Epaper_22-11-15 KHI

G o v t a s s a i l s i m r a n f o r ‘ b a c k t r a c k i n G ’ o n r e G i m e c h a n G e n a r r at i v e

PR ME M n ster Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday that PTI cha r man Imran Khan s rebuttal of the foreign conspiracy narra tive was a reminder of the “ vi c ous ro e he p ayed to harm Pakistan s external relat ons whi e pursuing h s own petty politics ”

The prem er was referring to Imran s r e c

the regime change claim was beh nd ’ him now

Khan who has repeatedly claimed that an American consp racy was be hind his removal from office in Apri said he now wanted a “dignified ” re ation

ship if re elected “As far as I ’m concerned t s over, it s behind me, he said of the alleged conspiracy The Pakistan I want to lead must have good re ationships with ever yone, especial y the Un ted States, asserted Khan

In a tweet today the premier said that the nation was shocked by mran s deceit and treacher y nfl ct ng irrepara ble damage on Pakistan”

Meanwh e, other government mouthpieces on Monday threatened former prem er and PTI chief Imran Khan for consequences over what they cal ed backtracking on his false narra tive of regime change n Pakistan

Speak ng on a point of order n the National Assemb y Defence M nister Khawa a Asif said PTI Chief Imran Khan

have to pay the pol t cal price for his ies and changing narrative regarding for eign conspiracy beh nd h s ouster from power

As f quot ng Imran’s inter view with F nanc al Times, said Imran took an other U turn expressing the desire to mend re at ons with the Un ted States despite ac cusing it of treating Paksitan as a slave

Imran has buried his narrat ve of Haqiqi Azadi and imported govern ment He said Imran s polit cs revo ves around fake narratives and l es wh ch compromised national interests Khawaja Asif said Imran Khan s polit cal rhetoric in the past and the recent one regarding cipher are based on oca politica consumpt on Imran s accusat ons against the US had embarrassed the entire countr y

PTI urges Supreme Cour t to launch probe into assassination attempt on Imran Khan

quest

I n t h e La h o r e r e g s t r y o f t h e

S u p r e m e C o u r t t h e p e t i t i o n w a s f i l e d b y Q u r e s h i, f o r m e r

Pu n a b c h i e f m i n i s t e r U s m a n

B u z d a r w h o s a s o t h e a p p l i c a n t, a n d o t h e r a w m a ke r s B u z d a r h a n d e d t h e p e t i t i o n t o E a z G o r a y a a d e p u t y r e g i s t r a r o f t h e c o u r t

Now he was saying to forget that narra tive which already damaged countr y ’s relations abroad Pakistan Tehreek nsaf (PT ) should sit home instead of disturb ing routine life of the people through its long march Imran did not stand over his narrative more than a few weeks He has com promised the honour and dignity of the countr y He wrongly termed the consti tutional process of his ouster from power by tabling a conf dence motion as for e gn conspiracy He urged the august House to ponder over it as Imran Khan must not go scot free He shou d have to pay the price of h s pers stent lies

Separate y Minister for Information Marr yum Aurangzeb sa d the former prime minister wou d have to answer for the purported change in h s narrative of

the vote of no confidence against h m be ng a foreign conspiracy

The narrative upon wh ch chaos and lies were spread throughout the countr y It w ll not be over w thout an an swer to that she declared in a series of tweets Imp ying that Khan backed off h s cla ms the minister sa d: Today is a quest on mark for a l those who believed what Imran said

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

Pakistan Tehreek nsaf (PTI) has requested the Supreme Court to investigate the “ var ous aspects ” of the November 3 assassinat on attempt on former pr me m n s ter Imran Khan which eft the na t on n shock

The party said it has subm t ted a set of petitions to nation w de sub offices of the apex court seeking the constitution of a trustworthy judicia commiss on to probe several mportant matters now in the public do ma n inc ud ng the attempt on Khan s l fe Speak ng to the press in Lahore Shah Mahmood Qureshi v ce chairperson of the

party said the court has been requested through these pet tions to probe the gun attack on the caravan carr y ng Khan; the purported refusa of police to nominate the prime m nister, his minister for interior and a sen or inte ligence offic al in the com plaint; the eaked record ng of moments of ntimate c oseness between party Senator Azam Khan Swati and his spouse; and the grisly murder of journal st Ar shad Shar f in Kenya

The petitions were filed n La hore, Is amabad, Karachi, Pe shawar and Quetta

The former fore gn minister expressed hope that Umar Ata Bandial the chief ust ce of Pak istan would cons der the re

The pet tion requested the format on of a judic al comm s s on t implored the court to take action on its complaint by taking suo motu notice In Karachi, two ident cal pleas were submitted by 26 party awmakers whereas in Pe shawar, Deputy Speaker Mehmood Jan Atif Khan Shaukat Yousufzai Kamran Ban gash, and Senator Usman Tarkai, among others filed the pet tion

Petitioners n the appl cation f led in Is amabad were several PTI MPs and senators including Sh bli Faraz and Shahzad Waseem n Karachi, the presi dent of the Sindh chapter of PT A i Zaidi and Imran Ismail for mer governor, were among those who reached the court registr y to fi e the petition

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 05

No consultation held on COA S appointment yet: Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday said that appo ntment of next army ch ef is the prerog ative of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and no con sultat on has taken p ace in th s regard thus far

The statement comes fo owing PT ch ef Imran Khan accused premier Shehbaz Sharif of violating the Off cial Secret Act by consulting with Nawaz Shar f who he said was an absconder and a con vict and vowed to move court aga nst the consul tation Speaking to the journa ists at Par ament House here the minister clarified that a decision about the army ch ef s appo ntment has not been made yet The extended stay of Prime Minister Shehbaz along with his key adv sers in London pur ported y to discuss the key appointment and other issues of nationa importance with h s e der brother Nawaz Sharif he ghtened confus on and sparked rumours about the ssue

“ Holding consolations on the appo ntment of the army ch ef is the prerogative of the prime min ister However no consultation has been held on the matter so far,” the m n ster added

Legis ation to extend army ch ef s tenure

should be revoked: Sana

In a b d to avoid conflicts and po it cs over the appointment of the army ch ef Interior M n ster Rana Sanaullah on Monday suggested that the leg slation introduced dur ng PTI s government to extend the tenure of the army ch ef shou d be abo ished In an inter view w th a private TV chan nel Sanau lah said that the eg slation wi l keep d s turbing ever y army chief n the future as we l

Referring to the procedure for the appoint ment of the chief ustice of Pak stan the interior minister underscored the need for devis ng a for mula for the appointment of COA S He was of the view that the senior most officer should be ap pointed as the next army ch ef through a judici ar y like system

The prime minister has discretion regarding the army chief ’s appo ntment ” he sa d adding that the prime minister shou d consult w th al the stakeho ders about the appo ntment

The nterior m nister said that the prime minister w ll announce the name of the new COA S n the next few days Responding to a question about the differences between Nawaz Sharif and She hbaz over the name of the next army chief, the in terior min ster termed the reports as rumours

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

ISLAMABAD

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tH E Supreme Court on Monday

heard Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf (PTI)

Chairman Imran Khan s petition challenging amendments in the National Accountability (NAB) Ordinance by the government

A three member SC bench comprising of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah heard the case

During the course of proceedings, Justice Ijaz remarked that the NAB amendments made the trial so difficult that corruption could not be proved

PTI’s lawyer Khawaja Haris contended that if all NAB cases were sent to accountability courts, several suspects would be acquitted of all charges The acquittal of corrupt persons had directly affected the fundamental rights of the people, he asserted

Upon this, Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial while addressing Imran Khan’s lawyer, said that he “finds” a new point in the case after every weekend

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah inquired how fundamental human rights were being directly violated by the NAB amendments

He asked whether any person could file a petition against the passage of budget by the Assembly Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked if the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had given tax exemption to someone, would it be a violation of basic human rights

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that there was a benchmark of (acceptable) law, below which there was lawlessness, adding that they all agree that there should be a law of accountability

He said the United Nations’ Anti Corruption convention was very clear in this regard He asked could Pakistan “transpose” UN conventions into its laws

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that the United Nations Convention on Persons with

for its slow post-flood effor ts

Disabilities was not part of the Constitution of Pakistan He asked should the court start ordering Parliament to legislate on international conventions? In this way, the international convention itself would be called the Constitution of Pakistan, he added

He said that courts could interfere with laws made by the executive when they conflict with the constitution

Justice Ijaz said that the rights of the people would be affected due to corruption of public money

Khawaja Haris said that many cases of FIA were transferred to NAB without any legal procedure

Justice Ijaz said that laws should be in accordance with international standards There was no country in the world that supported corruption, he added

He said that he did not find any solid reason for the amendments in the old NAB’s act It was the function of the court to determine the standard of law he added

Justice Ijaz remarked that even keeping an extra buffalo was an accountable act in Hazrat Umar s (R A) time Corruption should be made such a painful crime that no one dares to commit it, he added

He said that this could be proved that the NAB amendments were made maliciously and to benefit certain individuals

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that he did not agree that the court set the legal standard The legal standard was determined by the constitution not the court he added

He asked if there were no laws on

S C q u e S t i o n S l i n k B et w e e n f u n d A m e n tA l r i G h t S B r e A C h A n d n A B A m e n d m e n t S Bilawal

corruption, then the court could ask to create them He asked how could it be that the recent NAB amendments were null and void and the old law came into force automatically?

Imran Khan’s lawyer said that the corrupt accused were sitting happily at home after being acquitted with the current NAB amendments Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said that here people were sitting in their houses even after sabotaging the constitution

He asked was any proven corrupt criminal acquitted after NAB amendments?

Justice Ijaz remarked that corruption charges were now being waived off with the NAB amendments Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked when it was not proved after the trial whether a person was corrupt or not, how the fundamental rights were affected

Justice Ijaz said that after the NAB amendments, the trial had been made so difficult that corruption could not be proved

Subsequently the court adjourned further hearing of the case till November 17

KP faces shor tfall of Rs81bn for flood-hit areas rehabilitation program

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is facing a shortage of more than Rs81 billion half of the funds required for the rehabilitation of the flood affected districts and the reconstruction of infrastructure

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e n c y m e e t i n g t o d a y a t 1 2 n o o n a t C M H o u s e H e w i l l p r e s i d e o v e r t h e m e e t i n g w h i c h w i l l b e a t t e n d e d b y C h i e f M i n i s t e r M u r a d A l i S h a h , S i n d h I r r i g a t i o n M i n i s t e r J a m K h a n S h o r o , L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t M i n i s t e r N a s i r H u s s a i n S h a h Wo r k s a n d S e r v i c e s M i n i s t e r Z i a A b b a s S h a h A g r i c u l t u r e A d v i s o r M a n z o o r H u s s a i n Wa s a n , S i n d h c h i e f s e c r e t a r y, P D M A D G , i r r i g a t i o n a n d a g r i c u l t u r e s e c r e t a r i e s a n d o t h e r o ff i c i a l s T h e m e e t i n g w i l l m u l l o v e r p r o v i d i n g f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e t o f a r m e r s w h o s e c r o p s h a v e b e e n d e s t r o y e d b y f l o o d s I t w i l l a l s o c o n s i d e r b u i l d i n g h o u s e s f o r h o m e l e s s p e o p l e b e s i des pondering over reconstruction of basic infrastructure of the province

Pakistan will be among first to receive G7 ‘Global Shield’ climate funding

SHARM EL SHEIKH r e u t e r S

Pakistan Ghana and Bangladesh will be among the first recipients of funding from a G7 ‘Global Shield’ initiative to provide funding to countries suffering climate disasters the programme announced on Monday at the COP27 summit in Egypt The Global Shield, coordinated by G7 president Germany, aims to provide rapid access for climate vulnerable countries to insurance and disaster protection funding after floods or drought It is being developed in collaboration with the V20 group of 58 climate vulnerable economies A statement issued by Germany on Monday listed Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Ghana, Pakistan, the Philippines and Senegal as some of the initial recipients of Global Shield packages Those packages would be developed in the coming months, Germany said

Overall the province needs Rs162b but so far the provincial government has arranged Rs80 50bn The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa may face financial constraints for next several years due to shortfall of such a high amount of fund The provincial government has been advised to take the support from well wishers of the province including the federal government and international aid agencies

The KP Planning and Development (P&D)

Department has prepared a plan for the rehabilitation of flood affected districts and sent it to relevant forum for approval According to the P&D sources the KP government needs Rs162bn for the post disaster rehabilitation program, in which a total of Rs120bn will be required for the infrastructure development program

The report sent by the P&D for the approval of the rehabilitation plan, said that a two year plan has been prepared for the restoration of the total damages of Rs162 billion The phase one of the plan will needs Rs31bn, while phase two will require Rs46 60bn

The provincial government has arranged Rs19 billion by re allocating funds within the administrative departments for the phase one The international aid agencies have assured to provide assistance of

Push for climate justice, loss and damage: COP27 termed ‘huge achievement ’ for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD A P P

As Pakistan has been leading the call for developed nations to compensate their developing counterparts for a crisis they did not cause, the experts believed the mere inclusion of loss and damage onto the agenda at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt was a diplomatic achievement for Islamabad

Pakistan, which has been battered by climate catastrophes for the past decade is responsible for less than one percent of global carbon emissions but is among the most vulnerable to extreme weather events, Foreign Policy magazine said in an article

The publication said that summer ’s monsoon rains a n d f l o o d s i n u n d a t e d o n e t h i r d o f t h e c o u n t r y, destroying farmland displacing millions of people and k i l l i n g n e a r l y 2 , 0 0 0 E c o n o m i c l o s s e s h a v e b e e n estimated at up to $40 billion

The author also referred to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s address at the conference in Egypt last week Sharif noted Pakistan is a “victim of something with which we had nothing to do [ ] a man made disaster

As a vice chair of COP27, Sharif pressed the case for a “loss and damage” financial mechanism that would oblige developed countries to help victim countries pay for the impact of climate change and to prevent energy poor countries from becoming part of the problem by transitioning to cleaner sources of energy

The idea of rich countries helping to cover less developed countries’ costs of coping with climate change has been around in force since at least 2009 effectively dividing the world between the haves and the have nots

But for Pakistan, this year ’s carnage wasn’t its first rodeo: It also suffered devastating floods in 2010, which caused similar amounts of damage and loss of life

The magazine said climate finance is meant to help prepare countries to adapt to coming climate shocks and to take steps to mitigate their own emissions

It quoted climate activist Afia Salam saying that due diligence and stringent monitoring were key to overcoming any trust issues about the disbursement of funds To a question by the author, she said: “Political instability cannot stop the track of recovery and development Most fund disbursement is tied to milestones and transparency mechanisms ”

At COP27, the question of how richer countries can help underwrite the climate challenges of poorer countries has dominated much of the first week As always, the debate has centred on the details of distributing any aid money and the question of financing short term fixes versus longer term investments in mitigation and adaptation measures

Rs61 50bn to eight administrative departments for the flood affected areas However, despite this, the provincial government is facing a shortfall of Rs7 70 billion for the phase one of the two year program

According to proposed plan, 13 KP administrative departments of will be part of the infrastructure development program during phase one Five departments, including local government, higher education food multi sector development and the finance department have not attracted any international aid to restore its flood affected infrastructure

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 309 people were killed while 369 were injured, 94, 464 houses were affected, while 674318 people displaced by thr climate change induced devastating floods

Cross border attack prompts Pakistan to close Chaman border with Afghanistan

Tensions are running high between the border forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan after Islamabad shut one of the main crossings with Kabul for cross border movement for an indefinite period, people familiar with the development said on Monday Also known as Friendship Gate, the Chaman border which connects Balochistan province to southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan was closed after an armed Afghan reportedly crossed into Pakistan and opened fire on the troops killing a soldier and wounding another two on Sunday, according to Abdul Hameed Zehri, deputy commissioner of Chaman The crossing is a major transit point for truckers moving fruit exports from around the southern Afghan city of Kandahar and its closure comes at a high cost for farmers unable to get their produce to market The attack was followed by hours long firing between the two border troops prompting the closure of the key trade border between the neighbours Zehri said the border will remain closed until the handing over of the suspected attacker The two security forces, he added, are holding restraint since the firing was halted on Sunday night “The two sides are holding another round of flagship meeting today (Monday) to resolve the issue as we stick to our demand of handing over of the attacker,” a security official from Pakistan told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity as he was not permitted to speak on the record

ECC allows premium on HSD at $16.75/BBL for impor ting OMCs

ISLAMABAD

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) Monday allowed premium on HSD subject to maximum capping at $16 75/BBL for importing OMCs other than PSO for the month of November, 2022

Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar presided over the meeting of the ECC The Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Division submitted a summary on High Speed Diesel (HSD)/Gas Oil premium and shared that the demand for HSD has

been substantially increased due to ongoing sowing season and rehabilitation efforts after the floods in the country

With regard to premium reimbursement to importers for smooth and sustainable supply of HSD in the country, the ECC allowed premium on HSD subject to maximum capping at US$ 16 75/BBL for importing OMCs other than PSO for the months of November 2022

The ECC also considered the summary of the Ministry of Energy, Power Division on standardized security package agreements for large scale solar PV projects

for substitution of expensive imported fossil fuels based power generation under the framework and approved the summary except special payment mechanism and quarterly indexation as was proposed in the Summary Further the ECC authorized Boards of AEDB and CPPA G to approve any amendments in the IA (Implementation Agreement) and EPA (Energy Purchase Agreement) as the case may be that are project specific and may be required to comply with NEPRA’s Tariff Approval and/or Generation License for specific projects, subject to the condition that such

amendments will not increase GOP obligations as contemplated and stipulated in the standard Security Package Documents

It was shared that GoP plans to develop large scale solar PV projects for substitution of existing imported fossil fuel based thermal power plants within their technical and contractual limits through the private sector on Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis

The ECC discussed the summary submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security & Research on Kissan Package 2022 and approved the package as proposed

in the Summary The package includes, enhancement of agriculture loan disbursement from 1 419 billion to 1 802 billion, reduction in DAP price to Rs 11,250/ per bag from Rs 13,750/ and Interest free loans to convert 3 lac tube wells to solar

The ECC after detailed discussion approved proposal of Finance Division for revision and renaming of Prime Minister ’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (PMKJ YES) as Prime Minister s Youth Business & Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB & ALS) with a view to make it more purposeful and beneficial for small businesses and agriculture New components of interest free microloans and agriculture loans have been added in the new scheme

KARACHI

S tA f f r e P o r t

Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday expressed his ire over the slow pace of post flood relief efforts by the Sindh governm

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but the nation s interior minister accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant organisation

PA K I S TA N strongly condemns a bombing in a busy Istanbul street in Turkey that killed six people and wounded scores, the Foreign Office said “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to those injured,” the Foreign Office said in a statement issued late on Sunday Pakistan firmly stands with the people of Turkey in the fight against the scourge of terrorism, it added

The explosion tore through Istiklal Avenue a popular shopping destination for locals and tourists, on Sunday afternoon No individual or group has claimed the attack

I have learned with deep anguish about the explosion at Istiklal Avenue in the heart of Istanbul,” Shehbaz Sharif tweeted (The) government and the people of Pakistan express deepest condolences to the brotherly people of Türkiye at the loss of precious lives and send prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured ” the prime minister added

I have learnt with deep anguish about the explosion at popular Istiklal avenue in the heart of Istanbul Govt & people of Pakistan express deepest condolences to the brotherly people of Turkiye at the loss of precious lives & send prayers for the speedy recovery

of the injured

A suspect was arrested by the early hours of Monday “The person who planted the bomb has been arrested, Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister, said in a statement broadcast by the Anadolu Agency

According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible ” he said The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara as well as its Western allies, has kept up a deadly insurgency for Kurdish self rule in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s

Regularly targeted by Turkish military operations the group is also at the heart of a tussle between Sweden and Turkey, which has been blocking Stockholm s entry into NATO since May accusing it of leniency towards the PKK

fm hails removal of Pakistan from uk’s high-risk countries’ list

ISLAMABAD

A P P

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday said the United Kingdom had officially removed Pakistan from its list of ‘High Risk Third Countries’ following its early completion of Financial Action Task Force action plans which was a good news On his Twitter handle, the foreign minister termed the development as some good news and shared a note verbale of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK “The amendment removes Pakistan from the list in accordance with the decision taken by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on 21 October 2022 The FCDO recognizes the progress Pakistan has made to improve money laundering and terrorist financing controls,” the note said

nAB zeroing in on former accountabilit y czar Shahzad Akbar

ISLAMABAD S tA f f r e P o r t

The National Accountability Bureau is zeroing in on former accountability Czar Shahzad Akbar in an assets beyond means case on Monday Former SAPM on accountability Shahzad Akbar has come on the NAB radar as the anti graft watchdog has started an investigation against him in a corruption case The ex PM aide has been directed to present the record of all moveable and immoveable property in his name to the bureau by Nov 15 The watchdog has also summoned record of property that is in the name of his family members The NAB has issued orders to the FDA, LDA and RDA to look into his assets The anti corruption watchdog has received complaints of irregularity against Akbar while remitting money recovered from England In this case, the NAB requested the FIA to put his name on the Exit Control List Earlier, the bureau has sent a questionnaire consisting of 22 queries to Akbar

Dar work ing on plan for effec tive, result- driven visit to Afghanistan

Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Ishaq Dar has directed various ministries to prepare a comprehensive plan for making an effective and result driven visit to Afghanistan in the near future

The Finance minister on Monday held a preparatory meeting on visit to Afghanistan with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar at the

Finance Division here on Monday SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa and senior officers from the Finance Division and Foreign Office attended the meeting In this preparatory meeting, a comprehensive agenda was discussed for carrying out decisive discussions with the Afghan leadership Various bilateral initiatives for deepening the cooperation through enhancing the trade and regional connectivity between Pakistan and Afghanistan were discussed during the

meeting The Finance Minister was also briefed about the economic and regional peace and stability issues The Finance Minister shared that Pakistan has always been determined to support the Afghan people and asked for a framework to help out our neighboring country, Afghanistan, in these challenging times In conclusion, the Finance Minister directed to prepare a comprehensive plan for making an effective and result driven visit to Afghanistan in the near future

C ropLife launches stewardship programs on safe use of agrochemic al produc ts

ISLAMABAD

S tA f f r e P o r t

C r o p L i f e P a k i s t a n A s s o c i a t i o n l a u n c h e d P e s t i c i d e Container Management Program to create awareness in line with the CropLife International awareness campaign o n C o n t a i n e r D i s p o s a l Aw a r e n e s s , t o p r o t e c t b o t h environment and operators from exposure, appropriate h a n d l i n g a n d s a f e d i s p o s a l o f t h e u s e d p e s t i c i d e s containers, reducing waste, and maximizing recycling

T h e i n a u g u r a t i o n o f t h e p r o j e c t w a s a r r a n g e d a t C o r t e v a R e s e a r c h C e n t e r R e n a l a , c h a i r e d b y D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l R e s e a r c h Ay u b A g r i c u l t u r e R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e (AARI) Dr Nawaz Khan Maikan

W h i l e a d d r e s s i n g t h e e v e n t , D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l Research AARI, Dr Nawaz Khan Maikan has said that e n v i r o n m e n t a l s t e w a r d s h i p i s a l i f e c y c l e a p p r o a c h t o t h e a g r o c h e m i c a l p r o d u c t m a n a g e m e n t w h i c h i s t h e r e s p o n s i b l e a n d e t h i c a l w a y t o m a n a g e p r o d u c t s f r o m t h e i r d i s c o v e r y a n d d e v e l o p m e n t t o t h e i r u s e a n d t h e final disposal of any waste He stressed the stakeholders to follow the guidelines for the sake of the environment and the community E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r C r o p L i f e P a k i s t a n , R a s h i d A h m a d w h i l e h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e e ff o r t s b e i n g m a d e b y

C r o p L i f e P a k i s t a n A s s o c i a t i o n i n t h e p l a n t s c i e n c e i n d u s t r y, e x p l a i n e d t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t s i n c r o p p r o t e c t i o n , s e e d a n d a g r i c u l t u r a l b i o t e c h n o l o g y, w i t h t h e a i m t o p r o v i d e t r a n s p a r e n t i n f o r m a t i o n t o i t s stakeholders and welcomes open dialogue with parties interested in the future of food and farming

T h e s p e a k e r s a p p r e c i a t e d t h a t C r o p L i f e P a k i s t a n Association is committed towards promoting effective stewardship in and beyond the field and believes that the a p p r o p r i a t e m a n a g e m e n t a n d u s e o f a g r o c h e m i c a l products can help underpin sustainable agriculture and safeguard the environment and public health

CropLife Pakistan Association is taking the lead to ensure the appropriate disposal and recycling of empty c r o p p r o t e c t i o n c o n t a i n e r s t o p r o t e c t t h e h e a l t h o f f a r m e r s a n d t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s a s w e l l a s t h e e n v i r o n m e n t T h e o v e r a l l a i m o f t h e s t e w a r d s h i p a p p r o a c h i n t h e a g r o c h e m i c a l i n d u s t r y i s t o m a x i m i z e t h e b e n e f i t s , a n d m i n i m i z e a n y r i s k , f r o m u s i n g c r o p protection products

T h e e v e n t w a s a t t e n d e d b y t h e l o c a l a g r i c u l t u r e d e p a r t m e n t o ff i c i a l s , a c a d e m i a , f a r m e r s , d e a l e r s a n d CropLife member company’s representatives This is a pilot project and will be expanded in other geographies for the awareness of the farming community

Dar gets permanent exemption from cour t appearance in assets case

E a r l i e r i n S e p t e m b e r a n a c c o u n t a b i l i t y c o u r t suspended Finance Minister Ishaq Dar ’s chronic arrest warrants until October 7, saying the court would scrap t h e a r r e s t w a r r a n t s w h e n t h e a c c u s e d p r e s e n t s h i m s e l f before the court

Cloudy weather expected across countr y

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M a i n l y p a r t l y c l o u d y w e a t h e r i s e x p e c t e d i n m o s t u p p e r p a r t s o f t h e c o u n t r y w h i l e r a i n w i n d w i t h t h u n d e r s t o r m a n d s n o w o v e r t h e h i l l s i s e x p e c t e d i n K h y b e r P a k h t u n k h w a , n o r t h B a l o c h i s t a n , I s l a m a b a d P o t o h a r r e g i o n G i l g i t B a l t i s t a n a n d K a s h m i r d u r i n g e v e n i n g a n d n i g h t d u r i n g t h e n e x t t w e l v e h o u r s Te m p e r a t u r e s o f s o m e m a j o r c i t i e s r e c o r d e d t h i s m o r n i n g : I s l a m a b a d f o u r d e g r e e c e n t i g r a d e , M u r r e e s e v e n , Q u e t t a t e n , L a h o r e s i x t e e n , K a r a c h i t w e n t y t w o , P e s h a w a r e l e v e n , G i l g i t z e r o a n d M u z a ff a r a b a d n i n e d e g r e e c e n t i g r a d e A c c o r d i n g t o M e t O ff i c e f o r e c a s t f o r I n d i a n I l l e g a l l y O c c u p i e d J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r, c l o u d y w e a t h e r w i t h c h a n c e s o f r a i n a n d w i n d t h u n d e r s t o r m i n e v e n i n g a n d n i g h t i s e x p e c t e d i n S r i n a g a r a n d L e h , p a r t l y c l o u d y i n J a m m u w h i l e c l o u d y w e a t h e r w i t h c h a n c e s o f r a i n t h u n d e r s t o r m i n l i k e l y t o p r e v a i l i n P u l w a m a , A n a n t n a g , S h o p i a n , a n d B a r a m u l l a O n t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e d i s t r i c t s o f S w a t D e r U p p e r a n d K h y b e r r e c e i v e d t h e f i r s t s n o w f a l l o f t h e w i n t e r, b r i n g i n g d o w n t h e m e r c u r y f u r t h e r a n d b l a n k e t i n g t h e h i l l y a r e a s w i t h w h i t e s n o w L i g h t s n o w f a l l c o n t i n u e s i n t h e K u k i k h e l a n d M a i d a n a r e a s o f t h e Ti r a h a r e a o f ? ? t h e K h y b e r d i s t r i c t , w h i l e m e r c u r y h a s d e c r e a s e d f u r t h e r d u e t o l a s t n i g h t ’s s n o w f a l l i n t h e M a l a m J a b b a a n d K a l a m a r e a s o f S w a t L i g h t r a i n c o n t i n u e d f o r h o u r s i n u r b a n a r e a s i n U p p e r D i r O n t h e c o n t r a r y s n o w f a l l c o n t i n u e s i n t h e u p p e r a r e a s o f t h e d i s t r i c t i n c l u d i n g O s h i r a i D a r a , K u m r a t , L o w a r i Tu n n e l D o g D a r a To p J a a z B a n d a I n K a g h a n N a r a n a n d B a b u s a r t o p , t h e m e r c u r y d r o p p e d b e l o w z e r o d u e t o i n t e r m i t t e n t s n o w f a l l

Chinese Embassy in Pakistan has relaxed its conditions for travellers visiting China by requesting all passengers visiting China from P a k i s t a n t o s u b m i t a n e g a t i v e r e p o r t o f o n e n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t f r o m a t e s t i n g f a c i l i t y a p p r o v e d b y t h e l o c a l h e a l t h d e p a r t m e n t a r o u n d 4 8 h o u r s b e f o r e b o a r d i n g t h e p l a n e T h e m o v e c o m e s u n d e r a n e w p o l i c y r e g u l a t i o n o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t o f C h i n a u n d e r w h i c h a n u m b e r o f C h i n e s e

embassies, including the Chinese Embassy i n P a k i s t a n , h a v e a d j u s t e d C O V I D 1 9 testing requirements for inbound travelers t o C h i n a , r e q u i r i n g o n e n e g a t i v e n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t r e s u l t w i t h i n t h e p a s t 4 8 h o u r s before boarding

T h e n e g a t i v e t e s t r e p o r t n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t s h o u l d b e s u b m i t t e d w i t h v e r i f i a b l e content according to a notice issued on the o ff i c i a l We C h a t a c c o u n t o f t h e e m b a s s y w h i c h i s e ff e c t i v e f r o m S u n d a y

P r e v i o u s l y a l l p a s s e n g e r s w e r e r e q u i r e d t o u n d e rg o d o u b l e n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t i n g w i t h i n 4 8 h o u r s b e f o r e b o a r d i n g

t h e p l a n e T h e t w o n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t s w e r e t o b e c o n d u c t e d i n d i ff e r e n t t e s t i n g i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h t w o d i ff e r e n t r e a g e n t s , a n d a n i n t e r v a l p e r i o d o f m o r e t h a n 2 4 h o u r s , a c c o r d i n g t o a n o t i c e i s s u e d b y t h e e m b a s s y i n J u n e , G l o b a l Ti m e s r e p o r t e d o n M o n d a y T h e a d j u s t m e n t s c a m e a f t e r C h i n a released 20 optimized measures in a latest m o v e i n s c i e n t i f i c a n d p r e c i s e e p i d e m i c c o n t r o l a n d p r e v e n t i o n w o r k o n F r i d a y P a s s e n g e r s t r a v e l l i n g t o C h i n a o n l y n e e d t o p r o v i d e o n e n e g a t i v e n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t

r e s u l t w i t h i n t h e p a s t 4 8 h o u r s i n s t e a d o f t w o , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e l a t e s t m e a s u r e s

T h e e m b a s s y n o t i c e s a i d t h a t f o r p a s s e n g e r s t r a v e l i n g t o C h i n a t h r o u g h t r a n s i t , t h e n u c l e i c a c i d t e s t c a n b e c a r r i e d o u t a t e i t h e r t h e p l a c e o f d e p a r t u r e o r t h e t r a n s i t i o n d e s t i n a t i o n w i t h i n 4 8 h o u r s b e f o r e b o a r d i n g t h e f l i g h t t o C h i n a I f p a s s e n g e r s a l r e a d y h a v e t h e h e a l t h c o d e o f t h e p l a c e o f o r i g i n , t h e y c a n u s e t h e h e a l t h c o d e w i t h i n t h e v a l i d i t y p e r i o d t o c h e c k i n a t t h e t r a n s f e r p o i n t a n d t h e r e i s n o n e e d t o g o t h r o u g h a s e c o n d t e s t a n d s e c o n d a p p l i c a t i o n a t t h e t r a n s f e r p o i n t ,

a c c o r d i n g t o t h e n o t i c e T h e n o t i c e a l s o c a n c e l e d a d d i t i o n a l requirements for people with a history of i n f e c t i o n , b e i n g c l o s e c o n t a c t s , h a v i n g suspected symptoms, or inconclusive test results as they now can apply for a health code based on a negative nucleic acid test within 48 hours before boarding the plane

A s o f p r e s s t i m e m u l t i p l e C h i n e s e embassies, including the Chinese Embassy i n t h e U S , t h e C h i n e s e E m b a s s y i n S i n g a p o r e a n d t h e C h i n e s e E m b a s s y i n C a n a d a a l l r e l e a s e d n o t i c e s t o a d j u s t t h e COVID 19 testing requirements

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C h i n e s e e m b a s s y a d j u s t s t o C o v i d - 1 9 t e s t i n g r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r i n b o u n d t r ave l e r s

ISLAMABAD S tA f f r e P o r t

In an accountability court on Monday granted permanent exemption from court appearance to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in an assets case Federal Minister Dar appeared before an accountability court in Islamabad on Monday in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference where he filed for

permanent exemption from court appearance Court accepted Ishaq Dar s plea for permanent exemption from appearance while the court also sought a reply on the assets de attachment and acquittal applications at the next hearing

HeydAy for PAK-CHINA tIes After 20tH CPC CoNgress

Afirst of its kind gathering of league of Pakistani schol ars and Chinese diplomats jointly subscribed the out comes of recently con cluded 20th CPC national congress and underlined the need to tap new diversity into Pak China relations as well as CPEC hailing new induction of fresh corridors including health corridor, industrial corridor, digital corridor, and green corridor in next phase of CPEC

The Pak China fraternity held the consensus at a seminar titled 20th CPC congress; party policy prospects and impacts on China Pak Relations organized by Institute of International Relations and Media Research (IIRMR) at local hotel here on Sunday

Shedding light on the sense of

new opportunities, new cooperation and new development while dis cussing impacts of 20th CPC con gress on Pak China relations, Chinese consul general Lahore Zhao Shiren said that China terms people of Pak istan real stakeholder besides govern ment and Chinese leadership is ready to work jointly with every segment of society to let CPEC fortunes to trickle down to grass route level

On CPEC dismal activity and fu ture momentum he said that it is not appropriate to blame anybody for CPEC slowdown because now CPEC has bounced back with its natural form and pace and all projects will be executed on fast track to make CPEC a full on successful story, he added At the time of conclusion of 20th Congress that has put the new lead ership in place and solidified the party self innovation outlining major policy initiatives both at domestic and foreign fronts, Mr Zhao an

nounced that 2023 is to be marked as a year of China Pakistan Year of Tourism and Exchange In this re gard, he said the Gandhara Art Exhi bition will be held at the Palace Museum in Beijing to showcase Pak istan s diverse culture and long his tory of interaction with China

With the gradual resumption of direct flights operation with more frequency people to people ex changes between the two countries will surely become more active, he added As 20th CPC Congress reaf firmed the commitments of the Party and the country to world peace and common development with dedica tion to promoting a human commu nity with a shared future through the Belt and Road Initiative Chinese consul general said that CPEC is going to be more mature and mulita dimensional after induction of new concepts like health corridor, indus trial corridor, digital corridor, and

green corridor in the next phase

He termed Congress impacts positive on the development of China Pak relations, saying recent Prime Minister Shehbaz successful maiden official visit to China right after the Party Congress as first head of government speaks volumes about the great importance attached to by the new Chinese leadership on China Pakistan relations

“During the PM’s visit, both sides issued a joint statement and signed or concluded several agree ments/MoUs in wide areas Leaders of the two countries reached an im portant consensus on the ML 1 proj ect for its early implementation China also agreed to actively ad vance the Karachi Circular Railway and encourage Chinese companies to participate in solar and other re newable energy projects he added China also announced, he said, to Pakistan an extra 500 million

yuan in emergency assistance for post disaster reconstruction, making the total aid of 1 16 billion yuan (36 billion rupees), ranking first among the helping countries IIRMR chairman Muhammad Mehdi said that all countries defi nitely accepts influence from the surrounding conditions and when it comes to China, this situation is al ways pleasant

“While the recent 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has expressed the preferences of the Chinese people in front of the world After Communist Revolution under the leadership of its great leader, Chairman Mao, poverty elimination and Chinese journey to become moderate prosperous coun try were another milestones achieved in the leadership of Presi dent Xi Jinping he added

“Pakistan should understand well that the importance of CPEC

which also should be reflected in foreign and economic policies Therefore, Pakistan should have a permanent definite policy regarding CPEC just as Pakistan has a perma nent definite policy regarding friendship with China, and whatever political changes may take place in Pakistan in the future, there should be no negative impact on this proj ect ” he said

IIRMR President Yasir Habib Khan said that restoration of CPEC momentum at full throttle is another watershed moment in the history of Pakistan China relations hoping that with induction of new joint working groups (JWGs), CPEC is going to get positioned to anchor Pakistan econ omy He urged for early implantation of use of RMB for trading transection between Pakistan and China that will open a brand new chapter of tenacious and resilient economic trajectory be tween both countries

IHC take up traders’ plea against sit-in, road block ades

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) sum m o n e d t h e c h i e f o f I s l a m a b a d p o l i c e over a petition moved by traders against proposed sit ins and roadblocks in the capital

provincial government’s matter [ ] it is blocked [by the provinces],” Munawar Iqbal Duggal an additional attorney gen eral representing the government, re sponded

Punjab gov t declines funds for electronic voting in LB polls

LAHORE S ta f f R e P o R t

The Punjab Finance Department has refused to release funds for electronic voting mechanism in local body elec tions on Monday According to details, the Finance Depart ment decided to grant only Rs10 billion for manual voting though the Local Government Department had demanded Rs45 billion for electronic voting However, the Finance Department has sent the case to the Cabinet because only cabinet has the authority to release these funds by making a cut on some development scheme The Finance Depart ment claimed that because the national exchequer is empty and there is a budget deficit it is impossible to disburse such a large sum of money Moreover, only Rs10 billion will be granted for the manual local body elections The local government department will pay Rs10 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)

PIA flight skids off at Peshawar airport after landing

KARACHI S ta f f R e P o R t

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight skidded off at Peshawar airport after landing due to bad weather on Monday As per details, the PIA flight narrowly escaped disaster due to the intelligence of the pilot who con trolled the flight with his presence of mind after it slipped in landing The plane got stuck near Taxi Way The passengers were shifted to the lounge of the airport Meanwhile, the Karachi bound flight from Peshawar PK 351 has been delayed for more than two hours The passengers are protesting against the authorities over the delay and complained for not providing any facilities Separately, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane made a landing at the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore after being hit by a bird According to sources, a PIA flight from Jeddah, PK 860, had to land at the La hore airport after being hit by a bird The engine of the Boeing 777 miraculously survived damage from the hit,” they said adding that the plane was later allowed to leave for Damam after an inspection from engineers

Aamer Farooq, chief judge at the high court, while hearing the petition on Monday ordered Akbar Nasir Khan to submit a report on the protests by No vember 17

Shabbir Khattak joint secretary at the Ministry of Interior, appeared in the court hearing

Motorway is a federal subject, why is the government not opening the high way for the public,” the judge ques tioned The law and order is the

Protests are also staged before the Parliament, why do you block roads then,” Justice Farooque asked “Contain ers are placed in Islamabad as if these are unusual circumstances,” he remarked “Why you are placing containers in stead of constituting an efficient anti riot force,” he further questioned “Why don’t you take some other steps instead of placing containers on roads Barrister Sardar Umar Aslam repre sented traders in the court Traders pleaded to the court that dur ing the protests, students have been un able to attend schools and colleges,

is

Pak-EU agree to launch comprehensive dialogue on migration, mobility

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S ta f f R e P o R t

Pakistan and the European Union have agreed to launch a comprehensive dialogue on migration and mobility

The agreement was reached during a two day visit of European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johans son to Pakistan The commissioner held meetings with law enforcement bodies and UN agencies on a broader spectrum of bilateral questions on migration and security Pakistan and the EU wish to strengthen mutual coop eration in all areas relating to migration ranging from a regional point of view to international, said a news release on Monday

The European Union (EU) and Pakistan agreed to launch a comprehensive dialogue on migration and mo bility This will encompass all relevant aspects of migra tion management including legal pathways for migration to Europe and addressing irregular migration and human smuggling The two sides agreed to continue enhanced cooperation on return, readmission and reintegration through the full and effective implementation of the Pak istan EU readmission agreement, the release said

Commissioner Johansson and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar agreed to intensify preparations for the launch of a Talent Partnership with Pakistan to facilitate working and living in interested EU Member States for suitably qualified Pakistani nationals

Commissioner Johansson thanked Pakistani Govern ment for their generosity in hosting 3 million Afghans, 1 3 million of whom are refugees

The Commissioner held discussions with Federal Ministers and Secretaries of Interior; Overseas and Human Resource Development Education and Profes

The Commissioner visited Peshawar where she ex changed views with the Frontier Corps and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)

She was briefed about the fight against terrorism and organised crime and on border management Commis sioner Johansson agreed with the Minister of State that the first EU Pakistan counter terrorism dialogue since 2018 will be held in the beginning of 2023 in Islamabad

A broad exchange of views on migration and Afghan refugees with several UN agencies completed the Com missioner ’s first visit to Pakistan

The European Union Commissioner also lauded Pak istan’s role in controlling cross border terrorism smug gling, and trafficking and expressed the EU’s intent for deeper cooperation in the area of border management

E U C o m m i s s i o n e r J o h a n s s o n s a i d h e r m e e t i n g s with the officials of Frontier Corps and Federal Inves tigation Agency (FIA) during her visit to Peshawar fo c u s e d o n t h e f i g h t a g a i n s t t e r r o r i s m a n d o rg a n i z e d crimes, and also on the border management activities along with the Pak Afghan border She mentioned that she was impressed by the steps taken by Pakistan s b o r d e r m a n a g e m e n t a u t h o r i t i e s , w h i c h i l l u s t r a t e d t h e country’s effective approach Terming Pakistan a “very important and strategic partner she said the EU was committed to further building on the 60 years of rela tions in diverse areas including trade

No respite for Karachi residents as street crimes continue unabated

KARACHI I N P

A video showed street criminals on separate motorcycles looting people fearlessly on a street in the Nazimabad No 3 neighbour hood of Karachi The footage revealed two street criminals looting pedestrians on a Naz imabad street It also showed the criminals riding on separate motorcycles searching the clothes of two people After snatching the valuables from the citizens, the criminals fled from the scene The footage also showed the faces of the criminals It was worth men tioning that Karachi has witnessed an alarming increase in street crime after the flash floods in parts of the country In a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior held three days earlier, the police officials said that half of the criminals caught by them belong to other parts of the country The meeting of the Senate body was held under the chair of Senator Mohsin Aziz Expressing concern over the sharp rise in street crimes in Karachi, the body directed the Sindh police and other relevant depart ments to crack down on criminal elements The overall law and order situation in Karachi and particularly the performance of the Sindh police in preventing street crimes including kidnapping, murder and target killings were reviewed in detail

G PA i n v i t e s t e n d e r s f o r p a r a m e t r i c s e c u r i t y s y s t e m a t G w a d a r Po r t

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To make the city safe and secure for local and foreign investors Gwadar Port Author ity (GPA), Ministry of Maritime Affairs, is introducing the latest security system at Gwadar Port

In this regard, according to Gwadar Pro on Monday, the GPA has issued a notice inviting tenders for Perimatric Security Sys tem at Gwadar Port

The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), Pakistan, who is respon sible for prescribing regulations and proce dures for public procurement, later invited firms and contractors who have sufficient experience in the relevant field qualified personnel and are financially to join the project, titled “Perimatric Security System Gwadar Port and released the required pre scribed tender document

The tender documents containing de tailed specifications terms and conditions

may be obtained from the office of the Proj ect Director at GPA Head office Gwadar as well as from GPA Camp Office Karachi

In the presence of bidders or their rep resentatives, the bidding will be hosted on N o v e m b e r 2 9 2 0 2 2 a t G w a d a r P o r t A u thority Head Office, Pak China Friendship Avenue, Gwadar

The method of Procurement will be fol lowing the ‘Single Stage Two Envelope pro cedure under Rule 36 (b)’ of ‘the Public Procurement Rules 2004 while the GPA

may reject all bids or proposals as per PPRA Rule No 33

Perimeter security System Gwadar Port will be a built in multipurpose system that detects threats, performs surveillance, and analyses attack patterns

The Federal and Provincial governments of Balochistan are making all out efforts to ensure the security of investors and tourists in Gwadar city Under the project, around 675 CCTV cameras will be installed to max imize security measures for Gwadar

LAHORE S ta f f R e P o R t

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S ta f f R e P o R t

people unable to attend their offices and the worst

happening with daily wagers as they have been deprived of their right to earn a livelihood

sional Training about possibilities for legal and safe path ways of migration to Europe With Minister Rabbani Khar, Commissioner Johans son agreed to intensify the concrete bilateral cooperation in security, including counter terrorism and fighting crim inal networks including the fight against the smuggling of migrants

P u n j a b a S S e m b ly r e S o l u T I o n S S e e k j u d I C I a l P r o b e

I n T o a r S h a d S h a r I f ’ S m u r d e r , S waT I ’ S T o r T u r e

was given to these resolutions

The resolutions were presented by PTI s Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Muham mad Raja Basharat

THE Punjab Assembly (PA) after re ceiving no response from the fed eral government on its previous resolution passed two new resolu tions on Monday seeking ‘judicial inquiry’ into the alleged assassination at tempt on Imran Khan the illegal arrest and torture of Senator Azam Swati and the mur der of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya

The PA had already passed separate res olutions pertaining to each matter However, the assembly remained dissatisfied with the Centre over inaction on said resolutions

The provincial assembly in its resolution today complained that although the PA had already passed the resolutions addressing the federal government with solid demands, it deemed it highly regrettable that no response

Police star ts search, strike operation in bajaur

peSHaWar

S ta f f R e p o R t

The first resolution which was passed with majority, highlighted the murder at tempt on Imran Khan and the alleged illegal arrest and torture of Azam Swati

The second resolution pertained to the murder of senior anchor person and journal ist Arshad Sharif which was unanimously passed

In first resolution, the PTI’s lawmakers expressed grave concern over the federal government’s “non seriousness” as they stressed that similar resolutions had been passed earlier but no action was taken till date

The House had also previously strongly condemned Senator Azam Swati s illegal ar rest and torture during custody “at the behest

of the imported government” The lawmak ers once again demanded strict action against those allegedly involved in the said crimes The resolution was passed with a majority

In the second resolution the provincial assembly “demanded'” once again that the federal government constitute a judicial commission to probe into the killing of jour nalist Arshad Sharif This resolution was passed unanimously

The House had previously declared the incident a case of “targeted killing” and de manded the federal government to form a ju dicial commission but claimed today that it had been all in vain Therefore, the PA once again urged the federal government to con stitute a judicial inquiry into the killing

IHC orders fixing missing persons c ases before division bench

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The district police on Monday started night search and strike operations in the district against anti state and criminal elements to ensure security in the district A police handout issued here said that on the directives of Sector Brigadier Rao Imran and District Police Officer Abdul Samad Khan, the district police and Bajaur Scout would carry out night time operations across the district for which they urged masses to extend cooperation It said that during the operation, which would continue for an indefinite period the security forces will continue to check vehicles, motor bikes and pedes trians The police advise masses to remain at their homes and not to come out unnecessarily so that the security forces could easily take action against the criminal and anti state elements

ShC reser ves verdict on petitions against delay in lG polls in karachi, hyderabad

KaraCHi S ta f f R e p o R t

Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday rejected MQM P’s application for becoming a respondent in the hearing of petitions against delay in the Sindh Local Government (LG) polls and reserved its verdict on those already under adjudication Separate petitions against the postponement of sec ond phase of local bodies polls in Sindh were filed by Jamaat e Islami (JI) and Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) During the hearing, MQM’s lawyer Advocate Tariq Mansoor pleaded with the court to include them as a respondent in the petition as the adjudication on the matter was underway How ever the court refused to entertain the plea and re marked that it could not be done immediately MQM P’s lawyer said that the election commis sion told them that the polls have been delayed due to the defence exhibition The court asked the elec tion commission officials about the time frame they required to conduct the elections The provin cial election commissioner replied that they re quired only 15 days The court asked MQM P’s counsel what their real issue was He expressed doubt that free and fair elections could not take place without amendment in the LG Act

Displeased with Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal’s responses during the hearing of cases per taining to the recovery of journalist Mudassar Naaru and other missing persons on Monday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) questioned if the AAG was “even qualified to investigate the case

The court, led by newly appointed IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq, ordered to fix the cases of missing persons for hearing before a divisional bench

During the hearing today, the court maintained that it was unsure whether to “laugh or cry” after the AAG stated that the committee formed to investigate the matter became dysfunctional after previous law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar resigned The AAG informed the court that the committee constituted by the cabinet was investigat ing the matter and held eight meetings with the families of the missing persons The AAG’s response regarding the committee being inactive came after the court ques tioned what the committee’s results were now that Tarar had resigned The court maintained that the new law minister could have overseen the matter Will the com mittee cease to exist if the government changed tomor row,” Justice Farooq asked “Should the case also end

now that the former chief justice of the IHC has ascended to the Supreme court? he further stated “There are no results even if there have been ef forts,” Justice Farooq remarked He stated that if the AAG wants to do nothing then the court should be informed and the cases would be dis posed of Advocate Imaan Mazari appeared before the court as counsel for missing journalist Mudassar Naaru s mother She said the prime minister had appeared before this court and given several assurances “A report on be half of he prime minister was supposed to be submitted to the court today ” she stated

AAG Duggal reiterated that meetings were held with

Govt assails Imran for ‘ backtracking’ on regime change narrative

Continued from page 01

The question is for those who listened to the foreign funded mischief who kept playing with the interests of the country ”

Aurangzeb further said the former prime minister la beled the parliament, the Pakistan Army and the institu tions as traitors, and now wanted to start afresh But “it won t be over just by saying it s behind me and it s over she said

“To peddle a lie, you violated the Constitution [ ] now you have distanced yourself from the conspiracy nar rative after playing havoc with the state,” Aurangzeb said

Commenting on the nature of the relationship between Washington and Islamabad, the former prime minister said it has been “as of a master servant relationship, or a mas ter slave relationship, and we’ve been used like a hired gun

“But for that, I blame my own governments more than the US ” But Aurangzeb said Khan considered his support

ers crazy and a herd of sheep for saying what he said He has distanced himself from the “narrative of conspiracy imported government and regime change because it never existed in the first place, she added

“Today Imran Khan has given up the false narrative of imported government and regime change Today, the true face of the so called real freedom has been exposed completely ” the minister declared

“To reclaim office, Khan put the foreign relations of Pakistan at grave risk He played a dangerous game with the interests of the country in his lust for power He put the country and the nation at risk in his lust for power

After teaching lies to the nation, he now says that the US conspiracy narrative is over? He kept appealing to the Supreme Court, and now he says the US conspir acy is over Imran Khan not only threatened national security with his lies but also conspired to destroy the foreign relations of Pakistan He played a dangerous game with the interest of the country for his political interests she said

the relatives of the missing persons and that more action had to be taken He maintained that the committee needed more time The court questioned how much more time was needed for these cases, which have already been pending for two years

Lawyer colonel (retd) Inam ul Rahim argued that the AAG had repeatedly asked for additional time, call ing on the prime minister to release executive orders re garding the matter He further added that production orders for 450 people had been issued; they should be followed through

The court directed the AAG to “not act like the bu reaucracy , and asked him to leave the position of power behind and think as a human being about what happens when a family member goes missing “It is in the interest of the country that these issues are resolved, the IHC chief justice said as he questioned the official how they would feel if someone close to them went missing

We are human beings first Lawyer, judge and IG (inspector general) later ” he added A father of two miss ing brothers stated that his sons went missing from out side the International Islamic University Islamabad, and had still not been recovered The chief justice questioned what the investigating officer (IO) findings were regard ing this case as he expressed indignation at the IO of the Sabzi Mandi police station

PTI urges Supreme Cour t to launch probe into assassination attempt on Imran

M e a n w h i l e , f o r m e r N a t i o n a l A s s e m b l y d e p u t y s p e a k e r Q a s i m K h a n S u r i M P M u n a w a r a B i b i B a l o c h a n d B a l o c h i s t a n A s s e m b l y l a w m a k e r M u h a m m a d M u b e e n K h a n K h i l j i m o v e d t h e p l e a i n Q u e t t a F a w a d C h a u d h r y, s e n i o r v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f t h e p a r t y, w h o s p o k e a l o n g s i d e Q u r e s h i i n L a h o r e , u r g e d t h e t o p j u d g e n o t t o w e a k e n t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f S u p r e m e C o u r t t o t h e e x t e n t t h a t p e o p l e s t o p a p p r o a c h i n g i t ” H e s a i d h i s p a r t y w a s w o r k i n g t o r e s t o r e t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a n d t h e r e s p e c t o f i n s t i t u t i o n s ”

C h a u d h r y c l a i m e d t h a t t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s h a d c a u s e d t h e m s e l v e s g r e a t l o s s b y t a k i n g w r o n g d e c i s i o n s ” a n d t h a t t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t y w a n t e d t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s t o “ s t a n d u p o n t h e i r o w n f e e t

PM to inaugurate International Housing Expo nex t month

ing Expo in Convention Centre, Islamabad

make positive progress towards this goal

First International Housing Expo to be jointly organized by the Federal Ministry of Housing and Works and Is lamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry from De cember 08 to 12 this year Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate the even as Chief Guest

A delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) led by its President Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari held a meeting with Iftikhar Ali Shallwani Secretary Ministry of Housing and Works here Monday

The tow sides discuss and agreed to finalize the arrangements for organizing the first International Hous

Speaking at the occasion, Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, Secretary Ministry of Housing and Works said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is keen to promote af fordable housing in Pakistan and he will inaugurate the Expo as Chief Guest

He said that all the major international and national developers, builders and real estate enterprises would be invited to display their projects in the Expo He said that the Expo will help in attracting local and foreign invest ment to Pakistan and revive the economic activities in the country

He said that the government plans to provide afford able housing to low income people and the Expo will

He said that sessions on housing needs (realities, op tions action) low cost housing funding and financing frameworks for housing, regulation for housing sector, rehabilitation, climate resilient housing, public private partnership and other topics will also be organized on the sidelines of the Expo

He hoped that the collaboration between the Ministry and the ICCI for the forthcoming IHE 2022 would be helpful in making the Expo a landmark event

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad of Commerce and Industry in his remarks said that the housing and construction sector stimulates the business activities of over 50 allied industries and organizing the

Housing Expo will boost business activities in all sectors of the construction industry It would also generate a lot of employment and improve the economy 0

He said that many investors are interested in con struction of high rise buildings in Islamabad and urged the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to amend its building bylaws to encourage vertical constructions, which would offer the best solution to tackling the af fordable housing options in the federal capital and across the country

He urged that FBR to give at least one year exten sion to the ongoing construction projects under the amnesty scheme of the previous government for their smooth completion

LaHore S ta f f R e p o R t

iSLamaBad

S ta f f R e p o R t

Losing the final

Urdu

PA k I s tA N’s t20 World Cup fairytale came to an end after losing the final to england at Melbourne Cricket

Ground where the same sides clashed thirty years ago with Pakistan winning its first and only 50 over world cup in spectacular fashion Batting first and setting a below par total of just 137 with just 18 being scored in the last four overs it seemed the game was lost even before the second innings began However Pakistan s formidable pace attack proved its worth by taking out the deadly Butler Hales opening duo within the first 6 overs, and putting the pressure back on the english by the 12th over choking them at 84 4 on a seaming wicket

Luck had played a crucial role in getting Pakistan to the final but not much was available on sunday, when we needed just a tad more shaheen shah Afridi had some runs to bowl at in his remaining two overs that would make or break the match, but an awkward fall while successfully taking a catch put pressure on his knee and took him out of the attack Despite trying to continue, he simply couldn’t bowl, managing only one delivery in visible pain and discomfort While credit goes to Captain Babar Azam and the team of physiotherapists present on the spot to take the wise decision of taking him off to avoid any permanent damage, questions do arise about his fitness and whether or not he should have been allowed to join the squad in the first place, straight from rehabilitation into the tournament without any prior match practice

there are some key takeaways from this campaign that Pakistan should be proud of but also many mistakes it must learn from there is no denying that we are one of the best bowling sides in world t20 cricket at the moment with a lethal and effective pace attack paired with quality leg spin with shadab With two world class openers back in form, focus must shift to developing a sound dependable middle order It will be near impossible to be contenders in the upcoming 50 over World Cup if our batting lineup continues to struggle in pressure situations, losing early wickets rather than putting runs on the board Most of all it was heartening to see that the entire nation cheered the team on until the very end and even after the loss did not resort to the usual hateful angry finger pointing and undue criticism this can be attributed to the way the unit fought as a team behind a captain who leads from the front and conveys an encouraging apolitical demeanor off the field as well with none of the typical murmurs of intrigue in fighting and grouping in the dressing room this team has a long way to go but it has proven to the world that you cannot write off Pakistan from any tournament or bilateral series; they are a world class squad that is just a little rough around the edges and in time will be world champions

TH e other day at a gathering, an acquain tance was complaining about her daughters predicament while they tried to cope with the challenge of having to study primary school Islamic studies (Islamyat) in Urdu she was agitated because with their ineptitude in Urdu (a common enough failing among the newer generations), she felt it grossly unfair to expect her daughters to study another subject via that medium especially when they had been forced to make the switch from english to Urdu overnight some explanation is in order In the upper tier of private schools, up until the implementation of the single National Curriculum (sNC) last year, Urdu had long been relegated to the status of a mere lan guage, which nobody took very seriously english was the sole medium of instruction for all other sub jects to the perturbation of many parents (including the aforementioned lady), the sNC had insisted that Islamic studies be taught in Urdu While I am not privy to the thought process behind the decision it is hard to differ with their conclusion the broader sNC debate is a complicated one and I do not propose to deal with it here Neither do I intend in any way to defend all the Islamic studies course con tents they are far from ideal, and there is a lot of room for improvement Also our ministries and departments are hardly renowned for meticulous homework behind their decisions and smooth implementation of the same; and I certainly hold no brief for any of them For the purpose of this article therefore, I will be content to focus on the narrower question of the medium of in struction for Islamic studies I am inclined to think that in the long haul the sNC may have done the students a big favour, if only their parents find it in themselves to be willing to put in some effort I told the lady so much I added that instead of feeling frustrated, she should utilize this opportunity to help her daughters develop the requisite compe tence in Urdu, which happens to be one of the lan guages most suitable to learn about Islam Because

with that competence in place, it can realistically be hoped that should they decide to delve deeper into their religion at a later stage of life at least language will not get in the way true, many children are likely to find the task impossible at first It will certainly be challenging for their parents too but surely not harder than the challenge faced by those expats who fight gamely to teach their chil dren their mother tongue against all odds

Languages are strange creatures While it is true that no field of inquiry is confined to any one lan guage or a set of languages; it so happens that certain languages come to be asso ciated with certain fields on account of having become the vehicle for most of the representative work done in those fields science, for example, in our times is so inextricably linked with english that ignorance of english makes the quest of keeping abreast of scien tific developments much harder than it needs to be (till some centuries ago Latin used to enjoy this sta tus ) similarly, on account of the quality of work on Islam done and continuing to be done in Arabic Urdu and Persian; one will be indifferent to these lan guages to one’s own detriment the untranslatability of the Quran is an extensive theme comprising multiple aspects What is directly relevant to the discussion at hand is that no english

word conveys the subtleties of many of the key Quranic terms: ‘rasool’ , ‘salaat’ , ‘zakaat’ , ‘kitaab’ , hikmah , kaafir , khair and shar , to name a few What is more many of these same words occur in the Quran in their non terminological sense as well, sometimes having different meanings in different contexts By letting the translator use the original word with all its range of meanings and inherent sub tleties, Urdu thus removes at least one major diffi culty in the way of the accurate translation (and therefore understanding) of Quranic verses this merit of Urdu cannot be emphasised enough More over Urdu not only shares its script and many of its roots and formulas with Arabic, it also borrows pro fusely from its vocabulary Urdu prowess therefore translates directly into Arabic prowess

M o r e ov e r, U rd u n o t o n l y s h a r e s i t s s c r i p t a n d m a ny o f i t s ro o t s a n d fo r mu l a s w i t h A r a b i c , i t a l s o b o r ro w s p ro f u s e l y f ro m i t s vo c a bu l a r y. U rd u p ro w e s s t h e r e fo r e t r a n s l a t e s d i r e c t l y i n t o A r a b i c p ro w e s s .

Urdu has the added dis tinction that the quality of work that has been done on Islam in this language is un matched even in Arabic so, while it would be unreason able to expect Muslims from other backgrounds to all go out of their ways to learn Urdu (or Arabic for that matter), it would be such a waste if those fortu nate enough to inherit it allow it to slip through their fingers on account of apa thy on their part or on the part of their elders

Urdu is in bad shape in its own backyard and if it goes the way of Punjabi much more than merely a language will have been lost Our future generations missing out on Ghalib, Iqbal and Faraz is a bleak enough prospect Infinitely more lamentable would be the fact that a crucial link to their religion will have been severed if it comes to pass

The author is a connoisseur of music, literature, and food (but not drinks) He can be reached at www facebook com/hasanaftabsaeed

It’s said that the first and primary victim of battle, is truth Methodically analyzing both state and nonstate actors on how they utilize social media to distort the truth, significant political repercus sions both at national and transnational levels can be observed

the struggle for “likes” on social media and the parallels between the political effects of social media and military battles has created a race and ultimately have made the social media a weapon to prevail toxic narratives the political efforts made by authoritarian governments to censor political messaging on social media, notably those of China, Russia, and syria are clear examples of social media weaponization these concepts will be familiar to anyone who has partici pated in a political debate on social media, demonstrat ing the success of these initiatives in influencing American political discourse Brexit and trump admin istration are clear examples and provide evidence of how people are being manipulated and security forces are utilizing social media in their operations, fostering their desired molded society

the war of likes, the popularity of certain narrative, and the extent of disinformation to gain the upper notch by manipulation and algorithmic strategies is common knowledge Modern politics is prone to be using such tactics and alter public opinion even when the public is unaware of their gradual narrative reshaping this way the social media has become weaponized with the war of likes tolls and followers

the internet, more specifically social media, has preferably erased the difference between a journalist, and a common social media user as they both can use the platform and spread their perspective regardless of

its factual basis and that has become a serious hazard to the liberal democracy and that to truth Before we all benefit from the whirlwind, the digital corporations that created these platforms and made money from them must wrestle with the politics of their tools

With the billions of peo ple connected by computer networks and smartphones, ideas can spread more quickly than ever before in history Although there are many negative aspects, the outcomes can occasionally be amazing Anger is the emo tion that spreads the fastest when people interact And most of the time the things we believe in are not really worth believing and probably are results of manipulating

campaign to build certain narrative amongst masses Five times as quickly as the truth, lies spread IsIs has used social media to reach out and brain wash innocent Muslim youth in the name of Jehad throughout the world, much as musicians may use it to communicate directly with their fans social networks group like minded individuals into filter bubbles made up of varied inhabitants then there is the issue of in formation warfare which liberal democracies still don t fully comprehend even today, despite years of offensive cyber operations Major plat forms like twitter Facebook and Instagram are riddled with bots, and hostile propa ganda finds its way into West ern news networks

People exist in their little information silos social media has become a vector to spread its propaganda, and di rectly or indirectly under mines the truth social media has essentially become a bat tleground for weaponized dis information for the purpose

of dismantling the reality throughout the world Also, social media is not the place where you get the truth, it’s the place that specifically takes information and al gorithmically tailors it to conform to your cognitive bi ases so the user stays in his little isolated reality bubble and unaware of the reality bubble of the person sitting next Also, the information at social media is not infor mation anymore it has become more emotionally sticky that it pulls our emotional heartstrings and controls the narrative and the consumer just disseminates this huge viral misinformation bomb that affects people’s beliefs and opinions which can affect elections policies fash ion, and so on social media is like the toothpaste came out of tube or a Gennie out of its bottle that does not go back to original and no one is safe from the conse quences It’s a place of deception, it’s like the hall of mirrors and this whole misinformation is purposely de signed to erode ideas and thoughts

the prospects of future appear to be getting bleak with every new social media invention, because when something is free the product is you the development of machine learning and AI has made it possible to cre ate ever more convincing bots, create Deep Fakes where a political leader and their campaigns can be de signed to say anything, and target respective audi ence with propaganda that they are most likely to believe in We only have a couple years before a digital blitzkrieg would be upon us

Also, for the matter of fact people are so very much indulged in social media entertainment and weaponized biases by political parties that in near fu ture it will only prevail However, the development in this area cannot be denied yet these networks hold so very much information about everyone that it is almost impossible for a person to believe in the ideas as his/her own It will take long for people to understand that their ideas are the products of some big tech companies but even if they know it the narratives would always be prone to the sources that are controlled and managed after learning deep about human behaviors More pow erful tools might come up yet with the capability to draw biases and reshape public opinions as per their conveniences

The author is an M Phil

R A B i A R i A z M u g H A l

H A S A N A F TA B S A E E D

y b e r W a r f a r e

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

M A Niazi Joint Editor

06-07 Comments - 15th November 2022_Layout 1 11/14/2022 8:47 PM Page 1

Mending the US-Saudi relationship

critical role on several fronts:

Poet of the East — Allama Iqbal

Ev e N a cursory review of the Us saudi Arabia relationship over the past several years suggests that the Us has generally misperceived its bilateral relations with saudi Arabia the prevailing notion is that the saudis need the Us much more than the reverse, which presumably puts the Us in a po sition to make demands on Riyadh rather than work closely as allies with a shared geostrategic interest I maintain that the current heightened tension between the two countries would not have reached its nadir had President Biden been given sounder advice about the nature of Us saudi relations both during his campaign for president and since he entered the White House nearly two years ago

While running for president he called saudi Arabia a “pariah,” whose leadership had “very little redeeming value ” And when OPeC de cided to cut oil production by two million barrel a day, he threatened the saudis by stating that “ when the House and the senate comes back, there s going to be some consequences for what [saudi Arabia has] done with Russia ” He added insult to injury when he vowed to never talk to Crown Prince Mohammed bin salman known as MBs, the de facto king And perhaps worst of all, he took over a year from taking office to appoint an ambassador to Riyadh whose nomi nation is still pending, which the saudis view as the most glaring disrespect that the Us could possibly demonstrate

One would think that once he decided to visit the kingdom, primarily to ask for an increase in oil production in the wake of the energy crisis precipitated by the war in the Ukraine, he would make an effort to mend the relationship In fact, the precise opposite happened He insulted MBs by refusing to shake his hand, and lectured the saudis on their human rights violations Further more, MBs is a new and inexperienced leader who does not necessarily appreciate the impor tance of the alliance, which further rattled the foundation of the Us saudi relationship to be sure, it was an ill fated visit Biden should have undertaken the trip with the intent of mending the relationship between the two countries; the result of the trip without that intent simply made mat ters worse, especially because of his disdain for the saudi monarchy which was on display for the past two years

Moreover, the saudis interpreted the Us’ steps to reduce its reliance on saudi oil, and its pivot toward Asia to contain China’s growing in fluence, as a sign of the Us’ abridged interest in safeguarding their geostrategic partnership and its implication on their national security And fi nally, Biden’s continuing public criticism of the saudis human right violations further alienated MBs who views himself as a reformer and re jected off hand the Us’ meddling in their domes

tic affairs, which they attribute to the Us’ arro gance and divorce from reality

From the saudis perspective, the Us mis perception about the country manifests itself in several areas:

A r m s s A l e s : When high ranking Democ rats make bold foreign policy statements, as when senator Richard Blumenthal and Rep Ro khanna introduced a bill to “immediately pause all Us arms sale to saudi Arabia” in the wake of the oil production cut, it demonstrates where the party’s position as a whole generally lies Fur thermore, Biden has yet to speak against this bill, which shows how flawed the administration s views are on the entire enterprise of arms sales to saudi Arabia to begin with, selling arms to the saudis is not a charitable contribution they pay tens of bil lions of dollars to buy arms, from which the Us military industry greatly benefits financially It al lows the Us to have a solid foothold in saudi Ara bia through trainers, logistical support, and military personnel, which serve the Us strategic interest throughout the Middle east all while strengthening the ties between the two countries which yields billions in economic benefits

N At i o N A l i N t e r e s t s: As the saudis see it, the Us policy approach toward them is based on the premise of what is best for the Us as the supe rior power in their bi lateral relations that is, the Us has been rather categorical in its demands in terms of saudi loyalty, posing to the saudis essentially two options, as saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz kept hear ing: “are you with us or against us?”

A s A p e A c e m A k e r: In a recent meeting between the Us and Israeli presidents Biden and Herzog, the latter expressed that “I truly believe that saudi Arabia is a very important player in the region and also a very central pillar in the Muslim world ” Indeed, without saudi Arabia’s agreement, the Abraham Accords, which have created in the words of Herzog a strategic par adigm shift, something we have dreamt of for ages,” would not exist the saudis who introduced the Arab Peace Initiative in 2002, remain committed to ending the Israeli Palestinian conflict while tacitly co operating with Israel on a host of issues, includ ing intelligence sharing, the purchase of advanced Israeli technology, and certainly ex changing views and risk assessment in connec tion with the Iranian threat In addition, the saudis voted to condemn Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories and is continuing its efforts to assist Ukraine, among many other efforts

o i l p r o d u c t i o N: Regardless of the Us saudi conflict Riyadh remains the largest oil pro ducer and given the global energy crisis, the saudis can make a significant difference true, the saudis still want to calibrate the supply and demand for oil and protect its national in terest Nevertheless the Biden administra tion should work with the saudis in address ing the global oil crisis through quiet negotia tions for two reasons

T h e U S ’ m i s p e rc e p t i o n o f i t s b i l a t e r a l r e l a t i o n s w i t h S a u d i A r a b i a o n a n u m b e r o f f ro n t s h a s c o n t r i bu t e d d r a m a t i c a l l y t o t h e p r e s e n t h e i g h t e n e d t e n s i o n b e t w e e n t h e m

First, on December 5, the eU oil embargo on seaborne Russian crude oil will begin, which can precipitate a new crisis as the win ter cold approaches second, on December 4 the next OPeC meeting will be held, where the Us and the saudis should reach in advance a mutually beneficial understanding about oil production

I t is sad to note that as we celebrate the 145th birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal the Poet of the east we face despondency social and political upheaval and despair around us that is obviously because our young generation has either forgotten the message and the national spirit given to us by Iqbal or they are simply not even aware of our history and the fact that there once existed such a great philosopher who gave us the idea of Pakistan known as the poet philosopher of the east Iqbal was born on Nov 9 1877, in sialkot After getting his basic education in Lahore, he earned a degree in philosophy from University of Cambridge, did his bar at law in London and received his doctorate from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany While Quaid i Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s political struggle resulted in Pakistan, it was actually Iqbal who presented the idea of a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent While talking about pan Islamism, he called for Muslim unity and reform, presenting the religion as a social and political ideal, as outlined in the Reconstruction of Religious thought in Islam Above all, his concept of khudi, or selfhood, was an inspiration for the subcontinent’s Muslim youth of the time, which also motivated the young generation to work for the cause of a separate state under the leadership of the Quaid today, considering the current chaos in the country, we find ourselves up the creek without a paddle Our country is entrapped in social, economic and political upheavals there is political instability, economic crisis and civil unrest but the most dangerous element is that of polarisation in society It seems like we have reached the brink of collapse the problems are getting out of hand instead of being taken care of the reason behind such unbearable circumstances lies in the fact that our future leaders, the young among us, have become ignorant of their values and their national leaders this lack of awareness of issues, rights and duties is the prime contributor to the troubles of our country In his poetic output, Iqbal repeatedly advised the young to never lose hope Unfortunately, our youth has forgotten this message of Iqbal and has instead become despondent Youngsters rue the existing problems instead of fixing them A pessimist young generation is no less than a disaster for a nation A hopeless youth fails to utilise his potential for the wellbeing of the country they waste their energy in combating despair while indulging in negativity this is what our youth today is doing It is time our young generation got up from its deep slumber and followed leaders like Iqbal, instead of running blindly behind political demagogues who have been spreading despondency and despair, and creating a divisive society today, we need Iqbal s shaheens more than ever before

KASHISH ALI KASHMORE

Universit y politics

P U N J A B University the country s oldest university is in a seriously dismal condition these days Petty politics that has been the hallmark of university administration, especially when it comes to matters related to the appointments on top slots is only hurting students on the campus

Recently, the campus witnessed two student factions settle their mutual scores as the administration looked as helpless as ever there has been an environment of fear on the campus with students facing problems in leaving or entering the premises the chairman of a student group was arrested from the campus without any formal first information report (FIR), and three leaders of another group were also arrested this made their supporters furious and they rushed to close canteens and gates of the university, which, as could be expected, only added to the misery of the rest of the students the two student factions accuse each other of being backed by probable candidates for the top academic post at the university

Meanwhile, the administrative functions on the campus have been stopped with no one ready to take responsibility for anything All official work remains in a limbo, putting the future of thousands of students at risk If this is the situation in one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the country, there can be little optimism about the other such institutions existing in the land the mainstream media is also responsible for the current crisis since there has been no mention in its content regarding the prevailing situation at the university It remains preoccupied with politics, which is understandable but what is not understandable is; why just politics?

the students of the prestigious university want the administrative chaos to be taken care of without delay Once that is done, the rest of the things can be sorted out by any efficient management It is the only university in the city within the reach of students from middle class families, and no student wants it to fall prey to the ugly elitist politics

MUHAMMAD ISHAQ LAHORE

the Us has minimized the saudis political interests and often economic considerations, as was manifested by Riyadh’s decision to support OPeC s oil cut In particular, the saudis wanted to keep the price stable especially because of their concern over an impending global reces sion, and in addition they want to prepare for the increased oil demands of an uncertain winter By viewing the relationship in black and white, the saudis feel shortchanged and constrained which they are no longer willing to tolerate

H u m A N r i g H t s v i o l At i o N s : this issue is one the saudis fervently resent as they despise being lectured at and criticized publicly Although there are human rights violations in saudi Arabia the question is if the Us wants the saudis to end or significantly curtail their human rights abuses, would that be achieved through public chiding or through behind the scenes dis cussions? the answer is clear; denouncing and humiliating the saudis publicly about their human rights record serves the opposite of the Us’ ultimate goal Instead, the Us can point out in private settings how much the monarchy can benefit if the people feel freer and more creative and not subject to arbitrary detentions, dispro portionate penalties, gender inequality, etc

What is needed now is the opening of a new chapter in the relations between the two coun tries, specifically by recognizing saudi Arabia s

m e N d i N g r e l At i o N s : Certainly, there are many other areas where the Us and saudi Arabia can and should fully cooperate this in cludes full collaboration in dealing with the Iran ian regional threat and its ambition to become the region s hegemon potentially equipped with nuclear weapons; working together to bring the war in Yemen to an end and stopping the horri fying death and destruction; helping mitigate the ongoing civil war in sudan where thousands of innocent people are dying without any relief in sight; continuing to promote peace between Is rael and other Arab states, and together push for settling the more than seven decades old Israeli Palestinian conflict

In spite of the ups and downs in Us saudi relations, their alliance has lasted seven decades and proven its resiliency and far reaching geostrategic importance for both countries Now is the time to revisit their relationship and renew their commitment to an alliance and friendship, which is pivotal for regional peace and stability at a historic juncture of global turmoil

Dr Alon Ben Meir is a professor of international relations at the Centre for Global Affairs at NYU He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies alon@alonben meir com

Breakthrough

t H I s year the Nobel prize in physics has been awarded jointly to three scientists Alain Aspect of France, John F Clauser of the United states and Anton Zeilinger of Austria for their pioneering experimental work on entanglement

Just like a ballet originating from different dancers performing together, the connection between particles, such as a pair of photons or electrons, gives rise to an interesting phenomenon called quantum entanglement the entangled particles remain linked even when detached by considerably larger distances entanglement is considered primary for future quantum technologies such as quantum computing with the ultimate goal of achieving an enormous speed compared to any up to date computer the question of entangled pair was answered by the presence of hidden variables that instruct the particles for connectedness some six decades ago a mathematical inequality the Bell inequality stated that experimentation has certain limitations Nevertheless, the experiments by the three latest Nobel scientists have established the violation of Bell inequalities and thus the dream of ‘thinking and happening’ may be realised soon there is a strong need to highlight these aspects among relevant university students to update them with the latest development in such a hi tech field A special focus on curriculum revision is also needed, as the basic sciences are badly ignored in many engineering institutions engineering and technology are the craftsmanship of basic science the technological revolution is possible with a better understanding of physics and chemistry learned/taught logically and rationally

DR AloN BEN MEiR

IndIa In tranSItIon A s i m A L i

IN 2018, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi addressed a media conclave and outlined the reasons behind the party’s drubbing in the 2014 elections

Among other factors, she emphasised the ability of the Bharatiya Janata Party “to convince people, to persuade people that the Congress party is a Muslim party The speech reflected the Congress leadership’s acceptance of the diagnosis of the AK Antony report, which had first espoused the view that perceived minority appeasement was behind the Congress’ electoral decline

The Congress has certainly not been the only party grappling with this apparent need to correct for a “Muslim bias” Many other secular parties, particularly in northern India, have internalised the notion that any visible presence of Muslims or “Muslimness” in their political platforms has become a toxic commodity in the prevailing political culture

however, secular parties still imagine the Muslims as a homogenous community with clear political interests and do not for swear their claim on this Muslim “vote bank” Nevertheless, the rise of the BJP dominant system has destabilised the pattern of relationships of these parties with their Muslim constituents

POLITICS OF MUSLIM ISSUES: Secu lar parties have moved away from mobilis ing Muslims on the traditional package of Muslim issues As hilal Ahmed has argued in his book Siyasi Muslims, the imagination of a Muslim vote bank has traditionally rested on a particular formulation of Muslim issues These issues included Babri Masjid, personal laws Urdu and the minority char acter of Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim universities Secular parties and the Muslim elites had constructed these Muslim issues as the primary instrument of gathering the votes of the community

All these issues shared one common de nominator: they were essentially “negative issues” entailing the protection of certain ex isting privileges for Muslims even though

all these issues (personal laws, Babri, Ali garh Muslim University etc ) still form a key part of the hindu majoritarian discourse, secular parties stay clear of articulating their views on these issues This discursive dis tancing from “Muslim issues” has been driven by a fear of hindu consolidation

The passage of the triple talaq legisla tion, as well as the Ram Temple judgement, was received with either passivity or muted acceptance Therefore instead of claiming to protect certain policy preferences of Mus lims (personal laws, Urdu, Aligarh Muslim University etc) secular parties now talk about protecting Muslims per se

The community is implored to vote en bloc against this undefined threat posed by the BJP In states where Muslims have multiple non BJP options, parties compete amongst themselves to show that they are the primary opponent of the BJP This is reflected in the proliferating “B team” rhetoric, where the “B team of the BJP is sought by any party ac cused of cutting into the Muslim votes of the primary opponent of the saffron party

The All India Majlis e Ittehadul Mus limeen, as well as other secular parties such as the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) have had to recently contend with the “B team” tag Therefore, the essen tial purpose of the “Muslim vote bank” is presented in terms of defeating the BJP

Secondly, the discursive space of Mus lim empowerment has been ceded by the secular parties to Muslim identity centric parties In the post Sachar Committee phase, secular parties had taken a renewed interest in minority empowerment, particularly the issue of minority quotas In the 2012 Uttar Pradesh elections, for instance, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party had both floated demands for minority reservation in jobs

The trope of Muslim “economic back wardness, popularised as well as legit imised by the studies conducted under the United Progressive Alliance governments, was also deployed by the Trinamool Con gress in Bengal in its attacks against the Left A decade on, the only party employing the narrative of Muslim backwardness in the Uttar Pradesh elections was the all India Ma jlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen

In Bengal, Mamata Banerjee of the Tri namool Congress was also emphasising the “politics of security,” cautioning the Muslims that Indian Secular Front’s Abbas Siddiqui has taken money from the BJP to divide Muslim votes you will face the biggest danger if BJP comes to office” Meanwhile, it was the Indian Secular Front which (apart from its religious rhetoric) was making use of the “economic backwardness” vocabulary to frame the Trinamool Congress s relation ship with Muslims as one of “betrayal” For the secular parties, the spread of hindu majoritarianism among the electorate has left them little room to articulate the tra ditional issues of Muslim identity as well as the relatively recent issue of Muslim empow erment While the politics of security did help the primary opponent of the BJP the Sama jwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Trinamool Congress in Bengal the Rashtriya Janata Dal Congress combination in Bihar to corner upwards of three quarters of the votes of the Muslims in each of their states the long term reliability of such a strategy remains unclear Indeed, the evidence of the All India Ma jlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen’s breakthrough in the Seemanchal region of Bihar or the All India United Democratic Front s continuing hold over Lower Assam and Barak Valley might point to the conclusion that secular parties struggle in Muslim majority regions where the politics of aspiration outweighs the politics of security

POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION: Ac companying this discursive shift on Muslim issues, secular parties have also reformulated their idea of Muslim representation Since “Muslim issues” are no longer the primary axis of electoral Muslim mobilisation, there is a corresponding decline in the functional utility of the Muslim religious and political elites in constructing and leveraging these Muslim issues Secular parties are now less dependent on these Muslim intermediaries, and have sought to fashion a more direct re lationship with their Muslim constituents

The relevance of the Muslim religious elite in the electoral arena has been shrinking for a long time as has been pointed out by nu merous studies The anti Citizenship Amend

ment Act agitation led by a middle class of students activists and intellectuals in a secu larised idiom gave way to the removal of any remnants of political influence that the ulema might have retained amongst Muslims

The recent Uttar Pradesh elections wit nessed little of the customary courting of the clergy In fact the only party that made a pronounced attempt in this regard the Uttar Pradesh Congress, with its cultivation of the cleric Tauqeer Raza of the Ittihad e Millat Council was rejected comprehen sively by Muslim voters, much in line with the wider population

Similarly, the Congress Left partnership with the firebrand cleric Abbas Siddiqui in West Bengal fetched it few Muslim votes It must be noted that the tactic of pursuing re ligious leaders is now used by parties lan guishing at third or fourth places in the electoral fray as a last gasp attempt to influ ence Muslims, rather than being the default mechanism it had been in an earlier era

There has also been an analogous decline in the emphasis given to Muslim faces of sec ular parties It is true that the Muslim MPs and MLAs have historically taken the party line in secular parties and had not been afforded a distinctive voice of their own But these par ties had tended to develop prominent Muslim faces, which had a state wide/nation wide re call value and could forcefully articulate the party’s stand on “Muslim issues” (Azam Khan in the Samajwadi Party, Mohammed Ashraf Fatmi in the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Salman Khurshid in Congress) The need for such tokenism has declined

The Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal campaigned without projecting a prominent Muslim face and still managed to get the bulk of the Muslim vote In fact, the Samajwadi Party had spent the two years be fore the elections subtly distancing itself from a legally embattled Azam Khan The Muslim political representatives of secular parties dutifully follow the party line of largely remaining silent on issues deemed to be polarising by their parties

Moreover, Muslims are also seen to set lit tle store by symbolic representation In Uttar Pradesh the Bahujan Samaj Party fielded a large number of Muslim candidates (91 out of

a new journey for china

solute poverty and finished building a moderately pros perous society in all respects thus completing the First Centenary Goal

th e Communist Party of China (CPC) con

vened its 20th National Congress from Oct 16 to Oct 22, 2022 Out of 96 million members of the world’s largest political party, 2,296 CPC representatives gathered in Beijing for this solemn and historic occasion The Congress, held at a critical moment in the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, presents major and far reaching significance for both China and the world at large

The congress elects new leadership with Mr Xi Jin ping continuing to serve as the General Secretary of CPC Central Committee It is further established that Com rade Xi Jinping stands as the core of the Party and its Central Committee Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New era, incorporated in the CPC constitution is set as guidance for the Party to follow

In his working report to the congress, General Sec retary Xi Jinping comprehensively summarised China’s achievements made under the leadership of CPC in the past decade, in particular during the five years since the last national congress of the CPC Most notably CPC embraced its founding centenary, socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era, China eradicated ab

The success of CPC and socialism with Chinese characteristics is fundamentally attributed to Marxism especially when it is adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times Based on insights into governance by communist parties development of socialism and evolution of human society, CPC has made continuous exploration and theoretical innovation to trail the way of its own The Congress urges the entire Party to always put the people first, to maintain self confidence and stand on China’s own feet, to uphold fundamental prin ciples and break new ground to adopt a problem ori ented approach, to apply systems thinking, and to maintain a global vision

Gearing up for a new journey the congress burdens the Party with the central task to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realise the Sec ond Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, and to advance the reju venation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chi nese path to modernisation It contains elements common to the modernisation processes of all countries, but is more characterised by features unique to the Chinese context To specify, it will be a peaceful process of modernisation in harmony with nature, with both material and cultural ethical advancement for many and for all

To achieve the aforementioned task, the congress vows to promote high quality development in the context

of a new development pattern that focuses on China’s do mestic economy on the one hand and features positive in terplay between internal and international economic flows on the other hand The roles of education, sci tech, and talent are underscored Innovation is deemed to be at the heart of China’s modernisation drive By strengthening whole process people’s democracy, the rule of law and cultural confidence building the people s wellbeing will be further improved In line with the Beautiful China Ini tiative, the country will work toward carbon goals actively and prudently The one country two systems will be up held, and CPC will unswervingly advance the cause of na tional reunification Like always, China will dedicate itself to promoting the human community with a shared future China never seeks hegemony or engages in expansionism

As true Marxists, Chinese communists always keep clear headed to the historical cycles of rise and fall and have been consistently seeking ways to break through it Besides “people’s scrutiny” offered by Mao Zedong in 1947, CPC finds self reform as the second solution to discipline the governing power Applauding the resolute fight against corruption, the Congress reminds all Party members that full and rigorous self governance is an un ceasing endeavor and that self reform is a journey to which there is no end Only by doing so would it be en sured that the Party will never change its nature, its con viction, or its character

The agenda fixed by the congress, in particular the expounded Chinese path to modernisation, brings oppor tunities for global growth, promotes world peace, and

REDEFINING MUSLIMS, POLITI CALLY: Admittedly the picture is more complex if one makes a state by state analy sis The stand of the secular parties toward Muslims also depends on the structure of po litical competition in states whether they are locked in a bipolar contest with the BJP or in a triangular fight For instance the Congress chief in Telangana, Revanth Reddy, has asserted that Muslims are more backward than Dalits and has cornered the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government over its failure to implement the promised 12% quota for Muslims

The Congress leadership in Karnataka, especially former chief minister Siddarama iah has taken an assertive stand against the restriction on the hijab in school This dis course of Muslim empowerment and Muslim identity would be hard to imagine coming from a Congress unit in a state like Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, where they face the BJP in a direct contest Likewise the shift in po sitioning of the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Trinamoool Congress is also driven by the increasing bipolarity in political competition in their states, which, in turn, owes itself to the rise of the BJP

There is also certain space provided for creative contradictions within the party plat forms For instance, in the Congress, discur sive distancing from Muslim issues has coincided with a growing willingness to part ner with Muslim identity centric parties such as the Indian Secular Front in Bengal and the All India United Democratic Front in Assam

These ambiguities have also provoked a debate within the party Former Congress leader Kapil Sibal criticised these tie ups and asserted that “minority and majority commu nalism are equally dangerous for the coun try” In response, Salman Khurshid defended the party’s moves and quoted Jawaharlal Nehru s warning that the communalism of the majority is far more dangerous than the communalism of the minority”

The rise of the BJP s dominant system has exposed the glaring weaknesses in the secular parties’ approach to Muslims, frozen in an anachronistic view of Muslim identity and anchored to an exploitative conception of a Muslim vote bank The response of the secular parties has been to tamp down on the Muslim visibility or “Muslimness” of their political platforms

They have, however, stuck to the domi nant paradigm of a “politics of protection” in their electoral mobilisation of Muslims, even as the terms of the protection offered have drastically changed One can only hope that the present phase represents a transi tional period before secular parties undergo a more creative reconceptualisation of their Muslim imagination

Asim Ali is an independent political researcher

provides an alternative for civilisation advancement The propositions are warmly echoed around the globe, espe cially in Bangladesh In her congratulatory message to General Secretary Xi Jinping, the hon’ble Prime Minis ter Sheikh hasina, also the hon’ble President of Bangladesh Awami League commends China s plan to build a modern socialist country through a new develop ment philosophy and paradigm, appreciates China’s con tinued support of the socioeconomic development aspirations of developing countries, and welcomes China’s endeavors to build a human community with a shared future

China and Bangladesh are strategic partners of co operation and staunch supporters of multilateralism and an open world economy The two countries have kept expanding common understanding and cooperation on a wide range of scopes I am convinced that the 20th Na tional Congress of CPC and its resolutions will inject fresh impetus into China Bangladesh relations and bring new opportunities to Bangladesh’s development China is ready to work with Bangladesh to expand common in terests and to pursue cooperation of higher quality at a higher level, thereby making our joint contribution to the advancement of the entire humanity

HE Li Jiming is the ambassador of China to Bangladesh

its 403 candidates) but none of them managed to win Secular parties are trying to forge direct linkages with Muslim voters without needing the presence of visible Muslim faces that tend to become the focal points of the BJP s charges of “Muslim appeasement”

T H E I M AG I N AT I O N O F A M U S L I M V OT E B A N K H A S

T R A D I T I O N A L LY R E S T E D O N A PA RT I C U L A R F O R M U L AT I O N O F M U S L I M I S S U E S , W H I C H H A S

B E E N D I S R U P T E D B Y T H E B J P

Both discussed various aspects of collaboration pertaining to habitat planning and disaster risk mitigation at community level especially in mountainous region of Pakistan Miss Nasab apprised the Chairman of AKAH's network to help communities with pre disaster education and emergency plans to respond natural disasters and effects of climate change She told that currently AKAH is working with over 100 villages, towns and cities on habitat planning initiatives She briefed about the flood donation of $10 million for affectees in flood hit areas with exclusive mention of AKAH's flood relief efforts mainly in GB & Chitral and construction of 3000 prefab houses in GB Chairman NDMA acknowledged the humanitarian efforts by AKAH While delivering his remarks on NDMA’s vision to adapt a remodelled structure, he underscored the need of an effective framework for geo monitoring and implementation of response and evacuation plans within scope of Hazard Vulnerability Risk Assessment (HVRA) in GLOF prone areas due to prevalence of intense heatwaves in region He also underlined the importance of disaster mitigation and adaptation as well as evacuation plans for mountaineers and tourists in case of any natural disaster

While discussing the avenues of mutual coordination with AKAH, the Chairman suggested to hold a workshop or seminar on disaster mitigation encompassing pre disaster awareness with technological interface, community level response strategy and AI based simulation exercises for disaster management p r

S moking increases risk of diabetes

November 14th is marked as World

Diabetes Day According to the recent estimates by International Diabetes Federation Atlas, there are 33 million people living with type 2 diabetes in Pakistan while approximately 9 million people with diabetes remain undiagnosed Diabetes has wide ranging impact on health, which includes increased risk of heart attacks, nerve damage in the feet, blindness, and kidney failure The focus of the World Diabetes Day 2021 2023 campaign is Access to Diabetes Care and the theme for second year of the campaign in 2022 is “Education to protect tomorrow ” An important aspect of education about diabetes is to learn about prevention of type 2 diabetes, as more than 95% of people with diabetes have type 2 diabetes According to Dr Hira Irfan, Consultant Endocrinologist and Hospitalist at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre Lahore “People should visit their doctor as soon as possible if they experience symptoms of diabetes such as feeling very thirsty, frequent urination, blurred vision, weight loss and slow healing of wounds " Commenting on prevention, Dr Hira said, "Maintaining a healthy body weight and staying physically active is important in prevention of diabetes People should make healthy lifestyle choices by eating a healthy diet, which is low in sugars and saturated fats Moreover, smoking and use of tobacco in any form increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases According to an estimate, people who smoke cigarettes are 30 40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes November is also lung cancer awareness month and people should remember that nearly 90% of deaths from lung cancer are linked with smoking cigarettes p r

OGRA conduc ts public hearing in Lahore

Islamabad: A Public Hearing was held by OGRA for review the petition filed by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) (petitioner) The petition was filed on October 14, 2022 before the Authority under Section 8(2) of the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002 read with Rule 4(3) of Natural Gas Tariff Rules 2002 for Review of its Estimated Revenue Requirement / Prescribed Prices for F Y 2022 23 All the stakeholders, consumers and general public were invited to attend the public hearing and present their point of view over SNGPL’s petition All the stake holders attended the hearing and presented their point of view In the instant petition SNGPL has projected a shortfall in revenue requirement at Rs 178,814 million, including Rs 445 million on account of LPG Air mix project for FY 2022 23 seeking increase in its average prescribed price by Rs 488 08 per MMBTU effective July 01, 2022 The petitioner has also included Rs 295,268 million, being shortfall pertaining to previous years thereby seeking total increase in average pre scribed price by Rs 1,294 02/mmbtu w e f 1st July, 2022 Besides above, the petitioner has estimated RLNG cost of service at Rs 1,015 64/MMBTU for 2022 23 including Rs 762 44/MMBTU on account of differential impact of RLNG diversion p r

Pa k i S Ta n l a u n c h e S f i r S T i n d i g e n o u S a n T i - S h i P c r u i S e

M i S S i l e h a r b a h - n g f o r e x P o r T S

Karachi

S ta f f r e p o r t

PA K I S TA N’S defence indus try has been making diligent efforts in maintaining strong foothold through the best high end systems to confront different warfare challenges GIDS is Pakistan’s elite & largest state owned defence conglomerate engaged in the R&D and production of conventional as well as high tech systems in the do mains of Air, Land & Sea Recently Pakistan has achieved an other major milestone for self suffi ciency as GIDS launched its first

indigenous Anti Ship Cruise Missile Harbah NG for exports on the 1st day of IDEAS 2022 in Karachi Expo Center

HARBAH NG is an all weather, ship launched Subsonic Anti Ship Cruise Missile with a range of 290 km that can target enemy’s ships and land based installations with the accuracy of less than 10m radius

It has been designed to maintain a l o w a l t i t u d e , t e r r a i n f o l l o w i n g flight profile which makes it capable o f s u c c e s s f u l l y e v a d i n g e n e m y ’s c o u n t e r m e a s u r e s d u r i n g t h e o p e r a t i o n a l m o d e T h e m i s s i l e h a s a n e x ceptional modular design facilitating variations to the warhead, guidance &

range capabilities It is offered in both Air & Ground launched variants

T h i s r e c e n t l a u n c h h a s b r o u g h t P a k i s t a n i n t o t h e l i s t o f f e w e l i t e countries in the world capable of sell i n g c r u i s e m i s s i l e t e c h n o l o g y i n t h e international market

It is pertinent to mention that GIDS is a state owned organization operating under the patronage of Joint Staff Headquarters mandated for the exports of defence products in the in ternational market GIDS has already been successfully exporting Bombs, Missiles, Drones and other Security Systems to multiple countries from all major regions including Middile East,

Faysal B ank appreciates Government ’s intent to make Pakistan interest free

Karachi p r

The announcement from the Ministry of Fi nance last week that it will advise the State Bank of Pakistan and National Bank to with draw their appeal against the Federal Shariat Court’s decree to convert to an Islamic finan cial system comes as a welcome step Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar Federal Minister for Fi nance and Revenue, announced that the gov ernment will be moving ahead to ensure the conversion to Islamic instruments by 2027 and has already initiated the process

The Federal Shariat Court, in April 2022, had taken Faysal Bank s example of a smooth transition to Islamic Financial Instruments (IFIs) as a strong model to follow and asked all banks in Pakistan to switch from the conventional model to the Islamic instruments to make Pak istan’s economy Riba free The following weeks saw many appeals being filed in the Supreme Court to stall or delay the process The recent decision of the GoP to withdraw the appeal en sures the expedition of this journey towards a unified Islamic financial system in the country

While appreciating the decision by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, as potentially

conducive to a better and stronger economy and Pakistan s financial future Yousaf Hus sain, President & CEO, Faysal Bank Limited, stated, “Faysal Bank, having embarked on and now being on the verge conversion from a con ventional to an Islamic Bank, is poised to as sume the lead role within Pakistan’s banking and financial sector to facilitate the complete conversion from interest based banking to a Shariah compliant banking system ”

He further added that the national level con version, though a challenge, will be a game changer for Pakistan in enabling Riba free eco nomic progress It has worked well he said in enabling Faysal Bank the expansion to almost 700 branches, including new customers, from previously unbanked segments of the popula tion A proud fact to note was the continuity of work, as throughout the process, not a single branch was closed and neither was any day marked off And all this while ensuring ongoing training and development to equip the FBL team with the requisite qualifications and skills With this transformation, Faysal Bank has created a blueprint that can now be shared by the State Bank of Pakistan as a reference index He expressed his gratitude to the Board, Senior Management, and employees of the bank for their resolve and com mitment to this noble journey

S han Foods par tners with Allah Walay Trust to provide meals for school children

Karachi p r

Global food brand Shan Foods has partnered with Allah Walay Trust (AWT), a non profit or ganization, working on preventing hunger in Pakistan to provide free of cost meals to the school children of Government Primary School located in Shora Kothi, Lahore

Under its initiative School Khana Program (SKP), Allah Walay Trust provides healthy & nutritious free lunch to the school students on a regular basis Shan Foods being one of the leading names in food industry and working to achieve the goal of zero hunger in Pakistan, has

joined hands with Allah Walay Trust to support the programme and provide free meals to school children for a whole year Sharing her thoughts on the collaboration, Maria Rashdi Head of Corporate Communica tions and PR at Shan Foods, said “At Shan Foods, upholding quality is the base of what we stand for be it quality of our products or of our values We have forged this alliance to make sure that school going children get healthy diet along with quality education, further reinforc ing our vision of ensuring nutrition and healthy food for all We aim to play our part in securing the wellbeing of our future generation through more such initiatives ”

Central Asia, Latin America & Africa

The International Defence Exhi b i t i o n a n d S e m i n a r ( I D E A S ) b r i n g s together international manufacturers and suppliers of products and services to explore the opportunities for coop eration in the field of defence produc t i o n t h r o u g h j o i n t v e n t u r e s , outsourcing, and collaboration Over a p e r i o d o f t i m e I D E A S h a s t u r n e d out to be the region’s major platform of the region for the defence systems promotion as it exhibits a wide vari ety of defence products, ranging from e q u i p m e n t u s e d i n t h e t h i r d w o r l d c o u n t r i e s t o t h e m o s t s o p h i s t i c a t e d technology from the west

Minister Sajid Turi to explore new employment oppor tunities for Pakistanis in different countries

Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Re source Development, Mr Sajid Hussain Turi left on a ten day official visit abroad He will visit Switzerland Romania Greece and Portugal where he will meet with the concerned authorities and the Pakistani community The purpose of the foreign visit is to create new employment opportunities for Pakistanis in different countries to discuss the problems of the Pakistani community with the authorities of the respec tive countries and to promote bilateral relations Federal Minister, Mr Sajid Hussain Turi will also meet the Director General of the International Labor Organization in Geneva and discuss with him the rehabilitation and relief of the work ers affected by the recent floods in Pakistan It should be noted that the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development with the support of ILO has already started a cash for work program for the rehabilitation of flood affected workers in Balochistan and Sindh, which will be extended to all affected areas of the country Federal Minister Sajid Hus sain Turi said in his statement before the departure that Roma nia, Portugal, Italy, Greece and other western countries are in need of large scale manpower and we are ready to sign agree ments to send Pakistani workers and professionals to these countries He further said that he will talk to the authorities of the respective countries to facilitate the process of obtaining visas and immigration so that maximum Pakistani labor force and professionals can be sent to these countries in the shortest possible time He added that due to overseas Pakistanis Pak istan received record remittances of more than 31 billion dol lars in FY22, which is a major part of the country’s economy He informed that his first priority is to provide maximum fa cilities to overseas Pakistanis and solve their problems imme diately and in this regard he has issued orders to the community welfare attachés of respective countries to facili tate the people of Pakistan in best possible way

S S G C n o t s u s p e n d i n g r e g u l a r g a s s u p p l i e s t o i n d u s t r i e s

Karachi p r

SSGC would like to categorically clar ify on the misguiding news circulating in media with regard to the suspension of gas supplies to the industrial sector through below given statement

At the outset it may be clearly noted that SSGC is not at all suspending reg ular gas supplies to the industries

Our letters to the industrial cus tomers have been misinterpreted by the industrial and trade organisations through their media statements that need to be clarified

It may be noted that SSGC has written letters to each industrial cus tomer that has been using gas for POWER GENERATION for suspen

sion of gas supplies only for power gen eration and not for their regular usage

In view of the widening demand and supply gap especially with the drop in mercury, the Company implements Government of Pakistan s Gas Load Management Plan whereby it gives top most priority to the domestic and com mercial sector for supplying gas, espe cially those living in Balochistan where demand for gas increases manifolds due to space and water heating needs

This situation is further com pounded by the fact that gas reserves are being fast depleted at an annual rate of 10% that further places pressure on the Company's line pack system

As part of this plan, gas supplies to all local industrial customers for their use for power generation are

being suspended for three and a half months, i e from November 15, 2022 to February 28 2023

Moreover 50% reductions in sup plies of Export industrial units for their power generation shall also be sus pended for the same period These closures are in line with the contract already signed between SSGC and each individual industrial customer that clearly states that, "Gas supply will be provided by the Company on as and when available basis' only during the period from March to November each year The Consumer will make dual fir ing arrangements to avoid loss of pro duction as and when gas is not available during March to November and also during December to February when the Company will keep the Con

sumer's Gas supply disconnected at his cost, each year "

Volume of gas curtailed from this arrangement would be diverted to do mestic customers for them to cater their enhanced gas loads in context of the winter season It may be noted that gas thus saved (approximately 160 mmcfd gas) will then be diverted to Balochistan where supply of additional gas is a must for the survival of human lives, as gas serves as lifeline for the majority of the population

SSGC looks forward to all indus trial customers for their understanding on the matter and expects their cooper ation for serving the domestic cus tomers better through uninterrupted gas supplies

CEO Aga K han Agenc y of Habitat c alls on Chairman NDMA

I s l a m a b a d: Ms Nusrat Nasab CEO Aga Khan Agency of Habitat (AKAH) Pakistan, called on Chairman NDMA Lt General Inam Haider Malik in his office on Monday

iSLaMaBaD

X i T e l l S B i d e n : W e m U S T p U T C h i n a , U S

T i e S B a C k o n R i g h T T R a C k

BALI Ag e n c i e s

CHINeSe President Xi Jinping, during meeting with US President Joe Biden on Monday in Bali, In donesia, said they should chart the right course for the development of bilateral relations and push bilateral ties back to the track of healthy and stable devel opment

Xi said during the meeting that China and the US have braced winds and rains in their more than 50 years of engagement from the establishment of diplomatic rela tions until today There have been gains and losses experience and lessons History is the best textbook and China and the US should take history as a reference and look to the future

The current situation of China US rela tions does not conform to the interests of the two countries and their peoples, now does it conform to the expectations of the interna tional community, Xi said

As leaders of two major countries, we

should hold the helm and find the right di rection for the development of bilateral rela tions and push ties to improve Politicians should think about both their own country’s development path and how to get along with other countries and the world said Xi

As leaders of two major countries, we should find the right way Politicians should think about both their own country s devel opment path and how to get along with other countries and the world, said Xi

Xi noted the changes of the times are un folding in an unprecedented way and human society is facing unprecedented challenges, and the world is at a crossroads We care and all countries in the world care about where they are going

The international community expects China and the US to handle our relations well Our meeting today has attracted world wide attention We should work together with other countries to inject hope for world peace, confidence in global stability and mo mentum for collective development, Xi said

He expressed willingness to continue candid and in depth exchanges with the US

Xi

Afghan supreme leader orders full enforcement of Islamic law

KABUL A F P

Afghanistan s supreme leader has or dered judges to fully enforce aspects of the Islamic law that include public exe cutions, stonings and floggings, and the amputation of limbs for thieves, the Tal iban’s chief spokesman said Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted late Sunday that the “obligatory” command by Hibatullah Akhundzada came after the secretive leader met with a group of judges Akhundzada who has not been filmed or photographed in public since the Taliban returned to power in August last year rules by decree from Kandahar the movement’s birthplace and spiritual heartland

The Taliban promised a softer ver sion of the harsh rule that characterised their first stint in power, from 1996 2001, but have gradually clamped down on rights and freedoms

Carefully examine the files of thieves kidnappers and seditionists ” Mujahid quoted Akhundzada as saying “Those files in which all the sharia (Islamic law) conditions of hudud and qisas have been fulfilled, you are obliged to implement

This is the ruling of sharia and my command, which is obligatory ”

Mujahid was not available Monday to expand on his tweet

Hudud refers to offences which, under Islamic law, certain types of pun ishment are mandated, while qisas trans lates as “retaliation in kind” effectively an eye for an eye Hudud crimes include adultery and falsely accusing someone of it drinking alcohol, theft, kidnapping and highway robbery apostasy and rebellion

Qisas covers murder and deliberate injury, among other things, but also al lows for the families of victims to accept compensation in lieu of punishment

Islamic scholars say crimes leading to hudud punishment require a very high degree of proof, including in the case of adultery confession, or being wit nessed by four adult male Muslims SummaRy floggingS

Social media has been awash for over a year and even recently with videos and pictures of Taliban fighters meting out summary floggings to people accused of various offences

The Taliban have also several times displayed in public the bodies of kidnap pers they said were killed in shootouts

There have also been reports of adul

terers being flogged in rural areas after Friday prayers, but independent verifica tion is difficult to obtain Rahima Popalzai, a legal and politi cal analyst, said the edict could be an at tempt by the Taliban to harden a reputation they may feel has softened since they returned to power

“If they really start to implement hudud and qisas, they will be aiming to create the fear society has gradually lost, she told AFP She added the Taliban also wanted to burnish their Islamic creden tials As a theocratic setup, the Taliban want to strengthen their religious identity among Muslim countries ”

Women in particular have seen hard won rights evaporate in the past 15 months, and they are increasingly being squeezed out of public life

Most female government workers have lost their jobs or are being paid a pittance to stay at home while women are also barred from travelling without a male relative and must cover up with a burqa or hijab when out of the home

In the past week the Taliban also banned women from entering parks, fun fairs, gyms and public baths

During their first rule the Taliban regularly carried out punishments in pub lic including floggings and executions at the national stadium

Trump set to officially launch 2024 comeback bid

FLORIDA

A F P

Former US president Donald Trump is ex pected to officially launch another White House bid on Tuesday, refusing calls from within his own Republican party to fade away after his loyalists underperformed in this year ’s midterm elections

The 76 year old billionaire whose 2016 win shocked America and the world, has summoned the press to his Florida mansion for a very big an nouncement” at 9:00 PM Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday)

President Trump is going to an nounce on Tuesday that he’s running for president,” said one of his advisors, Jason Miller, who predicts the speech will be “very professional, very buttoned up ” Known for his unpredictability, Trump could still change his mind at the last minute, but for months he has barely hidden his desire to vie for the presidency again in 2024 Delaying the announce ment now as some of his advisors have re portedly suggested to him, would be highly awkward for Trump because he has billed it as “perhaps be the most important speech given in the history of the USA ” ‘Red wave’ crashes

A 2024 White House bid would be Trump’s third presidential campaign and

if he wins his party s nomination the fifth national election with him as the Republican Party standard bearer

In 2016, Trump and the Republicans swept into power taking control of the White House and maintaining their ma jorities in both chambers of Congress

But Democrats won back the House of Representatives in a 2018 landslide after campaigning largely against Trump’s caustic style

Trump then lost reelection in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden he still refuses to accept defeat while Democrats won control of the 100 seat Senate with a de facto majority due to Vice President Ka

But the predicted Republican red wave” failed to materialize and Democ rats will maintain their control of the Sen ate In the still undecided House,

Republicans

It s basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race, and it’s like, three strikes and you’re out, said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a vocal Trump critic, Sunday on CNN Trump’s response has been to dou ble down on unfounded claims of ballot rigging in the midterms, posting on his Truth Social platform that the results were a scam and pointing a finger of blame at Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell

It s Mitch McConnell s fault, he posted saying the Kentuckian had badly allocated campaign funds and pursued a flawed legislative agenda He blew the Midterms and everyone despises him ” said Trump, who has long been at logger heads with McConnell Tuesday s an nouncement is widely seen as a way to take the wind out of the sails of potential Republican rivals, namely Ron DeSantis, the freshly reelected Florida governor and rising star who has also won the backing of Rupert Murdoch s conserva tive media empire

tions back on the track of healthy and stable development so as to benefit both countries and the world

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit to be held in Indonesia on Tuesday and Wednesday Xi told Biden that though the two leaders have remained in communication via video conferences, phone calls and letters none of these can re ally take the place of face to face exchanges

President Xi arrived at the island of Bali on Monday afternoon As a guard of honor paid salutes alongside the red carpet, some local youths in national costume played tra ditional Indonesian musical instruments while others performed a traditional Bali dance Young students cheered in Chinese Welcome! Welcome! while waving the Chinese and Indonesian flags, CCTV re ported

According to CCTV, local people also gathered along the roads from the airport to the hotel where Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were going to stay, waving the Chinese and Indonesian flags to express their warmest welcome on their arrival

Russian, US officials hold unannounced talks in Turkey: repor t

ANKARA

Russian and US officials were holding unannounced talks in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, citing an unnamed source, amid high tension between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine A Turkish official declined to comment, while the Kremlin said it could neither confirm nor deny the report Flight tracking data showed that a Russian government air liner had arrived in Ankara from Moscow at around 0830 GMT Yoruk Isik, a geopolitical analyst at the Bosphorus Observer consultancy in Istanbul, said that aircraft was typically used only by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, currently attending a summit in Bali, and Sergei Naryshkin, head of the SVR foreign intel ligence service Kommersant provided no details on the purpose of the talks Turkey has often presented itself as an arbiter between Moscow and the West since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine In July, it helped the United Nations broker an agreement between Rus sia and Ukraine on exporting grain from blockaded Black Sea ports The report comes as the United Na tions seeks to ensure the deal will roll over on Nov 19 and as Washington presses Moscow to release US basketball star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan from jail in a prisoner swap US Na tional Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thurs day that Moscow had not shown a willingness so far to engage in productive talks Ukraine s Zelensky vis its Kherson after Russian retreat Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the city of Kherson on Monday, following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the region a source in Zelensky’s office told AFP The visit came just days after Ukrainian troops entered the city the Kherson region s administra tive centre after Russia pulled back its forces on Friday The city of Kherson was the first major urban hub to fall after Russia invaded in February Its full recapture opens a gateway for Ukraine to the entire Kherson region, with access to both the Black Sea in the west and the Sea of Azov in the east

Three dead in shooting on Universit y of Virginia campus

CHARLOTTESVILLE

Three people have been killed and two others were wounded in a shooting at a parking garage at the Uni versity of Virginia, according to the school’s president, and police searched Monday for a student who was a suspect The shooting around 10:30 pm Sunday “re sulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care President Jim Ryan said in a letter to the university community posted on social media He identified the suspect as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr The university s emer gency management issued an alert on Sunday night notifying the campus community of an “active attacker firearm The message warned students to shelter in place following a report of shots fired on Culbreth Road on the northern outskirts of campus Classes were canceled Monday The UVA Police Department posted a notice online saying multiple police agencies including the state police were searching for a suspect who was considered armed and dangerous

president on strategic issues in China US ties and key global and regional issues

said he looks forward to working with the US president to push bilateral rela

mala Harris s tie breaking vote in the chamber split 50 50 After leaving Wash ington in chaos shortly after his partisans stormed the US Capitol, Trump chose to remain in the political arena continuing to fund raise and hold rallies around the country Leading up to the 2022 midterm vote in which Biden’s Democrats had been expected to lose handily, Trump made denial of the 2020 election results a key litmus test for candidates to win his influential political endorsement

seem likely to eke out only a razor thin majority The results have emboldened Trump’s Republican detrac tors and sapped most of his political mo mentum heading into the Tuesday campaign launch ‘Three strikes’

World CuP CounTdoWn enTers FInAl

WeeK As FoCus shArPens on QATAr

DOHA ag e n c e S

THE week long countdown to the World Cup in Qatar began on Monday as the world s leading footballers focused their attention on one of the most controversial tournaments in history

After a last weekend of action, domes tic leagues paused for six weeks to allow the tournament to take place but prepara tion time is short for the teams

The first World Cup to be held in the Arab world will kick off on Sunday when the host nation face Ecuador

Holding football’s showpiece event in a desert state has necessitated an unprece dented reorganisation of the international football calendar, shifting the World Cup from its normal slot in the northern hemi sphere summer to avoid the Gulf s scorch ing heat Three players expected to be the tournament s biggest names Lionel Messi, neymar and Kylian Mbappe emerged unscathed from Paris Saint Ger main s 5 0 victory against Auxerre in Ligue 1 on Sunday

Mbappe, who will spearhead France’s defence of their title in Qatar, signed off in style by scoring PSG’s opening goal

Teams must submit their final squad lists on Monday Iran named Sardar Az moun their star player in the final 25 man squad Azmoun also plays for German club Bayer Leverkusen

kickoff marks the culmination of Qatar ’s extraordinary campaign to first win the vote to land the tournament and then embark on a spending spree of tens of billions of dol lars to build stadiums and infrastructure

FIFA s pleas to focus on the football have struggled to be heard as the count down to kick off has only increased scrutiny of the Gulf state s treatment of mi grant workers, women, and other margin salised communities

Labourers from South Asia have been at the centre of an often acrimonious dis pute over deaths, injuries, and their work ing conditions since Qatar was awarded the World Cup in 2010 Amnesty International on Friday made

Qatar has angrily

ers of natural gas has spent lavishly new stadiums cost more than $6 5 bil lion and a driverless metro system with a price tag of $36 billion serves five of the eight venues Some estimates put total in frastructure spending over the past decade at $200 billion

Organisers have predicted more than one million fans will travel to Qatar and they have responded to concerns about a lack of accommodation by using three cruise ships as floating hotels They are fully booked for the first two weeks of the tournament Organisers say that 2 9 million of the 3 1 million tickets have been sold and fans have been waiting outside the FIFA ticketing centre hoping scarce tickets become available for top games

most of the

and local media have blasted the “arrogance” of some Western countries

Sophia Stone, a Briton who lives in Doha, said the negative press was unfair

“I wouldn’t listen to everything you hear on the news,” she told AFP “If you really want to have an opinion about it then come to Qatar and see for yourself From what I am reading, it isn’t like that at all It is very open minded and welcoming The country of barely three million people, one of the world’s biggest produc

Qatar announced its first arrests of World Cup ticket touts on Monday, with three foreign men detained outside official ticketing centres in Doha no details were given of their nationality In Europe, unease at a country with virtually no tradition of football hosting the tournament is keenly felt Germany’s 2014 World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm said on Sunday that Qatar should never have been allowed to h o s t t h e Wo r l d C u p b e c a u s e o f r i g h t s a b u s e s Aw a r d i n g t h e Wo r l d C u p t o Q a t a r w a s a m i s t a k e ” L a h m w r o t e i n a column for Die Zeit newspaper “It does n t belong there Lufthansa said an air craft bearing the sign “#DiversityWins!” w i l l f l y G e r m a n y ’s t e a m t o t h e i r Wo r l d Cup campaign

Pa k i s t a n t h r a s h I r e l a n d , l e ve l T 2 0 I s e r i e s 1 - 1

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

Former players highlight turning point of Pakistan’s defeat in World Cup final

responded to the buzzing question after the three lions defeated the Men

Green to win their second ICC T20 World

PAKISTAn have defeated Ireland by six wickets to level the three match women s T20I series 1 1 in Lahore on Monday

The match was reduced to 17 overs per side due to rain Chasing a target of 119 runs Pakistan reached home in 16 overs for the loss of four wickets

Opener Javeria Khan top scored with 35 runs in 39 balls while nida Dar scored 28 runs in 25 balls Ayesha naseem played a quick fire unbeaten cameo of 25 runs in 12 balls with the help of a four and two sixes, to get her team over the line

Afridi, Khan in ICC’s T20 XI with champions Buttler, Curran

MELBOURNE: Four players from England’s T20 World Cup winning team were picked in the honorary team of the tournament Monday with victorious skipper Jos Buttler selected as captain of the ICC XI and Sam Curran the nominal leader of its attack Curran took three wickets for 12 runs in four overs in England’s five wicket win over Pakistan in the final on Sunday and was already voted player of the final and of the tour nament before the ICC XI was announced Left arm paceman Curran took 13 wickets at an average of 11 38 runs apiece for the event, in cluding figures of 5 10 against Afghanistan The ICC XI also contains star India batter Virat Kohli, who posted a tournament high 296 runs at an average of 98 66, as well as leg spinning all rounder Shadab Khan and left arm pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi from the Pakistan lineup that lost the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar raza and South African bowler Anrich nortje were the only players picked from teams that didn’t reach the semifinals Australia had three representatives in the 2021 team of the tourna ment after winning the title last year but didn’t get a single player selected after slumping out of contention in the group stage while hosting the showpiece event England openers Buttler and Alex Hales sealed their spots in the ICC XI with a record, unbroken opening stand in the 10 wicket semifinal win over India chasing down the 170 run target with ease

ICC TEAM Of ThE TOURNAMENT: Alex Hales (England) Jos Buttler captain and wick etkeeper (England), Virat Kohli (India), Suryakumar Yadav (India), Glenn Phillips (new Zealand) Sikandar raza (Zimbabwe) Shadab Khan (Pakistan), Sam Curran (England), Anrich nortje (South Africa), Mark Wood (England), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan) Hardik Pandya (India)

Guyana back to winning ways, thanks to Imlach’s 75

JAMAICA: Guyana

time in regaining

in the cg

Sunday

Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Pakistan hoped to stage a late comeback when pacer Shaheen took a stunning catch to dismiss England s Harry Brook in the 13th over at the MCG When asked about the turning point of the World Cup final, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar said Pakistan was already 15 20 runs behind England “I don’t think so because they didn’t put up enough runs They were approximately 15 20 runs short They would have had a better chance if they had reached 150 155, and their bowlers would have had a bit of a cushion, Gavaskar told “But I don’t think the ten deliveries that Shaheen didn’t bowl would have made that much of a difference Maybe Pakistan would have got another wicket but England would still have won,” Gavaskar added Speaking to reporters after the match, Pakistan captain Babar admitted that his side was 20 runs short with the bat in the final The Pakistan skipper also asserted that Shaheen’s injury shifted the match in England’s favor Former players like Michael Vaughan and Sachin Tendulkar also reacted over the match’s turning point after Shaheen suffered a significant knee injury during an all important mega event final Former cricketer Michael Vaughan stated after the game that the fast bowler ’s injury “had a major impact on the outcome of the game ” “Have to say the Shaheen s injury had a major impact on the outcome of the game Sachin Tendulkar congratulated England for winning the mega event final and spoke about the match s turning point “Congratulations, England, on winning your 2nd @T20WorldCup Fantastic achievement It was a closely fought final and would’ve been even more interesting had Afridi not been injured What a roller coaster of a World Cup posted Tendulkar on Twitter It is to be noted that Shaheen suffered a major knee injury while taking the catch of Henry Brook

Arlene Kelly was the only success ful bowler, 1 18 in three overs, for Ire land with three Pakistan batters getting run out over the course of the run chase Earlier, after deciding to bowl first, Pak istan had restricted Ireland to 118 7 in 17 overs Amy Hunter was the highest run scorer for Ireland with 36 runs in 39 balls, with included three boundaries

For Pakistan nida Dar and nashra Sandhu bagged two wickets each nida Dar bagged the award for player of the match due to her all round performance Ireland had defeated Pakistan by six wickets during the first women’s T20I of the series in Lahore on Saturday

The third T20I will be played on 16 november at the same venue It must be noted that before the T20I series Pak istan clean swept the ODI series 3 0

S qua d

by thumping Com bined Campuses and Colleges by 129 runs In a one sided Zone A encounter at Queen’s Park Oval, the in form Tevin Imlach struck 75 from 88 balls while Kemol Savory weighed in with 69 from 101 balls, to propel Harpy Eagles to 266 all out in the 48th over CCC offered very little in reply and were dismissed for 137 at the start of the 37th over, captain Denesh ramdin again top scoring with an unbeaten 32 and Kirstan Kallicharan also getting 32 Seamer nial Smith (3 21) and off spinner Kevin Sinclair (3 25) both claimed three wicket hauls as CCC de clined from 90 2 in the 21st over losing their last eight wickets for 47 runs Coming off a de feat to defending champions Trinidad and To bago red Force in their last game Harpy Eagles ensured there were no major gaffes this time They lost Anthony Bramble (18) cheaply in the seventh over at 26 1 edging behind a cross bat ted heave at seamer Matthew Forde (2 41) but recovered through a 133 run, second wicket stand between Imlach and Savory Imlach struck a four and two sixes to push his tally for the campaign to 248 runs while Savory, like Imlach a wicket keeper in only his eighth List A match struck six boundaries S ta f f R e p o R t

Cristiano Ronaldo acc uses Manchester United of betrayal

MANCHESTER

MAnCHESTEr United’s Cristiano ronaldo stated that the club have betrayed him and that he is being forced out, while he has no respect for manager Erik ten Hag ronaldo rejoined United from Juven tus for a second spell at Old Trafford in August 2021 on a two year deal, returning to the club where he won eight major tro phies from 2003 2009 In an interview ronaldo was asked whether United’s hier archy were trying to push him out of the club “Yes not only the coach (Ten Hag) but another two or three guys around the

club I felt betrayed,” he said “Yes I feel betrayed, and I felt some people don t want me here, not just this year but last year too ” Last month Ten Hag said ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham Hotspur when the forward walked down the tunnel with a few minutes of the match remaining after being left on the bench

The 37 year old forward who will captain Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar, said of Ten Hag: I don t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me If you don’t respect me, I’m never gonna have respect for you After the Tottenham game Ten Hag

said that ronaldo remained “an important player in the squad” ronaldo said Man chester United did not support him when his daughter was taken to hospital in July He said the club doubted him and showed a lack of empathy when he did not arrive on time for pre season training I think the fans should know the truth, he said I want the best for the club This is why I came to Manchester United “But you have some things inside that don’t help (us) reach the top level as City, Liv erpool and even now Arsenal a club with this dimension should be top of the tree in my opinion and they are not, unfor tunately ”

ACRIMONIOUS DISPUTE: Sunday’s

an urgent plea for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to commit to a compensation package for the workers who built the tour nament’s gleaming stadiums

rebuffed

attacks

Harpy Eagles wasted little

their winning momentum

United Super50 Cup

ISLAMABAD: Shaheen Shah Afridi s injury to blame for Pakistan’s loss to England in the T20 World Cup final? Former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has

in

Cup title on

at

Pakistan: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Javeria Khan, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Nashra Sandhu, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin and Umm e Hani

ireland: Laura Delany (c), Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Cara Murray, Celeste Raack, Eimear Richardson, Gaby Lewis, Jane Maguire, Leah Paul, Louise Little, Mary Waldron, Orla Prendergast, Rebecca Stokell, Shauna Kavanagh and Sophie MacMahon

F R i e n d s h i p w i t h a l l , s l av e R y O F n O n e , s ay s i m R a n K h a n

ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e p o R t

Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek i Insaf s (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan Monday commented on his stance on diplomatic relations with the US, stating that he wanted Pakistan to be on friendly terms with all countries but would not accept slav ery at any cost

The deposed premier s remarks came amid the hullabaloo in government quarters over his Financial Times interview in which he stated that he had put the US conspiracy matter “behind him”

“No sane man wants to have enemies But we don t want to be anyone s slaves, the PTI chief said at the march today “We can even be friends with India if the Kashmir issue is solved But we won t be slaves of anyone the former premier said in an address to the long march participants

via video link Imran said that he always wanted an independent foreign policy for Pakistan The foreign policy we have right now does not protect the people of Pakistan It instead saves the interest of other coun tries We don t want enmity with anyone We want good relations with everyone but not slavery at all,” he reiterated

A propaganda cell is feeding journal ists They pick up things that I say and pur posely misinterpret them,” Imran said, adding that the cipher was in the NSC, par liament as well as with the president

“What is the issue in this? When we say that we are moving forward, it means we want good relationships he made it clear

“Our journalism has reached a point where even foreign journalists have to clar ify their stories Imran added

Earlier, speaking of rule of law, the PTI chief said the country could not progress until there was rule of law

“Today if you see the global index countries where rule of law exists, you will see that all countries on the top slots are the most prosperous Pakistan on the other hand, ranks 129 on the rule of law index How then do we think that this country will prosper? It can’t ” he asserted

He said rule of law will not only help the country progress but also give the people ‘real freedom’ for which this movement stands, the party chief added referring to the PTI s long march

“We want rule of law in this country If an ex PM can’t get an FIR registered as per his claim It is my right as per the Consti tution to file an FIR But I was unable to reg ister it,” he said as he spoke about the FIR registered in the Wazirabad attack case

If this how I was treated then what will happen to the common citizen of this coun try,” he argued Commenting over the ap pointment of new army chief Imran again

criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his brother Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and ques tioned how PM Shehbaz could consult with a convict on the appointment of the new army chief

“This is a violation of the Official Se crets Act We will consult our lawyers [ ]

D asu attack verdic t proves hostile forces c an’t undermine ironclad S ino -Pakistan ties: FO

The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday said that the verdict in 2021 Dasu Hydro Power Project (DHPP) terrorist attack case has once again demonstrated the fact that Pakistan s commitment to the ironclad Pakistan China All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership can never be undermined by hostile forces

On Friday, a special Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) handed over death sen tence on 13 counts to each of the two accused, and ordered for the release of the four other accused after finding them not guilty

The court also imposed Rs40 mil lion fine on the two convicted terrorists, besides awarding them a total of around 800 years of imprisonment; including life imprisonments All the sentences shall run concurrently However, the court extended benefits of the Section 382 B of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in favour of the accused ATC Special Court Judge Sajjad

Ahmed Jan delivered the verdict at a camp court, established in the Central Jail Haripur (CJH) after the completion of the case, where the two were found guilty and sentenced 801 year imprisonment The court also issued orders for the release the four other accused for not being guilty

The ATC sentenced accused Muhammad Hussain alias Syed Muhammad alias Zawan alias Mama, son of Abdul Rahim age 49, a resident of Sabin Burat, Tehsil, Matta, Swat, and Muhammad Ayaz, alias Jan, 42, a resident of Zurai Balu Jabril Tehsil, Matta Swat

The court ordered for hanging each convict on 13 counts for the crime under section 302 PPC and 7(A) of the Anti Terrorist Act (ATA) They were also im posed Rs1 5 million fine per victim, which the heirs of the deceased, would receive and ordered one year additional imprisonment in case of non payment of the fine by the convicts

The ATC awarded 10 year impris onment each convict for attempt to mur der under Section 324 PPC, two year imprisonment under Section 337 PPC,

two year imprisonment under Section 427 PPC, and a fine of Rs1 million, six months imprisonment under Terrorist Act, Section 11 F (2) ATA, 1996, six months imprisonment under 120/B PPC life imprisonment under 3/4 EXP for use of explosives

The other punishments that were awarded to both convicts were under section 21 (I) ATA 1997 sentenced to life imprisonment and six months in prison in 202 PPC The court acquitted both the accused of the charge in Sec tion 353 PPC and section 21 J ATA

We have noted the judgment passed by the relevant court and details released by the local police While spe cific queries may be directed to the rel evant authorities, the proactive investigation, prosecution and judgment in this case have once again demon strated Pakistan’s abiding commitment to counterterrorism,” the Foreign Office Spokesperson said in a statement

“We again extend our deepest con dolences to the victims’ families and re main committed to the safety and

R e m e d i a l wo r k o n N e e l u m - J h e l u m

P r o j e c t m ay c o m p l e t e by Fe b 2 0 2 3

Remedial work on 969MW Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP), which has been non operational since July 06, is likely to be completed by the end of February 2023 it was learnt on Monday

According to documents available with Pakistan Today/Profit the restoration work on the 969 megawatt (MW) Neelum Jhelum Hy dropower Project is going on day and night And the remedial work on NJHP is likely to be completed by the end of February 2023 The NJHP has been non operational since July 06 2022 due to blockage in its Tail Race Tunnel (TRT)

On July 04, 2022, when the plant was run ning at its full capacity (969MW) an abnor mal increase in water leakage was observed in the powerhouse which was controlled through continuous drainage pumps Upon in vestigation, high water pressure in the Tail Race Tunnel (TRT) was observed

Accordingly, on July 05, 2022, it was con cluded by the project consultants that abnor mal increase in TRT pressure and water leakages/seepage in power house are due to blockage in TRT Considering safety of the power structure and all other equipment/ma chinery, units were shut down gradually Re sultantly, the powerhouse was shut down on July 05, 2022

Immediately after this incident M/s China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC), the con tractor for construction of civil works was en gaged for carrying out remedial works The firm immediately mobilized to the site and a contract agreement was signed with it on Au gust 5, 2022 and the work commenced from August 27, 2022

As per the directives of the Prime Minis ter, a five members Independent Panel of Ex perts (IPOE) has been engaged for escorting the causes of the blockage And IPOE has submitted its initial report in which a number of reasons have attributed to the cause of the blockage

As per available documents, NJHP is in sured with NICL; accordingly, upon occur rence of the incident on July 06 2022 the i n s u r a n c e c o m p a n y h a s b e e n i n f o r m e d o n J u l y 0 7 , 2 0 2 2 N I C L , l o s s a d j u s t e r a n d i t s

security of Chinese workers, projects and institutions in Pakistan The ironclad Pakistan China All Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership will never be undermined by hostile forces,” the state ment issued by the foreign office further read The FO statement added that the verdict also demonstrate Pakistan’s abid ing commitment to counterterrorism

On July 14, 2021, 10 Chinese engi neers and three Pakistanis workers were traveling to the Dasu Hydro Power Proj ect construction site when their bus plunged into a deep ravine after an ex plosion on board

The incident led to the death of at least 13 people, including Chinese en gineers, two FC officers, and two labourers

CTD Hazara Region Abbottabad registered case No 08 on July 14, 2021 and arrested the accused, who were later transferred to Abbottabad and Central Jail Haripur The trial of the accused was conducted by Special Anti Terror ism Judge Sajjad Ahmad Jan at the camp court at Central Jail Haripur

How can he consult with an absconder and a convict regarding such an important deci sion ” he wondered

The PTI chief said that Nawaz had no stake in the country as he and his children were all living abroad adding that Nawaz was no one to give his opinion on such an important matter

mCB out of the msCi Frontier market pakistan index; moved into small cap index

ArIBA ShAhID

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re insurers have already visited the site for several times

The Neelum Jhelum Hydroelectric Proj ect has an installed capacity of 969MW and can generate 4 663 billion units of electricity annually The dam at the river Neelum, is at Nauseri, 41 kilometer north east of Muzaf farabad diverts the water into the headrace tunnel

About 19 6 stretch of the Headrace Tun nel (HRT) is a twin tunnel having diameter of 8 5 m each The remaining 8 93 km tunnel is a single tunnel of diameter 9 6 m The total lengths of the tunnels including Headrace Tailrace and access tunnels is 68 5 km

The powerhouse of the project is located near Chattar Kalas, 22 km south of Muzaf farabad Water release from the powerhouse out fall in Jhelum River after passing through a 3 5km tailrace tunnel

The total approved cost as per approved PC I was Rs 506 808 billion Foreign compo nent has been financed by China Exim Bank, Saudi Fund Development, Islamic Develop ment Bank and Kuwait Fund for Develop ment as a loan

The project (NJHP) was substantially completed in 2018 and started generating power since April 2018 and so far it has gen erated 18 28 billion units Construction of the project began in 2008 after a Chinese consortium was awarded the construction contract in July 2007

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