Epaper_22-11-25 ISB

Gen Asim munir new COAs, sAhir shAmshAd

CJCsC As president stAmps AppOintments

iSLAMABAD Staff rePort

BRINgINgall speculations and debates to an end, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday gave the summary for the appointment of Lt-gen Syed Asim Munir as next army chief and Lt-gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza as new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), seal of approval.

“The President promoted Lieutenant general Syed Asim Munir HI(M) to the rank of general with immediate effect and appointed him as Chief of Army Staff with effect from November 29, 2022,” an official statement issued by the President’s Secretariat said.

It added: “President Dr Arif Alvi has also promoted Lieutenant general Sahir Shamshad Mirza HI(M) to the rank of general with immediate effect and appointed him as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee with effect from November 27, 2022,” an official statement issued by the President’s Secretariat said.

The statement said that the promotions and appointments were made under article 243(4) (a)&(b) and Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan read with Sections 8A and 8-D of the Pakistan Army Act 1952.

The development came following the president’s meeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran khan at Zaman Park.

Footage of the president’s caravan arriving at Imran’s Lahore residence was shared on social media by the PTI amid claims that the two would discuss the party’s plan of action ahead of the appointment for the army’s top seat.

On the other hand, media reports said that President Alvi also held a meeting with legal experts at the Presidency and signed the summary following the meeting with Imran khan.

The Ministry of Defence would formally issue a notification about the top military appointments.

COAS-dESIgNAtE, CJCSC-dESIgNAtE MEEt PRESIdENt, PM: Later, newly-appointed Chief of Army Staff (COAS) general Asim Munir Ahmed Shah and Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Commit-

The COAS and CJCSC met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Prime Minister’s house. The Prime Minister congratulated both the generals and commended their professionalism.

PM ShEhBAz NAMES ASIM MuNIR AS NEw ARMy ChIEF: Earlier, PM Shehbaz Sharif picked Lt-gen Syed Asim Munir, a former spymaster, to replace outgoing army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the minister for information said Thursday, less than 24 hours after the prime minister’s office (PMO) received a list of names of six senior Lieutenants generals to lead the military at a politically tense time for Pakistan.

Lt. gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza has been selected to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), an advisory body that deals with important military and non-military strategic matters, Marriyum Aurangzeb further said.

gen. Munir, who headed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy bureau between

An army chief’s tenure is for three years, but they often obtain extensions, as did gen. Bajwa in 2019.

The prime minister made those decisions “using his constitutional authority,” the minister said. A summary advising the same has been sent to the president of Pakistan, supreme commander of the armed forces, for formal approval, she added.

According to Article 243-3 of the Constitution, the president appoints all service chiefs on the recommendation of the prime minister, who may consult his aides but he solely has the power to make the appointment. Following Dr Arif Alvi’s approval, the list will be sent back to the PMO for a formal announcement.

The appointment of chiefs of the navy and air force goes unnoticed but it is not the case with the nomination of the army chief. The guessing game starts months before the end of the tenure of the incumbent.

With gen. Bajwa set to retire on November 29, the appointment of gen. Munir is expected to prompt a new set

PM warns against laxity in execution of Kissan Package

ment to enable them to sow the upcoming crop.

The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to use gwadar Port for the cargo of 50% of wheat and urea as the operationalisation of the port was essential for the uplift of the Balochistan province. He also assured that the government would take all possible measures to operationalise the gwadar Port.

of challenges, especially amidst an economic crisis and climate catastrophe.

Pakistan is in the midst of another bout of political uncertainty as khan has led country-wide protests in an attempt to force the government into early elections. The incoming army chief could potentially play a key role in lowering the political temperature.

wILL ALVI APPROVE ShARIF’S ChOICE?: It is not clear if Alvi will immediately approve the appointments as he is a member of khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) party.

Imran khan, the former prime minister, could still make a last-ditch attempt through Alvi, a member of his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party. While the cabinet has cleared Munir’s name, the president has to sign off on it, which is usually a formality. But if Alvi chooses to sit on it, it would cut close to Munir’s retirement date on November 27, when his fouryear tenure as a lieutenant general is due to end. By becoming army chief, who has a three-year tenure, Munir’s service would get automatically extended.

On Thursday, security officials said Alvi was in Lahore to consult khan about Munir’s nomination.

Meanwhile, according to the party’s Twitter account, khan said “when the

summary comes, I and the president of Pakistan will act according to the Constitution and laws” governing the institution.

“President Alvi will definitely consult me on the matter and take a decision as per the law and Constitution. I am head of the party that Dr Alvi belongs to,” he told a group of visiting journalists at his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on Wednesday. Speaking to the press minutes after the announcement was made, khawaja Muhammad Asif, minister for defence, confirmed the summary has been forwarded to Alvi.

Insisting that the matter had been “settled according to the law and the Constitution”, Asif expressed the hope the president won’t make the appointments “controversial” and would endorse Sharif’s advice.

The minister urged the president to endorse the advice to avoid any controversy. “This will also help our country and the economy to get on track. Currently, everything is at a standstill,” he observed.

Asif also called on the nation to refrain from viewing it through a “political lens”. BAJwA’S LEgACy: Appointed chief in 2016, gen. Bajwa sought to balance ties with China and the United States. While Islamabad moved closer to Beijing, he also worked to thaw relations with Washington, with whom he worked closely during the evacuation of kabul in 2021 when western forces pulled out of Afghanistan.

He also took an active interest in economic matters, and made highly-publicised visits to Beijing and the Middle East — helping to secure financial assistance for Pakistan. Recently, he also lobbied Washington to help strike a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He even summoned the nation’s top industrialists to a meeting at general Headquarters (gHQ) to encourage them to pay more taxes. During his tenure, Pakistan and India fought air skirmishes in 2019, but he was a public proponent of better ties and avoided escalation when tensions ran high, such as when an Indian missile accidentally crashed into Pakistan early this year.

In early 2021, gen. Bajwa sanctioned a restoration of a ceasefire agreement with Delhi in the disputed region of kashmir.

FBR transfers officials allegedly involved in leaking tax details of outgoing COAS family

from Rawalpindi.

profit report

Shahzad Paracha

Federal Board of Revenue on Thursday directed two Inland Revenue Service grade 18 officials to report to headquarters from Corporate Tax Office (CTO) Lahore.

The prime minister, chairing a review meeting on the execution of the package, said the government was providing a subsidy on tube wells to farmers in the floodravaged areas.

He said the government was extending all possible support to the farmers in this distressing mo-

During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed in detail about the implementation of the kisan Package, tube well subsidy to the farmers in flood-hit areas, and facilitation of the farmers for the upcoming crop.

Federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Engineer khurram Dastgir and Marriyum Aurangzeb, Minister of State Dr Musaddiq Malik, Advisor to PM Ahad Cheema and senior officials attended the meeting.

According to notification, Deputy Commissioners CTO Atif Nawaz Warriach and Zahoor Ahmad directed the report to the admin pool FBR with immediate effect and until further orders.

The above-mentioned officers are directed to relinquish/assume charge, using online HRMS facility made available to FBR or by using their IJP logins, as per the notification.

Earlier, Finance minister Ishaq Dar in a TV interview said that FBR has traced officials involved in leakage of tax information of COAS Bajwa’s family members.

The finance minister shared that one person involved in the leak is from Lahore and another

Dar said that leaking the army chief’s income tax returns was “illegal”.

He also said that “The law does not allow the release of army chief or anyone else’s income tax returns without a court order,”.

It is pertinent to note that the name of Atif Warriach was circulating on the social media that he leaked the tax details of COAS Bajwa family from his Integrated Tax Management system account.

Under the law, no one can share or leak this information except the authorities allowed specifically under section 216(3) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

Under the rules there is penalty provided for such unauthorised leak.

FBR spokesperson Afaque Quershi said that SAPM on Revenue Tariq Pasha and Chairman FBR were investigating this matter.

I can confirm both officials’ involvement after asking from Tariq Pasha and Chairman FBR, he added.

tee (CJCSC) Sahir Shamshad Mirza met with President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. According to details, the newly-appointed COAS and CJCSC met with President Arif Alvi in the President’s House on the President’s invitation. The President congratulated both the generals on their appointments.

October 2018 and June 2019, will likely take charge of the world’s sixth-largest army by troop numbers in a formal handover on Tuesday when gen. Bajwa formally retires after serving for six years.

iSLAMABAD Staff rePort

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that he would not tolerate any laxity in the implementation of kissan Package announced by the incumbent government.

PTI ChaIrman moves aPeX CoUrT To sUbmIT fUrTher maTerIal In govT PeTITIon agaInsT hIm

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

CHAIRMANPTI Imran Khan has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to submit further material in the federal government petition against him regarding the May 25 incident.

In his petition, he submitted that the primary issue relevant for the question of commission or otherwise of contempt of the verbal order of the Court is whether he had been duly informed of the contents, scope and effect of the said order at the relevant time.

Khan sated that neither Babar Awan nor Faisal Fareed Chaudhry had been appointed/ instructed to appeal on his behalf by Imran Khan. They were the two individuals who could have adequately and reliably informed IK of the verbal order passed by the Court at 06:05 p.m.

arshad sharif’s killing: Inquiry committee summons plaintiffs in fIrs

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

The investigation committee has summoned all nine plaintiffs in first information reports (FIRs) registered against slain journalist Arshad Sharif in different cities of Pakistan.

According to details, the investigation committee penned down letters to Inspector-Generals (IGs) of three provinces and Islamabad and summoned all nine plaintiffs in first information reports (FIRs) registered against Arshad Sharif. The inquiry committee, in its letters, instructed Inspector-Generals (IGs) to ensure the attendance of plaintiffs in FIRs. The letter noted that five FIRs were registered against Arshad Sharif in Sindh, one in Islamabad and three in Balochistan.

The FIRs registered against the slain journalist include serious charges like treason and sedition.

Court awards death sentence in a child murder case

RAWALPINDI staff RepoRt

A District and Sessions Court on Thursday awarded a death sentence to an accused involved in kidnapping a child and murdering him. Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka announced the verdict after hearing the arguments from both sides. The court also imposed Rs 500,000 fine on the accused, Arslan Qamar, on charges of murder, while on kidnapping charges, the convict will have to spend ten years in prison and pay a fine of Rs 100,000.

The respondent has not claimed that jamming made communication impossible. The respondent seeks to place before the Court a document issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dated May 25. The said document is with

respect to the presence of a mobile jamming device as part of the motorcade of the chief minister KP, who accompanied the respondent during the afternoon and evening of 25th May.

The PTI Chairman said that the Court in its 25th May order had required the

Secretary Interior, IGP Islamabad, IGP Punjab and deputy commissioner Attock to facilitate a meeting of the designated PTI leadership in Islamabad, that included Babar Awan, with the respondent and the safe return to Islamabad with the leadership so as to be able to meet with the government appointed committee by 10:00 p.m. This direction of the Court was flagrantly disregarded by the concerned officials.

He added that the cavalcade of the respondent was subjected to unprovoked violence and shelling upon entry into the province of the Punjab. Consequently, the respondent and his colleagues were in a situation of extreme stress. It was in these stressful circumstances that the respondent could gain information of the verbal order of the Court of 06:05 p.m. through political activists who, in turn, could gain access to social media platforms by avoiding the effect of jamming.

Chinese investments helping Pakistan diversify its energy mix: President

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

President Dr Arif Alvi has said Chinese investment and contributions to Pakistan’s energy infrastructure are increasing country’s ability to diversify its energy mix based on nuclear, hydel, solar and wind energy in a bid to help meet its energy needs.

The President expressed these views while talking to the General Manager of China Energy International Group Co Ltd Lyu Xiufeng here at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad on Thursday.

The President stressed focusing on alternate and renewable energy sources

such as solar and wind, besides using efficient and critical technologies to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases from coal and oil-based energy sources.

During the meeting, the President was briefed on Neelum Jhelum, Dasu, Suki Kinari, Azad Pattan and Mohmand hydropower projects and Karachi K2/K3, Bhikki Combined Cycle Power Project, Jhimpir Wind Power Projects and M-4 Motorway projects.

Dr Arif Alvi said the warm relations between the leadership and people of Pakistan and China formed the bedrock of the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Partnership.

The President said that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a multidimensional project, which is helping the country in improving its road, port and communication networks, besides promoting industrialization in the country and meeting its energy and power needs.

He expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Government and the Chinese people for standing shoulder-toshoulder with Pakistan in wake of the recent devastating floods and appreciated the initiatives taken by the China Energy International Group for contributing to the rehabilitation of flood victims in the most affected areas of the country.

LHC turns down PTI’s plea for ‘ban’ on possible shelling on marchers in Rawalpindi

LAHORE staff RepoRt

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday rejected Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) plea seeking a ban on possible shelling at the party workers rally in Rawalpindi.

Dismissing the PTI petition, the LHC sought reply from the federal government and other parties in the case.

According to report of the petitioner’s lawyer, the federal government has provided 50,000 tear gas shells to the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) deployed to deal with protestors on November 26, which would pose a serious threat to human lives and environment.

The petitioner requested the court to bar the LEAs from using tear shell which contain poisonous gas. The court, however, rejected PTI’s plea and ordered the government to submit its reply.

On the other hand, the Interior Ministry again requested the PTI leadership to postpone its public gatherings in view of threats to the life of PTI Chief Imran Khan and prevailing security

situation in the country.

A letter, addressed to PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, states that the interior ministry has been sharing threat alerts generated by credible intelligence sources to the life of Imran Khan by anti-state elements to destabilise the country. The letter also mentioned recent attack on Imran Khan by an armed assailant at Wazirabad.

The letter said that the federal government has already provided a bullet proof vehicle and deployed police and civil armed forces during his stay in the Islamabad Capital Territory. However, presently, Imran Khan is stationed in Lahore and participants of the long march have travelled to Rawat, which is very close to Rawalpindi.

It is expected that the Punjab Government would be taking all measures for security arrangements not only for the PTI Chief but also for participants of the march as anti-state elements like Al-Qaeda, Daesh, TTP and radicalized youth of TLP can take advantage of soft targets like public gatherings to destabilize the country through suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices.

sC annuls lhC order regarding ‘informing hamza before arrest’

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

The Supreme Court on Thursday declared the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) order, to inform former Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz before his arrest in Saaf Pani, Ramzan Sugar Mills and excess assets case, against the law. A three-member bench headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan heard a petition of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) against the LHC order and to declare it null and void. The apex court stated that there is no requirement in the law to inform the accused before the arrest.

The bench members observed that the order to inform Hamza 10 days before the arrest should not be used as a judicial precedent.

Subsequently, the top court disposed of the case on the grounds that the order of the LHC was ineffective. It is important to mention here that the LHC had ordered to inform the former chief minister before his arrest in the Saaf Pani, Ramzan Sugar Mills and assets beyond means cases. Earlier, a special central court had acquitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz in the Rs16 billion money laundering case.

baloch girls

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday ordered the Interior Secretary and the Sindh chief secretary to ensure safe recovery of missing Baloch girls, disappeared from Sindh and submit a report to the court in first week of January 2023. During hearing of the case, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial ordered the tops officials to speed up efforts for recovery of the missing Baloch girls. The mother of missing Mahreen Baloch, told the court that her ex-husband Asif Baloch had got her daughters disappeared from the last six years and that she was only looking towards the court for justice. The CJ remarked that the state is responsible for the security of citizens and tracing missing persons. Justice Athar Minallah further enquired that who was to be held responsible if the state failed to retrieve the missing persons.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

“Haqeeqi

want to leave the

In profile: lieutenant generals Asim Munir and Sahir Shamshad Mirza

ISLAMABAD

staff RepoRt

After much tumult and controversy over who should become the next army chief, Lt. Gen. Syed Asim Munir has been named to the post. He will take charge on November 29 when the incumbent, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, leaves office at the scheduled end of his six-year tenure, which included a threeyear extension in 2019.

After Gen. Bajwa, Gen. Munir is the senior-most officer in the army, currently serving as Quartermaster General at General Headquarters (GHQ). He is said to be close to Gen. Bajwa. As a brigadier, he was a commander in the Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA) at a time when Gen. Bajwa was commander of the X Corps assigned in Rawalpindi. The FCNA falls under the command of the X Corps.

Gen. Munir is a graduate of the Officers Training School (OTS) in Mangla, and the senior most of the present crop of two-star generals, who are all from

the same batch of the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA).

By all accounts, he is an “outstanding officer” and was recently described by Shuja Nawaz, the author of Crossed Swords, a detailed account of the Pakistan Army’s internal role, as “a straight arrow”.

He is also the recipient of the nation’s secondhighest Hilal-i-Imtiaz honour.

SAHIR SHAMSHAD MIRZA: Lt. Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), hails from the Sindh Regiment, the same unit as the outgoing JCSC boss Gen. Nadeem Raza.

He has had an impressive career in the army, particularly in senior leadership positions during the last seven years.

He came to prominence as the director general of Military Operations (DG MO) between 2015 and 2016.

In that role, he was part of Gen. Raheel Sharif’s core team at the GHQ, which supervised the military offensive against the Afghanistan-based Tehreek-i-

Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in North Waziristan. Moreover, Gen. Mirza was closely involved in the so-called Quadrilateral Coordination Group that brokered intra-Afghan talks involving Pakistan, China, Afghanistan and the United States.

He was also a member of a committee on reforms for the Gilgit-Baltistan region in the 2013-18 government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

After his promotion to the three-star rank, he was appointed chief of general staff, effectively making him the second-most powerful man in the army after Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa.

In that role, he was closely engaged in crucial decision-making related to national security and foreign affairs. He also joined former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in strategic talks with Wang Yi, foreign minister of China, in 2021.

In October 2021, he was posted as commander of X Corps, enabling him to acquire the operational required experience to become eligible for consideration for ultimate office.

sC orders Interior minister, sindh Cs to recover ‘missing’

PTI chief determined to to lead ‘azadi march’ despite threats to life: musarat Cheema

Chairman Imran Khan is determined to lead the

Azadi” March despite being injured and severe threats to his life as he does

country at the mercy of “thieves.” Spokesperson to Punjab Chief Minister Musarat Jamshed Cheema stated during media talk here on Thursday. She said that the masses would reach Rawalpindi on Saturday for the real Azadi March, saying the “imported government” was already trembling. “The thieves want to save their power by converting Islamabad into a container city, but the power of the people is stronger than a few containers and the victory is always of the people.” staff RepoRt

amIdsT seCUrITy ThreaTs, arrangemenTs for PTI long marCh fInalIzed

RAWALPINDI staff RepoRt

THEdistrict administration, police, city traffic police and Rescue-1122 on Thursday finalized all arrangements for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rallies and public gathering.

Police personnel including commandos from the Elite Force and sharpshooters would be deployed to provide foolproof security cover to the rallies and public gathering.

The district administration and police have finalized the traffic, security and Rescue-1122 plans for the movement of rallies of PTI heading towards Rawalpindi to stage a protest. As per the programme, the leadership of PTI would be heading the rallies.

According to City Traffic Officer (CTO) Tamoor Khan, all the arrangements for PTI Long March and public gathering had been finalized.

He said, special diversion plans had been finalized to regulate traffic on city roads during the long march and public meeting.

Enhanced number of traffic wardens would be deployed on alternative routes to ease traffic flow and facilitate the road users, he said adding, and CTP would also try to spread awareness about up-to-date traffic

situation through FM 88.6 and social media.

The police have formulated a comprehensive security plan for maintaining law and order until the protesters leave the city. According to a police spokesman, over 10,000 personnel would be deployed to ensure security while 750 traffic wardens and officers would also be deployed to ensure foolproof traffic arrangements.

He informed that over 400 Elite commandos would be on security duty during the long march and the public meeting.

Additional police force would be deployed on Murree Road and other routes of the long march while the teams of Elite and Dolphin forces would be patrolling in different areas to check law and order situation.

Over 100 snipers and police officials would be stationed atop buildings on the route of the long march.

The police have made foolproof security arrangements for safety of the public meeting and 2500 police personnel would be deployed in the inner cordon. Monitoring of the routes of the rallies would be conducted through CCTV cameras while four special vehicles equipped with CCTV cameras facility would also be used to monitor the security of the routes of the rallies.

On the directives of City Police Officer, Rawalpindi, senior police officers would

remain in the field to check field duties and brief the police personnel.

Elite Force, Dolphin and personnel of other units had also been deployed to make all the security arrangements foolproof.

CPO Syed Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari said that all available resources would be utilized to provide best possible security

cover to the public meeting.

Rescue-1122 has also finalized all the arrangements for the public gathering.

According to a Rescue-1122 spokesman, Rescue-1122 on the directives of District Emergency Officer, Rawalpindi had declared code red across Rawalpindi district. Special Rescue-1122 teams had been

Pakistan concerned about deteriorating HR situation in IIOJK: FO

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

Pakistan has expressed deep concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). Speaking at weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch regretted that so far no any improvement could be witnessed in situation in the

rda demolishes five under construction, seals 11 commercial buildings

RAWALPINDI staff RepoRt

IIOJ&K while remained under military siege. Amid all hopes and claims of the world, Indian oppression continues unabated in IIOJ&K, she added.

She said carrying on with their spree of extrajudicial killings, last week the Indian occupation forces killed two Kashmiri youth in fake encounters in Islamabad and Shopian districts of the IIOJK.

She said Indian occupation forces are also engaged in killing innocent youth

while in their custody. The Spokesperson said we are also deeply concerned about the welfare of Kashmiri political prisoners including APHC leaders and Human rights defenders.

She said India must end its gross and systematic violations of human rights in IIOJK, revoke its illegal and unilateral actions of 5th August 2019, and free all political prisoners including the true Kashmiri leaders.

Responding to another question, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Chaman Border crossing has been opened after having border flag meetings with the Afghan authorities to facilitate trade and pedestrian traffic.

She said we are in contact with the Afghan authorities to resolve issues between the two countries.

Imran Khan’s helicopter cannot land at Parade Ground: Islamabad admin

ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt

The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) demolished five under construction commercial buildings and sealed 11 commercial buildings on Shahpur Syedan Road Rawalpindi on Thursday. In line with the directions of the Chairman RDA Tariq Mehmood Murtaza and the Director General Muhammad Saif Anwar Jappa, the Land Use and Building Control (LU&BC) Wing RDA has carried out an operation against unauthorized/illegal commercial buildings. The RDA spokesman said that the LU&BC Wing’s staff including Assistant Director Building Control, Building Inspectors and others with the assistance of the Police from the concerned Police Station carried out the operation against illegal commercial buildings and have sealed illegal commercial buildings namely Ayub Plaza, Ma Sha Allah Building Material, Building Material, Eshan Hair Saloon, Saim Laundry and Dry Cleaner, Naan Centre, Good Luck Bakers and Sweets, Al-Quddus Tailors, Wadi Naan Center and Restaurant, Shahpur Karyana Store and Best Price Store. He said that the owners of the abovementioned demolished properties namely Shahid / Tahir Shah and owners of sealed illegal commercial buildings namely Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Fiaz, Muhammad Aqib Hanif, Muhammad Akbar Ayub, Waseem, Manzoor, Muhammad Javed, Muhammad Naveed, Arshad Mehmood, Touqeer, Malik Hassan, Maroof, Safdar Shah, Yaqoob, Qadeer and Sajjad have violated approved plans / maps and violated the Punjab Development of Cities Act 1976 and RDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2021 and constructed illegal commercial buildings without approval and No Objection Certificates (NOCs).

The Islamabad administration has rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) request regarding the landing of party chief Imran Khan’s helicopter at the Parade Ground.

According to details, the Islamabad administration refused to allow landing of Imran Khan’s helicopter at the Parade Ground. However, the authorities have given conditional permission to PTI for holding a rally.

In a statement, the administration said the parade ground does not have a helipad, while pointing out the ‘sensitivity’ of the area. It also directed PTI Chairman to submit affidavit with his signature by November 25.

The administration has given 36 conditions to PTI for holding a rally. The administration, in the statement, stated that PTI rally would have to use specific routes. “The PTI’s convoy from Peshawar will use Peshawar and IJP Roads from GT Road and Motorway,” it added.

The statement further noted that the caravans from Punjab will use Rawat’s T-Chowk to Koral and then to

Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, the convoys from Murree and Azad Kashmir will proceed from Koral Chowk Interchange towards Old Airport Road.

The Islamabad administration, however, pointed out that permission was granted for only one day. “If any untoward incident occurs, the permit will be cancelled,” the admin warned.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Asad Umar has reiterated his party’s demand for allowing PTI chief Imran Khan’s helicopter to land at Islamabad’s Parade Ground, citing ‘serious security threats” to the former prime minister.

“Everyone is aware that there are serious security threts to Imran. Therefore, it is very important that permission to granted for the landing of his helicopter at Parade to ensure his safe arrival and departure,” he said in a tweet. The PTI leader claimed the district administration was delaying the matter and expressed the hope that the Islamabad High Court would decide the matter soon.

Earlier PTI has sought permission from the Islamabad administration to allow it to proceed from different routes of Islamabad to reach Faizabad in Rawalpindi.

deployed in two shifts while more than 300 rescuers to provide emergency cover to the public gathering.

Rescue-1122 vehicles of other districts of the division would also be available in case of any emergency, he added.

He said, Rescue-1122 to remain on high alert during the public meeting.

Earlier, the Interior ministry has again informed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership about possible fear of suicide or bomb attack on the long march.

A letter addressed to PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, states that the interior ministry has been sharing threat alerts generated by credible intelligence sources to the life of Imran Khan by anti-state elements to destabilize the country.

The letter also mentioned the recent attack on Imran Khan by an armed assailant at Wazirabad.

The letter said that extremist parties may carry out terrorist attacks on PTI’s long march.

The letter further said that there are threats of suicide or bomb attacks in public gatherings, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf should postpone the public gathering in Rawalpindi, the letter further said.

The Interior Ministry has formally conveyed to the concerned quarters the threat to the life of Imran Khan and the general public.

judges

Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment has approved recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) for the confirmation of three judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The meeting of the committee was convened under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq H. Naek. The committee examined the recommendations of the JCP on the confirmation of three IHC judges – Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, Justice Arbab Mohammad Tahir and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz. The committee, however, took notice of the complaints of the legal fraternity against the behaviour of a lady judge and decided to write a letter to the JCP. The JCP, headed by Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, in a meeting held on Nov 8 recommended confirmation of three additional judges of the IHC, which the parliamentary committee unanimously approved. The committee, however, perused the complaints of lawyers’ bodies against the behaviour of Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz and the committee decided to write a letter to the JCP for taking some remedial measure to resolve the issue. The committee had been decided that the SC chief justice may be asked to convey to the IHC chief justice to “monitor and mentor” the judge in order to ensure that her behaviour with the other lawyers was courteous. It may be mentioned here that former IHC chief justice Athar Minallah shortlisted the above mentioned judges for the IHC in Nov last year. Upon his recommendations, the JCP proposed their confirmation as a confirmed judge of the high court.

Sources close to the JCP said the commission also examined similar complaints during its meeting of Nov 8 for confirmation of judges. JCP member Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah pointed out that some female judges of the Lahore High Court (LHC) were also criticised by the lawyers over their firm behaviour, it has been learnt. The JCP concluded that unfriendly behaviour of a lady judge should not be an impediment in her confirmation of service and unanimously recommended confirmation of Justice Imtiaz and other two judges, they said.

Justice Imtiaz obtained her law degree from the University of Richmond, Virginia, US.

China to work with Pakistan to maintain regional peace, stability: Wu Qian

BEIJING staff RepoRt

China is willing to work with the Pakistani side to deepen cooperation in military training, joint exercises and military technology between the two militaries and contribute new strength to maintaining regional peace and stability, Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman, Wu Qian said on Thursday.

“We are willing to work with the

Pakistani side to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges and visits between the two militaries, deepen cooperation in military training, joint exercises, military technology and other fields,” he said during his briefing held here.

He said that the Chinese side would also work with the Pakistani side to continue to push bilateral pragmatic

cooperation in various fields to a new level, inject new impetus into the allweather strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, and contribute new strength to maintaining regional peace and stability.

The spokesman remarked that China and Pakistan were good friends, good partners and good brothers. “Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the two countries have always supported each other and forged ahead,

demonstrating the “iron core” friendship between China and Pakistan,” he added. He said that the military relationship between the two countries was an important pillar of bilateral relations.

“In recent years, the two sides have continuously strengthened strategic coordination, deepened practical cooperation in various fields, enhanced their ability to jointly cope with various risks and challenges, and firmly maintained regional peace and stability,” he added.

Parliamentary body okays confirmation of three JCP-recommended IhC

ISLAMABAD Ztaff RepoRt

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

mINISTERfor Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal emphasized the need for investing in higher education to create upward social mobility while reiterating that the government was committed to uplift Balochistan.

The minister made these remarks while addressing 36th AGM of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) held in Quetta on Thursday. The conference was organized by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in collaboration with Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS). The theme of the conference was ‘Charter of Economy: Investment, Productivity, and Employability’.

The minister while emphasizing the importance of inclusive development said that the incumbent government had started a special project to uplift 20 poorest districts of Pakistan, “out of which 11 are of Balochistan.”

Last month, the Ministry had launched a special development initiative worth Rs 40 billion for 20 backward and poor districts of the country. The minister is expected to visit the 20 poorest districts next month. The 11 districts of Balochistan include Sherani, Kohlu, Jhal Magsi, Barkhan, Killa Abdullah, Zhob, Musakhel, Dera Bugti, Jaffarabad, Ziarat and Killa Saifullah.

“This is the first of its kind project in the economic history of Pakistan where the federal government is undertaking a national intervention to uplift the poorest districts and address the disparity in economic development,” said the minister.

Ahsan also highlighted a short-term economic agenda of the incumbent government

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Interior Ministry on Thursday submitted record of PTI leaders’ tweets, video clips of messages and phone calls in Supreme Court in the hearing of contempt case against PTI Chairman Imran Khan. A five-member larger bench of Supreme Court headed by CJP Justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing of the contempt of court case against Imran Khan. The Interior Ministry informed the court that Imran Khan had made wrong statement in his written reply to the court. He asserted that the PTI and Imran Khan had pre-planned march towards D-Chowk on May 25. The ministry submitted, “In a message issued by Imran Khan on May 24, he had invited to participate in the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ at D-Chowk on May 25.” “Faisal Javed, Shireen Mazari and Munazza Hassan had also tweeted to reach the D-Chowk,” interior ministry said. It added, “PTI is saying Asad Umar had instructed to reach H-9 Ground, which is against the facts.” It further said, “In his two speeches on May 25 afternoon, Imran Khan had vowed to reach D-Chowk,” the ministry further said. “Both these speeches were relayed live on official account of the PTI,” the ministry submitted. “PTI’s claim of installing mobile phone jammers is also against the factual position, there is evidence that the social media was used from the container during the PTI’s march,” according to the ministry’s statement. Earlier, Imran Khan in his reply to the court through Advocate Salman Akram Raja stated that the SC order of May 25 was “not knowingly violated”. In his reply, the former prime minister assured the court that he was not informed about the court order on the evening of May 25. Khan pleaded to the court to end the contempt proceedings against him as he had not deliberately violated any order of the Supreme Court.

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

in the form of 5Es which include enterprise, exports, equity in society through strengthened health and education. The identification of the 20 poorest districts for accelerated

top

growth programme, E-Pakistan and empowerment of youth, energy efficiency and conservation, and environment and food security were among the 5Es.

The minister highlighted the expansion of university campuses in remote areas of Balochistan by the Planning Commission from 2013-18. He also emphasized the need for political stability and policy continuity for the success of economic initiatives such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He also stressed the need for dialogue and engagement to address social and political differences and counter growing intolerance. The minister congratulated PIDE and BUITEMS for conducting a successful conference.

The charter is a document prepared by the PIDE, which presents a blueprint of some solutions for Pakistan’s ailing economy. The discussion focused on the delineation of economy and politics, civil service reforms, taxation, governance, and devolution. Panelists included Vice Chancellor of PIDE Dr Nadeem Ul Haque, and VC of BNU Shahid Kardar.

fia recommends names of m-6 motorway scam accused for ecl

KARACHI Staff RepoRt

With a view to restoring Gwadar Port’s operational depth, de-silting activity is highly likely to be initiated next month. If all goes well, the entire operation will be completed within six months hopefully by June 2023.

The de-silting procedure and planning have gained traction as two processes of bidding including technical proposals and financial proposals are planned to be concluded within two weeks, Gwadar Pro reported on Thursday quoting Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Project Director (Maintenance of Dredging) Mr Nadeem. After the procedural formality culminates, the successful firm will be awarded the contract for dredging work to reclaim the lost depth of all berths of Gwadar Port. On a question, Mr. Nadeem said, two firms including one local company and one Chinese company participated in the bidding process and which will be deemed qualified as per set rules and regulations selected formally.

Another GPA official told Gwadar Pro, that it is the second time that bidding has had to be initiated. This time the bidding opened on November 11. Currently two companies joined the bidding. The previous bidding process opened on August 16 and soon it had to be cancelled due to some technical reasons. Last time six companies including a Chinese enterprise came forward. The total cost of dredging, he said, will be determined

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The Interior ministry has again informed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership about possible fear of suicide or bomb attack on the long march.

A letter addressed to PTI Secretary General Asad Umar, states that the interior ministry has been sharing threat alerts generated by credible intelli-

gence sources to the life of Imran Khan by anti-state elements to destabilise the country. The letter also mentioned the recent attack on Imran Khan by an armed assailant at Wazirabad.

The letter said that extremist parties may carry out terrorist attacks on PTI’s long march. The letter further said that there are threats of suicide or bomb attacks in public gatherings, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf should post-

pone the public gathering in Rawalpindi, the letter further said. The Interior Ministry has formally conveyed to the concerned quarters the threat to the life of Imran Khan and the general public.

Earlier, Punjab Home Minister Omar Sarfraz Cheema said that intelligence reports confirmed serious threats to Imran Khan’s life and the government is providing foolproof security to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief.

The FIA on Thursday recommended putting names of the accused of M-6 fund misappropriation on exit control list on Thursday. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Sindh, in a letter to the FIA Immigration Islamabad, recommended keeping the names of the accused in motorway M6 funds scam in the no-fly list. Deputy Commissioner Naushehro Feroz Tashfeen Alam, DC Matiari Adnan Rashid, Assistant Commissioner New Saeedabad Mansoor Abbasi and branch manager Sindh Bank Mir Mohammad Suhag have been included in the list of the accused. Earlier, the National Highway Authority (NHA) had sought details of the misappropriated motorway funds from the Sindh government. A fact-finding committee of the NHA also visited Matiari and Naushehro Feroz districts. The committee members held meetings with real owners of the land and sought details from them, sources said. The highway authority had also demanded of the provincial government to handover the matter to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for inquiry into the scam. The amount was released by the NHA to deputy commissioners for procurement of land for construction of the M-6 motorway from Hyderabad to Sukkur. DC Naushehro Feroz Tashfeen Alam has been in hiding and the Sindh government has constituted a team for his arrest.

According to documents, the National Highway Authority had released an amount of Rs. 4.09 billion to DC Matiari for purchase of the land for the motorway. The accused drawn Rs 1.82 billion cash from bank for procurement of land for 70 kilometers of the road. An amount of Rs four billion was transferred to another account by the accused and earned 540 million rupees profit. AC New Saeedabad paid cash to the landowners instead of cheques, according to case papers.

center of its interventions,” said a press release issues here.

Staff RepoRt

The World Food Programme (WFP) launched its new Country Strategic Plan (CSP) 2023-2027, progressive shift from its traditional role as a provider of food assistance to a provider of support for inclusive and equitable national policy and capacity development.

Chris Kaye, Country Director of WFP Pakistan, presented the new CSP at the Executive Board Meeting in Rome, Italy, and said, “Building on the broad consultations with stakeholders and benefitting from the evaluation of the current CSP, WFP formulated the new CSP by putting the partnership with the government at the

He said, “The work of WFP in Pakistan over the next five years will encompass livelihoods, social protection, food systems, and humanitarian response”. The strategic plan comes at a critical time when the country is reeling from the devastating impacts of the floods, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of millions.

Kaye further said that the current needs and response to the flood emergency in Pakistan underpin the need for investment in strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change, supporting access to nutritious food, and reinforcing food systems. The four strategic outcomes of the

CSP underscore WFP’s increasing focus on enabling and supporting national and provincial institutions to address the country’s food security and nutrition needs. Also, the outcomes will promote equal access to resources, prepare for and respond to emergencies, and build resilience to confront the challenges posed by climate change and other shocks.

The Federal Minister of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety of Pakistan Shazia Atta Marri, recognized the longstanding partnership of WFP with the Government of Pakistan in her remarks at the Executive Board meeting and said, “WFP’s CSP provides a vision which is aligned with the priorities of the

Government, both at the federal and provincial levels.”She highlighted the mutual trust and accountability between the two partners, with specific reference to implementation of the largescale stunting prevention programme, the ‘Benazir Nashonuma Programme’. The programme is one of the most innovative and comprehensive efforts of any Government to tackle stunting in South-East Asia.

“We recognize the competence and professionalism of WFP to help implement a technical programme that will have a lasting impact not only on the future of women and children, but also on the communities and the country as a whole,” Minister Marri added.

per cubic meter considering the scale of operation and the size of the area to be cleared from siltation. On a query, he said that around Rs. 1 billion has already been allocated for the dredging process in the current budget 2022-23.

“The Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) has invited firms or contractors having sufficient experience in the relevant field, financially sound and suitably qualified in maintenance dredging of the navigation channel in accordance with prescribed tender documents” he added.

ISLAMABAD

contempt case: ministry tells sc imran made ‘wrong statement’ in written reply

ADMIn, PolICE FInAlIzE ArrAnGEMEnTS

For PTI rAllIES, PuBlIC GAThErInG

RAWALPINDI Staff report

THEdistrict administration, police, city traffic police and Rescue-1122 on Thursday finalized all arrangements for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rallies and public gathering.

Police personnel including commandos from the Elite Force and sharpshooters would be deployed to provide foolproof security cover to the rallies and public gathering.

The district administration and police have finalised the traffic, security and Rescue-1122 plans for the movement of rallies of PTI heading towards Rawalpindi to stage a protest. As per the programme, the leadership of PTI would be heading the rallies.

According to City Traffic Officer (CTO) Tamoor Khan, all the arrange-

ments for PTI Long March and public gathering had been finalized.

He said, special diversion plans had been finalized to regulate traffic on city roads during the long march and public meeting.

Enhanced number of traffic wardens would be deployed on alternative routes to ease traffic flow and facilitate the road users, he said adding, CTP would also try to spread awareness about up-to-date traffic situation through FM 88.6 and social media. The police have formulated a comprehensive security plan for maintaining law and order until the protesters leave the city.

According to a police spokesman, over 10,000 personnel would be deployed to ensure security while 750 traffic wardens and officers would also be deployed to ensure foolproof traffic arrangements.

He informed that over 400 Elite com-

mandos would be on security duty during the long march and the public meeting.

Additional police force would be deployed on Murree Road and other routes of the long march while the teams of Elite and Dolphin forces would be patrolling in different areas to check law and order situation. Over 100 snipers and police officials would be stationed atop buildings on the route of the long march.

The police have made foolproof security arrangements for safety of the public meeting and 2500 police personnel would be deployed in the inner cordon.

Monitoring of the routes of the rallies would be conducted through CCTV cameras while four special vehicles equipped with CCTV cameras facility would also be used to monitor the security of the routes of the rallies.

On the directives of City Police Officer, Rawalpindi, senior police officers would remain in the field to check field

duties and brief the police personnel.

Elite Force, Dolphin and personnel of other units had also been deployed to make all the security arrangements foolproof.

CPO Syed Shehzad Nadeem Bukhari said that all available resources would be utilized to provide best possible security cover to the public meeting.

Rescue-1122 have also finalized all the arrangements for the public gathering.

According to a Rescue-1122 spokesman, Rescue-1122 on the directives of District Emergency Officer, Rawalpindi had declared code red across Rawalpindi district. Special Rescue-1122 teams had been deployed in two shifts while more than 300 rescuers to provide emergency cover to the public gathering.

Rescue-1122 vehicles of other districts of the division would also be available in case of any emergency, he added.

He said, Rescue-1122 to remain on high alert during the public meeting.

Treacherous winter may kill ‘thousands’ more in flood-hit areas

QUETTA anadolu agency

Sarah Inam murder accused to be indicted on Dec 5

ISLAMABAD Staff report

A court in Islamabad Thursday set December 5 as the date to announce indictment in the Sarah Inam murder case. Accused including Shahnawaz Amir and Samina Shah will be indicted on December 5. Sessions Judge Atta Rabbani will indict the accused. The court provided the copies of the challan to the accused and directed them to ensure their presence at the next hearing. Lawyer for accused Samina Shah, Nisar Asghar Advocate, submitted the power of attorney to the court. The court then adjourned the hearing of the case till December 5 next.

Top court orders law enforcement to abide by law in dealing with journalists

ISLAMABAD Staff report

The Supreme Court on Thursday conducted a hearing on a suo motu notice against the alleged harassment of journalists at the hands of security agencies and ordered them to abide by the law in dealing with members of the press. “Currently, no criminal action is being taken against any journalist by the government,” the additional attorney general told the court. “Another petition has been filed by the civil society in the case of journalists,” Barrister Haider Waheed said. “The petition demands the right to freedom of expression on social media too as it is available on electronic media,” he added. “Due to lack of time, the case cannot be heard today,” Justice Ijaz ul-Ahsan, part of a threejudge bench, said before adjourning the hearing for an indefinite period of time.

A thin sweater, an acrylic shawl with patches, and a pair of plastic shoes, are Mohammad Jamal’s only defense against a stinging cold that has enormously added to a barrage of hardships his family and he have been facing for over two months.

Lodged in a tarpaulin tent along the main highway in Dera Murad Jamali, a remote district of Balochistan and one of the hardest-hit regions by the recent rains and super floods, the family is haplessly struggling against a treacherous winter that appears to be another nightmare for them.

It has been almost four months since massive rains along with near-apocalyptic floods struck Pakistan, inundating a third of the South Asian country, and thousands of victims are still lodged in tents, shelter camps, or along highways across Sindh and Balochistan. Dozens of other families taking refuge in the regions are going through a similar ordeal.

Both sides of the highway are still under putrid floodwater, aggravating the impact of cold weather. A group of people was sitting around a fire to keep themselves warm, while many of the children were walking around barefoot, with some wearing plastic shoes or slippers.

But gathering dry wood for fires is another task for the affected people, who have to trudge through the highway to find some as the majority of the area surrounding their temporary housing facility is still submerged.

Almost everyone at the facility was coughing or sneezing or suffering from some kind of illness as the thin-sheeted tents were insufficient to keep the raging cold at bay. “Almost everyone is feeling unwell here. This I can tell you for sure,” said Jamal, who used to work as a labourer on farmland in

the suburbs of Dera Murad Jamali before the massive rains and floods struck in early September.

The farmland is still under the floodwaters, while his house, like hundreds of thousands of others, has been flattened, making it impossible for him to return.

Jamal, a father of four, told Anadolu Agency that the winter has brought a new set of diseases to flood victims.

“We were already grappling with several waterborne, eyes, and skin-related diseases, and now it’s dengue, pneumonia, cough, flue, and other illness,” he went on to say.

HarsHer montHs aHead: In case of sickness, the patient’s family either transports him to the nearby hospital, which is five kilometres (3 miles) away, on a bull or donkey cart or looks for a lift. “Several people, including children and women, die of pneumonia, gastroenteritis, and other diseases, but this all is going unreported,” Jamal claimed.

The government has listed the number of casualties caused by the rains and floods since mid-June at over 1,700.

Nonetheless, relief organizations and health experts believe the figures are higher because deaths caused by post-flood conditions, primarily diseases, are not included in official statistics.

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), a national body of medical professionals, too believes that the number of flood-related casualties is “manifold” higher than the official figures.

Dilbar Hussein Mangi, another flood victim, foresees the coming months as even harsher.

“Traditionally, December and January are the coldest months, with intermittent showers,” Mangi, a farmer and father of five, told Anadolu Agency.

In case of rains, he feared, the tents where they are sheltering will not work. “These tents can’t block the (cold) air at night. How could they protect us from rain?” he argued.

HealtH experts warn: Although, there are no official figures to specifically count the number of flood-battered people still living in tents, Salman Ali, an official of Al-Khidmat Foundation, one of the country’s largest relief organisations, estimates that the number is in the thousands.

“The vast majority of displaced people have returned home. However, since their houses have been flattened or damaged by rains and floods, many of them also are living in tents (on their land) provided by the government or relief agencies during the time of displacement,” Ali told Anadolu Agency.

Pakistan to send helicopter to Mali mission: UN spokesperson

Pakistan will send an attack helicopter to join a United Nations peacekeeping mission in the violence-torn West African nation of Mali after several nations withdrew, or announced plans to pull out, personnel, a spokesperson for the secretary general said.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman to António Guterres, said India will supply a utility helicopter unit for the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSMA, and all three are expected to be deployed by March next year.

“These provide much-needed [armed escort] to our

forces and are critical for early warning and rapid response to protect civilians,” the spokesman told reporters at his regular press briefing at UN headquarters in New York. “The UN continues to discuss with member states the deployment of new assets and plans to fill longer-standing gaps in addition to those resulting from recent announcements” of withdrawals, he said.

MINUSMA was established in 2013 to support foreign and local troops battling militants, but in recent months there have been repeated instances of tensions between the Malian authorities and the mission.

MINUSMA has about 12,000 military personnel deployed in the country. The three largest contributors are

Chad, Bangladesh and Egypt.

Despite the dangerous nature of the MINUSMA, Pakistan Army doctors serving in Mopti, a town in the fifth administrative region of Mali, have continued to perform, earning praise for their work. They operate a state-of-the-art hospital staffed with 75 medical personnel, including 10 women, according to the UN.

The hospital operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the administration is always on alert. All specialities are covered, from pharmacy to gynaecology. However, its main purpose is to perform life-saving and urgent surgery when peacekeepers are injured, it was pointed out.

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UNITED NATIONS Staff report

Crucial appointment

He designation of Lt Gen Asim Munir as the next Chief of Army Staff, to succeed Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, did not take that long after the summary was moved by the Ministry of Defence. General Munir’s appointment was expected, he being at the top of the seniority list. The appointment of the second officer on the seniority list, Lt Gen Shamshad Mirza, as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, means that the Prime Minister has apparently not exercised any choice, not picked and chosen, but simply appointed the most senior officer CoAS and the next most senior Chairman. That is actually a sensible approach, which needs to be institutionalized. It has been applied with a fair degree of success in the judiciary. one advantage is that it has taken the uncertainty of the process, and has removed the discretion of the executive. It might be further noted that there is greater selectivity and more rigour in screening officers than in elevating judges to the Bench. Such a principle would also lessen, perhaps even eliminate, the kind of unseemly speculation that went on before the present appointment.

Because much of the media coverage and analysis was just speculation, not solid facts, there was discomfort caused to the Army. There were unfair slurs cast on various officers, assigning them sympathies for political parties, which they probably did not feel. The implications of PTI chief Imran Khan’s claims about letting Mian Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari have a say in the CoAS’ appointment, that they would seek a Coas who would let them get away with theft, is hardly complimentary to the new CoAS, and involves assumptions about the laxity of the military promotion process that are not borne out by facts.

The new CoAS has got quite a lot on his plate. His new job is no sinecure, not with General Bajwa’s farewell address the day before establishing some of the goals he will have to further. foremost will be keeping the Army out of politics. The purely professional challenges are also considerable. With a Hindu chauvinist BJP government in India, challenges could arise at any time. There is a live war between Ukraine and russia, with another between the USA and Iran possible. Pakistan’s traditional close relationship has been threatened both by its stand-off with the USA, another longtime Pakistani ally, and the problems CPeC is still facing after the neglect of the PTI government. General Asim is unlikely to go out seeking trouble, as plenty will come to him.

Hail to the Chief

At Penpoint M A NIAZI

THe appointment of Lt Gen Asim Munir as the next Chief of Army Staff, though dramatic, was hardly a surprise. However, General Asim had been rendered controversial because of his having been removed early from his assignment as DG ISI, back in 2019, after it is alleged, he told then Prime Minister Imran Khan of corruption in the Punjab. The allegations were of old-fashioned corruption, of money being taken for postings, by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, whom Imran had labelled his ‘Wasim Akram-Plus’, Imran’s wife Bushra and her friend farah Shahzadi ‘Gogi. Imran’s reaction had not been to stop the corruption, but to get the officer moved out of ISI. His replacement, Lt Gen faiz Hameed, was more to Imran’s liking, and the delay, in late 2020, over his being posted as Corps Commander Peshawar, was because Imran wanted to retain him as DG ISI.

Interestingly, General faiz was also on the list of the six most senior eligible officers for the posts of CoAS and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, but at seniority no 5. General faiz retires in April, while General Asim’s three-year tenure ends in November 2025.

on the face of it, General Asim just happened to be the senior most, but his stand as DG ISI, showed that he was not a True Believer in the Imran narrative. It could also be seen from the episode how thew Army protects its own. He did not suffer from that incident, and was given the Gujranwala Corps instead of the ISI. After two years as a corps commander, he came to GHQ as the Quarter Master General, his present assignment. He had been DGMI before going to the ISI There he remained until June 2019.

inclined. That apparently did not stop him from doing what was right. It is possible to see him telling Imran about the malfeasances in Punjab in a positive spirit, in the belief that he would carry out a self-correction. Instead, he demanded his head. The CoAS had to do some clever footwork to get him his corps command, and make sure he qualified for the CoAS slot. General Bajwa can be seen as fair to all, for his insistence on moving General faiz from ISI was so that he could command a corps, and thus qualify for the top slot.

There is another reason why General Asim is a standout: he is not a Kakul graduate. He passed out from the officers Training School, Mangla. Having won the Sword of Hour there in his course, would have stood him in good stead, but he would have spent his working life having to live down the oTS label. He would also have found himself excluded from the informal network which is under the formal network that constitutes the structure of the Army. He is a Piffer (that is, was commissioned into a unit of the frontier force regiment), which means that the infantry retains the slot, as it has done continuously since a gunner last held the job, Gen Pervez Musharraf. General Bajwwa belonged to the Baloch regiment, his predecessor, Gen rasheel Sharif, was also a Piffer.

but from another he is powerless. He is all powerful if his orders are the ones that will be obeyed. He is powerless in that he must ensure that his orders do not go against the wishes of the institution, which essentially means the officer corps.

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

Some historical lessons can be drawn from that episode, assuming it occurred. first, it would have served as evidence to the Army that Imran was afflicted by the politicians’ disease of corruption. It would also explain the pressure on Imran by the military to remove Buzdar. It was just his inefficient governance, but his being at the centre of the nexus of corruption. This episode would also have provided a strong argument for those who felt that Army interventions in politics, which was ongoing up to the time of the 2018 elections, were counterproductive. The best way of preserving the Army’s reputation would be to withdraw itself from politics, General Asim would be the right person for such a task, as he has been not just DG ISI, but was DGMI just before that. While his appointment was given such wide coverage and close attention because off the Army’s previous political role, the speech of his predecessor, Gen Qamar Jaced Bajwa, to a Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony the day before, would also express sentiments that would tie his hands. However, his political importance may not be as great as that of some of his predecessors, but it will still be great.

There is no indication of his having been feverishly pro-Imran before his taking over the ISI, but it is a safe assumption that he was likely to have been favourably

That he is of a different caste from General Bajwa (whose very name identifies him as a Jat) means that Punjab Chief Minister Ch Pervez elahi (or other Jat politicians) will no longer be able to trade on this. Ch Pervez has used the caste coincidence to increase his own importance in Imran’s eyes. However, though there are a number of Syed politicians, none can use that to claim access to the Syed who has now become CoAS. The last Syed to have held the job was Pervez Musharraf. He did not allow this to become a means of getting close to him.

The country is a little like a recovering alcoholic or drug addict. Martial law is like a relapse, and as alcoholics or addicts can attest, once in the trap, one cannot ever assume that one is out of it. Alcoholics and addicts always identify themselves as such, merely adding the number of days they have stayed away from substance abuse.

Though Imran did not want General Asim appointed, the vigour of the institution’s reaction may force him to tacitly accept the appointment. He had earlier tried to make the appointment controversial by saying that consulting Mian Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari would mean they would attempt to pick a CoAS who would help them cover up their corruption. The episode of the Punjab corruption makes it seems that he wanted to make the appointment because he wanted his own corruption covered up. Be that as it may, it should be noted that the new CoAS will not be beholden to the Prime Minister, as he was after all the most senior officer. even if he feels beholden, he will be overcome by his institution. from one point of view, the CoAS is all powerful,

That means that whenever Martial Law was imposed, it was done because the officer corps wanted it. In the case of the third Martial Law, that imposed by Martial Ziaul Haq, he resisted doing so, but then found he had to. once he had, everything then followed.

Similarly, General Musharraf would not have imposed Martial Law if a redline had not been crossed.

It is a separate discussion how much he and his team contributed to that crossing (his dismissal), but the fact of the matter is that the officer corps was more or less ready.

The CoAS thus has to keep on assessing the mood of the officer corps, which relies on his judgement. That also means that political leaders have to do the same. It should not view the CoAS as an uncrossable barrier. The new CoAS should try to make sure that matters do not reach the point of no-return.

The country is a little like a recovering alcoholic or drug addict. Martial law is like a relapse, and as alcoholics or addicts can attest, once in the trap, one cannot ever assume that one is out of it. Alcoholics and addicts always identify themselves as such, merely adding the number of days they have stayed away from substance abuse. Pakistan has been under Martial Law. At this point, it has avoided military rule for under a decade. Hopefully, General Asim will lengthen that time. It is a pity that the primary method of assessing his legacy will not be on how well he leads the Pakistan Army, or what reforms he introduces, or anything that he does, but rather on something he doesn’t do (impose martial law). But that is the price of being CoAS.

writer is a member of staff

Sharif’s assassination probe still behind closed doors

tions” in the initial probe, Sharif’s wife, Javeria Siddique, asked the President that a UN-led investigation should be held in the case. “I, therefore, request you to help us in ensuring a through probe into Shaheed Arshad’s brutal murder by no other than a highpowered international team of experts under direct supervision of United Nations, for dispensation of justice that my shaheed husband truly deserves,” read the letter on November 17 adding, “we have not received any support from the state or the country.”

Sharif, who was living in self-exile, was killed near Kenyan capital Nairobi on october 23 after he reached there from Dubai, after he left Pakistan in August over alleged threats to his life. Kenyan police first said that Sharif was killed in a case of “mistaken identity” but since the journalist’s postmortem and his body’s transfer to Pakistan, several Kenyan news outlets have not only questioned the police’s conduct but have raised questions over the manner in which he was killed. Kenyan Human rights Commission’s Senior Programme Adviser Martin Mavenjina, speaking to a local news outlet, said that the murder investigation hinted at an “inside job” and that Sharif had been under surveillance for a while.

journalist Arshad Sharif was shot from a close range and the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. Addressing an important press conference in Islamabad, the former federal minister had said that Arshad Sharif’s murder was “pre-planned” and its conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan. He claimed that he had been in contact with the journalist since the day Sharif left the country.

The government had formed an investigation team to look into the matter which had returned from Kenya, but the Kenyan police has not yet given Pakistani investigators all of Sharif’s recovered belongings. A top fIA official said it looked certain that the senior journalist was the victim of a murder plot and this was based on the evidence Pakistan had gathered so far. “We believe that the Kenya police was involved in the targeted killing of Arshad Sharif,” the senior fIA officer said.

The information emerging from the Kenyan wing of the investigation is contradictory.

Some TV channels sent their correspondents to the AmmoDump shooting site in Kenya where Sharif stayed for the last time with Khurram Ahmad, the driver on the fateful night. The two host brothers, Waqar and, Khurram had assured Pakistani investigators that they will fully cooperate with the Pakistani investigation and assured to provide CCTV of the riverside residence penthouse where Sharif stayed for two months in Nairobi, but failed to provide anything as requested three weeks after giving assurances to Pakistan’s investigation team. The brothers have provided no assistance to Pakistan. Around 10 US instructors and US national trainees were present at AmmoDump Shooting range on the last night of Arshad Sharif’s life who also had dinner together. A

list of names and contact details of instructors and treaters who were present at the training site was also requested but not received yet. The lawyer for Waqar and Khurram had said in a statement that their clients were innocent. And this is simple. It looks as if all independent attempts to get information are met with a wall of silence.

Now amidst reports of the journalist Arshad Sharif being tortured before his death, some other piece of information came to the fore adding a statement by a PML(N) spokesperson on November 20. Tasneem Haider Shah, the PML (N) London spokesperson, levelled serious allegations against his party’s top leadership and claimed that the assassination plots against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan and slain journalist Arshad Sharif were prepared in London. Shah claimed that Nawaz Sharif had asked him to provide shooters. This can be a fake statement with political allegations but there is need to obtain more evidence to confirm all this.

It has been said that such investigations could be the cause of his assassination. Now the question is when Sharif is no more who would be serious enough to investigate his murder when his mother and widow seek justice? Who would explore what was behind this crime?

Sharif’s widow has written a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, seeking a United Nations-led probe into his brutal killing. Citing “discrepancies, anomalies and contradic-

The fIA has asked Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf leader Murad Saeed and former federal minister faisal Vawda to appear before fIA Headquarters on November 21 along with evidence. Murad Saeed, who served as the federal minister for communications during the PTI government, had made certain claims about who was threatening Arshad Sharif which had forced him to flee the country. on the other hand, Vawda in a press conference on oct 26 claimed that senior

A transparent investigation was something that journalists throughout the world required but here the government has not reported any progress in the investigations till date. Most Pakistanis call for an independent UN probe into Sharif’s brutal murder. On the other hand, The Supreme Court needs to investigate the probe and ask the Kenyan government for more data.

A transparent investigation was something that journalists throughout the world required but here the government has not reported any progress in the investigations till date. Most Pakistanis call for an independent UN probe into Sharif’s brutal murder. on the other hand, The Supreme Court needs to investigate the probe and ask the Kenyan government for more data. And if this case would get more delay in investigations, the crime would be washed away leaving no traces and seeking no justice; and then there will be no way to know who was behind Sharif’s assassination.

The writer can be contacted at aishaz99@gmail.com twitter: @aishaz99

Now that a new COAS has been designated, the country can start getting back to normal

The

Before senior journalist Arshad Sharif’s untimely demise, he was working on an explosive investigative documentary on corruption titled Behind Closed Doors

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

TThe price of being COAS The probe has gone awry

Army’s achievements in the last six years

aggression with full might.”

It is mentionable that unlike other countries’ war against terrorism, including the USled Western countries’ war against these non-state actors, Pakistan’s armed forces displayed unbelievable progress through the military operation Zarb-e-Azb.

During General Bajwa’s term, continuing the Zarb-e-Azb, in february 2017, the Pakistan Army launched operation radd-ul-fasaad aimed at indiscriminately eliminating the residual/latent threat of terrorism, and further ensuring Pakistan’s border security.

Lahore’s Johar Town blast and several terrorist incidents in Balochistan would not have taken place.

Meanwhile, the eU DisinfoLab has continued unraveling gradually, India’s terror-network and anti-Pakistan propaganda campaign which has been operating since 2005 to discredit nations, particularly Pakistan. It aims to reinforce pro-Indian and anti-Pakistan and anti-Chinese feelings.

Islamabad raised the issues of Indian terrorism, hostile propaganda campaign, fake websites against Pakistan and suck like on various international forums.

Editor’s mail

Nonstop nonsense in Clifton Block 2

THe inhabitants of area around the Indus Valley School in Clifton Block 2, including Marina elevation Apartments, are facing serious frustration owing to lack of any response from the relevant authorities to their repeated complaints about the presence of a large number of auto-repair workshops in the vicinity. A purely residential area has been completely commercialised, making even a simple walk on the street — day or night — difficult, if not impossible.

These workshops remain functional almost 16 hours a day and carry out all kinds of mechanical work that involves oil, grease, diesel, petrol and any other thing one can imagine. Add to it the denting and painting shops that deal with spray paints mixed with chemicals after they are done with gas and electric welding operations.

All these fumes and smells have left the environment seriously polluted, and the people living in the area are paying the cost with their falling health and depleting finances. And, mind you, we have yet not started talking about the noise pollution in the area. It’s severe and serious.

The trouble does not end here for the area residents. Just when these workshops begin to wind up their 16-hour day, it is time for the other nuisance in the area to begin its 8-hour operations. Indeed, I am talking about the roadside hotels and eateries in the area that remain functional till late in the night, which can also be described as early in the morning.

The two elements together consume the 24-hour lifecycle of the area residents. Now what should they do, especially when all this is happening in connivance with the relevant agencies?

The locality is inhabited by responsible citizenry who came to the area in the hope of living a peaceful life by the sea and to enjoy the breeze and an environment which was supposed to be better than most parts of the polluted city that Karachi unfortunately is. In short, they came here in the hope of having some peace of mind, and that very commodity — the peace of mind — is non-existent in the scenario described above.

The aggrieved people have made all possible efforts in terms of approaching all the relevant agencies supposedly taking care of environment, encroachments and general administration, but to no avail. Will somebody suggest some other agency that can be reached in this regard? Please? Will somebody wake up at the agencies already approached? Please. Will somebody advise us about how to wake somebody up in these agencies? Please!

MANSOOR UL HAQUE SOLANGI KARACHI

GeN

one of the most important achievements of General Bajwa is that under his command, Pakistan’s security agencies, especially the Pakistan Army, habe been successfully coping with hybrid war, or fifth-generation warfare.

In April 2018, General Bajwa said that hybrid war had been imposed on Pakistan to internally weaken i.“our enemies are trying to weaken our resolve by weakening us from within.”

In fact, besides some other US-led Western countries, including Israel and particularly India, are waging a hybrid war against Pakistan. This is also due to the fact that the latter is the only nuclear country in the Islamic world.

As part of anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim policies, the Indian extremist government of the fanatic Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the biased ruling party BJP, is acting upon the ideology of Hindutva ((Hindu Nationalism). Their various malicious moves such as persecution of religious minorities, especially Muslims, demographic changes in the disputed territory of the Indian occupied Kashmir, abrogation of the articles 35A and 370 of the Constitution, which gave a special status to the Indian occupied Kashmir, bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, of Jammu and Kashmir and of Ladakh, to be ruled by the federal government, strict military lockdown and deployment of more than 900,000 troops there, and martyrdom of tens of thousands of the Kashmiris are notable.

Indian forces had also intensified shelling inside the Pakistani side of Kashmir by violating the ceasefire agreement across the Line of Control (LoC) and compelled the Pakistan Army to give a matching reply.

However, both China and Pakistan rejected Indian illegal measures. Particularly, New Delhi had escalated tensions with Islamabad in the aftermath of the false-flag terror attack at Pulwama in Indian occupied Kashmir. on 27 february2019, when in response to the Indian so-called pre-emptive air strike near the town of Balakot, close to the border with Pakistan’s sector of Kashmir, Pakistan Air force (PAf) shot down two Indian Air force (IAf) fighter jets and launched aerial strikes at six targets in the Indian occupied Kashmir. Pakistan’s civil and military leaders have repeatedly been pointing out that India is planning another false-flag operation. a Pulwama II, against Pakistan in order to divert attention from its internal issues and the failure of its external policy. Taking cognisance of these developments, General Bajwa has repeatedly warned India, saying: “We will respond to any

Addressing the Defence Day and Martyrs Day ceremony on 6 September 2018, General Bajwa stated: “The country passed through a very difficult phase during the past two decades…our forces and nation have rendered sacrifices in the war against terrorism…our houses, schools and leaders were attacked. efforts were made to weaken us internally.” Noting that more than 70,000 Pakistanis were martyred and injured in this war (2017), the Army Chief vowed to collectively fight this menace of terrorism.

However, Pakistan’s armed forces and primary intelligence agency ISI have successfully broken the backbone of the foreign-backed terrorists. Peace has been restored in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and in Karachi as well as in other vulnerable regions.

But, in the recent past, terrorist attacks especially in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan which is a central point of the China-Pakistan economic Corridor (CPeC), show that the CIA-led Indian rAW and Israeli Mossad are destabilizing Pakistan and want to damage the CPeC project which is part of China’s one Belt, one road (oBor) initiative or BrI, as Washington and New Delhi have already opposed this project.

Pakistan Army has not only been successful in uprooting the anti-state and separatist elements, but also contributed a lot in socio-economic development of Balochistan besides giving military training to the youth, while protecting mega-projects and the CPeC staff.

It is noteworthy that the Taliban fighters on 15 August 2021 entered the Afghan capital Kabul and seized power, taking control of Afghanistan. The Taliban-led government clarified that Afghan soil would not be used for any terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS and TTP for terror attacks against neighbouring countries, including Pakistan. But, regarding some recent terror attacks, sources suggested that some militants of the TTP, which is based in Afghanistan, have entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. Hence, the military leadership has warned Kabul to check this infiltration.

In November, 2020 at a joint press conference, DG ISPr Maj Genl (now |Lt Gen) Babar Iftikhar and the then foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi unveiled a dossier containing “irrefutable evidence” of India’s sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram had handed over the dossier to the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

In its 27th report, dated 3 february 2021 and the 28th report, recently published, the UN Security Council’s monitoring team for tracking terrorist groups confirmed Pakistan’s dossier, and drew attention to the increasing cross-border terrorist threat to Pakistan.

regarding various terror assaults, the then foreign Minister Qureshi had remarked that if the international community had taken timely notice of Islamabad’s concerns over New Delhi’s involvement in terrorist activities across Pakistan,

While under General Bajwa’s command the commencing of fencing along the PakistanAfghanistan border in June 2017 by the Army to improve the security situation and the near-completion of the project in 2021 is praiseworthy. And CoAS General Bajwa played a key role in the merger of fATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Afterwards, he has frequently visited some of these regions and congratulated the tribal elders and the youth,and reiterated that this mainstreaming shall facilitate bringing enduring peace, stability and socio-economic development of the long neglected and terrorism rid areas.

It is mentionable that besides Army’s other services in relation to the cronavirus pandemic, when the unprecedented deadly floods and extraordinary monsoon rains which began in June, this year destroyed lives, livelihoods and infrastructure in Pakistan’s various regions, General Bajwa himself supervised the Army’s rescue and relief operations in the affected areas. Besides the efforts of the Pakistan Navy and the Pakistan Air force, the Army also saved the lives of thousands of individuals. The Army also provided the people of the flood-stricken areas with basic needs of life as well as safe shelter and medical treatment.

And it was due to General Bajwa’s efforts that on october 21, the financial Action Task force (fATf), a global money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog, removed Pakistan from a list of countries under “increased monitoring”, also known as the “grey list”, while Indian lobbying and propaganda campaign to blacklist Pakistan failed.

In this context, DG ISPr, General Iftikhar, pointed out on June 17: “Completion of fATf AML/CfT action plans by Pakistan is a great achievement…Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said that the Core Cell established at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in rawalpindi, in addition to civil and military team, made Pakistan proud by successfully completing action plan of the financial Action Task force.”

regrettably, at this juncture, several moves such as an assassination attempt on the former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), on November 3, continuation of his ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ (real freedom) March, his direct arrival in rawalpindi on November 26, expected to reach Islamabad along with his supporters, demanding early elections, and the refusal of the PDM government to accept Khan’s demand. show that political entities and many media persons are moving the country towards anarchy or civil war. reports also suggest that the government may announce a date for early elections.

Nevertheless, some third elements such as rAW or some anti-Pakistan foreign entities can again target the long march or Imran Khan to widen the gulf between Army and PDM on one side and the PTI supporters on the other, with the aim to further destabilize the country.

So, all the official and non-official entities must sign a charter of unity which is essential to pull the country out of the ongoing grave crises which are causing a greater setback to the country’s fragile economy.

Development at a cost

AfTer much pomp and fanfare at the launch of Green Line bus project late last year, with the media highlighting the event along with orange Line’s inauguration, we now see development work being done on red Line these days as part of second line of Bus rapid Transit (BrT) in Karachi, with the aim of providing decent, affordable transport to the citizens.

Modern urban transport systems are used to facilitate the public in mega cities around the world. The planned route for red Line bus would start from Model Colony, and run through Malir Cantonment, Gulistan-iJauhar, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and areas all along the University road, connecting them with the Green Line BrT at Numaish Chowrangi, making it a 26.6km corridor. While this so-called ‘game-changer’ may be good news and something to ‘celebrate’ for some, and may be beneficial to citizens in the time to come, the project has brought more misery and has made life a hassle for those who have already been facing horrible traffic jams, especially in the morning and evening office hours across University road.

A little over a lane on both sides of the route on roads from Safoora Chowk till Jail Chowrangi bridge, and at People’s Chowrangi near Islamia College, have been blocked by putting barricades all along the way. This has created logjams and the situation gets worse during peak hours. The misery of the commuters is to be seen to be believed. In fact, it has to be suffered to be believed. Whenever such mega projects of urban transportation are launched around the world, alternative routes are planned in advance and professional approaches are adopted to make the construction work hasslefree for the commuters. This is done to ensure there is no traffic congestion and that the project’s execution remains smooth.

As the said project is expected to be completed in at least a couple of years, if everything goes as planned, the public, especially the daily commuters, will suffer traffic jams till the project gets completed. What is the administration’s plan in this regard?

In order to decrease pressure of vehicular traffic on University road during the length of the project, the authorities concerned should take remedial measures, like re-routing of vehicular traffic through service roads on both sides of the main road. But this can be possible only if these service roads are made encroachment-free and parking-free zones.

Besides, it is vital to deploy traffic police to regulate the flow, particularly in the evening hours when there is heavy rush of commuters returning home from their workplaces only to face physical agony and mental anguish on the way back.

SHAKIL KHAWAJA KARACHI

Soiled currency notes

THoUGH fresh banknotes are infused in circulation by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) from time to time, soiled currency notes remain a constant sight in everyday transactions. The way we keep and use currency notes is rather strange, and that shortens the life of the legal tender.

When banks receive such seriously worn out notes, they hold them back under the SBP policy. It costs us a huge sum of money on printing banknotes, handling unfit currency notes, and ensuring the availability of fit notes in the market.

How banknotes are worn out prematurely in Pakistan? If you do not know, just observe people doing strange things in society, like using them in garlands and showering them on an amazing range of performers.

We must understand that our attitude in this regard actually causes a severe and recurring burden on the exchequer.

The life of a banknote drops prematurely. The banknote happens to be a symbol of the nation’s sovereignty, and thus respecting it by using it solely for the intended purpose is our responsibility as citizens.

ABDUL NAJEEB LARKANA

Qamar Javed Bajwa who had been appointed as Chief of Army Staff in November 28, 2016, will retire on November 29, this year. Under his supervision and command, we need to highlight Pakistan Army’s achievements in the last six years.

sAjjAd shAukAt

How IMran KHan polarIzed a naTIon

as a pliant alternative to the two established political parties, and he initially seemed to rule with its support. But cracks in the relationship emerged as Khan pushed back on the appointment of a new intelligence chief in 2021, eventually leading the military to withdraw its support from him. This spring, when the opposition brought a no-confidence vote against Khan, his tenuous ruling coalition fell apart and he was ousted as prime minister.

Khan’s tenure ended in April, well before his fiveyear electoral term was due to expire in 2023. That premature conclusion was not altogether surprising: an elected Pakistani prime minister has never served out a full term in office. And although the manner of his ouster was legal—he lost a no-confidence vote in Parliament—what underlay it, as with all his predecessors, was his falling out with the military.

with his party winning 15 out of 20 electoral seats in by-elections for the Punjab provincial assembly held in July and six out of eight national Assembly seats in byelections held in October. The election results and gargantuan crowds at his rallies point to Khan upending the PML-n’s traditional power base in Punjab. Meanwhile, the current government is struggling with backbreaking inflation, dwindling foreign reserves, and a deepening economic crisis. It now has reason to fear voters’ wrath.

rejected Khan’s allegations regarding its involvement in his november shooting. But it is clear that the military perceives Khan as a formidable, even existential threat, capable of unleashing very large-scale popular anger against it and undermining its unquestionable dominance over Pakistan.

In early november, a gunman opened fire on Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and his supporters at a rally. One person was killed, many more injured, and Khan was struck in the leg. Although the motivation of the shooter, who was detained, remains unclear, Khan quickly blamed the government and, pointedly, a senior intelligence official for the attack. Since losing office in April in the wake of a no-confidence vote, Khan has led a campaign against both the new civilian government and the generals who are seen as the true power brokers in Pakistan. In so doing, he has deepened already fraught political tensions and put himself in unprecedented direct conflict with the military, once his ally.

The shooting has not derailed Khan’s “long march” on the capital, Islamabad. The rally at which he was attacked was one of a series that he has been staging in cities across the country to show the strength of his popular support. The next stage of the march begins on november 26 in Rawalpindi, Islamabad’s twin city, with Khan leading a mass demonstration to call for early elections. Khan seeks to return to power, decrying the corruption and collusion of the politicians who usurped him and the military leaders who he feels betrayed him.

But there is more at stake in Khan’s protest movement than his personal ambition. Once supportive of (and backed by) the military, he has now challenged both the civilian political establishment and the military by mobilizing many Pakistanis to join his cause—and stand against Pakistan’s traditional power blocs. In the process, he has upended some of the traditional formula of Pakistani politics and polarized the Pakistani electorate more than ever. Both the military and the political establishment see Khan as the most potent threat they have faced. Pakistan has become more unstable as a result, and political contestation now has even less to do with policy than it did before, at a perilous time of metastasizing economic and ecological crises. And neither side is backing down.

After making his name as the star captain of Pakistan’s national cricket team, Khan joined politics in 1996 and expanded his political platform in the last decade by styling himself as a maverick and an outsider. In doing so, he repudiated the traditional political elites and the two parties that had long dominated Pakistani politics: the Pakistan Muslim League, known as the PML-n, and the Pakistan People’s Party, known as the PPP. In 2018, he became prime minister when his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), defeated the incumbent PML-n. The military perceived Khan

But for Khan, the end was just the beginning. He has used his ouster to wage a powerful campaign of grievance, casting the current government as illegitimate and whipping up popular support. He has alleged that the military and his political rivals colluded with the United States to remove him, a conspiracy theory that, though lacking any evidence, has found ready support among his supporters. Day after day, week after week, he has led huge rallies across Pakistan, demonstrating his formidable street power.

These rallies are not staid political events. They are carnivals of sorts, full of musical performances and attended by men, women, and children. Voter preferences are difficult to discern in Pakistan because preelection polls are not regularly conducted in the country. But Khan’s supporters tend to be urban and middle class, many of them young people tired of Pakistan’s old political parties. They are a generation produced by social media; not for them the established parties’ dreary way of doing business through press conferences and dry speeches. Pakistan’s demographic trends—64 percent of its population is under 30—may favor Khan’s party more than his rivals in future elections. Although support for Khan is concentrated in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which are both held by his party, his base cuts across geography by drawing on disillusionment with the current political class. His chief rivals do not have this kind of broad-based backing; the PPP’s voter base is concentrated in Sindh, and the ruling PML-n draws the bulk of its support from Punjab, where it has been losing ground to Khan’s PTI.

A consummate populist, Khan offers his supporters a sweeping rejection of the institutions that have long shaped their lives. At his rallies and in countless interviews, Khan has described the current government as dynastic and corrupt (he calls the current prime minister “crime minister”) and undeserving of the office. But more important, Khan has taken on the military and derided its claims of political neutrality. His rhetoric has occasioned a dramatic reversal of roles. When Khan was prime minister, the PML-n and its allies had painted him as a puppet of the military. now back in power, the PML-n has completely shed its antimilitary stance. Khan, in turn, has made railing against the military establishment one of his defining mantras. Especially on social media, his supporters have directed their ire at General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the army chief who is arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan. Khan and his party have redrawn previously maintained red lines of criticism against the military, with the former prime minister pointing to the military’s involvement in his ouster and making direct accusations against a military official after his shooting.

This narrative seems to be working: Khan’s political momentum has already translated to the ballot box,

ON THE BACK FOOT: In the face of Khan’s populist juggernaut, the government and the military establishment have, in concert, turned to familiar tactics. They have pushed hard against Khan, his party, and the media channels allied with him, seeking to ensnare them in legal troubles. In August, police filed antiterrorism charges against Khan for making remarks that supposedly threatened police officers and a judge involved in a case against one of his aides; the charges were thrown out by the Islamabad high court a few weeks later. Some of Khan’s aides and senior party members have been temporarily detained. A television channel sympathetic to Khan was taken off the air, and journalists associated with it have reported feeling pressured to leave the country. In October, one prominent journalist in self-imposed exile in Kenya was killed in murky circumstances outside nairobi. Khan alleged that the journalist, Arshad Sharif, was shot in a “target killing,” saying that Sharif had been under threat while in Pakistan for, among other things, investigating corruption cases against the PML-n and PPP. And on October 21, the country’s election commission disqualified Khan from contesting elections for five years on charges of corruption. The legal case appears to be flimsy, and Khan has challenged it in court. none of these tactics are particularly original; nawaz Sharif, Khan’s predecessor and the brother of the sitting prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, was disqualified for life from holding office in Pakistan in 2017 by the Supreme Court on charges of not disclosing his personal income. But while Sharif left the country in 2019—he rules his party (and some suggest the government) from London—Khan has stayed following his own removal from office and pursued a single-minded quest to return to power.

For both sides, the next general election, constitutionally required to be held by the fall of 2023, looms large. If countrywide elections were held today, Khan’s party would in all probability win, with one caveat: Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy, and Khan’s choice of candidates would matter. In rural constituencies, patronage politics still reign supreme, and family dynasties hold sway. Khan wants elections to be held as soon as possible to capitalize on his current momentum. He has called for the long march to reconvene in Rawalpindi later this week; he has said previously that his party will continue to stage sit-ins until the government announces the dates of the next national election. As the ruling party, the PML-n, on the other hand, would rather wait as long as possible to hold elections. Since the party would likely be blamed for the country’s current troubles, its leaders hope to see the economy improve and inflationary pressures ease (and, not least, corruption charges closed against several of them) before voters head to the polls.

These calculations are further complicated by the military, which has now overtly entered the fray. In response to Khan’s allegations regarding the death of Sharif in Kenya, the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s leading intelligence agency, held an unprecedented press conference that denied Khan’s claims. The military has also publicly

SOUND AND FURY: Khan’s campaign against the political establishment has left the country more bitterly divided than ever, each side in its own echo chamber. By making the fight against corruption and dynastic politics the central pillar of his platform and using it to attack both the PML-n and PPP, Khan has recast Pakistan’s politics as an existential battle. The government, in turn, has tried to attack Khan’s credibility and tarnish his image. Competition could get heated in the past when the PML-n and the PPP were each other’s main rivals, but it never had such high stakes nor seemed to have so divided Pakistanis.

The clash between Khan and the government and military has become all-consuming in Pakistan’s media and public sphere. It has unfolded while the country has lurched from crisis to crisis. It has made Pakistan’s economic struggles—with record-high inflation and dwindling foreign reserves—worse by increasing uncertainty, diverting attention away from policy solutions, and distracting badly from the necessary response to the late summer floods, which submerged a third of the country. Apart from a short time at the height of the flooding, when the government focused its attention on relief efforts in devastated areas, this battle for power has remained the central focus of the government, Khan’s party, the military, and the media. The sense of instability and constant jockeying for position seem likely to continue until the next election and may intensify if General Bajwa’s successor is someone Khan does not favor. It may spill over into more violence; after all, Pakistan is a country with a tragic history of political assassinations.

Paradoxically, Khan would probably not enjoy his current level of support had he not been toppled in April. It seems likely that his popularity would have dwindled in the face of the economic crisis and that he would have faced major headwinds in the next election. From the point of view of the current coalition government and the military establishment, then, Khan’s surging popularity has likely brought into question the wisdom of the campaign to remove him last spring.

Unfortunately for Pakistanis, this incessant political combat has left little room for substance. neither side has a concrete economic plan that would take Pakistan out of its recurring debt crises and its reliance on foreign donors. Politics may be Pakistanis’ favorite pastime, but they are still starved for good choices in terms of their country’s leadership. no matter who comes into power in the next election, the underlying realities of Pakistan’s economic situation and state of development are unlikely to change.

It is unclear how this power struggle will end. Backdoor talks between Khan and the military seem to have failed. At various points in the seven months since Khan lost power, political tensions have escalated to the point of near implosion, such as in August when it seemed Khan might be arrested under terrorism charges, or the night after he was shot in november, when his outraged supporters took to the streets across the country. What is clear is that Khan is the greatest threat Pakistan’s establishment has ever seen and that this unstable year in Pakistani politics has not yet reached its denouement.

Manchester United up for sale: give fans a say in the future

guArdiAn Editorial

THE acquisition of Manchester United by the American Glazer family in 2005 was the most egregious example of carpet-bagging in sporting history. In order to buy one of the most famous and profitable football institutions in the world, the Glazers raised £540m worth of debt and then loaded it on to the club itself. Over the past 17 years, against a backdrop of supporter protests and a decline in performance on the pitch, the Glazer ownership has cost the club more than £1.5bn in interest payments, debt and other outgoings. The family have used Manchester United as their private ATM, personally extracting vast sums in dividend payments and “management fees”, and organising soft loans to their other companies. Their ruthlessly exploitative modus operandi has been a sporting scandal in plain sight.

Little wonder then, that United supporters are jubilant at the sudden announcement that the Glazers are now open to offers for the club. The scuppering of unpopular plans for a lucrative European Super League, along with the post-Abramovich sale of Chelsea to American buyers for a £4.25bn investment, appears to have convinced the family that now might be the right time to cash out. Earlier this month, the American owners of Liverpool came to the same conclusion, putting another world-famous English institution on the market. According to Forbes, United are worth £3.9bn, but that figure may rise dramatically in a bidding war. Early reports suggest the Glazers may be hoping for £6bn.

Their departure – albeit with pockets bulging –

would be a piece of uplifting news for a sport in which treasured institutions have received minimal protection from the game’s nominal stewards. For far too long, the Premier League and the government have sat back and allowed the upper reaches of football to become a playground for unscrupulous profiteers, hedge funds and sportswashing states. Some United fans will be breathing a sigh of relief that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, having been permitted to buy newcastle United last year, is unlikely to come knocking at the Glazers’ door.

In the absence of anything resembling robust scrutiny of would-be buyers, sporting integrity and the wellbeing of the wider game have become afterthoughts.

Accountability to the supporters and communities that nurtured and sustained these wealth-generating vehicles has been entirely absent.

The spectacle of Manchester United and Liverpool – the country’s two most famous clubs – up for sale should concentrate minds both in Westminster and at the Premier League. Exactly a year ago, the fan-led Crouch review of football governance – set up in the wake of the European Super League debacle – called for an independent regulator for the game, a strengthened owners and directors test, and a bigger voice for fans. Implementing these proposals would be a start, but the idea of reclaiming the game for ordinary supporters seems a distant dream.

The Glazer family should never have been given the opportunity to inflict their business model on Manchester United. Fans, whose protests may have contributed to the family’s decision to explore a sale, can celebrate a breakthrough moment. But the problems of governance at the top of English football run wider and deeper.

Foreign AFFAirs Madiha afzal

MADIHA AFZAL is a Fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution and the author of Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State.

A CONSUMMATE POPULIST, KHAN OFFERS HIS SUPPORTERS A SWEEPING REJECTION OF PAKISTAN’S INSTITUTIONS

HIS BASE CUTS ACROSS GEOGRAPHY BY DRAWING ON DISILLUSIONMENT WITH THE CURRENT POLITICAL CLASS. HIS CHIEF RIVALS DO NOT HAVE THIS KIND OF BROAD-BASED BACKING; THE PPP’S VOTER BASE IS CONCENTRATED IN SINDH, AND THE RULING PML-N DRAWS THE BULK OF ITS SUPPORT FROM PUNJAB, WHERE IT HAS BEEN LOSING GROUND TO KHAN’S PTI

corporate corner

U Microfinance Bank receives commercial license for extending nationwide Islamic Banking services

KArAchI staff report

PRoVInCIAlMinister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon on Thursday held an other meeting with World Bank's Senior Transport Specialist lincoln Flor regarding BRT Yellow line at his office. It was agreed after detailed review of PC-I and 2 alternate proposals of BRT Yellow line to hold further meeting and take a final decision in a week.

islamabad: U Microfinance Bank (U Bank), Pakistan’s fastest-growing microfinance bank, has received the commercial license for launching full-scale Islamic Banking services across Pakistan. U Bank commenced its pilot Islamic Banking operations earlier this year, starting with five branches, and later on extended it further across the country to include cities of Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, and many more. After its promising performance, U Bank has now received the license from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to commercially launch its Islamic Banking branches across Pakistan. Speaking on this remarkable new feat, Mr. Kabeer Naqvi, President & CEO – U Microfinance Bank stated, “I am glad to announce that we are now spearheading Islamic Banking in the microfinance ecosystem in Pakistan. pr

OGDCL selects 65 employees for Hajj and Umrah through balloting

Sharjeel Inam Memon while talking to the representative of the World Bank said that in order to further optimise the Yellow line project and make it economic successful model, 2 alternative proposals have been prepared in addition to its PC-1 . ' The alternative proposals have also been shared with the World Bank,' the minister said and

Islamic orientation program for Mudarisatul Quran concludes

added that the Sindh government is making serious efforts to upgrade the public transport system in the city. He added that recently , People's Bus Service have been launched on major common routes of the city with a cost of Rs. 8 billion. The people bus service is a

successful model with a fleet of 250 hybrid diesel buses. He further said that the People's Bus Service is being run in partnership with national Radio Transmission Company a federal government organization. The minister said that people's bus service has gained im-

mense popularity among the citizens in a short span of time. Sharjeel added that Sindh government wants to launch BRT Yellow line as an other successful public transport model. He said that the government has proposed the reduction in its infrastructure cost and increase the fleet of Yellow line buses, besides minimizing government costs in terms of annual subsidy. World Bank senior transport specialist lincoln Flor said Karachi is their priority. The World Bank is committed to providing all possible support to the Sindh government in developing Karachi's public transport infrastructure. Secretary Transport Abdul Haleem Shaikh, senior officer of the Sindh government Zubair Chana, Managing Director Sindh Mass Transit Authority Altaf Sario, Project Director BRT Yellow line Fazal Ameer, nespak and Dar Consultants' representatives also attended the meeting.

PTA hosts workshop on GSMA mobile connectivity index

islamabad: The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) held balloting to select employees for Hajj and Umrah for the year 2022-23. Managing Director/CEO OGDCL, Mr Khalid Siraj Subhani announced names of the lucky employees who will perform their religious obligations under the company-sponsored Hajj and Umrah Scheme. Executive Director HR/Admin Mr. Shahzad Safdar, Executive Director Exploration Mr. Farukh Saghir, Executive Director Petro Serve Mr. Amir Saleem, Executive Director Services Mr. Zia Saluddin, Company Secretary and General Manager Legal Services Mr. Ahmed Hayyat Lak along with other senior management of the company were present during the balloting process. The balloting was held at the OGDCL Head Office in Islamabad. Names of OGDCL employees from across Pakistan were included in the balloting for finalizing 55 employees to perform Hajj and 10 to perform Umrah during 2022-23. pr

11th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum concludes in Dubai

A five day long 13th Islamic Orientation Program for Mudasrisat ul Quran (Dawah workers) organized by Dawah Center for Women (DCW) of Dawah Academy of International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) concluded here at the female campus of the university. The program was attended by as many as 35 women teachers hailing from different cities of the country. Vice President female campus Dr. Samina Mlik as a chief guest addressed the ceremony. She said Women can play a pivotal role to eradicate the prevailing unrest in the society. She said women have been given special attributes for dealing with challenges. She said that women are the ones that build society in the role of mother. Dr. Faryal Ambreen Incharge DCW presented a detailed report on the occasion in which she apprised of the topics of the lectures and activities held. pr

Shell Pakistan signs ABHI as first customer for voluntary carbon compensation offer

The aim of the forum was to discuss the financial Inclusion, outreach strategies & innovations by gathering stakeholders under one roof. The forum was organized by AlHuda Centre of Islamic Banking and Economics in association with Pakistan Microfinance Network and IMFN-International Islamic Microfinance Network and Wings Media. The event is sponsored by Akhuwat Pakistan, Bank of Punjab, Innovation Biscuits Pakistan, and PPCBL Pakistan. pr

5 companies from Pakistan participated in Automechanika Dubai 2022

Automechanika Dubai (22 – 24 November 2022) came to a successful end.

It aimed to raise the bar in the products, equipment and services available for the automotive aftermarket in the wider Middle East region by bringing international manufacturers and suppliers together with regional distributors and buyers.

The 19th edition of Automechanika Dubai 2022 brought together over 1000 exhibitors from 58 countries, 20 official country pavilions and more than 20,000 visitors from 130 countries all around the world. pr

Karachi: Shell Pakistan Limited signed ABHI, Pakistan’s first financial wellness platform, as its first official customer for the launch of its new voluntary carbon compensation program. This program provides an avenue for all ABHI employees who are using Shell Fuel Cards to offset hard-to-abate carbon emissions from their fuel consumption by using Shell’s global portfolio of carbon credits. ABHI will be compensating for unavoidable carbon emissions generated from their sales fleet across Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad. pr

MDCAT Exam ReChecking is open for 5 days:

islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in collaboration with

PMC Notified

islamabad: Pakistan Medical Commission has notified that MDCAT Exam 2022 re-checking is open through exam conducting universities for 5 days, starting from 23rd November to 27th November 2022. Students are directed to visit the website of their respective exam conducting university to apply for rechecking. In case of any errors /omissions regarding the exam,result they are requested to kindly contact the concerned university. Yesterday Pakistan Medical Commission announced the result of MDCAT Exam which was uploaded

pr

Countering Illicit Trade: Better Approach than Imposing Health Tax

Health tax would mean taxing the already taxes. The limited tax-to-GDP ratio of 8.6% in Pakistan is one of the major economic problems. With one percent of the country's population paying taxes, the annual loss of tax evasion is estimated at Rs 1 trillion, of which 70% tax can be easily collected. There are certain sectors of economy with very high prevalence of tax evasion. Tobacco, being a leader, owes more than 40% of the market to tax-evaded illicit trade. Some elements and public health protection organizations in Pakistan are advocating the Government to burden the documented tobacco sector with health levy, instead, of exploring ways to harness the revenue potential offered by eliminating illicit trade and bringing it under tax net. pr

Narrative building critical to defeat terrorism: Advisor to PM

ISLAMABAD staff report

Advisor to PM on Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Pakistan needs clarity and consensus on its narrative against violent extremism and all key stakeholders of the state need to show political resolve to develop comprehensive response against this menace.

The senior PPP leader made these remarks at a roundtable consultation on the ‘Resurgence of Violent Extremism in Pakistan’ organized by Communications Research Strategies (CRS) in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) on Thursday at a local hotel in Islamabad. He drew heavily on the past experience

2008-2013, a time when Pakistan successfully countered violent extremism.

The meeting also featured senior security experts, journalists, and academics, including former Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Athar Abbas, Major General Ejaz Awan, senior academic and Member of Planning Commission Dr. Ishtiaq

the objective

focused on the GSMA’s MCI

improve Pakistan’s future MCI scores by understanding how indicators were assessed and how effectively PTA and other stakeholders can collect and share data with GSMA. The workshop was attended by representatives from Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom (MoITT), Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Frequency Allocation Board (FAB), Universal Service Fund (USF), National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) and mobile operators. Senior officers from PTA also participated in the workshop. pr

CDA Chief Capt (r) Usman Younis focuses on sector development in capital

islamabad: On the directions of Chairman Capital Development Authority Captain (R) Muhammad Usman Younis, Special attention is being given to sector development in Islamabad. In this regard, the residual development work in all sectors is being completed while the hindrances in the sector development are also being removed. In this regard, in line with the directions of the Chairman Capital Development Authority Captain (R) Muhammad Usman Younis, the development works are beinh carried out at fast pace in Sector I-12 of Islamabad by the concerned departments. In this regard, more than 18% of the development works have been completed in sub-sectors I-12/2 and I-12/3, while steps are being taken to accelerate the pace of work in the remaining parts of these sub-sectors. pr

Bank of Khyber inaugurates its 214th branch

Bank

pr

of Khyber, one of the growing bank of the country has opened a new branch in the G-9 sector of Islamabad. Bank of Khyber has now eight branches in the federal capital area and plans to further strengthen its presence and customer reach in the capital by opening five more branches by yearend. The branch was inaugurated by Mr. Waqar Ahmed Qazi, CEO, Awami trade center, and Mr. Muhammad Ali Gulfaraz, MD/CEO, Bank of Khyber. Mr. Sher Muhammad Group Head of Conventional Banking and senior management of the bank of Khyber also attended the branch inauguration ceremony. On the occasion, Mr. Waqar said that “Bank of Khyber's performance and excellent services are commendable.

11th Global Islamic Microfinance Forum was successfully concluded at Metropolitan Hotel Dubai, UAE under the patronage of AAOIFI Bahrain. The purpose of that forum was to promote, strengthen and unite the organizations of Islamic microfinance (IsMF) with the theme of financial Inclusion, outreach strategies & innovations. Eminent Speakers and industry professionals from well serving organizations related to Microfinance, Islamic microfinance, micro insurance and NGOs participated in the event.

Global System for Mobile Communications (GSMA), organized a workshop on GSMA’s Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI) at PTA Headquarters, today. The workshop

with

to

on PKC official website.

National Skills University (NSU) and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) signed an MoU for lease of land for development of a campus of NSU in Muridke, Sheikhupura. The MoU was signed in presence of Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain and Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony Mufti Abdul Shakoor. Senior officials of the ministry also attended. pr

UkraInIans sUffer In Cold, darkness as presIdent Implores Un to pUnIsh rUssIa

KYIV agencies

UKRAINIANPresident

Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the UN Security Council to act against Russia over air strikes on civilian infrastructure that again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in.

Russia unleashed a missile barrage across Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 10 people, forcing shutdowns of nuclear power plants and cutting water and electricity supply in many places.

“Today is just one day, but we have received 70 missiles. That’s the Russian formula of terror. This is all against our energy infrastructure,” Zelenskiy said via video link to the council chamber.

“Hospitals, schools, transport, residential districts all suffered.”

Ukraine was waiting to see “a very firm reaction” to Wednesday’s air

strikes from the world, he added.

The council is unlikely to take any action in response to the appeal since Russia is a member with veto power.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russian Presi-

dent Vladimir Putin was “clearly weaponising winter to inflict immense suffering on the Ukrainian people.”

The Russian president “will try to freeze the country into submission,” she added. Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily

Nebenzya, responded by complaining that it was against council rules for Zelenskiy to appear via video and rejected what he called “reckless threats and ultimatums” by Ukraine and its supporters in the West.

Nebenzya said damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure was caused by missiles fired by Ukrainian air defence systems that crashed into civilian areas after being fired at Russia’s missiles and called on the West to stop providing Kyiv with air defence missiles.

‘She iS alive’: Kyiv was one of the main targets of Wednesday’s missile strikes. “Today we had three hits on highrise apartment buildings. Unfortunately, 10 people died,” said Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital as Russian missiles bore down and Ukrainian air defence rockets were fired in effort to intercept them.

Musk floats ‘general amnesty’ of suspended Twitter accounts

New Twitter owner Elon Musk on Wednesday polled users on whether the site should offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, using the same method he used to handle the case of Donald Trump.

World Cup fans in Qatar introduced to Islam

DOHA agencies

The Katara Cultural Village Mosque in Qatar’s capital of Doha has become the focus of attention for World Cup fans who want to get to know about Islam.

Multilingual male and female preachers at the mosque explain the religion and tolerance of Islam to tourists. Electronic boards about Islam in more than 30 languages at the door are positioned to allow visitors to view them on their phones. And booklets introducing Islam in different languages are distributed to those who want them.

The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Qatar also launched a pavilion to introduce Islam and its teachings during the World Cup 2022.

Also read: Batshuayi fires Belgium to World Cup World Cup fans encounter hadiths -- words, actions or habits of Prophet Muhammad -- on the walls of streets, describing the importance of good deeds. The opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was last Sunday at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. The tournament’s official mascot, La’eeb, whose name is an Arabic word that means super-skilled player, along with the flags of all 32 participating nations were waving on the field.

The move comes as Musk has faced pushback that his criteria for content moderation is subject to his personal whim, with reinstatements decided for certain accounts and not others.

“Should Twitter offer a general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam?” Musk asked in a tweet.

The poll was open until 17:46 GMT on Thursday and mimicked the strategy used just days ago for former US president Trump. Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after a narrow majority of respondents supported the move.

Polls on Twitter are open to all users and are unscientific and potentially targeted by fake accounts and bots.

A blanket decision on suspended accounts could potentially alarm government authorities that are keeping a close look at Musk’s handling of hateful speech since he bought the influential platform for $44 billion. It could also spook Apple and Google, tech titans that have the power to ban Twitter from their mobile app stores over content concerns.

Trump was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

‘No mercy’: Musk’s reinstatement of Trump followed that of other banned accounts including a conservative parody site and a psychologist who had violated Twitter’s rules on language identifying transgender people.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has said that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will not be returning to Twitter and will remain banned from the platform.

Musk on Sunday said he had “no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame” due to his own experience with the death of his first child.

Jones has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for his lies about

the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 people, mostly children.

Musk, who closed his buyout of Twitter in late October, did not make clear whether the bans to be covered by the poll were permanent suspensions or temporary ones.

The future of content moderation on Twitter has become an urgent concern, with major advertisers keeping away from the site after a failed relaunch earlier this month saw a proliferation of fake accounts, causing embarrassment. Meanwhile, the teams in charge of keeping nefarious activity off the site have been gutted, victims of Musk-led layoffs that saw a half of the total employees leave the company.

John Wihbey, a media professor at Northeastern University, speculated that all the chaos might be because Musk is seeking to “buy himself time.”

anwar Ibrahim sworn in as malaysia’s premier

KuAlA lumpur agencies

Malaysia’s perennial opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as prime minister before the king in Kuala Lumpur Thursday, ending a five-day political impasse after inconclusive polls.

The ceremony at the palace closes the chapter on one of the most dramatic elections in Malaysia’s history, after no party managed to secure a majority to form a parliament for the first time since independence in 1957.

“I, Anwar Ibrahim, after being appointed to hold the position of prime minister, solemnly swear that I will honestly fulfil that duty with all my efforts and that I will devote my true loyalty to Malaysia,” the 75-yearold said while dressed in traditional Malaysian clothing. In the capital Kuala Lumpur, Anwar’s supporters were in a celebratory mood.

is China’s taiwan’,

China’s defense ministry in rejection to Us report

BEIJING agencies

China’s Ministry of National Defense on Thursday reiterated Beijing’s stance on the Taiwan question, saying that “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan.”

Wu Qian, spokesperson for the ministry, told a press briefing that China resolutely opposes any military ties between China’s Taiwan region and the United States, in rejection to a recent report released by “the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission,” which claimed Washington should evaluate how to beef up the so-called defense capabilities of Taiwan.

Taiwan is China’s Taiwan and an inalienable part of China’s territory, he underscored, adding any acts made by the U.S. to intensify military contacts with Taiwan interfere in China’s internal affairs and violate U.S.’ commitment. He further warned that any attempt to contain China by arming Taiwan is nothing more than a mirage and “is doomed to failure before the Great Wall of steel of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).” On November 14, Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden met face to face prior to the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

During the meeting, Biden reiterated that the United States does not support “Taiwan independence,” does not support “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan,” and it has no intention to have a conflict with China. “We urged the U.S. side to implement this commitment and abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, so as not to hamper the common interests of both sides,” said Wu.

China’s daily Covid-19 cases highest since pandemic began

third-anniversary approaches, sparking sporadic protests and hitting productivity in the world’s second-largest economy.

China’s daily Covid-19 cases have climbed to the highest since the pandemic began, official data showed Thursday, despite the government persisting with a zero-tolerance approach involving gruelling lockdowns and travel restrictions.

The numbers are relatively small when compared with China’s vast population of 1.4 billion and the caseloads seen in Western countries at the height of the pandemic.

But under Beijing’s strict zero-Covid policy, even small outbreaks can shut down entire cities and place contacts of infected patients into strict quarantine.

The country recorded 31,454 domestic cases — 27,517 without symptoms — on Wednesday, the National Health Bureau said.

The unrelenting zero-Covid push has caused fatigue and resentment among swathes of the population as the pandemic’s

On Wednesday, violent protests erupted at Foxconn’s vast iPhone factory in central China, with a video showing dozens of hazmat-clad personnel wielding batons and chasing employees.

The latest figures exceed the 29,390 infections recorded in mid-April when the megacity Shanghai was under lockdown, with residents struggling to buy food and access medical care.

Several cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing have tightened Covid restrictions as cases surge.

The capital now requires a negative PCR test result within 48 hours for those seeking to enter public places such as shopping malls, hotels and government buildings, Beijing authorities said. Schools across the city have moved to online classes.

The southern manufacturing hub of

Guangzhou — where nearly a third of the latest Covid cases were found — has built thousands of temporary hospital rooms to accommodate patients.

‘Bumpy’ reopeNiNg: A series of new rules announced by the central government earlier this month appeared to signal a shift away from zero-Covid, easing quarantine requirements for entering the country and simplifying a system for designating high-risk areas.

But China has yet to approve more effective mRNA vaccines for public use and only 85 percent of adults over 60 had received two doses of domestic vaccines by mid-August, according to health authorities.

And Shijiazhuang, a city neighbouring Beijing that was seen as a pilot for testing reopening strategies, reversed most of its easing measures this week.

“The path to reopening may be slow, costly and bumpy,” Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura, said in a note.

“Shanghai-style full lockdowns could be avoided, but they might be replaced by more

frequent partial lockdowns in a rising number of cities due to surging Covid case numbers.”

SAN FrANCISCO afp

‘taiwan

says

STuTTering uruguAy held by SOuTh KOreA in enTerTAining STAleMATe

AL RAYYAN Agencies

uRUGUAY faltered in their World Cup opener against a lively and energetic South Korea after they were held to a 0-0 draw on Thursday in a contest where both teams struggled to find the clinical edge despite plenty of attacking quality on show.

Clear-cut chances were rare for either side in the Group H clash at the Education City Stadium and although Uruguay created more opportunities, neither team managed a shot on target.

Uruguay captain Diego Godin was denied by the woodwork while South Korea forward Hwang Ui-jo blasted over the bar with the goal at his mercy, leaving both teams to rue missed chances before group rivals Portugal and Ghana meet later on Thursday.

There were only a few hundred South Korean supporters in attendance but they made enough noise to drown out Al Rayyan and were chanting away throughout the contest, the beat of their drums matching the fast

and frenetic pace of play.

“We’re a very brave team, we’re not afraid of our opponents,” South Korea coach Paulo Bento told reporters.

to do. And we showed today we’re capable.”

Uruguay’s first sight of goal came in the 19th minute through Federico Valverde, who connected with Jose Maria Gimenez’s pass and took a touch before firing a half-volley towards goal, but his ambitious attempt went just over the bar.

The South Americans had begun to find their footing when South Korea, having been patiently controlling the first half so far, disrupted their rhythm and launched a counterattack from a Uruguay corner before the half-hour mark.

Son Heung-min picked up the ball on the left flank and cut inside, skipping past two Uruguay defenders before curling a right-footed effort towards goal, but left back Mathias Olivera was able to clear it away.

South Korea should have taken the lead in the 34th minute when Moon-hwan Kim fizzed the ball into the penalty area and into the path of Hwang in front of goal, but the forward could not keep his composure and sent it over the bar.

Hwang’s team mates fell to their knees after his miss and they were almost made to

Ronaldo, Brazil enter World Cup fray after Swiss win

their opening Group H match against Ghana despite the distractions of the media circus surrounding their captain.

Cristiano Ronaldo will aim to put his painful Manchester United divorce behind him at the World Cup on Thursday as Brazil also make their bow following a win for Switzerland in the early kick-off.

Ronaldo’s preparations for what is likely to be his last World Cup have been overshadowed by his sudden departure from Old Trafford this week after he lambasted the club in a TV interview. The Portugal superstar’s form this season has been poor but he is still hoping for a final shot at glory in Qatar after leading his team to the Euro 2016 title. The 37-year-old, whose club future is uncertain, is aiming to become the first player in history to score at five World Cups.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos said his men were entirely focused on

The players are absolutely focused, with a great spirit, convinced about what they have to do, what their objectives are and realistic about the challenges they are facing,” he said.

“Winning a competition of this magnitude is difficult.”

World Cup favourites Brazil launch their bid for a record-extending sixth global crown against a dangerous Serbia side. Brazil boast a frightening array of attacking talent including Paris SaintGerman forward Neymar and Real Madrid pair Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. Coach Tite will be wary of his Group G opponents after witnessing shock defeats for Argentina and Germany already in Qatar.

“In my opinion these players (attackers) will help Neymar because they can divide up the responsibility and cre-

Muzammil upsets Aqeel to move to final of 6th Sheheryar Memorial Pakistan Open Tennis C’ship

LAHORE stAff RepoRt

Muzammil Murtaza upset longest serving Pakistan No. 1 Aqeel Khan in the 6th Sheheryar Malik Memorial Pakistan Open Tennis Championship 2022 men’s singles semifinal played here at SBP Tennis Courts on Thursday. In the first semifinal, Muzamil was off to a flying start against tennis ace of Pakistan – Aqeel Khan – as he conceded just single point to comfortably win the first set 6-1. Aqeel though tried hard to put extra effort to resist the high-flying Muzammil, but his efforts went in vain as Muzammil won the second set too by 6-2 to set final clash against Muhammad Shoaib, who faced tough time from Barkat Ullah before winning the crucial match by 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. In the ladies’ singles first semifinal, Noor Malik (Wapda) showed her class against classy Meheq Khokhar and outlasted her by 6-4, 6-1. The second semifinal proved a one-sided affair, where ladies tennis champion Sarah Mehboob Khan taught tennis lesson to young Sheeza Sajid and comfortably won the encounter by 6-0, 6-1 to set title clash against Noor Malik. In the men’s doubles quarterfinals, Heera Ashiq/Yousaf Khalil beat Imran Bhatti/Parbhat Kumar 3-6, 6-4, 10-5. Earlier in men’s doubles pre-quarterfinals, Bakir Ali/Mustafa Burney beat Inam Gul/Hasam Khan 6-4, 1-6, 10-8. In the seniors 50 plus singles semifinals, Rashid Malik (ZTBL) showed the glimpses of his past glory days and comfortably outsmart Tanveer Haral 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final. In the seniors 45 plus doubles pre-quarterfinals, Israr Gul/Irfan Ullah beat Umer Dilshad/Asghar 6-1, 6-1, Talha Waheed (G&O Pakistan)/Mehboob Waheed beat Col Awais/Shehzad Saleem 6-1, 6-1 and Ashar Khan/Adnan Khan beat Janan Khan/Gul Ahmed 6-4, 7-5.

ate space for him,” said veteran Brazil skipper Thiago Silva.

“The atmosphere in the squad is super-healthy,” he added. “The mixture of young players and more experienced ones creates a great connection.”

Erbia appear a more dangerous proposition than four years ago, when they also faced Brazil in the group stage but lost 2-0 and exited in the first round.

“We are afraid of nobody in the world, not even Brazil,” said Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic, who hopes prolific Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will be fit for the match at the Lusail Stadium. Switzerland and Cameroon, also in Brazil’s group, kicked off Thursday’s action in Qatar, with the Swiss winning 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Cameroonborn Breel Embolo.

The forward struck three minutes into the second half at Al Janoub Stadium as Switzerland secured a vital three points.

Pak vS SL TeST SeRieS

PCB says ‘nothing to do with’ Sri Lanka probing match-fixing allegations

LAHORE Agencies

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said Wednesday that the PCB could not comment on Sri Lanka’s decision to call sport’s world governing body officials for probing allegations stemming from the Green Shirts’ tour to the island nation earlier this year.

Sri Lanka’s cricket board said it had invited the International Cricket Council (ICC) to investigate match-fixing allegations after opposition lawmaker Nalin Bandara claimed in parliament that the twomatch Test series, drawn 1-1, had been fixed.

Talking to The News, an official from the local cricket board said the PCB could not comment on something that was being investigated by the SL Board and neither can it be linked to the host nation’s cricketers.

The Sri Lanka cricket board has invited Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC anti-corruption unit, to investigate opposition leader Nalin Bandara’s allegations.

Based on the newly-discovered allegations, the PCB official denied any contact with the SL Board or the ICC.

“No one — neither the ICC nor has the Sri Lanka Board — approached us on the recent allegations made by one of the opposition leaders regarding the 1-1 drawn Test series between the two countries. So unless and until we are being approached, we are not in a position to say anything,” a PCB official said.

The official maintained that ICC Anti-Corruption Unit officials always keep a close watch on international matches these days.

“The ICC Anti-Corruption Unit always keeps a close check on all international matches. They were there in Sri Lanka during the July series, nothing happened, and no eyebrow was raised.”

“If the Sri Lanka Board wants to investigate their players, they are free to do that. The PCB has nothing to do with it as it has something to do with SL cricketers. We will only react if the SL Board or ICC approaches us. So far there is no such thing,” he added. ‘Immense reputatIonal damage’: The Sri Lankan board asked Marshall to visit Sri Lanka and investigate the accusation, which it said had caused “immense reputational damage”.

Sri Lanka Cricket was committed to the game’s integrity and believed an ICC probe was “the correct course of action to take in light of the recent allegations,” a board statement said.

Corruption allegations and infighting have plagued Sri Lanka’s national cricket team over the years. Former sports minister Harin Fernando has said the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world’s most corrupt nations under its purview.

ne of his predecessors, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, told parliament last year that match-fixing was rife in Sri Lanka.

The series against Pakistan was played at Galle during the height of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis this year, which saw months of political unrest, power cuts, and nationwide fuel shortages.

pay for it just before the break when centre back Godin rose highest to power a header from Valverde’s corner but it bounced off the left post and away from goal.

Gimenez made a crucial tackle to deny Son five minutes after the restart following a flowing move from South Korea, while Jung Woo-young blocked midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s powerful strike at the other end.

Uruguay saw more of the ball and looked dangerous as the game wore on but found few chances to break through an organised Korean defence. Forward Darwin Nunez was a threat on the counter with his pace but endured a frustrating afternoon.

Uruguay manager Diego Alonso swapped one stalwart for another when he replaced Luis Suarez with Edinson Cavani after 64 minutes and the striker was a lively presence, almost connecting with Nunez’s fizzing shot which flew wide.

Valverde unleashed a thunderbolt in the final minute of regulation time that struck the top of the post and Son had one final chance in the closing stages but dragged his shot wide.

Teen spinner Ahmed set to make history for england in Pakistan

london: Teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed could become England’s youngest men’s Test cricketer after being added to the squad on Wednesday for the threematch tour of Pakistan starting next week. Leicestershire’s England under-19 international is 18 and 102 days and if selected would beat Yorkshire’s Brian Close, who represented England at 18 years and 149 days against New Zealand in July 1949. “We know he’s not the finished article and has raw potential, but Ben (Stokes), myself and the rest of the coaches like how he approaches his game,” said head coach Brendon McCullum in a statement. “The experience of being part of the squad in Pakistan will be hugely beneficial for him, and he will add to the make-up of our squad.” England, currently in Abu Dhabi, fly to Pakistan on Saturday with the first Test in Rawalpindi on December 1. The Test will be England’s first in Pakistan since 2005. International teams have largely steered clear since an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009 killed six policemen and two civilians. ReuteRs

Apologetic embolo gives Swiss narrow win over Cameroon

doHa: Switzerland edged past Cameroon 1-0 courtesy of a goal against the run of play by Cameroonborn Breel Embolo on Thursday for an opening win in World Cup Group G. Embolo, born in Yaounde but raised in Basel, struck three minutes after the restart from a Xherdan Shaqiri cutback to put them top of the section. The 25-year-old refused to celebrate the goal as the small group of Swiss fans cheered wildly at Al Janoub Stadium. The Swiss goal came after Cameroon, without a win in the World Cup for 20 years, had dominated the first half, missing several good chances to take the lead. The Indomitable Lions, who eliminated Algeria in a playoff to qualify for the tournament, had outplayed the Swiss in the first 45 minutes with quick combinations, speed and power as their opponents remained toothless up front. Afp

Cristiano ronaldo becomes first man to score in five World Cups

doHa: Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score at five World Cups on Thursday after opening the scoring in Portugal's World Cup clash with Ghana. The 37-year-old set the record when he smashed home a penalty in the 65th minute at the 974 Stadium in Doha to give Portugal the lead in the Group H clash with the Black Stars. He overtakes Pele and Germans Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose, who all scored in four World Cups. Ronaldo also extended his own world record tally of international goals to 118. He won the spot-kick himself when he was brought down by a challenge from Mohammed Salisu. Manchester United announced this week that Ronaldo will leave with immediate effect after he criticised the club and manager Erik ten Hag in a TV interview, but he has showed no signs of strain from the bitter end to his time at Old Trafford. App

DOHA Agencies

“The bottom line is we need to control all moments of the game, knowing we’re in a different competition to our qualifiers. But this won’t hold us back from what we intend

MobIlIty stArtup sWVl sHuts operAtIoNs

IN pAkIstAN, Its seCoNd bIggest MArket

pROfIt REpORt taimooR HaSSaN

AFTERthree years of operating in Pakistan, mobility startup SWVL last week decided to wrap up operations in Pakistan completely amid a global downturn in investments.

Company sources disclosed to Profit that SWVL announced decision to shut down its intercity travel vertical in Pakistan on November 17 and laid off staff. On November 18, the company decided to completely wrap up its operations, shutting down the TaaS (transport-as-a-service) vertical.

SWVL operated three business verticals in Pakistan. Individual riders could commute on SWVL’s buses for intracity travel under a retail model. SWVL’s retail bus service suffered a major blow initially during the pandemic when all transportation took a hit.

Later on, the change in investor sentiment in the public markets forced SWVL to pause its retail service in Pakistan in June 2022. Under

the other two verticals that have recently been shut, individual riders could take buses for intercity travel under the travel vertical.

Under TaaS model, SWVL provided customised services for corporate clients such as businesses, schools and other customers that operate their own transportation programs. Under this model, companies offerings included access to Swvl’s business platform and technologies, consulting and reporting services and use of the vehicles and drivers in their network to operate such transportation programs.

While the company did not give any reason for the shutdown, a source in the company said that the difficult decision of shutting down could be because of the global downturn in investments. SWVL had been following a high cash burn model and its financial position had been totally been totally precarious.

SWVL posted net losses of $161.6 million for the six-month period ending June 30, 2022, which had doubled over the corresponding sixmonth period of 2021. For the first six

months of 2021, SWVL posted net loss of $80.6. SWVL’s total accumulated losses as of June 30, 2022, were $375.8 million compared to $216 million as at December 31, 2021.

The company was running negative operating cash flows of $76.8 million for the six-month period of 2022. According to company’s financial statements, it had been funding its operations primarily with proceeds from the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares. On March 31, SWVL received investment of $53.3 million and $111.5 million from the reverse recapitalization transaction and sale of shares to certain PIPE (private investment in public equity) investors to finance its operations.

It subsequently received another $20 million investment, giving the company enough cash to keep it a going concern for 12 months.

All of this, however, does not explain why SWVL shut Pakistan down completely ahead of others despite Pakistan being its second biggest market in terms of revenue. SWVL derives the bulk of its revenue from Egypt, Pakistan, Kenya, Saudi Ara-

bia, Jordan, Argentina, and Turkey, out of the 20 countries it operates in. While layoffs have been reported across SWVL, no news of a complete shutdown in other countries has emerged yet.

For the first six months of 2022, revenue from Pakistan was $9.71 million, contributing about 20% to the total $40 million in revenue for the period. The revenue from Pakistan had grown from $2.4 million in the first six months of 2021. Only Egypt tops with a revenue of $19 million for first half of 2021.

The company, however, did not seem to be able to turn profitability in Pakistan. Last month, SWVL announced that operations in only five of its 10 top countries by revenue, namely Egypt, Turkey, Germany, Kenya, and Jordan, turned adjusted EBITDA positive or breakeven in August 2022.

The company has been tracking path to profitability and reach cash flow positive stage by 2023. Mostafa Kandil, the CEO of SWVL, did not respond to request for comments on shutting down operations in Pakistan.

PM leaves for two-day visit to Turkiye today

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will pay a two-day official visit to Turkiye on November 25 at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Alongside President Erdogan, PM Shehbaz Sharif will jointly inaugurate the third of the four MILGEM Corvette Ships for the Pakistan Navy’s PNS Khaibar at the Istanbul Shipyard.

The two leaders will also hold wide-ranging discussions encompassing bilateral relations,

regional situation and other issues of common interest.

The prime minister will interact with leaders of the Turkish business community.

The president of the ECO Trade and Development Bank (ETDB) will also call on the prime minister during his stay in Istanbul.

Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy fraternal ties deeply embedded in commonalities of faith, culture and history and underpinned by exceptional cordiality and mutual trust.

The MILGEM project, based on joint collaboration between the two countries, represents a sig-

nificant milestone in the Pakistan-Turkiye strategic partnership that continues to progress on an upward trajectory.

The launching ceremony for the first Corvettefor the Pakistan Navy, PNS Babur, was performed in Istanbul in August 2021 while the groundbreaking for the Second Ship, PNS Badr, was held at Karachi in May 2022.

Frequent leadership level exchanges are a defining feature of the eternal bonds of PakistanTurkiye friendship.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier visited Turkiye in May-June 2022.

Come out of homes for ‘Haqeeqi Azadi’ on Nov 26, Imran urges nation

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Thursday urged all Pakistanis to participate in his party’s muchhyped long march on Saturday (tomorrow) in what appears to be his final showdown with the incumbent government to force it to announce early election date.

“Dear Pakistanis, I want all of you to participate in our haqeeqi long march in Pindi at 1pm on Saturday,” Imran Khan said in a short video statement.

Imran, who was voted out of power through a no-confidence in April, said that only a nation which has justice in it will get real freedom. “When there is justice, there are rights. When there are rights, a nation is free. Only an independent nation is prosperous,” he went on to say.

The former premier said that the nation will not stay silent until it gets real freedom. “I am coming for you despite my [health] condition and all of you need to come to Pindi for me,” he concluded.

Not holdiNg polls immediately could lead to chaos: In an interview with PBS, PTI chief Imran Khan said if elections were not held, it would not affect his party, but he was concerned that the incumbent government could leave the country heading towards “economic chaos”.

“If they (the government) don’t hold elections immediately, it doesn’t bother my party, because we are gaining all the time”, he told the PBS. “But our worry is that they will leave the country in a … state where it will be beyond anyone’s control.”

The PTI chief said if the current government “goes the whole way, fine, we will wait. “My only concern is that, the way things are going, we could be heading toward chaos. I mean economic chaos”.

He also said the PTI’s protest in Rawalpindi would be “completely peaceful”.

To a question, Imran Khan said: “The two parties have been in power in Pakistan for the — for 30 years. And 30 years, the military governments have been in power. My party came — we only had three-and-a-half years in government. We broke all records of exports in Pakistan, and our tax collection was the highest in our history. So we were heading in the right direction.”

To another question about relations with the US, the PTI chairman said: “Firstly, I mean, it is just a fact that the PakistanUS relationship has been lopsided. It is not, for instance, the US-India relationship, which I call a very civilized relationship, a dignified relationship. In Pakistan, we have been — well, the war on terror, we were like a hired gun. And I think it is a very undignified relationship.”

He went on to say: “The United States is a democracy.

Chinese want to encash $150m guarantee by Hubco; But why?

pROfIt REpORt BaBaR Nizami

The China Power Hub Generation Company (CPHGC), a joint venture company formed under CPEC that owns and operates imported coal fired power plants in Balochistan, served a notice to encash $150 million guarantee given by its own Pakistani sponsor and 47.5% shareholder Hub Power Company (Hubco) on Wednesday. Soon after, on Thursday, Hubco informed the stock exchange that it had started legal proceedings against this encashment notice and that the court has also issued summons to the parties involved.

This guarantee was given by Hubco to CPHGC and its Chinese lenders a few years ago as an assurance that the power plants would be set up as per the agreed terms and that if there were any cost overruns, these could be covered through encashing this guarantee. Interestingly, the project had already become fully operational in August 2019 and had been producing and selling electricity ever since.

But according to the Completion Guarantee Agreement signed between Hubco, its Chinese partner, China Power International, and other Chinese lenders of CPHGC, Hubco had somehow agreed not just to ensure that the power plants become operational but also that the Government of Pakistan fulfill its commitment with all CPEC power producers and create a special fund to clear future invoices of CPHGC on time. Technically, the project would not be considered complete till this final condition, largely outside the control of Hubco, was met. And until that time, Hubco would not be able to free itself of the guarantee it had issued.

Why the special fund?

In two words: circular debt. For some context, the power sector in Pakistan is structured in a manner that all the private power producers have to sell their electricity to the government, more specifically to

this one government entity called the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G).

Due to some bad decisions taken many years ago on the production side and poor infrastructure on the transmission side, the government can not actually afford the price at which the energy is produced and due to political compulsions does not want to force consumers to pay for it either. This leads to circular debt, where invoices of power producers get stuck for very long periods, only to be cleared by successive oneoff injections by the government to clear off this debt.

In order to give confidence to the Chinese investors and their Pakistani partners, the government of Pakistan had signed a Revolving Account Agreement with all the CPEC IPPs and the demand to fulfill its commitment of creating a special revolving fund account was being raised since 2017.

What is a Revolving Fund account?

With the exception of those government organizations, which have their own accounting setups, all payments made by the government of Pakistan have to go through the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) which is the prime public accounting body of Pakistan working under the Federal Ministry of Finance.

However, sometimes, especially in the case of donor funded development projects, the payments are managed through the Revolving Fund Accounts which are outside the ambit of CGA. These are essentially established to avoid the complexities and procedural delays in the public sector accounting systems. Logic for not running every transaction through the government system i.e. conducting pre-audits as a control exercise is to avoid rent seeking and delays. This ensures that there is a continuous and unhindered flow of funds.

But the government was ready

It seems the government, after taking its sweet time, was finally ready to create this fund. In fact, in a letter written last Friday, CPPA-G, on behalf of the government, in-

formed Ren Lihui, the Chinese CEO of CPHGC that the government of Pakistan has already created a Rs 50 billion revolving fund account titled “Pakistan Energy Revolving Fund” to address liquidity issues of CPEC power producers. According to this letter, a monthly withdrawal of Rs 4 billion will be possible against invoices of CPEC power producers starting this very month. “In essence the requirement of a Revolving Account which is meant to deal with the 22% shortfall is being taken care of by the Government of Pakistan through special payments and this Pakistan Energy Revolving Fund”, said the letter.

Ren Lihui responded to CPPA-G the very next working day. However, he asked the CPPA-G to convey this development to the Chinese government directly. “We request your good office to kindly communicate this information of the establishment of the Pakistan Revolving Account Fund to the Chinese Government and CPEC Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) because the Revolving Account Agreement is under the CPEC framework which is a Government to Government agreement. This would expedite the approval process from the Chinese Government and the Lenders side as it is very important for us to ensure that the establishment of the Pakistan Energy Revolving Fund by the CPPAG/GOP fulfill the Revolving Account Agreement requirement.” he responded. Why then did the chinese call the guarantee?

Now this is where things start to get a bit murky. The guarantee, which was in the form of a standby letter of credit issued by a National Bank of Pakistan-led consortium of Pakistani banks, was set to expire on Wednesday, the 23rd of November 2022. Hubco could have renewed this standby letter of credit for another year, but according to a source close to Hubco, the management of Hubco were given a clear understanding by its Chinese partner, China Power International, that it would not call on the guar-

antee, “not even if the Chinese lenders asked for it”. However, Hubco was taken aback by the decision of its Chinese partner to go back on their word and actually call the guarantee. The source claimed that the representative of the Chinese partner of CPHGC did not even call a board meeting to discuss this, insinuating mala fide intentions on part of the Chinese.

On the flip side, CPHGC had, between the lines, communicated in their response to CPPA-G that till they get a go-ahead from the Chinese government, and in turn, their lenders, the issue does not stand resolved. “The problem is that the standby letter of credit was to mature today, and Hubco hadn’t renewed it. CPHGC called on the standby letter of credit as it didn’t want to run out of options after Nov 23,” said Asif Qureshi, chairman of a leading brokerage firm while speaking to Dawn. The point that Qureshi is making is that the reason for calling on the guarantee is not because CPHGC was facing serious cash flow issues or had gotten greedy, but just that they wanted to be on the safe side.

But this clearly came as a surprise to Hubco. Having felt betrayed by their joint venture partners, the management of Hubco went to court immediately. Earlier, on Thursday, there were reports that Hubco was considering issuing a new standby letter of credit within the next ten days, before the banks make payment to the Chinese against the previous guarantee. Assuming that this would have been acceptable to the Chinese, this would have resolved the issue without Hubco having to bear the additional burden of interest payment that it would have to pay in the event the guarantee is in fact encashed and converted into a Rs 33 billion ($150 million) bank loan against Hubco’s name.

However, with the legal proceedings now initiated, it seems Hubco feels there is no basis to continue with the guarantee. Why is hubco not issuing a new guarantee?

The moral argument of not renewing the guarantee after the Pakistani government has set up the revolving fund aside, there is more to asking your bank to issue a new standby letter of credit, than the relatively minimal bank charges that Hubco would have to pay for the issuance of the new guarantee. You see, when banks gave this standby letter of credit on behalf of Hubco, Hubco had to allow these banks to create a charge on all of Hubco’s fixed assets as security against the guarantee. Furthermore, even though these guarantees, when created, do not constitute actual loans, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rules the full amount of the guarantee is counted towards the single party exposure limits set by SBP. In simple terms, there is a limit beyond which banks will not issue standby letters of credit or other forms of bank guarantees to Hubco.

Considering Hubco’s new investments, the most recent being acquisition of the assets of Eni Pakistan, Hubco would need room on its balance sheet to get new, both funded and unfunded, financial facilities from the banks. No doubt, freedom from this $150 million bank guarantee would have gone a long way towards creating this room.

What now?

Ostensibly, the problem seems to be heading towards a resolution of sorts. The Prime Minister’s Office had a meeting of all stakeholders to resolve the “issues of CPHGC and Hubco” on Thursday under the chairmanship of Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, special assistant to the prime minister on government effectiveness. In the meeting, the government assured Hubco’s Chinese partner that they will formally inform the Chinese government about the establishment of the revolving fund account and get them to sign off on it.

This means that the government, whose bureaucratic sluggishness caused this crisis in the first place, is proactively stepping in to find a way out.

HUBCO MAKES A CARDINAL ERROR OF FIRST TRUSTING THE GOVT OF PAKISTAN AND THEN THE CHINESE; TAKES THE CHINESE TO COURT