RAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t Ch ef of Army Staff (COA S) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has spent complete Defence and Martyrs Day by visit ng far flung f ood affected areas of Baloch stan a statement ssued by the mi itar y sa d The Inter Ser vices Public Relations (ISPR) said
Gen Ba wa v sited the army flood re ief camp in Usta Muhammad of Jafferabad district where he was br efed about the ongoing rescue and relief operat ons T h e a r m y c h i e f m e t t r o o p s a n d a p p r e c i a t e d t h e i r e f f o r t s f o r t h e f l o o d v i c t i m s “ T h e C O A S v i s i t e d f l o o d r e e f a n d m e d i c a l c a m p s a n d s p e n t t i m e w i t h t h e l o c a l s t o g e t o n g r o u n d i n f o r m a t o n a b o u t p a n s t o m i t g a t e t h e i r p r o b e m s, ” i t a d d e d H e a s o v i s i t e d S u i w h e r e h e m e t l o c a l e l d e r s a n d i n q u r e d a b o u t t h e i r w e l l b e i n g a n d s s u e s T h e e l d e r s t h a n ke d t h e a r m y c h i e f f o r r e a c h i n g o u t t o t h e m d u r n g t h e m o s t d i f f c u t t i m e i n t h e i r l i f e Later, the COA S visited M itar y College Sui where he was br efed about different training and educational faci ities H e n t e r a c t e d w i t h t h e f a c u l t y a n d s t u d e n t s a n d a p p r e c a t e d t h e e d u c a t o n a l a n d t r a i n i n g s t a n d a r d o f t h e n s t i t u t o n T h e f a c u l t y a n d s t u d e n t s t h a n k e d t h e Pa k s t a n A r m y f o r p r o v i d n g a n o p p o r t u n t y f o r t h e m t o c o m p e t e a t t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l t h e m i l i t a r y s m e d i a w i n g s a i d
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COA S spends Defence & Mar tyrs Day in flood-hit areas of Balochistan
P o s t- f lo o d r e h a b s t r at e g y c r u c i a l at f e d e r a l , P r o v i n c i a l l e v e l s : P M d n e s d a y, 7 S e p t e m b e r, 2 0 2 2 I 1 0 S a f a r, 1 4 4 4 I R s 1 5 . 0 0 I Vo l X I I I N o 6 9 I 1 2 Pa g e s
A delegat on of three US lawmakers who v s ited the f ood hit areas on Sunday to assess the damage and explore ways of ass sting Pak stan in its recover y efforts met Prime Minister Shehbaz Shar f on Monday his office said Sharif told the lawmakers that given the chal lenges and enormous resources involved in the re construction efforts cont nued support sol dar ty and ass stance from the internat onal commun ty was crit cal the office said The United Nations has ca led for $160 mill on in a d to help the flood victims but Finance M n ster M ftah Ismail sa d the damage was far higher The tota damage s close to $10 bil ion per haps more,” Ismai said in an inter view with CNBC Clearly it s not enough In spite of meagre Pakistan w ll have to do much of the heavy lift ng Nevertheless, he p kept pouring n w th the for e gn ministr y reporting arr vals of relief flights on Monday from the Un ted Nations and individual countr es, includ ng Turkmenistan and the United Arab Em rates (UAE) E sewhere n the reg on floods are a so threaten ng cris s hit Sri Lanka while ra ns have disrupted life in India ’s technology hub, Ben ga uru The northern summer is the rainy season across much of Asia
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The rising waters have also inundated the nearby Sehwan airport civ l aviation author ties said The floods have fol owed record breaking summer heat with the government and the Un ted Nations both having blamed climate change for the extreme weather and the resulting devastation FOREIGN HELP: The relief effort is a huge burden for an economy a ready need ng help from the Internationa Monetar y Fund (IMF)
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t P RIME M n ster Shehbaz Shar f on Tuesday emphas zed the need for dev sing a comprehensive strategy by the federa and provincial governments for the restoration of infrastructure in flood af fected areas Speaking on the flood situation n the countr y wh le chair ng a meeting of the federal cabinet the pr me minister said it was time for al not to ndu ge in pol tick ing but to ser ve the masses The pr me m n ster mentioned that the f ood hit areas faced numerous issues re ated to water dra nage infrastructure breakdown, and connect v ty He said be sides publ c departments severa private ent t es nclud ng chambers of commerce and ndustries had expressed their desire to contribute to the rel ef and rehab ita tion process PM Sharif said the government had n creased the financial assistance for f ood affected people under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from Rs 28 bil ion to Rs 70 bi lion H e s a i d t h e g o v e r n m e n t h a d p r o v i d e d R s 5 b l l i o n t o N a t i o n a D s a s t e r M a n a g e m e n t A u t h o r i t y ( N D M A ) f o r d i s p e n s a t i o n o f c o m p e n s a t o n m o n e y i n f i r s t p h a s e, w h i l e a d d t o n a l R s 3 b o n w o u l d a s o b e p r o v i d e d H e m e n t i o n e d t h a t t h e f l o o d s h a d r e s u t e d i n a g r o s s l o s s o f l v e s n f r a s t r u c t u r e l i v e s t o c k a n d c r o p s T h e p r i m e m i n i s t e r s a i d w o r k w a s i n f u l l s w i n g i n t h e f l o o d a f f e c t e d a r e a s f o r r e e f a n d r e h a b i l i t a t i o n H e s a i d s e v e r a l f r i e n d l y c o u n t r i e s w e r e s e n d i n g r e l i e f g o o d s t o Pa k i s t a n i n t h e w a k e o f h e a v y d a m a g e i n c u r r e d b y r e c e n t f l a s h f l o o d s H e t h a n k e d t h e c a b n e t m e m b e r s m i n i s t r e s p u b l i c d e p a r t m e n t s a n d n a t i o n a l m e d a f o r h g h i g h t i n g t h e i s s u e o f f l o o d s a t t h e i n t e r n a t o n a l e v e a n d m a k i n g t h e r b e s t e f f o r t s t o m t g a t e t h e s u f f e r i n g s o f f l o o d v i c t i m s
JAMSHOR O S ta f f R e p o R t Pakistan was scrambling on Tuesday to widen a breach n its biggest lake and prevent the waters from over flowing to swamp nearby towns, so wors en ng unprecedented floods that have inundated a third of the nation Waters brought by record monsoon rains and melt ng glac ers in northern mountains have af fected 33 mi l on peop e and k lled at least 1 325 including 466 chi dren, Nationa Disaster Manage ment Agency (NDMA) has said We have widened the earlier breach at Manchar to reduce the ris ng water leve , ” Jam Khan Shoro, irrigation min ster of Sindh told Reuters ate on Monday referr ng to the lake whose waters authorities seek to dra n Already 100,000 people have been d sp aced from their homes in the effort to keep the lake from over flow ng an outcome that author ties fear cou d affect hundreds of thousands more Til yesterday, there was enormous pressure on the dikes of Joh and Mehar towns but people are f ghting it out by strengthening the dikes,” district off cial Murtaza Shah sa d on Tuesday, adding that 80 percent to 90 percent of town s people had a ready fled Those who rema n are attempting to strengthen exist ng d kes with mach ner y provided by d strict off cials The waters have turned the nearby town of Joh into a virtual is and as a dike bui t by ocals holds back the water After the breach at Manchar the water has started to f ow earl er it was sort of stagnant ” one res dent, Akbar Lashari, said by telephone, fo low ing Sunday s initia breach of the freshwater lake
I La h o r e E d i t i o n
Flood-hit Sindh works to prevent over flow of Manchar Lake
O i l s te a d i e s a f te r r a l l y o n s y m b o l i c O p e c + o u t p u t c u t
ISLAMABAD
To commemorate 57th Defence and Martyrs Day, the members of Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Tuesday visited the mausoleum and home of Lance Naik Mehfooz Shaheed Nishan e Haider here and paid great reverence and honour to the supreme sacrifice of the martyr The Senator Committee delegation was headed by Chairman Committee Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed flanked by Senators Shahzad Waseem, Waleed Iqbal, Rukhsana Zuberi and Zarqa Suharwardy, said a press release Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed with other members marked the day with a visit to the mausoleum of Lance Naik Mehfooz Shaheed, Nishan i Haider, Pind Malkan, Islamabad Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed laid a wreath and offered Fateha at the mausoleum, and also met members of the martyr s family Senator Mushahid Hussain while addressing a gathering at the mausoleum applauded the exemplary heroism of Shaheed (martyr) and other brave sons of the soil who laid down their lives in Defence of the country “We also salute the resilience and resolve of the mothers, fathers and families of our martyrs The eternal sacrifices of the Pakistan Army for the homeland can never be forgotten Pakistan army is a National Army and is the guarantor of unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty and stability of the Motherland” he remarked “The presence of representatives from all the provinces of Pakistan and all the political parties is a confirmation that the whole nation is united for national security above Party considerations”, he underlined If we are able to sleep peacefully today and live as free citizens of a free country it is because of the Defenders of the Nation and supreme sacrifices of our brave soldiers”, he underscored Senator Mushahid also lauded the Army’s role in flood relief, saving countless lives Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Dr Shahzad Waseem and Senators Waleed Iqbal, Rukhsana Zuberi, and Zarqa Suharwardy also spoke on the occasion and commended the sacrifices of the Pakistan Army To pay rich tribute to the valiant martyr, Lance Naik Mehfooz Shaheed, who sacrificed his life for the motherland during the Indo Pak War of 1971 Members of the Defence Committee later visited the family of Mehfooz shaheed While talking to the family of shaheed Mushahid Hussain Sayed stated that “Brave sons of the soil had thwarted the nefarious designs of enemy by sacrificing their lives for the nation Sacrificing lives to protect the motherland was an honour of the nation and we salute his sacrifice and pay respect to his family he added A large crowd welcomed the Senators and shouted full throated slogans of Pakistan Zindabad and Pakistan Army Zindabad Shaheed Lance Naik Mehfooz was born on October 25th, 1944 He sacrificed his life during the Indo Pak War of 1971 It has been said that despite his wounded leg he reached the enemy bunker from which fire had caused casualties
S enators pay homage to mar tyrs during visit to L ance Naik Mehfooz mausoleum
Pa k i s ta n s u P P o R t s n o n - d i s C R i m i n at o R y i n t ’ l a R m s C o n t R o l , n o n - P R o l i f e R at i o n R e g i m e : s o h a i l
The foreign secretary told the gathering that Pakistan had put in place extensive legislative regulatory and administrative frameworks for exercising effective controls over transfers of sensitive goods and technologies to prevent their diversion to non peaceful uses While adhering to international export control standards and best practices, he said Pakistan strongly maintained that efforts for regulating international trade in dual use technologies should not hamper free and equitable access to such technologies for legitimate socio economic applications “An inclusive, non discriminatory and principle based approach will serve the multilateral export control regimes as platforms of greater cooperation for trade development and regional prosperity without compromising their non proliferation objectives with greater legitimacy credibility and effectiveness he commented
Pakistani students returning to China under new visa policy
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Price of 15kg flour bag increases by Rs50 in Punjab
Prices of rice and pulses increase in Peshawar
The foreign secretary viewed that the policies of discrimination and exceptionalism were detrimental to the non proliferation objectives and credibility of the export control regimes
According to an official the government intends to purchase/import at least 0 8 million laptops In the first phase of the program at least 100 000 eligible youth would be provided with the laptops Though the quality of laptops purchased by the government previously has been an issue, the government wants to distribute the computer in a similar way The PM s Laptop Scheme was hallmark of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) regime from 2013 to 2018 in the higher education sector
It may be mentioned here that those students who received the laptops previously were found mostly complaining about poor quality of the product Not only the quality of the electronic item was the issue but there were multiple issues linked with the product The spare parts of the laptops of the particular company were not available in the market According to a shopkeeper at Dubai Plaza, renowned electronic market in Rawalpindi few specific spare parts centers, notified by the government, were previously used to ask students to pay a much higher price and that too in advance while asking to wait for at least two to three months, citing the reason of short supply from manufacturers “While importing or purchasing specific laptops, the government should also ensure the availability of spare parts accessories in the country for repair and maintenance of the thousands of laptops being distributed the laptop repairer suggested
The prices of rice and pulse prices in Peshawar have skyrocketed within a span of three months and are expected to rise further as the effects of the floods become more clear Speaking with Profit, Traders on Ashraf Road, Peshawar ’s main commodity market, said that people in the province are already bearing the high cost of flour and will now also have to pay higher prices for other dietary staples They informed this scribe that a bag of 24 50 kg rice which was available for Rs4 500 three months ago has risen by Rs1,750 in three months, taking the price in Peshawar to Rs6,250 Similarly, a 45 kg bag of matta rice which was available for Rs2 500 has increased to Rs4,000 while a bag of 49 kg super fine rice which used to be for Rs3,000, is now being sold for Rs5,000 Informing that beans are imported from Tajikistan in Peshawar, they said the price of a 50kg bag of beans which was Rs8,000 in January, has increased to Rs13,000 Similarly, masoor dal which was available for Rs7,000 per 49 kg bag in January, has now increased to Rs14,000 Gram is imported from Vietnam and Sudan In January, a 49 kg bag of 10 mm gram was available for Rs8,000 which has now increased to Rs15,000 The traders said that since trucks carrying relief goods for flood victims are being looted, most of them have stopped transporting goods from other parts of the country, due to which there is a risk that the prices of food commodities will see a further hike within the next few weeks They said that over the course of a year prices of most commodities have increased by 100 per cent whereas the devastating floods are also likely to negatively influence the prices S ta f f R e p o R t
Wednesday, 7 September, 2022 LAHORE 02 NEWS ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t f O R E I G N Secretary Sohail Mahmood on Tuesday said that Pakistan supported a strong rule based, equitable and non discriminatory international arms control non proliferation and disarmament regime premised on the principle of equal security for all states The foreign secretary a d d r e s s i n g a conference on “Promoting Strategic Trade C o n t r o l s t h r o u g h I n t e r n a t i o n a l Cooperation held by N U S T Ins titute for P o l i c y S t u d i e s , s a i d s u c h a r e g i m e w a s i m p e r a t i v e f o r t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f international peace and stability H e s a i d P a k i s t a n s h a r e d t h e g l o b a l c o n c e r n r e g a r d i n g t h e t h r e a t p o s e d t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l p e a c e a n d s e c u r i t y b y p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f We a p o n s o f M a s s Destruction He said that given Pakistan’s thriving science and technology landscape, with extensive expertise experience and technological capabilities in ICTs, biotechnologies and nuclear applications, it clearly qualified for participation in the existing multilateral export control regimes “ P a k i s t a n ’s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e s e regimes will further the non proliferation objectives of these regimes Pakistan will w e l c o m e n o n d i s c r i m i n a t o r y c r i t e r i a f o r m e m b e r s h i p o f t h e s e c o n t r o l r e g i m e s , provided these criteria are applied on the b a s i s o f f a i r n e s s a n d i m p a r t i a l i t y, ” h e remarked H e l d w i t h t h e c o l l a b o r a t i o n o f t h e F o r e i g n O ff i c e , t h e c o n f e r e n c e w a s o rg a n i z e d w i t h t h e a i m t o p r o m o t e i n t e r a c t i o n o f n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o l i c y m a k e r s , e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n c i e s , p u b l i c s e c t o r o rg a n i z a t i o n s , p r i v a t e industry, and academia He said the idea was to benefit from their perspectives on a variety of topics, including Strategic Trade Management (STM), implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions on WMD proliferation and its financing; and recent developments in the multilateral export control regimes
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StAff CoRReSponDent Pakistani students are now returning to China under new visa policy introduced by the Chinese authorities, that is effective from August 24 Bilal Khan, a PhD scholar at East China Normal University, Shanghai returned to China after the introduction of the new policy Talking to Gwadar Pro, he said that he left Islamabad last Saturday for Xi’an, where he was to spend a 7 day quarantine in a hotel before departing for Shanghai Everything going smoothly; the situation was normal and the authorities were very cooperative The students must comply with the quarantine procedures and cooperate with the authorities for a hassle free experience he said Bilal said that he was accompanied by one other Pakistani student on board the Pakistan Int’l Airlines (PIA) flight to Xian, while the majority of the passengers were post doc scholars who also had Chinese work visas Bilal first shared the news of his departure for Xian under the new policy on social media Several students while commenting on his post shared that they were also at different stages of the process to returning to China The students said that their respective institutions had contacted them to inform that they were making preparations for the students’ early return as per the new policy guidelines of the Chinese government The students while expressing enthusiasm over the new visa policy also hailed Ji Rong, Counsellor at Department of Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, for her tireless efforts to make possible the return of the international students to China Bilal is guiding fellow Pakistani students regarding obtaining No Objection Certificate (NOC) for return to China, the health declaration card quarantine procedures and ticketing information Ji Rong, while commenting on Bilal’s post, expressed pleasure over his return to China and wished him good luck ReuteRS Oil steadied on Tuesday after a two day rally as Opec+’s decision to cut output in October was balanced by concern about a weak economic outlook and the prospect of more interest rate hikes The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as Opec+, decided to cut output targets by 100,000 barrel per day after Saudi Arabia voiced concern about a slump in prices since June Brent crude was down 26 cents, or 0 3 per cent to $95 48 at 0815 GMT US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) inched up from Monday to $89 19, up $2 32 or 2 7pc from Friday’s close There was no settlement on Monday, the US Labor Day holiday “The decision to reverse the 100 000 barrel per day increase in September was more symbolic than fundamentally significant ” said Craig Erlam analyst at brokerage Oanda “But it will make traders think twice about driving prices lower in the way they have recently As a result of the US holiday weekly US inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute and Energy Information Administration will be released on Wednesday and Thursday, a day later than usual Oil soared close to an all time high of $147 in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated supply concerns Concern of a recession in the West soaring inflation and interest rate hikes have since weighed The European Central Bank will meet on Thursday to discuss interest rate actions As US Federal Reserve meeting will follow on Sept 21 Also lending oil some support were signs that an agreement to resurrect Iran s nuclear deal with world powers was less imminent delaying any return of around 1 million bpd of Iranian crude to the market The European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Monday he was less hopeful about a quick revival of the deal
The Punjab Flour Mills Association (PFMA) on Tuesday increased the price of a 15 kilograme (kg) bag by Rs50 or Rs5 per kg, ARY News reported According to details, PFMA jacked up the price citing an increase in the wheat prices in the open market After the increase, a 15kg flour bag is now being sold for Rs1,350 Meanwhile, the price of wheat has increased from Rs2 800 to Rs3 000 per maund in the open market In a statement, the PFMA said that the association took the step in the wake of an increase in the wheat price in the open market
Thousands of the students associated with degree, post graduation and research programs of the public sector universities have benefitted from the scheme Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also hinted at resumption of the free laptop program for youth While talking to a delegation of students from Harvard University USA last month, the PM claimed that the free laptops given to high achievers in PMLN s previous tenure had not only helped the students to continue their education in the times of COVID 19 but also helped the youth of Pakistan to get a strong foothold in the global freelance market Later, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Shaza Fatima Khawaja also claimed that the population census of 2017 had shown that up to 50 million people in the country aged between 15 and 29 could earn a lot of money through effective use of smartphones and laptops
ISLAMABAD G h u l a m a B B a S As the multiparty government in the center has indicated its intention to resume Prime Minister ’s Laptop Scheme for students the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other relevant institutions have reportedly initiated the process of purchasing at least 800,000 laptops According to reliable sources, the government would purchase laptops to distribute among eligible youth in the country through a meritorious process As per the sources the PC 1 of the project is being prepared to be submitted with the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) for subsequent approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), as it involves billions of rupees “We are waiting for notification from the CDWP decision and subsequent approval from ECNEC An advertisement will be made for purchase of laptop as per the approved specifications,” an official source at the HEC said
Govt likely to purchase 0.8 million laptops to resume PM’s L aptop S cheme
ISLAMABAD a z z B u n e R i
The UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has so far received contributions worth £16 million for relief and rehabilitation of flood survivors in Pakistan In a meeting with Pakistan s High Commissioner in London Moazzam Ahmad Khan, a DEC delegation briefed the envoy on the response to their Pakistan Flood Appeal launched last Thursday The delegation comprised Saleh Saeed OBE Chief Executive Officer, and Madara Hettiarachchi, Director Programme, said a press release received Tuesday It was informed that the DEC was working in partnership with the Government of Pakistan and would be spending the collected amo u n t t h r o u g h i t s p a r t n e r N G O s w o r k i n g i n t h e f l o o d a ff e c t e d a r e a s o f P a k i s t a n t o p r o v i d e f o o d , s h e l t e r, c l e a n d r i n k i n g w a t e r, s a n i t a t i o n s u p p l i e s a n d h y g i e n e f a c i l i t i e s M o r e o v e r, f u n d s w o u l d a l s o b e s p e n t t o r e s t o r e t h e l i v e l i h o o d s o f t h e a ff e c t e d p e o p l e T h e h i g h c o m m i s s i o n e r a p p r e c i a t e d t h e D E C f o r i t s e ff o r t s a n d u rg e d t h e n e e d t o c l o s e l y w o r k w i t h P a k i s t a n a r m e d f o r c e s , N D M A a n d P D M A s f o r e x p e d i t i o u s a n d e ff e c t i v e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f r e l i e f g o o d s A s s u r i n g t h e D E C o f f u l l s u p p o r t i n i t s f l o o d r e l i e f o p e r a t i o n s , h e a l s o u n d e r l i n e d t h e need for a synergetic effort by all partner agencies to avoid duplication and overlapping kP Cm calls for rehabilitation of flood affectees on priorit y peSHAWAR S ta f f R e p o R t Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Tuesday directed for payment of cash amount to the flood affected people for their rehabilitation and reconstruction of homes destroyed by the flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on an urgent basis He issued instructions that under the relief fund the rehabilitation of the affected people must be given a priority He said for the purpose of fund raising for the affectees, bank accounts should be opened in other banks as well to collect maximum funds for the flood hit people Chairing the first meeting of the Flood Relief Fund Committee, the Chief Minister suggested that international stakeholders should also be included in the process of rehabilitation of the flood affected people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa He further directed that a final workable strategy should be prepared after a complete homework for the effective utilization of the relief funds, The meeting was attended beside others by Technical Advisor for the Committee, Dr Sania Nishter
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The Army relief camps up till now collected 4,247 tonnes of food items alongwith 439 tonnes of sustenance items and 2,163,212 medicine items However, 3,570 tonnes of food 379 tonnes of sustenance items and 1,778,212 medicine items were distributed Moreover, 232,811 ration packs alongside 1,617 tonnes of ration were distributed by Pakistan Army Over 250 medical camps were established so far in which more than 97,000 patients have been treated all across the country and provided 3 5 days free medicine The major activities included the construction of Saggu bridge at N 95 (DI Khan) which was in progress and likely to be completed within 24 hours Moreover, electricity supply was restored in Khuzdar and repair work on Dadu Sibi Quetta transmission line was in progress whereas, gas supply was partially restored in Quetta The Pakistan Navy had also conducted 41 helicopters sorties, rescued 12,176 personnel, 2,687 families provided with shelter, distributed 1,932 tonnes of ration, 2,532 tents, 300 Kg medicines and treated 28,250 patients across the country so far The Pakistan Air Force had also conducted 67 C 130, 69 MI 17, 16 AW 139 air sorties, rescued 1,521 personnel, distributed 2,763 tents, 106,495 food packets, 1,161,113 Kg Ration, 134,486 liters water and established 16 tent cities where 7 85 million people were provided food, dry ration and medical aid, 41 relief camps and 35 free medical camps in which 27,156 patients were treated across the country so far
It is pertinent to mention that Military College Sui was established in 2011 and its cadets have shown extraordinary results Meanwhile, Commander Southern Command and Multan Corps Lieutenant General Muhammad Chiragh Haider visited flood affected areas of Rajanpur District on Tuesday, the ISPR said He witnessed the ongoing relief effort including the distribution of rations and provision of medical care by the Pakistan Army He praised the efforts of officers and Jawans, helping the people in flood affected areas round the clock Later Lt Gen Haider also visited families of Shuhada [martyrs] in the area and paid tribute to them who laid down their lives while defending the motherland gill moves ihC for bail
The results of more than 0 5 million intermediate students have been delayed while the students who have passed Matriculation examinations are also facing difficulties in obtaining admission and other documents due to strike by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Boards Employees Coordination Council (KPBECC) across the province The KP Board Employees Coordination Council has announced the strike will continue until the government withdraws its decision regarding merger of seven educational boards of the province into the Peshawar Board Spokesperson for KPBECC Ali Gul told this scribe that the provincial government has decided to merge the seven educational boards of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into Peshawar Board and establish a branch office in place of each board Neither we do not accept this decision under any circumstances, nor it is a good decision for the children , he claimed He said that currently the number of matriculation students registered in all education boards of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is 750,000 while the number of inter students is around 500,000, which is increasing by 10 to 20% every year but unfortunately despite this fact, the provincial government has formed a committee for the establishment of the centralized board which is not in any way beneficial for the students This move of the government may cause severe problems for the staff while the future of many employees may also be at stake, he pointed out He made it clear that until the government withdraws its decision their strike will continue On the other hand, Shahan Yousafzai, a student who took the exam in the part I, said that earlier Covid 19 had badly affected studies of the students and now results have been stopped due to the strike of the KPBECC The parents have also expressed serious reservations on this initiative of the provincial government and said that the government is trying to take the people back to the 1990s in which we were forced to go to Peshawar board even for minor work and our work was not done even after many days StAff RepoRt
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StAff RepoRt Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan HAYASHI Yoshimasa said that the government of Japan was planing to provide emergency assistance of USD 7 million to Pakistan, in response to the devastating flooding nationwide According to a news release issued by the Japanese Embassy in Pakistan here Tuesday the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs said, the epochal levels of rain and flooding have wiped away over a thousand precious lives, destroying critical infrastructure and disrupting the primary social institutions and livelihoods, adding that millions of people were left without homes and their hopes and dreams were shattered WADA Mitsuhiro, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, reaffirmed his commitment to support Pakistan; “I would like to assure that the Government of Japan stands ready to support the people of Pakistan Given the rapidly rising scale of needs, we consider it critical to extend our best support and stand available to the affected As part of the “2022 Floods Response Plan”, we will extend our assistance, ensuring collective and coordinated actions to respond to the national emergency Coas spends defence & mar t yrs day in flood-hit areas of Balochistan
ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
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The situation report added that some 11 people had lost their lives due to flash flood during last 24 hours However, overall 1,325 people lost lives and 12,703 got injured so far The Army Aviation, so far, had flown 363 helicopters sorties to various areas for evacuation of stranded people In last 24 hours 25 sorties were flown and evacuated 131 stranded individuals and delivered 32 tonnes of relief items to the flood affectees Moreover, uptill now 3,716 stranded individuals were evacuated through these helicopter sorties Moreover so far 147 relief camps were established in Sindh, South Punjab and Balochistan and 284 relief items collection points were established across the country for collection and onward distribution of relief stores for flood affectees
KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t Citizens of Karachi remain at the mercy of criminals a n d m o r e t h a n 3 5 0 p e o p l e w e r e k i l l e d i n s t r e e t crimes during the first eight months of the current year so far According to a report issued by Citizens P o l i c e L i a i s o n C o m m i t t e e ( C P L C ) , K a r a c h i witnessed an increase in the number of street crime i n c i d e n c e d u r i n g t h e p a s t e i g h t m o n t h s f r o m January 2022 to August 2022 A total of 350 people have been killed and almost 270 people sustained injuries during street crime in the city in the past eight months of this year Almost 5 8 c i t i z e n s l o s t t h e i r l i v e s o v e r r e s i s t a n c e t o t h e i r mugging bids in different parts of the city I n p a s t f i v e d a y s , e i g h t c i t i z e n s w e r e r e p o r t e d d e a d f o r r e s i s t i n g r o b b e r y b i d i n t h e c i t y O v e r 3 2 , 0 0 0 m o t o r b i k e s w e r e s n a t c h e d o r s t o l e n d u r i n g the said period, while 1,300 cars were also stolen or snatched during the past eight months Moreover, the CPLC data also shows that over 17,000 mobile phones were snatched in the city from January 2022 to August 2022 A total of seven cases o f k i d n a p p i n g s f o r r a n s o m w e r e r e g i s t e r e d , w h i l e three cases of extortion were reported in the period K arachi street crimes claim 350 lives in eight months
The National Flood Response and Coordination Centre (NFRCC) on Tuesday updated that the rescue and relief efforts by the armed forces besides civil administration were in the full swing to reduce the burden of the masses in the flood affected areas In a daily situation report issued by the NFRCC here received provided detailed account of the overall rescue and relief efforts across the country It highlighted that the weather forecast stated that scattered thunderstorm and rain of moderate intensity with isolated heavy falls was expected over the upper catchments of all the major rivers along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad Divisions
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Flood rescue, relief effor ts in full swing across countr y’s flood hit areas: NFRCC Japan fm announces $7m emergency grant for Pakistani flood victims
ISLAMABAD S h a h z a d pa R ac h a P R E S I D E N T Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday said that the issues related to appointment of new Vice Chancellor of Baltistan University would be resolved soon, saying delay in the appointment of new VC impacting performance of the university He expressed these views during a meeting with Gilgit Baltistan Governor Syed Mehdi Shah, who called on him here on Tuesday According to official sources, during the meeting matter regarding permanent appointment of Baltistan University VC was discussed in detail The pre s i d e n t s a i d t h e u n i v e r s i t y w a s p l a y i n g a k e y r o l e i n t h e provision of higher education to the people o f G B , u n d e r s c o r i n g t h e n e e d f o r resolution of the issue on priority I t i s t o b e n o t e d t h a t t h e e x i s t i n g V C D r N a e e m K h a n h a s g o t a c o n t r o v e r s i a l indefinite extension through senate of the u n i v e r s i t y l a s t y e a r a n d h e h a d a l s o t r i e d t o g e t r e a p p o i n t e d b y i n f l u e n c i n g t h e r e c r u i t m e n t p r o c e s s a f e w m o n t h s a g o Currently, there is a strong resentment in the university and Skardu against the VC Keeping in view the prolonged protest and subsequent law order situation, the Skardu a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s b a n n e d e n t r y o f t h e controversial BoU VC in the city Earlier his entry in the city was also banned by the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o n t h e o c c a s i o n o f P r e s i d e n t A r i f A l v i a r r i v a l i n S k a r d u t o attend convocation of the university T h e d e c i s i o n o f b a n n i n g h i s e n t r y i n t h e c i t y w a s t a k e n i n v i e w o f t h e s t r o n g p r o t e s t b y s t u d e n t s a n d c i v i l s o c i e t y i n Gilgit Baltistan against the VC D r N a e e m K h a n w h o h a s b e e n a c c u s e d o f i m m o r a l c h a t ( s e x u a l c o n v e r s a t i o n ) w i t h s t u d e n t s a p a r t f r o m f i n a n c i a l c o r r u p t i o n i s l i k e l y t o g e t another term through his own handpicked s e n a t e o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y, w h i c h i s n o w b e i n g o p p o s e d s t r o n g l y n o t o n l y b y t h e students but political, religious parties and civil society Keeping the various protest rallies and s i t i n s h e l d i n t h e c i t y a g a i n s t t h e v i c e chancellor, Skardu Deputy Commissioner Karim Dad Chughtai had banned the entry of VC Prof Dr Naeem Khan to Skardu for two months However the ban has been extended for another three months to avoid any untoward situation in the city Last year, a number of female UOB students accused Dr Naeem of sexual harassment irking the local residents who staged protests for his ouster from the city However, after a gap of nearly a year, Dr Naeem recently regained the post using his connections, causing resentment among the locals once again As per the audit reports of the university the controversial VC has also committed financial irregularities/corruption during his three years long tenure Surprisingly the VC in May 2021 had managed to get an indefinite extension after retirement through the varsity Senate in violation of the rules s i d e n t a s s u R e s e a R ly a P P o i n t m e n t o f n e w V C B a lt i s ta n u n i V e R s i t y
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday summoned a meeting to overview the by elections on three National Assembly seats in Karachi Sources privy to the matter said that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikanadar Sultan Raja will preside over the meeting to review the flood situation in Sindh and upcoming by elections in Karachi In the meeting a report will be asked from the law enforcement agencies and other relevant institutions regarding the availability of the polling staff on the election day It will be decided to hold or postpone the election in the constituencies, sources added K P B E CC s t r i ke d e l ays i n te r m e d i ate re s u l t s ; j e o p a rd i ze s s t u d e n t s a d m i s s i o n E C P s u m m o n s m e e t i n g to ove r v i ew by - e l e c t i o n s i n K a r a c h i
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday fixed for hearing the post arrest bail petition filed by PTI leader Shahbaz Gill in the case of making anti Pakistan Army remarks during a talk show on a private TV channel IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Justice Athar Minallah will take up the petition for the hearing on September 5, 2022 Making SHO Kohsar police station, City Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza and others as respondents in the petition Gill said that he had been arrested by the police on August 9, 2022 “I am a chief staff officer of former prime minister Imran Khan, he said, and added that on August 17 he was examined by senior doctors of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) receives donations for Pakistan flood victims
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Ample world rice supplies to c ushion impac t of Pakistan crop losses S tA f f R e p o R t
Wednesday 7 September 2022 | LAHORE 04 NEWS ISLaMaBaD S tA f f R e p o R t t H e Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition moved by Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI) contesting the acceptance of resig nations of its Members of the Par liament (MPs) in piecemeal declaring the acceptance of the same by Qasim Khan Suri, former deputy speaker of National Assem bly as unconstitutional During the hearing, Faisal Chaudhry, the counsel for PTI, expressed a lack of confi dence in Raja Pervaiz Ashraf the speaker of the National Assembly, saying “his role [in accepting the resignations] is quite dubi ous Chief Justice Athar Minallah objected to the statement, reminding him he could not utter such remarks against the speaker “I take back my words,” Chaudhry re sponded The court told the PTI lawyer that their MPs should have appeared before the House custodian and confirmed resigna tions in person if they had received letters from the speaker ’s office The 11 MNAs whose resignations had been accepted did not visit the speaker and hence 112 others followed suit,” the coun sel replied to the judge The court said the legislators could still visit the speaker s office and verify their resignations
I H C r e j e C t s P t I P l e A C H A l l e n G I n G P I e C e m e A l A C C e P tA n C e o f m P s ’ r e s I G n At I o n s
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Staff RepoRt Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has approved the provi sion of cash compensation for rehabilita tion of houses that were destroyed in the recent floods adding that repatriation of flood affectees is the first priority of the provincial government Chairing the first meeting of the committee to oversee the management and utilization of Chief Minister ’s Flood Relief Fund held here on Tuesday, Mah mood Khan directed the concerned au thorities for opening of donation accounts in all the major banks in order to facilitate donors and philanthropists in addition to involving international donors so that maximum amount can be collected
The chief minister maintained that all the deserving should get their right and necessary steps should be taken in order to prevent misuse of the funds He stated that the provincial govern ment is working sincerely to rehabilitate the maximum number of peoples in the shortest possible time adding that the compensation amount has been increased considerably to make sure that the flood affectees are able to return to their nor mal lives The provincial government stands with its people in this hour of need and all available resources will be brought to their rescue he added
Senator Dr Sania Nishter Provincial Ministers Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Kam ran Bangash, Chief Secretary Dr She hzad Bangash, Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah and other members attended the meeting
SINGapoRe R e u t e R S Abundant rice supplies in key exporters may largely offset an expected drop in output after floods in Pakistan and severe heatwave in China damaged crops, cap ping any gains in prices from steady Asian demand Pakistan, the world’s fourth largest rice exporter, suffered extensive damage to agriculture, including rice, as floods ravaged large swathes of its farmland, while extremely high temperatures in parts of China at the end of August have taken a toll on rice output in the world’s biggest importer of the staple
After flood, cholera taking toll on children
It seems the plight of flood affected people is far from end as after the territorial rains and flood wreaked havoc in Jaffarabad cholera outbreak claimed lives of two children in the area due to unavailability of clean drink ing water and hygienic food in the rural area The out break of gastro has affected dozens of children in jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts, private news chan nel reported on Tuesday The local people urged the health department to established medical camps in vari ous localities in the affected districts to provide free and timely treatment to gastro affected children However, people of the area also complained about the lack of medicines and doctors in the District Headquarters Hos pital and basic healthcare units
A large number of people including women and chil dren thronged Shuhada Park to refresh the 1965 War memories where Indian tanks and warplanes were kept at Chawinda Pasrur tehsil captured during the war Chawinda is known as the world’s biggest graveyard of 600 invading Indian tanks The people evinced keen interest in the Indian tanks and planes displayed there They also lay floral wreaths on the graves of Shuhada and salute them for their bravery During the 1965 Indo Pak war the people of Chawinda Sialkot wrote a golden history of bravery by sacrificing their lives for defending the motherland near Chawinda Sialkot dur ing the September 1965 Indo Pak War The world’s biggest war of the tanks was fought there near Chawinda in 1965, in which the local people laid down under the invading Indian tanks with bombs and blew up themselves, besides, completely destroying hun dreds of Indian army tanks, making Chawinda Sialkot a graveyard of these tanks e s i e g e d by fl o o d s, n at i o n q u i e t l y c o m m e m o r ate s 1 9 6 5 wa r
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said it’s a matter of great pride that the “valiant” army and the “brave” nation have carried forward the proud legacy of the 1965 war be tween Pakistan and India by successfully defanging the menace of militancy and extremism in the over two decades old struggle “Hats off also to the heroes and survivors the men and women in uniform, the personnel of police and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies, who are vig ilantly safeguarding the frontiers of the motherland from the external and internal threats in harsh weathers and hostile environments, the prime minister said in his mes sage on Defence Day observed on Tuesday Today, he said, the nation was paying rich tributes to the brave sons of the soil, especially the dead who laid down their lives while fearlessly and bravely fighting against the enemy “We owe great respect to the parents and families of martyrs who courageously bore the loss of their near and dear ones ” he added While they were celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Pakistan’s independence, the prime minister said his mes sage on the day to the sons and daughters of soil was to keep the flame and the spirit of September 6 alive in their hearts “I call on the nation to forge unity in their ranks, for no conspiracy and challenge can succeed if the people are united in their resolve to protect their freedom and de feat such nefarious elements,” he added He said the best tribute to the sacrifices of their dead was to rebuild Pakistan in line with the vision of the founding fathers “A country that is strong economically, stable politically and harmonious socially can better de fend itself, and promote and safeguard its vital foreign policy objectives This is what the coalition government is aiming to achieve he added Sharif said September 6 was remembered as a symbol of courage, a display of un matched resilience and the spirit of supreme sacrifice by the valiant sons of the soil The war entailed fierce fight ing, particularly between tank units, and it is thought both sides suffered more than 3,000 casualties “On this day, 57 years ago, the brave armed forces of Pakistan proved to the world that they were ever ready to defend every inch of the motherland, no matter what the cost, Sharif added The entire nation, the prime minister said, while displaying unprecedented unity and resolute strength came forward for the support of their armed forces The show of unprecedented unity and solidarity of the nation galvanized the officers and jawans, pilots and sailors in their fight to secure the motherland against the Indian aggression, he added “On this occasion today, I congratulate the military leadership on successfully bringing Operation Raddul Fasaad to its logical conclu sion I also commend the role of the security forces, es pecially the army and navy personnel in saving the lives of thousands of people during recent floods in Balochis tan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab,” the prime minister said
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Chawinda – Graveyard of Indian tanks, warplanes
The PTI counsel argued that the deci sion for acceptance of resignations of 11 MNAs must be annulled “Why are the elections being held on a ‘pick and choose’ basis he asked The court, however, rejected the PTI plea against the phase wise acceptance of resignations Moved last month, the petition said that after the removal of the government of then prime minister Imran Khan PTI de cided to tender its resignation from the Par liament since it was seeking a fresh mandate” from the nation It said that in pursuant to the decision of a meeting of the parliamentary party held in the Parliament House on April 11 123 party MPs tendered resignations which were duly accepted by Suri However the newly elected speaker Ashraf, withheld these resignations and did not forward them to the election Commis sion of Pakistan (eCP) on the pretext of so called verification of the resignation” “Now after the lapse of around three and a half months the speaker approved resigna tions of only 11 MNAs of the PTI” and for warded them to the eCP which has denotified the lawmakers said the petition
However, global rice stockpiles are pretty comfortable and an improving In dian crop outlook should quell any supply concerns and limit any price increases from recent strong demand that has emerged from Bangladesh, said a Singa pore based trader at one of the world’s top rice trading companies Pakistan is fore cast to have lost around 10 percent of its 2022 estimated rice production of around 8 7 million tonnes, while China has suf fered some damage, although the extent of crop losses is not clear, traders said Food prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains ruin crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of fi nancial crisis “Pakistan’s rice output has been re ally good over recent seasons,” Peter Clubb a market analyst at the Interna tional Grains Council (IGC) said “While any large production loss is obviously bad, that improvement in production over recent seasons gives a bit of lee way ” China’s Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian expressed concern that high tem peratures and drought have hit rice pro duction in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui “It is too early to say exactly how poor yields (in China) may be,” Clubb said A general point, stocks in China are still very ample ” MOnsOOn BOOsts inDian CrOP PrOsPECts: Monsoon rains, which were delayed in parts of India’s northern and eastern rice producing regions have improved over the last couple of weeks, boosting crop prospects in the world’s largest rice supplier, traders said India had earlier been examining a need to re strict exports of 100 percent broken rice mainly used for feed purposes But an improvement in rainfall over Indian rice growing areas has ended any discussion of government restrictions on exports, said a second trader in Singa pore who sells Indian rice to buyers in Asia and Africa
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Brick workers need kilns reignited after floods RaJaNpUR A h m A d S A A d The brick kilns that dominate the small village of Aqilpur in Punjab now lie abandoned furnaces extinguished by weeks of torrential rain that have caused the worst floods in the country’s history Though the floods that engulfed Aqilpur and its surrounding fields have receded from the highs of a week ago, the kilns are still sur rounded by water Most of those who lived on site part of the nation s millions strong workforce known as “daily wagers” because of their piecemeal salaries abandoned their homes for higher, dry ground “I come here daily on my bicycle and go from one kiln to another to look for work but find nothing,” said Muham mad Ayub, an itinerant labourer Now, a road that runs through the village has become a kind of town square for the kiln workers who find them selves both homeless and out of work Ayub, 40, has a sick mother and an eight year old daughter to provide for When his home was destroyed in the torrential rains that preceded the flood he sent them to a relative’s house close to the vil lage But once the flood hit, his family was forced to take refuge at a makeshift campsite on higher ground outside the village E a r n i n g l E s s t h a n $3 a s h i f t: There are thousands of small brick factories and kilns scattered across much of Pakistan a vital sup plier of building materials for the nation of 220 mil lion For now, mounds of bricks that should be making their way to building sites across the country lie partially submerged in floodwater Ayub worked 12 hours a night making bricks, earning less than $3 (600 rupees) a shift for his labours He would spend the mornings working the fields surrounding the village, and was only able to sleep briefly in the afternoon before his shift began again
The CM maintained that the provin cial government was well aware of the problems being faced by the flood af fectees and the provincial government’s helicopter has also been dedicated for re lief and rehabilitation operations since day one Currently the helicopter is busy in re lief and rehabilitation operations in Lower Kohistan Besides other relief ac tivities, 6000 kg food items have been provided to flood activities in Ranoliya Dobair, Kehal and Chawadara areas of Lower Kohistan Food packages being provided to flood affectees include Wheat Flour, Ghee, Tea, Sugar, Pulses and other food items
KP CM approves compensation for rehabilitation of destroyed houses
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China offers to share disaster management experienCe
Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman met with the French Ambassador to Pakistan H E Nicolas Galey, briefing him of the challenges the country is facing in the current relief efforts and the assistance required for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees H E Mr Nicolas Galey expressed solidarity with the people of Pakistan on the devastation wreaked by the floods and assured full support from the French government Thanking the French Ambassador for their support, Federal Minister Sherry Rehman said, We appreciate France s support in these tough times and would require assistance in the rehabilitation and relief process The devastation on ground is much more than we have ever encountered even in the 2010 floods We have not seen a humanitarian disaster of such epic proportions More than 5,700 km of metaled roads and 246 bridges have been severely damaged in the 81 calamity hit regions, cutting communication lines making relief and rescue herculean challenge ” Apprising H E of the assistance needed in the flood hit regions, Minister Rehman said, We need to rebuild adaptive and resilient infrastructure Moreover, we are now bracing for a health emergency due to the water borne diseases such as cholera and dengue Health assistance is imperative due to fragility and vulnerability on ground as people are surviving under open skies, waiting for government assistance ay obser ved with zeal and zest in A JK P a k i s t a n c o n n e c t e d w i t h F r a n c e t h r o u g h s u b m a r i n e c a b l e
sherr y tells french ambassador: Urgent rehabilitation of flood affectees imperative IsLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
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IsLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between national University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (nUCES FAST) and Sir Syed CASE Institute of Technology (SS CASE IT) for a period of five years This MOU reflects effort to promote academic collaboration Its mandate is to support each other in improving the quality and delivery of their graduate (PhD and MS) Programs through students and faculty exchange This MOU also fortifies the join efforts in training of their ad ministrative and technical staff, in imparting of recorded lectures of various graduate level courses in Computing, Engineering and Management both Institutions resolve to extend cooperation in admis sions and as well as in the realm of IT sector for the development and progress of Pakistan The Centre for Advanced Research in Engineering (C@RE Pvt Ltd), which is the industrial partner and arm of SS CASE IT shall be providing intern ships to students of nUCES FAST
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Federal Secretary for Housing and Works Iftikhar Ali Shallwani chaired a meeting in which he was briefed on the pace of development work of Sector G 14/1, and Park Road Housing Scheme, Islamabad During the course of meeting Iftikhar Ali Shallwani emphasized the need to escalate the pace of development work Also, he was apprised of the developments made on the earlier directions he gave while visiting the sites Secretary Housing directed to remove all illegal encroachments from sector G 14/1, so, that the rightful allottees to be given the possession at the earliest He also advised relevant federal departments and demanded their full support and cooperation to resolve the issues as soon as possible in collaboration with FGEHA to deliver the plots and modern residential facilities to the federal employees DG, FGEHA, and officials from Ministry of Interior ICT Islamabad Police attended the meeting
The bleeding Indian illegally occupied Jammu & Kashmir, speakers on Tuesday while paying rich tributes to the martyrs as well as ghazis of historic India Pakistan war of 1965, said that Kashmiris struggle for freedom, was infact the movement for com pletion of Pakistan The simple but impressive ceremony was hosted by the Convener Jammu Kash mir Free Media Association with coordina tion of other local social and political organizations including the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) AJK Chapter ’s President Munir Hussain Chaudhry and others here on Tues day to mark the defense day of Pakistan AJK Government’s Secretary Informa tion (Retd) Shoukat Majeed Mallick Advo cate was the chief guest at the ceremony presided over by Central President Jammu Kashmir Union of Journalists illustrious Kashmiri journalist Hafiz Maqsood Mirpur Addressing the ceremony, speakers in cluding Shoukat Majeed Mallick, PPP SB AJK President Muneer Hussain Chaudhry, Convener JKFMA Altaf Hamid Rao, Presi dent JKUJ Hafiz Maqsood Mirpur, Sr Jour nalist Sohrab Ahmed Khan former President Kashmir Press Club Mirpur Sajaad Jaraal and others said that September 6 the De fense Day of Pakistan was the day of re newal of the pledge by entire nation to remain alert and vigilant to make the defense of the country in case of any threat from across the frontiers Expressing grave concern over the fast deteriorating situation human rights in the bleeding valley of Indian Illegally occupied Jammu Kashmir following the continual in definite curfew, lock down and communica tion blockade and other heavy restrictions by over a million of Indian occupying forces, speakers called upon the United nations and the global human rights organizations to im mediate move for intervening to save the lives of the innocent freedom loving Kash miri population who have been caged since over past one year in to their houses by the fascist and hardliner Indian Prime minister Modi led military para military and puppets state administration for their “crime” of rais ing revolt against the long forced and unlaw ful Indian rule over their motherland Speaking on this occasion the Chief guest Shoukat Majeed Mallick Advocate,
HInA has offered Pakistan its full support in sharing ex perience in disaster relief, post disaster reconstruction and formulating reconstruc tion plans During an online meeting with the national Disaster Manage ment Agency (nDMA) chairman, Luo Zhaohui, the director of the China In ternational Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) said that in the next step, China is ready to support Pakistan in the reconstruction of the flood hit areas, and is willing to share its own experience and techniques In the past, China has been highly vulnerable to earthquakes, floods, droughts, fires, typhoons, blizzards and pandemics It has long experienced its fair share of natural disasters Against a backdrop of rapid eco nomic growth and an ever changing climate that threatens to increase the frequency and severity of adverse nat ural events, China has been making headway to reduce vulnerability and prepare for the inevitable The country has applied technology to disasters in creative ways Talking to the media, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said: “The world has to be a partner in rehabilitation and reconstruction We need to build re silient infrastructure that can withstand climate change The federal govern ment says it has a three point strategy rescue and relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction It is urging the world to step forward to help the country at this difficult moment Rehabilitation and reconstruction are bound to be an enormous challenge for Pakistan as the country’s unprece dented flooding has forced nearly half a million people to leave their homes and move into relief camps The devastating floods have eroded towns and buildings and affected forests Infrastructure in cluding roads, dams, schools, bridges, railway tracks and electricity supply lines have been damaged According to the nDMA, at least 498,000 people are currently in tempo rary shelters after swirling waters either engulfed or damaged over a million homes, 3,500 kilometres (2,174 8 miles) of roads and 162 bridges
nUCes-fast signs moU with sir syed Case institute
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Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Shahram Khan Tarakai on Tuesday said that 723,000 children have been enrolled in ongoing en rollment campaign across the province The enrollment campaign was started in Au gust and extended till September 10, due to flood situation in various districts of the province The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education started admission campaign under the Parega to Barega Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in all schools of the province to increase literacy rate and enroll dropout students In a statement is sued here Shahram Tarakai said: Admission will continue in both first and second shift schools to gether so that the children working in the first shift can also get an opportunity to study He said: “This year the entire admission cam paign system will be digitized for which the educa tion department has created an app and complete data of all children would be available online on the dash board ” All the record of the newly admitted students promoted to middle high and higher secondary level along with complete details would be registered The education minister said: “This year a target of en rolling one million children has been set for which admission campaign will be conducted at every dis trict, tehsil, village council and circle level, adding this year admission campaign local elders senior students, parents teachers council members, scouts and school heads will conduct door to door admis sion campaign to enroll children in schools News Desk
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Retired Secretary Information of AJK gov ernment , called upon the world community to take immediate notice of the increased ag gressive Indian posture in the region to avert rising threat of nuclear conflict in the region Similar special ceremonies to observe the defense day were held in AJK People from various parts of AJK also visited the mausoleums of the martyrs of 1965 and 1971 wars at the places close to their respec tive home stations including in Jhelum, Gu jrat, Rawalpindi districts and offered fateha secy reviews pace of work on sector g-14/1
Pakistan & East Africa Con necting Europe (PEACE) Cable International network Co Ltd has completed the construction of a submarine cable infrastruc ture, providing connectivity from Karachi to Marseille France The Pakistan Egypt seg ment connects Karachi and Za farana, Egypt total length of which is 5,800 KM The con nectivity from Pakistan to France is now fully completed and ready for service This was informed by the management of PEACE Cable whose officials held online and in person meeting with Chair man PTA Maj Gen Amir Azeem Bajwa (R) at PTA Head quarters The delegation com prised of Peace Management COO, Mr Sun Xiaohua, Peace Management Director Mr Zhang Donghai Commercial Director Mr Chirs Zhang, (On line) and Peace Cable, Country Manager Pakistan Mr Shoaib Ashfaq Qureshi, (In Person) The delegation expressed its interest for investment opportu nities in Pakistan and discussed future plans for development of innovative digital & technology solutions to accelerate progress towards Digitally Connected Pakistan PEACE cable is a 15,000 km submarine cable from Pakistan to France, extended from Pakistan to Singapore for an additional 6,500km, with main trunk landing in Singapore, Pakistan Kenya Egypt and France and branches to the Mal dives, Malta, Cyprus, etc This submarine cable adds an ultra fast, high capacity, low latency and redundant connec tivity to Pakistan’s international connectivity
Lately unsubstantiated complaints against BOP and its staff have been circulating on social media alleging contributions/donations to Chief Minister ’s Flood Re lief Fund) are being discouraged The total number of such complaints received from social media, BOP’s contact Center and Complaints’ email address are merely 14 hitherto All complaints have been investigated and all of them have been found to be without merit or based on misunderstanding or lack of understanding on the part of customers BOP has been at the forefront of CM Punjab flood relief collections and has opened the maximum num ber of channels for customers including branches, ATMs, Mobile App & Internet Banking, local and in ternational credit cards foreign inward remittances through banking channels, exchange companies and Roshan Samaaji Khidmat (RDA) BOP has also been the only Bank that has exten sively advertised flood relief donations into CM Flood Relief Fund account through TVCs, social media and reaching its own customers through SMS messages on a daily basis since the launch As a result, more than 50,000 donations amount ing to more than Rs 1Bn have landed in the CM Flood Relief Fund) account maintained by the Bank; and another over Rs 700 million is in the pipeline through the local and international credit card collec tions All this has been done in a short span of time, overcoming teething issues like IT development & staff training etc Some problems that were encoun tered at the start have been identified and resolved, and BOP branch staff is properly trained and is vigi lant in serving customers walking into our branches to make donations into flood relief accounts of their own choice The message for providing priority seamless services for the collections of flood relief funds to the staff at the branches have been reiterated time and again from the highest levels in the organization and will be ensured going forth as well given the nature of this national calamity in which the entire staff of BOP is grieved and ready to deliver going an extra mile in their of duty complaints against Bank of Punjab and its staff 0.7m children enrolled in govt schools during ongoing admission drive: Tarak ai
IsLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t
Unfounded
W h y i s t h e s t a t e h a v i n g t o d e f i n e ‘g o o d ’ v e r s u s ‘ b a d ’ I s l a m ?
D r
06 Wednesday 7 September 2022 COMMENT Lahore Ph: 042 36300938, 042 36375965 I K arachi Ph: 021 35381208 9 I Islamabad Ph: 051 2204545 I Web: www pakistantoday com pk I Email: editorial@pakistantoday com pk
Freedom of speech
establishment’s experiment of running the country jointly with the PTI’s civilian government with both sides reading from the same page was bound to turn sour Bad governance in Punjab, the largest province of the country, marked by too frequent bureaucratic reshuffles, gross mismanagement of the national economy leading to wheat, sugar and fertilizer shortages, and a defective foreign policy leading to complaints from friendly countries, led the Army to belatedly realize that it was bound to be criticized for the failures of the PTI government The patronization of the PTI however continued till then PM Imran khan was seen to be interfering in the Army’s sphere The PTI chief refused to allow the ISI chief to be transferred in accordance with the schedule announced by the ISPR With the opposition trying to dislodge Mr khan, he maintained that he needed the spy chief he relied upon to counter the opposition’s machinations This was something unheard of in matters related to army transfers The experiment in hybrid democracy was harmful as it led rulers to rely on and look up to the establishment rather than the people Similarly it led to relaxation in Army discipline As the opposition initiated the no confidence move against Imran khan, the Army decided to turn neutral Mr khan reacted strongly against this According to the PTI leadership it was the duty of the Army to act as a vigilant watchmen to foil the conspiracies hatched by dacoits and looters Mr khan referred to the no confidence move as a foreign conspiracy and accused the ‘neutrals’ of playing the role of Mir Jaffar and Mir Qasim Instead of burning its fingers in political experiments like hybrid democracy or government by technocrats, the establishment would do well to look after national defence and help the affected population facing the rain cum flood disaster The army possesses the necessary training and has the required means to help the suffering millions It should leave politics to politicians With the courts and the Election Commission of Pakistan working freely and the media performing its duty without restrictions, the system is capable of rectifying any abnormalities and meeting major challenges
Joint Editor
Dedicated to the legac y of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late)
A few of the policy steps that can be undertaken are the following: Reconstitution of Indus River Sys tem Authority (IRSA), a comprehensive reestablish ment of Ministry of Climate Change at federal level and establishment of its sister ministries at provincial level, devolution of Disaster management authorities to district level Moreover Pakistan at the moment is in utmost need of new administrative units to tackle governance and political issues in all aspects As for structural reforms the following steps should immediately be taken: New water reservoirs to tackle flood waters in case of heavy rains and to harvest rainwater for use in case of drought a new cross channel water irrigation system in lower Indus delta situated at the confluence of south Pun jab, northern Sindh and northeast Balochistan, a new national climate information tuned satellite, eradication of fossil fuels, comprehensive hybrid and electric vehicles induction, rehabilitation of urban sewers, new master plans of metropolitan areas, and river head works in northern areas In addition to that, cli mate justice should be incor porated into the constitution through parliamentary legislation so that the rights of people are secured as well as the protection of lives and properties are ensured To achieve these objectives, the first and fore most goal must be of political stability This is nec essary to create a national consensus on climate change and bring about necessary economic rehabil itative policies to steer the country into economic growth
The first and foremost goal must be of political stability. This is necessar y to create a national consensus on climate chang e and bring about necessar y economic rehabilitative policies to steer the countr y into economic growth Yo u m ay r e c a l l w h e n t h e O b a m a W h i t e H o u s e s p o n s o r e d a s u m m i t fo r “ M u s l i m e n t r e p r e n e u rs ” w h i ch t h ey d e s c r i b e d a s fo c u s i n g o n e n t r e p r e n e u rs f ro m “ M u s l i m - m a j o r i t y c o u n t r i e s a n d M u s l i m c o m mu n i t i e s a ro u n d t h e wo r l d . ” A s i d e f ro m t ro u bl i n g q u e s t i o n s a b o u t w h a t m e s s ag e t h i s s e n d s t o bu s i n e s s p e o p l e f ro m t h e A r a b Wo r l d o r I n d o n e s i a o r e l s ew h e r e w h o m ay n o t b e M u s l i m washington watch D r J a m e s J Z o g b y
A farewell to hybrid democracy
Yousaf Nizami Editor
Editor
Despite President George W Bush indicating that America was carrying out God’s will in the Iraq war we knew not to refer to that con flict as a “Christian” war This understanding, how ever, has not carried over to our discussion of Islam For reasons beyond the scope of this short piece when dealing with Islam, political leaders, media commentators, and ordinary folk here in the West ap pear intent on using religious language to describe every aspect of life and all forms of behaviour both good and bad, as “Muslim ” In doing so, we create confusion for ourselves and others, leading at times, to incoherence and some very strange policies For example, faced with the threat of individuals and groups using the religious language of Islam to validate their acts of terror, we refer to them as “Muslim terror ists But then because we recognize that they represent only a tiny fraction of Mus lims, we maintain that they “don’t speak for Islam ” This then leads us down the tortu ous path of attempting to de fine what is “good” Islam versus “bad” Islam creat ing a kind of state sanc tioned” interpretation of a faith something we under stood not to do when it in volves Christianity Another example: A col league, for whom I have the greatest respect wrote a book in which he first cor rectly debunks the notion of “Muslim terrorists ” but then goes on to write a chapter about “Muslim oil” by which he means oil coming from Gulf and Central Asian and some African countries If Muslim oil can be defined in this way, does that make US and Canadian oil “Christian” or “secular democratic” oil? Should we consider Venezuelan oil Bolivarian oil? You may recall when the Obama White House sponsored a summit for “Muslim entrepreneurs” which they described as focusing on entrepreneurs from “Muslim majority countries and Muslim com munities around the world Aside from troubling questions about what message this sends to business people from the Arab World or Indonesia or else where who may not be Muslim or what local sectarian tensions such an effort may exacerbate, what exactly is a “Muslim entrepreneur”? Or, for that matter what is a Christian entrepreneur” or “Hindu en trepreneur”? We continue to hold the line on treating Christianity and the acts of its nominal adherents in a similar fash ion When Donald Trump had troops disperse “Black Lives Matter demonstra tors in front of the White House so he could march through Lafayette Square and pose in front of St John’s Church holding up a Bible, was that a Christian action? When the Republi can candidate for governor of Pennsylvania proclaims himself to be a “Christian Nationalist,” do we accept that at face value? At the end of the day there are xenophobic nation alists, there are terrorists, there is oil and there are people who start up and run businesses They are better defined by what they do and not by their faith For gov ernment or the rest of us to insist on defining them by faith, or even how they de scribe themselves or how they define their actions is at best careless It also runs the risk of Western gov ernments treading into the murky waters of defining good or acceptable religion or of applying a reli gious litmus test on groups which, in itself, makes a political statement that is most certainly none of our business and can be dangerous
T H E
Furthermore, the Meteorological Department, disaster management authorities and related min istries are not only ill equipped, lack capacity but are entirely corrupt The results we see today are nothing but destruction and ruination across the country As per latest satellite imagery approx 55000 sq km of the country is inundated, 33 million people are inter nally displaced and rehabilitation costs standing at $10 billion The proverbial “A stitch in time saves nine” happens to be the truest for Pakistan today But at the same time, it is never too late, and also remains there for the country In order to evade future climate related disasters, which are to come one after another, the country needs to revisit its priorities at all levels
B Y the time this editorial had started being written the topic under discussion was the unfair and arbitrary closure of B O L News, a television channel most critical of the incumbent government By the time it was filed the government had outdone itself and had, prima facie, blocked YouTube across the nation’s internet during a massive rally of former prime minister Imran khan The powers that be just don’t learn During the previous government, they had taken worse steps The decision on B O L has at least come through a PEMRA notification That decision is justiciable, just the way IBC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had overturned the one on ARY But during the previous government, channels used to simply go off air in certain parts of the country without explanation; enabled by an arm twisting of the cable operators some of whom are more than ready to oblige without any pressure And then there was the unannounced ban on certain newspapers being distributed in certain areas; censorship tactics that had fallen behind the times by the second half of the 20th century In the case of B O L News, the reason cited, that of a lack of security clearance, seems to have been realized at a rather convenient time Akin to an airline pilot’s credentials being revoked after 10 years, only when he started raising his voice against management There is no way a democracy and modern polity can be run this way The freedom of expression and access to information is an inalienable right of citizens in any democracy It is about time we got that out of the way Nations that merely hold elections, and those, too, in a shadowy and opaque manner, cannot be called democracies And the spirit of the Argumentative Indian as Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen calls it renders us unable to accept anything other than an open democracy one the lends itself to open debate Let the newspaper routes, the airwaves, and the internet gateways, be free from state suppression, if not regulation …and access B A C k in the 1960s Americans were deeply divided on matters of war and race and Christians in America were on both sides of the divide While Reverend Martin Luther king Jr and religious leaders asso ciated with his Southern Christian Leadership Con ference led protests and committed acts of civil disobedience demanding civil rights they were coun tered by white Christian preachers in the south who warned of the dangers of violating God’s will by ig noring the punishment God had meted out to the “sons of Ham ” And while New York’s Catholic Car dinal Francis Spellman traveled to Vietnam to bless U S troops as they battled godless Communism a Jesuit priest, Daniel Berrigan, led fellow clergymen and women in protests against the war, often resulting in their arrest and imprisonment (in one case for burning the Selective Service files of young men who were to be drafted to serve in the military) During this entire period I do not recall Christi anity being described as a warlike or racist faith Nor do I recall king and Berrigan being referred to as Christian protesters We did not engage in drawn out theological debates in an effort to determine which interpretation of Christianity was correct Rather we defined these individuals by what they did There were either “segregationists” or “civil rights leaders,” not “Christian segregationists” or “Christian civil rights leaders They were supporters of the war” or “peace activists, not “Christian supporters of the war” or “Christian peace activists ” What we may have understood, at least implic itly, was that just because a person or institution uses religious language to validate certain behaviours that does not make their behaviour religious Nor does this behaviour define by itself the religion to which the person or institution adheres This is something that many in the West still understand, at least when it comes to Christianity
Founding Editor M A Niazi Joint Editor
The climate crisis threatens ever ything
06-07 Comments - 7th September 2022_Layout 1 9/6/2022 11:38 PM Page 1
Currently, Pakistan seems to be a house on fire and it needs immediate actions to put that fire off before every drop of water runs out The writer can be reached at drumairashraf95@gmail com U m a i r a s h r a f
A h o u s e o n f i r e S t o p a b u s i n g r e l i g i o n
Umar Aziz Executive Aziz ud Din Ahmad “ I don’t want you to be hopeful I want you to panic I want you to act like your house is on fire, because it is ” Greta Thunberg worded this statement in its truest sense for the world is facing the climate change crisis which is an existential threat But this crisis has become worse for the developing world as it stands fighting economic recession, so ciopolitical deterioration and many other non tradi tional security threats Pakistan faces the climate crisis as an existential threat at the same time it faces many other problems It has become hard to comprehend what is more devastating for Pakistan at the point The ravaging political environment or the natural environ ment itself as it seems Pakistan is merely a click away from spiraling into complete destruction? Despite the fact that in historical terms, Pakistan has stayed one of those countries which contributed minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, for the last two decades, it has been suffering from a wors ening climate change situation at home The floods in 2010 2011 caused destruction on an unprecedented scale and it took years to rehabilitate the affected areas Since then climate change events like urban heat waves, glacier meltdowns, glacial lake outburst floods, atypical thunderstorms, flash floods and so on have been occurring more than usual Currently as of this moment, Pakistan is facing floods across the country at an unprecedented scale yet again This year s monsoon rains have caused havoc across the country There have been eight spells of monsoon already and as per the reports of the Mete orological Department a ninth spell is expected to enter the country around mid September and heavy rainfall is expected in the north west and south east areas across all four provinces At a time when floods are in process of ruining everything coming in their path, a new spell of heavy rains across the country may prove to be fatal The big question here is what brought us to this critical point? The answer is simple Like everything else in our governance matters climate change crisis management has been neglected for the last two decades Although Pakistan adopted its first compre hensive National Climate Change Policy in 2012, it has seen zero to no progress in its implementation Many reviews were undertaken in this policy in later years along with supplementary national policies on hazardous substances, forestation, sanitation and electric vehicles etc However owing to the continu ous political instability and change of governments, a thorough implementation of climate related policies in the country has been a far fetched dream Succes sive governments have neg lected the fact that Pakistan has been on the red list of climate change related crises despite been warned by International agencies and the United Nations En vironment Program (UNEP) Governance has been an issue with the coun try since its inception 75 years ago Nevertheless today, poor governance cou pled with a debilitating economy and extreme polit ical instability has mani fested the hugely vulnerable position of Pakistan Another issue with cli mate change mitigation and adaptation is the 18th Amend ment and lack of interprovin cial coordination and cooperation, and federal provincial ties As a result, many climate related reforms development projects and management related policies have faced a dead end In addition to that, climate related policies have deeply been politicized in the country and thus an acute political polarization has taken away the good of that Nationalistic politics has been played on issues of new dams forestation new irrigation systems and administrative devolution, among other things
The writer is President of the Arab American Institute
to information Le ave p o l i t i c s t o p o l i t i c i a n s
T H E recent torrential rainfall that wreaked havoc on various parts of Pak istan follows a calamitous pattern of climate change in the global south Today, millions of people in the devel oping countries are facing the brunt of exploita tion of the earth’s climate perpetrated by the global north Excessive flooding, extreme rain fall and blistering heatwaves are spawning im mense destruction in the regions south of the equator, mainly due to the industrial activities that started in the 18th century in Europe By the time the global community sensed the down sides of using carbon based fuels (crude oil, coal natural gas) for energy consumption the water was already above the head and millions of people were paying with their lives, liveli hoods and homes mostly in the global south As soon as the developed countries started ad vocating the use of clean energy sources hy dropower solar wind energy instead of relying on carbon emitting fossils, to save the global envi ronment from further deterioration, the developing countries came up with an unprecedented narrative of ‘climate Justice ’ It says that global climate was atrociously exploited by the global north to an ex tent that in contemporary times, global south is bearing the dire consequences of it To put it into perspective, the developed countries have, historically, contributed around 92 percent of the excess carbon dioxide emis sions that are now ravaging the lives of the peo ple residing in relatively poor countries For instance, Pakistan contributes less than one per cent towards the global emissions of greenhouse gases but it is constantly ranked among the top ten countries most affected by climate change Similarly, the entire African continent has con tributed only three percent of the total global car bon emissions but currently African countries are encountering the most dreadful consequences of climate change On top of that, the developing countries are now being coerced to instantly halt the use of fossil fuels for energy purposes and to adopt renewable energy sources in order to pre vent an utter desolation of the planet While the efforts to keep the Earth’s ecosys tem livable for miscellaneous species are compre hensible the major concern for developing countries remains that climate change has not im pacted every region of the world in a uniform manner The industrial activities of the profit yearning capitalists in the developed countries are responsible for the incumbent catastrophic situa tion of the earth s climate hence there exists an additional responsibility on the global north to pay reparations to the global south for the damages they have caused Moreover the global south being poor would require huge financial assistance to establish necessary infrastructure in order to confront the harrowing threats of climate change In response, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) was established after the Cancun’s COP 16 in 2010 at which world leaders pledged to allocate $100 billion per year in climate finance to the de veloping countries from 2020 onwards, so that they could address the gruesome impacts of cli mate change to the best of their capacities How ever, only $83 3 billion was mobilized for climate finance in 2020 as per the Organization for Eco nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD), well below the intended target of $100 billion For this reason, the pledged amount of $100 nillion is now to be reached by the year 2023, provided that all the anticipated courses of action remain intact This goes to show the seriousness of the devel oped countries with respect to furthering the cli mate mitigation and adaptation endeavours, when the actual cost of the climate impacts is estimated to be around $5 9 trillion by 2030 All hue and cry of the global north to incen tivize the vulnerable nations least responsible for causing climate change to curb their carbon emissions, is all but a fallacious manifestation of perfidy especially when the climate mitigation efforts are being dealt with by loans to be paid back and not grants Oxfam reported in 2020 that 80 percent of the total climate finance awarded to the developing countries were actu ally loans, which in turn continues to plunge the climate affected countries into a debt cycle, in debting them to those who are actually responsi ble for their sufferings Moreover, the fossil fuels companies in the developed countries are con stantly lobbying to block the efforts to regulate carbon emissions and running malicious PR cam paigns to discredit viable energy alternatives These giant companies, instead of coping with the green climate agenda are negotiating for and setting up their plants in the global south to avoid carbon taxation and the carbon cap maximum carbon emissions sanctioned in their states As things stand, the world is on its way to a disastrous 2 4˚C rise in global temperature by the end of the century Fossil fuels still make up around 80 percent of the global energy and will continue to do so in the near future, and the global south will keep on suffering from its repercussions If the global community is actually serious about mitigating the climate crisis and shifting to wards renewable energy sources, they must first ensure climate justice for the global south The burdensome debts foisted on the low income countries must be waived as they spend much more on servicing these debts than dealing with the challenges of climate change in the first place Just like the war crimes and mass genocide, eco cide must be made an international crime so that no can dare to vandalize the earth s climate All fossil fuel subsidies must be halted at the earliest, which according to the IMF were $5 9 trillion or 6 8 percent of the global GDP in 2020 and are expected to surge up to $7 4 trillion by 2025 Additionally, international banks must stop funding new fossil fuels projects to prevent the climate from further deterioration and in stead, long term funding sources must be created to help the global south s transition to climate friendly infrastructure The provision of $100 billion in climate finance to the developing countries must be ensured as soon as possible, and as it is not enough consensus must be made to increase this amount gradually Mitigation finance remains the main focus of the global north as of now but in order to make applicative strides towards countering the climate crisis, adaptation finance must get due attention as well Green energy is the way to go if the global community wishes to survive, and for that the infrastructure overhaul in the global south is the responsibility of the developed countries, because it is their mess which is caus ing devastation in the low income countries
07 Wednesday 7 September 2022 COMMENT Crown W I T H India continuing to trouble its own minority communities, the United kingdom which colonised the subcontinent for long continues to shamelessly look the other way A YouGov opinion poll says three in four British people believe the Empire is something to be proud of rather than ashamed of They also think it left its colonies better off and a third would like it to still exist The subcontinent, which comprised Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, possessed some of the richest cultures across the globe Many modern day conventions sprout from these lands and their layered heritage is unrivalled The colonisers called it the jewel in the crown as it had abundant natural resources: notably precious material spices and fertile land The Mughal Empire, which ruled over the majority of India until the British took over, has gone down in history as one of the most reasonable and fair keepers of any ancient society Religion and tradition together created a unified, prosperous society Many people who took part in the YouGov poll would probably resort to the good aspects the British Empire brought like railways political concepts and education The disenchanting reality is that these are all paper mâché medals drenched in cheap, acrylic paint that have been embedded into the British education system While the British did build the first railway system in India, this luxury was reserved for whites only It was used for trade purposes; simply a transport system that carried the fruit of British exploitation Western politics may have banned some inhuman practices, but what school history lessons miss out on is the fact that colour based discrimination was built into the justice system A white man killing a brown man would receive 20 months in jail A brown man stealing from a white man would receive 20 years in jail Are people seriously confusing historic ‘Western politics’ with institutional racism? Finally, education in the form of degree qualification is just a blatant lie
D
MUJEEB ALI SAMO LARKANA
Profits and priorities
Enemy inside
A S a nation, had we been duly vaccinated with Quaid i Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s pearls of wisdom at our birth 75 years ago, we surely would not have been left traumatised and truncated before age 25 and would not have been hobbling along since then like a polio stricken victim Pity the nation that indulges in self denial and imagines its enemies elsewhere That fact is that we shattered Jinnah s dream early on Singling out politicians and demonising them alone is condescending and unfair Polarisation has been naturally precipitated when elite capture, cartelisation, patronage cronyism social injustice and economic disparity were practised in the name of democracy We would do well to remember the Quaid’s considered view that corruption was a cancer, and his strong directives to ensure adherence to the oath of one s service All organs of the state bear a collective responsibility for our failures, including the media that claims to be the ‘fourth pillar ’ None remains unfettered even today when elite capture rules the roost by excluding the saner voices All state functionaries are duty bound to serve the people who pay for their upkeep and expect them to deliver on good governance in line with their designated responsibilities and accountabilities Most political parties and politicians have been ‘midwifed’ into government by dictators who have periodically usurped power and who were facilitated by the ‘doctrine of necessity’
The writer is a freelance columnist a t e J u s t i c e f o r G l o b a l S o u t h r a i m a h m a m a l i k
The first university was founded by Fatima Al Fihri in Morocco in 859AD The Mughals brought her convention along with other developments to India at a time when the British did not even allow fundamental rights, such as women attending a university, during the 19th century After the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, social reform has risen from the ashes of historical racism People of colour are no longer bowing to the wrath of Western bigotry It is time to acknowledge the raw truth of our ancestral past, and teach the children the difference between prowess and prejudice British rapacity ignited communal discord as part of its divide and rule policy It is this very policy that lies at the heart of human rights violations in India today If the British are wondering about what they have to do with this, they have to look no farther than the kohinoor diamond that sits rather uneasily on the queen’s crown HAKIM HUSSAIN HUDDERSFIELD, ENGLAND
Conser vation of wildlife
C l i m
W H I L E people are generally trying to help the flood victims to the extent that they can there are those busy making undue profit even during such hard times People in Larkana are victims at the hands of such a mafia Since the demand for plastic sheets for covering rooftops of mud houses during rains has increased the price of the per metre plastic sheet has rocketed to Rs300, which otherwise was Rs50 Prioritising profit over human lives and misery is utterly shameful
ARIBA
s h U
06-07 Comments - 7th September 2022_Layout 1 9/6/2022 11:38 PM Page 2
Finally, it is rather rich to believe that we enjoy freedom of speech or expression as our fundamental right Rule of law has to be applied equitably and universally, and should not be cherry picked
ZIA HASHMI KARACHI
PA k I S TA N is known for its biodiversity, including endemic wildlife species and is home to spectacular wild animals and birds Unfortunately a lot of exotic animals are close to extinction The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Pakistan’s climate change ministry have compiled a list of critically endangered species Over 50 species in the list are on the verge of extinction These include snow leopards, flare horned markhors, Marco Polo sheep, Ladakh urial musk deer brown bear woolly lying squirrel Indus River dolphin tigers, cheetahs, golden mahaseer, green sea turtles, long billed vultures, yellow eyes pigeons, vole, caracal and mountain gorillas Climate change, anthropogenic activities such as habitat fragmentation poaching hunting killing, and anti environment practices lead to extinction The general population should be made aware of the importance of wildlife conservation The extinction of animals should be treated seriously If these endangered species continue to vanish at the current pace, Pakistan will lose the magnificence of its landscape ALI HYDERABAD E d i t o r ’ s m a i l S e n d y o u r l e t t e r s t o : L e t t e r s t o E d i t o r Pakistan Today 4 S h a a re y F a t i m a J i n n a h , L a h o re , P a k i s t a n E m a i l : l e t t e r s @ p a k i s t a n t o d a y c o m p k L e t t e r s s h o u l d b e a d d re s s e d t o Pakistan Today e x c l u s i v e l y
CerviCal CanCer va x Big leap for women’s preventive healthcare Tribune
Kate Jeffery, a professor of behavioural neuroscience at university College London compares people’s reac tions to the Covid crisis “People were personally af fected by a very direct danger, yet despite all the evidence about the dangers of the virus we saw very bizarre behaviour with people not getting vaccinated, not avoiding hazardous situations and not wearing masks,” she says The reasons why people seemingly ignore problems that threaten their very existence are complex and depend largely on how we assess risks, says Jeffery We tend to think we configure our beliefs based on ev idence, but I increasingly think that this is not the case ” Instead, we rationalise our beliefs in retrospect, she adds, and it is our beliefs irrational and distant from reality as they may be that drive our behaviour We politicians, businesses and individuals there fore largely accept that climate change is real An Office for National Statistics survey from October 2021 showed that three quarters of British adults were very or some what worried about the impacts of a warming world We rationalise our polluting behaviours, however, by telling ourselves that personal change is “pointless” unless everybody is else is also doing just as much Likewise we prefer to prioritise short term needs winning an election or immediate gratification over long term aims And while disasters like that unfolding in Pakistan may inspire some to act, they may “frighten others so much that they simply shut down”, Jeffery says The psychoanalyst Sally Weintrobe also underlines the “need to understand how different groups and differ ent parts of the mind perceive the threat of climate change very differently She doubts that many of those currently in charge are actually capable of solving climate change because they are “driving the problem” with their “ideo logical bent, focused on encouraging and enabling large corporations and short term profit” Weintrobe describes this “narrow minded, rigid way of seeing” as “stale and stuck Truss and Sunak embody a very stuck position with their calls for tax cuts and attacks on “woke culture”, she says For Weintrobe, such attitudes are part of today’s culture of uncare , which obfuscates reality and uses “predatory delay” to block change and allow the “final bit of profit to be squeezed” out of the system Per Espen Stoknes, a Norwegian psychologist and Green politician has identified what he calls the “five Ds” of psychological defence that prevent people from engag ing with climate change namely Distancing Doom Dis sonance, Denial and iDentity This summer ’s extreme weather “has the capacity to blow away the psychological distance he admits but insists that any change is likely only to be short term Once the “autumn rains hit, people’s interest will fall”, he says “The media will move on, politi cians will be off the hook again and denial about the seri ousness of the situation will creep back in Politicians are not interested in solving climate change, but in positioning themselves for next round of the elections; they will only properly engage with climate action if they believe it will make a difference to whether they win or lose ” Like Jeffrey he underlines that we all use fossil fuels and so, to some degree, are all responsible “Disaster or guilt framing can make people start to avoid the issue,” he says If you are caught stealing chocolate you don t stop eating it, you just become better at hiding your guilty secret, he suggests Similarly, we create cognitive dissonance by admitting that climate change is real but saying that “Covid is over and we really need a holiday” to justify aeroplane travel And even though more people appear to be getting involved in climate protests Stoknes suggests it is still too easy for conservative politicians to dismiss activists as “tree huggers” who want to “take away individual freedoms Changing this state of affairs in the short time scien tists say we have left to avoid the most dangerous levels of climate change is to say the least challenging says Stoknes He sees “story telling”, the sharing of personal stories that show the real advantages of cleaner energy sys tems, as the key to change When electric vehicles were given access to bus lanes in Norway, people thought “lucky b*******”, he comments, and traded in their fossil fuel cars so that they too could speed ahead unimpeded Weintrobe agrees that personal stories can help to ignite transformation “We have to keep plugging away,” she says, urging the media to really keep on it rather than dropping the ball once the floods recede and the heatwaves and forest fires die down “We don’t have time to wait for climate change to get worse before people wake up Many people are awake already but they are terrified and are trying to change the conversation If people are not supported in such a frightening situation, there is a danger they will turn to il lusion and the false belief that they will be magically saved ” even Pakistan’s devastating floods won’t inspire a green revolution T H I R D O F T H E C O U N T R Y M AY S O O N B E U N D E R WAT E R . W I L L E E V E R D E C I D E I T I S T I M E TO F O R C E D O W N E M I S S I O N S ?
a T least 33 million people affected More than 300,000 homes destroyed Over 1,000 people dead Pakistan is in the midst of a serious cli mate catastrophe” in the words of Sherry rehman, the country’s climate change minis ter The devastating floods, caused by an extreme mon soon and melting glaciers may leave a third of the country under water They come as Europe suffers the worst drought in 500 years and China s rivers run dry after its most intense heatwave Few places around the world have been spared the ravages of floods, fires, heat waves or droughts this summer Yet even in the midst of destruction our collective cognitive dissonance continues to keep radical global climate action at arm’s length People are increasingly taking part in direct action, but there is also despair panic even self harm as the re ality of climate change sinks in and governments remain seemingly oblivious to the discrepancy between their fine words and their flaky policies Caroline Hickman a psychotherapist at the university of Bath, attributes most climate anxiety not to the actual fact of global warming but to the lack of action from politicians to reduce green house gas emissions
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The dystopian summer, in conjunction with sky high energy prices in Europe does seem to be having some ef fect The Daily Telegraph, generally a gung ho advocate of fossil fuels and fracking, ran a column on Friday arguing that renewables were the only way out of this mess Yet politicians everywhere are still found wanting The reality gap appears particularly pronounced in the uK The gov ernments of many European countries notably Spain Ger many and France, have seen the crises as an opportunity to slowly reduce gas use and increase energy efficiency In the uK however the two Tory leadership candidates rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, are happier spouting inanities about solar panels spoiling farms than proposing coherent poli cies that would ultimately bring down emissions and en ergy bills Ambitious climate strategies in richer countries will also reduce the risk of extreme heatwaves and flooding in poorer nations Pakistan contributes less than 1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions
PROACTIVE IS FAR CHEAPER THAN REAC TIVE: Pakistan is undoubtedly on the front lines of cli mate change In the ongoing flooding, it is clear that climate change has at minimum played a role in ampli fying this event At worst it created a compounding set of circumstances causing millions of additional people to suffer than otherwise might have P r o j e c t i o n s a r e v e r y c l e a r t h a t w i t h f u r t h e r c l i mate change, Pakistan is a hotspot for increases in ex t r e m e r a i n f a l l T h e c o u n t r y m u s t p r e p a r e f o r f u t u r e f l o o d i n g t o a v o i d s i m i l a r o r e v e n w o r s e d i s a s t e r s To d o s o , i n t e r n a t i o n a l a d a p t a t i o n f u n d i n g m u s t i n c r e a s e t o m a t c h r i c h c o u n t r i e s ’ o v e r w h e l m i n g c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h i s n e w c l i m a t e in N C R E A S E S I N E X T R E M E R A I N FA L L . T H E C O U N T R Y M U S T P R E PA R E F O R F U T U R E F LO O D I N G TO AV O I D S I M I L A R O R E V E N W O R S E D I S A S T E R S
O u r bio technologists and scientists deserve a huge pat on the back for developing the quadrivalent Human Papilloma Virus (qHPV) vaccine, called Cervavac Along with hoisting India high up in the global medico pharma fraternity, it promises to enable a big leap towards preventive and affordable protection against the second most common form of cancer of the cervix among 15 to 44 year old women in India The vaccine, approved after phase 3 clinical trials, was found to be 100 per cent safe and efficacious against the HPV, which is responsible for 85 per cent of such cancers Being indigenously made, Cervavac is expected to cost rs 200 400 as against the imported ones available for rs 2 800 to rs 3 300 per dose The excitement as well as the debate around this vaccine is understandable as all women are at risk of developing this cancer that is caused by the sexually transmitted HPV infection While in most women this infection resolves on its own, in some cases it goes on to become carcinogenic regular precautionary screenings, such as Pap smear tests, can help in the early detection and cure of cervical cancer but preventive healthcare being minimal in our country, diagnosis usually comes very late An estimated 1 25 lakh such cases are diagnosed annually in India and around 75 000 deaths make up for nearly one fourth of the global fatalities due to this disease every year Now with Cervavac set to roll out in a few months for our 50 million girls in the 9 14 year bracket with the aim of inoculating them under the national immunisation programme there is hope that this prophylactic injection would minimise, if not eliminate, the chances of this deadly disease inflicting them While the Covid vaccination drive has shown the way towards overcoming logistical challenges, the policymakers must bear in mind that a good response comes from free of cost shots only And, once this at high risk group is covered, there is a plan to cover older women and even men (against some cancers) as well as sell the vaccine to the world at large It’s a cautiously positive prognosis for all stakeholders concerned
Pakistan, what Part did Climate Change Pl ay in Causing this mOnsOOn’s devastating flOOds? T H E I N T E R G O V E R N M E N TA L PA N E L O N C L I M AT E C H A N G E S AY S I T H A S O N LY ‘ LO W CO N F I D E N C E ’ I N H O W M U C H C L I M AT E C H A N G E I S TO B L A M E F O R I N C R E A S E D H E AV Y R A I N S I N S O U T H A S I A P R O J E C T I O N S A R E V E R Y C L E A R T H AT W I T H F U R T H E R C L I M AT E C H A N G E , PA K I S TA N I S A H O T S P O T F O R I
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Wednesday 7 September 2022 08 WORLD VIEW ConverSaTion F r i e d e r i k e Ot tO a N d l u k e h a r r N g tO N P A K I S TA N is experiencing the most devastat ing and widespread floods in its history, with the country’s climate minister saying waters have reached across a third of the nation The growing tally of impacts is dire More than 1,100 people have been killed, a million homes have been destroyed and 33 million people have been directly affected Total damage estimates exceed $10 billion, and further disruption to the country’s economy and critical food production is inevitable On August 25, the government declared a national emergency António Guterres the united Nations secre tary general, said that this is a signal to the world to step up climate action, warning: Today, it s Pakistan Tomor row it could be your country ” At a very broad level, this is certainly justified Ac cording to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change extreme rainfall is becoming more frequent and intense in many parts of the world due to human emis sions of greenhouse gases And this effect will continue to increase with emissions However, for individual events that have such pro found impacts on society, it is critical to investigate the influence of climate change (or lack thereof) in more de tail While the IPCC statement holds globally, its most recent report states it has only “low confidence” in how much climate change is to blame for increased heavy rains in South Asia
It is vital we better understand cause and effect in the observed changes, to help us make best use of our fi nite resources and ultimately save lives and money rECOrD BrEAKING MONSOON rAINFALL It is tempting to ask if an extreme weather event was “caused by” climate change but this is often the wrong question, at least if you expect a binary answer Instead, scientists like us ask whether and by how much climate change affected the likelihood and intensity of the event This is known as “extreme event attribution” In this case, the flooding was caused by an extreme monsoon season Pakistan is on the far western edge of the South Asian monsoon region, with a mostly arid desert climate It is only sometimes affected by an off shoot of the monsoon and generally receives far less rainfall than parts of India at the same latitudes How ever, record rainfall fell over Pakistan in several bursts from mid June to late August with large swathes of the country receiving a completely unprecedented 500% 700% of their usual August rain YET ANOTHER COST OF CLIMATE CHANGE? Officials from the Pakistan Meteorological Department blamed climate change for the unusual monsoon activity and flooding, for a range of reasons In 2021, the IPCC reported that there has been a sig nificant increase in heavy rainfall events in south Asia in recent decades There is some evidence that this is due to human caused climate change However there is limited agreement between differ ent assessed studies, and factors other than climate change, such as irrigation, are known to influence mon soons Confidence is therefore too low to make any con crete attribution statements without further investigation Before a dedicated study is available, similar events in the recent past can hold clues to current events Pak istan last experienced flooding on a similar scale in 2010, which at the time was labelled by Guterres predecessor at the united Nations Ban Ki moon as the worst disas ter he’d ever seen Two separate attribution studies assessed this event unfortunately neither provided evidence that the models used were up to the task Therefore, even though one of them found an increase due to human climate change, we cannot be very confident in this result Clues as to the role of climate change can also come from aspects that contributed to this disaster There are three main factors First, extreme rainfall A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture For every degree the atmosphere warms it can hold about 6% 7% more moisture which often re sults in more rain falling during the most extreme events (south Asia has warmed around 0 7°C since 1900) Had this event happened in a world where carbon dioxide concentrations were instead at pre industrial levels, the rains probably would have been less intense Second the monsoon itself which is highly com plex and variable It forms in South Asia in the sum mer, when air over land warms faster than air over the s e a w h i c h c r e a t e s a f l o w o f a i r o n t o t h e l a n d T h e winds bring great volumes of moisture that precipitate into deluges when they meet higher ground, especially the Himalayas unusual monsoon rains over Pakistan have some predictability They occur when multiple phenomena co incide, including a La Niña event in the Pacific and large meanders in the high altitude jet stream, as was the case in both 2010 and this year There is emerging evidence that this confluence of factors may occur more regularly as the climate changes If such trends continue, then flooding in Pakistan and other simultaneous extremes across the northern Hemi sphere will happen more often in the future Pakistan also experienced extended and brutal heat waves in May and June this year which were amplified by climate change This heat amplified the monsoonal “thermal low” a low pressure system created by hot air rising rapidly which greatly enhanced the flow of mois ture laden air onto southern Pakistan Third, Pakistan has more than 7,000 glaciers in its northern mountainous re gions As these glaciers melt their waters contribute to the flooding This melting is driven to a large degree by climate change and is especially prominent this year as a result of the heatwave
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lahore S ta f f r e p o r t A relief package was given to the flood victims through Al Khidmat Foundation The Governor of Punjab Mr Muhammad Balighur Rahman was also there on this occasion He appreciated the efforts of Chiq brand, he said that in this difficult time, Chiq brand's assistance to the flood victims is commendable On behalf of Chiq Brand Manager Farrukh Bashir, Marketing Man ager Muhammad Imran and Deputy Marketing Man ager Muhammad Usman Khawaja were also there Brand manager Farrukh Bashir said that we are with our brothers trapped in the flood in this hour of trouble National Manager Al Khidmat Foundation Mian Babar Hameed expressed gratitude for the relief package given by Chiq brand
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K e o n l y i n t e g r a t e d u t i l i t y s u p p l y i n g e l e c t r i c i t y w i t h i n a 6 , 5 0 0 k m 2 t e r r i t o r y karachi S ta f f r e p o r t K E l e c t r i c ( K E ) i s a p u b l i c l i s t e d c o m p a ny i n c o r p o ra t e d i n Pa k i s t a n i n 1 9 1 3 a s K E S C P r i va t i ze d i n 2 0 0 5 K E i s t h e o n l y ve r t i c a l l y i n t e g ra t e d u t i l i ty i n Pa k i s t a n s u p p l y i n g e l e c t r i c i ty w
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He said that the government's policy of taxing cigarettes to generate revenue, and make them inac cessible to the public is not proving fruitful due to the illicit trade in cigarettes
Bestway donates $1m to help flood affectees staff report Bestway Group, the country’s leading foreign investor, has announced financial and material support to the people of Pakistan of US$1 0 Million In a statement released by Bestway Group in London, the Group CEO Lord Zameer Choudrey, CBE SI Pk said, “On behalf of our founder and Chairman Sir Anwar Pervez, OBE H Pk; let me reassure the people of Pakistan the Bestway Group stands with them in this hour of unprecedented national tragedy” “As part of our two pronged strategy we are actively providing immediate relief; and by working in partnership with local businesses and financial institutions we are putting in place long term sustainable measures so that we can rehabilitate the masses effected by this national tragedy” In addition, in the United Kingdom Bestway Group has launched a fundraising campaign through the country’s largest independent wholesale and retail network, to compliment these measures Lord Choudrey has announced that the Bestway Group will be organising a fundraising dinner on the 23rd of September 2022 at a Central London venue with over 500 people expected to attend In Pakistan, Bestway Group subsidiaries, Bestway Cement Limited and United Bank Limited have set up dedicated medical camps; are distributing food parcels, cooked meals and providing vital banking facilities across the flood affected areas Lord Choudrey acknowledged the contribution of the Group’s employees in providing these vital services during these unprecedented times and said “none of this would have been possible without our employees who have played and continue to play a pivotal role in these challenging circumstances and worked tirelessly to ensure we are servicing our local communities i t h i n a 6 5 0 0 k m 2 t e r r i t o r y i n c l u d i n g Ka ra c h i a n d i t s a d j o i n i n g a r e a s T h e m a j o r i ty s h a r e s ( 6 6 4 % ) o f t h e c o m p a ny a r e l i s t e d i n t h e P S X o w n e d b y K E S Po w e r, a c o n s o r t i u m o f i nve s t o r s i n c l u d i n g A l j o m a i h Po w e r L i m i t e d o f S a u d i A ra b i a , N a t i o n a l I n d u s t r i e s G r o u p ( H o l d i n g ) , Ku wa i t , a n d t h e I n f ra s t r u c t u r e a n d G r o w t h C a p i t a l F u n d ( I G C F ) M a r i t i m e M i n i s t r y d o n a t e s R s 7 0 m t o P M ' s R e l i e f F u n d T h e G ove r n m e n t o f Pa k i s t a n M i n i s t r y o f M a r i t i m e A f f a i r s d o n a t e d R s 7 0 m i l l i o n t o P r i m e M i n i s t e r ' s F l o o d Re l i e f F u n d Fe d e ra l M i n i s t e r f o r M a r i t i m e A f f a i r s , Sye d Fa i s a l A l i S a b z wa r i c a l l e d o n t h e H o n o ra b l e P r i m e M i n i s t e r M i a n M u h a m m a d S h a h b a z S h a r i f i n h i s o f f i c e t o d ay a n d p r e s e n t e d t h e r e l i e f c h e c k s t o t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r M i n i s t e r a p p r i s e d t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r t h a t R s 5 c r o r e s b y Po r t Q a s i m Au t h o r i ty ( P Q A ) a n d R s 2 c r o r e s b y Ka ra c h i Po r t Tr u s t ( K P T ) h ave b e e n d o n a t e d t o t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r s F l o o d Re l i e f F u n d w h i c h wa s a p p r e c i a t e d b y t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r
We need today the same unity and spirit that was exhibited by our nation to safeguard the motherland during the 1965 war Ibrahim Hasan Murad, President of University of Management and Technology (UMT), expressed these views at the flag hoisting ceremony arranged to pay tributes to the martyrs of Defence Day on Sep tember 6 He praised the armed forces of Pak istan for protecting the country s borders during the war of 1965 Mr Murad said that we salute the sons, daughter of this great soil for laying down their lives in the defence of Pakistan He added that the spirit of collective responsibility shown by the Pakistani nation during the war of 1965 was once again needed to cope with the humanitarian crisis in the wake of devastating floods President UMT said that we all must work together to look after our countrymen who had lost everything in the flood GB governor, PBM MD discuss rehab of needy people
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Governor Gilgit Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah discussed practical measures for relief and reha bilitation of the needy and poor people of Gilgit Baltistan with Managing Director, Pak istan Baitul Mal (PBM), Amir Fida Paracha, during a meeting held here in PBM Head Of fice Both the dignitaries reviewed the ongoing welfare projects of PBM in Gilgit Baltistan and took a unanimous decision to enhance the effi cacy and scopes of welfare projects Governor Gilgit Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah, while en dorsing the poor friendly policies of PBM, ex pressed the hope that this institution will make further progress in Social Protection field in coming days PBM Managing Director, Amir Fida Paracha said the Shelter Home established in Gilgit Baltistan will be further improved with the help of public private partnership, and the poor daily wage earners laborers and oth ers, who come for night stay and meal here, will be served with quality services giving them respect and care
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PAF operation under way for flood vic tims rehab
OCUMeNTeD sector has been drawing the government s attention to the fact that the higher taxes on cigarettes lead to higher down trading to cheap illegal ciga rettes, denting billion of rupees to the na tional exchequer According to the experts, with every step to in crease the taxes on cigarettes, a significant portion of smokers move to low priced illegal cigarettes
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LAHORE: Lahore Ghymkhana Chairman Misbahur Rehman presents a cheque for Rs20 to Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi for CM’s Flood Relief Fund Staff Photo Chiq B ra n d h a n d s ove r re l i e f g o o d s to Al K h i d m at Fo u n d at i o n fo r fl o o d v i c t i m s at G ove r n o r ho u s e Man injured as policeman opens fire for not stopping car karachi S ta f f C o r r e S p o n d e n t A man was injured in Shah Faisal Colony of Karachi on Tuesday after a policeman opened fire at the vehicle for failing to stop According to details, the man identified as Abdul Hameed was passing by the Shah Faisal Colony in Karachi when police asked him to stop his car However, when the vehicle didn’t stop, the policeman opened fire on him and a bullet hit Abdul Hameed The police immediately shifted the injured man to hospital for medical treatment Meanwhile, the policeman who opened fire at the vehicle was arrested Additional In spector General (AIG) Javed Alam noted that an investi gation into the matter was launched “The officer who opened fire was immediately detained,” he added Mean while station house officer (SHO) Shah Faisal claimed that the man Abdul Hameed was owner of a showroom located at Numaish Chowrangi
09NEWS Wednesday 7 September 2022 | LAHORE CORPORATE CORNER
It is pertinent to mention that the market share of illicit cigarettes manufactured in the country has reached 40% due to which the government is facing a loss of Rs 80 billion annually due to illegal trade in cigarettes alone Annual cigarette sales in Pakistan have been around 80 billion cigarette sticks for last several years, proving that the policy of reducing the smok ing trend through tax hikes has failed due to illegal cigarette companies Former Chairman FBR Shabbar Zaidi has also cited high tax rates as a major cause of illicit trade in Pakistan He said that in Pakistan cigarettes are the leading item in terms of economic losses of il licit trade According to statistics last fiscal year Pakistan collected Rs 150 billion in taxes from cig arettes, while a target of Rs 200 billion has been set for the current financial year However, he argued it would not be that easy for the tax apparatus to generate revenues to the tune of Rs200 billion from the tobacco sector because in creased prices of cigarettes were highly likely to shift customers to cheap illicit brands i s w o r t h m e n t i o n i n g h e r e t h a t t h e t w o c o p a n i e s s e l l i n g c i g a r e t t e s l e g a l l y a c c o u t e 9 8 % o f t h e t o t a l t a x e s , w h i l e t h e t a x s h a r e o f m o r e t h a n 4 8 c o m p a n i e s s e l l i n g c i g a r e t t e s w a s l i m i t e d t o 2 % o n l y e x p e r t s s a i d t h a t F B R h a s i n t r o d u c e d a t r a c k a n d t r a c e s y s t e m t o c u r b c i g a r e t t e i l l i c i t t r a d e T h e s u c c e s s o f t h e t r a c e a n d t r a c k s y s t e m r e q u i r e s t h a t o t h e r l a w s a n d p o l i c i e s r e l a t e d t o t h e t o b a c c o i n d u s t r y b e a p p l i e d u n i f o r m l y t h r o u g h o u t t h e i n d u s t r y Cigarettes manufactured in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are being sold across the country much below the government man dated minimum price Such a difference in price possible only if taxes on cigarettes are not
staff report Pakistan, while commemorates the feats of valour of defense forces of Pakistan in 1965 war, Pakistan Air Force has pledged a new resolve to fur ther enhance the flood relief and reha bilitation efforts of the flood effected areas of Pakistan PAF will not forget our brothers and sisters on this histori cal day and flood relief efforts will continue with a renewed zeal and vigour During this hour of need, PAF has been utilizing maximum resources for lessening the troubles of flood af fectees emergency Response Teams of Pakistan Air Force are working day and night to assist civil administration for swift rehabilitation of flood suffer ers Sorties of PAF helicopter and transport fleet are being operated for transportation of relief goods and res cue missions for safe evacuation of people stranded in the flood During the last 24 hours, PAF teams have dis tributed 70 tents, 16189 cooked food packs 1000 water bottles and 2331 ra tion packs consisting of basic food commodities amongst the needy fami lies Moreover in addition to the pro vision of free food and shelter, 2012 patients were also attended by the med ical teams of Pakistan Air Force in field medical camps of PAF
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Following PM's Announcement of FCA's relief pack age for the month of June, 1 8 million eligible electric ity consumers across Ke serviced territory in Karachi and adjoining regions are receiving benefit and being delivered adjusted bills for August at their doorsteps with extended due dates The announcement of June s FCA relief has come in two parts, it was first announced for Non ToU Residential Consumers having electricity consumption up to 200 units in June and later it was extended to the same cate gory of consumers with power consumption up to 300 units in June following the announcement by the Gov ernment of Pakistan While the revised bills for August are being delivered to the consumers on their premises, it is also important to note that all those eligible consumers who have already paid their non revised August bills will receive adjusted bills for the month of September Commenting on the matter, Spokesperson K elec tric said "We are taking every possible measure to pass on the benefit to the qualifying consumers in line with the announcement made by the Honorable Prime Min
ister Following the announcement of the relief pack age our customer care centers operated for extended hours and remained open during the weekends for con sumers convenience However, to further ease the pro cedure for their benefit we are also delivering the bills to consumers' doorsteps so that they do not have to visit our centers physically Ke Customers may also download their bills via Ke WhatsApp Service Ke Live App and from the company’s website " While reiterating the eligibility criteria of the relief package the Spokesperson further said "June FCA's relief applies only to Non ToU residential consumers who have a power consumption equal to or less than 300 units All the remaining electricity consumers such as ToU residential consumers, Non ToU residen tial consumers having power consumption exceeding 300 units commercial and industrial consumers do not qualify for the relief, and thus, are requested to timely pay their bills to avoid late payment surcharge " "Our customer care platforms including our channels are also available 24/7 to answer any query from our consumers in this regard " the Spokesper son further added consumers benefitting from FAC relief pack age S ta f f r e p o r t D
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C hina logs hottest August since records began
Bolstering Asia ties, Putin watches militar y drills with China LOnDOn A F P
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson formally tenders his resignation to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday handing over power to Liz Truss after his mo mentous tenure dominated by Brexit and Covid 19 was cut short by scandal Johnson, who was forced to quit after losing the support of dozens of his ministers bids farewell from Downing Street before jetting to northeast Scot land to see the 96 year old monarch Normally the handover of power is a swift affair, with the outgoing and in coming leaders making a short trip to Buckingham Palace in central London But both Johnson and Truss face a 1,000 mile (1,600 kilometre) round trip to the head of state s remote Balmoral re treat in the Scottish Highlands The queen opted not to return from her annual summer break for the brief ceremonial audience after persistent health issues that have affected her abil ity to walk and stand Johnson is due to arrive at 11:20 am (1020 GMT) at Balmoral, with Truss ex pected at 12:10 pm, royal officials said At the meeting which should last about 30 minutes, she will ask Truss, as the leader of the largest party in parlia ment to form a government Truss, 47, was announced the winner of an internal vote of Conservative party members on Monday after a gruelling contest that began in July All eyes will be on her return to the British capital and first address as prime minister, which is expected to take place outside 10 Downing Street on Tuesday afternoon weather permitting Heavy rain and storms are forecast, mirroring the gloomy economic situation that she and her new senior ministers will have to tackle from day one The appointments are due to be fi nalised before she hosts her first cabinet meeting and faces questions in parlia ment on Wednesday t o d o l I S t: Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is expected to become finance minister, with attorney general Suella Braverman moved to the tricky brief of home secretary, and James Clev erly to foreign affairs If confirmed it would mean no white men in any of Britain’s four main ministerial posts for the first time ever Truss faces a daunting to do list with the UK in the grip of its worst eco nomic crisis in decades Inflation is rampant and running at 40 year highs of 10 1 percent, with pre dictions of worse to come and recession as winter bites Households face an 80 percent increase in gas and electricity bills from October, while businesses warn they could go to the wall from even bigger hikes Truss, who touts herself as a free market liberal has promised tax cuts to stimulate growth, despite warnings that greater borrowing could make inflation worse The contrast to her beaten leader ship rival Rishi Sunak’s more cautious approach has opened another rift in the Conservative party that was already di vided by Johnson’s departure Recent opinion polls suggest a size able chunk of the British public have no faith in her ability to tackle the cost of living crisis AgEnciES China has logged its hottest August since records began, state media reported Tuesday following an unusually intense summer heat wave that parched rivers, scorched crops and triggered isolated blackouts Southern China last month sweltered under what experts said may have been one of the worst heat waves in global history, with parts of Sichuan province and the megacity of Chongqing clocking a string of days well over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) The average temperature nationwide was 22 4C in August exceeding the norm by 1 2C state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the country’s weather service S o m e 2 6 7 w e a t h e r s t a t i o n s a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y m a t c h e d o r b r o k e t e m p e r a t u r e r e c o r d s l a s t m o n t h t h e r e p o r t s a i d I t w a s a l s o C h i n a ’s t h i r d d r i e s t A u g u s t o n r e c o r d , w i t h a v e r a g e r a i n f a l l 2 3 1 p e r c e n t l o w e r t h a n a v e r a g e The average number of high temperature days was abnormally high, and regional high temperature processes are continuing to impact our country,” CCTV reported the weather service as saying Scientists say extreme weather like heat waves, droughts and flash floods is becoming more frequent and intense due to human induced climate change Last month, temperatures as high as 45C prompted multiple Chinese provinces to impose power cuts as cities battled to cope with a surge in electricity demand partly driven by people cranking up the air condition ing Images from Chongqing showed a tributary of the mighty Yangtze river had almost run dry, a scene echoed further east where the waters of China’s largest freshwater lake also receded extensively ‘ S E v E r E t h r E at ’: Chongqing and the eastern megacity of Shanghai switched off outdoor decorative lighting to mitigate the power crunch, while authorities in Sichuan imposed industrial power cuts as water lev els dwindled at major hydroelectric plants As local authorities warned that the drought posed a severe threat to this year s harvest the central gov ernment approved billions of yuan in subsidies to sup port rice farmers “This is a warning for us, reminding us to have a deeper understanding of climate change and improve our ability to adapt to it in all respects,” said Zhang Daquan, a senior official at China’s National Climate Centre in comments carried Monday by the state run People’s Daily newspaper “It is also necessary to raise awareness across all of society to adapt to climate change and strive to min imise social and economic impacts and losses,” Zhang said Higher than usual temperatures are also expected across China throughout September, CCTV cited the weather service’s deputy director Xiao Chan as saying
J o h n s o n to q u i t, Tr u s s to t a ke ove r a s U K l e a d e r
European news agencies launch joint Brussels newsroom
A coalition of European news agencies, backed by funding from the European Commission, launched a new joint newsroom in Brussels on Tuesday The 16 agencies dpa, AFP, AGERPRES, ANSA, APA, ATA, Belga, BTA, EFE, Europa Press, FENA, HINA, MIA STA Tanjug and TASR will share some re sources to improve their coverage of European events Journalists from the smaller European agencies will share workspaces in Belga’s Brussels headquarters and offices near EU headquarters, as well as training opportunities, experience and know how The hope is that by working more as a network the agencies’ pooled resources will provide a deeper understanding of European news to readers in their home national markets More than ever we need European news we need to bring different perspectives together, be cause the challenges that we face go far beyond one single country EU Commission vice president Vera Jourova was to tell the launch event “Let’s mention the current war launched by Russia against Ukraine, spiking energy prices or climate change These issues know no borders, and to better grasp the full picture, your readers need a cross border dimension ” The Eu ropean Commission has provided 1 76 million euros ($1 75 million) to fund the project, which is coordi nated by Germany’s DPA, and will cover the operat ing costs until at least the end of 2023 According to an advance copy of her speech seen by AFP, Jourova was to use the event to tout the benefits of a planned EU Media Freedom Act which will protect journal ism in member states “We have seen over the past years various forms of pressure on the media Physi cal threats abusive lawsuits state interference eco nomic pressure,” she was to say “It’s high time to act No journalist should be spied on because of their job No public media should be turned into propaganda media ” Press freedom bodies have cried foul several times in recent years as governments in EU member states exerted overt and covert political and economic pressure on independent media
USSURiYSK, RUSSiA Ag e n c i e s President Vladimir Putin attended large scale military exercises on Tuesday involving China and sev eral Russia friendly countries as Moscow seeks to strengthen partner ships in Asia in the face of Western sanctions Russia has found itself increas ingly isolated as tensions between Moscow and Western capitals soared since Russia sent troops into pro Western Ukraine on February 24 Slapped with unprecedented sanc tions from Washington and Brussels, Putin has pursued closer ties with countries in Africa, South America and Asia especially China Putin on Tuesday attended the Vostok 2022 manoeuvres that are being held in training grounds in Russia Far East and in the waters off its eastern coast, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told local news agencies Putin was meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov at the Sergeyevsky military range and would later observe the final phase of the military exercises Peskov was quoted as saying The drills, involving several of Russia s neighbours as well as Syria, India and key ally China, started on September 1 and are due to end Wednesday According to Moscow, over 50,000 soldiers and more than 5 000 units of military equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships, were to be involved in the drills Similar drills were last held in 2018 Putin’s visit to Russia’s Far East will continue on Wednesday in the port city of Vladivostok where he is expected to address the Eastern Economic Forum Over 5,000 people will be taking part in the four day forum that kicked off on Monday with the largest dele gation hailing from China, according to the Kremlin At the forum’s ple nary session Putin will be joined by China’s top legislator Li Zhanshu who ranks third in the Chinese gov ernment hierarchy with a bilateral meeting also on the agenda
BEIJING: China s large civil unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Wing Loong 2H has been de ployed to support the emergency communications after a 6 8 mag nitude earthquake struck south western province of Sichuan on Monday according to the UAV s developer The Wing Loong 2H was sent to conduct the mission after the quake jolted Sichuan s Luding County at 12:52 p m Monday, having caused casual ties and damage to buildings and roads The large UAV flew into the preset mission area at 6:44 p m Monday and started to carry out the survey and emergency communication support, said the Aviation Indus try Corporation of China (AVIC) the country s leading plane maker It helped establish an airborne communication network and sent real time images of the quake hit areas, supporting relief work and ensuring effective rescue operations The Wing Loong 2H features multiple attributes such as long range long endurance high payload and strong environment adaptability, thus making it possible to serve diverse missions in extreme disaster hit regions where traffic, power supply and network communications are dis rupted according to the AVIC Ag
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10 FOREIGN NEWS Wednesday 7 September 2022 LAHORE BEiJing Ag e n c i e s a S of 2:00 p m Tuesday, a total of 66 people were reported killed in a magnitude 6 8 earthquake that jolted Luding County, southwest China s Sichuan Province, on Mon day said local authorities Thirty eight peo ple were killed in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and the other 28 died in Shimian County of Ya’an City O v e r 2 0 0 a r e s t i l l t r a p p e d i n a r e m o t e s c e n i c a r e a a n d s c o r e s m i s s i n g e l s e w h e r e Vi d e o f r o m s t a t e b r o a d c a s t e r C C T V s h o w e d f i r e f i g h t e r s p u l l i n g a b r u i s e d a n d b l o o d i e d w o m a n f r o m t h e r u b b l e a n d c a r r y i n g a s u r v i v o r o n a s t r e t c h e r a c r o s s a r i v e r o n a m a k e s h i f t b r i d g e a s w e l l a s damaged buildings and streets strewn with fallen masonry And footage shared by the C h i n a E a r t h q u a k e N e t w o r k s C e n t e r ( C E N C ) s h o w e d b o u l d e r s t h u n d e r i n g d o w n m o u n t a i n s i d e s i n L u d i n g c o u n t y k i c k i n g u p c l o u d s o f d u s t a s t h e t r e m o r s s w a y e d r o a d s i d e t e l e p h o n e w i r e s A t l e a s t o n e t o w n s u ff e r e d s e v e r e d a m a g e f r o m l a n d s l i d e s t r i g g e r e d b y t h e q u a k e , C C T V r e p o r t e d “ B e f o r e 5 o ’ c l o c k , I h e a r d a r u m b l i n g s o u n d T h e h o u s e s h o o k s o b a d l y t h a t I w o k e u p i m m e d i a t e l y, ” o n e w o m a n s u r n a m e d Z h e n g f r o m S i c h u a n s L u c o u n t y t o l d B e i j i n g N e w s “ M y b r o t h e r ’s h o u s e c o l l a p s e d H i s h o u s e i s a n o l d o n e b u i l t m o r e t h a n 1 0 y e a r s a g o M y h o u s e i s n e w l y b u i l t s o t h e s i t u a t i o n i s b e t t e r ” T h e q u a k e a l s o r o c k e d b u i l d i n g s i n t h e p r o v i n c i a l c a p i t a l o f C h e n g d u w h e r e m i l l i o n s a r e c o n f i n e d t o t h e i r h o m e s u n d e r a s t r i c t C o v i d 1 9 l o c k d o w n a n d i n t h e n e a r b y m e g a c i t y of Chongqing local residents told AFP At l e a s t 1 0 a f t e r s h o c k s o f m a g n i t u d e 3 0 a n d a b o v e h a d b e e n d e t e c t e d a s o f 7 a m l o c a l t i m e ( 2 3 0 0 G M T ) C C T V s a i d T h e l o c a l m e t e o r o l o g i c a l d e p a r t m e n t h a s s a i d L u d i n g c o u n t y t h e e p i c e n t r e o f t h e q u a k e w i l l e x p e r i e n c e r a i n f o r t h r e e d a y s , p o t e n t i a l l y h a m p e r i n g r e s c u e w o r k C h i n a ’s c a b i n e t l a s t n i g h t s a i d i t h a s d i s p a t c h e d a s p e c i a l t e a m t o l e a d t h e e ff o r t s , w i t h C C T V r e p o r t i n g m o r e t h a n 6 , 5 0 0 p e o p l e h a d b e e n s e n t t o e m e rg e n c y r e s c u e A n d P r e s i d e n t X i J i n p i n g c a l l e d f o r l o c a l a u t h o r i t i e s t o “ m a k e s a v i ng lives the first priority go all out to rescue people in disaster stricken areas and minimise loss of life” according to CCTV Local officials have launched a public appeal for donations to help with relief work Earthquakes are fairly common in China, especially in the country’s seismi cally active southwest A smaller magnitude 4 6 tremor hit east ern Tibet less than an hour after the initial quake, according to the USGS A magnitude 8 0 quake in 2008 in Sichuan’s Wenchuan county left tens of thousands dead and caused enormous dam age In June at least four people were killed and dozens more injured after two earth quakes in southwestern China That month a shallow 6 1 magnitude shock hit a sparsely populated area about 100 kilometres west of Chengdu It was followed three minutes later by a second quake of magnitude 4 5 in a nearby county, where the deaths and injuries oc curred Authorities in Chengdu extended the city’s lockdown on Sunday as they fight a Covid flare up with hundreds of cases The region has also suffered a summer of extreme weather, with a record breaking heatwave noticeably drying rivers in Chongqing 6 . 8 m a g n i t u d E E a r t h q u a k E l E av E s 6 6 d E a d i n C h i n a ’ s s i C h u a n
‘No limits’ relationship: Russia China relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation are developing progressively the Kremlin said in a statement ahead of the meeting It also noted “China’s balanced approach to the Ukraine cri sis” and Beijing’s “understanding” of the reasons behind Russia’s offen sive Beijing and Moscow have drawn closer in recent years, ramping up cooperation as part of what they call a no limits relationship acting as a counterweight to the global dom inance of the United States Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow’s intervention in Ukraine and provided diplomatic cover by blasting Western sanctions and arms sales to Kyiv, heightening tensions between China and the West Tensions were further strained during the August visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to self ruled democratic Taiwan, which China considers its territory Moscow was in full solidarity with Beijing during the visit with Putin accusing Washington of “destabilising” the world At the economic forum Putin was also ex pected to hold a bilateral meeting with Myanmar junta chief Min Aug Hlaing r s coup
BRUSSELS Ag e n c i e s
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Pakistan beat West Indies by 23 runs
Pa k i s t a n to p e r fo r m b e t te r i n u p co m i n g
India faces A sia Cup exit af ter S ri L ank a defeat
Nissanka started cautiously before he hammered Arshdeep Singh for two fours and a six in an 18 run fifth over Mendis joined in the fun and cleared the fence three times, including with a brilliant shot over wide long off against Ravichandran Ashwin
ChANDIGARh ag e n c Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh, who hasn’t posted anything on his social media handles since India’s de feat to Pakistan on Sunday night has told his parents that he is ‘laughing’ seeing the tweets and messages Arshdeep Singh faced the wrath of social media users in India mainly by extremist Hindus after he dropped a catch in the closing stages of a tense Pak India match Arshdeep’s father Darshan, who is currently the chief of security in a private company told the Indian media after landing in Chandigarh on Monday evening that he spoke to Arshdeep before boarding “His exact words were I am laughing at all these tweets and messages I am only going to take positives from it This incident has only given me more confidence’,” he quoted his son as having said Arshdeep s father Darshan and mother Baljeet were at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, watching the clash between Pakistan and India Arshdeep s mother revealed that the entire In dian team is indeed backing the youngster Her com ments come after Virat Kohli had mentioned in the post match press conference that the team environ ment is such that Arshdeep won’t feel left out after a difficult day on the field “Arshdeep told us that the whole Indian team is supporting him, his mother said When asked about the treatment their son re ceived, Arshdeep’s father answered: “As a parent, it feels really bad He is only 23 I don t want to say much about trolls You can’t shut everyone’s mouth Without fans, there is no game There are some who stand by you no matter what and others who can t di gest a single loss But at the end of the day, only one team can win ” Several former India players and po litical leaders extended support to Arshdeep, who faced a barrage of hate campaigns on social media with an unidentified user even editing the player ’s Wikipedia page to add references to Khalistan , a reference made to the Indian Sikhs’ demand for inde pendence from India and separate homeland RAWALPINDI R O U N D performance by Shoaib Malik earned Central Punjab their first win while Aamir Jamal s top display with both bat and ball helped Northern defeat Southern Punjab in their respective matches of the Kingdom Valley National T20 Cup 2022 23 here at Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi on Tuesday In the first game, Central Punjab finally opened their account in the National T20 Cup with an 11 run win over Sindh Experienced all rounder Shoaib Malik blasted 54 not out off 33 (four fours and two sixes) to lift Central Punjab to 188 for five and then got the crucial wicket of dangerous looking Saim Ayub in his one for 16 off two overs in Central Punjab’s 11 run triumph over Sindh Shoaib and Irfan Khan Niazi, who scored a blazing 33 not out off 14 hitting four sixes added 64 runs in the last 29 balls to help Central Punjab post a towering score Central Punjab were dealt serious blows in the first and third over as Sohail Khan accounted for openers Ab dullah Shafique and Mohammad Akhlaq, but a solid 67 run partnership between Mohammad Faizan and Tayyab Tahir rescued the side from a collapse Faizan was in strumental in the attacking partnership with his brilliant 55 at a staggering strike rate of 229 He struck four sixes and six fours in his 24 ball knock before falling to leg spinner Abrar Ahmed, who also dismissed Central Pun jab captain Qasim Akram Tayyab, the top scorer in the tournament, made 33 off 28, hitting two fours and a six Sarfaraz Ahmed top scored in the match with an unbeaten 62, compiled at a strike rate of 168, but the lack of support from the other end allowed Central Punjab to earn their first win after four defeats Sindh looked on track of scaling down the target but the dismissal of Saim in the seventh over altered the course of the match Sindh, at the time of Saim’s w i c k e t w e r e c r u i s i n g a t 6 2 o ff j u s t 6 3 o v e r s S a a d Khan was bowled by Usama Mir in the next over and in the 15th over he sent Omair Bin Yousuf (37 off 29) and Danish Aziz back to the pavilion as Sindh slipped to 122 for five Usama finished with three for 34 M e a n w h i l e i n t h e s e c o n d g a m e o f t h e d a y a l l r o u n d e r A a m i r J a m a l ’s d i s p l a y w i t h b o t h b a t a n d b a l l w o n N o r t h e r n a t h r i l l e r a g a i n s t S o u t h e r n P u n j a b b y f i v e r u n s Aamir ’s swashbuckling 47 not out off 17, studded with four sixes and five fours lifted Northern to 187 for eight after his captain Umar Amin, who stroked a half century, elected to bat N o r t h e r n w e r e i n a s p o t o f b o t h e r w i t h o p e n e r s Z e e s h a n M a l i k a n d H a s a n N a w a z d i s m i s s e d i n t h e first two overs, but a 51 run partnership for the third w i c k e t b e t w e e n N a s i r N a w a z ( 1 3 o ff 1 7 ) a n d U m a r ( 5 2 o ff 4 2 ) r e s c u e d t h e i n n i n g s a n d p r o v i d e d a p l a t f o r m t o M u b a s i r K h a n ( 3 4 o ff 1 8 ) a n d A a m i r t o g o berserk in the latter half A l I k , J A M A l ’ s t O p D I s p l Ay h e l p e D C e N t r A l , N O r t h e r N s e C u r e v I C t O r y I N N At I O N A l t 2 0 C u p
The day night contest ended an 18 year drought of inter national cricket in Cairns
S ta f f R e p o R t A L L
LAhoRe S ta f f R e p o R t
Green’s 89 steers Australia to two-wicket win over New Zealand in first ODI AFP Emerging star Cameron Green held his nerve with a ca reer best 89 not out in Australia’s thrilling two wicket victory over New Zealand in the first one day interna tional on Tuesday in Cairns After Glenn Maxwell starred with four wickets and a spectacular catch to re strict New Zealand to a modest 232 9, Australia slumped to 44 5 against inspired new ball bowling from quicks Trent Boult and Matt Henry under lights A com posed Green and Alex Carey (85) turned the match on its head with a brilliant 158 run partnership to over whelm an increasingly ragged New Zealand attack But Carey’s dismissal in the 40th over triggered a late twist as Australia crashed to 207 8 and still needing 26 runs a target made more difficult with Green in discomfort with cramps Green however would not be denied as Australia sealed victory in an anti climax through a wide delivery from quick Lockie Ferguson to start the 46th over Australia drew first blood in the three match Chappell Hadlee series, which continues at the same venue on Thursday It was an amazing effort in his 11th (ODI) game to play a match winning knock,” Australia skipper Aaron Finch said of 23 year old Green Australia’s batting order appeared set for an other humiliating performance in the wake of being dismissed for a lowly 141 in a stunning three wicket loss to underdog Zimbabwe on Saturday Their chase started disastrously when under pressure Finch fell lbw to Boult for five The 35 year old opener unsuc cessfully reviewed the decision and trudged off with his ODI career seemingly hanging in the balance hav ing scored just 26 runs in his last six matches Left arm quick Boult was on a roll when he dismissed in form Steve Smith and recalled Marnus Labuschagne then Henry took over to leave Australia teetering before Green and Carey produced a record sixth wicket partnership for Australia against New Zealand in ODIs “It ebbed and flowed We weren’t able to get that extra breakthrough after they were five down early,” said captain Kane Williamson as New Zealand s 13 year drought in ODIs against the home team in Australia continued After Finch won the toss and chose to bowl, Maxwell s part time off spin stole the show as New Zealand’s batters failed to convert starts with Devon Conway (46), Williamson (45) and Tom Latham (43) falling short of half centuries Maxwell’s purple patch started when he brilliantly caught veteran opener Martin Guptill one handed in the gully in the fifth over before he took over with the ball
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Arshdeep’s reaction to hate campaign: I am laughing at all these tweets and messages
DUBAI S ta f f R e p o R t Sri Lanka produced an impressive run chase to down India by six wickets on Tuesday and leave their opponents star ing at an early exit from the Asia Cup If Pakistan beat Afghanistan on Wednesday they will face Sri Lanka in Sunday’s final and knock out arch rivals India in the process Half centuries from openers Pathum Nissanka (52) and Kusal Mendis (57) gave Sri Lanka the perfect start to their chase of 174 in the Super Four game India hit back with a flurry of wick ets, but Bhanuka Rajapaksa and captain Dasun Shanaka helped Sri Lanka get over the line, with two scrambled byes off the penultimate ball completing the job Rajapaksa who hit 25 not out and Shanaka, who made 33 not out, put on an unbeaten stand of 64 to leave the hopes of the tournament favourites India hanging by a thread, after also losing their Super Four opener to Pakistan If Afghanistan do India a favour against Pakistan, Rohit Sharma’s men will still have to beat the Afghans on Thursday to have any chance of reaching the final
Former captain Inzamam ul Haq believes the win against India in the inaugural match of the Super Four stage will raise the confidence of the players and they will perform better in their remaining matches of the ongoing Asia Cup Pakistan beat India by five wickets in the thriller at the Dubai International Cricket Sta dium on Sunday They will now take on Afghanistan on Wednesday in their second match of the Super Four phase while they will lock horns with Sri Lanka on Friday in their last match The final will be held on September 11 “Pakistan’s overall perform ance in the match was outstanding Babar Azam’s captaincy too was up to the mark as he took some very good decisions The good thing was that he didn’t take any pressure Hopefully, Pakistan will exhibit even better performance in the next fix tures,” Inzamam said on his YouTube channel The erstwhile great lauded Pak istan team for bouncing back in the match and controlling the flow of Indian runs after an onslaught by their top order in the early part of their innings “At one time I was thinking that India will manage to score around 220 but our bowlers bowled brilliantly to curtail them to 181 ” Inzamam in particular mentioned Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz for restricting Indian batters to a getable target He said the fast bowlers too bowled well in the death overs In the fielding depart ment, Pakistan’s catching was outstanding Barring one o two misfielding, the overall fielding has been very good He heaped praise on Mohammad Rizwan for anchoring Pakistan’s innings and playing a key role in the team s win He hailed Nawaz for scoring scintillating 42 runs off 20 balls “His hitting was out standing It was not as if someone hit by chance rather he played proper cricketing shots “We are struggling to find a proper batsman at the number four position and now I feel Nawaz can bat regularly at that place,” he added
Wednesday 7 September 2022 | LAHORE 11SPORTS
As i a Cu p m atc h e s, s ays I n z a m a m
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StAFF RePoRt Pakistan beat West Indies in their opening match of the Over 60s World Cup being played in Brisbane, Australia According to a communique here on Tues day the triumph against West Indies Masters marked the beginning of Pakistan Veteran’s World Cup cam paign West Indies after winning the toss decided to put Pakistan into batting first Pakistan Over 60s team accumulated a total of 216 runs, before were all out in the penultimate over of the innings Tahir Rashid was top scorer with an impressive innings of 58 He alongside Saghir Abbas added 84 runs for the fifth wicket stand Babar Ali Basharat & Muhammad Ashraf Pakhali also chipped in with steady knocks of 37 and 36 respectively Hafiz Mohammed was the pick of the bowlers from the Caribbean brigade bagging 4 wickets for 23 runs in his spell of six overs Early strikes from the Pakistani bowlers jolted the West Indian chase A good line and length from al most every bowler further pegged back the West In dian batting lineup as they remained behind the chase for most part of their innings Only Richard Sieuchan offered some resistance with a half century to his name Ultimately West Indies managed 193 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the assigned 45 overs, giving Pakistan Veterans a victory by 23 runs Tahir Rashid was nominated as ‘Player of the Match’ for his invaluable contri bution with the bat New Zealand are regarded as the toughest oppo nents for Pakistan and beat South Africa by 106 runs the previous day in another match In another match in Pool B the Rest of the World team got the better of USA, winning the match by a huge margin of 112 runs In other matches played in Pool A Australia com prehensively defeated the Canadian side by 9 wickets; Wales beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets in a close game while India were given a scare by Zimbabwe defend ing only 122 and won by 3 wickets
Nissanka reached his fifty in 33 balls, but Indian leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal broke the partnership and struck twice in one over Mendis also completed his fifty but Sri Lanka lost Danushka Gunathilaka for one off Ashwin Chahal then trapped Mendis lbw to put Sri Lanka in trouble at 110 4 from 14 overs But Rajapaksa and Shanaka dug them out of that hole with some inspired batting, leaving only seven needed from the final over With two still to get from two balls, Shanaka played and missed outside off stump but wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and bowler Arshdeep both failed with their run out attempts and the match fin ished on an overthrow Earlier, left arm quick Dilshan Madushanka took 3 24 in India´s 173 8 after Rohit smashed 72 off 41 deliveries Rohit put on 97 with Suryakumar Yadav (34) after India lost two early wickets including Virat Kohli for nought Kohli, who struck form after an ex tended batting slump with two succes sive half centuries in the tournament, walked back to stunned silence from a sparse crowd dominated by Indian fans Rohit hit back with a flurry of boundaries but his departure opened the door for Sri Lanka who took late wickets to keep the score down Shanaka and Chamika Karunaratne claimed two wickets each
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PM says nation needs to recall spirit of 1965 to fight floods
T h i e v e S C A n ’ T b e A l lO w e d T O A P P O i n T n e x T A r M y C h i e f : i M r A n K h A n
sion and dispatch (T&D) losses on fuel charges adjustment (FCA), including the impact of additional recovery on incre mental sales NEPRA’s members Shaikh Rafique Ahmed Shaikh and Engineer Maqsood Anwar were in attendance According to the authority, DISCOs are currently charging power consumers with Rs3 21 per unit under the quarterly adjustment mechanism However, they will charge an additional 18 paisas during the next three months if approved by NEPRA This quarterly adjustment will not be applicable on lifeline consumers The authority will issue its detailed decision on the matter after complete scrutiny of the data As per details, IESCO has sought a hike of Rs8 729 mil lion, LESCO Rs17,816 million, GEPCO Rs9,257 million, FESCO Rs11,264 mil lion MEPCO Rs19 534 million PESCO Rs12,274 million, HESCO Rs5,298 mil lion, QESCO Rs3,163 million, SEPCO Rs2 995 million and TESCO an increase of Rs3,708 million for the fourth quar terly adjustment of FY22 It is pertinent to mention here that power consumers across the country are
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ISLAMABAD A P P Pakistan urgently needs to enhance the current disaster risk finance approach as risk retention mechanisms are insuffi cient to cover the losses associated with even the most fre quent of flood and earthquake events, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report on Tuesday The report titled “Narrowing the Disaster Risk Protec tion Gap in Central Asia” said the private insurance solu tions for the natural disasters risks have achieved only minimal market penetration “These challenges are compounded by a challenging external financing context at the sovereign level making it difficult to access debt quickly and cheaply after a dis aster, and low levels of financial inclusion that exacerbate the vulnerability to disaster events of many in Pakistan,” it added Previous disaster events illustrate the challenges that Pakistan faces, for example, floods in 2010 and 2015 caused an estimated Rs32 6 billion ($326 million) losses to farmers in Punjab To support the affected farmers, the government of Pakistan provided Rs6 7 billion ($67 million) amount ing to only 18 5% of the required amount, the report added, stressing that there is a need to increase the coverage and depth of the existing risk retention instruments for high fre quency events, through enhanced functioning of the na tional and provincial disaster management funds This could be complemented with the use of risk trans fer instruments that might support either the emergency re sponse cost and/or the support the reconstruction of assets damaged or destroyed by lower frequency higher intensity events These actions are consistent with the identified work plan of the Disaster Risk Financing Unit of the National Disaster Risk Management Fund the report concluded k i s t a n n e e d s e n h a n c e d f i n a n c i n g f o r n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s : A D B
ORMER prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has defended his ‘controversial’ remarks about the top military brass, saying under any circumstances thieves cannot be al lowed to appoint the next army chief” “New army chief should be appointed on merit Thieves Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari cannot be allowed to pick the new army chief,” Imran said while addressing a public gathering in Peshawar on Tuesday The ousted premier said a “cabal of crooks” is running propaganda against him to pit his party against the army “Every well wisher of any institution will speak about merit because institutions can only progress when they are strength ened Imran while referring to Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N) supremo and three time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, asked the charged crowd Should a thieve absconder and convict’ be allowed to appoint Pakistan’s army chief?” They are trying to pit Pakistan s biggest political party against the army they are planning to disqualify me first and then to turn Pakistan s institutions including the ju diciary against me through propaganda ” The ousted premier while responding to allegations of the PML N led coalition gov ernment said those who are labelling him as anti army themselves targeted Pakistan’s in stitutions including the military in the past He also played the ruling party leaders’ video statements against the military Referring to Dawn Leaks the PTI chief said the Sharif brothers sent a message to India that Pakistan’s army was supporting terrorism while they had no role in it “Likewise, Zardari through Hussian Haqqani asked a US official to save his gov ernment from the military Imran said while referring to the Memogate scandal “Should we hand over such an important decision making to these thieves? No we will never,” he vowed The former premier said unlike his op ponents his criticism of the military is al w a y s p o s i t i v e R e j e c t i n g t h e a l l e g a t i o n s that his statement was anti army, the PTI chief said he never wanted to weaken the a r m y a s P a k i s t a n h a s b e e n s p a r e d b y w r a t h t h a t o t h e r M u s l i m c o u n t r i e s h a d faced due to the strong army Imran further said he always respected the judiciary in cluding lower courts “because justice can n o t b e e n s u r e d w i t h o u t f r e e j u d i c i a r y Speaking about his controversial remarks d u e t o w h i c h h e i s f a c i n g c o n t e m p t p r o ceedings the former prime minister said he “might” have passed harsh words against additional sessions and district judge Zeba C h a u d h r y u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y d u e t o t h e a l leged torture on party leader Shahbaz Gill in the police custody I have never allowed my party to at t a c k t h e j u d i c i a r y I r e s p e c t m y j u d i c i a r y and lower courts as well I did not want to t h r e a t e n a n y j u d g e a n d i t w a s n o t m y i n tention,” he clarified ‘ D i s q u a l i f i c at i o n at t e m p t s ’ Imran Khan said the coalition partners in cluding PML N, PPP and JUI F were try i n g t o d i s q u a l i f y h i m t h r o u g h t h e i r “ p u p p e t ” C h i e f E l e c t i o n C o m m i s s i o n e r ( C E C ) S i k a n d e r S u l t a n R a j a “ T h e s e stooges have realised they cannot win this m a t c h a n d t h e y w i l l l o s e e l e c t i o n s t o m e whenever they are held ” The PTI chief said the incumbent rulers came into power through a “foreign conspir acy engineered by the United States to save themselves from accountability Because if I stayed in power they all will be convicted of corruption and put behind bars Imran also asked his supporters to re main prepared for his call for the real free dom as come what may, we will never accept them [government]” Earlier, premising a fitting response to the deliberate distorting of his words to “malign” him, Imran hinted at a possible re buttal to the onslaught he has faced for his statements against the army chief s selec tion process
A five member US delegation led by Congress Representative Sheila Jackson Lee on Tuesday met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and offered American support for the flood hit people of Pakistan According to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) matters of mutual interest regional se curity situation and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed during the meet ing The US delegation expressed grief over the devastation caused by the flash floods in Pakistan and offered sincere condolences to the families of the flood victims They offered US support for people of Pakistan at this hour of need Meanwhile, the US officials appreci ated Pakistan s efforts for regional stability and pledged to play their role in enhancing co operation with Pakistan at various levels The COAS expressed his gratitude for the US sup port and reiterated that assistance from Pak istan’s global partners was vital for the rescue and rehabilitation of flood victims
NEPRA mulls over Rs3.39 per unit hike in power tariff
IHC dismisses PTI plea against acceptance of 11 MNA s ’ resignations
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The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Tuesday mulled over a Rs3 39 per unit increase in the electricity tariff for the next three months under the quarterly adjustment mecha nism of ex WAPDA power distribution companies (XWDISCOs) The authority conducted a hearing on the request of XWDISCOs seeking the hike starting from October, under the quarterly adjustment mechanism The hearing was held under Chairman NEPRA Tauseef H Farooqi to consider the fourth quarterly adjustment on ac count of capacity charges transmission charges, variable operations, mainte nance charges and impact of transmis
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Chinese company to establish automatic weather station in Pakistan BEIJING Ag e n c i e s Chinese meteorological company will set up an auto matic weather station and is looking forward to build ing meteorological labs in Pakistan “Currently we are working on the provision of automatic weather sta tions (AWS) and technologies If conditions permit, we are also looking to building meteorological labs with our Pakistani partners, Zhuge, CEO of ZOGLAB, a professional Chinese manufacturer specialized in in struments for atmosphere and environment told China Economic Net (CEN) The quantity and quality of me teorological equipment in China top the world For customers in South and Southeast Asia Chinese mete orological equipment is more cost effective compared with similar products with the same index and preci sion manufactured in the US and European countries “A set of automatic weather station sold at around RMB 300,000 by western countries can be bought at around RMB 200 000 from China he said citing the AWS for field environment monitoring displayed dur ing the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) which ended yesterday in Beijing The cost is controlled at RMB 50,000 60,000 Automatic Weather Station is a very economical option for Pak istan compared with the radars and satellites which re quire long term, huge investment”, Zhuge added According to the CEO, Pakistan and China can also collaborate to establish meteorological standards to improve the accuracy of the data acquired by the exist ing weather stations Taking a step further, China can provide the meteorological radars, satellite receivers, etc to Pakistan to set up a three dimensional meteoro logical observation system that covers equipment on the ground, in the sea, in the air and in the space , in formed Zhuge He further elaborated that meteorologi cal alert is different from weather forecast The former, which targets the meteorological disasters, re quires a whole set of observation devices and equip ment “In this sense, all countries are a community with a shared future in the face of meteorological dis asters, and the future lies in data sharing,” he added
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday dismissed a petition of the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) against the acceptance of resignations of its 11 Members of the Na tional Assembly (MNAs) by the NA speaker Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who heard the case, also declared the notification issued by the then deputy speaker Qasim Suri with regard to the acceptance of PTI MNAs resignations as illegal The acting NA speaker NA had committed an illegal act and also violated the court s decision he added Rejecting the PTI’s request to form a larger bench on the matter, CJ Minallah observed that the court could not interfere into the affairs of parliament The (incumbent) NA speaker had satisfied himself over the resignations of 11 members of PTI before approving the same and the had no authority to examine the standard of his (speaker ’s) satisfaction, he noted Chief Justice Minallah questioned whether it was not the responsibility of MNAs to perform their duties of rep resenting the public until their resignations were approved “There is a need to change our thinking to respect the par liament he said The court suggested the PTI MNAs to ap pear before the NA speaker in person to verify their resignations The chief justice asked whether the acting NA speaker (Qasim Suri) had verified the resignations by sum moning members individually He observed that the IHC court had given a verdict in 2015 regarding the method of acceptance of (legislators ) resignations and instructed the PTI lawyer to read it As per the constitution, it was the responsibility of an elected member to serve the people of his c her constituency for a period of five years Earlier, NA speaker ’s counsel Irfan Qadir pleaded that the then acting speaker Qasim Suri had taken the decision of accepting the resignations to avoid no confidence motion against former prime minister Imran Khan He said he was not criticizing anybody but one person was contesting election in nine constituencies Additional Attorney General Munwar Dogal and Irfan Qadir also submitted written comments to the court PTI’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry argued that the NA speaker had adopted a ‘pick and choose’ policy in the acceptance of MNAs’ resignations, as only 11 out 123 resignations were accepted The constitution had given several grounds to dis solve the National Assembly on the prime minister ’s rec ommendation, he added He also prayed the court to form a larger bench to hear the case, which was rejected by the bench After the lawyers concluded their arguments the court dismissed the petition, and asked the PTI members to appear before speaker for verification of their resignations
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As the nation marked Defence Day on Tues day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a sim ilar spirit of sacrifice and resilience was required to cope with the current challenges in the wake of historic floods In his remarks while chairing the meeting of the cabinet he said as the country grappled with unprece dented floods and other challenges, there was a need to recall the spirit of 1965 The prime minister termed unity as the greatest strength of the nation to deal with the challenges effec tively He said over 30 million people were facing the brunt of flash floods in the shape of loss of lives, infrastructure and crops Sharif paid tribute to the martyrs of the 1965 war who laid down their lives for the safety and se curity of the country He said together, the armed forces and the people had thwarted the Indian machinations to undermine national in tegrity In view of the heavy losses due to floods he said the government had decided to observe the Defence Day with simplicity However, he said, the resting places of the martyrs would be adorned with wreaths and prayers would be offered for their souls US delegation meets COAS, offers suppor t for flood-hit people
a l r e a d y b e a r i n g t h e b r u n t o f a h i g h power tariff PRAyeR timings FA J R S U N R I S E Z U H R A S R M AG H R I B I S H A 4:19 5:42 12:01 4 32 6 19 7 42 Wednesday 7 September 2022 NEWS X W D I S C O S S E E K TA R I F F H I K E F O R N E X T T H R E E M O N T H S O N A C C O U N T O F Q U A R T E R LY A D J U S T M E N T C H A R G E S