Epaper_22-08-01 KHI

Monday, 1 August, 2022 i 2 Muharram, 1443 i Rs 40.00 i Vol Xii no 391 i 48 Pages i karachi Edition

Miftah foresees pressure on rupee easing within 2 weeks g

says one last condition imposed by imF For release oF loan tranche to be FulFilled by monday evening

ISLAMABAD

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staff report

inance minister miftah ismail has said that the pressure on the rupee, which has pushed the local currency to drop as much as 17 per cent against dollar in July alone, will ease within the next two weeks. the finance minister was responding to a question by a reporter during a press conference in islamabad on sunday along with prime minis-

ter’s coordinator on economy, bilal azhar Kayani. “you are correct that after the august 17 [punjab by-] polls, the dollar has got out of control and appreciated. i truly believe — even though i don’t speculate on the currency market — but i think that the true value of the rupee is far greater than this,” he added. he further added that the pressure on the local currency was also due to payments worth billions which the government had to make this month and the previous month.

“but let me be honest, no one knows the market. i can believe the fundamentals are in my favour but speculation, sentiments also play a role,” miftah said. speaking further, the finance minister vowed to make all possible efforts to ensure that dollars coming into the country on a daily basis would be more than those leaving and also promised to rein in the current account deficit. in this regard, he said that the government is currently trying to reduce the trade deficit to stabilize the rupee against the dollar. he said that for the last three months, efforts have been made to reduce imports and the results are now coming out. “imports in this month of July reached $5 billion dollars, which was 7.7 billion dollars in the previous month of June 2022.” “thus, compared to the previous month, imports decreased by $2.7 billion dollars during the month of July 2022,” he added. the minister assured that these economic measures, along with the continued ban on the import of mobile phones, vehicles and home appliances, will stabilise the value of the rupee against the dollar. “all of these measures aimed to reduce the trade deficit in the country’s economy, which will bring economic stability to the country,” he said. speaking further, the finance minister said: “We are not working on the rate of inflation but on getting the country out of economic challenges.

Govt slashes petrol price by Rs3.05 per litre ISLAMABAD staff report

the federal government on sunday a reduction in the price of petrol by rs3.05 per litre for the first 15 days of august 2022. according to the notification issued by the Finance division, the government has slashed petrol price by rs3.05 per litre and light diesel oil by rs12 per litre. the price of high-speed diesel has been jacked up by rs8.95 per litre, while the rate of kerosene oil was gone up by rs4.62 per litre. the new price of petrol will be rs227.19 per litre, high-speed diesel 244.95, kerosene oil 201.07 and lsd 191.32 per litre. the new rates of petroleum products will go into effect at midnight tonight. according to the notification, the changes were introduced following a reduction in the prices of petroleum products in the global market. “owing to the fluctuation in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variations, the government has decided to revise the existing prices of petroleum products to pass on the impact to the consumers,” the statement read.

maryam for withdrawal of fixed tax on commercial power bills

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Bushra Bibi’s bid to link opponents to treason exposed: Marriyum ISLAMABAD staff report

minister for information and broadcasting marriyum aurangzeb said on sunday that another attempt of former prime minister imran Khan’s spouse bushra bibi, directing arsalan Khalid for linking political opponents to treason, had been exposed. in a statement issued here on sunday, the minister said that both versions of the video, the original one and the one produced by bushra bibi were being presented here. “bushra made the video and released it to the media on July 30 at 4:28 pm,” the minister said, adding that the original video was also available with ary news. the minister said the video had been sent to the Fia cyber crime Wing so that those, who edited the video and added voices to it,

could be brought to justice. marriyum accused that the management of ary news channel should also be ashamed of becoming part of imran Khan’s agenda of spreading lies under the guise of journalism and freedom of speech to divert attention

from his corruption. “the said news channel always killed the truth and reality.” taking a jibe at the ary, she said that when illegal contracts worth billions of rupees are being received, then lies will surely be propagated in the guise of journal-

ISLAMABAD staff report

ism. this lowly and vile act of imran was an expression of his mindset, who did not hesitate in telling lies habitually about the sacred concept of riyasat-e-madinah, as well as about FatF, corona pandemic, flood, religion, health of political opponents, economy and employment of people. the minister reminded that bodies of tourists were lying under the snow in murree, but bushra bibi did not allow his husband and the then pm to pay a visit to the site, and he chose to go on a tour to the mountains instead. now, it disturbed imran’s stomach watching prime minister shehbaz sharif helping people in their difficulties, she said, adding that “imran must be questioning himself in pain that why does he [shehbaz sharif] go to them, why does he sympathize with them?

pakistan muslim league-nawaz (pml-n) vice president maryam nawaz on sunday urged for the withdrawal of fixed sales tax on commercial power bills. tagging Finance minister miftah ismael in a tweet, she wrote that the trader community was perturbed and complaining about heavy tax imposed on their power bills. she hoped that Finance minister miftah ismael would find a solution to the problem.

in today’s issue

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Pakistan stands in solidarity with people, govt of UAE: PM ISLAMABAD staff report

prime minister muhammad shehbaz sharif on sunday expressed his grief over the loss of precious lives including pakistani nationals in the damages caused by floods in the united arab emirates. taking to his twitter handle on sunday, the prime minister expressed his sympathies and condolences with the bereaved families. “grieved to learn about the loss of precious lives including those of the pakistani nationals, in the damage caused by floods in united arab emirates. my most sincere sympathies, heartfelt condolences are with the bereaved families,” the prime minister posted. the prime minister in a related tweet said that at this difficult time, pakistan stood in solidarity with the people and government of the uae.

he also directed the pakistan embassy in abu dhabi to extend full support to the affected families.

Foreign office spokesperson, in a separate press release, said that the government and people of pakistan extended heartfelt condolences to the government and people of the uae on the damage caused by heavy rains and floods in the emirates, resulting in the loss of precious lives including five pakistani nationals. “We express our deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased and pray for the speediest recovery of those injured. pakistan stands in solidarity with the fraternal people and government of the united arab emirates,” it was added. the spokesperson further informed that the embassy of pakistan in abu dhabi and the consulate general of pakistan in dubai were in contact with the uae government and families of the affected pakistani nationals. the missions had been directed to closely co-

ordinate with the local authorities to extend full support to pakistani nationals affected during the floods. according to media reports, the uae recorded its highest amount of rainfall in 27 years last week, causing damages after flash floods hit its different parts. ras al Khaimah, sharjah and Fujairah, were the worst affected by floods that followed torrential rainfall. according to uae officials, a number of asian expatriates were found dead following recent floods across the country. visit to flood-AffEctEd AREAs of tAnk, di khAn PostPonEd: prime minister muhammad shehbaz sharif’s visit to the flood-affected areas of districts tank and dera ismail Khan on sunday was deferred due to inclement weather. the prime minister was scheduled to visit these flood-hit districts of Khyber pakhtunkhwa to review the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts, pm office media Wing said in a press release.

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Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

PoWeR DIVISIon To Pay RS32.8B To aVeRT PSo DefaUlT ISLAMABAD

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Staff RepoRt

HE Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has directed the Power Division to make immediate payments worth Rs32.8 billion to save PSO from defaulting on international payments.

In this regard, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail presided

over the meeting of the ECC at the Finance Division on Sunday.

According to the details, the Petroleum Division submitted a summary on an SOS call for funds for Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd. (PSOCL) to meet international contractual payments during August 1 and August 14.

It was informed that there has been a decline of 28 per cent and 32pc in the sales of HSD and MS for PSO whereas further

Police bar citizens to Hawkesbay as six youngsters drown in Karachi NEwS DESk Karachi police have asked citizens to refrain from visiting Hawkesbay beach after at least six youngsters have drowned in multiple incidents despite a ban on swimming under section 144. The police have blocked all thoroughfares going towards Hawkesbay as the people engaged in heated argument with the authorities to allow them to visit the seaside. “As per the directives of the commissioner Karachi, a strict ban is being imposed on swimming in the sea under section 144,” they said, adding that they could not allow families to go to the seaside. They said that only those who are employed in the area are allowed to cross the police barricade. “The citizens should act responsibly and avoid coming to Hawkesbay beach,” the police said. It is pertinent to mention here that rescue workers have recovered the bodies of two boys who drowned at Hawks Bay beach on Saturday, while four more reportedly drowned at Turtle Beach. According to the details, rescue workers have recovered the dead bodies of two young boys who drowned near the Sandspit area.

The boys have been identified as 15-year-old Mamoon and 16-year-old Mohsin. Both the boys were residents of North Karachi. The boys had drowned in the sea during a picnic on the beach with their friends. Edhi Rescue services have recovered their bodies and have transferred them to the Civil Hospital Karachi.

Moreover, Edhi rescue officials told that four more boys had drowned in the sea near hut 109 at Turtle Beach.

Two of them were rescued while the one body has been recovered, they added. The dead has been identified as Nihal, who was a resident of Liaquatabad near Sindhi Hotel. Meanwhile, the Cloudy weather disrupted the flights operation at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, delaying a number of flights on Sunday. Flights to and from Lahore, Faisalabad and Madinah have been delayed, causing inconvenience to the passengers who wanted to go their destinations. AirBlue flight from Karachi to Lahore was delayed by three hours at 1:05pm instead of 10:50am.

RIU starts kidney patients treatment referred by BBH

devaluation of the rupee has resulted in an increased cost of procurement of petroleum products.

To ensure the smooth continuity of national oil and gas supply chain and avoiding a default by PSO on international payments, the ECC decided to clear outstanding payments accumulated during the previous government’s tenure and approved an amount of Rs30 billion as a supplementary grant for PSO receivables.

AML chief takes govt to task amid economic crisis ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Sunday launched a broadside at the coalition government for its failure to deal with the economic turmoil, saying friendly countries like China, Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia coming to Pakistan’s aid.

“Despite tall claims of the government’s economic mangers, the IMF’s bailout package did not arrive yet.”

In a tweet the former interior minister claimed that a decision on no-confidence motion that led to former premier and PTI chief Imran Khan’s ouster was taken in London. “The country is stuck in quagmire of crises including economical,” he regretted.

Sh Rashid said that tough conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of the $6 billion bailout package –in particular, the withdrawal of various government subsidies have left the country at a breaking point.

He, however, raised serious questions about the elusive package. He also claimed that “China has serious reservations over the conditions set for acquisition of the US aid”.

Raising alarm, the former minister said “only 45 days’ worth of foreign reserves is remaining”.

Pointing to a possible point of disagreement between the coalition government, Rashid also said that “Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan] have the same stance on the FATA merger”.

Earlier this week, as economic turmoil and depreciating rupee had sent inflation skyward, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa had swung into action, reaching out to Washington to push the IMF to immediately release nearly $1.2 billion Pakistan needs to stave off serious upheaval.

The army chief’s ‘appeals’ to the United States had been in tandem with his discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over measures for the restoration of confidence in the economy.

Health ministry urges Covid-19 precautions at Muharram gatherings ISLAMABAD

RAwALpINDI

Staff RepoRt

newS DeSk

The National Institute of Health (NIH) urged people on Sunday to observe health protocols and practice social distancing during the mourning ceremonies of Ashura, as an official said there had been a surge in coronavirus infections in recent weeks.

“Adherence to [standard operating procedures] is the only way to protect yourself against Covid-19!

Wear Mask, adhere to social distancing and get yourself vaccinated,” the NIH tweeted.

Ashura falls on the 10th day of

Medical Superintendent (MS) Rawalpindi Institute Of Urology (RIU) Dr Tahir Rizvi has said that around four to five patients were being treated on a trial basis daily at the RIU referred by the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH). The MS who has the acting charge of RIU informed that over 97 per cent of work had been completed at the institute, while Out Door Patient Department, Emergency and other departments would hopefully become operational in a week.

Dr Tahir said that RIU has around 30 dialysis machines, and after the completion of the project, the burden on city hospitals for treating kidney patients would be decreased. He said that the provincial government had provided the required funds, and the process of tenders and quotations was in the final stages for the completion of the project.

It was also decided that the Power Division will make immediate payments of current outstanding amounts of Rs20bn by August 1 and Rs12.8bn by August 4.

The ECC also directed the Finance Division and FBR to submit a proposal for the generation of Rs30bn through taxes within a week’s time.

Regarding another summary regarding the price mechanism of petroleum products, the ECC accepted the proposal to use the

the lunar calendar month of Muharram and commemorates the martyrdom in 680 AD of Imam Hussain Ibn Ali near Karbala in what is now Iraq. Shi’ites mark the festival with large public rituals, sometimes involving bloody self-flagellation or cutting to signify a link with the sufferings of Hussain, whose martyrdom symbolises a wider struggle against oppression and tyranny. However, in the absence of restrictions that would normally accompany coronavirus case spikes, the nation is being left to its own devices to plan a Covid-safe Muharram.

The advisory came as Pakistan

reported 661 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of National Health Services said.

The overall tally of the infected people climbed to 1,554,591 across the country with the fresh cases, according to the data released by the ministry.

A total of 30,487 people died of Covid-19 in Pakistan, with one death over the last 24 hours, according to the ministry’s statistics.

On Saturday, 20,080 tests were conducted throughout Pakistan whereas the positivity ratio stood at 3.29 percent.

There are 171 patients who are in critical condition.

Police finalizes security plan for peaceful Muharram, 11500 Policemen on duty NEwS DESk The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police through a comprehensive plan finalizes security and decided to deploy more than 11500 Policemen would perform their duties for a peaceful Muharram Ul Haram, said SSP Operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi while talking to media here on Sunday.

In detail, he said, steps had been taken by the security personnel to ensure a peaceful Muharram Ul Haram all across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sharing the details of the plan, he said, more than eleven and a half thousand police officers and officials would perform security duties.

He said, a total of 62 Imam bargahs and all masajids in the city had been

provided with fool-proof security with a total of 116 large and small processions would be organized for which adequate measures of security had been taken.

Instructions had been issued for uninterrupted funeral processions to Imam Bargahs, etc besides deploying of Bomb Disposal Unit and sniffer dogs checking at inside Imam Bargahs and on the routes of the processions, SSP Operations Kashif Aftab Abbasi said.

“All imam Bargahs, important and sensitive places including sensitive places have been monitored through CCTV cameras and it is decided to check and recheck the CCTV cameras to ensure and avoid any untoward incident, he informed.”

SSP Operations said that the Police had also established a Supreme Command Post at Kohati Gate and that it would be enterlinked with other sub-command posts established at six other different locations within the city. It was also decided and instructions in this connection had been passed on, to provide three-layer security for Majlis, processions and other mourning ceremonies, he added.

“He said, all mourners will be escorted through a three-layer security fence and skilled snipers are posted on all high rise buildings while the process of checking at the entry and exit points of the city is more strict with strict monitoring of people entering the city has already been started.”

Instructions had been issued to the

concerned Policemen to check the data of people staying in inns, guest houses and hotels in the city while closely monitoring them. Monitoring of all Imam Bargahs, processions, congregations and other important and sensitive places is ongoing with around 150 closed circuit cameras have been installed at different places in the city.

Monitoring process started in the Supreme Command Post Kohati Gate, Police Station East, Police Station Khan Raziq Shaheed, Police Station Gharbi and Police Station Gulbahar, he disclosed. He said this year, in the light of renewed security audit, additional personnel have been deployed at gun posts and plugging points with armored vehicles are present at important and sensitive locations.

average exchange rate for the relevant period rather than the exchange rate of the last day for current and future price determinations.

The meeting also directed the Petroleum Division to work out in consultation with OGRA to determine other options of setting up petroleum product prices in addition to directing the Petroleum Division to submit a proposal to regulate the prices of kerosene oil and LDO after consultation with relevant stakeholders within a week.

Toyota SUV now as expensive as upmarket houses LAHORE Daniyal ahmaD

The price of a Toyota Landcruiser now equals the price of a 600 sq. yard house in DHA Islamabad, educating 307 students from KG to matric with TCF, or 800,000 meals at CHHIPA, it was learnt on Sunday. In this regard, Chairman KASB Trade Ali Farid Khawaja pointed out how the rising prices of automobiles is a sign of hyperinflation. Inflation has averaged 14.4% from January to June 2022 with inflation clocking in at 21.3% in June. Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC), the company in question, has introduced four rounds of price increases in 2022. The latest of which came just this week. He said that the current automotive renaissance may be a result of Pakistanis treating automobiles as an asset class to hedge against inflation. Khawaja’s comments are likely to be true on account of two reasons. Profit has already extensively elaborated upon how cars are an asset class in Pakistan. Secondly, FY22 saw an automotive renaissance with the industry seeing growth. However, what is noteworthy are the segments within the automotive sector that grew. Cars, jeeps and SUVs saw a 55 per cent and 49pc increase, respectively. In contrast to this, both the three-wheeler and motorcycle segments contracted. Such statistics are not just indicative of inequality but also of how Pakistanis may be rebalancing their personal asset portfolios. This is because FY22 is also categorised with a collapse of the rupee and double digit inflation. Profit’s report earlier in the year on how on-premiums are being paid for popular automobiles which are also subject to enormous wait times is evidence on how people may have rebalanced their personal portfolios. It is unlikely that car buyers are enamored with vehicles for the purpose of solely driving to this extent. Profit makes this claim because it reported how an automobile that did try to cater customers solely as a vehicle rather than an asset class was punished for doing so.

Power shortfall recedes to 5500MW due to monsoon, vacations LAHORE inp

Power shortfall in the country has receded to 5500 megawatts due to monsoon and vacations, it was learnt on Sunday. According to officials in the Power Division, electricity demand in the country is 27,500 megawatts while the supply is 22,000 megawatts. The electricity quote of LESCO is 4,000 megawatts while the demand is 4200 megawatts. LESCO sources said that loadshedding of 2-4 hours prevails in rural and urban areas of Lahore. Neelum Jehlum and Gaddu Shewal power plants are still not operational. The power shortfall is being caused by a shortage of gas, coal and oil to produce electricity. On July 30, the power shortfall in the country increased to 6,200 megawatts, the demand was 28,600 while the supply lagged at 22,400 megawatts.

According to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) sources, the electricity shortfall in the country has increased to 6,200 megawatts. An average of 4-8 hours of load-shedding prevails in the country, NTDC reported. Powerplants across the country are facing oil and gas shortages, however, the power demand in the LESCO feeder has reduced due to the monsoon season. The shortfall in Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) remained at 300 MW, resulting in three to four hours of loadshedding in the city.

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Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

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CM MURaD oRDeRS RePaIR To PeoPleS BUS SeRVICe RoUTeS kARACHI

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Staff RepoRteR

INDH Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed Transport & Mass Transit Authority to coordinate with local government department to repair roads of all the bus routes of Peoples Bus Service in the city so that their operation could be ensured smooth, proper and to the extent of their entire route.

He issues these directives while presiding over a meeting to discuss and decide the issues of the People Bus Service here at CM House on Sunday. The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, Shahrjeel Memon,

Nasir Shah, Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Commissioner Karachi Iqbal Memon, PSCM Fayaz Jatoi, Secretary LG Najam Shah, Secretary Transport Haleem Shaikh, DIG Traffic, heads of KMTA, KDA, Municipal Commissioner Karachi and other concerned.

The chief minister was told that the first route of the Peoples Bus Service in the city was launched from Malir to Towner on June 27, second route on July 1, 2022 and now more than seven routes were in operation with 250 buses.

It was pointed out that there were various issues on the roads of the seven bus routes. For example, the first route from Model Colony to Tower has a length of 29.5

India arresting Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders, activists on fake charges ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

India is denying space to Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders and activists by arresting them on fake charges and even media men and ordinary Kashmiris are being implicated in fake cases to break their resolve. Illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyat leader, Muhammad Yasin Malik, who has been on hunger strike since July 22 in protest against denial of fair trial to him, shifted back from a hospital to infamous Tihar Jail, said a report released by the KMS, today. It said the RSS-backed Hindutva government has arrested thousands of Kashmiris since 5th August 2019 when Modi-led fascist Indian government repealed Kashmir’s special status and imposed military siege in the territory. The report deplored that the Modi regime was deliberately prolonging illegal detention of the Kashmiris for their political beliefs and shift the detainees from IIOJK to India to pressurize masses and create problems for the detainees’ families. The current arrest spree in IIOJK is a revengefulpolicy to silence the voice of freedom, it said.

Top leadership expresses grief over deaths in Uae floods

km. Its route at Model Colony, Regal Chowk area needs some asphalt works. In the area of Malir halt, FTC, Aram Bagh needs pavement works and sewerage/drainage lines in some areas were damaged.

Similarly, Route-2 starting from North Karachi to Indus Hospital spreads over 32.9 km. Its areas such as Shafiq Mor, Sohrab Goth and Shah Faisal Bridge areas need asphalt work and Gulshan, Shah Faisal areas’ pavements need to be repaired. These areas have damaged sewerage/drainage lines, which also need to be fixed.

The Route-3 from Nagan Chorangi to Singer Chorangi is 33 km. Its areas like Hyderi, National Stadium, Shan Chowrangi roads require asphalt works while FTC

AJK President remembers late Ghazi-e-Millat for his key role in liberation NEwS DESk The Azad Jammu and Kashmir President, Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry, has said that Ghazi-eMillat Sardar Ibrahim was not only the first founding president of Azad Kashmir but also played key role in the liberation struggle that culminated in the shape of Azad Kashmir.

Barrister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry addressing a function on the 19th anniversary of Ghazi-e-Millat Sardar Ibrahim at Kashmir House in Islamabad on Sunday said that the deceased leader became the president of the state soon after the establishment of government in the liberated territory on October 24, 1947. Ghazi-e-Millat, he said, has served the people of Azad Kashmir in different capacities.

The president said when he was prime minister from 1996 to 2001, Ghazi-e-Millat was the president of the state. “I completed a five-year term under his presidency and successfully launched several mega projects in Hydel, Education and other sectors and developed road infrastructure all across the state.”

On the occasion, Barrister renewed his pledge

ISLAMABAD

Staff RepoRt

The president and prime minister on Sunday expressed grief over the death of people after unseasonable downpours triggered flash flooding in the eastern districts of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a series of tweets, Arif Alvi prayed for the bereaved families to bear the loss of their loved ones with fortitude. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of injured people. At least seven people, including five from Pakistan, have been killed in the sheikhdom, authorities said on Friday. “We regret to announce that six people of Asian nationalities have been found dead as a result of the floods,” the interior ministry’s chief of central operations, Ali al-Tunaiji, said.

The ministry later announced the death of a seventh south Asian migrant. Expressing solidarity with the sheikhdom in what he said was a difficult time, the president said Islamabad was also facing a flood-like situation due to monsoon rains. July temperatures in the UAE regularly hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) but its east coast can also be affected by the Indian Ocean monsoon.

When torrential rain falls on sun-baked earth, it can lead to flash flooding. The president also urged the international community to work closely to ward off impacts of the climate change. “At this difficult time, Pakistan stands in solidarity with the people and government of the UAE,” Shehbaz Sharif said. The prime minister said he has “directed the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi to extend full support to the affected families”.

to project and promote Kashmir issue at international level and expose Indian brutalities before the world.

Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor Women University Bagh Dr. Abdul Hameed called on the president, and briefed him about the problems being faced by the university.

Barrister Chaudhary assured his all-possible support and cooperation to the VC, who invited the president to participate in the varsity’s convocation to be held in September this year, and to inaugurate the new buildings of the university.

The 19th death anniversary of the founding President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan observed on Sunday.

In this regard, Quran Khawani and Fateh Khawni were held at his Mazar at Kote Mate Khan in Rawalakot. On the occasion, special prayers were offered for solidarity and integrity of Pakistan, and early liberation of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Seminars were held at all district headquarters to pay tribute to the veteran Kashmiri leader for his services rendered for liberation of Kashmir and development of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Staff RepoRt

Borobudur temple, enlisted by the Guinness World Records as the largest archaeological site of world, is a reflection of cross-cultural similarities between Pakistan and Indonesia. Indonesia has recently unveiled its miniature model at a five-day exhibition at the Lok Virsa which attracted many historians from across the country.

Syeda Shanzay, a student of geography from Punjab University briefly narrated some astounding geographical facts about the Borobudur temple.

“Known as one of the most famous cultural heritage sites across the globe, the temple has an area of 15,129 square meters, 42 meters high with 10 levels, realistic length is more than 1 km, and consisting of 72 stupas. It is located on the island of Java in Indonesia and was built around 800 C.E. by the rulers of the Sailendra Dynasty. The monument is a shrine to the Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage,” she said.

An Indonesian archeologist present at the exhibition while talking to APP said the astonishing history of abandonment of the temple. “The Borobudur temple lay hidden for centuries under layers of volcanic ash and vegetation. The facts behind its abandonment and negligence remain a mystery even today. Several sources have mentioned the abandonment period has occurred between 928

and 1006, when King Mpu Sindok moved to the capital of the Medang Kingdom to the region of East Java after a series of volcanic eruptions. However, whether his movement influenced the abandonment of Borobudur temple is not certain.”

Maheen Mirza, a historian present at the exhibition told APP about the significance of the temple. “Even after its abandonment, the Borobudur temple was not forgotten completely. However, the folk stories gradually shifted its conception from glorious to more superstitious, and people started to relate it with bad luck and misery. Old Javenese chronicles, also known as babad, mention cases of bad luck associated with the monument.

According to the Babad Tanah Jawi (The history of Java), the monument was a fatal factor for Mas Dana, a rebel who revolted against the king of Mataram in 1709. It was mentioned that the Redi Borobudur hill was besieged and the insurgents were defeated and sentenced to death by the king.”

The temple, which mysteriously fell out of use for decades was discovered in the 19th century. Following its capture, Java was under British administration from 1811 to 1816. The appointed governor, who took great interest in the history of Java, used to collect Javanese antiques. On an inspection tour to Semarang in 1814, he was informed about a big monument deep in a nearby jungle. He ordered cutting down the trees in that areas, burning the vegetation and digging the Earth to reveal the monument.

Making a mamoo of the whole province m a niazi I suppose for a lot of people the big change has been the change of the Punjab chief ministership from Hamza Shehbaz to Ch Parvez Elai. But the real change has been the split in the PML(Q), the fault line that has been drawn between Ch Shujaat and Ch Parvez. Though merely first cousins, their closeness was an example for real brothers. But it seems that all good things do come to an end, and Ch Shujaat wrote a letter yelling

such as around Qartar Hospital, Haji Hotel Orangi need to be repaired.

The chief minister directed the transport department to coordinate with the local government department and start all the repair and maintenance work on top priority.

“I want you [both departments] to complete the work within 40 days,” he said.

Peoples Bus Service has become a good facility in the city and it must be maintained properly, the CM said and directed the transport department to establish 250 bus stops within 20 days. “The staff members such as cleaners, conductors and drivers working on the buses must be neat and clean,” he said and added the standard of the bus service must be maintained,” he said.

na-245 by-polls: PTI writes to eCP against MQM-P kARACHI Staff RepoRt

Borobudur Temple reflects Pak-Indonesia cross-cultural similarities

ISLAMABAD

City noteS

bridge, Left Turn to Liaquatabad No. 10 pavements are broken and in the identified areas sewerage lines are also damaged.

Therefore they need to be fixed.

Similar works need to be carried out at Liaquatabad, Lalu Khait, Empress Market, II Chundrigar Road, Jahangir Road, Link Road M-9 of Route 4. Manghopir road, New Karachi, and KMDC to Ziauddin Road, Peoples Chowrangi to Landi Kotal area of Route-5 also need repair and maintenance works.

The roads and pavement of Rourt-6 such as Orangi Town, Paposh Nagar, Garden, Baloch Colony, PIB Colony, Bahadurabad underpass would be repaired.

The roads and sewerage lines of Route -7

PML(Q) MPAs to vote for Hamza Shehbaz, not Pervez.

Cousins can be close, but the later CXh Zahoor Alahi and his brother Ch Manzur Elahi took the bond a step further by arranging watta satta marriages.for their children. Yes, Ch Shujaat’s sister married Ch Pervez, and Ch Pervez’s sister married Ch Shujaat. I would suspect that those two ladies proved the real glue, for it should not be forgotten that they were also first cousins.

The real he-man of the episode appears to be Ch Shujaat. I mean, i cannot imagine, and I’m sure all married men will readily agree, that if my wife’s

brother was a candidate for any office, I could express anything but single-minded and undying support, physical, mental, monetary, whatever.

Ch Shujat is quite a traditional sort of a person, so when Ch Pervex sent his son Moonis to Cjh Shuijaat to get him to record a video message of support, he was not so much sending a cousin’s son, who was part of what is called the sharika, but a sagga bhaanja, a real sister’s son. Ch Shujaat may have found it difficult to refuse him, and I have never seen a mamoo (maternal uncle) refuse a bhaanja, but Ch Shujaat did.

I’ve seen adult uncles rendered almost incapable of talking in front of the demands

The PTI candidate for the by-polls on NA-245 has written a letter to the ECP against the MQM-P candidate claiming he is government resources to manipulate the elections.

According to details Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate, Molvi Mehmood has written a letter to the provincial Election Commissioner claiming the Muatthaida Qoumi Movement (MQM-P) candidate is trying to rig elections using government resources. Molvi Mehmood claimed that the MQM-P candidate is establishing a free medical camp in the constituency to manipulate the polls. The medical camp would be set up in lines area on August 2, he wrote. The camp, set up by Karachi Port Trust, is questionable, the PTI candidate wrote. The activity ahead of the elections is a violation of the elections act, he added. The PTI candidate urged the ECP to take notice of the violation. It is to be noted that the current Minister for Maritime Affairs is MQM-P’s Faisal Subzwari and the current Federal Secretary for Maritime Affairs is Mathar Niaz Rana. The by-polls in the NA-245 constituency of Karachi would be held on August 27. The polls were to be held on July 25 but were postponed due to predictions of heavy rains in the province. The seat had been vacated after the death of PTI MNA Aamir Liaquat Hussain.

Bilawal condemns shelling on party leaders’ jirga in DI Khan DERA ISMAIL kHAN/ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday strongly deplored the police shelling on his party leader’s Jirga in Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) and termed it political victimization by the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). According to a report, the PPP legislator of KP Assembly Ahmad Kundi and Mayor of Paharpur Makhdoom Altaf Hussain Shah held a Jirga of people of three villages to settle a dispute over floodwater drainage in the areas. MPA Ahmad Kundi said the police fired and shelled the Jirga resultantly three people were injured. He said the Jirga has failed due to the incompetence of Dera Ismail Khan DSP Fazlur Rahim who should be suspended immediately. He also demanded that KP Chief Minister Mehmood Khan and IG Police take notice of the incident. The RPO DIK has said that the matter is being investigated. Kundi said a large amount of water from Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Gomal has entered the areas of Tehsil Paharpur that is forcing people to relocate to his constituency.

INCIDENT: Three people were injured in a stampede during a police action to disperse crowd within the limit of Bandkorai Police Station on Sunday. According to sources, the feud erupted between the residents of Kech village and Bandkoari sub town on diverting floodwater to prevent their crops and localities. The people hailing from the villages of Sardarey Wala, Ththa Balochan, and some other localities, agitated against the attempts as they feared the water would destroy their standing crops and infrastructure.

of a toddler nephew. I remember both my maternal uncles with not just reverence but confidence that they would do their damnedest to fulfill my wish. Mr regret is that theory are both no more, and I have no one I can hope will bail me out. Of course, the knowledge that they couldn’t refuse me put me on my honour, making me very careful not to make a request that could cause my mamoo any bother. The last time I troubled a mamoo that way was when I was five. Ch Moonis was more than five when he made an impossible demand from his uncle, and he must go through life knowing that he had been refused by his uncle. As both a bhaanja and a mamoo myself, I can empathize with his plight. A true family drama, to be done justice only in those black-and-white movies they used to make in the 1960s.

Of course, if they had made a movie on this topic, it wouldn’t have centred on a vote of confidence, but on a love triangle, with the nephew wanting to marry the uncle’s daughter. The uncle, meanwhile, would want to marry the daughter to some rich young man, whose loose character would be shown by his drunken participation in a performance by a dancer inevitably named Rosie. I suppose they didn’t make such a film because they didn’t in India, where our writers stole their scripts from. You see, Hindu India abhors cousin marriages. Well, one of the last hits for the big screen, Choorian, contained this situation, with Saima playing the no-confidence vote.

Appropriately, the mamoo was played by Shafqat Cheema. Moonis was played by Momi Rana. In the 1960s, that role would have been essayed by Waheed Murad.

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Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

04 NEWS

UnEmploymEnT raTE in iioJK riSES aBovE 20pc; ninTh TimE SincE aBrogaTion of arTiclE 370

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News Desk

HE unemployment rate in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) rose above 20 percent for the ninth time, since the abrogation of Article 370 of Indian Constitution in August 2019.

According to an official source, the unemployment rate in Kashmir, a month before the August clamp-

down, was about 14.74 percent but drastically rose in the next six months to 21.08 percent. The unemployment rate, according to CMIE, in March 2022 was 25 percent, almost three times the national average for the month, 7.60 percent, and second highest after Haryana’s 26.7 percent.

Unemployment among the educated youth in Jammu Kashmir was 46.3 percent, only behind Kerala

where the number was 47 percent, the source said.

The average annual unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir for 2017 was 12.98 percent, 11.56 percent in 2018, 16.29 percent in 2019, 15.77 percent in 2020, 15.69 percent in 2021 and 17.3 percent so far in 2022.

Talking to APP on Sunday, prominent Human Rights Activist Dr Farzana Bari said that although the

ratio of unemployment increased substantially after the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe; however, its impact on IIOJK was more obvious.

“Since the people of IIOJK have been suffering from exploitation by the Indian state, increase in the unemployment rate is not surprising for me. Protecting the rights of Kashmiri people is a farfetched thing, but Indian state has been the biggest violator of their basic rights”, Dr Bari

observed.

About the Youm-i-Istehsal to be marked on August 05, Dr Bari said that it was the right time to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people and condemn the Indian government’s decision to strip occupied Kashmir’s special status and its continuous atrocities against the residents of the region.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan and the people of

Kashmir, around the world, will be observing ‘Youm-e-Istehsal’ on August 05 (Friday) to mark the third anniversary of India’s abrogation of Article 370 of its constitution, which led to an attempt to illegally annex IIOJK and divide it into two union territories.

The main intent behind observing the occasion in solemnity is to expose Indian atrocities and show solidarity with the people of IIOJK.

Training, career counselling facility key to success Peshawar News Desk

Enrolment of students in schools begins today: Tarakai Peshawar News Desk

Provincial Minister for Education Shahram Khan Tarakai on Saturday said that the admission campaign under the name “Parega to Barega Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” has been started in all the schools of the entire province. He said that regular classes will start in the winter zone schools from August 1, and the admission drive will also continue. Similarly, the admission campaign in summer zone schools will also start from August 1 however, regular classes will start from August 15. In the summer zone, from 1st to 14th August, only school heads and teachers will come to school for the admission campaign, he added. The education minister further said that this year admission will continue in both first and second shift schools together so that the children working in the first shift can also get an opportunity to study. He said that this year the entire admission campaign system will be digitized for which the education department has created an app and complete data of all children would be available online on the dashboard. All the record of the newly admitted students promoted to middle, high and higher secondary level along with complete details would be registered. The education minister said that this year a target of enrolling one million children has been set for which admission campaign will be conducted at every district, tehsil, village council and circle level, adding this year admission campaign, local elders, senior students, parents teachers council members, scouts and school heads will conduct doorto-door admission campaign to enroll children in schools. Regarding educational facilities, the Education Minister said that the schools have free textbooks, excellent educational facilities and competent teachers. The government has fulfilled its responsibility and appealed to the people to fulfill their responsibility by enrolling children in schools.

A five years project focusing on promotion of peace and improved stability in fragile regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through skill training and introduction of sustainable economic opportunities for income generation and livelihood, opened new avenues for thousands towards path of success and stability.

The project titled as `Market and Employment for Peace and Stability (ME4PS)’, was jointly launched by HELVETAS, a Swiss based non-governmental organization, and ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development), a French humanitarian organization.

The target area of the project was Charsadda, Mohmand and Bajaur districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, benefit-

ing thousands of people.

The beneficiaries of the project are mostly youth (male, female including persons with disabilities) who received skill training and counselling about sustainable opportunities for income generation.

The project implementation revolved around three steps including social inclusion for mainstreaming of Persons with Disabilities, Economic Stability by imparting Vocational and Digital Training skills and Business Expansion by educating about new trends of agriculture and trade.

“ME4PS facilitated 7391 farmers and SMEs (23 percent women and 76 percent men) to expand their existing businesses in on and off farm value chain,” informed Syed Nadeem Bukhari, Senior official of HELVETAS. The project introduced improved

technologies to the farmers such as mulch sheets, anti-frost sheets, vertical farming and low cost walk in tunnel.

The farmers and SMEs experienced significant increase in production, income, knowledge and skill, Nadeem added.

Around 322 SMEs (mostly informal economy) were assisted in development of their business. While 277 women and 45 men were supported on cost sharing basis.

“With the support of ME4PS, the SMEs not only generated more income but also created employment opportunities, he added.

Around 78 percent of trained individuals (320 women and 762 men) entered into gainful employment. Of these trained individuals 63 are PWD, Persons with Disabilities, 13 women and 49 men.

604 beneficiaries (9 women and 595

Process of repatriation of IDPs from tribal districts continues News Desk The process of repatriation of IDPs from tribal districts is going on, an official of the Afghan Commissionerate said here Sunday.

Ration allowance of Rs. 8000 per family was being given to returning families, the official confirmed.

He disclosed that 12000 food allowance per family was being given to returnees and 15229 families were registered with PDMA. It was necessary for the family receiving the allowance to be registered and belong to the respective districts and the process of repatriation of IDPs started in 2018, the official said. He disclosed that one time assistance of Rs 35,000 per family was also given to the returnees with non-food items and tents.

He recalled that after 2018, 15229 families got this allowance

News Desk

President Dr Arif Alvi while upholding a decision of the Banking Mohtasib, has directed the United Bank Ltd (UBL) to refund the swindled amount of Rs 5.49 million to a complainant and declared that maladministration on part of the bank had been established.

The president rejected UBL’s representation against Mohtasib’s decision and held that bank had displayed negligence by clearing two stolen cheques bearing forged signatures as established by the bank’s own forensic report.

He regretted that the bank did not follow its own SOPs which clearly mandated a call back for transfer/clearing/remittance for the amount of Rs 500,000 and above, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release on Sunday.

He highlighted that SOPs were

framed for application across the board without giving any discretion or choice to anyone with the underlying objective to avoid the possibility of fraud and fraudulent practices.

The president held that since the bank could not establish incontrovertibly its stance against the complainant, had failed to discharge the burden of proof and statutory liability cast upon it under the law, thus, its representation was devoid of any merit and deserved to be rejected.

While further dilating upon the representation, the president pointed out that the cheques in dispute bore no stamp or narration required to be affixed on the back of the two cheques as required by the said SOPs. He wrote that there was negligence on part of the bank in matching the signatures on stolen cheques against the admitted signatures of the complainant as per bank’s record, adding this fact was

Balochistan facing serious situation due to heavy rains, floods: Senator Samina News Desk

and 6995 families got this allowance after confirmation by NADRA while 7985 families of the Madakhil tribe returned from Afghanistan for which a governance desk had been estab-

lished at Bakakhel. He said a regular campaign was also conducted in Bakakhel regarding the return of IDPs and 6695 IDPs families returned from Bakakhel Point.

President directs UBL to reimburse Rs5.49m to defrauded customer IsLaMaBaD

men including 32 PWD) employed in 597 businesses in 21 different trades.

While 478 beneficiaries (women 311 including 13 PWD and 167 men including 17 PWDs) are self-employed, Nadeem continued.

Sharing some success stories of the project, Nadeem gave example of Berhaman, a physically disabled lady from far off village of Bajaur who was living a very abysmal life with feeling of depression and anxious due to poverty, is now living an honorable life through earning as dress maker in her locality.

For the first visit of Berhaman to ME4PS office, She was piggy backed by her brother for several kilometers from her home to the road and after a few months learning the skills of dress making cloth cutting, sewing and stitching, the lady has become a source of inspiration for peer in the village.

very tangible, obvious and sufficient for the bank to settle the claim in favour of the complainant.

He said that the forged cheques were

a nullity and the customer’s account could not be debited on the basis of such cheques.

As per details, Feroze Khan (the complainant) was swindled out of his money when cheques were stolen from his office and Rs 5.49 million were debited from his account by the bank without any callback confirmation from UBL, as mandated by law and its own SOPs regarding the clearance of cheques for amounts of Rs 500,000 and above.

The complainant had filed a complaint with the Bank for seeking a refund of his lost money but without any result.

Subsequently, he approached the Banking Mohtasib (BM) for retrieval of his swindled money, which passed the orders in his favour.

The bank, however, did not comply with BM’s decision and filed a representation with the president, which was also rejected in favour of Feroze Khan.

Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri on Sunday said it was the first priority of the government to control the situation caused by recent heavy rains and floods in Balochistan as soon as possible. In a statement, she expressed her sorrow over losses of lives in recent monsoon rain. She said that due to the recent heavy spell, the people have suffered a lot due to loss of life and property. She said that the provincial government would not leave the people alone in this difficult time. She said that the loss of precious human lives due to the rains and the coming floods in the inner province, including the provincial capital Quetta, the property and livestock have also been washed away in the water, standing crops have been destroyed while the infrastructure has also been severely damaged. She said that emergency steps were being taken to provide all possible relief and assistance to the people so that the problems of the people could be resolved.

She said that under the leadership of Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, his team was continuing the relief activities in the affected areas day and night and all government missionaries and resources were being utilized in this regard. She appealed to support the people, the government institutions, the Pakistan Army and Navy during rescue and relief operations. She said that Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo visited the areas severely affected by rains and floods and assured the victims of immediate relief and rehabilitation. Senator Samina Mumtaz Zahri said that all our focus was on providing relief to the victims as soon as possible.

Along with this, the government is also assessing the losses of precious lives, crops and livestock and after the analysis, their losses will be remedied, she added. Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri said that the destroyed communication links were being restored on war footing and all the resources were being used for the rehabilitation of the victims. In Balochistan, the rescue and rehabilitation work has been accelerated as soon as possible in the rain-affected districts, and in this regard, PDMA district administration and other organizations are playing their role for the rescue and treatment of the victims, she noted. She said that Pakistan Army and Navy troops were also helping the civil administration in the affected areas, which was commendable. She said that soldiers of the Pakistan Army were transporting the people trapped in the flood to safe places through helicopters, while food and medical aid were also being provided to the affected population.

Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS Miftah foresees pressure on rupee easing within 2 weeks continued from page 01 Currently, the government is fully focused on increasing domestic exports, which will be given full attention in the next three months. We are trying our level best to build the economy in the right direction in which we are getting success to a great extent.”

Moreover, the finance minister also remarked that one last remaining condition of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release the loan tranche would be fulfilled by Monday morning, however, he did not mention which one. Earlier on Friday, the rupee gained 57 paisa or 0.24pc to close at 239.37 after a two-week losing streak against the dollar, taking its fall for 2022 to 35pc. It has depreciated around 5pc this week. Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan have fallen by $7.811 billion since February to $8.575 billion in July, enough to pay around six weeks of imports.

Bushra Bibi’s bid to link opponents to treason exposed: Marriyum continued from page 01 She recalled that Hazara community had been awaiting Imran Khan with bodies of their loved ones lying on road while he, instead of consoling them, accused them of blackmailing him. Naeemul Haque and many of his closest friends died, but Imran was not allowed to attend their funerals, she said. Marriyum Aurangzeb said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had the worst floods and dengue outbreak, but shameless and insensitive Imran paid no attention and continued playing Ludo in the Chief Minister House. Instead of helping flood victims in KP, Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab, Imran and Bushra were busy with editing and fabricating the video of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which the minister said was highly lamentable. Criticizing Imran Khan, she said he was the one who needed camera, action and ARY’s light, not Shehbaz Sharif.

Senior JournaliSt Death ConDoleD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday expressed deep grief and sorrow over the death of senior journalist Akhtar Baloch.

In a statement, the minister said she was saddened to hear the news of Akhtar Baloch death. Akhtar Baloch services in the field of journalism would always be remembered, she remarked. She prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear this loss with fortitude.

Rain lashes parts of twin cities on Sunday

BuSineSSMen uRge poliTical paRTieS To SiT TogeTheR foR counTRy’S econoMy

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news desk

HE business community Sunday urged the top leadership of all mainstream political parties to sit together brushing aside differences to evolve a viable strategy to steer the country out of current worrisome economic crunch plaguing the industry.

Talking to a delegation of industrialists and traders led by President Pakistan Furniture Importers Association Mian Faryad Ahmad Raza, the Coordinator to Federal Tax Ombudsman and Minister of State Meher Kashif Younis said the deepening political turmoil is one of the major factor responsible for economic instability as depreciation is taking heavy tool on stock investors,currency markets crying out

for dollars amid liquidity crunch and recording the highest ever weekly inflation spike.

He said due to domestic political upheaval,a surging current account deficit amid depleting dollar inflows from multinational and bilateral lenders as well as shrinking foreign investments have brought the foreign exchange reserves and rupees under enormous pressure over the last several months ,stoked rapid inflation,forced the State Bank to boost borrowing costs to a multi year high and eroded investors confidence in the country.He said its admitted fact worldwide that political stability is pre-requisite for sustainable sound economy that’s also promise survival of the country.

Meher Kashif Younis said Pakistan’s current account deficit has

surged to $17.4bln equivalent to 4.6pc the size of economy during the last fiscal year on the rising trade deficit,in spite of multiple actions taken by the government and the SBP since last quarters of 2021 to restrict imports.He said the growth in exports and remittances of expats did somewhat help narrow the yawning gap but elevated global commodity and oil prices meant that Pakistan would spend more on its energy and other imports that doubled oil import bill to $2.9bn in June from $1.4bn in May. Meher Kashif Younis said with the hope IMF releasing funds soon thus unlocking additional financing from other multilateral and bilateral creditors,Pakistan’s external sectors may likely perk up in the short term. However,in pre-

AJK PM forms committee to hold talks with protesting APPRF news desk Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Sardar Tanvir Ilyas Khan has said that a high-level committee headed by Minister of Law and Tourism Sardar Faheem Rabbani has been formed to negotiate with All Parties People’s Rights Forum (APPRF) at Rawalakot to settle the issues amicably.

The PM, during a meeting with cabinet ministers, legislators and party leaders here on Saturday, said that a six-member committee comprising of Education Minister Schools Diwan Ali Chughtai, Higher Education Minister Malik Zafar, Minister of Energy & Water Resource Chaudhry Arshad and former assembly candidates Sardar Nayyar Ayub and Sardar Arzish had been tasked to hold talks with the APPRF to discuss in detail the issues and demands of the forum.

While terming the PTI government as the guardian of public interests, the PM said: “Govern-

ment is committed to resolve the problems being faced by people on priority basis. The government would leave no stone unturned in solving public problems.”

He said that the government was ready to remove the ambiguity being created by some vested interests regarding the 15th Constitutional Amendment and the Tourism Act . The public, he said, was being misled by feeding wrong and baseless information.

The PTI government, he said, would not take or accept any decision contrary to Kashmir’ national interests, the unity and identity of the state and the freedom movement. “The corrupt elements will not be allowed to foment trouble in the liberated territory”, the PM added.

On the occasion, Deputy Speaker Chaudhry Riaz Gujjar, ministers including Diwan Ali Chaghatai, Sardar Faheem Rabbani, Chaudhry Maqbool Gujjar, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim, MLA Javed Butt, PTI General Secretary and Chairman Implementation Commission Raja Mansoor, Secretary Information Ershad Mahmud and other officials were also present.

news desk Rain-wind/thundershower lashed different parts of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Sunday due to the penetration of monsoon currents in the upper and central parts of the country.

The rain from moderate to heavy intensity started in the afternoon after 4:00 pm and continued with gaps in isolated parts of the cities till evening.

The met office has forecast more rainwind/thundershower for Kashmir, upper/central Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, north Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Isolated heavy falls are also expected in Northeastern Punjab. Heavy rains may generate urban flooding and flash flooding in local Nullahs of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Kasur, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Dir, Swat, Peshawar, Mardan, Malakand, Bajaur, Lakki Marwat, Kohat, Bannu, Tank during the period. Rainfall may trigger landslides in Kashmir, Galiyat, Murree, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Chillas, Diamir, Gilgit, Hunza, Astore and Skardu during the forecast period.

Travelers and tourists are advised to remain more cautious during the forecast period.

05

Rehmani urges UNHRC to take notice of Malik’s poor health condition The Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League, Muhammad Farooq Rehmani has urged the United Nations Human Rights Council and other concerned groups and institutions to take cognizance of deteriorating health condition of Hurriyat leader Muhammad Yasin Malik in Tihar jail, who is on hunger strike since July 22.

Muhammad Yasin Malik had announced the hunger strike till death to push for legal demands such as fair trial and physical presence during court hearings, Kashmir Media Service reported.

Muhammad Farooq Rehmani in a statement in Islamabad supported Yasin Malik’s demand for fair trial and stated that the UN Council of Human Rights should take measures to impress upon the Indian government to take a humanitarian and broader view of the situation

in Kashmir caused by harrowing trials and judgments outside Kashmir against the Kashmiri leaders.

He said the political atmosphere created by fanatical propaganda of the BJP agencies around and in the jail premises is venomous against the Kashmiri leadership. Under the given circumstances Muhammad Yasin Malik’s mother and sisters rightly have apprehensions to visit Delhi to motivate him about discontinuing the hunger strike, he added.

Farooq Rehmani said that Muhammad Yasin Malik’s questions had a weight and the UNCIP should also play role to save his life and it must be remembered that the long drawn question of Jammu and Kashmir and fake trials must not be so randomly handled by religious prejudicial approach of the Indian government. News Desk

vailing scenario,it’s not permanent solution what’s we need is uninterrupted consistency in our economic policies irrespective change of government.

He feared that it will be unfortunate if the top political leaders don’t shrink differences and come on one page saving fragile economy from total collapse in the larger national interests and fails to address structural impediments to exports and FDI because of the grave political instability being witnessed at the moment, he added.

He suggested that complete ban should continue on all luxury and other items manufacturered in Pakistan and also made an impassioned appeal especially to government and people particularly switching over simple life by strictly observing austerity in line with cardinal teachings of Islam.

Tribute paid to Miraj Muhammad Khan A gathering of political, social and labor representatives was held at Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi on the occasion of the sixth death anniversary of the well-known socialist leader Miraj Muhammad Khan.

Nasir Mansoor, General Secretary, National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan, conducted the organizing duties of this commemorative gathering, Justice (R) Rashid A. Rizvi presided over it, while Khaqan Muhammad Khan, son of late revolutionary leader and leader of People’s Party, Akram Qaim Khani, who came from England, also participated.

Left wing political actvists, jounalists, lawyers, labour representatives and friends of MMK were among those who spoke on the occasion including Karamat Ali, Mujahid Barelvi, Mazhar Abbas, Dr. Tauseef Ahmad, Mahnaz Rehman, Habibuddin Junaidi, Zahra Khan, Azhar Jameel, Qazi Khizr, Anees Zaidi, Manzoor Razi Hussamuddin , Mumtaz Haider, Jafarul Hasan, Khaqan Ali Mirza , Khalil Qureshi, Comrade Rashid Memon, Dr Asghar Dashti, Comrade Wahid Baloch and other. Young vocalist Shehryar also presented revolutionary songs in memory of the revolutionary leader. The speakers paid rich tribute to the struggle of one of great revolutionary leaders of our time and said that Miraj Muhammad Khan had played most prominent role in socialist and democratic movements in Pakistan. Khan fought tirelessly against the imperialist domination, feudal and capitalist system and the all military dictatorships imposed on the country. He remained a metaphor for the struggle for the rights of workers, peasants, oppressed and downtrodden sections of the society. He accepted Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s opposition for the sake of democratic and pro working class ideals, even though Bhutto used to declare him as his successor. At a time when he was under arrest, military dictator General Zia offered him all kinds of support for the anti-Bhutto movement and the politics of ethnic division in Sindh which he rejected unanimously. He raised his voice for the end of dictatorship and the restoration of democracy and the constitution when prominent leaders raised the slogan of first accountability then election in Bhutto hostility and many of them even became ministers in the Zia dictator’s government.

Comrade Meraj Muhammad Khan also termed the ongoing bloodshed and interference in internal affairs of Afghanistan on dictates of imperial powers as dangerous for the region, especially Pakistan, and warned that the fire of religious extremism and terrorism spread in Afghanistan would one day engulf Pakistan as well which time proved to be true. News Desk

VC AIOU represents Pakistan at high-level conference in Malaysia news desk Vice Chancellor, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum represented Pakistan in the high-level round table conference of Vice Chancellors and Senior officials of Open Distance Learning (ODL) institutions of South Asia held in Penang, Malaysia.

This was organized by Asia e University and Commonwealth of Learning (COL). The President/CEO of Commonwealth of Learning, Prof. Dr. Asha Kanwar presided over the conference, while the President/Founder of Asia e University, Prof. Dato’ Dr. Ansari conducted the conference, said a news release issued here.

VC, AIOU, Prof. Dr. Zia Ul-Qayyum, while talking about digitization of the university, e-Assessment and Quality Assurance, said that Allama Iqbal Open University has digitized the educational system, due to which educational activities continued even in Covid-19.

He said that with digitalization we have now expanded our educational services to the entire world and Pakistani and international students residing in any country around the world can easily take admission in AIOU. He added that in the last semester, students from many countries including America, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, China, Turkey, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman got ad-

missions in various programs of AIOU. Dr. Zia said that we are paying special attention to e-Assessment for quality assurance on all levels even as we have given special attention to quality learning in educational activities during Covid-19.

Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Zia Ul Qayyum expressed his desire for educational collaboration in meetings with the Vice Chancellors of other open universities in the region.

Innovations during the COVID-19, New Higher Education Paradigm, SGD and role of Universities, Education Technology for Quality Education, New thinking in Graduate Employability, Leaving no one Behind, Future Proofing our Universities were the key topics addressed and discussed by the speakers.

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Monday, 1 August, 2022

06 COMMENT

High debt sustainability vulnerabilities

Pressure on the CEC The threat to send a reference against the CEC is a logical culmination. Or is it?

Pakistan too is at risk

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tI chief Imran Khan has threatened to send a reference to the Supreme Judicial Council for his removal. While at one level, it is upping the ante in his campaign against the Chief election Commissioner, it is perhaps the only logical outcome of a campaign against Mr Sikander Sultan raja which began even while he held office, as a spate of bye-elections in Punjab showed that the election Commission was not ready to wink at official attempts to influence the results. It seems that even the recent Punjab by-elections, which the PtI won handily, and which enabled it to have its nominee Ch Pervaiz elahi elected Punjab CM, have not mollified Mr Khan, who not only wants fresh elections, but some other CeC. Does Mr Khan assume that some favourable decisions by the Supreme Court, most noticeable in the Punjab Assembly case, means that he can get the Supreme Judicial Council to agree with him, and get the CeC removed.

Perhaps some of Mr Khan’s rage has to do with the foreign funding case before the election Commission, with the hearings of the case complete, after all the delays demanded by the PtI, and now only the decision to be announced, after it had been reserved at the conclusion of arguments. Not only has the PDM been vociferously demanding an announcement, but the recent report in a British newspaper about how Artif Naqvi, the Abraaj Group founder, used one of his companies to send the PtI money from abroad, has increased the pressure to announce the verdict. Mr Khan did not give the newspaper his comments despite being asked, so this pressure on the CeC is possibly his way of pressuring the CeC not to be stampeded into announcing a verdict anytime soon.

Why does Mr Khan feel the need to go after the CeC in this way? Not just because he does not want him to preside as the coming election, but because he fears the foreign funding case verdict. Not only does he fear that it will find the PtI guilty of obtaining money from Israel and India, among other foreign sources. It might even oust not just the PtI, but Mr Khan himself, from electoral politics. It is to be expected that the CeC and the rest of the Commission will not be deflected by any threats, particularly those lying in an indeterminate future, rom doing justice expeditiously, which includes ensuring that political entities obey the law.

Dr Omer JaveD ‘A tentative recovery in 2021 has been followed by increasingly gloomy developments in 2022 as risks began to materialize. Global output contracted in the second quarter of this year, owing to downturns in China and russia, while US consumer spending undershot expectations. Several shocks have hit a world economy already weakened by the pandemic: higher-than-expected inflation worldwide– especially in the USA and major european economies– triggering tighter financial conditions; a worse-than-anticipated slowdown in China, reflecting covid-19 outbreaks and lockdowns; and further negative spillovers from the war in Ukraine. the baseline forecast is for growth to slow from 6.1 percent last year to 3.2 percent in 2022, 0.4 percentage point lower than in the April 2022 World economic Outlook.’ – excerpt from July 2022 update of IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO)

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He title of IMf’s July 2022 update of WeO ‘gloomy and more uncertain’ for the global economy is indeed apt, since many countries in the advanced economies are likely to enter recession in the coming months, a number of developing countries are already facing serious debt sustainability concerns, including Pakistan, while Sri Lanka and Zambia have already defaulted.

Some of the main reasons for this heightened debt default risk in many developing countries include, among other reasons, lack of meaningful debt moratoria/relief received, inadequate level of provision of IMf’s special drawing rights (SDrs) both in

Talking to the TTP One Pakistani delegation is succeeded by another, but no end is in sight

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ArDLy had the tehrik taliban Pakistan (ttP)negotiators seen off the eight-member ulema delegation led by Mufti taqi Usmani, that they prepared to receive a 17-member delegation of parliamentarians and tribal elders, headed by Barrister Muhamad Ali Saif. though it has been claimed by Mufti Usmani that the ttP negotiators had agreed that the Pakistani constitution did not contain anything unIslamic. He is further said to have pointed out that even if there was, that was no justification for taking up arms against the Pakistani state.

It seems that the ultimate goal, which is a peace agreement and a grand surrender ceremony, is still some way off, even though the ttP have agreed to continue the temporary ceasefire that is presently in place. the ttP has indicated that it has not conceded on any of its demands, not even on the issue of accepting the Constitution. the objection it has to the tribal Areas forming, as they do now, part of the settled areas, probably cannot be reversed now, as that would require a constitutional amendment.

However, a glaring omission from the negotiating process is the input that should be coming from Parliament. the attempt by the powers that be to treat the matter as one involving only the military, because the ttP was primarily fighting it, is counter-productive, for it means that the elected representatives of the people are excluded from a process of which they must take ownership. While the KP delegation led by Barrister Saif, who is an SACM, might find it easy to communicate with the ttP, the danger of the appearance of the KP conducting its own foreign policy must be avoided. So far, the ttP have proved tough and wily negotiators. No advantage must be conceded to them, especially one which might be inadvertent.

The Punjab by-elections sent a clear message

attiya munawer

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fter the defeat of the PML(N) in the Punjab by-elections, the shadow of political uncertainty in the country is getting deeper instead of diminishing. Questions are also being raised on the survival of the coalition government of 11 parties in the federation even as the change of Hamza Shehbaz’s government in Punjab seemed inevitable. the PtI leadership is increasing pressure on the federal government to hold general elections before time, while the PML(N) and the PPP rejected this demand and bluntly announced that the current National Assembly would complete its constitutional term, the government would remain in place and general elections be held in the middle of next year. It is currently dif-

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oping countries, but will have strong negative economic ripple effects globally. It is important to indicate that the private sector is also included in the debt restructuring process, given the significant proportion of private debt in the portfolio of many developing countries.

In a recent interview to Democracy Now media channel, renowned economist, Jayati Ghosh called for an urgent need to formulate a debt restructuring body at the global level.

She pointed out in this regard ‘Now, debt restructuring, that is reducing the debt, writing-off a part of the debt is something that happens regularly in all credit markets… this is not being done for sovereigns. …right now what you need to do is have a global system for debt restructuring, and force a debt write-off. …enforce a significant debt relief that involves cutting down of the absolute values of debt. It was done for Germany in the 1950s. for some reason it can’t be done to developing countries today. …the most obvious solution is to have some kind of a global debt authority that will buy up distressed debt.’ the debt sustainability situation is really difficult for many developing countries, and a recent Guardian-published article by Jayati Ghosh pointed out in this regard ‘there is a global debt crisis coming – and it won’t stop at Sri Lanka’ as ‘…it is clear that Sri Lanka is not alone; if anything, it’s just a harbinger of a coming storm of debt distress in what economists call the “emerging markets”. … the half-hearted attempts at debt relief, such as the moratorium on debt servicing in the first part of the pandemic, only postponed the problem. there has been no meaningful debt restructuring at all. the IMf bewails the situation and does almost nothing, and both it and World Bank add to the problem through their own rigid insistence on repayments and the appalling system of surcharges imposed by the IMf. the G7 and “international community” have been missing in action, which is deeply irresponsible given the scale of the problem and their role in creating it. … contagion is all too likely, and it will affect not just economies that are already experiencing difficulties, but a much wider range of LMICs that will face real difficulties in servicing their debts. Lebanon, Suriname and Zambia are already in formal default; Belarus is on the brink; and egypt, Ghana and tunisia are in severe debt distress.’

The writer holds PhD in Economics degree from the University of Barcelona, and previously worked at International Monetary Fund.Prior to this, he did MSc. in Economics from the University of York (United Kingdom), and worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs & Statistics (Pakistan), among other places. He is author of Springer published book (2016) ‘The economic impact of International Monetary Fund programmes: institutional quality, macroeconomic stabilization and economic growth’.He tweets @omerjaved7

Shadows of uncertainty on the political horizon

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

terms of fresh allocation after last August, and relocation of SDrs from last August that mostly went to already rich countries, and a tight monetary policy stance in developed countries leading to significant capital flight from developing countries, weakening of domestic currency and adding to already difficult debt burden in many developing countries, including Pakistan.

Moreover, global commodity supply shock significantly contributed to high imported inflation, in turn putting all the more burden on developing countries, on top of the recession-causing pandemic, along with greater health expenditure, and stimulus needs, and all contributed to fast depletion of foreign exchange reserves in many developing countries.

While many developing countries also raised interest rates to curtail inflation, economic instability during the pandemic, and lack of financial support by rich, advanced countries, and multilaterals, contributed to political instability in many developing countries, including Pakistan, which meant that even at higher interest rates, downgrading of economy outlook ratings, meant that many developing countries saw capital outflows to more secure environments like the USA. A recent Economist-published article ‘the 53 fragile emerging economies’ indicated that more than 50 developing countries are already in a very vulnerable economic situation, including those that are facing challenging debt sustainability situations, and include Pakistan as one of those countries facing serious default concerns the article pointed out in this regard ‘And fed policy has not been this hawkish for some time. the federal-funds rate is expected to approach 3.5% by the end of this year… the emerging world has thus experienced net capital outflows every month since March, according to the Institute of International finance, an industry group. the dollar has risen by over 12% against a basket of currencies since the start of the year, and is up by far more against many emerging-market currencies. …Among 73 low-income countries eligible for debt relief under a G20 initiative, eight carry public-debt loads which the imf has deemed to be unsustainable, and another 30 are at high risk of falling into such a situation. …then there are the troubled middle-income economies in the mould of Sri Lanka… Overall, 15 countries are either in default or have sovereign bonds trading at distressed levels. they include egypt, el Salvador, Pakistan and tunisia.’

It is, therefore, important that while developing countries take steps to improve their exports, to increase their foreign exchange reserves, in the shortterm it is highly important that rich, advanced countries and multilaterals should come together, for both better financial support for developing countries, and for carrying out meaningful debt restructuring, and that this takes place to avoid scores of developing countries defaulting on their debt, which will not only be catastrophic for these devel-

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ficult to say anything with certainty about what the outcome of the power struggle will be, as the shadows of uncertainty on the political horizon are increasing instead of diminishing. there is no doubt that the allies were demanding general elections before coming to power. from Maulana fazal-ur-rehman to Bilawal Bhutto and Mian Shehbaz Sharif, they had assured the nation that after depriving Imran Khan of power, at most within two months general election would be held and the people given the opportunity to choose their representatives with their free opinion, but as soon as they assumed power, they started making announcements about ruling till August next year. the public took it as an insult and believed in the claim that the coalition came not to end inflation and hold new elections, but to save their theft and fulfill the American agenda. the PtI narrative is proved by the coalition government, which after coming to power preferred to amend the accountability and election laws instead of solving public problems and by following the conditions of the IMf, the people’s lives have been made a torment but now the people are not so forgetful anymore.

People know everything and are seeing how their own agenda is being worked on and because of this, the ruling coalition has faced a terrible defeat in the elections and to hide its failure, the PML(N) has made an excuse for the lack of mobilization of the workers while the non-cooperation of the allied parties is suspected and sometimes it is said that they had to lose in the elections due to the lack of their representatives while the PML(N) fielded its long-standing and strong candidates in Lahore and Dera Ghazi Khan constituencies and have seen that both have faced defeat.

It is a fact that the people have become dissatisfied with the coalition government within three months. Seeing the public mood, the PML(N) leadership had considered the reasons for the defeat but till now the election results have not been considered

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nor the dangers of political and economic instability are being realized in the country, as after the establishment of the government of Chaudhry Pervez elahi in Punjab, the grip of the federal government headed by Shehbaz Sharif on political and economic matters will be further weakened. there will be a further increase in political crisis and the fear of default will be high, however, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, Mian Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana fazal-ur-rehman are stubborn about completing the government term and not holding new elections on the demand of Imran Khan. Although this is not Imran Khan’s, it is the demand of the people and national stability that requires that the state should be saved, not politics; but the leaders of the nation are busy protecting their political interests instead of saving the state.

All the claims of the coalition government have been put to rest. the coalition government has not been able to give anything to the people in its three months nor has it been able to handle the country’s economy. every other day, the value of the rupee is depreciating and inflation is increasing. even after losing the elections badly, the coalition claims that they are popular among the people and will win again.

In our country, it does not take long to change politics but this time a new color is being seen in politics. If Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had taught a Pakistani public to speak with political consciousness then Imran Khan has shown the way to bring about change through the ballot box with the common man is perseverance. the coalition government is nervous inside after the public change, but apparently no panic is manifested. the end of this political instability and uncertainty is possible only by holding new elections, the government can get out of the political confusion and uncertainty by announcing the elections as soon as possible, otherwise everything will sink under the shadow of deep uncertainty on the political horizon and then nothing will come to anyone’s hands.

The writer tweets @AttiyaMunawer

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

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Monday, 1 August, 2022

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

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Dumping ground

Narrative building is the only key to winning voters The PML (N) has no media strategy

a Letter from Prometheus agha iqrar harOOn

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fter the party-heads meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in Islamabad, PDM President Maulayna fazal-ur-rehman appeared on the rostrum for the media briefing along with PML(N) leader Maryum Nawaz Sharif. Journalists present in the briefing knew the briefing would be a firecracker. When the PDM president invited her for comments, she first rapped on microphones placed in front of her and asked people whether they could hear her voice or not I believe her gesture was not unfounded and was deeply sarcastic because her voice was disrupted on the electronic media just days before when she, the Maulana, and PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto were addressing the multiparty heads’ press conference inside the Prime Minister Secretariat. television channels, including the state-run television, had disruptive transmission due to “technical fault” and that day there were no backup systems available with television crews to overcome and bypass the “technical fault”.

Maryum Nawaz knows her father and Supreme Leader of the party former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif cannot appear on any television screen though there is a PML(N) government in the center and PeMrA is a federal media regulatory body. However, she could not predict that her voice could face the same fate.

Islamabad is hotter in August than it was in May this year, and the heat is building up after the three-member bench of the Supreme Court announced its verdict in the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker’s Case. the verdict triggered the political situation and Maryum Nawaz Sharif twitted “the government MUSt take a firm stand and rise to the occasion. “Rise to the occasion or fall to the status quo. Leaders are made by the situations they are confronted with”, she commented.

Her comments are enough to understand what kind of circumstances the PML(N)-led coalitionsis facing in Islamabad. Her comments indicate that the Shehbaz government seems fragile and one can easily understand how much bureaucracy would take a government seriously that is losing everything every passing day. the majority of political experts is of the view that the coalition has failed to counter the PtI media campaign and the government’s social as well as electronic media strategy is wretched. I disagree that the PML(N)’s media strategy has failed because I think the government has had no media policy at all. I believe the PML(N) will surely have a successful strategy once it decides to have one.

traditional political parties give no priority to the media and trust their vote bank. for them, fake twitter handles cannot change the destiny of Pakistani politics, and the real vote matters on the polling day. On the other hand, we find the media team installed by former Information Minister Information fawad Chudhry still intact. this can be one reason the coalition seems to be struggling in creating any anti-PtI narrative. However, PML(N) circles believe that the party now has got an opportunity after the SC decision in the Punjab Assembly case, and the narrative would be “Ladla (pampered boy) gets whatever he wishes”.

We remember the ruling alliance boycotted proceedings on the day SC announced its verdict on the writ petition of Ch Pervaiz elahi against the Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker’s ruling. the boycott was an expression of no-confidence over the three-membered Bench but it was too late to give such expression. the multiparty government should have expressed its “no-trust” over the Bench when it was announced, and the PML(N) should have not appeared before the Bench, instead of raising concerns after the verdict was announced A number of law experts are of the view that the PML(N) could have categorically refused to accept the Bench at the outset and would have the legal opportunity of not appearing before the Bench.

We remember former CM Punjab Hamza Shahbaz was made “trustee Chief Minister” by the Bench on the day it started hearing. everybody knows there is no provision in the Constitution, establishment Code, or rules of Business for making someone a “trustee CM”.

However, PML(N) lawyers did not object to the Bench when it coined a new diction for Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. We can see that new dictions, new rules, and innovative explanations of the Constitution are bringing nothing but chaos upon chaos. Judges say they are sitting to give verdicts with the help of their conscience while politicians like farhatullah Babar are of the view that verdicts should be rooted in the Constitution. Babar said in his twitter message that Conscience is an acknowledged driving force and is deeply appreciated also but it varies from person to person.

Pakistan has been facing a situation where its Constitution is the centre of attention but not the centre of gravity. the situation has become so intense that I have started believing that Pakistan needs a fluid Constitution that can automatically keep changing its format according to Court verdicts and Court observations to avoid an unusual situation as we see with every passing day, and whenever there is a political crisis we find new dictions to move forward with innovations and there is always a political crisis in Pakistan so we always move forward with innovations.

Under the clouds of conspiracy theories, the PDM has decided that the current Assembly would complete its tenure and the government would not dissolve National Assembly as desired by PtI Chairman Imran Khan.

I strongly believe that parliamentarians must not bow down against the unconstitutional de-

mands of anybody and not be bullied by anyone.

Nevertheless, there are several issues the multiparty government must address if it really wants to survive till the expiry of the constitutional tenure of the National Assembly. the PML(N) faces a number of challenges, including a frail legal team, docile decision-making, puny media management, and an administrative hierarchy installed by Imran. the PML(N) looks shy to execute large-scale transfers and postings of bureaucrats while fearing that courts would intervene as they did when the PML(N) announced transfers and postings in law enforcement agencies after coming into power.

On the propaganda scene, the multiparty government is facing miserable defeats. We are yet to know what catchline the multiparty media campaign will have to counter the information war it is facing. right now it looks like there is virtually no match between the PtI media brigade with what the PML(N)-led government offers. Propagation strategy cannot be run while mostly depending upon 15-plus television anchors and many of them are influencing official media strategy also.

PtI has different media brigades including anchor brigades, female vlogger brigades, female anchor brigades, you-tuber brigade, blogger brigade, etc.

Can PMLN contest with the PtI slur brigade or the PtI memes brigade? this is another important question that needs to be answered by PML(N) media managers. the PDM leadership, after the defeat in the Punjab by-elections, should review its strategy and should accept the reality that time is short for its survival and sitting like a duck for long will end with a headshot and then the game will be over. the PML(N) lost its stronghold (Punjab) to the PtI in the 2018 elections, JUI lost its political Vatican (KPK) to the PtI years ago and now the PPP must understand its Sindh is the next PtI target. Anti-PtI political parties should forget theories of hard or soft intervention or judicial coup and must tailor a strategy that can make them inevitable in the political system before they are virtually thrown away from the political scene.

Veteran politicians are yet to understand that the media management of PtI and its narrativebuilding techniques made this party inevitable for circles who decide the fate of politicians. It is still hard to believe for old guards that Pakistani youth will run all forthcoming elections and old guards must have some narrative to offer to the youth. Gone are the days when electable politicians ruled the situation because we have seen the “electable cadre” face ruthless defeat in the Punjab bye-elections.

I believe forthcoming general elections will be contested and will be won first in virtual space than at physical polling booths. for me, the most important question is: Is the multiparty alliance ready to build any anti-PtI narrative in virtual space?

Veteran politicians are yet to understand that the media management of PTI and its narrative-building techniques made this party inevitable for circles who decide the fate of politicians.

The writer is an international award winning journalist who has been in the field since 1988 and appears in national and international media as analyst and political scientist.

tHe country has virtually become a dumping site for the international community, with thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste being dumped every year. things are made worse by our lack of capacity to separate regular and hazardous waste, resulting in serious environmental and health concerns.

Our waters remain polluted, and the marine life is in an acute danger, which is not a good sign for Pakistan. Last year, 85,000 tonnes of hazardous waste was dumped in Pakistan. In 2019 alone, 624 such containers were dumped along the Pakistani coastline, and the private party that had imported the waste could not be traced.

One wonders if the contents of solid waste are reviewed before issuing the importers the relevant no-objection certificate (NOC). As many as 40 NOCs were issued to private parties only last year to import hazardous waste into the country. for a country that does not have the capacity to manage its own waste, it is quite extraordinary to import waste.

Pakistan generates millions of tonnes of solid waste annually, and 1520 per cent of it is hazardous. Now, when several countries and private parties are also contributing to this hazardous activity, this is only adding to the misery of the people. It is imperative to take concrete steps against those issuing NOCs to private parties and countries to dump their hazardous stuff here. If that is not done today, we will be no less than a trash-can or a dumping site for the world.

AHSANULLAH MENGAL HUB

Significance of NACTA NAtIONAL Counter terrorism Authority (NACtA), instituted in 2013, is the only federal institution formulated through parliamentary consensus to fight the menace of terrorism. Despite the initial intent, the organisation has been caught up in its own battle for survival, keeping it away from becoming a fully functional, independent and effective body.

When Pakistan faced the initial brunt of the financial Action task force (fAtf), it was NACtA that had a dedicated unit dealing with financial terrorism, and took the lead by establishing a national task force on combating the menace. While other entities, like the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the federal Investigation Agency (fIA), received accolades for the country’s progress on the fAtf front, NACtA remained under the shadows owing to lack of political support. NACtA also made headlines when it formulated a detailed policy about countering violent extremism. the policy had input from all the relevant stakeholders, including the civil society. However, due to lack of political support and will, such a significant endeavour also got pushed to the back burner.

Presently, NACtA is fighting a war of survival; its own survival.

Budgetary cuts and absence of service structure made this potentially viable organisation vulnerable with no departmental cadre and permanent head. It is crowded with officials on deputation from other departments.

As per the last report available on the relevant website, out of 841 sanctioned posts at NACtA, 648 are vacant. While the country is seeing an unprecedented surge in terrorism, the government time and again pledges to revisit and strengthen the National Action Plan (NAP), but there is a need to revisit the progress and strengthen NACtA first.

ZAREEN TARIQ BANGASH PESHAWAR

Karachi - victim of tanker mafia KArACHI, especially the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), has been a victim of the tanker mafia for ages now, and no government and even president of Pakistan could do anything about it despite having been elected to the National Assembly from the DHA constituency.

A lot of discussion has taken place on how one of the largest taxpayer clusters in Pakistan remains hostage to tanker mafia, but we all know that the provincial bureaucracy, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), the paramilitary forces, ministers and, of course, the tanker mafia find the business too lucrative to leave. With Pakistan suffering from a severe foreign exchange crisis, I did some back-of-envelope calculations to look at the scale of foreign exchange wastage due to this inefficient water delivery mechanism. And the result is astounding. Based on an average of 175,000 households in the DHA alone, it has a population of around one million if we keep the average family size of six. they would be needing three tankers per month, and the average two-way journey of each tanker per trip would be 50km. With tankers doing 4km per litre, and the diesel cost being $1.2 per litre, we waste approximately $133 million of foreign exchange every year on what surely is an accepted form of corruption with duly identified stakeholders. to put things in perspective, this is 13pc of IMf tranche of $1bn we are so desperate about. Can the SBP and the ministry of finance come up with a formula to install water metres across DHA, keep the same rate charged by the water tankers, i.e., rs6,000 to rs7,000 per 3,000 gallons, for this piped water, and devise a mechanism under which the proceeds from this arrangement get distributed among the existing mafias so that they may not stand deprived of their booty?

MUHAMMAD SAQIB KARACHI

Recent images by NASA OUr galaxy is so vast with a lot of mysterious objects within it – it is very difficult to find those and tackle their mysteries, but astronomists, scientists and cosmologists are working day and night to find what exactly is our universe and all that is in it.

A black hole is a cosmic body of extremely intense gravity from which nothing, not even light, can escape. A black hole can be formed by the death of a massive star. When such a star has exhausted the internal thermonuclear fuels in its core at the end of its life, the core becomes unstable and gravitationally collapses inward upon itself, and the star’s outer layers are blown away Albert einstein, first predicted the existence of black holes in 1916, with his general theory of relativity, but he himself also doubted its existence. Later, an english Cosmologist tried to explain the existence of the black hole and presented his theory: “the Hawking radiation.” Now it is time for astronomers to capture the picture of the black hole – present in the centre of our galaxy, but it is not an easy task for them. the astronomers combined eighty telescopes on four continents to create a perfect image.

ISRAR LUQMAN KECH

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Monday, 1 August, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

In TheIr hope for A ‘MIddLe eAsTern nATo’ AgAInsT IrAn, IsrAeL And The Us MAy end Up heArTbroken THIS MONTH, A NUMBER OF ARAB STATES MADE DECLARATIONS OR MOVES TO SIGNAL THAT THEY ARE NOT DIRECTLY OPPOSED TO IRAN, WITH JORDAN DENYING THAT TEHRAN POSES A NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT AND THE UAE’S PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER ANWAR GARGASH STATING THAT THE EMIRATES WILL SEND AN AMBASSADOR TO THE COUNTRY AND THAT IT IS AGAINST AN ANTI-IRAN AXIS Middle east MoNitor MuhaMMad husseiN

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s arab states the United arab Emirates (UaE), Bahrain, sudan and Morocco began establishing ties with Israel over the past few years and warmed towards their old adversary, many saw it as the beginning of a new era. and in some ways, it was: trade could now openly flow between the nations in the region and the arab world could further benefit from Israeli technology and spyware.

Except things have not gone entirely to Israel’s plan.

Weeks prior to Us President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East earlier this month, Israel’s defence minister announced the formation of a regional alliance with arab states, in what would purportedly become the “Middle East’s NatO”. Under that banner, the new allies would coordinate to defend each other against Iranian influence and aggression, leading the counterattack.

Contrary to tel aviv’s hopes of a unified arab-Israeli axis against Iran, however, the cracks in the budding alliance have begun to emerge and prove to the Israeli leadership and its Western allies that the issue is not so black and white. this month, a number of arab states made declarations or moves to signal that they are not directly op-

posed to Iran, with Jordan denying that tehran poses a national security threat and the UaE’s presidential adviser anwar Gargash stating that the Emirates will send an ambassador to the country and that it is against an anti-Iran axis. that is despite amman battling Iranian-backed drug traffickers along its border with syria, and abu Dhabi’s admitted concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme.

DOES THE MIDDLE EAST REALLY NEED ANOTHER NATO? Oman, too, has maintained its relations with Iran and sought to expand them, and Egyptian and Iranian officials held secret talks in the Omani capital Muscat last month. Even saudi arabia, the primary long-time nemesis of Iran, continues to indulge in talks with its neighbour across the Gulf. the countries in the region which are under Iranian influence – syria, Iraq, and Lebanon – do not, of course, have any aspirations to oppose tehran either. there is no doubt that most of the arab world is concerned with Iran on some level, particularly regarding its alleged nuclear ambitions, but they all perceive the country and its leadership differently through the lens of their own individual foreign policy perspectives or goals.

While some view tehran with caution and enmity, others either view it with opportunity or with neutrality.

For Israel and the Us to believe that they would all be willing to unquestioningly commit to an entirely new regional military structure dedicated to combating the Iranian foe was a gross generalisation and misjudgement from the start. the arab nations’ view of – or desire for – Iran could perhaps best be summed up by saudi Crown Prince Mo-

hammed Bin salman’s address to tehran at the opening of the Jeddah security and Development summit last week. He called on Iran “as a neighbouring country, with which we share religious and cultural ties, to cooperate with the countries of the region to be part of this vision, by adhering to the principles of international legitimacy, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, cooperating with the International atomic Energy agency, and fulfilling its obligations in this regard.” arab countries in the region are sceptical of the idea of a Middle Eastern NatO or arab-Israeli military alliance for the obvious reason that such a project would represent a dangerous level of escalation at a time when it is unnecessary and uncalled for. It lacks practicality in the context of the current situation, in which there is no pressing need for arab states – and especially the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) – to conduct any attack or defence against Iran, as they are under no urgent and existential threat from it despite ongoing regional tensions. as the Egyptian journalist suleiman Guoda stated in his column in the saudi newspaper al-sharq al-awsat this month, the idea of the project was primarily an Israeli one backed by the Us, with their own agendas which did not wholly converge with the interests of the arab states. “this idea, in all of its stages, was like a plant that someone uprooted and tried to plant in foreign soil, and every time it withered and died,” Gouda wrote.

THE US BURDEN IS TO INTEGRATE ISRAEL WITH THE ARAB WORLD: He clarified that “the countries that openly declared their rejection of the arab NatO [initiative] did not do so out of a desire to express

support for Iran, God forbid, but out of a belief that the [Iranian] problem can only be resolved via dialogue, not through war or confrontation. By openly rejecting this initiative, they conveyed to the government of Iran’s [supreme] Leader that it should take note of their rational approach to their relations with Iran and that they expected it to take a similar approach.” the proposal for a regional NatO-like alliance against Iran, therefore, became “stillborn”. there is also the possibility that the arab states – both those which recognise Israel and those which are thought to be on the verge of doing so – may not yet fully trust tel aviv and Washington’s backing enough to risk any serious escalation or confrontation with tehran. above all, if one truly wanted to compare the prospects and effectiveness of that Middle Eastern alliance with that of NatO, the greatest difference is that the latter is largely unified in its vision while the former is not. all NatO member states view Russia as the common enemy, or at least troublesome adversary, whereas not all arab states are unified against the ‘Iranian threat’. that is without taking into consideration the numerous moving parts that make up the Middle East’s complex political situation and converging alliances, in contrast to the overall lack of that in Europe.

Israel and the Us will soon realise that the arab states’ warming ties towards tel aviv do not necessarily translate to a will to confront tehran, and that the occupation state’s new allies operate on a level of pragmatism – albeit often misplaced – which drew them to establishing ties with it in the first place.

TikTok and the fall of the social-media giants FACEBOOK IS TRYING TO COPY TIKTOK, BUT THIS STRATEGY MAY WELL SIGNAL THE END OF THESE LEGACY PLATFORMS

New Yorker Cal Newport

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ast month, Blake Chandlee, tiktok’s president of global business solutions, was asked if he was concerned about competition from existing social-media networks like Facebook. Chandlee, who spent more than twelve years at Mark Zuckerberg’s company before moving to tiktok, dismissed the idea. “Facebook is a social platform. they’ve built all their algorithms based on the social graph,” he said, referring to the network of links to friends, family, and casual acquaintances that Facebook users painstakingly assemble over time. “We are an entertainment platform. the difference is significant.” Chandlee appeared to be responding to recent moves made by Facebook.

Last year, the company integrated a tiktok-style shortvideo format called Reels directly into its main app. then, in an internal memo sent this spring, tom alison, a senior executive at the social-media giant, announced a plan to modify the platform’s news feed to focus more on these short videos, tweaking the algorithm to display the most engaging content, even if these selections are “unconnected” to accounts that a user has friended or followed. Facebook, it seems, is moving away from its traditional focus on text and images, spread among people who know one another, to instead adopt tiktok’s emphasis on pure distraction. this shift is not surprising given tiktok’s phenomenal popularity, but it’s also shortsighted: platforms like Facebook could be doomed if they fail to maintain the social graphs upon which they built their kingdoms. to understand Facebook’s current danger, it helps to better understand its original success. In the spring of 2004, when my college friends signed up for theFacebook.com, as it was then called, they did so because other people they knew were signing up as well. (One of the platform’s early killer features was the ability to check the “relationship status” of classmates.) By the end of 2006, the year in which Facebook opened to the general public, the service had already gathered twelve million active users. at that point, network-effect advantages made it hard for a competitor to emerge; two years later, when Facebook hit a hundred million active users, competition became all but impossible. Why would you join a new network dedicated to connection

with people you know if everyone you knew was already on Facebook? the next major evolution of this model of leveraging a social graph to create engagement was sparked by twitter. though it was launched in 2006, this short-messaging service didn’t achieve broader notice until 2009. this was the year in which ashton Kutcher discussed twitter on “the Oprah Winfrey show.” It was also the year in which the news leaked that a U.s. state Department official emailed the company, urging it to delay planned server maintenance so as not to interfere with planned prodemocracy protests in Iran. For twitter, however, arguably the most important event of 2009 was not these publicity bonanzas but the introduction of the retweet button. this tweak, originally intended to simplify the common practice of manually cutting and pasting the text of interesting tweets, ended up transforming twitter. By eliminating the friction required to forward a message to all of your followers, the retweet button created a fierce viral dynamic in which a single tweet could be amplified to a large audience in a short period of time, its readership expanding exponentially through the power-law topology of the twitter network. this turned out to be a phenomenally effective method for surfacing the most engaging content floating around the platform at any given moment. this potential for sudden mass exposure also began to draw more influential individuals to the platform, further increasing the value of its content. as with Facebook, the larger that twitter’s social graph grew, the more attractive the network became. Pretenders to the short-message throne, such as Parler or Gab, struggled to get traction, as their networks lacked sufficient size and numbers of influential users to compete in a battle for attention. By 2011, twitter, following in Facebook’s footsteps, passed the milestone of a hundred million users. Facebook, of course, noticed this new competitor’s fast rise and began to make adjustments.

Between 2009 and 2011, Facebook increasingly moved its news feed away from chronological sorting and toward an emphasis on popular posts. then, in 2012, it added a retweet-style share button on its mobile app, enabling the twitter-style exponential spread of third-party content through the network.

Both Facebook and twitter were built on the same general model of leveraging hard-to-replicate, large social graphs to generate a never-ending stream of engaging content, a strategy that proved to be robust in the face of new competition and incredibly lucrative. It’s why, last month, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, had a market cap of five hundred and sixty-two billion dollars, making it the world’s seventh most valuable corporation. It’s also why twitter, a smaller and more specialized social-media network, was still worth forty-

four billion dollars to Elon Musk (before he changed his mind). Pseudo-monopolies of this type, however, cannot last forever. the past decade has been good for these social-media giants, but the sudden ascent of tiktok might turn out to be the disruption that finally ends their reign.

When you load tiktok, you’re presented with a short video, often well under a minute in length, filling your smartphone screen. When you’re ready to see something different, you swipe up, and a new video, selected specifically for you by the service’s recommendation algorithm, is pulled in to take over the display. If you observe a tiktok session over the shoulder of a practiced user, you’ll encounter a frenetic sequence of swipes, with most videos watched for only a few moments to assess their appeal, before being pushed away to sample what’s next. the effectiveness of the tiktok experience is found in what it doesn’t require. Unlike twitter, tiktok doesn’t need a critical mass of famous or influential people to use it for its content to prove engaging. the short-video format grabs the user’s attention at a more primal level, relying on visual novelty, or a clever interplay of music and action, or direct emotional expression, to generate its appeal. and, unlike Facebook, tiktok doesn’t require that your friends already use the service for you to find it useful. though there are some social features built into tiktok, they’re not the main draw of the app. tiktok also doesn’t rely on its users to manually share content with friends or followers to surface compelling offerings. It assigns this responsibility to its scary-good recommendation algorithm. a 2021 investigation by the Wall street Journal, in which reporters created more than a hundred tiktok accounts to tease out the basic dynamics of this suggestion logic, showed that the app can target a user’s interests with uncanny accuracy in as little as forty minutes of observation. this rejection of the social-graph model has allowed tiktok to circumvent the barriers to entry that so effectively protected early social-media platforms like Facebook and twitter. By separating distraction from social connection, tiktok can directly compete for users without the need to first painstakingly build up an underlying network, link by link. By all accounts, this attention blitzkrieg is working incredibly well. tiktok is estimated to have a billion active monthly users, a number it achieved in a breathtakingly short time, and according to some reports it boasts an average session length of 10.85 minutes, which, if true, would be far longer than that of any other major social-media app. Meanwhile, Facebook’s parent company recently lost more than two hundred and thirty billion dollars in market capitalization in a single day after the company announced that user growth had stalled. analysts identified tiktok as an important factor in this slowdown.

these developments put traditional social-media companies like Facebook in a perilous bind. It’s obvious that, if they don’t make moves to arrest the flow of users from their platforms to tiktok, their investors will revolt and valuations will continue to fall. this explains Facebook’s recent transition toward short videos and algorithmic recommendations of content that doesn’t come from friend groups. Perhaps less obvious, however, is the longer-term danger in shifting away from the connection-centric model that has served the company so well. It’s unlikely, at this point, that a new competitor will ever again be able to build a social graph of a size or a level of influence comparable to those of legacy platforms like Facebook and twitter—it’s simply too hard to start from scratch when these mature services already exist. It follows that, so long as these legacy platforms rely on their underlying networks as their primary source of value, they will retain a monopolistic protection of sorts within the broader attention economy. If they instead move away from their social-graph foundations to concentrate on optimizing in-the-moment engagement, they’ll enter a competitive landscape that pits them directly against the many other existing sources of mobile distraction—not just tiktok but also more bespoke and specialized social networks, such as the GenZ sensation BeReal, to say nothing of popular video streamers, podcasts, video games, self-improvement apps, and, for the somewhat older demographic to which I belong, Wordle. this all points to a possible future in which socialmedia giants like Facebook may soon be past their long stretch of dominance. they’ll continue to chase new engagement models, leaving behind the protection of their social graphs, and in doing so eventually succumb to the new competitive pressures this introduces. tiktok, of course, is subject to these same pressures, so in this future it, too, will eventually fade. the app’s energetic embrace of shallowness makes it more likely, in the long term, to become the answer to a trivia question than a sustained cultural force. In the wake churned by these sinkings will arise new entertainments and new models for distraction, but also innovative new apps and methods for expression and interaction.

It’s here that I find optimism. the era of socialmedia monopolies has been unhealthy for our collective digital existence. the Internet at its best should be weird, energetic, and exciting—featuring both homegrown idiosyncrasy and sudden trends that flash supernova-bright before exploding into the novel elements that spur future ideas and generate novel connections. this exuberance was suppressed by the dominance of a small number of social-media networks that consolidated and controlled so much of online culture for so many years. things will be better once this dominance wanes. In the end, tiktok’s biggest legacy might be less about its current moment of world-conquering success, which will pass, and more about how, by forcing social-media giants like Facebook to chase its model, it will end up liberating the social Internet.

Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS corporate corner Rawal Dam Interchange project near completion

ICCI to InvIte all polItICal paRtIes to apC on ‘ChaRteR of eConoMy’ on 6th isLaMaBaD

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ISLAMABAD: Due to special interest of the Capital Development Authority management, the Rawal Dam Interchange project has entered in final stages.

According to details, filling work has been completed on both ramps of the interchange .Instructions have been issued to concerned formation to carry out more compaction to minimize the effects of the recent rains on construction activities in order to ensure provision of high and quality travel facilities.

Granular material is also being used to eliminate the effects of heavy rains so that the construction works are not affected by the rains in any way. On this occasion, the management of the Capital Development Authority issued instructions to the concerned departments that the speed of work should be accelerated and high quality of work should be ensured in all circumstances and all available resources should be utilized to complete the project ahead of schedule. pr

ghulAm AbbAs

HE Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Sunday claimed that multilateral donors as well as friendly countries are hesitant to help Pakistan under the current serious economic crisis.

While asking all political parties to take the current economic situation seriously, the business community based in Islamabad decided to take a lead to pressurise political leaders to devise a “Charter of Economy” to maintain a consistency in economic policies – irrespective of political change.

In this regard, past presidents and senior leaders of the ICCI held a press conference here at the National Press Club and announced that the chamber will hold an all parties conference for the

revival of the economy on August 6.

President ICCI Muhammad Shakeel Munir said that the grave economic situation faced by the country was nothing short of a threat to the nation’s stability. “The current economic meltdown is clear to you all but the most serious problem is that multilateral donors as well as friendly countries are reluctant to help Pakistan which is a clear sign that a massive economic storm has arrived,” he added.

Highlighting that apart from the overall economic situation faced by Pakistan which includes energy shortage, high inflation, heavy debts, he said that many things were not visible to the general public, however, their chain reaction can have serious consequences in the overall retail end, which will eventually hurt consumers.

The president ICCI said that the restrictions by the State Bank of Pakistan

Iesco issues power suspension schedule ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) spokesman on Sunday informed that System Maintenance/Development Work is in process and therefore power supply in the mentioned feeders/areas will be temporary suspended as per given schedule: On 1st August, From 07:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, EME Complex, P&T Wini, Zircon Heights, Golra, Jhangi, CWO, Azharabad, Patwali, Mail, Vanhar, Dharabi, Main Bazar, Malkwal, Jatla, Pera Fatial, Tau Muharram Khan feeders, From 08:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, Muslimabad, Gulzar Shaheed, Quaidabad, Ahsanabad, Dhok Hasu, Pirwadhai, Bagh Sardaran feeders and surroundings will be closed.

IESCO management apologizes to its esteemed customers for the power outage. If the work is completed ahead of time, the power supply can be restored even before the scheduled time and the surrounding power will be cut off. pr

(SBP) upon letter of Credit (LC) and sharp declining foreign currency reserves can lead to a situation where goods and items will be in short supply in the markets.

“Such a situation will lead to public outcry and law and order situation, mainly in urban areas where the economy is totally based on consumerism.

Which is why we are organising an all parties conference on August 6 to highlight these issues with the decision makers,” he added.

On the occasion, former president ICCI and Group Chairman Khalid Iqbal Malik emphasised that the conference is an apolitical event and was simply being held to bring all those who matter on one page.

“We want everyone including the business community, politicians, the general public and state institutions to seek a way out and ensure that such a

Riphah Int’l University, Canadian college sign MoU

613 cops to guard Muharram gatherings in Islamabad ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Capital Police (ICTP) has devised a special traffic plan for Muharramul Harram and decided to deploy more than 613 policemen including officers and jawans on various routes of processions to avoid any inconvenience to the road users.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Dr. Syed Mustafa Tanweer has devised special traffic plan in connection with 965 Majalis and 181 processions which was finalized by him in a meeting. The meeting was attended by SP (Traffic) Ch Abid Hussain, Zonal DSPs and inspectors.

As per plan finalized following directions of IGP Islamabad, 613 ICTP personnel including one SP, 04 DSPs, and 22 Inspectors will perform duties to ensure smooth flow of traffic and guide the road users to alternate routes to avoid any inconvenience. The SSP (Traffic) has directed all DSPs to monitor traffic related arrangements on routes of processions in their respective areas and ensure proper parking arrangements on occasion of religious gatherings.

He also directed to ensure availability of required items which may be used for diversion of traffic. He said it is the top priority of ICTP to provide maximum convenience to road users and avoid any disturbance to the mourners and others too. He has appealed the general public to use alternate routes and said that ICTP personnel will be deployed on various points to guide the general public. The SSP (Traffic) also inspected the vehicles, motorbikes and other machinery under use of ICTP and directed to remove technical faults immediately. He said that no laxity in performance of duty would be tolerated and ordered to cancel routine leaves of the policemen.

The SSP (Traffic) Dr. Syed Mustafa Tanweer also directed for airing special transmission at ICTP FM Radio 92.4 during Muhrramul Haram and updates the road users about traffic situation on roads of Islamabad. pr

09

isLaMaBaD stAff report

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Riphah International University and Bay River College, Calgary Canada.

The ceremony was held at Gulberg Greens Campus of Riphah International University Islamabad. The Chief Guest of the event was Mr. Michael Lazaruk, Counsellor and Senior Trade Commissioner at Canadian High Commission, Pakistan. The Vice Chancellor of Riphah International University, Prof. Dr. Anis Ahmad, and Dr. Arshad Mahmood, President of Bay River College, Calgary Canada signed the MoU on

behalf of the Institutions. The MoU will strengthen the bond and commitment between both educational Institutions. This MoU was signed as a part of the initiation of the first private Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts in Twin cities, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad.

At the Riphah Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, students will receive the gold class standards of hospitality and tourism industry education and skills to pursue a promising career in the field.

This MoU is the start of the mutual collaboration between these institutions in which the focus is laid down on sharing of the Canadian curriculum with Riphah International University for students

of Bachelors of Science in Tourism and Hospitality Management -BS THM. The Chief Guest, Mr. Michael Lazaruk, Counselor and Senior Trade Commissioner at Canadian High Commission Pakistan, appreciated the efforts of Riphah International University in opening the door to new opportunities for Pakistani youth. He said that this MoU can strengthen the ties between both educational institutes and allow students to come out of the traditional learning methods and learn new approaches of hospitality industry.

Addressing the occasion, Mr. Hassan Muhammad Khan, Chancellor of Riphah International University shared the vision behind Riphah International University and IIMCT. He praised university academic leadership for their efforts to uplift the Institute through introducing subjects of Hospitality and Culinary Arts in Twin cities.

Moreover, the Chancellor of Riphah International University, thanked Dr Arshad Mahmood, President at Bay River College, Calgary Canada for signing the MoU and presented a souvenir to Chief Guest Mr. Michael Lazaruk for honoring the event with his presence.

Serene Air resumes Lahore-Quetta flights LAHORE: Serene Air on Sunday announced that it has resumed weekly Quetta flights from Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport.

As per officials of the airline, three weekly flights will be operated on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday.

It is pertinent to note that Serene Air is a privately-owned Pakistani airline that began operating services in January 2017. The airline operates scheduled domestic flights within Pakistan whereas its first international flight departed for Sharjah, United Arab Emirates on March 16, 2021.

situation does not come up again.”

Malik added, “We are not into any political game nor are we here to extend support to any party.”

He said The ICCI has already started discussions with several economists seeking their input and collective thought of experts will be presented in the conference. “To this end, technical suggestions finalised at the end of the Revival of Economy Conference will be shared with all other chambers of country and the FPCCI, as well as provincial governments. The ICCI is confident that the deliberations of the conference will be implemented without political prejudice for the betterment of the economy,” he said.

The ICCI president concluded with emphasising that consistency of policies was one of the key demands of local and foreign investors from all governments in Pakistan.

Kentucky flooding death toll rises to 25 Washington Agencies

Devastating flooding in Kentucky has killed 25 people and the toll is expected to rise, the southern US state’s governor said Saturday, as rescuers and residents continued a harrowing search for survivors.

Torrential rain earlier this week caused unprecedented flash flooding in 13 counties in eastern Kentucky.

Many roads and bridges in that mountainous region — an area high in poverty due to the declining coal industry — have been damaged or destroyed. With cell phone service seriously disrupted, finding survivors has been difficult.

“I’m worried we are going to be finding bodies for weeks to come. Keep praying,” Governor Andy Beshear said in a midday news briefing, shortly after tweeting that the death toll had risen to 25 from 16 a day earlier.

The Democratic governor confirmed that “we are still in the search and rescue phase,” saying, “We will get through this together.” Beshear said an earlier report that six children were among the dead was inaccurate; two of them had turned out to be adults.

The four children, US media reported, were lost in a heartrending drama. Members of a family, clinging to a tree after a fast-rising stream had engulfed their mobile home, saw their children torn from their grip, one after another, by powerfully surging waters.

Beshear said national guard units from Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia had made more than 650 air rescues since the flooding began Wednesday evening, while state police and other state personnel had registered some 750 water rescues. He said the search was “tremendously stressful and difficult,” with mudslides and flooded roads blocking travel.

Seventeen-year-old Chloe Adams was home alone in Whitesburg when she awoke to the sound of water rushing into her grandfather’s house, where she lives.

“There was water as far as I could see,” she told CNN. “I had a panic attack.” Realizing she needed to swim to safety, she put her dog, Sandy, in a plastic tub. They made it only to the roof of a nearby shed, barely above the roaring waters.

She and Sandy sat there, shivering, for five hours until a cousin arrived in a kayak to rescue them.

– More rain ahead – Some areas in eastern Kentucky had reported receiving more than eight inches (20 centimeters) of rain in a 24-hour period. In Whitesburg, the water level of the North Fork of the Kentucky River rose to a staggering 20 feet within hours, well above its previous record of 14.7 feet.

The flooding turned many roads into rivers, and some houses in low-lying areas were almost completely submerged, with just their rooftops visible.

Scenes on social media showed houses ripped from their moorings and deposited amid masses of debris along riverbanks or even atop a bridge.

The weather offered a respite on Saturday, but more rain was expected the following day, with one to two additional inches expected. The National Weather Service has issued flood watches or warnings for most of the area through Sunday. Beshear told CNN on Saturday that the impending rain posed a challenge, and “while we don’t think it’ll be historic rain, it’ll be hard.”

ICP conducts ‘flag march’ to create sense of security for Muharram isLaMaBaD stAff report

According to the details Senior-Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Islamabad Malik Jameel Zafar has said that Islamabad police have made a comprehensive security plan to maintain high vigilance in the city.

Following the special directives of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad Capital

Police conducted a flag march in different areas of the city to maintain peace and tranquility in the city during "Muharram ul Harram".

Flag march was headed by SSP Operations Malik Jameel Zafar and DC Islamabad Irfan Nawaz. SP Industrial Area and SP rural were also present during the flag march.

SSP Operations Malik Jameel Zafar said that flag marches are being conducted in various areas to make security more effective

and added that strict vigilance would be maintained like previous years to maintain law and order in the city. All zonal SDPOs, SHOs of police stations, Islamabad traffic police personnel, Bravo vehicles, police commandos, Rescue 15 police personnel and patrolling police personnel participated in the flag march.

Flag march started from the Pakistan Sports Complex and culminated at the same

point after passing through various areas of the Industrial Area and Rural zone. Pak Rangers, Islamabad administration and the law-enforcing agencies were also part of the flag march.

According to a Police Public Relation Officer, all the SPs have been tasked to maintain close liaison with peace committees and organizers of Majalis and processions. He said that cooperation of organizers would be ensured with the police and law en-

forcing officials. The SSP (Operations) strictly directed all zonal SDPOs and SHOs for strict security arrangements during "Muharramul Harram" and it should be ensured to make arrangements for checking of participants of Majalis and processions through using metal detectors. Strict vigilance should be maintained to ensure that security measures are in place by the police as well as peace committees.

Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

10 FOREIGN NEWS

On navy day, PutIn says unIted states Is maIn thReat tO RussIa

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RESIDENT Vladimir Putin on Sunday signed a new naval doctrine which cast the United States as Russia’s main rival and set out Russia’s global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and the Black Sea. Speaking on Russia’s Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg founded by Tsar Peter the Great, Putin praised Peter for making Russia a great sea power and increasing the global standing of the Russian state.

After inspecting the navy, Putin made a short speech in which he touted Russia’s unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles. He cautioned that Russia had the military clout to defeat any potential aggressors.

Shortly before the speech, he signed a new 55-page naval doctrine, which sets out the broad strategic aims of Russia’s navy, including its ambitions as a “great maritime power” which extends over the entire world.

The main threat to Russia, the doc-

Putin did not mention the conflict in Ukraine during his speech but the military doctrine envisages a “comprehensive strengthening of Russia’s geopolitical position” in the Black and Azov seas.

It also set out the Arctic Ocean, which the United States has repeatedly said Russia is trying to militarise, as an

trine says, is “the strategic policy of the USA to dominate the world’s oceans” and the movement of the Nato military alliance closer to Russia’s borders.

Russia may use its military force appropriately to the situation in the world’s oceans should other soft powers, such as diplomatic and economic tools, be exhausted, the doctrine says.

area of particular importance for Russia.

Russia’s vast 37,650-kilometre coastline, which stretches from the Sea of Japan to the White Sea, also includes the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Putin said the delivery of Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles to the Admiral Gorshkov frigate would begin within months. The location of their deployment would depend on Russian interests, he said.

“The key thing here is the capability of the Russian navy … It is able to respond with lightning speed to all who decide to infringe on our sovereignty and freedom.”

Hypersonic weapons can travel at nine times the speed of sound, and Russia has conducted previous test launches of the Zircon from warships and submarines over the past year.

In Crimea, Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said Ukrainian forces struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the Russian-held port city early on Sunday, wounding five members of staff. Agencies

New York declares state disaster emergency over monkeypox NEW YORK Agencies

Indian troops martyr one more Kashmiri youth in Baramulla SRINAGAR Agencies

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism martyred one more Kashmiri youth in Baramulla district on Sunday.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the troops martyred the youth during a cordon and search operation in Binner area of the district.

The operation was going on till last reports came in.

ED FILES SUPPLEMENTARY CHARGESHEET AGAINST FAROOQ: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary charge-sheet against National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association scam.

According to Kashmir Media Service, after filing of the charge-sheet, the court has issued notices to all the involved persons, including Farooq Abdullah, to appear before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Special Court on 27th August.

Reacting to the supplementary charge-sheet, NC spokesperson Sara Hayat Shah told media that the ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are being used in the territory to silence all the opposition parties of BJP to keep the field open for them to grab power.

The National Conference also issued a statement after sensing possible arrests of Farooq Abdullah and said, “Farooq Abdullah shall always stick to the truth, no matter how stories are fabricated, truth manipulated and dissent suppressed; however, he will cooperate with the agencies and vindicate himself.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency late Friday night due to the growing monkeypox cases in the state.

“I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this outbreak,” Hochul said in a statement.

New York is experiencing the highest rates of monkeypox transmission in the country, with 1,383 reported cases as of Friday, showed the state data.

“More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond,” said Hochul.

The announcement came a

day after the New York state commissioner of health declared monkeypox an “imminent threat to public health.”

CANADA CONFIRMS 803 MONkEYPOx CASES: The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed 803 cases of monkeypox in the country as of Sunday.

The health agency said that of the confirmed cases, 367 cases are from Ontario, 359 from Quebec, 61 from British Columbia, 13 from Alberta, two from Saskatchewan and one from the Yukon.

Theresa Tam, former Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, said the government has deployed over 70,000 doses of Imvamune vaccines and continues to work actively with jurisdictions to manage public health responses.

The World Health Organiza-

tion has declared the current outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

INDIA’S FIRST MONkEYPOx PATIENT RECOvERS: India’s first monkeypox case detected more than two weeks ago has recovered and tested negative on Saturday, confirmed health minister of the southern state Kerala Veena George.

“All samples were negative twice. The patient is physically and mentally healthy. The skin bumps are completely cured. He will be discharged today,” media reports quoted the minister as saying.

India has so far reported four monkeypox cases, with three of them in Kerala and the fourth infection in the national capital Delhi.

CBI court grants bail to 4 ex-IAF officers in AgustaWestland case NEW DELHI Agencies

A special court on Saturday granted bail to four former Indian Air Force (IAF) officers in the AgustaWestland chopper deal corruption case after they appeared before it following summons issued on the last date of hearing.

Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge, Arvind Kumar, granted bail to retired Air Force AVM JS Panesar, retired air commodore N Santosh, retired air commodore SA Kunte and retired wing commander Thomas Mathew.

The court granted bail to them on each furnishing a bail bond of Rs1 lakh and one surety in the same amount. The matter has been listed for August 27 for further hearing. The AgustaWestland corruption case is being probed by the CBI and ED, and was registered following allegations that bribes were paid during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime to “middlemen”, perhaps even politicians, when India agreed to buy 12 helicopters built by the Italian defence manufacturing company Finmeccanica at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore. In 2014, the deal was scrapped by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos dies at 94 MANILA: Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos died from COVID-19 complications on Sunday afternoon at the age of 94. Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles, Press Secretary of Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, confirmed Ramos’ death. “It is with great sorrow that we learn (about) the passing of President Fidel V. Ramos. He leaves behind a colorful legacy and a secure place in history for his participation in the great changes in our country as (a) military officer and chief executive,” she said. “We deeply condole with his family, friends, classmates, and associates and keep him in our prayers.” The Ramos family also issued an official statement on the former leader’s death. “We thank you all for respecting our privacy, as the family takes some time to grieve together,” the statement said. Philippine National Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong also confirmed Ramos’ demise. “The Department of National Defense is one with the nation in mourning the passing of the former President Ramos,” Andolong said, crediting Ramos for starting “the modernization and professionalization” of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Andolong said that Ramos had “a sterling career” from being a decorated soldier, a diplomat, and the secretary of national defense before becoming president. Born on March 18, 1928, in Pangasinan province, north of Manila, Ramos was a military leader and politician who was the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. Ramos studied at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York and the University of Illinois in the United States before entering the Philippine army. He has served as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As president, he encouraged reforms on tax and economy, helping revitalize the economy in the Southeast Asian country. Agencies

senegal elects parliament in test for presidential vote DAkAR: Senegal on Sunday voted in parliamentary elections the opposition hopes will force a coalition with President Macky Sall and curb any ambitions he may hold for a third term. Sixty-year-old Sall, who was elected in 2012 for seven years then re-elected in 2019 for another five, has been accused of wanting to break the two-term limit and run again in 2024. He has remained vague on the subject, but any defeat of his supporters in the vote could upset such plans. Polling stations opened at 0800 GMT and close at 1800 GMT. About 100 people, mostly elderly, queued up to vote at a polling station located in a school in the Dakar suburb of Mbao as police kept watch, an AFP journalist said. “I hope voting day goes off peacefully and there are no disputes,” said Lamine Sylva, a 60-year-old artist. “It’s like football — there is a winner and a loser”.

Yahya Sall, a retired soldier, said he hoped the new parliament “will have a strong opposition presence… to advance democracy”. The national election commission has deployed 22,000 observers nationwide. The single-round ballot will decide the 165 seats of the single-chamber parliament — currently controlled by the president’s supporters — for the next five years. Lawmakers are elected according to a system that combines proportional representation, with national lists for 53 lawmakers, and majority voting in the country’s departments for 97 others.

The diaspora elects the remaining 15 members of parliament. This year, eight coalitions are in the running, including Yewwi Askan Wi (meaning “Liberate the People” in Wolof), the main opposition coalition. Its highest-profile member, Ousmane Sonko, came third in the 2019 presidential election. But he and other members of the coalition have been banned from running in Sunday’s elections on technical grounds. Agencies

US House Speaker Pelosi begins Asia tour, no mention of Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi starts a tour of four Asian countries on Sunday, her office said, without mentioning Taiwan amid intense speculation she might visit the self-ruled island claimed

by China. “Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading a Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region, including visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan,” her office said in a press release.

The release said the visit would include those countries, but did not specify whether Pelosi, who is number 3 in the line of presidential succession, might make other stops.

“The trip will focus on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region,” it said.

Gregory Meeks, chair of the House For-

eign Affairs Committee, was among the delegation listed. China views visits by US officials to Taiwan as sending an encouraging signal to the pro-independence camp in the island.

Washington does not have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself. A visit by Pelosi would be a dramatic, though not unprecedented, show of US support for Taiwan. Republican Newt Gingrich was the last House speaker to visit Taiwan in 1997.

President Xi Jinping warned his US counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday that Washington should abide by the one-China principle and “those who play with fire will perish by it”.

Biden told Xi that US policy on Taiwan had not changed and that Washington

strongly opposes unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and sta-

bility across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said on Friday after the call between Xi and Biden that Taiwan would continue to deepen its close security partnership with the United States.

Chinese air force spokesman Shen Jinke was quoted by state media as saying on Sunday that Beijing would “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Shen said at a military airshow that the air force has many types of fighter jets capable of circling “the precious island of our motherland”, referring to Taiwan.

He said China’s “air force has the firm will, full confidence and sufficient capability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

A comment by a People’s Liberation Army unit on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media, on Friday — “Prepare for war!” — received 1.87 million thumbs-ups.

SOUTH CHINA SEA: As a US aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group returned to the South China Sea by Thursday, Chinese military ramped up exercises in the vicinity.

On Saturday, Chinese military held livefiring drills in the waters off Fujian province, over a 100 kilometres (62 miles) away from Taiwan, according to local authorities.

Chinese coast guard will hold an exercise in the South China Sea off Guangzhou province on Monday, according to another notice by the Maritime Safety Administration.

11 Sports 1 AUGUST_Layout 1 7/31/2022 10:47 PM Page 1

Monday, 1 August, 2022 | KARACHI

SPORTS 11

LiTOn, MOSADDEk STAr AS BAngLADESh win TO LEvEL ZiMBABwE T20 SEriES HARARe

L

agencieS

ITON Das and Mosaddek Hossain played key roles on Sunday as Bangladesh levelled a three-match Twenty20 international series in Zimbabwe with a sevenwicket victory.

Spin-bowling all-rounder Mosaddek took five wickets for the first time in his T20 international career as the tourists restricted Zimbabwe to 135-8 at Harare Sports Club.

Faced with the modest target, Bangladesh were always ahead on run rate thanks to an impressive start propelled by opener Liton, whose 56 off 33 balls included two

sixes and six fours.

The tourists cruised to 136-3 with 15 balls remaining and success was particularly joyful as it was only the second T20 triumph in their last 15 internationals.

Defeat ended a six-match winning streak by Zimbabwe in the shortest format since former star batsman Dave Houghton returned in June for a second stint as national coach.

The series will be decided on Tuesday before the teams change formats and play three one-day internationals.

“I feel fantastic. When I am bowling I always think of bowling dot balls so I followed the plan strictly. We decided to start with spin so when I bowled I started

with the right areas,” said Mosaddek.

“We were looking to restrict Zimbabwe to 150 or 160 runs.

When you lose five wickets in the powerplay, it will be difficult to score more than 150.

“Bangladesh have the hunger to win the last match, we are confident now. Hopefully it will be a good match for us.”

Mosaddek, who had never taken more than two wickets for his country in a T20 match, wreaked havoc with his victims including openers Regis Chakabva and captain Craig Ervine.

Zimbabwe, who will join Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup in Australia during October, were reeling at 31-5 by the time Mosad-

dek completed his off-break onslaught.

Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl then stopped the rot for the hosts, adding 80 runs for the sixth wicket as none of five other Bangladesh bowlers could emulate Mosaddek.

Raza scored 62 off 53 deliveries, including two sixes and four fours, before being caught in the covers by Munim Shahriar.

Apart from Raza, Burl and Luke Jongwe were the only Zimbabwe batsmen to reach double figures.

Liton claimed his sixth T20 international half-century before trying to sweep former Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams, missing and being trapped leg before off the final ball of the ninth over.

Unperturbed, the visitors soon required less than a run a ball to succeed and an unbeaten 55-run

fourth wicket stand between Afif Hossain and Najmul Hossain ensured a convincing victory.

England urged to seize the day for women’s football fever London agencieS

England women’s captain Leah Williamson called on the Lionesses to seize the opportunity of a lifetime with the host nation gripped for Sunday’s Euro 2022 final against Germany at Wembley. A tournament that has smashed attendance records will get a fitting finale with a crowd of 87,000 expected to set a new high for a final at either the men’s or women’s European Championship.

England have never won a major tournament in the women’s game and have waited 56 years for any triumph since the men’s 1966 World Cup. “Tomorrow is a day of opportunity,” said Williamson on the eve of the game.

“That’s the only thing that makes it any different to any other game, that the stakes are that much higher.

But this is what we all live for and this is why I play football.” Anticipation is reaching fever pitch in a nation where women’s football was banned for nearly 50 years until 1970. On top of a sold-out Wembley, a crowd of 7,000 is set to congregate to watch the final on big screens in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Sunday’s newspapers were awash with headlines willing England to take the final step. “Let them roar

England and SA ring changes for T20 decider Agencies Southampton, United Kingdom: Both England and South Africa made changes to their teams for the third and deciding Twenty20 international at Southampton on Sunday.

England recalled left-arm quick David Willey, set to be involved early on at the Ageas Bowl after captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to field in overcast conditions. Willey replaced Richard Gleeson in the only change to England’s XI after South Africa levelled the three-match series at 1-1 with a convincing 58-run win in Cardiff. “We’ve been really impressed with Richard, he’s done really well, but he’s been carrying a little bit of a shoulder injury,” said Buttler at the toss. “David has been really well too so he gets his opportunity today.” The Proteas made two changes, with Aiden Markram replacing fellow batsman Heinrich Klaasen and Anrich Nortje taking over from fast bowler Kagiso Rabada. “Aiden Markram is in Heinrich Klaasen and Anrich Nortje is in for Kagiso Rabada, who has a slight ankle injury,” said Proteas captain David Miller, who on Sunday became the first South African man to play 100 T20 internationals.

“Looking back, it’s gone so quickly,” said 33-year-old batsman Miller, closing in on 2,000 runs in the format.

“It’s taken me 13 years to get to reach this milestone, and I’m just really privileged to have represented my country for as long as I have.”

Teams: England: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Reece Topley South africa: Quinton de Kock (wkt), Reeza Hendricks, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller (capt), Andile Phehlukwayo, Anrich Nortje, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

again,” ran the front page of the Sunday Times alongside a picture of Williamson.

“Bring it home,” said the front cover of The Observer sport section, which added an all-female RAF flypast will grace the skies above Wembley.

Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid tribute to the impact Sarina Wiegman’s women will have on the future of the game.

“The pitches and playgrounds and parks of this country will be filled as never before with girls and

women who know beyond any shadow of a doubt that football is not just for boys – it really is for everyone,” Johnson wrote in a letter addressed to Wiegman, Williamson and the rest of the England squad.

Pressure on england: Wiegman is unbeaten in 19 games since taking charge of England in September. The reserved Dutch coach has achieved her goal of inspiring a nation, but admitted earlier this week to wanting to hide in her own “bunker” to block out the hype around the final.

“I’m not stupid. I see things happening and it’s really incredible,” said Wiegman. “I really enjoy that too, but then you come back to what your job is, and that’s getting ready for Germany.”

Germany boss Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said all the pressure was on England as they try to deal with the weight of expectation from the home crowd.

Despite the prospect of facing a hostile atmosphere, Voss-Tecklenburg said she would not have wished for the eight-time winners to face anyone other than England in the final. “It will be a football feast with millions of spectators all over Europe,” added Voss-Tecklenburg. “At the beginning of the game, Wembley will be English and it would be nice if it belonged to us at the end.”

Djokovic ‘preparing’ to play US Open PARis agencieS

Iftikhar Ahmed Junior KP Tennis C’ship from tomorrow PesHAWAR Staff RepoRt

The first Iftikhar Ahmed Junior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tennis Championship is going to start from August 2 (tomorrow), this year on the synthetic courts of the Peshawar Sports Complex here.

This was stated by Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tennis Association Umar Ayaz Khalil while talking to APP here.

He said all arrangements in this connection have been made well in time for the smooth conduct of the Championship, which is being sponsored by former national tennis player Iftikhar Ahmad, who is currently coaching Tennis in Abu Dubai, UAE. Umar Ayaz Khalils disclosed that players in different age group categories including U8, U12, U16 and Men singles for Media Persons. He said Zakir Ullah and Shahayar Khan were nominated as referees for the Championship while Roman Gul would be the Director Tournament.

Secretary Umar Ayaz Khalil paid tribute to former tennis player and Coach Iftikhar Ahmed for organizing the competition and said that sponsors for tennis must come forward in today’s era of inflation. The players are facing difficulties in such a way that their morale will increase with this type of competition. He said that the whole family and brothers of Iftikhar Ahmad are also former national tennis players and now working as qualified coaches in UAE.

Novak Djokovic said Saturday he is “preparing to compete” at the US Open even though his refusal to get vaccinated will see him barred from entering the country. Under current rules, all visitors to the United States must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus.

The Serb star, a three-time champion in New York and fresh from securing a seventh Wimbledon title, has consistently refused to take the vaccine, a stance which also saw him deported from Melbourne in January on the eve of the Australian Open. “I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to US. Fingers crossed!,” wrote Djokovic on Instagram in a post accompanying a video of him training. More than 43,000 people have signed a petition calling on the authorities to allow 21-time Slam winner Djokovic to play at the US Open which starts on August 29. “I just wanted to take a moment and say to all of you how grateful I am to see so many messages of support and love from all around the world these days,” said the 35-year-old. “I wasn’t expecting it, and that’s why it feels so mindblowing. Just wanted to say THANK YOU. It feels special that people connect with my tennis career in such a loving and supportive way and wish for me to continue to compete.”

CWG Cricket: India register 8-wicket win against Pakistan BiRMingHAM agencieS

A solid bowling performance followed by a brilliant opening stand between Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma helped India to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Sunday. Pakistan made a steady start with the bat despite losing an early wicket, but things took a downward curve after Sneh Rana took two wickets in the ninth over to send back set batters Bismah Maroof (17) and Muneeba Ali (32).

Wickets continued to fall steadily, with India piling on the pressure with some excellent fielding. S Meghana pulled off a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to dismiss Aliya Riaz shortly after Omaima Sohail was also run out.

Shafali Verma would take a low, diving return catch in the penultimate over, one of the highlights of India’s outstanding fielding display in the match.

Bowled out for 99 in the rain-shortened 18-over game, Pakistan had their task cut out with Smriti Mandhana coming out all guns blazing. The left-handed opener thumped Anam Amin for a six and a four in the second over and added three more boundaries in the next over off Diana Baig.

Shafali Verma added to Pakistan’s woes with a six and a four next over. In the last over of the Powerplay, Pakistan managed to send back Verma, but India were already 61/1 and well on track to ace the run chase. Mandhana soon brought up her fifty with a six and stood unbeaten as India completed the run chase with more than eight overs to spare.

Monday, 1 August, 2022

Prayer timingS

NEWS

FBR suRpasses July Revenue TaRgeT ISLAMABAD

T

Shahzad Paracha

he Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected net revenue of Rs 458 billion during July 2022. As per the details, FBR has collected net revenue of Rs 458 billion during July 2022, which has exceeded the target of Rs 443 billion by Rs 15 billion.

This represents a growth of about 10 % over the collection of Rs 417 billion during the same period, last year.

These figures would further improve after book adjustments have been taken into account. These collections are the highest ever in the month of July. This outstanding revenue performance is a reflection of FBR’s continued resolve to build further on its growth trajectory achieved during last year.

On the other hand, the gross collec-

markable shift towards direct taxation.

Likewise, there is a significant upsurge in Advance Tax collected during July. There is also a 118% increase in Advance Tax on sale of properties u/s 236-C due to enabling of a withholding provision applicable irrespective of the holding period.

Likewise, 40% increase in Advance Tax u/s 147, especially from banking companies is due to change in tax rate.

Similarly, an increase in the rate of FeD on cigarettes/tobacco has paid its dividends. The FeD from tobacco has registered a record growth of over 47% or Rs 2.6 billion and the corresponding increase in Sales Tax from Tobacco Sector has registered a record 67% growth. The increased FeD on International Air Travel has also registered growth of over 200%.

Furthermore, Pakistan Customs has collected Rs. 67 billion under the head of Customs Duty during July 2022 against 65 billion collected during the same pe-

tion increased from Rs. 438 billion during July last year to Rs. 486 billion, showing an increase of 11%.

Likewise, the amount of refunds disbursed during July was Rs. 28 billion compared to Rs. 21 billion paid last year, showing an increase of 32%. This is reflective of FBR’s strong commitment to fast-track refunds and thereby prevent liquidity shortages in the industry.

The significant revenue increase in July is largely the outcome of various policy and revenue measures introduced by the government in Finance Act 2022.

Unlike in the past, there is a visible focus on taxing the rich and affluent. Owing to this paradigm shift, the domestic taxes contributed 55% in collection while import taxes remained 45%. This has reversed the trend. Previously taxes at import stage were 52-53% of overall collection. Likewise, the growth in domestic Income Tax is almost 31% which is a re-

gill accuses shahid Khaqan of receiving kickbacks from Indian company LAHORE Staff rePort

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill has accused former prime minister and senior vice-president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of taking “bribes” from an Indian company.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Sunday, Gill said that his and Abbasi’s accounts were in the same bank, urging the latter to disclose details of both the accounts. Mr Gill asked Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as to explain “under what pretext he took Rs140 million from an Indian company?” “The former premier had received three telegraphic transfers (TTs) when he was the petroleum minister”, he claimed.

The PTI leader also said that he has details of the transactions and they can be verified as well, adding that one transaction took place on January 3 and another on January 30, 2017.

“Shahid Khaqan has been giving an impression that he is honest but this is far from reality,” Gill said and added that the PML-N leader has served as petroleum minister on more than one occasion.

The PTI leader also said that former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has directed to speed up the relief efforts, adding that a briefing was also given to him in this regard. he said that Imran Khan will meet MPAs of six divisions. he also said that a meeting also took place for ehsaas Programme. earlier this week, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said he had urged eCP officials to “decide the case of prohibited foreign funding as soon as possible”.

“The prohibited funding case has been ongoing for the last eight years,” he said. “The election law says that if a party takes money from a foreign individual, it has to be declared.” The PML-N leader said, “The people of Pakistan have the right to know where Imran Khan was taking money from.” In this regard, he said, the evidence was very clear.

“Money was sourced from outside and used for political purposes in Pakistan,” Abbasi said. “Imran Khan hid records from the election commission. The PTI chairman is trying to pressurise the CeC through personal attacks.” Abbasi also referred to a Financial Times report during the media talk. It investigated how the PTI accrued funds through cricket matches organised under Wootton Cricket Ltd, a company owned

by Abraaj Group founder Arif Naqvi.

riod last year, registering a marginal growth of 2.58%. however, it suffered a dip against the target fixed for July of Rs. 77 billion, which is due to the import compression policy of the government, aiming to control the outflow of US$.

Furthermore, FBR suffered from a loss of about 11 billion in Sales tax against zero rating of POL products.

It is pertinent to mention that Income Tax Returns for Tax Year-2021 have reached 3.4 million compared to 3.0 million in Tax Year-2020, showing an increase of 13 %. The tax deposited with returns during Tax Year 2021 was Rs.76 billion compared to only Rs.52 billion in Tax Year 2020, showing a significant increase of 46%. Furthermore, building further on its ongoing drive to integrate Tier-1 Retailers across the country, around 23,265 point of sale terminals have been integrated with the real time POS reporting system of FBR.

Cabinet approves placement of Fauji Foundation under Defence Division ISLAMABAD Shahzad Paracha

The federal Cabinet has approved placement of Fauji Foundation under the Administrative Control of Defence Division.

Sources said that the Ministry of Defence has taken the approval to place the Fauji Foundation under the Administrative Control of Defence Division through circulating the summary.

It is pertinent to note that the Fauji Foundation is a charitable trust involved in the welfare of ex-servicemen of the Armed Forces all over Pakistan.

The Charitable endowments business was transferred to provinces and Fauji Foundation was placed under the Social Welfare Department, government of Punjab through Capital

Administration and Development Division Notification dated 29 Jul 2011 on reorganization of Federal Secretariat in pursuance of Constitutional eighteenth Amendment. however, it is important to mention that the Foundation carries out its activities across Pakistan and is not restricted to a single province. Also, under Section 3 of the 1890 Act, the Federal Government is the “appropriate Government” for Administration of the Foundation.

Sources said that the Defence division proposed that the Fauji Foundation may be placed under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, whereby the Foundation would continue to function as an independent charitable entity, under the 1890 Act. Sources said that the Finance

Division has raised no objection to the proposed arrangement as the Foundation fulfills the conditions such as the Foundation is financially a self-sustaining entity.

The institutional arrangement would not result in any increase in Federal Government’s development or current expenditure requirements.

The proposal will not impact (in any way) the Federal Government’s operational/employee-related expenses, or pension liabilities, sources added.

Meanwhile, the establishment Division, Ministry of Law and government of Punjab has also endorsed the said proposal, provided that it continues to work as an independent and financially self-sustaining charitable entity, and status of its employees remains unchanged.

Govt believes in freedom of expression, says Marriyum ISLAMABAD Staff rePort

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that the incumbent government fully believes in the fundamental, democratic and constitutional right of freedom of expression.

Talking to a delegation of newly-elected office bearers of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), she said optimum measures were being taken for the promotion of freedom of expression under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as protecting rights of journalist community was top most priority of the government.

Felicitating the newly elected office bearers of PFUJ, she said media was the main pillar of the state and Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) was the guardian of freedom of media in the country.

The minister expressed hope that the newly elected body of PFUJ will live up to the trust of the journalist community and will take all possible steps to solve their problems.

She said that the ministry has received ‘The Journalists and Media Professionals Protection (Amendment) Bill 2022’ and a special committee having representatives of the Ministry of Information, Law, human Rights and Media, was working to finalize it.

She said the Ministry of Information has made record payments to media houses to ensure payment of salaries to journalists. The journalist’s remuneration was being linked with the payments to media houses.

The PFUJ delegation informed the minister about the problems faced by the journalist community. She assured to solve the problems of the journalist community.

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govt announces tax relief for shops consuming below 150 units ISLAMABAD inP

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Sunday announced relief in tax for shopkeepers who consume less than 150 units of electricity per month.

Addressing a press conference, he said that the government is seeking an annual tax of Rs36,000 from small shopkeepers and stressed that everyone will have to pay taxes.

The finance minister said that more taxes will come into force from the next year and added that industries as well as bankers will have to pay their taxes.

“A ten per cent tax will be imposed on companies that could not export 10 per cent of their output,” he said.

Miftah also said that the rupee, which is rapidly depreciating against the US dollar in recent weeks, would see improvement in the next two to three weeks.

pak army, navy, FC continue relief operation in flood-hit districts: IspR ISLAMABAD Staff rePort

The Pakistan Army, assisted by Navy and Frontier Corps personnel continued relief work in various flood-hit areas across the country, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday.

The ISPR in a press release said the troops were also providing medical assistance and restoring communication infrastructure, especially in Balochistan. It said that as per the condition of the prevailing rivers, all were flowing normally except Indus river which it said witnessed a low-level flooding at Attock, Tarbela, Chashma, and Guddu.

A similar situation at Warsak and a medium flood at Nowshehra in the Kabul river were also recorded.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 133mm of rain was recorded in Mardan followed by Mohmand which reported 85 mm of rain. Dewatering efforts were carried out in Mardan whereas flash floods were reported in drains of Mohmand district.

In southern Punjab, all hill torrents were flowing normally except for some increased flow in Mithawan, Kaha and Sanghar hill torrents.

The local army commanders visited Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan where relief items were distributed among people affected by flooding. The medical camps were also established in both districts.

In Balochistan, complete connectivity of Gandava was restored and there was no isolated area in Gandava and its surroundings. The medical camp treated some 115 patients.

In Khuzdar, the M8 motorway was still closed and work on its opening was underway.

Moreover, the field medical camp in hafizabad treated some 145 people.

In Naseerabad, there was no rain recorded throughout the day and relief activities were underway for the affected population of Babakot and Gandakha.

The forces also distributed rations and cooked food among flood victims whereas the field medical camp in Gandakha treated various patients.

In Chaman, no rain was recorded and Bab-e-Dosti was fully functional. In Noshki, no rain was recorded on Sunday in the area where relief efforts were underway for the stranded population. Moreover, cooked meals were served to over 1,000 people. The N-40 was damaged at three places which was repaired and traffic had resumed.

In Lasbela, the situation was stabilizing as no rain was reported in the area. As many as five field medical camps were providing medical care in Naka, Bela, Duddar, hub and Gadani. The affected N-25 route was opened whereas repair work on bridges was underway.

The General Officer Commanding at Gawadar visited hub and Uthal.

Imran, Pervaiz Elahi finalise Punjab cabinet formation LAHORE Staff rePort

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday visited Lahore where he held a meeting with newly-elected Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz elahi and his son Moonis elahi.

According to the source, the former prime minister and the Punjab CM discussed the formation of the provincial cabinet and other issues.

On the occasion, Pervaiz elahi also apprised the PTI chairman of the government’s measures to help the flood victims.

In this regard, Imran Khan issued instructions to CM elahi to speed up the relief activities in the flood-affected areas.

According to sources the names of MPAs from the PTI and PML-Q were discussed and shortlisted for the Punjab cabinet

portfolios.

It is learnt that Raja Basharat will likely get the portfolio of the law ministry, Murad Raas will be given education ministry, Yasmin Rashid is likely to get the health ministry while hashim Jawan Bakht’s name has been finalized for finance ministry.

Moreover, Fawad Chaudhry is likely to get the portfolio of the home minister, said sources.

Mian Aslam Iqbal, Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, hafiz Muhammad Mumtaz, Samiulllah Chaudhry, hafiz Ammar Yasir, Yasir humayun Raja and Taimur Khan Bhatti will also get ministerial slots in the Punjab cabinet.

Furthermore, Muhammad Abdullah Waraich, Muhammad Rizwan, Sajid Ahmed Khan, Ahsanul haq Chaudhry, and Khadija Omar will be added to the provincial cabinet as ministers.

According to the press release issued by

the Punjab government, the PTI Chief congratulated CM Pervaiz elahi on the ouster of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz-led government. The CM and PTI Chief discussed the political situation and matters pertaining to providing relief to the people of Punjab.

Later, Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervaiz elahi chaired a meeting regarding the repercussions of recent floods and rains in the province. The CM announced to provide a relief package for flood-affected families.

An amount of Rs800,000 will be provided to families of those people who died due to floods. A committee would estimate losses and distribute relief packages among the deserving.

The CM also ordered the rebuilding of damaged roads on an emergency basis and established medical camps in the province.

Flood-affected people would also be vaccinated against viral diseases.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk