Epaper_12-04-2023 LHR

Wednesday, 12 April, 2023 I 21 Ramzan, 1444

ONE YEAR PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTED

PM SHEHBAZ SHARIF ASSURES ‘SINCERE’ EFFORTS TO REVIVE ECONOMY

ON Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reassured the public that his government is making “sincere” efforts to revive Pakistan’s struggling economy. He acknowledged the challenges faced during the past year, including record inflation and economic difficulties laid out by the previous government, but he also highlighted the successes of his own government.

One of the biggest achievements that the Prime Minister mentioned was the successful no-confidence vote against Imran Khan’s government, which was a significant step in the country’s political evolution. He emphasized the importance of reconciliation and cooperation between political parties, rather than confrontation and vendetta.

Despite the economic landmines left behind by the previous government and global fuel and food supply issues, the current government has managed to keep the economy afloat, and sincere efforts are underway to revive it.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the government’s efforts to repair and deepen Pakistan’s diplomatic ties, which had suffered under the previous regime. The government’s successful rescue, re-

lief, and rehabilitation efforts during last year’s devastating floods were acknowledged by the world as “outstanding”.

Furthermore, the government has made efforts to diversify the energy mix and provide relief to citizens by expanding the social safety net and providing targeted subsidies. Pakistan’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list was also a notable achievement, which the Prime Minister credited to excellent inter-ministerial coordination and support from the military leadership.

PM reviews free flour distribution process at different points

FAISALABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday arrived here to review the arrangements at different points, set up for the distribution of free flour among deserving people. During the visit, the prime minister interacted with the people, gathered there to receive free Atta bags under PM’s Special Ramazan Package for the poor. He enquired about the distribution arrangements and also witnessed the process.

Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb and the relevant authorities also accompanied the prime minister. The people, especially the old women, expressed their joy and satisfaction over visit of the prime minister. STAFF REPORT

Kh Asif says ‘Afghan soil still being used by TTP for attacks on Pakistan’

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is still using Afghan soil for launching attacks on Pakistan — especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

“Islamabad has good relations with the ruling Taliban government in Kabul. However, the Afghan authorities have not succeeded in stopping the use of their territory in attacks on Pakistan,” he said in an interview with the US broadcaster, Voice of America. The matter, the federal minister said, had been brought up and discussed last month where a meeting between a high-ranking delegation — including Asif and the ISI DG Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum — and Afghan officials.

“During the meeting”, the defence minister said, “The Taliban expressed their determination to deal with this problem.” The Afghan authorities said that they would not allow their land to be used for terrorism against any country, Asif added. He further said that he believed the Afghan Taliban were “distancing” themselves from the proscribed outfit, however, due to the fact that they fought against Nato together in the past, certain “camaraderie” exists between the two sides. During his interview, Asif also alleged that the resettlement of TTP leaders in Pakistan was done through a “programme”.

“[Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former prime minister] Imran Khan has been signalling throughout his political career that he is ideologically supportive of the Taliban. At various points, the international media has even referred to him as ‘Taliban Khan’,” he said. He added that the TTP was in possession of the advanced equipment left behind by the US after its withdrawal, further alleging that India too is still helping them.

AJK prime minister disqualified over contempt of court

MUZAFFARABAD STAFF REPORT

Sardar Tanveer Ilyas, prime minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, was disqualified from regional parliament after being found guilty of “insulting” judges in public remarks, officials said.

This decision on Tuesday came after Ilyas, a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), was served separate notices by the supreme and high courts on Monday, regarding his apparently derogatory remarks about the judiciary in his speeches.

education project that had been put on hold due to a court-issued stay order, as well as the de-sealing of tobacco factories involved in tax evasion worth billions of rupees.

The High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir issued a notice of contempt to the prime minister after a meeting of the judges’ council, where it was unanimously decided that he had threatened the judiciary in his public address, and that his conduct was objectionable and unbecoming.

lAhore sehr: 4:14 AM iftAr: 6:31 PM

g islAMAbAd sehr: 4:05 AM iftAr: 6:50 PM

Ilyas had indirectly accused the judiciary of hindering the functioning of his government and interfering in the executive’s domain through the grant of stay orders during a function in Islamabad over the weekend.

He specifically mentioned a $15 million Saudi-funded

Ilyas had then been asked to appear before the court in person Tuesday to explain his position before the issuance of a contempt notice. He appeared before Justice Chaudhry Khalid Rasheed in Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, and was symbolically convicted of the alleged offence and sentenced to time spent in the courtroom. Under the law, this automatically disqualifies him from public office. Following the announcement of the verdict, Ilyas, who was scheduled to appear before the regional Supreme Court, headed instead to the

Prime Minister’s House accompanied by cabinet members.

In response to the development, Fawad Chaudhry, a leader of the PTI party, said it is mandatory to respect the decisions made by the courts, whether it be the prime minister of Pakistan or Kashmir, a self-governing territory.

He emphasised that the judicial system must not be undermined to govern the country. Chaudhry urged Ilyas to apologise for his actions and expressed hope that the Supreme Court would provide relief.

Furthermore, he added that Shehbaz Sharif should take heed from the decision made by the court.

It was unclear whether Ilyas would appeal the ruling. The court also instructed the regional election oversight body to prepare for a vote to replace Ilyas.

The assembly in Kashmir is expected to choose the new leader of the house in the coming days. The PTI may face a tough contest as Sharif’s backers claim they are in a position to form the government.

fiqAh-e-hAnfiA islAMAbAd sehr: 4:15 AM iftAr: 6:40 PM

kArAchi sehr: 4:55 AM iftAr: 6:53 PM fiqAh-e-jAfAriA

HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS, DIVERSIFICATION OF ENERGY MIX kArAchi sehr: 4:45 AM iftAr: 7:03 PM

IMF slashes Pakistan’s growth rate projection to 0.5pc for current fiscal

PROFIT ISLAMABAD

According to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan’s real GDP growth rate projection for the current fiscal year has been slashed from 2% to 0.5%. The report also predicts that the country’s GDP growth rate would be 3.5% in fiscal year 2024. Inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is forecasted to be recorded around 27.1% in FY23 and fall to 21.9% in FY24. Meanwhile, the current account deficit (CAD) is projected to be 2.3% and 2.4% in FY23 and FY24, respectively.

The IMF’s downgrading of Pakistan’s growth rate projections comes days after the World Bank and Asian Development Bank also lowered their forecasts to 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. The country’s economy has been struggling to recover, with inflation at a decades-high level, several companies shutting down, and uncertainty due to the delay in the release of an economic bailout by the IMF.

The IMF expects global inflation to slow to 7% this year, down from 8.7% last year, but this figure remains significantly above the 2% target set by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world. The report also highlights concerns about low productivity in many countries and geopolitical tensions that could weigh on growth in the medium term.

RUDA’s reckoning – HRW cracks down on farmers’ eviction issue

g HRW SAYS AUTHORITIES SHOULD ENFORCE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS AND REFORM COLONIAL-ERA

AnAlysis

LAHORE ABDULLAH NIAZI

Cracking down hard on the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) and its pet-project to create a city from scratch on the bank’s of the river Ravi, the Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said authorities were “forcibly evicting thousands of farmers near the city of Lahore for a massive infrastructure project.”

“The authorities should enforce environmental protections and reform colonial-era laws that grant the government broad powers to acquire land for private as well as public use,” read the statement from the New York based NGO that conducts research and ad-

vocacy on human rights. The contentious Ravi Riverfront project has been a hotly contested issue over the past few years. Under dispute are roughly 4,000 acres. For the farmers who live here this area is Ferozewala, a rich swathe of agricultural land directly fed by the Ravi and lush with guava orchards and seasonal plantations of maize, wheat, pumpkins, and other cash crops popular in farmlands close to the edges of Lahore’s periurban sprawl. For the officials of RUDA, it is Sapphire Bay — the location for phase one of the Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project. And since they claim that the land is theirs, legally acquired and possessed, they are now within their complete rights to bulldoze and bully as they please.

Background to RUDA

The idea for a riverfront project on the banks of the Ravi is not a new one. In fact, it was first proposed as far back as 2006, and underwent a feasibility study in 2013 under the PML-N government.

Essentially, the Ravi riverfront is the plan to make a new city from scratch.

The project would be Pakistan’s second-largest planned city after Islamabad, covering an area of 102,074 acres, catering to a population of up to 15 million people.

The foundation rock for the utopian riverfront project was first laid in 2019 with the passage of the special legislation that established RUDA. The authority would not work under any other body in or related to Lahore, and would have complete control over the project. The law went so far as to make a provision granted RUDA and its employ-

ees immunity from all legal proceedings, and “no court or other authority” can “question the legality of anything done or any action taken in good faith under this Act, by or at the instance of the Authority.”

Raging court cases

From the get-go, the warning signs were present. The law that had created and empowered RUDA seemed to go beyond reasonable limits because of the lack of accountability that the authority had to office. By early 2021, when the project was in its early stages of acquiring land, troubles began to rise when local communities resisted selling their lands to the state after which RUDA announced that it would feel free to acquire the lands by force — something that article 4 of the special legislation that RUDA created allowed. The matter

LAWS

went to court. In January 2022, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court (LHC) in a 298-page long judgement declared that the scheme was “unconstitutional” on the grounds that it lacked a master plan.

Justice Karim said that the RUDA failed in preparing a master plan in accordance with the law as “all schemes are under a master plan”. The court noted that proper procedure was not adopted in purchasing agricultural land for the Ravi Urban Development project in Lahore and Sheikhupura, therefore, it declared the practice of acquiring the land through amendment in Section 4 of the RUDA Ordinance “unconstitutional”. RUDA was barred from acquiring land for the project.

C ONTINUED ON PAGE 03

The WEO also paints a gloomy picture of the global economy, with global growth forecasted to slow in both the short and medium terms. Close to 90% of advanced economies are expected to experience slowing growth this year, while Asia’s emerging markets are predicted to see a substantial rise in economic output, with India and China accounting for half of all growth. Low-income countries are expected to suffer a double shock from higher borrowing costs and a decline in demand for their exports, which could worsen poverty and hunger.

J u s t i c e FA e z i s A i s s u e s c l A r i F i c At i o n o n

p r e s e n c e ’ At n A c o n v e n t i o n

Ju S T I C e Qazi Faez Isa of the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday issued a clarification regarding his presence at a national constitutional special convention held at the National Assembly (NA) hall to mark the golden jubilee of the Constitution of Pakistan

The judge, who is slated to become the next chief justice of Pakistan in September, was the only top court judge in attendance at the event and his presence raised eyebrows as many questioned on social media not just his decision to attend the

event but also being seated next to PPP cochairperson Asif Ali Zardari

In his clarification issued on Tuesday, he said that before him accepting the invitation to the convention, “enquiries were made as to whether there would be political speeches”

The judge said assurances were given to him and his staff that “only the Constitution and its making would be spoken about at the event and the programme sent to him also confirmed this Having cleared this point first by my staff from the deputy director of the National Assembly and then by me with the speaker I accepted the invitation as I wanted to show solidarity with the Constitution, he said Justice Isa s presence at the event also

Apple takes biggest hit in Mac-book sales

pr ofit R e u t e R s

Global shipments of personal computers (PCs) fell by nearly a third in the first quarter of 2023 with Apple Inc dropping the most among the market heavyweights as the industry struggles with a post-pandemic slowdown in consumer spending In separate reports published on Monday, market research firms IDC and Canalys blamed weak demand, excess inventory and a bleak economic outlook for the shipment declines of 29% and 33%, respectively

“Most of the issues that plagued the industry in the second half of last year have extended into the start of 2023 ” Canalys analyst Ishan Dutt said

Of the top five PC companies analysed in the report Apple s Q1 shipments saw the largest drop of 40 5% from the same period in 2022 with Dell Technologies Inc coming in second with a drop of 31% Lenovo Group Ltd Asustek Computer Inc and HP Inc also faced declines in shipments the IDC said

In February Apple reported that sales of its Mac computers, which had boomed during the wave of working from home during the pandemic, declined 29% YoY to $7 7 billion in their most recent quarter

“The preliminary results also represented a coda to the era of COVID-driven demand and at least a temporary return to pre-COVID patterns Shipment volume in Q1 2023 was noticeably lower than the 59 2 million units shipped in Q1 2019 and 60 6 million in Q1 2018 ” IDC said “The pause in growth and demand is also giving the supply chain some room to make changes as many factories begin to explore production options outside China Concerns over slowdowns in major economies remain with recent tumult in the banking sector exacerbating worries that runaway inflation and tight monetary policy would hamper growth and financial investments If the economy is trending upwards by 2024, we expect significant market upside as consumers look to refresh, schools seek to replace worn-down Chromebooks, and businesses move to Windows 11,” said Linn Huang, research vice president, Devices and Displays at IDC “If recession in key markets drags on into next year, recovery could be a slog ”

police take back looted weapons, ammunition from house of terrorist

SoUtH WAZiriStAN s ta f f R e p o R t

The district police on Tuesday claimed to have recovered all the official weapons and ammunition which were looted by terrorists during attack on the City Police Station in Wana South Waziristan According to a police spokesman the police carried out an operation in Azam Warsak village in compliance with the special instructions of District Police Officer (DPO) South Waziristan Shabir Hussain Marwat During the operation which conducted after receiving a tip off the police raided the house of a terrorist named Bin Yameen and recovered all the official weapons, ammunition and goods which were looted during attack on City Police Station, Wana in December 2022 The recovered weapons, ammunition and goods included one SMG, two magazines, one bullet-proof jacket, two wireless sets, two mobiles, three belts, three RPG shells with boosters, 11 hand grenades five kg explosive material 1126 cartridges of SMG three IDs one gas gun one torch two bags and one helmet It may be noted that around 50 heavily-armed terrorists had attacked the City police station in Wana on December 12 2022 During the attack being less in numbers and arms all police personnel surrendered to the militants After which the militants looted all the weapons and ammunition at the station and fled away A policeman namely Muhammad Ilyas also got injured in the attack who later succumbed to his injuries

pakistan, Bulgaria resolve to cement multi-sphere ties including politics, agriculture

iSLAMABAD

s ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan and Bulgaria on Tuesday reiterated the mutual resolve to cement bilateral relations in the fields of political economic trade investment higher education agriculture, information communication technology (ICT) and people-to-people contacts The bilateral ties were discussed in the Fifth Round of Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) between Pakistan and Bulgaria held in Sofia a Foreign Office press release said The Pakistani side was led by Additional Foreign Secretary (europe) Muhammad Saleem while the Bulgarian delegation was headed by Petar Kraytchev, Director General (Bilateral Relations), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria The two sides reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations, and discussed ways and means to further enhance them in diverse fields They agreed on the importance of early convening of next session of the Pakistan-Bulgaria Intergovernmental Commission and active linkages between the private sectors of the two countries

becomes particularly significant when viewed in the context of the ongoing political and institutional wrangling in the country, with a split within the SC becoming apparent and over the last few weeks during several hearings conducted on holding elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab

However in his address at the NA on Monday Justice Isa distanced himself from the political views stated by legislators who spoke before him and clarified that he had been assured of only constitutional matters would be talked about at the event He said he was not there to make a political speech but only to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Constitution

Moreover, Justice Isa said, he had been

asked if he would like to speak at the event, and he had declined However, when political statements were made (in a few speeches), I requested to speak to correct any misconceptions that may arise, and I did so ”

He also clarified that he was not the only top court judge invited to the event but “all the judges of the Supreme Court were invited to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Constitution The judge expressed surprise over objections to his presence at the function held to commemorate the Constitution and where he sat at the event

Surprisingly some have objected to where I sat and/or my presence at the function to commemorate the Constitution

I would have preferred to sit in the hall

on one side or in the gallery but respect was shown to a member of the judiciary by seating me at the centre; I did not choose to sit there

Justice Isa also emphasised the significance of the Constitution in his statement

He began by stating that the “Constitution was unanimously enacted by the peoples’ directly elected representatives at all ends of the political spectrum, which testified to their sagacity”

“It affirmed the founder’s motto of unity faith and discipline ” he said adding “It established that even the most intractable problems can be solved with sincerity and motivation when the peoples interest is kept paramount The judge further said I may add that the elected representatives of the people are deserving of all respect Without the politicians of the All India Muslim League, we would not have gained independence Moreover, he continued, The organisers of the Convention had invited all to commemorate a singularly important day in Pakistan’s history The golden jubilee of the Constitution is a celebration of all citizens; it is not the exclusive domain of any particular political party or institution

P I A p i l o t s c o n s i d e r b oyc o t t o f fl i g h t o p e r at i o n a m i d n o n - p ay m e n t o f s a l a r y

KArACHi s ta f f R e p o R t

The pilots of national-flag carrier –Pakistan International Airline (PIA) –are considering boycott of flights “as a protest” against the non-payment of their pending salaries even in the month of Ramzan According to details officers of the PIA from pay scale 5 to 10 including

pilots have reportedly not received their salaries yet because of funds shortage The reports claimed that pilots of the PIA were disappointed due to the prolonged delay in payment of their pending salaries even in the month of Ramzan In midst of financial crisis the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has deducted Rs1 4 billion from Pakistan International Airline (PIA) accounts and

Rs0 3 billion were submitted by finance ministry through PIA administration

Furthermore, the FBR is demanding to submit Rs1 7 billion more tax money till next week

The PIA employees asked the government not to stop salary payment amid the current inflation, the holy month of Ramzan and fast-approaching eidul Fitr The reports suggested that PIA pilots were also considering

Court declines ECP request for early hearing of Thoshakhana case

iSLAMABAD s ta f f R e p o R t

A plea for an immediate hearing of the Toshakhana case against former prime minister Imran Khan was dismissed by a district and sessions court in Islamabad on Tuesday The plea was submitted by the election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) to Judge Zafar Iqbal

Despite being asked to appear before the court at 8:30 am Khan did not attend At the hearing his lawyers Khawaja Haris and Faisal Chaudhry opposed the immediate hearing of the case arguing that it was a waste of time and money given that the case was already scheduled for April 29 Haris argued that the scheduled hearing on April 29 was agreed upon after consultation with the eCP, a n d a c c u s e d t h e c o m m i s s i o n o f h a v i n g a discriminatory attitude towards Khan

He further said that the commission’s decision to request an earlier hearing of the case amounted to interference and influenced the decision against Khan

On the other hand the lawyer for eCP Amjad Pervaiz defended the request saying that it was in l i n e w i t h t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t s r u l i n g w h i c h s t i p u l a t e s t h a t c a s e s r e l a t e d t o c o r r u p t p r a c t i c e s should be concluded within three months

The eCP s plea was registered in light of the a p e x c o u r t s o r d e r w h i c h r e q u i r e s c a s e s t o b e wrapped up within three months of registration, P e r v a i z , w h o h a s r e p r e s e n t e d t h e f a m i l y o f deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif in the past, said, dismissing the allegations of interference and

rAWALpiNDi s ta f f R e p o R t

Three terrorists were sent to hell by the Security Forces during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in general area Nurar of District Bannu, said a statement issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR)

The ISPR – the military media wing informed during the conduct of the operation fierce fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists

Resultantly all three terrorists were sent to hell

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists the ISPR added The killed terrorists remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and killing of innocent citizens Locals of the area appreciated the operation and expressed their full support to eliminate menace of terrorism from the area, the military media wing said in the press statement

discrimination made by Khan s lawyers T h e c o u r t u l t i m a t e l y r e j e c t e d t h e p l e a f o r a n i m m e d i a t e h e a r i n g a n d u p h e l d t h e s c h e d u l e d

hearing date of April 29

The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana which during the Mughal e r a r e f e r r e d t o t h e t r e a s u r e h o u s e s k e p t b y t h e

subcontinent s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them

Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value

More expensive items must go to Toshakhana u n d e r t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o n t r o l o f t h e C a b i n e t Division but in some cases the recipient can buy them back at around 50 percent of their value a d i s c o u n t K h a n r a i s e d f r o m 2 0 p e r c e n t w h i l e i n office T h e r u l i n g c o a l i t i o n 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 ) p a r t i e s h a s f o r m o n t h s a l l e g e d K h a n a n d h i s w i f e , B u s h r a M a n e k a , r e c e i v e d l a v i s h g i f t s w o r t h m i l l i o n s during trips abroad They included luxury watches, jewellery, designer handbags and perfumes According to its judgment, the eCP declared that Khan had purchased gifts from Toshakhana, p a y i n g R s 2 1 5 6 4 m i l l i o n H o w e v e r, t h e C a b i n e t D i v i s i o n c l a i m e d t h a t t h e g i f t s w e r e w o r t h

Rs107 943 million T h e t r i b u n a l a l s o a c c u s e d K h a n o f f a i l i n g t o d e c l a r e t h e c a s h a n d b a n k d e t a i l s i n h i s r e t u r n s resulting in his disqualification under articles 63 a n d 1 ( P ) f o r s u b m i t t i n g a f a l s e s t a t e m e n t a n d declaration

T e r r o r b i d f o i l e d i n d i K h a n : The district police claimed to have foiled a terror bid and recovered three shells of rocket launchers three lighters of rocket launchers five repeaters and 10 magazines in two different actions taken on Tuesday

According to a police spokesman, the Paroa Police have successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle arms from Dera Ismail Khan to Karachi

The police team led by Paroa Circle SDPO Malik Abid Iqbal and Paroa Police Station SHO Gulsher Khan took action following the directions of District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rauf Babar

Qaisrani

The police taking action on a tip-off stopped a bus bearing number (e-7545) at a blockade created on Dera-Taunsa Road for checking

During the inspection of the bus which was heading towards Karachi from Dera Ismail Khan the police recovered five repeaters and 10 magazines from the secret compartments of the bus

boycott of flight operation to press their demand for payment of pending salaries e a r l i e r, t h e M i n i s t e r f o r F i n a n c e a n d R e v e n u e S e n a t o r M o h a m m a d Ishaq Dar assured his full support for the timely execution of the projects of t h e C i v i l Av i a t i o n A u t h o r i t y ( C A A ) , Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a n d P a k i s t a n R a i l w a y s i n e v e r y possible way

General elections should be held simultaneously as per spirit of constitution: tarar

iSLAMABAD s ta f f R e p o R t

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Interior and Legal Affairs Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said that general elections of the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies should be held simultaneously as per the spirit of the constitution to strengthen the federation Addressing a press conference here he said that a joint session of parliament has adopted a resolution for simultaneous general elections of all assemblies He said that a separate resolution has been passed in the National Assembly which asked the Prime Minister and cabinet not to follow unconstitutional and unlawful decisions regarding cases about the delay in Punjab elections About the statement of the PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry regarding fake signatures on this resolution he said those all signatures are genuine as coalition partners do not believe in dishonesty He said that PTI had remained involved in fraudster activities and Azhar Siddique a lawyer of Imran Khan submitted documents in Lahore High Court with fake signatures of Imran Khan He claimed that a letter would be written to the Speaker National Assembly for recovery of dues from former Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry who used official flats, vehicles, and other resources for months after the ouster of his government He said that general elections to the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly should be held simultaneously after setting up caretaker governments as per the real spirit of Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan Attaullah Tarar said that a joint sitting of parliament has passed the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 which aims at giving the power of taking suo moto notice to a three-member committee comprising senior judges including the Ch i e f J u s t i c e H e s a i d t h a t i t w o u l d e n s u r e t r a n s p a r e n t p r o c e e d i n g s i n t h e a p e x c o u r t a n d i n c l u d e s t h e r i g h t t o a p p e a l He said that the bill states that every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the CJP and the two senior-most judges It added that the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority Regarding exercising the apex court’s original jurisdiction, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the above mentioned committee Attaullah Tarar interpreted the order of Justice Athar Minallah in election-related case which stated that the case was dismissed by 4 to 3 In this order he said that it has been told that suo-motu notices were actually aimed at downtrodden segments and to protect their fundamental rights because such segments lack resources with them He quoted Article 191 of the Constitution which says that the Supreme Court may make rules regulating the practice and procedure of the Court subject to the Constitution and law After the passage of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023, he said the president shall give his assent within ten days failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given

BHC delegates, Malakand commissioner reviews technical support under SNG Programme

SWAt

During the meeting the commissioner also drew the attention of the delegation to Mingora traffic management and said that there is a need for work on new ideas in this regard

On the occasion, Matt Carter said that this was his first visit to Swat and he was impressed by the natural beauty a n d h o s p i t a l i t y o f S w a t H e s a i d t h a t the purpose of the annual review was t o i m p r o v e t h e t a rg e t s o f t h e S N G p r o g r a m b y m e e t i n g w i t h t h e authorities so that better work can be d o n e o n b u d g e t i n g p l a n n i n g a n d r e v e n u e m o b i l i z a t i o n w i t h t h e provincial and local governments

A l i A M i n G A n D A p u r h A n D e D o v e r t o G o l r A

s h A r i F p o l i c e o n t W o - D Ay r e M A n D

D

Ali

officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) reached the local court to arrest Gandapur but the PTI leader would be arrested after his discharge from the case at Golra Police Station Gandapur is currently under custody in a case registered at Golra Police Station

The police requested a 10 days remand of the PTI leader but the court granted two days remand earlier, Gandapur was produced before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) after a oneday physical remand The hearing started in the court of ATC Judge Raja Jawad Abbas

The ATC judge informed the defendant that terrorism provisions had been deleted from the case The judge also asked Gandapur if he was subjected to any

Jafar express escapes disaster as miscreants blow up track in Bolan valley

KACHHi s ta f f R e p o R t

The Jafar express narrowly escaped a disaster on Tuesday after an explosion on railway track near Mushkaf Railway Station in Bolan Valley According to officials unknown miscreants attempted to target Peshawar-bound Jafar express by blowing up railway track with planted explosives which damaged the railway track The sound of the bomb blast was heard far away Luckily the train however had passed though place before the planted devise exploded with a bang Railway officials including police and Levies personnel rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area According to a railway official, technical staff has reached the spot and started repair to the railway track for early restoration of rail traffic The track was slightly damaged as the blast created a deep pit on the spot The Police and law enforcement agencies have launched investigation into the incident The security has been tightened and the train was dispatched after ascertaining the well-being of the passengers

Bill to cur tail chief justice’s powers challenged in supreme cour t

iSLAMABAD M o n to R n g R e p o R t

A controversial bill aimed at limiting the powers of the chief justice has been challenged in both the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court (IHC) The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023 was recently passed by the Parliament and allows for the curtailing of the Chief Justice’s ability to form benches and conduct suo motu proceedings The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party has criticised the legislation saying it represents an attack on the judiciary A petition challenging the bill s legality has been filed under Article 184(3) in the Supreme Court by Barrister Shafay Munir while lawyer Saeed Aftab has submitted a separate plea to the IHC requesting that the amendments made in the bill be nullified

Deadline missed: Gov t fails to provide funds for punjab elections

iSLAMABAD s ta f f R e p o R t

The election Commission of Pakistan (eCP) has submitted a report to the Supreme Court regarding the federal government s failure to release the funds needed to hold elections in Punjab The report was submitted in a sealed envelope to the Registrar ’s Office and will be sent to the chambers of the three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice umar Ata Bandial The bench had directed the commission to hold elections in Punjab on May 14 and for the government to provide Rs21 billion in funds by April 10

Failure to comply with the orders could result in legal action

Despite the court s orders the government missed the deadline as the eCP remains unfunded

Instead of releasing the funds, the government tabled a bill seeking approval of funds for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Ishaq Dar introduced the bill saying that it was being laid before the house in the light of the Supreme Court s orders

physical harm during police custody To which the PTI leader said no he was not

The judge said the accused could be presented before the relevant court after the removal of the terrorism provisions

As soon as the judge said this a junior lawyer representing Gandapur requested the court to wait for Advocate Babar Awan who was expected shortly to join the court proceedings

To this, the judge said: Do you want the terrorism provisions not to be removed?

“We want to argue why the time of the court was wasted by adding terrorism provisions in the first place,” the assistant lawyer said To this the ATC judge Abbas allowed the parties to speak for another ten minutes

Later Pervez Khattak Asad Qaisar and Babar Awan reached the courtroom

During his arguments Awan told the court that the investigating officer wasted the court s time yesterday The investigating officer also wasted the time of the lawyers and humiliated the accused Awan added

He further said that the private channel was not a plaintiff against Gandapur

A show-cause notice should be issued to the investigating officer for wasting the court s time, said Awan

After 6 months, the magistrate registered a case based on lies, Awan said asking why the plaintiff took six months to file the case

“Was the plaintiff sleeping for six months ” Awan added Later Gandapur was produced in the court of Judicial Magistrate ehtisham

Alam During the hearing Awan argued that the case was registered on the complaint of the Magistrate six months after hearing Gandapur s voice on the TV channel

The prosecution wants to [forensically] match [identify] Gandapur s voice [with the voice in the leaked audio purported to be of the former federal minister talking to another man, who remains nameless to date], Advocate Awan said

“Let’s do Gandapur ’s voice-matching [recognition] in the court room ”

He said it was not one of those times when voice recognition was a difficult thing to do “Technology has advanced and audioediting [faking the voice using sound software) is not a problem anymore

HRW cracks down on farmers’ evic tion issue

RUDA’s reckoning –

CoNtiNUeD froM pAge 01

The then prime minister Imran Khan immediately visited the project site and announced that his government in Punjab would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court Less than a month later in February, the Supreme Court threw out the LHC s detailed verdict after less than 10 days of hearing and deliberating on the matter The two-judge Supreme Court consisting of Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi held that RuDA could continue working on lands it had already acquired but barred it from undertaking any work on the ground beyond the lands that had already been acquired possession taken and compensation paid e n v i r o n m e n Ta l i m pa c T

At the core of the issue is the ethos behind the project he concept of the riverfront was to create a city along a raised riverbank The end-goal was to revitalise the Ravi by building a series of barrages and rechanalising it

Yet for all its claims that Ruda is a fix-all to save the environment the research collected is doubtful experts hydrologists and environmentalists have all weighed in on the issue and reached the conclusion that it will be an unmitigated environmental disaster

Punjab provincial authorities have harassed and threatened area farmers to deprive them of their homes and livelihoods, said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch The authorities need to ensure that government projects minimise displacement and loss of income, but also minimise

GB CM urges FO to wake up to foil Indian bid to hold G20 summit in Srinagar

iSLAMABAD s ta f f R e p o R t

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid Khan urged that Pakistan foreign office should wake up from the sweet slumber and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should stop visiting abroad and engage the friendly countries to thwart the Indian s plot to hold G20 summit in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK)

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 o n Tu e s d a y G B C h i e f M i n i s t e r s a i d t h a t I n d i a w a s a l l - s e t t o h o s t G 2 0 m o o t i n t h e o c c u p i e d K a s h m i r i n w h i c h s o m e o f o u r f r i e n d l y c o u n t r i e s w e r e a l s o i n c l u d e d H e s a i d t h a t t h e y h a d n o o b j e c t i o n t o t h e c o n f e r e n c e , a s I n d i a g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d h o l d e l s e w h e r e i n t h e c o u n t r y b u t t h e y h a d s t r o n g r e s e r v a t i o n s o v e r N e w D e l h i ’s p l a n t o h o l d t h e

Bracing for heatwaves

CoNtiNUeD froM BACK pAge

A report launched earlier this week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicated that despite progress in policies and legislation around climate change since 2014 it’s still highly likely that global warming will exceed 1 5 C during the 21st century However Akshay Deoras- a meteorologist at the uK s National Centre for Atmospheric Science and the Department of Meteorology disagrees According to him early heat waves are not necessarily precursors to more frequent and intense heat waves Given models have a varying prediction skill, we cannot be sure right now about the enhanced probability of heat waves this season It is important to remember that the frequency, intensity, and duration of potential individual heat waves in a season cannot be predicted,” added Deoras h o w d o h e aT wav e s a f f e c T T h e e c o n o m y?

According to a DW article by Murali Krishan the main problem of a heatwave is the threat of crop damage The maximum temperature in some wheat-growing areas such as Rajasthan soared above 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) earlier this month nearly 7 C (12 6 F) above normal according to IMD data

Scientists and meteorologists assert that changes in temperature and rainfall in India will add to the current water stress in the country More importantly, premature rains could damage wintersown crops such as wheat, rapeseed and chickpeas just before harvesting begins “If temperatures continue to rise and monsoon rainfall

conference in Srinagar which was still a disputed a r e a K h a i d K h u r s h i d w e n t o n t o s a y t h a t I n d i a o b j e c t e d w h e n e v e r f o r e i g n i n v e s t o r c a m e t o t h e G i l g i t - B a l t i s t a n T h e r e f o r e , h e a d d e d t h a t K a s h m i r h a d b e e n u n d e r I n d i a n i l l e g a l o c c u p a t i o n , t h u s h o w i t c o u l d h o l d a c o n f e r e n c e t h e r e T h e G B C h i e f M i n i s t e r s t r e s s e d t h e n e e d t h a t t h e f o r e i g n o ff i c e s h o u l d w a k e u p f r o m t h e s w e e t slumber and Bilawal should take a strong position o n t h e c o n f e r e n c e H e a d v i s e d t h a t B i l a w a l s h o u l d s t o p f o r e i g n v i s i t s a n d f o c u s o n K a s h m i r s o a s t o e n s u r e r e s o l u t i o n o f t h e d e c a d e s - o l d K a s h m i r d i s p u t e a s p e r t h e a s p i r a t i o n s o f K a s h m i r i p e o p l e We h a v e a l s o w r i t t e n a l e t t e r t o t h e f o r e i g n o ff i c e o n t h e i s s u e a n d o n l y a f t e r o u r c o n t a c t t h e f o r e i g n o ff i c e t o d a y h a s i s s u e d s t a t e m e n t i n t h i s r e g a r d , h e a d d e d

patterns continue to change, the country could see a GDP loss of 2 8%, depressing the living standards of nearly half its population by 2050 ” according to a World Bank report in 2018 Sounding a dire warning the report said that over half of South Asia s population lives in vulnerable areas and is susceptible to declining living standards which can be attributed to dwindling agricultural yields lower labour productivity and related health impacts Pakistan s economy is also deeply vulnerable to the climate crisis Heat waves are termed the silent disaster as heat-related deaths are often undercounted around the world, according to the World Weather Attribution Network Judging by recent years, it is increasingly clear that both India and Pakistan are among the most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change experts argue that the country’s early warning system needs to become more robust w h aT c a n w e d o? The PMD advised people to take necessary precautions to avoid heat-related illnesses and stay hydrated during the summer season It also urged the government to take necessary measures to mitigate the effects of the heat wave and minimise its impact on the population As Pakistan braces itself for the upcoming summer season, it s crucial for authorities and citizens alike to remain careful and take necessary steps to protect themselves from the anticipated extreme temperatures Insofar as the agricultural produce is concerned, Mohanty emphasised the need to make agri-food systems heat stress ready followed by a fast-tracked renewable energy development across the heat wave spots

environmental harm and flooding risks ”

T h e H RW p o i n t e d o u t h o w e n v i r o n m e n t a l g r o u p s h a v e r a i s e d c o n c e r n s t h a t t h e p r o j e c t ’s p r o p o s e d c h a n g e s t o t h e f l o w o f t h e R a v i R i v e r c o u l d s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n c r e a s e t h e r i s k s o f f l o o d i n g Pakistan s Sindh province experienced catastrophic floods in mid-2022

The nongovernmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has called the Ravi River project environmentally ecologically and financially unviable citing the Lahore Conservation Society s findings that the proposed changes to the river are ecologically unsustainable environmental experts say that building barrages and other dams on the river and replacing farmland with paved areas could lead to higher water levels upstream and possible flooding

Mar yam leaves for saudi Arabia ‘to per form umrah’

LAHore s ta f f R e p o R t

Maryam Nawaz, the senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) departed for Saudi Arabia early on Tuesday to perform the pilgrimage her party said Reportedly she is accompanied by her husband retired Capt Safdar Awan along with their two daughters Mahnoor Safdar and Mehr un-Nissa Safdar son Junaid Safdar and daughter-in-law Ayesha Saif ur-Rehman M e a n w h i l e d e p o s e d p r i m e m i n i s t e r N a w a z S h a r i f i s e x p e c t e d t o a r r i v e i n S a u d i A r a b i a f r o m L o n d o n a n d b o t h h e a n d N a w a z w i l l b e t h e r o y a l f a m i l y s s p e c i a l g u e s t s d u r i n g t h e i r s t a y, t h e p a r t y c l a i m e d , w i t h o u t o ff e r i n g e v i d e n c e o f a n i n v i t a t i o n S h a r i f , w h o s e P M L - N i s t h e m a i n p a r t y i n t h e r u l i n g 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 ) c o a l i t i o n , w a s s a c k e d b y t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t i n 2 0 1 7 a n d , t w o y e a r s l a t e r l e f t f o r L o n d o n f o r m e d i c a l t r e a t m e n t W h i l e t h e r e h a s b e e n n o o ff i c i a l c o n f i r m a t i o n f r o m S h a r i f o r h i s p a r t y r e g a r d i n g h i s p l a n s t o r e t u r n t o P a k i s t a n h i s t r i p t o S a u d i A r a b i a h a s r a i s e d i n t e r e s t i n h i s p o t e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l c o m e b a c k T h e S h a r i f f a m i l y i s e x p e c t e d t o s p e n d t h e l a s t t e n d a y s o f R a m a d a n i n M e c c a a n d M e d i n a a n d c e l e b r a t e e i d u l - F i t r i n S a u d i A r a b i a

cour t inter ventions and share price manipulation: What is going on at tristar power?

CoNtiNUeD froM BACK pAge

They further shared that Calikusu’s illegal antics may have involved secretly buying up shares in violation of regulations They claim that the acquirer either directly or indirectly in collaboration with others had been unlawfully amassing shares of Tri-Star without disclosing it It was also alleged that the Turkish acquirer lacks both the means and the net worth to make this transaction and is merely acting as a frontman on behalf of others in order to bypass the regulations

These actions violate the Securities Act 2015 and the regulations set forth by the Listed Companies

(Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations 2017

This unveils a legal battle between Tri-Star Power Ltd and Aykut Calikusu showcasing the complications and difficulties associated with mergers and acquisitions in the energy sector

As the court order mandates a maintenance of the status quo it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold and whether the Turkish investor will eventually gain control of the power producer

India’s hosting of G20 meeting in K ashmir prompts Pakistan condemnation

f f R e p o R t

Pakistan has expressed its strong condemnation of India s decision to host the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar city of occupied Jammu and Kashmir on May 22-24 observing that New Delhi is exploiting its membership of an international grouping to advance its selfserving agenda India will host more than 200 G20 meetings at over 50 locations during the year, including disputed Kashmir, to promote green tourism and launch a

publicity campaign in overseas markets during its presidency of the forum this year

officials said

According to a statement issued by Foreign Office on Tuesday, the move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate India s occupation of the Himalayan region in sheer disregard of the Security Council resolutions and in violation of the principles of the uN Charter and international law

The Foreign Office further said that India’s decision to host the events in the disputed region is another attempt to exploit its membership of an important international

grouping for advancing its self-serving agenda Additionally the scheduling of two other meetings of a consultative forum on youth affairs (Y-20) in Leh and Srinagar is equally disconcerting Pakistan strongly condemns these moves and asserts that such events cannot hide the reality of Jammu and Kashmir being an internationally recognised dispute that has remained on the agenda of the Security Council for over seven decades

The statement added that such activities could not divert the international community’s attention from India’s brutal suppression of the people of occupied

Kashmir including illegal attempts to change the demographic composition of the occupied territory

The Foreign Office expressed disappointment that for a country that has a grandiose vision of itself and its place in the world, India has once again demonstrated that it is unable to act as a responsible member of the international community India took on the G20 presidency in December The group is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s 20 major developed and developing economies India expects that a G20 tourism ministers’ conference due later this year

would focus on sustainable tourism to support the environment and create opportunities for local businesses

The government of Narendra Modi is pushing green initiatives to promote responsible tourism in the country and authorities plan to ensure small businesses have the resources for green investments and to create local jobs

Arvind Singh, secretary at the ministry of tourism, said more than 100,000 foreign delegates from the G20 are expected to visit India this year and would be able to experience its diverse culture including historic monuments and festivals

d JAMes J Zogby

On March 31 President Joseph Biden issued a formal proclamation designating april as arab american Heritage Month that Mr Biden took this step is significant, marking a turning point in our decades-long effort to secure recognition and respect for our community i’ve written before about the difficulties of exclusion and outright discrimination we’ve faced in past decades these have been due to external threats either coming from those who feared our becoming organized and empowered or those who saw us through the lens of racist stereotypes there are unfortunately too many examples of both: candidates returning arab money or rejecting our endorsements; arab americans denied positions or advancement in government academia or media because their ethnicity was viewed as suspect or threatening; political coalitions and parties denying membership to arab american organizations because some objected to our involvement; and law enforcement, on the national and local levels, launching surveillance programs or indiscriminate “round ups” of persons with arab names for questioning or harassment all of these external challenges to our community were painful to endure but tested our mettle and made us stronger Because we continued to organize mobilize

our vote, coalesce with allies, and fight back, we have earned recognition across the country and now from the President of the Usa to be clear however the external threats to our community s organization and recognition are only one part of the story We have also faced internal challenges these have mainly been due to the importation of ideologies and identities that have divided the arab World or the ways that others have used these divisions to their advantage and not our own it’s worth noting that the birth of the modern arab american identity occurred simultaneously with various nationalist upheavals across the arab World there were the competing arab movements led by Jamal abdul nasser the Ba ath Parties in syria and iraq the heyday of the Palestinian national Liberation Movement, and the deeply divisive Lebanon civil war in this context, many politicized arab immigrants took sides, identifying with one or another group or ideology at the same time, those in the generation who came of age in the Usa saw their arab identity as a unifying factor and began to build organizations based on shared heritage and concerns including advocacy for Palestinian human rights they contested negative stereotypes in the media and popular culture they registered and organized arab american voters and supported arab american candidates for public office- and did so without attention to country of origin or religion something that many in the arab World or those who as we say, have their feet planted here but their heads in the Middle East just couldn t understand three stories come to mind: in 1983, in the midst of the civil war in Lebanon and

It should be clear why the Biden Administration’s formal proclamation of Arab American Heritage Month is so important. It acknowledges our hardfought efforts to overcome the external and internal forces that have sought to exclude or discriminate against us or deny us the right to define ourselves

And by recognizing our history of overcoming obstacles and paying homage to our contributions to America, this proclamation empowers us on our path forward

in the wake of the israeli devastation of Beirut and Lebanon’s south we launched a project “save Lebanon” to bring wounded Lebanese and Palestinian children to the Usa for medical care that was unavailable to them in Lebanon the outpouring of support from the community was overwhelming the shriners hospitals donated services and families took in the wounded kids the Jordanian airlines provided flights and the saudi arabian ambassador ’s wife underwrote an event at the kennedy Center that featured two famous arab american entertainers Danny thomas and Casey kassem Over a two-year period we brought 63 children and found homes for them and their families in more than a dozen communities there were however some who complained because a Palestinian child was sent to a largely Lebanese community (or vice versa) or a Christian child was sent to a largely Muslim community (or vice versa) But the complaints were short-lived because those who initially objected melted after meeting the kids and their families What we said in response was We brought the children here to heal them in the end they healed us in the early 1990s an arab ambassador visited my o ff ice an d b eg an th e co n v er s atio n as k in g me H o w d o y o u o rg a n i z e y o u r s t a ff ? i r e s p o n d e d b y t e l l i n g h i m t h a t t h e r e w e r e o rg a n i z i n g , p o l i c y, c o m m u n i c at i o n s , a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e t e a m s H e a s k e d a g a i n , How are they organized? i replied, By function He then said, “no i mean that guy at the front desk, he’s Lebanese shi’a, isn’t he? What are the countries a n d r e l i g i o n s o f t h e r e s t ? ” n o w u n d e r s t a n d i n g h i s q u e s t i o n i r e p l i e d “ i n a l l h o n e s t y s i r w e d o n ’t a s k their religion or country of origin so i have no idea that’s not who we are ” at our annual kahlil Gibran spirit of Humanity

Saudis aren’t afraid of US anymore

gala we honor groups and individuals for their public service One award we give is for public service named after najeeb Halaby the father of Jordan s Queen noor Halaby a syrian american who was the first arab american to serve in high office as a presidential appointee the award was given to ambassador ted kattouf a Palestinian american and was presented by secretary of transportation Ray Lahood at dinner s end, i addressed the audience noting that tonight we gave an award named after a syrian american to a Palestinian american and it was given by a Lebanese american that is who we are and it’s something that couldn’t happen in the arab World ” in recent years, we have seen this same unity manifesting itself time and again still problems remain some originate with government policies that attempt to define us or “cherry pick” portions of our community in an effort unconscious or deliberate to divide us often by erasing our ethnic identity by prioritizing religion the Bush administration for example courted several Christian groups while the Obama administration conflated the arab and Muslim communities in other cases it was by prioritizing countries of origin During the arab spring, some focused special attention on the communities of exiles from the affected countries while ignoring the broader arab american community these efforts were exploited by those who used these divisive tactics to their advantage only serving to disrupt efforts to build a unified community With this background it should be clear why the Biden administration’s formal proclamation of arab american Heritage Month is so important it acknowledges our hard-fought efforts to overcome the external and internal forces that have sought to exclude or discriminate against us or deny us the right to define ourselves and by recognizing our history of overcoming obstacles and paying homage to our contributions to america this proclamation empowers us on our path forward

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the arab american institute the arab american institute is a non-profit, nonpartisan national leadership organization that does not endorse candidates T h e w r i t e r i s P re s i d e n t o f t h e A r a b A m e r i c a n I ns t i t u t e

I n D I a n P u n c h l I n e M k b H A d r A k u M A r

THE shock oil production cuts f r o m M a y o u t l i n e d b y t h e O P E C + o n s u n d a y e s s e nt i a l l y m e a n s t h a t e i g h t k e y O P E C c o u n t r i e s d e c i d e d t o j o i n h a n d s w i t h R u s s i a t o r e d u c e o i l p r o d u c t i o n , s i g n a l i n g t h a t O P E C a n d OPEC+ are now back in control of the oil market no single oil producing country is acting as the Pied Piper here the great beauty about it is that saudi arabia and s e v e n o t h e r m a j o r O P E C c o u n t r i e s have unexpectedly decided to support Russia s efforts and unilaterally reduce production W h i l e t h e e i g h t O P E C c o u n t r i e s a r e t a l k i n g a b o u t a r e d u c t i o n o f o n e million barrels a day from May to the end of the year Russia will extend for t h e s a m e p e r i o d i t s v o l u n t a r y a d j u s tm e n t , w h i c h s t a r t e d i n M a r c h , b y 500,000 barrels now, add to this the production adj u s t m e n t s a l r e a d y d e c i d e d b y t h e OPEC+ previously, and the total addit i o n a l v o l u n t a r y p r o d u c t i o n a d j u s tm e n t s t o u c h a w h o p p i n g 1 6 m i l l i o n barrels a day

What has led to this? Fundamentally as many analysts had forewarned the Western sanctions against Russian oil created distortions and anomalies in the oil market and upset the delicate ecosystem of supply and demand which were compounded by the incredibly risky decision by the G7, at the behest of the U s treasury, to impose a price cap on Russia s oil sales abroad On top of it, the Biden administration’s provocative moves to release oil r e g u l a r l y f r o m t h e U s s t r a t e g i c P etroleum Reserve in attempts to microm a n a g e t h e o i l p r i c e s a n d k e e p t h e m abnormally low in the interests of the american consumer as well as to keep the inflationary pressures under check turned out to be an affront to the oilproducing countries whose economies c r i t i c a l l y d e p e n d o n i n c o m e f r o m o i l exports t h e O P E C + c a l l s t h e p r o d u c t i o n cuts a precautionary measure aimed at supporting the stability of the oil market ” in the downstream of the OPEC+ decision, analysts expect the oil prices t o r i s e i n t h e s h o r t t e r m a n d p r e s s u r e o n We s t e r n c e n t r a l b a n k s t o i n c r e a s e due to the possible spike in inflation

What stands out in the OPEC+ dec i s i o n i s t h a t R u s s i a s d e c i s i o n t o r educe oil production by the end of the year has been unanimously supported by the main arab producers independe n t b u t t i m e - c o o r d i n a t e d s t a t e m e n t s w e r e m a d e b y s a u d i a r a b i a , t h e U a E , k u w a i t , i r a q , a l g e r i a , O m a n a n d k a z a k h s t a n , w h i l e R u s s i a c o nfirmed its intention to extend until the end of the year its own production reduction s i g n i f i c a n t l y t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s h a v e b e e n m a d e p r e c i s e l y b y t h o s e l a rg e s t o i l p r o d u c e r s i n O P E C w h o have a record of fully utilizing their existing quota Put differently the reduction in production is going to be real not just on paper Partly at least, the banking crisis in t h e U s a n d E u r o p e p r o m p t e d t h e OPEC+ to intervene although Washi n g t o n w i l l d o w n p l a y i t , i n M a r c h , Brent oil prices fell to $70 per barrel for the first time since 2021 amid the bankruptcy of several banks in the U s and the near-death experience of Credit s u i s s e o n e o f t h e l a rg e s t b a n k s i n switzerland the events sparked concern about the stability of the Western banking system and fear of a recession that would affect oil demand there is every likelihood that tens i o n s m a y i n c r e a s e b e t w e e n t h e U s and saudi arabia as higher oil prices w i l l p u s h i n f l a t i o n a n d m a k e i t e v e n more difficult for the U s Federal Reserve to find a balance between raising the key rate and maintaining financial and economic stability

Equally the Biden administration must be furious that practical cooperation is continuing between Russia and the OPEC countries especially saudi arabia despite the West s price cap on Russian oil and Moscow s decision last month to unilaterally cut production the Biden administration has only a limited range of options to respond to the OPEC+ s surprise move: one, go f o r a n o t h e r r e l e a s e o f o i l f r o m t h e s t r a t e g i c P e t r o l e u m R e s e r v e ; t w o , pressure U s producers to increase domestic oil output; three, back legislation that would allow the U s to take t h e d r a m a t i c s t e p o f s u i n g O P E C n at i o n s ; o r f o u r c u r b U s e x p o r t s o f gasoline and diesel to be sure the OPEC+ production cut goes against the Western demand to i n c r e a s e o i l o u t p u t e v e n a s s a n c t i o n s were imposed against Russian oil and gas exports On the other hand, the disr u p t i o n i n o i l s u p p l i e s f r o m R u s s i a contributed to the rising inflation in the EU countries t h e U s w a n t e d t h e G u l f a r a b states to step in and step-up oil product i o n B u t t h e l a t t e r d i d n o t o b l i g e b ec a u s e t h e y f e l t t h a t t h e r e w a s n ’t enough economic activity in the West and there were clear signs of recession contrary to expectation t h u s a s a r e s u l t o f t h e s a n c t i o n s a g a i n s t R u s s i a E u r o p e i s f a c i n g t h e c o m p l e x s i t u a t i o n o f i n f l a t i o n a n d n e a r- r e c e s s i o n k n o w n a s s t a g f l a t i o n

in reality the adaptive and agile OPEC + read the situation correctly and has shown that it is willing to act ahead of t h e c u r v e a t a t i m e w h e n t h e w o r l d e c o n o m y i s s t r u g g l i n g t o g r o w a t a healthy rate, the demand for oil would be relatively less, and it makes sense to cut oil production to maintain the price balance a l l t h a t t h e We s t e r n l e a d e r s c a n complain about is that the OPEC+ cut in oil output has come at an inapprop r i a t e t i m e B u t t h e w o e s o f We s t e r n economies cannot be laid at the door of OPEC+ as there are inherent problems which are now coming to the surface For instance the large-scale protests in F r a n c e a g a i n s t p e n s i o n r e f o r m o r t h e widespread strikes in Britain for higher wages show that there are deep structural problems in these economies, and the governments seem helpless in tackling them in geopolitical terms, the OPEC+ m o v e c a m e a f t e r a m e e t i n g b e t w e e n R u s s i a n D e p u t y P r i m e M i n i s t e r a l e x a n d e r n o v a k a n d s a u d i E n e rg y Minister Prince abdulaziz bin salman in Riyadh on March 16 that focused on oil market cooperation therefore it is w i d e l y s e e n a s t h e t i g h t e n i n g o f t h e b o n d b e t w e e n R u s s i a a n d s a u d i a r abia in fact, in May, as the largest members of OPEC join Russia in its unilate r a l r e d u c t i o n , t h e b a l a n c e o f q u o t a s and the ratio of market shares between a n d a m o n g s t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e OPEC + deal will return to the level set when it was concluded in april 2020 t h e b i g q u e s t i o n i s h o w M o s c o w might profit from the OPEC+ decision the rise in crude oil prices particularly b e n e f i t s R u s s i a s i m p l y p u t t h e p r od u c t i o n c u t s w i l l t i g h t e n u p t h e o i l market and thus help Russia to secure better prices for the crude oil it sells second, the new cuts also confirm that Russia is still an integral and important part of the group of oil produci n g c o u n t r i e s , d e s p i t e t h e We s t e r n attempts to isolate it t h i r d , t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f s u nd a y ’s d e c i s i o n a r e a l l t h e g r e a t e r b e -

cause unlike the previous cuts by the OPEC+ group at the height of the pandemic or last October today the mom e n t u m f o r g l o b a l o i l d e m a n d i s u p not down what with a strong recovery by China expected that is to say the surprise OPEC+ r e d u c t i o n f u r t h e r c o n s o l i d a t e s t h e s a u d i - R u s s i a n e n e rg y a l l i a n c e , b y a l i g n i n g t h e i r p r o d u c t i o n l e v e l s , t h u s placing them on equal footing it is a slap in the face for Washington M a k e n o m i s t a k e , t h i s i s a n o t h e r s i g n a l r e g a r d i n g a n e w e r a w h e r e t h e saudis are not afraid of the U s anym o r e a s t h e O P E C “ l e v e r a g e ” i s o n R i y a d h ’s s i d e t h e s a u d i s a r e o n l y d o i n g w h a t t h e y n e e d t o d o a n d t h e White House has no say in the matter M K B h a d r a k u m a r i s a f o r m e r d i p l o m a t H e w a s I n d i a s a m b a s s a d

It has never been easier to create images that look shockingly realistic but are actually fake anyone with an internet connection and access to a tool that uses artificial intelligence (ai) can create photorealistic images within seconds, and they can then spread them on social networks at breakneck speed in the last few days, many images became viral: Vladimir Putin apparently being arrested or Elon Musk holding hands with General Motors CEO Mary Barra just to name two examples the problem is that both ai images show events that never happened Even photographers have published portraits that turn out to be images created with artificial intelligence and while some of these images may be funny they can also pose real dangers in terms of disinformation and propaganda, according to experts consulted by DW Pictures showing the arrest of politicians like Russian President Vladimir Putin or former Us President Donald trump can be verified fairly quickly by users if they check reputable media sources

Other images are more difficult such as those in which the people on the picture are not so wellknown ai expert Henry ajder told DW

One example: a German member of Parliament for the far-right afD party spread an aigenerated image of screaming men on his instagram account in order to show he was against the arrival of refugees and it's not just ai-generated images of people that can spread disinformation, according to ajder He says there have been examples of users creating events that never happened this was the case with a severe earthquake that is said to have shaken the Pacific northwest of the United states and Canada in 2001 But this earthquake never happened and the images shared on Reddit were ai-generated and this can be a problem according to ajder if you re generating a landscape scene as opposed to a picture of a human being it might be harder to spot he explains

However ai tools do make mistakes even if they are evolving rapidly Currently as of april 2023, programs like Midjourney, Dall-E and Deepai have their glitches, especially with images that show people DW’s fact-checking team has compiled some suggestions that can help you gauge whether an image is fake But one initial word of caution: ai

tools are developing so rapidly that these tips only reflect the current state of affairs

1 ZOOM IN AND LOOK CAREFULLY

Many images generated by ai look real at first glance that s why our first suggestion is to look closely at the picture to do this search for the image in the highest-possible resolution and then zoom in on the details

Enlarging the picture will reveal inconsistencies and errors that may have gone undetected at first glance

2 FIND THE IMAGE SOURCE if you are unsure whether an image is real or

generated by ai try to find its source You may be able to see some information on where the image was first posted by reading comments published by other users below the picture Or you may carry out a reverse image search to do this upload the image to tools like Google image Reverse search, tinEye, or Yandex, and you may find the original source of the image the results of these searches may also show links to fact checks done by reputable media outlets which provide further context

3 PAY ATTENTION TO BODY PROPORTIONS

Do the depicted people have correct body proportions? it is not uncommon for ai-generated images to show discrepancies when it comes to proportions Hands may be too small or fingers too long Or the head and feet do not match the rest of the body this is the case with the picture in which Putin is supposed to have knelt down in front of Xi Jinping the kneeling person s shoe is disproportionately large and wide the calf appears elongated the half-covered head is also very large and does not match the rest of the body in proportion

4 WATCH OUT FOR TYPICAL AI ERRORS

Hands are currently the main source of errors in ai image programs like Midjourney or DaLLE Other common errors in ai-generated images include people with far too many teeth or glasses frames that are oddly deformed or ears that have unrealistic shapes such as in the fake image of Xi and Putin surfaces that reflect such as helmet visors also cause problems for ai programs sometimes appearing to disintegrate as in the alleged Putin arrest ai expert Henry ajder warns, however, that newer versions of programs like Midjourney are becoming better at generating hands, which means that users won’t be able to rely much longer on spotting these kinds of mistakes

5 DOES THE IMAGE LOOK ARTIFICIAL AND SMOOTHED OUT?

the app Midjourney in particular creates many images that seem too good to be true Follow your gut feeling here: Can such a perfect image with flawless people really be real? the faces are too pure the textiles that are shown are also too harmonious andreas Dengel of the German Research Center for ai told DW People s skin in many ai images is often smooth and free of any irritation, and even their hair and teeth are flawless this is usually not the case in real life Many images also have an artistic, shiny, glittery look that even professional photographers have difficulty achieving in studio photography ai tools often seem to design ideal images that are supposed to be perfect and please as many people as possible

6 EXAMINE THE BACKGROUND the background of an image can often reveal whether it was manipulated Here too objects can appear deformed; for example street lamps in a few cases ai programs clone people and objects and use them twice and it is not uncommon for the background of ai images to be blurred But even this blurring can contain errors

e l e b r a t i n g A r a b A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e M o n t h

EXCLUSIVE: RUSSIA STARTS FUEL SUPPLIES TO IRAN BY RAIL-SOURCES

PROFIT REUTERS

RUSSIA started fuel exports to Iran by rail this year for the first time after traditional buyers shunned trade with Moscow, according to three industry sources and exports data.

Russia and Iran, both under Western sanctions, are forging closer ties in order to support their economies and to undermine Western sanctions which both Moscow and Tehran cast as unjustified.

Western sanctions on Russian oil products over what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine have reshaped global fuel markets with tankers taking longer routes and suppliers choosing exotic destinations and ways of transportation. Iran has been under Western sanctions for years with limited access to global markets.

The oil ministries of Russia and Iran did not reply to requests for comment.

Last autumn Russia’s Deputy Prime

Minister Alexander Novak announced the start of swap supplies of oil products with Iran, but actual shipments only started this year, Reuters sources said. In February and March Russia supplied up to 30,000 tonnes of gasoline

and diesel to Iran, two sources familiar with the export data told Reuters. A third source confirmed the trade but was not able to confirm the volumes. All the volumes were supplied by rail from Russia via Kazakhstan and

Turkmenistan. One of the sources said that some gasoline cargoes were sent on from Iran to neighboring states, including Iraq, by truck. Iran is an oil producer and has its own refineries, but recently its consumption had exceeded domestic fuel production, especially in its northern provinces, a trader in Central Asian oil products market said.

Russia had supplied small volumes of fuel to Iran by tanker via the Caspian Sea, as was the case in 2018, two traders familiar with the matter said.

Russian oil companies are currently interested in exporting diesel and gasoline to Iran by rail as exports by sea face high freight rates and a price cap imposed by the G7 countries.

However the rail exports face bottlenecks along the route, the sources said.

“We expect fuel supplies to Iran to rise this year, but we already see several issues with logistics due to rail congestion. That may keep exports from booming,” one of the sources familiar with supplies to Iran said.

Brazilian President Lula to visit China from April 12 to 15

BEIJING STAFF CORRESPONDENT

As agreed between China and Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Federative Republic of Brazil will pay a state visit to China from April 12 to 15, the Chinese foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. Noting that President Lula postponed his visit to China due to illness, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, at a regular press briefing, that both sides have been in close communication on matters related to the visit.

Soon after his recovery, President Lula will lead a large delegation to China for a state visit, which fully demonstrates that China and Brazil attach great importance to this visit and the development of bilateral relations, the spokesperson said. Taking this visit as an opportunity, China will work with Brazil to promote the upgrading of mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation in various fields, aiming to inject more positive energy into advancing solidarity and cooperation of developing countries and jointly addressing global challenges said the spokesperson.

Chinese FM to attend 4th foreign ministers’ meet-

ing among Afghan neighbors Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang will be attending the fourth foreign ministers’ meeting of neighboring countries of Afghanistan in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from April 12 to 13. He has been invited by Uzbekistan’s acting foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced on Tuesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

In response to a query on China’s expectations for this meeting, Wang said that China hopes to have an

UN says forced into ‘appalling choice’ by Taliban ban on

women

KABUL AFP

The United Nations is being forced to make an “appalling choice” over whether to continue operations in Afghanistan while the Taliban government bans women from working for the organisation, the world body said Tuesday.

Under their austere interpretation of Islam, Taliban authorities have imposed a slew of restrictions on Afghan women since seizing power in 2021, including banning them from higher education and many government jobs.

in-depth exchange of views on the current situation in Afghanistan with the parties attending the meeting, further consolidate the consensus of the neighboring countries on the Afghan issue, and steadfastly implement the outcomes and consensus of the previous meetings, especially the Tunxi Initiative of neighboring countries of Afghanistan on supporting Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction and practical cooperation issued by last year’s meeting, which was held in Tunxi, a city of east China’s Anhui Province. China looked forward to working with all participants to support the Afghan Interim Administration and people to overcome difficulties and challenges, and achieve peaceful reconstruction, economic development and security and stability, he added. The Chinese side also expected that all participants can effectively respond to the legitimate concerns of the outside world, create more favorable conditions for the neighboring countries to expand cooperation with Afghanistan and help it better integrate into regional connectivity and economic integration process, and work together to promote peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region, said Wang.

Britain names MI5 deputy as first female cyber spy boss

LONDON AGENCIES

Britain named Anne Keast-Butler as the first female director of its intelligence communications agency GCHQ on Tuesday, tasked with protecting the country from terrorists, cyber-criminals and malign foreign powers. She will take over the role in May, succeeding Jeremy Fleming who is stepping down after a six-year tenure. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who made the appointment, said Keast-Butler had an impressive track record at the heart of Britain’s national security network. “Anne will use her vast experience to help keep the British public safe,” he said. She is currently deputy director general at Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, known as MI5. GCHQ is Britain’s main eavesdropping agency and has a close relationship with the US National Security Agency as well as with counterparts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand in a consortium called “Five Eyes”.

IAF officer fired for ‘downing own chopper’ in Feb 2019

ISLAMABAD: A General Court Martial (GCM) in India has ordered the dismissal of an Indian Air Force (IAF) group captain for a friendly missile attack on an Mi-17 helicopter in February 2019, according to a report published in Tribune India. On February 27, 2019, an Indian Mi-17 helicopter crashed, killing seven people, including IAF personnel, during a “routine mission”. The incident took place around the same time and on the same day when Pakistan Air Force (PAF) undertook strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) from Pakistani airspace as part of Operation Swift Retort after India violated the boundary and struck Balakot.

According to a report by Tribune India published on Monday, the GCM ordered the dismissal of group captain Suman Roy Chowdhury, who was the chief operations officer of the IAF at the Srinagar Air Force station at the time of the friendly missile attack. AGENCIES

In December, they banned Afghan women from working for domestic and foreign non-governmental organisations, and on April 4 extended that to UN offices across the country.

In a statement Tuesday, the UN mission in Afghanistan said the ban was “unlawful under international law, including the UN Charter, and for that reason, the United Nations cannot comply”.

“Through this ban, the Taliban de facto authorities seek to force the United Nations into having to make an appalling choice between staying and delivering in support of the Afghan people and standing by the norms and principles we are duty-bound to uphold,” it said. The increasing curbs are reminiscent of the Taliban’s first government between 1996 and 2001, when the UN said they were responsible for repeated human rights violations — particularly against girls and women. UN mission head Roza Otunbayeva has initiated an “operational review” to decide the next steps, the statement said.

“It should be clear that any negative consequences of this crisis for the Afghan people will be the responsibility of the de facto authorities,” it said. The world body employs around 400 Afghan women in the country.

07 Business-12 LAHORE_Layout 1 4/11/2023 11:18 PM Page 1

corporate corner

NOT-BY- PROFIT

ISLAMABAD

N E W S D E S K

UBL and ASK

iQ

G Dada, President & CEO, UBL and Mr Yahya Ghaznavi, CEO, AKS iQ P r

PMIC and Qarar Consultanc y par tner to develop credit scoring model

I S L A M A B A D: To ensure financial inclusion and strengthen the microfinance sector, Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) and Qarar Consultancy (Qarar) will roll out a credit scoring model for the microfinance sector under PMIC s Challenge Fund-Round II Qarar is partnering with an MFI and a Credit bureau to access client level data for the development of the first-of-its-kind model in Pakistan s microfinance sector Once the application is developed and fine-tuned after testing and pilot phases, PMIC and Qarar will establish its availability for the microfinance sector to adopt

Speaking on the occasion Mr Yasir Ashfaq CEO of PMIC iterated PMIC s commitment to financial inclusion and social impact in the country Challenge Fund is part of the strategy to build new institutions and models that would accelerate access to finance for the underserved segments of the country

The credit scores will reduce human biases in evaluating client’s credit worthiness and will incorporate micro and macro level economic indicators in the model P r

Zong 4G launches Annual

S ustainability Repor t for Year 2022

ISLAMABAD: Zong 4G Pakistan s leading telecommunications network has released its annual Sustainability Report for the year 2022 titled Building Pakistan - Building a Better Future The report highlights the company s commitment towards achieving sustainable development in the areas of environment, social responsibility, and economic growth The Sustainability Report for the year 2022 showcases Zong 4G's significant contributions towards various social causes The company has positively impacted 2 5 million individuals directly by carrying out 15 activities across 17 cities in Pakistan during the year 2022 The company s CSR activities were focused on Digital Intelligence and Innovation Inclusive Growth and a Green and Low Carbon Pakistan P r

Q uality, standard of produc ts available at utility stores highest with no compromise: S pokesperson

According to the details, the quality and standard of the items available at all the utility stores established across the country are kept in mind in every case in this regard, the management ensures quality and standard in every way while procuring the items All items supplied at Utility Stores are duly certified by Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) It should be remembered that Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority is the only organization in Pakistan that monitors the quality of goods in Pakistan P r

PD&SI S ecretar y lauds PBS for swift exec ution of first- ever digital census

I S L A M A B A D: Secretary planning, Development and Special initiatives (PD & SI), Syed Zafar Ali Shah visited Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) to personally monitor the progress and updates on 7th Population and Housing Census Chief Census Commissioner Dr Naeem uz Zafar Member SSRM Mr Sarwar Gondal, Member C&S, MrAyazuddin and other senior officers of PBS welcomed him Chief Statistician/Chief Census commissioner, Dr Naeem us Zafar, expressed his gratitude to Secretary PD & SI for his visit and apprised him that now PBS along with collaborating partners is about to achieve the target of conducting first ever digital Census Member SSRM Muhammad Sarwar Gondal gave brief presentation regarding progress of Field Operation and informed him about main issues that were faced during enumeration P r

ac c o r d i n g to an article in dawn the export-oriented businesses in Pakistan are facing immense pressure from a range of factors including the withdrawal of subsidized electricity, restricted imports, high-interest rates, and a devalued rupee against the US dollar President of the Federation of Pakistan chambers of commerce and industry (FPcci), irfan iqbal Sheikh, expressed concerns that the private sector in Pakistan is under considerable distress with consistently dried-up

R AW M AT E R I A L S H O R TAG E A N D I M P O R T R E S T R I C T I O N S I M P E D E PA K I S TA N I I N D U S T R I E S , R I S K LO S I N G F O R E I G N B U Y E R S

investments He criticized the government for its handling of the iMF programme and lack of transparency which has eroded the confidence of businessmen in government policies Mr Sheikh demanded clarity on what steps the government will take to stabilize the economy and when it will consult with the business community Mr Sheikh also criticized the government's decision to increase the revenue collection target and the withdrawal of subsidized electricity tar-

iffs for export-oriented sectors on the

iMF s directives

J u d g e r e fe r s p l e a s e e k i n g r e m ova l o f

I m r a n a s p a r t y c h i e f t o L H C C J

LAHORE A P P

A Lahore High court (LHc) Judge on Tuesday referred a petition seeking directions to remove Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTi) chairman imran Khan as party chief to the LHc chief justice with a request to fix it before another bench

The judge noted that another identical petition was pending before Justice Abid Hussain chattha therefore it would be appropriate to fix the petition before him Justice Anwaar Hussain had heard the

petition filed by Advocate Afaq Ahmad, a day earl i e r, a n d r e s e r v e d i t s v e r d i c t a f t e r t h e p e t i t i o n e rc o u n s e l r e q u e s t e d t o s e n d t h e p e t i t i o n t o a n o t h e r bench The court allowing the request referred the petition to LHc chief justice with request to fix it before another bench The petitioner-counsel had submitted that the Election commission of Pakistan (EcP) had disqualified imran Khan in Toshakhana case and he had no legal standing to continue as PTi chairman He requested the court to issue directions for removing imran Khan from the office of PTi chairman

K E c o l l a b o r at e s w i t h B a n k A l f a l a h fo r c a s h b a c k t o e n a b l e s av i n g s

KARAcHI S tA f f r E P o r t committed to digitally empowering customers, KElectric has c o l l a b o r a t e d w i t h B a n k A l f a l a h o ff e ri n g a c a s h b a c k t o t h e b a n k ’s c u s t o m e r s u s i n g A l f a A p p a n d Q r c o d e s f o r m o n t h l y u t i l i t y b i l l p a ym e n t T h r o u g h t h i s o ff e r a l l r e g i s t e r e d u s e r s o f B a n k A l f a l a h s A l f a b a n k i n g a p p i n c l u d i n g a c c o u n t h o l d e r s a n d w a l l e t c u s t o m e r s c a n u s e A l f a Q r t o pay utility bills over PKr 2 000 and receive a cashback of PKr 500 per unique Alfa registered cnic w h i c h w i l l b e c r e d i t e d t o t h e i r a c c o u n t s w i t h i n 5 w o r k i n g d a y s T h e c a m p a i g n i s v a l i d t i l l A p r i l 1 5

2 0 2 3 K E i s t h e f i r s t p o w e r u t i l i t y i n P a k i s t a n t o l a u n c h t h e Q r c o d e p a y m e n t f e a t u r e i n c o l l a b o r at i o n w i t h B a n k A l f a l a h f o r c u s t o m e r s t o e n a b l e a

h a s s l e - f r e e d i g i t a l b i l l p a y m e n t s o l u t i o n A s a r es u l t t h e c u s t o m e r s w i l l n o w b e a b l e t o s c a n a d yn a m i c Q r c o d e a n d p a y v i a Q r s u p p o r t e d m o b i l e banking applications thus benefitting through ease o f u s e , i n s t a n t p a y m e n t f a c i l i t y t h r o u g h a s e c u r e d p a y m e n t p l a t f o r m , a n d h i g h e r r e l i a b i l i t y w i t h i ns t a n t d a t a v i s i b i l i t y Wi t h o v e r 1 m i l l i o n d i g i t a l l y e m p o w e r e d c u st o m e r s , K E c o n t i n u e s t o f i n d a v e n u e s a n d i n c e nt i v e s t o p r o v i d e a s e a m l e s s e x p e r i e n c e a n d t a k e s p r i d e i n b e i n g a n i n d u s t r y p i o n e e r T h e c o m p a n y h a s p a r t n e r e d w i t h o v e r 4 0 i n s t i t u t i o n s i n c l u d i n g B a n k A l f a l a h a n d f a c i l i t a t e d o v e r 4 0 0 0 0 0 c u stomers with cashback offers integrating digital sol u t i o n s i s a c o r e c o m p o n e n t f o r a c u s t o m e r c e n t r i c company and such initiatives also encourage a cult u r e o f r e g u l a r b i l l p a y m e n t t h r o u g h c o n v e n i e n t m e a n s K E a l s o s u p p o r t s b i l l p a y m e n t t h r o u g h t h e K E w e b s i t e a n d K E L i v e A p p

OGDCL distributes Ramzan ration bags wor th Rs100m

ISLAMABAD P r oil and gas development company Limited (ogdcL), under its corporate Social responsibility (cSr) program, has partnered with Saylani Welfare international Trust (SWiT) to distribute ramadan ration bags worth rs 100 Million

The campaign aims to support underprivileged families in ogdcL operational districts providing them with basic food necessities during the holy month of ramadan The initiative is expected to continue till April 20 2023 ogdcL management has reiterated its commitment to empowering local

communities and transforming their lives As a responsible corporate entity ogdcL has undertaken various cSr activities to contribute towards the sustainable development of the communities recently the company has donated 100 ambulances to health facilities across the country under its health sector development program ogdcL-cSr's efforts in empowering local communities and improving their quality of life have been widely recognized and appreciated The company remains committed to contributing to the sustainable development and well-being of the communities it operates in

has adversely affected SMEs and disrupted the entire supply chain of exporting industries The factory owners employing more than 100 000 workers demanded the resumption of the regionally competitive Energy Tariff (rcET) and warned that the closure of many

NA S peaker stresses impor tance of involving intelligentsia, youth, ac ademia in research-based legislation

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker, Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday highlighted the importance of involving the intelligentsia youth and academia in enacting research-based legislation He made these remarks while awarding completion certificates to Research Associates who had completed their sixmonth program with TADVEEN-Legislative Drafting & Research Clinic, working at the National Assembly of Pakistan in Islamabad The Speaker emphasized that the primary objective of parliament is to legislate in the best interest of the common people, and he welcomed everyone to participate in this process The TADVEEN initiative was introduced in the National Assembly to provide quality inputs for research-based lawmaking

The Speaker encouraged the Associates to continue playing their role in the development of the country in whatever capacity possible National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf emphasized that the parliament is the house of the people and welcomed everyone to participate in the legislative process A P P

CM Mohsin Naqvi gives away Rs15m cheque to LPC office -bearers

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi has vowed to fix problems confronting journalists Expressing his views during a visit to the Lahore Press Club on Tuesday Naqvi said he believed in media freedom and disliked media restrictions

Presenting a Rs 15m cheque to Lahore Press Club President Azam Chaudhry the Chief Minister said the Punjab government is trying to solve the problems of journalists on a priority basis Media persons are my brothers and their problems will be solved at all costs Mohsen Naqvi further said the doors of the Chief Minister's office are always open for journalists Mohsin said he is aware of the problems of journalist transportation across Punjab P P I

COURT INTERVENTIONS AND SHARE PRICE MANIPULATION: WHAT IS GOING ON AT TRISTAR POWER?

COMPLICATIONS, LEGAL VIOLATIONS AND DELAY POSSIBLY AVERTING ELECTRICITY

PRODUCER TRI-STAR LTD’S POTENTIAL ACQUISITION BY TURKISH INVESTORS

AnAlysis

IN the latest development in the strange case of Tri-Star Power Ltd, the Sindh High Court has ordered a halt to a Turkish investor’s attempt to orchestrate a hostile takeover of the company. Reportedly, the Turkish investor was trying to acquire around 51% of the power plant’s shares to gain control of the publicly listed electricity producer and industry supplier.

The power producer announced on Monday that the aforementioned court order follows a suit it filed for a permanent injunction against Aykut Calikusu, a high net-worth individual from Turkey with expertise in e-commerce and the sale of locally sourced products in the Gulf. The company alleged that Calikusu was acting “in concert with others”and engaging in share price manipulation, while illegally accumulating shareholding.

What is Tristar

Tri-Star Power Ltd is a power company located in SITE, Karachi. It provides electricity on a rental basis to customers within the same industrial group. The electricity is generated and

distributed through a 10-megawatt plant installed on the premises of Image Pakistan Ltd. Considering that Tri-Star Power’s customer base is limited to the same industrial group, it is considered to be a captive power producer.

Tri-Star Ltd is a publicly listed company on PSX and hosts a large number of easily tradable shares, owned by ordinary investors, which is called a “free float”. The original founders of the company hold only 21.6% of the shares. Interestingly, no single shareholder controls more than 10% stake in the company.

It is difficult to determine the exact power production of the plant, since electricity is generated on demand.

Prior to 1 July 2021, the company charged customers on a per-unit basis for the electricity they consumed.

What is happening?

There is something strange happening with the share price of Tri-Star Power Ltd. It was announced by Alpha Beta Core Solutions Ltd, which manages the offer, on 9 March 2023, that a Turkish investor named Aykut Çalikuu had expressed interest in buying more than 51% of the shares of Tri-Star Power.

According to analysts, the power sector in Pakistan offers lucrative re-

Bracing for heatwaves

DESPITE AN UNUSUALLY COOL MARCH, DEVASTATING HEATWAVES COULD VERY MUCH BE IN OUR FUTURE

AnAlysis

PROFIT REPORT ISLAMABAD

South Asia has experienced a surprisingly cool March in 2023, with Pakistan in particular experiencing lower than average temperatures in the in-between summer and winter season. Despite this, many experts are warning that Pakistan and the rest of the region could still be under threat from climate change driven heat waves that will have catastrophic effects on the country’s agriculture and living conditions.

“Despite the anomalously cooler March in Pakistan in 2023, we might still experience a heatwave that could rival last year’s,” Hassan Aftab, an expert in Earth Sciences, said on Twitter. “Last year, 50% of people in Jacobabad fled the city and things did not return to normal until 4 months later,” he added.

On the 13th of March 2023, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued a warning that the country is likely to experience higher than usual temperatures during the upcoming summer season. In fact, an intense heat wave was predicted for the time between March and May.

According to PMD, the heat’s intensity will rise beyond its normal levels due to the less rainfall expected for this duration. A 77% decrease in rainfall was reported for the month of February, which meant that the average day and night temperatures were higher than normal by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius. Consequently, higher temperatures are expected not only for March but also April and May. Previously, the average temperature in March was recorded to be around 26 degrees Celcisus. A slight increase was observed last year, but the temperatures are expected to be even higher this year- with warnings of an imminent heat wave.

The expected heatwave is not only limited to Pakistan. India is also bracing itself for an intense summer, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted an “enhanced probability” of heat waves between March and May. According to the IMD, “above normal maximum temperatures are likely over most parts of northeast India, east and central India and some parts of northwest India from March to May.” India also experienced aboveaverage temperatures this winter season, with its hottest February in well over a century.

Cause for the Heat Experts are highlighting La Nina as a cause for the heat, which refers to the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific that affects global weather patterns.

“The summer of 2023 is a disaster in the making that will feature an unprecedented heat wave due to a weak western disturbance and the prevailing La Nina condition,” Abinash Mohanty, sector head of climate change and sustainability at IPE-Global, an international development organisation, told DW. According to Mohanty, climatological and meteorological conditions combined with unsustainable human activities have caused harsher heatwaves, which also severely affect food chains.

C ONTINUED ON PAGE 03

What e&’s $400 million boost means for Careem

turns. Getting a cheap company would make any foreign company look forward to investing in Pakistan. If the due diligence process goes well, the foreign company will negotiate a price with the local business, which may or may not match the current market rate on the stock exchange. Someone involved in the transaction from the marauder’s side alleged that the company’s management was obstructing the takeover attempt by highlighting the violation of regulations.

How did Tri-Star Power Ltd end up under the threat of an aggressive Turkish takeover and how are they stonewalling the process?

According to sources, the potential investor had formally approached the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on 20 March 2023, against the targeted electricity producer for not providing the “relevant and material information” required for due diligence.

In a subsequent correspondence on 4 April 2023, the apex regulator told the Tri-Star Power Ltd to “ensure meticulous compliance” with takeover regulations and provide the potential acquirer with material information for due diligence.

The potential buyer now has been accused of causing the price to sky-

rocket by a whopping 431% (from Rs 3.60 to Rs 19.12), between July 2022 and February 2023, even though there hadn’t been any significant change in the company’s operations. According to the power company, this reflects the “manipulation by the acquirer either directly or indirectly through the persons acting in concert”.

Since the announcement of the Turkish investor’s intention to acquire a controlling stake in the company, TriStar Power Ltd’s share price has experienced a downward spiralling trend.

The closing price of the shares was Rs 16.04 on 8 March 2023. However, following the public announcement of the possible takeover on 9 March 2023, more than 51% of shares and control of the target business, the share price began to plunge. The closing price on 10 March 2023 was recorded to be Rs 13.93, which is a drop of 13% from Rs 2.11, in just two days.

After refusing to issue any official response to the media regarding the situation, Tri-Star Power’s management finally broke their silence on the matter, claiming that the reason behind the initial and sudden increase was due to the Turkish investor’s manipulation of the stock.

The company alleged that, “The proposed acquirer is not a shareholder of the target company. He is a Turkish citizen… and does not even have an account with CDC (Central Depository Company),”

FLUSH WITH A WAR CHEST IN HIGH INTEREST ENVIRONMENT, CAREEM LOOKS SCARIER THAN EVER WITH POSSIBLE EVER MORE GRAND PLANS

On Monday, Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (also known as etisalat by e&) announced its decision to acquire a $400 million stake in the Super App developed by Uber Technologies and its subsidiary Careem. This move will make e& a majority shareholder in Careem’s Super App, alongside Uber and Careem’s three co-founders.

“By welcoming e& as an investor alongside Uber, Careem now has the backing of one of the region’s largest telecoms companies and technology investors, allowing us to massively scale our services, realise our vision of becoming the leading Super App in the region and deliver even more impact in our customers’ lives. In time, this new relationship has the potential to help Careem extend our reach far beyond our current customer base and geographical footprint to build the preeminent technology platform of our region,” says Nuzair A. Virani, Senior Communications Manager at Careem.

“In Pakistan, Careem’s collaboration with Uber on tech and infrastructure will continue to be powerful drivers for our ride-hailing business. Careem Rides will become the unrivalled leader of mobility in the region, enhancing customer experience further and raising the standard of mobility in the region. We will innovate our ride-hailing product to new levels, acquire new customers and Captains, and provide the Careem Super App with a critical foundation for success,” Virani continues.

What is a ‘Super App’?

ISLAMABAD

STAFF REPORT

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said the government has neither closed any channel nor any program, elaborating: “We have not filed a case against any journalist under the PECA Act.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said this while speaking at a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting held here

in Islamabad with Chairman of the Committee Senator Faisal Javed in the chair.

The minister said the federal government has started preparing a business plan for Radio Pakistan.

She informed the meeting that the Director General Radio Pakistan has prepared the plan, but it has not been formally submitted to the ministry yet. She said four state-of-the-art podcast studios have been established in Radio Pakistan.

She invited the committee members to visit Radio Stations to personally see these podcast stu-

dios. She said the previous government did no practical work for the uplift of the national broadcaster. The Information Minister clarified that no permission has been given to Radio Pakistan to sell its land or give it to the private sector. She pointed out it was only asked to review the proposal to build cinema on Radio Pakistan’s land to generate income for it.

To a query of a member of the Committee, Radio Pakistan DG Tahir Hassan said that funds have been arranged and the pension of widows of employees will be paid soon.

On the points raised by Chairman Committee Senator Faisal Javed regarding freedom of media, the Information Minister said the government has neither closed any channel nor any program. “We have not filed a case against any journalist under the PECA Act”, she added. Marriyum Aurangzeb said this is not the dark period of the last four years when programs and channels were used to be closed. “We not only fully believe in the freedom of media, but also practice it”, the minister asserted.

COAS stresses self-reliance in defence production during visit to HIT

RAWALPINDI

STAFF REPORT

Chief of Army Staff (COAS)

General Syed Asim Munir on Tuesday visited the Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT), where he was briefed on the progress of ongoing projects and the latest developments in defence production.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), COAS also visited various factories of HIT and witnessed the manufacturing, rebuilding, and upgradation of tanks, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), enhanced protection solutions, remote weapon systems, and indigenous 155mm artillery gun barrels for the Pakistan Army.

The army chief was briefed about technical capabilities of HIT, progress of on-going projects, indigenisation efforts and recently undertaken modernisation measures.

Speaking on the occasion, COAS Munir stressed upon the importance of self-reliance in defence production, praising the

HIT for its contributions towards achieving this goal.

The COAS remarked that HIT is a hub of knowledge economy and R&D, which is key to achieve self-reliance in defence production and contribute towards national exports and economy.

He expressed his full confidence in capabilities of its person-

nel and appreciated the commitment of officers and workforce to transform HIT into a modern defence production establishment for meeting requirements of Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) at par with international standards.

Earlier on arrival, COAS was received by Chairman HIT.

A Super App is a mobile or web application that provides multiple services, effectively becoming an all-encompassing self-contained commerce and communication online platform. These services can range from food delivery and financial services to transportation and shopping. The idea behind a Super App is to provide customers with a one-stop-shop for all their needs, making it more convenient for them to access multiple services without having to switch between different apps.

Careem’s Super App offers a dozen services such as food and grocery delivery, remittances, and third-party services like laundry.

The not so ‘Super’ Careem app currently in Pakistan

There are a number of features that the Careem in Pakistan currently lacks in terms of its ‘Super’ counterparts abroad. The notable features that the Pakistani iteration of Careem lacks in comparison to its counterparts include food delivery, Careem’s Quik grocery, its cleaning services, the ability to pay bills, and its Careem Plus service.

Should Pakistanis pay more attention to their Careem app this year?

Virani’s words leave much to the imagination as he mentions how this injection by e& will lead to possible material improvements across the geographies that Careem does operate. He highlights how the Super App is likely to become more of a reality consequently, but carefully avoids mentioning anything beyond Careem’s ride hailing operations in Pakistan.

“Careem is moving away from just being a ride hailing business. Raising 400mn in a rising interest rate environment is no small achievement,” says Yousuf M.Farooq, Director of Research at Topline Securities. “Lets see what they do with the superapp, rates are rising and iInvestors will demand profitability,” Farooq adds.

IHC fixes for hearing

Imran’s plea against FIR after removal of objections

ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday removed the objections raised by registrar office on a petition challenging FIR against Imran Khan pertaining to remarks about the officers of state institution.

The high court fixed the case for hearing on Wednesday (today) after removal of the objections.

Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition filed by PTI’s chief Imran Khan against an FIR registered by Ramna Police, stating that the PTI’s chairman had used objectionable language against the officers and put the their and their families’ lives at risk.

The registrar office had objected that the petitioner should have applied for pre-arrest bail first and second objection was related to the lawyer’s power of attorney. The chief justice took up the case along with the objection and removed the same on judicial side.

The petitioner had stated that baseless FIRs were being registered against him on political revenge. He said that how an FIR could be registered in Islamabad on a speech in Lahore. He prayed the court to quash the FIR against him.

It may be mentioned here that the capital police had registered FIR against Imran Khan on April 6, on the complaint of magistrate Manzoor Ahmed.

CWDP approves three development projects worth Rs76.5b

ISLAMABAD GHULAM ABBAS

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) cleared three development projects worth Rs 76.5 billion during its meeting held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Professor Ahsan Iqbal via Zoom.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Planning Ministry, the Chief Economist, Members of the Planning Com-

mission, and representatives from various ministries and divisions. The forum considered three projects related to the Ministry of Communication and provincial projects.

The forum referred the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project at the cost of Rs 69,440.00m to the Executive Committee of the National Executive Council while approving the Construction of a 6-lane Overhead Bridge at Imamia Colony Railway Crossing Shahara at the cost of Rs 3,958.188m and the Construction and Sindh Health Support Program at the

cost of Rs 3,098.600m. The construction of a 6-lane Overhead Bridge at Imamia Colony Railway Crossing Shahara at the cost of Rs 3,958.188m was approved by the CDWP with the condition that the National Highway Authority (NHA) will charge toll tax after the construction. The Ministry of Communication is the sponsoring agency of the project.

The revised project envisages the construction of a 6-lane Railway overhead bridge measuring 613m in length with approach ramps on either side on National

Highway N-5 at Imamia Colony Railway crossing at Shahdara. The proposed overhead bridge will facilitate the free flow of traffic on N-5. The rail track between Lahore and Faisalabad intercepts N-5 dual carriageway at Imamia Colony, 1.5 km north of Shahdara railway. The forum also approved the Construction and Sindh Health Support Program at the cost of Rs 3,098.600m. The provincial government of Sindh is the sponsoring agency of the project. The PC-I envisages localizing the National UHC Benefit Package;

the province of Sindh took the lead to become the first province in Pakistan by developing the provincial EPHS. Sindh EPHS for UHC BP had prioritized a total of 131 interventions as District EPHS that included 94 interventions as an immediate priority, out of which 21 were at the Community level, 37 at the PHC facility level, and 36 at the First Level Hospital (FLH). The interventions will lead to improved health with resilient health infrastructure by addressing accessibility, equity, responsiveness, social and financial risk protection, and improved efficiency.

Not a single case filed against any journalist under PECA Act: Marriyum