Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe on Monday told the visiting Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa that Pakistan-China military cooperation an important pillar of bilateral relations.
economic development, science and technology and information technology,” he Speakingsaid.highly of the Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the prime minister said Pakistan welcomes the GSI, which reflects the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security and advocates cooperative and synergy-driven approaches to replace the zero-sum Cold War mindset of maximisation of security through power contestation and arms racing.
Gen Wei Fenghe expressed his country’s willingness to provide technical assistance for supporting flood relief efforts in Pakistan.
The people of Pakistan consider President Xi an old and trusted friend and hold him in very high esteem, Sharif said, stressing that China’s steady development and many stellar achievements under his leadership are a source
He also said the development of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was aimed at bringing more benefits and prosperity to the people of both countries. General Wei Fenghe thanked the COAS for special measures taken for provision of safe and secure environment to CPEC projects in Pakistan and efforts towards regional stability.
He also appreciated Pakistan Army’s rescue and relief efforts in flood affected areas. The COAS thanked the Chinese defence minister for his sentiments and continued Chinese support to Pakistan.
Imran said all sectors of the economy were flourishing during his tenure when the then opposition along with the “conspirators” toppled his government which he said triggered economic crisis in the country.
Imran while comparing himself with the PPP and PML-N leaders said unlike former premier Nawaz Sharif he was not “nurtured” in establishment’s nursery and came to power after 22 years of political struggle.
“Entering a new stage of higherquality development, the CPEC would continue to unlock the potential of Pakistan-China cooperation in areas such as industry, agriculture, socio-
RAWALPINDI Staff RepoRt
The Chinese defence minister said China greatly valued its time-tested relations with Pakistan and its army, and looked forward to further expanding the cooperation.
The former PM said the price of electricity has increased three-fold since the PML-N-led government came to power earlier this year.
RIMEMinister Shahbaz Sharif Monday said that Pakistan and China have shared perspectives on the climate change agenda and the two sides would cooperate closely at the bilateral and multilateral levels to advance common objectives.
CHAKWAL Staff RepoRt
“No country can prosper without meritocracy. You have no future when our 60% cabinet members are out on bail and our leaders are Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari,” he added.
In an interview with Chinese media, the prime minister said the socio-economic development agenda of the SCO has become more and more comprehensive since its founding.
The PTI chief said his government left the current account deficit of 16 billion dollars but also increased the country’s income to 63 billion dollars.
He expressed satisfaction over progress on CPEC and hoped for timely completion of the project. He conveyed his grief over the devastation caused by ongoing floods in Pakistan due to climate changes and offered sincere condolence to the families of the victims.
tant increase during the last five months, he added. “People have been crushed under the inflation… country’s economy grew at the highest rate in 17 years during my tenure,” he insisted.
“I will not accept these thieves and will continue to compete with them and their backers till I am alive,” he said while addressing a rally in Punjab’s Chakwal district on Monday.
ISLAMABAD Xinhua
As a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), China has played an important role in multiple areas of cooperation in the SCO, Shehbaz Sharif added.
“They [government] have committed an economic murder of the farmers… exports are falling, industry is shutting down and unemployment is rising,” he Imranclaimed.whileaddressing the ‘traitors’ said, “The nation and Allah will not forgive you for subjecting the country to oppression by imposing thieves upon the masses”.
Nation won’t forget ‘traitors’ who imposed ‘imported govt’ on us: Imran CONTINUED ON PAGE 05 01 FRONT PAGE (20-9-2022)_Layout 1 9/20/2022 12:59 AM Page 1
Military cooperation ‘important pillar’ of Sino, Pakistan ties: Chinese defence minister tells Gen Bajwa
“As one of China’s closest friends, we share the joy of our Chinese ‘Iron Brothers’ and wish them well on the journey towards national rejuvenation,” he added.
P
of inspiration for Pakistan.
Pakistan, China to advanCe Common objeCtives on Climate Change, other issues: Pm shehbaz
Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 I 23 Safar, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 82 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
‘COAS appointment on merit’
Likewise, the prices of other commodities including flour and rice have also witnessed exorbi-
General Wei Fenghe made these remarks during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is on a twoday official visit to China, an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release said.
“They run a propaganda campaign against my government with the help of their paid media houses that the country’s economy was sinking during my tenure,” he said.
The SCO members have taken the initiative in areas such as commerce, transport connectivity and industrial cooperation in response to new opportunities and emerging challenges, he said.Within the SCO, China has played an important part in multiple areas of cooperation, including the work for the establishment of a development bank and the establishment of the ChinaSCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao, he noted, adding Pakistan wishes to benefit from the Chinese experience in the use of the latest technologies in agriculture.Underthe SCO’s framework, member states, including Pakistan, undertake joint efforts to address security challenges and combat terrorism, sepa-
ratism and extremism to ensure regional peace as well as economic development of the SCO region, the prime minister said. Talking about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Sharif noted that as a flagship project of the BRI, the CPEC has added momentum to the already strong bilateralTherelationship.CPEC’searly-harvest phase has helped Pakistan modernise its infrastructure, address energy shortages, connect markets with production centres and ports, and create high-quality employment opportunities, he said.
Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan Monday said that the nation will not forget those “traitors” who imposed this ‘imported government’ upon them, accusing the incumbent rulers of destroying the country’s economy.
HE impacts of climate change are “heading into uncharted territories of destruction”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned on the release of a multi-agency scientific report reviewing the latest research on the subject. The report, led by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), warns that the world is “going in the wrong direction” on climate change.
Environment Programme and UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Nearly half the world’s population is considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change — floods, heat, drought, wildfires, and storms.
He expressed gratitude for the U.S. government’s support to improve health services in Pakistan and noted that it reflects the strong bilateral relations between the two countries. In addition to the vaccines, the U.S. government has also provided over $80 million in direct and in-kind support to assist the Pakistani people in the fight against COVID-19.
On September 21, he will meet
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Executive Director of NIH Major General Dr. Aamer Ikram, Director of General Health Services Dr. Shabana Salem, and other senior Pakistani government officials also attended the event.
to combat COVID-19 in Pakistan and said, “Protecting our communities from COVID-19 is a shared priority of both of our governments, and these vaccines will keep millions of children safe from the most devastating impacts of the pandemic.”
Pakistan floods: exhibition booth setup in UN building ahead of GA meeting
By the 2050s, over 1.6 billion city-dwellers will regularly swelter through three-month average temperatures of at least 35C (95F).
This support has included more than 1.2 million N95 masks, 96,000 surgical masks, 52,000 protective goggles, one million COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tests, 1,200 pulse oximeters, and 200 ventilators for 64 Pakistani hospitals – all of which has helped save lives and protect people across Pakistan.
United States (US) government representatives and Government of Pakistan health officials visited a vaccination center in Islamabad to launch a nationwide campaign to vaccinate children with the first batch of 8 million Pfizer COVID-19 pediatric vaccine doses.
IDPs moving back home as water level recedes in Manchhar Lake
PM Shehbaz Sharif will also host a luncheon reception in honor of the Turkish president and his spouse, besides meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
Managing Director of International Monetay Fund Kristalina Georgieva and President of World Bank David Malpass, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
On September 20, the prime minister will attend a reception to be hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. On the same day, he will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron, Austrian chancellor and Spanish president. A meeting with President of European Union Council Charles Michel and participation in the Global Food Security Summit to be hosted by the president of Senegal and African Union is also on the agenda of the prime minister’s visit.
On September 23, the prime minister will address the UNGA session, besides attending Nobel Laureate Malala Yousufzai and interacting with prominent American media outlets.
PTI senior vice presidents Fawad Chaudhary and Dr. Shireen Mazari in a statement on Monday said that the PML-N ministers admitted that Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif held meeting in connection with the appointment of the new COAS. Fawad Chaudhary said that the Shehbaz Sharif was violating his oath by consulting a convict and absconder for such an important appointment. The PML-N ministers kept on saying that Shahbaz and Nawaz met in London in connection with the appointment of the new army chief and Nawaz Sharif would decide the new COAS, he said. Coming down hard on Shehbaz Sharif, Fawad stated that such decision-making would be a sheer violation of the Official Secrets Act and a breach of his oath. Fawad Chauhdry said that the people of Pakistan hold the Pakistan Army close to their hearts and the decision of a convicted person to choose its head is against the dignity and respect of the army and PTI strongly protests against this grave legal violation. Talking about filing FIR against Javed Latif and Marriyum Auragnzib, Fawad welcomed development and called upon government of Punjab that all accused should be arrested and this should not be just another routine FIR.
With greenhouse gas concentrations continuing to rise in the atmosphere and world leaders failing to adopt strategies to hold global warming below 1.5 degrees
Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 ISLAMABAD 02 NEWS
PTI berates Shehbaz for consulting Nawaz on COAS appointment
Meetings with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Chinese President Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida are also part of the prime minister’s engagements.
Khan vows to generate Rs40b from Ravi urban project
Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan said in a tweet on Monday that the work on Pakistan’s first ever Ravi green and smart city is going on in full swing. The city will be built with an investment of 40 billion dollars, and will meet the needs of 15 millionTweetpeople.further bears that the vertical city to be built on the banks of the river will create opportunities for domestic and foreign investors. Similarly, barrages would be built in an effort to replenish the 270 billion liters of water table while treatment plants would also be made to dump clean water back into River Ravi. Ravi city will have world’s largest waterfront and in order to protect city against floods, natural soil will also be built in a modern way. He further added that the environment-
To help communities cope, the WMO has promised to put every person on earth under the protection of an early warning system within the next five years.
CLIMATe IMPACTS heADING TO ‘UNChArTeD
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
LONDON ReuteRS
TerrITOrIeS Of DeSTrUCTION’: UN ChIef
Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, the earth is inching closer to dangerous climate tipping points, the United in Science report says.
Death toll from floods rises to 1,545, NDMA data shows
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to arrive in the United States of America tonight mainly to represent Pakistan at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, besides interacting with the world leaders.
Besides meeting with the UNGA president, the prime minister will also attend a dinner reception to be hosted by the US President Joe Biden.
The prime minister, who is currently in London to attend the final rites of Queen Elizabeth-II, will land in New York where he will hold bilateral meetings with the global leaders.
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Already, extreme weather events are more frequent and more intense. “Heatwaves in Europe. Colossal floods in Pakistan […] There is nothing natural about the new scale of these disasters,” Guterres said in a video message. Despite a dip in emissions during coronavirus lockdowns, planet-warming emissions have since soared beyond pre-pandemic levels. Preliminary data reveal that global carbon dioxide emissions in the first half of this year were 1.2 percent higher than during the same period in 2019, the report finds.
The floodwater in Manchhar Lake further subsided on Monday as the water continued to flow into the River Indus without any disruption. Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro confirmed the report, saying the situation on the right bank of the river was expected to be normal as soon as the water level goes down in the lake. He said the flow of water in to the Indus River was fast. Some internally displaced persons (IDPs) were also reported to have begun moving back to their villages.
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
The police in Lahore have charged federal ministers Javed Latif and Marriyum Aurangzeb under terrorism provisions for launching a hate campaign by deploying religion as a political tool to target former prime minister Imran Khan.
friendly Rakh Jhok project of the forest covering an area of 5000 acres, which was started last year, is also a part of it. Work is progressing on Ravi city. With $40 bn investment portfolio it will accommodate 15 mn ppl & will be Pak’s first green & smart city. Vertical riverfront development provides range of opportunities for int & national investors. Ravi City will have world’s largest waterfront
UNITED NATIONS Staff RepoRt
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lashed out at Shehbaz Sharif for consulting the convicted Nawaz Sharif pertaining to the appointment of new army chief, which was not only violation of the Official Secrets Act but a breach of his oath.
Federal ministers charged under terrorism over hate campaign against Imran Khan
“Others feel they can go back very soon, but I don’t know how and when,” he added. However, roads in several area remain inundated, with families using boats to return to their homes, especially in areas near Mehar and Khairpur Nathan Shah in the Dadu district. As recorded at 12 pm today, the water level at the Manchhar Lake had dropped, and was now at 120 feet. The inflow of water at Guddu Barrage was calculated at 127,823 cusecs, whereas the outflow was recorded at 121,186. The inflow at Sukkur Barrage was 144, 990 cusecs, and the outflow was 137,780. Similarly, the inflow at Kotri Barrage was 259,517 cusecs, and the outflow was recorded at 229, 722 cusecs. The unprecedented flooding in Pakistan has left families separated and distressed by climate-induced displacements. Thousands of panicked citizens had left the densely-populated district of Dadu, following a fresh spell of floods, adding to the growing number of displaced people.
The global average temperature has already warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. And scientists expect the annual average could be anywhere between 1.1C and 1.7C warmer up to 2026 – meaning there’s a chance we could pass the 1.5C warming threshold in the next five years.
But even at the current level of warming, we could pass several climate tipping points. The ocean current that moves heat from the tropics into the northern hemisphere, for example, is now at its slowest in 1,000 years — jeopardising historic weather patterns, says the report, which includes contributions from the UN
A exhibition of photos showing the devastation left behind by the climate-induced floods in Pakistan has been set up in the United Nations building’s lobby in New York, ahead of the annual session of the General Assembly. The “Floods in Pakistan: A Climate Carnage” exhibition will remain on view until September 25. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the nation’s mission to the UN collaborated in organising the exhibition. Visiting dignitaries will get a chance to view the sites of disaster and the damage inflicted by floods that have killed over 1,500 people and displaced 33 million.
T
KARACHI anadolu agency
He will also meet Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel and Malaysian PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the same day.
Pak, US representatives visit vaccination center in Islamabad
By the end of the century, without aggressive climate action, global warming is estimated to reach 2.8C.
The first information report (FIR) was registered by a local cleric at the Green Town police station. The report was lodged under sections 9 (punishment for acts intended or likely to stir up sectarian hatred) and 11X-3 (responsibility for creating civil commotion) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
SEHWAN agencieS
The past seven years were the warmest on record.
Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has committed to donate more than 78 million COVID19 vaccine doses to the people of Pakistan, and thus far more than 70 million of these doses have arrived incountry, said a press release. The United States is the largest donor of COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan. The U.S. government, through USAID, is supporting the Government of Pakistan’s COVID-19 pediatric vaccination campaign for 5- to 11-year-old children. US Ambassador Donald Blome joined the Federal Health
Addressing health officials at the inauguration campaign, Ambassador Blome remarked, “Today, we celebrate the next step in protecting all Pakistanis against this devastating disease by launching the pediatric vaccination campaign. Our recent collaboration to protect the children of Pakistan demonstrates the importance of our longstanding partnership to work together and overcome the global challenge.” The Federal Health Minister, Mr. Abdul Qadir Patel, praised the commitment of both countries
PM set to land in US to attend UNGA session; interact with world leaders
Minister, Abdul Qadir Patel, to kick off the life-saving campaign today at the Mass Vaccination Center in Islamabad. The campaign is taking place in the capital and selected districts of Sindh and Punjab provinces.
Sohail Khan, managing director of Pakistan Television, and Rashid Baig, controller programme, have also been nominated. The complaint said a press conference wherein Latif targeted Khan was broadcasted live on state-run television. In the presser, Latif had accused the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chair of “attacking the basic principles of Islam” by “supporting” the Ahmadiyya minority community during his time in the office of the prime minister.
“When Imran made the Naya Pakistan, units of Qadianis became active in Karachi […] Did Imran not give interviews to the foreign media in which he said that Qadianis will be given religious freedom,” Latif had said.
The death toll from the floods has risen to 1,545 as 37 more people, including 18 children, died in flood-related incidents in the last three days, official statistics showed on Monday. A total of 678 people have died in Sindh since June 14, followed by 306 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 299 in Balochistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). It said 191 people have lost their lives in Punjab, 48 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and 22 in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. There were 552 children and 315 women among the 1,545 fatalities, the NDMA data showed. A total of 12,860 people have been injured in the rain and floodrelated incidents across thecountry. Property damage is also increasing, with over 1.95 million houses damaged, including 782,274 completely destroyed, and 959,819 livestock killed, according to the authority. Monsoon season in Pakistan, like in other countries in the region, usually results in heavy rains, but this year has been the wettest since 1961. Currently, one-third of the country is underwater as the massive rains and melting glaciers have caused the nation’s main Indus River to overflow, inundating vast swaths of plains, and farms. Destructive rains and floods have also washed away 12,716 kilometres (7,901 miles) of roads, 374 bridges and buildings across the country already grappling with political and economic turmoil. Over 33 million of the 220 million population have been affected by the raging floods, causing a staggering loss of over $30 billion in damages to an already weakened infrastructure. Almost 45 percent of the country’s cropland has already been inundated by the floods, posing a serious threat to food security and further adding to the already skyrocketing inflation. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are also dealing with outbreaks of waterborne skin and eye diseases, with health experts warning of a higher number of deaths from diarrhoea, gastrointestinal, typhoid, malaria, dengue, and other infections than from rains and floods.
The American investors should tap Pakistan markets especially textile industry as lots of opportunities are available for them to invest. ” I have realized during my stay in Pakistan that there are great opportunities for American investors to invest here.” American Consul General Lahore William K. Makaneole stated during a dinner hosted by known industrialist, Khawaja Jalauddin Roomi in his honour, said a press release issued here on Monday. The US values its long-standing relationship with Pakistan and that is why whenever Pakistan faced any problem, America was the first to the rescue, he maintained. The current flood is a clear proof that the American government stood by Pakistan to fight this calamity since day one, he explained. If both countries expand the investment, the results will be much better for them, Mr Makaneole hoped. Multan is a historical city and its citizens are not only hospitable, but their business vision is also very important.” he noted. America wants to improve education and health systems, end energy crisis and eradicate poverty from Pakistan.” he said adding that his country has been working on various projects in Pakistan for a long time which is bearing fruit now.
Additionally, Punjab reported 191 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said. Rawalpindi reported 84 new cases, followed by Lahore with 60 cases. The total number of cases in Punjab this year has now gone up to 3,288.
Transgender rights bill should be forwarded to CII for review: Ashrafi
American businessmen should invest in Pakistani textile industry, suggests Consul General
O
In an exclusive talk with APP, Ashrafi who is also the Chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council said all religious organizations had apprehensions on the certain provisions of this bill and they should be addressed by taking the CII on board as per existing mechanism.Hesaid
Ahsan Iqbal said on Monday that productivity of social financing was very critical so it should be linked with performance to achieve anticipated results.Addressing the “1st NSPP Public Policy Conference 2022” here at National School of Public Policy, he said that three factors- productivity of wealth, distribution of wealth and competition with global economy were very essential for the growth of economy.
been around Rs 700 billion, adding that within these limited resources, achieving the goal of development in a short time wasHedifficult.mentioned that Pakistan was the country where all resources were available and on capability side, all other countries of the region were at lower side from Pakistan, he added.
Additional IGP announces cash reward for citizen for killing robber
Furthermore, Islamabad reported 57 new cases in the last 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday evening. The total number of cases in the city has increased to 1,388 this year.
Parvez Elahi said that a pilot project of preventive cardiology would be started at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and its scope would be gradually expanded to other cardiology institutes.
The government has launched an anti-dengue campaign including raising public awareness in response to the alarmingly high level of cases in the country, and has taken special measures at the dengue hotspots in order to curb the spread of the disease.
on the occasion that early diagnosis of heart diseases would reduce pressure on the government hospitals.
Research Director at Fatima Jinnah Medical University Dr Ezra Muhammad said that in modern medical science, it was possible to detect heart disease on a genetic basis, adding that the parents need to take preventive measures for children after a heartPICattack.Executive Director Dr Bilal Mohyuddin said that blood pressure, sugar, smoking and a nonstandard diet could cause heart diseases.
CM eLAhI APPrOveS PCDS eSTAbLIShMeNT IN hOSPITALS
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s Senator Maulna Atta-ur-Rehman, Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed and others had expressed their reservations on the bill.
Pakistan’s have to implant so much significance on these sectors for the betterment and bright future of the country.Ahsan Iqbal said the total volume of Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in 2018 was Rs 1000 billion which was compressed and now it had
KARACHI Staff RepoRt
PESHAWAR Staff RepoRt
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
The planning minister said that Pakistan was facing a hard situation and even a developed country could not cope with such a huge destruction, but the people of Pakistan, the federal and provincial governments, civil society and the friendly countries were all working together to get out of this calamity. Ahsan Iqbal
diseases and it would be helpful to prevent the causes of heart diseases in advance.
The CII Chairman Dr Qibla Ayaz, in a statement,
The minister elaborated that wealth creation mechanisms should be geared up as no economy could grow without resources, saying that all stakeholders should perform their active role for the generating wealth.
The SH&ME secretary, secretary Punjab Assembly and others attended the meeting.
He said that fair distribution of wealth and equality in the social system was also vital for the country’s future.
03NEWS Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 | ISLAMABAD
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Pakistan continues to see an increase in dengue cases amid the recent outbreak due to the ongoing floods in the country.Atotalof 386 new cases of dengue fever were reported across Sindh in the last 24 hours, said the provincial health department on Sunday evening. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital and
He was of the view that the best way to deal with issue was to send the aforesaid bill to the CII and it would present its recommendations to remove the clauses which were in contradiction to the Shariah.
declared that the bill in question was discussed in the council’s meeting on January 17, 2018 and after detailed consultations with the transgender community, National Database and Registration Authority, civil societies and legal and Shariah experts, it came to the conclusion that several provisions of the bill were illegal as well as insufficient to protect the rights of the transgender community.Helamented that the shortcomings identified by the council in its recommendations were not addressed before the passage of bill.
He said that harmony of political, social and economic platforms were necessary for the development of the country, adding that constructive development of each sector of the country was also important. “We have to improve and reconstruct our social, and political foundations to alleviate poverty from the country” he said.
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Monday said the Transgender Rights Bill 2018 should be forwarded to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) for review.
It was pertinent to mention here that Senator Mushtaq Ahmed has filed a petition in the Federal Shariat Court against the Transgender Rights Bill 2018, claiming it is in contradiction with the Islamic principles of heredity and it would cause complications in the Islamic heredity rules.
Pakistan continues to see growth in dengue cases
LAHORE Staff RepoRt
LAHORE Staff RepoRt
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives
He added that tax, local investments and exports were the main sources for the country’s development, saying that
Additional Inspector General of Police, Karachi Javed Alam Odho on Monday announced a cash reward of Rs. 50,000 for a citizen who killed a robber and also appealed to the citizens to be careful in such incidents as their lives were precious. According to Karachi Police spokesperson, three robbers were attempting to rob a citizen Shahid Nawaz, who in resistance opened fire on the robbers during which one robber was killed while two of his accomplices were arrested by the patrolling police. Arrested were identified as Kaleemullah and Raziullah. Police recovered illegal weapons and a motorcycle from their possession. Killed robber was shifted to hospital and further investigations were initiated.
He said: “We are in a global economy and have to be a globally comparative economy and if we could not maintain world class productive standards then wealth creation would also disturb.”
MULTAN Staff RepoRt
the largest city in the country, which reported 349 new cases.The number of dengue infections in September in Sindh has risen to 3,020, bringing the local total to 5,589 this Moreover,year.in the last 24 hours, 166 more people were diagnosed with the disease in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial health department reported on Sunday evening. The total number of active cases in the province stands currently at 1,356.
Australian organization sends representative to shelter home of 250 stray dogs damaged by floods
Animals Australia, an Australian animal protection organization working to inspire kindness to animals, sent its representative for help of a shelter home of around 250 stray dogs in Charsadda district that was badly damaged by disastrous floods. “Fazalullah, a Pakistan origin employee of Animals Australia, arrived from Melbourne to Pakistan and on Monday visited Lucky Animal Protection Shelter to express sympathies of his organization with the owner over losses and also to make an assessment of damage caused by deluge to the den of canines,” informs Zeba Masood, founder of the shelter home. On August 29, 2022 when people in Peshawar and Charsadda were in grip of fear of facing sever floods that was on way down country with ferocious speed after wreaking horrifying destruction in mountainous region of Swat, Zeba and her husband, Javed put their own lives in danger for saving innocent soles and succeeded in evacuation of majority of the dogs to safer place. The rescue operation continued for a couple of days by using boats and more than 90 percent of dogs were recovered and shifted to other areas. Around 12 to 14 dogs are missing which may died due to drowning in flood water accumulated in the whole area near the embankment of Swat river at Sardaryab or run away, Zeb informed. The representative of Animals Austrialia visited Shelter Home and inspected different sections of the facility to see by his own damage and destruction caused by floods, Zeb added. Zeba said it is encouraging to see that international organizations are showing concern for safety of dogs due to calamity. She said in reporting of floods damage, figures of killed livestock is given, but there is no mention of damage caused to other animals including dogs and cats. Talking to APP, Animals Australia representative, Fazalullah said his organization extends support especially in disaster for capacity building of such centers providing shelter to animals. We received reports about damage to Lucky Animal Protection Shelter due to flood fully submerging it in four to five feet water. Our visit was also aimed at boosting the moral of owners and supporters of dogs shelter home because after such kind of destruction, people give up their efforts. On reaching here and inspecting the site, I realized that the shelter home is badly damaged and deserve help and support which we will provide to them, he shared. Fazalullah said it is very encouraging to see that people are showing concerns for betterment of animals especially stray dogs which are mostly neglected. “Animals Australia’s organizational vision is “a world where kindness, compassion and respect extend to all living beings,” he remarked. Fazalullah informed that he would also visit such a facility in Hyderabad district of Sindh province which is working for the protection of animals and is damaged due to flood.
He said that early diagnosis and treatment of diseases would save the government resources. In developed countries, preventive cardiology departments provide valuable services for the public health, he Punjabnoted.Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SH&ME) Dr Yasmin Rashid said
Nthe directions of Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, preventive cardiology departments (PCDs) would be set up in hospitals for early detection of heart diseases. While chairing a meeting to review setting up of the PCDs here on Monday, the chief minister said that the facility would be useful to manage, screen and treat the heart diseases.
He proposed that it was essential to bring such comprehensive amendments in the law which includes Shariah provisions, reflection of the Constitution, and understanding of the real problems of transgender community.
Social financing vital for country’s uplift:
He said that awareness and treatment would be recommended in a special centre for prevention of heart
President advises youth to adopt intellectual changes for country’s future
d
The CM’s aide rejected the allegation and said that all the relevant persons visited the expo.
Punjab Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) approved 19 development schemes of various sectors on Monday with an estimated cost of Rs. 31,975.569 million.The schemes were approved at the 12th PDWP meeting of fiscal year 2022-23, presided over by Chairman Planning & Development Board Abdullah Khan Sumbal.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was informed on Monday that more than 66.5 million rupees were spent on an expo organized in Dubai in October 2021 to attract foreign investment and businessmen.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday summoned attorney general of Pakistan for assistance after former chief judge Gilgit Baltistan Rana Shamim submitted unconditional apology in contempt of court case. Chief Justice Athar Minallah, hearing the case, questioned whether Rana Shamim had withdrawn his statement without any pressure. This court never pressurized him for this act, he said. The chief justice said that it was ready to testify the witnesses on his affidavit prepared in London regarding the alleged telephonic conversation of former chief justice Saqib Nisar. The court would ensure that the new affidavit of apology was filed voluntarily, it added. The bench remarked that the new affidavit may also have serious consequences but court was not going to that extent. The chief justice inquired about the AGP and said that the court would take a decision after listening him. The AGP would also be asked that if the newspapers had also some responsibilities. Staff RepoRt
SC to organise 9th International Judicial Conference on September 23, 24
dars, Monitoring Authority, Department of Agriculture, Livestock and representatives of the Pakistan Army spent the whole day in the field to register the coordinates of residential units and details of owners.Thenewly appointed Assistant Commissioner, who is also the Chairman of the
After verifying the pre-flood and postflood house’s position through satellite maps, a team consisting of AACs, Tehsil-
LAHORE Staff RepoRt
that irrelevant persons visited the expo on government expenses. Referring to official documents she said seven cabinet members, 47 bureaucrats and public officials and 44 artists, anchors and troupes visited the expo.
Meanwhile, the House passed the Upper Swat Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and tabled KP Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the House, moved by Minister for Labour Shaukat Ali Yousafzai and Minister for Higher Education Kamran Bangash respectively.Later,
President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday advised the youth parliamentary leaders to bring intellectual change, adopt new emerging technologies, and remain abreast with the fast-paced innovations and inventions, being perpetually made on the technological front, to lead the country towards progress and prosperity. The president gave the remarks during his meeting with members of the Youth Parliament, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release. He said Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah accorded high value to the youth. The Quaid, in one of his address, had said, “Pakistan is proud of her youth, particularly the students who are nation builders of tomorrow. They must fully equip themselves with discipline, education and training for the arduous task lying ahead of them.” The president urged the youth to act upon the advice of the Quaid as they were duty bound to learn the latest techniques and skills in all sectors,and embrace the changes taking place at the intellectual level. He said the youth had the required time, energy, patience and dynamism to provide leadership to the people towards improving the economy, trade and democratic values in the country.
The Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, is organizing a two-day conference on “Administration of Justice: 75 Years – Reflecting on the past and looking towards the future” from 23-24 September at the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of Pakistan, being Chairman of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), will chair the inauguration and closing ceremonies of the conference. Dignitaries, including the Chief Justice/Judges, jurists, members from academia and experts on designated themes from all over the world will participate in the conference. The conference is going to provide a wonderful platform to discuss the challenges confronting the justice sector and offer deeper insights to determine the way forward and the future policy course in the delivery of expeditious justice for the citizens of Pakistan. The year 2022 is the 75th year of independence of Pakistan. Various institutions in the public sector have started activities to reflect upon the achievements and the challenges faced during the journey traversed so far. Likewise, it is the right time to collectively review the efforts and contribution made by the judiciary and to draw a roadmap for the future ensuring better administration of justice and rule of law in the country.
Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 ISLAMABAD 04 NEWS
houses, livestock and trees in Lower Kohistan is also in progress.
floods including Dubir Kas, Sanag, Shingyal, Bela Dubir near Jaijal.
KOHISTAN Staff RepoRt
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
Assessment Committee for Tehsil Patan and Bakand, supervised the ongoing assessment work in Patan. The locals expressed their satisfaction with the assessment and survey work. In the evening meeting, the Assistant Commissioner lauded all the team members for their hard work and dedication.
AmonG 320 fAmIlIeS of loweR koHIStAn
Shahida Waheed of Awami National Party (ANP) during the question hour said that Rs66,542,439 were spent on Dubai RespondingExpo.tothe question, Advisor to Chief Minister on Trade and Industries Abdul Khan said the provincial government released Rs496 million to planning and development department for the Expo, however 67 percent of the total amount was saved due to comprehensive planning.
KP govt spent Rs66.5m for showcasing KP’s business strength in Dubai Expo: PA told
PAk ARmy dIStRIbuteS food PACkAGeS
ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
ISTRICTadministration in Lower Kohistan with the support of the Pak Army distributed food items to the 320 families of the village councils affected by the recent
PDWP approves 19 development schemes
PESHAWAR Staff RepoRt
submitted by the Auqaf, Hajj and Religious Affairs department of Orakzai that Rs11.999 million were allocated for the department for construction and renovation of Mosques, seminaries and Dar-ul-Aloom.
The approved development projects include: Scheme for BECS & NCHD at the cost of Rs. 1,471.388 million, Construction of Mohata Dam, Rawalpindi at the cost of Rs. 3,890.625 million, Construction of Underpass at Samanabad Morr, Multan Road, Lahore. (Revised) at the cost of Rs. 2,061.560 million, Rehabilitation / Improvement of Lahore Raiwind Road from Lake City to Raiwind , Length 10 Km in District Lahore at the cost of Rs. 1,848.658 million, Rehabilitation of Road from Raiwind Phatak to Sue-Asal Length = 17.43 Km in District Lahore at the cost of Rs. 828.234 million, Rehabilitation / Improvement of Ferozepur Road From Gajumata to Kasur Length 33.00 Km, Kasur / Lahore at the cost of Rs. 6,578.139 million, Rehabilitation of Road from Nankana Sahib to Shahkot, Length 28.00 km In District Nankana Sahib at the cost of Rs. 2,493.218 million, Rehabilitation / Restoration of Sangla Hill-Safdarabad Road Length = 14.05 km In District Nankana Sahib at the cost of Rs. 1,042.069 million, Rehabilitation / Reconstruction of Sangla Hill-Motorway Interchange (M-
To a question of Nighat Orakzai of PPP, it was
4) Road from Km No. 5.10 to Km No. 11.10, Length= 6.00 Km District Nankana Sahib at the cost of Rs. 528.715 million, Rehabilitation / Reconstruction of Sangala Hill to Sukheki Road Length = 22.85, in District Nankana Sahib at the cost of Rs. 1,314.280 million, Rehabilitation of Wazirabad to Daska Road Tehsil Wazirabad District Gujranwala Section Km 0/00 to 10/00 L = 10.00 Km (Working Reaches 2.22 Km), Gujranwala at the cost of Rs. 854.850 million, Rehabilitation of Road from Awan Chowk to Bhag Chowk via Noshera Virkan Length 42.70 Km in District Gujranwala at the cost of Rs. 1,028.813 million, Road from More Eminabad to Whando Interchange via Eminabad, Channian, Kotli Nawab Tehsil Kamoki District Gujranwala L=20.46 at cost of Rs. 711.123 million, Rehabilitation of Gujranwala – Sialkot Road (Section GWA –Nandi) at the cost of Rs. 561.006 million, Rehablitation of Road from Narowal to Shakargarh, Length 36 Km in District Narowal at the cost of Rs. 1,637.650 million, Rehabilitation / Improvement of Sialkot – Marala Road (Balance Portion) Length = 12.50 Km, in District Sialkot at the cost of Rs. 1,261.598 million, Rehabilitation / Improvement Wazirabad – Daska Road, (Section km No.10.00 to 18.00 (Length = 8.00 Km), Sialkot at the cost of Rs. 902.653 million, Rehabilitation of Gujranwala – Pasrur Road Section Gujranwala To Lahore –Sialkot Motorway at the cost of Rs. 757.36 million and Widening / Improvement of Manga Raiwind Road Length = 18 Km in District Lahore at the cost of Rs. 2203.630 million.
Partial and total losses are being registered as per the Relief Act, NDMA Act and provincial government guidelines.
According to the details, under the supervision of AAC Revenue Gul Shahzada, in collaboration with Pak Army, Captain Ejaz distributed food packages to 320 families.Asurvey/Assessment of damage to
On a supplementary question, Shahida complained
The government released Rs 11.99 million to the department while 11.740 million were spent on the different projects under ADP.
IHC summons AGP in contempt case against Rana Shamim
Meanwhile, the House was informed on a question of Khushdil Khan Advocate of ANP that as many as 304 industrial units shut their operations in KP from 2017 to 2020 due to different reasons including gas issues and non-payment of income tax, adding that 5,902 labours were working in these industries.
The House was informed in a written reply to a question of Ahmad Kundi of PPP that according to Brick-kiln Association 67,480 labours were working throughout the province.
04 NEWS 20 ISLAMABAD_Layout 1 9/20/2022 12:17 AM Page 1
the deputy speaker Mahood Jan adjourned the Assembly proceeding till Tuesday 1400 hours due to lack of quorum pointed out by Ziaullah Bangash of PTI.
As the lead design consultants for the firstever resort-style living concept, One Serene Residences, VX Studios is coming to Pakistan with its extensive portfolio and timeless designs to create something exceptional.
With a dedication to high quality design, VX Studio will create elegant, welcoming and heartwarming lifestyle-centric living spaces at One Serene Residences.”
He also repeated his controversial remarks which drew rebuke from military and the coalition government. “Army chief should be appointed on merit and I believe only those nations prosper which follow merit.” He said Zardari and Nawaz can never be allowed to appoint the next army chief as they don’t see anyone “beyond their family members”. “If there was merit in their party, Zardari and Bilawal would not be the leaders of their party[PPP]… likewise Hamza would not have become chief minister if [PML-N] had followed merit. “DG ISPR, you should have got me right about [army chief appointment comments],” said Imran while referring to his controversial remarks that angered the military. ‘Break idol of fear’ Imran said he was not doing politics rather he was fighting for ‘real freedom’ and doing ‘jihad’. “Break the idol of fear… do not fear those who give threats through secret numbers. If they threaten you then you should threaten them back. “If any Mr X and Mr Y are intimidating you then you should respond to their threats. Do whatever you can… we will respond to you as well,” he added.
05NEWS Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 ISLAMABAD
bEIJING Staff RepoRt
ONE Homes is known for building spaces that foster human connection, happiness and well-being, inspiring and empowering people to live better. Focused on building a world class best resort-style destination in Islamabad, the groups reaffirmed their commitment to develop a destination that will deliver an all encompassing lifestyle, empowering and inspiring its residents to live their best lives.
The year-long, pilot project will be implemented across four union councils
Khattak had sanctioned 100 MMcfd gas for industries, of which 30 percent has been provided to Rishakai special economicKarimzone.Khan said that provincial government has taken steps for the restoration and development of industries. He explained that an industrial estate is being built at Zangi and for the first time, the PTI government has introduced an industrial policy under which industrialists can avail interestfree loans of PKR 20 million. According to the new law, the special Assistant informed, in any Industrial Estate, the plot owner is obliged to start construction within six months, and production within two months.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)Assembly Monday was informed that as many as 304 factories have been shutdown from 2017 to 2020 across the KP.
PTCL will allocate a physical space which will serve as a digitally enabled
complexity, across master planning, hospitality, multi and single family residential, retail and mixed use, repositioning, cultural and Thehealthcare.construction value of the projects
Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that the water flows in the Indus River is falling rapidly and currently there is a low-level flood on the three barrages of Sindh. He said that the inflow of at Guddu Barrage is recorded at 147600 cusecs while the discharge at 135900 cusecs. The inflow at Sukkur Barrage is 150700 cusecs and the outflow is 147000 cusecs. The inflow of water at Kotri Barrage is recorded at 294500 cusecs and the discharge at 286500 cusecs.The provincial minister said in his press statement on Monday said that 692 people have lost their precious lives in floods and rains related incidents in the province. According to the report received so far, 246,406 cattle have been perished across the province. He said that a total of 1,750,707 houses have been affected, while 703,986 have been completely destroyed. He said that standing crops on 3557711 acres of land have been completely destroyed. According to the latest report received, 10802252 population has been affected, including 2017579 families, while 6891457 people have been displaced. The provincial minister said that Sindh government, Pakistan Army, Navy, Air Force, international aid organizations and NGOs are engaged in rescue and relief work. A total of 256248 tents, 244867 plastic tarpaulins, 1980856 mosquito nets, 15430 cattle mosquito nets, 31198 kitchen sets and other items have been distributed among the calamity hit people. Besides, 650074 families have been provided ration bags. Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Irrigation Department with concerned district administrations and with the technical support of armed forces are focusing to drain out stagnant rain/ flood water from the affected areas. In this regard, all the decisions are being taken in consultation with irrigation engineers. ' Cut in the embankments can not made on the desire of any one , it is technical job of irrigation expert ', the minister said. He added that the Sindh government is working and utilizing all available resources and machinery to drain out water from the fertile lands as soon as possible so that the farmers can prepare their lands for the next crop.
Group Chief Commercial Officer (GCCO), PTCL Group, Adnan Anjum and Chief Operating Officer (COO), PPAF, Nadir Gul Barech signed the agreement at a ceremony held at Ufone Tower, Islamabad, in presence of senior officials from both organizations. This public-private partnership project will enable and up-skill women entrepreneurs to drive their businesses towards sustainable growth and resiliency.
KP Assembly: 304 industrial units shut down during 2017-20
China and Pakistan are all-weather friends and iron brothers which always stand by each other in difficult times, Commercial Counsellor, Pakistan Embassy, Beijing, Ghulam Qadir said. We will continue to join hands and create a better future together, he highlighted at the donation ceremony held by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Area (SCODA), to help the flood-affected people in Pakistan. On the occasion, Li Gang, deputy secretary of party working committee of SCODA, on behalf of the committee and Chinese enterprises including East Sea Holding (Qingdao), Qingdao LULU Agriculture Equipment, China State Construction No 6 Bureau, SCO Everest (Qingdao) International Exhibition and Qingdao Xingangtong Mineral, delivered 225,000 yuan of relief funds to the representative of the Pakistani side, China Economic Net (CEN) reported. Since mid-June, monsoon rains and floods have affected 33 million people in Pakistan, destroyed more than 5,000 kilometers of roads and bridges, and caused an estimated economic loss of $10 billion. The disaster saddened the hearts of SCODA members. Together with the Pakistan China Center, the SCODA committee immediately organized fund raising campaigns and prepared relief supplies to help the disaster-stricken people in Pakistan. The SCODA has made its modest contribution to the people affected by the disaster. I believe that with joint efforts of all, the Pakistani people will be able to overcome the floods, resume normal production and life soon, Zhang Dong, deputy director of the SCODA committee, concluded.
Leading global luxury lifestyle developer, ONE Homes, have appointed world renowned architectural design firm, VX Studio as the lead design consultant for One Serene Residences, Pakistan’s first-of-a-kind $40 Million resort-living development in Islamabad.TheGroup recently acquired 100,000 sq. ft. of prime land in the twin cities where they will be developing Pakistan’s first resortthemed development, tailor-made for overseas Pakistanis, according to a press release issued here on HeadquarteredMonday.inDubai, VX Studio is a renowned architectural design firm with projects and developments globally. Their value-driven, developer-led designs continue to turn heads and prove successful from concept to VXexecution.Studiohas a vast portfolio of delivering iconic projects of varying size and
and ten villages in the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, under which one hundred women entrepreneurs will be trained. The partnering institutions will implement a two-week training module using a standardized high-impact curriculum, focusing on digital literacy, business skills, and life skills that will come in handy in driving fledgling and small-scale businesses towards success and sustainable growth.
s
The report said that the industrial units were shut down due to non-availability of gas and electricity, financial issues, non-execution of NOC and other reasons. The House was told that a total of 5,902 employees lost their jobs after the closer of these units.
CoNtINuEd from paGE 01
The Awami National Party (ANP) member of the Assembly and former Deputy Speaker, Khushdil Khan, stated that not only thousands of workers lost
pEsHaWar aziz BuneRi
The chairman of NADRA told the chief minister that they have started stationing their mobile units in the areas where their [NADRA] offices have collapsed and stopped functioning. At this, the CM urged him to give priority to the people whose CNICs have expired.
During the signing ceremony, Irma Coello, Project Director of VX Studio, said, “One Serene Residence is our first development in Pakistan and a befitting first as the first resort-themed development in Pakistan in an unparalleled location. ONE Homes’ reputation as the world-class leading developers adds to our portfolio and ensures that together, we bring the best from around the world and make it available in the region.
One Serene Residences will be a landmark destination not only in Pakistan but across the region.”Commenting on this collaboration, Aqib Hassan, Chief Commercial Officer, ONE Homes, said, “By continuing to partner with globally acknowledged companies, and focusing on the finer details to deliver the extraordinary, we ensure that every destination we create is executed with perfection.
being provided to them so that it can be verified,” he said and added there must be digital details of the recipient and donor/administration giving them goods.
Chairman of NADRA Tariq Malik told the chief minister that his organization would develop the best database so that donations could reach the deserving people, and it could be checked.
VX Studio’s portfolio exceeds US$5 Billion including the Mandarin Oriental, Istanbul, Saadiyat Island Beach Club, Nuraxi Retreat, Sardinia, Italy and Niyama Resort Maldives.
Mandarin Oriental designers to feature in Capital’s leading resort PTCL, PPAF collaborate to boost digital, financial inclusion of women 05-NEWS-20-September 2022_Layout 1 9/20/2022 12:09 AM Page 1
Islamabad Staff RepoRteR
692 people lost lives in floods and rains related sharjeelincidents.InamMemon
jput, Secretary to CM Rahim Shaikh, and Col Anees of NADRA.
NADRA AskeD to Develop DAtAbAse of flooD-Affectees
The chief minister directed Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput to further discuss with the Chairman of NADRA and get a system/database evolved so that distribution of relief goods could be made properly.
The matter of cash transfer to the flood-affected people also came under discussion and NADRA chief suggested that the affected people would be given a facility to open their bank accounts only on their CNIC. “These accounts can be opened in mobile bank units to be stationed at relief camps/affected villages by partner banks,” he suggested.
Hub with access to basic facilities like Internet and training spaces as a central venue for the training sessions. In addition to this Ufone will be providing smartphones with registered SIMs and data packages for the one-year project to ensure their full participation. PPAF will lead the identification and selection process of the women entrepreneurs leveraging its existing presence at community level through partner organizations already engaged in diverse development initiatives.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Industries, Abdul Karim Khan, said that collection of income tax, Excise and Customs are federal subjects. He said that former Chief Minister Pervez
up to December 31, 2022. “It means all the expired CNICs are valid till the end of December 2022,” he said.
a source of livings but the but the provincial is also deprived of billions of rupee income in the form of various taxes.The ANP leader demanded the KP government to explain what steps have been taken to revive all the closed and sick industrial units in the KP. “If the government had taken any positive measures, these industrial units would not have been closed and thousands of workers would not have been deprived of employment,” Khushdil Khan said.
INDHChief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in his meeting with Chairman of NADRA Tariq Malik urged him to develop a database and system for his government so that the distribution of relief goods and transfer of cash to the affected people could be made
chinese company extends assistance to flood victims in pakistan
KaraCHI Staff RepoRt
KaraCHI Staff RepoRt
The chief minister said that the heavy rains/floods have displaced around 1.5 million people and collapsed three million houses. “Presently over 600,000 people are living in camps and a similar number of affectees have temporarily settled along the main roads and highways,” he said.Mr. Shah said that the provincial and federal governments, friendly countries, and donor agencies were supporting us to provide relief goods to the affected people. “I want you (NADRA) to develop a database of the affected people on a union council basis with the provision of making entry of providing relief goods
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) Group has entered into a strategic partnership with Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) to foster digital and economic inclusion of women entrepreneurs through training and access to digital and financial tools and opportunities for economic growth.
The chief minister was told that all the expired CNICs have been validated
Nation won’t forget ‘traitors’ who imposed ‘imported govt’ on us: Imran
transparent.“Wewant distribution of relief goods in such a smooth and transparent way so that each and every affected family can benefit.”Themeeting held at CM House was attended by Chief Secretary Sohail Ra-
Islamabad app
Plus ça change
Before I go any further, let me forestall a possible misunderstanding. For a Muslim, Islam is perfect for all times to come. The need of revisiting one’s belief system, therefore, is not for the purpose of improving the religion itself – may God preserve us! It is one’s understanding of one’s religion that is supposed to constantly evolve for the better, usually ever so slowly. Sometimes there are sudden changes as well, when certain things that did not add up suddenly start making all the sense in the world (or vice versa) when seen in a new light or from a different perspective.
While as far back as age twelve, in my heart of hearts, I had started struggling making heads or tails of concepts such as iisaal-e-sawaab, Quran khwaani or ‘khatam’, qul, chaaleeswan, and nazar oniaz; a part of me thought that so many people would hardly believe in such items without there being any substance to them. The realization that, if anything, I needed to be suspicious of concepts and practices that the masses so enthusiastically believed in would come many years later when I decided to read the Quran (as opposed to its blind recitation that I had been doing since I was eight). It was the Quran that would drive home the point that when it comes to right and wrong it is the argument that will decide an issue – not who presents the argument, and certainly not how many men are on which side.
The writer can be reached atsarimfatmi1@gmail.com
Love and fear of disapproval are two sides of the same coin. The reason why people are so reluctant to change their long-held views is the expected reaction of those who still hold those views. It is rarely the case that this sort of person says to himself: ‘Well, it is now beyond doubt that the arguments against my opinion are unassailable, and this calls for adoption
Meanwhile the rains-cum-floods have created another challenge for the government. The climate induced human suffering on a colossal scale requires mega funds to rescue and rehabilitate 30 million affectees who lost houses, farms, orchards and small businesses. More and more children as well as well as adults are falling prey to disease. They require immediate treatment. There are widespread complaints of elected reps and government ministers, particularly in PTI ruled Sindh, having abandoned their voters to their fate. Some have been accused of diverting the flood waters from their farms to the habitations of the poor. Stories about the theft of relief goods or their distribution among undeserving have started appearing. To win the next election what is required from the PML-N led coalition is nothing short of a Houdini act or support from deuce ex machina.
“W
spate of violence always causes panic in any population, but for the people of Swat in particular and the Malakand Division in general, it triggers some rather recent memories. Those idyllic locales, made even more beautiful by the wall-to-wall smiles of the friendly locals, had turned into a dystopian nightmare not too long ago when the TTP and the TNSM had taken control of the valley and imposed their violent, reactionary interpretation of the faith in place of the law of theThoughland. the people of Swat held a protest just the other day, these protests have been taking place since some time now. Our national news media, with its threecity model, doesn’t cover the law and order situation of metropolitan cities like Peshawar, what to speak of peripheries like Swat.
Though the age-old wisdom has survived dark spells of history and even we as kids are told to judge a man by his actions and not words, yet something is missing here… Why do we not take this as a call for action to be Machiavelli’s “effectual truth” seekers who look beyond the façade, rather than another “good advice”?
till the last day of his life.
I
have been alive today.
Those were not solely four brothers but symbolized millions of helpless people who are paying the price for “inaction on words”. What were those recommendations if not implemented? Mere empty words! The kind we listen to in political speeches, exploited to make pledges of giving billions in aid, constructing millions of houses without any hint of a roadmap which is not needed either for the intent is rarely there on the speaker’s end and accountability on the listener’s. The vicious routine has led to inaction on countless policies and if continued, the islands of promises would keep overcrowding simultaneous to the offshore accounts of the elite, leading that little trust of the strugglers and the international community left in the state into abyss. Let us not repeat that kid’s mistake who kept giving false alarms for help just to make fun of those who came until he was actually threatened and no one came. Foremostly understanding the essence of and implementing upon words is key to a stable society which we aspire to be.
B
Aanis Moin, a young Pakistani poet who tragically died at 26, aptly sketched the threat if words lose their meanings in the absence of “effectual truth seekers” through a poetic expression that to date is one of the best pieces of literature that ever crossed my eyes…
Politicians of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf have taken to releasing video messages cautioning the rest of the country about the rising threat of militancy. However, the sheer chutzpah of Swat MNA Murad Saeed Khan speaking out about the same is undeniable. Fellow MNA Mohsin Dawar, during each of the few times the previous speaker gave him the microphone on the floor of the house, consistently warned against the regrouping of the Taliban in the north. Though the PTI legislators, by and large, ignored these pleas, Murad Saeed Khan was one of the few who angrily denied these allegations and, in fact, took to personal attacks against the PTM leader.
What went wrong? Why can’t we live up to our words or align our goals with our habits (in Clear’s language)? Two probable answers come to mind; one, we aim too high or second, we intentionally depreciate words by not acting to subsequently weaponize them however suited. The first instance sounds unlikely as formulating robust policies and implementing them, no matter how difficult, is not impossible as exemplifications like the Civil Rights Movement in the US or Pakistan’s own nuclear successes portray; it is likely the latter then! It is just that we have started using words purely as a commodity.... As a means to different ends like attacking adversaries or making empty promises (with no in-
AreConfessionswordsenough?
And all these performed in months
06 Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 COMMENT Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965 I Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9 I Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545 I Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk I Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk
It is all well and good for the provincial government to be blamed for the current crisis unfolding in Swat; they have been running the provincial government for longer than any other individual party’s stints put together, and law and order is a provincial subject. But the peculiar nature of this violence isn’t the sort that was caused by police inaction. This is something for the military to have taken care of. The latter has let the situation come to this pass again. Are we to see another sham Rah-e-Haq, followed by a hamfisted Rah-e-Raast?
tent of execution), both of which increase one’s comparative standing. This is the recipe for a state which has, according to the infamous author of Rule by Fear Dr. Ammar Ali Jan, all the answers but without questions; responses without recognizing the stimuli. This ultimately is a heaven for the elite that treats words like any other resource to cement its power through false promising in a society unable to question for any outsider attempting so is outrightly condemned and his words termed “terror”.
On the social media (and off it), I have occasionally been accused of changing my views – of disowning things I used to believe in, and vice versa. As if evolution was some sort of a crime! I always respond by saying that I have outgrown many things: I do not wear knickerbockers any more. I stopped drinking milk years ago when I graduated to meat, vegetables, etc. There was a time I used to like Ishtiaq Ahmad novels! I even used to dunk cookies in my tea. I am not ashamed to have progressed in any of these areas. I am equally at ease owning up to my religious evolution. A man is supposed to learn till the last day of his life. Self-improvement is a lifelong labour.
YousafEditorNizami
A
Founding
After I outgrew the mystic interpretation of Islam, it was the so-called Political Islam that appealed to me for a short while. Again, it was the Quran that exposed the shortcomings of this interpretation, which prompted me to move on from that too. I have been mistaken too many times not to realize that my current views too could easily turn out to be inadequate tomorrow. That is quite all right, as far as I am concerned. However, there are those who are alarmed by such changes of religious views. They fail to realize that giving up previously cherished opinions as a result of study and deliberation is a far cry from picking and choosing from conflicting philosophies in the interest of expedience. Obstinately sticking to one’s position even after one knows better can hardly be considered a virtue.
Inaction leading to death and misery
On changing one’s views and opinions
Last year while in the opposition, the PML-N and its allies defeated the ruling PTI in nearly all by- elections, hands down. Once in power at the center and Punjab, the PML-N-led coalition’s ratings fell like stone as inflation rose, there were job cuts in industry, prices of petroleum products continued to be enhanced, the rupee continued to lose value, and the common man’s purchasing power was squeezed. The federal finance minister meanwhile put the blame for the economic downturn on the PTI government and took credit for saving the country from default. This provided little solace to the common man who sees the economic hardships increasing under the PML-N led government. Fearing that it might not be able to put the economy on rails in a short period, a section of the party has started using religious card to gain the support of extreme right minority baiters.
To return to my little story, for many years I hopefully kept on assuming that my beliefs must be based on something in the Quran; or, if not in the Quran they must surely be rooted in some prophetic narration. For why else would so many people hold them, I kept telling myself. Reading the Quran was an eyeopening experience: it was shocking how different (in many cases contradictory) its message was from the popular views on so many issues. That a Muslim is supposed to adopt a religious belief only after being shown it explicitly in the Quran is an understanding of much later vintage – after I had gone through the book multiple times.
The kind of emotional attachment associated with beliefs held in childhood and early youth is something one rarely experiences again in life. Getting a belief out of one’s rational system is hard enough. Harder still is getting rid of the subconscious traces of it. And it is challenging in proportion to the percentage of people around you entertaining those views. especially the beliefs one associates with one’s elders are not easy to question, let alone disown. This has always been the hardest idol to smash to pieces. Few things are known to cloud judgment quite like love does.
e never rise to the level of our goals but fall to the level of our systems” is what James Clear’s best seller Atomic Habits claims The wisdom dates even beyond Clear to Stoic Philosophy with epictetus famously maintaining do not teach your philosophy, embody it!” Though the age-old wisdom has survived dark spells of history and even we as kids are told to judge a man by his actions and not words, yet something is missing here… Why do we not take this as a call for action to be Machiavelli’s “effectual truth” seekers who look beyond the façade, rather than another “good advice”? This sounds like an absolute judgment but merely look around us! Convicted politicians all day long preach glorious virtues of purity even unknown to epictetus and people dutifully listen further incrementing their clout. Not to target politicians only, we ourselves are immune from actions. Rather than words leading to actions, our paradoxical words are supposed to hide our true actions and the dilemma has reached the highest offices now since political leaders are usually nothing but a shadow of their people.
The author is a connoisseur of music, literature, and food (but not drinks). He can be reached at www.facebook.com/hasanaftabsaeed
of a view more in line with the available evidence. But that would mean earning the displeasure of my friends and family; so, let me sweep all these considerations under the carpet and go on my merry way.’ It is usually much more subtle than that. Whenever it is felt that the conversation is heading in the wrong direction so to speak, any further evidence is dismissed out of hand after labelling it obviously mistaken, ill-motivated, or childish.
Fear in the Swat valley
Love and fear of disapproval are two sides of the same coin. The reason why people are so reluctant to change their long-held views is the expected reaction of those who still hold those views.
06-07 Comments - 20th September 2022_Layout 1 9/19/2022 11:31 PM Page 1
“Woh Jo Pyasa Lagta Tha Sailab Zadah Tha Pani Pani Kehty Kehty Doob Gaya Hai….”
A few words of autobiography are in order here. These are not intended to be some kind of a testimonial – ‘Look how misguided I used to be before I saw the light’ and that sort of thing. I plead guilty to being misinformed and intellectually lazy, but I have changed my views way too many times to entertain the cocky idea that what I believe today is the last word on anything. My only purpose is to illustrate the challenge that any thoughtful man is bound to face
M. A. Niazi Joint Editor Umar ExecutiveAzizEditorAziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor
Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late) Editor
eLIeFS are strange creatures. Opinions reached after thorough deliberation, those held by one’s elders and friends, and one’s wishes and daydreams are all lumped together in the consciousness as one’s beliefs. The proportion of each ingredient differs from man to man, and from time to time in the same man, but this unholy cocktail is found in the mind of even the most rational of men. Continuous re-evaluation of the contents of his mental furniture is therefore a major responsibility of every individual. If a man is supposed to be able to give an account of his beliefs – and there can be no doubt that he is – then it is his duty to strive to make his thoughts ever more consistent, well-founded and defendable.
Hard tasks ahead for PML-N led government
MRAN KHAN has said elections are the only way to avert revolution looming large at the country. Keeping the establishment’s sensitivities in mind this time, Imran Khan avoided mentioning the bloody revolution brought by Imam Khomeini. Instead he wanted peaceful transition of power through free and transparent elections. Khan nevertheless issued an ultimatum to the PML-N led administration: Announce elections or face long march sometime by the end of September. The PML-N and its allies will obviously opt for facing the march on Islamabad.
As a child, my religious views were more or less those held by the majority of the population of this country – essentially the mystical interpretation of Islam. Of course, I was too young to have acquired these beliefs after subjecting them to any degree of disinterested scrutiny. ‘Belief’ here means an impression that one perceives in those one is surrounded by, and for as far back as one can remember. It is so natural to take such opinions for granted that one never really questions them. Until the day that one does.
(He who seemed thirsty, was flooded, Shouting “Water Water” he drowned)
The ultimate disservice hijacking of words by the political elite does is they soon lose their entire essence and stagnate growth. After the devastating floods of 2010, several studies were conducted with prominent ones being a report by NDMA and another by LHC within which numerous proposals including setting up better coordination systems, assembling warehouses for requisite relief equipment, inducting flood reservists, setting up an aviation rescue mechanism... (to mention a few) were made. What next? Looking at the situation today, none of them were likely implemented as Dr. Maira Hayat (another outsider similar to Dr. Ammar Ali Jan overlooked by numerous governmental departments in spite of (or because of) her distinguished credentials in environmental studies) rightly pointed if there were an aforementioned air rescue team, those four stranded brothers in Kohistan might
HaSaN aFtaB Saeed Syed Sarim Fatmi
But, when asked about Pakistan, people talk about terrorism and security issues. That is what needs to change, and it can be changed if we promote ourselves the way India does despite all that is there that could be embarrassing for it.
Viable step
The Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, a think tank that monitors militant activities in Pakistan, said that in the first three consecutive months of the present year, there were 52 attacks by militants on Pakistan, compared to 35 last year. So far this year, 155 people have been killed in such attacks while last year the number was 68. The Pakistan Foreign Office has repeatedly stated that terrorists are using Afghan territory to carry out operations inside Pakistan but Taliban officials have refused to provide safe havens to the insurgents, saying they have been trying to stop cross-border attacks as much as possible since coming to power whereas the Taliban government does not seem to be taking any practical action against the anti-Pakistan groups.
Unfortunately, Pakistan does nothing to show the soft image and wonders that carry an attraction for foreign tourists. All it gains is negative publicity through dirty politics, turmoils and economic meltdown in the international media.
attiya muNawer
T
PAKISTAN has beauty so wonderful, varied and unique — snowcapped lofty mountain peaks that attract mountaineers from around the world, exotic wildlife, picturesque lakes, valleys, and even heritage monuments and ruins of ancient civilisations thousands of years old — but the country’s potential as a tourist destination has never been fully optimised.
We need to promote our art, culture, literature, sports, products and talented people through massive advertisement and public relation campaigns. When you ask a foreigner about India, they usually come up with things like dance, yoga and Bollywood; that is an image India has coined for the world, hiding its many unsavoury realities.
Another way to bring more people to Pakistan would be to target nearby countries, as we realise every tourist counts, for they bring in the much needed foreign currency that boosts our reserves. Then there are countries like Malaysia, China and the Central Asian Republics (CARs) that can be targeted. Once we succeed in attracting foreign tourists, it will have a snowball effect and we will see a greater influx of foreigners in the years to come.
GOveRNMeNT employees used to pay a certain part of their salaries during hard times without any hue and cry. But this time it is different. The current wave of hyperinflation has turned things around and it will be extremely difficult for the employees to allow a deduction from their salaries. Things are not too good for even the middle and upper-middle classes. Appropriate distribution of funds received for the help of the flood-stricken will be the right step in the right direction.
MALIK UL QUDDOOSKARACHI
perity in Afghanistan while the Taliban have started threatening Pakistan instead of fulfilling their promise. Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, attacks by militants in Pakistan have been increasing rather than decreasing. Although, the responsibility of these attacks has been accepted by the Pakistani Taliban or by an organization affiliated with the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Afghanistan. The Taliban government has been promising to take action against them but so far no strict action has been taken against them and the result of this ambivalent attitude of the Taliban government is that the morale of the anti-Pakistan forces is escalating and there is an increase in terrorist activities from across the border.
Although we see some foreign tourists and mountaineers in the country, we are yet to exploit the real potential that Pakistan has. Boosting the tourism sector could be a wise step, especially when we have been going through one economic crisis or the other for the last fourToyears.attract larger number of foreign tourists and put the sector on the right track, we need to take a few initiatives. The most important one is the image of Pakistan in the eyes of the world. There are many case studies that tell us how to do it. We can highlight the country and its achievements in art and culture, creating a soft image of the country. A case in point is Ms Marvel, a six-episode series that has attracted the attention of the young across the world, including the West. All we need is to cash in on such events just like India does.
If they take action against the Pakistani Taliban, the impression of independence will disappear on the one hand and on the other hand, the Pakistani Taliban will also be displeased.
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WANIASARGODHAAZHAR
Street crimes
THe said tablet has become a sort of the national medicine of Pakistan that is consumed for every problem. The same medicine is available under other less known but equally effective brand names, but ‘Panadol’ is what is known to all and sundry. Its shortage in the market can easily be nullified if people opt for paracetamol, which is the generic name, rather than for any particular brand.
He talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) facilitated by the Afghan Taliban had raised hopes of an end to terrorism in the tribal areas but after a brief lull across the border, attacks have started once again. Many young men have been martyred in terrorist attacks from across the border one after the other, although the enemy is also suffering heavy casualties in retaliatory action, it is necessary for the Afghan government to make arrangements to stop terrorist activities across the border as per its promise. Pakistan is still supporting the ruined Afghanistan government in every possible way, while the demeanor of the Kabul government has been hostile, the Taliban leadership will not only have to change its behavior yet will also have to be strictly stopped the interference in Pakistan from its land.
DR SABEEHKARACHIHAIDER
MUHAMMADPESHAWARFAIZAN
In fact, the Afghan Taliban have always presented themselves to the public as an independ-
Hopes
Tourism in Pakistan
EMAN MUDASSARSARGODHATARAR
Pakistan fails to showcase things like its hospitality, culture, people and several products that are second to none and a source of pride. The countries, especially the emerging economies from the developing world, run special campaigns to showcase what they have on offer for foreign tourists. It is the promotion that counts.
THe devastating floods have caused widespread miseries, while postflood issues are bound to take their own toll. Many philanthropists and relief organisations have put in remarkable efforts, but the scale and spread of issues is too massive for it to have a real impact. The government has to do what it is supposed to do. The flood victims are pinning their hopes on its ability to deliver.
OveR the last few weeks, street crimes in Karachi have increased considerably. No one in the city is safe on the roads and even within the confines of their houses. The government seems to be indifferent, and has left the residents to fend for themselves. Senior officers of the police and law-enforcement agencies should be held accountable for such unsatisfactory performance and utter neglect of duty.
ent group, so they are not initiating any action against the TTP at the behest of Pakistan because it will give the impression that they are following the cues of Pakistan while the Afghan Taliban want to prove that they are independent and are not following the cues of any foreign power. If they take action against the Pakistani Taliban, the impression of independence will disappear on the one hand and on the other hand, the Pakistani Taliban will also be displeased. Therefore, the Afghan Taliban do not seem ready to bear the outrage of the Pakistani Taliban for Pakistan.
It is a very sad situation that for Afghanistan, Pakistan has sacrificed the lives of more than 80,000 of its citizens, including security officers and personnel while serving as America’s frontline ally and caused billions of dollars in damage to the national economy. Instead of a cool breeze, terrorism is being carried out by the side and after the Taliban government took over in Afghanistan, it was expected that the tension and operations of the Ashraf Ghani era would end but all of Pakistan’s hopes were dashed when following a US drone strike on Afghanistan, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Islamabad that if it happens again, there will be seriousPakistanconsequences.isstillactive for peace and pros-
07 Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 COMMENT
We can and should start by focussing on promoting our strengths. This is a project that would require some effort, time and sweat by leaders across the political divide. For a nation struggling so badly, this is a must. A narrative must be sold, our image must be created, and, for that, we only need focussed and sustained efforts.
Use of Afghan territory against Pakistan
Shortage of Panadol
This situation is becoming unacceptable for Pakistan. What has been done against Pakistan by Afghanistan and Kabul administration so far, there is no room for more relaxation, so, in spite of a mere formal protest from the Kabul administration on previous incident, the matter should be raised in the United Nations in the context of the security of the country and the region, and a policy should be decided to strictly prevent the hands of Afghanistan along with Indian actions against the security of Pakistan. Otherwise, there may be serious threats to our security and sovereignty from Kabul in the future. On one side, Pakistan security forces will have to take more stringent measures to prevent cross-border infiltration and on the other side, operational series against terrorists should continue constantly until the last terrorist is completely wiped out from the homeland.
The writer tweets @AttiyaMunawer
Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively
Editor’s mail
Afghanistan must do more to stop cross border attacks from its soil
The Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, a think tank that monitors militant activities in Pakistan, said that in the first three consecutive months of the present year, there were 52 attacks by militants on Pakistan, compared to 35 last year.
The pro-israeli lobby gave up many years ago the moral struggle to justify the criminal policies of israel. Both in israel and inside the lobby, it became painfully clear that, morally, israel has very little to sell. The lobby’s main task is now to suppress the support for Palestine. it had few successes in silencing debate, intimidating individuals and institutions, and taming mainstream politics and media. But there it stops.
WHEN THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IN BRITAIN WILL BE GENUINELY DEMOCRATIC ONE DAY, AND RESPECT FAITHFULLY THE ELECTORATE’S TAKE ON FOREIGN POLICY, BRITAIN WILL BEGIN TO ATONE FOR ITS SINFUL POLICIES TOWARD PALESTINE AND THE PALESTINIANS AND RECTIFY THE PAST EVILS WHILE STANDING ALONGSIDE THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR LIBERATION AND JUSTICE IN PALESTINE
RUSSIA
The Gulf states have been more successful than israel
HiLE millions of people in Britain and around the world can not stop singing the praises of the late Queen as a paragon of moderation, sensibility, and common sense, quite a few of the people who were colonized during her reign, or were second-rate subjects in Britain itself, took a far more complex view on her 70 years of rule.
r
AND
BRITAIN COLLUDED WITH FRANCE AND ISRAEL TO TRY AND TOPPLE GAMAL ABDUL NASSER AND, ON THE WAY, FULLY ENDORSED THE INTRANSIGENT ISRAELI REFUSAL TO ALLOW THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TO RETURN, A REJECTION THAT WAS FOLLOWED BY A SHOOT-TO-KILL POLICY TOWARDS THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
The Elizabethan landscape changed after June 1967.
in diversifying their exposure to the three powers. Despite the normalization of relations through the abraham accords, israel is not fully integrated with Gulf states and has a unique relationship with the united states. as a result, israel perceives such dilemmas differently. israeli policymakers believe that maintaining a good understanding with Russia—which heavily supports the assad regime—is vital to safeguard israel’s northern borders from proxy attacks by iranian forces, especially following a significant drop in the u.s. military presence in syria. israel is often perceived as america’s closest ally, which makes it harder to keep its options open and interact freely with Russia and China. israel’s recent condemnation of the Russian invasion and aid to ukraine have jeopardized israeli-Russian relations.
POLITICAL
The Labour Party, in the period between the Nakba and the Naksa (the June 1967 war), was most of the time in opposition, but was the most loyal ally of israel, on a level unimaginable even today. an alliance that also included the Trade union Council (TuC), which, together with other leading socialists, turned a blind eye to the suffering of the 48 arabs under a cruel military rule, based on colonialist British emergency regulations that bred, among other atrocities, the Kafr Qassem massacre in 1956, preceded by the massacre of the village of Qibya before that, and in the village of samu’ after that.
The Gulf states are also some of america’s closest and oldest allies in the region. some states, including Bahrain and the united arab Emirates (uaE), have even been designated as “Major security Partners” of the united states. Given these relationships, and the joint american, israeli, and Gulf interest in ensuring a stable global energy market the White House expected these states to naturally maintain strong relations with the united states.
NatioNal iNterest Ahmed Buhejji
While the Gulf states are aware of the importance of the u.s. security umbrella for the region’s security, they have still opted to continue diversifying their partnerships. The Biden administration has kept u.s.-arabian Peninsula interactions at a bare minimum, with only a handful of high-level visits as Biden enters the second half of his term.
Ahmed Buhejji is the non-resident Grand Strategy Fellow at the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum. He is a Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, joining the Office of the Foreign Minister in June 2018. Ahmed holds a Master’s in International Relations from Queen Mary University of London and a Master’s in Business Administration from DePaul University. AND CHINA HAVE DIFFERENT MIDDLE EAST POLICIES. CHINA’S APPROACH TO THE REGION IS MORE CENTERED ON ECONOMIC COOPERATION. POSITION AS AN ECONOMIC BEHEMOTH GIVES IT LEVERAGE OVER ISSUES. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ENERGY MARKET, RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC STRENGTH IS INCOMPARABLE CHINA’S, RUSSIA’S STATECRAFT IS FOCUSED MORE ON INFLUENCING FOREIGN POLICY THROUGH HARD POWER
TRADE AND
all three of them were Christian Zionists of a sort, providing israel carte blanche in a period stretching from the early 1970s to 2010, in which the Judaization of the West Bank and Greater Jerusalem and the onset of the brutal assaults on the Gaza strip were the hallmarks of the israeli policy towards the Palestinians.
The main reason for Russia and China’s alignment is undoubtedly their shared rivalry with the united states, as well as a mutual desire for an international order not led by the united states. Today, both states are major actors in addressing major global issues, and they have created a solid camp of their own. This is particularly apparent in a world that is straying away from the unipolar model.
WITH
PalestiNe ChroNiCle ilAn PAPPe
When the Conservatives came back first under Winston Churchill and then under antony Eden, another shameful chapter in Britain’s relationship with Palestine and the arab world was written by Her Majesty’s Government. Britain colluded with France and israel to try and topple Gamal abdul Nasser and, on the way, fully
Brown, in the uN, called for total israel withdrawal from the occupied 1967 territories and demanded attention to the plight of the Palestinian refugees. Douglass Home, in a famous speech in Harrogate in 1970, went even further in locating the Palestinian issue at the very heart of what was called “the arab-israeli conflict”. What they both offered was a far cry from what was, and is, needed to bring peace and justice to historical Palestine, but it suggested policies that could have taken us in the right direction.
When the political system in Britain will be genuinely democratic one day, and respect faithfully the electorate’s take on foreign policy, Britain will begin to atone for its sinful policies toward Palestine and the Palestinians and rectify the past evils while standing alongside those who fight for liberation and justice in Palestine.
at that period, two processes began that were crucial for providing a shield of immunity around israel, which would allow it, until today, to continue the policies of colonization and dispossession in Palestine, without fear of international rebuke or condemnation.
in 2021, anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the uaE’s president, commented on the power struggle in the region between Washington and Beijing, saying that “we are all worried very much by a looming cold war. That is bad news for all of us, because the idea of choosing is problematic in the international system, and i think it is not going to be an easy ride.” at the moment, contrary to the american perception, all cards are on the table, and Gulf states have yet to choose a definitive side in the conflict. For some, especially in the Gulf, the preference has been to seek out their own interests by approaching China and Russia, instead of solely prioritizing security issues in the region.
palestine in the elizabethan era: will britain atone for its sinful policies
ussia and China have had a long, complicated history, but they have nevertheless formed a strong bilateral relationship in the twenty-first century. Following the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the two states came together because of their admiration of and devotion to Marxist ideology, strengthened by a thirty-year alliance treaty signed in 1950, which enabled cooperation on the security, military, economic and technological fronts.
More promising, in the post-1967 years, was the work of the organized campaign of solidarity led by our friends Ghada Karmi, Christopher Mayhew, and Michael adams, to mention but few of those involved in British politics in all three parties – Labour, Conservative, and the Liberal party. They – together with anti-Zionist Jews from Britain and formerly from israel, and the Palestinian community in Britain – challenged a powerful lobby, which added to its already existing structure, a plethora of new outfits, the most important among them was the Conservative Friends of israel, the largest lobby group in Europe. Today, eighty percent of the Conservative MPs are part of this organization.
Nevertheless, Russia and China have different Middle East policies. China’s approach to the region is more centered on trade and economic cooperation, with the Belt and Road initiative passing through parts of the Middle East. China’s position as an economic behemoth gives it leverage over political issues, most notably in africa. On the other hand, with the exception of the energy market, Russia’s economic strength is incomparable with China’s, and Russia’s statecraft is focused more on influencing foreign policy through hard power. Nevertheless, the u.s. military presence in the Middle East is unmatched, and both Russia and China lag behind Washington on security issues.
a clear indicator of this dissatisfaction with the White House’s Gulf policy is the region’s minimal commitment to stabilizing the energy market, which was a central point on Biden’s agenda during his first and only visit to the region. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of action (JCPOa) nuclear negotiations with iran are another key concern for both israel and Gulf states. With the West refusing to include iran’s neighbors in the negotiations, the Gulf states decided to take charge and initiate direct negotiations, including several rounds of saudi-iranian talks in Baghdad. These talks led to a ceasefire in Yemen and the return of the Emirati and Kuwaiti ambassadors to Tehran.
Of course, the Queen was not the chief policy maker in all these 70 years, but symbolically, any decision taken was after all Her Majesty’s Government’s decision, for good or for worse. so, indeed, we can all agree that an era has to come to an end, and this is always a good time for reflection and summation. From this perspective, i would like to revisit Palestine in that era, more specifically the British policy towards Palestine and its impact.
although geographically distant, the war in ukraine has been the most recent test of how Middle Eastern leaders will react to global competition between great powers. Russian lobbying in the Middle East increased in the first half of the year, as shown by Foreign Minister sergey Lavrov’s bilateral and multilateral engagement in the region. This sparked a response from the White House, with President Joe Biden visiting israel and the Gulf months later. This delayed response was understandable from a u.s. policy perspective: as israel and the Gulf states have deep-rooted ties with the united states, the relationships are not at immediate risk.
w
The civil society in Britain at the end of the Elizabethan era has shifted dramatically, and the solidarity with the Palestinians has never been higher in the history of the united Kingdom, to the extent that many endorse the call of the Palestinians to the British people to join their Boycott, Divestment and sanction campaign.
THE PRO-ISRAELI LOBBY GAVE UP MANY YEARS AGO THE MORAL STRUGGLE TO JUSTIFY THE CRIMINAL POLICIES OF ISRAEL. BOTH IN ISRAEL AND INSIDE THE LOBBY, IT BECAME PAINFULLY CLEAR THAT, MORALLY, ISRAEL HAS VERY LITTLE TO SELL
How tHe Middle east tHinks about great power coMpetition
a shared border and differences of opinion over Communist doctrine led to open hostilities between Russia and China in 1969, which resulted in Mao Zedong’s effort to normalize ties with the united states in the early 1970s. Relations resumed after the 1989 sino-soviet summit, followed by an acceleration of ties until the present day. Key moments in the relationship include Russia joining the China-led shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001 and the two states reaching a resolution to their border dispute in 2004. China’s refusal to condemn Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 further strengthened the relationship. and on February 4, 2022, at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, only days before Russia’s invasion of ukraine, the two heads of state held talks and issued a joint statement confirming that friendly ties are continuously developing.
The second process was a close association between a successful political career within the Labour party and membership in the Labour Friends of israel. Being a friend of israel could get you very far in the party.
it was more difficult to sell to the British public the israeli mini-empire as a poor David fighting the arab Goliath. a fundamental shift in the attitude of the rank and file in all the political parties occurred after 1967 and in response to the re-emergence of the Palestinian liberation movement. This swing towards solidarity with the Palestinians began to affect the policies from above.
endorsed the intransigent israeli refusal to allow the Palestinian refugees to return, a rejection that was followed by a shoot-to-kill policy towards the Palestinian refugees trying to retrieve their crops, husbandry and whatever else was left after the israeli pillage of the Palestine countryside in 1948.
Queen Elizabeth’s rule began after the Nakba. Therefore, the disgraceful British behavior that allowed the 1948 israeli ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians belongs to the period when her father was the king of the united Kingdom. Elizabeth began her time on the throne when the Conservative Party bounced back after a surprise defeat in the 1945 elections to Labour that were ruling Britain during the time of the Nakba and carried direct responsibility for its occurrence.
Two British politicians, one from the Labour party and one from the Conservative party, epitomized this change of heart. Not always due to their solidarity with the Palestinian plight, although it was part of what motivated them, but also out of an understanding that unfledged support for israel can impact negatively the British position in the arab world.
Despite these three powers’ support for different, often opposing, regional actors, policy collaboration can be achieved on matters such as navigation freedom for trade routes and the stability of the global energy market. This collaboration could potentially encourage deeper cooperation on more contentious issues that must be resolved to stabilize the region. shared ambition, which doesn’t need to be a zero-sum game, is a common denominator for all states in the Middle East.
CHINA’S
08 WORLD VIEW 20th September 22_Layout 1 9/19/2022 9:54 PM Page 1
The first was the full recruitment of respectful anglo-Jewish institutions, which in theory were meant to look after the concerns of the anglo-Jewish community, to the Zionist, and later israeli cause. The most important of them was the Board of Deputies, which transformed from being the parliament of the British Jews into an israeli embassy.
The first was the Labour Foreign secretary, George Brown and the second was the Conservative Foreign secretary, alex Douglass Home. Both were depicted by the lobby in adjectives and language that many years later will be reserved for the leader of the Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn. The sin of all three of these politicians was daring to take a balanced view on the issue of Palestine, which was immediately branded by israel and its lobby as antisemitic.
Britain was the least pro-Palestinian member of the Eu, before the new European countries joined the organization after the fall of the soviet union, and was faithfully following the american dishonest brokery in the so-called peace process while continuing to furnish israel with weapons and diplomatic support, in a world where its former colonies were trying to set a new decolonized agenda that included the liberation of Palestine.
Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 08 WORLD VIEW
so, no wonder why Brown and Douglass Home had no impact whatsoever on British policy towards the Palestine issue. The people who mattered in this respect were prime ministers, mostly of the Labour party, such as Harold Wilson, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. They were all rewarded by the Jewish National Fund, which planted a European pine tree forest on the ruins of three Palestinian villages destroyed during the Nakba, in gratitude to the pro-israeli British politicians.
in those days, a new outfit was established, The Labour Friends of israel, which became a pillar in the pro-israeli lobby in Britain, already quite well established as a pro-Zionist lobby since 1900, the year the fourth Zionist Congress convened in London and launched the building of a powerful lobby, which brought about the Balfour Declaration and the British commitment to hand over Palestine to the Zionist movement at the expense of the indigenous people of Palestine.
Pakistan Air Force continues rehabilitation and flood relief operations
specialists.Inaddition, ChildLife is conducting free medical camps for children close to their homes. Free medical camps have concluded successfully in district and tehsil headquarter hospitals, basic health units and rural health centers in Dera Allah Yar, Darya Khan, Daur, Hub, Tharoshah, Qilla Saifullah, and Odero Lal Station Matiari. At these medical camps, ChildLife’s doctors provide free treatment, medicines and referrals to flood-impacted children.
The cost-prohibitive treatment, coupled with lack of awareness in families means that a staggering 45% of children with cancer never reach the hospital. Furthermore, the unavailability of dedicated pediatric oncology centers and a specialized workforce trained to manage pediatric cancer leads to a substandard level of care and poor cancer survival in children.
karachi staff report
Dr. Rabbani said “We are staring at a public health emergency in the aftermath of floods. The sharp rise in water and vector-borne diseases like gastroenteritis, cholera, dengue, malaria,
cessities of food, flood
Maria Rashdi, Head of Corporate
personnel are working day and night for provision of basic ne-
C
Shan Foods joins hands with Indus Hospital & Health network to support treatment of pediatric cancer patients
“To mitigate the impact of floods on children, ChildLife has launched an integrated disaster response strategy,” said Dr. Ahson Rabbani, CEO ChildLife Foundation.
islamabad staff report
Held across the three major cities in Pakistan, the tournament was attended by Mr. Haseeb Gardezi, COO, Hospitality and Education Division, Mr. Shakir Bhura, CFO, Hospitality and Real Estate Division, Hashoo Group, and Mr. Asim Ibrahim, SVPO, Hashoo Hotels, along with the top golfers from Corporate Sector, and Geo Super, as the exclusive media partner. The winning team of the South Region (Karachi) was Lucky One: Mr. Ahmad Noman and Mr. Malik Mur-
Group World
A total of fifteen top teams, five from each region, com peted against each other in the WCGC National Final, held at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Lahore on 18th September. The winning team of the National Final of Hashoo Group World Corporate Golf Challenge Pakistan, DCC Developers: Mr. Shahnawaz Durrani and Mr. Saqib Rehman will represent Pakistan at World Final in Tenerife, Spain, during October 2022.
islamabad staff report
karachi staff report
in Pakistan; where around the world 85% of children with cancer go on to survive, in Pakistan only 20-30 out of every 100 children with cancer can hope for IHHNsurvival.isaray of hope for pediatric cancer patients and their families in Pakistan, providing free-of-cost, high quality treatment at a state of the art pediatric cancer unit, which is the largest in Pakistan with 85 beds. To date, more than 10,600 children have been treated here for cancer, with more than 1,500 children being added to this pool from across Pakistan and even across borders. Shan Foods has joined IHHN in this noble cause, and will cover the cost of life saving Chemotherapy for children undergoing cancer treatment.
It also runs a growing telemedicine network under which it has established telemedicine satellite centers in remote rural areas. ChildLife aims to cover every district of every province by 2030 in order to make Pakistan a childsafe country.
World Corporate Golf Challenge is the largest corporate golf tournament in the world and since its inception nearly three decades ago, and over one million golfers have competed across the globe for a chance to represent their company and country at World Finals. Loco Services is the license holder of WCGC in Pakistan, and the official country partner of Heritage World Cup, GEC Open and World Golf & Business Club. Following the success of the recent years WCGC tournaments, Hashoo Group, the Title Sponsor of the 6th edition of Hashoo Group World Corporate
Hashoo Corporate Golf Challenge: a phenomenal success
Managing Director Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, Amir Fida Paracha distributing Relief Package among the Flood Affected Families in Nawabshah.
TaxilaUniversitynotice
HILDLIFEFoundation has provided emergency care and consultation to 90,000 flood-affected children. The organization mobilized its team of more than 500 healthcare and management professionals on ground in calamity-hit locations across Sindh and Balochistan to provide urgent medical relief to children.
Communications and PR Shan Foods, said, “Shan Foods firmly believes that affordable and easily accessible, quality healthcare is a basic right of every citizen. We appreciate the services of IHHN to ensure this basic right for Throughpeople.this partnership, we aim to contribute towards the health and wellbeing of our children who are the future of our Appreciatingsociety.”Shan Foods' contribution, Dr. Abdul Bari Khan, CEO Indus Hospital & Health Network, said, “IHHN is committed to providing free-of-cost healthcare to deserving patients all over Pakistan. We greatly value Shan Food’s participation in our cause to cure thousands of children suffering from the burdensome disease of cancer.”
servis Tyres signs Gold Medallist Weightlifter as Brand ambassador
Golf Challenge (WCGC), in collaboration with Loco Services hosted four events in 3 cities, Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore this year, on 28th August, 11th September and 17th – 18th September respectively.
karachi
shelter, drinking water and medical assistance to the
A delegation from Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya Indonesia comprising Prof. Dr. Ni Nyoman Tri Puspaningsih Vice Rector (research, Innovation & Community Development), Prof. Dr. Nanik Sitit Aminah and Dr. Alfinda Novi Kristanti, visited International Islamic University Islamabad on Monday.The delegation called on President IIUI Dr. Hathal Homoud Alotaibi in his office where issues pertaining to Research Collaborations were discussed. The IIUI President briefed the delegation about vision, future plans, on-going collaborations and services provided by the university to society. The IIUI President reiterated his resolve about the initiatives to join hands for a constructive future in the areas of research and innovation. This meeting was also attended by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Shuja Syed Vice President (Research & Enterprise), Prof. Dr. Zafar Iqbal Dean Faculty of Social Sciences and Dr. Akhlaq Ahmad, Chairperson Department of Sociology.
lahore staff report
He added that it includes free emergency treatment at ChildLife’s children Emergency Rooms (ERs), tele-consultations through its telemedicine network, and treatment at medical camps across flood-hit districts of Sindh and consultationschildrenBalochistan,spansagedthefreeHyderabadcitiesChildLifeBalochistan.ERsinflood-impactedofLarkana,Sukkur,Nawabshah,andQuettaareprovidingemergencycaretochildrenroundclock.Theorganizationhasalsolever-itstelemedicinenetwork,whichalldistrictsofSindhandtoenableflood-affectedinruralareastogetlifesavingfromKarachi-basedchild
Through this MoU, Shan Foods will sponsor 142 chemotherapy sessions for pediatric cancer patients every three months for over a year.
TaXila staff report
lected non-communicable diseases in Pakistan, with pediatric cancer particularlyEvendisregarded.thoughmore than 8,000 children in Pakistan are diagnosed with cancer every year, the limited number of pediatric oncology centers means that not more than 50% are properly diagnosed and treated.
typhoid and pneumonia has put children at extreme risk. ChildLife is helping flood-hit children survive these illnesses through timely medical intervention given free of cost.”
taza. North Region (Islamabad) winning team was PAEC: Mr. Imran Ahmed Khan and Mr. Shahid Aman. The winning team from Central Region (Lahore) was DCC Developers: Mr. Shahnawaz Durrani and Mr. Saqib Rehman.
Servis Tyres has inked an accord with 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist weightlifter Nooh Dastagir Butt as Brand Ambassador. Mr. Nooh Butt will endorse various Servis and SLM Tyre brands in promotional campaigns. Business Head of Servis Tyres Mr. Muhammad Ejaz, and the CEO Servis Long March (SLM), Mr. Omar Saeed, were present at the ceremony. Servis Tyres is a well-established name in the tyre industry. It is a leading brand in Pakistan and exports to over 40 countries, upholding highest quality standards. On the occasion, Business Head of Servis Tyres Mr. Muhammad Ejaz stated: "Servis Tyres has always supported athletes and institutions to further sports in the country. Servis has sponsored national and international cricket, tennis, and rugby tournaments over the years. As a socially responsible corporation we actively support educational, welfare, public health, and sporting activities across the country." Similarly, Mr. Omar Saeed, CEO of Servis Long March (SLM), commented on the occasion: "Champions like Nooh Dastgir Butt make our country proud. We should appreciate and support their efforts. It is with this thought in mind that we are extremely happy to have him as the next Brand Ambassador for Servis Tyres and SLM and hope that he will win more gold medals for Pakistan in upcoming global competitions."
Shan Foods, a leading name in the food industry, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN), a not-for-profit healthcare Network. Founded in 2007, IHHN has now evolved into Pakistan’s private sector’s largest free-of-cost healthcare Network with 13 hospitals, 4 regional blood centers, 4 physical rehabilitation centers, 26 primary care facilities and community-based outreach programs.
09NEWS Tuesday 20 September, 2022 | ISLAMABAD CORPORATE CORNER
It is notified for the information of all that Mr. Shafqat Maqbol a PhD Scholar of Islamic Studies Department of HITEC University Taxila, will defend his research dissertation on Friday October 07, 2022 at 10:00 AM in IQBAL Auditorium of the University. The topic of his research is. The research has been supervised by Dr Farhad Ullah. Defence is open to all interested individuals can attend the open defence and be seated by 09:45 AM.
Childlife TreaTs 90,000 flood-affeCTed Children
Notably, ChildLife Foundation has treated 4.5 million children free of cost since 2010. The Foundation has modernized and manages 12 children’s Emergency Rooms in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab.
indonesian educationists call on iiUi President
Cancer is one of the most neg-
staff report PAF Bases and Regional Commands are actively participating in relief and rehabilitation operations on the special instructions of Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force.
PAFvictims.Emergency Response Teams are also assisting civil administration in rehabilitation and provision of medical services specifically in Dengue fever protection campaign in the flood affected areas of KPK, Sindh, Baluchistan and South Punjab. Pakistan Air Force has provided 4853
These challenges amalgamate into a dismal pediatric cancer survival rate
Tents, 416221 Food packages, 3203.67 Tons of ration, 242,824 liter fresh water, for the flood affectees. Moreover, PAF has established 45 Medical Camps where 58353 patients have been treated so far. 20 Tent cities accommodating 19807 people and 54 relief camps have also been established.
PAF also carried out 257 sorties and evacuated 1521 people from the flood affected areas.
PAF
Wang pointed out that the visit is of great significance. It is a major diplomatic action taken toward Eurasia, and is a landmark and important visit carried out at a key historical point.
“We are happy that at Kabul International Airport,
UEENElizabeth II is laid to rest on Monday, after a grand state funeral attended by leaders from around the world, and a historic last ceremonial journey through the packed streets of London.
In stark contrast to the spirit of the SCO, the US-led West is trying to build a Cold
Wang noted that the new round of the largest expansion of the SCO membership has consolidated its status and influence as the most populous regional cooperation organization with the vastest territory in the world. This expansion fully demonstrates that the SCO is not a closed and exclusive “small clique,” but an open and inclusive “big family,” he added. The US seems to be doing well with its bloc diplomacy and small cliques, but actually there are only 20 to 30 countries that really follow the US or are included in the clique, Deng explained. trip to Central Asia ‘breaks US encirclement’ with ‘a circle of friends at SCO’: Chinese FM Wang Yi
“Countries that have not entered the West’s ‘small clique’ have attached great importance to this visit of President Xi and are eagerly looking forward to his visit,” Deng said. “This visit is believed to bring confidence and hope to the world.”
China,” he said. At the summit, Iran officially became a full SCO member. China and other SCO members also started the procedure for Belarus’ accession, granted Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar the status of SCO dialogue partners, and reached agreement on admitting Bahrain, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Myanmar as new dialogue partners.
Whether they remain constitutional monarchies or become republics is likely to
Britain’s highest-ranking military officer, Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin, called it “our last duty for Her Majesty the Queen”, their late commanderin-chief, and the first for Charles.
After the service, Charles and other senior royals will again follow in procession past hushed crowds to a waiting hearse and the final journey to Windsor. Throughout, Big Ben, the giant bell atop the Elizabeth Tower at one end of the Houses of Parliament, will toll and guns will fire at oneminute intervals.
10 FOREIGN NEWS Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 ISLAMABAD
In turn, Washington had unsuccessfully tried to disqualify the lawsuit by arguing that Iran’s “unclean hands” — a reference to Tehran’s suspected backing of terrorist groups — should disqualify its lawsuit to recover the $2 billion of assets.
In the abbey pews will also be Liz Truss, whom the queen appointed as the 15th British prime minister of her reign just two days before her death. All of Truss’s living predecessors will be there too, plus her counterparts and representatives from the 14 Commonwealth countries outside Britain where Charles is also head of state.
But European powers nine days ago raised “serious doubts” over Iran’s sincerity in seeking a nuclear agreement, adding that Tehran continued “to escalate its nuclear programme way beyond any plausible civilian justification.”
Wang Yi said the visit also demonstrated President Xi’s confidence and influence, while indicating the further strengthening of China’s international status and influence
“The Taliban can tell their foot soldiers and Afghans that they are able to bring back their people held by opposition groups,” he told AFP.
‘extremely rare’ rameses ii-era burial cave found in israel
Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the “oncein-a-lifetime” discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artefacts. The cave was uncovered on a beach Tuesday, when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave. In a video released by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), gobsmacked archaeologists shine flashlights on dozens of pottery vessels in a variety of forms and sizes, dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king who died in 1213 BC. Bowls — some of them painted red, some containing bones — chalices, cooking pots, storage jars, lamps and bronze arrowheads or spearheads could be seen in the cave. The objects were burial offerings to accompany the deceased on their last journey to the afterlife, found untouched since being placed there about 3,300 years ago. At least one relatively intact skeleton was also found in two rectangular plots in the corner of the cave. “The cave may furnish a complete picture of the Late Bronze Age funerary customs,” said Eli Yannai, an IAA Bronze Age expert. It is an “extremely rare… once-in-a-lifetime discovery”, Yannai said, pointing to the extra fortune of the cave having remained sealed until its recent uncovering. ‘like an indiana JoneS movie’: The findings date to the reign of Rameses II, who controlled Canaan, a territory that roughly encompassed modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. The provenance of the pottery vessels — Cyprus, Lebanon, northern Syria, Gaza and Jaffa — is testimony to the “lively trading activity that took place along the coast”, Yannai said in an IAA statement. Another IAA archaeologist, David Gelman, theorised as to the identity of the skeletons in the cave, located in what is today a popular beach in central Israel. “The fact that these people were buried along with weapons, including entire arrows, shows that these people might have been warriors, perhaps they were guards on ships — which may have been the reason they were able to obtain vessels from all around the area,” he said.
have strongly pushed the expansion of the SCO and brought China’s relations with relevant countries to a new level, Wang said in a statement released on the website of Chinese foreign ministry.
An American navy veteran detained in Afghanistan since 2020 was released by the Taliban on Monday in exchange for an ally who spent 17 years in a US jail for heroin smuggling, Afghanistan’s foreign minister said. Mark Frerichs was working as a civil engineer on construction projects in Afghanistan when he was “taken hostage”, Washington previously said.
in the capital of Afghanistan, we witnessed the wonderful ceremony of one of our compatriots returning home.”Noorzai was welcomed with a hero’s fanfare by the government of the newly-styled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA). Photos show he was greeted by masked Taliban soldiers bearing floral garlands.
The doors of the cavernous Westminster Hall at the UK parliament will close at 6:30 am before the coffin is transferred to the state gun carriage and pulled by members of the Royal Navy to the abbey.
“As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you,” he added.
Big Ben tollS: Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have queued, sometimes for up to 25 hours and overnight, to file past the queen’s coffin since it was taken to lie in the state last Wednesday.
Many ordinary people have camped out for days to witness the elaborate spectacle of pageantry and to pay their final respects.
route to Windsor and the committal service at St George’s Chapel.
President Xi summarized the successful experience of the SCO, namely, adhering to political trust, win-win cooperation, equality between nations, openness and inclusiveness as well as equity and justice, Wang said, noting that it is an important guide to the promotion of healthy and just development of international relations.
Iran opens its legal battle before the UN’s top court Monday to unfreeze billions of dollars in US assets, which Washington says must go to victims of terrorist attacks blamed on Tehran.
Xi’s
Coronavirus restrictions limited mourners to just 30, led by the queen, a solitary figure in mourning black and a matching facemask. On Monday, more than 2,000 people, including heads of state from US President Joe Biden to Japan’s reclusive Emperor Naruhito, will pack Westminster Abbey, the imposing location for royal coronations, marriages and funerals for more than 1,000 years. The queen’s eldest son and successor, King Charles III, 73, will lead mourners, alongside his three siblings and his heir, Prince
The case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) comes as hopes fade of reviving a landmark deal — which former US president Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018 — that sought to tame Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Stalled talkS: Monday’s hearing, to which US representatives are set to reply on Wednesday, comes as hopes fade to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the West which gives Iran sanctions relief in return for restricting its nuclear programme.
“After long negotiations, US citizen Mark Frerichs was handed over to an American delegation and that delegation handed over (Bashar Noorzai) to us today at Kabul airport,” Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said at a press conference.
Tehran took Washington to the Hague-based ICJ in 2016 after the US Supreme Court ordered some $2 billion in Iranian assets to be frozen, ordering the cash to go to survivors and relatives of attacks blamed on the Islamic republic.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Central Asia from Wednesday to Friday is a strategic move to break US’ “encirclement” of China by expanding the “circle of friends” at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the end of the trip, noting that this is also the general view of the international public opinion.
Former US President Donald Trump pulled out of what he called the “terrible” international nuclear agreement in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions, prompting Tehran to roll back its commitments made under the pact, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or TalksJCPOA.havebeen ongoing in Vienna
War-style alliance based on ideological criteria, leading to the wave of counter-globalization and confrontational split that the world is now experiencing, Deng Hao, secretary-general of the China Center for SCO Studies, told the Global Times on Saturday.
“Because they saw China’s development, and are more in agreement with the ideas and propositions put forward by
The US-led West is now putting extreme pressure on Russia while not reducing its containment of China, Deng said. “The geopolitical stakes are at an unprecedentedly high level. Against this backdrop, the sense of crisis and uncertainty facing the vast majority of developing countries has clearly increased.”
“My release in exchange for an American will be a source of peace between Afghanistan and Americans.”Noorzai is the second Afghan inmate released by the United States in recent months. In June, Assadullah Haroon was released after 15 years of detention in the
United States’ notorious Guantanamo Bay prison.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell — who had been coordinating talks over the past year and a half — told AFP last week that negotiations were in “stalemate.” The disputes with Iran include Tehran’s insistence that the UN nuclear watchdog close a probe into three undeclared sites suspected of previous nuclear work.
The US announced in October 2018 that it was pulling out of the Treaty of Amity after the ICJ in a separate case or-
In the six decades since, Britain’s global reach has been much diminished and its place in the modern world has become less certain. But the country will still dig deep into its centuries of tradition to honour the only monarch that most Britons have ever known.
The last state funeral to be held in Britain was in 1965 for the country’s wartime prime minister Winston Churchill.
Despite the tight schedule, there are many highlights and fruitful results, which
lONDON AFP
The statement by France, Germany and Britain came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assessed that Iran’s latest reply on the nuclear deal is a step “backwards”.
Kabul Agencies
Then, the cranes that once unloaded the spoils of Britain’s vast empire that Elizabeth inherited were lowered in respect as his coffin was borne up the River Thames by barge.
JERusalEM AFP
be the defining feature of Charles’s reign. ‘laSt duty’: The queen’s death has prompted deep reflection about the Britain she reigned over, the legacy of its past, its present state and what the future might hold, as well as the values of lifelong service and duty she came to represent during her 70year reign. “She was the glue that kept the country together,” Andy Sanderson, 46, a supermarket manager who was among the last members of the public to pay his respects as her coffin lay in state, told AFP.
ers bombing in Saudi Arabia which left 19 dead. Iran, however, said the freezing of the funds breached the 1955 Treaty of Amity with the United States, an agreement signed before Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution severed relations between the Tehrancountries.arguedthe United States had illegally seized Iranian financial assets and those of Iranian companies — and with Iran’s clerical regime facing economic difficulties after sanctions and runaway consumer prices, resolving the case is crucial.
The coffin of her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, will also be transferred to lie alongside her. dignitarieS: Elizabeth’s funeral could not be more different from Philip’s at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in April last year.
LateWilliam.Sunday, Charles said he and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, had been “deeply touched” by the messages of condolence and support.
since April last year, aimed at restoring the agreement by lifting sanctions on Tehran once again and pushing Iran to fully honour its obligations.
Haroon was accused of links to Al-Qaeda but languished without charge for years at the US detention centre in Cuba, after his arrest in 2006 whilst working as a honey trader.
These included the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut which killed 299 people including 241 US soldiers, and the 1996 Khobar Tow-
Taliban say US national freed in exchange for key ally
Britain and the world say farewell to Queen elizaBeth ii
Chinese President Xi’s attendance of the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and state visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is his first overseas trip since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The queen’s death has brought two of its most controversial members — the queen’s second son Prince Andrew and Charles’s younger son Prince Harry — temporarily back into the royal fold.
Some 6,000 military personnel have been drafted in to take part in the solemn procession to and from the abbey, on the
THE HaGuE AFP
rial State Crown, will be taken west to Windsor Castle. She will be buried alongside her father king George VI, her mother queen Elizabeth the queen mother, and sister princess Margaret, reuniting in death the family who once called themselves “us four”.
Muttaqi said the homecoming of Noorzai marks the beginning of a “new chapter” in relations between Afghanistan and the United States.
The abbey service itself, taking place under London’s biggest-ever police security operation, starts at 11:00 am (1000 GMT).
After just under an hour, a bugler will play The Last Post, before two minutes of silence and the reworded national anthem, “God Save the King”.
Iran to open UN fight to free billions frozen in US
The longest-serving monarch in British history died aged 96 at Balmoral, her Scottish Highland retreat, on September 8 after a year of declining health.
After the funeral, the flag-draped coffin of the queen, topped with the majestic Impe-
dered Washington to lift nuclear-related sanctions on humanitarian goods for Iran.
The ICJ is the top court of the United Nations and was set up after World War II to resolve disputes between member states. Its rulings are binding and cannot be appealed, but it has no means of enforcing them.
“If the IEA had not shown its strong determination, I would not have been here today,” Noorzai told reporters at the press conference.
He was not released under the terms of a deal with the Taliban.Afghan security analyst Hekmatullah Hekmat said Noorzai’s release was a “major achievement” for Kabul’s new rulers.
aGENciEs
Q
Allrounder Moeen Ali said Sunday that captaining England against Pakistan — where his family have roots — was a “huge and proud moment”.
England begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Afghanistan in Perth on October 22, a day before Pakistan’s opener against arch-rivals India in Melbourne.
the World Cup in Australia next month,” added the all-rounder.
Birmingham-born Ali has captained England in T20s before but said leading the side on this tour was special.
a big series, a historic series is a huge and proud moment,” Ali told reporters.
Agencies
available, it is very important when you go to a tournament like the World Cup. You want that flexibility,” Rohit said.
England last toured Pakistan in 2005 but at least 10 members of the current squad have some experience of local conditions courtesy of their Pakistan Super League (PSL) stints.
concerns. Jos Buttler’s men were only given the green light to tour this year after a security team evaluated the situation on the ground.
“Of course, this tour is important for cricket and it is also crucial for us as a
NGLANDwill kick off their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years on Tuesday with the first of a seven-match T20 series which assumes even more importance for both sides ahead of the World Cup in Australia nextEnglandmonth. were initially scheduled to tour Pakistan last year but it did not materialise because of security
“Obviously with my roots being from here and to lead England in such
E
The publication added that without World Test Championship points on the line, the selectors might be more inclined to rotate Anderson, 40, and Broad, 36, leaving the one sat out to help oversee the net practice.
Parking for the sPectators: Parking arrangements have been made at the Expo Centre for the fans coming to the National Stadium from different areas of Karachi. The original ID cards and match tickets will be checked by the security personnel. Residents of Central and West districts via Liaquatabad No 10 and Hassan Square can park their cars and motorcycles at the Expo Centre, from where they will be taken to the National Stadium by shuttle service. Similarly, residents of New Karachi, Federal B Area, and Gulshan should park their vehicles at the above-mentioned location via Nipa. Residents of the East, Malir and Korangi districts will park their vehicles at the above location via Sharah-e-Faisal Drigh Road, Millennium Mall and Nipa. From there, they will be taken to the National Stadium by shuttle service. Residents of District South, City, Sharah-e-Faisal or People’s Chowrangi, via Jail Road, can park their cars and motorcycles at the Expo Centre. From there, they will be taken to the stadium by shuttle service.
McCullum is eyeing to streamline support staff within the Test environment. With Lewis returning to work within the ECB’s pathway system, it would mean a duo who have shared 997 Test wickets when playing together grooming their successors.
The wait is over as the jerseys of the Pakistan men’s team for the T20 World Cup have been unveiled on the official merchandise store of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The jersey has been named ‘Thunder’ as the design is imprinted with green and aqua blue on both main and clash jerseys. The official hashtag for the jersey is #GreenThunder. Fans have been provided with two options to buy the jersey, fan and pro versions. The fan version costs PKR 2500, while the pro version costs PKR 4500. Pakistan men’s and women’s teams will don this jersey during the 2022-23 season. PCB also released a kit launch video featuring Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Kainat Imtiaz and Fatima Sana.
Agencies
Tait sees himself in naseem, praises rauf for consistency
“We want him fully fit for the World Cup so we will not risk anything.”England are also without Liam Livingstone and Chris Jordan as they recover from ankle and finger injuries respectively.Testcaptain Ben Stokes has been rested ahead of the T20 World Cup, which begins in Australia next month.
“We have tried a lot of players and we have seen what each of those players bring to the table. We are very clear about our thought process and how we want to move forward.” India, who begin their World Cup campaign with an Oct. 23 blockbuster against arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne, got a timely boost with batting talisman Virat Kohli returning to form during the Asia Cup.
England are on their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years, and will play seven Twenty20s. The first T20 will be played in Karachi on Tuesday.
“It’s always nice to have options
LAHORe staff RepoRt
Pakistan men’s team bowling coach Shaun Tait has praised pacers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf for showing great improvement in international cricket. The duo had a great Asia Cup in UAE in the absence of spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi. Former Australian pacer lauded the 19-year-old Naseem and said that he reminds him of his own younger days but added that he wasn’t as intelligent as Naseem is at this age. “Pakistan fast bowlers have their natural abilities. They like to keep things simple but they’ve got so much ability and have a lot of flair. So, that’s already ingrained in these guys.” “In some ways, he reminds me of myself when I was a younger cricketer. He’s sort of free-spirited. But I wasn’t as intelligent. I think you’ve all seen his natural abilities and skill with the new ball,” he added. On Haris Rauf’s improvement and consistency, he said: “The only thing that we’ve been talking together about is the consistency I suppose that showed in the Asia Cup, that’s it.” “He’s got the pace, he’s got the swing, he’s got the aggression, all that stuff and we just talked about being more consistent in his areas and bowling in the right areas that were going to make it difficult for the batsman and be more consistent doing that. We worked and we talked about his death bowling a lot and worked on his death bowling as well but they’re just the usual things,” he concluded.
“It is going to be memorable playing in front of the Pakistani crowds and also an immense honour to deputize for Jos Buttler, while he recovers from injury, and captain England,” Moeen wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
body who I feel I represent is happy for me,” he “Leadingadded.and playing for England anywhere and in any game is a huge honour.”Ali’s grandfather was from Mirpur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and he spent some years of his childhood there.There are fears Buttler will miss the Pakistan series entirely, after suffering an injury during The Hundred tournament last month.
during the course of the series.
Rohit Sharma told reporters.
“It’s an option for us, since we have not taken a third opener, he can obviously open.
Pakistan’s jerseys for the T20 World Cup unveiled
“My mum and dad, my friends and my family and community and every-
Ali said despite the absences, England’s young side should be not underestimated, describing it as “a very good white-ball side”.
“Sevenside.T20s will be a stern test in these conditions and a good pointer for where we are, ahead of
Captain Jos Buttler has travelled with the squad but is nursing a calf injury, with Ali the stand-in skipper.
One of them, Alex Hales, will be particularly keen to impress after his three-year absence from international cricket due to an off-field issue. Pakistan, meanwhile, will look to shrug off the disappointment of losing to Sri Lanka in the Asia
The idea could be trialed on the two-Test tour of New Zealand in February, which sits outside of international cricket’s Future Tours Programme.
“I don’t think we are going to experiment a lot for that position. KL Rahul will play the World Cup and will be our opener.”
India fast bowler Shami out of Australia T20s due to Covid-19
“These two series (against Australia and South Africa) are going to be quite challenging, top teams in the world. It’s going to be a good challenge for us,” India captain
England will play four matches in Karachi and three in Lahore before returning in December to play three Tests in the second leg of the tour.
A temporary bowling coach from the county game is being sought to help prepare for England’s next series here in Pakistan — a pre-tour training camp will be held in Abu Dhabi in November.
India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been ruled out of the three T20 internationals at home against Australia, the country’s cricket board said.
Fast bowler Yadav, 34, has been part of seven T20 internationals for India, the last of them in February 2019.
KARAcHi ReuteRs
Pak vs Eng: Traffic, parking plan issued for T20Is in Karachi
Parking for the media Personnel: National Coaching Centre (China Ground) has been allocated for the parking of media personnel. Those coming from Karsaz via Habib Ibrahim Rehmatullah Road and Stadium Flyover will park their vehicle at the above-mentioned location. Meanwhile, those media personnel coming from Millennium mall will have to take Pir Sibghatullah Road and then reach Sir Sher Shah Suleman road via Stadium Flyover to reach National Coaching Centre. Those coming from New Town will come from Sir Sher Shah Road via Aga Khan Hospital.
“I am not sure (when Buttler will play), he is a bit more careful and maybe at the back end of the tour he will play one or two games but it will depend on his progress,” Ali said.
Cup final earlier this month.
The duo have drawn praise from McCullum and captain Ben Stokes for the way they have passed on their knowledge in the dressing room and on his return to the fold last month, Ollie Robinson paid tribute to their tactical input.
England legendary pacers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad could finish their Test careers in player-coach roles under plans to thin England’s backroom staff.
With Buttler set to miss the Karachi leg as he recovers from a knee injury, the side will be led by Moeen Ali, whose grandfather came to England from Pakistan after the
Moeen Ali ‘proud’ to lead England in Pakistan T20s
Skipper Babar Azam’s slump in form, and their overall batting approach in 20-overs cricket, have been major talking points and Pakistan will look to iron out the kinks
The first four T20s of the series will be played in Karachi, with Lahore hosting the remaining three. The series will conclude on October 2.
PaKIsTan and England To usE T20 sErIEs To gaugE World CuP rEadInEss
MUMBAi ReuteRs
However, as per Daily Mail, coach “Brendon McCullum’s preference in the longer term is to use the expertise of the team’s veteran seamers rather than permanently replace the outgoing Jon Lewis.”
second World War.
After the three-match series, starting in Mohali on Tuesday, India will play another three games at home against South Africa as they continue their preparations for the T20 World Cup in Australia starting in less than a month’sShami,time.who was not included in India’s Asia Cup squad recently, last played in the shortest format for the national side in November during their previous T20 World Cup campaign in the United Arab Emirates.
The first of the seven-match series between Pakistan and England will start tomorrow (Tuesday) for which the local administration has issued a traffic and parking plan to be implemented during the four matches, which are to be played in the city of lights. The plan has been formulated to ensure a smooth flow of traffic in the city during the matches played at the National Stadium Karachi from September 20 to 25. The following parking arrangements have been made for spectators coming to the National Stadium from different areas of the city.
closed routes: The public will not be allowed to go from Liaquatabad via the Hassan Square Flyover on National Stadium Road. Motorists can reach their destinations by taking the route of University Road.
“The All-India senior selection committee has named Umesh Yadav as his replacement,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.
Anderson, Broad could be player-coaches under new ECB plans
LAHORe staff RepoRt
Kohli, who bats at the number three spot, opened the batting for India in the Asia Cup T20 match against Afghanistan and recorded his first international hundred in nearly three years.Scores of 35, 59 not out and 60 in three other Asia Cup outings also signalled that Kohli was getting his touch back after numerous dismal performances.Rohit said Kohli will be an option at the top of the order but clarified that KL Rahul remained the first choice as his opening partner.
LAHORe staff RepoRt
Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 | ISLAMABAD 11SPORTS
Prior to that, Khalid Ishaq, representing PML-N in the case, accused Imran of lying on oath. “Secondly, PTI chairman, in his reply submitted to the ECP, has admitted that he had received gifts and that he sold these in the same financial year he had received them,” he said, and added, “The former prime minister has also admitted that he has not mentioned these gifts in his returns submitted to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) because he thinks that disclosing sold assets is not mandatory. The ECP can declare him disqualified for hiding these details.”
Ishaq said that Imran had said in his reply that he had mentioned the income from the sale of these gifts in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) returns. “The fact is that there is a difference between the returns of the FBR and those of the ECP.”
“The case against Imran Khan, however, will remain intact, that will now be
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday reserved its verdict on the reference, seeking disqualification of PTI Chairman Imran Khan from holding any public office for concealing the Tosha Khana gifts he received from foreign dignitaries when he was the country’s prime minister.
KyrgyzsTan agencieS
Imran’s counsel went on to add that the National Assembly (NA) speaker did not have the power to send the reference. “In fact this case has become political as leaders of rival political parties are holding press conferences to prove they are on the right side,” Barrister Zafar added.
QUETT Staff RepoRt
Member Sindh Nasir Durrani remarked that a lawmaker could not be disqualified if he or she had not concealed the gifts by design.
PM to address 77th UNGA session on 23rd September Islamabad
Balochistan CM Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo has invited Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) to join Balochistan government, sources said on Monday. Balochistan CM Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo held a meeting with JUI-F Balochistan Ameer, Maulana Abdul Wasay in Quetta late on Sunday night. During the meeting, CM Bizenjo invited JUI-F to join the provincial government and held consultation with him. The JUI-F Balochistan leader has initially informed party Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman about the CM’s invitation. However, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has sought time to consult the central party leaders. Earlier, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) head and Jamiat Ulema-eIslam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman blasted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over adopting a failed policy which increased risks for the coalition government, said sources.
Prosecutor Raja Rizwan Abbasi told the court the police investigation found that Khan’s remarks were “threatening” and, therefore, terrorism charges were applicable to the
Islamabad Staff RepoRt
Islamabad Staff RepoRt
pRayeR timingS FAJR SUNRISE ZUHR ASR MAGHRIB ISHA 4:31 5:54 12:01 4:23 6:08 7:31 Tuesday, 20 September, 2022 NEWS Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 051-2204545. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk
Islamabad police brought the charges against Khan in August after his public remarks. Khan subsequently explained that his remarks were not meant to be a threat.
IHC QUASHeS TerrorISM CHArGeS AGAINST IMrAN
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan said on Sunday nearly 100 people had died in their border conflict, as a fragile ceasefire between the Central Asian nations extended into a second day and Russia urged a deescalation. The two countries clashed over a border dispute from September 14 to 16, accusing each other of using tanks, mortars, rocket artillery and assault drones to attack outposts and nearby settlements. Long stretches of the border separating Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are contested. Clashes in April 2021 left more than 50 dead and raised the prospects of broader conflict. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire on September 16 which has largely held up despite several alleged incidents of shelling. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone to Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Sunday, the Kremlin said. Putin urged the two sides to prevent further escalation and take measures to resolve the situation “exclusively by peaceful, political and diplomatic means as soon as possible,” offering assistance, his office said in a statement.
(VOM) Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will participate in the high-level debate of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from 19-23 September 2022. The PM will be accompanied by the Foreign Minister, other members of the Cabinet and senior officials. The PM will address the UN General Assembly on 23 September. In focus will be the challenge faced by Pakistan in wake of the recent climate-induced catastrophic floods in the country. The PM will outline concrete proposals for collectively tackling the existential threat posed by climate change. He will also share Pakistan’s position and perspective on regional and global issues of concern including Jammu and Kashmir, which is one of the longstanding unresolved disputes on the UN agenda. On the sidelines of the UNGA Session, the PM will participate in the Global Food Security Summit jointly organised by the African Union, European Union and the United States, and a Closed-door Leaders Gathering on COP-27 bringing together select world leaders to discuss climate change. These will be important platforms to deliberate on effective measures required at the global level for addressing the two most pressing challenges confronting the international community today. The PM will hold a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries, President of the General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General as well as heads of International Organisations, IFIs and philanthropic organisations. Leaders will also have the opportunity to interact during the receptions hosted by the UN Secretary-General and the President of the United States. The PM will also hold interactions with the international media. Foreign Minister Bilawal will also have an extensive program attending various high-level meetings and events, bilateral meetings with a number of his counterparts, media and think-tank interactions, besides chairing G-77 and China Annual Meeting of Foreign Ministers, OIC Annual Coordination Meeting of Foreign Ministers, and participation in the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on AJK.
stitutional protections for defendants while governments also used it for political purposes. Khan has faced several cases since his ousting in April in a vote of confidence won by opposition parties in an effort led by his successor, Shehbaz Sharif.
He said he would prove that his client had not concealed the gifts he ought to have disclosed.
HEhigh court in Islamabad on Monday quashed terrorism charges against former prime minister Imran Khan, his lawyers said, a relief for the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) chairperson who has faced a spate of legal woes since being ousted from office in April.
On Monday, a two-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, announced the verdict on a request made by the party to quash the case.
“This is actually an order to quash the charges,” another of his lawyers, Babar Awan, told Reuters, adding: “It only proves that these are trumped up charges, and just a tool for political victimisation.”
However,politician.defence lawyer Salman Safdar argued the statements were about taking legal action against the judge and the policeThechief.chief justice observed that provisions of were misused in the past, referring to the 2018 case of former senator Faisal Raza Abidi of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who was acquitted of the charges the following year.
CM Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo invites JUI-F to join Balochistan govt
Sharif meetS King CharleS aS UK prepareS for QUeen’S fUneral: The prime minister met with King Charles at Buckingham Palace as the United Kingdom prepared for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, the climax of 11 days of mourning. According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, the meeting was held at a reception on Sunday (early Monday in Pakistan) hosted by the king in honour of the visiting leaders, during which Shehbaz Sharif extended his condolences to Charles over the passing away of his mother.
The court said Khan’s alleged offence didn’t attract terrorism sections of the law, Faisal Chaudhry, one of his lawyers told Reuters.
Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflict leaves nearly 100 dead
A five-member ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, heard the reference.Speaking on the occasion, Barrister Ali Zafar, counsel for the former prime minister, said that the ECP was not authorized to judge the integrity of members of the parliament (MP). “The Supreme Court (SC) has already declared that the election commission is not a court,” he said, adding, “In order to declare a legislator disqualified under the Article 62 1-F, court’s declaration is must.”
The charges followed a speech Khan gave in Islamabad last month in which he vowed to sue the chief of Islamabad police and a junior judge, and alleged that Shehbaz Gill, his chief of staff, had been tortured and subjected to sexual abuse after his arrest.
Member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ikramullah asked as to what would be the consequences of receiving and selling the gifts and then not disclosing it.
ECP reserves verdict on Imran Khan’s disqualification in Tosha Khana case
Staff RepoRt
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tried in an ordinary court, instead of an antiterrorism court,” Chaudhry said.
If convicted, he could face disqualification from politics for at least five years.
Another case involves foreign funding for his party that an election tribunal found unlawful.Since his ousting, he has held nationwide rallies to demand snap polls, but the ruling coalition has refused it, saying the election will be held as scheduled by the end of 2023.
One of the cases is at a crucial stage in the high court, which is slated to indict Khan on Sept 22 in a contempt of court case for threatening the judicial officer.
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Critics of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 say the law helps security forces skirt con-