“the probe in the pti’s prohibited funding is underway and the Fia has unearthed a big account, whose details will be shared with the public tomorrow,” she remarked. the minister said the election commission of pakistan had declared the pti a foreign-aided party as it used some 351 accounts for receiving the prohibited funding. she alleged that imran Khan also used the funds, collected from abroad in the name of shaukat Khanam hospital and flood victims, for creating chaos and anarchy in the country. marriyum regretted that the “trespasser of the constitution” refused to appear before the Fia, contravening his own so-called stance that the powerful should not be above the law. on the contrary, she added, nawaz sharif along with his daughter had regularly appeared before the court when he was the prime minister. she said the country, media and nation had gotten freedom from a “foreign agent and his foreign funding”. as regards the address of imran Khan to a seminar on the press freedom, the minister said inviting a person, who had gagged the media during his four-year rule, was a “ridiculous step”. she was surprised to see that some responsible journalists were listening to imran Khan’s address attentively, she added.
ISLAMABAD staff report f inanceminister miftah ismail on thursday announced lifting the ban on the import of luxury items as desired by the international monetary Fund (imF) and world trade organization (wto). addressing a press conference here at the federal capital, the finance minister said that if the government had a limited amount of dollars and its foremost priority was to provide basic necessities to the country’s population, then its choice was very simple. “do we buy cars or grain with those dollars? do we buy mobile phones or pulses? do we buy oil and ghee or home appliances? our choice becomes very simple.”
ISLAMABAD app the newly-appointed australian high commissioner to pakistan mr. neil hawkins on thursday reaffirmed pakistan’s strong desire and commitment to further enhance cooperation in diverse fields such as trade and investment, agriculture including wheat production, livestock including cattle raising, educational and technical cooperation, direct air-links, skilled migration, and people-to-people contacts.thehigh commissioner, during a call on with the prime minister, appreciated steady progress achieved in bilateral relations over the years. the australian high commissioner reciprocated the desire for further strengthening of bilateral relations and conveyed profound gratitude for pakistan’s facilitative role in safe evacuation of their nationals and others from afghanistan.theprime minister highlighted the cooperation that pakistan continued to extend to the international community in the wake of the situation in afghanistan, particularly since august last theyear.prime minister added that pakistan desired peaceful ties with india, based on the principles of equity, justice and mutual respect. in this context, a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant unsc resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people was indispensible. the prime minister stressed that the international community had to play a facilitative role in this regard, as it was essential for durable peace and stability in south asia. the high commissioner thanked the prime minister for receiving him and expressed his resolve to further increase and diversify the existing ties between australia and pakistan.
US commander lauds Pakistan Army’s ‘commendable’ efforts in war on terror
ISLAMABAD staff report general michael erik Kurilla, commander us centcom along with a delegation visited ghQ and held one-on-one meeting with the chief of army staff (coas) and discussed the matters of mutual interest, regional security situation & stability, defence and security cooperation particularly military to military ties during the meeting. the one-on-one call was followed by delegation level meeting. pakistan army’s counter terrorism efforts and significant contributions towards regional peace and stability were discussed. pakistan-us military training exchange programme also came under discussion. the visiting dignitary acknowledged pakistan army’s commendable efforts in fight against terrorism, counter terrorism experiences and efforts for regional peace and stability. later, the visiting dignitary also visited army museum and took keen interest in various historical enclosures.
ISLAMABAD app minister for information and Broadcasting marriyum aurangzeb on thursday said the Federal investigation agency (Fia) should arrest imran Khan like that of the pakistan muslim league-nawaz leaders who were apprehended on the basis of mere accusations. “if the Fia can arrest shehbaz sharif, maryam nawaz, suleman shehbaz, hamza shehbaz, ahsan iqbal, shahid Khaqan abbasi, miftah ismail and others on the basis of allegations, then why imran Khan, who used the prohibited funding against the national interest, should be let scot free,” she said while addressing a news conference. marriyum said a person (imran Khan), who refused to appear before the Fia in connection with the prohibited funding, should be in jail. she also asked all those, who had opened fake accounts for receiving the prohibited funding, to appear before the Fia, otherwise, they should be ready for strict action. the prohibited funding case, she said, would be taken to its logical end and its all details would be made public so that the people should know how imran Khan had misled them through “lies and deception”.
Govt lifts ban on ‘luxury’ imported items says duties on import oF cBus
Friday, 19 August, 2022 I 20 Muharram, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 50 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition CONTINUED ON PAGE 05 g
Being increased threeFold g says government complied with imF instruction on electricity tariFF
however, he added that the ban was lifted as wished by the international community. he further said that although the ban is being lifted, duties – regulatory, custom and sales tax – are being increased by three times on the import of cBu items including vehicles, mobile phone, electronics, imported meat and fish, shoes, purses, and packed food items to make the import difficult. miftah ismail admitted the smuggling of imported items through green channels, stating that despite an import ban for over three months, one can easily get imported fish and meat in restaurants of islamabad, Karachi, and lahore. talking about the imF executive Board’s meeting scheduled for august 29, miftah said that the government has also complied with the electricity tariff, committed that a budgeted and funded subsidy will be provided on electricity and that the primary deficit target of rs153 billion will be met. “the government will not provide a no non-funded subsidy,” he reiterated.thefinance minister said that mistakenly fixed retail tax was imposed on small traders whose electricity bills were just rs1,000 to rs2,000; therefore, the government will withdraw the notification in this regard, adding that the target of collecting rs27 billion as a fixed tax on retail will be withdrawn but variable five per cent sales tax and 7.5 per cent income tax will be charged from every shopkeeper for the next three months, up to october 1, 2022. “afterwards, on the consumption of more than 50 units, both sales and income tax will be increased gradually to 20 per cent in accordance with the consumption of electricity units,” he added. the gap in the shortfall, he said, will be bridged by imposing rs36 billion additional taxes on tobacco. in this regard, miftah announced that the government will increase Fed to rs2,250 on tier-ii 1,000 cigarettes from rs1,850 and rs6,500 on tier-i 1,000 cigarettes from rs5,900. “and the cess on tobacco per kg will be increased to rs380 from rs10,” he added. he informed that four companies have purchased track and trace systems which will make monitoring of this matter effective. Furthermore, the finance minister said that there won’t be any sales tax on the subsidy on electricity. through the ordinance, the sales tax on peter engine (diesel one engine) is being removed while the government will also consider the removal of tax on import of agricultural implements.
FIA should arrest Imran Khan like PML-N leaders on mere Marriyumallegations:
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PM, Australian HC vow to enhance cooperation in diverse fields
PesHAwAR Staff rePort Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Awami National Party (ANP) Provincial President Aimal Wali Khan are vying in the by-election for the politically fertile national assembly constituency (NA-24) Charsadda-II scheduled to be September 25. Following completion of scrutiny of nomination papers of the nine candidates including PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan and ANP Provincial President Aimal Wali Khan by the returning officer, now all eyes are on NA-24 Charsadda-II where one-on-one contest is expected between the two leaders. Aimal Wali Khan, who is the son of ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan and a joint candidate of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is contesting the byelection for the first time to a national assembly seat from his hometown Charsadda and is likely to give tough time to the PTI chairman.
ecp reserves verdict in pmL-Q intra-party polls case IsLAMABAD Staff rePort The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday reserved its verdict in a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain against the efforts being made from within his party to remove him from his seat and holding of intra-party elections. A fivemember bench of the ECP, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the petition. Speaking on the occasion, Advocate Umar Aslam, counsel for Chaudhry Shujaat said that a person ceased to be the party president only in two cases: either he resigned or died. He argued that the ECP could listen to the party president case since it fell in its jurisdiction. “Only the Central Working Committee is authorized to take disciplinary action against any office-bearer of the party,” he said, adding, “In the case of PML-Q, the committee has not been constituted from the word ‘go’. In this situation, how on earth could the party’s election commission came into existence?” Advocate Aslam accused defendants, led by Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, in the case of occupying the party’s Punjab office. “We are being denied access to the party’s record by the same group,” he alleged. He went on to add that the defendants had said that 83 members of the PML-Q had attended the committee’s meeting which had decided to strip Chaudhry Shujaat of his post. “But the question is whether the dissident group submitted to the ECP the list of these 83 members,” he asked. Later talking to the media outside the ECP’s office, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, son of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, said that his father would accept the verdict of the election commission. “Our doors are open for everyone because neither is there any ‘ego’ in politics nor is there anything final,” he remarked. PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had approached the ECP following a faction of the party, led by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, held a meeting in Lahore at which they dismissed both Shujaat and Tariq Bashir Cheema from their posts in the party.
02-03 NEWS 19 Auguat 2022_Layout 1 8/19/2022 1:09 AM Page 1
CPNE’s 2020 report, International Media Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 reports were testimony to Imran Khan’s media hostility, Maryam Aurangzeb said. She pointed out that International Media Watch had called Imran Khan a fascist and in four years of Imran Khan rule, the ribs of journalists were broken, they were kidnapped, the freedom of the media was crushed and the parliament was locked. She said that Imran Khan who controlled media through NAB also made media workers jobless. The media has to decide whether to attend the seminar of the person who had snatched the pen from the journalists, ordered the removal of anchor persons from the screen, she maintained.
Imran’s medIa semInar tantamount to hypocrIsy, says marrIyum notice on ECP in PTI’s appeal
IHC serves
History of the past elections revealed that ANP had won the constituency for record six times while JUI-F three times and PTI only Detailsonce.of general elections held from 1970 to 2018, this constituency was won three times by ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, two times by Khan Abdul Wali Khan and once by Begum Nasim Wali Khan. JUI-F’s Maulana Hassan Jan Shaheed had clinched victory in 1990 elections and Maulana Gohar Shah won it twice while PTI’s Fazal Muhammad Khan secured a victory in this constituency in the general elections 2018. In the 1970 election, ANP Chief Abdul Wali Khan emerged victorious after securing 34,359 votes while his wife Begum Nasim Wali Khan secured victory on the ticket of Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) with 48,653 votes during the 1977 elections. Abdul Wali Khan had regained the seat in the 1998 elections after obtaining 63,185 votes. However, Abdul Wali Khan lost to JUI-F’s Maulana Hassan Jan Shaheed in the 1990 elections after the latter bagged 66,452 votes, resultantly the former left practical politics. ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan was elected member of the national assembly from this constituency in 1993 elections with 56,164 votes and 1997 elections with 55,059 votes respectively. In 2002 general election, JUI-F candidate Maulana Gohar Shah secured victory with 55,917 votes while ANP’s Asfandyar Wali again elected in 2008 elections after securing 38,835 votes. In 2013 elections, the seat was re-clinched by Maulana Gohar Shah on ticket of JUI-F with 53,610 votes and PTI’s Fazal Muhammad achieved landslide victory in 2018 elections with 83,596 votes. Former Chairman, Political Science Department, Prof Dr AH Hilali said that by-election in Charsadda on one side would determine popularity of the party and voters’ inclination for 2023 elections on the other side. He said time will tell that whether ANP’s third generation would emerge victorious or PTI would regain its seat following acceptance of the resignation of MNA Fazal Muhammad. The literacy rate in the politically fertile constituency was relatively higher than NA23 Charsadda-I where support of other political parties and large baradaris would matter. Most of its people are associated with government jobs, agriculture, trade and overseas employment. The contesting candidates started attending marriages and funeral prayers and addressing corner meetings to persuade maximum public support. The electioneering campaign would heat up as polling day comes nearer in Charssadda. The others candidates in run are: Azizullah Khan, Falak Naz, Fawad Ahmad, Fazal Muhammad Khan, Mujeebur Rehman, Shakeel Bashir Khan and Sparlay Muhammad. They have started addressing corner meetings to persuade voters.
Friday, 19 August, 2022 ISLAMABAD 02 NEWS
Photo by Zubair MehfooZ News Desk A larger bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday served a preadmission notice to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in an appeal of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) against the ECP’s decision in the prohibited funding case. The bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Aamer Farooq, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Baber Sattar heard the PTI’s appeal. PTI’s Lawyer Anwar Mansoor argued that only the amounts falling under the prohibited funding could be confiscated. If the information of any party regarding funding was not found as per the Political Parties Order (PP) 2002, then it could given an opportunity by the ECP for correction. The lawyer said the ECP had initiated the scrutiny of accounts of all the political parties in 2018 but action was taken only against the PTI under PPO 2002. However, the scrutiny committee had submitted its report while depending on another law, he added. To a court’s query, Anwar Mansoor said a Pakistani citizen Nasar married to an Indian woman Ramita Shethi and $13,000 were received from the their joint account to the PTI. But the ECP on its own considered half of the amount as received from Ramita Shethi and the rest from her husband. He claimed that the PTI had never concealed the information regarding the funds received from the Votan Cricket Limited in 2013. It was not prohibited in the law to receive amount from any one other than an individual, he added. However, the court remarked that it had been written in the law that funds would be received only from individuals. It questioned whether the petitioner wanted to exclude the observations of ECP. It was just a report and the commission had issued a show cause notice to the PTI so far. Anwar Mansoor replied that it was an action of the ECP. He said the Federal Government had initiated action against the PTI on the basis of that report. The Federal Investigation Agency had started an inquiry into the matter. The lawyer pleaded the court to suspend the actions of ECP which were beyond its jurisdiction. Justice Baber Sattar remarked that it was not the era of 70s where someone could dissolve any party. He asked the lawyer to inform the court regarding his reservations.
LAHORE: Ladies health visitors block Mall Road at Charing Cross to press government accept their longstanding demands.
At least 14 people were killed and 14 others injured in heavy monsoon rain-triggered flash floods and other rain-related incidents during the last 24 hours in Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. According to its report, at least five children and eight women were among those who lost their lives in different rain-related incidents across the country. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst-hit region with 10 killed, followed by Sindh with four deaths, the NDMA said. The report said that 352 houses were destroyed in the country. The total death toll in Pakistan from this season’s monsoon rains since mid-June has reached 649, including 139 women and 238 children, along with 1,030 others injured, the NDMA said. Additionally, 72,871 houses, 129 bridges and 43 shops have been destroyed, it added. Rescue and relief operations by the NDMA, other government organizations, volunteers, and non-government organizations are also underway in the flood-hit areas. ptI leader shah Farman appears before FIa team in funding case PesHAwAR Staff rePort Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Farman on Thursday appeared before the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) team in Peshawar in connection with the PTI’s foreign funding case. Sources said that the former KP governor was handed over a questionnaire by the FIA team at the Agency’s office. The FIA had also summoned former National Assembly (NA) speaker Asad Qaiser, PTI KP Finance Secretary Muhammad Imran and Finance Committee Member Muhammad Mohsin Daud in the same case today. Sources disclosed that the PTI leaders would be questioned about Rs2.8 million worth transactions made through two private banks’ accounts.
IsLAMABAD Monitoring rePort
“The media has to decide whether or not to attend the media seminar of the founder of Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority, which was established by the previous government to control the media. She urged Imran to stop the farce of the media seminar as during his four years rule the media’s voice was muzzled and Mir Shakeelur Rehman was arrested by NAB to weaken the national media. “PFUJ, CPNE and PBA will have to decide whether to attend the “media weakening seminar”, he media has to decide whether to go to the media seminar of the persons who strangulated journalism, during whose tenure firing was done on journalists, the one who imposed unprecedented restrictions on media.
14 killed, as many injured in nationwide rain spells in 24 hours
The minister said that the media will have to decide whether to participate in the seminar of the person who had been given the title of “media predator by international organizations”.Themedia will have to decide whether to believe the specter of their freedom and job-snapping seminar or not.
IsLAMABAD Staff rePort t ERMINGPTI Chairman Imran Khan’s tenure as prime minister as a dark chapter for media in Pakistan, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Thursday that the media organizations and journalists should recall the anti-media track record of the PTI regime before attending his media seminar. In a statement, she said that the enemy of media (Imran Khan) who was what she called “economic murderer” of the media should feel ashamed on conducting the mediaImranseminar.Khan indulged in media enmity while sitting in the Prime Minister’s chair. She said that Imran Khan was a liar, corrupt, foreign agent, media enemy and a hypocrite and the media had to decide whether to attend the seminar of a person who used the National Accountability Bureau as a tool to suppress media freedom.
History in making: Imran, Aimal Wali vying for NA-24 Charsadda-II
China continues work with Pakistan to bring CPEC benefits to local people: Spokesperson
03NEWS Friday, 19 August, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
APP Commissioner DG Khan division Muhammad Usman Anwar, in view of more rain forecast in the coming days, urged the people of Rajanpur and DG Khan districts to avoid entering floodwaters and shift to higher and safer places.Talking to affected people during his visit to the flood-hit areas of the division, the commissioner promised that every member of the families internally displaced due to floods would be shifted to their respective homes once the floodwaters were receded and damaged roads were cleared for traffic. He highlighted the importance of warnings issued from the administration from time to time pleading that torrential rains had broken all previous records and continuous flooding left little room for water absorption in soil.Even a smaller flood wave could prove damaging, he said while advising people not to enter the floodwaters to avert the risk of being swept away or other submerged hazards.Taking notice of the blockade of inter-provincial highway near Rakhi Garj due to landsliding, the commissioner asked the political assistant of Koh-eSuleman Authority to seek help from NHA and other departments for arranging heavy machinery needed to clear the debris and restoring traffic.
APP A Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Thursday said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was an important pilot program under Belt and Road Initiative and China would continue to work with Pakistan to ensure that the cooperation outcomes were better delivered to the Pakistani people.“Iwould like to stress that CPEC is an important pilot program under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It focusses on development and people’s livelihood and has got wide command and recognition from outside,” Wang Wenbin said during his regular briefing. The spokesperson said that the CPEC had brought tangible benefits for socio-economic development of people’s“Chinalives.will continue to work with Pakistan to ensure that the cooperation outcomes are better delivered to the Pakistani people,” he added. Sharing the outcomes of BRI, he highlighted that since its inception nine years ago, China worked with relevant countries on the principles of mutual consultation, win-win cooperation and achieved fruitful outcomes. Wang Wenbin gave examples of China-Laos railway, Bridge in Serbia, port of Gwadar which had been well implemented, and said, China-Europe Railways was operating smoothly. In the first half of this year, he informed that China’s trade with countries along the route reached US$9.3 billion. He reiterated that China would work with relevant countries to advance trade cooperation and achieve new achievements and make contributions towards the development of local peoples.Toa question, he pointed out that China and relevant countries had advanced mutually beneficial cooperation, and achieved tangible achievements under BRI. Giving details, he said that by July 4 this year, China had signed BRI documents with 149 countries and 32 international organizations. “We have investment volume of over 1 trillion yuan and cooperation relations with 87 countries in Science and Technology. In agriculture and health sectors, we have 53 laboratories and the cooperation in emerging sectors is also booming”, he added. The spokesperson said that ChinaEurope freight trade service now reached around 180 cities in Europe. It was not only a network of transportation but a bond of win-win results. He said that these facts showed that the BRI has delivered benefits for the whole world. It enjoyed bright prospects forward.“We are ready to work with all countries to pursue high quality cooperation to bring more benefits to international community,” he added.
People advised to shift to safer places amid more rain forecast in DG Khan, Rajanpur Kashmiris sacking from ‘state jobs’ continues unabated 02-03 NEWS 19 Auguat 2022_Layout 1 8/19/2022 1:09 AM Page 2
MIRPUR (AJk): Staff rePort
He said that flood related losses were minimized due to timely action taken by the Punjab government, including declaration of emergency, better management, in-time announcements in sensitive areas, and timely rescue and relief operations. He said that the Meteorological Department had issued a forecast of more rains and departments were on alert but “people should be careful, and follow all the precautionary and safety measures.”
The Indian occupying forces have started sacking Muslim employees from their jobs under fake and fabricated charges, said a report reaching here Thursday from across the Line of AccordingControl.tothe report, the plan to remove ten thousand Kashmiri Muslim employees from “State government” jobs has begun so that Indian nationals could be appointed on “vacant positions”. The current plan is a part of the India’s larger agenda to strengthen Delhi’s unlawful rule in the disputed IIOJK State in the wake of Delhi’s sinister action on August 05, 2019. The puppet State government has recently sacked four Kashmiri Muslim officers including Mrs. Assbah Khan, a senior officer of Kashmir Administrative Services, for indulging in ‘anti-national’ activities. She is the wife of a renowned Kashmiri freedom fighter Muhammad Farooq Dar, Commander of JKLF.
FAIsALABAD Staff rePort Area Magistrate Raja Ali Raza accepted the police request for five-day physical remand of the main accused, Danish Sheikh, in medical student Khadija Ghafoor torture case. here on Thursday. The court, after hearing arguments of both sides, handed over the main accused to the investigation police. A large number of people gathered outside the court and some of them also tried to beat the accused. However, police had made strict security arrangements in and around the court while teams of anti-riot police force were present in the court to tackle any untoward situation. The women police station had registered a case against 16 accused under sections 376, 382, 342, 354,149, 148, 337 Lii, 337Ai, 337 Fi and 337v. Six of them were arrested while others were at large. The court had already sent a woman accused Maham on judicial remand to jail while four others Shoaib, Asghar, Feezan and Tayyab were handed over to the police for two days on physical remand. Meanwhile, the police said that torture of Khadija had been proved in medicolegal report. City Police Officer Umar Saeed Malik had constituted a inquiry committee to probe the case. SSP Investigation Cap (Retd) Muhammad Ajmal would be head of the committee, while SP Madina Town Muhammad Nabeel and DSP Kotwali Qazi Farooq are among the members. DSP Legal Shehzad Ilyana, DSP CIA Mudasar Hanif and SHO Women Police Station Farah Batool are the coordinating officers of the committee.
The commissioner said that ample food, sufficient for three meals a day, was being provided at the flood relief camps and flood hit areas.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday rejected a PTI plea to issue a stay order against a show-cause notice issued from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in prohibited funding case. A three-member larger bench of the IHC headed by acting Chief Justice Aamir Kayani along with Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb and Justice Babar Sattar announced the short order after reserving the decision earlier in the day, following arguments from both sides. The IHC although did not entertain the PTI plea to issue a stay order against the show-cause notice to the party from the ECP, but issued notice to the election commission to argue on the maintainability of the PTI plea and adjourned the proceedings until August 24. In the last hearing, the Islamabad High Court had decided to form a larger bench to hear the PTI’s plea against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) judgement in the prohibited funding case. PTI’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor argued that the accounts’ information, which were provided, was not included in the electoral watchdog’s verdict.
Angry lawyers have thrashed the prime suspect, named Danish, who was produced before a sessions court in a case related to abduction and torture of a female medical student in Faisalabad. According to details, the prime suspect – Danish – was produced before a sessions court in the Faisalabad student torture case. Later, the angry lawyers started thrashing Danish for torturing the female student while another man hit the accused with a shoe. Meanwhile, the officials of the elite force intervened and took the prime suspect to a nearby court.
pm dIrects to gear up reLIeF operatIons In FLood-hIt areas
IsLAMABAD Staff rePort p RIMEMinister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has directed National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), and the provincial government of Sindh to speed-up relief operations in the flood-affected areas immediately.
prohibited funding: Ihc rejects ptI’s plea for stay order against ecp showcause stAFF RePoRt
Her husband Farooq Dar was also arrested in IIOJK in 1990 and 26 fake cases were slapped against him and which were later dismissed by the Indian Supreme Court. It took Mohammad Farooq 16 years of his life to prove his innocence.Darfamously known as Bitta Karate, was once again arrested in 2008 during the Amarnath land row agitation in occupied Kashmir and currently languishing in India’s notorious Tihar jail. Second of the sacked employees, Muheet Ahmad Bhat, who worked at the University of Kashmir, was alleged to have been involved in spreading a secessionist agenda at the University by radicalizing students. Whereas, Qadri, Senior Assistant Professor at the Kashmir University was also booked under fake and fabricated charges. The fourth sacked Kashmiri Muslim officer identified as Syed Abdul Mueed, an IT manager at JKEDI, was also charged with fake allegations of spreading secessionist activities, the report said.
According to PM Office, Shehbaz Sharif said the first priority in a flood situation is the rescue of the affected people and their immediate assistance. He also directed that 50000 rupees should be provided immediately to each victim family. PM Shehbaz Sharif directed for immediate provision of accommodation, medical facilities, food and clean drinking water to the victims.Heexpressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and properties due to floods in southern Sindh. Meanwhile, Indus river has been in flooding after intermittent rainfall in the country, as the water level in river has surged at low to medium flood at various points. The Indus River has been in medium flood at Taunsa and Guddu barrages, low to medium flood at Chashma and Sukkur barrages while in low flood at Tarbela and Kalabagh as widespread rainfall hits the country.
As per the figures shared by authorities, the inflow of river water at Tarbela Dam has been measured 2,94,100 cusecs, while the outflow has been 2,79,700 cusecs. The inflow of river water at Kalabagh has been measured 2,71,375 cusecs, while the discharge has been recorded 2,66,375 cusecs. The inflow of river water at Chashma has been gauged 3,55,175 cusecs, while the outflow has been measured 3,29,581 cusecs.
street LawyersJustice:thrash prime suspect of Faisalabad incident at court FAIsALABAD Staff rePort
girl torture case: court gives main accused in police custody for 5 days
“I have come to know that Gill has been admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). The Adiala Jail superintendent has been summoned so that we can verify the facts,” Justice Farooq said. At one point, Shaheen contended they were not being allowed to meet Gill. The judge responded that this matter would also be discussed when the officials appear. THE CASE: Gill was arrested on August 9 in Islamabad on charges of sedition, based on comments he made on the ARY News.
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ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt t Hefederal government has declined the Punjab government’s request to change the chief secretary of the province. earlier on Thursday, the Punjab government sent a summary to the Centre carrying names of three probable names for replacing the current chief secretary. In response, the federal government declined the request, saying Kamran Ali Afzal will remain the chief secretary of Punjab. The Punjab government earlier, decided to change Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal, and it also sent a summary to the federal government for a new chief secretary.According to the official sources, three names were suggested for the new chief secretary in the Punjab government’s summary which had been sent to the establishment Division.The names of Babar Hayat Tarar, Abdullah Sumbal and Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera had been included in the summary.
NEwS DESk All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) chapter Altaf Hussain Wani has said that Kotbhalwal jail, Jammu, has become a new death trap for hapless Kashmiri and PakistaniAccordingprisoners.toKashmir Media Service, Altaf Hussain Wani in a statement issued in Islamabad, taking a strong exception to killing of under trial prisoners in staged encounters at the hands of the Indian army, said it is quite ridiculous to see that prisoners are being used as scapegoats and killed by in fake encounters after being labelled as militants.
“The decision for the appointment of a new chief secretary will be taken on the advice of the Prime Minister’s Office,” said the establishment Division sources. EigHT killEd, 32 injurEd in SindH roAd ACCidEnT: eight people were killed and 32 others were injured when a passenger coaster turned turtle in Sindh. The incident happened when the vehicle’s driver lost control over it while negotiating a sharp turn shortly before reaching the toll plaza in the Sukkur district, the reports said. The van fell into a ditch after going out of the driver’s control, which resulted in fatalities and serious injuries to the passengers.Thewounded commuters were shifted to a nearby hospital. The deceased included four women and two kids. They were on their way to Karachi from Swat, the reports said. Several passengers got stranded in the van after the accident, and personnel from the Pakistani army were called in to rescue them, the reports added.
Friday, 19 August, 2022 ISLAMABAD 04 NEWS
kARACHI ReuteRS Madhubala, a 16-year-old elephant in Sindh suffering for years from a dental infection and pain caused by a broken tusk, finally got relief after undergoing treatment while under unique standing sedation. Madhubala is one of four African elephants being treated in Karachi by an eightmember team from the global animal welfare group Four Paws, which in 2020 relocated Kaavan — an elephant dubbed the world’s loneliest — to Cambodia from Islamabad. Their visit follows an order by the Sindh High Court (SHC) in Karachi last year for Four Paws to assess the health of the animals after local animal rights activists had raised concerns in court about their well-being. Named after the legendary Indian actress, Madhubala’s eyes were taped shut, her legs tied to side-grills to support her during sedation and the subsequent treatment at the Karachi Zoo. The veterinarians had to use drills and other heavy surgical tools to extract the infected tusk which came out in bits and pieces. “Due to longterm inflammation, the tissue is so fragile and thin it’s not possible to take it out at once, it is breakable,” said,” Dr Marina Ivanova said, showing Reuters reporters the extracted tusk. An endoscopy before the procedure showed the full tusk inside measured 31 centimetres (12.2 inches), she said. “It now important for us to focus on postsurgical treatment, the removal of the tusk would open a big wound, so this wound needs daily cleaning,” she added. During the five- to six-hour procedure, Madhubala did not put up much resistance as she was kept sedated. “Today, we are happy to start the first unique procedure at the Zoo in a standing position not in sleeping or complete anaesthesia as it could be risky for the elephant and could be fatal, which we don’t want,” team leader Dr Aamir Khalil said. The other elephants were in a much better state as their foot treatment started two months ago, Khalil said, adding the group had more work to do to improve the welfare of the animals.
Kot Bhalwal jail ‘a new death trap for Kashmiri, Pakistani prisoners’: Wani
Terming the assertions of Additional Director General of Police, Jammu zone, as a cock and bull story, he said Mohammad Ali Hussain was killed in a fake encounter the way Zia Mustafa, a citizen of Azad Kashmir, was killed last year. “Zia was also lodged in the same jail. He was taken out from the jail and rushed down to the woods in Bhatta Durrian area of Poonch district where he was killed during a so-called cordon and searchTheoperation.”murderof Hussain alias Jehangir, he said, was conducted in the same fashion. “Like Zia Mustafa, Hussain was also driven out of the jail in the dead of night and later killed in the Phallian Mandal area near LoC”, Wani added. The killing of prisoners one after the other, he said, had sent shock waves down the spine of prisoners logged in the Kot Bhalwal jail, which, he said, has become a new death trap for under trial Kashmiri and Pakistani prisoners booked under trumped up charges.
In a television appearance, Gill told ARY News that Islamabad was trying to create a rift between Pakistan Army and Khan. He said that ordinary soldiers support Khan and his party which enrages the government.Healleged there was a “strategic media cell” within the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition which was mounting a fake news campaign to harm Khan.Gill also works with the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. Insitute officials confirmed to WCIA TV Gill did not teach classes last semester and was not scheduled to teach this semester.
LAHORE Staff RepoRt Different own-motion notices taken by Punjab Ombudsman retired Maj. Azam Suleman Khan on the news aired on media platforms spotlighting public problems in various parts of the province due to the apathy of the public sector departments have resulted in promptly resolving such difficulties. In a statement issued on Thursday, a spokesman for the office pointed out the problems of the people are solved timely and free of charge which has made their livesTheeasier.own-motion notices of the provincial ombudsman have resulted in the cleaning of the sewerage line of Gurumangat Road in Gulbarg neighbourhood while roadside fountains at Garhi Shahu neighbourhood have been made functional after necessary repairs, the spokesmanSimilarly,added.the old problem of roadside garbage before a local girls school has been permanently resolved in Narowal and students, their parents and teachers have thanked the ombudsman office for providing a clean environment for them.Thespokesman noted the intervention of the ombudsman’s office has resulted in the resolution of the sewerage problem in the Depalpur tehsil which has also resulted in the resolving problem of drinking water for the locals. In another development, the ombudsman’s office negotiated to ensure that the sewerage system is cleaned and garbage is removed in Mirza Virkan, a suburban village in the Sheikhupura district. The entrance road of the vegetable market in Kamalia tehsil has also been cleaned after the involvement of the ombudsman’s office, the spokesman mentioned.Besides ensuring the removal of solid waste in Gulberg Colony and Pirwala Road in Kasur, the ombudsman’s office further strived to ensure a clean environment by resolving the sewerage problems in Jhelum, Jhang, Bahawalpur and Daska tehsil, the spokesman said.
Centre deClines Punjab’s request to Change Chief seCretary
IHC summons top Islamabad police officers in plea against Gill’s remand
Punjab ombudsman pledges to safeguard people’s rights
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt A day after a district and sessions court in Islamabad accepted the request for additional physical remand of Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff to former prime minister Imran Khan, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) summoned top leadership of capital police to appear at 3:00 pm while hearing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader’s plea against his detention. On Wednesday, Zeba Chaudhry, a junior judge at the court, remanded Gill in the custody of Islamabad police for another two days.
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An Islamabad police team headed by Khalid Awan, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), reached the prison to take the suspect into custody for interrogation.Chaudhry’s judgement came a day after the high court directed her to consider the case “on merit” after the government challenged the dismissal of Gill’s physical remand by a duty magistrate. The party claimed that Gill, a professor of business administration at the University of Illinois, has been tortured during his incarceration.Ithasalso alleged that the PTI leader is being coerced into making a statement against party chair Khan. Today, Aamer Farooq, acting IHC chief justice, took up Gill’s plea against his detention while lawyers Faisal Chaudhry and Shoaib Shaheen represented the politician. Judge Chaudhry, the Islamabad inspector general of police, senior superintendent of police (SSP) investigation, Kohsar police station house officer (SHO), City Magistrate Ghulam Mustafa Chandio and the state were nominated as respondents in the petition. During the hearing, Shaheen contended judge Chaudhry did not follow the “guidelines” provided within the law.
Hussain’s killing under mysterious circumstances at a location far away from the prison is yet another sickening chronicle and a dastardly practice of extra-judicial killing of prisoners in fake encounters by the Indian forces. “His murder is a clear violation of international laws “, he said. About 11500 prisoners lodged in Kot Bhalwal jail have gone on hunger strike after they came to know about the killing of an inmate at a location away from prison. According to reports Muhammad Ali Hussain was told that he will be produced in a court in Bangalore in an FIR againstVoicinghim. his serious concern over the plight of Kashmiri prisoners, the prominent rights activist said, “The government of India has badly failed in protecting the life of prisoners”. Seeking urgent attention of the world rights bodied towards the cold-blooded murder of Ali Hussain, he reiterated his call for a credible and transparent investigation into such incidents to ensure justice.
The minister said the nation had to understand how Imran Khan misled the nation on his corruption in different scandals including Malam Jabba, BRT Peshawar and others. She said he did not even spare the Tosha Khana, which he had plundered mercilessly and sold its gifts after revising its policy. He even said that he forgot to declare those gifts in his asset declaration statement. Marriyum said the frontperson of Imran Khan, Farah Gogi, looted Punjab and took money from the public officials for their transfers and postings, and that too on the whims of the PTI chief. As regards Shehbaz Gill’s arrest, she said he was nabbed by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Police for giving a seditious statement on a private channel. Imran Khan even tried to influence the Inspector General Prisons of Punjab to shift Gill from Adiala Jail to a hospital in Rawalpindi.
Armed ForCes ContInue reLIeF oPerAtIon In FLood-hIt AreAs
Financial crisis delays release of uplift fund to LGs in KP PESHAWAR aziz BuneRi Due to financial crisis, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government could not release first installment of the development fund to the local government representatives despite lapse of one and a half months of the current financial Accordingyear.toelected representatives, the local government representatives are unable to start development work despite approval of the budget. The provincial government had approved the development budget to the tune of Rs41 billion for the local bodies, of which first tranche of more than Rs10 billion was to be released in the first week of July. The KP Finance Department issued details of funds to all tehsils according to their share in the beginning of July, on the basis of which the local governments members prepared budgets and approved it from LG councils. The provincial government has approved Rs37 billion for the tehsil, village and neighborhood governments of the settled districts, of which Rs21 billion are for the tehsil governments, Rs14 billion for village and neighborhood governments. Similarly, the chief minister has been authorized to use Rs740 million of local government funds, while the finance minister has been authorized to utilized Rs370 million of funds. The provincial government has set aside Rs4 billion for the local governments of tribal districts, of which Rs2 billion are for the tehsil governments and Rs1.6 billion for village and neighborhood governments, but they have not yet received any fund from the provincial government due to financial crisis.
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt Speakers at a dialogue on China’s Xinjiang Policy stressed for strengthening the policy communication, promote people-to-people connections and trade cooperation between Pakistan and China to resolve all issues. They expressed these views while addressing the dialogue organized by China Study Centre of COMSATS University here on Wednesday.Theprogramme started with the recitation of verses from Holy Qur’an followed by national anthems of the countries sung by the students of PEAK School, Rawalpindi. The inaugural session started with the welcome address of Prof. Dr Shams ul Qamar, Campus Director of COMSATS University Islamabad, who welcomed all the speakers and discussants to the dialogue while thanking the Chinese Embassy for their assistance in arranging such events. He said that Pak-China friendship was embedded deeply in the roots of both the countries.DrShams gave a brief introduction
Nasir Khan, President, Ex Chinese Association, Pakistan, mentioned fast economic development as the secret of Xinjiang and China’s success. He said that the Chinese government paid a lot of attention towards the development of Xinjiang and worked out several measures for bringing economic prosperity. Khan mentioned that the rights of all the ethnic groups in Xinjiang including Muslims were well protected by the government and there had been a sharp decrease in the terrorist attacks after 2016. Prof. Dr Tsui Yenhu, Professor of Social Anthropology, Institute of Social-Cultural Anthropology, Urumqi, Xinjiang, also spoke on the occasion by joining the session via a video link from China. Later, the second session, which was the dialogue about China’s Xinjiang Policy, was moderated by Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan, Head of China Study Centre. Dr Shabana Fayyaz, Chairperson, Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University, considered academia as the important player to properly showcase the reality in front of the people by reducing the gap between researcher and the main stream researcher. She briefly explained the developmental projects initiated by China in Xinjiang including poverty alleviation, providing fishing and shipping rights, and education and vocational training to the people. Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, CEO, Asian Institute of Eco-Civilization Research and Development, regarded understanding China’s policy and their economic model to deal with them in a better manner. Hina Naveed, Researcher, Overseas Chinese Association, mentioned that they had initiated a separate desk to study the matter of Xinjiang and its people. The discussion wrapped up with question answer session and the distribution of souvenirs among the participants and the keynote speakers. The programme concluded with the performances inspired by Xinjiang culture and a Qawali night. contInuED fRoM PAgE 01 Marriyum recalled that when Imran Khan was the prime minister journalists were killed and their ribs were broken, state institutions influenced to put Mir Shakeel ur Rehman in jail, and the media faced the worst fascism. The oppression of Imran Khan against the media was also highlighted by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association and the International Watchdog, she added. The minister said a person (Imran), who was declared as the “Predator for Press Freedom”, had no right to lecture others on media freedom and freedom of expression. Imran Khan enacted the black law to curtail media freedom. It was Imran Khan’s tenure when the PTI’s trolls, its rented spokespersons and even the then information minister campaigned against the media, she said, adding Mattiullah Jan was abducted, Absar Alam shot at, Nusrat Javed attacked, malicious drives launched against Asma Shirazi and Ghareeda Farooqi on the social media, and news programmes of Amber Shamsi, Talat Hussain, Dr Danish, Najam Sethi and Hamid Mir were off aired on his (Imran) directives. The media persons, she stressed, would have to decide whether such a person (Imran) should be supported or invited to a seminar on press freedom. The minister said Imran Khan had stated that he did not have any fear of the media, but his actions during the four-year rule completely negated his claims. She said Imran Khan did all in his power to oppress his political opponents, including Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif who were kept in death cells and denied medical treatment and hygienic food. Imran Khan created a hurdle in the grant of parole to Nawaz Sharif when his wife died, while his spokespersons ridiculed the ailment of his wife, she said, recalling how Shahbaz Gill parroted lies when Kalsoom Nawaz was in the hospital. She said Imran Khan locked up Rana Sanaullah in a small cell where cockroaches and ants were released. Marriyum said Imran Khan blackmailed the then NAB chairman through a video clip to force him to lodge corruption cases against the PML-N leadership. “He used all the state power to prove them (PML-N leaders) corrupt, but not a single evidence could be produced in the court.” She asked Imran Khan why he had failed to prove the corruption of even a single penny against the PML-N leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif and others despite having all the powers. “He got closed all the inquires initiated against him and his party leaders by blackmailing the then NAB chairman, but failed to prove a single case against the PML-N leadership.”
Covid claims two lives, infects 578 more Pakistanis ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt Pakistan has reported two more deaths and 578 fresh Covid-19 cases during the past 24 hours on Thursday, informed National Institute of Health (NIH). According to data issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH), a total of 22,679 COVID-19 diagnostic tests were conducted during the past 24 hours, of which 578 samples came out positive. Two more patients succumbed to the coronavirus during the same period. Meanwhile, the country’s positivity rate stood at 2.55% as compared to yesterday’s 2.72pc. As per the data, 159 COVID-19 patients were being treated in the Intensive Care Units (ICU) across the country at different medical facilities. COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 30,537 people in Pakistan so far. According to the government dashboard, the total number of cases in the country is 1,563,705.
RAWALPInDI Staff RepoRt t HEtroop of Pakistan Army and Air Forces troops on Thursday continued rescue and relief efforts in various flood-hit areas of Balochistan and ThePunjab.troops continued relief operations and shifting of the affected population and their belongings to safer places.The troops have also been carried out rehabilitation of road communication and Accordinginfrastructure.tothe Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army troops were busy with relief activities in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Naseerabad and Lasbela. The ISPR release added that army medical teams were providing medical care to people in the flood-devastated areas. PAF relief operations in full swing On the other hand, Pakistan Air Force relief operations in the flood-affected areas in South Punjab are in full swing. Food and medical facilities are being provided round the clock to the affected families by the relief teams of PAF. The PAF as a humanitarian gesture, distributed 12,155 pounds of basic food items and commodities to the needy families. Moreover, 939 patients were also attended by the paramedical team of Pakistan Air Force. The recent floods have caused devastation in the low-lying areas of South Punjab Region, badly damaging the villages and infrastructure. Despite inclement weather conditions throughout the country, especially in flood stricken areas, PAF personnel are working hard to provide humanitarian assistance to flood affectees.
about the CUI faculty and alumni who are working closely with the Chinese academia and seeking education from the leading ChineseWanguniversities.Shengjie, First Secretary, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China talked about the beauty and cultural prosperity of Xinjiang by calling it a wonderful land. He mentioned some of the quotes of Moin-ul-Haque, Mushahid Hussain Syed and Zafar-ud-din Mahmood where they described Xinjiang as a land of beauty and peace that accounts for 25% increase of Uyghur population between 2010 and 2018. Addressing the session, Group Captain (Rtd.) Sultan M. Hali, Defence Analyst, said that Xinjiang was in a very poor condition in 1974 but it was much more beautiful and prosperous than even New York at present times.The GDP of Xinjiang had been recorded as 1.38 trillion in 2020 with major high speed rails projects and more than 21 airports, he Muhammadadded.
Speakers call for strengthening policy communication, contact between Pak-China FIA should arrest Imran Khan like PML-N leaders on mere allegations: Marriyum Indian police martyr prisoner in fake encounter in Jammu district In Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Indian police have martyred a prisoner in a fake encounter in Jammu district. The police took the prisoner Mohammad Ali Hussain from Kothbalwal Jail Jammu to Toph Arnia area and killed him in a fake encounter. Earlier, Zia Mustafa, a political prisoner from Rawalakot, was shot dead by Indian soldiers from the Jammu Kothbalwal Jail in the forests of Poonch. newS DeSk Govt lifts ban on ‘luxury’ imported items contInuED fRoM PAgE 01 Miftah recalled that the tax on electricity subsidy was already removed and added that the tax on subsidy of gas will also be removed now. Replying to questions, the finance minister maintained that the country has fulfilled all prior actions and the funding gap identified by the Fund has been met with the help of friendly countries including the KSA, the UAE, and Qatar, and China, that rerolled a $2 billion loan. He said that the IMF wants forex reserves to total $16 billion. “The UAE has announced to invest $1 billion whereas the remaining $3 billion is expected from other countries. Although Saudi Arabia has not yet announced anything, my understanding is that the IMF has scheduled its Board meeting, which means that the Fund may have gotten assurance from other countries in this regard that the $4 billion funding gap was fulfilled,” he said. The finance minister said that a Saudi group has purchased a small company for mobile towers and is interested to invest in mobile towers and a South African company is also interested.
05NEWS Friday, 19 August, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
The writer is a freelance columnist FAtIMA PAshA
06 Friday, 19 August, 2022 COMMENT Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965 I Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 I Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545 I Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk I Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
AgreementAuthorityoncrooks
After abolishing CPEC
T he deal between the UK and Pakistan over foreign criminals and immigration offenders was made necessary by Brexit: Pakistan’s agreement on the issue was when the european Union covered the UK, which is no longer the case. The new agreement falls short of a mutual extradition treaty, and this agreement was not signed last year, because Pakistan saw it as allowing in criminals without crucial information sharing. Returning illegal migrants might seem a no-brainer, but the UK itself has a lengthy appeals process, and if someone takes removal as a ground of appeal, who would be responsible? One example was of Sohail Ayaz, a convicted paedophile, deported by the UK to Pakistan, who continued his criminal activities in Pakistan, where he was arrested for assaulting 30 children, even though he had been convicted of a similar offence in2008. The UK may also deport to Pakistan criminal convicts and undesirable aliens with no links to Pakistan. This raises the prospect of Pakistan being used as a dumping ground for all varieties of foreigners, who are burdening the British prison system. This has an eerie echo in the use of Pakistan as a dumping ground for solid waste, including plastics. Apart from the responsibility of states of dealing with those it convicts, there is the issue of the Pakistan prison system’s ability to handle any such influx. Pakistani jails are already overcrowded; any further pressure will be impossible to handle. Is part of the problem the fact that the British home Secretary involved in this deal is of Indian origin? India has also signed a deal with the UK, but it seems more of a migration partnership deal, allowing young Britons and Indians to live and work in each other’s countries. The deal with the UK must be re-examined carefully, and if it is seen to concede too much to the UK, it must be suitably amended. Need for administrative and diplomatic measures
Another problem the British had was getting troops to agree to serve overseas. This was not really a Muslim problem, but a hindu one. hindu troops worried that sailing meant they would lose caste. This had been a major problem when the Raj tried to use Indian troops in the AngloBuma Wars of the 19th century. The troops were used, but at a cost of bother. The Raj had only recently faced an awful bureaucratic battle between the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, and the Commander-in-Chief over the composition of the Viceroy’s Council. It was a battle over civilian supremacy, and here was an early indication that the Army in India had diverged in thought from the British Army, and saw a role for itself over and above acting as a sort of police force to keep the natives under control. The Ali Brothers were not merely fighting to keep the Ottoman Caliphate going, but were actually trying to prevent the abolition of an institution that was then older than any other institution in the world, other than that of the Japanese emperor. Dr Gill, on the other hand, is actually trying to revive a period of rule that started three years ago. It is also worth noting that the role of the military has changed, and the implications of incitement to rebellion are very different. In the Army which the Ali Brothers were addressing, the highest rank to which an Indian could rise was subedar-major or risaldarmajor, while favoured individuals could be granted honorary lieutenancies and captaincies. Rebellion might mean another Mutiny, something the Raj managed to avoid until it left . (And the role of the 1946 Naval Mutiny in the British departure from India is underestimated.)ThoughtheArmy in India did jockey for position, it never really aspired to supreme power, something which the Pakistan Army tried for. Whereas any army regards with huge disfavour any attempt to suborn loyalties, because cohesion as a combat unit demands obedience to orders, if one of the organisational goals is the ability to carry out a coup, that breaking of bonds in a Anotherthreat.danger implicit in the weakening of those disciplinary bonds is something the Pakistan Army has avoided so far: a colonels’ coup, one carried out by relatively junior officers, a phenomenon which has been the bane of postcolonial Africa. Another possibility, one which Pakistan has so far avoided, but which has occurred in Africa, most notably in Nigeria, is that of the division of the Army, providing both sides in a civil war with readymade armies. Dr Gill may well be the star of PTI chief Imran Khan’s claim that someone was trying to get the Army and the PTI to fight with each other, but this incident was clearly trouble after the Corps Commander Quetta incident, when the memory of Army martyrs was smeared. Dr Gill is not associated with this disrespect, but his statement came after that, making it seem that the PTI made its attempt at incitement after the unfavourable reaction to its campaign involving the Quetta martyrs was known. It might be an irony of fate, but Dr Gill was one of those who apparently rushed in where angels feared to tread. It is said that another PTI stalwart, Fawad Chaudhry, was briefed to make a statement on this subject, but promptly disappeared. he is the greatgrandson of Subedar-Major Ch Shahbaz hussain, and as the son of an old military family, proved too canny to rile up sentiment that way. These two body blows would be damaging even for a party which was opposed to the military but for a party whose main problem with the military is that it is not on the same page any longer, these are two major faults, and may well make it more difficult for the PTI to get on the same page again. The support for the PTI within the military is like that of the post-World War I soldier for the British: predicated on not clashing with the loyalty to the institution. It was apparently OK for loyalty to both PTI and the military to exist when there was no contradiction. But what if there is? Dr Gill has posed the question, but it seems no one likes the answer.
What no military can wink at The support for the PTI within the military is like that of the post-World War I soldier for the British: predicated on not clashing with the loyalty to the institution. It was apparently OK for loyalty to both PTI and the military to exist when there was no contradiction.
T he Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) of a nation is a conclusive indicator of its health and development status. Asia has the highest rate of maternal death and numerous South Asian countries including Pakistan, have an even higher rate. According to the most recent statistics, almost 295,000 women die worldwide each year during and after childbirth. Nearly one-fifth of these fatalities are attributed to South Asia alone. It is absolutely disheartening to know that the underdeveloped nations account for around 94 percent of the maternal deaths. The National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS), has conducted the most recent comprehensive survey called the “Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey 2019” that reveals significant demographic differences in maternal mortality rates among women living in rural and urban areas of Pakistan. The survey revealed that in Pakistan, the maternal mortality ratio is 186 deaths per 100,000 live births. According to this survey, the country’s maternal mortality rate has decreased from 276 deaths to an average of 186 deaths per 100,000 live births as a result of the general improvement in health care services during the past ten years. It is also encouraging to learn from the survey that as a result of increased awareness and willingness, a higher proportion of pregnant women are receiving medical attention specific to their conditions. however, the provincial breakdown of maternal death rates irrefutably indicate this improvement is certainly not consistent across the whole country. The despaired and inconsistent health care services throughout the country has adversely affected the mothers and their fetuses. According to the latest Pakistan Maternal Mortality Survey; Sindh has 224 maternal deaths per 100,000 as compared to 157 deaths in Punjab, 165 deaths in KP and 298 maternal deaths in Baluchistan. Azad Jammu & Kashmir has the lowest MMR in the nation with 104 deaths, while Gilgit-Baltistan has an MMR of 157. According to this data, Sindh and Balochistan are in desperate need of improvements and enhanced delivery of services, while the medical services and especially women’s access to them may have improved in Punjab and KP, resulting in a fall in the overall maternal mortality rate. The corresponding results of the survey also indicate the differences in health services between urban and rural locations. Up until 2015, the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) gave the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) great emphasis. Under the second Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) the UN has set for 2030, it is once again given top priority. however, Pakistan is currently lagging significantly behind in reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) after the failure of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). A number of systematic and social factors account for the high rate of maternal mortality in rural areas of Pakistan as the ratio is about 26 p higher in rural areas than urban areas. highlighting the province of Sindh is very important because despite being the country’s second largest province, it lags behind others in terms of socio-economic conditions. Although it undoubtedly makes massive contributions in the country’s economy yet it is confronted by various issues and has a fragile regulatory framework. Women’s health in Sindh is at a high risk due to the high number of pregnancies every year, lack of family planning and inaccessibility to satisfactory healthcare services. The National Nutrition Survey 2011 revealed that 24.6 percent pregnant women in Sindh suffered from iron deficiency or anemia. Almost 49.5 percent pregnant women have Vitamin A deficiency and 44.6 percent had zinc deficiency. They suffer from severe physical weaknesses, lack a support system, live in poverty, do not have regular hospital visits, no proper diet, but have a workload which just makes this pregnancy pain unbearable for them since their bodies are biologically not fit for it. Majority are underage at the time of delivery and their fetuses are born underweight as well. This is a persistent and significant social problem since the society is made up of both males and females and when the females’ health is so neglected then the society is bound to collapse. In order to improve the overall maternal health in Pakistan’s rural areas, inclusive national policies must be implemented so that the rural population can also avail the healthcare facilities, gender-based inequalities must be eliminated, the healthcare infrastructure needs to be reevaluated and the budget allocation in the health sector must increase, family planning programmes must be effectively implemented, and accountability must be maintained. In addition to this, the federal government and the provinces ought to work together to advance resource allocation that balances health with economic development, putting women’s reproductive health first and increasing funding for maternal and child healthcare initiatives is crucial, funding for women’s education and awareness programmes to reduce societal causes of maternal mortality and morbidity in rural areas is again the need of time and to comprehensively address the issue, a unique and joint development initiative must be created with the help of communities, NGOs, and government agencies. It is pertinent to note that maternal health is not only related to the woman but to her children and family as well. Children can only be healthy if their mother is healthy, and then can grow up to their full potential ultimately becoming a valuable resource for a nation’s future human capital. In addition to assisting Pakistan in achieving the SDGs by 2030, the aforementioned interventions and more such initiatives/programs will also help the nation score higher in the human development index.
A question of loyalty
Founding Editor M. A. Niazi Joint Editor Umar ExecutiveAzizEditorAziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor
W IThIN weeks of taking over the federal government the PML(N) leadership announced that it wanted to abolish the CPeC Authority and hand over the China Pakistan economic Corridor to the Ministry of Planning and Development under Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal. PM Shehbaz Sharif has given a nod to the new arrangement. What is required now is to pass a statute. The CPeC Authority has been under fire for a number of reasons. It was maintained that the Authority had become dysfunctional and was in conflict with the line ministries which under the rules of business had basic roles in the implementation of policies and projects. The Authority had become a parallel organization which led to duplication of work and promoted lack of ownership. It was also maintained that the Authority had become an obstruction in the fast implementation of the projects because of the breakdown of the decision-making chain. With the Ministry of Planning and Development tasked to implement CPeC, this will test the ability of Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal. Improving the situation would require innovative measures. Gwadar; which is the centre piece of China-Pakistan economic Corridor, has neither a satisfactory water supply system nor adequate provision for electricity. It has yet to show even its first glimmer of the promised industrial hub. Again, the initial CPeC plan visualised Special economic Zones (SeZs) to be ready by 2020, but in the last four years, there has been dismal progress on them. All CPeC problems are not due to bad administration alone. They also have a geopolitical dimension. Pakistan wants good relations with both the USA and China whose relations continue to worsen. This brings the IMF too into the fray. Pakistan is required to pay around Rs300 billion to the Chinese power plants, putting Islamabad in a tight spot. The IMF objected to giving Rs50 billion to the Chinese IPPs in February this year without first renegotiating the agreements. Besides resolving the administrative problems sufficient diplomatic inputs would be needed to make the CPeC realize its potential.
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D R Shehbaz Gill might or might not like the comparison, but he is in jail on the same charge as Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar. however, though both were arrested for the crime of inciting members of the armed forces to break their loyalty, the purposes are very different. even though the Army has changed, it seems, the same red line is still not to be crossed. The medium is also different. The Ali Brothers were accused of using the printing press, and to seduce Muslim soldiers from their loyalty by distributing a pamphlet among them, asking them to refused to take part in the occupation of Iraq. Gill is accused of having made remarks on a TV channel, in which he is reported to have incited soldiers to stop obeying their seniors. The arrest of the Ali Brothers, and their subsequent trial, proved one of the seminal events in the politics of the Subcontinent, and the political awareness it raised, proved one of the key events in the PakistanPerhapsMovement.themain reason was that the Ali Brothers were already involved in the Caliphate, and they had earlier been involved in the sending of a medical mission to the Ottoman empire, the famous Ansari Medical Mission, on the occasion of the third Balkan War. Though it was the First World War which caused it to collapse, it should not be forgotten that Turkey had already been at war for several years, in the process losing much of her european territory, when it entered in 1915. At the end of World War I, the Ottoman empire was occupied, and its lands parcelled out. Among other thangs, Iraq was given to the British, and it was proposed to garrison it with the RAF and Indian troops. The proposal to use Indian troops caused fury among pro-Caliphate circles, like the Ali Brothers, who pointed out that Indian troops would contain Muslims. The pamphlet the Ali Brothers distributed argued that occupying the lands of the Caliph was illegal for Muslims. At this point, the Caliphate had not yet been abolished, and while the Sultanate was heading for abolition, there was some hope that the Caliphate would be preserved, and perhaps a state given it, containing Makkah and Madinah, somewhat on the lines of the Vatican City, with the Caliph as a sort of Muslim Pope. The Muslims of India had come late to the Caliphate, and it was only after the abolition of the Mughal Sultanate that the Muslims of India began reciting the name of the Ottoman Sultan in the Friday sermons. Though the Uslmanli Sultan had obtained the Caliphate in the 16th century after the conquest of egypt, from the Abbassid holder of the title, who had fled there after the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258, it was only now that it began to be used extensively. Apart from the desire to avoid trouble with their Muslim soldiers, the Raj at the time vhad some other problems. First was the fear, virtually paranoia, about another mutiny. There were two theological measures used. One was provided by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who declared jihad against the British forbidden. The other was provided by the ulema who pronounced that the British were ullil amr (those in authority), and therefore it was forbidden to fight against them.
At MPenpointANIAZI
The high MMR in Pakistan is a manifestation of the nation’s priorities
Deteriorating maternal health
The writer is a member of staff
New agreement on repatriation of criminals may open floodgates YousafEditorNizami Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late)
IN 75 years of its existence, Pakistan has never really had many instances where talent and dedication have solely determined an employee’s success in offices of public and private organisations. Politics and corruption have almost always reigned supreme. In today’s times, however, these scourges are shaping the working milieu like never before. In one such office, my friend, a newbie, is indubitably the brightest asset. his productivity and sheer capability bowled over the high-ups and they rewarded him with an enviable section of the workplace. Since this was a rare case where no money, connections, plotting or sycophancy was used to make the grade, other employees, who were not a patch on him, felt insecure. Seeing him galloping, they feared losing their dominance. Politics came into play, and, in no time, he was stripped off his newly-assigned work without any intimation or explanation. had he also treaded the same seedy route, he could have settled the score with his detractors. But he chose class over crass. This is just one regular feature of office politics. A cursory glance at the manner in which public and private offices as well as national institutions function is enough to confirm the sorry state of affairs. Painful sights of ace employees forced to toe the line of inept fellow employees whose only claim to fame is corporate malfeasance is not uncommon. Individuals with little credentials are holding higher positions and performing tasks that are well beyond their capacity. Private persons with aptitude are illegally hired by official employees to make up for the latter’s inaptitude. When an employee is subjected to injustice or discrimination, coworkers secretly gloat over it. If one dares taking a stand for the aggrieved, one should be prepared to put one’s own career at stake. Greed is the real creed. If their palms are not greased, staffers refuse to do what is essentially their job. The honest and the dutiful confront the slaps, while the dishonest and the abusers get the claps. Materialism and hunger for power are ruling the roost and, thus, public interest is getting no boost. Worse still, graft has outdone craft as the tool of progress. Malpractices are in action whereas merit and rule of law are not gaining traction. Conscience in workplaces is scanty. Office laws and accountability measures condone the corrupt and browbeat the honest and the efficient. American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand rightly said: “When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice, you may know that your society is doomed.” Alas! Our society is in dire need of drastic course-correction, or else, we are doomed.
There have been some interesting gallup surveys. One of them shows that 71 percent of Pakistanis want Shariah law much more like Afghanistan. It depicts some pure contradictions or hypocrisies. First, while Pakistanis are elated to have their country on Islamic lines, they have huge problems when India moves towards hinduism. They become profoundly concerned with the decline of secularism in India especially these days as Mr Modi tries to imitate Second,Pakistan.when Pakistanis move abroad for better opportunities, they teach their adopted countries how to live better lives. each year, thousands of Pakistanis apply for european or American visas—not for those countries where Shariah Laws are implemented. Of course, they leave their country because they are uninhabitable, do not cater to their needs etc, nevertheless, they do not want to make their birthplace better.
IT is sad to see the dilemma of young Pakistani medical professionals who are currently practising in the US and of those who aspire to work there in the near future. According to the report, the defunct Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) had applied for WFMe accreditation. It had invited WFMe officials to visit Pakistan, but as the council got dissolved and was replaced by the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) which was formed in 2019, the visit was called off. Although the PMC Act has until January 2024 to meet the criteria to get WFMe accreditation, the PMC at the moment does not meet the criteria for the accreditation of the international body, because the PMC since its formation has been caught up in corruption scandals and investigations. According to an official of Ministry of National health Services, the US educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (eCFMG) has decided to allow only those foreign graduates to appear in United States Medical Licensing examination (USMLe) whose countries have WFMe accreditation. This has been done after noticing below-par standards of doctors from foreign countries owing to private colleges in these countries whose focus is mainly on making commercial profits. It is pertinent to mention that in Pakistan, President Ayub Khan in 1962 asked Lt-Gen W.A. Burki, a World War II veteran and a highly professional officer, to set up the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) on the pattern of the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Physicians (RCP). As such, the CPSP was established for this purpose, and rules and regulations, as well as policies, training and award of degree were totally made in line with RCP practices. Lt-Gen Burki selected a group of 50 highly professional doctors from both east and West Pakistan for this assignment. It proved a great success and set a benchmark for the medical profession in the country. however, today, because of deteriorating standards in our private medical schools, we need to have the WFMe accreditation so that our doctors may work in the US after clearing the USMLe. But, unfortunately, the PMC is in a race against time to fulfil the criteria for getting the needed accreditation. I hope the government and the relevant authorities will resolve this issue at the earliest so that the careers of hundreds of Pakistani doctors may be fully secured. JAWAID KARACHIMANNAN Office Politics
07 Friday, 19 August, 2022
COMMENT Issues with PTCL
AT a time when the cutthroat service industry across the world places consumer satisfaction at the core of its functionality, the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) seems to be unaware of such practices. Its so-called self-service centres in Islamabad at least prove the point.
Although human beings do not find logical thinking easy, there has to be a way to take the middle way. Unless we do not address our basic issues, there can be no way forward. There is no gain in praising what was in place before the advent of the modern system. Like Christians and other denominations, Muslim societies should adopt new ways of life rather than focus on the glories of the past Fifth, while certain scholars state that Islam embodies democratic principles, a great number of scholars do not agree with the marriage between Islam and democracy— let alone modern democracy. The most surprising part of it is neither those scholars have any other alternative because the global order doesn’t accept the caliphate, nor do they accept what is practised across the globe.
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MUHAMMAD NASIRISLAMABADCHAUDHRY
ASHRAF AHMEDHYDERABADSHAH Editor’s mail
Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively S INCe its independence, there have been unending debates regarding the kind of state Pakistan should have been or should be. Both conservatives and liberals accuse each other of causing the sorry state of the country. They say that since the country is not based on their ideals, the current quagmire comes as no surprise to them. Indeed, on one thing, everyone agrees and that is the fact that Pakistan is increasingly becoming inhospitable or rather uinhabitable for the ocean of the poor. While coming up with one fat idea seems an easy way to do away with the intricacies and nuances, the devil is, in fact, in the details. In the early 1940s, when the idea of Pakistan was still nascent, there was profound disbelief regarding the type of state or states, Pakistan would be. the Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had no idea whether the division of India was inevitable or not because he later accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan— which was meant to make India a confederation. In a sense, there came profound haste, partly due to Mountbatten and partly the political situation in the subcontinent. Worse, the Quaid who was the only one with statecraft, brilliance and fortitude to run Pakistan, passed away within a year. Pakistan literally became an orphan and the rest, they say, is history. No sooner did people come to know about the departure of the founder, than the whole Muslim League fell down. PM after PM was brought, but to effect. Then came the Ahmedi Riots in 1953, which put an end to the writ of the government. To allay the situation, the army took control of Lahore, and as a result, the necessity became a responsibility in no time— which gave birth to the original sin committed in Pakistan.The religious group that had gone against the very creation of Pakistan won the supreme position owing to the ideology of the country. With the Objective Resolution coupled with the Ahmedi Riots, they penetrated deep into society. Religion started becoming a dominant power not only in the political domain but social, cultural and economic matters were deeply influenced too. It gave birth to the use of Islam for different vested interests both by secular and religious parties. Consequently, there has been an ocean of sects, making Pakistan a huge repository of conflicting religious beliefs which are ready to slaughter each other on creedal grounds.
which truly follow democracy. A lot of Muslims believe that democracy has no room in Islam, and the caliphate should be there siveoftem.givesofcompassesspade.notceptable,Shariahcommonbarbarism.thecatedbecausedisplayatruematelongsameofciestheterroristslaw;toremarkabletheirpoweribaningChoudary.likeAnjemItisastonish-toseewhentheTal-forcedthewesterntomoveoutofcountry,theygotaopportunityexercisethedivinenevertheless,thesearebeggingwesterndemocra-tomakethempartthesystem—thesystemtheyhaveconsideredillegiti-andagainstthespiritofIslam.ItiscircusthatisonfullinAfghanistansoberandedu-peopleareleavingcountryowingtoItseemsforAfghanisseemsunac-butwewillcallaspadeaFourth,asIslamen-allsphereshumanendeavours,itaneconomicsys-Despiteaplethoracountriesandamas-population,bring-
With a young population, a booming informational technology (IT) start-up ecosystem, working from home since the times of Covid, PTCL needs to wake up and live up to the expectations of its customers who are paying for these services. It must come out of its abysmal state by offering innovative and smart business solutions to its customers. If that cannot be done, it may offer these self-service kiosks to roadside vendors. The govern-ment must actively think of reducing its footprint in these corporations, and let them face the reality of a competitive world.
Tough times for doctors in US
Worse so, when the host country demands them to adopt its culture or at least try to amalgamate with them, some Muslims protest on grounds that secularism gives them all freedoms. In France, some Muslim women took the matter to the street when the French government banned taking veils in public. Indeed, those people highlighted secularism in their host country as a defence for their rights. It is funny that what they liked for others, might not like for their home countries. Anjem Choudary, who is a radical Pakistani-British Islamist, advocates Shariah Law in england. What if a hindu or Christian does the same in Pakistan? Indeed, that will be the last day for him. Third, out of 57odd hardlycountries,Muslim-majoritythereareanycountries
ing the economic system of Islam is still a dream. Of course, the biggest issue the Islamic economic system has with the modern economic system is that of interest, which is strictly prohibited in Islam, but there is no country that has brought this system into practice for it is unsustainable. everybody knows that without interest, the modern banking system cannot survive, but today’s scholars who have no clue of economics write book after book on an interest-free system despite its Fifth,impossibility.whilecertain scholars state that Islam embodies democratic principles, a great number of scholars do not agree with the marriage between Islam and democracy— let alone modern democracy. The most surprising part of it is neither those scholars have any other alternative because the global order doesn’t accept the caliphate, nor do they accept what is practised across the globe. Pakistan encapsulates this very contradiction in its very name: Islamic Republic. Although human beings do not find logical thinking easy, there has to be a way to take the middle way. Unless we do not address our basic issues, there can be no way forward. There is no gain in praising what was in place before the advent of the modern system. Like Christians and other denominations, Muslim societies should adopt new ways of life rather than focus on the glories of the past. Today, Pakistan is famous across the globe for all wrong reasons, like. terrorism, corruption, burning people on blasphemy charges and harbouring terrorists. We should behave like a normal country for our own sake and put paid to the contradictions which are destroying our future.
Pakistan is famous for all the wrong reasons NAZIM UddIN
All self-service kiosks in G-5, F-7, F-8, F-11 sectors were found locked on July 31. Machines in three of these kiosks were out of order. The door installed at the kiosk in F-7 opened in the wrong direction and got stuck in the marble; this is an engineering feat in itself since the procurement and engineering departments at PTCL would have sanctioned public money for the purported ‘renovation’ of these service kiosks. The gleaming machine in PTCL/Ufone’s F-11 self-service centre has been out of order for years. Yet again, it must have been purchased taking into consideration some factors written on some files or through emails.
Pakistan: A land of contradictions
The writer is a freelance columnist
t
Importantly, there’s no unanimity within the 9/11-family community over the $3.5 billion earmarked for them. Some want it, saying that afghans lost their entitlement to the money after failing to fight back against the Taliban last year. Biden’s order has led an ugly battle between the families over who deserves the money, how much of it and why. But aidan Salamone, who signed the letter and whose father died on 9/11, wants the letter to show that there’s a vocal contingent within the community to send the money back. “We hope our petition shows that more 9/11 family members than just the few that filed lawsuits care about this issue, and we hope to see all frozen funds employed justly,” he told NatSec Daily. another family member said that the senior White House aide would relay the letter to “the right people.”
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Friday, 19 August, 2022 08 WORLD VIEW there is very little to celebrate about these a-level results – inequalities just got worse consortium news As`AD AbuKhALiL g OVerNmeNTS in the middle east (including that of Israel) have long used religion for political purposes. The West has alternated between politically exploiting or condemning political Islam (but rarely Judaism or Christianity). During the Cold War, the U.S. was solidly on the side of muslim religious fanatics because they were useful in their campaigns against atheistGulfcommunism.regimesserved the West by employing fanatical versions of Islam to undermine the appeal of the left and secular arab nationalism. The secular leftists were opponents of the West and the U.S. devoted funds and propaganda to spread the fanatics’ message. Westerners have been inconsistent in handling Islam historically. as Tunisian thinker Hichem Djait noted in his book europe and Islam, the West historically condemned Islam for its libertine sexual and social attitudes (that was in medieval times). In modern times, the West condemned Islam for its puritanical and Victorian mores (the West used to take the religious extremism of Saudi arabia as a representative sample of Islam). When the West colonized muslim lands, Islam was often presented as an obstacle to progress — but not always. If Islam was used in the cause of liberation (as in algeria’s struggle against French colonialism), it was condemned. But clerics who collaborated with Western colonialism were praised. British colonialism in Palestine cooperated with Hajj amin Husseini and helped his rise to the political leadership of Palestine, but then turned against him when he was swept with the tide of public national anger at the British adoption of Zionism.
repressive secularisM in the araB world Morally wrong’: 9/11 faMilies urge Biden to return $3.5B to afghans
IDEOLOGY DOESN’T MATTER, ONLY LOYALTY: Over the years, Western governments have not employed a litmus test for their political alliances in the region. They have worked with any group that serves their interest, for instance, the various political parties in Israel (all of whom aligned themselves with Jewish religious parties); with arab religious fanatics as well as with the Shah of Iran (who was perceived as secular). The Western-style secularism of the Shah — disconnected from public opinion — was responsible for the reaction of religious fundamentalism in Iran after the revolution. Political loyalty and subservience were the only litmus tests for Western governments — and remain the only criteria that matter (in addition to normalization with Israel). When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 and established a ruling occupation council, it cooperated equally well with the Iraqi communist party and with Sunni and Shiite fundamentalists alike. In the 1990s, when the egyptian government of Husni mubarak was facing the tide of religious fundamentalism, it imposed from above a new version of Islam that stressed secular loyalty to the leader in the name of security and order. The mubarak government portrayed all Islamist opponents as terrorists who one day could turn their guns against the West if they ever had a chance. (The Saudi regime makes the same argument that if the royal family is overthrown, bin ladenite fanatics would take over). little attention was paid to the underlying causes of the rise of Islamists. In egypt, Tunisia, and algeria, the ruling regimes aligned themselves with local secularists to preach against the Islamists. (But U.S. ally anwar Sadat, who is still hailed as the model arab leader simply because he made peace with Israel, was the tyrant who unleashed the Islamists in egypt and the arab world because he was more concerned with the threat of arab nationalism and leftism). Secularized elites also served as tools of ruling regimes in their war against the Islamists. The war on Islamists (by mubarak and by other tyrants in the region) was, for all intents and purposes, a war on democratic rule. Western governments were more than pleased to support the tyrant against democracy. This has been a consistent stance for all Western governments (from Sweden to the U.S.): that tyranny among arabs and muslims is preferable to democratic rule if the latter may produce forces and personalities who are not subservient to Western rule. mubarak’s war on Islamists was ruthless and employed tools of mass violence and bombardments of propaganda against his enemies. mubarak’s chief aide, Usama al-Baz, described to me in 1992 how the masses were being indoctrinated against Islamism. He told me the government decided to avoid the word “secular” altogether because it may connote atheism in the minds of the public. mubarak’s regime introduced the word “civil” (madani) as the new term to inspire intellectual opposition to Islamists.
SECULARISM AS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC: Secularist intellectuals were hired by the regime to fight the intellectual-cultural war. They were eager to partake in this campaign not only because their public media roles were a source of income but also because they knew democracy would empower their intellectual opponents. Their stances had far less popular support than those of the Islamists. Similarly, the Saudi regime — only after it became politically convenient and agreeable to the West — employed secularist intellectuals in its media to undermine the appeal of Islamists. But those Islamists (throughout the muslim world) would not have risen politically without the support, funding and sponsorship of Gulf governments and of Sadat’s support in the early 1970s. even Israel relied on conservative clerics during its occupation of Palestine, before the rise of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The secular policies of the regions’ governments are by definition anti-democratic. Thus, General abdel Fattah Sisi of egypt overthrew the first freely elected president of egypt (from the muslim Brotherhood) — and he did so with little opposition from the West, which quickly resumed arming his regime. Similarly, the Saudi government of mohammed bin Salman (mbS) moved the ruling ideological-theological doctrine away from Islamism and Wahhabism to ingratiate itself with the West in the wake of Sept. 11. meanwhile, Tunisian President Kais Saied is supervising a campaign against constitutional government and democracy in the name of fighting Islamists, who he dubs terrorists. The West is not bothered by the coup in Tunisia because the government is imposing a form of secularized government. Saied keeps amassing dictatorial powers with very little opposition from Western governments, which are more than pleased to see the fortunes of Tunisia’s Islamists decline. But Islamists can’t be repressed forever. relatively moderate variants of Islamism may soon produce violent and radical versions, arguing persuasively that “we were not able to participate peacefully in the political process.” Secularism is often wrongly equated with democracy in the West, in reference to the middle east. In reality, secularism can thrive under democratic or tyrannical rule. The communist government of enver Hoxa in albania was truly secular, for example. The U.S. and the West hoist the secular banner if their interests are threatened by anti-secular forces. But when religious fanatics such as Osama bin laden are serving their interests, Islamism becomes quite palatable for the West. As`ad AbuKhalil is a Lebanese-American professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. He is the author of the Historical Dictionary of Lebanon (1998), Bin Laden, Islam and America’s New War on Terrorism (2002) and The Battle for Saudi Arabia (2004).
with material never before included in exams, mistakes more than half of teachers believe negatively affected their pupils, according to one recent study. as a teacher in one of the country’s most deprived boroughs, it is clear to me that the government’s plans to rectify the problems caused and exacerbated by the pandemic fell drastically short. Some students from wealthy families and affluent areas experienced almost two years of consistent, supported home learning with ample resources, calm home environments and highly educated parents with the time and money to invest in their children’s learning. For others, like those in my community, young people faced the brutal impacts of financial instability, unemployment and poverty. Families and children were left alone to grapple with a lack of resources. With the government’s promise of laptops for deprived children mostly going undelivered, I know of many households where multiple siblings were forced to learn from one mobile phone, with very limited data. With parents torn between work and childcare, and free school meals abandoned (until a young footballer came along and convinced the government it might be a good idea to feed the nation’s poorest children during a pandemic), it is hardly surprising that today’s results point to a huge attainment gap that is only getting worse. This year, private schools once again have the highest percentage of top grades, with 58% of a-level pupils achieving as and a*s – 27.3 percentage points higher than students in secondary comprehensives. With the competition for universities so intense this year, it is hard to envisage a future which doesn’t see these disparities continuing to trickle into higher education, as the most competitive courses become even more dominated by those from wealthy backgrounds. This status quo renders true social mobility nothing but a pipe dream, something Conservative leadership candidates liz Truss and rishi Sunak seem woefully illequipped to address. Instead, both have focused on bizarre ideas such as the use of artificial intelligence in schools, and have displayed a near-obsession with the return of grammar schools – neither of which do anything to tackle the insurmountable challenges facing the nation’s schools. Teachers like me are worried about what today’s results mean for the young people still recovering from two years of chaos. But even more worrying is what our children’s education will look like in the months and years to come. The young people we teach will no doubt face an ever-more unfair playing field. Nadeine Asbali is a secondary school teacher in London.
n early 80 family members of 9/11 victims urge President Joe Biden to reverse his order and send back billions in afghanistan’s U.S.held frozen assets. “any use of the $7 billion to pay off 9/11 family member judgments is legally suspect and morally wrong,” they wrote in a letter addressed to the president today. “Order and affirm that the afghanistan central bank funds belong to the afghan people and the afghan people alone,” adding that afghans need the money much more than they do. The letter, sent to a senior White House aide is the latest backlash to the president’s February executive order holding on to $7 billion in american-based assets owned by afghanistan’s Central Bank. The administration feared the Taliban would use the money following its sweep to power last year, so the U.S. seized it temporarily. The hope was to solve two problems with one decree. By keeping $3.5 billion from the Taliban, the U.S. aimed to make it harder for the group to finance its operations while incentivizing it to uphold human rights and keep al Qaeda out of the country. The other $3.5 billion, meanwhile, could go to the families of 9/11 victims who won a judgment for $7 billion in damages a decade ago. Since then, the afghan economy has collapsed, leading to widespread poverty and hunger with no signs of improvement. The U.S. and Taliban were in talks to design a mechanism through which the $3.5 billion could flow toward afghanistan’s people without the group accessing it. But al Qaeda leader ayman al Zawahri’s presence in Kabul scuttled those negotiations for now, since the Taliban broke its promise to keep the terrorists out afghanistan. Which means the afghan people are unlikely to see billions of their own money unfrozen by the U.S. any time soon — right when they need it most. at least 76 members of 9/11 families, some of them from the same family, think that’s wrong. “Victims of terrorism, including 9/11 victims, are entitled to their day in court. But they are not entitled to money that lawfully belongs to the afghan people,” they wrote. “[N]o 9/11 family member joined these lawsuits to take money away from starving afghans.”
SECULARISM IS OFTEN WRONGLY EQUATED WITH DEMOCRACY IN THE WEST, IN REFERENCE TO THE MIDDLE EAST. IN REALITY, SECULARISM CAN THRIVE UNDER DEMOCRATIC OR TYRANNICAL RULE. THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT OF ENVER HOXA IN ALBANIA WAS TRULY SECULAR, FOR EXAMPLE. THE U.S. AND THE WEST HOIST THE SECULAR BANNER IF THEIR INTERESTS ARE THREATENED BY ANTI-SECULAR FORCES. BUT WHEN RELIGIOUS FANATICS SUCH AS OSAMA BIN LADEN ARE SERVING THEIR INTERESTS, ISLAMISM BECOMES QUITE PALATABLE FOR THE WEST Guardian NADEiNE AsbALi
He english teacher in me couldn’t help but recognise pathetic fallacy in the grim weather this morning, as though it confirmed the worst fears of teachers across the country that this year’s a-level results would provide a bleak outlook for students who have faced the greatest disruption to their learning in living memory. No matter the circumstances, a-level results day can often be an anxious time for all involved: students, their loved ones and their teachers waiting to see the outcome of two years of intense study and hard work, and what the contents of those envelopes mean for futures at stake. But this year, results day was surrounded by even more tension and controversy as we waited to see how a return to exam-assessed grades after 18 months of upheaval to schooling would affect results. as suspected, our fears were well founded. This cohort’s results have taken a massive hit in comparison with the teacher-assessed grades during the pandemic, with top grades (as and a*s) tumbling by 8.4% compared with last year, and more than 28,000 students set to miss out on a university place. Compared with 2019, things look a little more positive, but for students who have seen friends and siblings benefit from the record grades of the past two years, this is likely to provide little reassurance. Ofqual had already warned that this would be a “transition year”, with results marked leniently while maintaining an active effort to bring grades more in line with pre-pandemic levels. We were told that plans to give students advance notice of topics to revise and less rigid grade boundaries would be enough to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the nation’s schools. But, as with most government plans and promises when it comes to education, this so-called safety net for students who had already faced intense upheaval to their learning, turned out to be anything but. exam board guidance arrived months after schools had already finished teaching entire course contents and, with national disparities between the richest and poorest pupils more pronounced than ever, it remains unclear how giving all pupils advance warning of topics could have helped to close the class gap as opposed to simply deepening the pre-existing and deep-rooted inequalities in education. To add insult to injury, some students still faced questions they were told wouldn’t come up, along
THIS YEAR, PRIVATE SCHOOLS ONCE AGAIN HAVE THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF TOP GRADES, WITH 58% OF A-LEVEL PUPILS ACHIEVING AS AND A*S – 27.3 PERCENTAGE POINTS HIGHER THAN STUDENTS IN SECONDARY COMPREHENSIVES
Politico ALEXANDER WARD
LAHORE: Nestlé Pakistan and Punjab Workers Welfare Fund (PWWF) have collaborated to launch the Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK) program in 14 schools across Lahore, Sheikhupura, Warbourton, Multan, Kasur, Faisalabad, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Rawalpindi, to promote healthy nutrition by 2024. The program will be training more than 500 teachers reaching out to 15,000 students. N4HK is Nestlé’s global nutritional awareness initiative which supports, teachers and caregivers in their journey to raise healthier kids through a curriculum based education program promoting healthy nutrition, hydration, hygiene and active lifestyle. Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Labour and HR Department/ Chairperson, Punjab Workers Welfare Fund, Mr. Liaqat Ali Chatha said, “We are honored to continue the partnership with Nestlé Pakistan and extend the reach of its N4HK initiative to schools across Punjab. We are confident that the awareness imparted on nutrition to teachers will play a very important role in promoting healthy habits and a better nourished future generation.” Talking about the initiative, Waqar Ahmad, Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability, Nestlé Pakistan, said, “The N4HK program is part of our commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 of Good Health and Well-Being, to ensure that children understand the value of nutrition as they grow older. So far, the program has reached about 285,000 children and 1,500 teachers, in Pakistan.” Earlier from 2015 to 2016 and 2019 to 2020, under the multiyear partnership with PWWF, Nestlé implemented the program in six schools in Lahore, Multan, Sheikhupura and Warbourton, training 150 teachers on nutrition awareness through expert trainers. Nestlé Pakistan also developed 3 N4HK rooms in partner schools, that provided a way for teachers and educators to reinforce importance of a good nutrition concept for children in classrooms through fun and engaging activities. pr
The 20th meeting of TVET Accreditation and Quality Evaluation Committee (TA&QEC) was held under the Chairmanship of Mr. Muhammad Hilal Sheikh, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries, at National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) Headquarters TheIslamabad.series of meetings were held for three days wherein accreditation assessment reports of 90 TVET institutes were presented for final approval. The committee after thorough evaluation of assessment reports granted Institutional Accreditation to 31 TVET institutes while 46 TVET institutes were awarded Program Accreditation.
The Acting Executive Director, NAVTTC, Mr. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, appreciated role of National Accreditation Council and TA&QEC for uplifting the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutes across Pakistan. He stated that accreditation is a process of quality assurance in TVET institutes that demands all of us to have an impartial role in this activity and we should avoid any partisan approach towards any institute. He shared the steps taken by NAVTTC contributing to national human resource development and has generated a large number of employments for the skilled youth, overseas and nationally, benefitting the individuals as well as the national economy. He said the government is focusing on imparting quality and demand driven skills among youth and NAVTTC under the guidance of Minister for Education and Professional Training, Mr. Rana Tanveer Hussain, NAVTTC has taken numerous steps to organize Skills and TVET system of the country on modern lines, and is delivering high quality training, as per international standards. The Chairman, National Accreditation Council for Technical and Vocational Stream (NAC-TVS), Mian Waqas Masood, thanked the Committee members for their valuable presence and briefed the participants about performance of the National Accreditation Council and informed the participants that in addition to 535 locally accreted institutes 10 institutes have been internationally accredited and six other institutes are being processed for international andthroughbeingbatchemploymenthigh-techyouth,trainingsionaleralguidanceNAVTTCaccreditation.undertheofMinistryofFed-EducationandProfes-Trainingimpartedtoabout379,350and75,000trainedintrades,with71%rate.Anotherof63,000youtharegivenskilltrainings930trainingpartnersreputeduniversities.
The Board of Directors of National Bank of Pakistan “NBP” “the Bank” met yesterday to approve the condensed interim financial statements for the six months period ended June 30, 2022. With volumetric growth in average earning assets coupled with positive rate variance, NBP recorded 66% growth in gross interest income that reached PKR 179.4 Bn as against PKR 108.0 Bn for the same period last year. In the increasing interest rate scenario, cost of funds for the period amounted to PKR 126.3 Bn. Accordingly, net interest income closed at PKR 53.1 Bn, depicting a 12.0% increase YoY. Despite the challenging business environment and lacklustre performance of the stock market the Bank generated total non-fund income amounting to PKR 18.4 Bn which is 2% higher YoY. Equity investment of the Bank generated divided income of PKR 1.9 Bn, 33% higher YoY. Fee & commission income earned through branch banking operations stood at PKR 10.2 Bn i.e. 16% higher YoY and reflective of the Bank’s widespread market outreach. As the Bank provides FX solution to large number of companies, its forex income for the period amounted to PKR 4.3 Bn which is 61% higher YoY.
09NEWS Friday, 19 August, 2022 | ISLAMABAD corporate corner
KE CoNtiNUEs UNiNtErrUPtEd PoWEr sUPPLy dUriNg oNgoiNg MoNsooN sPELL
With the rest of August also forecasted to be a rainy month, spokesperson urged caution, stating “faulty, damaged, or unsafe wiring, particularly near water motors inside homes and on street-light switches and poles has been found to be a leading cause of most unfortunate incidents. We urge citizens to maintain a safe distance from the electricity infrastructure is equally important during and after the rainy spells. Please also ensure that electrical switches and appliances are not used with bare feet or wet hands.” K-Electric’s social media platforms and KE Live App remain the fastest way for customers to stay connected for guidance and updates. However, emergency electricity complaints creating safety hazards should be reported on priority using KE’s 118 call center.
EFU Life and First Women Bank Ltd partner to launch Bancassurance Proposition
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EFU Life Assurance Ltd., the country's leading private life insurance provider, has recently expanded its Bancassurance business through a strategic partnership with First Women Bank Limited. The Agreement signing ceremony was held at the EFU Head office in Karachi. It was signed by Mr. Taher G. Sachak - Managing Director & Chief Executive of EFU Life & Mr. Farrukh Iqbal Khan - President & CEO of First Women Bank Ltd. The ceremony was also attended by Mr. Mohammed Ali Ahmed - Deputy Managing Director of EFU Life, and other senior officials of both organizations. Financial planning is an integral part of a woman's life regardless of occupation, and it helps them secure their future through convenient investment options. For a nation to succeed, female financial inclusion should be an utmost priority. First Women Bank, as its name suggests, caters to women and focuses on creating a dynamic environment that promotes economic development. EFU Life has launched several initiatives in this domain, and its partnership with First Women Bank is another important milestone leading toward this goal. The proposition with First Women Bank is specially designed catering the needs of the female segment, e.g., Built-In Lifecare Female Benefit. Lifecare Female Benefit is a critical illness protection benefit that provides women coverage against 20 of its covered illnesses. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Taher G. Sachak - Managing Director & Chief Executive, EFU Life, mentioned, "EFU Life which is a leading Life Insurance brand in the country, is known for designing innovative solutions catering to various customer segments. pr Nestlé Pakistan, Punjab Workers Welfare Fund join hands for nutrition awareness under N4HK program
Further expressing deepest grief over reports of electrocution incidents across the city during the rains the spokesperson further added, “Our deepest condolences are with the bereaved families of the victims. We have received reports of 06 unfortunate incidents, and initial investigations reveal that all of these have occurred inside the premises. No KE infrastructure was involved in these unfortunate incidents.”
pr TVET approves accreditation of 77 more institutes Karachi pr K -Electric is providing sustained power supply to the city as Karachi continues to receive ‘above-average’ rainfall with varying intensity under the influence of back-toback monsoon spells. Reports indicate that the province has received 308% more rainfall than historic average in July 2022 alone, with at least 800mm of rain in the last 48 days in Karachi alone. KE’s network of over 1900 feeders remained stable, powering the city during the ongoing spells. The maximum number of feeders powered down for safety reasons were less than 100, out of which the majority were in areas where prevalence of kundas or waterlogging posed a hazard to citizens. Commenting on the matter, Director Communications and KE’s Spokesperson Mr. Imran Rana said, “Our continued investment in the upgradation of our distribution network has strengthened our infrastructure resilience to ensure a reliable supply of power during rains and waterlogging situations. Our teams are vigilant and continue to monitor the situation to respond swiftly wherever their support is required. We are also grateful to the city government and local administrators for their continued support in ensuring the drainage of water from waterlogged areas, which remained one of our challenges in the past.”
UAE’s Ayana Holding joins $40m Islamabad Resort Development project
NBP records pre-tax profit of PKR33.9b; up 21pc YoY
Cnergyico spreads message of optimism, positivity thru independence day campaign ISLAMABAD: Cnergyico Pk Limited (formerly Byco Petroleum), Pakistan’s largest vertically integrated oil refining company, celebrated the country’s Independence Day with patriotic fervor. To mark the auspicious occasion, Cnergyico ran a nationwide marketing campaign to spread a message of optimism & positivity among Pakistanis, many of which are facing various challenges on the social and economic fronts. Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Azfar Saeed Baig, Cnergyico’s Vice President for Information, said, “Independence Day is not only a time of celebration but also of reflection. Pakistan’s founding fathers inspired a democratic struggle for freedom in which millions of people participated, and numerous heroes made tremendous sacrifices, eventually winning us freedom. Now, it is our responsibility to serve this nation with integrity and support each other during times of need. At Cnergyico, we firmly believe that together we can make a difference.” Through its campaign, called Azm-ePakistan, Cnergyico motivated people to do small acts of kindness every day, no matter how insignificant they might seem. Even a word of support or a thoughtful gesture can have a lasting impact. To raise awareness on this topic, the Company effectively utilized relevant touch points like print, electronic, and social media as well as radio channels. Under this campaign, an exclusive song was developed for Independence Day, which received immense popularity on social media, to further highlight its message.
Leading real estate developers have signed a strategic partnership agreement with UAE-based Ayana Holdings for a first of it’s kind $30 Million Resort-Living development in Islamabad. The group recently acquired 100,000 square feet of prime land in the twin cities bordering a 2500-acre national forest and within minutes of a PGA Standard golf course, where they will be developing Pakistan’s first Resort-Living development tailor made for overseas Pakistanis. ONE Homes, known for leveraging their global network to bring world leading companies to Pakistan, signed a strategic partnership agreement with Ayana Holdings at the groups head office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Ayana Holdings is a leading and diversified real estate group headquartered out of Dubai. The group within their businesses both develop and operate real estate and are known for their robust financial, operational and strategic experience with a proven track record of navigating diverse and complex economies. Speaking on the collaboration, Aqib Hassan, Chief Commercial Officer at ONE Homes said that the company was very excited to partner with a highly experienced and innovative group in Ayana Holdings. “At ONE Homes our vision is to create the highest level of lifestyle developments in Pakistan with a core goal of improving our clients lifestyles. This collaboration with Ayana will allow us to leverage on their global expertise to bring world leading technology and concepts to our landmark development in Islamabad,” he told journalists here. ONE Homes is part of the ONE Group, a sister company to Dubai’s leading real estate company ONE Investments and UK’s ONE Capital. The ONE Group has been involved with some of the most high-profile developments across the United Kingdom, Dubai and Pakistan. They currently have four mega projects in Pakistan with Gross Development Value exceeding $200 Million USD including Diyar Homes and the highly celebrated ONE Canal Road Lahore which are being developed under partnership. Chairman Ayana Holdings, Abdullah Bin Lahej said on the occasion that Pakistan is a rich and diverse nation with which the UAE shares historic relationships. “We are honoured to collaborate with ONE Homes on this first of a kind development and look forward to contributing to creating a first of its kind project for the people of Islamabad,” he maintained. CEO & Founding Partner of Ayana Holdings, Hamid Kerayechian said that his company has been looking at Pakistan for some time now and the market has always been on our radar but we had been waiting for the right opportunity. Karachi pr
MOSCOW: The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday the deployment of three MiG-31 fighter jets with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in its semi-exclave Kaliningrad region. “Today, on August 18, 2022, as part of the implementation of additional strategic deterrence measures, three MiG-31 aircraft with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were relocated to the Chkalovsk airfield in the Kaliningrad Region,” the ministry said in a statement. While flying to the region, the aircraft worked out the interaction with the fighter aircraft of the 6th army of the Air Force, air defense units, and the naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet, the ministry said. “Round-the-clock combat duty of MiG-31 aircraft and the Kinzhal hypersonic aviation complex will be organized at the Chkalovsk airfield,” the ministry said. Located on the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania and is separated overland from the main part of Russia by Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus. The majority of railway transit between Russia and Kaliningrad was carried out through Belarus and Lithuania. On June 18, Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov announced that Lithuanian railways had notified the region’s authorities of imposing restrictions on the transit of goods that are subject to EU sanctions from Russia to Kaliningrad. Agencies
India to register up to 2.5m voters in occupied Kashmir
LONDON Agencies
Dr Awan opened the discussion by highlighting the three main themes of discussion. The session started with Khizar Hayat, Eurasian Century Institute, Islamabad, who completely nullified the accusations made by the global world against China on the Xinjiang matter by announcing them as false accusations.DrShabana Fayyaz, Chairperson, Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, considered academia as the important player to properly showcase the reality in front of the people by reducing the gap between researcher and the main stream researcher. According to her, not every foreign writer is portraying China as wrong but a few. She briefly explained the developmental projects initiated by China in Xinjiang including poverty alleviation, providing fishing and shipping rights, and education and vocational training to the people. Hamza Rifaat Hussain, Researcher, Islamabad Policy Research Institute, focused on lack of narrative inertia, need to differentiate between separatism, secessionist tendencies and religious persecution and lack of international verification of information as the leading causes of the false propaganda which is being created against China.
Questions RaiseD oveR uK-PaKistan immigRation RetuRn Deal
t HEBritish government has signed a new agreement under which foreign criminals and immigration offenders will be returned from the United Kingdom to Pakistan. Home Secretary Priti Patel announced the development on Wednesday after signing the new deal with Pakistan’s Interior Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar and the Pakistan High Commissioner in UK, Moazzam Ahmad Khan. A Pakistan High Commission spokesman told reporters that it is a reciprocal agreement and applies equally to both countries. This is the fifth returns agreement the UK Home Office has signed in 15 months under its “New Plan for Immigration”. The UK has signed similar agreements with India, Nigeria, and TheAlbania.implementation of the new policy will not focus on those Pakistani who are dual nationals — carrying both Pakistani and British identities. The new policy, diplomats have told, will affect those Pakistani passport holders who are either involved in immigration offences or organised crimes, including sex grooming and paedophilia. The Home Office said in a statement that Pakistan nationals make up the seventh largest number of foreign criminals in prisons in England and Wales, totalling nearly 3% of the foreign national offender population. Since January 2019, the UK has removed 10,741 foreign national offenders globally (upto the year ending December 2021). The agreement underlines both countries’ ongoing commitment to tackling the issue of illegal migration and the significant threats it poses to both nations, said the Home Office. The agreement also includes ongoing work to improve and expand UKPakistani law enforcement cooperation. A Pakistani diplomat who took part in negotiation with the UK government shared that UK’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner had been pushing for the agreement for quite some time. He said that the UK has been sending foreign criminals to Pakistan for about ten years under Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) and on an individual case basis but this is the first time a formal state-to-state level agreement has been Whensigned.asked what was in it for Pakistan, the diplomat said that Pakistan has asked the UK government to relax its visa regime for students and visitors. The diplomat said the UK government has agreed to look into this However,matter. UK Immigration lawyers raised several objections to the deal between Pakistan and the UK and termed it as favouring the UK. Mohammad Amjad, a well-known immigration expert, told that Pakistan does not have the infrastructure to support the convicts once they are back in Pakistan. The criminals being returned cannot be held under Pakistan law and no restrictions can be imposed on them by Pakistani authorities. He asked: “One must question just how Pakistan will keep an eye on these criminals and the risks that they will pose to the public. After all, it is because these individuals are a risk to the UK public that they are being deported to Pakistan. The UK has consistently and selfishly refused to share information about offenders, their offences and the risks these individuals will pose inside“ThePakistan.Pakistani authorities will therefore have no idea regarding the nature of the risks these deportees will pose. Hence there is a real risk of a repeat of the paedophile case of Sohail Ayaz.” Labour Party councillor and Immigration lawyer Moazzam Ali Sandhu said it appeared that the agreement was signed without Pakistan securing guarantees. He said that the Home Office press release mentioned that it was a “reciprocal” agreement but it fell short of explaining what Pakistan was getting out of it. He said the agreement appeared to be a retrogressive step for Pakistan as it agreed to take back criminals who have spent either most of their lives or entire lives in the UK and have committed crimes there.
ISLAMABAD stAFF rePort Fake and planted media reports have created misperception about Xinjiang’s cultural beauty and its socio-economic rise. This was stated here by Wang Shengjie, a senior diplomat of Chinese Embassy while addressing a dialogue on “China’s Xinjiang Policy.” He pointed out many countries are suffering because of war on terror. The main reason behind this is the spread of fake news through social media, which creates panic and chaos among the general public. The seminar was organized by China Study Centre of COMSATS University. Wang Shengjie delivered a keynote address, presenting China’s viewpoint on the issue of Xinjiang. He talked about the beauty and cultural prosperity of Xinjiang by calling it a wonderful land. According to him, many countries are suffering because of this war on terror. The main reason behind this is the spread of fake news through social media which creates panic and chaos among the general public. Only people who get benefit from terrorism are the military complexes. He mentioned some of the quotes of Moinul Haque, Mushahid Hussain Syed and Zafar Uddin Mahmood where they described Xinjiang as a land of beauty and peace that accounts for 25% increase of Uyghur population between 2010 and 2018. He concluded by giving some suggestions for the improvement of the problem by strengthening the policy communication, promote people to people connections and tradeThecooperation.inaugural session started with the welcome address by Prof Dr Shamsul Qamar, Campus Director of COMSATS University Islamabad, who welcomed all the speakers and discussants to the dialogue while thanking the Chinese Embassy for their assistance in arranging such events. He mentioned that Pak-China friendship is embedded deeply in the roots of both the countries. He gave a brief introduction about the CUI faculty and alumni’s who are working closely with the Chinese academia and seeking education from the leading Chinese universities.GroupCaptain (r) Sultan M Hali, Defence Analyst, gave the second keynote speech by rightly portraying Xinjiang. He said that Xinjiang was in a very poor condition in 1974 but it is much more beautiful and prosperous than even New York at present times.TheGDP of Xinjiang has been recorded as 1.38 trillion in 2020 with major high speed rails projects and more than 21 airports. According to provided information, 20,000 mosques are currently present in Xinjiang where Islamic education is being taught to young Muslims leaving behind extremism. Muhammad Nasir Khan, President, Ex Chinese Association, Pakistan, and the 3rd keynote speaker mentioned fast economic development as the secret of Xinjiang and China’s success. He said that the Chinese government paid a lot of attention towards the development of Xinjiang and worked out several measures for bringing economic prosperity. He happily mentioned that the rights of all the ethnic groups in Xinjiang including Muslims are very well protected by the government and there has been a sharp decrease in the terrorist attacks after 2016. Prof Dr Tsui Yenhu, Professor of Social Anthropology, Institute of Social-Cultural Anthropology, Urumqi, Xinjiang, also played his role as the last keynote speaker by joining the session via a video link from China. Later the second session which was the dialogue about China’s Xinjiang Policy, moderated by Dr Tahir Mumtaz Awan, Head of China Study Centre.
Death toll in Kabul mosque blast rises to 21: police
10 FOREIGN NEWS Friday, 19 August, 2022 ISLAMABAD
Taliban leaders on Thursday led a major gathering of more than 2,000 clerics and elders in the southern city of Kandahar, the movement’s de facto power base. In a statement sent to the media, a Taliban spokesman said “important decisions” would be taken at the conference but provided no details. The Taliban on Monday marked the first anniversary of their return to power. Initially, they promised a softer version of the Islamist rule, but many restrictions have gradually been imposed. Afghanistan is in economic crisis, with its overseas assets frozen by Washington and aid curtailed to keep funds out of the Taliban’s hands. No country has officially recognised the government. AFP
SRINAGAR reuters India is expected to register as many as 2.5 million new voters in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir region, a top official said late on Wednesday, in a move local political parties said was an attempt to influence upcoming elections.TheMuslim-majority region is claimed in full but ruled in part by nuclear archrivals India and Pakistan, who have fought two wars over control of the territory. India stripped semi-autonomy from its portion of the region in 2019, changing the Constitution to allow non-Kashmiris to vote and own land Jammuthere.and Kashmir Chief Electoral Officer Hirdesh Kumar told reporters on Wednesday that more than two million new voters are expected to be enrolled in the region ahead of local polls due in November. The new registrants could increase the voter count by more than a third, adding to the existing 7.6 million voters in the region. “We are expecting an addition of (2 to 2.5 million) new voters in the final list,” Kumar said, including non-Kashmiris living in the Kashmirisregion.fear the rule changes will allow the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to alter the demographics of the region, quelling a decades-long independence movement. The BJP claims its policies in the region are for the benefit of ordinary Kashmiris. There has been sharp criticism from the main political parties in Kashmir over the move. Former chief minister and J&K Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti said it is aimed at influencing the election results. “Allowing non-locals to vote is obviously to influence election results. Real aim is to continue ruling J&K with an iron fist to disempower locals,” she said in a tweet. A second former chief minister Omar Abdullah, from the rival Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, was also critical of the decision.
A blast that ripped through a mosque packed with worshippers in the Afghan capital killed at least 21 people and wounded more than two dozen others, police said Thursday. The number of bombings across Afghanistan has declined since the Taliban returned to power last year, but several attacks — some targeting minority communities — have rocked the country in recent months, including those claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group. No group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday evening’s blast at Kabul’s Sediqia Mosque, which has an adjoining madrasa. “He was my cousin, may God forgive him,” said one local resident who gave his name as Masiullah, referring to a relative who died in the explosion. “One year had passed from his marriage, he was 27 years old… he was a good person.” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said 21 people were killed and 33 others wounded. Italian non-governmental organisation Emergency, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said it had received 35 patients, including three who died. “Most of the injuries were caused by shrapnel and burns. Our surgeons were operating throughout the night. There were nine children among the victims that we received,” country director Stefano Sozza said in a statement on Thursday. Local hospitals contacted by AFP said they were not permitted to provide details of casualties they had treated. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on Thursday said security was “deteriorating” in the country. “We deplore yesterday’s attack in a Kabul mosque, the latest in a disturbing series of bombings which have killed & injured more than 250 people in recent weeks, the highest monthly number of civilian casualties over the last year,” said a statement released on Twitter. – Security challenge –Taliban officials insist they have full control of security and frequently deny or play down incidents reported on Afghanistan’s vibrant social media. They have also taken recently to preventing local and foreign media from covering the aftermath of attacks — sometimes using violence — and on Thursday armed Taliban fighters blocked journalists from reaching the latest blast site. Wednesday’s explosion comes nearly a week after a suicide bomber killed top Taliban cleric Rahimullah Haqqani, along with his brother, at his madrasa in Kabul. Haqqani was known for angry speeches against IS, which later claimed the attack. The terrorist group has primarily targeted minority communities such as Shiites, Sufis and Sikhs. The Taliban claim they have defeated IS, but experts say the group remains a key security challenge.
Russia deploys 3 fighter jets with hypersonic missiles in Kaliningradsemi-exclaveregion
Fake news create misperception about Xinjiang’s life, prosperity: Chinese envoy
WASHINGTON ReuteRs Rafael Nadal was not too downhearted by defeat at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday after the Spaniard lost 7-6(9) 4-6 6-3 to Borna Coric on his return from a six-week injuryNadal,layoff.who will aim for a recordextending 23rd Gram Slam title at the US Open, had not played a competitive match since pulling out of his Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury in early July. The 36-year-old also withdrew from last week’s ATP Masters event in Montreal due to the issue but did not seem hampered by it against former world number 12 Coric, and instead put his defeat down to a lack of time on the “Obviouslycourt.I didn’t play my best match, something that can happen,” Nadal told reporters. “So coming back from a tough period of time, something that’s easy to accept and easy to say congrats to Borna that he played better. “I need to improve. I need to practise. I need to return better. I need days, and that’s the truth. It’s obvious that I was not ready enough to win the match today. “(It) has been a difficult injury to manage. The last month and a half haven’t been easy.” Flushing Meadows has been a happy hunting ground for Nadal, who has won the US Open four times, the last title coming in 2019. He will undergo tests to confirm everything is fine with the injury, which he said still created doubt in his mind during his service motion.“Iam positive,” he said. “In terms of practice, I need to start to be in a Grand Slam mode, practising the way that I need to practise to be competitive since the beginning there, and I hope I will be able to make that happen.“Ineed to move forward and just start to think about the energy that the crowd gives me in New York. I know it’s a very special place for me, and I enjoy it, unforgettable moments there, and I’m going to try my very best every single day to be ready for that.” The US Open starts on August 29.
Opening batsmen Gill, Dhawan star as India crush Zimbabwe in ODI HARARE agencies Opening batters – Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan starred as India cruised to a 10-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Thursday in the first of three one-day internationals. Gill (82) and vice-captain Dhawan (81) were unbeaten as the tourists knocked off a modest target of 190 with 19.1 overs to spare at Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe used eight bowlers, but none could claim a wicket as the Indian openers struck a six and 19 fours between them. Richard Ngarava fared worst with the ball, conceding 40 runs in seven overs, while Luke Jongwe restricted the Indian openers to 11 runs in his two-over stint. India, third in the ODI rankings and 10 places above Zimbabwe, travelled to southern Africa without several stars, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are resting. Head coach Rahul Dravid also took a break after matches in England and the Caribbean with VVS Laxman taking charge. The home side were all out for 189 in 40.3 overs, thanks largely to a brave 70-run ninth-wicket stand between Ngarava and Brad Evans. In trouble at 83-6 after being put in to bat by India, the home side rallied with Ngarava scoring 34 and Evans unbeaten on 33. Ngarava faced 42 deliveries and smashed a six and three fours before being clean bowled by Prasidh Krishna. Evans also struck a six and three fours, off 29 balls, as Zimbabwe sought in vain to extend a run of nine victories in 11 matches since Dave Houghton became coach in June. Former batting star Houghton inherited a team demoralised after 3-0 ODI and T20 whitewashes by Afghanistan and led Zimbabwe to series triumphs over Bangladesh in both white-ball formats. The other Zimbabwe batsman to impress was captainwicketkeeper Regis Chakabva, whose 35 runs included four fours.
ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt Pakistan’s acclaimed martial artist Irfan Mehsood has achieved another feat by bagging his 54th Guinness World Record of doing the most push-ups with one leg raised in one minute, carrying a 100lb pack. “I broke the record of a Syrian named Muhammad Abdul Kader Feido who did 51 push-ups in one minute while I was able to do 52,” he told APP. Irfan, who attempted the record in Dera Ismail Khan in May this year, holds 29 Guinness World Records in the most push-ups category and was also the record holder in Most Jumping Jacks category at the world level. He said he was also the only athlete to break world records using 80 to 100 pounds weight. “I’m the only Pakistani athlete to break most of India’s world records. I have so far broken records of nine countries including India, USA, UK, France, Philippines, Iraq, Egypt, Italy and Spain,” he said. Irfan, who was inspired by seeing videos of record holders and reading several editions of the Guinness World Record books, said he trained four to five hours daily for every record he attempted until he felt he could break the one he was aiming for. “My aim, through breaking records, is to promote my country while also advocating a healthy lifestyle and staying active,” he said.
First Iftikhar Ahmad Junior KP Tennis Championship concludeds Nadal not discouraged by losing on return, says will be ready for US Open 11 Sports 19 August 2022_Layout 1 8/18/2022 11:55 PM Page 1
Irfan grabs 54th WorldGuinnessRecord
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De Leede and Cooper set about restoring order and put on 109 for the fourth wicket. Cooper hit seven fours and two sixes before falling for 66 when he offered left-arm spinner Nawaz a simple return catch. His dismissal precipitated the loss of three quick wickets, with captain Scott Edwards caught behind off Nawaz for five and Teja Nidamanuru going in the same manner without scoring after glancing Rauf down the legside.Loganvan Beek holed out to Naseem on the long-off boundary for 13 to give Shadab Khan his first wicket. Tim Pringle went for a second straight duck after Mohammad Wasim pinned him leg before and Nawaz claimed his third scalp by sneaking one past the defence of Dutt. De Leede was last man out for 89, caught by Zaman trying to clear long-on as Rauf finished with 3-16 after wrapping up the Dutch innings in 44.1 overs. Pakistan won the first match by 16 runs. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at the same venue.
NEWS DESk Faizan Shahid in U8, Shayan Afridi in U12, Shah Sawar in U16 clinched the winner trophies in the first Iftikhar Ahmad Junior KP Tennis Championship, which concluded here at Synthetic Tennis Courts of the Peshawar Sports Complex on FormerThursday.PAFTennis players and international coach Iftikhar Ahmad was the chief guest on this occasion. He was accompanied by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tennis Association Chairman Prof. Dr. Muhammad Tahir, Secretary Umar Ayaz Khalil, Coach Zakirullah, Nauman, Shaharyar and other important personalities were present. In the U8 age group category Faizan Shahid defeated Salar Khan 6-1 and 6-3, Shayan Afridi defeated Ahmed Khan 6-2 and 6-4 in the U-12 age group category and Shah Sawar Khan defeated Talha Khan 6-1 and 6-4 in the U-16 age group Secretarycategory.Umar Ayaz Khalil paid tribute to former tennis player and coach Iftikhar Ahmed for organizing the competitions and said that sponsors have helped the game to progress. He said, competitions will boost the morale of the players.Hesaid that national competitions will also be organized in Peshawar soon. Plans are being made for more competitions and it is hoped that national competitions will be held in Peshawar very soon, which will help in the promotion of the game.Iftikhar Ahmad said there is a lot of talent that is why most of the players from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are included in the junior top ranking players of Pakistan.
Manchester United supporters call for ‘real investment’ from any new owner LONDON ReuteRs
The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) said on Thursday any new owner of the Premier League club must be willing to invest heavily to restore its former glory amid speculation of a sale by the Glazer family. British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has expressed an interest in buying United after Tesla founder Elon Musk said a Twitter post in which he said he planned to buy the club was part of “a long-running joke”. The club’s owners, the American Glazer family, are under pressure with United sitting bottom of the league after two games of the new season. Bloomberg reported they would consider selling a minority stake, opening the door for Ratcliffe. “Speculation is mounting about a potential change of ownership or new investors at Manchester United. Whilst supporters have called for change, of course, this has to be the right change,” MUST said in a statement on Twitter. “Any prospective new owner or investor has to be committed to the culture, ethos and best traditions of the club. They have to be willing to invest to restore United to former glories, and that investment must be real new money spent on the playing side and the stadium.” A new ownership structure must embed supporters and include fan share ownership, the group added. United have lost both their league games under new boss Erik ten Hag and host bitter rivals Liverpool on Monday.
Friday, 19 August, 2022 | ISLAMABAD 11SPORTS ROTTERDAM staff RepoRt M OHAMMADRizwan and Agha Salman made unbeaten half-centuries as Pakistan eased to a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands in the second oneday international in Rotterdam on Thursday to complete a series victory. Pakistan captain Babar Azam, the world’s top-ranked ODI batsman, scored 57 off 65 balls before Rizwan and Salman led the tourists home in their pursuit of 187 with 16.2 overs to spare. Dutch seamer Vivian Kingma removed openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq cheaply as Pakistan stuttered early, but Azam and Rizwan steadied the innings before Salman finished it off by blasting his first ODIZaman,fifty. who made 109 in the first ODI, was caught and bowled by Kingma for three and Imam was lured into a loose drive four balls later to reduce Pakistan to 11-2. Azam passed fifty for the 38th time in 89 ODI innings but top-edged off-spinner Aryan Dutt to Bas de Leede at midwicket, ending an 88-run stand with wicketkeeper Rizwan.Rizwan adopted a relatively cautious approach as he compiled 69 off 82 deliveries, in contrast to the fireworks delivered by Salman, who clubbed the final ball of the match for six to finish 50 not out in just his secondHarisODI.Rauf and Mohammad Nawaz took three wickets apiece to dismiss the Netherlands for 186 in the second of a three-match series. De Leede (89) and Tom Cooper (66) struck battling half-centuries to lift the Dutch from 8-3 but only one other batsman passed double figures for the hosts. Naseem Shah removed Vikramjit Singh in the second over as the teenage opener edged behind and Max O’Dowd followed when he drove Rauf straight to Azam at midoff. The 38-year-old Wesley Barresi was bowled by Naseem for three, two days after scoring just two in his first international innings since 2019.
Imran urges ‘neutrals’ to review decisions to bring stability in country
RAIN EXPECTED IN MOST PARTS: Rain and thundershower is expected in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and GilgitBaltistan during the next 24 hours. Heavy falls are also likely at scattered places in Sindh, eastern Balochistan, South Punjab and Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the period. Temperature of some major cities recorded this morning: Islamabad and Peshawar twenty-five degree centigrade, Lahore twenty-eight, Karachi twenty-seven, Quetta twenty-one, Gilgit twenty, Murree seventeen and Muzaffarabad twenty-two degree centigrade.
Imran said that the country’s economy cannot be fixed by borrowing loans and without wealth creation. “No one is ready to invest in Pakistan due to instability… securing loans from Saudi Arabia and other countries is not a solution… it’s like treating cancer with aspirin,” he said. Imran said that political and economic stability would only come through free and fair “Ielections.wantto the tell the neutrals that there is still time to review your decisions… decisions made behind closed doors are often not right,” he said, adding that come what may he will not accept the coalition government led bySpeakingPML-N.about the media freedom, Imran maintained that as the prime minister he was never scared of independent press. The former premier said that the dictators and corrupt politicians curbed the media freedom to hide their corruption and wrongdoings. “But freedom of speech does not allow one to malign others and level baseless allegations”.Healsoaccused his opponents of corruption saying former premier Nawaz Sharif, while in power, built 17 factories out of plundered wealth. “Corruption is a symptom of absence of rule of law,” he said. He also wondered about the role of establishment in curbing corruption, saying he always thought that establishment was against corrupt rulers. “Why did you let these corrupt leaders be imposed upon the country when you yourself [establishment] would say that they are corrupt,” he added. He also revealed that agencies informed him about the corruption scandal of incumbent rulers when he was the prime minister. Imran also reiterated that attempts were being made to disqualify him and bring back Nawaz Sharif, who was disqualified for life by the Supreme Court, from London to put both of them in a same position. Speaking about the PTI leader Shahbaz Gill’s sedition case, Imran said that no action was taken against other political leaders including Nawaz, her daughter Maryam, and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for targeting the state institutions. “But on the other hand Shahbaz Gill was stripped naked and tortured. This is all being done to spread fear to force people to accept this imported government,” he concluded.
Pakistan, Iran to finalise FTA within next six months
ISLAMABAD APP Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar on Thursday said that Iran and Pakistan will give final shape to the proposed bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the next six months. Qamar hoped that free trade will increase and taking the volume of bilateral trade to $4 billion after the two countries sign the FTA, adding that the current trade volume does not commensurate with its true potential. He added that an agreement will be signed for promoting transit trade in the next three months, through which free economic zones will be established in the two countries. The commerce minister was talking to media persons along with Iranian Minister for Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi after the 21st Session of Pak-Iran Joint Economic Commission (JEC) which was held here from August 16 to 18. Ghasemi along with a delegation of 57 dignitaries participated in the 21st Session of Pak-Iran JEC. According to the details, APP’s Managing Director Akhtar Munir and the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Syed Mohammad Ali Hosseini signed an agreement related to media co-operation. The second agreement was on maritime cooperation which was signed by the representative of the Ministry of Defense from Pakistan and the Ministry of Maritime from Iran. The third agreement was signed for the promotion of tourism, which was signed by representatives of the respective ministries of the two countries. The fourth agreement was signed by the National museums of the two countries for the promotion of mutual Naveedcooperation.Qamarsaid that under the FTA, both sides would negotiate to reduce tariffs and exchange trade lists in different sectors. He informed that for the promotion of transit trade, it had been decided to establish six border markets, in which, the work on the establishment of three had already been started while work on the other three will also start soon. The minister said that it was time for final agreements and practical work for which both the countries had agreed and added that national airlines of the two countries had also expressed their willingness to promote mutual cooperation. “Since its inception in 1984, we are now holding the 21st Session of the JEC, which is a clear indication of the endeavors of both the countries to sustain and foster our economic relations”, he added, recalling that the JEC provides an institutional framework for a regular review of economic relations and identification of new opportunities for mutual Syedcooperation.Naveed Qamar said that Pakistan placed Iran at a very high level of importance and appreciated its direction towards market-based reforms. “Pakistan looked to the Iranian market and Iranian investors as it offered a very friendly trade and investment environment in Special Economic and Industrials Zones under CPEC,” he added. “I request the two sides to implement the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in letter and spirit, and remove Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers in order to boost trade volume between both countries” he said. He emphasised that the five Years Strategic Trade Partnership Plan needed to be renewed for next five years (2022-2027) and both the sides were working in that regard in this 21st Session of JEC. Talking to media persons, Iranian Minister for Roads and Urban Development, Rustam Ghasemi said that many fruitful discussions regarding many fields including energy and trade had been held between the two parties. He pointed out that transport, trade and energy were very important for the economies of the two countries. He informed that four different agreements that were signed included agreements on maritime cooperation, media, tourism and the national museums. The first agreement for media cooperation was signed between Pakistan’s National News Agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), and Iran’s national news Agency, IRNA. Meanwhile, National Food Security Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema said that Pakistan and Iran will soon begin bartering, under which Pakistan will get apples from Iran by sending them oranges.
DocTorS AT PIMS DeclAre ShAhBAz GIll’S MeDIcAl rePorTS ‘SATISFAcTory’
ISLAMABAD stAff rePort Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday urged the “neutrals” — a tacit reference to establishment — to review its policies, saying stability would not come to the country unless free and fair elections are held. Addressing a seminar on media freedom in Islamabad the PTI chairman asked the neutrals, “Are you worried about this country..Do you know where this country is heading.”
ISLAMABAD stAff rePort
Sources said that the Planning minister has a desire to attain maximum powers so he wanted to keep CPEC related matters also. He reportedly transferred Parliamentarians’ development scheme program’ Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) from cabinet division to planning commission; however, recently, the federal Cabinet again ordered to transfer back this program to Cabinet Federaldivision.Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday during the public talk, titled “CPEC: A Catalyst for the Economic Development of Pakistan,” said that the progress on CPEC projects particularly Special Economic Zones, Gwadar port, and some infrastructure projects have faced serious setbacks in the last four years.Along with this, Pakistan’s fiscal problems and procedural obstructions have also made China more cautious regarding investments. However, the current government is putting full efforts to bring CPEC back on track, he added. The scribe requested Planning minister Ahsan Iqbal to comment with regard to PM approval to abolish CPEC authority but no reply was received till finalization of story.
ISLAMABAD stAff rePort D OCTORSat the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad, who examined PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, currently in Islamabad police’s custody for questioning in connection with his anti-Pak Army statement, on Thursday said that his medical reports were satisfactory.Doctors at the hospital told reporters the PTI leader’s heartbeat was also normal; his saturation level was recorded at 97, while his blood pressure was measured at Doctors110/70.further disclosed that Gill was not suffering from fever Shahbazeither.Gill has been shifted to the Cardiology Ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) after completion of his CT Scan. According to the hospital sources, Shahbaz Gill’s condition is satisfactory, and he does not have heartache. “Shahbaz Gill’s heartbeat was fast at night. His ECG tests will be performed again. Anxiety can increase heartbeat which can lead to breathing difficulties. The medical board will re-examine him,” said the sources. PIMS administration, on the other hand, said that report of the blood samples taken from Gill’s body was beingMeanwhile,awaited. a delegation of Insaf Doctors Association also visited the hospital and inquired after Gill’s health. Shahbaz Gill had been shifted to PIMS Hospital late Wednesday night. A five-member team of doctors had been constituted to look after the PTI leader facing charges of passing “highly hateful and seditious remarks”. Earlier, the federal capital police got custody of Gill on court orders. In a statement, the Islamabad police said that Gill has not been subjected to torture during physical remand. PTI senior leader and former federal minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain has criticized the PML-N media cell for portraying Shahbaz Gill’s illness as minor. In a tweet he said “The media cell of the N-League, in which most of the journalists are doing their second jobs, are saying that Shahbaz Gill’s illness is minor.” On the other hand, PTI leaders Asad Umar and Dr Babar Awan filed yet another petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the torture being inflicted in the jail.
SINDH ON HIGH ALERT AFTER INDUS IN HIGH FLOOD: Indus River has been in high flood at Taunsa Barrage as flood flow has entered Sindh and a high alert has been issued over the flooding situation, irrigation official said. The inflow of river water at Taunsa Barrage has been measured 5,03,000 cusecs, while the discharge of water has also been recorded 5,03,000 cusec, said In-charge Barrage Control Room. The Indus River has been in medium flood at Chashma and low flood at Char Maqam, the official further said. In an earlier report on the flood situation, irrigation officials said that the Indus has been in medium flood at Taunsa and Guddu barrages, low to medium flood at Chashma and Sukkur barrages while in low flood at Tarbela and Kalabagh. After an above-normal monsoon rainfall in the country, the water level in Indus River has surged at various points.
The Federal Cabinet has approved to give the look after charge of President National Bank of Pakistan to Rehmat Ali Hasnie by invoking section 23 of Banking Nationalization Act (BNA), 1974. Sources said that the Cabinet on Thursday through circulation approved the summary for giving the look after charge to Rehmat Ali Hasnie with effect from May 12, 2022 till appointment of a regularInincumbent.addition the Banking Nationalization Act (BNA), 1974 which governs the appointment of President/CEO does not have any provision for making an interim appointment, and the process of recruitment takes time owing to multiple procedural formalities. In order to address this difficulty, the following Section 23 (Removal of Difficulty) of BNA 1974 was“Ifinvoked.anydifficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the Federal Government may make such an order not Inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may appear to it to be necessary for the purpose of removing the difficulty.” Accordingly, the case for extension of the incumbent President for a period of three months or till the appointment of a regular incumbent was placed before the Federal Cabinet and the same was approved vide decision dated 11.02.2022. The appointment process for the new President could not be completed within this timeframe due to various factors; the foremost being the change in government. In the meanwhile, the extended tenure of the President/ CEO also expired.
Sindh on alert: More devastation as Balochistan death toll rises to 205 QUETTA/SUKKUR stAff rePort Heavy rains continued to wreak havoc in Balochistan after a new spell of rains caused flash flooding in Lasbela district and adjoining areas. Three more people reported to have been died amid heavy rains and floods, taking the death toll to 205, according to a statement issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). Moreover, 81 people suffered injuries due to floods in the past three days. A total of 107,377 cattle have also been reported dead in floods, the PDMA data showed. Traffic on Quetta-Karachi National Highway remained suspended even after five days as flood water is still flowing over the highway. The situation in other districts has not improved yet as Musakhail, Zhob, Pishin, Qila Saifullah, Qila Abdullah, Nasirabad and Lasbela were still receiving torrential rains for the past two days. According to officials, hundreds of mud-made houses were damaged in Qila Saifullah, Muslim Bagh, Musakhail, Kohlu, Dera Bugti and other areas due to incessant rains.
PrAyer timings FAJR SUNRISE ZUHR ASR MAGHRIB ISHA 4:10 5:00 1:30 5:15 7:08 9:15 Friday, 19 August, 2022 NEWS
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk
Govt links CPEC authority abolition with Chinese approval Cabinet approves look after charge of President NBP
ISLAMABAD shAhzAd PArAchA The federal government has linked abolishment of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authority with China approval. Sources said that the high ups of the government considered the abolishment of the CPEC authority and it was decided to discuss this matter of disbanding the CPEC Authority with China. Another source in the PM secretariat said that matters related to abolishment of CPEC authority are still under consideration and no decision has been made so Pakistanfar. Muslim League Nawaz government had hinted to abolish CPEC Authority after coming into power besides transferring all the matters to Planning Commission. The PTI government had planned to effectively operationalize the CPEC authority so that’s why they appointed Khalid Mansoor as Chairman CPEC authority and also had given the advertisement for hiring professionals from the private sector. Planning ministry officials had informed the Senate Standing Committee in May this year that the mega project would be handed over to the Planning Commission according to the vision of Ahsan Iqbal. They added that the authority had not done any significant work, therefore, its disbanding is being considered, and a final decision will be taken soon.
