Friday, 29 July, 2022 I 29 Zil Hajj, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 388 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
PDM urges govt to senD PresiDential reference to sc for article 63-a interPretation ISLAMABAD
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HE Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — a multi-party alliance with representation of ruling PML-N — on Thursday recommended to the government to send a presidential reference to the Supreme Court seeking its interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution by a fullcourt bench for “a way out of the prevailing constitutional and political crisis.” Announcing key decisions taken by the PDM following a meeting today, alliance chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said the meeting decided that the recent interpretation of the Article 63-A by a three-member bench of the apex court while ruling on Punjab chief minister’s election had fuelled reservations and triggered a constitutional crisis. “The political parties have expressed reservations on the observation of three judges of the top court [on Punjab chief
minister election] which complicated the matter,” he said. He said that sending a reference to the apex court was now essential in view of widespread differences of opinion
206 dead as monsoon triggered flash floods devastate Balochistan, Sindh QUETTA / KARACHI staff report
The flash floods triggered by the torrential monsoon rains wreaked havoc in Balochistan and Sindh, leaving more than 206 people dead and caused colossal damage to communication infrastructure, houses, standing crops and other installations. According to Balochistan Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Aqili on Thursday, flash floods triggered by the torrential rains have claimed several more lives in Balochistan raising the death toll to 111. “Provincial government is facing a huge challenge to cope with the situation arising after the heavy downpour and flash floods,” he said during a press briefing here at Jamali Auditorium of Civil Secretariat. Chairman NHA Khuram Agha and DG PDMA Naseer Nasar were also present. Sharing details about the damages caused by rain and relief operation in the calamity-hit areas, the Balochistan CS said that 10 districts of the province were worst affected by the monsoon rain, adding that during the recent monsoon spell, 500 percent more rain was recorded than during the past 30 years. About colossal damages caused to property, infrastructure and livestock, the CS said that rain and floods have damaged over 10,000 houses, of them 6,700 are completely destroyed. It caused damages to at least six main bridges, approximately 565km of road while 712 livestock also died. Torrential rain and floods also caused damage to the 197,930 acre agricultural land in parts of the province. Highlighting the government prompt response to the catastrophe, the Chief Secretary noted that even before the premonsoon due to the forecast of rains, the vacations of the staff of all the concerned institutions were cancelled. As many as 17,500 people affected by heavy rain have been rescued while the federal government and the provincial government have announced Rs10 million compensation for the dead people. Compensation will also be given to those whose property and livestock have been damaged. Abdul Aziz, however clarified that the provincial government and Pakistan Army helicopters are on standby but not being used due to bad weather. He noted that section 144 has been implemented in the province. Heavy traffic between Quetta to Karachi is suspended as citizens are being requested to avoid unnecessary travel for ten days. The CS expressing satisfaction over the response of district administration said that deputy commissioners of all districts are doing relief work. “If any officer shows negligence, action will be taken against him.” It may be recalled that torrential rain starting from 13 June is continuing to play havoc in parts of the province. Labella, Khuzdar Jhal Magsi and its surrounding areas are the worst affected districts where heavy downpour and flooding has badly hit the human settlements destroying infrastructure and inundating hundreds of villages. “Those died during the monsoon rains and flooding included 34 children, 30 women and 42 men,” a report issued by PDMA said, adding 62 people suffered injuries. The provincial government, district administration, PDMA and Pakistan Army have launched rescue, relief operations in the worst affected districts. However, due to the large scale of calamity, the relief operation is not yielding desired results as flood-stricken people still need more help from the government and international humanitarian organization for their rescue, relief and rehabilitation.
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among different circles as well as legal experts, media and the civil society. Fazl also said it was unanimously agreed that the government would complete its term and the elections
would be “held on time”. “Under the resolution, it is also our demand that the ECP must immediately announce its verdict in the foreign funding case, which has been lingering for eight years,” he told journalists. The PDM chief said the ECP must fulfill its legal, constitutional responsibility without any delay, adding that the electoral watchdog was currently “under a cover of mysterious silence”. He claimed that ample evidence was available against the PTI, saying the law must take its course and a verdict must be delivered at the earliest. He also said the “mess created by Imran in three and a half years cannot be cleaned in just an year.” We will clean his mess in the next five years, the PDM chief claimed. “Imran must also remain within his limits. His propaganda is based on social media gimmickry. We will take decisions with unanimity and move forward,” Fazl said in response to a
question. He also said the PDM meetings will continue for days to discuss problems faced by the country. Speaking on the occasion, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said the plea for a full-court bench was rejected by the Supreme Court to “facilitate Laadla” (the blue-eyed) and deliver an unjust verdict to dent the government. “The three-member bench of the SC has already become controversial,” she said. “Our 25 MPAs were given to Imran and Chaudhry Shujaat’s 10 MPAs were also provided to Imran. This was the mistake and misinterpretation,” Maryam claimed. She accused the SC bench of violating the Constitution, adding that “if you think we will accept this decision, we won’t”. Maryam said the coalition will not allow Imran to constantly “operate as a bully and abuse of his opponents”. “We will not let that happen.”
NA speaker accepts resignations of 11 PTI MNAs ISLAMABAD staff report
In a surprise move, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaz Ashraf on Thursday accepted the resignations of 11 PTI MNAs, although all 131 lawmakers had resigned on April 11. According to details, the National speaker accepted the resignations of 11 MNAs out of total 131. It is not clear as to why the resignations of only 11 MNAs have been accepted by the speaker. It is to be recalled the PTI lawmakers had resigned en masse on April 11, two days after former prime minister Imran Khan was ousted from the top office after the no-confidence motion moved by the joint opposition in the parliament against him succeeded. The confirmation of the acceptance of the resignations was issued by the NA Secretariat, which issued a list. The lawmakers whose resignations have been accepted included: Ali Muhammad Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan, Shaukat Ali, Fakhar Zaman Khan, Farrukh Habib and Ijaz Ahmed Shah. Jamil Ahmed Khan, Muhammad
Akram Cheema and Abdul Shakoor Shad’s names are also on the list. Dr Shireen Mehrunnisa Mazari and Shandana Gulzar Khan, who were both MNAs on reserved seats for women, will also cease to be members of the lower house of the parliament. Earlier, there were reports that the National Assembly speaker held consultation with PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq in a bid to
accept the resignations of PTI lawmakers. According to media reports, the PML-N wanted to accept resignations of eight PTI lawmakers, including former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The legislative department of National Assembly had asserted that homework in this regard has been completed while the final decision would be taken by the NA Speaker.
Foreign funding case shows how Imran being protected: PM Shehbaz ISLAMABAD staff report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the eight years-long delay in the decision of foreign funding case against Imran Khan evidenced how “Ladla” was being protected. The prime minister, in a tweet, said that the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for not taking salary while contrary to that the PTI leader was being treated as “untouchable.” He said that despite the passage of eight years, the decision in the foreign funding case was yet elusive. He said that in the foreign
funding case, Imran Khan filed nine writ petitions in the Islamabad High Court and also got 50 adjournments.
In a similar tweet on July 19, the prime minister had asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the “long-de-
layed” judgment on PTI foreign funding case. He said that for long Imran Khan had been been given a free pass despite his “repeated and shameless” attacks on state institutions. “Impunity given to him has hurt the country,” he commented. Meanwhile Minister of State for Petroleum Musaddiq Malik on Thursday questioned the “double standards” of justice and asked for a level-playing field for all the political parties in the country. “We have always accepted all decisions of the courts, but we also ask of them to bring about a real verdict,” Malik said while addressing a presser in Islamabad.
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Friday, 29 July, 2022 | LAHORE
NEWS
ANoThER hikE iN PowER TARiFF oN ThE CARdS ISLAMABAD
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HE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority on Thursday reserved its decision regarding a proposed power tariff hike for the consumers of all DISCOs and K-Electric under the head fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for June 2022. As per details, NEPRA on Thursday conducted two separate hearings on the FCA of June 2022 for the K-Electric and the power distribution companies (DISCOs). The two hearings were held under the chair NEPRA Tauseef H. Farooqi wherein Rafique Ahmed Shaikh and Engineer Maqsood Anwar were in attendance. During the course of the hearing, CPPA pleaded that
Tractor production increases 16pc in FY22 ISLAMABAD iNP
approximately 13 billion units of electricity were produced at a cost of around Rs213 billion while cost of each unit of power generation with coal source was at Rs20.80, furnace oil Rs36.20, local gas Rs8.92 and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Rs28.38/unit in the month of June. Similarly, electricity imported from Iran was supplied at Rs19.57/unit and cost of line losses of each unit was 42 paisa. According to NEPRA, the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) on behalf of power distribution companies (DISCOs) has sought a hike of Rs9.91 per unit in the power price while K-Electric (KE) requested to jack up the power tariff by Rs11.39/unit on account of FCA of June 2022. After scrutiny of the data so far submitted by the two, the power tariff hike should be Rs11.37/unit for the consumers of KE and Rs9.89/unit
for the consumers of DISCOs under FCA of June 2022. However, NEPRA will issue its detailed judgement later on the two separate applications of CPPA & KE after necessary scrutiny of the submitted data. As per NEPRA, this proposed power tariff hike under FCA of June will be applicable on all power consumers except lifeline consumers of KE and DISCOs for only one month. An official of NEPRA on anonymity while talking to Profit said that KE has so far justified Rs11.37/unit hike for its consumers while CPPA justified Rs9.89/unit for the consumers of DISCOs under FCA of June 2022 and NEPRA is likely Based on the information provided by CPPA in its application on behalf of power distribution companies (DISCOs), total power generation with various fuels was
13,876.14-Gigawatt hour while net delivered to DISCOs was 13,471.05 GWh in the month of June. Similarly, power generation in the month of June with hydel source was 24.22 per cent, coal 13.57 per cent, Residual Fuel Oil (RFO) 10.48 per cent, gas 10.66 per cent, Re-gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) 24.43 per cent, nuclear 9.12 per cent, wind 5.58 per cent, Iran import 0.37 per cent, mixed 0.07 per cent, solar 0.62 per cent and Baggasse 0.60 pc. Moreover, reference fuel charges for June were fixed at Rs5.9344 per kilowatt hour and CPPA proposed an increase of Rs9.9095 per kWh. Sources in the power sector said that consumers of all DISCOs would bear around Rs 155 billion while Karachiites would face an additional burden of more than Rs22 billion on account of FCA of June through next month’s electricity bills. It is pertinent to mention that NEPRA had earlier approved a Rs7.91/unit increase in power price for only one month on account of FCA for May 2022 for the consumers of DISCOs.
Imran wants immediate restoration of PTI’s welfare projects NewS DeSk Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday directed the newly elected Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi to immediately restore welfare schemes in the province
launched during Buzdar’s tenure. The former prime minister issued these directives while chairing a virtual meeting with Punjab chief executive Elahi and former federal minister Moonis Elahi through video link. The meeting discussed political and administrative issues while
the welfare and development projects in Punjab also came under discussion. The former premier instructed Elahi to restore the Ehsaas, Sehat Insaaf card and other welfare projects in Punjab immediately. “The previous government ignored our welfare programs but the time has
The production of farm tractors in the country witnessed an increase of 16.01 percent to 58,880 units during the twelve months of fiscal year 2021-22, against the production of 50,751 units in same months of last year. During the period under review, the production of trucks also witnessed an increasing trend as it went up from 3,808 units as compared to 5,659 units, showing an increase of 48.60 percent, according to Pakistan Automobile Manufacturing Association (PAMA). Production of pickups, Light Commercial Vehicle (LCVs) and Jeeps also rose by 42.96 percent to 44,421 units during the fiscal year under review from 31,072 units during fiscal year of last year. Similarly, the production of buses witnessed an increase of 15.96 percent from 570 units to 661 units during the period under review, PAMA added. Meanwhile, the production of passenger cars also posted a record increase of 49.17 percent as it plunged to 226,433 units during the period under review against the production of 151,794 units during July-June 2020-21, the data revealed. The manufacturing of motorcycles and three wheelers in the country plunged to 1,826,467 units during July-June from the production of 1,902,415 units during July-June, showing nominal decrease of 3.99 percent, it added.
SECP consolidates regulatory requirements for companies ISLAMABAD Staff rePort
In order to facilitate the corporate sector in complying with the applicable regulatory requirements, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued draft Companies Regulations, 2022. It is a consolidated version of nine separate regulations, earlier framed under section 512 of the Companies Act, 2017. The consolidated regulations aim to standardize forms/applications filed by companies and make the regulatory regime easier to understand and comply with. The draft regulations have been placed on SECP’s website for soliciting public comments before final publication. The proposed draft covers regulatory requirements applicable on company incorporation, postincorporation compliance and reporting, issuance of license under section 42 of the Companies Act, 2017, further issue of share capital, group registration, easy exit of companies, and registration of intermediaries. After extensive review of the existing regulations, several procedures have been simplified. To facilitate end users, several forms have been merged resulting in a substantial reduction of existing forms from 75 to only 27.
Federal govt to make further amends to NAB laws
come to speed up these initiatives without delay so that the people can get relief,” Imran said. On this, Punjab CM assured that the aforementioned programs will be started immediately and all possible steps will be taken to provide relief to the masses.
Customs recover Rs11.854m sales tax revenue in June 2022 ISLAMABAD Shahzad Paracha
LAHORE: PML-N women MPAs and workers stage a protest against PTI outside Press Club. Photo by zubair Mehfooz
PM Shehbaz wishes ‘covid-hit’ Asif Zardari quick recovery ISLAMABAD Staff rePort
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed his best wishes and prayers for former President Asif Ali Zardari who got infected with the coronavirus. Taking to his twitter handle on Thursday, the prime minister wrote: “My best wishes and prayers are with former President Asif Ali Zardari for quick recovery from Covid and complete health.” Earlier in a tweet, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari disclosed that his father Asif Zardari had tested positive for Covid-19. Bilawal also said that the former president was fully vaccinated, boosted and had isolated with mild symptoms. “He is fully vaccinated, boosted, isolating with mild symptoms and undergoing treatment. We are praying for his swift recovery,” Bilawal said on Twitter. Earlier this week, Zardari had travelled to Dubai to celebrate his 67th birthday with his nine-month-old grandson. The PPP co-chairman was born on July 26, 1955. Meanwhile, the former president’s daughter, Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, said that his PCR test had been positive when he had landed in Dubai.
She reiterated that Zardari’s symptoms were mild, adding that he was resting and was on day four of his isolation. She added that he would return once he had recovered. “Thank you for your prayers and remind everyone to remain precautious,” she said. Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan was facing the challenge of climate change and stressed the need for addressing the problem of flash flooding from the same perspective. Flooding has battered Sindh and Balochistan since the onset of heavy monsoon rains a month ago, affecting a wide central belt. More than 330 people have died in the two provinces. Since June 14, the downpours have damaged bridges, roads and about 4,000 homes in Balochistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). “Our ongoing floods and torrential rains need to be seen from [climate] angle,” Sharif said in a tweet. He mentioned that climate change was a reality that was greatly impacting Pakistan. “Climate change is an undeniable reality of our times and has serious consequences for developing countries like Pakistan.”
On the directions of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) the Post clearance Audit (PCA) of customs has recovered Rs11.85 million in sales tax revenue during the month of June, 2022. Earlier it was brought to the notice of the FTO that certain goods were made chargeable to sales tax on the basis of retail price at the time of import by virtue of amendments made in Section 3(2) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 vide Finance Act, 2019-20. The FBR, in order to give effect to the budgetary changes, issued a Custom General Order through which the Directorate General of Reforms Automation (Customs) was required to make necessary changes in the WeBOC clearance system of customs for charging sales tax on retail price. FTO observed that the department had not only failed to develop a functional and practical solution to the problem at hand i.e. development of an ITbased module to cater for the budgetary changes with a view to capture and realize the exact amount of due taxes at the import stage on items subjected to tax on retail price vide Finance Act, 2019 but it was also a massive revenue loss. A report was called by the FTO from the Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit regarding detections made by them in this regard, data revealed that three committees constituted by the FBR failed to perform and complete the assigned task with sincerity of purpose despite the lapse of about three years. In view of the above, Tax Ombudsman directed FBR to ensure that the DG PCA should constitute a dedicated team under the supervision of Additional Director at each regional Directorate for an in depth audit of this sector and submit monthly progress report of detections made and tax collected till the final deployment of WEBOC module. As a result, the said teams had been constituted in all the three Regional Directorates of PCA, the audit was being successfully conducted by all the directorates and recovered Rs11.854 million during the month of June 2022. This amount is in addition to the already recovered amount of Rs286.6 million by PCA.
Bilawal, Wang Yi discuss progress in Pak-China relations
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The PML-N-led federal government has decided to make further amends to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws. According to the anticipated amendments, NAB would not be able to investigate corruption cases under Rs 50 crores. The federal government has decided to amend the NAB laws under the NAB amendment bill 2022. The new amendment would also end the President’s prerogative to appoint the NAB judges while the tenure of the NAB prosecutor general will also become extendable by three years. Section 16 of the NAB laws would also be amended making it mandatory to trial any accused in the area in question. Section 19 will also be amended revoking the NAB’s power to oversee any case with the assistance of the High court. The bill has been presented by State Minister Shahadat Awan. He urged the standing committee to finalize the bill in two to three days.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Thursday. He added that Pakistan and China had complete convergence on fully leveraging the SCO as an important regional platform for development and connectivity. Both sides reaffirmed their
MiaN abrar
strong support for each other’s core interests and major concerns, and commitment to deepening strategic communication, including at the highest political level and practical cooperation. Foreign Minister Bilawal expressed satisfaction at the frequent high-level interactions between the two sides, which was a hallmark of the bilateral relations. He underscored that his third meeting with State Councilor Wang Yi in as many months reflected the importance attached by both sides to maintain strategic communication, further deepen
the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership and advance economic engagement for mutual benefit. He also underscored that CPEC’s (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) development had reached a new phase, with increasing emphasis on high-quality development of industry, agriculture, information technology, and science and technology, while ensuring tangible socioeconomic benefits for the people. The two sides discussed the latest developments in
Afghanistan. They agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan was vital for regional development and prosperity. Both sides agreed that only
a peaceful, stable and connected Afghanistan could act as a fulcrum for enhanced regional trade and connectivity. The two foreign ministers agreed to maintain close coordination.
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Friday, 29 July, 2022 | LAHORE
NEWS
PAkiSTAN URGES woRld To hoNoUR CliMATE FiNANCE PlEdGE New YORk
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Staff rePort
IGHLIGHTING climate change’s disproportionate impact on poor nations, Pakistan called on the developed countries to fulfil a $100 billion commitment to help developing nations in reducing emissions and adapting to global warming. “Enhanced commitments for annual climate finance from the floor of $100 billion goal must be achieved in the new Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance by 2024,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said during a virtual briefing on the 13th Petersberg
Climate Dialogue, a German initiative for discussing concrete steps towards overcoming the crisis. “Developing countries, whilst not responsible for the majority of emissions today, too often bear the brunt of climate change impacts,” he said, adding the challenges these nations face must be recognised. In this regard, the envoy welcomed the commitments reached at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, more commonly referred to as COP26, including on at least doubling climate financing for adaptation, saying further action is needed to ensure a greater balance between support for mitigation and adaptation in climate finance. “Concessional finance must be significantly scaled up and climate finance should not be a source of
Auto manufacturers reeling from informal quota LAHORe
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Automobile manufacturers in Pakistan are currently utilizing ad-hoc measures to continue operations amidst the economic downturn and the limited quota allowances given to them. “The State Bank has given interim relief by allowing 50% of imports based on our monthly average imports in March, April, May, and June.” said Maqsood Ur Rehman Rehmani, Vice President and Company Secretary at Honda Cars Pakistan Limited, to Profit. Honda and Suzuki are both endeavoring to hammer out better terms with the State Bank to avoid a prolonged halt in operations. Toyota, however, has taken a separate route entirely and offered customers the option of full reimbursements or renewed delivery terms. The limited quota does provide respite but its terms are not as beneficial as automotive companies would like. “The industry was already suffering from the higher cost of importing integrated circuit (IC) chips due to a global chip shortage and then the import restrictions were imposed. Everyone has to pay demurrage on our cargo stuck at the ports, which is made worse due to higher container detention charges because of a container shortage. Manufacturers have utilized their ckd reserves to meet orders, however, if the conditions persist then I am unsure how everyone in the industry will survive” said Maqsood The government is poised to possibly provide some relief to importers in the near future. However, whether automotive manufacturers will benefit from any possible changes in the import regime is unknown and will only be understood in the weeks to come.
Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chair, condemned the arrest of Haleem Adil Sheikh, party MP and Sindh Assembly opposition leader who was recently taken into custody in connection with a land transaction. Sheikh’s arrest is “pure fascism, reflecting the Zardari-Sharif mafia’s approach [sic] of eliminating those they cannot purchase [and] it is absolutely unacceptable in any democracy”, he said in a tweet. The characteristically strong-worded tweet came a day after the opposition MP was arrested in the Malir district by the Jamshoro chapter of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE). He was later brought to Karachi and shifted to Aziz Bhatti police station in the Gulshan-i-Iqbal neighbourhood. A first information report (FIR) lodged at Malir police station last Wednesday stated that Sheikh was booked under sections 409 (criminal breach of
NewS DeSk All Parties Hurriyat Conference Vice Chairman, Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar Thursday said that 05 August is one of the most tragic, painful and darkest days of modern Kashmir history and the Kashmiris will always observe it as exploitation day, day of mourning and a black day. According to Kashmir Media Service, Ghulam Ahmad Gulzar in a special message from Srinagar Central Jail said it was on 05 August in 2019 when RSS-backed fascist government led by killer of humanity Narendra Modi usurped political, social, religious and all other basic rights of Kashmiris, turned Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir( IIOJK) into a big open-air prison and imposed suffocating restrictions in the territory. He said that was attack on Kashmir’s unique identity, culture, employment, demography and basic fundamental rights by Hindutva forces. He said today, the life, property, honor, culture, identity, land and everything of Kashmiris is at stake and it is the time to get united against Hindutva imperialism and expansionism. He said since 05 August 2019, one million Indian forces’ personnel equipped with latest weapons and sweeping powers have been murdering and brutalizing the Kashmiris with atrocious vengeance. These brutal occupation forces are trampling everything under their jackboots and punishing the Kashmiri people for demanding their inalienable right to self-determination, with impunity. The APHC leader deplored that the RSS-backed Modi government was hell-bent to turn Kashmir into graveyard and wasteland for imposition of its devil Hindutva ideology. He said, the Indian occupation forces are perpetrating heinous crimes like systematic genocide, brutal torture, mass arrests, destruction of properties and molestation of women in IIOJK to crush the people’s popular voice of freedom. He said that since 5 August 2019 Hindutva forces have martyred over six hundred Kashmiris including women and children. Over twenty thousand people including Hurriyat leaders, human rights defenders, journalists, social activists, women and children have been arrested. During the period, more than 1500 structures have been turned into rumble through shelling and use of chemical weapons by Indian troops.
ISLAMABAD
‘Fascism’: Imran condemns arrest of Sindh opposition leader
daNiyal ahMad
Fascist Modi’s 5th August 2019 move an attack on kashmir’s identity, demography: GA Gulzar
Covid-19 positivity rate reaches 3.65 pc with 761 new cases
additional external debt for developing countries,” Ambassador Khan said, while stressing the need for establishing an independent loss and damage financial facility. He also called for simplification and acceleration of existing procedures to access financing for climate projects, such as from the Green Climate Fund and demanding its early replenishment. Despite the decreasing price of renewable energy, the Pakistani envoy emphasised the need for addressing the problem of access and transfer of technology to accelerate the deployment of renewables, while taking into consideration the diversity of national situations, priorities, policies, specific needs and challenges, and capacities of developing countries, including their energy mix and energy systems.
Staff rePort
trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc) 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). It alleged MP had gotten 60 to 100 acres of land transferred through fake revenue entries. “The same was also leased for 30 years in Thana Bula Khan.” It added that Sheikh caused losses to the public exchequer by manipulation, fraud and forgery in the official record. Condemning the arrest, Asad Umar, party’s secretary general, called the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government in Sindh “worst tyrants possible”. “These so-called democrats are the worst tyrants possible. The system of injustice perpetrated by them is collapsing and it’s only a matter of time before the power of the people brings this system to its end,” he said.
Punjab’s ‘political trash’ will be dumped soon: Rasheed ISLAMABAD Staff rePort
Awami Muslim League (AML) chair Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said the autonomy of the Supreme Court enjoys constitutional protection, and its authority can only be increased, never curtailed. In a tweet, he said the apex court cannot be “influenced at someone’s will”. “Its anatomy is protected by the Constitution,” he added. He added the federal government cannot impose a governor’s rule in Punjab. Pakistan nationals living abroad will get their right to vote and recent amendments in accountability laws will soon be reversed, he said. He said the foreign reserves have gone down to $7 billion
while the dollar rate has spiked to Rs250. The government will be removed before it could offload national assets, he added. The former minister said that Punjab’s political garbage would
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be dumped into the trash. Nawaz Sharif, the supreme leader of PML-N, would not return to Pakistan and general elections will be held in October or November, he predicted.
Staff rePort
Pakistan recorded 761 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the positivity rate to 3.65 percent, the Ministry of National Health Services said on Thursday. The new infections were detected after the diagnostic testing of 20,843 samples in the past 24 hours. With the new infections, the total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 has risen to 1,552,632 in the country, showed data released by the health ministry. A total of 30,482 people have died due to Covid-19 in Pakistan, including eight new deaths, according to the ministry. Currently, at least 170 hospitalised cases are reported to be in critical condition nationwide.
Mehbooba praises Pakistan, China over CPEC project NewS DeSk In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti in her remarks that are going sure to infuriate the ruling Hindutva regime of India has praised Pakistan and China over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. According to Kashmir Media Service, Mehbooba Mufti’s comments were carried by Times Now, an English news channel in India. She also called for declaring the two regions of Kashmir – Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Azad Jammu and Kashmir – as a world peace zone. She urged Narendra Modi-led Indian government to connect IIOJK with the world in the same manner Pakistan and China are doing with the AJK. The PDP chief further suggested that the two parts of Jammu and Kashmir be declared a cooperation zone of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and said that India should forget about becoming the guru (leader) of the world if it cannot even become the guru of the SAARC.
Efforts afoot for resumption of PiA flights to EU: Senate body NewS DeSk The Senate’s Standing Committee on Aviation on Thursday was informed that concerted efforts were being made to resume the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) countries, which had been banned after a crash of the national flag carrier’s Airbus-320 in Karachi in 2020. “Efforts are underway that this matter is resolved at the earliest. However, procedures take time,” the Aviation Division authorities apprised the committee while discussing the measures taken for lifting of the ban and subsequent resumption of the PIA flights. They said experts of the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) would conduct an audit and then EU representatives would visit Pakistan for an overall review. The committee meeting, chaired by Senator Hidayatullah, was given a detailed briefing on various issues confronted by the aviation sector in Pakistan. Besides, the body took up various issues, including appointment and emoluments of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) director general, reasons for Larkana Airport’s non-functioning and the closure of PIA ticketing office in Hyderabad. The committee was informed that despite all-out efforts by the ministry to upgrade the Larkana Airport, no progress could be made due to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations’ ( UNESCO) stance of protecting the site that had been declared a World Heritage Site. “The matter was taken to court implying that the construction work will damage the Moenjo Daro site.” While discussing the performance, eligibility and emoluments of the CAA DG, Minister for Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique viewed that the director general was highly qualified and managing the position well. His appointment, the ministry asserted, was according to rules.
In Karachi, people plant trees to provide relief from scorching sun kARACHI reuterS
Mulazim Hussain is proud of the trees he has planted. Surrounded by neem saplings and vegetables sprouting up from scrubland in the Clifton district of Karachi, the 61-year-old recalls a time a few years ago when the neighbourhood was a giant, informal rubbish tip. “Now there is greenery and happiness, children come in the evening to play, people come to walk,” he said, speaking near a patch of trees amid a barren expanse bordered by the sea on one side and tower blocks and offices in the distance on the other. “I have raised these plants like my children over the last four years,” he added, taking a break from his labours amid a fierce summer heatwave.
Wearing a white and brown scarf around his head and a loose, creamcoloured shirt, Hussain collected dry grass from the ground and watered his cherished trees during a recent visit by Reuters reporters to the urban forest plantation project. At the end of the day, he turned the hose on himself to cool off and clean up before heading home on his motorcycle. The father of two is employed by an urban afforestation project in a government-owned park in Karachi’s upmarket Clifton neighbourhood that is run by Shahzad Qureshi, who has worked on similar projects in other cities and overseas. It is one of the dozens of stateowned and private planting initiatives in Pakistan, where forest cover lags far behind average levels across South Asia. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, emissions
of which contribute to warming global temperatures. The aim in Clifton is to counterbalance rapid urbanisation in Karachi, a sprawling port city of some 17 million people where a breakneck expansion of roads and buildings means there is less and less space for trees and parkland. Qureshi wanted to provide shade for residents seeking escape from rising temperatures — a heatwave in 2015 killed more than 400 people in the city in three days, and temperatures in the surrounding Sindh region reached record highs this year. The trees can also attract local wildlife, mitigate urban flooding and provide new sources of food. “The bigger the tree cover of the city the more the cooling, with a difference of up to 10 (degrees) Celsius when you are
surrounded by trees,” he told Reuters, adding the project only used native species. DOES PLANTING HELP? Overall forest cover in Pakistan is around 5.4 percent, according to Syed Kamran Hussain, manager for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature’s national branch. That compares with 24 percent in neighbouring India and 14.5 percent in Bangladesh, and the previous government of Imran Khan announced a mass forestation programme that envisaged planting 10 billion trees between 2019 and 2023. “Pakistan is among the top 10 most vulnerable countries affected by global warming,” Hussain said. “After oceans, trees are the second largest sink of carbon.”
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Friday, 29 July, 2022 | LAHORE
04 NEWS
SC returnS plea Seeking review of verdiCt on interpretation of artiCle 63-a ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
HE Registrar’s Office of Supreme Court on Thursday returned the review petition against the verdict on presidential reference filed for the interpretation of Article 63-A. The apex court, in its verdict on presi-
dential reference regarding interpretation of Article 63-A issued on May 17, observed that the vote given by a dissident member of the assembly against the party policy would not be counted, while the life-time disqualification or the period of disqualification of the member should be determined by the parliament. The Registrar’s Office objected to the
Chinese company offers technical support for rehabilitation of Sukkur Barrage StAff RepoRt The Chinese Gezhouba Group Company offered Sindh government technical support for rehabilitation project of Sukkur Barrage. The Country Representative of China Gezhouba Group Company limited in Pakistan Hong Na along with his team called on the Sindh Minister for Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro on Thursday. The Deputy Director Business Development China Gezhouba Group Company limited, Zain Tariq and Coudhry Zia were also present during the meeting. On this occasion, Sindh Minister for Irrigation Department Jam Khan Shoro and Hong Na discussed progress on Rehabilitation of Sukkur Barrage and possibilities of future co-operation in details. The China’s Gezhouba Group Company vowed to provide technical support in the project and assured full cooperation and assistance.
IHC seeks comments from respondents in plea against Kashmala StAff RepoRt The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought comments from respondents in a petition seeking to stop Kashmala Tariq from serving as Federal Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harrasment of Women at Work Place. Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case filed by a citizen regarding the matter. In a written order about today’s hearing, the court said it had granted one month time to federation and Ministry of Law and Justice to submit comments within one month time. The petition had stated that Kashmala Tariq had been appointed as Federal Ombudsperson on February 19, 2018 for a period of four years. Kashmala Tariq was still serving against the post despite of expiry of her appointment period, it said, adding that no further extension could be given on the post after expiry of the said tenure in accordance of the law.
review petition, stating that the reference to the amendment of Article 63-A was sent to the Supreme Court by President Dr Arif Alvi. The presidential reference was sent to the Supreme Court under Article 186, it added. The interpretation of any article was a matter between the Supreme Court and the president.
The Registrar’s Office dismissed the review appeal against the judgment in the presidential reference for interpretation of Article 63-A, saying the petition was not maintainable. The review petition against the Article 63-A court verdict was filed by Ayesha Nawaz, a dissident member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
EPA for proper incinerator, waste management at Jinnah Hospital StAff RepoRt The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) on Thursday demanded the project proponents and authorities concerned ensure proper development of incinerator and infectious waste management system at Jinnah Hospital to be built at Sector G-11/3 of the federal capital.
Director Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Pak-EPA, Ahsan Rafi Kiani presided over the public hearing of the 300-bed Jinnah Hospital to be built by the federal government as an extension of the Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital. Kiani said the Pak-EPA’s major emphasis was on the establishment of sewage treatment plants (STP) and infec-
China’s micro-inverter series to benefit Pakistan’s remote areas StAff RepoRt Chinese inverter manufacturer Zhejiang Beny Electric Company has recently unveiled a micro-inverter series for residential systems. Such inverters can enable the rural communities in the far-flung and remote areas of Pakistan to get maximum benefits from the sunlight utilising their limited resources. The use of off-grid solar panels is increasing day by day in the rural areas of Pakistan, especially among the disadvantaged segments of society who cannot afford conventional means of lighting or large-scale renewable projects. These people simply buy a panel or two and expose them to the sun either on their roofs or outside in the open air if they live under thatched roofs, even though they enjoy very limited benefits as these gadgets can only run fans or other small appliances. Shahab Uddin, who deals in the solar panels and inverters in Malakand, says that two variants, BYM550 (550-volt ampere) and BYM700 (700VA), can be a game changer for the people, especially for those living in the rural area. “Small families in urban areas can also benefit from these mini-inverters,” he said. BYM550 and BYM700 can be connected to a single panel and enable module-level maintenance and management of the PV Station by monitoring the power generation of each module, as per the company instructions. The maximum output power is up to
721W/channel adapted to 60, 66, and 72 cells PV panels. The static maximum power point tracking (MPPT) efficiency is 99.80% while peak efficiency is 97.5% and EURO efficiency is 97%. For BYM550, 400~670W,60,66,72 Cell/(300~400W),72 cells are the recommended PV power module range. The MPPT voltage range is 24V-50V. The rated output power is 550VA with a maximum output power of 600VA. The maximum connection number in one string is 10 units (30A circuit breaker, 9 AWG cable). According to Shahab Uddin, looking at the rural market, MYM 550 could be the most desired micro-inverter in this region. “I hope the yet-to-be-announced price of the min-inverters will be affordable for the common people,” he said. Engineer Suhail Ahmad said that micro-inverter will maximize the benefits of solar energy for people with fewer resources. “They can run small-sized water pumps, washing machines, and other appliances with micro-inverters while using a single panel”, he said. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2021-22, the installed capacity of solar power is 600 MW, which is around 1.4 percent of the total installed capacity. The 600MW does not include the solar-generated electricity that thousands of families are acquiring from solar panels at a low level. The potential for solar power in Pakistan is also high. Sunlight is available abundantly almost throughout the country.
Saudi Arabia to provide Rs3b equipment to King Abdullah campus of UAJK ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
The government of Saudi Arabia has announced provision of modern educational equipment worth Rs3 billion to the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) to further equip recently completed state-of-the-art King Abdullah campus of the institution. Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki signed an agreement on this regard at a ceremony held at Kashmir House here on Thursday. Under the agreement, Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) would provide modern educational instructional kits for the science and IT labs of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Campus of the university. Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Maliki said that the important project in education would directly help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. He added that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the SFD, provided more than 333 million dollars to implement 23 projects in various parts of Pakistan. “Through these grants, quality proj-
ects are being completed in the sectors of education, health and infrastructure development besides cooperating with several international organizations, such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Food Program, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and the United Nations Office for Project Services”, he disclosed. Highlighting the brotherly relations between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the ambassador said that developmental projects being implemented would further strengthen these relations between the two countries. He assured that government of KSA will continue to help Pakistan achieve its development targets in various sectors through the SFD. Speaking at the ceremony, former Federal Minister for Science and Technology Senator Shibli Faraz thanked the Saudi government for its consistent cooperation in the fields of education and health in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir. “The government and people of Saudi Arabia have always extended invaluable cooperation to Pakistan for which we are indebted to them”, he said.
tious waste management. He underlined that the STP design and construction needed to be synchronised in the master plan of the project. He also commented on the project layout presented during the public hearing and said no place for an incinerator was indicated and all these aspects should be decided first. Kiani also pointed out that no baseline data was provided which should
have been shared for stakeholder awareness. The traffic load to increase after the operationalization of the hospital which should also be looked after in the project plan, he added. In his opening remarks, Ministry of Health Deputy Director Planning and Development Naeem Akhtar said the Ministry was working to improve healthcare facilities for the masses of the federal capital.
Friday, 29 July, 2022 | lahorE
corporate corner HBL’s balance sheet crosses Rs5tr in H1CY22 – excessive taxation reduces PAT by 33pc over H1CY21 to Rs12.1bn KARACHI: HBL on Thursday declared a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs12.1 billion for H1 2022, lower than the Rs18.0 billion in H1 2021 as a result of the extremely high and retrospective taxes announced in the federal budget. Earnings per share for the quarter were Rs2.32, bringing earnings per share for the half year to Rs8.10. Along with the results, the bank declared a dividend of Rs1.50 per share (15%) for the second quarter ended on June 30, 2022, more in line with the results. The bank’s profit before tax was Rs34.6 billion for H1 2022, 11% higher than the profit of Rs31.2 billion in the same period last year. HBL has become the first bank to achieve balance sheet size of Rs5.0 trillion, driven by strong deposit mobilization. Total deposits reached Rs3.8 trillion, a growth of Rs370 billion over December 2021. Strong mobilization efforts resulted in a 10% growth in domestic deposits, which reached Rs3.4 trillion with market share growing to 14.32%. In line with its stated intent and commitment, HBL continues to support customers through these difficult times, standing ready and willing to meet clients’ demand for credit. In just the first six months, the bank’s total advances grew by 10% over December 2021 to Rs1.7 trillion with growth across all lending businesses. pr
Pak Army, FC assisting civil administration in rescue, relief efforts in flood affected areas Pakistan Army and FC troops are assisting civil administration in rescue and relief efforts in the flood affected areas of Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh. Two army aviation helicopters have been flown from Karachi to Othal, Lasbella. The helicopters will now shift stranded people to safer places and also transport necessary relief items. General Officer Commanding at Gwadar visited Othal area to oversee rescue and relief efforts. Ground rescue and relief teams are busy in Othal and Jhal Magsi to shift people to safer places and providing food and water to local residents. Doctors and paramedics are providing medical care to the affected people. The coastal highway has been opened for all types of traffic. Efforts are being made to repair the damaged communication infrastructure and restore utilities. Protection bund in Turbat which was breached has been repaired. In Punjab, troops are assisting civil administration in relief efforts in DG Khan. Two medical camps have been established by Army to provide medical care to local people affected by the floods. Apart from dewatering efforts in Karachi, troops are busy in relief efforts in Jamshoro and Gharo areas. News Desk
President summons Senate session on July 29 President Dr Arif Alvi has convened the session of Senate on July 29, the President House said on Thursday. The president convened the session of the Upper House in line with Article 54(1) of the Constitution. News Desk
Foreign funding case shows how Imran being protected: PM Shehbaz continued from page 01 The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader further asked for “equal standards” of justice for all. He went on to say that all verdicts will eventually be in the “courts of the masses”. Malik, on the occasion, also asked for a prompt verdict in the PTI’s foreign funding case. “There is no room in the Constitution of the country to run your political party via foreign funding.” The PML-N leader also said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had been targeting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to continue to pressurise it ahead of the decision in the foreign funding case. Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the coalition government wanted an early decision on the foreign funding case. According to Kaira, delaying tactics are being used to put the case on the backburner. Both the leaders assured media persons that there is no dispute among coalition parties and that the alliance is on one page. In a devastating blow to the nascent Shehbaz Sharif-led ruling coalition, the apex court struck down Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on the election of Punjab chief minister, paving the way for PTI’s selected Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to ascend to the throne in the country’s political heartland. The decision was welcomed by the PTI chairman, who hailed the judiciary for “remaining firm”. Also, in his televised address on Wednesday night, the former premier reiterated his demand of snap elections in the country.
nEws 05 ARCHeoLogICAL wondeRS, gAndHARA CIvILIzATIon’S ReMAInS ATTRACT FoReIgn TouRISTS To SwAT islamabad
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staff report
NOWN as the land of Gandhara civilization and archeological wonders, Swat — previous known as Uddiyana Kingdom where every stupa and carved stone has its own story — attracts domestic and foreign tourists in droves every year. Besides the mesmerizing natural beauty, cultural heritage, and primitive architecture, Swat’s unique features, including snowfall, rivers, birds chanting valleys, skiing, trout fish and lakes, draw tourists, monks and Buddhists from across the world to explore. Swat museum, Mehmood Ghaznavi mosque Odigram, Obaghat and rock carvings of Khazana Ghat Charai Madyan, Gogdara and Saidu stupa, Panr Jambil Khwar, Ram Throne, Jehanabad Buddha statue, Tokar Dara Najigram stupa and monasteries of Butkara-I and II are the most frequented tourist sites. Tourists are being seen in large number at historic Amlok Dara, Shin-
gardar and Gumbatona stupas besides Ghaligay Buddha statue and archaeological remains of Shahkot Pass Elephant Paw, Queen’s Throne and Nemogram stupa. To explore Swat’s archaeological treasures, a 20-member delegation of Thailand, led by the celebrated Thai monk Arayawangso, had recently visited Swat museum, Saidu stupa and Butkara Buddhists site along with his 20 disciples. Late Prince of Swat, Miangul Adnan Aurangzeb had invited Arayawangso two years ago to visit the archaeological rich Swat valley. Arayawangso has written a detailed book on significance and placement of Ghandhara in Buddhist world, calling it the land of wisdom and enlightenment. With his disciples, Arayawangso visited different heritage Buddhist sites where he paid his respects. Praising rich and multi-cultural heritage of Pakistan, he encouraged people to visit Swat to promote religious tourism and lauded the untiring efforts of the KP government and Directorate of Archeology & Museums, KP for preserving and maintaining these sites.
A 2000-year-old Buddhist site of Kushan era is also attracting tourists, Buddhists and monks every year. As the biggest complex of its kind in the region, the Buddhist site at Aabba Sahib Cheena village at Najigram, some 25 kilometers from Mingora city, has a historic stupa with two minarets and clay pots which take tourists to the past history. “Swat is a home to Gandara and many others civilization and its archaeological treasures are beyond one’s imagination besides its glorious history,” Mian Wahab Shah, senior curator archeology and museums department told APP. He said a visitor could not remain unimpressed after visiting artifacts and statutes-rich Swat museum located on Mingora-Saidu Sharif Road where Lord Buddha statute takes tourists and archeologists to ancient past. Wahab said excavation on this Buddhist site started by Italian experts in 1930 and later stopped mainly due to lack of resources. However, work on it was resumed again in 1955 by another Italian mission, declaring it a large size
Bhuddist site with history dates back to some 2000 years old, he added. He said Swat was an important province of Persia during reign of King Darrius I (522-486 BC) for 200 years till Alexander the Great conquered it in 327 BC and Mauryan dynasty recaptured Swat in 305 BC. It was followed by Parthians rule over the region some 55 years later while the western Hellenistic influence came with the arrival of Indo-Greeks in around 180 BC, he added. Wahab said Kuhsanas had got control of Gandhara in first century AD and founded Kushan empire comprising the present-day Pakistan, Iran, Kabul valley, Northern India and parts of Kashmir. Buddhism had flourished when Kushan King Kanishka (127-150 AD) converted to it and from here, Buddhism travelled to China, Japan and beyond. Swat had served as one of the most significant centres of Gandhara civilization since first century BC and nursed other civilizations at the same time as Kanishka supported other religions as well, he added.
Youth killed in cold blood, police reaches after four hours Youth was gunned down by kidnappers on Thursday in Green Town area of Lahore. According to the CCTV footage of the incident, some men kidnapped Ali Ahmad, who had come to Lahore from Sialkot for his onward journey to Malaysia, and sped away in a car. Seeing this, Asghar and Akhtar, the two brothers at
whose home Ahmad was staying, followed the car. Incidentally, the driver could not control the car due to fast speed, and eventually ended up crashing into a wall. It could be seen in the footage that as soon as the kidnappers saw the brothers chasing them, they opened fire at them, resulting in the instant
death of Asghar. The suspects, however, managed to escape from the spot after throwing Ahmad on the road. They kept firing into the air to spread terror. Although Akhtar intimated the police on 15 and the local police station about the incident, the Force reached the crime scene four hours later.
206 dead as monsoon triggered flash floods devastate Balochistan, Sindh continued from page 01 Due to damages caused to the main bridge at Lasbela and road in Khuzdar, Balochistan is cut off with Sindh Province. Large number of public and private transport is stranded at roads leading to Sindh. ALL RESOURCES BEING UTILIZED TO HELP VICTIMS: Chief Minister Balochistan, Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Thursday said that incumbent provincial government was utilizing all available resources to rescue the victims and provide relief to people on war footings in rain hit areas of Balochistan. He expressed the views while chairing high-level meeting in Lasbela during his visit. He also inspected the damages and relief activities caused by the recent rains and floods in remote areas of Lasbela district through helicopter. The Commissioner Kalat Division and other concerned authorities briefed to the Chief Minister regarding the damage and relief operations due to the rains in detail. Addressing the meeting, Chief Minister said that at present, the situation was bad due to unusual rains in other districts including Lasbela, saying that the government would provide all available resources for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims. He also directed all institutions considers to
take measures to exacerbate relief activities in rain hit areas for copping the situation of in the area. The CM said the restoration of communication links would speed up relief activities in the areas. Quddus Bizenjo expressed his satisfaction on the efforts of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) district administration and related institutions. He also lauded efforts of security forces including Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps (FC),police and Levies Force for taking part relief operations in the affected areas. He said that the losses of the victims would be redressed and the provincial government stands with its affected people and they would not leave alone in difficult time. The CM said that Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has assured the federal government of full support to Balochistan regime in helping of victims in rain hit areas of the province. Three rain spells killed 95 people, fully damaged 2,807 houses, 388km roads Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in his meeting with Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif through video link from CM House told him that his province has received 369 percent more rain than normally recorded in the monsoon which killed 93 persons, including 47 children and damaged 2807 completely.
Efforts on to raise awareness on sexual, gender-based violence karacHi staff report
Legal Aid Society (LAS) organized a Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting on “Assessment of Gender and Sexual-Based Violence Processes” here at a local hotel. The TWG has been notified as per the recommendations of the Multi Sectoral-Coordination Committee (MSCC) under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Sindh and is working to strengthen the state’s response to sexual violence in the province. The meeting was chaired by Shahla Qureshi, PSP SSP Human Rights Enquiry Cell Sindh and attended by M. Zulfiqar Khan Abbasi, DSP, Human Rights Commission Sindh, Abdul Samad Samo,
Deputy Secretary, Law Department Sindh, Bilal Uddin Shaikh, Planning Policy & Coordination Specialist, Home Department Sindh, Nuzhat Shirin, Chairperson, Sindh Commission on the Status of Women, Renuka Swami, Program Analyst Sindh, UNFPA, Versha Qazi, Program Manager, Pathfinder, Anwar Mahar, DPP, Criminal Prosecution Department, Maliha Zia, Associate Director, LAS and other notable personalities. Sexual violence and rape constitute the most serious forms of violence against women and girls. These issues are complex and necessitate a wellconceived, multi-layered and multi-departmental approach for the prevention of sexual violence crimes and improved and effective response by the state followed by rehabilitation measures for victims and survivors.
Court orders to release PTI’s Haleem Adil Sheikh news desk An Anti-Corruption Court (ACC) has ordered the release of Opposition Leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh in a fake property documents case. According to details, the anti-corruption court has ordered to release Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Sheikh in a case related to land transaction in Malir district of Karachi. The court also ordered the Sindh Opposition Leader to submit a surety bond of Rs50,000. It is pertinent to mention here that Haleem Adil Sheikh went to an anti-corruption court in Jamshoro yesterday, however, the ACE team arrested him from outside the premises.
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Friday, 29 July, 2022
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Fresh interpretation or reinterpretation?
The PTI versus ruling alliance Avoid making economy hostage to politics
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Tariq Fatemi’s meetings in Washington merely muddy the waters SAPM Tariq Fatemi’s meeting in Washington with US Assistant Secretary of State Wendy Sherman may have caused the Foreign Office to deny that he had any official sanction, but it did not explain why he was accompanied by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the USA. Mr Fatemi, a career diplomat, spent his retirement getting close to Nawaz Sharif, and he was his SAPM in his final term. he had to resign because of the DawnLeaks scandal, and the same circles objected again when he was inducted on his old job, this time by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, when the PML(N) came back to office. he was retained as SAPM, but without portfolio. however, it seems as if the hankering after old glory was too much to resist, and he converted an essentially private trip into a last hurrah. While his playing at diplomacy might offend certain powerful quarters still smarting over the DawnLeaks episode, his activity might be seen as the Prime Minister’s attempt to sneak his own man into the Foreign Affairs arena, which he had handed over to the PPP, which has got both minister and minister of state there, in party Chairman Bilawal Zardari-Bhutto and hina Rabbani Khar. They have proved competent, and have proved loyal Cabinet members though belonging to a different party. It is not as if they have been running a foreign policy of their own, undercutting the Prime Minister; nor have they shown the sort of incompetence or inability to handle matters that makes an experienced hand needed at the tiller. In the middle of the tremendous crises posed by the tanking of the economy and the loss of the Punjab government, the Prime Minister does not need a needless one that Mr Fatemi seems bent on causing. The greatest danger he could face at the moment is to let matters drag on. Mr Fatemi may be a superb diplomat, but his skills might be overwhelmed by anger both from those who blocked his reappointment and by those who are doing well enough without him.
Pakistan’s Deterrence Capability Pakistan has to deal with Indian hybrid warfare
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AKISTAN is the unsung and misunderstood hero in the quest for peace in South Asia and beyond. A careful and unbiased look at the security environment in South Asia will show that the causes of crises and conflicts are particularly ignored: an over-focus on the impact, this selective and discriminatory focus, does not contribute to peace and security; some of the recent developments and trends pose serious threats to strategic stability globally and in South Asia. The development and acquisition of missile defense capabilities— nuclearization and space militarization of the Indian Ocean region will be a major trend in strategic and deterrence stabilization. Moreover, recently our neighbours have virtually tried to dramatically alter the strategic landscape by two actions. First, by carrying out its deterrence petrol in the Indian Ocean region by INS Arihant , which implies the first ready-to-use nuclear weapons at sea, carried on a nuclear arms submarine, in South Asia. It effectively means that the threat of nuclear weapons
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he entire country is convulsed by what is happening in Punjab. The fall of the Punjab government is being seen as a sign of whether the federal government will not survive, but the demand for elections may now be limited to the National Assembly. Ch Pervez elahi has not returned to the Punjab chief ministry after almost a decade and a half only to advise a dissolution. The issue of the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker’s ruling refusing to count PML(Q) votes in favour of Ch Pervez elahi was correct or not, has gone before the Supreme Court, which has to pick up the pieces of the confusion created by its own judgement in the presidential reference on Article 63A, the famous, or perhaps in famous, anti-defection clause. On the face of it, the issue was quite simple. Members of a parliamentary party are obliged to vote according to its directions on a limited matter of issues, one of them being a CM’s election. Does the decision of the party head constitute that direction? The Supreme Court had found, in the previous Punjab Assembly case, where hamza Shahbaz was elected, that members voting against that direction would not have their votes counted. Thus 20 PTI floor-crossers were unseated, bye-elections held, and new PTI members elected. Now the members had not been unseated because they had voted against the direction, but because the party head had made a reference against them to the Speaker who had duly sent the reference to the election Commission, which then unseated them and held bye-elections. The Supreme Court also had ruled that no plea of not having been informed for whatever reason would be entertained, that none of the formalities of service would be observed. The meeting of the parliamentarians chaired by party chief Imran Khan was considered sufficient intimation. The absence of various floor-crossers on various pleas was not intimated by the Supreme Court. The PML(Q) parliamentary party also met, deciding to vote for Ch Pervez. Ch Shujaat did not attend this meeting. On the day of voting itself, he sent a letter to the Deputy Speaker. The freedom granted from service could have been a precedent for considering that letter sufficient information to the members. A number of questions have been raised that the Supreme Court might find itself constrained to answer. The initial reaction of the legal community to the original decision in the presidential reference was that it was bad in law may have come true. The original reference perhaps should not have been sent, because the Supreme Court had to decide a matter which was relatively clear. Now the questions it will have to answer are perhaps more philosophical than anything else. Who is
Risky adventures
Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad
fractionation of political parties into a maximum of six parliamentary parties? a parliamentary party head? What is a parliamentary There is the ancillary question of whether the party? What happens when the parliamentary party Speaker is allowed to be a member of any parliamenand the party head differ? tary party. There is no law or rule against this, but The Supreme Court may have wished to favour though elected on a straight party vote, the Speaker the PTI. Indeed, that is what the PML(N) feared. Be- is supposed to be neutral. however, a political role is cause the PTI seems to have won over the Supreme possible for a Speaker who refrained from attending Court by attacking it, the PML(N) has started to do parliamentary party meetings. The precedent exists, the same. Whatever else the PTI has done, it has in the Punjab Assembly itself, of Manzoor Wattoo, made the previously sacrosanct subject to criticism. who as Speaker made it a point to stay away from First it was the Army, then the judiciary and the parliamentary party meetings, but who parlayed his election Commission. The PML(N) has had prob- position into becoming Chief Minister in 1993. lems with the Army, which it has subjected to strong Wattoo was the first, but there have been other criticism, though it has now examples of people who stopped. It seems that it have held both posts, starting would go after the judiciary with hanif Ramay and Ch next if the decision on PunPervez himself in the Punjab, jab goes against it. Abdul Quddus Bizenjo in survival fate of the Punjab The Going back to the Baluchistan, Muzaffar husSupreme Court, it finds itself sain Shah in Sindh, are also government and central once again examining the examples, as are Yousaf governments might depend on Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez constitutionality of a parliamentary proceeding. Its path Ashraf. Clearly, the Speakerthe result of the case, but it may have been smoothed by ship allows the holder to its previous decision, but the shows that even the Supreme gather support for the prime PTI supporters who had inor chief ministership. Indeed, Court has not yet been able to the sisted on this ouster should US Speaker of the house now be ready to live by it. of Representatives is considdraw out all the meaning But once that is out of the ered the leader of his or her inherent in Article 63A. It is way, the Supreme Court will party if it does not hold the have to determine who is the Clearly, it is a almost a certainty that the next Presidency. head of a parliamentary powerful position. party. Can a non-member of Parliament will amend it, One of the more interestthat parliamentary party, like ing aspects of the whole afso as to make it more both Imran and Chj Shujaat, fair, no matter what the final head it? outcome, is how ex-Presiconvenient to operate. It makes sense that peodent Asif Zardari once again ple elected as independents, proved his political mettle. and indeed who had deThere is no doubt that if he feated PTI candidates, had not persuaded Ch Shushould be unseated for voting against the PTI direc- jaat to send off the letter, the hamza Shehbaz govtion, because they had joined its parliamentary party ernment would have fallen. even now, his fate is up after all. Now that the parliamentary party has been in the air, but if he had a fighting chance, it was berecognised as a body separate from the head of the cause of Zardari’s moves. It should not be forgotten party, are we seeing some sort of prevention of one that Ch Shujaat is now more concerned about his of the dangers predicted as flowing from the legacy than anything else, and the refusal to support Supreme Court judgement in the presidential refer- Ch Parvez could only be undertaken if he believed ence? Critics said that the Supreme Court verdict im- that this would serve that purpose. plied the dictatorship of the party head. That was not It should also be clear that Zardari has not yet oba particularly strong criticism, for just such a dicta- tained the advantages he seeks from participating in torship already exists. the government, otherwise he would not have made Party chiefs already can deny dissidents tickets, the effort he did to stave off the collapse of the hamza and thus presumably prevent their re-election. Now, government, and of that at the Centre. The survival fate it seems, they can choose to penalize rebels, or not. of the Punjab government and central governments If they do not send a reference to the Speaker, dis- might depend on the result of the case, but it shows senting members will not be unseated. that even the Supreme Court has not yet been able to Now what happens where the party chief is not a draw out all the meaning inherent in Article 63A. It is member of any parliamentary party? For many years, almost a certainty that the next Parliament will amend indeed decades, the head of the MQM, was not a it, so as to make it more convenient to operate. member of any parliamentary party. While toppling the dictatorship of party heads, are we now to see the The writer is a member of staff
Who exactly heads a parliamentary party?
ITh Punjab once again under its control, the PTI celebrated Wednesday as Thankgiving Day. The party now controls KP, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan along with the most populous province of the country. While the morale of the party is high, party chief Imran Khan has again asked the establishment why it allowed those incapable of managing the economy to assume power. Mt Khan has made it known that while he may talk to the TTP or Baloch and Sindhi separatists, he would never enter into dialogue with ‘thieves’, a term reserved by him for his major political rivals leading the PML(N) and the PPP. he has again made it known that he would settle on nothing short of fresh elections. What is more he would not participate in any election conducted by Chief election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. A self-righteous Mr Khan thinks he has done his bit by warning the establishment that all responsibility would lie on it and those it helped to come to power, if the country goes belly-up. When the PML(N) and its allies decided to remove the PTI government through a no-confidence vote, they knew very well that the PTI had left the economy in an exceptionally bad shape. Announcing a massive cut in the price of petrol, diesel and electricity was meant to create problems for the next government. An over-confident Finance Minister Miftah Ismail however vowed to control inflation within two to three months. In early June he claimed that the country would have an agreement with the IMF soon despite still failing to fulfill some of the Fund’s conditions. Failure to control inflation, rising unemployment and power shortages added to the PML(N)’s unpopularity which expressed itself in the results of the by-elections in Punjab. In case the government decides to resign at this juncture, it would strengthen the perception of its incompetence. There is a need on the part of the PML(N)-led alliance to deliver as it had promised. In case the economy starts picking up after the IMF package due by the second half of August, it would be wiser to let the alliance complete the full tenure of the present National Assembly. early elections could lead to a change of horses in midstream, which is not wise.
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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9
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no longer remains confined to the land territory of South Asia. It has challenged the security and stability of all the Indian Ocean region littoral states. Secondly, by dropping the minimum from the credible minimum posture in our neighbourhood – this neither surprises us nor threatens us. In fact, Pakistan will continue to provide necessary responses to ensure the strategic balance is maintained and Pakistan’s deterrence remains credible in absolute terms. On the other side, Pakistan’s credible minimum balance will show that its deterrent strategy is based on a stance for preserving peace and stability in South Asia: “Let’s call a spade a spade, but let’s move beyond spades and soars to modernism, sensibility, and common sense.” In order to sustain regional peace and stability, Pakistan is determined to maintain a credible minimum deterrence against the whole range of changing strategic threats. however, those big powers that are granting the area access to extremely cutting-edge technology are indirectly promoting the vertical spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction and escalating the dangers to global and regional peace, security, and stability. In fact, the development of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, massive production of fissile material, unilateral acquisition of a variety of high technologies, as well as offensive cyber and non-kinetic capabilities, further heighten the danger to South Asia’s strategic stability. however, in order to increase the tensions and strains, governments will need to give up their aggressive, risky, and unstable conventional and nuclear postures. Likewise, assured second-strikes and full-spectrum nuclear weapons have closed war space to rational actors, and futile efforts to find conflict space under the nuclear overhang will only drive the region toward high levels of instability and increased nuclear exposure. Therefore, anticipatory doctrines and false narratives surrounding previous so-called surgical strikes have the potential to keep states from becoming cybersecurity providers, but become potentially cybersecurity disruptors in the region— trying to use
Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545
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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk
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a full range of kinetic and non-kinetic capabilities, and mirroring proxy insurgent groups against Pakistan reflect the aggressiveness of hybrid warfare that directly affects our traditional and non-traditional security interests. The country of Pakistan— its leadership, scientific community and defence forces are aware, capable, and dynamic to meet these challenges. Pakistan will defeat the hybrid war India is waging. Indeed, threats and challenges to strategic stability are not limited to theories, attitudes, or deployable capabilities— unfair and unequal distribution and extraordinary access to modern and industrial technologies also threaten long-term strategic stability. In the interest of international peace and security, the international community, particularly the Nuclear Suppliers Group and other strategic export control arrangements, must develop fair and transparent mechanisms to ensure that the fruits of knowledge and technology are equitably shared by all countries in the world— while not exceptionally for any one country, as such an approach would be discriminatory and would undermine and threaten regional and global peace, stability and security. Pakistan has all the necessary qualifications to join the NSG as a contributing and participating member. The International Atomic energy Agency has benefited greatly from the large-scale scientific and nuclear collaboration. however, Pakistan’s skilled and brilliant scientists have provided over the course of a long and illustrious history in a number of fields of competence. Considering that Pakistan is more expensive than many different developed countries, it is able to provide the services to the NSG-affiliated governments at a considerably lower cost. Because of this, it is crucial to keep in mind and adjust existing policies as well as introduce new ones that support stability, boost confidence, and lessen the likelihood of conflicts and crises escalating. It would be in the interests of both global and regional peace and security. The writer is associated with the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad. He can be reached at hafiznadirali7@gmail.com
Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
06-07 Comments - 29th July 2022_Layout 1 7/29/2022 12:34 AM Page 2
Friday, 29 July, 2022
COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Woes of farmers in Sindh Farmers in Sindh have been hit hard by the lack of water for cultivation of seasonal crops. Water is not only important for the lives of people and cattle, but also for agriculture. Poor farmers are already facing inflation in the shape of costly fertiliser and pesticides, and higher rates of ploughing the land owing to petrol price hike. Besides, the unavailability of quality seeds and other difficulties continue to be part of their lives. The dearth of water is the ultimate misery for the farmers. In many areas of Sindh, including Kashmore, most people have agriculture as the main source of earning. This season, the cultivation of rice was delayed by a month which will affect yields severely, resulting in losses for farmers who are already living in abject poverty. The government ought to address this issue and save the poor farmers from losses, despair and distress. This can be achieved by adopting and promoting new ways of agriculture as well as taking proper measures, such as constructing dams to store water during rains that may be used during droughts. This will make it easier for the farmers to cultivate crops that require less consumption of water. Besides, the farmers should also be encouraged to learn modern agricultural techniques, such as drip irrigation, to ensure economical and efficient use of water to avoid further problems in this state of economic crisis in the country. Ali Sher Golo Kashmore
Re-birth of lollywood
Pakistan-Afghanistan Economic Connections Increase
SAjjAd ShAukAt
A
FTeR the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, despite their government’s announcement of a general amnesty for former government officials and their rivals, assurances of maintaining peace and respecting human rights, respect to women’s rights, clarifying that Afghan soil would not be used for any terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan for launching terror attacks against any neighboring country, including Pakistan, and the West, the USA and some of its Western allies as well as their media started a propaganda campaign against the Taliban. These countries, particularly the USA, wanted to divert attention from the US defeat in Afghanistan and to pacify their public for a prolonged war of nearly 20 years. In order to punish the Taliban, the Biden Administration froze about $9.5 billion of the Afghan government’s reserves in the US banks. Some Western donors had already halted their support for Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries. The IMF said on August 18 last year that Afghanistan will not be able to access IMF resources, including a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights reserves, if major governments fail to recognise the new leadership of the Taliban. Taking cognizance of the US-led negative reaction of some Western entities regarding the Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China have urged the world to support the Afghans at this critical juncture. In this respect, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership repeatedly urged the US-led international community to assist the people of Afghanistan by addressing their humanitarian needs, and to restore their financial and economic aid, as a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is essential for the stability in Pakistan as well as the entire region, including the West. In this regard, the three-day Loya Jirga (Assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders) which was attended by more than 4,000 Afghan
scholars, political, social and business figures ended in Kabul on July 2. The participants called on the international community to recognise the Taliban government and to lift all sanctions on Afghanistan and restore Afghan assets, called for a ban on any affiliation with ISIS, and supported the Islamic emirate’s decree against drugs and encouraged national unity in the country. It is notable that bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has increased in the postTaliban takeover. In this connection, at the end of three-day talks (July 18-20) held between the senior officials of the two neighbouring countries in Kabul, a joint statement was issued, which said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to launch luxury bus services between Peshawar and Jalalabad and between Quetta and Kandahar by the end of August. Both sides agreed to continue efforts to address barriers through mutual cooperation and coordination. During the visit of Pakistan’s official delegation to Kabul, which held meetings with the acting Afghan ministers for commerce and foreign affairs, the two countries agreed to increase bilateral trade by allowing free movement of trucks and other goods carrying vehicles. The media said that the “officials also agreed to make border crossing points more efficient to ensure early clearance of trade and transit traffic and to address the bottlenecks and impediments on a priority basis. The two sides approved the implementation of the Temporary Admission Document (TAD), allowing free movement of bilateral trade vehicles and preventing the loading and unloading of goods at the border crossing points in a bid to further increase trade between the two countries. The authorities also agreed to increase operational timings at all crossing points, particularly Torkham, Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan and Chaman-Spin Boldak.” he media elaborated: “At the same time, the Afghan business community delegation led by the co-chairman Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJJCCI) Khan Jan Alokozai arrived in Pakistan on July 21 to participate in a roundtable of stakeholders of PakAfghan trade. The Chairman PAJCCI Zubair Motiwala praised the efforts of the commerce chamber in arranging visits to Chaman, Torkham and Swat for joint deliberations on bilateral and transit trade, exploring new avenues for trade, removing trade barriers and supporting governments in policy formulation.” The PAJCCI has held several meetings and reviews to finalize the recommendations so as to arrive at a proposed joint framework. In this context, a press release issued on July 23 stated that it conducted the ninth Focus Group Discussion in Islamabad about deliberation on current issues and opportunities, entailing bilateral, transit and barter trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs). It is worth mentioning that Islamabad and Kabul had already agreed in August 2021 on extending the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) for six months and 97 percent work on the APTTA had been completed— all the trade-related issues with Afghanistan had been settled, as pointed out by the secretary of
Ministry of Commerce. In November 2021 and at present, shopkeepers of Afghanistan remarked that opening the borders to commercial goods will reduce the prices of various goods. Notably, 90 percent of the food products such as rice, oil and so on come from Pakistan. If the borders stay open, along with other facilities, it is clear that it will positively affect the prices of foodstuffs in Afghanistan. It is noteworthy that United Nations’ Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons had warned in November last year that Afghanistan was “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” with nearly 60 percent of its population expected to face extreme levels of hunger. The then Prime Minister Imran Khan on 23 November 2021 had ordered immediate shipment of in-kind humanitarian assistance worth Rs 5 billion to Afghanistan, which comprised food commodities, including 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat, emergency medical supplies, winter shelters and other supplies besides allowing transportation of Indian food assistance for that war-torn country through Pakistan. While directing the ministries to extend maximum facilitation to Afghans, Imran Khan stated that it had been agreed in principle to reduce tariff and sales tax on key Afghan exports to Pakistan. This would help support Afghanistan’s economy. Since the Taliban takeover, imports from Afghanistan to Pakistan were higher than exports from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Besides some other countries, Pakistan on May 7, this year started dispatching consignments of emergency relief supplies to flood victims in Afghanistan via PAF aircraft. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in floods and announced emergency assistance for the Afghan people who are already facing a humanitarian and economic crisis. Islamabad also sent basic commodities of life to Afghanistan and various goods after the destruction caused by the recent earthquake in that country. Both Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan and present one Shehbaz Sharif asked the international community to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. Moreover, due to the US-led West’s betrayal of the Afghan immigrants—especially by the UK, which have not addressed the Afghans’ needs, as promised by them, Pakistan which has limited resources and already hosts at least 3 million Afghans is bearing the burden of these Afghans— both refugees and illegal economic migrants as well as those immigrants who traveled to Pakistan on visas, announced in 2021. Nevertheless, we can conclude that in the post Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, PakAfghan trade is rapidly increasing. Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations and can be reached at: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com
OUR film industry was deservingly waiting for the renaissance after its collapse at the beginning of the new millennium. Due to the ubiquitous presence and readily availability of hollywood and Bollywood movies on digital platforms, Lollywood movies face existential threats. The second decade of this century has witnessed a number of Lollywood blockbusters which are quite at par with their counterparts across the border. The need is to lend time and space, and a little willing suspension of disbelief, to let them thrive in the entertainment world. It is incumbent upon us to quote a few instances to prove the worth and rebirth of our movies in present times. The Donkey King, Teefa in Trouble, Load Wedding, Punjab Nahi Jaungi, Actor in Law, Na Maloom Afraad are just a few examples that would never let down their viewers, and that would irresistibly change their opinion regarding Lollywood movies. These movies by any yardstick can befittingly be placed on an equal pedestal to the world’s top movies. Artistic diligence and creative input are easily visible in our cinematic outpourings. Perfectionism is being targeted now. We shouldn’t let ourselves down by disoriented comparison between our movies and those of the world as the former is gearing up for its promising start while the latter has culminated to its highest attitude. The Donkey King, the movie being an animation, is outwardly meant for children, the maturity of the script, witty dialogues, sharp quips and puns along with political and satirical innuendos amply make it a worthy watch for the elders as well. Its music and lyrics of songs are the icings on the cake. The taste of the pudding is in the eating! All these movies and others of their ilk herald the renaissance of Pakistani cinema. They also falsify the retrogressive views of some nihilistic art critics who toll the bell for artistic productions here in our part of the world. They live in a fool’s paradise when they crow that art has already scaled its apogee, and classics be born no more. Current silver screen creative renderings can successfully make them disillusioned. Respected editor, these views are not of a movie critic, nor taken vicariously, but rather of a layman who was once quite vociferous exponent of world movies and is now an avid viewer of Pakistani movies, and who has judged Lollywood movies objectively. What is aimed, is our movies of present times be given a chance once! It can be claimed positively that our indigenous silver screen productions can certainly glue the attention of the viewers, and have the potential to bring about a volte-face in their bigoted critics. NADEEM NADIR, Kasur.
Poor governance in Pakistan
The laws of a country define socially acceptable behaviours that everyone is expected to follow in letter and spirit. Ideally, the government administration and its resources are dedicated to ensuring that citizens adhere to defined laws whose failure to obey holds them accountable. It is not enough to make laws, but their indiscriminate implementation makes the rules meaningful and builds the confidence of ordinary citizens in state institutions. Sadly, the situation in Pakistan is depressing due to a fragile law enforcement mechanism. This has partly turned the country governed by the ‘Law of Jungle’ where the enacted laws are selectively invoked, mainly with poor people at the receiving end. This selective application leads influential people to take rules into their hands at the cost of the children of the lesser god. The citizens are entitled to equal treatment of laws according to fundamental rights outlined in the constitution. The current taxation system enforced in the country discriminates against the poor by squeezing money out of their pockets, while a tiny elite primarily enjoys privileges with impunity. A cursory look at the revenue collection targets for the current fiscal year reveals that a significant onus is placed on the shoulders of the salaried class, while the affluent class largely remains untaxed. Second, the state is under the constitutional obligation to provide free and compulsory education to all children aged five to sixteen. Due to gross failure to commit to its fundamental commitment, the state has been pushing thousands of children to the illiterate lot every year, while the privileged get their kids educated in expensive schools. The statistics show that Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children. This has resulted in the widening social division between the rich and the poor, as the affluent class grab significant opportunities for upward mobility while the poverty-ridden segment remains stagnant at lower rungs of social status. Implementing laws to their essence makes a country civilized, and citizens remain loyal to the state and its policies. The current lawlessness in society is mainly attributed to the weak and unequal enforcement of laws, and the state’s failure to live up to its responsibilities has turned citizens apathetic to the entire state functionaries and their utility. ASAD AZIZ, Khushab.
08 WORLD VIEW 29th July 22_Layout 1 7/28/2022 11:35 PM Page 1
Friday, 29 July, 2022
08 WORLD VIEW
Sri LaNka criSiS: a 21St ceNtury FreNch revoLutioN GEopolItIcal MonItor
t
VaruN MOHaN
He Sri Lankan economic crisis recently reached a tipping point when protesters marched into the Presidential Palace on July 9, marking the end of 10 years of Rajapaksa family rule in the country. The status of Rajapaksa remains unknown; he is believed to have initially flown to the Maldives, then to Singapore, and at present he might be in Saudi Arabia. His brother was stopped at the airport after a notice was issued by the Sri Lankan court to block Rajapaksa family members from leaving the country. The ongoing political saga, which directly stems from the worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka, is similar to events that happened in 18th century France leading up to the French Revolution. The primary reason for the French Revolution is considered to be social inequalities, an absolute monarchy coupled with lack of good governance, and poor economic conditions including a series of fiscal crises, structural deficiencies, and crippling debt. This paints a similar picture of Sri Lanka today. President Rajapaksa’s dictatorial rule and complete disregard for democratic values and governance have completely ruined Sri Lanka, which is still recovering from four decades of civil war. The Rajapaksa family member’s influence in day-to-day government activity and deep-rooted corruption has structurally
IN SRI LANKA AND MANY OTHER STATES ACROSS THE GLOBE, THERE IS A NEED TO REVISIT THE IDEA OF DEMOCRACY. THE LEGITIMACY OF ANY GOVERNMENT IS BUILT ON THE PEOPLE AND THEIR RIGHTS, NOT ON LOANS weakened the national economy and political institutions. The Sri Lankan people made history repeat itself via their march to the Presidential Residence, an act that closely resembles the storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, early warnings have been coming in about the degenerating economy in Sri Lanka. Unsustainable borrowing by the government and short-sighted domestic policies have led to the present foreign exchange crisis. Currently, the country is surviving on credit and is expecting a bailout package from the IMF. In numerous images from Colombo, the Sri Lankan police – considered to be the symbol of the modern nation-state itself – are seen helpless in front of the crowd, and their clearing the path for the people to reach the Presidential Residence is symbolic of the collapse of the state apparatus. This brings one of the fundamental ideas of political science into question: the social contract, whereby a group of people decide to exchange a certain set of rights for sovereignty and accept a central and common authority to protect
another set of rights. The liberal democratic ideal is built on the concept of this social contract. THE SOCIAL CONTRACT AND SRI LANKA: Political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the founding fathers of modern social contract theory, advanced the idea of a social contract. One can argue that he has a major influence on the French Revolution and induced the people to set a democratic government based on the idea of the social contract. The 21st century French Revolution moment in Sri Lankan politics emphasizes the importance of Rousseau’s idea of ‘general will’ – a collective will that aims for the common interest or common good of the people. For Rousseau, the purpose of the sovereign is to carry forward the ‘general will.’ In the practical sense, the consent of the people is what allows any government to work. The purpose of the social contract is to avoid the ‘state of nature’ situation and to provide stability and security for the development and freedom of everyone. The Rajapaksa government failed to provide this. Firstly, the impact of the COVID-19 pan-
demic on the tourism industry, and then the tax cuts along with a domestic ban on imports of chemical fertilizer, all combined to put major pressure on the economy. When the Ukraine war broke out these pressures became too much to withstand, causing the island to default on its first loan in its entire history as an independent state. High inflation and lack of access to essentials have pushed people into acute poverty. Thus, the government’s irresponsibility and unsustainable policies did not just hurt people physically and financially, it also led to an emotional drive to protest against the corrupt system; people felt they needed to save their land. CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE: Under such conditions, social contract theory provides an opportunity to register protests against the government. In Sri Lanka, such protests led to the flight of both the president and the prime minister. The image of protesters watching the news inside the Presidential Residence about their own breach of the premises is not something to laugh at; instead, it marks an important event in the history of the world, one that
upholds the role of the people and their consent in how the state is run. The cornerstone of any contract is consent. Whenever this consent is broken, revolution erupts. All revolutions are not violent and bloody. The same people who are protesting in the streets of Colombo elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the 2020 election with a landslide margin. The contract is a two-way transaction; if one side does not keep its promise, the consent is broken. In such cases, the state needs to be reshaped – not just the government, but the entire socio-political structure of the country. THE MARCH FORWARD: Sri Lanka cannot continue with the present corrupt and elitist political system. Any political party/family or individual in Sri Lanka will remember the scenes of July 9, 2022. The impact will not just remain on the island; the message is clear to all political elites in the world – general will is cardinal. The French Revolution marked the end of the institution of absolute monarchy and authoritarianism in France. It made equality, liberty, and fraternity fundamental principles of any subsequent government. In Sri Lanka and many other states across the globe, there is a need to revisit the idea of democracy. The legitimacy of any government is built on the people and their rights, not on loans. Varun Mohan is pursuing PhD in National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, India.
Time to disband the FBI
What the VP Ansari controversy tells us about Indian political climate
THE FBI KEEPS INTERFERING IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
IT IS TIME THAT THE LEADERS OF THE POLITICAL CLASS CONFER WITH EACH OTHER TO RETURN TO A CULTURE WHERE ITS MEMBERS COULD FIERCELY OPPOSE EACH OTHER BUT IN DOING SO, NEVER DOUBTED EACH OTHER’S PATRIOTISM, INTEGRITY OR MOTIVATIONS
FEdEralIst
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jOHN DaNieL DaViDSON
ews broke Monday evening that the FBI falsely labeled verified intelligence and credible evidence against Hunter Biden as “disinformation” in order to shut down an investigation of him in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. It’s hard to overstate the significance of this, despite the lack of attention the story has received so far from the corporate press. The FBI has now directly interfered in two consecutive presidential elections, placing a heavy hand on the scales to benefit Democrats in 2016 and 2020, all in hopes of keeping Donald Trump out of the White House. It would not be too much to say the FBI is a threat to democracy and that it should be disbanded. Here’s what happened. According to a letter released by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, numerous “highly credible whistleblowers” have come forward about “a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation.” The result of this FBI scheme, which took place in the summer and fall of 2020, was to quash an investigation into Hunter Biden’s “criminal financial and related activity,” which had reportedly started as a tax investigation, just before the November election that year. Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the “volume and consistency of these allegations substantiate their credibility and necessitate this letter.” Grassley’s letter tells a shocking tale that should enrage every American, regardless of party, in part because some of the same FBI agents who interfered in the 2016 election did it again in 2020. Whistleblowers say that in August 2020, FBI supervisory intelligence agent Brian Auten “opened an assessment” of an ongoing FBI investigation of Hunter Biden, and that this assessment was used by FBI headquarters “to improperly discredit negative Hunter Biden information as disinformation and caused investigative activity to cease.” Recall that Auten was deeply involved in Crossfire Hurricane, the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign that became the basis for the Russia collusion hoax. It was Auten who was in charge of verifying the phony Steele dossier but failed to flag its many errors and inconsistencies. He interviewed Igor Danchenko, a Russian-born lawyer who was the main source for the
Steele dossier’s outlandish claims, three times in 2017. During those interviews, Danchenko undercut claims of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, raising serious doubt about the reliability of the dossier. Auten was also in charge of reviewing the flawed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act application to spy on Trump campaign associate Carter Page, which relied on the discredited dossier. According to Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on FISA abuse, Auten failed to advise his superiors of the inconsistencies between the Steele dossier and its primary source, Danchenko, including allegations against Page. But it doesn’t stop there. Grassley’s letter also includes allegations from whistleblowers that the FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Washington field office, Timothy Thibault, “ordered closed” an “avenue of additional derogatory Hunter Biden reporting” in October 2020, a month before the election, without giving a reason as required by FBI guidelines, despite the reporting being “verified or verifiable via criminal search warrants.” That is, Thibault closed the investigation even though he and others at the FBI knew much of what had been uncovered was true. Thibault is the FBI agent whose abjectly partisan social media presence prompted Grassley to send a letter in May accusing him of likely violations of federal law and FBI regulations for a “pattern of active public partisanship in his then public social media content.” In order to ensure the Hunter Biden investigation was not reopened, Thibault and other FBI officials allegedly “attempted to improperly mark the matter in FBI systems so that it could not be opened in the future,” according to Grassley’s letter. If Grassley’s sources are telling the truth, what we have here — at the very least — is a conspiracy inside the FBI to suppress an investigation into Joe Biden’s son in the months before the election. Why would the FBI do such a thing? Perhaps some among the same cadre of FBI agents who cooked up the Russia collusion hoax knew that if the verified and verifiable derogatory information they had about Hunter Biden got out, it would kill Joe Biden’s chances of ousting Trump from the White House. So they killed the investigation, falsely labeled evidence against Hunter Biden as “disinformation,” and then tried to bury the whole thing. Now that Grassley has come forward with these allegations, we need to know everything. The FBI and the Justice Department need to give Grassley everything he asked for, and there needs to be a full investigation (perhaps by a special counsel). Then if the allegations turn out to be true and the FBI really did intervene in the 2020 election as Grassley’s letter suggests, the forthcoming GOP congressional majority needs to disband — or at least defund — the FBI. The issue is existential for our republic. If all this is true, then both the FBI and the Justice Department are, in Grassley’s words, “institutionally corrupted to their very core to the point in which the United States Congress and the American people will have no confidence in the equal application of the law.” They also won’t have confidence in the freeness and fairness of our elections. And they’ll be right. John Daniel Davidson is a senior editor at The Federalist. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Claremont Review of Books, The New York Post, and elsewhere.
IndIan ExprEss ViVek katju
The attack on former Vice-President Hamid Ansari, based on the comments of Nusrat Mirza, a Pakistani journalist, is a manifestation of India’s current political culture. A significant characteristic of this culture is to rush to attack without considering the veracity of information or the bona fides of the informant. Besides, the traditions and norms of governance or the implications of the attack on the polity, or that it is founded on unsubstantiated charges are often ignored. Charges are also sometimes levelled to coincide with political events or to bolster or divert attention. All sections of the political class have, in some measure, contributed to the making of the country’s political culture. The use of intemperate language is also an attribute of political culture. Aimed at capturing public attention, it is fanned by the mass media. In addition to the liberal use of innuendo and invective, the motives of political adversaries are liberally questioned. This is in sharp departure from past practice when only policies were attacked. A fine illustration of this norm was witnessed in 2014 when Rajnath Singh, then home minister, speaking at the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru’s birth anniversary, said that he personally had differences with some of Nehru’s policies but could never doubt his motives or intentions. Rajnath Singh also extensively praised Nehru’s contributions to the making of modern India, including in establishing its democratic foundations. Singh showed great grace and courage, qualities which are declining, if not extinct, in contemporary political culture. The genesis of the present controversy involving former Vice President Hamid Ansari stems from a 50-minute-long video interview of Nusrat Mirza to Shakil Chaudhary that was uploaded on July 10. Mirza as a journalist evokes little respect either in Pakistan or among serious Pakistan watchers in India. The video shows that Mirza is out to prove himself as an expert on India and it is in this context that he states he visited India five times from 2005 to 2011. This included a visit in 2010 when Hamid Ansari was the Vice-President and when he attended a conference which discussed terrorism. He said that he visited 15 Indian states during his visits and learnt a great deal about India. During these visits, he says, he gave interviews to “10-20 TV channels”. The implication is that these were to Indian channels. Mirza emphasised in the interview that his ability to understand India was because he was a Mughal and “we have ruled there” and “we understand India’s conditions and culture and we know its weaknesses”. And, the understanding he displays throughout the interview are standard Pakistani positions and prejudices. There are also gems such as that there are now 67 independence movements going on in India, or that India is out to take revenge for 800 years of Muslim rule, or that during Nehru’s time India studied how Spain ended Muslim rule so that it could undo the Partition. During the interview, Mirza claimed that Khursheed Kasuri as Pakistan’s foreign minister got him a special visa which permitted him to visit seven Indian cities and on his return to Pakistan, he gave Kasuri information on his India trip. It is not unusual in the world of diplomacy or espionage to seek impressions gathered by travellers, including media persons, about the countries they have visited. Should a man like Mirza become the basis to target a person who has spent his life in the service of the republic? That is a question the political class should ask itself as it should also ask if the time has not come to abandon the use of charges such as Prime Minister “chor hai”. Political contestation should also never overlook the fundamentals of the structure of governance in India. It prescribes that the political executive take policy decisions and maintain an oversight over their implementation undertaken by civil servants who apply it to individual cases. With respect to visas for Pakistani nationals, the policy pursued by successive Indian governments for decades was based on the belief that the promotion of people-to-people contacts was in India’s interest. This was premised on the belief that visits to India would give Pakistanis a correct impression of India and would help abate misinformation and prejudice conveyed by the Pakistani officialdom and sections of the Pakistani media about India. Traditionally, it was Pakistan which was wary of giving visas to Indian nationals. Naturally, security checks as mandated were carried out before visas were given. Thus, neither then nor now could political leaders or constitutional authorities be held responsible for the grant of individual visas by diplomats unless there was clear evidence that they had ordered a specific visa application to be cleared. It is time that the leaders of the political class confer with each other to return to a culture where its members could fiercely oppose each other but in doing so never doubted each other’s patriotism, integrity or motivations. Rajnath Singh’s 2014 address on Nehru is a guide for all. The writer is a former diplomat.
Friday, 29 July, 2022 | lahore
news corporate corner Naval chief presides over Command & Staff Conference at Naval headquarters
KP BUSINeSS CoMMUNITy rejeCTS ColleCTIoN of ‘fIxeD-TAx’ THroUgH eleCTrICITy BIllS PeShAwAr aziz BuneRi
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USINESS community in KP has rejected collection of ‘fixed tax’ through electricity bills and demanded the federal government to withdraw the fixed tax scheme immediately. Hasnain Khurshid Ahmad, president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) while chairing a meeting of local traders’ here at the chamber’s house on Thursday said the government has collected sales tax from Rs3,000 up to Rs20,000 through electricity bills, which was not acceptable to them. Without differentiating between small and largescale businesses, and go downs, the forced system of Islamabad: Command and Staff Conference of Pakistan Navy concluded at Naval Headquarters, Islamabad. The Conference was chaired by Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi. During the conference, matters related to geo strategic milieu, national security, operational preparedness, training and welfare of troops were reviewed. Comprehensive briefings on important ongoing and future developmental projects of Pakistan Navy were also given to Chief of the Naval Staff. The Naval Chief expressed full confidence over combat readiness of Pakistan Navy and the high morale of its officers and personnel. The CNS lauded multifaceted contributions of Pakistan Navy in maritime domain. He emphasized on strengthening of maritime security and maintaining combat readiness so as to effectively respond to any aggression against Pakistan. PR
Textile Magnate Alkaram joins hands with ABHI
Alkaram, one of the biggest names in Pakistan’s textile industry, is partnering with ABHI, Pakistan’s first financial wellness platform, to offer its employees the facility of Earned Wage Access.ABHI’s goal is to provide financial wellness services to all employees in Pakistan, giving them the ability and freedom to access their earned but unpaid salaries, so they don’t have to face financial constraints in emergencies. One of the biggest players in textiles, with thousands of employees across the country, Alkaram is partnering with this revolutionary new venture, as employees’ financial wellness is paramount to the company. This partnership will help the company in becoming one of the leaders in the global textile world, integrating vertical textile solutions with values and sustainability. PR
New MD Utility Stores Corporation assumes charge
‘fixed’ sale tax on commercial power meters is reflection of the government’s anti-business policies, and tantamount to economic-murder of traders’ community, said Khurshid. The meeting was attended by the chamber’s senior vice president Imran Khan Mohmand, vice president Javed Akhtar, Anjuman-e-Tajaran Peshawar president Haji Muhammad Afzal and other leaders from trading community, office bearers of various bazaars and market associations. Participants of the meeting termed that the government’s decision is not only economic murder of the traders’ community but it also effects the inflation hit poor masses. The traders have already paid ‘sales tax’ and again collection of ‘fixed tax’ from Rs3,000 to
ISLAMABAD Staff RePoRt
PTCL and Ufone have swiftly restored their network disrupted by heavy rains and flooding in parts of Balochistan and Sindh in a record time through rapid mobilization of their onground resources. The torrential rains also caused major damage to road and bridge infrastructure in the region, further intensifying the challenge of timely restoration of the network, however, PTCL and Ufone field teams were able to live up to their commitment to keeping their customers connected at all times. Sindh, especially Karachi and the coastal belt of Balochistan received one of the heaviest monsoon spells in the recent past, which resulted in urban flooding, severe damage to roads and bridges infrastructure, and massive commercial power breakdown. PTCL’s Optical Fiber cable deployed alongside roads and bridges also got swept away at multiple
locations. The Northern and Central Zones of the country were no different where exchanges and network nodes got flooded leading to network outages. Baluchistan’s Makran division was the worst hit, resulting in major damage to road infrastructure, electricity transmission lines, and the PTCL OFC network. The cumulative situation resulted in a huge challenge before the PTCL and Ufone field teams to uphold their commitment to keeping their customers seamlessly connected. As the National Carrier and Backbone of Country’s Connectivity, the company quickly responded to the situation by deploying teams in the affected area to restore the Optical Fiber Cable through a workaround in order to maintain the best possible business continuity. Despite the inclement weather, difficult terrain, and enormity of the challenge, the teams conducted a 24/7 operation with a high level of commitment to best facili-
tate the customers. The company tackled the network disruption across the Southern, North, and Central region caused by commercial power breakdown through the deployment of portable generators until the issue was fixed. The field teams worked tirelessly for days to completely restore connectivity to Turbat, Ormara, Pasni, and Gawadar areas of the worst hit Makran Division in Balochistan and the affected regions of Sindh. PTCL Group’s effective and timely response to the massive challenge in the face of countless hardships is evidence of its efficiency, resiliency, and readiness to maintain seamless connectivity at all times. The successful restoration of the network amidst a major calamity speaks volumes of the remarkable commitment and resilience of the on-ground teams whose efforts facilitated the smooth conducting of emergency and relief activities and continuity of life and business activities.
FFC announces financial results upto June 30, 2022 Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC) has announced its half yearly financial results for the period ended June 30, 2022 in its Board of Directors’ meeting held on July 28, 2022. FFC attained Urea production of 1,276 thousand tonnes, 4% higher than last year mainly because of deferment of plant turnaround to H2. Company also achieved benchmark Sona Urea offtake of 1,275 thousand tonnes for the period. Increased urea sales combined with higher prices of imported fertilizers also led to highest ever all product revenue of Rs 54.71 billion during the period. The increase in investment income combined with higher dividend payout by associated companies contributed towards improved other income of Rs 7.41 billion. The profit before tax at Rs 18.82 billion was negatively affected by the double digit in-
Managing Director Pakistan Baitul Mal, Amir Fida Paracha and Head of Qatar Charity, Ameen Abdul Rahman discussing pro-poor initiatives during a meeting. PR
Data Dissemination KIoSK Inaugurated
Minister for Planning and Development Mr. Ahsan Iqbal Thursday inaugurated the Data Dissemination KIOSK here. Dr. Naeem-uz-Zafar, Chief Statistician, PBS briefed the Minister PD&SI that PBS being the National Statistical Organization is mandated for collection, compilation & Dissemination of data on various socioeconomic sectors both through primary & secondary sources for evidencebased policymaking. He added that as the world under “Digital Transformation” become “Global Village” therefore “Data” is the “new currency for development” and availability of timely credible data in an interactive way is the need of the time. PBS under policy of “Digital Pakistan” and Vision 2025 has also undergone “Digital Transformation” and shifted from manual approach to electronic data collection. Muhammad Sarwar Gondal, Member Support Services informed PBS have paradigm shift on data dissemination from unidimensional mode of fixed formats in to interactive customized dashboards: which provides open access to data with infographics along with comparison with previous years of several indicators as per requirement of users. PR
Danish Ambassador interacts with faculty and students at NUST
PR
Federal Minister / Chairman Privatisation, Abid Hussain Bhayo holds a meeting with Chairman CDA regarding Jinnah Convention Center in Islamabad. PR
Rs20,000 through power bills is completely unjustifiable and unfair, the speakers said. The SCCI’s chief said the frequent increase in power tariffs and collection of Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) in power bills is strongly condemnable and unacceptable. The traders’ leader asked the government to take back its decision to collect additional tax on power bills in the name of FPA and others. Hasnain Khurshid asked the federal government to refrain from imposing anti-trader and anti-business policies. He added that traders are poor and cannot afford any new tax, subsequent to high inflation. The chamber’s president vowed to strongly resist the government’s decision of a fixed ‘sales tax’ on power bills by launching an agitation campaign across the KP province.
PTCL, Ufone network disrupted by torrential rains, flooding in Southern region restored
ISLAMABAD
Islamabad: The new Managing Director of Utility Stores Corporation has taken charge of the post. The Federal government had issued a notification to appoint Punjab Provincial Management Service Officer Muhammad Ali Aamir Saleemi as MD Utility Stores Corporation. Muhammad Ali Aamir Saleemi previously held the post of Secretary Mines and Minerals Department in Punjab. Muhammad Ali Aamir is one of the experienced and capable officers of Pakistan. His innumerable services to the Punjab government are valued. His arrival will further improve the performance of Utility Stores Corporation. PR
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crease in interest rates with higher finance cost compared to previous year. Total tax charge was Rs 9.22 billion (includes super tax of Rs 3.52 billion and Rs 0.86 billion for year 2021 and 2022 respectively) at an effective tax rate of 49%. The Company therefore achieved net profitability of Rs9.60 billion translating into an EPS of Rs7.55. The dollarized profitability of the Company however stood significantly reduced to USD 51 Million compared to USD 60 Million in 2021, due to severe devaluation of PKR during the period. The Board of Directors of FFC also announced second interim dividend of Rs2.10 per share for the period.
Group photo of 1st Session of ‘PEC National Dialogue: Eradicate, Engineer Unemployment Through Entrepreneurial Setting’. PR
Islamabad: The Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan, Her Excellency Ms Lis Rosenholm visited National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Pakistan on Wednesday. The dignitary had a detailed meeting with Rector NUST Engr Javed Mahmood Bukhari and senior management of the university. Matters of mutual interest, particularly forging meaningful partnerships between NUST and Danish institutions, came under discussion. The Rector apprised the honourable guest of NUST’s accomplishments in academic and research domains, pursuance of Sustainable Development Goals, etc. Later, the Ambassador had an interactive session with faculty and students of NUST. Her talk predominantly focused on climate diplomacy and how Denmark is playing its role towards combating the global challenge of climate change, which, she termed, a big risk to the world particularly developing nations like Pakistan. She said that there is a dire need to convert climate change challenges into business opportunities through innovation and technological intervention. She emphasised that publicprivate partnerships and role of academia are key to effectively dealing with the issue and beyond. PR
Friday, 29 July, 2022 | LAHORE
10 FOREIGN NEWS
Macron Hosts saudi crown prince despite rigHts outrage PARIS
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AFP
RENCH President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris on Thursday, defying criticism that the invitation is deeply inappropriate barely four years after the murder by Saudi agents of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The meeting will be seen as the latest step in the readmission of the defacto ruler of the kingdom into the international fold, after US President Joe Biden met the man universally known as MBS earlier this month. The topics set to loom over the meeting include energy supply as concern grows over possible power shortages due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as reining in the nuclear programme of Riyadh’s top regional foe Iran. MBS — who is portrayed at home as a champion of social and economic reform — arrives in France fresh from a trip to Greece to discuss energy ties. “I feel profoundly troubled by the visit, because of what it means for our world and what is means for Jamal (Khashoggi) and people like him,”
Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard told AFP, describing MBS as a man who “does not tolerate any dissent”. The visits mark MBS’ first trip to the EU since the murder of Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018, a crime that a UN probe described as an “extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible”. It also said there was “credible evidence” warranting further investigation
JKML denounces inhuman treatment meted out to Hurriyat leaders
of the individual liability of high-level Saudi officials, including MBS. US intelligence agencies determined that MBS had “approved” the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death, though Riyadh denies this, blaming rogue operatives. ‘Double stanDarDs’: The killing drew outrage not just over the elimination of a prominent critic of the Saudi regime, but also for the manner in which it was carried out. Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi consulate on
October 2, 2018, strangled and dismembered, reportedly with a bone saw. “The visit by MBS to France and Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia do not change the fact that MBS is anything other than a killer,” said Callamard, who at the time of the killing was the UN’s special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings and led the independent probe. His reception by world leaders is “all the more shocking given many of them at the time expressed disgust (over the killing) and a commitment not to bring MBS back into the international community”, she added, denouncing the “double standard”. But despite the concern over Saudi Arabia’s rights record, the kingdom is seen by many in the West as an essential partner due to its energy resources, purchases of weaponry and staunch opposition to Iran’s theocratic regime. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the oil and gas reserves of the kingdom all the more important for the West. Callamard expressed concern that “values were being obliterated in the face of concern about the rising price of oil”. ‘Political leverage’: The French president had already travelled to the kingdom in December 2021 for talks with MBS, a visit that raised some eyebrows at the time.
NASA details plans to bring back Mars rock samples WAShINGTON AFP
SRINAGAR Agencies
In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League (JKML), a constituent of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, has condemned the inhuman treatment meted out by the Indian authorities to the illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders languishing in different jails of the territory and India. According to Kashmir Media Service, the JKML in a meeting in Srinagar presided over by its Acting Chairman, Abdul Ahad Parra, discussed the prevailing situation of the territory. The meeting was attended among others by Farooq Ahmad Tawheedi, Feroz Ahmad Khan and Bashir Ahmad Butt. The participants expressed serious concern over the health of illegally detained Hurriyat leader, Muhammad Yasin Malik, who was admitted to a hospital after his condition deteriorating at New Delhi’s infamous Tihar Jail. Yasin Malik’s health declined when he was observing hunger strike in the jail against the denial of fair trial in the false cases registered against him. Abdul Ahad Parra on the occasion said that Yasin Malik was already suffering from various ailments and continued unlawful detention had taken a heavy toll on his health. He appealed to the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and world bodies including International Committee of Red Cross, Amnesty International, Asia Watch and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to play their role in the release of Yasin Malik and other Hurriyat leaders.
NASA plans to bring 30 Martian rock samples back to Earth in 2033, the agency said Wednesday — and is sending two small helicopters to help the mission. The Perseverance rover, which landed on Mars in February 2021, has so far collected 11 samples as part of its hunt for signatures of ancient life. But bringing them back for detailed lab study on Earth is proving to be a highly complex task. Up until now, NASA was planning on sending another rover to Mars to pick up the samples from Perseverance and then bring them to a robotic lander equipped with its own rocket, called the Mars Ascent Vehicle. This in turn would fire the samples into orbit where they would be collected by a European spaceship. Now, however, the second “Sample Fetch Rover” has been scrapped and Perseverance itself will deliver the precious cargo directly to the lander, which will
use a robot arm to extract it. But since NASA always plans for contingencies, it has a backup plan in case Perseverance becomes immobilized. The lander, which should launch from Earth in 2028 and land on Mars in mid-2030, will also carry two mini helicopters. Perseverance brought with it its own helicopter, called Ingenuity, which carried out the first powered flight on another world, and has now made a total of 29 sorties.
The two new helicopters will be a little heavier, equipped with wheels to be able to move on the ground as well, and come with a small arm allowing them to recover the samples. In this scenario, Perseverance would first drop the samples on the ground, the helicopters would pick them up, then place them next to the ascent vehicle. The orbiter would be set to return to Earth in the Utah desert in 2033.
Mayor of Kharkiv says nowhere in ukraine’s second city ‘safe’ KhARKIv, UKRAINe Agencies
The unmistakable boom of shellfire echoed around the bomb-scarred buildings of western Kharkiv as the mayor of Ukraine’s one-time Soviet capital prepared for his interview. Yet the explosion in the suburb of Pisochyn barely registered in a city that has been a key focus of the Russian invasion, its hardest-hit districts pounded to ruins. “The Russian aggressors are trying to turn Kharkiv into a pitiful city, like the ones they have in Russia,” Igor Terekhov told AFP in a cafe in the city centre. “But they won’t succeed. And, as you see, the people of Kharkiv are defending their city, weapons in hand,” the Russian-speaking official said through an interpreter. Elected in November last year, the 55-year-old soon found himself staring down the combined might of tens of thousands of Russian troops pouring over the border, which at its closest is just 30 kilometres (20 miles) away. Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second biggest city — was besieged from the first days of the full-scale conflict. It looked as if it would quickly fall to invading Russian troops, who were backed by massive artillery fire and missile strikes. Ukrainian forces managed to stem the advance, pushing the invading force back from the outskirts of the city. But the Russians remain dug in just a few kilometres away, leaving most of Kharkiv vulnerable to shelling. – Shattered hopes – “We have nine districts in the city and they are all being bombed with varying intensity and at different times. So you can’t say anywhere in Kharkiv is safe,” he said. “Yes, it is safe in the shelters and it is safe in the metro… But there is no district, no place in the city, where you can claim it is totally safe.” By the end of March, almost a third of Kharkiv’s residents had left, seeking refuge in towns and cities further west, where going about daily life does not generally mean running the gauntlet of cruise missiles and artillery fire. There was a brief lull in early May when Russian forces withdrew towards the border. Some 2,000 people a day returned by train, small businesses reopened and beleaguered residents emerged from subway stations. But the bombardment quickly resumed, shattering any hope of a return to pre-war normality. Last week a barrage of shelling killed three people, including a 13-year-old boy, adding to a toll that Terekhov says is in the “many hundreds”, although he declines to offer a precise figure. The war has also destroyed 30 percent of houses and apartments in the city, Terekhov said, leaving a staggering 150,000 people homeless. “It’s more than the population of many European cities… One hundred and one kindergartens, 110 schools, 53 medical institutions and a perinatal centre were hit,” he said. “Much of this cannot be rebuilt. Also, a metro depot, transformer substations, our municipal transport network.” Kharkiv, which is far closer geographically to Russia than to Kyiv, is largely Russian-speaking and for a long time was viewed as more sympathetic to Moscow than many of Ukraine’s central and western cities. That sentiment changed with Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the start of a Moscow-backed separatist conflict in neighbouring regions of the east.
CPC huddle for progress while maintaining stability in economic work BeIJING Agencies
The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee stressed the importance of adhering to the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability when planning the economic work in the second half of the year during a meeting on Thursday. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, chaired the meeting. In the face of the complex and volatile international situation and arduous domestic issues related to advancing reform, development and stability, achievements have been made in epidemic prevention and control, as well as in economic and social development, according to the statement from the meeting. Accelerating the building of a new development pattern, promoting high-quality development, and effectively coordinating
epidemic prevention and control with economic and social development were highlighted at the meeting to ensure sound economic work for the second half of 2022. To this end, putting people’s lives first, preventing cases from overseas and internal rebounds, and sticking to a dynamic zeroCOVID approach were also stressed during the meeting. Efforts should be made to track viral mutations and develop new vaccines and drugs, the statement said. Noting that macroeconomic policy should focus on expanding demand, it said the stability of industrial and supply chains and international competitiveness should be further improved. Ensuring security was another key point; strengthening food security, improving the country’s ability to ensure energy supply and stepping up efforts to develop new energy systems were also highlighted in the meeting. Advancing reform and opening-up to
add impetus to economic development, enhancing the capacity to ensure people’s wellbeing, and creating a good environment for entrepreneurs were also discussed. Xi Jinping presides over symposium for soliciting advice on economic work Separately, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday, presided over and addressed a symposium for soliciting opinions and suggestions on the current economic situation and economic work in the second half of the year from non-CPC personages. China’s economy is resilient, has great potential and is full of vitality and the fundamentals of the Chinese economy will remain sound in the long run, Xi said. The symposium was attended by Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, Wang Huning and Han Zheng, all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC
Central Committee. Li reviewed China’s economic work in the first half of the year and introduced the CPC Central Committee’s considerations for economic work in the second half of the year. Heads of the central committees of eight non-Communist parties and the All-China
Federation of Industry and Commerce, as well as a representative of personages without party affiliations, made their respective speeches, agreeing with the CPC Central Committee’s analysis of the current economic situation and considerations for economic work in the second half.
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Friday, 29 July, 2022 | LAHORE
SPORTS 11
JayaSuriya StarS again aS SL tHraSH PaKiStan to LeveL SerieS GALLe
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AFP
PINNER Prabath Jayasuriya grabbed another five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka thumped Pakistan by 246 runs in the second Test to end the series 1-1 on Thursday. Chasing a mammoth 508 for victory, tourists Pakistan were bowled out for 261 in the second session on day five in Galle with skipper Babar Azam hitting a valiant 81. The 30-year-old Jayasuriya, a left-arm spinner, claimed his fourth five-wicket haul in just his third Test since making his debut against Australia earlier this month. Fellow spinner Ramesh Mendis took four wickets. Sri Lanka were racing to wrap
up the match ahead of forecast rain after Pakistan resumed with nine wickets remaining and gamely fought on through the morning. But Jayasuriya kept hitting back with regular strikes and got Agha Salman out for four at the stroke of lunch, then trapped talisman Azam lbw to end Pakistan’s resistance. “When Babar was dismissed we knew that we could pull this off. Babar is their anchor,” Jayasuriya, who has bagged 29 wickets in three Tests, told reporters. “That was crucial and once he was out we knew we could pull it off.” Ramesh, who took five wickets with his off-spin in Pakistan’s first innings, wiped off the tail to trigger Sri Lankan celebrations in former captain Angelo Mathews’ 100th Test. Pakistan won the opener with a
Galle record chase of 342 and fought hard to outdo themselves, with the in-form Azam scoring his 23rd Test fifty and putting on brave stands with overnight partner Imam-ul-Haq
(49) and Mohammad Rizwan (37). Ramesh struck on his first ball of the day to get Imam caught behind, with the left-handed batsman adding just three to his overnight 46.
Jayasuriya, who took one wicket on day four, cut short Rizwan’s stay with his left-arm spin. Fawad Alam was run out for one. Azam survived Jayasuriya’s lbw call, which was given out by the umpire but successfully reviewed by the batsman, before the bowler claimed him for the third time this series. Azam, who began the day on 26 and needed some physio help for lower back discomfort, has been in top form with the bat and scored 119 and 55 in Pakistan’s opening win. de Silva’S game-changer: Sri Lanka ended their innings on Wednesday afternoon with a monumental lead but the weather was of concern to the hosts, with play ending early on days three and four due to bad light and rain predicted for Thursday afternoon.
CWG 2022: Pakistan hockey team’s first focus on qualifying for semifinals: Sameer Hussain NewS DeSk Manager national hockey team Olympian Sameer Hussain is more than happy for Pakistan to have an underdog status in the Commonwealth Games, insisting that their first focus is to qualify for semifinals. “Although we are at the bottom in terms of our ranking, I feel our team is comprised of a highly talented bunch of players, who on their day can spring a surprise,” Sameer told APP on Thursday. World number 18 Pakistan, are placed in group A alongside Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and South Africa. Australia are the top-ranked side, while others barring Scotland too are better-ranked as compared to Pakistan. “We did not play much international hockey in recent years due to Covid-19 and some other issues. That is why our ranking is so low. “Now, we have a young competitive squad. The majority of our boys made
their debuts in the Asia Cup. Though we could not make a cut to the World Cup, we put up a good show [in Asia Cup]. “Now there is an opportunity for us [in the Commonwealth Games] to better our ranking by finishing at a respectable
position,” he added. He said the first target for the national team at the Commonwealth Games was to qualify for the semifinals. “Our first focus is to advance to the semifinal. We’ve seen videos of competitions of other teams in our group and have planned accordingly. “We know our grey areas and worked out a lot to plug in these.” Sameer said penalty corners mattered a lot but scoring field goals was equally important. “It is heartening that we have a pretty aggressive forward line, who has the ability to shock any strong defence. “We’ve also a solid defensive unit, who is fully capable of thwarting attacks of any strong side. “It will be interesting to see how our young guns implement our plans,” he added. Pakistan will start their campaign on Saturday (July 30) against South Africa. They will take on New Zealand on July 31 in their second match. Then, they will face Scotland on
August 3. In their last group match on August 4, they will face six-time Commonwealth Games hockey champions Australia. The top two teams will move to the semifinals, taking place on August 6. The final will be held on August 8, the last day of the multi-sports event. Hockey has been played at the Commonwealth Games since 1998 and in that first year, it was Australia who dominated, winning gold in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Malaysia men and England women took silver, while England men and New Zealand women won the bronze medals. The Commonwealth Games has a rich sporting tradition that goes back to 1930. In its earliest iteration, the coveted event featured 11 nations and 400 athletes. Now, in its 22nd edition, 4,600 athletes from 72 nations and territories will be participating in the English city of Birmingham in the event known as the Friendly Games.
Three climbers lost lives in their bid to scale K2 this month alone ISLAMABAD The AssociATed Press
At least three climbers, including one Australian youth, have died this month while trying to scale K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, after he fell during his descent, officials said Thursday. On Thursday, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the death of Matthew Eakin, saying, it was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian man who died during a climbing expedition in northern Pakistan.” In a statement, it did not provide any further details, saying: “We extend our condolences to his family and friends.” It did not disclose the name of the Australian climber for privacy reasons. Karrar Haidri, the deputy chief of the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), which coordinates with government bodies during such incidents, said a search team had also spotted the body of a Canadian mountaineer, Richard Cartier, who was scaling K2 with the Australian and who had gone missing. The Canadian Embassy in Islamabad did not im-
mediately respond to a request for comment. There was no comment from Pakistani officials. “We extend our condolences to the friends and family members of the Australian and Canadian climbers who died on K2,” Haidri told The Associated Press, adding that a climber from Afghanistan also died on K2 this month. “This month we were very happy because we continued receiving good news about successful summitting of K2 by climbers. But suddenly some reports of
sad news also started coming last week when some climbers went missing, and we are now gradually learning about their death,” he said. The bodies of the Eakin and Cartier had been found at a location between Camp 1 and Camp 2 of K2. Citing unnamed sources, it said the two men went missing on July 19 in two separate incidents. The death came as dozens of climbers from across the globe were trying to scale K2 in northern Pakistan. K2, on the Chinese-Pakistani border in the Karakorum Range, has one of the deadliest records, with most climbers dying on the descent, where the slightest mistake can trigger an avalanche and become fatal. Only a few hundred have successfully reached its summit. In contrast, Mount Everest has been summited more than 9,000 times. Considered extremely difficult to climb, K2 is not only the second-highest mountain after Mount Everest, its ascent and descent are considered much more challenging that the world’s highest. K2 is also the coldest and windiest of climbs. At places along the route, climbers must navigate nearly sheer rock faces rising 80 degrees, while avoiding frequent and unpredictable avalanches.
Dhananjaya de Silva, who stood in as Sri Lanka captain with back pain keeping Dimuth Karunaratne off the field, set up victory with his 109 in Sri Lanka’s 360-8 declared. “We were definitely in the game but Dhananjaya’s innings changed the game,” said Azam. Pakistan fell behind Sri Lanka by 147 runs after being bowled out for 231 in response to the hosts’ firstinnings 378. Back-to-back cricket tours have brought some joy to Sri Lanka, which is enduring a painful economic crisis and shortages of food and fuel. Political unrest saw the president flee the country in between the Australia series, which also ended 1-1 after the hosts again bounced back from their opening loss.
Khatri loses in Scrabble Players C’ship final NewS DeSk Pakistani ace player Waseem Khatri lost to Austin Shin of England in the final of the Scrabble Players Championship at Baltimore, USA. According to details, Austin downed Khatri by 3-1 in the best-of-five finals. It may be mentioned that Khatri, who hails from Karachi was an eight time national champion and represents Pakistan in various International Tournaments and wins laurels for the country. He was also a Scrabble coach.
Hall of Famers in push for baseball in cricket-mad region BRISBANe The AssociATed Press
Two Hall of Fame baseball players are leading a push to bring the sport that made them famous to Pakistan, India and the Middle East. Former New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera and ex-Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin are the familiar faces behind the United International Baseball League (UIBL). The UIBL plans to bring professional baseball to an area of the world more associated with another bat-on-ball sport — cricket. The League will begin with an inaugural showcase tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in February next year. Further plans for the location of teams and their personnel are still in the works. The League said in a statement that the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East region are home to two billion people “and more than 900 million of those people are fans of cricket.” “While baseball exists in small pockets across south Asia and the Gulf [… ] there is an absence of professional leagues and a void of deep, grassroots player development expertise and infrastructure,” the statement added. “The UIBL team is looking to change that.” The Panama-born Rivera spent his entire career with the Yankees over 19 seasons from 1995 to 2013, primarily as a relief pitcher and closer. He made 13 All-Star Game appearances, won five World Series, is MLB’s all-time leader in saves with 652 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019. “I’m very grateful to be a part of the UIBL’s exciting mission to inspire two billion new fans to fall in love with baseball,” Rivera said. “We believe there is an amazing opportunity to educate, inspire and entertain those cricket fans, and open their hearts to an exciting and culturally-relevant form of baseball.” The Cincinnati-born Larkin was a career-long Reds player in his hometown. He won an MVP award, a World Series title, was selected to 12 All-Star teams and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.
No Chopra but India hope to still pack a punch at Commonwealths New DeLHI AFP
India’s Commonwealth Games ambitions have been badly hit by the last-minute withdrawal of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra but they still have high hopes of gold in several sports including boxing and badminton. The Commonwealth’s most populous country is not generally known as a global sporting powerhouse — except for cricket — but it has regularly performed well at the Games. India came third in the medals table behind hosts Australia, and England, at the last edition of the Games at the Gold Coast in 2018, and were in the top five at the previous four. But they could have a tough job replicating that when the Commonwealths start in Birmingham on Thursday.
Shooting, traditionally India’s most successful discipline, has been dropped from the programme for these Games, much to India’s anger. And then Chopra, India’s flag-bearer and the reigning Commonwealth and Olympic javelin champion, pulled out on Tuesday because of injury. “Needless to say I am hurt about not being able to defend my title and missing out on another opportunity to represent the nation,” the 24-year-old Chopra said. But there are still several gold hopefuls among India’s more than 200-strong contingent. India’s boxing squad will be without injured six-time world champion Mary Kom, but will have her heir apparent, Nikhat Zareen. Zareen, who won the 52kg gold at the world championships in May, will be competing in the 50kg category and is billed as
the favourite. As a woman from India’s minority Muslim community, the 26-year-old’s struggles
before breaking out on the international stage have made her a household name in India. Zareen has spoken about how she was ridiculed for taking up boxing and looked down upon in the orthodox society she grew up in. Badminton force: Double Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu will lead India’s strong badminton challenge. She prepared for Birmingham by clinching the Singapore Open title this month. Rising 20-year-old star Lakshya Sen, the men’s world number 10, has been laid low by injury but is another with medal hopes. India’s men’s badminton team are buoyant after winning the prestigious Thomas Cup, the world team championship, for the first time in May. The men’s hockey team will look to clinch their first Commonwealth gold after
a disappointing 2018 campaign. India used to dominate field hockey but their bronze in Tokyo last year was the team’s first Olympic medal in more than four decades. The women hockey players will also be aiming to finish on the podium but they only ended joint ninth with China at the recent World Cup in Spain. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t play to our potential at the FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup… but we are very determined to turn our form around at the Commonwealth Games,” captain Savita Punia told Hockey India. India’s women cricketers led by Harmanpreet Kaur also have a shot at glory as women’s T20 makes its debut at the Games, while the country is also traditionally strong in wrestling and weightlifting. There is no men’s cricket.
Friday, 29 July, 2022
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PakiStan valUeS RelationS with Poland: CoaS RaWalPINdI
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staff report
HIeF of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday said that Pakistan values its relations with Poland and earnestly looking forward to enhance mutually beneficial multi-domain relations based on mutual trust and profound historic foundations. According to a press communiqué issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday, COAS Gen Bajwa emphasized the need for strengthening bilateral relations with Poland. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa was talking to Polish Ambassador Mr Maciej Pisarski, Ambassador of Republic of Poland to
Pakistan, who called on the Chief of Army Staff at General Headquarters here on Thursday, the ISPR added.
over 3,000 rains and flood affectees rescued: relief commissioner NeWs desk
The ISPR release said during the meeting, matters of mutual interests, regional security and enhanced bilateral
Climate change behind recent flash floods: PM Islamabad
Relief Commissioner Punjab Zahid Zaman said on Thursday that more than 3,000 people, affected by rains and floods, have been rescued and shifted to relief camps, set up by the Punjab government in Dera Ghazi Khan. Presiding over a meeting to review arrangements for the recent rains and floods, he said that six deaths had been reported so far, whereas 27 others were injured due to rain-related incidents. Commissioner Usman Anwar and deputy commissioner of Dera Ghazi Khan, and DCs of Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur also attended the meeting through video-link. The meeting was briefed that due to torrential rains in hill torrent, DG Khan areas were the worst-hit whereas nullahs were flooded after many decades. More than 3,000 people were shifted to safer places including 21 relief camps, set up in the areas on the directions of the provincial government. All possible facilities were being ensure at the camps including generators, fans and washrooms. He was briefed that medical facilities were also available at the camps, along with clean drinking water and food items. The relief commissioner said that the relevant departments should remain alert as there was a threat of more rains and floods in DG Khan division including Rajanpur district. He said the district administration had sufficient resources to cope with the situation and asked to utilize every available resource for the protection of the people as no negligence would be tolerated. The Punjab government had released funds for flood victims, he added.
Rupee continues downward spiral against US dollar Islamabad staff report
The US dollar continued to gain value against the Pakistani rupee on Thursday, the rupee hits another low at 240 per USD in the interbank market, it has lost around four rupees compared to the previous close of 236.02 per USD. On Wednesday, the US dollar increased by Rs3.09 against rupee in the interbank and traded at Rs236.02. In open market, the greenback traded between Rs238 and Rs239. The rupee is under constant pressure, market analyst point towards political instability which poses a threat to Pakistan’s economy. Worries over Pakistan’s funding needs including the delay in revival of IMF program, a massive current-account deficit, and high inflation are all compounding, putting pressure on the local currency.
and defence cooperation between both the countries came under discussion. Both reiterated the desire to further enhance bilateral relations in defence & security fields. The visiting dignitary appreciated Pakistan’s positive role for regional peace & stability, especially the Afghan peace process. He pledged to play his role for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels. On the occasion, both Pakistan and Poland agreed to enhance bilateral relations in diverse fields, especially defence and security relations, the military’s media wing said on Thursday. COAS Bajwa further said that both countries have convergence of strategic interests on a range of security issues including fight against terrorism.
staff report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan was facing the challenge of climate change and stressed the need for addressing the problem of flash flooding from the same perspective. Flooding has battered Sindh and Balochistan since the onset of heavy monsoon rains a month ago, affecting a wide central belt. More than 330 people have died in the two provinces. Since June 14, the downpours have damaged bridges, roads and about 4,000 homes in Balochistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). “Our ongoing floods and torrential rains need to be seen from [climate] angle,” Sharif said in a tweet. He mentioned that climate change was a reality
that was greatly impacting Pakistan. “Climate change is an undeniable reality of our times and has serious consequences for developing countries like Pakistan.” The prime minister said the government was aligning its development goals with the requirements of climate change. Pakistan has been experiencing an unprecedented heat wave and a series of extreme climate events ranging from flash floods to forest fires. The country has long ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which tracks the devastating human and economic toll of extreme weather events. To address the issue, the vision of the government is to mainstream climate change in the vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate resilient development.
PM sets up ministerial committee to assess monsoon damages by Aug 4 Islamabad staff report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday set up a committee of federal ministers to assess the damage in areas affected by monsoon rains and floods across the country and submit a report by August 4. Chairing a meeting to assess the damage during the recent rains and floods, the prime minister asked the committee to visit all the affected areas within the next four days. In line with the recommendations, a comprehensive short-, medium- and long-term plan will be formulated. The prime minister directed to enhance the compensatory money to the affected persons from Rs 50,000 to Rs 200,000. The compensation for partially damaged houses will be increased from Rs 25,000 to
Rs 250,000 and for fully damaged structures from the existing Rs 50,000 to Rs 500,000. PM Sharif said the federal government would provide full assistance to the provincial governments to deal with the disaster of rain and flooding. He urged the national and provincial disaster management bodies to ensure the implementation of the ‘Disaster Risk Management’ strategy instead of disaster management. He also called upon them to fast approach the relevant ministries and international donor agencies to get financial assistance to deal with the challenge. For restoration of the damaged infrastructure in Karachi due to recent rains, the prime minister said the federal government would write a letter to the Supreme Court for provision of the fund available
with the top court. He lauded National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and the provincial governments for carrying out effective relief efforts during the natural disaster. In a tweet, he said Pakistan was facing the challenges of climate change and stressed the need to address the problem of current flash flooding from the same perspective. “Our ongoing floods and torrential rains need to be seen from that angle,” he said. PM Sharif mentioned that climate change was a reality that was greatly impacting Pakistan. “Climate change is an undeniable reality of our times and has serious consequences for developing countries like Pakistan,” he said.
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Govt to unlock full economic, connectivity potential of CPeC: PM Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Thursday underlined the government’s commitment to unlock the full economic and connectivity potential of China Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC) through expedited and high-quality development of CPeC projects. He emphasized the importance of key projects like Main Line One (ML-1) and Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) in Pakistan’s development plans and expressed desire to move towards finalization of these projects in the upcoming 11th meeting of the CPeC Joint Cooperation Committee. The Prime Minister expressed these views as he received Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong here at the PM House, a press release issued here by the PM Media Office said. expressing satisfaction on the upward trajectory of high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China, the Prime Minister recalled his comprehensive and wide-ranging discussions with Premier Li Keqiang in a telephone call on 16 May 2022, and their consensus to further deepen and strengthen Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership. He underscored that Pakistan and China were best friends, staunchest partners and Iron brothers, adding, the two nations had always stood by each other through fair weather and times of challenges, and extended support on key issues of core interest. The Prime Minister appreciated China’s support to Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and development, including in dealing with the emerging economic challenges and volatility in global supply chains and commodities. Sharing Pakistan’s focus on early development of CPeC Special economic Zones (SeZs), he welcomed the increased investments of Chinese enterprises especially in the country’s industrial development. News Desk
JCP defers elevation of judges to SC The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Thursday deferred elevation of judges of various high courts to the Supreme Court. A meeting of the commission to consider names of judges of various high courts proposed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan for the nomination by the JCP to be appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan was held here. The meeting was attended by seven members of the JCP in-person while Justice Qazi Faez Isa and the Attorney General for Pakistan attended via Zoom. The names of all five judges proposed by the Chief Justice were considered by the JCP. After detailed discussion, it was proposed by the Chairman JCP to defer the meeting in order to enable the Chief Justice of Pakistan to place additional information and data about those already proposed and if he considered appropriate, more names would be added to the list of proposees for consideration by the JCP. The proposal to defer the meeting was supported by Justice Ijaz-ulAhsan, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice (Retd) Sarmad Jalal Osmany, and the Attorney General for Pakistan. It was accordingly decided to defer the meeting. The date of the next meeting will be communicated to the members of the judicial commission by the Chairman JCP, said a press note issued by SC PRO. News Desk
inflation may continue to remain high in short run ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance in its Monthly economic Outlook and Update July 2022 released on Thursday said that inflation may continue to remain high in the immediate short run, recalling that YoY inflation has accelerated more than 20 per cent. The report said that despite the gradual decline in the economic growth outlook in Pakistan’s main export areas, domestic economic activity continues to be strong; however, international reserves have fallen to levels that are too low according to international standards and these factors have contributed to significant upward pressure on domestic interest rates due to which SBP had to raise its policy rate. Furthermore, significant fiscal consolidation is in the making. staff report
PML-Q CWC ‘removes’ Ch Shujaat, Tariq Cheema as party head, secretary general CH SALIK TERMS MOVE AS ‘ILLEGAL, IN VIOLATION OF PARTY CONSTITUTION’ laHORe MiaN abrar
Central Working Committee (CWC) of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Thursday claimed to have removed Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain from the post of party president while the meeting also removed Tariq Bashir Cheema from the post
of Secretary General. However, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, the son of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain termed the move as illegal and in violation of the party’s Constitution under which the party’s General Council could take any such step. “I wonder at the audacity of the illegal move. How the party’s provincial chapter could remove the central president and secretary-general. It’s a move in violation of the party Constitution and have no legal grounds,” Ch Salik Hussain told Pakistan Today. The move comes in wake of deepening rifts between Chaudhrys of Gujrat who have been termed as icons of brotherhood and carrying family unity and traditions. However, re-
cent events have seen Shujaat and Pervez elahi falling apart, with Shujaat supporting the PML-N and elahi joining Imran Khan’s PTI. Meanwhile, sources in the PML-Q told Pakistan Today that a meeting of the PMLQ central working committee was held here chaired by Senator Kamil Ali Agha. The meeting decided to hold new party elections in ten days. For inter-party elections, a five-member election Commission was established while Jahangir A Joja will be the election Commissioner. Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Senator Kamil Ali Agha said that it was an emergency meeting on short notice. A requisition was received to convene the meeting, he added.
Kamil said the meeting was convened today after the consultation of the legal wing, there was a requisition of more people than the quorum. He further said that 83 people participated in the meeting today, four to five resolutions were passed after a long consultation, adding that the actions of three gentlemen proved to be very harmful for the party. There was a long-standing relationship with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Cheema said. He also said that in the meeting it was decided to remove Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain from the post of party president. The decisions of the executive body give power to all officials, Kamil said. He said that PML-Q also decided to remove Tariq
Bashir Cheema from the post. Immediate elections will be held in the party and in regard to this, a five-member election Commission has been appointed, said Kamil Ali Agha. As Parvaiz ealhi became the Chief Minister, the post of Speaker has become vacant, so in the Punjab Assembly, the party will extend its full support to PTI s Sibatin Khan as Speaker. All the members will vote for Sibatin Khan, he said. Kamil Ali Agha said, “This is an unpleasant situation for us”. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain s health is affecting his decision making power. Kamil lashed out at Tariq Bashir Cheema, claiming that Cheema is doing conspiracy and using party for his own interest.
Published by Arif Nizami at Qandeel Printing Press, 4 Queens Road, Lahore, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk