that the quality of work which is not good should be improved within two weeks He said that he will visit again after two weeks He added that if there is no improvement in the work disciplinary action will be taken against the concerned officers Chairman CDA Captain Noor ul Amin Mengal also visited Nelore Residencia a project for overseas Pakistanis Chairman CDA also inspected the various segments of the project in detail Chairman CDA ispected the completed model apartments under the project Chairman CDA Captain Noor Amin

In some cases, however, like the export of carpets or exports to South American countries, the proceeds may be received within 285 days

The new regulations are expected to ensure the timely receipt of export proceeds into the country and better management of foreign exchange reserves crucial for the country s economic stability In the past two months the Pakistani rupee has devalued by 19% or Rs54 to around Rs284 against the greenback in the interbank market Pakistan s foreign exchange reserves have dropped by $354 million to $2 24 billion in the week ended on March 24, 2023 The reserves are barely enough to finance exports for around a month Low reserves have resulted in cutting imports by almost half at $4 billion a month and partially shutting down the domestic economy

To re a d t h e f u l l a r t i c l e v i s i t w w w tr ib u n e co m p k

Mengal also visited CDA Nursery On this occasion, Chairman CDA said that more steps should be taken to increase the production of the nursery Chairman CDA further said that the nursery is established on a wide area which should be fully utilized Chairman CDA said that the nursery will be made more productive by involving the civil society

Chairman Capital Development Authority Captain Noor Amin Mengal said that development work in the city, especially sector development, is our priority He said that the development works will be completed in the sectors which are stalled since decades

Zaid Khan tessori, achieves incredible youtube milestone

year pr

Power suspension schedule for 1st and 2nd April 2023

IslAmAbAd: According to Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) s spokesman System Maintenance/Development Work is in process

Therefore power supply of below mentioned feeders/areas will be temporary suspended as per given schedule: On 1st April 2023, 06:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Rawalpindi Cantt Circle Islamabad Feed Mill Jhata

Hatial Pind Jatla Lab II Lab I Reliance Weaving Mill Bhal, Jarrar Comp Feeders, From 07:00 AM to 09:00 AM, GSO Circle, 6th Road, T&T, Asghar Mall, B Block, New Milpur, Shakryal, Jamia Masjid Road, C-Block, Ojri Camp Feeders On 02nd April 2023 From 08:00 AM to 11:00 AM G S O Circle Pindi Point Barian Public

Health Gharial PAF Upper Topa Lora Patriata Company Bagh, Cecil Road, Lora-II, MCM, TDCP, Kohala, Sunny Bank, Kaldana, PC, Dhirakkot, Chamankot, Ringla, Dana Express, Dhalla pr

iSlamaBad p r

Access to affordable and high-quality healthcare is one of the most pressing global demands today As a matter of fact, more than half of the world s population lives in rural areas, where the vast majority of such places lack access to even the most fundamental services and facilities, such as medical care and educational opportunities It is also very challenging for the states, particularly the developing nations to open and run healthcare facilities in any community utilizing standard healthcare models with only limited resources available H o w e v e r t h e e c o n o m i c g r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t o f c o u n t r i e s w h e r e I n f o r m a t i o n a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y ( I C T ) h a s b e e n successfully implemented bring clear differences In P a k i s t a n t h e C o m m i s s i o n o n S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y f o r S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e S o u t h ( C O M S AT S ) , h a s m a d e s i g n i f i c a n t a c h i e v e m e n t s o v e r t h e y e a r s i n n u m e r o u s f i e l d s , such as Information Technology, Education, Energy, E n v i r o n m e n t , a n d H e a l t h T h r o u g h i t s f l a g s h i p p r o j e c t s ; C O M S AT S I n t e r n e t S e r v i c e s ( C I S ) a n d

C O M S AT S Te l e h e a l t h ( C T H ) , t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l platform has been rendering services as a pioneer of Internet Service Provider (ISP) as well as a pioneer of Telemedicine in Pakistan respectively

In 1996 when the internet was still a fairly new technology COMSATS initiated its internet services division COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) and set up a network of 19 offices all over Pakistan to better assist

Hilal aHmad

Experts at the Summit-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

Contact Group in Baku Azerbaijan discussed whether Karabakh model was the only way to liberate Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir from foreign occupation Azerbaijan is a symbol of resilience against foreign aggression and it has succeeded in liberating the Karabakh region under the valiant leadership of President Ilham Aliyev During the second Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020 Azerbaijan succeeded in liberating its territories The war lasted over a month and resulted in Azerbaijan s victory against the Armenia

Under the visionary leadership of incumbent President Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan has achieved tremendous success at the national and international levels The Republic of Azerbaijan became member of the NAM on May 26, 2011 with the unanimous support of the member states NAM was established in 1961 and is the largest group of states outside the United Nations

NAM Summit in Baku on March 02

2023 provided an important platform for member states to come together and discuss the world s challenges in the post-

both private and government institutions small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to improve marginalized communication as well

Further COMSATS executed a Telehealth project in 2001 with a novel concept of delivering basic health consultations using virtualization and the effective use of ICT Since this first-ever telemedicine project COMSATS Telehealth (CTH) is serving as the platform for social services, distributing socioeconomic advantages and free specialist consultations to the rural and inaccessible areas of Pakistan s marginalized communities, using a vast Network of Telehealth clinics in areas like Skardu and Zhob

The Skardu project was first of its kind that provided a huge benefit to the people of Northern areas of Pakistan Despite the fact that the quality and affordability of healthcare are the primary issues in Pakistan telehealth has still become a new hope for removing bottlenecks

As a continuation of initial project COMSATS Internet Services has been providing Telehealth Services through various collaborations since 2013

The paramedic connects to the female medical specialist via video conferencing and assists her in obtaining an interactive history followed by a thorough examination using digital diagnostic and AMD-approved equipment Initially, the CIS successfully ran a Network of 13 Telehealth clinics in Basic Health Units (BHUs) across Punjab and KPK Currently another network of more than 26 Teleclinics in the Baluchistan province is providing Telehealth service in the province )

pandemic era During the Summit, President Iham Aliyev highlighted NAM’s contributions to the pandemic response, specifically focusing on developing a database for the pandemic needs of NAM member states

The meeting was attended by almost 70 heads of states and government representatives including important international organizations The event was widely covered by local and international media Journalists belonging to different countries and regions of the world physically covered the Baku moot After the conclusion of NAM summit, a group of foreign journalists visited the liberated areas of Karabakh Pakistan and Azerbaijan have maintained close relations after forming diplomatic relations Both the countries have closely worked in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 Azerbaijan declared its independence and Pakistan was the second country to recognize its liberation Moreover, Pakistan had always supported Azerbaijan on the NagornoKarabakh conflict with Armenia at all international forums Pakistan is the only country in the world which does not recognize Armenia In April 1993, a meeting

KaracHi p r

Zaid Khan Tessori, son of Governor Sindh Kamran Khan Tessori, achieved an incredible YouTube milestone, becoming the youngest YouTuber to hit 100 000 subscribers in one month which is quite an achievement Zaid Khan Tessori who released his first video on his YouTube channel in February is famous for his gaming videos and entertaining vlogs During this one month, Zaid collaborated with other famous Pakistani YouTube celebrities as well From Ducky Bhai to Maaz Safder, many famous Pakistani YouTubers featured in his videos ‘Kahani Suno’ sensation Kaifi Khalil also made an appearance in one of Zaid’s videos when Kaifi visited his residence in Karachi Currently, Zaid Khan has crossed 100,000 subscribers on YouTube alone Whereas, his followers on other social media platforms like TikTok Instagram and Facebook also continue to grow He is only 12 but his confidence appears to be much more than his age

of the United Nations Security Council led by Pakistan was held which unanimously adopted a resolution concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

At the same time Azerbaijan supports Pakistan s stance on Kashmir dispute Azerbaijan had always urged on the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions As per stance of the Azerbaijan s Ministry of Foreign Affairs guided by its commitments undertaken upon joining the UN, Azerbaijan always supports and stands for implementation of norms and principles of international law and UN Security Council resolutions in settlement of conflicts and maintenance of international peace and security

This is the firm and principled position of Azerbaijan

Keeping in view this stance Azerbaijan supports the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council It is worth to mention that Azerbaijan is also the member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir On the invitation of Azeri government, a group of Journalists from across the globe including Pakistan attended the NAM summit in Baku and other places in the first week of March The media repre-

sentatives of many countries visited Azerbaijan for the coverage of Summit-level meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku and Karabakh region from 02 March to 05 March 2023

Azerbaijan is presently carrying out the reconstruction process on large scale in the war-torn areas of NagornoKarabakh region The foreign media persons visited different areas which were liberated by Azerbaijan in 2020 from the occupation of Armenia The Azeri government is also engaged in rehabilitation process in Aghdam, Fazuli Shusha and other liberated areas

During their visit to Aghdam, journalists also witnessed the ongoing development process in the liberated areas and inspected the civic facilities religious cultural and historical monuments destroyed during the occupation including the Imaret complex the Alley of Martyrs and the Drama Theater The delegation of journalists later left for Ganja the second largest city of Azerbaijan and stayed there for night Foreign journalists who arrived in Azerbaijan to cover the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement s Contact Group in response to COVID-19, on March 04, visited the places hit by missiles fired by Armenians in Ganja city Media delegation visited Victory Park in Ganja

C DA c h a i r m a n i n s p e c t s p a c e o f wo r k o n d i ffe re n t p ro j e

W hy K a r a b a k h m o d e l o n l y way to re s o l ve K a s h m i r ?

‘COMSATS Telehealth: Revolutionizing healthc are in rural Pakistan through IC T ’

KARACHI: After third quarter-final of Naya Nazimabad Bankers Cup cricket tournament Chief Guest Faisal Bank President Yousuf Hussain is presenting man of the match award to Shoaib Ahmed of Attock Sports Chairman Naya Nazimabad Arif Habib, President Syed Muhammad Talha and others are also prominent on this occasion p r

LHC to Hear CoNteMPt PetItIoN agaINSt eCP boSS, MeMberS for eLeCtIoN deL ay

LAhore S ta f f R e p o R t

acontempt petition against Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for postponing the election to the Punjab Assembly, previously scheduled to be held on April 30, will be heard by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday

Barrister Shahid Rana s petition said the LHC had ordered the conduct of elections in Punjab within 90 days and the ECP had announced April 30 as the polling day However, the tribunal changed the poll date to October 8 despite the court’s order

Last week elections in Punjab were postponed in a move that defied the Supreme Court ruling that a new election should be held within 90 days of the parlia-

ment being dissolved and led to more tensions between supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan and the government The election commission cited security threats and financial problems for

the delay and said it could not provide a level playing field to all parties The petition alleges that the ECP changed the date at the behest of the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement

(PDM) coalition violating the judgement and amounting to contempt of court The petitioner has requested the court to initiate contempt proceedings against Raja and other members of the ECP

Imran moves LHC for contempt proceeding against PEMRA

L AHORE: Former pr me m nister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Cha rman Imran Khan on Saturday fi ed a contempt of court petition in Lahore High Court (LHC) aga nst the Pakistan Electronic Media Regu ator y Authority (PEMRA) over ban on h s speeches PTI chief Imran Khan filed the plea through h s counsel Barrister Ahmad Pansota against the e ectronic media regulator y watchdog and its Chairman has been made respondent n the plea In the petition, Imran Khan has urged the Lahore High Court (LHC) to init ate contempt proceedings against the Pak stan E ectronic Media Regulator y Authority (PEMRA) over disobey ng a court order suspend ng a ban on broadcasting his inter views speeches and press talks Imran has challenged PEMRA s prohib tion in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and on March 9 LHC s Justice Shams Mahmood Mir za had suspended PEMRA s prohibition order However, the former prime minister a leges that the order has not been compl ed with and that TV channels are not airing h s speeches because the respondents – PEMRA Cha rman Saleem Baig and Director Operations Muhammad Tahir along with other PEMRA officials – have threatened them with dire consequences if they do so The PTI chief contended that the respondents act ons are contemptuous i lega ultra vires the law and the Constitution S ta f f R e p o R t

Increase of Rs2.8 per unit for power consumers!

The government has decided to impose an additional surcharge on power consumers in accordance with this the Ministry of Energy Power Division has issued a notification for a hike in the power tariff by Rs 2 80 per unit, it was learnt on Saturday

brunt of Rs 0 43 per unit surcharge; the additional surcharge will also be imposed by the government to meet the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

“This increase in the price will burden the already burdened power consumers , they added

an app built entirely to bridge communication, trust and convenience between buyers and sellers of various items is falling short to build trust with its users If you open the app and list a product say a mobile, at a sale price of Rs 20,000 you will see an undertaking with a Quranic verse making you promise that whatever you sell you will deposit 1% of the sale proceeds to OLX Here s what it is: It is not unusual for Pakistanis to see top officials resorting to divine help instead of taking responsibility for the mess But for a global tech app like OLX such tactics bring quite a bit of shock, and even dismay The undertaking requirement comes only on the free ad, not on premium ones Signing the declaration is not necessary since ads are posted first and then the pop-up shows up but it does indicate the sorry state of tech companies which are consistently finding it hard to collect revenue

How does Olx earn money?

The business model of OLX is scale-dependent

The website acts as a classifieds portal where customers can buy and sell goods OLX spends massive amounts of money to garner more and more user traffic and greater frequency and several listings The high traffic is put to use to earn revenue by monetizing the number of clicks and searches

Google Adsense

Unlike other online marketplaces where the website acts as an affiliate to sellers’ products, OLX has a different ball game altogether The primary source of revenue for OLX is through Google Adsense Monetization, Google Custom Search Engine, Sponsored Links and Sponsored Listings

Google Adsense is an advertising placement service by Google which lets publishers like OLX serve media advertisements Google Adsense works in contrast with the OLX website and its contents are displayed on the web page itself The number of Adsense units varies on different pages of the OLX website OLX attracts high user traffic through online and TV advertisements It monetizes the high inflow doing this based on CPC (Cost Per Click), Cost per 1000 Impressions (CPM), and Cost Per View (CPV) for video ads on its homepage as well as on individual product pages till the seller is finally contacted and the transaction takes place Google Custom Search Engine

The OLX page has a search bar for customers to look up products When they perform any search the results obtained are an optimization with the Google custom search engine monetization of Adsense, wherein the first two-three results are from Google Featured (premium) Listings

As explained above, if a seller, for example,

According to the power division s notification additional surcharge of will be applicable on electricity consumers including domestic commercial general service bulk agricultural tubewells etc of all power distribution companies (DISCOs) including K-Electric with effect from July

1, 2023 for an indefinite period

Under the notification, this increase in the tariff will not be applicable to domestic consumers consuming 300 units per month from the start of July to the end of October Whereas the exemption to domestic and agricultural consumers also ends from November and they will have to pay the additional surcharge of Rs 2 80 However, for the months from July to October the surcharge will also not be applicable to the agricultural consumers

As per sources, the power consumers are already bearing the

“After the issuance of the Rs 2 80 per unit additional surcharge notification by the power division, the total surcharge to be paid by the power consumers through monthly electricity bills will stand at Rs 3 43 per unit, said sources

The additional surcharges have also been imposed on domestic commercial industrial general services and bulk categories of electricity consumers for an indefinite period

Earlier the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) in a recently issued notification stated it has decided to allow application of enhanced surcharges through instant decision to be recovered from different categories of consumers of both DISCOs and K-Electric, from the FY 2023-24 and with effect from July 1 2023 The fresh surcharge shall be shown as a separate head in the consumers bills notification added

According to NEPRA s decision in the matter of the motion from the federal government

about the recommendation of consumer end tariff for DISCOs and K-Electric In a letter from the Ministry of Energy (MoE) in March submitted an instant motion with respect to the consumer end tariff for DISCOs & K-Electric with NEPRA and informed that the already approved surcharges are not sufficient to meet the electricity services obligations of the government

It also stated that non-payment to power producers may result in loss of generation capacity and since the payments to the power producers have been secured by sovereign guarantee issued by the Government of Pakistan, the power producers shall start calling upon the sovereign guarantees along with the imposition of late payment surcharge

The MoE further mentioned that National Electricity Policy 2021, provides that financial sustainability of the sector is premised on the recovery of full cost of service to the extent feasible, through an efficient tariff structure, which ensures sufficient liquidity in the sector”

Also the ministry of energy reported that in due course, financial self-sustainability will eliminate the need for government subsidies

rAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t

Four soldiers patrolling the Pakistan-Iran border embraced martyred when they were attacked by terrorists from across the border in Jalgai Sector in Kech district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that soldiers –Naik Shair Ahmed Lance Naik Muhammad Asghar, Sepoy Muhammad Irfan and Sepoy Abdur Rasheed were critically injured in the attack and later embraced martyrdom

According to the military’s media wing contact is being established with the Iranian side for effective action against terrorists” and to prevent such incidents in the future The ISPR said that Pakistan has demanded effective and immediate action from the Iranian officials

A day earlier a Pakistan Army

soldier was martyred during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the general area of Mir Ali North Waziristan district the ISPR said

The security forces personnel fought bravely and effectively engaged the terrorists location

However, during an intense exchange of fire, Sepoy Irshadullah (age 29 years resident of District Karak) having fought gallantly, embraced martyrdom

The ISPR said, “sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found there P

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack on security personnel along Pak-Iran Border in Kech district of Balochistan and paid tributes to the security forces for rendering invaluable sacrifices for depending the motherland

Prime Minister Shehbaz

Sharif Saturday expressed grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of four security personnel in the attack

In a tweet, PM Shehbaz paid tribute to the martyred Naik Sher Ahmed Lance Naik Muhammad Asghar, Sepoy Muhammad Irfan and Sepoy Abdul Rashid

The prime minister condoled and sympathized with the bereaved families of the martyred

He said sons of the nation were sacrificing their precious lives for the defence security and protection of the motherland

“Nation salutes the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the country He said eradication of terrorism was a national agenda and with the help of Allah Almighty terrorists will be eliminated

He prayed for the elevation of ranks of martyrs and for patience to the bereaved families

Iranian Embassy condemns terror attack on Pakistan s security forces

KArAchI m a R i a m U m a R fa R o o q

Swyft Logistics recently underwent a significant shakeup in its management structure Muhammad Uns was relieved of his duties as CEO on April 01, 2023, following a decision made by the company’s board of directors In his place Ahmed Khan who is the brother of Majid Khan, has been appointed as the interim CEO while Shahzad Ahmed has been appointed as the interim CFO This information was verified by a credible source within the company to Profit

As per the company source, who wishes to remain anonymous Swyft Logistics like most other startups is currently grappling with an environment of uncertainty due to the economic conditions prevailing in the country Concerns over dwindling funding and cash flow have been weighing heavily on the minds of those at the helm In line with other businesses in the startup ecosystem, the board s top priority has been to minimise cash burn and ensure cost-effectiveness in order to sustain operations

The board had certain expectations from the management team to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the business by implementing operational changes such as adjusting prices However the management team was unsuccessful in achieving the key performance indicators (KPIs) that were set Additionally their progress towards growing the business was sluggish as per the board s standards

Unfortunately, the situation escalated to the point where the last resort was to let go of some employees

Despite the pressing need to do so the board was hesitant to go down this route as they wished to avoid any negative publicity during such uncertain times Consequently the board resolved to remove the CEO from his position as he was unable to meet the set KPIs and his leadership had been lax An interim CEO has since been appointed to fill the void While this explains the recent change in the CEO’s position the change of CFO has left some room for speculation The appointment of an interim CFO has raised questions about whether there were other factors at play beyond just the management s laxity It is possible that the company s financial controls were not as robust as they should have been, prompting the board to take this step

PPP unhappy with PML-N over ‘state of affairs’

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Amid simmering political turmoil in the country, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) a key member in the ruling PDM alliance on Saturday strongly opposed the free flour distribution scheme introduced by the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N)

According to sources the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has strongly opposed the scheme and presented their reservations in a cabinet meeting to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “The PML-N has initiated the Free Flour Scheme despite opposition from the coalition parties” claimed an insider in the PPP who wants not be named Sources said the PML-N-led government is constantly ignoring the coalition parties The Prime Minister made a mockery of the people when he went to the free flour distribution point via helicopter Sources within the PPP added the PPP had, instead, suggested distribution of money through BISP instead of free flour distribution There are many flaws in this scheme, which are evident from the distribution mechanism besides the way people are being humiliated is simply condemnable” they regretted

They recalled that the PPP had also pointed out problems in the distribution of free flour to people The PPP is disappointed that despite pointing out the problem the government started the free flour distribution, sources added ‘Mandokhail lashes out at PML-N ministers’ Meanwhile PPP MNA Qadir Mandokhail on Saturday lambasted the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) federal ministers – Ishaq Dar and Rana Sanaullah over the IMF agreement and mishandling Imran Khan’s arrest issue In an exclusive interview with ARY News, the PPP lawmaker, who also heads NA Committee on Affected Employees of federal government criticised finance minister Ishaq Dar over his statement regarding not compromising on the country s nuclear programme given in the Senate Demanding a probe against PML-N senator, Qadir Mandokhail said that PPP would not compromise on the country s nuclear and missile programme

The PPP MNA also lashed out at Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Punjab IGP for mishandling Imran Khan’s arrest issue

Imran threatens street protests if polls not held in 90 days

LAhore

S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman

Imran Khan on Saturday warned that his supporters would take to the streets if elections were not held in Punjab and KP provinces within the stipulated constitutional timeframe of 90 days

In a meeting with reporters and social media influencers here at his Zaman Park residence the PTI Chairman stated that if polls were not held within the stipulated timeframe, the country would be left without a Constitution

We will be left with no option but to launch countrywide protests if elections are not held in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) within 90 days to uphold the Constitution he declared

The press delegation included Khurram

Malik, Khawaja Ramzan, Rana Faran

Yameen, Jawad Hasan, Anas Zafar, Tahir

Ahmed and noted analyst Chaudhry Ghu-

lam Hussain

The caretaker governments in the Punjab and KP provinces should have played a neutral role but unfortunately they are not fulfilling their constitutional responsibilities , Imran regretted The PTI chief questioned as “under which law the government of crooks would restore the provincial assemblies in KP and Punjab if the polls did not take place within the constitutional mandated timeframe ”

Imran Khan revealed that Qamar Javed

Bajwa pressurized him into establishing friendly relations with India, which was why

matters took a turn for the worse adding that

Bajwa was not a man of principles The PTI Chairman suggested that accountability against Gen Bajwa’s actions

should come from within the army, adding that President Arif Alvi was not playing any role to establish contacts between the military establishment and the PTI Imran said that PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and PTI President Pervaiz Elahi had been tasked with establishing contacts with other parties and politicians adding that there were no restrictions on any party member meeting other political figures

Lashing out at the PDM for targeting the Supreme Court for taking suo motu notice of delay on elections to the Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa assemblies he said that they agreed with similar proceedings of the court to restore provincial assemblies in the past when it benefitted them

He expressed concerns over the crackdown on the PTI saying they have been completely blocked on the media and now attempts are being made to control social media

Imran Khan lashed out at the Mohsin Raza Naqvi-led interim Punjab government and remarked that there was no reason for the attack on his house in his absence and saying that he was going to pursue the matter

in the courts against Punjab s interim CM Naqvi, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Anwar and CCPO Lahore Bilal Saddique Kamyana who he called them as criminals

‘Khao kasam,’ says oLX to its sellers before finalising a deal

In a swift turn of events, Sw y ft Logistics undergoes major management changes