ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
PM,
O N
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t prime M nister shehbaz sharif on Monday directed to en sure the provis on of rs 50 000 rel ef to each f ood af fected fami y in the f ood hit areas through a transparent process within the three days Benazir income support programme (Bisp) wil provide rs 50 000 cash re ief to ever y flood affected family under the super vis on of na t onal disaster Management author ty (ndMa), he added the prime min ster was presiding over a meeting of the rel ef coordination comm ttee constituted for the flood affected areas the meeting was attended by federal Ministers M ftah ismail, ahsan iqba , Marriyam aurangzeb, Murtaza javed abbasi Mau ana asad Mehmood advi sor to pM Qamar Zaman Ka ra, cha rman ndMa lt Gen akhtar nawaz and relevant sen or off cia s M n ster for housing Mau ana abdu wasay ch ef Minister Balochistan abdul Quddus B zenjo and Member provicial assembly (Mpa) Balochistan sanaullah Baloch attended the meet ing through video ink the pr me minister further said that the disbursement of cash rel ef should be ensured through e ectronic transfer so that the deser ving peop e get rel ef he directed the flood rel ef coordination committee to f nalize the process of rs 50 000 cash relief disbursement and present its report by today even ng the prime min ster said that the joint sur vey in coordina t on w th the provinc al governments for the assessment of f ood re ated losses should be comp eted n three weeks instead of five weeks the provinc al governments should also cooperate and coordinate with ndMa re garding the oint sur vey at the earl est and to ensure timely re ief for the f ood affected people he added PM to provide Rs 50,000 cash relief to each flood affected family within 3 days
F loods have wreaked havoc on villages in Baloch stan and southern punjab eaving the flood h t peop e trapped under the open sky, wa ting for some a d from the government on Monday as many as 19 people were drowned in f ash floods in Musa Khel in Baloch stan and dera Ghaz Khan in punjab wh le the rescuers f shed out n ne dead bodies reportedly a dam in Musa Khel, Ba ochistan swept away fol lowing the torrent al ra ns on Mon day as a result 12 people drowned in the f oodwaters the rescue offic als took out four bod es wh le the search for 8 others was under way while confirming the news, deputy comm ssioner yas r iqbal dasht said that hundreds of houses co apsed dur ng the re cent spe l of heavy rains accord ng to off cia data the death toll n Ba ochistan has reached 194 in punjab seven people have swept away in the hil torrent from Koh e suleman in tuman Qais arani in dera Ghazi Khan so far five dead bodies have been fished out the rescuers have saved one person while another is stil m ss ng a woman died due to land sliding in the area dear Ghazi Khan has been cut off from the rest of the countr y due to h ll torrents from the su e man range mountains in Balochistan the nul ahs and streams n Kohlu Barkhan dera Bugt , jha Magsi and jafarabad have over f own threatening flood ing of the areas r ver nari and river til are facing medium flood accord ng to off cia data the death toll n Balochistan has reached 194 f oods have wreaked havoc on vi ages in Baloch stan and southern punjab leaving the flood h t people trapped under the open sky wait ng for some aid from the government the heavy rain has a so left the sewerage system of many areas choked forcing the people to reach their dest nat ons after pass ing through the dirty water accu mu ated in the streets and roads DozENS of VILL AgES IN SIbI AND KoT ChuTTA SubMERgED: dozens of vi lages were flooded in lehri tehsi s bi d strict Baloch stan due to the inflow of 140,000 cusecs of water in lehr river dozens of villages were flooded in lehri tehs l, sib d strict, Ba ochistan due to the nf ow of 140 000 cusecs of water n lehri river Bakhtiar abad domki dargah Katbar sharif tanya and wazira are among the v llages that were submerged the road connect ing dargah Katbar sharif to other areas of Baloch stan, has a so fallen prey to the f ood residents of dargah Katbar sharif and adjoining villages are trapped in flood under the open sky rescue teams have not been ab e to reach the f ood hit areas due to a lack of land connect v ty the vil agers of dargah Katbar sharif suffering from a lack of food including clean drink ng water, are waiting for aid under the open sky a f t e r s u b m e r g i n g d o z e n s o f v i l l a g e s i n le h r i t e h s i l t h e f l o o d i s n o w m o v i n g t o w a r d s n a s e e r a b a d g rescuers fish out nine dead Bodies in south punjaB
Floods wreak havoc on vill ages in Balochistan, southern PunjaB D PA G E 05 LAHORE S ta f f R e p o R t federa Minister and pakistan Musl m league nawaz (pMl n) eader Mian javed latif has c aimed that the party supremo nawaz shar f will return to the countr y in september to rep resent the people the announcement comes at an nterest ing juncture as some important persona ities are in london thee days and there have been reports of qu et meetings taking place n th s backdrop the announcement from the pMl n is interesting a d d r e s s n g a p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e a o n g w t h p M l n p u n j a b s p o k e s p e r s o n a z m a B u k h a r h e r e o n M o n d a y h e s a i d t h a t “ d o c t o r s k e p t c h a n g i n g t h e i r o p n i o n a t t i m e s h e s a i d t h a t p e o p l e w e r e h i s d o c t o r s a n d t h e y g a v e t h e v e r d i c t t h a t n a w a z s h a r i f s h o u l d c o m e b a c k a d d i n g t h a t l e v e p l a y i n g f i e l d n pa k i s t a n p o l i t c s w a s i m p o s s i b l e w i t h o u t n a w a z s p r e s e n c e h e f u r t h e r s a d t h a t n a w a z s h a r i f w a s n o t a f r a i d o f g o i n g t o j a i l h e w e n t t o a i l o n h i s r e t u r n f r o m a b r o a d w h e n h e w a s s e n t e n c e d h e s a i d a d d n g t h a t t h e p M l n w o u d n o t a o w t h e p a r t y c h i e f t o g o b a c k t o j a i l u p o n h i s r e t u r n, a s t f e l t t h a t i n u s t i c e w a s c o m m i t t e d e a r e r he said that after the announcement of fore gn fund ng case by the election commis sion a segment was not ready to accept it whereas it had been proved that pakistan tehreek e insaf (pti) cha rman imran Khan re ceived funding from foreign compan es and ind vidua s j a v e d l a t i f c r i t i c s e d i m r a n K h a n o v e r f o r e i g n f u n d n g s s u e s q u e s t o n n g t h a t i f t h e f u n d s w e r e g i v e n t o t h e h o s p i t a , t h e n w h y t h e y w e r e d e p o s i t e d i n p a r t y s a c c o u n t s f t h e f u n d s w e r e g v e n t o t h e p a r t y, t h e n w h a t w a s t h e a m o f t h e f u n d i n g h e a d d e d he said that imran Khan damaged the economy during h s tenure n power now when the value of dol ar had started going down then imran Khan had started g ving threats of staging a sit in again Nawaz Sharif to retur n in September, claims Javed Latif ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t the pr me m nister and Mohammed bin salman the crown prince of saud ara bia, on Monday expressed the resolve to further strengthen the strong long standing fraternal t es between the two nat ons in a telephon c conversation the two eaders also exchanged views on s sues of mutua interest, the prime M n s ter s office (pMo) said n a statement according to the statement sharif conveyed his “deep respects ” to salman bin abdulaz z, the oil rich king dom s king the call comes a day after saudi arabia agreed to renew a $3 b ll on de pos t at the state Bank of pakistan (sBp) to bolster the countr y ’s depleted fore gn reser ves as is amabad negotiates an aid package w th the internat onal Mon etar y fund (iMf) the wor d s top oi exporter which has trad tiona ly provided financia a d to islamabad, has a so agreed to sup port pakistan with $1 b ll on n petroleum products over 10 months the financia times reported the assistance could he p pakistan secure a $1 2 bil ion payment from the iMf, whose board is set to meet th s month to approve the d sbursement during the conversation Monday the crown pr nce congratulated the prime minister and the people of pak stan on the 75th anniversar y of pak stan’s independence he also conveyed h s best wishes for the continued progress prosper ty and development of pakistan the two also reviewed the progress made on the decisions taken by the two sides dur ng the ma den v sit of shehbaz sharif after assum ng the top off ce n apr l they reso ved to expedite the ongo ng cooperation in investment energy and trade fields recall ng the historic support ex tended by the kingdom to pakistan n testing times the pr me minister thanked the crown prince for the recent eco nomic and development support his government provided to is amabad shar f also reiterated his cordial nvi tat on” to the crown prince for a visit which he grac ously accepted the statement announced Saudi crown prince
express resolve to boost relationship ATTENTION Some readers have complained that they are not getting the magazine with their newspaper copy Please call or WhatsApp us at the following number to register a complaint Contac t: 0307 7338168 ir fan farooq@pakistantoday com pk IN TODAY S ISSUE g latest call coMes a day after saudi araBia renewed a $3 Billion deposit in central BanK g 19 people drown in fla sh floods in Musa Khel; thousands stranded a s fla sh floods hit Balochistan, south punjaB hard C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 05 C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 05 01 FRONT PAGE (16-8-2022) (Karachi)_Layout 1 8/16/2022 1:19 AM Page 1
Tu e s d a y, 1 6 A u g u s t , 2 0 2 2 I 1 7 M u h a r r a m , 1 4 4 4 I R s 4 0 . 0 0 I Vo l X I I I N o 4 7 I 4 4 Pa g e s I Ka r a c h i E d i t i o n C O N T I N U E
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday allowed all exchange companies to export foreign currencies other than the US dollar and bring in the greenback in their f o r e i g n c u r r e n c y a c c o u n t s m a i n t a i n e d w i t h b a n k s i n
The inflow of river water at Taunsa Barrage has been measured 3,99,740 cusecs, while the discharge of water has been recorded 3,94,440 cusecs The inflow of river water at Guddu Barrage has been measured 2 64 167 cusecs while the outflow has been recorded 2,61,159 cusecs The inflow of river water at Sukkur Barrage has been measured 1 92 430 cusecs, while the discharge has been recorded 1,61,710 cusecs
FBR to brief PM on upcoming ‘mini budget’
Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has predicted above normal rainfall in August this year in most parts of the country In its monthly weather outlook, the PMD forecast above normal rainfall in northeastern Punjab, Kashmir, southern parts of Sindh as well as coastal areas of Balochistan during August
SBP allows exchange firms to expor t forex other than US dollar
The inflow of river water at Kalabagh has been measured 1,96,722 cusecs, while the discharge has been recorded 1,90,222 cusecs
The Pakistani rupee continued to strengthen against the US dollar for the tenth successive working day gaining Rs1 51 to close at Rs213 98 in the interbank market on Monday In light of the news pertaining to foreign exchange inflows from Saudi Arabia have strengthened the PKR rally in the interbank market According to a report by Bloomberg, the Saudi Finance Ministry is planning to renew its $3 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as soon as this week The kingdom is also considering to provide $100 million a month for 10 months in petroleum products that will be granted as additional support FAP Chairperson Malik Bostan attributed the rupee’s rise to the International Monetary Fund s (IMF) letter of intent and reports of assistance from friendly countries, especially Saudi Arabia He said the market expected that payment from the IMF would be received soon which would increase the country’s foreign reserves The FAP chairperson said the greenback’s real price was between 190 and 200 but speculators had “artificially increased it because of the economic issues and the risk of default” He added, however, that the dollar would come back to its real price soon Mettis Global Director Saad bin Naseer said the local currency had risen because dollars were flowing into the country, adding that more inflows were expected Exporters who had been holding their dollars abroad, are also bringing them into Pakistan now because the greenback is depreciating quickly,” he added Naseer said there was “pressure” as exporters were approaching the government and other bodies to urge them to stabilise the exchange rate since they are facing losses But this will always happen The best suggestion is that the dollars should be converted into rupees the same day that the export [consignment] is sent and the government and banks should sign a memorandum of understanding in this regard which will end the uncertainty ” He said that the rupee will continue to strengthen and gain in the coming days if the political situation remained stable “This week’s start has been very good Positive news is coming from every front because of which sentiments have changed,”
Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) General Secretary Zafar Paracha said He added that because of the positive developments, exporters who had been previously holding onto dollars were looking to sell them but importers were waiting for the greenback to fall further Paracha said there were reports that Saudi Arabia would roll over a $3 billion loan and provide oil on deferred payments while the IMF tranche would be received soon which is why the PKR was recovering
The ministry of finance has sought details from National Bank of Pakistan as well as State Bank on closure of the Paris branch Sources said that the ministry of finance has written a letter to NBP as well as governor SBP with regard to closure of the Paris branch of the government owned bank The finance division has asked the SBP and President NBP to furnish details at the earliest Earlier it was reported that NBP shut down three foreign branches in different countries namely Bangladesh (Sylhet) Afghanistan (Jalalabad) and Uzbekistan (Tashkent) The closure of foreign branches is being done under the bank management s plan to overcome losses from these markets due to multiple operational challenges in the host countries Reportedly the bank s management planned to scale down its foreign operations last year which included several branches and subsidiaries for up to 14 entities The bank reviewed its plan and focused on seven markets for winding up operations in the first phase whereas the rest of the closures will be decided later M o n I to r I n g r e p o r t
U S river water level at Guddu Barrage has surged to low flood again after a water flow of 57,000 cusecs reached to the barrage in upper Sindh on Monday
02-03 NEWS 16 AUGUST_Layout 1 8/16/2022 1:03 AM Page 1
ISLAMABAD S h a h z a d Pa r ac h a The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will brief Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the upcoming mini budget on Tuesday In this regard, while addressing the eighth computer ballot on POS Prize Scheme Member Admin FBR Dr Faiz Illahi Memon also said that FBR will give a presentation to the PM Shahbaz Shairf on August 16 on the overall strategy for the achievement of the revenue collection target of Rs7 4 trillion for 2022 23 (FY23) Sources said that FBR has almost completed its work related to this matter whereas the mini budget and the ordinance will be presented within the next few days They said that the government has a plan to increase regulatory duties on items on which the government recently lifted a ban The FBR estimated to collect Rs15 billion by increasing RD on these 83 tariff lines,” sources said, adding that the government will also increase taxes on tobacco and cigarettes besides introducing a SWAP system in withholding tax payments Member admin of the tax department said that the FBR will present a detailed roadmap to the PM covering Inland Revenue and Customs for the new fiscal year for documentation of the economy, reforms and meeting the assigned revenue collection target
PKR appreciates against US dollar in 10th consec utive session
Balakot hydropower projec t faces fur ther delay
ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t
OGRA reduces prices of impor ted RLNG by up to $0.51 per MMBTU
As per the figures shared by authorities, the inflow of river water at Tarbela Dam has been measured 2,44,800 cusecs, while the outflow has been 2,15,500 cusecs
Sindh on Monday revoked the condition of submission of domicile and PRC at the time of admission in Intermediate The director of colleges Sindh in a press release announced to extend the date of admission in the first year till August 20 owing to continuous rain across the province The condition of submitting domicile and PRC has been revoked and now the students will submit the said documents at the time of examination of intermediate and registration In this context, the directions have been forwarded to all colleges in the province Earlier, the Board of Intermediate Education (BIEF) Karachi postponed all examination papers that were scheduled for Thursday (August 11) According to a notification issued by the BIEK, the papers were postponed in line with the rain forecast issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Cour t adjourns post-arrest bail petition of Gill till Tuesday StAff report A lower court here on Monday adjourned hearing on post arrest bail petition of PTI’s leader Shahbaz Gill due to non appearance of the case record Additional District and Session Judge Zeba Chaudhry heard the bail case of Shahbaz Gill in FIR registered by the Kohsar Police Station with regard of his controversial statement about the state institutions during a TV program At the outset of hearing, the court noted that an identical matter was already pending with the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Gill’s counsel Faisal Chaudhary Advocate said that matter related to the order of judicial magistrate was pending with IHC adding that this court still court hear the matter The prosecutor adopted the stance that the IHC had served notices to respondents in plea regarding the further physical remand of Shahbaz Gill The police said that the case record could not be produced this day as it was currently with IHC The court asked the Gill’s lawyer to give arguments and instructed the police to present the record tomorrow The judge said it was a common case like others The court held a recession in the hearing and asked the prosecution to present the case record However, later on, the judge adjourned hearing on the case till tomorrow and instructed the prosecution to ensure production of case record on next hearing LAHore n e w S d e S k
Pakistan In a statement issued in this regard, the central bank clarified that this decision has been taken to enable the e x c h a n g e c o m p a n i e s t o d i v e r t t h e f l o w o f f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e , m o b i l i s e d b y t h e m , t o w a r d s t h e i n t e r b a n k market I t h a s b e e n d e c i d e d t o a l l o w t h e e x c h a n g e companies to export US dollar on a consignment basis t h r o u g h c a rg o / s e c u r i t y c o m p a n y, ” t h e S B P s a i d , directing firms to ensure the availability of a sufficient amount of US currency notes at their counters to meet the demand of the general public T h e c e n t r a l b a n k s a i d t h a t i t s h o u l d a l s o b e e n s u r e d t h a t t h e p r o c e e d s o f s u c h e x p o r t m u s t r e a c h i n U S d o l l a r a c c o u n t o f t h e e x c h a n g e c o m p a n i e s m a i n t a i n e d w i t h b a n k s i n P a k i s t a n w i t h i n t h r e e d a y s o f s u c h e x p o r t “ E x c h a n g e c o m p a n i e s s h a l l s u r r e n d e r 1 0 0 % o f f o r e i g n e x c h a n g e r e c e i v e d o n t h e e x p o r t o f U S d o l l a r, i n t h e i n t e r b a n k m a r k e t o n t h e s a m e d a y, ” t h e s t a t e m e n t r e a d , a d d i n g t h a t t h i s f a c i l i t y w i l l b e a v a i l a b l e u n t i l S e p t e m b e r 3 0
The inflow of river water at Chashma has been gauged 2,63,456 cusecs, while the outflow has been measured 2 45 057 cusecs
StAff report
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has directed Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and district administrations to expedite relief operation in flood affected areas of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts He also directed to shift people to safer places besides establishment of relief camps in the affected areas The Chief Minister said all necessary facilities should be ensured to flood affected families The operation should be continued until the last victim is transferred to a safer place”, CM Pervaiz Elahi added Sindh revokes domicile, PRC condition for admission in intermediate StAff report
ISLAMABAD S h a h z a d Pa r ac h a
Tuesday, 16 August, 2022 | KARACHI 02 newS neWS DeSk I N D
The inflow of river water at Kotri Barrage has been measured 2,23,177 cusecs, while the outflow has been recorded 2 10 102 cusecs
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Monday slashed the prices of Re gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) on networks of the SSGCL and SNGPL by up to 2 92 per cent for the current month According to the details, the authority has decreased the price for the consumers of SNGPL by $0 5107 MMBTU which is 2 92 per cent lower than the price in July After the cut the price of RLNG will go down to $16 9496/MMBTU for August from $17 4603/MMBTU during July Similarly, the price for consumers of SSGCL has been reduced by $0 4792/MMBTU which is 2 67pc less than the previous month s notified price After the reduction the price of imported RLNG will go down to $17 4783/MMBTU for August from $ 17 9575/MMBTU during July According to OGRA, a total of six LNG cargoes were imported by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) under two long term contracts with Qatar while Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) procured one LNG cargo during August The main reason for the decrease in RLNG prices in August is because of the procurement of only one expansive LNG cargo under the spot purchase Under long two term contracts with Qatar, PSO is procuring LNG at 13 37pc of Brent and 10 20pc of Brent crude The decrease in rates will also reduce the cost of electricity generated from RLNG based power plants during August
The Met Office has cautioned that heavy rainfall can trigger flash flooding in hilly areas of Punjab AJK and KP as well as urban flooding in plain areas i e major cities of Punjab, Sindh and KP “Due to extreme hydro meteorological events over catchment areas, riverine floods can t be ruled out, according to the weather department “Above normal temperatures in high altitudes are likely to increase rate of snowmelt in the Northern Areas subsequently increasing the chances of base flow in the Upper Indus basin,” the PMD said in its weather outlook LEvEL SURGES TO LOw FLOOd AT GUddU BARRAGE AGAIN Elahi gives directive to expedite relief operation in flood-affected areas
INdUS wATER
The Indus River has been in medium flood at Taunsa Barrage and low flood at Guddu and Kotri barrages
peSHAWAr a z i z B u n e r i The 300 megawatts (MW) Balakot Power Project has been delayed due to the slow pace of land procurement as local people are refusing to provide their land on rates fixed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government It is pertinent to note that the Asian Development Bank (ADP) approved the loan facility for the project and an agreement in this regard was signed in March, this year The dam will be constructed in KP’s Balakot district at the cost of Rs85 billion The foundation stone of the project was expected to be laid in May, however, several key issues regarding land acquisition are pending The donor has directed the authorities responsible to start work after completing the purchase of the land Officials privy to the matter informed Profit that land has yet to be purchased at several sites including Paras Bela Sacha and Sanghar Sources also informed that local people are not ready to provide their land at the rate fixed by the deputy commissioner as they are of the view that the market rate is much higher Special Assistant for Population Welfare Syed Ahmed Hussain Shah has held several meetings with the locals in this regard but they have refused to accept the official rates As a result, the mega power project is being delayed further
Fi n a n c e m i n i s t r y s e e k s d e t a i l s o n c l o s u re o f N B P Pa r i s b r a n c h
02-03 NEWS 16 AUGUST_Layout 1 8/16/2022 1:03 AM Page 2
The speakers in a seminar on M o n d a y urged the Pakistan’s legal fraternity to a d v o c a t e t h e K a s h m i r c a u s e a n d e s t a b l i s h K a s h m i r c e l l s i n a l l d i s t r i c t and high courts A seminar titled ‘August 15 Black D a y : E x p o s i n g I n d i a s s h a m p r e t e n c e o f d e m o c r a t i c v a l u e s i n I I O J K ’ w a s o rg a n i z e d j o i n t l y b y I s l a m a b a d H i g h C o u r t B a r A s s o c i a t i o n ( I H C B A ) a n d L e g a l F o r u m f o r K a s h m i r ( L F K ) t o mark August 15, India’s Independence day as Black Day S p e a k i n g o n t h e o c c a s i o n , P r e s i d e n t I H C B A S h o a i b S h a h e e n Advocate said that India had failed to u p h o l d d e m o c r a t i c v a l u e s a n d t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l c o m m i t m e n t s p e r t a i n i n g to Human Rights He further said that I n d i a w a s a d a m a n t a b o u t e m p l o y i n g v i o l e n c e a s a n i n s t r u m e n t t o c o e r c e u n a r m e d K a s h m i r i s t h e r e b y p e r p e t r a t i n g g r a v e H u m a n R i g h t s Violations A s s i s t a n t P r o f e s s o r I I U I P r o f A b d u r R a u f K h a t t a n a e l o q u e n t l y e x p o u n d e d o n t h e d i s p u t e d s t a t u s o f IIOJK and also the tactics employed by India to illegally occupy the territory D u r i n g h i s a d d r e s s , h e e x p o s e d t h e farce democratic face of India which is being used to whitewash the denial of Kashmiris’ rights and the violation of H u m a n R i g h t s i n t h e o c c u p i e d t e r r i t o r y H e f u r t h e r e x p l a i n e d t h e l a w f a r e m e a s u r e s u n d e r I n t e r n a t i o n a l l a w w h i c h c o u l d b e e m p l o y e d t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e p e r p e t r a t o r s o f w a r crimes in IOJK were held accountable H e r e c o m m e n d e d t h e documentation of all such war crimes a n d a l s o l o o k i n g f o r a v e n u e s l i k e Universal Jurisdiction to build pressure on Indian government R e s e a r c h A s s o c i a t e I n d i a S t u d y Centre, Muhammad Ali Baig said that t h e K a s h m i r i s a n d P a k i s t a n i s h a v e b l o o d t i e s w i t h e a c h o t h e r H e a d d e d t h a t t h e d e n i a l o f b a s i c r i g h t s o f Kashmiris was in contravention to the multiple UNSC resolution H e a s s e r t e d t h a t t h e d e c e p t i v e i n s t r u m e n t s a n d t a c t i c s l i k e t h e a c c e s s i o n a n d h o l l o w p r o v i s i o n o f internal autonomy to the erstwhile state o f J a m m u K a s h m i r h a d e n s u r e d a n d aided the Indian occupation of IIOJK H e f u r t h e r s t r e s s e d t h a t P a k i s t a n n e e d e d t o u p t h e a n t e a n d l a u n c h a n o ff e n s i v e d i p l o m a t i c p r o g r a m a g a i n s t I n d i a t o e x p o s e i t s f a k e d e m o c r a t i c facade Senior Lawyer, Muhammad Ashraf Qureshi highlighted the shortcomings i n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s e t u p o f A z a d J a m m u K a s h m i r ( A J & K ) , w h i l e e x p o u n d i n g o n t h e l a c k o f c l a r i t y i n P a k i s t a n s s t a n c e p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e constitution of AJK He urged all the Kashmiris to unite a n d w o r k c o l l e c t i v e l y i n s y n e rg y against the occupier India Executive Director LFK Advocate Nasir Qadri said India s independence a c t o f J u l y 1 9 4 7 m a d e n o m e n t i o n o f J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r, r a t h e r i t w a s i l l e g a l l y o c c u p i e d b y I n d i a s o c c u p y i n g f o r c e s w i t h o u t a n y v e n e r a t i o n t o t h e a s p i r a t i o n s o f Kashmiris H e f u r t h e r h i g h l i g h t e d t h e importance of the legal fraternity’s role i n t h e L a w f a r e f o r K a s h m i r a n d proposed the establishment of Kashmir c e l l s i n a l l t h e D i s t r i c t / H i g h C o u r t s a c r o s s P a k i s t a n , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n I s l a m a b a d , L a h o r e , K a r a c h i , a n d Peshawar Vi c e P r e s i d e n t D i s t r i c t B a r A s s o c i a t i o n A d v o c a t e M a l i k Q a m a r A b b a s s l a u d e d L F K a n d I H C B A f o r jointly organizing a seminar to expose India’s fake democratic values
A robber was shot dead and another was arrested in injured condition in Islamabad during a police encounter on Monday According to police, the incident occurred within the remits of I 9 police station after Eagle Squad intercepted muggers looting a citizen “As soon as the police engaged them, the robbers opened fire on police, ensuing an encounter which resulted in the death of one of the suspect and injury to another,” they said The injured robber was later arrested and shifted to a hospital for treatment Mugging incidents have been reported in the country and police nationwide have taken measures to curb such incidents Recently, three robbers were killed in a police encounter in Orangi Town area of Karachi while a policeman was injured According to ARY News, police spotted three robbers in Orangi town’s 11 1/2 area when they were looking for their next target The robbers opened fire at the police when they saw them chasing them, and the police fired back, killing the three robbers The police told that all three of the robbers died on the spot, bodies were transferred to a nearby hospital Sharif offers condolences over deaths in Egypt church fire
ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t
The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the prompt response of the provincial government institutions and assured that the federal government will fully cooperate with the provincial government in the recovery and restoration phases
Bizenjo appreciates PM’s special suppor t for Balochistan flood affec tees
03newS Tuesday, 16 August, 2022 | KARACHI StAff report N AT I O N A L Assembly (NA) Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf o n M o n d a y p a i d t r i b u t e t o t h e l a t e A h m a d A r i f N i z a m i L a t e Z i a u d d i n a n d L a t e A t t a U r R e h m a n f o r b e i n g n o m i n a t e d a s r e c i p i e n t o f S t a r P a k i s t a n H e e x p r e s s e d t h e s e v i e w s w h i l e c o n g r a t u l a t i n g r e n o w n e d j o u r n a l i s t s f o r b e i n g n o m i n a t e d f o r t h e N a t i o n a l C i v i l Aw a r d 2 0 2 2 o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f 7 5 t h I n d e p e n d e n c e D a y o f P a k i s t a n T h e s p e a k e r s a i d t h e j o u r n a l i s t c o m m u n i t y h a d a l w a y s p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n s t r e n g t h e n i n g d e m o c r a c y i n t h e c o u n t r y a n d p r o m o t i n g d e m o c r a t i c v a l u e s i n t h e s o c i e t y T h e s p e a k e r s a i d t h e r o l e o f t h e m e d i a in the promotion of democratic values was commendable in the country However he a p p r e c i a t e d t h e r o l e o f t h e j o u r n a l i s t c o m m u n i t y f o r t h e p r o m o t i o n o f f r e e d o m o f e x p r e s s i o n a n d s u p r e m a c y o f t h e P a r l i a m e n t H e f u r t h e r c o n g r a t u l a t e d M u j i b u r R e h m a n S h a m i A l t a f H a s a n Q u r e s h i ( H i l a l P a k i s t a n ) , J a v e d C h a u d h r y ( S i t a r a Pakistan), Nadeem Malik, Tikka Khan and H a f i z Ta h i r K h a l i l f o r b e i n g n o m i n a t e d f o r t h e P r e s i d e n t i a l Aw a r d f o r t h e i r s e r v i c e s H e a l s o p a i d t r i b u t e t o l a t e A j a y L a l w a n i , l a t e I r s h a d M a s t o i , l a t e M u s a K h a n K h e l a n d l a t e A r i f K h a n , l a t e Z i a u r R e h m a n F a r o o q u i a n d l a t e S h a h i d Z a h r i f o r b e i n g n o m i n a t e d f o r Ta g h m a P a k i s t a n a w a r d R a j a P e r v a i z s a i d t h e j o u r n a l i s t s n o m i n a t e d f o r t h e N a t i o n a l C i v i l Aw a r d s h a d p e r f o r m e d o u t s t a n d i n g s e r v i c e s i n t h e f i e l d o f j o u r n a l i s m i n r e c o g n i t i o n o f w h i c h t h e y w e r e b e i n g a w a r d e d w i t h t h e N a t i o n a l C i v i l Aw a r d s H e s a i d a w a r d w i n n i n g j o u r n a l i s t s w e r e t o r c h b e a r e r f o r y o u n g j o u r n a l i s t s i n t h e f i e l d o f j o u r n a l i s m N A S P E A k E R PAy S T R I B U T E T O A R I F N I z A M I , L A U d S O T h E R J O U R N A L I S T S O N N O M I N AT I O N O F N AT I O N A L C I v I L Aw A R d S 2 0 2 2
The KSE 100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed bullish trend on Monday gaining 764 25 points hit a two month high at 43,450 points during the day trade on Monday The stock market closed at 43 621 82 points against 42,857 57 points on the last working day A total of 541,548,244 shares were traded during the day compared to the trade of 373,855,747 shares the previous day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs16 836 billion against Rs10 613 billion on last trading day
PSX hits t wo -month high with KSe-100 index over 43,000-mark
Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Monday replaced retired judge Sajjad Ali Shah to become a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) Justice Shah was nominated for the post after the retirement of Ali Shah as a judge of the Supreme Court He retired on August 13 The commission is a commission which makes appointments and elevation of judges to the superior courts of the country Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial heads the apex body ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t
StAff report
ISLAMABAD M o n i to r i n g r e P o r t
The CM Balochistan agreed for conducting a joint survey of damages with the federal institutions, for which the CM Balochistan was the focal point of the province The chief minister also underlined the need to start the survey immediately and reduce its duration
Robber gunned down, another injured in Islamabad police encounter
On this occasion, Chief Secretary Balochistan Abdul Aziz Aqili informed the meeting about the losses relief activities and the needs of the province CS said that the notification of flood affected union councils has been issued and sent to the federal government He said that according to the preliminary estimate 15 billion rupees are required for the recovery of the damages and 20 billion rupees for the rehabilitation phase in Balochistan
Kashmir cells to be established in bar councils in across Pak istan
As many as 368 companies transacted shares in the stock market,272 of them recorded gain and 75 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 21 companies remained unchanged The three top trading companies were K Electric Ltd with a volume of 58 624 500 shares and price per share of Rs 3 35, Pak Refinery with volume of 38,745,080 and price per share of Rs 19 72 and WorldCall Telecom with volume of 37,753,500 and price per share of Rs 1 35 Nestle PakistanXD witnessed a maximum increase of Rs 250 per share, closing at Rs 6,150 whereas the runner up was Sapphire Tex the share prices of which climbed up by Rs 73 78 to Rs 1 136 72 Bhanero Tex witnessed maximum decrease of Rs106 38 per share closing at Rs 1 318 62 followed by Indus Motor Company, the share price of which declined by Rs15 71 to close at Rs 1,048 08 It is pertinent to mention here that the IMF executive board is scheduled to meet on August 29 to approve the release of $1 2 billion out of the promised $7 billion to Pakistan Stocks and the rupee have held their ground following news of the Fund providing an additional $2 8 billion loan to Pakistan, which will be in addition to the current one under the $7bn revival phase
App Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo on Monday expressed his gratitude on behalf of the people and government of the province for the special interest of Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif in the relief and rehabilitation of flood ravaged people of Balochistan During the Relief Coordination Committee meeting chaired by the Prime Minister through video link, the Chief Minister said that Balochistan has been severely affected by the rains and the government is using all resources to provide immediate relief to the victims “The cooperation of the federal government for relief and rehabilitation operation is very important as the Prime Minister has personally visited the affected districts and reviewed the prevailing situation, The Chief Minister however emphasized the need to speed up the efforts of NDMA
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives after a fire ripped through a packed Coptic Orthodox church during morning services in Egypt’s capital on Sunday, quickly filling it with thick black smoke and killing 41 worshippers The blaze started just before 9:00 am in the Abu Sifin church in the city of Giza where about up to 1,000 people had gathered The fire blocked an entrance to the church, causing the stampede the two sources told Reuters adding that most of those killed were children The prime minister, on behalf of the people of Pakistan, extended his condolences to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and the families of the deceased, his office said on Monday Shah becomes JCP member
ISLAMABAD S ta f f r e P o r t
aNKaRa A N A D o l u Ag e N c y Pakistan s embassy in Türkiye s capital Ankara on Sun day marked the country’s 75th Independence Day Ambassador Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi hoisted the national flag to the tune of the national anthem in the presence of the Turkish dignitaries, Pak istani community and media Messages of the president and prime min ister of Pakistan were read out on the occasion In their messages, the country’s leadership paid tribute to the sacrifices of ancestors and vowed to transform Pakistan in accordance with the vision of the nation’s founder Quaid i Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and national poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal The leadership also expressed solidarity with the people of Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir who are facing military siege for the past three years and reassured Pakistan’s po litical moral and diplomatic support for their legitimate right to self determination
The Consul General noted, “Last year we also conducted a B2B webinar between Pakistani mango exporters and Chinese mango importers ” This year, we invited not only Chinese consumers but also Chi nese companies in the mango in dustry Our purpose was to establish long term relationships between Pakistani exporters and Chinese mango importers ”
Speaking on the event, Qazi felicitated the nation, particularly the Pakistani community in Türkiye on the 75th anniversary of the independence Qazi stated: “August 14 reminds us of the epic dem ocratic struggle of our ancestors to secure a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent where they could live according to their own will “It is a day to reiterate the firm resolve to uphold our national values of unity faith and discipline as en visioned by our Quaid and renew our commitment to the objectives of the creation of Pakistan ” The ambassador also thanked the Turkish leadership and people for congratulatory messages and for partic ipating in the Pakistan Independence Day celebrations Ankara s landmark Atakule the tallest tower and best lit building, will be showcasing messages of Pakistan Türkiye brotherhood and solidarity Moreover bridges in Istanbul on the Bosporus linking Asia with Europe will be illuminated in Pakistan’s flag colours this evening On August 14, 1947, the independent state of Pakistan appeared on the world stage for the first time when the Indian subconti nent was formally divided into two new do minions of India and Pakistan under the terms of the Indian Independence Act, adopted by the British Parliament The Muslims’ pro posal to establish a separate state was ac cepted on March 23, 1940
Terming the youth an asset to Pakistan, First Lady Samina Alvi on Monday said their im mense talent and passion would take Pakistan to new heights of development and prosperity Speaking at an event organised by a university to mark the 75th anniversary of independence, she urged the youth to step forward and con tribute to national development by showing ex emplary performance in all fields of life Alvi stressed the importance of dedication, hard work and perseverance to achieve the goals of making the country stand out proudly among the comity of nations “Every individual, partic ularly youth and students has to play their role to make Pakistan a great country,” she said She said Pakistan’s youth was second to none with regard to their capabilities She however also pointed out the need for a level playing field for them to excel She emphasised getting advanced knowledge as per the contemporary needs how ever, called upon the youth not to forget their roots while pursuing their studies abroad Alvi highlighted the beautiful culture and traditions imbibed in the ethos of Pakistani society, which she stressed, needed to be promoted at all lev els The first lady said the education of women was vital for the progress of the country besides their mainstreaming in all fields of life Staff RepoRt
The British Council and Koel Gallery have partnered to launch the Saahil Ki Kahaaniyan Stories from the Coast’ project exhibition at the Koel Gallery in Karachi on August 12 The exhibition which continues until Au gust 19 features multidisciplinary works that aim to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on the coastal areas of Pakistan, particularly its fragile man grove ecosystem with a view to promoting sustainable coastal development The project is part of the British Council’s Pakistan UK Season: New Perspectives pro gramme to mark the 75th anniversary of Pakistan In February, the project awarded grants to Pakistan based artists exploring this theme through a variety of medi ums culminating in the curated exhibition close to Pak istan’s independence day The British Council arranged a diverse selection committee, including experts from the UK to review applications a process that was quite intensive, given the large number of high quality applications that were received After a detailed vetting exercise four creative teams were selected to work on this project Visual Artist, Curator and Director KOEL Gallery, Noorjehan Bilgrami said: “I am sincerely hop ing that these projects through the common platform of ‘Saahil Ki Kahaaniyan’, amalgamating at KOEL Gallery, will begin the process of collective research that records, investigates and disseminates the awareness of our legacy that needs to be owned, protected and treas ured It is a beginning for this exciting work to con tinue Artist Mahera Omar presented a silent cinematic journey through a delicate wetland ecosystem on the shores of an industrial city, documenting the precious biodiversity which is in grave danger of being lost under her project titled, ‘Kabhi aisay bhi hota hai ke kinare doob jate hain ’ Marvi Mazhar, Abuzar Madhu and Swalay Muhammad presented Milaap
The selected scholars would be able to start their academic studies in the Moroc can universities by the start of the aca demic year in (September/October 2023) By closing date of application, appli cant must hold a minimum of 12 years of education (FSc/A level) for the under graduate programme He/ she must be aged from 19 23 years For master ’s pro gramme, the applicant must have com pleted 16 years of education in relevant fields of study Likewise a minimum of 18 years of education in the relevant field of study is required for getting admitted to the PhD program in respective Moroc can university The mode of study is French lan guage and only students who have shown satisfactory result in the French language learning program will be given the green light to travel to Mo rocco to pursue their scholarship/ train ing, in French language, in the Moroccan public institution for higher Education No one will be allowed to avail scholarship without having shown satisfactory mastery in French language Those who do not have sufficient knowledge of French language are re quired to undertake French language course in their country by enrolling at ap propriate center dedicated for this pur pose like Alliance Francaise French Cultural Center etc In the linguistic fields, Arabic litera ture and Islamic studies are taught in Arabic and applicants of these fields must be fluent in Arabic and in posses sion of proficiency certificate Applicants must fulfill other requirements set by the concerned university in Morocco The candidate must not be sus pended/ expelled from Kingdom of Mo rocco earlier due to any criminal activity The application who succeeds in the French language training program, organ ized in their country of origin, should be in the possession prior to their arrival to Morocco for the academic year 2022 23, of the documents including a long term visa (student visa) and health certificate attesting that they are vaccinated against infectious and contagious diseases, in the particular for Tuberculosis
IHC ser ves notices to Islamabad police seeking physic al remand of Gill First lady urges youth to work for countr y’s progress
Staff RepoRt C O N S U L General of Pak istan in Shanghai Hussain Haider has said there was a plan to establish long term relations between Pakistani mango exporters and Chi nese mango importers The Consul General highlighted that in an interview with China Eco nomic Net (CEN) after the great suc cess of the 2022 Pakistan Mango Festival and Pakistan Promotion Conference held on August 1, in Shanghai There has been an obvious de cline in the production of Pakistani mangoes this year due to harsh weather Almost a 60% decline has been observed However Hussain Haider gave a positive response, saying that the normal output of mangoes in Pak istan equates to 1 8 million tonnes per year, and exports comprise 150,000 tonnes of it So, although production has de creased there is still adequate ca pacity for export Though the mangoes that Pak istan exports to China on a com mercial basis are not of a substantive quantity, in 2021, sup ply almost increased by 10% in comparison to 2020 Hussain Haider believed that with continuous marketing efforts Pakistani mango exports would gain substantial traction When informed that the Chi nese market already consists of mangoes imported from other coun tries in much larger quantities, how will the production of Pakistani mangoes compete in China? Our mangoes have a distinct advantage in taste and aroma which you will not see in the mangoes from other countries, Hussain Haider replied in confidence adding that Pakistan would have to sustain marketing ef forts
Pakistan’s Independence D ay celebrated in Ank ara Staff RepoRt T h e I s l a m a b a d H i g h C o u r t ( I H C ) o n M o n d a y s e r v e d notices to respondents in a case filed by Islamabad Po l i c e s e e k i n g f u r t h e r p h y s i c a l r e m a n d o f P T I ’s l e a d e r Shahbaz Gill Acting Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the case seeking review the decision of judicial magistrate reject ing the request of prosecution for further physical remand of the accused Advocate General Islamabad Barrister Jahangir Jadoon, Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Haseeb Muhammad and Rizwan Abbasi Advocate appeared before the court At the outset of hearing the court asked the lawyers to give arguments firstly on maintainability of the review petition Rizwan Abbasi Advocate gave references of var ious judgments of the court and argued that this case was maintainable The advocate general Islamabad said that PTI Leader Shahbaz Gill had given a controversial statement on a TV channel with regard to the state institutions The govern ment had taken serious notice of this statement and an FIR was registered against Gill he said Jahangir Jadoon said that in his statement Shahbaz Gill had targeted sensitive state institutions which had given numerous sacrifices for the country The court asked the prosecution why it required more physical remand and case was at what stage The advocate general said that the case was about the decisions of lower court The court observed that one fact was that the lower court had dismissed the review petition of prosecution and second was that the physical remand of the accused had expired The advocate general contended that laptop and other devices were yet to be recovered from the accused due to which the prosecution required his further physical re mand The court adjourned the case till tomorrow It may be mentioned here that previously a lower court had dis missed the request of prosecution for further physical re mand of Shahbaz Gill and he was sent to jail on judicial remand Meanwhile, Shahbaz Gill s legal team also ap proached IHC for seeking termination of FIR against him It prayed the court to quash the FIR registered against Mr Gill as it didn t meet the merits
Tuesday 16 August 2022 | KARACHI 04 NEWS
The Moroccan Agency of International Cooperation (AMCI) has offered schol arships to Pakistani students for pursu ing education in the Moroccan Public Institutions of Higher Technical and Vocational Education for the academic year 2022 23 A c c o r d i n g t o o ff i c i a l s o u r c e s t h e deadline for receiving nominations by t h e H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n o f P a k i s t a n ( H E C ) i s f i x e d a s 2 0 t h S e p tember 2022 As per the details, the can didate must be a Pakistani/ AJK national and permanent resident of Pakistan/ AJK Dual nationality holders are not eligible for this offer
Morocco announces scholarships for Pakistani students
Minorities subjected to atrocities in India due to Modi’s fascist policies: A JK President app President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry said on Monday that India is not a secular democracy, but in the form of majority of Hindus, there is an imposition of tyranny Muslims Sikhs Christians and minorities are being subjected to atrocities in India due to Modi’s fas cist policies India’s face has been exposed in the world, India s independence day is being celebrated as a black day by Kashmiris all over the world The time is not far when India will have to give their right to self determi nation according to the intention of the Kashmiris, more than nine lakh Kashmiris are fighting with the Indian oc cupying army Against the attempt to change the status of Occupied Kashmir on August 5, this problem will be highlighted in the international forum aggressively in America, Europe, Middle East from next month He ex pressed these views while addressing the Meet the Press” program at the Central Press House in Muzaf farabad Information Advisor Rafiq Nair, Chairman MDA Azhar Geelani, President Press Club Syed Afaq Hussain, General Secretary Masoodur Rehman Abbasi were also present on this occasion State President Bar rister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry further said that India imprisoned Hurriyat leaders Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik is still imprisoned in Tihar Jail The Kashmir Committee has been organized in the European Parlia ment The Secretary General of the OIC has also assured that he will intensify his efforts to give Kashmiris the right to self determination He said that Narendra Modi is the reason for anti Muslim and minority policies India’s Shiraz is about to disintegrate by itself, now all the minorities in India have stood up against Modi s fas cist government the people of Kashmir will breathe a sigh of freedom very soon British Council par tners with Koel Galler y on Ar t for Climate Change for Pakistan’s 75th anniversar y KaRaCHI N e w s D e s k
ISLaMaBaD A P P
04 NEWS 16 AUGUST_Layout 1 8/16/2022 12:56 AM Page 1
PAKIstAn exPedItInG MArKetInG eFForts For MAnGo exPorts: PAK Consul GenerAl In shAnGhAI
COMMENT Great reasons to celebrate Independence Day
Criminal mafia
t o
h . 06-07 Comments - 16th August 2022_Layout 1 8/15/2022 10:31 PM Page 2
Zealot conser vative news outlets shatter the vir tue of free speech d r a l o N B E N M E i r What Verizon and AT&T have done is admirable . Now it is time for them and many other carriers such as Comcast, Spectrum, and DirecTV to consider dropping the biggest culprit of all the fake and manipulative media outlet Fox News f f f p e c
07 Tuesday, 16 August, 2022
A U G U S t is one of the happiest months for us as our beloved country was born on the 14th of this month We celebrate independence from the clutches of the colonial power on this day every year I took part in the freedom movement and witnessed the brutality of the Gorkha unit on a street in rawalpindi Cantt where they ruthlessly killed innocent people the struggle and sacrifices of people to gain freedom are unfathomable for today s generations this was the last leg of the freedom movement, and the British could see the inevitable, that is, they had to give freedom to people of the sub continent However the cunning British were in no mood to go peacefully they sowed the seed of hatred among communities who had struggled together to free themselves from the clutches of the colonial power the viceroy Lord Mountbatten did everything from abruptly changing the date of partition to changing agreed upon boundaries at the last moment to weaken the newly formed Pakistan the struggle and sacrifices of people to gain freedom are unfathomable for today s generations Although we were not treated fairly, we still celebrate freedom with joy However, our celebration and spirit of nationalism seem limited to August 14 only We celebrate the day as a ritual but don t really treat the country as our own Although the Quaid successfully got us freedom and saved us from complete annihilation, he did not live long to put the country on a real path to prosperity His predecessors did nothing but live beyond their means adopting a lavish way of living and sinking the country into massive debt People also seem self centered and not willing to work hard and pay taxes Politicians tend to become more self serving by the day and don t care about anyone but themselves While I congratulate my fellow citizens on the day of independence, I also request everyone to work and pray for the country RAJA SHAFAATULLAH ISLAMABAD E d i t o r ’ s m a i l S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan today 4 S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h , L a h o re , P a k i s t a n E m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d Pakistan today
Consider the moral cowardice of Fox News host Sean Hannity, who exchanged text mes sages with trump’s Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany a day after the riot, where Hannity urged no more crazy people and no more stolen election talk and in a January 10 text message to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Hannity wrote that [trump] can t mention the election again Ever I did not have a good call with him today And worse, I’m not sure what is left to do or say ” Yet Hannity could still dismiss the Select Com mittee investigating the January 6 attack as en gaging in “the dullest, the most boring Democratic fund raiser the moral harm that Fox News is inflicting on America goes in fact beyond January 6, and even beyond trump: the Fox News primetime lineup which includes tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham is serving to unburden the American public of conscience, concern for the welfare of the less fortunate and commitment to something higher and worthier than party loy alty What if we just cut off unemployment? Ingraham suggested during an interview last year, “Hunger is a pretty powerful thing ” Fox News, One America News (OAN), Newsmax and talk radio constitute a right wing media ecosystem, and as a research team based at Harvard Uni versity observed: “these reinforce the message provide the president a platform, and marginalize or at tack those republican leaders or any conserva tive media personalities who insist that there is no evidence of wide spread voter fraud ” I n h i s n o w c l a s s i c s t u d y, P ro p a g a n d a , F r e n c h p h i l o s o p h e r Jacques Ellul identifies t h e s p e c i f i c m e t h o d s that modern propagan d i s t s u s e t o o rg a n i z e a “mass of individuals t h r o u g h p s y c h o l o g i c a l m a n i p u l a t i o n s t o u n i f y i t s m e m b e r ’s b e h a v i o r a c c o r d i n g t o a pattern ” and directly influence the public’s beliefs attitudes and judgments these tech n i q u e s i n c l u d e “ t h e s e l e c t i v e r e n d e r i n g o f facts; deliberate use of falsehoods; spreading of rumors; descriptions of groups and individ u a l s t h r o u g h s t e r e o t y p i n g a n d i n n u e n d o ; t h e i n v o c a t i o n o f p r e j u d i c e , f e a r, a n d h a t r e d within the populace; and the incessant repeti tion of emotionally laden cultural myths and divisive slogans ” We may also add the use of loaded terms, watchwords, dog whistles, and appeals to na tionalism A team at MIt, analyzing propaganda techniques in the news, underscores the use of logical fallacies such as strawmen (the misrep resentation of the other ’s position), red herrings (the provision of irrelevancies), false di chotomies (offering two alternatives as the only possibilities), and whataboutism (a diversionary tactic to avoid directly addressing an issue) Whataboutism is worth considering more closely because it is becoming ubiquitous among republicans perhaps this is not surprising given that it is certainly trump’s “favorite dodge ” It is one of the fundamental rules by which he operates: when you are criticized, say that someone else is worse In an interview with trump, Bill O’reilly states the obvious fact that “Putin is a killer,” and who can forget trump s response: there are a lot of killers You got a lot of killers What, you think our country is so innocent?” that is classic whataboutism And it is also of course all over Fox News’ most popular line up For example, when Biden denounced the in surrection as the worst attack on our democ racy since the Civil War,” tucker Carlson’s response was “really? the worst at tack on our democracy in 160 years? How about the Immigration Act of 1965?” Carlson is refer ring to the Hart Celler Act which brought an end to the national origins quota system and ef fectively banned racial discrimination from im migration policy: so, by his inane logic, a legitimate anti racist law constitutes a greater affront to democracy than the attempt to over throw a free and fair election Fortunately, we are beginning to see some of the network carriers awaken to the damage that these right wing propaganda machines are causing to our culture, beliefs, and political dis course the three right wing media organiza tions noted above are discovering that there may indeed be a steep price for systemati cally spreading misin formation and bald faced propa ganda: they have all been hit with billion dollar lawsuits by Do minion voting Machines which ac cuses them of “spread ing conspiracy theories that it rigged the presi dential election against Donald trump and skewed results in favor of now President Joe Biden,” according to Newsweek In another blow to these masters of spreading fake news verizon will stop carrying One America News on its Fios television service beginning Saturday this so called news outlet has been spreading the most outlandish lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 elections verizon’s decision to drop OAN was preceded by At&t s earlier decision in April to ditch OAN the decisions of the two carriers will undoubtedly inflict massive finan cial losses to the network, which is overdue given the unspeakable harm they have inflicted on our country What verizon and At&t have done is ad mirable Now it is time for them and many other carriers such as Comcast, Spectrum, and Di rectv to consider dropping the biggest culprit of all the fake and manipulative media outlet Fox News this would send a clear message to all right wing news outlets that they will no longer be the carrier of fake news and poisonous propaganda that polarize the public, instill ha tred and distrust, and promote conspiracy theo ries all in the name of free speech regardless of the horrific harm they inflict on our democracy Dr Alon Ben Meir is a professor of international relations at the Centre for Global Affairs at NYU He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies alon@alonben meir com
e x c l u s i v e l y
AMID a pall of gloom owing to murky political and economic scenario, Pakistani weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt brought joy for the nation by clinching the first gold for the country at the recent Commonwealth Games that were held in Birmingham Just as I was enjoying the great piece of news, there came another one; Arshad Nadeem the athlete who sent his javelin sailing over 90 metres, which is considered the mark of greatness in the sport In doing so, Arshad became the first South Asian ever to cross that mark the Independence Day this year is sweeter than ever and we must thank our sports heroes who came from nowhere to make us feel proud to be Pakistanis In the 109+kg category, Nooh lifted 173kg in snatch, while in clean and jerk he lifted a massive 232kg setting another record Overall Butt lifted 405kg, which is also a Games’ record In the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, he had won the bronze, and had a silver medal at the World Championships in tashkent last year in December After lifting 170kg, Nooh improved it to 173kg in his second attempt He emerged winner over New Zealand’s David Andrew Liti (170kg), while India s Gurdeep Singh had a tie for the third place with England s Gordon Shaw at 167kg then in clean and jerk competition, Nooh twice beat marks of 218kg and 224kg by Liti, and a lift of 223kg by Gurdeep, lifting 225kg in his first attempt before lifting 232kg to finish with a total of 405kg Nooh also earned honour of improving the record of 403kg by Liti who had won the gold four years ago Nooh has dedicated his gold to his father, saying he was the motivational force behind his success As for Arshad, he was nursing an elbow injury in his throwing arm and yet made it big, breaking his own personal best thrice in the same competition He was clearly giving it all that he had got and then some more Overall, Pakistan had one of its best outing in the Commonwealth Games, finishing in the top 20 on the medals table, with two golds, three silvers and as many bronze medals this is a proud moment for Pakistan and a reason to celebrate these achievements by Nooh, Arshad and all the winners clearly tell us what our athletes can do if they get the support they need in terms of training and fitness they certainly made the 75th anniversary of our independence a little more memorable thank you, folks! PARVEZ IQBAL LAK CHINIOT
Righting the Wrong the harm that trump has done to this coun try dividing it against itself undermining trust in the legitimacy of our democratic norms and institutions, threatening the peaceful transfer of power promoting outrageous and destructive lies that have misled tens of millions of Ameri cans and normalized the insertion of violence into politics all of this and more has been made possible by the relentless right wing propaganda machine that is Fox News Until we reckon with the disastrous reality that a major news network has effectively abandoned the news, abandoned any semblance of objectively reporting what in fact has occurred abandoned any fidelity to facts upon which all reasonable people can agree, we will not pull ourselves away from the existential precipice where we now find ourselves tom Nichols, contributing writer to the At lantic, observed that the January 6 hearings “are crucial and every American should be watching them,” but added that “the alternate reality that about forty percent of us live in will never be breached by actual facts Fox News, more than any other media organization, bears responsibil ity for this dismal state of affairs By continuing to defend trump and his fol lowers, downplaying, or simply ignoring the events of January 6 and what led up to it, Fox News is pressing our republic ever closer to self dissolution and authoritarianism this is not simply about republicans versus Democ rats; it is about what kind of regime we are going to live under: whether we will forfeit the rule of law and sink into the quagmire of neo fascism and right wing extremism, where prop aganda has supplanted evidence based analysis; or whether we will condemn political violence, demagoguery and the cult of person ality and insist that our public officials uphold their oaths of office and abide by our demo cratic norms, the rulings of our courts, and the results of our elections
s p re a d i n g p o i s o n o u s m i s i n f o r m at i o n a l l i n t h e n a m e o
re e s
Th e y h ave b e e n e n g a g e d i n t h e s e d e l i b e rate p ra c t i ce s o
e
August , the month of freedom
D A D U District is famous for its political and social activism Like the rest of Sindh and the whole of Pakistan this social and political activism has gradually waned and replaced with opportunism and greed the marginalized people s rights were protected by politically conscious and socially active political workers and pressure groups from the powerful nexus of feudal and officialdom But since the 1990s power politics first inflicted central leadership of the political parties and it trickled down to local leaders and workers With rare exceptions, everybody wanted position, power and wealth the public suffered and this suffering is intensifying with the passage of time In this milieu different corrupt and criminal mafias emerged and they have become movers and shakers of the system these mafias have strong political links and they fiercely resist any public servant s action to perform his/her duty honestly transfer of government officers is common and considered normal practice all around the world including in Sindh and Pakistan But the frequency of transfers is speedier in Dadu District A category of public servants is those who resist all temptations and pressure and work according to the rules of the game they take on the mafia and make their lives difficult these kinds of officers become popular among the public but when the same officers are punished for their public service and honesty the poor working class is unable to protect them from the wrath of the powerful status quo as working people have no organized setup or time to stand up in support of such kind officers According to social media postings, the recent casualty is an upright officer SSP Irfan Samoon Within months of his posting, Irfan Samoo brought normalcy and restored public confidence in the law Perhaps the reason behind his purported transfer might be the criminal mafia and different kinds of criminal gangs who have found their nefarious activities completely hampered thus it is strongly speculated that those powerful political masters of the criminal mafia might be behind reported transfer of SSP Irfan Samoon GULSHER PANHWER JOHI
The FBI is now the Federal Bureau of Intimidation WE SHOULD PROVIDE THE TALIBAN W I T H N E I T H E R B I L AT E R A L D I P LO M AT I C R E CO G N I T I O N N O R A U N S E AT U N T I L T H E Y H O N O U R I N T E R N AT I O N A L H U M A N R I G H T S N O R M S 08 WORLD VIEW 16th August 22_Layout 1 8/15/2022 11:14 PM Page 1
The writer is a former acting US deputy assistant secretary of state for Afghanistan and a member of the steering committee of Alliance in Support of the Afghan People
W h y U S m u s t e n g a g e w i t h A f g h a n i s t a n news D r m A J D r A f i z A D e h W H e n it comes to the nuclear deal there are several important parameters the iran ian leaders want in order to ensure that the regime emerges as the sole winner as a result of the agreement
The regime also wants a deal that will remove a deep concern of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which emerged after the recent widespread protests and demon strations: The possibility of the West attempting to sub vert the regime by supporting opposition parties and human rights and democratic movements in iran Domestically speaking, iranian human rights ac tivists and dissidents are genuinely concerned, believing that a nuclear deal will allow the ruling clerics to sup press domestic opposition with renewed vigor and with out reservation
W I T H T H E R E M O VA L O F S A N C T I O N S U P O N T H E S I G N I N G O F T H E D E A L , T H E A G R E E M E N T W I L L L E A D TO T H E L I F T I N G O F E CO N O M I C P R E S S U R E O N I R A N , W H I C H W I L L L I K E LY H E L P T E H R A N TO R E G A I N I T S F I N A N C I A L P O W E R , H A LT I T S C U R R E N C Y D E VA LU AT I O N A N D R E I G N I T E I T S E CO N O M Y
First of all, the regime desires a deal that removes all US and european financial sanctions immediately rather than a step by step lifting of the sanctions based on peri odic verifications that Tehran is complying with the terms of the deal This will make it much more difficult for the international community to reimpose sanctions, even if the iranian regime were to be found to be secretly advanc ing its nuclear program in violation of the nuclear deal For example, as part of the 2015 agreement, known as the Joint comprehensive Plan of Action, the Un lifted all four rounds of crippling sanctions that took decades to impose on the regime, since they required consensus among the five permanent members of the Un Security council (the UK, china, France, Russia and the US) even after the theocratic establishment violated all terms and restrictions of the nuclear deal in June 2020 and in spite of the fact that it is now close to obtaining nu clear weapons the Un Security council has not reim posed these sanctions due to a current lack of consensus and the veto power of china and Russia The new nuclear pact, which is reportedly close to being agreed appears to meet this demand of the iranian leaders With the removal of sanctions upon the signing of the deal, the agreement will lead to the lifting of eco nomic pressure on iran which will likely help Tehran to regain its financial power, halt its currency devaluation and reignite its economy iran s staggering economic problems thanks to reduced oil sales, spiking inflation, an increase in un employment, domestic discontent toward the govern ment the devaluation of the currency and Tehran s geopolitical isolation are bringing the government to its knees by significantly endangering the hold on power of the ruling clerics However, the proposed deal will allow Tehran to more freely trade in its metal industry, sell oil, receive several billions dollars of previously frozen assets, lure back Western oil companies, suppress domestic activists and exercise its hegemonic ambitions
N o T H i n G symbolizes the decline of the American republic better than the weaponization of justice that we saw last week when the FBi raided the home of former President Trump And nothing bet ter represents the divide that now exists between Democrats and Republicans than the fact that some people still have faith in the FBi Aren’t they paying attention? Heck, that’s like a citizen of the old Soviet Union saying they had faith in the KGB yeah, to crush dissent and lock up opponents of the regime in a Siberian gulag The evidence is overwhelming The Federal Bureau of investigation is now the Federal Bureau of intimidation or more appropriately the Federal intimidation Bureau whose acronym would spell out FiB, as in the Big Lie Face it, noth ing the FBi has said for the last six years since they joined with the Democratic Party to invent the Russia collusion hoax can be taken seriously is there any need to go through the whole laundry list of lies and fabrications that the FBi with the aid and comfort of the Justice Department, has foisted on the American public? You can start with the extraordinary 2016 press confer ence when FBi Director James comey detailed crimes com mitted by presidential candidate Hillary clinton related to her improper use of a private email account to store classified ma terial Moments after saying she had broken the law comey announced with a straight face that “no reasonable prosecu tor” would ever bring a case against her Yeah, because she was a Democrat! A couple months later, comey set up President Trump’s na tional Security adviser, Gen Michael Flynn, by sending agents to interview him about his supposed contacts with Russians “What’s our goal? Truth/Admission or to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired?” wrote Bill Priestap in a memo before the interview Priestap was counterintelligence director at the FBi, and it became evident later that the agency’s goal was indeed to get him fired and more importantly to get Trump impeached fired humiliated you name it comey himself admitted that the FBi targeted Flynn and chose not to approach him through the White House legal counsel but informally with a direct phone call to arrange an interview As comey later told a reporter, it was “something i probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized administration What about the FBi s abuse of carter Page and George Papadopoulos? The agency made up evidence in support of subpoenas, FiSA warrants, whatever it took to get the desired result What about the FBi and Department of Justice targeting parents at school boards as “domestic terrorists” because they demanded that their elected representatives actually represent them? What about the unilateral rescission of executive privilege and attorney client privilege wherever it would have protected President Trump and his advisers? The purpose of all of this activity, along with the raid at Mar a Lago, was to intimidate not just Trump, but also his supporters Anyone other than Donald Trump would have given up long ago Who could possibly withstand the power of the state marshaled against you for six long years through multiple FBi investigations through two impeachments through relentless persecution of your children and your friends and family? Finally what about the double standard that allows De mocrats and their government allies to go unpunished for a multitude of sins? notwithstanding Attorney General Merrick Garland s feigned indignation on behalf of the bureau what about the FBi agents who lied repeatedly during the Trump Russia investigation, sometimes under oath even more stun ning has been the FBi s monumental failure to investigate presidential son Hunter Biden, even though it received his laptop with extensive incriminating evidence of criminal ac tivity in 2019 even when the laptop was made public during the 2020 presidential election, the FBi stood silent and thus gave tacit approval to the cynical Democratic Party talking point that the laptop was somehow a GoP dirty trick it would be inter esting to know if the FBi had anything to do with the letter signed by 51 national security experts falsely claiming that the laptop was “Russian disinformation”! Maybe, like comey before him, FBi Director chris Wray thought he could “get away with it That is certainly the only explanation for the raid on the president’s personal residence it was not appropriate it was not reasonable it had no precedent The FBi claims that the pre dawn raid by more than 30 armed agents was for the pur pose of collecting presidential papers that the national Archive wanted The Washington Post says that Trump reportedly had documents with nuclear secrets on them, and the legacy media went ballistic with the story But wait a minute, isn’t that the same Washington Post that won a Pulitzer Prize for collabo rating with the FBi to invent the Russia collusion hoax? Don’t believe a word from either the Washington Post or the FBi Trump had been cooperating with the national Archive and had already turned over 15 boxes of documents all of which he could have made a claim to legally possess if they wanted papers turned over, they could have gone through Trump’s lawyers no they wanted the spectacle They wanted the sizzle They wanted the headlines This wasn t about the rule of law; it was about the rule of the schoolyard Bullies get what they want through force and intimidation, and there is no reason for any of us to believe that the raid had any purpose other than to intimidate Donald Trump into backing down from his plans to run for president in 2024 essentially what the FBi was saying is “We know where you live, and we aren t afraid to come for you They even ri fled through Melania Trump’s closet as if she might have been hiding top secret documents in her hat box When do we find out they also spent an hour sorting through her lingerie? This is sickening no matter how much MSnBc and the Washington Post want you to think you can still trust the FBi Fool me once, shame on you Fool me twice, shame on me Fool me over and over and over again and i must be a Democrat Frank Miele, the retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell Mont is a columnist for RealClearPolitics His new book “What Matters Most: God Country Family and Friends,” is available from his Amazon author page
Furthermore, the iranian regime is searching for a deal that does not give the international Atomic energy Agency full access to its military sites which reportedly have connections to Tehran’s nuclear program it has a history of building clandestine nuclear sites, which have been revealed and verified in other words the regime will be able to reap the advantages of the nuclear deal while continuing to enrich uranium to a high level at un declared underground nuclear sites As a result, the iranian regime will be in a much stronger position after the nuclear deal is agreed, feeling less pressure to dismantle its nuclear facilities and end its uranium enrichment There is also the issue of its plu tonium reactor, which is believed to have no purpose other than to militarize iran s nuclear program Finally, iran wants a deal that does not address or constrain its ballistic missile program, which is linked to its nuclear program in a nutshell, the proposed nuclear pact appears to meet all the iranian regime’s key demands, which will make Tehran the winner after the agreement is signed Dr Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard educated Iranian American political scientist RcP f r A n k m i e l e
aRab
Tuesday, 16 August 2022 08 WORLD VIEW IrAN lIkely To Be The WINNer From NeW NUcleAr deAl
Financial Times A n n i e P f o r z h e m e r S i n c e the Taliban s violent takeover of Afghanistan one year ago the coun try’s 40mn inhabitants have faced a hellish existence of political repression and economic crisis For the US and other allies that supported Afghan progress for 20 years, this nightmare sce nario prompts the question: how do we help re lieve the immense suffering of Afghans after abandoning them and surrendering most of the levers of influence we previously wielded? To begin with, we must remain engaged with, if not in, Afghanistan That requires facing up to our painful role in enabling last year s traumatic turn of events That history is something Ameri cans want to forget, and the Taliban’s active re pression of media and human rights defenders make it hard for even the closest observers to see the full extent of their iron rule We have a moral obligation to the Afghan people we left behind to endure the rule of the Taliban We also have a strategic self interest in preventing Afghanistan from becoming once again, a destabilised environment where terror groups freely live, train and recruit Moving ahead our engagement should be multilateral principled and clear in its application The era of unilateral US policy leadership on Afghanistan is over The Un, World Bank and Asian Development Bank are examples of the ap propriate faces of international community in volvement with Afghanistan imperfect as these institutions are, they at least represent broad world opinion and include Afghanistan’s neigh bours and other regional actors The US is, ad mirably, the top financial donor to Afghanistan, but it is not now in a position to cut the best deals The US should therefore get out of the way of those who can make effective contributions it must throw its weight behind a well co ordinated international effort We also have to stick to our principles as in divisible elements of policy Having an “ideol ogy is not only the Taliban s prerogative We should fight without reservation for the essence of the Un’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Afghanistan signed decades ago and which calls for respect for human rights free dom from fear and individual liberty Finally, Afghanistan has to be clearly linked to, and nested within, broader US strategic goals Beyond the siloed and unworkable vision from the past of either total success or complete policy failure in Afghanistan alone, we should incorpo rate it back into our other international impera tives These include stability in the nuclear armed neighbourhood of south Asia counterbalancing chinese and Russian influence in central Asia, worldwide counter terrorism co operation, atroc ity prevention, global principles of women s rights, peace and security, and diversification of mineral and energy sources To achieve these ends, we should match our remaining tools of influence in Afghanistan as precisely as possible to the outcomes we want Getting the Taliban to respect human rights in Afghanistan should be coupled with a range of diplomatic tools that measure out the legitimacy it wants We should provide the Taliban with nei ther bilateral diplomatic recognition nor a Un seat until they honour international human rights norms A recent Un report that spelt out appalling violations of human rights in Afghanistan sug gests that the Taliban are frighteningly far from meeting that goal counter terrorism and stability goals are best matched to tools like the current Un sanctions regime, aimed at mitigating the rise of terror groups not only should we deny any sanctions relief until the Taliban truly address the issues of terrorism and national inclusion, we should con sider additional sanctions against those who are creating suicide units within the security forces and recruitment focused madrassas to take the place of schools As for the sorely needed goal of putting Afghanistan s severely broken economy back on track our efforts must be matched with Taliban acceptance of the international community’s oversight of cash assistance and release of frozen assets There also needs to be transparency about where their own funding comes from and how they spend it We have a mess to clean up in Afghanistan And it is in our interest to do so as a part of the larger world system, with principles guiding our actions and by advancing our broader interna tional security agenda
The iranian regime also wants the nuclear deal to have an expiration date The sunset clauses in the nuclear pact fulfill that objective These clauses pave the way for the iranian regime to resume enriching uranium to any level it chooses after the period of time specified in the agreement in addition the iranian leaders desire a deal that will give it global legitimacy and make the international com munity less likely to hold Tehran accountable for its military adventurism in the region The regime will see any new nu clear deal as a green light to pursue its political agenda and ambitions in the region, as well as to consolidate its power and influence in Yemen Syria Lebanon and iraq it will also be a powerful platform, giving iran the capability to militarily and economically back its proxies throughout the region including the Houthis and Hezbollah
2020 To acknowledge NBP for its contribution towards the commu nity, NBP was conferred with Best Corporate & Sustainability Award
RESIDENT Dr Arif Alvi, while rejecting 81 appeals filed by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), has upheld the orders of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to treat the income of low paid employees as salary in come under Section 12 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 for taxation pur poses “The President while disposing of the subject appeals observed that: The order of the learned FTO is based on valid justifications and sound legal footings Further the FBR vide its letter dated 11th April, 2022 has already de cided that the income of such employ ees hired under any of the forms i e regular, adhoc or daily wages, contin gency etc would be treated as salary income under Section 12 of the Income Tax Ordinance,2001 There remains no justification to treat the complainants differently Thus the representations of the FBR are liable to be rejected ac cordingly,” a press release issued by FTO Office on Monday said In the subject cases, according to the press release, the complainants were temporary lecturers hired by the Higher Education Department (HED) in Khyber Pakhutnkhwa and posted at various colleges in the province “The employer colleges were al leged to have been deducting excessive taxes at source from the meager salaries paid to the complainants “As a matter of concern for the complainants instead of treating them as salaried persons, to be treated u/s 149, they were rather subjected to un just deductions u/s 153(i) (b) of the In come Tax Ordinance, 2001 i e under head Services Rendered and that too treating the complainants as non filers This treatment was vehemently agi tated by the subject 81 complainants “When confronted the department defended the treatment stating; “Col lege authority has hired the subject complainant on semester basis and the taxpayer providing services to the Govt Degree College Kaki Bannu in private capacity upon which tax is withheld u/s 153(1) (b) of the Income Tax Ordi nance 2001 @ 10% in case of filer and @ 20% in case of non filer As the complainant is neither registered nor filed returns(s) of income therefore tax deduction @ 20% has rightly been made as per prescribed rates ” The Tax Ombudsman while dis posing off the subject complaints of low paid employees, whose services were hired by government educational institutions in KPK, had recommended to the FBR to treat the payment against services rendered as salary income The FTO had further recom mended FBR to: (i) Ensure that hired lecturers of Post Graduate College, Bannu or other such educational institutions are not burdened with excessive tax deduc tions at withholding stage While tax payers facilitation constitutes the core function of FBR, its implementation on ground should also be visible (ii) Direct RTO (Regional Tax Of fice) to process the instant cases on pri ority basis and under relevant legal provisions so as to save the com plainants from grave hardship they are suffering ever since hired by the con cerned institution (iii) Issue necessary clarification for all withholding agents to safeguard such employees against excessive de ductions Islamabad a P P The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on August 11 for the combined consumption group, witnessed a de crease of 0 08 per cent as compared to the previous week T h e S P I f o r t h e w e e k u n d e r r e v i e w i n t h e a b o v e m e n t i o n e d g r o u p w a s r e c o r d e d a t 2 0 9 0 1 p o i n t s a g a i n s t 2 0 9 1 7 p o i n t s r e g i s t e r e d i n t h e p r e v i o u s w e e k , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Sta t i s t i c s ( P B S )
Islamabad P r e s s r e l e a s e
P r e s i d e n t A lv i u P h o l d s F t o ’ s o r d e r s o n i n c o m e tA x F o r lo w - PA i d e m P lo y e e s
2020 The National Bank of Pakistan has always focused on developing profitable financial products to cater to the rapidly changing de mands of the Pakistani consumers
09NEWS Tuesday 16 August 2022 | K AR ACHI CORPORATE CORNER ntdc completes augmentation work of 220/132kv transformer at 500 kv grid station new multan lahore P r e s s r e l e a s e National Transmission and Desptach Company (NTDC) has successfully augmented a 160MVA, 220/132kV transformer to 250MVA rating at 500 kV grid station New Multan The transformer was energized today The NTDC spokesman said that the company has chalked out a comprehensive plan for phase wise removal of system constraints to alleviate overloading on the system especially during summers This augmentation of transformer will improve the loading ca pacity of the grid station & provide relief to MEPCO The spokesman further said that since electricity demand surges during summers due to increased use of air conditioning loads throughout the country, the enhanced capacity of re placed transformer of 160MVA rating with 250MVA rating will reduce transmission losses and facilitate the intercon nected DISCOs The induction of new transformer will ben efit the industrial rural and urban consumers of MEPCO MD NTDC, Engr Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan appreciated the concerned project team and other allied departments for early completion of the project 75th independance day celebrations at pnsc KARACHI: PNSC organised a function to commemorate the 75th Independence Day of Pakistan The celebration commenced with recitation of Holy Quran Chairman PNSC, Rizwan Ahmed, hoisted the national flag and ad dressed the attendees Chairman PNSC while addressing emphasised that today was the day of reflection He also reminded that we should always remember and salute the shuhada of armed forces and law enforcement forces who laid their lives in defending the country He also congratu lated and appreciated the efforts of PNSC Management and staff while announcing the acquisition of two second hand oil tankers Executive Directors along with officers and staff of PNSC participated in the event At the end of the event a palm tree was planted by Chairman PNSC in the building premises P r e s s r e l e a s e dhAi-r cycling race to obser ve independence day celebrations On 75th Independence Day of Pakistan, DHAI R Cycling Race 2022 was held on 14 August 2022 at Sir Syed BLVD, DHAI R Phase 2 At the end of the competition prize dis tribution ceremony was held at JFC Imperial Hall where Administrator DHA Islamabad distributed the prizes among the winners Long Live Pakistan Poolkaro ride ser vice obser ves 75th independence day of Pakistan
Weekl y inflation goes down by 0.08pc
On the occasion of 75th Independence Day of Pakistan a ceremony was organized at the Lahore office of Poolkaro Ride Service A large number of dignitaries attended the event CEO Haris Noorani expressed his thoughts on this occasion He said undoubtedly, Poolkaro is the most ad vanced and safest ride service especially, for those women who will be able to choose their own ride Haris Noorani explained the benefits of using the Poolkaro app service at the end of the event He said that Poolkaro is a good serv ice for managing travel stress Islamabad s ta f f r e P o r t P
As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the com bined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 37 69 per cent The SPI for the lowest consump tion group up to Rs17 732 witnessed a 0 12pc decrease and went down from 216 03 points in last week to 215 76 points during the week under review Similarly, the SPI for the consumption groups from Rs17,732 22,888, Rs22 889 29 517 Rs29 518 44 175 and above Rs44,175 decreased by 0 10pc, 0 09pc, 0 08pc and 0 07pc, re spectively
D u r i n g t h e w e e k , o u t o f 5 1 i t e m s , p r i c e s o f 2 6 i t e m s i n c r e a s e d , 9 i t e m s d e c r e a s e d a n d 1 6 i t e m s r e m a i n e d s t a b l e T h e i t e m s , w h i c h r e c o r d e d d e c r e a s e i n t h e i r a v e r a g e p r i c e s o n Wo W b a s i s i n c l u d e d o n i o n s w i t h a decrease of 10 18pc, bananas 2 71pc, chicken 1 03pc, vegetable ghee 1 kg 0 7 9 p c v e g e t a b l e g h e e 2 5 k g 0 55pc, mustard oil 0 36pc, rice Bas m a t i b r o k e n 0 3 3 p c , c o o k i n g o i l 5 litre 0 17pc and LPG 1 10pc The commodities that witnessed increase on WoW basis included toma toes 10 35pc salt 3 73pc eggs 3 67pc pulse mash 3 65pc, pulse moong 3 18pc, pulse masoor 2 13pc, garlic 2 03pc, firewood 1 36pc and tea packet 1 29pc On year on year basis, the com modities that witnessed decrease in prices included chillies powder with a decrease of 43 42pc, sugar at 16 27pc and gur 1 86pc The commodities that witnessed increase in prices included diesel 109 15pc , pulse masoor 111 90pc, diesel 109 15pc onions 90 05pc petrol 88 94pc, vegetable ghee 1 kg 70 54pc, chicken 57 14pc, and electricity for Q1 at a 52 61pc hike in its price
Press release National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) celebrated Pakistan’s 75th Inde pendence Day by organizing a flag hoisting ceremony at the Head Of fice The National flag was hoisted by Mr Rehmat Ali Hasnie, Presi dent & CEO, NBP (A) along with executives Paying tribute to the national heroes of Pakistan, Mr Rehmat Ali Hasnie said, “Pakistan was made as a premier Democratic Islamic Welfare state a country where all segments of society are provided equal opportunity to improve their lives NBP endeavors to create an inclusive economic system that will benefit the state, its citizens and the bank’s stakeholders ” Sharing his thoughts on the Diamond Jubilee of Pakistan, Mr Hasnie said ‘NBP is proud to have the leading role in economic growth of the country while focus ing on increasing financial inclu sivity across all strata of society ” NBP, as the largest public sec tor commercial bank of Pakistan has been aggressively working on creating avenues to attract the un banked business sector towards the banking sector through various financial schemes The Bank has a wide network for remittances as the customers are able to receive remittances from across the world To facilitate its customers and tourists National Bank of Pakistan has installed the world’s highest ATM at Khunjerab Pass setting a new record for Pakistan in the Guinness Book of World Records NBP was awarded as the Best Bank for Agriculture for 3 consec utive years at the Pakistan Bank ing Award National Bank of Pakistan also won Asian Banking & Finance (ABF) Corporate & In vestment Banking Awards
On the occasion of Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day, Blue World City organized flag hosting cere monies in Lahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad Chair man Blue World City, Saad Nazir and CEO, Chaudhry Nadeem Ejaz hoisted the national flag in Rawalpindi/Islamabad and congratulated the nation on 75 years of freedom At the same time, flag hosting ceremony and a two day Family Gala was organized at Blue Town with Smart Features in Lahore where the senior man agement of Blue World City, Blue Town and a prom ising strength of families attended the event The Family Gala featured jumping castles, food stalls, jug gling exhibition, magic and fire show which ensured the enjoyment of all the participants including the kids S p e a k i n g o n t h i s o c c a s i o n , C h a i r m a n B l u e World City Saad Nazir said that the Independence Day preaches unity to all Pakistanis The country boasts an army and population that is ready to sac rifice themselves in the way of Allah This day also teaches us to achieve freedom from submission to o u r e g o s L e t u s r e s o l v e t o p r o g r e s s t h e s p i r i t o f f r e e d o m b y f o l l o w i n g t h e e s s e n c e o f P a k i s t a n s meaning La Ilaha Illallah and to contribute to w a r d s t h e p r o s p e r i t y o f t h i s n a t i o n t o t h e b e s t o f our abilities CEO Blue World City Chaudhry Nadeem Ejaz remarked that it is imperative for us to realize our na tional duty on Independence Day To make Pakistan a peaceful and prosperous nation time demands us to put our best in the fields of education, health, socio economic development, sports, tourism, culture, sci ence and technology Blue World C ity organized grand celebrations for 75th Independence D ay in L ahore and Rawalpindi/Islamabad
09 Business 16 August 2022_Layout 1 8/15/2022 11:03 PM Page 1
The digital banking service of NBP to allow customers to con duct banking transactions at their fingertips NBP is expanding its range of products and services by including Shariah Compliant Banking Products available through dedicated Islamic Bank ing Branches Each Islamic Bank ing Branch is fully equipped to cover all aspects of Islamic finan cial transactions As one of the largest commer cial banks of Pakistan, NBP be lieves in empowering women by ensuring they have equal opportu nities for growth and develop ment Over the years, National Bank of Pakistan has taken multi ple steps to encourage women to enter the workplace by building a conducive environment that boosts gender equality and devel ops women’s leadership roles A t t h e e n d o f t h e c e r e m o n y the President NBP thanked all the e m p l o y e e s f o r a t t e n d i n g t h e event All the participants prayed for the progress, peace and pros p e r i t y o f t h e c o u n t r y a n d w e l l being of the nation hBl islamic Banking continues to scale up its footprint in Pakistan lahore P r e s s r e l e a s e HBL inaugurated its Islamic Banking Branch in Bahria Town, Lahore The launch is part of HBL s continuous efforts to expand its branch network to better serve Shariah compliant products and services to its clients HBL Is lamic offers services to clients in 300 cities across the country, through a network of 273 dedicated branches and 572 windows, with plans to expand its reach in more cities across the country by adding 33 new branches by De cember 2022 HBL Islamic Banking also of fers a complete product suite for its SME and Commercial Banking clients, ranging from short term working capital financing to long term project financing It has also established 8 trade centers in key markets across the coun try to provide Shariah compliant solutions for the domestic and international trade finance requirements of clients Shahzad Babar, Head Retail Banking Islamic HBL, commenting on the Bahira Town Lahore Branch inauguration said, “HBL Islamic Banking continues to ex pand its footprint across the country to better serve the Islamic Banking needs of our clients The demand for Shariah compliant banking solutions and services has seen a sharp in crease, and this expansion highlights HBL Is lamic Banking’s commitment to support our clients’ strategic needs
NBP celebrates Pak istan’s Diamond Jubilee
Rushdie off ventilator and ‘road to recover y has begun,’ agent says Myanmar cour t jails Suu Kyi for six years over corruption charges Agencies A Myanmar junta court jailed ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi for six years for corruption on Monday, according to a source close to the case Suu Kyi was sentenced to “six years imprisonment under four anti corruption charges , said the source, who re quested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media Suu Kyi has been in military cus tody since a coup ousted her government in February last year, plunging the Southeast Asian nation into tur moil She appeared in good health and did not make any statement following her latest sentencing, the source added The Nobel laureate, 77, has already been sentenced to 11 years in jail for corruption, in citement against the military, breaching Covid 19 rules and breaking a telecommunications law She still faces a raft of other criminal charges, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud, and could be jailed for decades if convicted on all counts
A chaotic withdrawal of foreign forces continued until August 31, with tens of thousands of people rushing to Kabul s airport hoping to be evacuated on any flight out of Afghanistan Images of crowds storming the air port, climbing atop aircraft and some clinging to a departing US military cargo plane as it rolled down the runway aired on news bulletins around the world Afghan people climb up on a plane and sit by the door as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021 after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan’s 20 year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city’s airport trying to flee the group s feared hardline brand of Islamist rule Authorities have so far not announced any official celebrations to mark the an niversary, but state television said it would air special programmes Taliban fighters however expressed happiness that their movement was now in power even as aid agencies say that half the country s 38 million people face extreme poverty “The time when we en tered Kabul, and when the Americans left, those were moments of joy, said Hek mat now a member of the special forces guarding the presidential palace ‘L i f e h a s L o s t i t s m e a n i n g’: But for ordinary Afghans especially women the return of the Taliban has only increased hardships Initially the Taliban promised a softer version of the harsh rule that characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001 But many restrictions have been imposed on women to comply with the movement’s own interpretation of Islam Tens of thousands of girls have been shut out of secondary schools, while women have been barred from returning to many government jobs And in May, they were ordered to fully cover up in public, ideally with an all encompassing burqa “From the day they have come life has lost its meaning,” said Ogai Amail, a resident of Kabul “Everything has been snatched from us, they have entered even our personal space, she said On Saturday, the Taliban fighters beat women protesters and fired guns into the air to disperse their rally in Kabul While Afghans acknowledge a de cline in violence since the Taliban seized power, the humanitarian crisis has left many helpless People coming to our shops are complaining so much of high prices that we shopkeepers have started hating our selves said Noor Mohammad a shop keeper from Kandahar, the de facto power centre of the Taliban For Taliban fighters, however the joy of victory overshadows the current economic crisis neW YORK R e u t e R s Salman Rushdie the author who was stabbed at a public appearance in New York state on Friday, is off a venti lator and his health is improving, his agent and a son said late on Sunday “He’s off the ventilator, so the road to recovery h a s b ” h A d Wy email to Reuters It will be long; the injuries are e t t o d e l i v e r a l e c t u r e a t t h e Chautauqua Institution in western New York on the i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a s a h a v e n f o r t a r g e t e d a r t i s t s w h e n p o l i c e s a y a 2 4 y e a r o l d m a n rushed the stage and stabbed him The Indian born writer has lived with a bounty on his head following the publication of his 1988 novel “Th e S atan ic Ver s es , ” w h ich co n tain s b las p h emo u s p a s s a g e s I n 1 9 8 9 I r a n s s u p r e m e l e a d e r Ay a t o l l a h Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for his assassination Wr i t e r s a n d p o l i t i c i a n s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d h a v e condemned the attack U S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that Iran’s state institutions had incited violence against Rushdie for generations a n d s t a t e a ff i l i a t e d m e d i a h a d g l o a t e d a b o u t t h e a t tempt on his life “This is despicable,” Blinken said in a statement The United States and partners will not waver in our determination to stand up to these threats, using every appropriate tool at our disposal ”
h i n e s e S t a t e C o u n c i l o r a n
l i e , w r o t e i n a n
Afg h a n i s t a n w i t h n at i o n a l h o l i d ay
Countries like the United States already see India as a future chal lenger to China’s dominating influ ence in Asia and beyond US President Joe Biden on Sunday con gratulated India for its national day and said the United States and India were indispensable partners that would continue to work together to address global challenges in the years ahead India s neighbour Pak istan, which was part of British India and became independent at the same time, celebrated its independence day on Sunday o d i s ay s I n d i a a i m s t o b e c o m e d e ve l o p e d n a t i o n i n 2 5 ye a r s
se v er e, b u t h is co n d itio n is h ead ed in th e r ig h t d ir ec tion ” R u s h d i e 7 5 w a s s
BeiJing Ag e n c i e s a S the US continued its provocation to China by sending a delegation of five lawmakers to China s Taiwan region, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Com mand organized multi unit joint combat readi ness patrols and real combat drills in the sea areas and airspace around the Taiwan island on Monday, serving as a firm response and solemn deterrent to the provocation and collu sion between the US and the Taiwan island Some Chinese experts warned that it s highly dangerous that the US government is playing with fire in challenging China on its core interests, and more lawmakers not only from the US but also from other Western countries may follow suit It’s necessary to impose sanctions on those who have tram pled on the one China principle and at the same time, the PLA’s military exercises and training activities surrounding the island are expected to become routine until reunifica tion, some experts said The reportedly two day visit of US law makers led by Ed Markey member of Sen ate Foreign Relations Committee, came just 12 days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island a highly provoca tive and reckless move that seriously tram pled on the one China principle and undermined the fundamentals of China US relations leading to a series of countermea sures from Beijing including sanctioning Pelosi and her immediate family members, halting military and climate change talks be tween the two countries Chinese officials strongly condemned the latest visit made by the US lawmakers which is considered as a blatant provocation that ignored the repeated warnings and op position from the Chinese side following Pelosi’s visit The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that China will take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity The latest visit by the US lawmakers showed that the Biden administration has not learned a lesson from Pelosi’s reckless trip that caused growing risks to the Taiwan Straits and turbulences to the global order some Chinese experts said It also showed that the White House is losing the ground to the US Congress in terms of taking the ini tiative and overall control over the Taiwan question, fully exposing its incapacity and decline Such a highly dangerous tendency of using Taiwan as a pawn to challenge China s red line also shows the true intention of the US to encourage the “Taiwan independ ence and distort the true meaning of the one China principle some experts said They also believed that this is a typical ex ample of the US trying to create a crisis to undermine China US relations and highlight its so called dominance in the Western Pa cific region R e s o L u t e c o u n t e R m e a s u R e s: The PLA Eastern Theater Command Rocket Force launches live fire assaults with multi ple types of conventional missiles at several designated sea areas to the east of Taiwan is land on August 4, 2022 Photo: IC The PLA Eastern Theater Command Rocket Force launches live fire assaults with multiple types of conventional missiles at several designated sea areas to the east of Taiwan island on August 4, 2022 The Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian said on Monday that the joint combat exercises and training con ducted by the PLA Eastern Theater Com mand in the sea areas and airspace around the island is a resolute response and a solemn deterrent to the US Taiwan collusion and provocation Taiwan is part of China, and the Taiwan question is purely China’s domestic affair and brooks no foreign interference, Wu said He warned the US and the DPP authorities in Taiwan that “seeking independence” with US support will go nowhere, and using the Taiwan question to contain China is also doomed to fail The PLA will continue to train soldiers and get prepared for war resolutely safe guarding China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will resolutely crush any form of attempt for Taiwan independence by se cessionists or foreign interference, Wu said C d F o r t e r Wa n g Yi e l a b o r a t e d o n M o n d a y t h e h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t o f a n d C h i n a ’s s o l e m n s i t u a t i o n o n t h e Ta i w a n q u e s t i o n during a video meeting with Geneva based e n v o y s w h o a r e c u r r e t n l y v i s i t i n g C h i n a , saying that in response to each and every provocation blatantly launched by the US China has to take necessary and legitimate countermeasures This is practicing the legitimate right of safeguarding China’s sovereignty and terri torial integrity and also upholding the prin ciple of non interference in internal affairs which is the “golden rule” of state to state relations and the “magic weapon” for devel oping countries Wang said
KABUL A F P
10 Foreign 16 AUGUST_Layout 1 8/15/2022 11:03 PM Page 1
n
r e w
next year
T h e s u s p e c t i n t h e s t a b b i n g , H a d i M a t a r o f Fairview New Jersey pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault at a court appearance o n S a t u r d a y, h i s c o u r t a p p o i n t e d l a w y e r, N a t h a n i e l Barone told Reuters Neither local nor federal authorities have offered any additional details on the investigation, including a possible motive An initial law enforcement review of Matar ’s so c i a l m e d i a a c c o u n t s s h o w e d h e w a s s y m p a t h e t i c t o Shi ite extremism and Iran s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to NBC New York The IRGC is a powerful faction that Washington ac cuses of carrying out a global extremist campaign Rushdie was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, for treatment after the attack
The Taliban marked the first anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan with a national holiday Monday, follow ing a turbulent year that saw women s rights crushed and a humanitarian crisis worsen Exactly a year ago, the hardline group captured Kabul after their nationwide lightning offensive against government forces ended 20 years of US led military intervention “We fulfilled the obligation of jihad and liberated our country, said Niamat ullah Hekmat a fighter who entered Kabul on August 15 last year just hours after then president Ashraf Ghani fled the country
China reSolutely reSpondS to uS’ ContinuouS
Ta l i b a n m a r k t u r b u l e n t fi r s t ye a r i n p owe r i n
M
i s a g e n t ,
10 FOREIGN NEWS Tuesday 16 August 2022 | KARACHI
e i g n M i n i s
e g u n ,
provoCationS on taiwan queStion neW DeLHi R e u t e R s India will aim to become a devel oped nation within 25 years Prime M i n i s t e r N a r e n d r a M o d i s a i d i n a n a t i o n a l d a y a d d r e s s o n M o n d a y, w i t h p o l i c i e s t o s u p p o r t d o m e s t i c p r o d u c t i o n i n p o w e r, d e f e n c e a n d digital technology S p e a k i n g f r o m t h e 1 7 t h c e n tury Red Fort in Delhi as India cel e b r a t e s i t s 7 5 t h y e a r o f independence from British colonial r u l e , M o d i e x h o r t e d t h e y o u t h t o “aim big” and give their best years for the cause of the country “We must turn India into a de veloped country in the next 25 years in our lifetime,” said the 71 year old Modi, wearing a turban in the colours of the Indian flag in his 75 minute speech in Hindi “It’s a big resolution, and we should work towards it with all our might ” The World Bank currently categorises India as a lower middle income economy meant for coun tries with a gross national income per capita of between $1,086 and $4,255 High income countries, like the United States, have a per capita in come of $13,205 or more India is the world’s sixth largest economy and is expected to grow at over 7 percent in the current fiscal year ending in March 2023 the fastest among major economies Many experts say India’s econ omy could expand to become the world s third largest by 2050 after the United States and China, although per capita income, currently around $2,100, may remain low compared to many countries With about 1 4 billion people, India is expected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country
Marcus Stoinis criticised for accusing Mohammad Hasnain of ‘chucking’ ageNcieS
Australian all rounder Mar cus Stoinis received criti cism from the cricketing cor ner after he seemingly ac cused the Pak istan speedster Mohammad Hasnain of chucking dur ing the Southern Brave’s seven wicket loss to the Oval Invincibles in the ongoing The Hundred The 32 year old succumbed to Mohammad Hasnain after top edging into the hands of centurion Will Jacks at the mid off While walking back to the pavilion, Stoinis did a dis graceful act as he imitated Hasnain’s action to be a chucking one Hasnain was found guilty of having an il legal bowling action and was suspended from bowling earlier this year The 22 year old was then reported by umpire Gerard Abood after bowling in the BBL match between Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers on Jan uary 2 Hasnain underwent biomechanics tests in late January, with the findings from the Lahore University of Management Sciences confirming his action breached the ICC s 15 degree limit for elbow extension The Pak istani quick has since been declared fit to bowl again after undergoing remedial work H e R e’s H o w t H e c R i c k e t f R at e R n i t y R e a c t e d: Stoinis is not the first Australian crick eter to call Hasnain’s action illegitimate He was first accused of having an illegal action by Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques during the BBL Henriques, at the time, shouted, “Nice throw, mate” to Hasnain after he unleashed a bouncer R otteRDaM A F P Pakistan will look to collect crucial World Cup qualifying points when they tackle the Netherlands in a three match ODI series from Tuesday but will have a wary eye on the fitness of star bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi The 22 year old paceman suffered a knee injury on the recent tour of Sri Lanka, a worrying setback with the Asia Cup and a meeting with old rivals India coming up at the end of the month Pakistan team bosses do not want to overload a fast bowler who has already played 97 times across all three formats since his international debut just four years ago “We’re taking a couple of doctors with us to take care of Shaheen and want him to play a game against the Nether lands to see if he’s fit and ready for the Asia Cup, said skipper Babar Azam “But we have 11 trump cards Each of them can be match winners on their day I have faith in every one of them, whether batters or bowlers ” The series in Rotterdam was post poned due to Covid 19 in 2020 It forms part of the 13 nation Super League from where the top seven teams plus hosts India will qualify for the 2023
Staff RepoRt Pakistan triathlon team won 5 medals in the Interna tional Triathlon Games held in Thailand The national team won three silver and two bronze medals in Inter national Triathlon Games organised in Thailand in which teams from Pakistan, Thailand, Nepal, Taiwan and Philippines participated Pakistan’s 9 member team participated in running, shooting and swimming events of the International Triathlon Games In under 19 1500m running and 150m swimming events Labib Ahmed and Attaullah while in the U 13 category, M Afnan won silver medals In the senior category, Ar salan and Mohsin won bronze medals Pakistan team was comprised Arsalan Waraich, Waqar Ahmed, Mirza Ahmed Ahsan, M Afnan, Muneebur Rahman, Labib Ahmed Mohsin Razzaq and M Ataullah Tariq Ahmad Rashid was the head coach and manager of the national team President Pakistan Modern Pen tathlon Federation (PMPF) Riyaz Fatiana and Secre tary Zahoor Ahmed here on Monday congratulated the Pakistan triathlon team on winning five medals in the International Triathlon Games The PMPF Presi dent said that the national team performed well in the running, shooting and swimming events of the Inter national Triathlon Games A large number of youth are taking great interest in pentathlon games We will organise international pentathlon events in Pakistan in near future he added Murray returns to Britain’s Davis Cup squad n B r i t a i n ’s t e a m f o r t h e g r o u p s t a g e o f t h e D a v i s C u p F i n a l s i n m i d S e p t e m b e r t h e L a w n Te n n i s A s s o c i a t i o n ( LTA ) s a i d o n M o n d a y T h e B r i t i s h t e a m w i l l b e m a d e u p o f M u r r a y w o r l d n u m b e r 11 C a m e r o n N o r r i e , D a n E v a n s a n d J o e S a l i s b u r y w i t h a f i f t h p l a y e r t o b e a d d e d t o t h e s q u a d l a t e r B r i t a i n w i l l f a c e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , K a z a k h s t a n a n d t h e N e t h e r l a n d s i n G r o u p D o f t h e t o u r n a m e n t w i t h m a t c h e s s c h e d u l e d t o t a k e p l a c e a t t h e E m i r a t e s A r e n a i n G l a s g o w f r o m S e p t e m b e r 1 3 1 8 M u r r a y, w h o l e d B r i t a i n t o t h e i r f i r s t D a v i s C u p t i t l e f o r 7 9 y e a r s i n 2 0 1 5 , l a s t p l a y e d i n t h e c o m p e t i t i o n i n 2 0 1 9 w h e n h e b e a t D u t c h m a n Ta l l o n G r i e k s p o o r T h e 3 5 y e a r o l d h a s l o s t h i s o p e n i n g m a t c h e s a t t h e C a n a d i a n M a s t e r s a n d C i t i O p e n i n r e c e n t w e e k s a n d b o w e d o u t i n t h e s e c o n d r o u n d o f Wi m b l e d o n l a s t m o n t h , b u t f i n i s h e d r u n n e r u p a t t h e AT P 2 5 0 e v e n t i n S t u t t g a r t i n J u n e “ S o m e o f t h e b e s t m o m e n t s o f m y c a r e e r h a v e c o m e r e p r e s e n t i n g m y c o u n t r y i n t h e D a v i s C u p , s o t o b e a p a r t o f t h e t e a m a g a i n m e a n s a l o t ” s a i d M u r r a y w h o w i l l t a k e o n S t a n Wa w r i n k a a t t h e C i n c i n n a t i O p e n l a t e r o n M o n d a y “ O b v i o u s l y i t ’s e x c i t i n g t h a t t h e c o m p e t i t i o n i s r e t u r n i n g t o G l a s g o w w e ’ v e h a d s o m e b r i l l i a n t r e s u l t s t h e r e i n t h e p a s t , a n d t h i s i s a n o t h e r c h a n c e f o r u s t o c r e a t e e v e n m o r e h i s t o r y “ We ’ v e g o t a s t r o n g t e a m a n d w e ’ l l b e g i v i n g e v e r y t h i n g w e c a n t o g e t t h e w i n f o r t h e f a n s a n d b o o k o u r p l a c e i n t h e f i n a l s ” T h e t o p e i g h t t e a m s f r o m t h e D a v i s C u p g r o u p s t a g e w i l l a d v a n c e t o t h e k n o c k o u t s , w h i c h w i l l s e r v e a s t h e s e a s o n e n d i n g e v e n t o n t h e m e n s t e n n i s c a l e n d a r a n d w i l l b e h e l d b e t w e e n N o v e m b e r 2 1 a n d N o v e m b e r 2 7 i n M a l a g a Staff RepoRt Administrator district East Rahmatullah Sheikh on Monday inaugurated three day Badminton Champi onship in collaboration with Sindh Badminton Asso ciation at Physical Training Institute Safoora Senior Executive Engineer M&E Imtiaz Bhutto and other notables were also present, said a statement Speaking on the occasion Sheikh said that there is not dearth of talent in the country and we need to en courage the youth Public and private sector should play its role in their respective spheres to encourage the youth, he added Rahmatullah Sheikh and other guests were also presented gifts of traditional Sindhi Ajrak ‘3 day Badminton Championship’ inaugurated in collaboration with SBA
LoNDoN R e u t e R s T h r e e t i m e s G r a n d S l a m c h a m p i o n A n d y M u r r a y h a s b e e n i n c l u d e d i
S haheen fitness and World Cup key as Pakistan tackle Netherlands
PakISTan favourITe aGaInST HoSTS neTHerl anDS In oDI SerIeS
scores on the trot in ODIs He was declared player of the series for scores of 65, 72 and 62 in Pakistan’s 3 0 win against the West Indies at home in three match ODI series in June 2022 Pakistan will be without the services of world number three ODI bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is not available for the first two games due to knee injury The touring side had their first training session in Schiedam cricket ground, but due to rain they were compelled to conduct the second training session indoors in Rotterdam Reflecting on team’s preparation ahead of the series captain Babar Azam said: “It’s great to be here in Nether lands for the first time The weather and the hospitality is very good here and we are being looked after really well “I do follow Netherlands cricket and I am impressed with their pas sion for the game he said adding that he hoped that the series will go a long way to promote the game in this region On his team’s performance the ODI and T20I top batsman said “We will not become complacent here and the players are ready to express themselves at the ground In the ab sence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, this is an opportunity for youngsters to come forward and showcase their skills “We are looking forward to a good contest between bat and ball and I am hopeful the fans will turn up in numbers to witness the series ” Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice captain) (Northern) Ab dullah Shafique (Balochistan) Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haris Rauf (North ern) Imam ul Haq (Balochistan) Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Haris (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Junior (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh) and Zahid Mehmood (Sindh) Schedule: 16 Aug 1st ODI; VOC Cricket Ground, Rotterdam 18 Aug 2nd ODI; VOC Cricket Ground, Rotterdam 21 Aug 3rd ODI; VOC Cricket Ground Rotterdam
Tuesday 16 August 2022 | KARACHI 11SPORTS LaHoRe s tA F F R e P o R t B A B A R Azam led Pak istan ODI squad is favourites against the 14th ranked Netherlands team when they meet the hosts in the first ODI of the three matches of the first ever bilateral se ries between the two countries in Rotterdam tomorrow The fourth ranked Pakistan will face the hosts Netherlands for the other two matches 18 and 21 August
ageNcieS
While on the subject of India and Pakistan, Akhtar also drew comparisons between the Pakistan and India pacers Akhtar said that Indian pacers were always looking to defend whereas the Pakistani pacers were on the lookout to bowl even faster I thought, If I get a spell here, I will run through the batters I will just take the five wickets there and win the match for Pakistan You can’t be a star without being a match winner We used to win games for the country Akhtar remarked The rivalry between India and Pakistan is set to be reignited as both nations will come up against each other in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 The previous meeting between both nations in the T20 World Cup, where Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets, has made fu ture contests even more enticing
A k h t a r c l a i m s h e wa s u n awa re o f S a c h i n Te n d u l k a r e a r l y i n h i s c a re e r
Pakistan triathlon team bags 5 medals in International Triathlon Games
11 Sports 16 AUGUST_Layout 1 8/16/2022 12:08 AM Page 1
Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar claims that he was unaware of who Sachin Tendulkar was when he first broke into the Pak istan national team Referred to as The Rawalpindi Express, Akhtar said that he was informed of Tendulkar s reputa tion only after Saqlain Mushtaq in formed him about it “Saqlain told me about Sachin Tendulkar and his stature I did not know about him as I was lost in my own world I only focused on what I will do and what the batter was thinking,” said Akhtar Akhtar and Tendulkar both shared a great on field rivalry; both players came against each other in six Test matches and 11 one day internationals The pacer dismissed Tendulkar twice in Test matches whereas got the better of him four times in the ODI format
The three match series is part of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League where the visiting side occu pies fifth spot with 90 points Babar ’s side will be aiming to win all three matches to grab second po sition in the points table A couple of milestones are on the cards for Pakistan’s premier players Number one ranked ODI player Babar Azam needs one more century to become the only Pakistan captain to score 10 tons in interna tional cricket Wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan requires 18 more runs to complete 1,000 ODI runs Imam ul Haq, who trails his skipper Babar on second spot in the ICC batters rankings will be look ing to continue his rich vein of form after amassing seven fifty plus
World Cup Pakistan are currently third with 90 points, having beaten a formidable Aus tralia 2 1 in their last ODI series at home Failure to make the top seven would mean having to negotiate a perilous route through a qualifying competition “There are important Super League points at stake which we can’t lose,” said Azam who may be stunned to find Eu rope baking in a heatwave “I think the conditions will be similar to England The weather will be cooler so we have practiced with the air condi tioning on indoors, perhaps that helps simulate the conditions, he said Thurs day on the team’s departure for Europe R e c a l l f o R 38 y e a R o l d: The two teams have only played three one day internationals all in multi national events at the 1996 (Pakistan) and 2003 (South Africa) World Cups and 2002 Champions Trophy (Sri Lanka) Pakistan won all three After qualify ing for the T20 World Cup to be played in Australia later this year, the Nether lands are seeking a huge lift in their 50 over fortunes They are placed last in the Super League, having won only two of their 16 matches with one no result and 13 de feats Those two wins against Ireland followed 12 straight losses in series against Afghanistan, New Zealand, West Indies and England England also smashed a world record total of 498 4 against them in June But new skipper Scott Edwards be lieves playing against bigger nations has helped his young team ODI cricket is still a benchmark for Associates,” said Edwards, who replaced Pieter Seelaar as skipper in June We have got a lot of young crick eters coming through who have got ex posure against England and New Zealand I am excited for the next two three years “We play Pakistan which is another opportunity to face world class bowlers and batters and that is a huge preparation for us to fine tune our skills for the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia It s been an awesome summer for the players for this opportunity to play these bigger nations There is a little bit of shame that we haven’t got some wins on the board ” Pakistan have dropped out of form fast bowler Hasan Ali who is replaced by rookie pacer Naseem Shah while Shah nawaz Dahani, Haris Rauf and Moham mad Wasim Junior are the other quicks in the squad The Netherlands, meanwhile, have recalled 38 year old all rounder Wesley Barresi after a three year absence After the opening game on Tuesday, the sides meet again on Thursday and Sunday
Meanwhile, the Federal Board of Rev enue (FBR) on Monday shared a statutory regulatory order (SRO) through which the tax body notified all designated chief col lectors to coordinate with terminal opera tors and shipping lines to provide relief to importers whose consignments are stuck at ports
ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t
Meanwhile, the Punjab chief minister ordered immediate recruitment of 664 va cant posts for differently abled persons He directed the Punjab Special Education De partment to send the summary to his office on the same day During a meeting with a delegation of physically challenged per sons called the CM at his office on Mon day, Elahi lamented that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N) led government ignored problems of disabled persons They are children of the nation and the government will solve their prob lems on priority he added He also announced increasing con veyance allowance for the blind, dumb, deaf and other differently abled employees in all government institutions of Punjab, up gradation of posts and recruitment against 664 vacant posts He issued directives to resolve their is sues without delay and informed them that the provincial government will give Rs10,000 monthly conveyance allowance to differently abled persons He also an nounced upgrading posts for disabled em ployees in all the provincial government departments and explained that posts for all those who cannot walk or hear would be upgraded Principal Secretary to CM Muhammad Khan Bhatti, finance secretary and others were also present in the meeting
per
ISLAMABAD A P P
OGra reduces prices of impor ted rlnG by up to $0.51 per MMbtu ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t
They informed that issues over the re lease of imported items had begun follow ing the circular of State Bank of Pakistan issued on May 20 with regard to curtailing imports The SBP had directed authorized deal ers to seek prior permission from Foreign Exchange Operations Department (FEOD), SBP BSC before initiating trans actions for imports including power gen erating electrical machinery and apparatus, mobile phone (CKD) and motor cars (CKD) However, when contacted, officials at Customs stated that there was no issue on their part as importers have to obtain all required approvals from other agencies, including the SBP Earlier, Minister of Finance Miftah Is mail was also informed that there are some serious issues confronting the business community due to the delay in shipment clearance of various goods belonging to the essential items category The commu nity had lamented that the backlog at ports was causing extensive financial damage to traders With the dollar experiencing fluc tuations daily, trade bodies throughout the country had urged the government to take immediate steps to maintain the balance between supply and demand in the coun try and to save industries from coming to a standstill Miftah was informed by various trade bodies that the situation has arisen due to a circular issued by SBP adding solar pan els, inverters, and batteries to the updated list of products for which “prior permis sion will be required when opening LCs for the import Besides, this circular also expanded its coverage to all items under HS codes 84 and 85 which also includes computer hardware items
People of Kashmir on either side of the Line of Control (LoC) and the world over observed the 75th Independence Day of India as Black Day in protest against New Delhi’s illegal oc cupation of their homeland The day is marked by a complete shutdown and civil curfew in occupied Kashmir call for which was given by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and supported by pro freedom leaders and or ganisations Black flags were hoisted every where in the occupied territory The Kashmiris across the world are holding anti India demon strations to draw the world’s attention to the severe rights violations in occupied Kashmir APHC leaders in their statements said India has no locus standi to celebrate its Independ ence Day in Kashmir as it is holding the terri tory against the will of the people central gov t debt witnesses biggest monthly hike of PKr3,145bn
ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t
Attaullah Tarar, a Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N) leader and spe cial assistant to the prime minister, on Monday approached Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking protective bail in a case registered against him in Lahore He requested the court that he may grant in terim bail in the case registered in the Qila Gujjar Singh police station in old Lahore His petition said the minister may be given a chance to appear before the relevant forum, Lahore High Court in that case, against the complaint, express ing fear that police will arrest him before he approaches the court
The Lahore po lice initiated action against Tarar, as well as former PML N minister Rana Mash hood Ahmad Khan, in an attack on Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, speaker of the Punjab Assembly at the time during the election of chief minister on April 16 Following the attack, Elahi, now chief minister of Punjab registered a case against PML N leadership for “torturing” him during the legislative session Subse quently on Saturday the police paid a visit to Tarar ’s residence in Lahore in the wee hours but returned empty handed as the suspect managed to escape to Islam abad It, however, delivered a notice or dering him to appear before the police for investigation In a tweet Hashim Muhammad Dogar, Punjab home minis ter, said if Tarar understood the law, he would follow the order However Azhar Mashwani, a Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) focal person, claimed that the po lice had raided Tarar s house in connec tion with the party’s long march on May 25 Meanwhile, it emerged top PML N leadership has flown off to the safer confines of Islamabad, where their party is still in power, to evade arrests in various cases In addition to Tarar and Khan, a third suspect Malik Ahmad Khan, another assistant to the prime minister who is also wanted in this case, is already in the capital
P e r va i z e l a h i r e s h u f f l e s P u n j a b c a b i n et
ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t
The federal government on Monday increased the price of petrol by Rs6 72 per litre while slightly decreased the high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs0 51 per litre due to ‘fluctuations in the interna tional market and exchange rate varia tions’ The new prices will come into ef fect from midnight today, according to a notification issued by the finance ministry With the latest announce ment, the price of petrol has been in creased from Rs227 19 to Rs233 91 per litre
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Monday slashed the prices of Re gasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) on networks of the SSGCL and SNGPL by up to 2 92 per cent for the current month According to the details, the authority has decreased the price for the con sumers of SNGPL by $0 5107 MMBTU which is 2 92 per cent lower than the price in July After the cut, the price of RLNG will go down to $16 9496/MMBTU for August from $17 4603/MMBTU during July Similarly, the price for consumers of SSGCL has been reduced by $0 4792/MMBTU which is 2 67pc less than the previous month’s notified price After the re duction, the price of imported RLNG will go down to $17 4783/MMBTU for August from $ 17 9575/MMBTU during July According to OGRA, a total of six LNG cargoes were im ported by Pakistan State Oil (PSO) under two long term contracts with Qatar while Pakistan LNG Limited (PLL) procured one LNG cargo during August The main reason for the decrease in RLNG prices in August is because of the pro curement of only one expansive LNG cargo under the spot purchase Under long two term contracts with Qatar, PSO is procuring LNG at 13 37pc of Brent and 10 20pc of Brent crude The decrease in rates will also reduce the cost of electricity generated from RLNG based power plants during August Kashmir obser ves india’s independence Day as black Day
The concerned officers will now assist importers suffering due to regulatory changes and approvals needed by the Min istry of Commerce (MoC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan Standard & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) It is pertinent to mention here that im porters can approach the concerned col lectors to get delay and detention certificates for a partial waiver of charges In case of any issues the chief collectors may be contacted As a result of the is suance of SRO 598(I)2022 dated May 19, a large number of consignments were held up at different ports and land Cus toms stations across the country Recently, after the issuance of Office Memorandum F No 2(5)2021 IMP III dated July 22 is sued by the MoC, the clearance of such held up consignments has begun
The HSD will now be available at Rs244 44 It was earlier available at Rs244 95 per litre Kerosene oil after a slight decrease of Rs1 67 will be avail able at Rs199 40 per litre from Rs201 07 Light Diesel Oil price was also de creased by Rs0 43 and it will now be available at Rs191 75 per litre from the previous price of Rs191 32 The finance ministry said in a statement that government had decided to revise the existing oil prices follow ing fluctuation in global oil prices and exchange rate variation It added that new prices of petroleum products will be effective from August 16, 2022 (Tuesday) Earlier the sources had said the prices of local petroleum products were likely to decrease by up to Rs15 per litre, as crude oil prices have de clined in the global market The HSD is mainly used in agri culture and transport sectors T h e r e f o r e , a n y i n c r e a s e i n i t s p r i c e s w i l l h a v e d i r e c t i n f l a t i o n a r y i m p a c t o n t h e l i f e o f t h e m a s s e s T h e f a r m e r s a r e a l r e a d y f a c i n g h i g h p r i c e s o f e l e c t r i c i t y a n d t h e H S D m i g h t c a u s e f u r t h e r h i k e i n t h e c o s t o f d o i n g b u s i n e s s e x p e r t s s a i d They added that the additional in crease in price of diesel will add mis eries of the people and farmers in agriculture sectors Due to hike in price of diesel, the transport fare might also go up, resulting in higher prices of commodities in the country T h e p e t r o l i s u s e d i n m o t o r b i k e s a n d c a r s I t s a l t e r n a t e i s c o m p r e s s e d n a t u r a l g a s ( C N G ) T h e C N G r e t a i l o u t l e t s i n P u n j a b h a v e b e e n o p e r a t ing on imported liquefied natural gas ( L N G ) a n d t h e c o s t o f i t h a v e g o n e u p m a n i f o l d d u e t o R u s s i a U k r a i n e c o n f l i c t petrol price by Rs6.72 litre
ISLAMABAD G h u l A m A b b A S Around 2,000 containers of non banned items have been stuck at ports for the past over two months even as the incumbent government has started easing out restric tions on imported items after a strict con trol over for over two months, Profit learnt on Monday According to importers of machinery and engineering goods, hundreds of con t a i n e r s w i t h d i ff e r e n t i t e m s i n c l u d i n g p o w e r g e n e r a t o r s a n d o t h e r e l e c t r i c a l m a c h i n e r y a n d a p p a r a t u s e t c a r e n o t being cleared from the Karachi port due to the need for clearance from relevant institutions
KARACHI S tA f f R e P o R t
Central government debt increased to PKR47 8trn after increasing 7% in a month during June 2022 making the PKR 3,145 bn jump in the total debt the highest ever monthly increase Pakistan’s total debt to GDP ratio in creased to 71 4% as of June 2022 compared to 69 4% as at June 2021 The total debt rose by 23 5% on a year on year (YoY) basis On a YoY basis, the government increased its re liance on long term debt primarily permanent debt in the form of bonds issued by the federal government which witnessed a 29 3% jump ‘fleeing’ tarar moves ihc for protective bail
G ovt jacks up
2,000 containers of unbanned items remain stuck at por ts
“In the 1960s, when Pakistan was in its adolescence the country brimmed with hope and promise We had a date with des tiny The nation was widely thought ready to become the next Asian tiger In 2022 however, Pakistan finds itself mired in its latest economic crisis,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in an article in the prominent magazine Economist Shehbaz Sharif stated, “This one is born out of the most challenging global policy environment of our lifetime, char acterised by a commodity supercycle, his toric monetary tightening at America’s Federal Reserve and a conflict in Europe that is tearing apart the post war global order But it also stems from home grown weaknesses: weaknesses that have been left unaddressed for the better part of five decades; weaknesses that have forced us to approach the IMF multiple times during that time This is not how successful na tions are built Although there are many, three critical structural flaws stand out These have pre vented economic take off, stunted our growth and led to repeated boom bust cy cles since the late 1980s First, our political environment has become increasingly polarised Instead of debating how to run Pakistan better and rid the country of poverty political parties have been at each other ’s throats Second, we have not invested enough in the nuts and bolts of development: education, health and infrastructure This is in part due to an abysmally low tax take, but it also reflects our priorities in public spend ing, some of which can be attributed to the complicated neighbourhood we live in, including a long standing adversarial relationship with India, the Russian and then the American invasion of Afghanistan and the influx of millions of refugees into Pakistan
Navigating through economic crisis immediate priorit y: PM Shehbaz
PRAyeR timinGS FA J R S U N R I S E Z U H R A S R M AG H R I B I S H A 4:46 6:06 12:36 5 13 7 06 8 26 Tuesday, 16 August 2022 NEWS 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 LAHORE S tA f f R e P o R t i N a s u r p r i s e m o v e , P u n j a b C h i e f M i n i s t e r C h a u d h r y P e r v a i z E l a h i on M onday res huffled his cabinet and changed portfolios of provin c i a l m i n i s t e r s i n c l u d i n g b i g w i g s l i k e M u h a m m a d R a j a B a s h a r a t a n d D r Yasmin Rashid According to a notification of the new portfolios, Raja Basharat has been removed from the office of Minister for Public Pros ecution and the charge has been given to Brig (retd) Muhammad Musaddiq Abbasi Raja Basharat has been assigned the portfolios of Parliamentary Affairs and En vironmental Protection Similarly, Dr Yasmin Rashid has been removed from the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Health and has been appointed as Minister for Specialised Health and Medical Education The charge of Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department has been given to Akhtar Malik Arsalan Khalid has been given the port folio of Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), the office previously held by Raja Yasir Humayun Khurram Virk has been removed from the office of Ministry of Parliamentary Af fairs Most of these ministers were ap pointed last week, on August 7
BACK PAGE 16 August 2022_Layout 1 8/16/2022 1:12 AM Page 1
