Epaper_22-10-30 ISB

Imran approached to appoInt army chIef through ‘mutual consultatIon’, says pm

CLAImS ImRAN HAd SUGGeSTed eACH SIde SHOULd PROPOSe THRee NAmeS FOR NexT ARmY CHIeF

LAHORE staff report

amIdrising political tensions, Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif Saturday claimed that PTI Chairman Imran Khan had offered him to appoint the next army chief through “mutual consultation” and the message had been conveyed to him last month.

Speaking to a group of Vloggers, the prime minister claimed that Imran Khan proposed through his aide that each side should propose three names for the post of the next army chief. According to Pm Shahbaz, Imran

At least 146 killed in Halloween stampede in South Korea

agencies

At least 146 people were killed in a stampede when a huge crowd celebrating Halloween crammed into an alley in a night life area of the South Korean capital Seoul on Saturday night, emergency officials said.

A further 150 people were injured in the crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district, Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said in a briefing at the scene. many of the injured were in serious condition and receiving emergency treatment, the officials said.

The incident took place at about 10:20 p.m. (1320 GmT). A large number of people fell down in the alley during the festivities, Choi said. many of the party-goers were wearing masks and Halloween costumes. many of the victims were women in their twenties, Choi said.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes moments before the stampede, with the police on hand in anticipation of the Halloween event at times hav-

ing trouble maintaining control of the crowds.

Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed and immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them to free.

One woman heard on a social media post cries out in english: “Oh my God, oh my God, Jesus fucking Christ.”

Other footage showed chaotic scenes of fire officials and citizens treating dozens of people who appeared to be unconscious.

A Reuters witness said a make-shift morgue was set up in a building adjacent to the scene. About four dozen bodies were carried out later on wheeled stretchers and moved to a government facility to identify the victims, according to the witness.

It was the first Halloween event in three years after the country lifted COVId restrictions and social distancing. Some witnesses described the crowd becoming increasingly unruly and agitated as the evening deepened.

Imran fires broadside at spy chief as PTI continues march on Islamabad

where a convoy began the 380-kilometre journey to the capital, expected to take around a week with rallies planned along the route. Speaking to a charged crowd, Khan recalled Swati blamed two ISI officials for the torture.

“The names he took […] these two savages — since the day they were brought to Islamabad, [they] oppressed the people and media, threatened them, picked up social media activists.

had proposed that both sides may agree on the name of the army chief after considering the six names suggested by both the sides.

“Imran Khan offered [to conduct] negotiations,” the prime minister said, adding that the PTI chief wanted to settle two issues through dialogue. “The first matter was the army chief’s appointment and the second was holding snap elections,” Pm Shehbaz revealed while addressing the Vloggers.

“I flatly refused his [Imran’s] offer by saying thank you,” the premier was quoted as saying.

The Pm said he sent a message to the PTI chief that appointing army chief was his constitutional duty “that has to be fulfilled by the

prime minister”.

Besides army chief’s appointment, the Pm said he offered Imran Khan to hold talks on his offer to signing “charter of democracy and charter of economy”.

Speaking about the unprecedented presser of top military leaders, Pm Shehbaz said dG-ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum held a press conference with his consent. The incumbent army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s sixyear tenure ends in late November and the chief military spokesperson had already clarified that the current army chief had no intention to seek further extension.

LAHORE staff report

A day after he opened a new front in his war with the military establishment, former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday delivered another fiery speech targeting the intelligence chief and called two servicemen under him — who his party has accused of inflicting custodial torture on Senator Azam Swati — “savages”.

Khan, who on the first day of the march on Friday came out guns blazing against Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum and accused him of holding a press confer-

ence “more political than Sheikh Rasheed”, again put the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency on his radar.

“[Yours was an] apolitical press conference, you say? You don’t target only Imran Khan in an apolitical press conference,” he thundered, standing atop his container. On Saturday, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) resumed its protest march to Islamabad to demand snap elections at noon from Shahdara Town on the outskirts of Lahore.

Thousands of people gathered in the border town of the provincial metropolis, from

“First they picked up Shahbaz Gill, stripped him and tortured him and then [repeated the same with anchorperson] Jameel Farooqui.” He also called on Umar Ata Bandial, the chief justice, to protect people’s fundamental rights and take action against the alleged custodial torture of PTI leaders, particularly Senator Swati.

“Chief justice sahib, it is your job to protect fundamental rights. The nation is looking towards you. Action is taken against custodial torture across the world …Who will protect our fundamental rights if not you chief justice sahib?” he said.

SAYS He OFFeRed ImRAN TO HOLd TALKS ON SIGNING OF ‘CHARTeR OF demOCRACY & CHARTeR OF eCONOmY’

photo by zubair mahfooz

IMrAn AnnounCEs fIlInG DEfAMAtIon lAwsuIt AGAInst CEC

Staff RepoRt

PTIchief and former prime minister Imran Khan announced that he would file a defamation case against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The former premier made these remarks while speaking to a private news channel. “I will file a defamation lawsuit against CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja in Toshakhana reference and prohibited funding case,” Imran Khan said in an

interview and reiterated his demand for free and fair elections in the country under the new ECP chief.

The PTI chairman regretted that the law was different for the powerful and helpless in the country. He underscored the need for the supremacy of law in the country.

Last week, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) moved a reference before the Supreme Judicial Council against Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.

Moved through Babar Awan, the reference pleaded with the SJC to order removal of the CEC on account of the “commission of continuous and deliberate

misconduct”.

In a 10-page reference, PTI claimed that Sikandar Raja Sultan had violated the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) code of conduct and failed to fulfill his constitutional obligations.

It contended that 123 PTI lawmakers had resigned from National Assembly which was also accepted by then deputy speaker Qasim Suri. PTI said that the incumbent NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz started the process again and approved 11 resignations and ECP also issued notification regarding the resignation of lawmakers.

Kh Asif says Imran crossed all ‘red lines’

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Saturday that PTI Chairman Imran Khan has crossed all “Red Lines” of the identity of a Pakistani.

ACE arrests Dost Mazari in ‘land grab’ scam

LAHORE agencieS

Former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari was arrested on Saturday by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) in a “land scandal”. A handout from the Punjab ACE spokesperson said the department had issued two summons to Mazari but he did not appear. It added that the department had now initiated legal action against the former deputy speaker. ACE had earlier this month summoned 10 people, including Mazari, in an alleged land grab case. Others ‘involved’ in the case included Rujhan Assistant Commissioner (AC), area Patwari, Zahid Mazari, Sher Muhammad Mazari , Manoj Kumar, dafedars of Border Military Police Kashif and Fahad. Sources had told media that the plaintiff in the case was Manoj Kumar of Kashmore, Sindh, who had won a lease for state land years ago but was still struggling to get its possession. Instead of giving him the land, the accused had allegedly been threatening him and using influence against him. The former deputy speaker however denied all charges, saying it was a politically motivated matter. He said Rujhan AC Shabir Leghari had sent a report about the alleged grabbing of thousands of acres of government land by him and his family. “How is it possible?” he had questioned. He said the Assistant Commissioner had done so in reaction to exposing his corruption. Dost Mazari had said his tribe had always donated to the government in difficult times and it was their history.

Cabinet approves imports of urea, wheat

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The federal cabinet has approved the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) decisions to import nearly $300 million worth of urea fertilizer and wheat through open tenders. According to reports, the federal cabinet has approved the Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) decisions through circulation on an emergency basis. They said that the cabinet allowed the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to import 300,000 metric tonnes of urea fertilizer and 380,000 metric tonnes of wheat. Reports added that 380,000 tonnes of wheat would be imported for $373 per ton, while 300,000 metric tonnes of urea would be imported at $520 per ton. It is pertinent to mention here that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) opened an international tender for the import of 500,000 tonnes of wheat. The government received the lowest bid for wheat import $373 per metric ton.

Taking to Twitter, Khawaja Asif said the Indian media does not support Narendra Modi as much as it is currently supporting Imran Khan. He said the Indian media is giving full coverage to the “language” being used by Imran Khan against Pakistan Army and the ISI.

He said the PTI chairman has become the spokesperson of the enemy country. Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said PTI Chairman Imran Khan does not want transparent elections but chaos, unrest, bodies and blood.

In a statement on Saturday, she said the PTI Chairman cannot hide his reality by taking to the streets as his face and lies stand exposed. The Information Minister said there is no room for negotiations with the anarchists.

She said Imran Khan is an absconder in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s defamation case of ten billion rupees over the last five years. The Information Minister strongly criticized Imran Khan for announcing to file a defamation case against the Chief Election Commissioner.

She said Imran Khan is doing so because the Chief Election Commissioner has caught him red handed in different cases including Toshakhana, secret accounts and money laundering.

Imran tells Kurram people: Vote for justice, change in by-polls today

KURRAM Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan Saturday released a video message for people of Kurram ahead of NA45 by-poll scheduled for Sunday (today).

In the video message, PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan appealed to his supporters in Kurram to vote for the party in the upcoming local government elections on Sunday.

“You must vote for justice, for change”, he said. The polling for the vacant seat of NA-45 constituency will be held on Oct 30 and the necessary instructions have been issued in this regard.

The Kurram by-election was originally postponed from Oct 16 due to the law and order situation in the constituency.

ArrAngement finAlized for byelection in nA-45 KurrAm: All arrangements have been finalized for by-elections in NA-45 Kurram to be held on Sunday (tomorrow).

Polling will be started at 8am which will continue till 5pm without any break.

The spokesman of Election Commission Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here on Saturday said that there were 198,618 registered voters among which 111,349 were men and 87,269 were women.

He said that a total of 143 polling stations had been set up, out of which 119 had been declared very sensitive while 24 polling stations were put in the category of sensitive. District Police Officer (DPO) Kurram, Arbab Shafiullah said that preparations had been completed for by-elections in NA-45 and transportation of election material had been started. He said that 2,100 policemen had been deputed on polling duty.

The DPO urged the political leaders and workers to abide by rules and cooperate with police to maintain peace during by-election.

Provincial Election Commissioner Shamshad Khan has directed the Commissioner Kohat division to make foolproof security arrangements for NA-45 Kurram by-poll, so that the voters could cast their votes without fear and risk.

Begum Alvi urges women to conduct regular self-examination to detect breast cancer

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi on Saturday urged women to regularly conduct self-examination and self-diagnosis for five minutes every month for the early detection of breast cancer.

She added that early detection of breast cancer was essential for enhancing the survival rate in Pakistan, where almost 50 percent of the breast cancer patients died due to late diagnosis.

Begum Samina Alvi expressed these views while addressing a breast cancer awareness session organized by Karachi Bar Association here. Dr

Kausar from a local hospital gave a detailed presentation on breast cancer, its symptoms, importance of early diagnosis, method of selfexamination, and living a healthy life.

Addressing the occasion, Begum Samina Alvi highlighted that breast cancer was the most common form of cancer found in women, adding that 90-100 thousand cases of breast cancer were being reported in Pakistan every year. She said that almost 50 percent of breast cancer patients in Pakistan died due to late diagnosis, adding that the mortality rate could be reduced by creating awareness among women about its early symptoms, and conducting selfexamination for every five minutes every month.

Anchorperson Ch Ghulam Hussain granted bail in bank fraud case

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Senior anchorperson Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain on Saturday was granted post-arrest bail by a district and sessions court against a surety bond of Rs200,000 in case an alleged bank fraud registered in 2003.

Advocate Azhar Siddique filed the plea on Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain’s behalf in the district and sessions court, Lahore. The lawyer stated that the FIA arrested anchorperson in a fake case. The petitioner contended he neither took a loan from bank, nor was involved in any scam. He pleaded with the court to approve his bail plea in the “bogus” case. Upon hearing the arguments, the court granted bail to Ch Ghulam Hussain against surety bond of Rs200,000. However, the anchorperson could not be released as surety bond could not be submitted after court time over. Earlier on Friday, a district court sent ARY News anchor Chaudhry Ghulam Hussain to jail on judicial remand in a case pertaining to alleged bank fraud. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Ch Ghulam Hussain from a coffee shop in Lahore on Thursday night. Ghulam Hussain was presented before the court by the FIA where it requested the judicial magistrate, who was presiding over today’s proceedings, to grand 14-day physical remand of seasoned journalist. In a statement, the FIA stated the anchor was declared “wanted” in case number 94/2011 by FIA’s Commercial Banking Circle. The statement further said that Ghulam had taken a loan worth over Rs50 million from a bank on fake documents in 2003, adding that two of his sons were also involved in the case. The FIA said that a banking court in Lahore has issued a non-bailable warrant for Hussain in the case. “Further investigations are underway,” it added.

Govt extends red zone to Zero Point to counter PTI long march

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The federal government on Saturday extended the federal capital’s Red Zone to the Zero Point to counter PTI’s long march.

Under the new arrangement, Faisal Avenue, Margallah Road, Barri Imam and Fifth Avenue were all made part of the Red Zone. Since Section 144 will remain in force in the areas declared parts of the Zone, while no rally or a public gathering will be allowed there.

PTI’s long march, which had started from Lahore’s Liberty Chowk yesterday (Friday, October 28, 2022)

to press the government for early elections, could not cover much distance on the first day as thousands of party workers and supporters joined it, retarding its speed considerably.

Islamabad police said Saturday that it have issued instructions to the owners of hotels and guesthouses in the federal capital not to rent a room to any of the PTI long marchers, or otherwise get ready to face the consequences. The police have conveyed to them that all hotels and guesthouses will be searched on a daily basis, and that strict action will be taken if any PTI worker or supporter is found staying there.

ECP sEEks sInDH’s PrEPArAtIons for IMMEDIAtE ConDuCt of kArACHI lG Polls

Staff RepoRt

INa letter written to the Sindh government, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) expressed the desire to immediately conduct the “delayed” local government elections in Karachi.

As per details, ECP has written a letter to the Sindh government and sought details about preparation for the LG polls in Karachi. The letter said that the election commission wants immediate elections in order to fulfil its constitutional responsibility.

Moreover, through the letter, the ECP sought the provincial government response on the security

CtD claims to have nicked killer of former BHC chief justice

QUETTA Staff RepoRt

The police on Saturday claimed to have arrested the alleged killer of former chief justice Balochistan High Court and Federal Shariat Court Justice (r) Mohammad Noor Maskanzai along with the co-accused. CTD Balochistan Chief Atizaz Gorayia, during a press conference, said the accused identified as Shafqat Ullah Yalanzai, had confessed to have killed Justice Maskanzai. Justice Maskanzai was assassinated on October 14 in his hometown Kharan when he was offering evening prayers in the mosque. Insurgent group, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the murder. Atizaz Gorayia said the joint investigation team, which was formed for investigation, had visited the crime scene, while its geo-fencing and collected evidence helped them reach to the accused. Shafqat Ullah Yalanzai and his accomplice Abdul Rahim Yalanzai were arrested from Kharan area and arms and ammunition was also recovered from their possession, he added. The Counter Terrorism Department, he said, arrested 666 suspects during the last year. He said that 121 accused were sent to jail by the courts, 36 were released on bail while 158 were absconding. He said that the courts have acquitted some accused arrested by CTD. “Many personnel of CTD lost their lives and many others injured during different operations against terrorists organizations,” he said, adding that the suspects killed in Kharan operation were involved in terrorist acts and CTD had seized 12 mortar shells of 82 mm. He denied the existence of ISIS camps in Balochistan but said that the presence of such militants could not be ruled out.

Balochistan govt approves master planning of sandeman Hospital

QUETTA Staff RepoRt

The Balochistan government has approved the master planning of Sandeman hospital to revamp it on modern lines and provide the latest equipment to facilitate the masses fighting various ailments. According to an official, the government would ensure the provision of missing facilities in Sandeman hospital and to cater the need of the patients. The government would take more steps to provide better healthcare facilities and improve the conditions of the hospital to restore the confidence of the public in the healthcare system. The various steps were being taken to ensure the presence of concerned medical officials and paramedics in the hospital, he noted. He said the provincial government was committed to provide missing facilities to the hospitals across the province to ensure improved healthcare facilities. The government had started the cleanliness drive and renovation of the government hospitals in the province, the official said.

arrangement and time they needed for LG polls in the metropolis. The Sindh government was asked to submit their reply by October 31.

Earlier, the Sindh High Court (SHC) directed the Sindh government and Centre to submit a written reply in one week regarding holding of local government (LG) elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.

SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh resumed hearing on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Jamaati-Islami’s (JI) pleas, seeking orders for the ECP to announce an early date for the local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.

At the outset of the hearing today, the PTI lawyer told the court that more than 12 candidates running for LG elections have already passed away due to delays in

local bodies elections.

To this, the SHC directed the provincial govt and federation to submit a written reply within one week regarding delay in LG polls and new date for polls.

Subsequently, the court adjourned the hearing till November 4.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last Tuesday postponed the local government (LG) elections in Karachi scheduled for October 23.

This was the third time ECP had postponed the second phase of LG polls in Sindh.

The decision was taken following a third request by the Sindh government seeking postponement for three months of the LG polls in seven districts of Karachi, citing shortage of personnel.

CM elahi approves Rs12b funds for flood victims rehab

also present.

The CM said that the Punjab government will provide Rs 9 billion for the rehabilitation and settlement of the flood-affected people adding that other Rs 3.2 billion which were collected during the telethon would be contributed.

He said that Rs10 billion have been allocated to redress the losses of houses and the livestock while Rs 2 billion have been allocated to provide financial assistance to the farmers whose fields were affected due to the floods.

Imran disqualification: IHC to take up PtI petition tomorrow

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has accorded approval of the funds amounting to Rs 12 billion on the whole for the rehabilitation and settlement of the flood-affectees.

He was presiding over a meeting at CMO in which the Head of Punjab Ehsas Program Dr. Sania Nishtar, Provincial Minister Mohsin Leghari and others were

The chief minister apprised that the farmers having less than 12.5 acres of land will be disbursed Rs 5000/per acre while Rs 2 lac/financial aid will be given on the falling down of adobe houses while Rs 4 lac/financial aid will be given to the owners of the bricked houses.

He said that the owners of the livestock will also be given financial aid in the flood-affected areas. The CM added that the Punjab government is doing the rehabilitation work of the flood-affectees.

Principal Secretary to CM Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Senior Member Board of Revenue, concerned Secretaries and other officials also attended the meeting.

Peshawar Corps Commander visits Mir Ali, Bara

RAWALPINDI Staff RepoRt

Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant General Hassan Azhar Hayat on Saturday visited Mir Ali, North Waziristan District and Bara, Khyber District.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) news release, during his visit to Mir Ali, the Corps Commander inaugurated the Army Public School and also visited Boys Hostel and Pakistan Sweet Home.

Pakistan Sweet Home was established in 2017 and 96 orphans from Mir Ali and Miran Shah were currently availing the facility free of charge. The establishment of Army Public School was in popular demand of the locals in which students from Grade 1 to 8 would study.

The school has the capacity to enroll 525 students at one time besides Boys hostel is providing free accommodation to 123 students from adjoining areas. The Corps Commander was also

the chief guest at the Passing out parade of basic military training course held at the Scouts Training Academy (South), Mir Ali.

A total of 1,164 recruits from the 31st edition passed out after the successful completion of training. During the visit to Bara, Corps Commander attended the Grand Jirga of tribal elders hailing from Tirah, Bagh Maidan, Rajgal, Landikotal, Bara, Mula Gori and Jamrud.

The Corps Commander

lauded the sacrifices rendered by tribesmen in achieving peace in the area and assured that Pakistan Army would provide all possible assistance to the locals.

Meanwhile, the Malaks and Mashrans (tribal chief) thanked the Pakistan Army for restoring peace in the area and for ongoing efforts for socio-economic development in NMDs. They also assured Corps Commander for their unflinching support to security forces.

Police detain 34 suspects in Machar Colony lynching incident

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

Police and Rangers claimed to have detained 34 suspects during overnight raids in Machar Colony and adjoining areas after ruthless lynching of two telecom employees.

“Three more accused of the incident in which two persons lynched to death, have been identified from detained suspects,” police officials said, claiming so far six accused of the incident have been arrested.

According to officials, police questioning detainees to confirm their involvement in the

incident. The police had detained 16 suspects after the lynching incident in Machar Colony Karachi. Three persons were arrested yesterday including the administrator of a mosque after ruthless killing of two workers of a telecom company.

Karachi police swung into action against the mob lynching of two persons in Machhar Colony on Friday who were later identified as the workers of a telecom company. The Kemari Police officials arrested two suspects in the mob lynching of the telecom employees.

Police said that eight suspects were identified with the help of available videos of the lynching

incident. Police added that names, addresses and other information about eight suspects involved in hurling stones on the victims have been collected.

According to police, an eyewitness also identified the arrested men.

The families of the deceased employees received their bodies from Civil Hospital. According to the relatives, the deceased persons will be laid to rest in their ancestral areas of Naushahro Feroze and Thatta.

The policeman said the employees who were trying to save their lives from the mob in the car were dragged down and tortured to death with the construction blocks.

PTI’s challenge petition against Imran Khan’s disqualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would be held in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday. The first hearing of PTI’s petition challenging the ECP’s decision in the Toshakhana reference would be held on Monday and chaired by Justice Amir Farooq. Imran Khan had challenged the ECP’s decision to disqualify him for not misdeclaring his assets. The former Prime Minister’s legal team had addressed the registrar’s office’s objections to the challenge petition. The PTI Chief has urged the IHC to dismiss the ECP decision. On October 24 the ECP issued the written judgment of the Toshakhana reference against the former Prime Minister. The ECP declared Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan disqualified in its verdict in the Toshakhana reference on October 21.

HCCI president emphasizes concrete measures to boost textile industry

HYDERABAD Staff RepoRt

President Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adeel Siddiqui has emphasized the need of initiating concrete measures to boost the textile industry. “The textile industry of the country is facing serious difficulties after the cotton crop was washed away by rains and floods, and the government faces a gigantic challenge of managing the textile industry,” he said in a statement issued here on Saturday. He said due to damages to the cotton crop a shortfall of five million bales was expected in the cotton sector. This could require $ 2 billion to import cotton bales while the country was already faced with a crisis of foreign exchange reserves, he added. The HCCI president said that according to one estimate, textile sector exports worth $14 billion and $19 billion were reported in 2021 and 2022 respectively. He said the Pakistani textile industry was also facing issues of increasing tariff of gas and electricity besides price hikes, and these were bigger challenges. He said that there was a shortfall of 2 million tons of RLNG as well and feared that textile exports might decline by $5 billion. He urged industrialists to consult the Pakistan government and come up with a plan on how to increase cotton production on war footing. The HCCI President said the federal government should benefit from the experience of chambers of commerce and industries to find solutions to economic issues and added that economic stability was badly needed under prevailing conditions. Adeel Siddiqui said joint efforts including the textile sector, farmers and business leaders need to play their role in ensuring growth in trade and business.

un in contact with russia after Moscow halts ukraine Black sea grain exports

UNITED NATIONS agencieS

The United Nations said Saturday that it was ‘in touch’ with Russian authorities after a Moscow announcement that it is withdrawing from the UN-facilitated Ukraine Black Sea grain export agreement after an attack on its naval forces in Sevastopol, Crimea. “We’ve seen the reports from the Russian Federation regarding the suspension of their participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative following an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General, said in a statement on Saturday morning. “We are in touch with the Russian authorities on this matter.”

PakIstan - Us relatIons on PatH to HolIstIc growtH: envoy

dents House in Washington D.C.

tHErelations between Pakistan and the United States were once again on the path of holistic growth and expansion, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Masood Khan said while addressing foreign students studying in US universities at the International Stu-

Heads of commercial banks meet Ishaq Dar

ISLAMABAD StAff report

The International Student House has 190 residents from 28 countries, says a press release received here. The ambassador also thanked the United States for giving additional assistance of $30 million to help millions of people in Pakistan, whose lives were devastated by the recent floods. He appreciated that so far the United States has contributed $97 million to support Pak-

istan’s initial rescue, relief and early recovery operations following the floods.

Pakistan’s envoy said that after a brief period of uncertainty following US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in August last year, the two sides have recalibrated, reenergized, and rejuvenated their longstanding partnership. While the emphasis on strategic coordination continued to jointly face challenges of terrorism and re-

gional stabilization, efforts were being made to advance the two countries’ economic agenda by accelerating the pace for engagement on trade, investment, energy, agriculture, science and technology.

Masood Khan said that Pakistan was poised to become a regional tech hub because of the successful launch of thousands of tech startups in the past two years. He informed his audience that Inter-

BISP disburses Rs66b: Floods affected 33m people across country: Ms Marri

ISLAMABAD StAff report

Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar held a meeting with President/CEOs of the leading commercial banks here on Saturday. SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Tariq Pasha, Governor SBP Jameel Ahmad and senior officers from the Finance Division and State Bank of Pakistan attended the meeting. Senator Ishaq Dar highlighting the overall economic outlook of the country shared that with the far-sighted and pragmatic policies of the present government, the economy of the country is on a growth trajectory path.

He further assured the government’s financial situation is fully solvent and the government is fully committed to fulfilling its local and international commitments. The finance minister urged them to play their due role in the financial and economic stabilization and progress of the country.

The leading bankers of Pakistan reposed full confidence in government’s macroeconomic policies and assured the finance minister their full support for the prosperity of Pakistan.

Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety/Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Ms. Shazia Marri on Saturday said that the recent floods in Pakistan had affected 33 million people, many lost their homes, jobs, and businesses, large number of cattle and crops were devastated and tens of thousands people are still homeless.

“An initial survey estimates that around 33 million people have been affected by recent floods and the BISP has disbursed over Rs66 billion among 2.6 million calamity-hit families in the declared areas of country.”

Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety/Chairperson Benazir Income Support Pro-

gramme (BISP) Ms. Shazia Marri expressed the views in a meeting with Emanuela Benini, Director of Italian Agency for Development Corporation (AICS).

Pakistan and AICS have agreed upon to work together on climate change and other issues of social sector to mitigate the sufferings for flood affected people in Pakistan and help them in rebuilding.

On the occasion, Shazia Marri informed the AICS Director about the initiatives of Benazir Income Support Program and stated that BISP aims at providing a comprehensive system of social security to the disadvantaged and marginalized segments of the society, particularly the women. She discussed the sufferings of the flood affected people and repercussions of climate change and great loss of human lives and properties of people have gone through in recent catastrophe.

KP proposes 26km road to link Bannu City with Indus Highway

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has proposed the construction of a 26km road to link Bannu City with Indus Highway at an estimated cost of Rs9.95 billion. Sources in the Provincial Communication and Works (C&W) Department informed that the project has been proposed keeping in view the need for an effective road link between Indus Highway and the Bannu City. The officials stated that the government is yet to carry out feasibility study of the road project, after which design of this road would be prepared to pave the way for its construction. According to the sources, initially the project was estimated to cost just Rs7.68 billion but after the PC-1 was prepared, the estimated cost increased to Rs9.95 billion. The officials said that the cost may further increase as the project is still in early stages. Aziz Buneri

national Venture Capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins, Tiger Global Management, Dragoneer Investment Group and Acrew Capital from the United States, Kingsway Capital from the United Kingdom, Speedinvest from Europe, Gobi Partners from China and Shorooq Partners from the UAE have started financing Pakistan’s tech sector at pre-seed, seed and early stages of incubation.

LaHore Staff RepoRt

WOMENlawmakers of the the PML-N in Punjab Assembly Saturday submitted a resolution condemning the critical language used by former prime minister Imran Khan against the head of the intelligence service and Pakistan Army.

The resolution — submitted by Saadia Taimur, Sumera Kanwal and Hina Pervez Butt — read that the former prime minister’s rhetoric against the chiefs of state institutions and the army was condemnable.

It was further stated that Khan,

while taking the oath of his office as the prime minister of the country, had pledged that he would protect the state institutions and would not compromise on national security. “But his recent statements against these institutions and their heads constitutes a violation of that oath,” read the resolution.

It was also stated Khan’s remarks had given an opportunity to India to make fun of the state institutions. “The purpose of spitting venom against these institutions’ heads is to malign them and damage their credibility in the eyes of people,” said the resolution.

The lawmakers demanded the federal government order registration of a case against Khan for violating his oath.

Imran fires broadside at spy chief as PTI continues march on Islamabad

Continuing with his diatribe, Khan, who made it apparent who he was addressing and yet without naming anyone, said: “Don’t treat us like animals, that you first call them [current government leaders] robbers and then impose them on us, and tell us sheep that now move in this direction.”

“You first tell us the Nawaz Sharif was a robber and now he is clean. Previously, Zardari was ‘Mr 10 percent’ in the world and but now since ‘we have decided, you also accept him’.”

He exclaimed again “we are not sheep” and that “you are standing with them today”.

‘WAIT FOR MY DECISION’: Second day into his march, Khan was still playing his cards close to his chest. Speaking to Aaj TV earlier in the day, Khan said no one can stop the protest, and called on his supporters to wait for his next decision when he reached Islamabad.

“About what will happen once we reach Islamabad, you have to wait as to what I decide after reaching the capital,” he told the cable TV station.

“We need to rid the country of looters and thieves who are taking the country’s money for their own interests,” supporter Muhammad Mazhar, 36, told AFP. “We need to save the country and change this system, so I am supporting Imran Khan.”

Meanwhile, Fawad Chaudhry, senior vice president of the party, said the movement aims to empower the people and “take decision-making out of closed rooms”.

He said it includes people who wish to “change the system for the next generation” and that the nation’s middle class has come out to change the status quo. “And it will change it under the leadership of Imran Khan.”

“This nation is ready to make every sacrifice but it will not accept thieves. The objective of the march is that decisions should be taken by the people themselves,” Khan told the crowd from the top of a shipping container late on Friday.

Parts of his speech that addressed the heads of the military and intelligence services were censored by TV channels.

PTI ‘WILLING’ TO NEGOTIATE: Khan plans to lead the motorised caravan slowly northwards up the GT Road to Islamabad, drawing more support along the way before entering the capital by November 4.

By the time he gets there, Khan said he expects to have hundreds of thousands of people with him, and his party has asked authorities in the capital to allow a protest sit-in.

Late on Friday, members of the PTI told journalists the party was willing to negotiate with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government if it announced a date for a snap election.

The government said polls will be held as scheduled in October next year. Khan says he is not willing to wait.

Activists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) take part in the anti-government rally demanding an early election in Karachi on October 28, 2022. Former prime minister Imran Khan launched the long march

on October 28 on the capital Islamabad to demand early elections, piling pressure on a government already in crisis.

Meanwhile, Islamabad police have asked owners of hotels and guest lodges in the capital not to rent out rooms to participants of the long march once they reach the city, Dawn News reported, citing an official letter.

The letter, issued by the Industrial Area police station and addressed to a hotel owner at Faizabad, said no accommodation should rent out rooms to people linked to the protest.

“All guest houses, hotels and rest houses will be checked on a daily basis in the light of these directives and strict legal action will be taken if anyone is found violating the orders,” the letter, dated October 28, read.

SECOND DAY OF PTI LONG MARCh COMES TO AN END IN FEROzWALA: The second day of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march to Islamabad has come to an end at Rachna Town near Ferozwala, party leader Fawad Chaudhry confirmed.

In a statement, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry announced that the march will resume at 11pm today (Sunday) from Muridke. The march is currently at Ferozewala.

While addressing the participants at Ferozwala, former prime minister and party chief Imran Khan took an oath from his supporters to always abide by the Constitution. “No one hands freedom on a plate. You have to struggle for it,” he told the march’s participants.

PM congratulates Turkish president on 99th Republic Day

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

The prime minister on Saturday congratulated the Turkish president on the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the republic.

“On the 99th Republic Day of Turkiye, I extend our heartiest felicitations to President @RTErdogan [and] the people of Turkiye. The heroic struggle of the Turkish people for independence under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk holds a prominent place in the annals of history,” Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.

In a subsequent tweet, Sharif noted that over the years, Türkiye’s impressive economic strides under Recep Tayyip Erdogan were acknowledged by the world.

“Pakistan seeks to deepen its multifaceted ties by further exploring the vast untapped potential in trade, commerce & industry,” he added.

Türkiye will host nationwide festivities, from concerts to sports events and official ceremonies, to remember the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his most prized legacy, Daily Sabah reported.

The republic, which replaced the collapsed Ottoman Empire, was declared a few months after an international treaty recognised the independence of the new state and the declaration of Ankara as its capital was made.

Atatürk, a veteran Ottoman officer who launched the struggle for independence when he secretly traveled to the northern province of Samsun in 1919,

was the de facto leader of the new state.

In the book “Nutuk” (“The Speech”), which compiled Atatürk’s speeches between 1919 and 1923, the leader recounts the declaration of the republic as something that happened over the course of a dinner with leading figures of the War of Independence.

“During the dinner (on October 28, 1923), I told them we would declare the republic tomorrow. All my friends agreed with me and we took a break from the dinner to discuss what to do next. I never felt the need to discuss the plan to declare the republic because I never doubted that they thought differently than me,” he was quoted as saying.

Atatürk along with Ismet Inonu, who succeeded Atatürk as president,

drafted a bill changing the 1921 constitution in which an amendment changed the State of Türkiye to the Republic of Türkiye and it was approved by Parliament the next day.

Atatürk was officially declared the first president at the same session of Parliament, amid chants of “Long live Republic!” by lawmakers and a thunderous applause. Atatürk famously concluded his speech after the election as the first president of the republic with remarks, “The Republic of Türkiye will always be blissful, victorious and successful.”

National celebrations ensued after the declaration, but the first large-scale celebrations were on October 29, 1924. In 1925, Parliament approved a proposal to declare the day a national holiday.

Govt set to enter rehab phase in flood-hit areas: Marriyum

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

Minister for information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday stated that the coalition government in collaboration with national institutions and foreign donor agencies had successfully completed relief and rescue operation in flood-hit areas and now all set to enter into rehabilitation phase.

Addressing media persons here in Islamabad on Saturday, she appreciated the role of

all departments and institutions over successful completion of the rescue and relief operation in flood affected areas. The Minister also appreciated the positive role of media in this regard as all media houses have run free of cost campaign for flood victims.

She said on the one hand our government is striving for revival of country’s economy and its diplomatic relations with rest of the world while on the other side PTI chairman is busy in promoting chaos and anarchy.

She said Imran Khan is pursuing his un-

finished agenda of destabilizing the country at the time when country is facing unprecedented economic challenges in the wake of historic floods. The Minister said according to recent reports of the World Bank, the floods inflicted an estimated loss of 30 billion dollars on the national economy.

She said according to the report of international institutions it will take at least ten years to recover the loss. The Minister said Imran Khan’s foreign funded march will be thwarted by the masses as they are aware of his foreign agenda.

Imran approached to appoint army chief through ‘mutual consultation’, says PM

continued from page 01

Earlier this month, General Bajwa had said that he would not accept another extension to his service tenure and that he would be retiring “within five weeks”, multiple media outlets reported on the authority of sources. The army chief was addressing the 24th National Security Workshop at the National Defence University (NDU) on Oct 21 where attendees included lawmakers, business people, diplomats, media persons and military officials.

At least 146 killed in Halloween stampede in South Korea

continued from page 01

The Itaewon district is popular with young South Koreans and expatriates alike, its dozens of bars and restaurants packed on Saturday for Halloween after businesses had suffered a sharp decline over three years of the pandemic.

“You would see big crowds at Christmas and fireworks…but this was several ten-folds bigger than any of that,” Park Junghoon, 21, told Reuters from the scene. Curfew on bars and restaurants and a limit of 10 people for private gatherings were lifted in April. An outdoor mask mandate was dropped in May.

President Yoon Suk-yeol presided over an emergency meeting with senior aides. “The area is still chaotic so we are still trying to figure out the exact number of people injured,” said Moon Hyun-joo, an official at the National Fire Agency. Foreigners were among those transferred to nearby hospitals. Authorities said they were investigating the exact cause of the incident.

Two Army jawans martyred in DI Khan gunfight

raWaLpindi Staff RepoRt

Two soldiers Pakistan Army embraced martyred during a gunfight with terrorists in general area Darazinda, Dera Ismail Khan’s (DI Khan) district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani troops effectively engaged the terrorist’s location.

“During an intense exchange of fire, Naik Sajid Hussain, age 33 years, resident of Khushab and Sepoy Muhammad Israr, age 26 years, resident of Attock embraced martyrdom,” it added. Sanitization of the area is being carried out to eliminate any terrorists found in the area, the ISPR said. Earlier, four terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted by the security forces in North Waziristan. Security forces conducted the IBO in the Spimwam area of North Waziristan after the reports of the presence of the terrorists. After an intense exchange of fire, four terrorists were killed by the security forces.

According to the military’s media wing, the killed terrorists were involved in attacks on the security forces.

Police deny FIA request for help in Sh Rashid arrest

raWaLpindi

Staff RepoRt

The Punjab police declined the Federal investigation authority (FIA) request for help in the arrest of former interior minister Sheikh Rasheed. As per details, police refused to register the case when the FIA personnel reached Rawalpindi to arrest the former interior minister. According to sources, there were around 200 FIA personnel in two buses but they had to return without arrest as police declined to help them. However, 15 to 20 FIA personnel decided to stay there. According to a video making round on social media, the FIA personnel are still roaming around Lal Haveli despite being denied help by the police. There are reports people questioning the FIA “stubbornness” to arrest Sheikh Rashid. They also condemned the government for using national institutes as tool for suppressing opponents.

Long March against what?

PtI Chairman Imran Khan started off his Long March on Islamabad, but in speech kicking it off, he laid all his emphasis on attacking not just the IsI chief, but also two other senior officers of the spy agency, taking only cursory notice of the removal of the PDM government and the holding of fresh elections. It seems that Mr Khan had been stung to the quick by the unprecedented press conference the day before of DG IsI L6t Gen Nadeem Anjum though he said it was a political presser. he did not make any counter-revelations after General Anjjum disclosed his offer of an unlimited, open-ended extension offer to COAs Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, though he said he was keeping quiet in the interest of the country and its institutions.he continued his attack on the IsI by accusing a DG and the sector Commander Islamanbad of torturing senator Azam swati. senator swati had also held a press conference in Islamabad the same day, in which he accused those two officers of torturing him after his recent arrest for sedition after his tweets accusing the COAs of getting Mian shehbaz sharif and his son hamza acquitted of money laundering. Mr Khan was clearly moved by the decision of the Army

Mr Khan’s Long March is scheduled to reach Rawat on March 4, at which point there will be a further decision on what the PtI plans to do. Mr Khan promised, at the March’s beginning, that it would be peaceful and would not enter the Red Zone. It might be noted that the travelling time is actually at a walking pace. there was a time, about a century and a half ago, when those who could not afford horses or other draught animals, would walk great distances, including from Lahore to Rawalpindi and even beyond. however, with motor transport, this sluggish pace is only meant to allow Mr Khan to address welcoming crowds along the route. the crowd is than supposed to go home, while welcomers join the March. the March crowd is not planned to swell on the way, and by the time it reaches Rawat, it will consist mainly of those who have joined at points north of sarai Alamgir. It is not so much as a March, as a sort of moving rally. Instead of Mr Khan and followers both coming to a rally venu, followers need only go to the kerb, as Mr Khan comes to them. While Mr Khan has sent a mixed signal on departure, he has the rest of the week to give out his message.

Light pollution in Pakistan a neglected Issue

tion process is dependent on the nitrate radical destroyed by sunlight and can, therefore, occur only during darkness. however, excessive illumination suppresses this nitrate radical.

LIGhtpollution, defined as the presence of unnecessary, excessive, and misdirected outdoor artificial illumination at night, is one of the major issues of our world today– albeit one that has not been challenged enough. the most recent World Atlas of Artificial sky Brightness, developed by a team of researchers in Germany, illustrates the magnitude of the prevalence of light pollution, with the majority of North America, Europe, and Asia identified as light-polluted, notwithstanding the varying intensities of the pollution levels.

A deeper look at the Atlas reveals that south Asia is one of the most light-polluted regions. While this can primarily be attributed to the pollution levels in India and Bangladesh, the majority of Punjab and sindh province and a significant proportion of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan are also identified as light-polluted, with the highest levels found in major urban areas such as Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, hyderabad, Karachi, Quetta, sukkur, Faisalabad, and Peshawar. A night drive around our cities would validate this further as one would find unnecessary and excessive lighting in various places, including buildings, streets, and playgrounds.

For Pakistan– a country grappling with an energy and air pollution crisis and its associated economic repercussions– the necessity of addressing the challenge of light pollution cannot be overemphasized. In the energy sector, the shortfall of electricity has reached 6,997 MW, which has immense implications for the country’s struggling economy, given Pakistan’s excessive dependence on fuel imports to meet the domestic energy demand. Moreover, Pakistan ranks third out of 118 countries on the air quality index, the estimated economic cost of which amounts to $47.8 billion.

However, reducing light pollution is not just the task of provincial and local authorities. Excessive illumination in the porches, driveways, lawns, and roofs of our houses also needs to be minimised. This can be done by simply turning off unnecessary lights or removing decorative lights, using LED bulbs or covered bulbs. These simple measures can go a long way toward addressing the negative fallout of light pollution in Pakistan

however, not all cities in the world rank poorly in terms of light pollution, and those in Europe which do not, are the ones Pakistan can learn lessons from to fix this problem.

In Berlin, the lights of 200 prominent buildings, landmarks, and monuments remain turned off at night. Likewise, in the city of Weimar, the duration of street lighting has been reduced by one hour every day, while in the city of Mainz, half of all the street lighting has been cut off.

million. Additionally, several French communes started switching off their street lights at night during the covid-19 lockdown, and many continue to do so even after restrictions were lifted.

In the Austrian capital Vienna, energy sobriety involves dimming street lights. the famous Christmas illumination in Vienna’s Ring has also been cancelled for this year. Moreover, in the Austrian cities of Wiener Neustadt and Linz, the lights on bridges and landmarks remain turned off from 11pm onwards, and Vienna is all set to follow this example.

several cities and towns in Austria and Italy have also turned off their night-time commercial signs. spain has directed shops and institutions to turn off lights from 10pm onwards. these measures would remain in force till November 2023.

Likewise, local authorities in several Bulgarian towns have ordered that street lights remain switched off at night.

Yousaf Nizami Editor

Light pollution per se constitutes energy waste but also pollutes the air and increases the carbon footprint. According to an estimate by the International Dark-sky Association, about $3 billion per year worth of energy is lost to sky glow, and millions of tonnes of carbon is released into the atmosphere each year due to it. In the UsA alone, unnecessary lighting releases 38 million tonnes of CO2 each year. Moreover, it contributes to air pollution by inhibiting the chemical reaction process that cleanses the air during the night. this chemical reac-

Journalism at Risk

ment. therefore, in pursuance of freedom of expression, he decided to flee Pakistan earlier this year after sedition cases were registered against him.

with companies' interests.

the city of Augsburg has followed suit by dimming street lights and switching off exterior lighting on historic buildings at night. It is also considering closing down some traffic lights Additionally, German authorities have directed that displays and LEDs in shop windows, neon letters on facades, and digital outdoor advertising such as billboards should remain switched off between 10pm and 6am.

In september, the French authorities announced an ‘energy sobriety plan’ for its capital Paris to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 10 percent. According to the plan, ornamental lighting on several monuments and facades will remain switched off from 10pm onwards, and the Eiffel tower would not be lit from 11:45pm. the authorities estimate that this would save $9.7

Confronted with environment- and energyrelated challenges that have important linkages with light pollution in one way or another, it is time that the provincial and local authorities in Pakistan draw lessons from the aforementioned examples, as these strategies are not only low-cost and impactful but also sustainable. While reducing lighting, specifically street lighting, may have some security risks, these can be avoided by implementing them more efficiently and strategically. For instance, in areas where artificial lighting is critical, motion sensors can be installed on lights, or low-watt and covered bulbs with light facing downwards can be used.

however, reducing light pollution is not just the task of provincial and local authorities. Excessive illumination in the porches, driveways, lawns, and roofs of our houses also needs to be minimised. this can be done by simply turning off unnecessary lights or removing decorative lights, using LED bulbs or covered bulbs,. these simple measures can go a long way toward addressing the negative fallout of light pollution in Pakistan.

Zahra Niazi is a Researcher at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad, Pakistan. She can be reached at cass.thinkers@gmail.com.

It’sextremely painful to pen this piece, as I got the news of the untimely demise of a senior colleague, and a top Pakistani investigative journalist, Arshad sharif, who was shot dead on sunday night in Kenya, while the actual details of the assassination are yet to be investigated as the case unfolds in next few days. the Kenyan police deemed it an incident of shooting which turned out to be a case of “mistaken identity”, which seems quite absurd, raising many questions about the credibility of the police’s official statement. Growing pressure and a series of life threats were given to sharif and his family for being fierce critics of the incumbent government and the country’s military establish-

Over the last few years, respect for journalists and their freedom of expression has dramatically dropped to a new low. there is a relentless campaign to target them because of the fundamental role they play in keeping our society informed. Around the globe, journalists are barred from revealing uncomfortable truths and holding leaders accountable for their actions in the eyes of the public, attracting governments' violent efforts to discredit their work and sometimes silence them for life. there is a constant fear of persecution and life threats to the lives of brave and outspoken journalists like sharif, who pose awkward questions to the political elites at risk.

Journalists critical of the government are facing a series of attacks, as recently sami Ibrahim, another top anchor of Pakistan’s largest media group, was assaulted by unidentified assailants in front of his office. I feel demotivated to pursue journalism, ever since I have witnessed people being punished for uttering simple truths, jailed, or ha-

leagues have faced this. the press is foundational to ensure a healthy democracy and is also a method of oversight to keep our leaders honest. It empowers the public to elect the best leader for the country by providing the necessary information that helps us in forming an opinion for and against a political leader. But around the world, the pressure and threats journalists are facing are getting serious, as Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by unknown assassins in 2018. And a Russian journalist, Maksim Borodin, committed suicide from the balcony of his apartment the same year, after disclosing Kremlin’s covert operation in syria.

The cases of intimidation and violence I’ve shared today are just a few that we all know about. Every day, there are multiple incidents of attacks on journalists carried out in different parts of the world, many of which never made the news headlines. In many countries, fear of reprisal is hovering over the journalists. That's why stories are brushed under the carpet, and criminal acts are disguised. This is a perilous moment for journalism, and to be a journalist in a country where it is needed the most

statistics and reports on press freedom reveal a grim reality of Pakistan’s censorship of content, where I have seen and experienced how fantastic journalistic pieces are deleted, and authors are warned not to write on topics conflicting

rassed for publicly asking questions, and finally imprisoned for questioning the state institutions, leaving no room for creativity. I am aware of this reality because my col-

Most recently, this May, shireen Abu Akleh, a well-known Al Jazeera journalist, was killed by an Israeli soldier while covering Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank of Palestine.

I believe, the hard work of journalism is at high risk, especially in third-World countries where freedom of expression is not considered a blessing but a sin. We also know how senior journalists from Imran Khan Riaz, sabir shakir to Arshad sharif have long faced serious obstacles to their dissent, including intimidation and arbitrary arrest for being critical of the state institution.

the cases of intimidation and violence I’ve shared today are just a few that we all know about. Every day, there are multiple

incidents of attacks on journalists carried out in different parts of the world, many of which never made the news headlines. In many countries, fear of reprisal is hovering over the journalists. that's why stories are brushed under the carpet, and criminal acts are disguised. this is a perilous moment for journalism, and to be a journalist in a country where it is needed the most.

John F Kennedy said, “the free press is invaluable, without debate, without criticism, because no administration, no country can succeed, and no republic can survive.” therefore, in the face of mounting pressure, the true power of a free press is to keep citizens informed and continue to follow the truth wherever it leads, without fear or favour.

The writer holds an LLM from UC Berkeley and is a practising lawyer and opinion columnist. He can be reached at mohsin.saleemullah@berkeley.edu The writer holds an LLM from UC Berkeley and is a practising lawyer and opinion columnist. He can be reached at mohsin.saleemullah@berkeley.edu

MohsiN saleeM Ullah

Zahra NiaZi

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

M. A. Niazi

Umar Aziz

Ahmad

Tackling light pollution can save foreign exchange

Throwing down the gauntlet

have to go many extra miles to ensure that it can generate enough crowds to force the powers-that-be to budge and give in to their demands. they will need to do something like Iran in 1979, Egypt in 2011 and again in 2014, to make things happen.

ThEcountry seems to be in turmoil as an air of uncertainty engulfs individual worries as well as the collective psyche. the murder in a foreign land of a leading anchor, identified with the previous political government, and forced to resign from a leading channel coupled with accusations and counter accusations, plainly explains that Pakistan as a polity and society is headed for a showdown; which can bring extreme chaos; but can also remake the whole setup.

As things stood in Nairobi, despite a great divide between the journalist community, there was a rare unity of grief among the newsmen for the slain journalist; already forced into exile. Persons affiliated with this or that party, with the deep state or with the civil society, were all united in their condemnation of what made Pakistan resemble a Middle Eastern dictatorship.

On the top of that the much-awaited long march after the May 25 experience, as was to be announced by the PtI supreme leader Imran Khan, has been finally announced. Despite the fact that the PtI seems confident of achieving its goals, the sitting government backed by the powers who matter, it seems are not willing to give a walkover to the opposition hordes. By the end of the week, ending October 30, things might be clear on all counts; or might have become complicated beyond repair.

What is even more worrying has been the proverbial build-up of what can be called all the parties throwing in their gauntlets to save their skin or face the situation. In an unprecedented move the thursday noon presser of the Army spokesman with an otherwise illusive DG IsI, who as per the protocols followed is not to be focused, filmed or photographed like any other government functionary, can well illustrate the level of stakes, each group, faction, visible government or deep state have in the developing scenario.

the plain talk by the Army personnel in that presser reveals the nature of the crisis which looms over the polity, standing and finally is likely to adversely impact any chances of economic revival. the PtI is again on streets and the coalition interior minister; a PML N stalwart is not mincing words to what he wants to; to scare away the PtI crowds.

In the backdrop of so many parallel developments; the statements of the top military brass in the presser buries for all times any illusion that the established order is still having hopes about its devastating hybrid experience; courtesy its partnership with the PtI. As the country braces up for another round of political street power, one thing is for sure, the PtI will

Given the fact that the original duel is between the established order and its hybrid partners, the roots of that conflict invariably lay in the complicated system of governments created without any referral to the Constitution by the powerful groups during the last five years or so.

Despite the fact that a sort of civil and military accommodation of sorts has been in practice in Pakistan since the days of the Ayub dictatorship in one way or another, there has always been an invisible respect for the state of Pakistan. the first dictatorship formally shed its military uniform in 1962. While the 1969 military takeover led to more chaos, the 1977 military takeover had to shed its uniform and don a sherwani to gain public acceptability. Further corrective action was facilitated after the events of August 1988.

the 1999 takeover too was rationalized through the civilianization of the arrangements. the unceremonious exit of the dictator on the back of the lawyer movement, political NRO, the Army realization to call it a day and finally the intelligent playing of the cards by the civilian participants created an impression that now onwards a give and take situation will develop. It further made people convinced of the declaration that people in the barracks have no interest in dictating their worldview on the people outside.

however, the events in 2018, the rise of a party of change on the back of the established order; undid all the painstaking work done by multiple players to rationalize the system of governance, consultation and finally; the live=and-let-live policy on part of all the players.

the 2018 political government, though chided by its political opponents as being a favorite government, was in fact the one which decided its each move in unison with the forces, whose favorite it was. Whether it was the geopolitical stances, the internal policy

stances or the suppression of the non-compliant media, the two, the established order and the PtI were participants on the much-cherished same-page’.

During that same-page honeymoon; Pakistan, which managed to stay clear of the Yemen war, was very much publicly siding with the collateral damage inflicted by the saudi led forces in the period after August 2018. the famous telon exercises conducted by the air forces using F16s were regularly held during the period. Not to ignore the UsAF, RsAF and PAF joint drills in central Punjab plains involving F15s, F16s, tornado multirole jets etc., presumably against an imaginary enemy; most probably Iran.

In the domain of further integration of the economic system with the western system, the country’s central bank was remotely managed by the IMF, with a free-rolling currency exchange rate, a luxury not afforded by even stable economies. today much of the woes of the economic slowdown emanate from those years. During those days; it was an open secret that the PtI government and the established order were intimate bedfellows, privy to the details, others did not have. the fifth generation cadre, which the deep state wanted desperately to build up after the 1999 Kargil debacle, 9/11 and other international developments, were manned by PtI cadre; journalist and nonjournalist.

As things stand, the established order had made its ground clear for all concerned. the love-hate relationship between them and the past hybrid partners seems to be culminating and pushing the country towards a crisis, which can make or break the system. however the illusion of early elections seems to be thinking too far.

the political system will need to steer its path as written in the Constitution. the public distancing of the powers who matter have made it clear that politicians need to grow up if they want politicking within the limits of the system; otherwise they should have the muscles to upturn all. as many genuine revolutionaries have done round the globe.

The write is a freelance columnist

Editor’s mail

Exchange rate stabilization

thEfinance minister has made a welcome policy statement to check the creeping rupee depreciation and eventually jack up the exchange rate. however, that seems like a target too far right now. Global financial markets have already painfully adjusted to moves that caused the greenback to appreciate. Most economies have subsequently experienced currency depreciation.

Rupee has been under a constant pressure in the last two decades owing to relatively higher domestic inflation and persistent current account deficit (CAD). It has experienced rapid depreciation in the recent past. As a corrective policy response, the state Bank of Pakistan (sBP) hiked the policy rate, but it had little impact on the market trend. Political uncertainty has also directly fuelled speculation and manipulation. the task of setting the fundamentals right is gigantic, especially owing to the recent floods.

Policy rate, inflation and exchange rate are intertwined, and this linkage is determined through simultaneous equilibrium in three inter-related and interdependent markets: stocks, commodity and forex.

In a free market economy, this vicious or virtuous circle cannot be arbitrarily punctured in one go. Intervention in one market without causing a disruption in the other two is tricky. A change in any of the three variables makes the other two adjust to a new corresponding equilibrium level.

Without going into the background details of how these have behaved in the past, we know with absolute clarity that all the three have reached a record high level. Market forces, free or manipulated, have continued to fuel inflation and rupee depreciation, and the sBP responded by increasing the policy rate. they have adjusted to each other in tandem. In the external sector, price parity based on increased domestic inflation and exchange rate is established and on its basis export and import orders are finalised. Foreign investment has factored in the prevailing interest rate and forex rate. there is no denying the benefits of stable exchange rate, but our key problem is a persistent and rather huge trade deficit. how would the exporter react to the intended rupee appreciation? Intuitively one can say, not favourably. the vicious cycle of the trio has to be punctured at an appropriate point.

Alternative options are there, but each has a trade-off with implications. Most economic fundamentals are in a precarious condition for a long time, principally attributed to continued decline in total factor productivity. the optimal option could come through enhancement in productivity. this will enhance growth and subdue inflation, and consequently the rupee will become stronger. the solution to the challenge lies in supply side economics. But this takes us further to consequential challenges, like how far the World trade Organisation (WtO) regime permits the supply side measures, and to what extent they go well with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Given the current precarious situation, the global community may recommend short-term relaxation in Pakistan’s commitments to international financial agencies. At the same time, it is also not in the interest of the country to rely permanently on market distortionary crutches, such as subsidies and other interventions. Let us learn from the past mistakes. the global community has demonstrated a welcome collective wisdom with positive attitude towards Pakistan recently. If this evolves into adequate external assistance, this could boost growth and the trio’s trap could easily be broken. It would lessen government’s budgetary burden and increase the prospects of bringing the policy rate down.

DR MUSHTAQ AHMAD ISLAMABAD

Indoor Air Pollution

GENERALLY,there is more focus on outdoor air pollution, and the realization that household air pollution is equally damaging is almost non-existent. the World health Organisation (WhO) has estimated that the deterioration of indoor air quality causes more than five million deaths annually, while more than 100 million suffer from frailties of different types.

Respiratory disorders represent a significant source of morbidity related to household air pollution. Low birth weight and attenuated lung function, childhood respiratory infections, ailments like cold and influenza along with the consequent increased risk for the development of asthma are all associated with pulmonary dysfunction. household air pollution also causes eye and skin infections. It increases the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular syndrome, and cancer.

Likewise, the impact on health has been observed in both low- and highincome countries, resulting in a popular term used to indicate the physical disorder and associated mental depression; the sick Building syndrome. the toxicity of indoor air is mainly due to pollutants that penetrate in from the outdoors. Nevertheless, some sources are unique to the indoor environment. Indoor pollution thus differs from outdoor air pollution, and it is tricky to estimate solely by the estimations concerning outdoor air pollution. Due to the multiple sources, indoor air pollution varies considerably in composition and concentration from the outdoor variety. the most significant factors underlying household air pollution are domestic comportments, including solid fuel combustion, heating, cleaning, smoking, etc. solid fuel is commonly used for cooking and heating both in urban and rural areas.

When burnt, solid fuels produce a poor indoor environment so far as health issues are concerned. Cigarette smoke, formaldehyde from carpet and furniture, ozone from household electrical devices, pesticides, mosquito repellents, cleaning agents, etc., are toxic and worsen the quality of indoor air. Along with household behaviours and practices, ventilation is an inclusive factor that impacts household pollution concentrations. the decrease in indoor-outdoor air exchange rates can result in the accumu-lation of indoor pollutants. the risk of accretion of contaminants gets multiplied with improved insulation of rooms for better air-conditioning of houses and offices. Moreover, building materials, like glass fibre, paint glues, varnishes, etc., dust mites, and dampness all contaminate the indoor air. Proper ventilation, change in lifestyle, use of indoor plants, ban on smoking indoors, use of natural environment-friendly products may improve the situation.

DR INTIKHAB ULFAT KARACHI

Media Literacy

thEGlobal Media and Information Literacy Week, an initiative by the United Nations Educational, scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), is being observed from Oct 24 to 31. the theme this year focuses on trust and solidarity. the rising trend of hate speech and disinformation means low levels of trust in the media at large. this is an opportunity to acknowledge the importance of critical thinking in reading, listening and verifying information before sharing it. It is important to check the source of information before believing it and spreading it around. We should appreciate and support media houses that prioritise the authenticity of information over commercial interests.

MARIAM KHAN LAHORE

addressed to

Naqi akbar

The fight intensifies

The political system will need to steer its path as written in the Constitution. The public distancing of the powers who matter have made it clear that politicians need to grow up if they want politicking within the limits of the system; otherwise they should have the muscles to upturn all. As many genuine revolutionaries have done round the globe

We are havinG The World’s firsT Global enerGy crisis

so much lNG has been contracted that there are about 60 lNG tankers off the European coastlines, unable to unload because of a lack of sufficient regasification capacity. The Europeans are now rushing to build new import terminals and securing floating regasification terminals to try to overcome the major obstacle to their ambition of replacing russian gas with imports.

the world, most acutely in Europe, and consequently in the rapidly rising interest rates and rapidly declining real household incomes as central banks try to subdue that inflation; a decline in incomes exacerbated by the huge spikes in energy costs. if the iEA is right – and the logic is sound – we haven’t seen anything yet. Next year should be worse.

The problem with social media is that it is not a real place

Financial TiMes Jemima KeLLY

sydney MOrning Herald STephen BarThoLomeuSz

THEinternational Energy Agency has described the current state of energy markets as “the first truly global energy crisis in history.”

it also says it could get worse. in its October oil market report the iEA says disruptive forces in the energy markets are multiplying, with OPEC+’s plan to cut oil supplies by an effective million barrels a day for the rest of this year and into next year as having “derailed” the growth trajectory of oil supply with a move that increases energy security risks worldwide.

The iEA’s executive director, Fatih Birol, speaking at the singapore international Energy Week on Tuesday, said that natural gas and lNG markets would tighten further next year, with only modest (20 million tonnes) of new liquefaction capacity scheduled to come online. With supply remaining tight, demand for gas would continue to be strong, especially in Europe and perhaps in China, he said.

The energy crisis was sparked by russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its throttling of gas supplies into Europe, along with some voluntary reductions in demand by Europe in response to the invasion. The invasion ignited a scramble by European utilities to find alternate sources of supply, forcing European gas prices and global lNG prices up dramatically.

Aided by the fact that there were strong volumes of russian gas available in the first half of this year, along with the efforts to reduce demand that have included some rationing of gas to European industries, Europe is now awash with gas.

Gas storage facilities in Europe are on average 93.6 per cent full. in Germany they are at 97.5 per cent of capacity. On average, storage levels are about 14 percentage points higher than they were at the same time last year.

European gas prices soared following the invasion as the Europeans entered what was already a tight market for lNG. in August Dutch gas futures, the benchmark for European gas prices, were above €300 ($468) per megawatt hour. Historically, they have traded between about €20 and €40 per MWh.

The glut of gas in Europe, aided by the impact of mild weather on demand, has caused prices to plummet about 70 per cent to around €93 per MWh. That’s still, of course, a multiple of the prices experienced pre-invasion and is likely to be only a temporary lull, with the prices for lNG scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of next year above €140 per MWh.

in any event, at considerable cost, the Europeans appear to have secured enough supplies of gas and done enough on the demand side (the members of the European Union have agreed to cut consumption by 15 per cent) to get through anything other than a severe winter.

The addition of previously modest European demand to the international gas market as the European Union has sought to replace the 40 per cent of their gas previously supplied by russia has, however, had what will be a structural impact on the market. Whatever the outcome of the war in Ukraine, the Europeans won’t allow themselves to again become dependent on russian gas.

With Europe and the Us, and others, also placing embargoes on russian oil –tough sanctions on those insuring, shipping or financing russian oil cargoes, including price caps, are scheduled to be imposed early next month – the invasion is also having an impact on the global market for oil, one compounded by OPEC+’s controversial decision to cut its output by two million barrels a day. (in practice, because many OPEC members were producing less than their committed levels, it will be closer to one million barrels a day).

The aftershocks of russia’s invasion have travelled through world markets and impacted the global economy and will probably be a major contributor to a global recession.

They have been a factor in the rampant inflation rates throughout much of

Google penalised

TriBune

The Competition Commission of india (CCi) has imposed back-to-back fines on Google and ordered it to desist from indulging in unfair business practices. A penalty of rs 936 crore pertains to Google’s Play store policies, while the Us-based tech giant has been told to pay rs 1,337.76 crore for ‘abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem’. The CCi has also directed Google not to restrict app developers from using third-party billing or payment processing services in india. On the back foot after these setbacks, Google says it remains committed to users and developers, while insisting that its model has ‘powered india’s digital transformation’ by keeping costs low.

The strict action by the competition watchdog is aimed at creating a level playing field in the digital domain and deterring big players from monopolising markets. Google has huge stakes in india, with its Android operating system powering 97 per cent of the country’s around 60 crore smartphones. The tech major is already facing a probe, ordered by the CCi after it received multiple complaints, for allegedly imposing unfair revenue-sharing terms with regard to news content. One of the complainants, the News Broadcasters & Digital Association, has accused Alphabet inc and its subsidiaries of forcing association members to provide their news content to Google in order to prioritise their weblinks on the search Engine result Page.

lack of transparency plagues Google’s revenue-sharing model with india’s digital media houses. The CCi needs more legislative teeth to regulate the operations of tech giants. india should take a cue from the West. The Directive on Copyright in the Digital single Market, enacted in 2019, is enabling news organisations within the EU to get rightful compensation whenever the likes of Facebook and Google access and reproduce their content. in the Us, lawmakers are fine-tuning the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which aims to empower publishers of online content to collectively negotiate with dominant online platforms regarding the terms on which the content may be shared. india, too, must ensure that Big Tech pays up for all the money-spinning piggyback rides.

That’s because there will be little, if any, russian gas flowing into Europe. russian oil sales will also probably be reduced by the tougher sanctions. Europe will start next year with lower gas and oil stocks but reduced sources of supply from which to replenish them for the 2023 winter.

Europe will have no option but to try to buy more lNG within a market where there is little new supply available in the near term and where China’s demand –currently soft because of an economy that has slowed significantly because of the rolling lockdowns flowing from its zeroCOViD approach to the pandemic – might rebound. The impacts on prices could be severe.

The Us shale producers who are the swing producers that would usually be expected to quickly increase production when prices surge are producing about a million barrels a day less than they were before the pandemic. supply chain issues, constraints on pipeline and other infrastructure and an increased focus – imposed on them by investors – on returns on their existing capital has limited new investment and production.

That’s true to a wider extent across the oil and gas sector. The pandemic added to the longer-term pressure on the fossil fuel industries’ investment in new production flowing from the intensifying global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Given the lead times for developing new oil and gas fields and the infrastructure associated with them, there isn’t going to be production-driven relief for what could be even tighter energy markets next year, although the core OPEC members could unwind their production cuts if they wished.

A global recession and the price shocks would, of course, have an impact on demand and might moderate the extent of the price shocks and shortfalls in supply. That’s not, however, a particularly palatable way to resolve the energy crisis.

Stephen Bartholomeusz is one of Australia’s most respected business journalists. He was most recently co-founder and associate editor of the Business Spectator website and an associate editor and senior columnist at The Australian.

For all the cat videos, funny memes and genuine insights the internet has to offer, it can sometimes — social media, in particular — be a bewildering, hostile and downright depressing place. i’ve had some personal experience of this over the years, on the occasions my opinions have strayed too far from the morally righteous consensus du jour, or any time i have dared to criticise the cultish world of crypto. i had one especially aggravating episode a couple of weeks ago, having agreed to speak at a bitcoin conference. After using the verbal filler “like” too much during one particularly combative segment of my panel, i was summarily turned into various memes and video montages that totally clogged up my notifications for about 36 hours. There was the usual name-calling and trolling, but also some nastier than usual tweets and messages calling me the kind of offensive and misogynistic things that i can’t repeat here, and one that suggested i should die by suicide.

i was aware that the people attacking me had a huge financial incentive to invalidate my criticisms, so that helped me to not take any of it too seriously. i even found some of the memes funny. But after a while, the sheer weight of negativity began to fill me with gloom about the number of people prepared to be so vile on the internet. What i found particularly disconcerting was that most of the people i had met at the conference — with one notable exception — had been pleasant to me, despite disagreeing with my views. These same people were now, a couple of hours later, calling me a “dumb b**ch” on the internet.

This is the problem with social media: while we might try to use real-world examples to make some kind of sense of it — like Elon Musk’s idea that Twitter is the “digital town square” — it is in fact, to quote Dave Chappelle, not a real place at all. if it were, then there would be moral, social and therefore emotional costs associated with behaving badly. instead, as long as you are on the “right” side of a given issue, you can bully, name-call and “pile on” to your heart’s content, and still consider yourself to have virtue on your side.

some of these problems might be helped by reforming a piece of Us legislation passed in 1996 that has been dubbed the “26 words that created the internet”. This is section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gave platforms — internet forums as they were back then — legal immunity from any third-party content they published. rather than being treated as publishers that are liable for the material they host, section 230 has allowed Us social media platforms to shirk any kind of legal responsibility.

But just because these platforms don’t face consequences for publishing hateful or harmful content — and, perversely, are financially incentivised to create the algorithms that prioritise it — that doesn’t mean they have no moral responsibility for it. Yet this is often how they behave: as imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, puts it to me, social media platforms seem to have decided that, just because they have no legal liability for what they publish, they should have “moral impunity” too.

steve randy Waldman, a computer programmer and blogger, believes section 230 protections should be removed, but not to the extent that platforms are turned into publishers like any other, which would prevent genuine and open public discourse. instead, platforms could be given a certain notice period — he suggests 24 or 48 hours — after receiving a complaint about any given content, and at this point should bear legal responsibility for it. This seems sensible to me. And taking away the immunity conferred by section 230 might also change the mass-market version of the internet spawned by this legislation, which could make it a kinder, more fun and tolerant place. social media is, after all, a most unnatural phenomenon: we are all lumped together and expected to be happy with the way everyone else is behaving despite the fact that they might have entirely different values and sensitivities, not to mention sense of humour, from us.

such harmony strikes me as an impossibility. As Waldman puts it, “a mixed martial arts community doesn’t want to speak in the same way a trauma survivor community wants to speak”. if we want to stop the internet becoming either a desperately bland or perfectly horrible place, we need to start treating it as somewhere we would be happy spending time in real life. That includes imposing moral and social consequences for behaving like an idiot.

The sex lives of south Mumbai women

Girlsgrow up on rom-coms and boys grow up on porn, says Maanvi Gagroo’s siddhi Patel. Add to that the boys’ mom obsession, she says in her avatar as stand-up comedian in season 3 of Four More shots Please! and you have impossible relationship goals. The four leading ladies of the show spend most of this season grappling with the expectations of the men in their lives. There is

Damini, (sayani Gupta) torn between her love for nice Parsi boy and bar owner Jeh (Prateik Babbar) and her sexual anxieties caused by a miscarriage. There is Umang (Bani J), caught between two women and a man, played by Jim sarbh as a sexually mischievous shakespearian Puck. There is Anjana Menon (Kirti Kulhari), smart lawyer, single mom, with a fatal attraction for married men, including her exhusband. And there’s siddhi, the eternal spoilt rich brat, recovering from both her father’s death and her mother’s welladjusted mourning. in this show, women behave badly in public, ridiculing their friends; men can be needy and vulnerable; children can be overbearingly real; and fifty-something men and women don’t automatically lose their sex drive. This is privileged Mumbai, and given how often one sees the sea link, clearly on the posh side where political offsprings

have plunge pools, and characters get driven around by nameless chauffeurs. Birthdays are celebrated in italian vineyards with treasure hunts supervised by delicious-looking men; revenge is taken by destroying a man’s ultimate statement, his luxury car; and our leading ladies will do anything to have their ideal rom-com finale at an airport. There is a certain amount of pleasure in seeing gender roles being reversed. The men swoon and wait for the women to notice them. The women are usually wilfully ignorant or simply unaware of the feelings they evoke in the men. And phrases such as non-date friends and detox get aways get thrown around enough for one to feel socially with it. But for those looking for clues as to what women want, it is quite simple. it’s what men want as well—or should want at least. love, companionship, understanding, and above all, equality.

The 1930 Hollywood movie based on Erich Maria remarque’s 1929 epic novel was not very popular with the Nazis. The German update on the movie, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival will not win any plaudits from today’s warmongers. The horrors of trench warfare, youth lost to thoughtless carnage, leaders who push on despite knowing the cost; these are elements still relevant today. Focusing on young Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer), the film, set in 1917, unpeels the psychological trauma visited on the young men who become cannon fodder for someone else’s pointless war. shot in chilling dustsmeared close-ups, the slush and mud of the killing fields of Europe feel all too real, while the blue filter puts the ice in your veins.

Kaveree Bamzai is an author and a contributing writer with Open.

FOR TOO LONG DIGITAL PLATFORMS HAVE SAID THEY ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THEY PUBLISH

Open Magazine Kaveree Bamzai

Challenging geopolitical, macroeconomic factors affects KE’s Q1 performance

Karachi: Challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic factors have had a cascading impact on multiple sectors including KE which grapples with immense challenges during the first quarter of FY23. Surging inflation, policy rate hike, reduction in economic activity and adverse exchange rate variations had a significant impact on the Company’s operations and profitability.

The Company observed a reduction in units sent-out by 8.9% on account of reduction in economic activity, huge exchange loss owing to devaluation of Pak Rupee and an increase in impairment loss against doubtful debts due to high inflation, increase in consumer tariff, high FCA and current economic conditions impacting consumers propensity to pay. An additional burden is being placed by surging finance cost mainly on account of increase in effective rate of borrowing and higher levels of borrowing due to non-payment of dues by Government entities which have surged to an alarming level of PKR 80.4 billion on net principal basis. The Company operates under regulated tariff and as per current Multi-Year Tariff effective from July 01, 2016, no adjustment is provided to the Company in tariff for changes in sent-out and policy rates. The aforementioned factors resulted in net loss of PKR 16.3 billion in the first quarter of FY23 compared with the net profit of PKR 2.9 billion in the same period for FY22. Pr

Man kills wife

FAISALABAD

An man has shot his wife dead over domestic dispute in the area of Samanabad police station.

Rescue-1122 spokesman said here on Saturday that 40-yearold Ismat Naheed resident of Muzaffar Colony exchanged harsh words with her spouse Aslam over a domestic dispute which enraged the man. Over this issue, the accused reportedly opened fire and killed his wife on the spot. The body was handed over to area police who started investigation, he added.

FlooDs CausED ovER

DaMagE, lossEs: REpoRT

ISLAMABAD Monitoring rePort

THEdevastating floods have inflicted damage and losses of over $30 billion to the country, the Ministry for Planning and Development said in a report. The damage, loss, and needs assessment following the unprecedented floods in Pakistan calls for rebuilding based on the principles of the poor first, transparency, inclusion, and climate resilience, the ministry said in its Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report.

The assessment estimated total damage to exceed $14.9 billion, while the total economic losses to reach about $15.2 billion.

The estimated needs for rehabilitation and reconstruction in a resilient way are at least 16.3 billion dollars, which does not include much-needed new investments beyond the affected assets, it added.

The PDNA said that housing, agriculture and livestock, together with the transport and communications sectors, have suffered the most significant damage.

The report also assessed broader macro-economic and human impacts and recommended principles along with a comprehensive recovery and reconstruction framework which would be developed.

farmers imparted training on mulberry cultivation, silkworm rearing

during upcoming season of mulbery trees plantation in the AJK State to facilitate the farmers for silkworm rearing in the future stipulated seasons.

CM felicitates Turkiye on Republic Day

LAHORE APP

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has felicitated the people and the government of Turkiye on its Republic Day on behalf of the people of Punjab and the government.

MIRPUR (AJK) stAff rePort

The three-day training on mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing of to 1,500 farmers concluded in Poonch division of AJK here the other day.

“It was primarily aimed at facilitating farmers in practical working with due technical assistance and support of the AJK State Department of Sericulture through the distribution of rearing kits among the trained farmer,” said Syed Ali Asghar Shah, Director AJK Sericulture Department while talking to APP, here on Saturday.

“A large number of lady farmers also participated in the training program showing their keen interest in silkworm rearing,” said Syed Ali Asghar Shah.

The head of the state sericulture department stated that in

continuation of the distribution of 174 rearing Kits with imported and local Silk Seed Packets in the recent past, eighty rearing kits were distributed among the remaining farmers trained at District Haveeli / Kahouta, Rawlakot District Poonch and Gorah District Sudhnoti during last two days.

Syed Ali Asghar Shah disclosed that Chinese produced well as local silk seed packets shall also be distributed amongst these farmers during the upcoming rearing season (spring 2023) to these trained farmers, told by the Director Sericulture during distribution ceremonies if Rearing Kits at various localities of the State.

The Sericulture Department, the Director, underlined, has also inked an integrated plan to distribute thousands of mulberry plants with Urea fertilizer amongst the sericulture farmers

Muzaffar Hussain Gorsi Sericulture Development Officer Pounch, Mr Salaar Mehmood and Mr Daoud Abdulla ASDO Haveli and Sudhnoti also attended the Kits Distribution ceremonies held at Haveeli, Rawalakot and Sudhnoti inviting farmers to participate in the cottage Industry of Sericulture as maximum as possible to be benefited of it economically.

According to a study conducted by this APP Correspondent, Sericulture is a traditional and home based industry of the Kashmir providing additional source of income for poor and landless farmers.

A farmer may earn more than Rs30,000 by rearing on packet of silk seed within 35 days. The activity is equally important for poverty alleviation, women empowerment and environmental improvement of the state.

During last rearing season an amount of Rs. 13 million had been recorded as a direct income earned by the farmers in the private sector by rearing silk seed packets provided free of cost by the Sericulture department in Azad Jammu Kashmir.

The CM stated that “we equally share the rejoice of our brothers and sisters on the Republic Day of Turkiye.”

Under the dynamic leadership of the President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkiye has made an unprecedented progress in every sector.

The CM acknowledged that Turkiye fully supported Pakistan in its every hour of difficulty and the people of Punjab are grateful to Turkiye for extending its all out help during the recent floods. He maintained that the diplomatic support of Turkiye on the viewpoint of Pakistan on Kashmir is unforgettable. He said that a strong relation between the people of Pakistan and Turkiye is the strength of cordial relationship between the two countries. Strong mutual relationship between the two countries depicts the determined friendship tied in history, faith and deep cultural relationship.

‘Startups’ are driving sustainable socio-economic growth

In a world where job security is a prime concern for many, the youth of Pakistan have started to shift their focus on establishing startups. In comparison to other countries, 64 per cent of the population of Pakistan is below 30 years, a gold mine for an entrepreneurship ecosystem.

With the evolution of the technology sector and a shift of approach of young minds, new avenues have been opened in the country like app development, digital services, gaming enterprises, the software industry; and are showing exponential growth in the startup ecosystem.

Rapid evolution and convergence of technologies, in the modern era, have enabled many innovative business models that promise unparalleled efficiency in commercial operations and industrial performance. These revolutionary businesses are now attracting big investments due to higher profitability with major cost-saving and

productivity. However, their innovative founders and tech-savvy workforce need professional training, to ensure the success and sustainability of their start-up.

Recent statistics are also encouraging, in 2022, Pakistani startups raised over $284.89 million, seizing more than 45 deals during the first half of the year. On a domestic level, women have also started to step into the startup ecosystem. They often gear up their business only to make ends meet. But the numbers from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) are motivating women to enter the business world. The CFR stated that Pakistan’s GDP could grow by $251 billion if female-led startups could contribute to the economy on a similar level as men.

On a global scale, the value being created by startups today is almost equal to a G7 country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the year 2021, startups around the world had cumulatively raised a record funding of over

600 billion US dollars and continue to grow exponentially. This robust financial impact and the synergies being created across different sectors are presenting long-term solutions to meet global economic challenges, with a sustainability perspective.

In Pakistan, the entrepreneurial spirits of our smart youth are now being nurtured by many technology incubators, fuelled by resourceful investors and corporate forums. The rapid proliferation of the internet is connecting more and more talented entrepreneurs and disruptive startups in the region, with international sponsors and mentors who can provide capital, insights and training, to change the commercial landscape of the nation.

Some of the leading incubatorS and impactful acceleratorS in pakiStan are: LUMS

Center for Entrepreneurship: A tech incubator established in Lahore, by one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning - Lahore

University of Management Sciences (LUMS).

It offers a four-month program, along with free office space and a monthly stipend, Shell Tameer: Launched in 2003 by Shell Pakistan Limited, Shell Tameer stands as one of the oldest entrepreneurship development programs in Pakistan. It has guided youth to attain global expertise, build supply chain connections and thrive toward international award opportunities. The programme has trained more than 1,000 startups in; enterprise skills, mentoring, legal consultancy and networking opportunities with the corporate sector to develop business plans and secure start-up finance. Over 800,000 Pakistani entrepreneurs have benefitted from the program.

These highly effective institutions are enabling the growth of startups, by providing: access to finance and capital, preparation for investor pitches, support platforms and networking opportunities, media exposure, and training from renowned experts.

All of these create livelihood opportunities and enhance the economic growth of the country through sectors such as public healthcare, education, business, communications, e-commerce, energy-efficiency, FinTech, transportation and others.

microsoft innovation center: Based in Lahore and Karachi, it offers programs primarily for technical skill development, while its learned coaches train startups for free in various Microsoft enterprise software products.

nest i/o: A great technology incubator by Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), since 2015, it has been funded by Google, Samsung, and the US State Department. The incubator offers free office space to startups.

plan9: Started in Lahore around 2012, it is an initiative of the Punjab Government, which has provided training, consultancy and free office space to more than 60 ventures, without taking equity.

CDa Chief orders survey on encroachment across

islamabad: Chairmam capital development authority capt (r) Muhammad Usman Younis chaired a meeting on antiencroachment at CDA hqs today. The meeting was attended by Member planning Member Envt Member estate Dc ICT and other officers. The chairman CDA directed that a comprehensive survey to be carried out across the ICT .This survey will also identify illegal buildings and also types of encroachments. on the basis of this survey a joint operation will be carried out to remove these encroachments across the city.

the Chairman CDA directed Member Environment that on these retrieved lands plantations shall be carried out to increase the beauty of the capital immediately. The chairman CDA further directed that progress review meeting will be held every week to review the progress of antiencroachment and plantation drive. Pr

ChIna for PeaCefUl CoexISTenCe, wIn-wIn CooPeraTIon wITh The US

CHINESEState Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on Friday, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry. With the meeting, China has once again demonstrated its positive attitude and expectations for the development of China-US relations, analysts said.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said during the meeting that China-US relations are at a critical juncture. Chinese President Xi Jinping has pointed out that China and the US should respect each other, coexist peacefully, and forge win-win cooperation, Wang said. Relaying Xi’s call, Wang said this is the fundamental principle for the two countries to develop their relations. Neither China nor the US can change the other, the US should stop trying to deal with China from a position of strength and stop trying to suppress and contain China’s development, Wang stressed.

Wang also said that the international community generally looks forward to the stable development of the China-US relations, and said that he hopes Burns can be a bridge and a link between China and the US as the ambassador.

In response, Burns said the US is willing to strengthen communication with China, manage differences, and advance cooperation. Tensions in China-US relations rose after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s provocative visit to the Taiwan island in August.

Burns was appointed as US ambassador to China a few months before his first meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister on Friday, after the 20th CPC National Congress. Through this meeting, Wang conveyed to Burns the Chinese government’s attitude to the ties, Lü Xiang, an expert on international

Tropical storm slams into Philippines, death toll rises to 72

MANILA AFP

Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae slammed into the Philippines on Saturday, after unleashing flash floods and landslides that left at least 72 people dead, officials said. Nalgae pounded the archipelago nation’s main island of Luzon with maximum winds of 95 kilometres (59 miles) an hour after making landfall on the sparsely populated Catanduanes island before dawn. Heavy rains triggered by the approaching storm began Thursday in the southern Philippines, the state weather service said, inundating mostly rural areas on Mindanao island. That was followed by landslides and flooding, with fast-moving, debris-laden waters sweeping away entire families in some areas and damaging nearly 500 houses. By Saturday morning, the death toll had risen to 72, said the country’s civil defence director, Rafaelito Alejandro. At least 14 people were still missing and 33 were injured, he added.

In recent years, flash floods with mud and debris from largely deforested mountainsides have been among the deadliest hazards posed by typhoons in the Philippines. Rescuers are focusing on the village of Kusiong, where dozens of bodies were recovered Friday after the floods hit. Flooding was also reported in several areas of the central Philippines, though there were no deaths reported there.

Photos released by the coastguard showed rescuers using an old refrigerator as an improvised boat to pull children from a flooded community on the central island of Leyte. The state weather service said Nalgae could hit the capital Manila, a sprawling metropolis of more than 13 million people, bringing “intense with at times torrential rains”.

“Widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides are expected,” while there was “minimal to moderate risk of storm surge” or huge waves hitting coastal areas, it added.

relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

“China expressed a persistent and positive attitude toward China-US relations,” Lü said. “At the same time, China has high hopes for a positive trend in the long-term development of China-US relations, but not fearing even a further deterioration of ties.”

During the meeting, Wang also briefed Burns on the major achievements and significance of the 20th CPC National Congress, to which Burns responded that he paid great attention to the Congress and carefully studied its

report. The Chinese side’s introduction helped deepen the US side’s understanding of the report, he said.

“Shattering some of the malicious interpretations from the West, Wang’s words proved that China has not changed its foreign policy after the 20th CPC National Congress,” said Lü. “While there is no guarantee over whether the US will come up with a cooperative attitude, China has remained consistent and positive.”

Recent people-to-people exchanges between Chinese and US have also released some positive signals. After a delegation of experts from Chinese nongovernmental think tank Center for China and Globalization visited the US from late June to early July, Senior Advisor of the US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Scott Kennedy also kicked off a visit to China from September to October.

Kennedy met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng on October 8, during which Xie encouraged scholars from think tanks of the two countries to strengthen their contacts and carry out more communication and exchanges, so as to play a positive role in enhancing mutual understanding between China and the US and bring bilateral relations back to the sound and stable track.

Agencies

What will Elon Musk’s Twitter look like?

SAN FRANCISCO Agencies

After months of controversy, Elon Musk is now at the head of one of the most influential social networks on the planet, whose “tremendous potential” he has promised to unleash.

What changes can we expect for the platform from the multi-billionaire chief executive of Tesla and founder of SpaceX?

New boss: One of Musk’s first decisions was to sack Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and head of legal affairs Vijaya Gadde, according to several US media outlets.

The billionaire entrepreneur will have to find replacements for them.

“Musk is in the unenviable position of convincing seasoned executives to work for him at a platform that he has publicly disparaged,” said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst for Insider Intelligence. According to Bloomberg, Musk will assume the role of CEO of Twitter, at least initially.

He’ll have to deal with concerned employees. Musk wants to cut the workforce by 75 percent (or about 5,500 employees), according to the Washington Post.

“The mood at Twitter is tense, with employees worried about layoffs,” Enberg said. “Product and even engineering teams could face a shakeup.” Freedom oF speech: A self-described “free speech absolutist,” Musk said on Thursday that he wants to turn Twitter into a platform that is “warm and welcoming to all” and not a “freefor-all hellscape.”

He has criticised what he sees as aggressive content moderation, which he contends results in the censorship of right and far-right voices.

“Experts we’ve spoken with have suggested around 600 people at Twitter itself and thousands

more with third-party affiliations have worked on platform content moderation,” said Scott Kessler of Third Bridge.

“Musk has publicly advocated for these actions to be driven by algorithms instead of people,” he added.

The Tesla boss further hinted that former US president Donald Trump, who was suspended from the platform after the attack on Capitol Hill in early 2021, might be allowed to return.

Trump wrote on Friday on his own social network Truth Social that Twitter is “in good hands.”

One of Musk’s other pet peeves is the issue of fake accounts. He threatened to walk away from the deal over the inauthentic or “bot” accounts but has not revealed what he will do to fight them. ‘UNpalatable to advertisers’: Another challenge for Elon Musk is to improve the financial health of Twitter, which faces slow growth, even recording a net loss in the second quarter.

In April, Musk mentioned various options to generate more revenue: boosting paid subscriptions, monetizing the dissemination of popular tweets or paying content creators.

In a letter published Thursday, the entrepreneur called on Twitter advertisers to work together to “build something extraordinary,” stressing the importance of welcoming a wide diversity of opinions on the platform.

“Mr. Musk has indicated in his latest publicity stunt that he wants to throw the kitchen sink at Twitter to attract new users,” noted Susannah Streeter, senior investment and market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“But he is going to face a huge challenge of maintaining and building revenue, given that the controversial opinions he appears to want to give more of a free rein to in this ‘global town hall’ are often unpalatable to advertisers,” she said.

Russian navy ‘repels’ drone attack on Crimea’s Sevastopol port: official

MOSCOW Agencies

The Russian navy on Saturday thwarted a drone attack on the Sevastopol port, home to Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet in Russia-annexed Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said.

“Today, starting at 04:30 am for several hours, various air defence systems in Sevastopol repelled drone attacks,” Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. “All UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) have been shot down.”

Razvozhayev had earlier said the Russ-

ian navy was repelling a drone attack. “Ships of the Black Sea Fleet are repelling a UVA (unmanned aerial vehicle) in Sevastopol bay,” he said in the early hours of Saturday.

The governor said the city’s services were on “alert”, but said no “civilian infrastructure” had been damaged. A student dormitory at an art college near the port saw “one windowpane burst” but “no harm was done”, he added.

He called on residents of the city not to post videos of the incident on social media.

“It should be clear to everyone that such information is much needed for Ukrainian Nazis in order to understand how the defence

of our city is built,” he said.

Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. Its forces attacked Ukraine from several directions in February this year, including from Crimea. The announcement came as Ukrainian forces press a counter-offensive to retake land in the Russian-occupied south.

City authorities said that the harbour was “temporarily” closed to boats and ferries.

Earlier this week, Razvozhayev said that a drone had attacked a thermal power station near Sevastopol. The Russian fleet stationed in the port had also been attacked by a drone in July.

Intruder hunting US politician Pelosi attacks her husband with hammer

An intruder attacked the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull, after breaking into their California home on Friday in search of her.

Paul Pelosi was “attacked at home by an assailant who acted with force, and threatened his life while demanding to see the speaker,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.

Paul Pelosi, 82 — who underwent surgery and is recovering in a hospital — was at home alone, as his wife was working in Washington. San Francisco police said officers found the assailant at the couple’s home just before 2:30 am (0930 GMT), where he and Paul Pelosi were scuffling over a hammer. “The suspect pulled the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and violently assaulted him with it,” San Francisco police chief Bill Scott told reporters.

He named the assailant as 42-year-old David Depape but declined to take questions and offered little further detail.

US media, citing family sources, said the intruder told Paul Pelosi he was going to tie him up and wait for the speaker to get home. The victim managed to dial 911 while the man was distracted, according to an account given to the cable network MSNBC. Local media had earlier reported that the intruder shouted “Where’s Nancy?” during the assault but police told reporters a motive had not yet been determined.

Scott said Depape would be charged with attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and other felonies.

“Mr. Pelosi was admitted to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital where he underwent successful surgery to repair a skull fracture and serious injuries to his right arm and hands,” the speaker’s spokesman added.

“His doctors expect a full recovery.”

Nancy Pelosi — who is second in line to the presidency — and the couple’s five children were reported to be returning to San Francisco to be by his side.

President Joe Biden called the Democrat, also 82, to express his support over the “horrible attack” and was praying for her husband, the White House said.

“He is… very glad that a full recovery is expected. The president continues to condemn all violence, and asks that the family’s desire for privacy be respected,” Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

‘Disgusted’

The intruder broke in through a sliding-glass door, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed law enforcement officers, leaving him with wounds to the head and body.

He has taken extreme right-wing positions on social media, including conspiracy theories about Covid-19, one of the officers told the daily newspaper.

With less than two weeks to go before the crucial US midterm elections, members of both parties have sounded the alarm about the potential for political violence.

According to the Capitol Police in Washington, threats against lawmakers have more than doubled since 2017 to nearly 10,000 in 2021.

Members of both parties rallied to support Pelosi on social media, with several suggesting the assault was the inevitable result of an increase in violent political rhetoric.

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican member of the House committee investigating the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol, blamed conspiracy theories spread by Donald Trump and his far-right followers for radicalising some supporters.

“I want to be clear: when you convince people that politicians are rigging elections, drink babies’ blood, etc, you will get violence. This must be rejected,” he said of Friday’s attack.

Republican House whip Steve Scalise said he was “disgusted” by the attack. Paul Pelosi was convicted of drunk driving after an accident in May and sentenced to five days in jail.

WASHINGTON

PhilliPs hits 104 As New ZeAlANd crush sri lANKA

Staff RepoRt

GLENNPhillips smashed a powerhouse 104 and Trent Boult grabbed four wickets as New Zealand swept past Sri Lanka by 65 runs in Sydney on Saturday to put them in pole position to make the semi-finals at the Twenty20 World Cup. New Zealand batted first and posted 167-7 with Phillips unstoppable, rescuing his team after the top order was blown away, losing Finn Allen, Doug Conway and Kane Williamson for 15 runs.

Boult and Tim Southee then reduced Sri Lanka to 48 in the chase and there was no way back as they crumbled to 102 all out. Boult ended with a career-best 4-13.

Phillips hit 10 fours and four sixes in his 64-ball knock — the second century of the tournament, after South African Rilee Rossouw’s 109 against Bangladesh, and only the 11th in T20 World Cup history.

Plenty was on the line with Group One wide open after both matches in Melbourne on Friday — Australia v England and Afghanistan v Ireland — were

KaRaCHi Press releAse

The second Round of 22nd Paragon Sindh Amateur Golf Championship was played on Saturday at Karachi Golf Club. Qasim Ali Khan from Lahore Gymkhana Club is leading with 148-four over par. Arsalan Khan of Karachi Golf Club along with Saad Habib of Rumenza Multan are jointly following Qasim with 150six over par. Abdul Moiz from Rumenza Multan played best today with par (72) but his average is keeping him at fifth position. Leader from Day one Abdullah Ansar is holding sixth with 153-nine over par.

washed out.

New Zealand’s win gives them a two point buffer at the top of the table from England, Ireland and Australia with two games to play.

They face a crunch game against England next in Brisbane on Tuesday while Sri Lanka face a must-win

clash with Afghanistan on the same day to keep their hopes alive.

Sri Lanka began with the spin of Maheesh Theekshana after losing the toss, and it immediately paid dividends.

Allen took apart Australia’s hallowed pace attack in their opening game during a 16-ball 42, but he managed just three balls and one run this time, confounded by an inswinger in the opening over.

Conway, who smashed an unbeaten 92 against Australia, fared little better. Spinner Dhananjaya de Silva joined the attack and Conway was bowled, also for one.

Things got worse when skipper Williamson (8) got an outside edge off pace bowler Kasun Rajitha in the next over and was caught behind.

Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, returning to the side after fracturing his hand, crawled to 54-3 at the halfway point.

But Phillips then flicked a switch and began swinging the bat, with sloppy fielding aiding him, dropped by Pathum Nissanka on 12 and again on 45 by skipper

Dasun Shanaka.

An 84-run stand with Mitchell ended when his partner was bowled for 22 by Wanindu Hasaranga. Mitchell Santner was alongside him when he brought up only his second T20 100 in the 19th over before being caught in the final over.

Sri Lanka made the worst possible start to the chase, losing three wickets for five runs.

Southee bowled a wicket-maiden to open proceedings, trapping Nissanka lbw, then long-time bowling partner Boult chipped in with two wickets in his first over.

He enticed an edge from Kusal Mendis to Conway then de Silva chopped onto his wicket. Charith Asalanka didn’t last much longer, caught by a diving Allen as Boult grabbed his third.

Spinner Santner came on and Chamika Karunaratne swung his bat, only to find Boult in the deep, leaving Sri Lanka in disarray.

Shanaka hit a gutsy 35 and Bhanuka Rajapaksa 34, but to no avail.

There is no spark in Babar Azam’s captaincy, says Younis Khan

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan has said that Babar Azam has been repeating the same mistakes as the captain. The 28-year-old Babar has been leading the Men in Green since November 2019. He is the most successful T20I captain; however, the disappointing start to the 2022 T20 World Cup campaign has raised questions about his leadership qualities.

Babar Azam-led side will take on the Netherlands on Sunday at Perth Stadium in a must-win match as they’ve lost both their games against India and Zimbabwe.

Younis, under whom Pakistan won the 2009 T20 World Cup, said Babar doesn’t have the spark required to lead a national side.

“We have been talking about Babar Azam’s captaincy for long. If you repeat the same mistake, it becomes your habit, maybe you can’t focus. If we talk about Babar, he is a top batsman and is a good person who is down to Earth. Leadership qualities aren’t there in everyone, there’s no spark in his captaincy,” Younis said on a show of a local news channel.

“Leading a club side is a different thing but when you are captaining a nation, you need to be a leader, you need to come out of your skin,” Younis added.

Haris Rauf says focused on cricket, not criticism at T20 World Cup

and pundits) much and play our game. Even some positive talk can hurt you and negative talk can also hurt you.”

Artist from Balochistan makes amazing portrait of Virat Kohli

South Africa’s pace attack will not attempt anything “fancy” against India’s star-studded batting order in Sunday’s T20 World Cup Super 12 match on what is expected to be a lively track in Perth, speedster Anrich Nortje said. On a seamer-friendly surface at the Perth Stadium, South Africa would be tempted to unleash a four-pronged pace attack harnessing Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen with Nortje and Kagiso Rabada. Nortje said they would need to identify the ideal line and length early to contain the India batsmen in the Super 12 contest. “I think what we’ve seen the last few games, it’s been a really good wicket, lots of pace and bounce,” the 28-year-old told a news conference. “We’re just going to […] identify what is a good length and a good line on the day and try and stick to that. “Not try and do anything fancy […] Try and stick to our basics and sort of restrict — get as many wickets as possible, obviously, but restrict the runs as much as possible.” Nortje called South Africa’s pace attack “one of the best” and potent enough to unsettle any batting order. “We have a great variety. We cover a lot of aspects. We cover a lot of bases with our attack,” he said. “As a pace attack, we definitely back ourselves against any team to go out and do what we have to do on the day to try and get over the line.” Inaugural champions India top Group 1 having won both their games looking largely settled except for concerns over the form of opener KL Rahul who has scored four and nine so far.

Staff RepoRt

Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf on Saturday said the team was trying to shut out the noise and focus after a torrent of criticism over their shock loss to Zimbabwe at the Twenty20 World Cup.

Pakistan will take on the Netherlands in Perth on Sunday to try and stay alive in the tournament after nailbiting one-run defeats to Zimbabwe and arch-rivals India.

Former Pakistani stars including Shoaib Akhtar and Javed Miandad slammed the team for their poor start to the World Cup, describing their batting as “shameful” during the loss to Zimbabwe.

“It is people’s job to talk, so they will talk. You face criticism in any sport you play,” Rauf told reporters.

“We have come here to play a tournament and our focus is on that. So we try not to listen to them (ex-players

Pakistan witnessed a special performance in their first match of the tournament from superstar batsman Virat Kohli as India chased down 160 on the final ball at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground.

But it was the second loss against the 11th-ranked Zimbabwe that stung their supporters more as the Pakistani batting lineup choked while chasing a modest 130.

They ended a run short of Zimbabwe’s total, with two run-outs on the last two balls of the innings. ‘We have belief’

Rauf said despite the defeats, morale was high in the Pakistani camp.

“We haven’t had the kind of start that we wanted. But the team morale is good,” the paceman said, adding that the games against Zimbabwe and India were close.

“There is hurt but we have belief in each other’s abilities. We have bonded well, sat together and tried to address our mistakes,” he said.

And while the Netherlands have also lost both their Super 12 matches, Rauf stressed that Pakistan will not be taking the challenge lightly. “There is no weak or strong team in a World Cup. Everyone playing an international game and has come to win the cup,” said Rauf. Netherlands coach Ryan Cook said Saturday his team was ready for the Pakistan clash. “We’ve obviously seen that Pakistan team is beatable, so that’s good to know,” said Cook.

“Playing them in the World Super League not so long ago in the Netherlands has given us a lot of confidence because we came quite close in those matches. Hoping to get over the line this time.”

Staff RepoRt

A Balochistan artist created a sand portrait to express his feelings for Virat Kohli. Kohli is in excellent form at the T20 World Cup, which has been lacking for some time. Virat Kohli’s bat is producing a lot of runs. Virat Kohli’s flair is always visible on the cricket field or outside.

He is the most popular cricketer in the world. One of these fans lives in Balochistan, where he used his art to show how much he loves Kohli. Virat Kohli was drawn on the sand by a sand artist in Gaddani, Balochistan, to convey his admiration for him. His talent and affection for Virat were hailed on social media when the photo went viral. Balochistan is Pakistan’s westernmost province.

Balochistan is a vast territory divided into adjacent territories of Iran and Afghanistan.

Kohli has over 200 million Instagram followers and over 50 million Twitter followers.

Virat is the most followed cricketer on Instagram and earns the most money on social media networks.

So far, Virat Kohli has scored half-centuries in both matches. Virat played an undefeated inning of 82 against Pakistan in the first match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Ronaldo still capable of being prolific for Man United: Erik Hag

MaNCHeSteR Agencies

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag believes Cristiano Ronaldo is still capable of scoring over 20 goals a season despite limiting the 37-year-old’s game time so far this season.

Ronaldo was dropped from the United squad for last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea after refusing to come on as a substitute four days previously in a 2-0 win over Tottenham.

The performance against Spurs was hailed as the best of Ten Hag’s reign so far and further evidence that United are a better team without the presence of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

But Ronaldo made a goalscoring return to the starting line-up for Thursday’s 3-0 Europa League win over Sheriff Tiraspol.

The Portuguese now has three goals in 13 appearances in all competitions this season. But Ten Hag did not rule out the

prospect of him matching his 24 goals last season.

“It’s up to him,” said Ten Hag. “But I think when you collect all the chances he creates, the team creates for him in the last weeks, you see he’s still capable to get in the right positions and I know he’s still capable of finishing them so it’s possible.”

Ronaldo has made just two Premier League starts under Ten Hag with the vast majority of his minutes coming in the Europa League.

But the former Ajax boss rejected the suggestion he is using Europe’s secondtier competition as a way of giving Ronaldo the time on the pitch he craves.

“I don’t have a Europe team and I don’t have a Premier League team,” Ten Hag added.

“I look to the opponent, what we need against such opponent. Now I have to focus on West Ham United for Sunday.

“Then we will pick the team to start but also to have plan B or plan C in the

pocket to win that game.

“That’s what we need finally, to win games, and therefore we not only need 11 players, we need the whole squad.”

After a disastrous start to his time in charge, there have been positive signs of United’s improvement under Ten Hag in recent weeks.

But they have often failed to make their dominance of the game count in the scoreline in a run of two wins from their last five league games.

“To develop the team takes time,” said Ten Hag. “You can’t go from zero to 100.

“You have to construct it from downstairs – you need the foundation before you go to the top, to the roof.

“Unfortunately it takes time and I don’t have time. I’m really the most impatient, but I have to be. It’s quite clear.

“Now we have to do also more on developing our attacking game but also that’s the most difficult part so it takes even more time.”

Qasim Khan takes lead on 2nd day of sindh Amateur Golf championship

‘Nothing fancy’ in south Africa’s plans to restrict india, says Nortje

MeLBoURNe reuters

Staff RepoRt

FlIP-FloP: PM ForMs coMMITTee, MInIsTers rule ouT Talks wITh ‘anarchIsTs’

Staff RepoRt

PRIMeMinister Shehbaz

Sharif formed a federal-level committee on Saturday to hold talks with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in light of the party’s ongoing Haqeeqi Azadi March but on the other hand senior ministers ruled out “any room” for talks with no room for negotiations with “anarchists.”

The PM’s formed the committee, headed by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and comprising nine members, will focus on maintaining the law and order situation while also holding a “political discourse” regarding the PTI march.

As per the premier’s directives, all talks regarding the long march are to be done through the committee.

“Our doors are always open for negotiations. We are democratic people, ready to talk. However, we will not allow anyone to take the law into their hands,” said PM Shehbaz.

The committee includes PML-N leaders: Ayaz Sadiq, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan Peoples Party leader: Qamar Zaman Kaira, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Awami National Party’s Mian Iftikhar and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl leader Maulana Asad Mehmood.

‘NO TALkS wITH PTI’: However, two senior ministers in the government, Khawaja Asif and Marriyum Aurangzeb denied the possibility of talks with the PTI.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a statement that there was “no room for negotiations with anarchists”, adding that PTI

supremo Imran Khan wants “chaos, unrest and blood instead of transparent elections”. The PML-N leader furthered that the former prime minister can “no longer hide his reality by taking to the streets as his face and lies have been exposed”. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif too turned down claims of talks with the PTI.

“elections will be held at a constitutional time, God willing,” he stated. “Negotiations and consensus amongst political forces are part of democracy. However, there is no possibility of the kind of negotiations that the PTI is creating a ruckus about,” he stated.

“Let Imran Khan fulfil all of his desires. Right now, the Indian media is giving him full attention and air time… enjoy that,” he concluded.

earlier in the day, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Saturday that PTI Chairman Imran Khan has

crossed all “Red Lines” of the identity of a Pakistani.

Taking to Twitter, Khawaja Asif said the Indian media does not support Narendra Modi as much as it is currently supporting Imran Khan. He said the Indian media is giving full coverage to the “language” being used by Imran Khan against Pakistan Army and the ISI. He said the PTI chairman has become the spokesperson of the enemy country.

NO DIALOGuE wITH ‘REjEcTED fOREIGN fuNDED fITNA’ uNDERwAy: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday dismissed reports about negotiations with the former prime minister Imran Khan in the wake of his long march towards Islamabad.

“Mazaaq Raat with rejected foreign funded Fitna is underway instead of negotiations,” she said in a tweet.

Gandapur’s audio leak: Sana asserts Imran planning bloodshed, induce violence

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Imran expels Vawda from PTI over controversial presser

ISLAMABAD: Senator Faisal Vawda has been expelled from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party after he did not respond “within the stipulated timeline” to a showcause notice served on him to clarify his position on a controversial news conference he held earlier this week. Addressing the press on Wednesday, Vawda claimed his party’s march to Islamabad to demand early elections would be “bloody” — despite repeated assurances to the contrary. He had also claimed, without offering any evidence, that the establishment had “no role in his [Arshad Sharif’s] killing” and that the journalist had no threats while staying in Pakistan. The event was panned by the party leadership and spurred the issuance of the notice. “This is in reference to the show-cause notice issued to you dated October 26, 2022, for defying party policy. You have not responded within the stipulated timeline. Therefore, your membership from the party stands terminated,” the communiqué posted on the party’s Twitter account read.

Staff RepoRt

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Saturday played an allegedly “audio call recording” between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Amin Gandapur and an unknown person, in which he can be heard talking about bringing weapons and manpower for the march – a claim strong refuted by Gandapur.

The Interior Minster held a press conference in Islamabad and released an alleged audio leak of PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur and an unknown man.

In the purported audio, the PTI leader can be heard “speak about bringing ammunition for the long march.” The PTI leader and the other person were talking in the Pashto language, which the Interior Minister translated for media persons.

Rana Sanaullah claimed that Imran Khan was planning to stage bloodshed, saying his (Imran) purpose is not to stage a protest but induce violence. “He wants to lead the country into a tragedy, he added. Rana Sanaullah said that the purported audio leak of the former federal minister could not be ignored. “Imran Khan wants a clash between people and security forces,” he added.

The Interior Minister claimed that they have identified the person talking to the PTI leader in the audio leak. “The PTI leadership wants dead bodies, and blame the institutions for them,” he asserted and questioned as to why the PTI chief was gathering people on the Rawalpindi-Islam-

abad border? “Imran Khan’s claims about a peaceful protest march are all lies,” Rana Sanaullah categorically said.

He said that there were armed men in the PTI long march yesterday as well, adding that the PTI leadership have gathered arms and ammunition from Gujrat too. The Interior Minister said that the people of Lahore rejected PTI as not many people attended their march. “Lahore’s population is 20 million while only 10,000 people joined the PTI march,” he added.

In the clip, a man, believed to be Gandapur, is heard asking an unidentified person about the number of guns and individuals available. He also asks the other person to keep “things and people” ready at a location near the Islamabad border.

Sanaullah said that a forensic audit of the audio clip could be conducted to prove its authenticity and asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary and police chief to take notice and “immediately” arrest the two people it featured.

Responding to the allegation, Gandapur referred to the events on May 25 and said the PTI was marching peacefully and yet the government clamped down on it. He added that he was talking to a friend about weapons with license which reflected he did not want to violate the law.

“Rana Sana has again threatened us that they will beat us … we have not worn bangles as well,” he said, questioning if Sanaullah had a “licence to kill”.

“If you beat us, what do you think, we will be carrying garlands for you?”

Pakistan Guantanamo detainee returns home after 18 years and no trial

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The United States has repatriated to Pakistan a Karachi man who was held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for nearly two decades without charge, the Foreign Office said. Foreign Ministry said it completed an “extensive inter-agency process to facilitate” the release of Saifullah Paracha, the last Pakistani held at the notorious detention camp. “We are glad that a

Pakistani citizen detained abroad is finally reunited with his family,” a press release, which referred to Paracha by his last name, said late on Friday.

Suspected of having contacts with al-Qaeda, Paracha, now 75 and the oldest prisoner at the centre until his release, was detained in Bangkok in July 2003 and taken to Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2004.

According to a Guardian report, at the time of his arrest, he was heading to the Thailand capital to join

his American business partner for a meeting with buyers for Kmart, an Australian chain of department stores. His wife accompanied him to the airport in Karachi. The Parachas — Saifullah, Farhat and their four children — lived in the upscale neighbourhood of Defence.

He was never charged with a crime. Paracha has never had a chance to see the full extent of what he has been accused of, let alone properly defend himself in court.

Pakistanis among thousands of workers evicted from Doha ahead of world cup

DOHA ReuteRS

Qatar has emptied apartment blocks housing thousands of foreign workers, including those from Pakistan, in the same areas in the centre of the capital Doha where visiting soccer fans will stay during the World Cup, workers who were evicted from their homes told Reuters.

They said more than a dozen buildings had been evacuated and shut down by authorities, forcing the mainly Asian and African workers to seek what shelter they could — including bedding down on the pavement outside one of their former homes.

The move comes less than four weeks before the November 20 start of the global soccer tournament which has drawn intense international scrutiny of Qatar’s treatment of foreign workers and its restrictive social laws. At one building which residents said housed 1,200 people in Doha’s Al Mansoura district, authorities told people at about 8:00 pm on Wednesday they had just two hours to leave.

Municipal officials returned around 10:30 pm, forced everyone out and locked the doors to the building, they said. Some men had not been able to return in time to collect their belongings.

“We don’t have anywhere to go,” one man told Reuters the next day as he prepared to sleep out for a second night with around 10 other men, some of them shirtless in the autumn heat and humidity of the Gulf Arab state.

He, and most other workers who spoke to Reuters, declined to give their names or personal details for fear of reprisals from the authorities or employers.

Nearby, five men were loading a mattress and a small fridge into the back of a pickup truck. They said they had found a room in Sumaysimah, about 40 km (25 miles) north of Doha.

A Qatari government official said the evictions are unrelated to the World Cup and were designed “in line with ongoing comprehensive and long-term plans to reorganise areas of Doha.”

“All have since been rehoused in safe and appropriate accommodation,” the official said, adding that requests to vacate “would have been conducted with proper notice.”

World soccer’s governing body FIFA did not respond to a request for comment and Qatar’s World Cup organisers directed inquiries to the government.

‘DELIBERATE GHETTO-ISATION’: Around 85 percent of Qatar’s three million population are foreign workers. Many of those evicted work as drivers, day labourers or have contracts with companies but are responsible for their own accommodation — unlike those working for major construction firms who live in camps housing tens of thousands of people.

One worker said the evictions targeted single men, while foreign workers with families were unaffected.

A Reuters reporter saw more than a dozen buildings where residents said people had been evicted. Some buildings had their electricity switched off.

Most were in neighbourhoods where the government has rented buildings for World Cup fan accommodation. The organisers’ website lists buildings in Al Mansoura and other districts where flats are advertised for between $240 and $426 per night.

The Qatari official said municipal authorities have been enforcing a 2010 Qatari law which prohibits “workers’ camps within family residential areas” — a designation encompassing most of central Doha — and gives them the power to move people out.

Some of the evicted workers said they hoped to find places to live amid purpose-built workers’ accommodation in and around the industrial zone on Doha’s southwestern outskirts or in outlying cities, a long commute from their jobs.

Elections to be held on time despite Imran’s threats, intimidation tactics: Marriyum

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Saturday declared the next general elections would be held on the scheduled constitutional time despite bullying, threats, abuses and intimidation attempts by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan.

Talking to the media, she said Imran Khan “should do what he wanted to do,” adding that the government would have no effect and remain indifferent to the supposed pressure-deploying tactics of the PTI chief. She said, “Imran’s long, short, jump or walk march will make no difference.”

“On May 25, armed miscreants were caught who wanted bloodshed,” she said while referring to the initial abortive long march held in May by the PTI, this year.

Celebrations were made in India following Imran Khan’s threats to the national institutions, Marriyum said.

Commenting on a slew of audio recordings leaked in recent days, the minister remarked that it had badly flopped Imran’s conspiracy narrative related to the latter’s government ouster.

Imran Khan should respond to the notice of damages given by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in defamation cases, she added.

“There was always an option of negoti-

ations in politics, but talks are held with politicians, not with foreign-funded fitna, who is roaming on the streets,” she said.

“There will be no negotiations with those who wanted to achieve their political ambitions by causing deaths through bloody march,” the minister made it clear.

“Should there be negotiations with those who play with the country’s interests,” she further remarked.

Slamming the PTI chief over the alleged dismal performance of his government, the minister said that he [Imran] had not even discussed his four-year performance to this day.

“A person (Imran) tried his best to bankrupt the country economically in his 4-year rule,” the minister said, adding that “Imran

should utter only one sentence about his performance or share the details about any public welfare project he had initiated in his tenure,” the minister said while castigating the PTI chairman.

Showing her concerns over any untoward incident that may happen in Punjab, she said that Imran and his provincial government would be held responsible for any horrific incident[God Forbid].

She said the country would progress if every institution works within its constitutional limits.

“Imran Khan used Zakat money to forward his political agenda. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had handed this undeserving person a prosperous Pakistan in 2018. How-

ever, the projects delayed in the last four years are being restarted,” said the minister.

Meanwhile, citing the World Bank report, she said it may take ten years to repair the damage caused by the flood, adding that Imran wanted to cause further “submersion” to the already flood-hit country.

“Imran Khan is still afraid of Nawaz Sharif, the PML(N) supremo, who made this country a nuclear power, built motorways and improved the economy,” the minister added.

The coalition government in collaboration with national institutions had successfully completed relief and rescue operations in flood-hit areas and was now all set to enter into the rehabilitation phase, the minister apprised.