Epaper_22-12-03 KHI

Govt, PtI send sIGnals of ‘oPenInG dIaloGue’ on fresh Polls

g imran khan oFFerS condiTional TalkS on Snap pollS

g govT To reSpond To khan’S overTure aFTer conSulTing allieS

the negotiations with al ied parties moreover, imran s announcement to dis so ve the prov ncial assemb ies was critic zed by the m nister stating categorica ly that pak stan democratic movement (pdm) would not support any unconstitut onal act on if elections were forced upon us by dis so ving assemblies or by resigning en masse, the coalit on parties would vigorously cam paign against it he asserted

Separately, minister for defense khawa a muhammad asif invited the chairman of pak stan Tehreek e insaf (pTi) imran khan for re so ving po itical matters through d scussion imran khan shou d use the parliamen tar y forum for talks on pol tical issues,” he sa d while talking to a private news channel

saudi arabia extends ter m for $3bn deposit through

Chairman of pakistan Tehreek e insaf (pTi) and former prime minister imran khan on Friday offered con d tional talks to coalition govern ment which s being considered a signif cant positive development amid the ongoing political crisis in the countr y however defence min ster khawaja as f offered imran khan for a dialogue but in sisted to use parl ament as forum for ho d ng any d a ogue

The pTi chairman extended dialogue offer to pdm government while addressing the pTi’s punjab par amentar y party via a video nk from his lahore’s Zaman park residence extending an nvitation to the pdm gov ernment over the possibility of early general elect ons, imran khan said that 66 percent of pakistan would have to vote for the by po ls f assemblies were dissolved in punjab and khy ber pakhtunkhwa

he went on to say that pTi has the full backing of pml Q and cm punjab chaudhr y per vez elah w ll disso ve the provincial assem bly on his f rst call

“ give us a date for elections or we w ll dis solve the kp and punjab assemblies khan

said in a video address adding that the in cumbent government has no roadmap for the rev val of the economy

early genera elect ons s the only way to save the countr y from default,” said imran and lamented the rising inflation and unem p oyment rate during current govt tenure

The former premier also slammed Fed eral min ster ishaq dar over his poor eco nomic polic es

Govt to resPond to Imran’s offer after consultInG allIes: responding to imran khan’s negotiations offer, interior m nister rana Sanau lah khan on Friday sa d the fed eral government would respond to the offer after consultation with the al ies

Ta king to a pr vate news channel the federal minister said imran khan had previ ously stated that he would not ta k with politi cal parties however he said once again “ khan deviated from his own words ” pakistan mus im league nawaz (pml n) has always believed in political dia ogue to break down barriers and find solutions When pol tical leaders sit together deadlocks are broken and ways are found,” he added answering a quest on on the next elec tions poss ble date the interior minister said that t was premature to make any predic tions on the date of the elections until after

The pTi chairman has become unpopu ar in pakistan’s politics,” he said pressurizing the government through dif f e r e n t t a c t i c s c a n n o t r e s o v e i s s u e s e x i s t i n g b e t w e e n t w o p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s, ” h e a d d e d w h e c o m m e n t i n g o n i m r a n s a n n o u n c e m e n t f o r t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f k p a n d pu n j a b a s s e m b l i e s he said the government was engaged in the re ief and rehabilitation works after f ood devastation and going for elections at this point in time was not n government ’s priority he said that talks with the pTi could only happen only if the conditions were not placed before the government

We can have a discuss on with pTi for streamlining the economic sector he sa d

To a question about d sso ving assem blies he sa d the pak stan musl m league (nawaz) would contest elections with full force n case of early elect ons n pun ab

The minister made it clear that holding on to power was not n the coalition govern ment s preference but to ser ve the people he urged imran khan to play politics aimed at address ng the genuine problems of the peop e he advised the chairman pTi to avoid ag tation against the government and work for the betterment of the countr y october 2023 Is electIon month: mar rIyum: Federal m nister for information and Broadcasting marriyum aurangzeb on Friday advised pakistan Tehreek e insaf (pTi) chair man imran khan to wait for next general e ection til october 2023 “ october 2023” was the ultimate election month the minister said n a tweet in refer ence to a news channel s report carr ying imran khan’s demand for talks for the snap pol s date in a threaten ng tone

g The Saudi developmenT Fund exTendS The Term For depoSiT To help pakiSTan meeT iTS exTernal SecTor challengeS a S imporT cover ToucheS 1.1 monThS

king Sa man bin abdulaziz al Saud the custodian of the Two holy mosques directed the Saudi Fund development (SFd) to extend the term for the $3 b llion deposit provided by the kingdom of Saudi arabia (kSa) to the State Bank of pakistan (SBp)

The extension of the term of the depos t is a cont nuation of the support provided by the government of the kingdom of Saudi arabia to the islamic republic of pakistan as the deposit aimed to shore up the foreign currency reser ves in the Bank and help pakistan in facing the economic repercussions of the covid 19 pandem c; it furthermore contributed to meet external sector chal enges and achieve sustainable economic growth for the countr y read the press release by the SBp

The $3 billion deposit agreement was signed in november 2021 ear er this week, on Tuesday, the ministr y of F nance government of pak stan announced that it received $500 million from asian infrastructure investment Bank (aiiB) The funds are deposited with the SBp and will augment reser ves on Thursday, SBp ’s reser ves decreased by $327 mil ion touching $7 5 bi lion The countr y s total reser ves including reser ves w th banks went down by $267 million to touch $13 4 bill on as a result, the import cover based on the average imports of the last 12 months clocked in at 1 1 months, wh ch s sign ficantly low

Pa k i s t a n’ s d i p l o m a t i c o f f i c i a l s c o m e u n d e r a t t a c k i n Ka b u l

KABUL s ta f f r e p o r t a g u n a t t a c k w a s c a r r i e d o u t a g a i n s t pa k i s t a n s d i p l o m a t i c o f f i c i a s i n ka b u e a v i n g a s e c u r t y g u a r d s e r o u s l y w o u n d e d

The gun attack was carried out at a time when chargé d ’affaires to afghanistan ubaidur rehman nizamani was wa k ng in the garden of pakistan s embassy in kabul, sources said according to sources mult p e gun shots were fired on pak stan s embassy however, chargé d ’affaires ubaidur rehman nizamani escaped unhurt a security guard received three bu lets in his chest and was mmediately shifted to the hospital for med cal ass stance pakistan embassy spokesperson Tah r noorani to d media that gunshots were fired by unidentified assailants from out side the building he said that al diplo matic officials of the pakistan embassy were safe

prime minister Shehbaz Sharif de manded an nvest gation into the attack and action against the attackers

i strong y condemn dastardly assas sination attempt on pakistan’s head of mission kabul he wrote on his offic al Twitter handle

he saluted the brave security guard who took a bu let to save nizamani s life “ prayers for the swift recover y of se curity guard i demand immediate in vest gation & action against perpetrators of this heinous act,” he fur ther sa d in a subsequent tweet, pm Shehbaz said that he has spoken to nizamani and was relieved to hear that he is safe “ i expressed solidarity of gov[ern men]t & people w th h m while assuring full support & assistance to him & mis sion on all counts i also conveyed prayers for swift recover y of brave secu r ty guard,” he also said

afghanistan’s ministr y of Fore gn af fairs spokesperson abdu Qahar Balkhi condemned the “ fai ed ” fir ng attack and prayed for the speedy recover y of the security guard “ iea wil not allow any malicious ac tors to pose a threat to the security of diplomatic m ssions in kabul he wrote

on Tw tter “ our security w ll conduct a serious investigation ident fy perpetrators & br ng them to ust ce,” he further sa d pakistan s Special representative for afghanistan ambassador mohammad Sadiq took to Twitter to make the an nouncement

The compound of the embassy of pakistan in kabu came under attack today targeting head of mission ubaid ur rehman nizaman By the grace of allah almighty the head of mission is safe however a pakistani security guard Sepoy israr mohammad has been criti cally injured in the attack whi e protect ing the head of m ssion The government of pakistan strong y con demns the assassinat on attempt aga nst the head of mission and the at tack against the embassy compound in kabul sa d the envoy

“ The interim government of afghan stan must mmed ately hold thorough nvestigations n this attack apprehend the culprits, hold them to account and take urgent measures to ensure the safety and security of pak

stani dip omatic personne and c tizens n afghanistan,” he added pa k i s t a n s f o r e i g n o f f c e d e n o u n c e d t h e a t t a c k o n t h e pa k i s t a n i o f f c a l a n d u r g e d t h e i n t e r m g o v e r n m e n t o f a f g h a n i s t a n t o i m m e d i a t e y

h o l d t h o r o u g h n v e s t i g a t o n s i n t h i s a t t a c k, a p p r e h e n d t h e c u l p r i t s, h o l d t h e m t o a c c o u n t a n d t a ke u r g e n t m e a s u r e s t o e n s u r e t h e s a f e t y a n d s e curity of pakistani d plomatic personnel a n d c i t i z e n s n a f g h a n i s t a n

pR Ofit REpORt

LAHORE M a n a b r a r

A f g H A n i S TA n R e A S S U R e d T o n o T A L Lo w A n y o n e T o U S e i T S S o i L A g A i n S T PA k i S TA n : f o

a z

e d e m o l i t i o n o f B a b r i

e n c e d u r i n g t h e h o r r i f i c G u j a r a t r i o t s o f 2 0 0 2 t h a t l e d t o t h e m a s s a c r e o f o v e r t w o thousand Muslims

S h e s a i d i t i s a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y a c k n o w l e d g e d f a c t t h a t N a r e n d r a M o d i w h o w a s t h e n t h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r o f G u j a r a t w a s d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r f o m e n t i n g a n t i M u s l i m r i o t s a n d t h e

u

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e a l o t s I t s e r v e s a s a r e m i n d e r t h a t

S h e s a i d P a k i s t a n i s a l s o s e r i o u s l y concerned over the decision this week by I n d i a n N a t i o n a l I n v e s t i g a t i o n A g e n c y ’s

to award life

to f i v e i n n o c e n t K a s h m i r i y o u t h i n a

PM invites C hinese firms to invest in renewable energy

ISLAMABAD

S tA f f R e P o R t

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday invited Chinese companies to invest in r e n e w a b l e e n e rg y

projects in Pakistan, particularly solar energy

The premier was talking to a delegation of China Construction; Third Engineering Bureau headed by Tan Guofu Vice Chairman of the company

P M S h e h b a z S h a r i f a p p r e c i a t e d t h e c o m p a n y ’s

LHC judge gets furious over law yer’s appearance without gown

LAHORE

S tA f f R e P o R t

Lahore High Court (LHC) judge on Friday got furious over the lawyer s appearance in the courtroom without his gown As per details, Rana Asif advocate, who is also a member of the Punjab Bar Council, appeared before the court of Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmed for a case hearing without his gown The judge got furious about the conduct of the lawyer and took him into judicial custody The lawyer sought an unconditional apology from the LHC, but the judge refused to accept it The lawyer was asked to submit his written reply in the contempt of court notice on the next hearing According to the rules, the lawyers must wear gowns during their appearances in the high courts and the Supreme Court

Rupee depreciates to Rs224 against US dollar

ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t

The Pakistani rupee, after seeing a day’s nominal improvement, reverted to its failing destiny against the US dollar during early trading in the interbank market After being stable for a week with a marginal recovery on Thursday, the current spot rate of rupee settled at a low of Rs224 losing 31 paisas during early morning trading against the restive US dollar Previously, the value of the Pakistani rupee remained unchanged for three consecutive days, settling at Rs223 95, with a zero change in value against the greenback However, last Friday saw the rupee s spot rate dropping by two paisas In the open currency market, the value of rupee increased to Rs231 50, respectively However, the rate to buy the US dollar also changed to Rs229 25

BEIJING

A P P

Pakistani men s apparel exports to China amounted to $21 03million, up more than 17% in the first 10 months of 2022 as compared with the same period in 2021 as per the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC)

According to the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China men s or boys apparel (commodity code 61034200), increased by 15 29% worth $11 85 million while last year in the same period it was $ 10 28 million

Data further showed that men’s or boys’ trousers, and breeches, nes, of cotton (commodity code 62034290) were up 16 42% and crossed $6 49 million in the first 10 months of 2022, whereas in the same period last year it was $5 58million

The bilateral trade in textile sectors improved very fast Women s garments exports from Pakistan to China crossed

Vi c e C h a i r m a n Ta n G u o f u ’s c o m m i t m e n t t o i n v e s t m o r e i n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e a n d e n e rg y p r o j e c t s i n Pakistan

Prime Minister Sharif said the relations between Pakistan and China have been very exemplary in all a r e a s a n d m e n t i o n e d h i s r e c e n t m e e t i n g w i t h t h e company’s president during his visit to China

H e a l s o a p p r e c i a t e d t h e c o m p a n y f o r i t s d o n a t i o n s t o t h e f l o o d a ff e c t e d p e o p l e o f P a k i s t a n S p e c i a l A s s i s t a n t Ta r i q F a t e m i , Z a f a r u d d i n

Rana aks PTI to avoid unconstitutional way for dissolving assemblies

ISLAMABAD

A P P

Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah on Friday asked the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) chairman to avoid adopting an unconstitutional manner for dissolving assemblies in two provinces "We are not in favour of dissolving assemblies," he said while talking to a private television channel

The government was engaged in relief and rehabilitation works he said adding that organizing early elections was not possible in flood affected areas He said rehabilitation of flood hit people was the priority of the government

He urged the PTI leadership to come forward and initiate dialogue to resolve political matters The dialogue was the only way to address issues of public interest, he added

To a question about early elections he said the elections would be held next year

He made it clear that coalition partners were not escaping from elections

The minister said that Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz would win the next polls with majority votes of people He said that Imran Khan was trying to create unrest in the country through unconstitutional demands He invited the PTI to the negotiating table for holding talks with the government

Govt ready to hold talks with PTI without any condition: Ayaz

ISLAMABAD A P P

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Friday said that the coalition government was ready to hold talks with Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) without conditions

Talking to a private television channel, he said all the political parties, particularly PTI should initiate dialogue for resolving political issues

Long march launched by Imran Khan had failed, he said, adding that the participants of the long march had returned to their respective areas empty hands, he added

Commenting on the Imran's call for early elections, he said the PTI was ruling in two provinces

and could dissolve the assemblies to get to the elections

He further stated that Imran Khan was demanding elections in all parts of the country, but as the matter of fact, PTI would lose the elections owing to its weak policies

To a question about the narrative promoted by Imran Khan, he said the PTI leader had lost popularity due to its negative propaganda and the narrative of conspiracy

He said Imran Khan has made a U turn in politics on many occasions The people would not vote for his party for telling lies to the nation for years

He claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz was a famous political party of Pakistan and could snatch majority seats without facing any trouble

Mehmood and other senior government officials also attended the meeting

L a s t m o n t h , P M S h e h b a z S h a r i f d u r i n g h i s

Turkey visit stressed Turkish companies to invest in a 10 000 megawatt solar power project for Pakistan

Addressing a Turkiye Pakistan Business Council meeting, the prime minister had assured the investors t h a t t h e P a k i s t a n g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d c r e a t e a c o n d u c i v e , e n a b l i n g a n d f r i e n d l y e n v i r o n m e n t f o r them to invest in renewable energy projects

Pak-Thai bilateral ties moving in upward direction: Shazia Marri

ISLAMABAD

A P P

Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Marri on Friday said bilateral relations between Pakistan and Thailand were moving in upward trajectory Speaking as chief guest here at a function held in connection with the 95th National Day of the Kingdom of Thailand, she said bilateral relations were marked with cooperation and convergence of perspectives on a multitude of regional and multilateral issues A 110% increase in bilateral trade between the two countries was a clear indication that they enjoyed good and cordial relationships, the minister, who is also Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson added Highlighting the cultural and historical similarities between the two counties, she said like Thailand, Pakistan also supported and promoted multilateralism and regional cooperation She stressed upon the importance of people to people contact to further boost the bilateral relations between the two countries

Aunt of Marriyum Aurangzeb passes away

ISLAMABAD A P P

$8 32 million while home textiles crossed $6 74 million, witnessing an increase of 29% as compared with last year in the same period which was $5 25 million

Asif Muhammad Sulehri CEO of Brizbane Group of Companies and textile exporter told China Economic Net that three major factors are behind the increasing export of Men’s clothing to China

Pakistan is a major producer of cotton crops and it is cheaper as compared to China so it has a benefit over them, he said, adding that Pakistan has cheap labor compared to China which is cost effective for men s apparel exports to China

“In January 2020, Pakistan and China entered into the second phase of the China Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA2), under which China has eliminated tariffs on 313 priority tariff lines of Pakistan’s export and out of the 313 high priority products that Pakistan can now export without duty payments to China, 130 are from the textiles sector,” he stated

Sulehri said that the reduced tariffs on textile products, an expected surge in Chinese investment into Pakistan and the potential shift of production base from China to Pakistan, may change the regional dynamics of textile trade

“Under the CPFTA2, many Pakistani textile products will now enjoy duty free access to China, which has extended similar tariff reductions to other trading partners Tariffs on ready made cotton garments (HS codes 61, 62, and 63), have been massively reduced, and men’s ensembles of cotton (HS code 62032200) Pakistan s top world export, were traded with China at 17 5 percent (MFN rate) which was reduced to 12 percent under Phase I of FTA and has dropped to 0 percent in Phase II of FTA,” Asif mentioned

Pakistani government s target is raising the country’s textile and clothing exports from USD 13 5 billion in 2018 to USD 25 billion by 2025 As China has the world s largest textile industry in terms of both production and export it is an inevitable

trading partner for Pakistan to meet this 2025 target , he added It is to be noted that Pakistan’s cotton

yarn exports to China are one of the major items of Pakistan s exports to the Chinese market

by Foreign Office

Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch while addressing the weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Friday She said that the assurance was given by Afghan authorities during Minister for State

Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar

visit to Afghanistan recently The Spokesperson said TTP is a threat to Pakistan and we hope that Afghanistan will fulfill its promises

reiterated Pakistan

massacre of Muslims in Gujarat

M u m t

Z a h r a B a l o c h s a i d 6 t h o f December this year marks the 30 years of t h

M o

q

e b y B J P R S S z

space has become restricted for minorities in India

Delhi court

imprisonment

fabricated case T h e s p o k e s p e r s o n s a i d t h e M o d i r e g i m e i s c o n t i n u o u s l y p u r s u i n g t h e H i n d u t v a a g e n d a o f R S S i n I n d i a n I l l e g a l l y O c c u p i e d J a m m u a n d K a s h m i r and disempowering Kashmiris by turning them into a minority in their own land In its latest move, it has added over 700,000 new voters in the electoral rolls

Begum Najma Hameed, aunt of Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurnagzeb and sister of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML N)’s leader Tahira Aurangzeb, passed away in Rawalpindi on Friday Begum Najma Hameed was the senior leader of PML N and got elected as senator twice The announcement regarding her funeral would be made shortly

JAPAn PRovideS USd 4.196 MiLLion To

UniCef foR fLood AffeCTeeS

TH E Government of Japan provided USD 4 196 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on humanitarian grounds to improve water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in the flood affected areas The funds would be utilized for refugee settlements and host communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces

An event was held here today by UNICEF to acknowledge and thank the Government and people of Japan for their usual and generous support for the children in Pakistan

The Chairman National Disaster

Management Authority, Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, H E WADA Mitsuhiro, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Mr Abdullah Fadil, and senior officials of the Government of Pakistan attended the event

Speaking on the occasion Chairman NDMA, Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik said, “Government of Pakistan stands committed in maximizing support to its flood affected people with continued involvement of international community ”

“Japan has always been a lead in such assistance role for Pakistan and it is gratefully acknowledged at people to People tiers UNICEF Pakistan is also at the forefront of such initiatives and has enabled swift delivery of key relief aid articles to

people in distress ”

National Disaster Management Authority, the national Coordinating authority for all emergencies mitigation and Control, engages all stakeholders and donor agencies, to help investment in capacity building and developing sound robust national preparedness regime We endorse the high value of UNICEF donations and Thank Government of Japan for helping minimize the impact of the damage in flood affected areas of Pakistan,” he added

Using Japanese funds and working in coordination with the National and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities and other relevant departments, UNICEF is working to ensure that host and refugee communities in the two provinces have

access to improved WASH services

These services include provision of improved water quality and supply, regular cleaning of drains, improved solid waste management and emergency WASH services in health centres and schools This has contributed to significant reduction in the incidence of diseases caused by unsafe water and poor hygiene

At the ceremony H E Mitsuhiro Wada Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan said, “Japan in partnership with UNICEF, has successfully supported Afghan refugees and their host communities in KP and Balochistan provinces in WASH and nutrition, ensuring the most vulnerable have access to safe water hygiene

LHC hints at schools ’ closure amid increasing smog

cut the school days in a week and shift to partial work from home policy if the environment situation continues

facilities, and nutrition supplements Now as an immediate response to the widespread flooding, Japan stands ready to provide emergency support to the affected by providing clean water and hygiene items ”

Funds provided by Japan to UNICEF for its humanitarian services in the flood affected areas are being used to provide safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, raising awareness about personal and communal hygiene, provision of hygiene kits, and scanning nutritional status of children and women in camps and communities

We are extremely grateful for the generous funding from the Government of Japan to children and families at this critical juncture,” said Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan

“It is the most vulnerable children and f a m i l i e s w h o a r e b e a r i n g t h e b r u n t o f t h e d e v a s t a t i n g f l o o d s a n d t h e y n e e d s u p p o r t

o s u r v i v e Wi t h o u t a c t i o n , m o r e c h i l d r e n

i l l l o s e t h e i r l i v e s i n t h e w e e k s t o c o m e

n s u r i n g t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f s a f e d r i n k i n g water, sanitation, hygiene and medical and n u t r i t i o n s e r v i c e s i s c r i t i c a l t o a v e r t f u r t h e r d e a t h s ”

A Jk eC lauds administration for maintaining law, order during LB polls

MIRPUR (AJK) A P P

Raja Farooq Niaz Khan, a senior member of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Election Commission here on Friday appreciated the local law enforcement agencies and the administration for peaceful holding of the local government elections in Muzaffarabad Addressing the district administration of Mirpur division he said Police and other administrative institutions have high capabilities who ensured the foolproof arrangements during the first phase of the elections” He said that the same peaceful environment would be ensured during the Poonch and Mirpur Divisions elections which would be held on December 03 and December 08 respectively “Manpower will be increased at sensitive polling stations and quick response force will also be increased Members of peace and coordination reconciliation committees in local elections should play their role in ending the atmosphere of tension during polling,” he added Raja Farooq Niaz also presided over a meeting to review the polling arrangements in all three districts of Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber on December 08 He advised the divisional and district administration to ensure the strict implementation of the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission for the candidates According to the code of conduct, there would be zero tolerance in case of violation of the code of conduct by candidates as well as their supporters He said that the peaceful conduct of local government elections will lead to the transfer powers to the elected representatives of the people at grassroot level

T h e L a h o r e H i g h C o u r t ( L H C ) h a s h i n t e d a t c l o s u r e o f e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a s s m o g c o n t i n u e s t o intensify in Lahore

A bench headed by Justice Shahid Karim was hearing a petition related to environmental pollution He remarked that the smog situation was worsening but the Punjab government hardly seems bothered about tackling the issue

H e s a i d , “ T h e g o v e r n m e n t h a s t o

The court directed the government t o a m e n d i t s p o l i c y r e g a r d i n g b r i c k k i l n s a n d f a c t o r i e s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c r e a t i n g p o l l u t i o n S u c h f a c t o r i e s a n d b r i c k k i l n s s h o u l d b e r a z e d i n s t e a d o f s e a l i n g t h e m f o r v i o l a t i n g t h e e n v i r o n m e n t l a w s , J u s t i c e K a r i m s t r e s s e d

The court ordered the environment department to present amended rules in next hearing scheduled

NA deputy speaker bans AIOU’s 11th class book ‘Imraniyat ’

National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani on Friday banned the Allama Iqbal Open University’s (AIOU) eleventh class book ‘Imraniyat’ as it was projecting allegedly “anti Islamic values in the youth”

Giving his ruling for banning the book, he asked the quarters concerned to take legal action against the alleged responsible who had drafted it and permitted it to be published, and above all allowed it to be taught to the students

Talking on a point of order, Jaamat e Islami’s Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali raised the issue that in the said book, the ‘veil of woman’ was allegedly portrayed as one of the main hindrances in the advancement of society

He further said the book allegedly promoted Riba (usury) trying to build a positive perception[ ] by giving examples it had played in the economic development of the countries

Giving reference to the book, it was allegedly stated that by banning the usury it would deprive the country s economy of flourishing and grooming further

Demanding the ban on the book, Maulana Chitrali proposed that the government should take stern action against all those people allegedly involved in the compilation of this book which was propagating anti Islamic values in our young generation”

He also highlighted that in Sindh, the provincial government was also appointing non Muslims for teaching the subject of Islamiyat, accommodating them in the allocated two percent quota of minorities in jobs

He said “how a non believer could teach the true spirit of Islam to the students as he himself did not believe in the Islamic teachings and values

He asked the deputy speaker to give his ruling on

Responding

it

He also urged the deputy speaker to give his ruling on this serious matter of public interest

NA Deputy Speaker Durrani while giving his ruling asked the provincial governments to take adequate actions to resolve the following issues on priority

It is worth mentioning here that Jamiat Ulema e Islam Fazl Senator Maulana Atta ur Rehman has also submitted a calling attention notice in the Senate Secretariat on the issue of AIOU s eleventh class book Imraniyat

Supreme Cour t reinstates CCPO Lahore

i b u n a l c a n n o t s u s p e n d a n o t h

The Supreme Court has reinstated Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Ghulam Mehmood Dogar R e s t o r a t i o

o

r

s w

i s s u e d b y a t h r e e m e m b e r b e n c h h e a d e d b y J u s t i c e

Ijazul Ahsan hearing the CCPO’s Dogar ’s petition

T h e n o t i c e w a s i s s u e d t o t h e f e d e r a l government on Dogar s appeal against the Federal Service Tribunal’s (FST) decision

D o g a r w a s r e i n s t a t e d b y t h e F e d e r a l S e r v i c e Tr i b u n a l H o w e v e r t h e r e i n s t a t e m e n t o r d e r w a s s u s p e n d e d b y a t w o m e m b e r b e n c h o f t h e t r i b u n a l , h i s

C C P O D o g a r ’s l a w y e r s a i d t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t s r e v i e w p e t i t i o n w a s a l s o pending before the tribunal

“ H o w c a n o n e b e n c h o f t h e t r i b u n a l suspend another bench’s decision?” asked

J u s t i c e A h s a n H e a d d e d t h a t t h e s p e c i a l b e n c h s a i d t h a t t h e p e t i t i o n w a s f i l e d p r e m a t u r e l y a n d a l s o i s s u e d s u s p e n s i o n orders

Justice Mazahar Naqvi asked how the h i g h c o u r t c a n s a y t h a t t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p e t i t i o n i s n o t w o r t h h e a r i n g L a w y e r Z u b e r i r e p l i e d t h a t t h e p r o v i n c i a l

g o v e r n m e n t d o e s n o t w a n t t o r e l e a s e CCPO

The court adjourned the hearing for an i n d e f i n i t e p e r i o d o f t i m e a f t e r r e s t o r i n g Dogar as Lahore CCPO

T h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t s u s p e n d e d Lahore CCPO Dogar with immediate effect o n N o v e m b e r 5 T h e m o v e c a m e a d a y a f t e r a n a n g r y m o b o f P T I s u p p o r t e r s s t a g e d a p r o t e s t d e m o n s t r a t i o n o u t s i d e G o v e r n o r H o u s e i n L a h o r e a g a i n s t t h e a s s a s s i n a t i o n a t t e m p t o n t h e l i f e o f t h e party chairman Imran Khan

The cop challenged his suspension as t h e C C P O i n t h e L a h o r e H i g h C o u r t (LHC) He also moved the FST against his suspension

PM calls for urgent inquir y into assassination bid on Pak envoy in kabul

ISLAMABAD

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday strongly condemned the assassination attempt on Pakistan’s Head of Mission in Afghan capital Kabul and called for an immediate inquiry into the incident “I strongly condemn dastardly assassination attempt on Head of Mission, Kabul he said in a tweet I demand immediate investigation and action against perpetrators of this heinous act ” The prime minister lauded the bravery of the security guard, who received bullet wounds while saving the life of the envoy “Salute to brave security guard, who took bullet to save his [Head of Mission] life, he said and prayed for his swift recovery

Securit y guard injured in kabul embassy attack flown back to Peshawar

ISLAMABAD

A P P

Pakistani security guard Israr Mohammad was flown back to Peshawar on Friday night after he was critically injured in an attack targeting Pakistan's Head of Mission in Kabul Ubaid Nizamani "The helicopter carrying the injured security guard Israr Mohammad in today s attack on our mission in Kabul, has landed in Peshawar," the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement Earlier in the day, the compound of the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul came under attack targeting Head of Mission Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani The Head of the Mission remained safe, however, a Pakistani security guard Sepoy Israr Mohammad was critically injured in the attack while protecting the envoy Pakistan also summoned the Afghan Charge d affaires to convey its "deep concern and anguish" over the attack in Kabul on Pakistan’s Head of Mission The interim Afghan government strongly condemned the attack and assured that a "serious investigation" would be conducted to bring the perpetrators to justice

O n N o v e m b e r 8 , t h e L H C d i s m i s s e d Dogar ’s plea, saying it does not have the authority to hear the case Meanwhile on N o v e m b e r 1 0 , t h e t r i b u n a l c o m p r i s i n g A s i m A k r a m a n d M u s h t a q J a d o o n s u s p e n d e d t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t s N o v e m b e r 5 n o t i f i c a t i o n i n a t w o p a g e written verdict

Approving Dogar ’s appeal against the federal government’s decision, the tribunal declared his suspension against the law and contrary to the verdicts of the top court

L a t e r, o n D e c e m b e r 2 , a F S T b e n c h ordered to remove the CCPO rejecting the s i n g l e b e n c h o r d e r o f r e i n s t a t i n g D o g a r w h i c h w a s t h e n c h a l l e n g e d b y t h e c o p i n the apex court

ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t

ISLAMABAD S tA f f R e P o R t

this important issue and direct the Sindh government to appoint Muslims for teaching the subject of Islamiyat in schools and colleges

to incorrect translation of Holy Quran by a particular segment of the society, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Murtaza Javed Abbasi said the Punjab government instead of taking up the issue allegedly ignored

for December 6

ISLAMABAD

S tA f f R e P o R t

lawyer Abid Zuberi told the apex court Zuberi said that a two member bench o f t h e t r

e r bench’s decision

P T I r E A c T S S T r o n g ly o v E r T r A n S F E r o F S E n AT o r S wAT I T o Q U ET TA

PA K I S TA N Tehreek e Insaf

(PTI) leadership termed the transfer of incarcerated ailing

PTI Senator Azam Swati to Quetta by Balochistan police with the connivance of the imported gov ernment as condemnable and shameful In their strong reactions here on Fri day, they expressed shock over the tragic development as his life was in great dan ger due to his medical complications as the police even could not wait for his medical reports

The PTI Chairman Imran Khan stated that the vengeful manner in which Senator Swati was being treated was

Police foil armed attack on house of MPA Faisal Zeb

SHanGla

shocking and condemnable Imran Khan said that he was moved to PIMS early morning after suffering severe chest pains and breathing issues However, he said that Azam Swati was sent to Quetta without getting the test results Imran Khan stated that Quetta police got him discharged and took him away endan gering his life and added that freedom of opinion was being considered as a crime Imran Khan stated: “Equally outra geous is what is being considered such a great crime would in entire civilised world be considered his democratic right to criticise ” PTI Chairman demanded that Azam Swati must be released imme diately “Sad to see our justice system unwilling to stop repeated violations of Swati’s basic human rights,” he added

Strongly reacting to the develop ment of Swati s transfer to Quetta PTI Central Secretary General Asad Umar said that Swati was “handed over” to Balochistan police and taken to Quetta without waiting for medical reports from the hospital or waiting for the high court’s decision “Shameful how the im ported government is flouting funda mental rights and refusing to follow due process of law,” he added

PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhary stated in his reaction that the transfer of Azam Swati to Quetta was an other spot on the human rights record of Pakistan’s courts, as the 75 year old sen ator and lawyer was being disrespected and the courts were taking the lead in fur ther tarnishing Pakistan’s history “Who

knows when the judges will realize that Allah has blessed them with important responsibilities,” he raised question

In her strong reaction, PTI Senior Vice President Dr Shireen Mazari said: “There seems to be a personalised vendetta being carried out against Sena tor Swati simply because he critically named now retired COAS in a tweet and in his speech at our Pindi March

She said that his re arrest, over 20 FIRs across Pakistan on one charge and his being taken from cardiovascular de partment of PIMS goes against all norms

only of democracy but of

Foggy conditions to be intensified in coming week: PMD

iSlaMaBad s ta f f r e p o r t

The district police foiled an armed attack on the house of MPA Faisal Zeb in Tetowalan area on late Thursday night and forced the miscreants to retreat The spokesman of Shangla police said on Friday here, that miscreants managed to escape from the scene while taking advantage of the dark Meanwhile, on the directions of Regional Police Officer (RPO) Malakand Sajjad Khan and under the supervision of DPO Shangla a search operation was launched in the area to arrest the culprits An FIR has also been registered and the police are conducting a preliminary investigation from every angle in this regard, he said, adding that no casualty was reported in the attack

The RPO contacted MPA Faisal Zeb and said that the incident seemed to be the reaction of an arrest of an alleged suspect of the firing attack, Faizullah, carried out a few months ago and sent to jail According to RPO, two accused of the previous firing attack were arrested for interrogation while more investigation was underway He said that Shangla police is always ready and alert to protect the lives and property of the masses and would not allow anyone to sabotage peace in the area

Balochistan cops arrest A zam Swati

QUETTa s ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati was Friday arrested by Balochistan police in a case of controversial tweets against the state institutions According to the police sources, the PTI senator was on remand in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crime cell

He had been handed over to Balochistan police after his remand ended Balochistan police took Azam Swati to Quetta Cases had been registered against him in Balochistan too It is to be noted here that a local court in Islamabad had remanded Azam Swati in the FIA custody for four days PTI chief Imrnan Khan said in a Tweet today that the vengeful manner in which Senator Swati is being treated is shocking & condemnable “He was moved to PIMS early morning after suffering severe chest pains & breathing issues While test results were awaited Quetta police got him discharged & took him away endangering his life,” Khan added

Pakistan Meteorological Depart ment (PMD) in its advisory issued on Friday said that the intensity of foggy conditions in plain areas will be increased in the coming week during the night and morn ing hours

The Met office informed that due to persistent dry weather, foggy conditions are likely to con tinue during the coming week with increasing intensity, particularly during night and morning hours

While, very cold weather con ditions in Gilgit Baltistan, Kash mir, North Balochistan and parts of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Partly cloudy to cloudy weather conditions are expected in Gilgit Baltistan, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Mansehra, Kohistan and Kashmir with chances of light rain with snowfall over the hills from De cember 2 3 About the possible im pacts, the Met office said that foggy conditions may affect transporta tion means The air quality may be unhealthy for sensitive groups, the Met office said and advised the travelers to remain cautious to avoid any untoward situation

According to the PMD report, a shallow trough of westerly wave is affecting upper parts of the country which would produce light rain in few parts of the coun try “Cold and dry weather is ex

pected in most parts of the country However partly cloudy weather with light rain/ snow over the mountains is expected in Gilgit Baltistan and upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Foggy conditions are likely over plain areas of Pun jab during night and morning hours”, the report states

During the last 24 hours cold and dry weather prevailed over most parts of the country, while very cold in Gilgit Baltistan and north Balochistan during night and morn ing hours Foggy conditions oc curred in a few plain areas of Punjab

The lowest maximum temper atures recorded during the last 24 hours were Leh 05 C, Ziarat, Skardu and Gupis 04 C

E x p e r t s s t re s s o n re s p o n s i b l e j o u r n a l i s m to co u nte r e ffe c t s o f f a ke n e w s, m i s i n fo r m at i o n

Rawalpindi

In an Seminar arranged by the Accountability Lab Pakistan held at the Rawalpindi Press Club where speakers discussed the key drivers and impacts of fake news and disinformation upon Society, espe cially on our youth and Role of Journalism

The event was Chaired by Incharge Rawalpindi Press Club Ms Shakela Jalil: Ms Shazia Mehboob Editor Digital Media Plat form “The PenPK com, and Mr Javed Rana senior journalist and analyst CEO/The Editor of The Digital Dispatch an Inves tigative Multimedia Digital Magazine were among the key speakers The event was attended by a large number of Journalist from various print and electronic media houses

Mr Javed Rana while speaking to the event said, that digital media has overtaken mainstream media People, especially the youth, have the urge to know what is happening in the state and tend to believe whatever they see on social media He furthermore said that as a responsible journalist, it is our duty to seek facts and provide authentic information to the public to reduce the risk of spreading misinformation

and fake news

While Ms Shazia Mehboob said that with the massive growth in the digital media industry, the flow of information has increased A single piece of infor mation is presented in a hundred different ways by dif ferent social media influencers and since many people follow such influencers, they quickly accept the cred ibility of the news without knowing it She further said that it is the duty of responsible journalists to provide factual information to the public and educate them about media literacy and the right to information

Incharge of Rawalpindi Press Club said that the concept of fake news and misinformation is old But social media and the internet have increased this fake news and misinformation trend So it’s very important that to secure our youth from the negative effects of fake news misinformation and disinformation

Accountability Lab (AL) is a think tank that exists to make governance work for people by supporting active citizens responsible leaders and accountable institutions The Lab is building a movement of active citizens and responsible leaders across the country supporting them to use information and knowledge for better public service delivery and positive social and economic change

Pakistan, US reshaping par tnerships in diverse fields: Envoy

iSlaMaBad s ta f f r e p o r t

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan has said Pakistan and US are reshaping their partnerships in critical areas of trade, investment, green energy, infrastructure, health and education He was addressing a two day conference titled “Pakistan at 75”, in Harvard University at Boston, says a press release received here on Friday from Boston US He said Pakistan emphasis on promoting people to people exchanges between the two countries

He said after recalibrating our relations beyond Afghanistan and the wars we have fought together, we would continue to counter terrorism and foster regional stability

The Ambassador said the core foreign policy principles of the country were: peace regional equilibrium, strategic balance, shared prosperity, and connectivity and win win partnerships

Underscoring the highest importance that Pakistan attaches to its partnership with the United States, Masood Khan said the US has always been a preferred source for technical knowhow and military equipment and a top destination for Pak exports, which jumped from 7 to 9 billion dollars last year

He said nearly one million Pakistani Americans are a strong bridge between our two nations He said the two countries are making efforts to build solid foundations for their economic collaboration that would not only serve the people of two countries but also contribute to regional stability and prosperity

The envoy said the outlook is bright, as the US has de hyphenated its relationship with Pakistan from Afghanistan, India and even China On Sino Pak relations, Masood Khan reiterated that the United States had not asked Pakistan to make a binary choice between Washington and Beijing

Masood Khan said that Pakistan wanted peaceful relations with India and we realize that a cohesive, economically integrated South Asia will benefit its people and the entire globe

Underscoring the need for resolution of all issues including the longstanding issue of Kashmir, Ambassador Khan said that let s not try to sweep the issues that divide us under the carpet This has not worked in the past; it will not work in future He said peace would remain elusive if there is no dialogue for confidence building, effective communication and responsible stewardship

The Ambassador said Pakistan has a persona beyond South Asia its extended neighbourhood East Asia, including North and South Asia Central Asia West Asia, the Middle East and Africa

s ta f f r e p o r t

Ambassador WADA Mitsuhiro on Friday said that Japan attached immense impor tance to its relationship with Pakistan and is fully committed to further improving ties in all areas of mutual interest

Talking to a group of senior journalists, he said, “The relationship between Japan and Pak istan has been very close as Deerina Dost and continues to spread through mutual coop eration based on shared values such as democ racy, peace and sustainable development ”

As the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, I assure you all that I am fully committed to further developing our long standing friend ship through various channels” he said

The envoy further said that both nations have supported each other and that this year Japan and Pakistan are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplo matic relations “Our diplomatic relation was established on April 28 in 1952 Pakistan was one of the countries which welcomed Japan back to the international arena after World War II,” he recalled

He further said that Pakistan helped Japan diplomatically by sending a delegation to participate in San Francisco Peace Treaty

“Pakistan was the first country that started to export cotton to Japan in the 1950s, which played an important role in the Japan ese post war reconstruction Japan processed raw cotton from Pakistan into yarn and cloth Japan on the other hand exported machinery

such as spindles to Pakistan In this way, we helped each other particularly in the textile sector” the envoy added

WADA Mitsuhiro said that during the first decade after Pakistan’s independence, a number of Japanese business offices were set up in Karachi mainly for trading purposes

The ambassador said, “Today, we con tinue to make further efforts to promote the business relationships We are working for a more business friendly environment for activ ities of foreign companies in Pakistan, which will surely lead to mutual economic benefits ”

As for the Official Development Assis tance (ODA) from Japan, he said, Pakistan was one of the first countries, which Japan started to provide in 1954

He said that Japan remained one of its

major bilateral development partners to Pak istan since 1954 extending assistance in multifaceted sectors of socio economic de velopment The ambassador said the total value of assistance has amounted to $11 7 billion while 7,273 trainees have been ac cepted from Pakistan as of January 2022

Japan’s assistance, he said, included con cessional loans, grant assistance, and techni cal cooperation He said most aid has been utilized for supporting infrastructure, and so cial development, including assistance in creating roads, power generation, transmis sion, distribution, water, sanitation, agricul ture, education, health, security, disaster management, climate change and human re sources development

The Kohat tunnel Pakistan Institute of

Medical Sciences (PIMS), the construction of steel bridges near Fort Munro which con nects Southern Punjab to Balochistan via N 70, Indus Highway, Weather Forecasting and Surveillance Radar System are a few exam ples of Japanese assistance” he added

The envoy said polio eradication is one of the focused areas of Japanese assistance Since 1996, the Government of Japan together with other partners has been consistently assisting Pakistan to eliminate this disease

The video was also shown to the media regarding the working of JICA in Pakistan “The video you are watching on the screen t o d a y i s c a l l e d We a v e Yo u r D r e a m s w h i c h i s s h o w i n g J I C A’s a c t i v i t y t o s u p port women’s empowerment through tech nical training

iSlaMaBad s ta f f r e p o r t

iSlaMaBad

S C S E E KS r E A S o n S f r o m C E n T r E f o r C o n T E m P T P ET I T I o n f I l I n g A g A I n S T I m r A n

TH E Supreme Court has asked the federal government why did it feel need to file a contempt of court case against PTI chief Imran Khan, say ing that the court will take action if it considers it necessary as it has “reports of law enforcement agencies”

A five member Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata

Bandial conducted hearing of the contempt case against the former prime minister Khan’s lawyer Salman Akram Raja, and the interior ministry’s counsel Salman Aslam Butt were present in the court

During the hearing, Raja apprised the court that he has submitted a response to the government documents and will pres ent Imran Khan’s arguments now

I n t e r i o r M i n i s t r y s c o u n c i l S a l m a n Butt said that the PTI chairman gave a call f o r D C h o w k o n M a y 2 4 T h e r e i s d a t a

proving that Imran Khan was aware of the Supreme Court orders and that they have s u b m i t t e d a U S B w i t h t h e P T I l e a d e r s ’ statements, establishing their awareness of the SC verdict, he added

Justice Mazahar Naqvi questioned that how they could distinguish the truth from t h e l i e , a d d i n g t h a t t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t i s not a trial court that can record statements

The apex court said that matter of con tempt is between the court and the contem nor He added that the court could issue a

c o n t e m p t n o t i c e i n l i g h t o f t h e a g e n c i e s ’ reports if needed He questioned why the government felt like filing a contempt case against the PTI chief I t i s t h e S C ’s d u t y t o c a r r y o u t c o n tempt proceedings if needed; the govern m e n t c a n o n l y o ff e r a s s i s t a n c e T h e

Interior Ministry’s counsel argued that the c o n t e m p t p r o c e e d i n g s a r e a c o n t i n u a t i o n of the top court s verdict regarding the PTI long march’s entrance to the Red Zone The chief justice said that Imran Khan

IHC reser ves verdic t in Swati ’s plea for c ases details

ISLaMaBaD S tA F F R e P o R t

Islamabad High Court (IHC) has reserved its verdict in Senator Azam Swati’s plea seeking details of cases registered against him across the country

At the outset of the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said that the interior ministry was being asked for details of cases registered across the country but wondered if it could be done under the current laws of the country

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Dogal replied, There is no law which allows taking such details from provinces ”

This led Justice Farooq to question of the interior ministry had any control on provincial home min istries

After 18th amendment police is in control of provinces,” the AAG replied he repeated that the fed eral government does not have the authority to direct provincial inspector generals of police

However, the government lawyer replied that a re port regarding the cases registered across the country

Son cries 'tears of happiness' as South Korea

reach World Cup last 16

Doha A F P / A P P

South Korea captain Son Heung min said he cried "tears of happiness" after the Asian team beat Portugal 2 1 to reach the World Cup last 16 on Friday The Koreans appeared to be heading out of the tournament in Qatar for much of the game but Hwang Hee chan's 91st minute winner lifted them to second in Group H, behind Portugal They faced a nervous wait on the pitch for Uruguay's match against Ghana to finish The South Americans won 2 0 but were unable to find the one goal extra they needed, going out on goals scored Tottenham striker Son was again not at his best and has still not scored in Qatar but produced a brilliant assist for Hwang's winner "I believe these tears are tears of happiness," said Son "We waited really long for this moment and we as players believed altogether we could do this "There were moments when I wasn't able to do my best and I am thankful for my team mates that they were able to cover me in the moments I wasn't able to fulfil my duties, and I m very proud of them " South Korea who were eliminated in the group stage in 2014 and 2018, have now reached the knockout phase for only the third time in their history If Brazil finish top of their group later Friday they will face South Korea in the next round "Going into the round of 16 was our goal and now we have higher goals and we will do our best to achieve those goals," said Son "No one knows the world of football, especially now, and (if) we have a chance to beat Brazil we will do our best and prepare our best game "

have been sought from the provinces on court orders

How multiple cases were registered in one in cident? FIA has also been made a respondent, they are in your jurisdiction, you can give details of cases registered against Azam Swati by FIA,” the judge told the lawyer

To this, the AAG Dogal responded by saying that the they can provide details related to FIA but cannot

take information of how many cases have been reg istered against Swati in the provinces

At this, Swati’s counsel Babar Awan interjected saying that all fundamental rights are policy matters and the centre can get this information from the provinces

“If this was the case then they will neither be able to write any letter or do any press conference How can federal government say that they are helpless be yond Faizabad or Attock,” said Awan

The lawyer also informed the court that his client may be taken from Islamabad and transferred some where else “Azam Swati is a heart patient Azam Swati is only asking about the number of FIRs, Awan told the court He added that he was seeking the details so his client can appear for those cases

At this the AAG responded saying that the peti tion has included provincial IGs as respondents but does not mention the home ministries

However the IHC CJ interjected and remarked that the court cannot give directions to any province or their home ministries After passing the remark the court reserved its judgment in the case

DEA delegation calls on DG Customs Intelligence

ISLaMaBaD A P P

A high powered delegation of the Drug Enforce ment Administration (DEA) Department of Jus tice, USA, led by the Country Attaché for Pakistan Jaffrey A Konvalinka called on the Di rector General Customs Intelligence Faiz Ahmad, here, on Friday The DG explained to the delega tion the core functions of customs intelligence and highlighted that the organization did not op erate randomly but carried out its operations on the basis of credible information

The DG further said the customs intelligence had fairly a good expertise in gathering informa tion and the success rate of it hits was more than 90% However, he added, that with the support of the DEA of the US government, it would cer tainly improve Pakistan’s capacity further

Jaffrey, the Country Attaché, said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the US government, was established in 1973 and it has more than 4,000 employees located in hundreds of offices across the country and around the world to fulfil its mission

The primary function of the DEA was the in terdiction of controlled substances worldwide by collecting, analyzing and disseminating informa tion on their movement

He assured assistance of the Drug Enforce ment Administration, Department of Justice,

c l a i m e d t h e r e w a s c h a o s o n M a y 2 5 a n d protesters were out of control However, it looks like the PTI leader did not go to the D Chowk himself but asked his supporters to do so, he added

Justice Bandial also said that the PTI’s i n t e n t i o n s w e r e a l w a y s t o g o t o t h e D C h o w k , t h e P T I l a w y e r s c o n v i n c e d t h e c o u r t t h a t b a r r i e r s w e r e l i f t e d H o w e v e r, l a t e r t h e y d i d n o t h o n o u r t h e i r c o m m i t m e n t a n d t u r n e d t o t h e D C h o w k , h e added

IHC admits Imran’s early hearing plea against ECP ToshaKhana verdict

ISLaMaBaD

S tA F F R e P o R t

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has admitted the separate ap peal of PTI Chairman Imran Khan for early hearing in his dis qualification by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in Toshakhana case Khan’s counsel Barrister Gohar Ali Khan sub mitted the separate appeal on behalf of the former prime minis ter The high court admitted the petition and fixed December 8 for hearing On October 21, the electoral watchdog had disquali fied PTI chief Imran Khan in Toshakhana case A four member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja announced the unanimous decision In the decision, it has been said that Imran Khan is no longer a member of the National Assembly, adding that he submitted a false affidavit and has been involved in corrupt practices The electoral watchdog also declared Imran Khan’s National Assembly seat as vacant

Jeddah-bound flight makes emergency landing at Karachi airpor t

A private airline flight from Karachi to Jeddah on Friday made an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport after it developed a “technical fault” According to sources within Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), flight, with more than 200 passengers on board including Umrah pilgrims, was en route to Jeddah from Karachi when the passenger jet developed a technical fault The pilot of flight contacted Air Traffic Controller Karachi and sought permission for an emergency landing at Karachi airport according to CAA official The plane landed safely at the airport and the pas sengers were shifted to the transit lounge, sources said Moreover, the CAA has launched an investigation into the emergency landing of a private airline plane at Karachi airport

Q uetta police endangering ailing A zam Swati ’s life, claims Imran K han

anonymity, shared that the arrest has been made over the different cases registered against the senator across Balochistan

The Balochistan police on Friday arrested PTI Senator Azam Swati for posting contro versial tweets against senior military officers

The ousted premier took to Twitter on Fri day and condemned the “shocking” act meted out to the PTI leader

Terming the Quetta police act “a great crime , Imran also said it is Sad to see our justice system unwilling to stop repeated vio lations of Swati’s basic human rights”

Officials who spoke on the condition of

The PTI leader was arrested once again for speaking against senior military officers early Sunday morning from his farmhouse lo cated in Chak Shahzad, Islamabad Federal Investigation Agency s Cyber crime Wing arrested Swati for using foul lan guage for the former army chief and other senior military officers The case against the senator has been registered on FIA’s Technical Assistant Anis ur Rehman’s complaint The case has been registered for libel and the Pre vention of Electronic Crimes Act

The senator has been arrested under Sec tions 500, 501, 505 and 109 He was also ar rested under the same provisions the last month Several FIRs have been registered within 24 hours against PTI leader Swati for

his controversial tweets at different police sta tions in Karachi, Quetta, Jacobabad Qambar, Lasbela Larkana Sukkur Khairpur Shikarpur, Kandhkot, and other cities

The news of the arrest came minutes after Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved its ver dict on the senator ’s plea seeking details of cases registered against him across the coun try At the outset of the hearing, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said that the interior ministry was being asked for details of cases registered across the country, but wondered if it could be done under the current laws of the country

“There is no law which allows taking such details from provinces, Additional At torney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Dogal replied

This led Justice Farooq to question of the interior ministry had any control on provincial

home ministries

“After 18th amendment police is in con trol of provinces the AAG replied he re peated that the federal government does not have the authority to direct provincial inspec tor generals of police

However, the government lawyer replied that a report regarding the cases registered across the country have been sought from the provinces on court orders

How were multiple cases registered on one incident? FIA has also been made a re spondent, they are in your jurisdiction, you can give details of cases registered against Azam Swati by FIA,” the judge told the lawyer To this, the AAG Dogal responded by saying that the they can provide details related to FIA but cannot take information of how many cases have been registered against Swati in the provinces

At this, Swati’s counsel Babar Awan in terjected saying that all fundamental rights are policy matters and the centre can get this in formation from the provinces

“If this was the case then they will neither be able to write any letter or do any press con ference How can federal government say that they are helpless beyond Faizabad or Attock said Awan

The lawyer also warned the court that his client may be taken from Islamabad and trans ferred somewhere else

“Azam Swati is a heart patient Azam Swati is only asking about the number of FIRs,” Awan told the court He added that he was seeking the details so his client can ap pear for those cases At this, the AAG re sponded saying that the petition has included provincial IGs as respondents but does not mention the home ministries

ISLaMaBaD S tA F F R e P o R t

USA in capacity building of the Directorate Gen eral of Customs Intelligence on speedy informa tion gathering and quality post seizure investigations

Meanwhile the opening of a dedicated com munication channel for improved coordination between the two agencies was also agreed during the meeting The Country Attaché Jaffrey also as sured support for improved liaison and coordina tion between the Directorate General of Customs Intelligence and the Foreign Law Enforcement Community (FLEC) to meet new and emerging challenges with respect to narcotics interdiction in Pakistan and in the region

KaRaChI

Sanjrani expresses sorrow over renowned actor Afzaal Ahmed’s death

ISLaMaBaD A P P

Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sajrani on Friday expressed grief and sorrow over the death of legendary actor Afzaal Ahmed In a condolence message,Senate Chairman said that Afzaal Ahmed was a famous actor of film, TV and stage His death has created a void that can never be filled Chairman paid tribute to the services of the legendary actor saying Afzaal Ahmed’s acting skills were acknowledged by a vast majority His outstanding services in the showbiz world will always be remembered Chairman prayed Allah Almighty to rest the deceased in eternal peace and give strength and courage to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss with equanimity

ISLaMaBaD

S tA F F R e P o Rt

Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan has claimed that despite “severe chest pain and breathing issues” Senator Azam Swati was taken away from the hospi tal by Quetta police and moved to an un known location endangering his life

Trust deficit

Imran Khan’s call for an end to the

Atrmy

PTI chief Imran Khan in his congratulatory message

to new COAS Gen Asim Munir has expressed the hope that he would help reduce the trust deficit be tween the military and the civilians This would have been an anodyne statement, had it been expressed by any other political leader, but considering the fuss that he himself made over the Army’s turning neutral, he cannot mean simply that the military should stay out of politics It has been Mr Khan and the PTI, which has engaged in un precedented attacks on the outgoing COAS, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, even before his pre retirement admission that the Army had decided to withdraw from politics, which was also an admission that it had been involved That involvement had benefited Khan initially, and he had boasted with great frequency of being on the ‘same page’ with the military

Mr Khan may have indeed followed in the path of pre vious politicians who had leaned on the military for sup port, but he had introduced the concept of the military delivering parliamentary majorities on vital legislation and of sweeping up after him when his willful behaviour had spoiled relations with foreign powers Indeed, it could be said that by involving the military in areas they had not previously entered, he had played a very significant in de veloping that deficit The relentless campaign against the Army which had started with his government’s ouster, and which was provided focus by the attacks on General Bajwa, played an important role in developing the trust deficit It seems Mr Khan is asking the new COAS to do something his predecessor had to do frequently, which is to clean up the mess he had created

The elimination of the trust deficit is actually the very opposite of what Mr Khan has aimed for It will be elimi nated when military rule is not even considered and no politician even bothers contacting the military, and the government does not assume anything but complete obe dience to legal orders by to the military, then the trust deficit will stand eliminated It does not mean, as Mr Khan seems to think, that the COAS should press the gov ernment to hold fresh elections, or that his institution should work to bring anyone to power Unfortunately, though his recent ‘Long March’ did not achieve any of its objectives, Mr Khan does not seem to have given up on the dream of getting back to power, even if the cost is a renewal of the trust deficit

Back to normal

eficiaries of the struggle and sacrifice of people

With this guilt in their minds, after imposing mar tial laws, military dictators pronounce that they are against politicians but in cohort with the masses After creating a disconnect between politicians and the masses, mili tary dictators claim to have earned the good will of the masses This strategy of bifur cation has worked wonders to wel come and sustain martial laws

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

POLITICS has seen enough vicissitudes Perhaps, the storm is over In the military term, the command is, JasayThay! (As you were) Back to the last posture It is as sumed, back to normal The storm that dev astated politics, economy and society had been unleashed in the name of “change ” Behind visible faces, actors were different Even masquerading re mained the order of the day Sons of military generals and dictators claimed attention They enjoyed prompt access to the military leadership

The show was akin to puppeteering In South Punjab some politicians received slaps in the face for not coming to terms with the puppeteer in the run up to the 2018 elections In fact, democracy re ceived those slaps Democracy got deformed and dis respected Nobody had thought that military generals would stoop so low as to order a slap for a politician who was not submitting to the dictate of authoritari anism The will of the people died Democracy per ished on that day Subsequently, there was an era of fascism

It must be the Charter of Democracy (CoD) signed between Nawaz Sharif of The PML(N) and the late Benazir Bhutto of the PPP on 14 May 2006 in London that had annoyed many Both signatories were in exile The CoD told the world what was hap pening in Pakistan

The CoD oozed the message of exclusion for the powers tha be The CoD intended to herald a new era of political reconciliation which could be a nail in the coffin of military dictatorship Consequently, the CoD was reviled

A distinguishing feature of military dictatorship in Pakistan is that it cannot survive without foreign help There should a foreign master to offer an um brella of some ruse The most favoured wile used is the client status That is, Pakistan dons the attire of a client state to deny democracy to its people The im posers forget that neither the military nor the mullah (clergy) founded the country Instead, both were ben

The West the champion of democracy, tends to turn a blind eye to the plight of the Pakistanis, who miss democracy for a decade in each dictatorial spell The exoneration of the West lies in the excuse that it did not impose dictatorship on Pak istan Nevertheless, the West has to share the blame of connivance with the military dictators who keep Pakistanis democratically inexperienced and hence immature Even today, most people have no idea about their democratic con stitutional rights The higher judiciary is manipu lated to deny people stipu lated freedom

While in exile, the late Benazir Bhutto lobbied in the USA to make think tanks realize that the US policies in Pakistan were more supportive of military dictatorship than civilian sovereignty She addressed seminars and wrote articles in newspapers to make the Americans appreciate dual ity in the US foreign policy towards Pakistan She used to assert that the civilian democratic government could also do what the mil itary dictatorship was hap pily delivering to the US interests Perhaps, this line made her the prime target of assassination

Political reconciliation is tantamount to the con solidation of politics, bracing for unity Be nazir Bhutto could not survive to see the rati fication of the CoD The idea of having a third political force, if not party, must have originated post CoD Over the years, the in choate idea got ripe and saw the light of day almost eight years afterwards in the form of sit ins Staging agi tation to disrupt the tenor of democracy was the beginning The same is still the norm

A p p a r e n t l y , c a l m h a s v i s i t e d a f t e r t h e s t o r m . I n i t s e l f , t h e c a l m i s u n s e t t l i n g j u s t b e c a u s e i t i s u n p r e c e d e n t e d . I t e x u d e s u n c e r t a i n t y o f i t s o w n k i n d . W i l l p o l i t i c i a n s b e a b l e t o l i v e w i t h t h e c a l m ? I t i s y e t t o b e s e e n

The factor unjustified with the effort of antithe sis to the CoD was the formula, “We are in a state of war meaning thereby that everything was per missible in this war The doers remained true to their words They did not hesitate to use the ethnic, and even the religious cards The people of South Punjab were duped into be lieving that their ethnic identification would be ap preciated nationally through carving out a new province The dream was unrealistic but it was sold The dream would go down the lane of history with acrimony fes tering in the minds of the youth inhabiting South Pun jab The doers also used the religious card to defeat politicians espousing democracy Rebellion was infused in the youth, who consider it now an instru ment of expression

Anyway, somewhere in Pakistan, the antithesis to the CoDwas born to frustrate the project, politi cal resolution In the unity of two mainstream po l i t i c a l p a r t i e s l a y t h e e x c l u s i o n o f m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p T h e t u g o f w a r f o r m o n o p o l y o v e r p o w e r e n s u e d O n e o f t h e r e a s o n s w a s t h a t t h e c o n t i n u a l s p e l l s o f m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p s h a d m a d e t h e m i l i t a r y g e n e r a l s s t a k e h o l d e r s i n p o l i t i c s M i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p s w e r e t h e s o u r c e o f w i e l d i n g p o w e r a n d a m a s s i n g w e a l t h T h e p o r o u s w e s t e r n b o r d e r h a d b e e n t h e s o u r c e o f s m u g g l i n g o f a l l s o r t s , e n o u g h t o f i l l b a n k a c

R e g i o n a l N a t i o n a l i s m : T h e d r i v i n g f o r c e f o r t h e s e c e s s i o n o f E a s t P a k i s t a n

If East Pakistan’s people had been given equal rights, no regional nationalism would have been created and Pakistan would not have been sepa rated into two sovereign states Regional Nation alism is a form of nationalism aiming to break existing nations into what its proponents argue are true nations This too is based on hatred of being ruled by un like people for Example, Québécois want to separate from Canada Basques from Spain Tibetans from China and Scots from Britain

This article is based on how regional nationalism played an important role in breaking Pakistan into two different states Nationalism is always a key factor in most civil disobedience wars, rebellions, and revolutions such as the the American Revolution Pakistan after the independence always neglected the people in the major ity, the Bengalis There arose a series of disputes be tween East and West Pakistan based on representation in government or other public or private institutions, the language controversy, and the lack of a direct land con nection between the two wings as well as many other is sues These issues built a sense of nationalism in West Pakistan, that they are a different nation and are not part of the existing nation and that ember of regional nation alism eventually became the major reason for the inde pendence of Bangladesh It is worth discussing the core issues that erupted into regional nationalism in East Pak istan, how it could have been stopped from going to an advanced level and what impact it had on Pakistan

The attitude and policies of West Pakistan towards East Pakistan were not promoting equal rights and rep

resentation which eventually implanted the seed of na tionalism in the people of East Pakistan that they are not one nation, there is no similarity except for religion This negligence by Pakistan s government proved to be deadly The rise of regional nationalism was because of some major issues that erupted with independence, such as the language issue which is basically the government of Pakistan not giving Bengali the status of the state lan guage of Pakistan Other than that, East Pakistanis were very much ill treated and considered as inferior to West Pakistanis Economic, Political, and constitutional dis parities were happening in East Pakistan along with dis parities in civil services and armed forces

Economically, East Pakistan is an agricultural province with much fertile land, especially jute, which was also exported and generated a good amount of rev enue East Pakistan contributed almost 60 percent of total revenue, but only got 25 percent for development funds

Politically there was less representation of Bangladesh in the National Assembly although having a province with a majority of the population Also, after the fall of the Muslim League, the rise of regional par ties, such as the Awami League and the “Krishak Sramik party” (The Labour Peasant party) raised the fire of sub nationalism in East Pakistan

The disparity according to the constitution is that the report of the Basic Principles Committee was more in clined toward a unitary government This concept cre ated a sense of threat in Bengalis that they would eventually be colonized, and independence would turn into a mere change of ruler Whereas the six points of the Awami League demanded a federal type of govern ment with provinces having more authority and power, and a federal government only to look after security and foreign policy The 1970 cyclone in East Pakistan caused

up to 500,000 deaths and worsening the situation be cause the local regional parties and media misled the people of Bangladesh that West Pakistan was not offer ing them relief

In the 1970 elections, the key cause of the separation of East Pakistan was mainly between the PPP led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in West Pakistan, and the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman in East Pakistan The Awami League won with a majority in East Pakistan whereas PPP won in West Pakistan East Pakistan had enough seats to form a government but Yahya khan did not want the six points of Sheikh Mu jeebur Rehman to be imple mented Operation Searchlight was launched on 25 March 1971, by the mili tary under the leadership of General Tikka Khan This operation led to bloody mas sacres and civil war, creating uncertainty between East and West Pakistan

The seed of regional nationalism was sown in the hearts and minds of Bengalis and all the events mentioned above enhanced that seed into a revo lution in the form of civil disobedience and civil war This sense of nationalism further increased with the ar rest of Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman; the military forces of West Pakistan launched an offensive that caused the killing of many Bengalis India took full advantage of this nationalist revolution and tried to weaken Pakistan They started training a rebel Bengali army which called

By using these cards, the doers played with the future of Pakistan Such offences are unpardonable, as they misguided the youth and polluted their minds to achieve a myopic objective to introduce a third force to challenge the two mainstream political parties, which had ensconced themselves comfortably in the national political arena

Apparently, calm has visited after the storm In itself, the calm is unsettling just because it is unprece dented It exudes uncertainty of its own kind Will politicians be able to live with the calm? It is yet to be seen

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

itself Mukhti Bahini A bloody massacre is witnessed in history with up to 300,000 deaths, millions of people injured and hundreds of thousands of women raped Each eventually led to a rise in the spirit of nationalism which led to civil war and eventually resulted in the sep aration of East Pakistan from West Pakistan

The major causes of the rise of nationalism in East Pakistan were language issues, the disparity in economic, political, and constitutional matters, less representation, the disparity in civil services and armed forces the 1970 cyclone, and the elections of 1970 All these major issues contributed to the rise in nationalism, eventually leading to Bangladesh's independence

The rise of nationalism and separation of East Pakistan is blamed on the negligence of the government of Pakistan, but there are many other factors including the greed for power of their regional ex tremist nationalist, and politicians the local media portraying the wrong image of Pakistan, brain washing of people on the basis regional nationalism, and India supporting and funding the rebel groups were also some major is sues that caused this sepa ration A sense of sub nationalism or re gional nationalism that arose in the mind of East Pakistanis was a major cause of the separation of East Pakistan The People of East Pakistan consid ered themselves different from West Pakistan in culture, ethnicity, norms, and all else except religion This sense of sub nationalism rose because the people of East Pakistan were neglected and considered inferior, and was further heightened by the media regional politicians and foreign countries and media Eventually, that nationalism led to a revolution ending in the form of an independent Bangladesh

civilian trust deficit sounds a little odd

c o u n t s w i t h u n d e c l a r e d i l l e g a l w e a l t h u n t i l n o w, w h e n t a x d o c u m e n t a t i o n i s n e c e s s a r y T h e c i v i l i a n s h a d neither courage nor chance to question the accretion of fortunes

The writer is a freelance columnist

M

This sense of sub nationalism rose because the people of East Pakistan were neglected and considered inferior, and was further heightened by the media, regional politicians and foreign countries. Eventually, that nationalism led to a revolution ending in the form of an independent Bangladesh

D r Q a i s a r r a s h i D

Th e Co D wa s co u nte re d by a ‘ t h i rd fo rce’

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

The Hindut va fascist regime: An Over view

Hospital blues

RECENTLY, I had the misfortune of making a number of visits to a leading private sector hospital in Islamabad and found it to be under immense pres sure due to inadequate health facilities in the capital and its surroundings Apparently, the hospital and its subsidiary have monopolised the health sec tor in Islamabad and are doing a roaring business by charging exorbitant fees for different services on offer Despite being so expensive, the parking lots, corridors, waiting halls, out patient clinics and laboratories remain packed all day long The inpatient occupancy rate is just as amazing

The thing that irked me the most in my interactions was the zeal with which everyone at the hospital promotes laboratory tests and the insistence to have them all done at the hospital itself in order to safeguard our pa tients” Surprisingly, a non contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan done at the hospital was found not good enough by the consulting physician at the hospital, and the patient was advised to have further eval uation with post contrast MRI”

Would it not have been better if, in the first instance, an MRI with con trast was prescribed? This would have saved time, money and frequent pricking of the veins and being exposed to radiation and magnetic rays over and over again

further, the lab reports are normally provided in 12 24 hours, and are directly transmitted to the consulting doctor online As a rule, doctors or their assistants should update the patients about the further course of ac tion However, one has to collect the hard copies of the reports and person ally wait in the queue to have the doctor ’s advice

As per hospital policy, if the reports are presented and examined by the doctor within seven days of the first visit, the consultation is free In such a scenario waiting in the queue means hours as the revenue patients having an appointment for the day are accommodated on a priority basis The other option is to plead with the staff and flatter them to squeeze is an au dience with the doctor in between the scheduled appointments

Many find it more convenient and dignified to take a fresh appoint ment by paying the consultant s fee once again

HINDUTvA is an ethnic form of na tionalism Since 1925 the right wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary organ ization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been its staunchest supporter The RSS is essentially far right, hier archical, authoritarian and based on Hindu su premacy Hindu nationalism seeks homogeneity through the imposition of the Hindi language, Hindu religion, Hindu mythology, and unques tioning loyalty to the nation At various levels it seeks to suppress dissenting views and exclude religious pluralism and secularism from political discourse

The current right wing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an active member of the RSS, is famous for his involvement in the 2002 post Godhra riots Modi has claimed that the train fire that killed 59 Hindus was an act of Islamic ter rorism rather than an outbreak of communal vi olence Under Modi's leadership, India is fulfilling the Hindutva mission of the RSS to make India a Hindu nation Once a secular state India has become an electoral autocracy, with Hindutva as its unofficial ideology After the 2014 election gau raksha (cow protection) to ban cow slaughter and processing of associated products also garnered media at tention vigilance groups were activated to try to enforce a ban on cow slaughter, leading to many cases of public lynching of cow traders and those who traded in meat products

In an attempt to mitigate the growing popu lar influence of gau raksha activists, the govern ment enacted the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Rules (2017) which prohibited the sale and purchase of livestock, including cows and buffaloes, for slaughter on live cattle stock mar kets' a regulation that government critics claimed was a covert move to impose a national ban on cow slaughter These campaigns were often accompanied by increased levels of vio lence against those involved in the trade These campaigns were often accompanied by increased levels of violence against religious minorities where the BJP faced state elections: Delhi, Haryana, UP

Incidents of communal violence and result ing deaths have increased annually since 2014 in both BJP ruled and non BJP states, although there are some indications that in the latter be

fore the election, BJP activists had an incentive to encourage community violence As the Human Rights Watch (2018) report on India noted, vigilante violence targeting religious mi norities marginalized communities and govern ment critics, often carried out by groups claiming to support the ruling BJP, became a growing threat in India in 2017 ' But perhaps the main site of violence against minorities was Kashmir, where hardline government policy in stigated the current insurgency and the series of events that led to the Pulwama incident furthermore, despite formidable opposition, the BJP government has begun to erode the ar chitecture of special regional and minority rights built into the constitution An attempt has been made to amend Muslim personal law with a ban on triple talaq; and the Law Commission was di rected to review the proposed Uniform Civil Code as part of its broader consultations on changes to minority personal law Article 35A of the Constitution, which grants Kashmiri resi dents special protection in terms of government employment, provision of services and land ac quisition, is currently under review by the Supreme Court

Minority institutions (religious organiza tions, trusts, educational establishments) have increasingly become the object of control infil tration, and new regulations Religious minori ties in India today, as the US Religious Liberty Commission (2018) concludes in its 2018 An nual Report, face challenges ranging from acts of violence or intimidation, to loss of political power to a growing feeling of disenfranchise ment and otherness

Amnesty International echoed these conclu sions and in a comprehensive report on human rights, religious freedom, liberty and govern ment inaction, summarized as follows:

Minority religious groups particularly Muslims, faced increasing demonization from hardline Hindu groups, pro government media and some state officials Authorities openly criticized human rights defenders and organiza tions, which contributed to creating a climate of hostility against them Mob violence intensified, including by vigilante cow protection groups freedom of the press and freedom of expression in universities were attacked India did not re spect its human rights commitments made be fore the UN Human Rights Council The Supreme Court and High Courts handed down several progressive rulings, but some rulings un dermined human rights ’

The government s indifference to such trans gressions led Ganguly (2015) to suggest that it "may well be seeking to usher in a new social order, one that privileges India s dominant Hindu community over all others " a desire to reshape state institutions in the image of Hindu nation alism Government funded schemes have been renamed in celebration of Hindutva icons; edu cation policy, especially at the state level in BJP ruled states, has been used to revise curricula, textbooks and extracurricular activities to instill a sense of Hindu nationalist pride; and the cere monial functions of the state have been saturated with Hindu language and icons to undermine if not obliterate, any claim to representation of a plural and secular form of government

Although the BJP has been prevented from completely changing the state and constitution by the absence of a majority in the Upper House and an overwhelming majority in the Lower House of Parliament this has not frustrated its efforts to use executive power to subvert or con trol power

The Supreme Court, for example, witnessed an unprecedented fight between the Chief Jus tice of India, who was allegedly complying with government orders, and four judges of the court over the allocation of politically sensitive cases which, according to the allegations, the Chief Justice was hiding from his colleagues

Similarly, the independence and regulatory functions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been systematically undermined, notably through erratic policies such as demonetization and the use of RBI reserves to bolster the RBI s own government balance

The Central Surveillance Commission which oversees the CBI and the central admin istration, was headed by a BJP loyalist accused of being involved in high profile corruption cases University governing bodies and other ac ademic institutions, traditionally bastions of dis sent and radicalism including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), have been filled with BJP/RSS ideologues, with the clear aim of re shaping the aims of educational institutions These efforts to control independent state insti tutions that play a vital role in maintaining im partiality reflect a desire to limit if not erase autonomous institutions and spaces

If in the past the appeal of Hindu national ism rested mainly in the sphere of culture since 2014 the BJP has ensured that, by building a sys tem of government in its own image, the power of the state is fully used both to consolidate the process so as to marginalize its opponents Thus, in giving a broader sense of this development, to Hindu nationalism in power rather than fo cusing on the gap between the party s manifesto and its achievements, a more relevant exercise is to offer interpretive analysis of how the expe rience can be better understood It is to these conflicting explanations that we turn now How ever the open resistance to Hindutva is evident in different forms and at different levels farm ers, students, intellectuals, religious minorities, India's main opposition party and members of civil society have risen up to protest against the policies of Modi's Hindutva government Even among Hindutva supporters an invisible oppo sition to Hindutva fascism is also taking shape in private discourse Hindutva may be dominant, but it has begun its gradual decline

In 2005, the USA banned Modi from enter ing India after he failed to take action against anti Muslim riots in India However when Modi became prime minister in 2014, Western leaders treated him with a red carpet, presumably to fur ther business interests Once Hindutva gained re spectability in the West, he raised the morale of his followers and discouraged resistance

If Western nations really want to save liberal democracy, they should isolate authoritarian leaders like Modi and condemn his illiberal poli cies Doing so is the only way to save a dying democracy like India

The writer has a PhD in Political Science and can be reached at akramzaheer86@yahoo com

This is clearly what the hospital policy and its execution seem to be encouraging everyone to do There is something about the whole environ ment that suggests, even though there is no substantiating proof on this count that different sections of the hospital have been assigned some kind of revenue targets that they have to meet within the timeframe, and the staff is doing its best to hit that target to save their skin

Lastly I saw a very disturbing warning displayed in a hospital corridor stating that anyone exhibiting ‘disruptive behaviour ’ will be reported to law enforcement authorities Why and under what circumstances such a situation would occur unless provoked by the hospital or its staff? Patients visit hospitals for consultation, counselling, sympathy and empathy What is the point of imposing a certain set of behaviour on them? Treat them with respect and they will thank you even after having to wait for hours Instead of doing the simple thing right, the hospital administration is threatening the patients with consequences This is quite strange

Students and Suicides

PAKISTAN is among the countries where students committing suicide is not an uncommon phenomenon The World Health Organisation (WHO) asserted in a report that every year more than 15,000 suicide cases are recorded in Pakistan Around 25 per cent of the cases involve teenagers Despite the religious injunctions discouraging such a path, people still opt to take that route owing to the perceived darkness in their lives

As far as the students are concerned, family and peer pressure often lead the list of reasons behind such darkness Life is not all about getting good grades and admissions to this institution or that for some strange reason, we put so much pressure on our young ones that when they fail to touch the bar we set for them in our own misplaced enthusiasm, they feel bad on two counts; their failure, and the disappointment of letting the fam ily down The impressionable, emotionally unstable age in which the stu dents happen to be, the trauma becomes too big to handle for them on their own It is time parents and society realised the pitfalls of putting unneces sary burden on fragile minds Not everyone is born to do whatever the par ents decide or what society values Academic excellence and intelligence are not always the same thing even if we have made them synonymous in our minds Students should gain education on the basis of their interest level, not under the burden of one pressure or the other

ABDUL MALIK RAUF KARACHI

Fight against polio

THE discovery of Type 1 Wild Poliovirus (WPv1) in 32 environmental samples taken this year raises some critical questions Of the total 22 sam ples were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), of which 10 were reported from Bannu district alone There were nine samples from Punjab, and one from Sindh

An association of WPv1 with a polio case reported from North Waziristan was detected by genetic sequencing of the most recent positive sample obtained from Bannu This shows that the Polio Eradication Pro gramme is either not succeeding in its goals or has some serious flaws

Even worse, there has been a lot of resistance as a result of the conflict between the state and various tribal factions and the widespread mistrust among the population In addition to campaign related hoaxes, security personnel and polio workers are targeted and killed to force the govern ment to cease military operations

A police officer protecting a polio vaccination team in Balochistan’s Pishin district was fatally shot during a week long campaign to immunise children In the last 15 months there have been 20 such attacks reported indicating the need for more protection for polio workers

Sadly, no one will benefit from a polio outbreak The people, particu larly families and children will suffer a great deal To stop such attacks the state must first engage in negotiations with the opposition, even if that means making some compromises The validity of these positive environ mental samples must also be carefully considered

The administration ought to think about including sewage and munici pal waste treatment in its plan to eradicate viruses that have already spread to various areas

Since the outbreak and spread appear to be getting worse with time, prompt action in this regard is what is needed

Dr MuhaMMaD akraM zaheer

Th

to condemn rAcIsm

more subtle in its prescriptions for the global order But a hierarchy persists where a euro American perspective remains at the top while the rest are relegated to the margins It is not without reason that international rela tions has often been termed a white man s discipline that works to maintain a racialised hierarchy in the world

JAzeerA S o m d e e p S e n

WHen Josep Borrell recently described europe as a gar den” and the rest of the world as “a jungle”, there was global outrage However it went relatively unnoticed that only a few days earlier many nations in the West also refused to take a public stand against racism

In October, the United nations Human rights Council adopted a draft resolution against racism, xenophobia and intolerance the resolution described colonialism and slavery as “grave violations of international law It asked former colonial and slave trading states to, among other things, pay reparations “proportionate to the harms [they] committed

In all 32 mostly Latin American African and Asian out of 47 countries voted in its favour nine countries voted against the resolution: the Czech republic france, Germany, Montenegro, netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States

In part, their “no” vote is a reminder of the rightward shift in US and european do mestic politics that makes even more liberal governments reluctant to accept external scrutiny of their countries track records the West’s unwavering support of Israel and its apartheid like policies targeting Palestinians also makes any unequivocal criticism of racism difficult for these coun tries But there’s also a deeper reason: the role that racism and colonialism have played

in shaping the current global order Commit ting to reparative action for these past crimes could threaten the West s privileged standing on the global stage

RACISM GOES MAINSTREAM: earlier this year, french far right candidate Marine Le Pen battled President emmanuel Macron in the second round of the country’s presi dential election She eventually lost, but after her best ever performance underscoring the overall shift in that country’s politics

In 2021, france witnessed a 38 percent increase in anti Muslim attacks And earlier this month, a legislator from Le Pen’s party was suspended after he yelled “return to Africa while Black parliamentarian Carlos Martens Bilongo was criticising the french government’s approach towards refugees

In the UK cutting down on immigration has been a priority across the political spec trum During the 2015 General elections, the Labour Party sold mugs in its online store that read “controls on immigration” Mean while, the Conservative government in 2020 pushed through a set of laws that closed the country’s borders to those viewed as un skilled and lacking a high level of english language proficiency

Italy has seen a party with links to neo fascism come to power recently Studies in the netherlands and Germany have con firmed structural racism in everything from the labour market to law enforcement, and education to housing

And in the US, the rise of white nation alism on display under the Donald trump

administration continues in the form of in creasing hate crimes Several states have passed laws restricting what teachers can discuss on racism sexism and in general systemic inequality in the classroom

In this climate, european nations and the US are hardly in a position to support a Un mandate for greater accountability on how member states tackle racism

BACKING ZIONISM: But there s an ele phant in the room: Israel It is not mere hap penstance that both the UK and the US cited their concerns regarding anti Semitism as a justification for voting against the resolution the Human rights Council resolution makes several references to the Durban Dec laration and Programme of Action that was adopted in 2001 at the World Conference against racism in Durban South Africa An early draft of that declaration had equated Zionism with racism though the final doc ument balances the Palestinian right to self determination and statehood with recognition of Israel’s “right to security”, the Jewish state and its Western backers have since insisted that the conference itself was anti Semitic references to the Durban Declaration which serves as the global template for most nations in the fight against racism serve as a reminder of the reality that much of the world still does not believe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is acceptable But how could Israel s buddies in the West acknowledge that truth?

A DEEPER PROBLEM: Yet it is also vital

to recognise that bigotry and prejudice are central to the way the world in the West’s view is meant to operate take for instance the intellectual foun dations of international relations the disci pline of diplomats, politicians, public officials and policymakers that is concerned with how states interact with each other on the global stage the writings of its earliest theorists assumed a Darwinian racial hierar chy this perspective was palpable in the first international relations textbook, Paul Samuel reinsch s World Politics at the end of the nineteenth Century

“Large portions of the earth’s surface a r e i n t h e h a n d s o f n a t i o n s o r t r i b e s w h o are guilty of an under development of their natural resources,” he wrote He then sug g e s t e d t h e n e e d f o r a n i m p e r i a l g l o b a l order and proposed that it was the obliga tion of the “powerful races” read white powers to rule over the more barbarous o r l e s s w e l l e n d o w e d w i t h f o r c e o f m i n d and character”

British scholar eH Carr followed with a similarly racist trope in his contribution to An Introduction to the Study of International relations where he wrote that Africans were savages and that Indians and egyptians were immeasurably “less advanced” than Ameri cans and europeans Carr then suggested that it was only expected that europeans with their truthfulness, integrity, and supe rior character would be leaders of mankind” to be sure, the discipline has grown

It is this worldview that Borrell s com ments last month reflected After all, as I h a v e a rg u e d i n m y w o r k , t h e e u r o p e a n Union draws on the colonial roots of many of its key member states while dealing with the rest of the world In fact, the treaty of rome that established the european eco nomic Community as a customs union or t h e i d e a o f “ e u r a f r i c a ” o s t e n s i b l y a m e c h a n i s m o f i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e b e t w e e n Africa and europe were in fact ways of facilitating the management of colonial ter ritories abroad

the european Union also presumes in herent superiority in its assertion that inclu sion, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non discrimination are central to the euro pean way of life and that the eU is therefore a force for good in international relations

RACISM IS A POLITICAL CHOICE: But ultimately, acknowledging the deep rooted racism that persists across the world would also require Western nations to apologise sin cerely for their past crimes Instead, they con tinue to refuse to hold themselves to account the UK, in its statement to the UnHCr, said that while the slave trade and colonial ism did cause “great suffering”, they did not violate international law the United States also justified its decision to vote against the resolution, in part, by saying that it did not agree with the need for reparations by former colonial powers this refusal to accept present day racism and xenophobia as a legacy of colonialism and imperialism is a political and moral choice It is tantamount to standing in favour of racism: Without addressing this history, we cannot repair the society of today

Iran claims

foreign spy organizations behind protests

SOLEIMANI DID NOT GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT WHICH COUNTRIES ARE AFFILIATED WITH THE 47 SPY AGENCIES AND DID NOT EXPLAIN THE NATURE OF THE HYBRID WAR IN DETAIL. THERE IS NO SECRET, THOUGH, THAT A NUMBER OF MEDIA OUTLETS ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING AND AIRING THEIR COVERAGE IN IRAN

Monitor StAff

After two and a half months of protests leading to hundreds of deaths, in cluding an especially high number of teenagers, Iran has continued to claim that foreign hands are behind the unrest in the country Gholam reza Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Basij Organization, addressed the protests that began on Sept 16 when a young woman died in police custody after being detained by the country s morality police for her loose fitting hijab Soleimani said that Iran’s enemies, particularly the United States and Israel, have given up trying to confront Iran directly and are now “headed toward a hybrid war with the use of media and psy chological war by deceiving the people of Iran

According to Soleimani, Iran has made great progress in the field of domestic pro duction, in particular in the fields of energy, despite years of sanctions, and this poses a problem for the US hegemony He added that 47 spy agencies are engaged in a full fledged hybrid war against the Islamic republic ” the idea that the United States desires to topple the Islamic republic due to the progress the country has made in the last four decades since the 1979 Islamic revolution stems from comments made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has made those comments numerous times es pecially since the protests began Soleimani did not go into detail about which countries are affiliated with the 47 spy agencies and did not explain the nature of the hybrid war in detail there is no secret, though, that a number of media outlets are currently operating and airing their coverage in Iran the most prominent one as of late is the Saudi Arabia funded Iran International, which has sensationalist coverage and whose journalists offer more commentary than news on their social media accounts Perhaps due to those reasons, and their strong funding, the outlet has attracted viewers Iran s military commanders and diplomats have issued multiple warnings to Saudi Arabia over their coverage

In addition to the deaths in the protests, there have also been thousands of arrests According to a statement by the judiciary, there have been more than 1,000 releases of prisoners, some of them related to the latest protests the statement did not clarify how many of those individuals were arrested in relation to the protests the statement made clear that individuals who attacked security personnel or destroyed public property in the protests “would not be forgiven and there will be no leniency ”

Also according to Iran’s judiciary, four individuals have been sentenced to death for cooperating with Israel s spy agencies the individuals, who were described as “thugs ” were involved in crimes such as kidnapping robbery and destruction of private and public property the article claimed that the individuals received money electronically

Eurasia in crisis

THE USUAL CAVEATS APPLY, BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IF RUSSIA DOESN’T STABILIZE ITS POSITION IN UKRAINE, IF THE EU DOESN’T COHERE AS IT NEEDS TO, AND IF CHINESE DEMONSTRATIONS ARE MORE THAN A FLASH IN THE PAN, THEN A VERY NEW WORLD COULD EMERGE

GeopoliticAl futureS G e o r G e F r i e d m a n

deMOnStrAtIOnS against Bei jing’s zero COVID policy have surged in the past week with people voicing their frustration at not only the lockdown measures but also the government and President Xi Jinping himself this kind of unrest is nearly unprecedented in the modern Chinese era and certainly cause for concern among the ruling elite Since the pandemic began, Beijing has c o n s i s t e n t l y s o u g h t t o c o n t a i n C O V I D 1 9 by imposing city wide lockdowns in which entry and exit were limited, if not forbidden, and in which activities were severely con strained Why the government adopted such s t r i c t m e a s u r e s i s u n c l e a r n o o t h e r c o u n t r i e s i m p o s e d t h i s d e g r e e o f c o n t a i n m e n t , largely because the costs of doing so were so high Shanghai, the country’s most im p o r t a n t f i n a n c i a l h u b , w a s s h u t d o w n f o r weeks while similar shutdowns occurred in smaller cities And this is to say nothing of t h e i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f h e r m e t i c a l l y s e a l i n g l a rg e d e n s e l y p o p u l a t e d a n d o t h e r w i s e bustling Chinese cities We are left, then, with two possible ex p l a n a t i o n s O n e i s t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t i s trying to contain a mutation that the outside world is unaware of this is self evidently dubious, and in any case there hasn t been t h e k i n d o f b o d y c o u n t o n e w o u l d e x p e c t from a new, deadlier strain the second and

more reasonable explanation is that Beijing instituted draconian policies to assert con t r o l o f p l a c e s t h a t w e r e a l r e a d y r e s t i v e o r unstable COVID 19 was, in this scenario, merely a pretext Hong Kong is instructive in this regard It wasn’t that long ago that China experi enced a rebellion there Authorities clamped down on the city but not before the world saw the deep anger felt by many against Bei jing Indeed, Hong Kong taught the mainland three things: that open unrest was possible; that uprisings could spread and should thus be hidden or downplayed at all costs; and that a country dependent on international trade and investment could not afford a trial in the court of public opinion If a city like Shanghai had to be slammed shut so be it financial operations had to take a backseat to widespread unrest, or so the thinking went

If this was indeed the strategy then the strategy has broken down over the past few days the precipitating event was a fire in an apartment building that went untended Public sentiment morphed, as it often does, into a broader anti government movement the slo gans of the dissidents centered on the loss of freedom imposed by lockdowns before escalat ing into condemnations of the president and the Communist Party calling on both to step down

By no means does this suggest there were demonstrations everywhere, nor does any of this mean the regime is in danger of falling So far, it’s unclear if this is predominately a youth movement; if it is, it is far less conse quential than one led by older middle class professionals nor is it clear exactly how widespread and intense the protests are how many cities are involved how many are call ing for a new government, how organized they are, how much the police and the army have had to intervene, etc Bear in mind these protests did not erupt

overnight the Chinese economy has per formed very poorly in recent years As ex ports met resistance the economy came to depend increasingly on domestic consump tion and on domestic investment the tran sition has been rough as it usually is for countries in this situation It inevitably raises the question, particularly among the young, of what sort of life lies ahead After decades of explosive growth, the reversal of expecta tions can be wrenching

But banking protests in Henan province are one thing; open, generalized political anger is another Calling for an end to Com munist leadership is extraordinary and frankly it’s hard to take seriously, especially if it is coming from anyone aside from disaf fected youths Or put differently I ll believe it when I see it the government almost cer tainly has the ability to crush this would be rebellion if it deems it necessary It s entirely possible that the government believes the movement will die out on its own accord from a broader geopolitical standpoint if this is in any way the beginning of something more, the power of China becomes question able to have this happen at the same time the power of russia has become perishable, and at the same time the eU is more and more un certain about its unified direction suggests the whole of eurasia is in crisis In turn, that means the relative power of the United States is rising dramatically the usual caveats apply, but it’s important to note that if russia doesn’t stabilize its position in Ukraine, if the eU doesn t cohere as it needs to and if Chi nese demonstrations are more than a flash in the pan, then a very new world could emerge

George Friedman is an internationally recognized geopolitical forecaster and strate gist on international affairs and the founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures

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Somdeep Sen is Associate Professor of International Development Studies at Roskilde University in Denmark He is the author of Decolonizing Palestine: Hamas between the Anticolonial and the Postcolo nial (Cornell University Press 2020)

B R I T I S H S C H O L A R E H C A R R F O L LOW E D W I T H A S I M I L A R LY R AC I S T T R O P E I N H I S

CO N T R I B U T I O N TO A N I N T R O D U C T I O N TO T H E S T U DY O F I N T E R N AT I O N A L R E L AT I O N S, W H E R E H E W R OT E T H AT A F R I C A N S W E R E S AVAG E S A N D T H AT I N D I A N S A N D E GYPT I A N S W E R E I M M E AS U R A B LY “L E S S A DVA N C E D ” T H A N A M E R I C A N S A N D E U R O P E A N S. C A R R T H E N S U G G E S T E D T H AT I T WAS O N LY E X P E C T E D T H AT E U R O P E A N S W I T H T H E I R T R U T H F U L N E S S, I N T E G R I T Y, A N D S U P E R I O R C H A R AC T E R WO U L D B E “L E A D E R S O F M A N K I N D ”

IT’S SIMPLE: SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL, THE RIGHT WARD POLITICAL SHIFT IN THE WEST, AND THE COLONIAL ROOTS OF THE GLOBAL ORDER

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dozens of

Pakistan Adver tising A ssociation appoints Jamil Syed

Veteran advertising professional Jamil Syed has taken the driver’s seat at the Pakistan Advertising Association (PAA) He will be operating as the Executive Director of this representative body Syed brings with him an experience of over two decades of serving major advertising agencies He has also had the privilege of leading Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS), and Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) in their formative years Syed had also played an inning with A C Nielsen Pakistan as their Head of Media Research The multidimensional connect with the industry makes him fluent to comprehend the perspective of various stakeholders in media business, and lend him an acumen of need assessment and problem solving Welcoming this inclusion Chairman PAA, Syed Jawaid Iqbal said that taking Syed in the folds will enhance the face of the Association, and will naturally add value to its corporate relevance p R

BEIJING

PA K I S TA N ’ S rice export to China in the first 10 months of 2022 surpassed $425 90 million with a volume of 1 121 592 571 tons China

Economic Net (CEN) reported it on Friday quoting the General Adminis tration of Customs of the People’s Re public of China (GACC)

Data showed that during the first 10 months of 2022, bilateral trade in agri culture products increased significantly and China imported more than one mil lion tons of different types of rice, in

creasing 41% y o y Last year in the same period it was more than 705,931 676 tons by volume and $301 21 million by worth This year has witnessed an increase of $124 69 million

According to GACC, the import of Broken Rice (Commodity Code 10063020) from Pakistan increased by 3 65% by worth from $192 57 million to $199 62 million and 20 50% by vol ume from 408,194 590 tons last year to 491 878 156 tons

The Commercial Counsellor at Consulate General in Guangzhou, Muhammad Irfan told China Eco nomic Net that Pakistan is striving to increase its exports to China, particu

N B P, S I A P E P s i g n l e t te r o f i n te n t to p ro m o te h i g h e ffi c i e n c y i r r i g at i o n s ys te m s

pr

A Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed between National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP), Govt of Sindh at Karachi for collabo ration to promote High Effi ciency Irrigation Systems (HEIS) for efficient use of water and crop productivity

The SIAPEP is providing financial assistance to eligible farmers at the rate of 60% of the total cost of installation of HEIS whereas the remaining 40% cost for HEIS is to be contributed by the farmer Such farmers at times face dif ficulty in mobilizing their due

share upfront In this regard, NBP and SIAPEP have agreed to provide financing facilities to eligible and needy farmers for the installation of HEIS NBP and SIAPEP will also focus on capacity build ing of farmers through the adoption of agriculture best

larly in the agriculture sector Pak istani rice is getting popular in the Chinese market due to its good taste and quality “China is the largest importer of the world and Pakistani products are getting a place in this market while Chinese hybrid seeds and technology helped Pakistani farmers increase their yield Good prices here also helped rice exporters to export rice to China Irfan added

Zaheer Ahmad, A Pakistani rice exporter to China told CEN that Pak istan needs to import Chinese technol ogy to further enhance rice exports to China because much rice has been

wasted while polishing and shifting He further said that Pakistan has high quality land that is suitable to cul tivate diverse varieties of rice ample young labor, and good environment for agriculture But due to a lack of tech nologies previously the low average yield and degraded seeds were the main reason for less export to China “ D u e t o t

Pak-US trade ties increased by over 38pc, NA told

The bilateral trade between Pakistan and the United States has increased by over 38 3 percent and touched $10 5 billion during the last fiscal year, Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Commerce Syed Javed Ali Shah told National Assembly

NAV T TC and A sian Development Bank to fur ther develop T VET S ec tor in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD

Asian Development Bank (ADB) delegation led by Mr Farrukh Moriani met with Mr Shahid Khan, Chairman, National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and Mr Sajid Baloch, Executive Director, NAVTTC to discuss further develop ment of skills and Technical and Vocational Ed ucation and Training (TVET) sector in Pakistan

The NAVTTC management said on this oc casion that NAVTTC under the leadership of Federal Minister for Education and Profes sional Training Mr Rana Tanveer Hussain is equipping youth with the latest income gener ating technical skills such as e commerce, Dig ital Marketing, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Graphic Designing etc

Mr Farrukh Moriani, Senior Policy & In n o v a t i o n A d v i s o r f o r S p e c i a l E c o n o m i c

Zones offered full support to NAVTTC man agement in promoting employment opportu n i t i e s t h r o u g h s k i l l s a n d T V E T s e c t o r development in Pakistan On the occasion NAVTTC management

said that Government of Pakistan is fully committed to human resource development and skills development

The biggest initiative of Prime Minster Youth Skills Development Program” is being e x e c u t e d t h r o u g h N a t i o n a l Vo c a t i o n a l & Te c h n i c a l Tr a i n i n g C o m m i s s i o n T h e s u c cessful implementation of Prime Minister ’s Yo u t h S k i l l s D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m h a s r e s u l t e d i n e m p o w e r i n g y o u t h b y e q u i p p i n g them with the latest income generating skills a n d i n c r e a s e d t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e n a tional development

Asian Development Bank delegation ap preciated the service delivery & performance of NAVTTC whilst NAVTTC management thanked the delegation for showing interest and support to further uplift the TEVT sector

NAVTTC under the Ministry of Federal E d u c a t i o n a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l Tr a i n i n g h a s taken numerous steps to organize TVET sys t e m o f t h e c o u n t r y o n m o d e r n l i n e s NAVTTC is delivering training in accordance with the internationally demanded and recog nized requirements

Parliamentary Secretary told the house during question hour was confident that country’s exports to the US would continue to grow in the coming years

Pakistan’s exports to the U S were recorded at $6 8 billion in FY 2021 2022 as compared to $5 1 billion in FY 2020 2021 recording an increase of 32%

He said the Pak US trade in FY 2021 2022 was recorded at $10 5 billion as compared to $7 8 billion in FY 2020 2021 registering an increase of 38 3% The US is the largest single country export destination of Pakistan

Ministry is actively engaged with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to get fur ther market access for Pakistani agricultural goods such as mangoes and dates

Regular engagement is maintained with the private and public sector of the U S through our Trade and Investment Officers (TIOs) Additionally various pro motional activities are held through Trade Develop ment Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and our TIOs in the U S 6 226

The Parliamentary Secretary said Pakistan is nego tiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Council Cooperation (GCC) to get market access for goods and services Country is also engaged with Saudi Ara bia under the ambit of the Supreme Coordination Council to enhance exports to the Kingdom

Replying to another question, he said US 43,047 24 million foreign loan was taken by the Gov ernment from August, 2018 to December, 2021

Punjab pavilion attrac ting visitors at Lok Mela

rAWALpINDI

Director General Punjab Arts Council (PAC) Muhammad Abrar Alam on Fri day said that Punjab Pavilion built in the Lok Mela Islamabad has become a centre of attraction for local and for eign tourists Abrar said that people from morn ing till night entertained themselves with folk music and crafts

He added that Dahi Bhale, Saag Roti, Jalebi and Khabe stalls were also crowded with citizens

Director PAC Rawalpindi Waqar Ahmad said that the purpose of the Lok

Mela was to promote

He said that the Department of In formation and Culture was trying to promote languages, literature, civiliza tion, and culture throughout the province

Waqar said that the folk fairs of Punjab were famous worldwide, while the land of Punjab was culturally very fertile

The Musical Night of Punjab province will be held at Lok Virsa Open Air Theater on December 4 in the

regional culture

Lok Mela was a guarantor of cul tural unity and solidarity between the provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan

evening in which Sain Zahoor Afhsan Zaib, Rubi Reshama, Ali Imran Shoukat, Shoukat Dhole, Sammi

Dance Group Sain Riaz Shehnai player Alisha Shazad, and Aslam Lohar would perform

practices for increasing water use efficiency and crop pro ductivity, improving the fi nancial literacy of the farmers ensuring financial inclusion of farmers, and enabling them to adopt modern technologies for increasing productivity and profitability

The First Lady of Pakistan pledges her support for the National Breast Cancer Patient Support Program across Pakistan with Sehat Kahani Sehat Kahani along with the collaboration of Jubilee Life Insurance hosted a Breast Cancer Awareness Event at the Presidency under the title “I CAN CER VIVE” on 1st December 2022 pR

Sindh Assembly members visited Friesland Campina Engro Pakistan’s Nara Dairy Farm and Sukkur Plant Delegation included Rehana Leghari, Deputy Speaker, Sindh Assembly, Farhat Seemi, MPA Larkana, Shazia Khan, MPA Liyari Karachi and Muhammad Abbas Jafri, MPA MQM and official staff members This effort aimed to address insights of the dairy process, creating awarenwss amongst the lawmakers about plant processes, quality and safety of milk pR

President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf celebrating UAE s 51st National Day, along with top management over a cake cutting ceremony held in Islamabad pR

MCB Arif Habib signs up for Garaj cloud service powered by Jazz Picture shows Ali Naseer, Jazz s Chief Business Officer (left) and Saqib Saleem, CEO & Director MCB Arif Habib Savings exchanging dossiers pR

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

X i C a l ls f o r lo n g - t e r M , s t r at e g i C

p e r s p e C t i v e i n C h i n a - e U r e l at i o n s

BEIJING Ag e n c e s

CH I N E S E President Xi Jin ping and visiting President of the European Council

Charles Michel on Thursday vowed to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation while properly managing differences during their meeting in Beijing

This was the first official meeting between leaders of China and the EU since the conclusion of the 20th Na tional Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and one which repre sents the EU’s “goodwill of furthering relations with China ”

Michel’s visit shows the EU’s desire to remain engaged with China and clar ify misunderstandings through face to face communication Following German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to China and Xi s meetings with several European leaders in Bali on the side lines of the G20, Michel also aims to consolidate the momentum of stabiliz ing China EU relations, which are cur rently facing great challenges

Xi said on Thursday that maintain ing an onward and upward momentum in the China EU relationship and keep

ing it mutually beneficial serves the in terests of both sides and those of the in ternational community The more unstable the international situation be comes and the more acute challenges the world faces, the greater global sig nificance China EU relations take on, Xi noted China will continue to develop its ties with EU from a strategic, long term perspective and will work with the EU to strengthen strategic communication and coordination and promote the

Memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin to be held on December 6

BEIJING Ag e n c i e s

A memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin will be held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on December 6, according to an announcement from Comrade Jiang Zemin’s Funeral Committee Thursday

The No 2 Announcement issued by the committee says that in view of the exceptional contributions Comrade Jiang Zemin made to the development of the Party and the country, and the common wishes of the whole Party, the entire military and the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, the following decisions have been made

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Standing Committee of the National People s Congress, the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the Central Military Commission will hold a solemn memorial meeting for Comrade Jiang Zemin in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on December 6 The memorial meeting will start at 10 a m , the announcement said The memorial meeting will be broadcast live and all localities and departments should organize Party members cadres and the masses to listen to or watch the live broadcast, it added On the day the memorial meeting is held, the national flag will be flown at half mast across the country as well as at China’s embassies, consulates and other agencies stationed overseas Public entertainment activities will be suspended on that day, the announcement said

When the mourning session is held at the memorial meeting people across the country will pay a three minute silent tribute, horns will be honked for three minutes, and air defense sirens will be sounded for three minutes No ceremony for paying last respects to Jiang’s remains will be held, the announcement said

steady and sustained growth of the China EU comprehensive strategic part nership Xi said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, also met with the EU leader respectively on Thursday

Michel’s visit to China is of great significance, experts said, as Europe is now showing that it stands closer with the US, and the EU stance toward China is becoming increasingly tense, with

more emphasis on competition and sys temic rivalry The EU’s foreign policy is at a juncture on whether to confront or cooperate with China

At such a critical moment, Michel’s visit has sent a signal that represents ra tional voices that is refusing to follow the US and treat China primarily through a political and ideological per spective, Sun Keqin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations told the Global Times on Thursday

What the US wants is hegemony, but Europe wants survival and the EU cannot achieve that without China, Sun said, “China, instead, has never posed a threat to them ”

Cui Hongjian, director of the De partment of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday that Michel is representing the EU and the interests and voices of the majority of its 27 member states, not those of the minority

Certain countries, such as Lithuania, which have been rather aggressive in their policies toward China, cannot play a leading role against the backdrop of close cooperation and enhancing dia logue between China and the EU

U S d e s i gn ate s AQ I S , T T P m i l i t a nt s a s g l o b a l te r ro r i s t s

WASHINGTON Ag e n c i e s

The United States Department of State on Thursday listed the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) number two, Qari Amjad, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), along with three leaders of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)

Qari Amjad, also known as Mufti Muzahim, is a senior com mander of the Pakistani Taliban and its ‘defense minister ’ from Dir According to US officials, he has overseen operations in Khy ber Pakhtunkhwa (K P)

The Al Qaeda South Asian branch leaders include the AQIS’ self styled ’emir ’ , Osama Mehmood deputy leader Atif Yahya Ghouri and Muhammad Maruf who is responsible for AQIS’ recruiting branch

The US Department of State designated the four AQIS and TTP leaders as SDGTs under Ex ecutive Order (E O ) 13224, as amended for their leadership roles in their respective groups

The designations are “part of our relentless efforts to ensure that terrorists do not use Afghanistan as a platform for in ternational terrorism,” Secretary

of State Antony Blinken said in a statement

He added that the US will “continue to use all relevant tools to uphold our commitment to see to it that international terrorists are not able to operate with im punity in Afghanistan

By listing the four as global terrorists, the US State Depart ment and Treasury Department

made it a crime in the United States to engage in transactions with them blocking any assets they have in the country

“All property and interests in property of those designated yes terday that are subject to US juris diction are blocked, and all US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them read the statement

Us appeals cour t rules against trump in documents fight , ends arbiter

NEW YORK

Ag e n c e s

A redacted FBI photograph of documents and classified cover sheets recovered from a container stored in former

U S president Donald Trump’s Florida estate, and which was included in a U S Department of Justice filing and released August 30, 2022

A U S appeals court on Thursday dealt a blow to Donald Trump, reversing a judge’s appointment of an independent arbiter to vet documents seized by the FBI from his Florida home and allowing all of the records to be used in a criminal investigation of the former president

The Atlanta based 11th Circuit U S Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Justice Department in its challenge to Florida based U S District Judge Aileen Cannon’s September decision to name a “special master” to review the records to decide if some should be kept from investigators

The three judge 11th Circuit panel said Cannon lacked the authority to grant Trump’s request for a special master made in a lawsuit he filed two weeks after FBI agents carried out a court approved Aug 8 search at his Mar a Lago estate in Palm Beach It also overturned Cannon’s decision to bar investigators from accessing most of the records pending the review and threw out Trump’s suit

Trump faces a federal criminal investigation into his retention of sensitive government records after leaving office in January 2021, including whether he violated a 1917 law called the Espionage Act that makes it a crime to release information harmful to national security Investigators also are looking into potential unlawful obstruction of the probe

FBI agents seized about 11,000 records, including about 100 marked as classified, during the search

The 11th Circuit said that while a search warrant for a former president’s property is “extraordinary,” it did not give the judiciary license to interfere in an ongoing investigation ” The court also said Trump did not prove there was a “callous disregard” for his constitutional rights in the search of his property one of the few reasons a court can intervene in an ongoing investigation

China Arab summit, China Gulf State summit to bring new regional development oppor tunities

The first China Arab Summit and China Gulf States Summit scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia this month will bring new op portunities for the regional development par ticularly to the Arab countries

This series of Summits at the end of 2022 are set to catch the eyes of the whole world, Li Chen, Centre for China Studies and Co Director of the Greater Bay Area Re search Project said in an article issued here He said above all Arab countries and China are fully capable of synergizing their development strategies The “Belt and Road” Initiative and the development pro posals of Arab countries are strongly associ ated with each other to a great extent, and concept by President Xi ” Jointly Share the Benefits of the Development ” is remarkably recognized and welcomed by Arab countries and its people Therefore, the synergestic cooperation

combined with “Belt and Road” construction and development planning of all Arab coun tries will effectively highlight the advantages of the Arab countries as the intersection of land and maritime Silk Roads

Secondly, he said, the resources markets of Arab countries and China can be fully in tegrated The two sides have deepened prac tical cooperation in crude oil and petrochemicals At the same time China s development in new energy and renewable resources can offer more necessary solutions to Arab countries to explore new develop ment paths and provide strong support and assistance for Arab countries to gradually re alize economic structural transformation

China and Arab countries will further de velop contracting cooperation in major in frastructure projects to enhance trade facilitation while improving people’s overall wellbeing

Third, in terms of epidemic prevention and control, the output of COVID 19 vac cines cooperated with China in several Arab

countries have not only fully met the vacci nation needs of their own people but also being exported to African countries as well, which opens up a new landscape for global epidemic control and medical industry

He said, as the first summit being held be tween China and Arab states, it is also the first face to face communication between Chinese and Arab leaders since the outbreak of COVID 19 and it is particularly the first major multilateral diplomatic event with China as one of the co hosts after the successful hosting of the 20th CPC National Congress China and Arab countries have always enjoyed long standing close relations, in ad dition to frequent high level visits, there have been strong partnership in strengthen ing regional security, stability, economic prosperity and development

The consensus reached by the heads of states during their meetings has also been en hanced and implemented in the previous suc cessful China Arab cooperation forums In 2020 alone, trade between China and Arab countries

reached US $240 billion, making China the largest trading partner of Arab countries This summit is about to unveil a magnif

icent prospect for the development of China and the Arab countries and bright future of China Arab states relations, he concluded

Abdull Ah, ImAm ProvIde solId oPenIng stAnd As PAkIstAn score 181 wIthout loss

RAWALPINDI S ta f f R e p o R t

Pa k i s ta n openers abdullah shafique and imam ul haq gave a befitting reply to Eng land as they put up a solid bat ting show on day two of the first test at Pindi Cricket stadium, Rawalpindi on Friday at stumps Pakistan were at 181 with out any loss abdullah and imam were 11 and 10 runs respectively away from their centuries shafique’s 89 included 10 4s and 2 6s while imam s 90 had 13 4s and a 6 Pakistan reached to 100 in the 29th over while 150 came in the 44th over Earlier, England scored a mammoth 657 runs total for all in 101 overs in the first innings England were 506 for 4 at the end of

ricky Ponting rushed to hospital after suffering health scare

PERTH S ta f f R e p o R t

Former australian batting great and captain Ricky Ponting has been rushed to the hospital due to a health scare, according to reports in several australian media outlets

Ponting was commentating for Channel 7 during day 3 of the 1st test between australia and West indies at Perth He was rushed to hospital during the lunch time according to a report a report stated that Ponting reported feeling unwell during day three of the test match and went to the hospital to seek precautionary checks on his heart “Ricky Ponting is unwell and will not be providing commentary for the remainder of today’s coverage it has been a difficult couple of years for australian cricket as far as heart health is concerned this year, the game lost two of the biggest legends to wear australian colours, Rod Marsh and shane Warne in March Dean Jones, another australian batter also suddenly passed away due to a heart attack in september 2020 also, former Western australia wicketkeeper and more recently netherlands coach Ryan Campbell also experienced a cardiac episode in april this year, due to which he almost died

Ponting has represented aussies in 168 tests, having scored 13 378 runs at an average of 51 85, with 41 tons and 62 fifties in 375 ODis, he scored 13,704 runs at an average of 42 03, with 30 centuries and 82 fifties in 17 t20is he made 401 runs at an average of 28 64 and scored two fifties He was a part of australian team that won three straight 50 over World Cups in 1999, 2003 and 2007, leading the side to triumphs in later two tournaments as skipper

strokes on 41 runs in the 76th over shah struck again and picked up a second wicket in the 82th over when the ball whipped off Liam Livingstone’s pads and straight to deep square leg Livingstone s went just for 9 runs in the 84th over, Brook was picked out deep square leg and the third wicket came for shah Brook was the pick of the batters as he went on to score 153 runs off 116 balls including 19 4s and 5 6s

Mohammad ali also came to help and took his second wicket by removing Will Jacks on 30 runs Leggie Zahid Mahmmod bagged Ollie Robinson (37) and James anderson (6) wickets in the 99th and 101th overs, respectively Zahid took 4 wickets for 235 runs while naseem shah (3 for 140) Moham mad ali (2 for 124) and Haris Rauf (1 for 78) were other wicket takers for Pakistan

Belgium ‘c an’t blame Luk aku’ for exit

ramiz raja commends english batters for “never before seen batting”

ISLAMABAD

S ta f f R e p o R t

Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja feels that the Pindi Cricket stadium pitch could have been a lot better but said that the way England batted was something never seen before “i realize there is disappointment on the pitch i believe this pitch could have been a lot better But the way England batted i have never seen anything like that before “there is a lot of bounce in the pitch but no movement which is not the ideal scenario,” he said while talking to media at the Pindi Cricket stadium they come at the venue a week before (the match) to see pitches and select players We will also see the same type of wickets in the series against new Zealand as well he said

Raja said if Pakistan introduces drop in pitches these would prove costlier “these will come in the airplane and will be undercover for 20 days and if somehow a drop in pitch gets damaged then all will go to waste so what we are doing is to prepare the soil to make the pitches we want to bounce on,” he said

England has been bringing t20 players in tests so we also need to realize that speed is very important in test cricket the pitches are not exposed in t20s or ODis but in tests,” he said

On hosting asia Cup he said Pakistan had been given the right to host the event “so whoever comes or not it’s not our concern We got the asia Cup from asian Cricket Council (aCC) and if india doesn’t want to come here then it’s their prerogative because of the situation between both countries But to take the asia Cup from us to a neutral venue is wrong”

Belgium should not blame Romelu Lukaku for their World Cup exit de spite the striker ’s misses in the goal less draw against Croatia which sealed their fate on thursday said timothy Castagne Lukaku, Belgium’s record goalscorer, had only played a hand ful of minutes in the tournament due to injury before coming on at half time at the ahmad Bin ali stadium the striker, on loan at inter Milan from Chelsea missed three gilt edged chances late on when a goal would have sent his side into the last 16 “i wouldn’t say he’s the anti hero because he’s there for the

chances, he also creates them, he gives, he keeps the ball,” defender Castagne told reporters

Maybe if he s not there we don’t have those chances i don’t think we can blame him, he gave everything he tried if it doesn t go in, it doesn’t go in ” B e l g i u m f i n i s h e d t h i r d i n G r o u p F o n f o u r points after also beating Canada 1 0 and losing 2 0 to Morocco

Michy Batshuayi scored their only goal of the tournament against the Canadians but was not called upon on thursday

“Of course i’m disappointed, we’re eliminated, we’re out of the competition,” he said “i’m a striker and i would have liked to do my job and score, help the team

“it’s disappointing to go out like that Belgium had to play better i’m not going to say that we don’t deserve to be out but we should have played better Everything is disappointing ” B e l g i u m c o a c h m a r t i n e z q u i t s : Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said he was leav ing his job on thursday after his side were eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar the 49 year old had been in charge since 2016 and his contract was due to run out after the tournament

“that was my last game with the national team, i can’t carry on,” Mar tinez said at his post match press conference “it’s the time for me to accept that this is the last game

Germany crash out as Japan, Spain advance

DOHA

S ta f f R e p o R t

it was a nerve wracking climax to Group E with spain going through despite losing to Japan, and Germany crashing out despite a 4 2 victory against Costa Rica Costa Rica had been under immense German pressure at the al Bayt stadium, but found their release two min utes before the hour mark when Yeltsin tejada, quickest to react after Manuel neuer had parried away a header, made it 1 1 in a game where Frenc hwoman stephanie Frappart became the first female referee to officiate a match at the men’s World Cup, Costa Rican fans went into raptures when Juan Pablo Vargas’ poked them into the

lead in the 70th minute But Germany, who had opened the scoring through serge Gnabry’s 10th minute header, levelled matters immediately through kai Havertz Havertz got another goal, steering in a cross from Gnabry with five minutes to go, and niclas Fuellkrug made it 4 2 in the 89th, but Germany still needed spain to find a leveller to stay in that didn’t happen, and spain went through on goal difference with Japan clinching the top spot after their 2 1 win over the spaniards spain had taken the lead through alvaro Morata’s 11th minute header but Japan turned the game on its head with two goals in three minutes; Ritsu Doan first firing them level in the 48th and then ao tanaka got the ball over the line to put them ahead

Raja said there were different kinds of pitches in australia but not in Pakistan Our home advantage is pace bowling, not the spin so we have to prepare pitches favouring pace ”

Australia’s cummins bags 200th test wicket as west Indies crumble

PERTH AuSTRALIA ag e n c i e S

australia took a grip on the first test in Perth Friday with Pat Cummins bagging his 200th wicket as they bowled out a resolute West indies then piled on more runs to stretch their lead to a commanding 344 the visitors were dismissed for 283 in the final session on day three after the hosts declared their first innings at 598 4 on the back of double centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and steve smith

David Warner, on 17, and Labuschagne, on three, then hammered home australia’s advantage after they opted against the follow on to bat again, with Usman khawaja the only casualty out for five as they reached 29 1 “You always bowl better when you’re slightly fresher, there’s really not too many instances where the follow on is realistic said skipper Cummins in explaining the decision to bat again “i felt like all the guys stuck to it really well today

Even the first session, we didn’t really get rewards but i felt we were in it Happy everyone stuck at it,” he added the West indies, who have not won a test on australian soil in 25 years, started on 74 0 and made it to lunch with the loss of just debutant tagenarine Chanderpaul for 51 and with nkrumah Bonner retiring hurt after a blow to the head from a Cameron Green delivery

Wo r l d Cu p d e l i r i u m i g n i t e s a l l e ys o f Pa k i s t a n’s ‘m i n i B ra z i l ’

KARACHI

R e u t e R S

Flags of some nations competing in foot ball’s World Cup fluttered overhead as boys in a dusty alley in karachi s Lyari kicked a ball around in a fever of excitement the football crazed neighbourhood of Lyari is also known as Mini Brazil and this year a mural featuring the game’s stars, from argentina’s Lionel Messi to Brazil’s neymar Da silva santos Júnior and Portugal s Cris tiano Ronaldo, is taking centrestage

“the football frenzy here is so great that it feels like the World Cup is being played not in Qatar, but in Lyari,” Waseem sarbazi, a member of a nearby football coaching

academy, said Pakistan has never qualified for a World Cup tournament, but many young people still enrol in football acade mies to train for hours each day in Lyari, one of the port city s poorest areas, hoping to take to an international pitch one day

“We want FiFa to get involved in foot ball activities in Lyari sarbazi added “they should have an event here because there is a uncountable number of players and spectators here

thousands turned out in “Mini Brazil” last Monday when Brazil played switzer land, sporting the classic yellow and green colours of their favourite team as they gath ered in front of large television screens to the sound of raucous music

“Very powerful matches and the Brazil match,” said ashiq Hussain, one of the young players from the academy, adding that he found the matches inspiring i think my favourite team is Brazil i like the goalkeeper Ederson (santana de Moraes) ” the fans erupted into wild cheers and danced when Brazil sealed their entry into the knockout stages with a 1 0 win over switzerland “i went for my job wearing the Brazil shirt, and now at night, i am still wearing the shirt during the match,” said an other fan, Mohammad Yasin

“i am going to keep wearing this shirt, whether they lose the match or win i am not taking off this shirt at all Brazil’s success in that match will draw

DOHA ag e n c i e S

out thousands more in “Mini Brazil” on Fri day, when the team face off against Cameroon if they draw or win, Brazil will top their Group G

first day Harry Brook (101 off 81 balls) and Ben strokes (34 off 15 balls) were unbeaten at day end However, English batters man

aged to add only 151 runs on day two Pacer naseem shah was the first to pick the wicket on day two as he downed

COAS ASim munir tO AppOint new DG iSpr: militAry SOurCeS

Asim Munir is likely to appoint Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif as Director General of the Inter Ser vices Public Relations (DG ISPR) while Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar is likely to be given the key slot of Commander Karachi Corps In departure from previous appointments an officer of major general rank will command the DG ISPR post while the previous two officers were posted as Lt Generals

Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif comes from the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) who would succeed Lt Gen Babar Iftikhar who is likely to be posted as Commander 5 Corps (Karachi Corps) Gen Babar Iftikhar has replaced Lt Gen Mo hammed Saeed as Corps Commander Karachi who has been posted as Chief of General Staff (CGS)

Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif of the EME Corps pre viously served in Military Operations (MO) head quarters and also served in the Military Intelligence (MI) His latest assignment was as DG Defense Science and Technology Organization (DESTO) DESTO, which comes under the Ministry of

Defence (MoD), is a covert agency specializing in scientific and technological research and the devel opment of weapon systems in the fields of aerody namics, propulsion, propellants and avionics However, the military’s media wing, ISPR, is yet to make an official announcement regarding the appointment of the new DG It is worth noting that this is not the first time an engineer has been selected as the DG ISPR; however Maj Gen Sharif will be the first one from the EME Corps to lead the military’s media wing Previously, Maj Gen Jehangir Nasrullah from the Corps of Engineers served as the DG ISPR in 1991

BAnKS muSt enSure finAnCiAl

innOvAtiOn: GOvernOr SBp

domestic economic environment

all flow of advances

previous three years

The Governor State Bank of Pak istan (SBP), Jameed Ahmed, at tended the “Role of the Banking Sector in Business and Economic Growth of Pakistan on December 2nd, 2022 at Marriott Hotel, Karachi, hosted by National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) in collaboration with the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMA Pakistan)

Speaking at the event, the gover nor reiterated SBP s resolve to foster a dynamic and stable banking system; geared towards economic welfare of the society

The Governor elaborated that banking sector in Pakistan continues to serve the needs of the economy and make progress on key public policy ob jectives of financial inclusion, innova tion and financing to priority sectors, given the recent challenging global and

He added that the banking system can better serve business sector activ ities by offering smart and innovative digital financial services, and that banks must ensure financial innova tion is customer centric, which results in faster, safer and cheaper access to financial services

The governor stressed upon the need for banks to leverage innovative financial solutions in order to achieve a higher level of financial inclusion especially for largely excluded seg ments; such as women, small busi nesses and agriculture He encouraged banks to focus on devel oping and designing products with the consumers interests in mind

Earlier this week, on Monday, the SBP released its Mid Year Perform ance review of the Banking Sector for the year 2022

The pace of private sector ad vances growth during H1CY22 was the highest in comparable periods of

In its report, the SBP noted that sustained economic activity during H1CY22 supported the expansion of banking sector balance sheet by 16 percent during H1CY22

Robust increase in the asset base was mainly driven by flow of private sector advances and increase in in vestments particularly the Govern ment securities Besides sizable mobilization of deposits, banks’ re liance on borrowings increased sig nificantly to finance the expanded balance sheet

Findings of the report show that the pace of private sector advances growth during H1CY22 was the high est in comparable periods of previous three years

Improved manufacturing activ ity as reflected in double digit growth in Large Scale Manufactur ing (LSM) index during H1CY22, higher input prices and SBP’s refi nance schemes augmented the over

Individuals and sugar sector availed major chunk of financing fol lowed by textile sector

banks’ asset quality indicators fur ther improved Gross Non Performing Loans (NPLs) ratio moved down to 7 5 percent by end June 2022 from 7 9 percent at end December 2021

The Review highlights that base line profitability indicators moderated despite strong growth in incomes mainly due to the impact of sharp increase in tax charges

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of the banking sector slightly edged down to 16 1 percent due to faster growth in asset base and advances Nonetheless the ratio remains well above the minimum regulatory re quirement (i e 11 5 percent) and banking sector in general has ade quate capital buffers and resilience to withstand the impact of severe stress of macroeconomic conditions and shocks to key risk factors

Asad majeed Khan appointed new foreign secretar y

ISLAMABAD: Former Ambassador to the United States Asad Majeed Khan the central characters in the PTI s foreign con spiracy” claim was appointed as the new foreign secretary on Friday The former envoy to the US is presently serving as Pak istan’s ambassador to the European Union (EU) However, the establishment division has now issued a notification for his ap pointment as foreign secretary The position of foreign secretary fell vacant in September after incumbent Sohail Mehmood re tired after reaching the age of superannuation Jauhar Saleem, a grade 22 officer of the foreign service and current special secre tary Europe, was given additional charge of foreign secretary as the government failed to reach a consensus on the name of a new foreign secretary It was earlier reported that Majeed, who wrote the cypher in March as Pakistan’s envoy to Washington, would be appointed as the new foreign secretary But as new audio leaks surfaced, bringing once again to the spotlight the diplomatic cable, which the former prime minister Imran Khan has cited as evidence of US controversy behind his removal through a vote of no confidence earlier in the year, the govern ment apparently was forced to review its decision The coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced to form an “independent commission” to look into the allegations but Imran has rejected the proposal and sought the formation of a judicial commission on the matter The controversy revolves around a diplomatic cable the then Pakistani ambassador in Washington sent to the Foreign Office on March 7 The cable was based on Majeed’s conversation with US Assistant Secre tary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu In that cable, according to Imran, the US official threatened Pakistan with dire consequences if the vote of no confidence against the PTI leader did not succeed s ta f f C o r r e s p o n d e n t

Bilawal to visit America by mid-Dec

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will visit United States of America by the mid December, it was learnt on Friday Sources said that the foreign minister will participate in various functions of the United Nations that will be held at its headquarters in New York Bilawal will chair the Group 77 ministerial meeting going to be held from Dec 15 16 It will be the last meeting of the Group 77 under the chairmanship of Pakistan Pakistan became the chair of the group in Jan 2022 Foreign Minister Bilawal will hand over the chairmanship to Cuba during the main ceremony T h e G r o u p 7 7 w a s f o u n d e d o n J u n e 1 5 , 1 9 6 4 b y t h e 7 7 n o n a l i g n e d n a t i o n s a t t h e e n d o f f i r s t s e s s i o n o f U N C o n f e r e n c e o n Tr a d e a n d D e v e l o p m e n t ( U N C TA D ) i n G e n e v a s ta f f r e p o r t

P M a p p r ove s Lt G e n Fa i z H

Ac ting Afghan FM phones Bilawal; condemns attack on Pak embassy; assures to bring perpetrators to justice

ISLAMABAD a p p

Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi on Friday called Foreign Minister Bi lawal Bhutto Zardari to condemn the terrorist attack on Pakistan’s Mission in Kabul and assured that the Afghan government would bring the perpe trators to justice swiftly

The Afghan acting foreign min ister strongly condemned the terror ist attack targeting Pakistan’s Head of Mission in Kabul Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, and conveyed his good wishes and prayers for the early recovery of the security guard Sepoy Israr Mohammad who was critically injured in the attack

The foreign minister thanked the interim Afghan government for its strong expression of solidarity and underscored that safety and se curity of Pakistan’s diplomatic per

sonnel in Afghanistan was of utmost importance

T h e A f g h a n g o v e r n m e n t m u s t p r e v e n t t h e t e r r o r i s t s f r o m u n d e r m i n i n g r e l a t

d

Foreign Minister Bilawal also reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to fight terrorism and said that Pakistan will be undeterred by such cowardly attacks

Earlier, Pakistan also sum moned the Afghan Charge d’affaires to convey its “deep concern and an guish over the attack in Kabul on Pakistan’s Head of Mission

It was underscored that perpe trators of this attack must be appre hended and brought to justice urgently, an investigation be launched into the serious breach of security of the embassy premises, and that all necessary steps be taken to ensure the security of the diplo

matic premises, officers and staff working in Pakistan’s Mission in Kabul and consulates in Jalalabad Kandahar, Herat and Mazar i Sharif

Responding to Pakistan’s call for apprehending the perpetrators and launching an investigation the Afghan diplomat said that the secu rity of the Pakistani diplomatic mis sions had already been beefed up and assured that the Afghan author ities would leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators of this dastardly act to justice

Meanwhile the Pakistani secu rity guard Israr Mohammad was flown back to Peshawar after he was critically injured in the said attack

“The helicopter carrying the in jured security guard Israr Moham mad in today’s attack on our mission in Kabul, has landed in Peshawar,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

iN a first major reshuffle in military top brass, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General

pr ofIt report

Shehbaz Sharif Friday approved Lieu tenant General Faiz Hamid’s application for early retire ment, sources reported A few days ago, Lt Gen Hamid sent his application to GHQ, which forwarded it to the Prime Minister’s Office for approval via the defence ministry

Peshawar during the PTI government He was

for the office of the chief of the army staff to succeed General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retired on November 29, 2022 However, the PM se lected General Asim Munir who assumed command of the armed forces on the same day