Epaper_22-10-02 ISB

Mentally prepared for arrest

ISLAMABAD Staff report

HOURSafter a local magistrate in Islamabad issued warrant for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest, the former prime minister on Saturday said that the current rulers will try to arrest him and put him into prison ahead of elections and he was ready for it.

“The last time I came to know about my arrest, I had packed my bag and was prepared for it… I am ready for my arrest,” Imran said during an interview with a private TV channel.

he alleged that Sharifs and Zardari work like a mafia and they either buy peo-

ple or get them murdered.

“I know they would try to disqualify me… they want to hold the election when I am disqualified,” he said, adding that he is mentally prepared for all possibilities and will continue to fight for the ‘real freedom’ for people.

To a question about the ‘missing’ diplomatic cipher, the ex-premier said that it is available and it was not made public because it is a state secret.

“Cipher exists and it is with the chief justice. The president and the army chief have also seen it,” he went on to say.

however, he admitted that the copy of cipher he had was missing and he doesn’t know about its whereabouts.

elaborating why he used the word let-

ter instead of cipher or transcript, Imran said that he was talking in context of a public gathering.

“If I say cipher during a jalsa, no one would have understood it. I used [the word] letter for the understanding of people. when you address people you use common terms.”

To a question about a meeting at the presidency in which a high-level official including members of the establishment participated, the former premier said: “I don’t want to lie and I cannot reveal the truth.”

ARREST WARRANTS: earlier on Saturday, a judicial magistrate Islamabad issued arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s Chairman Imran Khan over his continued absence from court in a case pertaining to threatening remarks about a female judge and police high-ups.

Judicial Magistrate Rana Mujahid Raheem had repeatedly summoned Imran Khan in the case but he failed to appear. Upon which, the court issued arrest warrants against the PTI chief.

The court had ordered the Margalla Police ShO to present the accused Imran Khan Niazi, son of Ikramullah Niazi before the court after arresting him.

It may be mentioned here that the capital police had registered FIR No.407 on August 20, against Imran Khan under sections 504/506 and 188/189 for threatening female judge Zeba Chaudhry and officials of Islamabad Police.

however, the clauses of Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) were removed from the FIR on the directives of Islamabad high Court (IhC). The case was shifted to the District and Sessions Court from the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) after the IhC decision.

The Islamabad police on Saturday said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan could be arrested if he fails to appear before the court for threatening a female judge and Islamabad police officials.

Cipher, audio leak prove Imran undermined constitution, national interest: Maryam

LAHORE Saleem Jadoon

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz said on Saturday that audio-leak regarding cipher exposed the real face of Imran Khan and proved that he played havoc with the Pakistan’s Constitution, security, diplomatic and foreign relations, and democratic system.

Maryam demanded that Imran Khan should be thrown into prison for violating the Constitution and playing with the national interest, saying “he is still a ladla of someone”.

“Certainly he is not our blue-eyed boy but of someone who is in South Punjab these days… but he too is not sincere with him but using him for his own vested interests,” she remarked. She was addressing a press conference here, while Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Auranzeb and Pervez Rashid also accompanied her.

Maryam Nawaz said though she did not want to utter Imran Khan’s name, she had to expose his real face and lies before people, adding that many audios had earlier come forth against PML-N’s leadership, but there was no such audio in which the PML-N leaders had ever talked against Pakistan.

Of course, she said, there had been a conspiracy against Pakistan, and it was not by the PML-N, PPP or any other party of the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement), the establishment and any foreign power, but by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. PTI leaders — Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umar, and Azam Khan, the then prime minister’s principal secretary, were involved in the cipher conspiracy, she added.

g SAyS ShARIFS, ZARDARI wORK LIKe A MAFIA… eITheR BUy OR geT PeOPLe MURDeReD

g CLAIMS he KNOwS They wANT TO hOLD POLLS wheN he IS DISQUALIFIeD

PM revIewS relIef, rehab acTIvITIeS In flood - hIT areaS

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

PRIMEMinister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday here held a meeting to review relief and rehabilitation activities for people in the flood affected areas.

The PM issued special instructions to ensure uninterrupted supply of edible and relief items to the flood hit people.

The prime minister instructed to extend special cooperation to the provincial governments for supply of the edible and relief items so that the problems faced during the relief activities could be resolved.

While taking notice of the rising prices of food items in the aftermath of floods,

Shehbaz Sharif directed for immediate resolution of problems in determining the prices of food items.

He issued instructions for enhancing security for people involved in the relief activities and during supply of assistance, in collaboration with the provincial governments.

He ordered steps to resolve complaints regarding deductions from the cash assistance and delivery of relief items to the flood affectees.

He asked the authorities to complete as early as possible the assessment of losses caused by devastation of floods.

Officials of the National Flood Response Coordination Center gave detailed briefing on the restoration work in the flood affected areas across the country.

Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Coordinator National Flood Response and Coordination Center Major Zafar Iqbal, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lt General Akhtar Nawaz, provincial chief secretaries and senior officials attended the meeting.

PM CONDOLES WITH US GOVT, PEOPLE ON LOSS OF LIVES IN HURRICANE IAN: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday condoled with the government and people of the United States on the loss of precious lives and damages in the hurricane Ian.

In a tweet on social media platform Twitter, he said, “We send our deepest

PTI wants investigation into leaked conversations

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has asked the Supreme Court to investigate the private and confidential conversations between the prime minister and members of his government and family recently leaked on the Internet, as it sought a criminal indictment for Shehbaz Sharif and his administration for hatching a “conspiracy” against Pakistan.

Sharif and other ministers talking about official matters.

In at least one instance, Maryam Nawaz, vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), could also be heard.

Subsequently, on Tuesday, Sharif ordered the formation of a committee to investigate the leaking of audio files and a review of cybersecurity at his office.

Pakistan govt’s Twitter account withheld in India, again

ISLAMABAD agencieS

The official Twitter account of Pakistan government has been withheld in India for a second time in recent months, according to the Indian media. The microblogging site in a notice on Saturday, only visible to Indian users, said the Twitter handle (@GovtofPakistan) has been withheld in response to a ‘legal demand’. The account was reactivated a few months ago after it was suspended on the complaint of New Delhi in June. At that time, Pakistan had urged the social media website to restore its official accounts banned in India, terming the move by New Delhi as alarming and in violation of international norms. Several Twitter accounts, including that of Pakistani missions aboard, were withheld in India at New Delhi’s request. The Foreign Office had confirmed that the official Twitter handles of Pakistani missions in Iran, Egypt, Turkey and the United Nations were banned in India. In addition to these bans, the official Twitter handle of state-run Radio Pakistan was also withheld in India. Several other social media accounts, including Indian journalists critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s policies, were also banned earlier this year. Premier Modi’s administration has been accused of stifling criticism, with rights groups sounding the alarm over growing curbs on freedom of speech in the world’s largest democracy. Last year, the government ordered Twitter to take down tweets by the US think-tank Freedom House that had discussed the detention of Indian citizens for questioning government policy on social media, and the use of internet shutdowns to stifle dissent. The tweets were no longer available in India as of this week, along with several accounts representing Pakistan’s government that had been flagged by India. Twitter said in a statement to AFP that the removals were “limited to the specific jurisdiction/country where the content is determined to be illegal”.

The leaks started on September 24 when multiple files of purported conversations, apparently recorded in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), emerged online. They apparently showed

In a petition submitted to the Supreme Court on Saturday, the opposition party said the “… prime minister and his cabinet members […] can be heard discussing a heinous strategy to outplay the petitioner from the parliamentary politics in most illegal, unlawful and objectionable manner.”

It noted with concern that the entire discussion revolves around a “criminal strategy/conspiracy” to affect and target the party through piecemeal acceptance of the resignations tendered by PTI MPs on April 11.

The party said the prime minister, in a press conference on Tuesday, admitted the “actuality and existence” of the leaks.

“It is also important to bring on record that the Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan have already admitted the reality of the audio leaks,” the petition observed.

The party claimed the prime minister and his minister with aid of Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, speaker of the National

Protesting farmers halt talks with govt following ‘threats hurled by interior minister’

ISLAMABAD agencieS

Following threats by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, the leadership of Kissan Ittehad has decided to call off dialogue with the federal government and it would soon announce its future strategy.

On the other hand, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has termed the farmers’ protest without any justification. The deadlock between the government and the protesting farmers continued as another round of talks ended without any result on Saturday.

“The farmers leaders were informed about the situation in a meeting,” interior minister said, adding that the Cabinet Committee is working over the electricity bills of the agricultural tube wells. However, he said that the committee will sit again on Monday and will consider over all suggestions.

“The government is serious over legitimate demands of the farmers and has already accepted

postponement of the payments of tube well bills,” he said and added that a notification to this respect has already been issued, protest over the matter is unjustified.

“Protest is impermissible in Red Zone by farmers, any other group or party,” the minister said. “Law will come into motion against those marching on the Red Zone,” interior minister warned.

“The Supreme Court has clearly ruled against any protest in

Salik sees huge potential in furthering economic ties between Pakistan and South Korea

ISLAMABAD

Mian abRaR

Federal Minister for Board of Investment (BOI) Chaudhry Salik Hussain has said that there is a huge potential in furthering economic ties between Pakistan and South Korea and the agreement between Samsung and Lucky Motors for production of smart-phones in Pakistan would further strengthen the economic and trade ties between the two friendly countries.

Addressing the participants of a reception held to commemorate the National Foundation and the Armed Forces Day of Republic of Korea (RoK) here as chief guest, Salik Hussain said there is room for further expansion of economic, trade relations between Republic of

Korea and Pakistan.

The Minister said the diplomatic relations between the two countries are based on bilateral diplomatic and trade ties, which have deep roots in history. The minister said South Korea and Pakistan have a great potential of skilled labor which has played its full role for the development not only of their country but also in different regions of the world.

He recalled the history of the start of diplomatic bilateral relations and also refreshed that in the decades of the 60s and 70s, the Pakistani and Korean workforce played a key role in the construction of today’s Middle East.

“Our relations date back deep into history in ‘Gandhara civilization”, he said. He also referred to the joint venture of the Korean South East Power Company with a local

the Red Zone,” he added.

Talking to journalists earlier, representatives of Kissan Ittehad said that the interior minister adopted a threatening tone during the negotiations. The farmers claimed that the deliberations were halted as the government refused to accept their demands.

The Kissan Ittehad has vowed to continue the protest till the fulfilment of demands, warning of marching towards the red zone.

Assembly, violated their oath and disregarded the law and the Constitution.

“The admission on the part of the incumbent federal government requires stern action against the prime minister and the federal ministers,” the petition said.

The PTI was also the target of two other leaks last month when purported telephone conversations between Shaukat Tarin, a former finance minister, and two of his counterparts from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were released.

Tarin, who confirmed the authenticity of the conversation, could be heard discussing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package with the two ministers.

Parliament to debate Imran’s plot to malign state institutions: Sanaullah

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah on Saturday said Parliament would hold discussion on the conspiracy hatched by Imran Khan to defame national institutions.

“The Pakistani Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) chairman has developed a narrative to malign institutions for personal political gains,” Rana Sanaullah said while talking to a private television channel. The minister said, “Imran’s narrative and conspiracy plan have been exposed before nation.”

An inquiry committee would be made to check Imran’s audio-video tap propaganda, he said, adding that after thorough investigation, a report would be submitted to Parliament for debate. The action, he said, would be taken against the PTI leadership after the decision of Parliament. In reply to a question about the recent audio-leak issue, he said, a committee had been constituted to probe the matter, whereas comprehensive exercise would be undertaken to control such activity in future. To another question about the arrest warrants for Imran Khan, he said the PTI chief would be arrested if he continued the practice of avoiding court hearings.

company at Gullpore generating 102 MW of electricity.

Meanwhile, on the occasion, Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Pakistan, Suh Sangpyo said that there is a strong economic and trade relationship between Pakistan and South Korea which has a lot of potential. New avenues of economic and trade cooperation will be opened in the near future in both the countries, he said. He said peopleto-people contact is very important in both the countries and there are a large number of Pakistanis living in Korea. Apart from this, a large number of Pakistani students have gone to South Korea for studies.

The Ambassador said, ” Relations with Pakistan are enhancing the due potential in all sectors and Korean companies are coming to

Pakistan.” He said “We have revised our travel advisory for Pakistan and soon Korea will start group tours.” Korea is standing with Pakistan in the relief and restoration of floodaffected people.

The ambassador in his address said both

of the countries have strengthened their ties in different sectors including trade, investments, education, culture and sports.

“We are going to hold more cultural events in this year in collaboration with Pakistani partners.”

condolences & most sincere sympathies to @POTUS and the government & the people of the United States on the loss of

precious lives & damages in the hurricane Ian. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families.”

TerMIng PTI SecurITy rISK, gIlanI deMandS Probe agaInST ParTy

MULTAN Staff RepoRt

fORMERPrime Minister and central leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Saturday said that PTI was a security risk, demand the incumbent government launch investigations against the party.

Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani expressed these views while holding a press conference along with Pakistan Seraiki party officebearers at press club here on Saturday.

On the occasion, Pakistan Seraiki party announced unconditional support for PDM candidate Syed Ali Musa Gilani in by-elections NA-157.

He said that IK’s party was playing with the fate of the country and did anti-

state work for promotion of own interests.

He that action should be taken against Imran Khan as per law because his (IK) so-called narrative regarding cipher had been exposed. He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was actually an imported party as it was made with foreign funding.

Gilani stated that they had saved the

country from bankruptcy by taking some tough decisions and put the country on way to progress and prosperity.

To a question about inflation, he stated that the incumbent government was taking steps to reduce inflation as decrease in dollar rate and reduction in oil prices was good sign.

He hoped that new finance minister would also take steps to give relief to

masses in electricity bills.

He said that the PPP was only political party which had raised voice and took steps for Seraiki province and to end deprivation of this region.

He said that they were contesting byelections on the basis of performance.

Yusuf Raza Gilani thanked the Seraiki party for supporting his son Ali Musa Gilani in NA-157 by-elections.

Buner admin’s ban on explosives for marble mining draws ire

PESHAWAR aziz buneRi

cM elahi felicitates chinese leadership, people on national day

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Saturday felicitated the Chinese leadership and their people on the National Day of the People’s Republic of China. The CM stated that the Punjab government express its good wishes to the Chinese leadership and their people on their National Day. He said that the Chinese leadership attained the destination of progress by hard work and determination. “China is a role model for doing away with corruption for the developing countries and moving forward their people towards prosperity by getting them out of poverty,” the CM added. The CM stated that China is the most trustworthy friend of Pakistan, and the PakChina friendship is an example of its own in the whole world. He lauded that China always stood with Pakistan in every time of distress and difficulty. Pakistan and China hold a unanimous view with regard to international affairs, peace loving and mutual respect. The CM stated that he holds in high esteem the PakChina invincible friendship and the strategic partnership.

10-month old dies of polio in KP

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A 10-month-old child has died after being confirmed with the wild poliovirus in North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Ministry of National Health Services said late on Friday. The National Institute of Health (NIH) reported on Wednesday the boy had onset of paralysis on September 15 and suffered from disabilities in his left arm and neck, said the ministry in a statement. This was the 20th polio case of the year. All the cases in Pakistan this year were detected in KP, with two patients from Lakki Marwat, 17 from North Waziristan and one from South Waziristan district. The children of Pakistan need more support than ever now, Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel was quoted as saying in the statement. “The current humanitarian crisis in the country has increased the risk of wild polio transmission. It is crucial to support polio eradication now to protect them from further health concerns,” the minister added. The poliovirus has been detected outside KP, however, it has not paralysed children elsewhere in Pakistan, according to the ministry.

Due to prevailing law and order situation, The Buner District Administration has restricted supply of explosive materials for blasting in the marble mines in the district.

It is feared that hundreds factories would be affected by this decision across the district as it is impossible to keep the marble mining in operation without explosive material.

According to lease holders on the pretext of law and order situation, the district administration has closed over 800 marble leases and thousands of labourers have been rendered jobless. They said that millions of rupees worth installed machinery would be affected due to the ban.

Senior vice president of Buner Marble Industry Association, Gulroz Khan, said that the decision of the district administration will not only affect more than 600 marble industries in Buner, but will also stop marble supply to Mardan, Rasalpur and Jangira industrial zones and will affect millions of people. Khan said that thousands of people and services are indirectly associated with this sector including marble factories in Mardan and other districts.

Marble mining lease holders said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is collecting billions of rupees annually from the marble sector of Buner in the form of various taxes, but such

decisions, the government is trying to shut shut down the marble sector.

Former Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Bakht Jahan Advocate said that the employment of most of the people in Buner is dependent on marble mining. He said that though gunpowder is officially banned but available in black on higher prices in convenience with the officials of the district administration. He said that this move would led to

further unemployment in the district amid the rising prices of essential commodities.

Syed Fakhr Jahan, a PTI lawmaker of Provincial Assembly from Buner, said that licenses holders in Buner were used to sell gunpowder in other districts, forcing the administration to suspend their licenses which has led to current crisis. He said that right now only one license holder is active who is providing explosives to mining sector.

Murad writes to PM for resumption of gas supply to JJVL LPG plant

ISLAMABAD

ahMad ahMadani

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has asked the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to order immediate resumption of gas supply to Jamshoro Joint Venture (JJVL) Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant for LPG and Natural gas liquid (NGL) production to cater for the fuel needs of flood victims.

The Sindh CM, in a letter dated 30th September 2022, has requested the premier that instructions may be passed to Petroleum Division/Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) for resumption of gas supply to the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant of the Jamshoro Joint Venture Limited (JJVL) for production of LPG and Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) which can be supplied to the flood affected people in their area of operation.

LPG plant of JJVL located in Hyderabad (Sindh) is lying shutdown since July 2020 due to non-supply of gas by SSGCL.

According to Murad Ali Shah, in the aftermath of devastating floods that

have wreaked havoc in most parts of Sindh, one of the urgent requirements for the people is availability of fuel for cooking. Dry wood, which is commonly used, may no longer be easily available to the flood victims. The JJVL plant is capable of serving 25,000 homeless people per day, who have no fuel for cooking. And, they (JJVL) have

requested for the restart of their (JJVL) LPG Plant for the benefit of people of Sindh.

Earlier, the Gas King of Pakistan, Iqbal Z. Ahmed, in a letter dated 15th September, 2022 to CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah had highlighted the miseries of flood victims due to food and fuel shortages. And requested to take up the

matter with the PM regarding the restart of the JJVL LPG Plant for the benefit of the people of Sindh and the country after the devastations of floods.

“I am pained to see the floods devastation in Sindh. The immediate problems will be followed by food and fuel shortages”, said Iqbal Z. Ahmed in a letter to CM Sindh.

It is pertinent to mention that the SSGCL had discontinued the gas supply (8-10MMCFD) contract with JJVL at midnight on 20th June, 2020 and pushed 300 metric tons of locally produced LPG out of the system.

The SSGC management discontinued the contract following a decision made by the board of directors and deprived the country of 15% of the local LPG production while this decision caused the company (JJVL) revenue loss of billions of rupees.

SSGC had received Rs500 million in royalty on account of LPG extraction by a JJVL plant between January 2019 and March 2020. At that time the LPG production by JJVL was catering to energy needs of over 750,000 homes across Pakistan.

Tech giants’ inaction over anti-Muslim social media tide creating ordeals

ISLAMABAD app

The apparent unwillingness of social media tech-giants to permanently remove the conspiracist and racist online content on different platforms that are whipping up hatred against Muslims and their faith, has been creating inexplicable problems for the community worldwide.

It was also casting a chilling effect and prevented the Muslims from exercising their freedom of religion and speech online, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) said in its report.

The big tech’s continued failure to act on anti-Muslim hate created an ecosystem that restricted freedom of expression and pushes marginalised people off their platforms, all

while allowing white supremacist, extremist, and hateful content to thrive and provide their shareholders with record profits, the report said.

The CCDH is a US non-profit corporation headquartered in Washington DC, and CCDH UK is a UK non-profit company headquartered in London.

According to different reports, Twitter, Google and Meta launched special efforts as part of a “shared commitment to counter hateful conduct online, however, they failed to control these materials.

Twitter failed to remove about 3.8 million anti-Muslim tweets (posted between Aug 19 and Aug 21) as it could only remove 15% of the tweets (0.57 million were taken down out of the total one).

The popular micro-blogging platform is

fast becoming a primary source for the proliferation of anti-hate content against Muslims and their faith.

Users from the three countries including India generated 86 per cent of malicious online content in the last few years that led to physical attacks on Muslims and mosques across the globe, a study by Asian Peace said.

Now approximately 55.12% of antiMuslim hatred tweets originated from Indian social media activists.

Researchers have identified several key themes churned out from three countries which included the association of Islam with terrorism, depiction of Muslims as perpetrators of sexual violence, and declaring “halal” as an inhumane practice that typifies the so-

called “barbarity” of Islam.

On the other hand, the UN had strongly encouraged the international community to “take all necessary measures” to combat discrimination against Muslims while warning that anti-Muslim hatred has reached “epidemic proportions.”

In this connection, the UN had declared Anti-Islamophobia Day on March 15 due to the efforts of Pakistan which was a laudable step however, more desired to be done by the world and technological companies to stem surge of such trends worldwide.

#UNGA proclaims 15 March the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.

General Assembly calls for strengthened international efforts to foster global dialogue on promotion of culture of tolerance & peace, based on respect for human rights &

for diversity of religions & beliefs.

pic.twitter.com/DTf2dLYNeB — United Nations (@UN) March 16, 2022

As per a study by the Islamic Council of Victoria, Australia (ICV), a body representing Muslims in the state of Victoria with an estimated 270,000 Muslims as its member, found in its report that nearly four million anti-Muslim posts made during a 24month period between 2017 and 2019.

In its report, ICV said that more causes for rise of such social media trends included the war on terror, media reporting, and rightwing groups and politicians across the globe, not just in the western countries but in places such as Myanmar and India, that spread false and malicious rhetoric to whip up antiMuslim sentiment.

AmBASSAdor moin for proActive climAte Action to mitigAte effectS of climAte chAnge

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

pAKISTAN’SAmbassador to China, Moinul Haque, Saturday reiterated the need for proactive climate action and international solidarity to mitigate the effects of climate change.

While addressing the participants of an event held in collaboration with Center for China and Globalization (CCG) to engage the thought leaders centered in Beijing in order to raise awareness about the recent floods in Pakistan, the envoy briefed the audience about the extent and nature of the recent unprecedented floods in Pakistan.

International organizations, Chinese think tanks, NGOs, Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) members and members of the Pakistani community attended the event. Ambassador Haq also expressed gratitude

for the support extended by international community particularly China and the United Nations.

Ambassador Moinul Haque briefed the audience about the extent and nature of the recent unprecedented floods in Pakistan.

The Ambassador stressed that it was unfortunate that despite being a low carbon emitter, Pakistan was among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. He called on rich countries to help the developing states affected by climate change. He also hoped that international community would remained engaged with Pakistan in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase.

In his remarks, Mr. Henry Huaiyao Wang, President of CCG, highlighted that strengthening international cooperation on climate change was a matter of utmost urgency. Sharing China’s experience in tackling climate change, he expressed solidarity with Pakistan and welcomed the diverse

group of speakers and audience to the event.

Ms. Mabel Lu Miao, Secretary General of CCG and Founder of Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) noted the huge losses of life and essential infrastructure due to floods in Pakistan. She highlighted the need for collective action in the wake of the climate catastrophe in Pakistan and stressed the importance of international solidarity in this regard.

In his keynote speech, Mr. Siddharth

Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China underlined the sifting climate patterns having impact in diverse manners including floods, food security and rising sea levels.

Highlighting Pakistan’s vulnerabilities to climate change and the loss caused by recent floods, he highlighted the need for collective action for tackling climate change.

Other keynote speakers included Professor Shahbaz Khan, Resident Coordinator of

Explainer: How worried should we be about economy?

ISLAMABAD ReuteRS

Concerns are rising again over the health of the economy as foreign reserves run low, the local currency weakens and inflation stands at decades-high levels despite the resumption of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) funding programme in August.

The IMF programme was meant to

stabilise an economy that has been in a tailspin for months. The nuclear-armed country has suffered from external shocks like other developing nations heavily reliant on imports of oil, gas and other commodities. But then Pakistan was hit by major floods in late August that killed more than 1,500 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, heaping even more pressure on its finances.

WHAT ARE THE CONCERNS?

The biggest worries centre around Islamabad’s ability to pay for imports such as energy and food and to meet sovereign debt obligations abroad.

Before the floods hit, external financing needs for the 2022-23 financial year (July-June) were estimated at $33.5 billion, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

That figure was to have been met on

the back of a challenging target of almost halving the current account deficit and debt rollovers from friendly countries.

The floods have changed projections. Exports are expected to slump and imports to grow to make up for essential commodities lost in the flooding of millions of hectares of farmland. Foreign exchange reserves with the central bank stand at $8 billion and commercial banks hold another $5.7 billion.

Politicians, activists, journalists vow to curb fake news, resist media gags

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Politicians, renowned media personalities and policymakers have called for effective measures to do away with fake news phenomenon and legislation to handle the unbridled media content as well as social media.

At a seminar on “Role of PFUJ in Ensuring Press Freedom, Discouraging Fake News & Implementing Media Laws” it was resolved not to tolerate any restrictions on freedoms of media as well as the practice of rendering the news anchors off-air.

Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, International Federation of Journalists and Center for Democracy and Climate Studies organized the event. The PFUJ leadership asked the government to approach them along with the evidences in case any institution had any complaint against any news anchor. They also called for equal air time to all all the political parties putting aside the personal biases, in true spirit of the journalistic principles. Moderated by prominent anchorperson Fareed Rais, the seminar was addressed by Punjab Senior

Imran fined for seeking adjournment in 2012 defamation suit against Asif

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A district and sessions court in Islamabad has imposed a fine of Rs5,000 on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, second time in less than a month, after he sought adjournment in a defamation suit he initiated against Minister for Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif in 2012. Ten years ago, Khan sent Asif a defamation notice demanding from him Rs10 billion in damages after he accused the former prime minister of investing, and losing, in real estate gambling, $4.5 million — which was donated to Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital (SKMH) in the form of donations — abroad.

UNESCO to China; Mr. Vano Noupech, UNHCR Representative in China; Mr. Ali Mchumo, Director General of International Organization of Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR); Ambassador Sohail Khan, Deputy Secretary-General, SCO; Ms. Graziella Leite Piccoli, Deputy Head of Regional Delegation East Asia ICRC, and Dr. Zhou Jinfeng.

The speakers appreciated the Embassy’s efforts in bringing different thought leaders on one platform. They expressed their sympathies and sentiments, and expressed the resolve to cooperate with Pakistan for proactive climate action and reconstruction.

The event also included a panel discussion by Global Young Leaders Dialogue (GYLD) involving representation of 7 different countries.

During the dialogue, the panelists deliberated upon various ways to tackle climate change and shared success stories from their respective countries in environmental protection. They particularly highlighted the responsibility that rests on youth for finding innovative and focused solutions to the problem.

CCG is a leading Chinese global think tank specializing in international exchanges, and globalization of Chinese talent and enterprises.

Bail of suspect’s mother extended in Sarah murder case

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The speakers called for true implementation of Article 19 of the Constitution which says, “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence. Similarly, they said the enforcement of the Article 19A of the Constitution was also equally important which says, “The right to information (RTI) is the fundamental right of citizens, allowing them to access information from government and private bodies that receive public funds.

A local court in Islamabad has extended the interim bail of Samina Shah, the mother of Shahnawaz Amir, until October 3 in the murder of her daughter-in-law, Sara Inam. Additional Sessions Judge Sheikh Muhammad Sohail heard the petition filed by Shah seeking an extension in her pre-arrest bail period. Accepting her application, the judge extended the period till Monday. During the hearing, the investigation officer submitted the case record to the court. Shah appeared before the court along with her lawyer Arsal Amjad Hashmi. Hashmi told the court Amir sent a Whatsapp message to his Shah, asking her to talk to Inam’s family about her rukhsati (formal wedding). After that Shah went to sleep and was unaware of what happened later in the night, he added. Hashmi continued that Shah received a call at 9:12 am the next morning in which she was asked to reach Amir’s room. But when she reached there, Inam had been murdered, he said, adding that her role in the whole episode was only that she asked her son to sit down in the room and call the police. After her call, the police came and arrested Amir. During the hearing, the information officer in the case told the court that Inam’s family which has come from Canada would record their statement before the police later in the day. After this, the judge extended Shah’s interim bail till October 3.

Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal, Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister Omar Sarfaraz Cheema, Jamat-e-Islami Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, Shehzad Cheema of Pakistan Peoples Party, Lahore Press Club President Azam Rana, Executive Editor of Dunya News Salman Ghani, Anchorperson Habib Akram and other renowned figures.

WorlD UrgeD to boost efforts to mobilise resoUrces for DeveloPiNg NatioNs

unIteD nAtIonS sTAff rePorT

PAKISTANhas called on the world to reaffirm its commitment to poverty eradication, promotion of full employment, and fostering of social inclusion through transformative action to empower people.

“Let us make this the decade of social development.” Saima Saleem, a counselor at Pakistan’s permanent mission to the United Nations, told the Third Committee of the General Assembly which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural matters.

Speaking in a debate on social development, Saleem said that as the social contract in Islam is based on equity, social justice and inclusion, Pakistan has

taken measures to create an inclusive welfare society.

Recounting the initiatives such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), microcredit schemes, as well as targeted subsidies for farmers, Saleem said the Covid-19 pandemic had reversed decades of progress in developing countries and had limited progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“For an inclusive and resilient recovery from the pandemic, principles and commitments made at the World Summit for social development remain valid and are central to addressing emerging global challenges,” she said.

Hailing the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action 1994, the diplomat expressed concern that social development progress had been slow

or even reversed. More than 400 million jobs have been lost and millions more are still living in poverty, she noted.

The international community, she said, must redouble efforts with firm political will, and mobilise resources required by developing countries for social protection programmes. Further, Saleem also urged larger concessional finances from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral donors.

The intersection of poverty, food security and climate change require a sustainable livelihood approach through the creation of employment opportunities and the strengthening of climate adaptation in countries most affected by climate change, she said and called for stepped-up assistance to the crises-hit nations.

Cipher, audio leak prove Imran undermined constitution, national interest: Maryam

contInueD froM pAge 01

UN to seek $800m more in aid for flood hit Pakistan

ISLAMABAD The AssociATed Press

The United Nations will seek $800 million more in aid from the international community to respond to the soaring life-saving needs of flood survivors, a UN official said.

The unprecedented deluges — likely worsened by climate change — have killed 1,678 people in Pakistan since mid-June. About half a million survivors are still living in tents and makeshift shelters. Julien Harneis, the UN resident coordinator in Pakistan, told reporters in Islamabad that the latest appeal will be issued from Geneva on Tuesday. It comes just weeks after the agency sought $160 million in emergency funding for 33 million people affected by floods.

Harneis said the UN decided to issue the revised appeal “to respond to the extraordinary scale of the devastations” caused by the floods. Pakistan’s displaced are now confronting waterborne and other diseases, he said. The outbreaks, health officials say, have caused more than 300 deaths so far.

Since July, several countries and UN agencies have sent more than 130 flights carrying aid for the flood victims, many of whom complain they have either received too little help or are still waiting for aid. Officials and experts have blamed the rains and resulting floodwaters on climate change. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited some of the flood-hit areas earlier this month. He has repeatedly called on the international community to send massive amounts of aid to Pakistan.

The government estimates the losses from the floods to be about $30 billion. Meanwhile, the US embassy in Pakistan took to Twitter, saying Ambassador Donald Blome on Friday signed the second USPakistan bilateral agreement under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, providing $132 million in US debt relief to flood-hit Pakistan. “Our priority is to redirect critical resources in Pakistan,” it said.

During the Nawaz Sharif’s tenure, she recalled, there had been discussions and policy formulations for development of the country and people’s prosperity in the Prime Minister’s House, but Imran Khan, while sitting in the PM House, hatched a conspiracy against the country.

The PML-N vice president said that the PTI leaders also tampered with the national record. She alleged that the party had a mindset which wanted to destabilise the country. In the cipher audio-leak, Imran Khan says: “We have to play on it”, which showed the mindset of Imran Khan. Today, no Pak diplomat in any country was ready to send ciphers to Pakistan, she regretted, demanding that Imran Khan must tender apology to the Pakistani nation.

Speaking about reports that the cypher was missing from PM House, Maryam accused the former premier of taking the diplomatic cable away with him. “He should seek apology from the nation for playing with the country’s national interest and waving a fake letter in front of them,” she added.

Calling Imran a ‘mastermind of conspiracies’, the ruling party leader said the former premier severed the country’s ties with friendly countries. “He conspired against the country’s security, its foreign policy and democratic system.”

Speaking about the alleged leaked audio clips of PM Shehbaz Sharif and other government officials, Maryam said either in official or private conversations people would never find anything against the country and the nation.

Govt will take appropriate aCtion aGainst imran: Speaking at the start of the presser, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said Imran’s crime was unpardonable and added that government will under its legal duty will take appropriate action against him for “abrogating” the Constitution.

Calling the former premier a ‘conspirator’ who is on a mission to destroy the country, Dar said, “He has already destroyed the country’s economy. All macroeconomic indicators have worsened… he [Imran] pushed the country towards default”.

“Minutes of the meeting are present but cypher is missing… it has been established that Imran violated the Constitution and violated his oath of prime minister,” he added.

The government will be failing its constitutional duty if it did not take appropriate action against the ousted PM. “We will take this matter forward in light of Constitution and law.”

Speaking about economy, the finance minister vowed to reverse the damage caused to economy by the previous PTI-led regime.

“We saved the country from default… currency has started to improve… during the last five days an improvement has been witnessed in the country’s economic indicators.”

Dar said he passed on relief to the people by reducing fuel prices despite challenges. party to Counter pti’s narrative: Meanwhile, the ruling party has decided to adopt an aggressive strategy to counter the PTI’s narrative of foreign conspiracy.

PML-N supremo and former PM Nawaz Sharif, who has been living in London since 2019, has directed his party to robustly inform the public about Imran’s “fake narrative” based on diplomatic cypher, according to the party sources.

The use of diplomatic cable was a “big conspiracy” against the state and Imran’s false narratives should be exposed at all platforms including electronic, print and social media, Nawaz was quoted as saying.

The party insiders added that all federal ministers have been directed to hold press conferences to highlight how Imran’s ‘foreign conspiracy’ narrative damaged the country’s foreign policy with an aim to isolate Pakistan internationally.

important meetinG of pml-n: An important meeting of PML-N leaders was held at party president and PM Shehbaz Sharif’s Model Town residence in Lahore to deliberate on ‘missing cypher’ controversy and legal matters pertaining to the return of party supremo Nawaz Sharif from London.

Senior PML-N leaders Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb and other leaders attended the meeting, presided over by the premier.

During the meeting, various options were considered to give relief to the inflationstricken people.

Moreover, the ruling party also discussed options for an in-house change in the Punjab Assembly and upcoming by-elections.

After the meeting, the PML-N leaders held a press conference to brief the media on the decisions.

Disease outbreaks after floods spur calls for crisis plan

ISLAMABAD reuTers

The country is facing a disaster within a disaster as diseases spread rapidly and deaths mount following widespread deadly flooding — a crisis worsened by the weak health system and lack of emergency planning, medical experts warn. Flooded areas stretching over hundreds of kilometres have become breeding grounds for malaria, dengue fever and diarrhoea, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people living out in the open and with little option but to drink unsafe water. In Sindh, the province hardest hit by the floods, at least 342 people have died from diseases and more than 3.3 million infections have been recorded since July 1, state data shows. Nationwide, there have been 4.4 million disease cases reported. The flooding — triggered by record monsoon rains and glacial melt, both exacerbated by climate change, scientists say — has killed at least 1,678 people.

But Zafar Mirza, who resigned as a special assistant to the prime minister and from a role as the country’s de facto health minister in 2020, said the disease could prove a bigger threat to the country’s health system.

“It can kill more people than those who lost their lives in the flood,” added Mirza, now a professor of health at Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University in Islamabad.

Yet the authorities are ill-prepared to respond to health threats arising out of growing climate-fuelled disasters such as the flooding, Mirza said, adding the country does not have “a well-thought-out strategy to deal with them”.

Diseases are running rampant in regions such as Sindh because medical services have been disrupted by the floods and the cash-strapped government is struggling to reach people in need, according to both health experts and state officials. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned about the potential for “a second disaster, a wave of disease and death”, and Ahsan Iqbal, minister for planning, said last week that “we fear it (the outbreak of diseases) may get out of control”. Disease anD Despair: The government is striving to ensure that flood-hit people receive medical treatment and working to stop the spread of diseases, although getting access is difficult, according to Qasim Soomro, Sindh’s parliamentary secretary for health.

He said doctors with support staff and ambulance services were being sent to areas where the water is receding or has done so, with at least 600 mobile teams having been deployed so far. However, it is tough for the teams to access and support people in places still submerged, the lawmaker added. Floods have partially or completely damaged more than 1,000 health facilities in Sindh, according to the provincial health department.

People living in far-flung rural parts of Sindh have no access to clean drinking water and health services, said Mirza Ali Azhar, former general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA).

“The spread of disease is enormous and unimaginable and the … cases are much higher than (what is) being reported,” Azhar said.

Even the doctors who are treating patients in frontline medical camps can only work for a few hours each day as they must return to cities at night because they have nowhere to stay in flood-hit areas, he added. “The sick people are not getting continuous medical care, which they require,” Azhar said. Going forward, he called upon the government to strengthen health infrastructure in disaster-prone areas.

Some Pakistan-based tech start-ups and non-profits are trying to play a part in limiting the spread of disease by providing emergency access to clean drinking water.

One start-up, PakVitae, said it had so far distributed 15,000 small-scale water purifiers to flood-affected areas – including Sindh.

“We are planning to distribute a total of 100,000 units to flood-affected families by the end of October, as we have enough donations to meet the target,” Shayan Sohail, the company’s founder and chief operating officer, said by phone. Call for Crisis plan: Pakistan’s response to the flooding and ensuing disease outbreaks has suffered from a lack of coordination between different government institutions and departments, as well as within the healthcare system itself, according to Mirza.

Alvi upholds former PEMRA boss sacking over sexual misconduct

ISLAMABAD sTAff rePorT

President Dr Arif Alvi has rejected an appeal moved by a now-former director general of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to suspend a punishment of dismissal from civil service handed to him over sexual misconduct and, instead, increased the penalty from Rs2 million to Rs2.5 million.

In November last year, Kashmala Tariq, federal ombudsperson for protection against harassment of women at the workplace, ruled that Haji Adam be fired after the complainant — a female staffer at the electronic media watchdog — was able to prove the accusation, and pay Rs2 million in compensation.

Acting on Tariq’s recommendation, the president held it had been established beyond reasonable doubt that the employee was harassed by Adam with “verbal, vulgar, sexual, and demeaning comments and demands”.

Alvi observed that he took a strong ex-

ception and used the full might of the law when matters of sexual misconduct were brought to light and were proven to be true to ensure a safe working environment for the female gender. This was aimed at unleashing their great economic potential which remained unexploited due to their fear of harassment at the workplace, he said.

The president further ordered that the penalty should be recovered from arrears of pay (if any), pension emoluments or any other source (property) of the appellant as per Section 4(i)(d) of the Protection Against the Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010 and be given to the complainant as compensation in lieu of the hardships faced by her at the hands of Adam.

“This landmark decision was announced after the president gave personal prolonged hearings to the accused, the complainant and their counsels on July 22 and 25, besides factoring in the evidence and recording the statements of the witnesses on record and minutely perusing the entire proceedings of the case,”

a statement from the presidency said.

In his decision, the president noted Adam continued to harass the complainant unabated even during the probe into the matter conducted by Tariq’s office, in his suspension period, by filing applications against the complainant to the chief of Islamabad police and to the director general of cybercrime wing of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), thereby, inflicting mental torture to the complainant and putting her repute at stake.

He said the conduct of the accused was a flagrant violation of the laws of Pakistan, particularly the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2010, and a blatant example of how women were discouraged, even those who come forward “risking their reputation” to file complaints of harassment.

“The statistics with reference to the number of cases are infinitesimal as compared to the anecdotal discussion of the frequency of harassment in our society,” he added.

In his order, the president wrote that women, who were more than 50 percent of

our society, were unable to work freely because of possible harassment.

“Public spaces are reduced for them; educational opportunities which is their right have been denied to them by their parents in certain cases because of the fear of harassment at the educational institutions as they look for ‘girls/women only institutions’. As a result, women in our society are mostly undereducated, severely underemployed, financially constrained, denied proper inheritance and discriminated against at the time of promotions,” the president observed.

Alvi said that Islam kept women in high esteem and provided them with the right to pursue gainful occupations and employment by ensuring a safe, secure, dignified and respectful workplace environment.

He said that due to these reasons, Khadija, the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was a businesswoman and Caliph Umar appointed Al-Shifa’ bint Abdullah as the custodian of the market who was entrusted with the portfolio of the accountabil-

ity court and market administration.

The president further noted that Umm Kulthum bint Ali was sent on a diplomatic mission to the court of the Queen of Rome and many women took part in battles who protected the prophet, treated the wounded soldiers and provided them logistic support and served water and food.

The president also quoted a recent judgment of the Supreme Court in a case of harassment which noted: “It is time to pave the way towards the actualization of robust and unwavering constitutional ideals and values by embracing the participation of women in all spheres of life with honour and dignity.”

“No nation can rise to the height of glory”, in the words of Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the founder, “unless your women are side by side with you. We are victims of evil customs. It is a crime against humanity that our women are shut up within the four walls of the houses as prisoners. There is no sanction anywhere for the deplorable condition in which our women have to live.”

The lack of concern at out-of-school children

itgoes to former Finance Minister Miftah ismail’s credit that he took drastic and unpopular decisions to save the country from default. the measures taken by him were necessary, but these made the PML(n) government unpopular, leading many party leaders to criticize their own Finance Minister. Party’s senior vice president Maryam nawaz distanced herself from measures that contributed to rising prices while suggesting to the Prime Minister to replace Dr ismail. Party supremo nawaz sharif who was concerned about the negative fallout of the rising prices on the party’s electoral fortunes was keen to send ishaq Dar to take remedial measures to improve the party’s image. Reportedly before boarding the plane for islamabad Dar reached an understanding with the iMF’s Managing Director over certain time-bound relaxations that were badly needed while coping with the consequences of the natural disaster. among other things the relaxations included a three-month freeze on existing taxation on petroleum products and fuel cost adjustments in the electricity tariff.

Finance Ministe Dar has announced a cut of around five per cent in the prices of all petroleum products for the next fortnight. the aim is to pass on the relief in prices to consumers resulting frm the fall in world prices. Despite the politics behind them, reduction in petrol prices along with other measures of a similar kind that are supposed to follow also have a humanitarian aspect. Despite their ephemeral nature, the measures are bound to bring some relief, reduce despair and raise hopes. as was expected, the reduction in petrol price has met with skepticism. the price reduction is either being considered too little or likely to be followed by a much bigger hike in weeks to come. Meanwhile the common man’s purchasing power continues to be squeezed. after three weeks of a declining trend, inflation has crept up to 30.62 percent.

there are a whole lot of politically influential groups that have been allowed to remain outside the tax net. as Dr ismail tried to tax millions of small traders, the PML(n) senior vice-president came to their rescue. there are fears that like the past the PLM(n) government might open the treasury doors to ensure the success of its legislators though allocation of hefty ‘development funds’. this might bring the PML(n) back to power again, but measures of the sort can spell disaster for the economy.

Transgender rights bill

YEs, the current kerfuffle over the transgender bill is illustrative of a lot more than the bill itself, or even the state of transgender rights in the country. instead it asks a broader question: is the legislative process in our country broken?

First, there is the far from ideal ordinance-to-act ratio of our Parliament. But then there is also the dismal level of interest and involvement shown in the legislative process by the legislators themselves. Constitutional amendments, yes, are debated in earnest, as are some interprovincial financial issues but, by and large, bills are just pushed through. some television channels, specially in the provincial capitals, used to have a staple of short video packages, asking legislators about the laws they just passed in that session, only for the representatives to have deer-in-headlights moments. those packages have long since stopped being aired because how much of the same stuff does one show?

it would appear that few of those politicians protesting the proposed law regarding the beleaguered transgender community of the nation have read it properly. and instead of debating it in the house reasonably, their parties have called for protests. the latter is, of course, their democratic right but healthy democracies are supposed to have such displays on the street fizzle out because interest groups’ concerns are being debated at the right forums.

it goes without saying that the social media, and even mainstream media platforms that the opponents of the bill have engaged aren’t talking about the specifics of the bill itself. those in favour of the bill want the specifics being debated, but to no avail. a sad state of affairs.

it is up to the government of the day, which finds an ally in the Pti on this issue, to allay the apprehensions of the religious right. But they also have to grit it out and just pass the bill, protests or not, if the other side refuses to provide cogent and coherent arguments.

Pakistanis the fifth populous country in the world, the third most populous nation in asia and the second most populous country among islamic countries. However, Pakistan also recognized itself as a developing state on the map of the world, but it has been lying backward in each developing aspect such as, education system, heath factor, industrial reforms, low economy and including high poverty throughout the country.

Pakistan has several cordial relationships and strong ties with most of the developing countries, working with a lots of developing organizations for improving her regional cooperation, and most importantly carrying a huge project with a very developing country (China) worth $62 billion, known as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor ( CPEC).

although Pakistan makes a huge land associated with enormous various natural resources in different regions, importantly including the province ( Balochistan), yet the citizens are far from geting their each and every fundamental right and need. the fundamental education of every child at the age five to 16 was clearly asserted in article 25a of the Constitution. Frustratingly, there is a huge number of outof-school children in Pakistan yet, the government comes to power and expresses no concern over this alarming issue. Being out of school at an earlier age causes many prejudicial outcomes to the children as one of the abundant evidence is most of the out-ofschool children are engaged in labouring at different workplaces like shops, garages as well as several children are involved in begging street to street.

as per the assertion of a report that Pakistan has the world's second-highest number of out-of-school children, counting 22.8 million children between the ages of 5 and 16, and representing 44 percent of children not attending schools. actually, there are two kinds of out-of- school children ( OOsC ). the first is the child, who never attends the school in earlier age group and the rest of life too and the second kind of OOsC is the child who attends school in earlier classes and drops out very soon. Of the children who never attend the school, the PiDE report discovered new data "Pakistan has never provided a chance approximately to 1 in 4 (23.45%) children of ever attending school while around 7% had enrolled and dropped out in every year.”

Of the children who get dropped after enrolment, a data shows "the dropouts start to happen between 9 and 11 years of the age, after primary school age. the reasons are limited access to middle and high

schools causing rising opportunity cost.

Comparing the four provinces of Pakistan, Balochistan is performing the worst as far as OOsC go,with 44 percent of the total. according to the report, in Balochistan, 64 percent of all OOsC aged 16 years never have attended school and the ratio of dropping out gradually increases in proportion with age. Balochistan reports 50 percent OOsC in 17 out of 28 districts and the district shaheed sikandarabad reported the highest number of OOsC at 76 percent and the following district ( sherani) recorded them at 70 percent.

if we go into the gender proportions of OOsC in Balochistan, the girls face acute ignorance for enrolment in school. the number of girls OOsC is far greater than boys. according to the report, 54 percent of girls are out of school as compared to boys whose ratio is 46 percent. the total estimate is calculated that around 10.8 million girls are out of school whereas around 9.2 million boys are out of school. the report further added that in around 16 districts of Balochistan girls formed the higher ratio of OOsC.

the second province of Pakistan which has the lowest ratio of literacy is sindh. Reportedly, in sindh 63 percent of all school-aged children (16 years old or less) have never attended school. similarly the report shows that sindh has the ratio of 70 percent aged around nine years and followed by 69 percent aged around 11 years. the report further cleared that the enrolment rate rose from aging five to nine years and steadily fell down around age 11 years. the same trends goes on for both genders with enrolment rates higher for boys than girls. to add more information, 17 districts of sindh have more out of school girls than boys while 11 districts of sindh have more out of school boys than girls. Out of 29

districts of sindh, 13 districts have an OOsC rate above 50 percent whereas seven districts have the lowest OOsC rates including six districts of karachi and Hyderabad.

Both provinces ( sindh and Balochistan) largely made the ratio of OOsC on the peak in Pakistan. the provinces of (Punjab and kPk ) are sufficiently stable and carry minimum enrolment of children in their schools.

The government must ensure effective efforts for developing a well education system in Pakistan. Over the past many years, Pakistan has not been working to reform the education sector and children are moving above the head of bad evils. It is obligatory for the government to accommodate education to the children according to the Constitution. Over the new censuses in Pakistan, the population of children has increased to over 63 million aged 5 to 16 years. But the public schooling system carries only 27 million children, while over 16 million children are enrolled in private schools, madressahs and non-formal educational institutions. At last, the government should own the issues and must do something about this issue

Hence, our government and consult authorities have to understand the reason behind children being out of school in our country. according to the report, 87 percent of children are out of school because they complained aboutits being ‘too expensive’ and 13 percent of children are out of school owing to many reasons such as lack of their own interest or, unwillingness. no doubt, getting higher education has become so expensive that very poor people cannot educate their children and lack of awareness about the importance of education is another cause of children being out of school.

the government must ensure effective efforts for developing a well education system in Pakistan. Over the past many years, Pakistan has not been working to reform the education sector and children are moving above the head of bad evils. it is obligatory for the government to accommodate education to the children according to the Constitution. Over the new censuses in Pakistan, the population of children has increased to over 63 million aged 5 to 16 years. But the public schooling system carries only 27 million children, while over 16 million children are enrolled in private schools, madressahs and non-formal educational institutions. at last, the government should own the issues and must do something about this issue.

The writer is a freelance columnist

been reluctant to provide further arguments on certain points that students raised.

Founding Editor

M. A. Niazi Joint Editor Umar Aziz Executive Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad Joint Editor

Innovember last year, Balochistan University’s students were found sitting for a long 20day sit-in within the university premises against the ‘enforced disappearances’ of two Baloch students, sohail Baloch and Fassieh Baloch, students of Pakistan studies department, from the hostels of the university. after successful negotiations with a government committee, the students froze their protest. But the students are yet not released despite the passing of almost a year now. not long ago, similar cases occurred in Gwadar and turbat (Makran division of Balochistan) where Baloch students were ‘forcibly disappeared’ when on their way to their respective institutions. Following that, a similar case was of Hafeez Baloch, MPhil student of Physics in Quaid-e-azam University islamabad, who was taken off by unknown armed masked men from a tuition in khuzdar and later shown to have been arrested from Jhal Magsi. He was released after the prosecution failed to prove his guilt. But he had to face dungeons for some years though innocent. not very long ago, another Baloch student Beebagr imdad was whisked off from the varsity hostel of University of Punjab (Lahore) with the help of the

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security in-charge of the university early in the morning. after a protest sit-in of Baloch students in the university, Mr imdad was released. But no one was held accountable, nor was any action taken against any of the involved personnel.

this is how Baloch students have been faring from november last year till date, excluding the long march of Baloch students from Multan to Lahore and the other contemporary issues of the students prior to that. Within this new wave of harshness, they feel insecure within their respective universities now.

apart from this, Baloch students are presently going through two more dramatic issues: one, the Baloch students of Bahawalpur’s islamia University are protesting against the university administration who are charging 50 percent fees on reserved seats which the government already pays to the university. secondly, Baloch students of kharan have taken to the roads against non-execution of the bill passed for Rakhshan University while the present sub-campus of University of Balochistan has only three departments which, too, owing to strict rules of Higher Education Commission, are going to be shuffled, enhancing the chances of the closure of the campus, causing a lack of fundamentals of a higher institution there.

For last few days, Baloch students have been sitting inside the vuniversity gate of Bahawalpur with the following demands: restoration of fully funded scholarships of Balochistan (reserved seats); all students of Balochistan should be allotted in the university’s internal hostels; administration must stop its discriminative behavior; profiling and harassment of Balochistan’s students within the university campus must be stopped; and all the charged dues on reserved seats must be refunded. instead of sitting with the students and entering into negotiations, the varsity administration chose the forceful means by compiling a list of some nine students of Balochistan and expelling them from the university in the name of ‘discipline’ and ‘distorting law and order situation’.

Was speaking against brutalities being inflicted on them a violation of law and order? Was protesting within the legal framework of the Constitution their crime? Or because they were Baloch and belonged to Balochistan, hence, everything they did– even if under the umbrella of la – was deemed ‘illegal’ and that disturbed ‘their’ peace? the administration has

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“the more students will resist, the more students will be expelled by the varsity,” said a student in grief and anguish. “they do not know what a student from Balochistan has to go through to reach this position.” a certain disgust is found among the protesting students, but despite all, they seem tireless and committed to face anything they have to. “the focal person of the varsity visited us and told us the other issues would be resolved, while he was reluctant to speak on administrative behavior towards Baloch and fees, which are two of our main demands,” he added. now that the university has initiated expelling students, it is likely to boost the confidence of all the other students to stay more committed in their protest, they believe.

amidst all these harsh treatment either from other provinces or from the federal government, the Baloch have learnt to become independent of worries of being expelled or they are at least used to dealing with challenges as suspension. For them, all that matters is resistance and ‘snatching’ their rights which are, almost, rarely given to them. they are suppressed through different means though, but all they can do is to resist. “and we shall resist till the end,” he added.

On the other hand, kharan witnessed a huge number of people on roads against not providing them opportunities of possessing a higher institute of their own. the only sub-campus that existed of Balochistan University in the whole Rakhshan division had only three departments which were very few and could not accommodate students with interests in other fields. Better for the whole division, the bill for Rakhshan division, passed last year, must be implemented and a full-fledged university should be established to end the grievances of the students in Rakhshan.

all in all, things have been in an opposite direction when it comes to Baloch, Balochistan and education. although Balochistan is said to be the most ‘illiterate’ in terms of literacy rate with more than 70 percent of out-of-school children, a ‘colonial’ tactic is used against the existing few students in institutions whose education too can go wasted. the governments need to think of promoting education in Balochistan to solve the necessary ‘Baloch issue’ as part of the whole system, or else things can go very awry in the near future.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Read it before protesting, please

Populist measures can sometime be disastrous

Yousaf Nizami Editor

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami Arif Nizami (Late)

Abdul RAhMAn shAhbeeR

Blaming the whites

Inthe midst of the audio leaks emanating from an anonymous hacker, the discovery of the conversation between the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, imran khan and his principal secretary has prompted the Pti to claim that its claims of american intervention stand vindicated. Few in the party would have thought of taking another look; that the supreme leader of the party was ordering his Ps to be cautious in using the name of the Usa, but pushed for crying “conspiracy”.Crux of the matter; it is fine to abuse others for faults within, but do it hypocritically.

the take-home for the dear readers and the analyst are somewhat different insights. Foreign interference, especially from the white-skinned English or americans, still sells in the countries of south asia or West asia. Whether it is Pakistan, india or iran; the “Gora sahib”, the “firangi” as the Persians used to call the British, still calls the shots when something undesirable happens in their countries; even when 75 years have passed since the British formally left south asia, 44 years have passed since the Us strategic presence in iran came to nil, or went to turkey, where a pro-Us military is little more than a cadre reporting to the Caliph reinvented in tayyab Erdogan.

as things stand, the first wave of protests in iran seems to have receded, yet the anger on the street remains. Despite the fact that regime insiders have pointed out that the controversial Hijab law was promulgated much later in 1983, four years after the revolution and it was more the work of the executive branch of the government then had to do anything with the elite supreme leadership of the revolution; its aftereffects through the reaction of the younger generation are still decoded as a “foreign conspiracy”.

the option exercised by the government in iran; calling for counter demonstrations; which were incidentally populated by womenfolk adopting casual hijab (tresses of hair visible beneath the scarf or Mantoo). Here it may be pointed out that apart from the investigation into the killing of the lady Mahsa amini, there was no conscious effort on part of the government to initiate dialogue over the issue. its approach has been typically the paranoid one; not different from the past practices of Middle Eastern dictators; who see foreign hand in every question mark raised over the conduct of governance.

as a matter of fact, players like football icon ali karimi and actors like shahab Husaini, are being unsuccessfully investigated for foreign links. One anchor, Mehran Modir,i sensing the paranoid nature of the iranian established order, thought it safe to leave the country. the crux of the matter, is that iranians’ aspirations are not being decoded properly by the establishment there and the likely outcome is going to be the widening gulf between the rulers and the ruled.

now take a look at Pakistan. the country has been governed by an established order, whose likes and dislikes determine who is going to be the next prime minister. similarly, what shape and direction the economy or the foreign policy is going to take, is also determined by that minority clique. Pakistan has been going downhill since 2008 in one way or another. its economic recovery has been a distant mirage; never realized. Consequently, the incidence of poverty has increased and so has the gulf between haves

and have-nots. Pakistan is at war or slow attrition with most of its neighbors. Despite being part of sCO, ECO abd the clinically dead saaRC, its current account deficits make it go to the discount window of iMF now and then.

if the economic isolation was not enough the last Pti government single minded focus on accountability made it next to impossible to make the economy take off. the established order was fine with the economic slump, until the clash of personalities prompted the abrupt change of guard. that change of guard was to prove even more devastating.

if the Pti regime of change was instrumental in driving away the investor through harassing anyone who could earn enough; the PDM government triggered a massive cost-push inflation regime; which literally broke the back of any economic revival.

the withdrawal of subsidy, coupled with an uncontrolled dollar regime, made it impossible for the common man to go about his consumption cycle; a cycle so critical to the economic growth cycle in turn. the cumulative impact of the governments since august 2018 has been a system; where complete dependence on the iMF is the only way, and that is happening.

For a layman; who is susceptible to radical slogans, especially emanating from the religious right or even from the right-wing parties like Pti, the narrative is filled with the assumption that all that is happening “ill” is the misfortune imposed from the West. no doubt neo-colonialism which took over the world in the form of westoxication is to blame; however, arguing that the local or domestic factors were not at work for the devastation within is a wrong assumption.

when islamists took over the reins of the turkish state, the succeeding systems have been plagued with the desire to blame everything on the external elements. that mentality has given rise to not addressing the problem as it should be in a normal environment, rather finding a scapegoat for the same.

in the specific case of Pakistan, the separation of East Pakistan, the alienation of the Balochi political currents from Pakistan, the Muslim minorities fancying co-religionists elsewhere and even volunteering their lives for the geopolitical goals of distant states are blamed by the elite establishment as the instances where it is argued that it were not the weakness of the system in addressing the grievances, rather it were the crafty foreign powers which played havoc and are still engaged in dismantling Pakistani nationhood.

The situation in Iran and Pakistan might be neutralized for the short term. However, that management can at most be called the phenomenon of pushing the issue beneath the rug and presuming that “all is well”. Such situations gradually cause implosion of the system in the long run. As things turn out in Pakistan; the situation might again revert to “business as usual”. However, the hard truth is that the issues which might have been exploited for coups and counter coups, will remain there as they are. Likewise, in Iran, people might again go home to live the routine lives. But, the two systems referred to above will without doubt be going down the hill, towards ultimate collapse. Soul searching, accepting faults and correcting the same can be the only way out of the developing quagmires in Pakistan and elsewhere

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Transforming academic knowledge into entrepreneurship

aCCORDinGto Pakistan Economic survey 2021-22, the unemployment rate in the country is 6.3 percent. Unemployment is a driving force behind the social unrest, rising crime rate, mental health issues and even terrorist activities in the state. the unemployment rate of the graduates is comparatively higher than the national average, which is expected to rise more in the coming years. the major reasons for this high unemployment rate are related to the structure of the industry and the limited number of jobs that these companies can provide to the graduates. apart from such a general lack of available jobs, university graduates are also facing a skills gap, where jobs that match their competencies are missing as well.

Moreover, Pakistan needs a sustained 7-8 percent growth rate in the GDP or more to drag itself out of the existing deteriorating conditions. the country’s focus should be on innovation-based growth to achieve the objective of high growth trajectory as innovation and entrepreneurship are believed to be the key drivers for the growth. therefore, there is a dire need of transforming academic knowledge into entrepreneurship by systematically supporting entrepreneurial activities of students and graduates in order to create jobs for not only themselves, but others as well.

the government of Pakistan has realized that increasing the linkages between universities and industry could boost this potential and encourages and supports the establishment of such links (Vision Pakistan 2025).

the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has also realized the need for entrepreneurial activities that could create viable businesses and therefore lead to an employment opportunity for graduates as well generate jobs. to support the entrepreneurial spirit in Higher Education institutions (HEis), the HEC has started supporting universities in establishing of business incubation centres (BiC), in which early stage business ideas are to be selected to assist young entrepreneurs to transform them to successful entrepreneurial endeavours. so far, the HEC has established as many as 30 BiCs across the country. Further, the Government has started different programmes for improving employment opportunities for youth such as "Youth Entrepreneurship scheme" and "Hunermand Programme skills for all”.

Being an important economic partner of Pakistan, the EU is also carrying out a project titled “transforming academic knowledge to Develop Entrepreneurial Universities in Pakistan (takE-UP)” in an attempt to transform academic knowledge into entrepreneurship. total volume of the project is € 1.0 million. this EU-funded takE-UP project has been awarded to the consortium of six universities, including University of Gujrat (UOG) along with Universität des saarlandes (UDs), saarbrücken, Germany, athens University of Business and Economics (aUEB), Greece, Lahore University of Management sciences (LUMs), Lahore, Comsats Lahore and Government College University (GCU), Lahore.

Here it may be clarified that the narrative discussed in the article is not an apology for the West nor is it an attempt to tone down the anger. the fact is that the societies in West asia as well as in south asia, despite the fact that they wrested away the controls from the West, Pakistan in 1947, iran in 1979 and turkey in 2002

in iran, a society which has transited from an old regime culture to a new culture and has produced possible results in the process, the new regime instead of encouraging soul searching has opted for a jingoistic mindset; and has a victim mentality. today, after the fresh wave of protests, the establishment there has opted for the iron hand under a preconceived solution. there is no debate in sight. the 30 or so MPs in the Majlis, who only privately thought to do away with morality police, have been neutralized by a governmentmanaged crowd. the situation in iran and Pakistan might be neutralized for the short term. However, that management can at most be called the phenomenon of pushing the issue beneath the rug and presuming that “all is well”. such situations gradually cause implosion of the system in the long run. as things turn out in Pakistan; the situation might again revert to “business as usual”. However, the hard truth is that the issues which might have been exploited for coups and counter coups, will remain there as they are. Likewise, in iran, people might again go home to live the routine lives. But, the two systems referred to above will without doubt be going down the hill, towards ultimate collapse. soul searching, accepting faults and correcting the same can be the only way out of the developing quagmires in Pakistan and elsewhere.

The writer is a freelance columnist

the project has been divided into ten work packages (WPs), titled ‘kick-off and self-assessment’, ‘strategic action planning’, ‘establishing of fablabs’, ‘development of training and teaching material on entrepreneurial skills’, ‘professionalizing entrepreneurial coaching‘, ‘training and certifying entrepreneurial coaches (train-the-trainer)’, ‘development of a takEUP network’, ‘dissemination, visibility and exploitation’, ‘quality management’ and ‘project management’. in University of Gujrat, the BiC is carrying out the project in collaboration with Office of Research, innovation and Commercialization (ORiC) and faculty members of the Department of Management sciences, Department of Biochemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering. seven members of the staff from the university have visited entrepreneurial universities of Europe so far. after 360° assessment of the entrepreneurial culture and development of strategic action plans in the University of Gujrat, a training on “international Entrepreneurial Course 101” has already been developed. the course comprises four modules in 13 sessions. this course has been offered twice to the students. the course has been conducted jointly by the staff of saarland University, Germany and the University of Gujrat. the takE-UP aims at uplifting the potential of Pakistani HEis in the area of entrepreneurial culture, especially the development of entrepreneurial skills in students by improving the coaching process of students, researchers, and alumni with strong entrepreneurial intentions.

Dr KhaliD iqbal anD Dr Tahir raShiD GUJraT

Kashmir and Gorbachev

On the recent death of Mikhail Gorbachev, the global statesman that he was, i want to share a touching scene with him during a meeting over two decades ago. We were at a formal banquet at the Hague on June 29, 2000, following the launch that morning of the Earth Charter at the Peace Palace by Gorbachev, Maurice strong and steven Rockefeller in the presence of Queen Beatrix. i was seated next to Gorbachev at the banquet that evening and offered my condolences at the demise of his wife Raisa. By the time i heard his detailed appreciation through the interpreter, i saw mournful tears in his eyes. i was touched that the loss of his wife had still moved him emotionally several months after the event. For me, it will remain an unforgettable sight of the mighty former leader of the soviet Union acknowledging with open and unguarded frailty the loss of a life-long companion.

Dr ParVEZ haSSan lahOrE

Education of girls

a large number of girls are deprived of education in rural areas of Pakistan due to poverty, discrimination, childhood marriage, violence in school, emergencies and cultural factors. Education is the basic right of every child. it provides knowledge and exposure needed to lead a successful life. Many girls, who are enrolled in the school initially, drop out for one reason or the other. it is estimated that 49 per cent of girls drop out from the school between grades 1 and 5. a report released by the Unicef last year revealed that about 32 million girls of primary school age and 29 million girls of lower secondary school age were not getting education because of the problems they face. they belong to poor families that have limited food to eat and meagre source of income to survive. Like any child, girls have high hopes and dreams for their future. the government must take appropriate measures for the education of girls, and criminalise the obsolete customs and traditions that bar them from acquiring education.

*The authors work for the Office of research, innovation and Commercialization (OriC) of University of Gujrat (UOG), Pakistan

nAqi AkbAR

Third World traces its woes to the First

New order with a bleNd of westerN liberalism aNd easterN civilizatioNal NatioNalism

InstItut MontaIgne Ram madhav

historychanges, but not always at the same pace. sometimes, its pace will be excruciatingly slow like in the 19th and 20th centuries, when a large number of countries in the Global south were struggling under the oppressive colonial yoke. the devastating effects of the two world wars led to a drastic change in world politics. History suddenly picked up momentum. the liberal democratic order gained currency from the experience of the dreaded dictatorships. As colonial oppression and exploitation ended, free markets and capitalism flourished. the evil effects of the world wars motivated countries to come together to build an international order based on rule of law.

A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF POST-WAR DYNAMICS

When india, the world’s second most populous nation, opted for a liberal democratic model after its independence in 1947, it became an inspiration for countries freeing themselves from colonial rule. Most became democratic. As the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, countries in Eastern Europe formerly under the soviet shadow also found virtue in democracy. By the beginning of the new millennium, the world experienced a democratic boom with over 120 countries opting for that model. some were illiberal democracies while others can be categorized as elected autocracies.

the liberal democratic model was not flawless, prompting Prime Minister Winston Churchill to quip that "democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the others that have been tried". there were some dissenters. Led by the soviet Union, a group of nations like Cuba, Poland, East Germany, Bulgaria and romania stood up against this world order. they rejected Western hegemony and broadly stayed out of the orbit of the order whose axis of power lay in the Pacific-Atlantic region. A bipolar polity was born, led by the Us on one side and the soviet Union on the other.

When the soviet Union collasped, Western scholars exuberantly declared the end of the Cold War era, concluding that the triumph of the liberal world order was the only panacea for mankind. in the National interest, renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama argued that we may be witnessing is "not just the end of the Cold War or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government".

this desire to build a uniform world order based on the Western hegemonic conception has been the sheet anchor of the theories of many Western scholars since. it is that desire which prompts them to claim that the russia-Ukraine conflict was going to be a nemesis for the liberal world order.

THE WESTERN LEADERSHIP MODEL

two important questions arise. Firstly, is a uniform world order wedded to those three principles mandatory for the world, or can there be diversity? secondly, who is responsible for wrecking the current liberal order? the Western powers themselves or their recalcitrant challengers like russia and China?

After the second World War, Western leadership villainized national identity. Nationalism was blamed for the two wars and all modern nation-states were mandated to follow the same template: liberal democracy, open market capitalism and globalization. other forms were condemned as retrograde. When india’s Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru mobilized nations to build a nonalignment movement, the Western leadership disapprovingly dubbed him a "neutralist". the soviet Union finally collapsed in 1991, and a wave of enthusiasm engulfed the Western world. A unipolar world order based on Western liberal principles seemed inevitable

and a fait accompli.

Fukuyama's 1992 book the End of History and the Last Man argued Western liberal democracies would become "the endpoint of mankind’s socio-cultural evolution, and the final form of human government". samuel Huntington directly challenged Fukuyama with his provocative 1996 "Clash of Civilizations" thesis, stating that far from unipolarity, the ideological world had been divided on civilizational identities, the new source of conflict in the world, with "each learning to coexist with the others". Later years proved that the collapse of the soviet Union had not moved the world from bipolarity to unipolarity, but to multipolarity. several nationstates, with long cultural and civilizational histories, like China, Arab countries and india, have emerged as the new poles in the world. We also witnessed the rise of nonstate poles - multinational corporations, social media giants, new age religious movements, non-governmental bodies like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, oxfam and CArE, and even terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and isis. With influences beyond the national boundaries of the states, these created a heteropolar world.

THE EROSION OF THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC WORLD ORDER IS A WESTERN FAILURE the hegemonic nature of the world order is eroding with the rise of the heteropolar world. Lofty ideals that it cherished - liberal democracy, open markets, human rights and multilateralism - have been facing severe scrutiny and challenge in the last two decades. Unfortunately, the institutions created for sustaining that world order have increasingly grown weak and ineffective. the world appears to be moving inexorably in the direction of anarchy. the Ukrainianrussian war is the latest, not the first, in the sequence of events that have catalyzed the collapse of the old world order. the West wants the world to believe that russia and Putin were the culprits for ushering in anarchy and attempting to destroy what they had built over the last seven decades. But the West cannot escape responsibility for the failure of its hegemony.

Most nations, especially those in the developing world, had embraced the liberal democratic world order in the hope that hegemons like the United states would sincerely work towards establishing a just world order based on those noble principles. But the experience showed that the West’s quest for "democratizing the world" followed more a political agenda than any ideological one. the developing world watched in dismay the Us joining hands with autocracies, supporting military dictatorships, hobnobbing with authoritarian regimes, and even promoting terror groups like the Mujahadeen, all the while claiming to champion the "freedom agenda".

"Up to now, the Bush administration has been using democracy-promotion in the Middle East only as a tool to punish its enemies, not to create opportunities for its friends", notes steve Cohen, Middle East expert at the Brookings institution.

the international institutions, created with so much fanfare to promote a just and equitable world order have been rendered docile by the Western powers. if China refused to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the sea or russia played spoilsport in many just causes in the world at the UN, the Us too had nonchalantly subverted those institutions in pursuing its so-called "freedom agenda" - whether in Afghanistan or in iraq. it used its financial muscle to unilaterally resort to a regimen of financial sanctions, blockades and expulsions of the countries without ever consulting with or involving the international political or monetary bodies.

Free market capitalism also remained a chimera for the developing Global south,

with the developed West doing little to help struggling economies. When the Great recession hit in 2007-2009, the G-20 powers wasted no time helping each other. the Us Federal reserve quickly acted through the Economic stimulus Act (2008) and American recovery and reinvestment Act (2009). the G-20 too had plunged into action by launching the "Framework for strong, sustainable and Balanced Growth (ssB)" in 2009. But the developing world’s financial debts had no sympathetic ears in the capitalist world. Many countries in Africa and Asia, even in Latin America, were compelled to turn to the newly rich China for economic and developmental needs. New power blocs emerged as a result that did not necessarily subscribe to the liberal Us-led world order. China played a major role in developing an alternative to the American-led world through alliances like shanghai Cooperation organisation (sCo) and financial institutions like the Asian infrastructure and investment Bank (AiiB). the wrecking of the prevailing world order was as much a result of the actions of its hegemon, the Us, as its adversaries like China and russia.

the russian invasion of Ukraine brought these faultlines to the fore. irrespective of the outcome of the war, the world is certain to slide into a state of anarchy for

War hegemonic world order reached its tether's end. in the changing world, no single country or model can work for all. there will be multiple power centers dominating world politics, and influencing heteropolar forces in global affairs. this calls for another approach. the liberal West has to shed its inhibition about the national identities of the countries: its biggest failure has been its obsession with internationalism and rejection of national self-identity. Liberalism must acknowledge that nationalism and liberalism are not antagonistic to each other and can coexist.

in a groundbreaking work on nationalism, israeli scholar yoram Hazony criticizes the liberal construction as "a form of imperialism". He states that "like other imperialists, they are quick to express disgust, contempt, and anger when their vision of peace and prosperity meets opposition".

"Each nation judges in accordance with a perspective of its own. there is no human being, and no nation, that can claim to have captured the entire truth for all others", he insists. For the last seven decades, the liberal world order was dominated led by the Us and Europe. But in the last couple of decades, the global power axis has shifted away from the Pacific-Atlantic region to the indo-Pacific region. the Global south, which had no major role in shaping the liberal order, should be the primary stakeholder in the making of the new world order. Countries like india, israel, Brazil, south Africa, and regional groupings like the AsEAN and the GCC should find their voice prominently

cratic model is necessary. in the developed world, the Greeks introduced democracy to the world. But, after a few centuries, the romans converted it into the rule of the emperors. Democracy only returned to Europe during the Enlightenment period. it acquired the character of electoral majorities, resulting in illiberal democracies and elected autocracies. the civilizational experiences of the developing world differed, with "limited state" and "decentralization" as hallmarks. the earliest and largest empire in the world was established by Emperor Ashoka in india in the 3rd Century BC, almost three centuries before the advent of the famed roman Empire. Emperor Ashoka waged a fierce battle with the kingdom of Kalinga. But that war had no impact on the day-to-day functioning of the society in his vast empire that extended from Pataliputra (present-day Patna in india) in the East to takshashila (present-day taxila in Pakistan) in the West. the gravitational center of the society was never the political authority.

that brings up the second dimensionstatecraft functioned on the basis of decentralization and consensus. self-contained and self-controlled village panchayats were the unique institutions representing those qualities. While modern-day democracies centralized the power in the unit of the state, the earlier models in india promoted power delegation to the lowest units of the society.

on the economic front, in place of laissez-faire capitalism or oppressive communism, a new economic doctrine based on swadeshi (localization) and Atma Nirbharta (self-reliance) can be developed in which the concept of global markets will be replaced by a global family, and where cooperation replaces competition. on the question of international relations, in place of the rulesbased world order, we must strive to build a values-based world order.

Ethics and values should guide the nations so that hegemonies and might-is-right machinations do not dominate international relations. the new challenges that mankind is increasingly coming face to face with include climate change, healthcare, newer technologies like artificial intelligence (Ai), robotics, big data, machine learning, cryptocurrencies and blockchains. these challenges not only call for a global regime to regulate them but also for global ethics to evaluate them. When mankind enters the age of intelligent machines, a healthy man-machine debate needs to be undertaken to build an ethical world order devoted to humancentric development.

some years to come. the russia-Ukraine conflict exacerbated the economic crisis created by the deadly Covid-19 pandemic that devastated national economies. the pandemic-induced supply chain challenges and the Ukraine crisis-induced shortages have been major challenges in the Global south.

Ensuing confusion is leading to fundamental shifts. Nations are increasingly turning inwards to meet domestic needs. Authoritarian nationalism is making a grand comeback. Authoritarian regimes like China are succeeding in showcasing their economic and technological progress to convince countries about a model of "development without democracy". As a result, democracy backsliding is leading to the rise of authoritarians and demagogues. Populism and welfarism are becoming the new mantras for those regimes, illustrating that a new world disorder is in the making. As the multilateral institutions failed to deliver, new regionalism is taking roots through alliances like BriCs (Brazil, russia, india, China and south Africa), sCo (shanghai Cooperation organisation), U2i2 (Us, UAE, india and israel), AUKUs (Australia, UK, Us) and the QUAD (Us, Japan, india and Australia).

the scenario poses a challenge to the established world order led by the Western powers, but also provides opportunities to build a new one based on 21st century realities.

TOWARDS A DIFFERENT WORLD ORDER BUILT ON NEW SET OF PRINCIPLES

First, we need to accept that the post-

heard in this process.

Hegemony, profits and wars dominated the agenda of the liberal world order. Ukraine is the latest version of that agenda where the two dominant worldviews - the Us-led Western worldview and the sinorussian-led authoritarian worldview - are in conflict with one another for world domination. A large number of countries from the Global south have opted to stay out of this conflict. Many Asian, African and Latin American nations, with some exceptions, do not see any role or reason for them to be involved in this conflict.

to sum it up, no one wants the present world order to continue except the Us and its allies. At the same time, the authoritarian order that the sino-russia alliance wants to build must also be reined in. it seeks to impose a system that would deny citizens the universal human rights guaranteed under the UNHrC regime and a political model that robs nations of democratic systems and values.

sino-russian order is a perfect antithesis to the liberal democratic order built over decades. it also militates against the core ethical values of the Global south, which blend Western Liberalism with Civilizational Nationalism. this dilemma before the developing countries may leave the world in chaos and disorder for some time to come. But it will also pave the way for building a new world based on a new set of principles.

As the world is witnessing the rise in democracy deficit, a new look at the demo-

institutions representing the old world order like the United Nations have worn out. Hegemonies championing that order are diminishing in power and influence. Heteropolar forces are tearing apart the remnants leftover of the liberal order. stepping in into that recession are the authoritarians and anarchists. the rest of the world cannot remain a mute witness. Hundred and ten years ago, in 1912, renowned indian poet, philosopher and Nobel laureate, rabindranath tagore, had dreamed of a new world in his poetic masterpiece Gitanjali:

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake".

the time for building such a heaven of freedom that upholds liberal democratic values of the West together with a civilizational nationalist ethic of the East is here.

Ram Madhav is the founding member of the governing council of India foundation.

THIS DESIRE TO BUILD A UNIFORM WORLD ORDER BASED ON THE WESTERN HEGEMONIC CONCEPTION HAS BEEN THE SHEET ANCHOR OF THE THEORIES OF MANY WESTERN SCHOLARS THE EXPERIENCE SHOWED THAT THE WEST'S QUEST FOR "DEMOCRATIZING THE WORLD" FOLLOWED MORE A POLITICAL AGENDA THAN ANY IDEOLOGICAL ONE NO ONE WANTS THE PRESENT WORLD ORDER TO CONTINUE EXCEPT THE US AND ITS ALLIES

corporate corner

68,900 MOre FAMILIeS PrOvIDeD rATION

BAGS, SAyS ShArjeeL INAM MeMON

Karachi staff report

Chughtai Lab receives accreditation from College of American Pathology

SInDHMinister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon has said that the relief activities of the Sindh government are in full swing adding that 68,900 more flood hit families have been provided ration bags in last 24 hours. The minister added that total 1144801 families have been given ration tents bags up till now. Provincial

minister in his press statement on Saturday said that 8228 tents, 26741 tarpaulins, 8500 mosquito nets, and 4000 solar lights have also been distributed among the victims in the last 24 hours.

' So far 379131 tents, 404684 tarpaulins, 2760237 mosquito nets, 782388 liters of mineral water, 62837 jerry cans, 14005 bed sheets, 7000 first aid kits, 96469 sleeping mats, 52266 kitchen sets and other items have been provided to the affectees, he added.

Mr. Memon said 759 persons lost their lives in ravages of flash floods

and rains, while 8422 people have been injured. He added 434238 livestock stock perished in the natural calamity.

He further informed that 2289194 families have been affected by the recent rains while 7325575 people have been displaced.

Sharjeel Memon said that 16128 flood hit people are living in relief camps in Karachi division, 80122 in Hyderabad division, 50624 in Sukkur, 56164 in Shaheed Benazirabad division, 135945 in Larkana division, while in Mirpur Khas Division, 20097 people

PAF medical support, rehab operation in flood-hit areas continues

laHORE: Chughtai Lab, a leading diagnostic pathology lab in Pakistan, announced on Saturday it had received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP). CAP accreditation is the highest international quality standard for pathology labs. It requires successful participation in the College of American Pathologists Proficiency Testing (PT) program, followed by a physical inspection of the lab by a team of international experts.

Chughtai Lab underwent a rigorous three-day inspection at the end of June and has now received full accreditation by the College of American Pathologists.

“Chughtai Lab is committed to delivering high quality and accurate diagnostics to our patients,” said Dr AS Chughtai, CEO Chughtai Healthcare. “This accreditation from CAP is welcome recognition of the quality standards that we maintain to deliver accurate and timely lab reports to our patients and their doctors. This is an important milestone for us, and will motivate us to continue to strive to meet and exceed the most stringent international quality standards.” CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is recognized as a gold standard in laboratory accreditation.

The CAP accreditation process ensures highest care standards for patients and a rigorous check of the lab’s records, and quality control protocols of the procedures on more than 3500 indicators. “We have been awaiting a long time for this day. This CAP Accreditation is a credit to the hard work and dedication of the entire Chughtai Lab team. This accreditation is a testament to our commitment to delivering the highest laboratory standards through quality and accuracy,” said Dr Omar Chughtai, Director of Operations Chughtai Lab. staff report

Software Industry elects new chairman, central executive committee

Islamabad: P@SHA - Pakistan Software House Association – went through their yearly elections and elected new board members to the Central Executive Committee (CEC). CEC unanimously nominated Muhammad Zohaib Khan from A2Z Creatorz as the Chairman P@SHA. Newly elected members of the CEC include, Mohsin Ali (Inbox), Shahzad Shahid (TPS), Jamil Goheer (Virtual Force), Mudassir Malik (App Genni) and Azam Mughal (Secure Beans). CEC include 5 newly elected members every year; and, 5 elected members from previous year. New CEC has elected new office bearers of P@SHA including, Zohaib Khan (Chairman), Ali Ihsan (Sr. Vice Chairman), Khurram Rahat (Vice Chairman), Shahzad Shahid (Treasurer). IT industry leaders, trade bodies and top governmental functionaries welcomed the new CEC and office bearers and have expressed their willingness to work together with IT companies and exporters under this dynamic and internationally renowned leadership. Mr. Zohaib Khan has expressed his profound gratitude over this responsibility and shared his vision: Take IT exports to USD 10 Billion in next 5 years. Work with Government to reintroduce tax holiday for the IT industry until 2030. Work with Government bodies like SECP, FBR, SBP to improve ease and cost of doing business. Build industry academia collaboration to promote high-end & marketbased skills. Promote Make in Pakistan products and help scale globally. Build Brand Pakistan’s global outreach through credible trade activities, lobbying and publications. IT industry is leading its way to be the largest employer of the knowledge workers and aiming to be US$ 50 Billion industry in next 10 years.

pr

New SSGC subsidiary company incorporated

SSGC Alternate Energy (Pvt.) Limited, a fully owned subsidiary Company of SSGC has been incorporated as a Private Limited Company, under the Companies Act 2017. The business model of SSGC Alternate Energy will mainly revolve around the alternate energy projects such as renewable or environmental friendly fuel like Biogas / Biomethane, electricity generation from thermal energy, futuristic energy projects like coal to gas production and hydrogen production. Furthermore, the Company has plans to deal in waste water treatment and transportation and other energy projects as the subsidiary deems appropriate.

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have taken shelter in relief camps/tent cities. He maintained that flood victims are continuing to return to their homes and the district administrations are providing them transport facility as well as ration bags to the victims leaving relief camps. About the Indus river flows, he said that the inflow at Guddu Barrage is 62,600 cusecs and the outflow recorded at 46,700 cusecs. The inflow at Sukkur Barrage is 45000 cusecs and outflow at 33900 cusecs, while inflow at Kotri barrage is 144,700 cusecs and the discharge is recorded at 113,800 cusecs.

Pakistan Air Force is actively involved in the rehabilitation process and provisioning of medical support to the flood affected populace of KPK, Sindh, Balochtisan and South Punjab. PAF personnel are taking unprecented initiatives for the well-being and timely provision of basic necessities of food, shelter, drinking water and medical assistance to the flood victims. Owing to the untiring efforts of PAF emergency response teams, post-flood rehabilitation process is in a vital phase and is bringing the life of flood victims towards normalization. PAF

Medical Lab Collection Points are also actively involved in diagnosis of water-borne diseases amongst flood affectees and timely treatment of patients at PAF Field Medical Camps. During the last 24 hours, PAF Emergency Response teams have distributed 17,140 cooked food packs, 315 water bottles and 402 ration packs consisting of basic food commodities amongst the needy families. Moreover, in addition to the provisioning of free food and shelter, 1938 patients were also attended by the medical teams of Pakistan Air Force in field medical camps. pr

Shahzain Bugti greets Chinese people, government on 73rd Foundation Day

iSlaMaBad It gives me immense pleasure to extend my heartiest felicitations to you, the Government and the people of China on the auspicious occasion of the 73rd Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. The iron brotherhood of Pakistan and China reflects close cooperation, mutual trust and complete understanding of each other’s interests. Our peoples stand together in protecting and promoting our shared values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. The unprecedented success story of the Pakistan-China friendship has entered a new chapter with many new projects I am confident that this event will take our strategic partnership to towering heights, and bring development, stability

and prosperity to our peoples and our region. Our two countries have always stood by each other in regional and international forums and have together contributed toward peace, security and stability within the region and across the world. As I appreciate the Chinese people and the government of Republic of china who stood by us in the wake of disastrous floods in many areas of Paksitan including Sindh and Balochistan. We are thankful for their kind support to our flood victims.

I am confident that our mutually beneficial cooperation will continue to grow in the days to come. I wish Your Excellency good health, happiness and continued peace and progress for the people of China. staff report

AIOU to award cash prizes to winners of Independence Day Celebrations

iSlaMaBad: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is organizing prize distribution ceremony to award cash prizes to the winners of Independence Day celebration. Final competition amongst the winners will be held on Monday (October 3,2022) in the university auditorium. AIOU has celebrated Independence Day with patriotic zeal and zest to keep its tradition alive. However, the Independence Day celebrations were unique in the sense that these were not only limited to August 14, 2022 but the entire month of August witnessed a diverse range of activities exhibiting a deep sense of patriotism and recognition of real value of independence.

The wide range of activities included consciousness raising walks, special seminars, competitions of patriotic songs, speeches, quiz competitions, paintings and essay writing competitions which not only highlighted significance of freedom but also commemorated sacrifices made by the leaders and masses during the freedom fighting movement to achieve an independent homeland for the Muslims of Indo Pak Subcontinent. Rana Tariq Javed, Director, Directorate of Students Advisory and Counseling Services informed that all the position holders of said above competitions, have been informed to participate in the ceremony via SMS, telephone calls and emails. Prof Dr Zia Ul-Qayyum will preside over.

Registear, Raja Umer Younus, Director Student Afaairs, Rana Tariq Javed, faculty member and principal officers will attend the ceremony. A documentary based on August celebrations will also be presented for the audience. pr

Prism Town celebrates LOP awarded for grand housing scheme

Bank Alfalah, Haball to launch digital supply chain lending for Shariah-compliant clients

Karachi staff report

“In line with its mission to provide innovation and convenience to customers, Bank Alfalah has partnered with Haball, a B2B payments aggregator catering to Shariah-compliant clients, to launch digital supply chain lending in Pakistan.

Haball has launched a digital lending platform, “Wisaaq”, which will now be available for use to Bank Alfalah’s corporate clients. Customers seeking Islamic variants of the bank’s supply chain finance products can ob-

tain financing through a quick and simple digital process. With a growing need for financing by vendors and dealers in different industry verticals, this collaboration will enable Bank Alfalah help more credit-starved businesses. Customers hesitant to obtain conventional modes of financing will now have greater access to Islamic variants of supply chain finance products.

Representing Bank Alfalah at the ceremony were Group Head CIBG, Mr. Saad-Ur-Rahman Khan, Head of Transaction Banking Mr. Muhammad Shehzad Ilyas, Group Head IBG Dr. Muhammad Imran and CEO of Haball,

Mr. Omer Bin Ahsan, was also present with his team.

Commenting on the collaboration, Mr. Saad Ur Rahman Khan, Bank Alfalah Group Head Corporate, Investment Banking and International Business said, “We are committed to collaborating with Fin-techs and investing in innovative products in the digital sphere. This collaboration aligns with the Bank’s vision to facilitate the digitalization of Supply Chain Finance in Pakistan. We are committed to supporting businesses with innovative solutions while playing a vital role in driving economic

growth. This collaboration will facilitate B2B payments as we continue to offer a range of digitally innovative Islamic products and services.”

"Pakistani supply chains are dominated by SMEs and they are thirsty for liquidity. They need delivery to be quick, matching seasonal needs and delivered in a Shariah compliant way.”, said Mr. Omer Bin Ahsan, CEO, Haball. “This partnership allows Haball to scale digital supply chain financing for its corporate customers and enables Bank Alfalah to it deliver across 200 cities efficiently using cash flow transparency.”

Islamabad: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of FDR of Ethiopian Jemal Beker Abdula calls on Chairman standing committee of National Assembly on Foreign Affairs Mohsin Dawar at Parliament House. pr

Muhammad Abdus Shakoor, President Alkhidmat Foundation, receives a PKR10m cheque from Aamir Ibrahim, CEO of Jazz, as a humble contribution from Jazz employees through the organisation’s matching grant initiative. This initiative is part of PKR1b pledge made by Jazz towards flood relief efforts. pr

Town Gujjar Khan received Lop from Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency for housing

be honoured in Gujjar Khan. A grand function was held to celebrate the occasion. Real Estate

Potohar Participated in the function. Chief Executive Prism Town Mr. Masood ul Hasan Alvi

He

within

AfghAN woMeN proTesT hAzArA

‘geNocide’ AfTer KAbul boMbiNg

KABUL Agencies

dOZENSof women from Afghanistan’s minority Hazara community protested in the capital Saturday after a suicide bombing a day earlier killed 20 people — mostly young women from the ethnic group.

A bomber blew himself up on Friday at a Kabul study hall as hundreds of pupils were taking tests in preparation for university entrance exams in the city’s Dasht-eBarchi area.

The western neighbourhood is a predominantly Shiite Muslim enclave and home to the minority Hazara community — a historically oppressed group that has been targeted in some of Afghanistan’s most brutal attacks in recent years.

Police said at least 20 people were killed but the United Nations has put the number at 24.

On Saturday about 50 women chanted, “Stop Hazara genocide, it’s not a crime to be a Shia”, as they marched past a hospital in Dasht-e-Barchi where several victims of the attack were being treated.

No Terminator: Musk teases ‘useful’ humanoid robot

SAN FRANCISCO AFP

Elon Musk showed off the latest version of a humanoid robot that the world’s richest man said could one day eliminate poverty. An Optimus prototype wheeled on stage during an annual Tesla AI Day presentation was mounted to a small platform. The robot, which remains a work-in-progress, waved to the audience and raised its knees. “Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as quick as possible,” the billionaire tech pioneer Musk told the audience at the event in Silicon Valley. “There is still a lot of work to be done.” Tesla is adapting its autonomous car technology to give Optimus capabilities such as walking safely or working on a factory floor, company engineers said during the presentation. Another version of the robot, built with off-the-shelf components rather than Tesla-made parts like Optimus, walked slowly onto the stage, pumped its fists and thrust its hips briefly in time with music as if dancing. “The robot can actually do a lot more than we just showed you, we just didn’t want it to fall on its face,” Musk quipped. Tesla is designing Optimus robots to be produced at high rates, pushing the price perhaps lower than $20,000, Musk said. “This means a future of abundance; a future where there is no poverty, a future where you can have what you want in terms of products and services,” Musk said. “It really is a fundamental transformation of civilization as we know it,” he said. Musk, who once warned of artificial intelligence being a threat to humanity, said that Tesla wants to make sure the transition to a society in which robots do the work and people reap the benefits is a safe one.

“We always want to be careful we don’t go down the Terminator path,” he cautioned, referring to a blockbuster film about a killer cyborg and noting that Tesla is building safeguards including a stop button that can’t be tampered with. He said Tesla will begin testing Optimus on factory floors, doing simple tasks like carrying parts, and that the general public should be able to purchase the robots in three to five years. Musk contended that Tesla, as a publicly traded company, would be held accountable by its shareholders if they think it isn’t being socially responsible.

Dressed in black hijabs and headscarves, angry protesters carried banners that read: “Stop killing Hazaras”, an AFP correspondent reported.

Witnesses have told AFP that the suicide attacker detonated in the women’s section of the gender-segregated hall.

“Yesterday’s attack was against the Hazaras and Hazara girls,” protester Farzana Ahmadi, 19, told AFP. “We demand a stop to this genocide. We staged the protest to demand our rights.”

Protesters later gathered in front of the hospital and chanted slogans as dozens of

heavily armed Taliban, some carrying rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, kept watch. Since the hardline Taliban returned to power last August, women’s protests have become risky, with numerous demonstrators detained and rallies broken up by Taliban forces firing shots in the air. No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack at the Kaaj Higher Educational Centre.

But the Islamic State (IS) group regards Shiites as heretics and has previously claimed attacks in the area targeting girls, schools and mosques.

The Taliban also regard the Hazara com-

munity as heathens, and rights groups often accused the Taliban of targeting them during their 20-year insurgency against the former US-backed government. Since returning to office the Taliban have pledged to protect minorities and clamp down on security threats.

However, rights group Amnesty International said Friday’s attack was “a shamefaced reminder of the inaptitude and utter failure of the Taliban, as de-facto authorities, to protect the people of Afghanistan”.

In May last year, before the Taliban’s return to power, at least 85 people — mainly girls — were killed and about 300 were wounded when three bombs exploded near their school in Dasht-e-Barchi.

No group again claimed responsibility, but a year earlier IS claimed a suicide attack on an educational centre in the same area that killed 24. IS has emerged as a key security challenge for the Taliban, but officials claim their forces have defeated the group.

Indian troops martyr 17 Kashmiris in September alone

SRINAGAR Agencies

In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian troops in their unabated acts of state terrorism martyred seventeen (17) Kashmiris in the last month of September.

According to the data issued by the Research Section of Kashmir Media Service, today, of those martyred ten (10) Kashmiris were killed in fake encounters.

During the month, seven youth were critically injured due to use of brute force by Indian police and paramilitary personnel in the territory. At least 140 civilians including religious leaders, youth and social and political activists were arrested and most of them were booked under black laws, Public Safety Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The troops also destroyed four residential houses during 162 cordon and search operations in the month.

So-called security heightened in

IIOJK ahead of Amit Shah’s visit In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the authorities have deployed Indian troops and police personnel in

strength across the territory in the name of security measures ahead of Indian Home Minister, Amit Shah’s visit, to the territory. According to Kashmir Media Service, Amit Shah is visiting IIOJK for two days from Tuesday (October 04). During the visit, he is scheduled to address a rally in Rajouri town and chair a meeting in Srinagar.

Heavy deployment of Indian forces’ personnel has been made in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu region, causing immense inconvenience to the local people. The venue for the rally in Rajouri town has been sealed from all the sides and there is no movement except for those who are making arrangements for rally.

Meanwhile, Indian troops and police conducted a cordon and search operation in area around the rally venue.

‘Worry and fear’: Incessant Israeli drones heighten Gaza anxiety

bearable cacophony.

Gaza teenager Bissam says she has trouble sleeping and concentrating as the buzzing sound of Israeli military drones above the crowded Palestinian enclave drives her to distraction. When she is at home in the cramped family apartment, the 18-year-old said she feels that “the drone is constantly with me in my bedroom — worry and fear don’t leave our homes.

“Sometimes I have to put the pillow on my head so I don’t hear its buzz,” she said, adding that the drone noise gives her headaches.

Unmanned surveillance aircraft have become an integral part of Israel’s 15-year-old blockade of the impoverished enclave, and 2.3 million Palestinians endure their incessant hum. Bissam, whose family requested their surname be withheld for security reasons, said that together with the street noise, the drones create an un-

“At night, I try to review the lessons for my exams, but I can’t read because of this annoying racket,” she said from the cramped Gaza City apartment she shares with her parents and five siblings.

Each month, Israel uses drones above Gaza for 4,000 flying hours — the equivalent of deploying five of the unmanned aircraft permanently in the sky — the military told AFP. The drones “collect intelligence data 24 hours a day”, said Omri Dror, a commander from Israel’s Palmachim airbase where the aircraft take off. ‘I’m scared lIke my chIldren’: During 11-day clashes in May 2021 between Israel and Gaza fighters, the Israeli army deployed 25 drones for 6,000 flight hours to constantly monitor the territory, according to army data.

It intensified that presence during a three-day conflict in August this year, using 30 drones for a total of more than 2,000 flight hours.

Chinese mark National Day with blooming patriotism, pride and confidence ahead of key party congress

BEIJING

Agencies

Chinese are celebrating the 73rd birthday of the People’s Republic of China on Saturday, which is also the first day of the week-long National Day holidays, with more than 200 thousand people gathering at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing for the national flag-raising ceremony beaming with excitement and pride.

The nation also has received multiple “gifts” ahead of her birthday, including the C919, China’s first homegrown large jetliner, which obtained the type certificate on Friday, a milestone on its journey to market operation. In addition, China’s space station lab module Wentian successfully completed in-orbit transposition at 12:44 pm Friday, and this is also the first time that there are Chinese Taikonauts sending birthday blessings to the motherland from space. chInese PresIdent XI JInPIng attends natIonal day recePtIon: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday attended a reception in Beijing to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The reception, held a day ahead of China’s National Day, was organized by the State Council. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang addressed the reception, while Vice Premier Han Zheng presided over it.

Regarding China’s economy, Li stressed

the importance of stabilizing the economic fundamentals to ensure operations of market entities and security in employment and basic living needs.

Li reiterated that reform and openingup is China’s fundamental state policy. He called for a high level of openness to the outside world, efforts to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investment and deepen multi-bilateral economic and trade cooperation, so that China will always be a hotspot of foreign investment and achieve win-win development.

China will consolidate the results of poverty eradication, properly resettle and provide assistance to people affected by disasters, secure the bottom line of the basic livelihood of people in difficulty, and work on practical matters such as education, medical care, elderly care and housing security to continuously improve people’s welfare.

Li urged efforts to fully implement the principles of “One Country, Two Systems,” “the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong,” “the people of Macao governing Macao,” and a high degree of autonomy for

Bissam’s mother Rim said she struggles to calm her children when the drones fly overhead, fearing an Israeli air strike could follow even if there is no active conflict. “I’m basically scared like them. How can I reassure my children?” the 42-year-old said. The din above the family home is particularly acute due to its proximity to a base of the Al-Qassam Brigades — the armed wing of Gaza rulers Hamas — but drones are also heard above busy shopping streets. “The kids sleep intermittently. We wake up, we sleep, then we wake up” again, Rim said. ‘always the drone Is there’

In Gaza’s southern city of Khan Yunis, psychiatrist Iman Hijjo treats Palestinians whose conflict trauma is triggered by the sound of Israeli drones. Israel and Hamas have fought four wars over the past 15 years. “When an insect moves around you, you can hit it, but not the drone,” Hijjo said, adding that the situation leads to a “sense of powerlessness”.

have come to the square at night a day ahead of the ceremony, as they wanted to get the best position to witness the whole process.

the two special administrative regions.

Calling for adherence to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, Li said China resolutely opposes “Taiwan independence” forces and interference by external forces, and actively promotes the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.

China adheres to the road of peaceful development and the promotion of building a community with a shared future, he added.

China women’s national basketball team also reached the final of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup for the first time in nearly 30 years, and even though the team lost to the US, the most powerful team in the world, they still won respect across the country as their performance has encouraged numerous people.

Analysts said the stability, safety and certainty of China has provided the people an ideal environment to enjoy the holidays, and it also presents an ideal atmosphere with great patriotism for the upcoming significant 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

PatrIotIc atmosPhere: In order to attend the national flag-raising ceremony at Tian’anmen Square, which is a solemn event held every day at the same time with the sunrise that attracts tourists from all over the country and even around the globe with a special romance with Chinese characteristics, many tourists and Beijing residents

On the first day of every month, the flagraising ceremony will be specially conducted by the PLA Honor Guard Battalion and the PLA military band, so Saturday’s ceremony, which was held on October 1, also the first day of National Day holidays, is probably one of the most anticipated flag-raising ceremonies throughout the year.

Zhang Li, a student from Beijing-based Tsinghua University, came to the square at about 10:00 pm Friday night, and spent the whole night with his friends there because he knew that there would be a huge crowd lining up for security checks to enter the square from midnight.

“We found some people were there already when we arrived. They came at 9:30 pm with national flags in their hands,” he told the Global Times. Liu Ling, a Beijing resident, who also went for the early morning ceremony, was not that lucky.

She said that she didn’t expect there would be so many people as she arrived at the square at about 4:00 am. Still, she had to stand far away from the flag tower even though she entered the square. “But I’m still happy and I believe everyone who come here is proud of our motherland.”

According to Beijing Daily, there were more than 218,000 people attending the ceremony with strict epidemic prevention and control measures being observed.

The festive and patriotic atmosphere can be found everywhere across the country. Five-star red flags are dazzling Chinese streets and Chinese social media was filled with blessings wishing the motherland to be more prosperous and stronger.

GAZA CITY AFP

BIsmAh eyes momeNtum AheAd of ACC WomeN’s t20 AsIA Cup

AFTERundergoing a 10-day camp at the Lahore Country Club, Muridke and three days of intense practice and preparations in Sylhet, Bangladesh, Pakistan are ready for action with their first match of the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup taking place tomorrow, Sunday against Malaysia at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS). Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan are eager to showcase their talent, skill and temperament in the shortest format of the game. The seven-team tournament follows a round-robin format where each team will play the other once before the top four sides qualify for the semi-finals. The final

of the tournament will be played on 15 October. Pakistan will take on defending champions and hosts Bangladesh on 3 October whereas the game against arch-rivals India is scheduled on 7 October.

Pakistan finished on the third spot in the last edition of ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2018-19.

Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof said on the eve of the match : “The conditions here are the same as at home, the pitches will help the spinners. We will try to make full use of the conditions and get our momentum going and start on a winning note”.

“The tournament’s format gives us a number of matches, providing us a great help to prepare for the next year’s ICC Women’s

World Cup. We are not going to take any team lightly and try to execute ourselves well to win tomorrow’s match.”

Right-handed batter Sidra Amin is included in the side as an opener in place of out-of-form Iram Javed. Commenting on her inclusion in the side and pairing up with Muneeba Ali, Bismah said, “We have tried a new pair in the opening position, I hope Sidra performs, her runs at the top will give stability to the batting order which can contribute in the team’s win.”

The tournament matches will be broadcast live on PTV Sports. Toss for the Pakistan and Malaysia clash will take place tomorrow at 0730 PKT while the first ball will be bowled at 0800 PKT.

Squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig,

Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Nashra Sundhu, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hasan

Reserve players: Natalia Pervaiz, Umme Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Support staff: Ayesha Ashhar (team manager), Saleem Jaffer (bowling coach and interim head coach), Mauhtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Muhammad Zubair Ahmad (analyst) and Rifat Gill (physiotherapist).

Pakistan’s fixtures:

2 October – v Malaysia

3 October – v Bangladesh

6 October – v Thailand

7 October – v India

9 October – v UAE

11 October – v Sri Lanka.

Batter Haider Ali in hospital with viral illness

LAHORE the AssociAted PRess

Cricketer Haider Ali was taken to hospital because of a viral illness during the T20 against England on Friday.

Ali is the second Pakistan T20 World

usA beat China to win 11th women’s basketball World Cup

SYDNEY Agencies

Tournament MVP A’ja Wilson poured in 19 points as the all-conquering United States crushed China 83-61 to win their fourth straight women’s basketball World Cup and 11th overall in Sydney on Saturday. Kelsey Plum added 17 points and Jewell Loyd 11 as the Chinese were overpowered by a formidable team that stretched their unbeaten streak in the competition to 30 games. The US went to half-time with a 43-33 lead and there was no stopping them in front of 15,895 fans at Sydney SuperDome — the biggestever crowd for a women’s basketball match in Australia. The 22-point differential was the highest in World Cup final history, reinforcing their dominance. “Some great players, five-time Olympians, were not part of this team and there was probably some around the world thinking, ‘now’s the time to get the USA’,” said US coach Cheryl Reeve, after the retirements of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. “I think we showed the depth of talent we have, and it was on display. “I thought we just had a really good tournament, particularly defensively,” she added. “They’re hard to play against and we had some really great moments.” In front of the watching Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming, the odds were heavily stacked against China, who were led by Li Yueru with 19 points and took home their first medal since 1994. On top of being 10time champions, the USA were coming off a recordbreaking 83-43 semi-final victory against Canada, the biggest win ever in a World Cup last four, and they had beaten China 77-66 in the group phase. The Chinese had also lost all seven previous World Cup clashes with the American juggernaut, and by an average 22 points. “We came on a mission and we played pretty good,” said Wilson, who won the Most Valuable Player award to go with the WNBA title she won last month with the Las Vegas Aces. “This is what you live for, this is my job and I love my job and what I do.”

Cup player admitted to hospital during the series after fast bowler Naseem Shah, who also fell ill.

Ali scored 18 runs off 14 balls but the middle-order batter felt dizziness in the dressing room and was substituted.

Pakistan ultimately lost the sixth T20.

Ali has had a below-par series, scoring 11, 3, 4 and 18.

Paceman Shah spent two nights in a local hospital in Lahore because of pneumonia. He was ruled out of the remaining two T20s of the seven-match series after testing positive for Covid-

Dara Nangyali, DC Sarkar off to flying start in Peshawar Football League Season-5

PESHAWAR stAFF RePoRt

Dara Nangyali and DC Sarkar off to a flying start after recording opening day victories in the Peshawar Football League Season 5, which got underway here at the historical Tehmas Khan Football Stadium on Saturday.

In the opening matches, Dara Nangyali recorded victory against strong DG Sports Warriors in a 3-0 battle before the two teams played a goalless first-half and Dara Nangyali marched into 3-0 victory against defending Champion DG Sports Warriors.

DC Sarkar defeated Afghan Pakhtun in another thrilling match by 3-0. DC Sarkar, the two times winner of the Peshawar League, did not give much time to the Afghan Pakhtun team to strike back and recorded a 30 victory in the 16 teams League.

The other teams part of the most prominent and famous Peshawar Football League Season-5, including Shinwari Stori, Dara Ningyali, Shaheen XI, Abbottabad Eagle, Hazara Tiger, DG Sports Warriors, DC Sarkar Peshawar, Akakhel Strikers, Chitral Darwish, Chitral Markhor, Tank Turiyali, and Afghan Pakhtun.

The first match of the league was played between Dara Ningyali and DG Sports Warriors in which Dara secured a 3-0. Usman scored in the 50th minute, Raheel in the 65th minute and Osama in the 74th minute.

The second match brought suc-

cess to the team was played between DC Sarkari and Afghan Pashtun in which DC Sarkari won by 3-0. Riaz scored goals in the 31st and 64th minutes while Tariq scored in the 59th minute for DC Sarkar. DC Sarkar players played well and did not give much time to Afghan Pakhtun to strike back.

Chief Organizer of the Football League, Chairman Youth Glam Welfare Organization, Gul Haider formally inaugurated the League. Talking to the media Gul Haider said that the slogan of the League is to prevent drugs and “Say no Drug”.

He said with such an approach, through League the game of football would also be promoted. He said we are spreading the message of drug free society and for this the efforts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govern-

ment and especially the Peshawar Division administration and the Commissioner Peshawar continued to eliminate drugs and save the youth.

He said that this league is being telecasted live on TV for the second time in history. In the first season of Peshawar Football League, DC Sarkar’s team won, while in the second and third seasons, Shinwari Stori secured victory.

The team of Director General of Sports won the Season-4. The tournament will continue for 16 days, in which each team will play three matches, after which the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals will be held. The Tahamas Khan Football Stadium has been beautifully decorated for the tournament and many of the league matches will also be played under floodlights.

Man Utd ‘warrior’ Martinez faces Haaland test in Manchester derby

LONDON AFP

Erik ten Hag’s faith in Manchester United “warrior” Lisandro Martinez will be put to the test as Manchester City striker Erling Haaland aims to extend his red-hot streak in Sunday’s derby.

Haaland has made a blistering start with City since joining the Premier League champions from Borussia Dortmund for £51 million ($57 million) in the close season.

With 14 goals in nine games in all competitions for City, the Norway striker, playing in his first Manchester derby, will put United’s recent revival to the test.

Only once has Haaland been denied a goal in the Premier League this season, but United manager Ten Hag might have the solution to taming the prolific 22-year-old.

When Ten Hag’s Ajax faced Dortmund in the Champions League last season, they stopped Haaland scoring and won the group match thanks in large part to an inspired dis-

ready producing commanding performances.

At 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 metres), Haaland will tower over Martinez, who is the Premier League’s smallest centre-back at 5ft 9in.

But the aggressive Argentine does not let

19 on Thursday.

Shah will isolate for two days, and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said he will fly out to New Zealand with the team on Monday for a triangular T20 series also featuring Bangladesh, a prelude to the T20 World Cup in Australia.

Antonio Inoki, Japanese pro-wrestler politician with N. Korea ties, dies

TOKYO ReuteRs

Antonio Inoki, a Japanese professional wrestling star turned politician, widely known for his match with Muhammad Ali and ties to North Korea, has died aged 79, after years of battling a rare disease, the company he founded said on Saturday. “New Japan Pro-Wrestling is deeply saddened at the passing of our founder, Antonio Inoki,” the company he started in 1972 posted on Twitter. “His achievements, both in professional wrestling and the global community are without parallel and will never be forgotten.” Inoki became one of the biggest names on Japan’s prowrestling’s circuit in the 1960s. His fame went global in 1976 when he had a mixed martial arts match with boxing legend Muhammad Ali, billed as “the bout of the century”. The lantern-jawed, 1.9-metre (6-foot-three-inch) performer entered politics, winning a seat in the upper house of Japan’s parliament in 1989. He made headlines the next year going to Iraq during the Gulf War and intervening on behalf of Japanese hostages, who were subsequently released. Tributes to Inoki poured in across social media. Atsushi Onita, another pro wrestler turned politician, tweeted: “An era has come to an end.” “Thank you, Inoki-san. The supreme father of pro wrestling,” he wrote.

Triple H, the current chief content officer of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and a former grappler, called Inoki “one of the most important figures in the history of our business, and a man who embodied the term ‘fighting spirit.'” Inoki developed close ties with North Korea because his mentor, early pro-wrestling superstar Rikidozan, hailed from North Korea but could never go home after the peninsula was divided by war. He made numerous visits to Pyongyang as a lawmaker and met highranking officials, saying Tokyo could play a role in mediating with its nuclear-armed neighbour.

his diminutive stature stop him taking the fight to opposing strikers.

Living up to the “Butcher of Amsterdam” nickname given to him at Ajax, Martinez has already earned cult hero status among United fans with some ferocious tackling.

Partnering with Raphael Varane in central defence after Harry Maguire was dropped two games into the season, Martinez has shored up a unit that was United’s Achilles heel last season.

United have won all five games in which Ten Hag has played Martinez and Varane together at the heart of the defence.

Ten Hag calls the Argentine a “warrior”, lauding his “attitude and fighting spirit”.

But he knows keeping Haaland off the scoresheet at the Etihad Stadium will be a tall order if Martinez does not get enough help from his team-mates.

“We don’t play against Haaland, we play against Man City,” said Ten Hag. “We are convinced of our capabilities. If we act as a team we can beat our opponents.

“We need to look to ourselves. We have to perform at our best, with a good game plan. Then it is about execution. We will have to do 100 percent.”

‘The mosT imporTanT game’

Haaland’s predatory instincts give City an even more imposing look than last season, when they won the Premier League title despite lacking an elite central striker.

However, City boss Pep Guardiola is well aware that Martinez could pose a formidable barrier to Haaland’s hopes of extending his run of scoring in seven successive club games. “Erling is taller. But knowing from my experience, there is no doubt about Martinez. It’s not the first time he’ll play against strikers taller than him,” Guardiola said. Like Haaland, Ten Hag will be pitched into the Manchester derby cauldron for the first time. “I have played many derbies. I know what they are — the most important game,” Ten Hag said. Ten Hag might not have a history in the battle for Manchester bragging rights, but he is no stranger to Guardiola.

play from a tenacious defender now plying his trade with United. Ten Hag brought Martinez with him to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window in a deal that could reach nearly £57 million and the 24-year-old is al-

PM: China’s rise to global Power is a sourCe of stability

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

tHErise of China as the second largest economy after the United States and its formidable diplomatic clout was a source of stability in a rapidly changing world, Shehbaz Sharif has said.

On that nation’s National Day, marked on October 1 to commemorate the formal proclamation of the establishment of modern China in 1949, the prime minister extended the heartiest greetings to President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and the people of the neighbouring country.

In a series of tweets, the prime minister said China offered a promise of hope to the

developing world otherwise beset by multiple crises relating to climate, finance, food and energy.

“The Chinese template of inter-state relations prioritizes cooperation over confrontation is the governing principle in the formation of a community of common destiny,” he said.

Personally, the prime minister said, he was deeply touched by Beijing’s adherence to remarkable work ethic and discipline.

“This explains how China has been able to lift 800 million people out of acute poverty,” he noted.

Sharif further urged the nation of Pakistan that at this stage in her national life, “work, work and work alone” could lift them out of crises.

Court issues arrest warrants for Pti chief in ‘threatening remarks’ case

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A judicial magistrate Islamabad on Saturday issued arrest warrants for Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s Chairman Imran Khan over his continued absence from court in a case pertaining to threatening remarks about a female judge and police high-ups. Judicial Magistrate Rana Mujahid Raheem had repeatedly summoned Imran Khan in the case but he failed to appear. Upon which, the court issued arrest warrants against the PTI chief. The court had ordered the Margalla Police SHO to present the accused Imran Khan Niazi, son of Ikramullah Niazi before the court after arresting him. It may be mentioned here that the capital police had registered FIR No.407 on August 20, against Imran Khan under sections 504/506 and 188/189 for threatening female judge Zeba Chaudhry and officials of Islamabad Police. However, the clauses of AntiTerrorism Act (ATA) were removed from the FIR on the directives of Islamabad High Court (IHC). The case was shifted to the District and Sessions Court from the AntiTerrorism Court (ATC) after the IHC decision.

PTI CHIEF COULD BE ARRESTED IF FAILS TO APPEAR BEFORE COURT: The Islamabad police on Saturday said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan could be arrested if he fails to appear before the court for threatening a female judge and Islamabad police officials. A spokesman for Islamabad police said that arrest warrant is a legal process and it was issued after Imran Khan failed to appear before the court in its last hearing. “Warrants are issued to ensure appearance of suspects before courts,” the spokesman said. The police official said the case 407/22 was transferred to a session court after the Islamabad High Court removed terrorism charges from it. “Imran Khan is yet to seek bail from the session court,” the official said. He warned that the PTI chief could be arrested if he fails to comply with the court orders and appear before it.

international biker crushed to death

BUREWALA: International biker Baba Mudassar was crushed to death on his way back from a funeral here the other day. According to details, international biker Baba Mudassar, a resident of Burewala, was on the way back home on his heavy bike after attending funeral of his fellow biker Mustafa Jamal, who had died in a traffic accident in Mian Channu. The biker sustained serious injuries after his bike collided with a rickshaw after hitting a donkey-cart near Command Road 84 Adda. Staff RepoRt

PTI devises comprehensive strategy for long march to rid country of plunderers

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday held important consultative huddle to hammer out a comprehensive strategy for a decisive and final long march to rid the country of the thieves, plunging the country into quagmire of problems.

Chairman PTI Imran Khan presided over the most important consultative meeting of the party central leaders to discuss the modus operandi and preparations for the PTI’s decisive long march against the imported government.

During the meeting, PTI Chairman assigned special task pertaining to preparations of the long march to the party’s the officials.

The meeting discussed important issues including the over-

all political situation in the country, NROs received by criminals and latest audio leaks threadbare. Moreover, the participants held detailed consultation on the comprehensive strategy regarding the preparations for the Islamabad Long March.

They also discussed that the possible used of aggression and violence by the imported government and the strategy as how to deal with any such brutality and tyranny, as the imposed government did in May 25 long march. It was decided that after announcing the date of long march, simultaneously several strategies would be given fishing touch.

Before the announcement of the final date, Chairman PTI would fully prepare the party organizations of Islamabad and surrounding districts. Imran Khan would address major

workers convention in Peshawar region and Faisalabad divisions.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan said that the tradition of two types of laws one for power elites and another for the people pushed the country into the quagmire of destruction. PTI Chairman said that rule of law was the only way forward. He stated that NROs were like a deadly poison for the rule of law and the real reason of imposing of these cable of crooks on the nation. Imran Khan vowed that its high time to launch decisive movement against corrupt and criminal groups imposed on the people of the country.

PTI Chairman urged that it was inevitable that the public should fully support and participate in the long march to break the shackles of slavery and subjugation once and for all.

fiscal, monetary policy direction imperative for sustainable economic growth: Dar

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Saturday stressed that fiscal and monetary policy coordination is imperative for sustainable and effective economic growth.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar shared about fiscal measures being undertaken for economic revival of the country. The Finance Minister was talking with Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmad who called on him at Finance Division.

During the meeting, they discussed measures being undertaken for stabilization and growth of the country’s economy.

The SBP governor extended felicitations to the finance minister on assuming the office and stated that with the arrival of the finance minister, the market sentiments have considerably improved as reflected in the appreciation of the rupee.

He was of the view that continuing efforts by the government and the Bank will further put a squeeze on those who were manipulating the foreign exchange market.

The SBP governor apprised the minister of different macroeconomic policy initiatives in line with the objectives of fiscal policy taken to achieve sustainable growth.

He said that SBP is fully committed to support the process of economic revival as per the policies of the present government and assured the finance minister of his full support.

Ishaq Dar commended the initiatives of the SBP on introducing digital banking in line with international best practices and Pakistan’s first Instant Payment SystemRaast.

He also appreciated the role of the State Bank of Pakistan for the monetary stability and economic growth of the country.

FBR TO ExTEnD DATE OF TAx RETURnS By TILL OCT 31: Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, authorized Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to extend the date for filing of Tax Returns by one month till October 31, 2022, the Ministry of Finance said this on official twitter account here on Saturday.

The FBR has extended the date of filing of income tax returns up to October 31st, 2022.

The FBR extended the date in view of current flood situation in the country and request from various trade bodies, tax bar associations, and facilitation of general public. All the tax payers, who were required to file income tax returns by September 30, 2022, would have been given an extension of one month, the release said.

China has provided over $90m assistance to flood-hit Pakistan: Amb Nong Rong

ISLAMABAD Mian abRaR

In an apparent jibe at the US secretary of state Antony Blinken, Chinese Ambassador Mr Nong Rong Saturday said that China has so far extended over $90 million in assistance to Pakistan after the devastating floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains.

In a video address released on Twitter, the Chinese ambassador reaffirmed his government’s continued support to Islamabad to help flood-affected people.

“Instead of finger-pointing against China-Pakistan cooperation, some country better do real and beneficial things for the people of Pakistan,” said Ambassador Nong Rong, without naming the US.

It merits mention that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently asked Pakistan to seek debt relief and restructuring from China, its single-largest

creditor after the country has seen widespread floodinduced devastation.

“China is the most reliable iron brother of Pakistan. Since the devastating floods occurred in Pakistan, among all countries, China has announced the biggest amount of assistance to Pakistan,” Nong Rong said.

The envoy said that the total amount of assistance has exceeded RMB 644 million (around $90 million), adding that the assistance comes from the Chinese government, the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese army, the Red Cross Society of China and sister provinces and cities, Chinese enterprises and individuals.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, while responding to the debt relief appeal by the US Secretary of State, said that the Chinese government has provided RMB 400 million worth of humanitarian assistance and China’s civil society has also lent a helping hand.

The spokesman noted that China and Pakistan have had fruitful economic and financial cooperation and that the Pakistani people know it best. “Instead of passing unwarranted criticism against Beijing-Islamabad cooperation, the US might as well do something real and beneficial for the people of Pakistan,” he maintained.

A day earlier, Washington rolled over an agreement to suspend service payments on $132 million of Islamabad’s debt, the US embassy said, as the country faces an economic crisis exacerbated by devastating floods.

Pakistan’s economy is facing a balance of payments crisis, a widening current account deficit, a slide in its currency to historic lows, and inflation crossing 27%.

Devastating floods meanwhile engulfed large swathes of the country in late August, killing more than 1,500 people and causing damage estimated at $30 billion, fanning fears that Pakistan would not meet its debt obligations.

FBR resorts to pick & choose policy in recent Pakistan Customs service officers’

ISLAMABAD

Federal Board of Revenue has adopted a pick and choose policy in the recent high level Pakistan Customs Service officers’ transfers and postings.

Highly placed sources have told Pakistan Today that the FBR has not transferred those powerful customs collectors who have strong connections in political or bureaucratic circles. Generally, posting transfer has become an investment business in FBR where well-connected and rich officers not only to prevent their transfers from or to procure their postings to lucrative positions.

In the recent reshuffle in FBR, Amjad-

ur-Rehman was retained as Collector Peshawar contrary to one year tenure policy followed by FBR and despite his controversial track record there as some highly influential persons had asked the high ups not to remove him from this position.

In this reshuffle, FBR has also seated several junior officers on senior slots giving the so-called own pay and scale postings.

Such junior officers posted on senior positions in OPS include Muhammad Yaqoob Mako, Ashhad Jawad, Muhammad Saleem and Mirza Mubashir Baig.

A junior BS 20 officer Muhammad Yaqoob Mako has been posted as Chief Collector Customs Karachi. Another Junior BS 20 officer Arshad Jawad has been posted as

Chief Collector Customs Appraisement Karachi in OPS by removing a regular promoted senior BS 21 officer Wajid Ali from that position.

Similarly, another Junior BS-20 officer Muhammad Saleem has been posted as Chief Collector Customs Peshawar in OPS by removing a regularly promoted senior BS-21 officer Ahmad Reza Khan.

Another, Junior BS-20 officer Mirza Mubashir Baig has been posted as DG Directorate General of Input Output Coefficient Organisation, Karachi in OPS whereas a regularly promoted senior BS 21 officer Ahmad Rauf has been sidelined.

After posting the junior BS 20 officers on senior BS 21 slots in OPS, all regularly

promoted senior BS-21 officers except two Abdul Qadir Memon and Imran Mohmand have been sidelined. It is pertinent to mention here that FBR has posted the BS-21 officer Abdul Qadir Memon as Chief Collector Customs Baluchistan due to his strong political connections.

The other regularly promoted BS 21 officer Imran Mohmand has been posted as Chief Collector Islamabad and reportedly after his 15 years blacklisting owing to his alleged involvement as deputy collector in a big revenue loss scam in the PAACS Collectorate, Karachi.

A regularly promoted BS-21 officer Fareed Iqbal has been sidelined as DG, Directorate General of Post Clearance & Internal

Audit, Karachi. Another regularly promoted senior BS-21 officer Muhammad Sadiq has been sidelined as DG, Directorate General of IPR (Enforcement), Islamabad.

Sources said that FBR’s frequent use of the device of OPS posting to post the easily manageable Junior officers and to curb the possible dissenting voices of the regularly promoted senior officers is a misuse of authority to promote favouritism as FBR can seat a Junior officer on a senior slot only when senior officers are not available.

Member Customs Operations, Mukarram Jah Ansari, on the query of this scribe replied that Officers posting has been made keeping in view ongoing tasks & requirements.

Shahzad paRacha