Epaper_22-12-09 LHR

Daily Mail apology ‘VinDicates’ pM shehbaz of corruption allegations

g Pm SlAmS ImrAN, ‘mINIoNS’

iSLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

prImEminister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday denounced Tehreeke-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his “minions” for running a smear campaign against him as, after more than three years, British Newspaper Daily mail publicly tendered an apology to Pm Shehbaz Sharif for publishing a defamatory article against him.

“I bow my head in humility before Allah (SWT) for my vindication. For [three] long years, Imran [and] his minions went to any limit to assassinate my character,” the prime minister said in a tweet hours after the publication published an apol-

g NEWSPAPEr SAyS: ‘WE ACCEPT mr SHArIF NEvEr ACCuSED By NAB IN rElATIoN To DFID GrANT AID’

name to Pakistan and damaged its relations with a friendly country.

Pm Shehbaz said his critics mocked and ridiculed him and his family through their baseless allegations, but “I had my unwavering faith in Allah, for only He could expose their brazen lies”.

“Disinformation [and] fake news have limited shelf life [and] truth is the ultimate victor. After NCA, Daily mail story has proven it,” the prime minister tweeted.

BrITIsh neWsPAPer DAIly MAIl TenDers

Pakistan allegedly restricting foreign airlines from converting currency in a bid to keep rupee afloat

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ogy note on its website.

The premier, who was the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly when the article was published, said in their smear campaign, the PTI did not bother if their actions brought a bad

An APology: British newspaper Daily mail on Thursday tendered an apology to Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif for an “error” in its article published on July 14, 2009, accusing him of wrongdoings in a DFID grant aid to Pakistan.

$8.3bn rollover for maturing obligations expected: sBP governor

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In a podcast hosted by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the central bank’s governor Jameel Babar stated that Pakistan expects another $8.3 billion rollover for maturing obligations as discussions are underway.

The governor stated that the Government is also in talks with a friendly country for the disbursement of a $3 billion loan and negotiations with multilateral agencies are progressing, for further financial support. He did not mention the name of the country.

Babar further explains that due to the war in ukraine, international commodity prices, and monetary tightening by central banks; Pakistan is having trouble in raising funds from international fi-

nancial markets. He said that Pakistan has to repay $17 billion more in loan payments during Fy23 in addition to the $6 billion already paid. In addition, Pakistan got a $4 billion rollover and expects another $8.3 billion in rollover.

The remaining outstanding repayment stands at around $4.7 billion for the remainder of this fiscal year which includes $1.1 billion in commercial loans that have to be paid to foreign banks and $3.6 billion in multilateral loans. Babar adds that Pakistan received FX inflows of $4 billion in addition to the rollovers to help Pakistan timely repay loans. The governor expects inflows to increase significantly in the second half of the current fiscal year. Pakistan’s ForEX reserves clocked in at $6.7 billion as of December 2 following a $1 billion payment against

maturing Pakistan International Sukuk and other external debt repayments.

The Central Banker added that the SBP repaid two commercial loans totaling $1.2 billion. “These banks are expected to refinance the same amount, in coming days, helping to raise the country’s foreign exchange reserves,” he adds. Babar says the SBP expects the Current Account Deficit (CAD) to remain below $10 billion for Fy 23 due to policy interventions by the SBP.

He adds that the SBP placed restrictions on imports mentioned in chapters 84, 85, and certain items of 87. These restrictions covered about 15 percent of Pakistan’s total imports whereas no restrictions have been placed on 85 percent of imports. He also claims that less than 10% of the country’s imports are currently subject to administrative controls.

$225 mIllIoN IN FuNDS

treasuries, but ultimately the local economy will pay a high price. No business can sustain providing service if they cannot get paid and this is no different for airlines.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that airline funds for repatriation blocked by governments have risen by more than 25% ($394 million) in the last six months.

IATA claims that total funds blocked now tally at close to $2.0 billion across 27 countries and territories, of which Pakistan is alleged to have blocked $225 million.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing some 300 airlines or 83% of total air traffic. It has deemed Pakistan to be the second largest market, after Nigeria ($551 million) and before Bangladesh ($208 million), to withhold funds.

What does repatriating funds mean?

Airlines typically price and sell tickets in the currency of the country in which they are being sold. The local currencies are then converted into their main operating currencies before it can be repatriated.

Funds become ‘blocked’ overseas when in certain markets airlines are unable to source the foreign exchange they need to convert their local currency revenues.

Why does IATA allege their members’ funds are being blocked?

“Preventing airlines from repatriating funds may appear to be an easy way to shore up depleted

Air links are a vital economic catalyst. Enabling the efficient repatriation of revenues is critical for any economy to remain globally connected to markets and supply chains,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

What does a prolonged block mean?

IATA’s member airlines incur unnecessary costs when they are unable to freely (or in a timely fashion) repatriate their overseas sales funds. Inability to access and use overseas revenues often makes it unsustainable for airlines to maintain service to such countries.

“If we do not clear amounts then airlines may reduce the number of flights, and eventually stop operations thereby affecting our passenger and trade connectivity with the world,” mentioned Ammar H. Khan, an independent macroeconomist, to Profit.

“This also sends a negative signal to new investors, and aviation players looking to integrate with Pakistan,” Khan continued Profit reached out to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority which was unaware of the matter entirely, and stated that it was not within their purview. Profit is still awaiting a response from the State Bank of Pakistan regarding the matter.

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KP faces Rs155b shoRtfall due to unPaid obligations of centRe

Sahulat Programme for newly Merged Districts from June 30, 2022, which is now funded by KP.

financeMinister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Taimur Saleem Jhagra has said the provincial government would be facing a shortfall of Rs155 billion due to unpaid obligations of the federal government.

During an interaction with media, KPK Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra said that Rs155 billion shortfall included Rs2.5 for newly-merged districts current budget, development budget shortfall Rs22 billion, nFc share in federal tax collection Rs22.4 billion, nHP Rs61.2 billion and Rs25.9 billion and last quarter nMDs Rs20.4 billion of 2021-22.

Grants for Temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) were reduced from Rs. 17 billion to zero, he added.

additionally, he said that ex-FaTa’s budget was reduced after the merger and the federal government discontinued the Sehat

Federal Government’s Sehat Sahulat Programme catered to around one million families in newly merged districts (MDs) (excluding Khyber and Bajaur districts), he said adding that the integrated Sehat card plus programme includes an annual premium cost of Rs. 3,000 per family and covers 1.5 million families, including Khyber and Bajaur districts.

The estimated cost of integrated Sehat card Plus for nMDs is Rs. 4.5 billion, the minister said and added that federal government reneged on commitment to transfer PSDP funding of Rs. 5 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and indicated that the province should foot the bill for integrating an additional 1.5 million families into its Sehat card Plus programme

Development grant initially reduced from Rs. 54 billion to Rs. 50 billion, then revised to Rs. 55 billion after provincial government’s agitation.

Only Rs5 billion has been released so far in the current fiscal year.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has consistently received less than its due share of federal tax assignment and 1% war on terror, as per the 7th nFc award Rs 25.35 billion against Rs 26.37 billion and actual transfer on account tax assignment Rs 211.03 billion against share of Rs 219.40 billion.

Under 7th nFc award allocated 14.62% share of provincial divisible pool to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as 1% grant due to war on terror. The shortfall against due share of total Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collections amounts to Rs. 22.43 billion and no amount on account of net hydel profit payment was disbursed to the province since the present coalition government during eight months at the federal level.

He said that non-payment of nHP to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been creating fiscal problems for the province as its arrears has increased to Rs 61.216 billion with indexation arrears Rs 21.6 billion, arrears of fiscal year Rs 11.902 billion and regular

nHP for July-november 2022 Rs 12.218 billion besides Rs 16.638 billion for the remaining period of December-June 2023.

On top of that, the FBR revenue collection is growing at 15% to 16% in the current fiscal year against 30% last year will reduce the provincial share of federal tax revenues by over Rs 65 billion.

He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has increased its revenue by 122 percent during the last three years by introducing reforms and removing redundancies or duplication in 20 taxation as well as 8 non-taxation sub heads.

The provincial finance minister further said that the burden of pension in KP is continuously increasing. The pension bill of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will increase to 300 billion by the year 2027. it was Rs1 billion in 2003-04 which has now increased to Rs 108 billion rupees, he added.

He said that the KP government has introduced new pension reforms to facilitate the five thousand employees. in the new system of pension, the

government will contribute 10% and the employee will contribute 12.1% and we are hoping that changes in pension rules will save 1Rs billion annually.

The KP finance minister said that the pension bill of the federation and the provinces has been increasing by 25 percent annually and the pension bill of the entire country will increase from Rs 1200 billion to Rs 3000 billion by 2027.

He also said that the KP government has increased the early retirement age from 45 to 55 years and we are expecting that the KP government will also save Rs 12 billion annually.Taimur Jhagra further said that i had not written a letter to the iMF on the issue of surplus budget but i wrote a letter to the federal government.

i have no regrets and i stand by my position on the matter of the letter, he added.

While replying to the question, He also said that Federal Finance minister ishaq Dar is not giving meeting time for the last few weeks to discuss the financial issues facing the province.

Center releases just 10pc of tribal districts’ development funds

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government said that the federal government has released just 10% i.e. Rs5.5 billion of the allocated development funds to tribal districts.

The central government had allocated Rs55bn for the current financial year but so far 10% fund has been transferred while the KP government has spent Rs8bn on

different development projects in tribal districts. The KP government officials said that it was expected that the center will transfer atleast Rs25bn to the tribal belt, but according to the finance department of the province, only Rs5bn were released as the first tranche, while Rs 500 million in the second tranche.

On the other hand, despite weak financial position the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has spent Rs8bn in the tribal districts.

The provincial government sources stated that all development projects in

tribal districts are stopped due to of lack of funds as the provincial government is spending its resources on payment of salaries. Because of delay in fund release by the federal government, development projects across KP has affected. But, Minister of Finance, Taimur Salim Jhagra, has said there is no reality in the opposition’s allegations of bankruptcy.

Jhagra informed the KP government has reduced expenditures due to nontransfer of funds from the federal government, which is also affecting the

payment of salaries as the province is facing financial difficulties. Jhagra has said that KP is facing enormous financial challenges but “reports of default are mere speculations”.

The employees of various institutions in the province have staged protests gatherings against non-payment and delay of salaries during the last few months. But the finance minister said that only projects employees have not been salaries as work on projects is stopped since the center has stopped the province’s funds.

nishan-i-imtiaz honour for army chief, cJcsc

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President Dr arif alvi conferred nishan-i-imtiaz on the army chief and chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff committee (JcSc) in a ceremony held at his office. The military awards were conferred in recognition of their performance and selfless devotion towards the defence of the country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Senate chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, national assembly speaker Raja Pervaiz ashraf, and ministers, among others, attended the ceremony. Gen. Syed asim Munir assumed command of the army last month after retired Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa hung up his boots, just as Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza replaced retired Gen. nadeem Raza. The generals took charge of their new posts after Sharif promoted the two before nominating them to the offices.

State Department: US determined to work with Pakistan to combat militancy

when it comes to counterterrorism in the region that does not leave them entirely beholden to the Taliban.

lhc told nab board recommends closure of liquor licence probe against buzdar

Following an increase in cross-border attacks from afghanistan, the United States said it intended to work with Pakistan to combat the threat of resurection of terrorism in the region, especially one coming from Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“it is, of course, our broader goal to see to it that terrorists and others are not able to use afghanistan as a launch pad for attacks on Pakistan,” a State Department spokesperson told a press briefing.

ned Price’s response was sought on a question about the rise of violence and the regrouping of militants in afghanistan.

emboldened by the afghan Taliban’s rise to power, the TTP has declared the former as their role model and launched an escalating terror campaign inside Pakistan from its base in afghanistan.

“We demonstrated those capabilities in recent months with the killing of the now-deceased al-Qaeda emir, ayman al-Zawahiri, making good on the pledge that you have consistently heard from President (Joe) Biden since the withdrawal of military forces from afghanistan last year, that we will take action if we see international terrorists regrouping in afghanistan,” the spokesperson said.

“We will take action in a way that protects our interests.” “We are determined to work with our partners in the region, including Pakistan, to do what we can to take on the threat of terrorism in the region, and certainly the threat of terrorism that extends well beyond the region,” Price added.

Pakistan, the spokesperson emphasised, is an important partner in a number of respects.

LAHore StAff rePort

The Lahore High court (LHc) was informed on Thursday that national accountability Bureau’s (naB’s) regional board had recommended closing the inquiry into the illegal liquor licence case against former chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and others. it was stated in a reply, filed on behalf of the naB director general before a division bench, comprising Justice ali Baqar najafi and Justice asjad Javaid Ghural, which was hearing a petition filed by Unicorn Prestige (Pvt) Limited, challenging the naB inquiry into the alleged liquor licence case. The naB prosecutor further submitted that the matter had been forwarded to the naB chairman for final decision.

KArACHi StAff rePort

Sindh chief Minister Syed Murad ali Shah on Thursday while approving resignation of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) leader Murtaza Wahab appointed Dr Saifur Rehman new Karachi administrator. The notification of his appointment has been released after approval of the Sindh cM. Dr Saifur Rehman’s name for the key post was nominated by the Mutahida Qaumi MovementPakistan (MQM-P). Rehamn is a grade-20 officer and his selection comes after recent understanding reached between the PPP and the MQM-P that would lead to strengthening of the local government system in the province.

On november 28, the group ended its five-monthlong ceasefire with the government, and on two days later, a suicide bomber from the group blew himself up near a police truck in Balochistan, killing at least three and injuring 28 others, including 20 security personnel.

according to one Pakistani think-tank, the county has seen a 50 percent spike in terrorist attacks since the Taliban returned to power in afghanistan in august last year, underlining the fast-deteriorating security situation.

Prince said the Taliban were either unable or unwilling to live up to the commitments that they made in a number of areas, especially on counterterrorism.

However, he noted, Washington has capabilities

“We value that bilateral relationship. We welcome opportunities to expand cooperation in areas that are of mutual interest to us and to Pakistan. That, of course, does include when it comes to counterterrorism.”

He pointed out Pakistan received assistance from the international Military education and Training programme that provides professional military education, and operational and technical courses, thus strengthening the country’s own abilities to take on the threats — whether it’s counterinsurgency, counterterrorism — as well as skills courses that improve institutional capacity and resource management. “The programme continues to enhance the bilateral relationship. it continues to strengthen military cooperation between our two countries,” Price added.

UN adopts Pakistan resolutions urging to secure world peace

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General assembly of the United nations adopted four annual disarmament-related resolutions moved by Pakistan, and aimed at strengthening regional as well as international peace and security, reflecting islamabad’s commitment to achieving those objectives.

The resolutions were recommended by the First committee, one of six main committees at the General assembly that deals with disarmament and international security matters, where the texts were adopted by the overwhelming support of its membership.

Of these, three resolutions deal with

regional disarmament, conventional arms control at regional and sub-regional levels as well as confidence-building measures (cBMs) in the regional and sub-regional context.

The fourth resolution sought international security assurances for nonnuclear-weapon states.

Titled “conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure nonnuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons”, the resolution was adopted by a vote of 120 in favour to none against, with 60 abstentions.

By its terms, the assembly, convinced that nuclear disarmament and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons

are essential to remove the danger of nuclear war, reaffirmed the urgent need to reach an agreement to assure non-nuclearweapon states against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons and appealed to States, particularly nuclear-weapons nations, to work towards a legally binding instrument.

The resolution, titled “conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels”, was adopted by a thumping majority of 182 votes in favour. india was the only country which voted against it. There was one abstention.

The text draws attention to the conventional military danger in the regional context — South asia — and proposes a measure to address the

associated risks. Resolutions on “Regional disarmament” and “confidence-building measures (cBMs) in the regional and subregional context” were adopted by consensus.

For several years, Pakistan has led initiatives at the Un to promote the goals of regional disarmament, conventional arms control, and cBMs, it was pointed out. The resolutions recognise the significance of and complementarity between regional and global approaches to arms control, disarmament, and confidence building to promote international peace, security, and stability, encouraging efforts aimed at promoting cBMs at the regional and sub-regional levels to ease regional tensions.

The bench disposed of the petition in the light of the naB director general reply. The petitioner-hotel had submitted that the naB inquiry could not continue in the light of naB amended ordinance. it submitted that already an LHc single bench had declared issuance of the licence as per law. The petitioner had pleaded with the court for issuance of directions to close the inquiry. in august 2020, naB had launched investigations against Usman Buzdar and officials of the excise and Taxation Department Punjab on the charges of misuse of authority, corruption and corrupt practices. it was alleged that the accused issued an illegal liquor licence to an under-construction hotel in violation of the rules.

oic secretary general due in Pakistan tomorrow

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The Secretary General of the Organization of islamic cooperation (Oic), Hissein Brahim Taha, will lead a five-member delegation to Pakistan and azad Jammu and Kashmir from December 10-12. The Foreign Office said the visit will be his first country visit since assuming office in november 2021. During his visit, he will call on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and old a delegation-level meeting with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He will also visit azad Jammu and Kashmir. The Foreign Office said during bilateral talks, the Oic Secretary General and the Foreign Minister would discuss inter alia issues on the agenda of Oic, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

sindh cM appoints dr saifur Rehman as new Karachi administrator

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PResident uRges Politicians to Reduce Political PolaRization thRough deMocRatic Means

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PReSiDenTDr arif alvi on Thursday said the armed forces were committed to performing their mandated functions as per the constitution, therefore, all the politicians should commit themselves to democratic means of negotiations, consultations and deliberations to achieve consensus on issues confronted by the nation and reduce political polarization to achieve financial and economic stability in the

country. The president expressed these views while addressing here the concluding session of islamabad conclave-2022, titled “75 Years of independence: achieving comprehensive national Security”.

He said in the past the superpowers adopted the doctrine of Mutually assured Destruction, which diverted resources of the world towards meeting and developing more lethal weapon systems.

even if a fraction of those resources, he said, were diverted, the poverty and hunger in the world could have been eliminated as well as the effects of climate change

mitigated. He added that democracy, military defence, information and communication security, and economic independence were essential elements for a comprehensive defence of the country.

The president said the constitution of Pakistan safeguarded the rights of all citizens equally, irrespective of their social status, wealth or influence.

He said justice should be served promptly and cheaply without any discrimination, which would help the country to move forward on a fast-track basis. President alvi said information was

another vital element of national security as disinformation could be used to destroy the country and mislead innocent people.

He said disinformation regarding the ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ led to a major conflict in the Middle east, which resulted in the loss of many precious lives, and the destruction of property and assets.

He stated that Pakistan acquired nuclear deterrence, which provided it relief and a credible defence system for 20 to 30 years, but with the advent of cyber security, the entire defence system paradigm had changed. He stressed that concrete steps

CM Elahi gives go-ahead for 55MW power generation from solid waste

LAHore StAff rePort

Punjab chief Minister chaudhry Pervaiz elahi on Thursday approved the production of a waste-to-energy project for Lahore while chairing a meeting with a norwegian firm (enaTe), which offers to generate 55 megawatts of electricity on a daily basis for Sundar industrial estate from 1,250 tons of solid waste.

a meeting was held under the leadership of the chief minister and it discussed the way to overcome energy problems. The participants decided to explore the option of generating energy from solid waste in Lahore.

The representative of the norwegian company, carl Fredrik, gave a briefing on the project and offered to generate 55 megawatts of electricity from 1.250 tons of solid waste a day.

The norwegian company will initially invest $250 million on the project.

The meeting was told that 5,000 tons of garbage was being collected daily, which could generate a lot of electricity. The chief minister said the energy obtained from solid waste would be used in the industries in the Sunder industrial estate. He assured the norwegian company that the government would fully support the project.

The cM welcomed the foreign investment and assured that no bureaucratic bottleneck or dillydallying would be tolerated in the implementation of the project.

MPa Sajid ahmad Khan Bhatti, Mr Torbjoern Laudal Haugen, former principal secretary GM Sikandar, commissioner Lahore, secretary finance, secretary P&D, chairman LWMc, officials of the energy department and others attended the meeting. fMu rs2M Donation for flooD victiMs: Meanwhile, Vice chancellor Faisalabad Medical University (FMU) Dr Zafar ali ch presented

a two million rupees cheque for flood relief to chief Minister Punjab chaudhry Parvez elahi at his office on Thursday.

Vc Lahore Medical & Dental college Prof a Majeed chaudhry also gave a financial assistance cheque to the cM.

Principal allama iqbal Medical college Prof nadeem Hafeez Butt, secretary specialised health & medical education department and others were also present.

Parvez elahi thanked for the donations and noted that the philanthropists had generously helped the flood victims. Meanwhile, the Punjab government was working to rehabilitate the flood-hit people with its resources and donations from philanthropists; he maintained and added that a composite programme was being implemented to resettle the distressed people. alongside this, armed forces had also done valuable work for the flood victims, he said.

Daily Mail apology ‘Vindicates’ PM Shehbaz of corruption allegations

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entitled “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STeaL funds meant for earthquake victims”, the article was written by the Daily Mail journalist David Rose.

The newspaper had accused PM Shehbaz Sharif of any wrongdoing with the British public money that had been paid to the Punjab province in the DFiD (Department for international Development) grant aid when he was its chief minister.

“We accept Mr Sharif has never been accused by the national accountability Bureau of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money or DFiD grant aid. We are pleased to make this clear and apologise to Mr Sharif for this error,” the newspaper said.

in its apology, the newspaper wrote, “in an article concerning Mr Shehbaz Sharif entitled ‘Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STeaL funds meant for earthquake victims’ published on 14 July 2019 we reported on an investigation by Pakistan’s national accountability Bureau into Mr Sharif and suggested that the money under investigation included a not insubstantial sum of

British public money that had been paid to the Punjab province in DFiD grant aid. We accept Mr Sharif has never been accused by the national accountability Bureau of any wrongdoing in relation to British public money or DFiD grant aid. We are pleased to make this clear and apologise to Mr Sharif for this error.”

Daily Mail’s apology to pM – ‘slap on the face of opponents’: Minister for information and Broadcasting Marriyum aurangzeb on Thursday said the apology tendered by the Daily Mail to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on publishing a false story was a “slap on the face of opponents”.

“no corruption has been proven against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who is vindicated by almighty allah,” she said in a news statement.

The minister said it was not only PM Shehbaz Sharif but the entire nation, which stood vindicated today.

She alleged that it was Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf chairman imran Khan and his aide Shahzad akbar, who had levelled allegations against the Sharif family. They had provided the reference filed by the national accountability Bureau to the Daily Mail for publishing a false story against the prime minister, she claimed.

Marriyum said imran Khan had

Japan provides $3.87m grant for polio eradication efforts

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The Government of Japan extended its support to the Pakistan Polio eradication Programme by providing more than US$ 3.87 million as a grant.

The grant will be used for the procurement of essential oral polio vaccine, which will reach more than 18.61 million under five years old children in Pakistan living in endemic and outbreak districts. The notes of the grant were signed and exchanged between the Government of Japan and the United nations children’s Fund (UniceF) and between Japan international cooperation agency (Jica) and UniceF. Minister abdul Qadir Patel, the Ministry of national Health Services, Regulation and coordination and other dignitaries were present during the signing event. “Pakistan has come a long way in the last 30 years. From thousands of children paralyzed by poliovirus in the 1980s and 1990s, we have managed toreduce the number of cases and affected communities drastically,” said.

invited David Rose, author of the article published in the British daily, to Pakistan for hatching a conspiracy against Shehbaz Sharif, who had appeared in talks shows for the purpose.

ironically, allegations of corruption were levelled against the person (Shehbaz Sharif), who had shed “his sweat and blood” for the development of Punjab, she added.

She said the Daily Mail had failed to produce even a single piece of evidence in the court to prove its allegations against PM Shehbaz Sharif, and tender unconditional apology once the trial of the case was completed.

The minister said both imran Khan and Shahzad akbar had defamed the opponents to satisfy their egos, and they should now apologise to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the nation.

Marriyum thanked the almighty for the exoneration of all the Pakistan Muslim League-nawaz (PML-n) leaders in the false corruption cases filed by the PTi government. She said imran Khan had been creating political instability in the country after coming into power in 2018.

Daily Mail apology exposes Malicious propaganDa: Minister for interior Rana Sanaullah on Thursday said that Daily Mail apology to Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif over erroneous story has exposed

malicious propaganda against him. in a tweet, the minister said that another malicious propaganda has been exposed through this apology. “Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is an international Sadiq and ameen,” he added.

the report: in July 2019, UK’s Daily Mail newspaper accused PM Shehbaz of “embezzling tens of millions of pounds of public money and laundering it in Britain’”

The report, quoting Pakistani investigators, claimed that “some of the allegedly stolen money came from DFiD-funded aid projects”.

The report — titled “Did the family of Pakistani politician who has become the poster boy for British overseas aid STeaL funds meant for earthquake victims, asks DaViD ROSe” — said the newspaper was given exclusive access to “some of the results of a highlevel probe ordered by [then] prime minister imran Khan”.

Daily Mail also claimed to have interviewed “key witnesses held on remand in jail, including a UK citizen aftab Mehmood”.

“He claims he laundered millions on behalf of Shehbaz’s family from a nondescript office in Birmingham — without attracting suspicion from Britain’s financial regulators, who inspected his books regularly.”

Neither sympathy nor empathy, women need dignity: Fatyana

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The persistence of harmful practices, pervasive gender stereotypes and a patriarchal mindset of society needs to be changed, said Mr Riaz Fatyana, Member national assembly and chairman, Parliamentarians commission for Human Rights, Pakistan on Thursday.

He was speaking at a seminar on “Sympathy or empathy: elimination of Violence against Women at academic institutions.”

“Men should be taught to respect women and moral values right from their childhood. Society needs to change its perspective towards women. Students must be taught to respect women,” Mr Fatyana said.

The national institute of Historical and cultural Research (niHcR), centre of excellence, Quaid-iazam University, islamabad organized the seminar in cooperation with the Parliamentarians commission for Human Right, Pakistan here.

Fatyana said without comprehensive efforts to address these issues in educational institutions, at the workplace, in the family, in the community and in the media, the elimination of violence against women remains a huge challenge.

Unfolding objectives of the seminar, Muhammad Shafique chaudhry, executive Director, Parliamentarians commission for Human Right, Pakistan shared that it was high time that awareness regarding elimination of violence against women at academic institutions is inculcated among all the stakeholders of the society.

He said crimes against women happen due to moral degradation of society. The root of the problem runs deep in our conservative society that is having trouble adjusting to educational and economic advancement of women. He said only real empathy of women’s issues rather than rehearsed outbursts when the worst happens, can, and will make us all safe.

Myra imran, senior journalist covering gender issues, said that when an issue of violence against women arises in the society; the society must first strive to prevent it; protect the victims from culprits and then rehabilitate the victims.

Mushaal Hussein Mullick observed that violence against women was rampant in indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The increase in cases of rape, abduction, molestation and domestic violence has created a cause of concern for the world community to note.

should be taken to safeguard national assets from cyber security attacks. a system should be set in place for countering any future cyber-attacks in the country, he added.

The president urged higher education institutions to avoid refusing admission to students. all aspiring students should be given admission to increasing the number of persons with higher education, he added.

Talking about population control, he said there was a need to remove taboos attached to the preventive methods of population control and ensure the availability of contraceptives.

after year of climate disasters, world off-track to curb warming

pAriS AfP

catastrophic floods, crop-wilting droughts and record heatwaves this year have shown that climate change warnings are increasingly becoming reality and this is “just the beginning”, experts say, as international efforts to cut planet-heating emissions founder. The year did see some important climate progress, with major new legislation, particularly in the United States and europe as well as a deal at the Un climate talks to help vulnerable countries cope with an increasing onslaught of devastating climate impacts. But the goal of keeping warming within a safer limit of 1.5 degrees celsius since the pre-industrial era appears increasingly in peril, with carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels — the main driver of global heating — on track to reach an all-time high in 2022. United nations chief antonio Guterres warned world leaders at a climate summit in egypt in november that humanity faces a stark choice between working together in the battle against global warming or “collective suicide”. They opted to put off the most important decisions for another time, observers say. This year Un climate science experts issued their strongest warning yet of the dangers facing people and planet, with a landmark report on climate impacts in February dubbed an “atlas of human suffering”. Since then a series of extreme events has illustrated the accelerating dangers of climate change, at barely 1.2c of warming. Record heatwaves damaged crops from china to europe, while drought has brought millions to the point of starvation in the Horn of africa. Floods super-charged by climate change engulfed Pakistan, affecting 33 million people and causing some $30 billion in damage and economic losses. “The year 2022 will be one of the hottest years on earth, with all the phenomena that go with higher temperatures,” said climate scientist Robert Vautard, head of France’s Pierre-Simon Laplace institute. “Unfortunately, this is just the beginning.” This year is on track to be the fifth or sixth warmest ever recorded despite the impact, since 2020, of La nina — a periodic and naturally occurring phenomenon in the Pacific that cools the atmosphere.

FIFA tRAFFIC FORCe empOweRS

pAkIStAN’S pUBLIC tRANSpORt SYStem

ISLAMABAD staff report

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 traffic force empowers Pakistan’s public transport system, Gwadar Pro reported on Thursday. Paul Zhang, Country Head of Yutong Bus, Mideast & Pakistan Market, said that “one of the highlights of the Qatar FIFA is the use of electric buses, given that the country is one of the world’s largest oil suppliers.

“It gives me great pleasure to greet this in Qatar! My proudest moment is hearing Chinese brands gain popularity among millions of fans and tourists!” said Wang Enlong, a service engineer from Yutong Bus, Mideast & Pakistan Market.

Wang is in charge of vehicle operation guarantee for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Doha. His responsibilities include daily vehicle inspections, emergency problem solutions during operations, and guidance for local drivers.

“During this World Cup, Yutong has served 30% of the passengers, and drivers and fans have been blown away by the pure electric buses.”

Better treatment of patients in public hospitals top priority: Yasmin Rashid

LAHORE staff report

Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid on Thursday said that better treatment of patients in the government hospitals was the first priority. She said this while chairing the 31st syndicate meeting of Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJMU) held here. She said that special attention was being paid to research in the medical universities of Punjab. The minister confirmed the decisions of the 30th Syndicate meeting.

Local drivers and passengers adore the Chinese manufacturer’s quiet, smooth, and comfortable driving and riding experience. “They have the feeling that they are in future traffic,” Wang explained.

Wang is one of 126 engineers dispatched by Yutong Bus to prepare for the spectacular debut of Chinese electric vehicles in Qatar. After extensive negotiations, organizers agreed to give fans something different to demonstrate that they were helping the environment and lowering carbon emissions.” Yutong is also collaborating with its Pakistani partner Master Motors on plans to construct a new plant in Sindh province for hybrid and electric intercity buses in order to improve Pakistan’s public transport system, increase local production capacity, and create local jobs.

According to Paul, the current market in Pakistan for buses is 560 to 600 per year. After the completion of highways and CPEC routes, the demand for passenger transportation will increase significantly.

The bus market is expected to increase to over 2,000 vehicles per year. Various bus brands have flocked to the country in recent years, demonstrating the country’s enormous attraction and potential.

Yutong partnered with Master Motor Corporation (Pvt) Ltd in 2014 for local assembly.

To date, the company has delivered more than 2,060 buses in Pakistan and has maintained its number one market share for the past five years.

Yutong bus in a factorY in Pakistan: Mr. Samir Malik, CEO of Master Motors, stated that the main challenges facing the Pakistani bus industry are poor quality and inadequate safety standards.

“Another challenge is that buses in Pakistan are very old and do not meet road standards, or even European standards, which is bad for the environment, people, and road safety,” he added. “These necessitate strict policies and government compliance.” “South Korea and Japan used to dominate Pakistan’s bus market, and marketing and introducing Chinese buses was initially difficult.”

The Chinese bus brand’s excellent performance over the years has instilled great confidence in Pakistan.

“We are committed to continuously improving local product production capacity and quality standards, as well as contributing Chinese wisdom to the upgrading and green development of Pakistan’s public transport system,” Paul concluded.

US, UN celebrate successful agriculture project

ISLAMABAD staff report

The United States, United Nations Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Government of Pakistan celebrated the completion of an agriculture project that supported 12,000 businesses and created 1,300 jobs while helping rural farmers boost annual sales by $2.5 million. The four year project known as “The Horticulture Advancement Activity” (THAzA), improved the livelihoods of rural farmers in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), said a press release.

This U.S. assistance ensured rural farmers in these regions and were able to gain access to technological advancements that were

previously unavailable to rural communities.

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Mission Director Michael Rossman praised the accomplishments of the THAzA program and said, “I highly appreciate the efforts of THAzA for empowering the youth and women of KP and Balochistan by providing them improved access to resources, training on specialized skills and agricultural technologies, and entrepreneurship opportunities.”

Ms. Florence Rolle, FAO Representative in Pakistan, commended the efforts of THAzA and highlighted the efforts of this fouryear project. THAzA has specifically engaged youth and women within the agricultural sector by

providing them improved access to resources, specialized skills in agricultural technologies, and entrepreneurship.

On behalf of the Governments of KP and Balochistan, Mohibullah Khan, the Minister of Agriculture, and Mr. Abdullah Khan, the Secretary of P&D, conveyed their sincere gratitude to the United States for its support to bolster economic empowerment and increase food security for communities in these regions.

The government officials added, “The Governments of KP and Balochistan recognize the quality support in the shape of THAzA to boost competitiveness of the selected commodity chains and expressed satisfaction over the achievements in this regard.”

FO concerned over Indian-sponsored terrorism to destabilize Pakistan

ISLAMABAD

staff report

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch has expressed concerns over state sponsored terrorism, emanating from India to destabilize Pakistan.

Responding to a question at her weekly news briefing here in Islamabad on Thursday, she urged the international community to take notice of this reality.

Replying to another question regarding allegations by some foreign countries about presence of terrorist outfits in Pakistan, the Spokesperson said we completely reject such accusations. She said Pakistan is the country that has suffered enormously from terrorism for the last several years. She said the instability in Afghanistan and in our region has created a situation, where many people of Pakistan, including personnel of security agencies, have lost their lives.

She said Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. She said there have been undeniable proofs of India’s direct involvement in the state sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan and the global community should take notice of India’s approach of pointing fingers at others.

Answering yet another question, Mumtaz Zahra

Baloch condemned the atrocities being perpetrated in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). She said India is continuing with repression of Kashmiris without any consideration of international human rights laws and norms.

She called upon the international community and human rights organizations to pay attention to the deteriorating human rights situation in IIOJK.

Regarding import of gas and oil from Russia, the Spokesperson said we are in touch with Moscow to import crude oil from Russia. She said Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Musadik Malik recently paid a special visit to Russia to discuss matters related to the import of gas and oil from Russia.

Lahore police registers another case against Shahbaz Gill

LAHORE staff report

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shahbaz Gill was booked in another case in Manga Mandi Lahore on Thursday. According to police, the first information report (FIR) was registered against the senior PTI leader Shahbaz Gill on the complaint of a citizen named Muhammad Ashfaq in the provincial capital Lahore. The Punjab police registered the FIR under Pakistan Penal Code 153-A, 131-A, 500 and 505 in Lahore. Earlier, a case was registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz Gill in Qila Abdullah area for using foul language against state institutions. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shahbaz was also shifted to the Services Hospital over shortness of breath. Gill was having difficulty in breathing and coughing. The doctors at the Services Hospital have treated the ill PTI leader. It is pertinent to mention here that a case was registered against Gill at the Kohsar police station, Islamabad. He was accused of creating a divide in the state institution.

UNODC for making double efforts to tackle corruption

ISLAMABAD staff report

Executive Director of United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has stressed upon the need to double global efforts to tackle corruption and ensure integrity across the board and around the world. In his message on Thursday in connection with International Day Against Corruption to be observed on December 9 (Friday), the UNODC Executive Director said that it was more important than ever to stop corruption ever as it trapped people in cycle of inequality and crushed opportunities for development. Corruption threatens our security, drives organized crime, he said adding that communities were losing out on trillions of dollars and countless opportunities, the ED said.

Highlighting the efforts of UNODC to cope with corruption, he said that UNODC enhanced crossborder cooperation through the Globe Network, with membership of 127 entities from 69 countries which teamed up with the World Bank to bolster asset recovery efforts around the globe. “This year, we established our first ‘anti-corruption’ regional hubs in Africa and Latin America, to bring our assistance and expertise closer to the point of delivery,” he added.

Uogians walk to promote gender equality for peace

GUJRAT staff report

With a view to spreading awareness about and curbing the menace of gender-based violence for promoting peace and stability, the students and faculty from the Department of Sociology organised a walk here at Hafiz Hayat Campus of the University of Gujrat the other day (Wednesday).

The walk was organized on the directives of the Higher Education Department and Women Development Department of the Government of Punjab. Leading from the front, social sciences Prof. Dr Faisal Mahmood Mirza vowed full support for the measures proposed by the government to curb the rising incidence of gender-based violence, especially against women. The participants of the walk carried placards and banners and raised slogans that called for immediate measures at various levels for elimination of gender discrimination and violence. Dr Faisal Mahmood Mirza said that gender discrimination or violence in our society was due to neglecting human rights. “Respecting humanity is the key to ending gender-based vviolenc,” Dr Mirza said.

ISLAMABAD staff report

Attaching or confiscating the Kashmiris’ properties, on one pretext or another, by the Modi regime has become the new normal in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). According to a report released by Kashmir Media Service, today, the Modiled fascist Indian regime is confiscating the properties of Kashmiris to get them to withdraw their support for the freedom struggle.

It deplored that the IIOJK authorities, yesterday, attached another house of an innocent Kashmiri man,

Ghulam Ahmad Najar, son of Ghulam Mohammad Najar, under draconian law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in Khrew area of Pulwama district.

The report said recently, the authorities seized 11 properties worth 90 crores of Indian rupees belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami of the occupied territory. It said attaching properties of the Kashmiris is a sheer political vendetta on part of the Modi’s Hindutva regime, adding Indian troops are regularly destroying the Kashmiris’ houses during violent military operations.

It said the RSS-backed Modi regime is hell bent on depriving the Kashmiris of their lands, properties and jobs and demolishing their houses or attaching their

properties is aimed at breaking their freedom sentiment but it would never succeed in its nefarious designs.

The report maintained that demolition of properties, illegal confiscations and forced evictions are part of India’s systematic settler colonialism campaign in IIOJK.

It said Modi is using every brutal tactic to muzzle the Kashmiris’ voice for freedom but his sinister tactics will not deter the Kashmiris from pursuing the freedom cause.

It urged the world community and international human rights organizations to take notice of the Modi regime’s brutal actions in the occupied territory and resolve the lingering dispute according to the UN relevant resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

RoShan DigiTaL accounT ManifeSTaTion of DiaSpoRa’S TRuST in pakiSTan: MaSooD khan

iSLamaBaD staff report

pAKISTAN’SAmbassador to the United States Masood Khan has said the overwhelming response of Pakistani diaspora towards Roshan Digital Account (RDA) is a clear manifestation of deeply ingrained patriotism and trust in Pakistan.

Addressing a webinar on Roshan Digital Account in Washington, he said we are committed to further strengthen these bonds of trust between our Overseas Pakistanis and our financial institutions and would continue to facilitate them in accessing easy solutions to their economic needs back home.

The Ambassador urged the State Bank and its partner banks to appoint focal persons to promptly respond to the queries and issues relating to Roshan Digital Account and its various products. He also assured all out support of the Embassy and its consulates towards promoting RDA and helping Overseas Pakistanis in the

Students and faculty volunteers join hands to facilitate flood victims

Karachi pr

The first batch of Heritage Foundation’s Climate Volunteers programme consisting of ten students and two faculty members of Vienna University of Technology, led by Prof Andrea Rieger-janol, and nine students and three faculty members of UOL (University of Lahore) led by prof. Zeeshan left for their respective homes earlier today after successfully spending 12 days together and getting first-hand experience of the life of flood victims of Sindh’s Punno Village, Mirpurkhas as well as facilitating in their rehabilitation. The programme was initiated by Yasmeen Lari, founder and CEO of Heritage Foundation Pakistan at Cambridge in October at an assembly of various universities from the UK and Europe organised jointly with INTBAU and Department of Architecture, University of Cambridge. Speaking on behalf of the visiting Viennese students and teachers at a farewell tea given in their honour, Andrea Rieger-janol said, “The last couple of weeks have been an eye-opening experience for us. We spent three days in Lahore where we stayed at the campus and a did a workshop with the Lahore students. It was a great bonding opportunity as later we stayed together in the village, and it was wonderful that we had become familiar with one another by that time.”

United States to avail the facility.

The participants were informed that Roshan Digital Account (RDA) initiative, launched in September 2020, has so far registered 485,873 accounts in 175 countries with a collection of US$ 5.30 billion.

It was informed that US$ 3.34 billion has been collected in Naya Pakistan Certificates while personal payments, deposited in participating banks, comprised of US$ 1.96 billion.

Renowned Cricket star Shahid Khan Afridi, Chairman Shahid Afridi Foundation, Syed Irfan Ali, Managing Director DPC/ED State Bank of Pakistan, Mansoor Ali Khan, Chief Executive Bank Al-Habib and other senior officials of Bank-Al-Habib shared their thoughts about RDA and the benefits of the online facility for the overseas Pakistan.

Shahid Khan Afridi, Chairman Shahid Afridi, speaking on the occasion, thanked Overseas Pakistanis for their continued support to his foundation and also urged them to further strengthen Roshan Digital Account initiative and ensure its success.

Consul Generals of Pakistan, stationed at Houston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, apprised the participants about the response of the diaspora towards RDA and identified various areas where the participating banks and the State Bank of Pakistan could work to further facilitate Overseas Pakistanis.

Qambar Ali, Head RDA Bank Al-Habib, gave a detailed presentation to the attendees about Roshan Digital Account, its product lines and the facilities being offered to the customers.

He said RDA digital product suite included Naya Pakistan Certificates, Roshan Apni Car, Roshan Equity Investment, Roshan Samaaji Khidmat, Roshan Apna Ghar and Roshan Mutual Funds.

On the occasion, Ambassador Masood Khan thanked the management of Bank Al-Habib for organizing an informative webinar about Roshan Digital Accounts and said that Pakistani-American diaspora was one of the most vibrant and influential communities of Overseas Pakistanis who had always been in the forefront for contributing the socio-economic development of Pakistan.

Steps on to enhance manpower import, trade with Pakistan: Omani minister

countries of the world due to their professional abilities and subliming the name of Pakistan in the world. Oman's health sector also has excellent opportunities for Pakistani doctors and paramedical staff, he added.

CEO Salam Air Captain Muhammad Ahmed and Chairperson Alveer Airways also discussed the common issues of aviation industry of Pakistan and Oman. The both delegations also discussed proposals regarding the number of passengers traveling between Pakistan and Oman and increasing the number of flights. The CEO of Salam Airways told that his airline's network extends to 32 destinations in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, including Pakistan. Various proposals were also exchanged in the meeting as well as detailed discussion was also held on important measures for the promotion of trade relations.

At this occasion, Salam Air CEO Captain Ahmed also presented a commemorative shield to Chairman FESCO Board of Directors (BODs) Malik Tahseen Awan and his wife Chairperson Alveer Airways.

ZTBL launches Mobile Van Service for farmers

iSLamaBaD pr

The Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) on Thursday launched its Mobile Van Service aimed at reaching out to farmers of far-flung areas for extending financial and agriculture services. The mobile van service will visit villages and will provide loans and other financial and technical knowledge to farmers particularly women and elders who cannot visit cities due to different reasons.

Health Minister of Oman, Dr Hilal bin Ali said that measures to increase labor and trade opportunities in the two Islamic brotherhood countries are the need of the hour. He said that Pakistani doctors are providing the best medical services in the developed

SECOND PAKISTAN FUTURE OF RETAIL SUMMIT & EXPO

Meanwhile, Chairperson Alveer Air Syeda Huma Batool also met Pakistani Ambassador in Oman Dr. Imran Ali. While awarding certificate of honor to Syeda Huma Batool, the Ambassador called Ms. Huma Batool a proud Pakistani woman not only for Pakistan but also for all the women of the world and expressed her best wishes for her efforts in the business world.

Retail expos game-changer for Pakistan’s retail sector, overall economy

By GhuLam murtaza

The retail sector is thriving in Pakistan. The culturally rich and bustling Lahore city is set to host the second edition of the international summit on 13 December 2022, under the Chain Store Association Pakistan (CAP). Many national and international brands and eminent speakers are scheduled to grace the landmark occasion with their retailing intellect. This event is greatly anticipated to gear up the transformation of the retail sector’s paradigm in Pakistan.

Every business entity endeavours for its share of trade

using various trade tools. Showcasing the best products is an age old marketing tool, and business expos are essentially just that with a touch of cultural extravaganza. Such public gatherings showcase their innovations and discuss information about a specific domain or the products and services of a particular segment. As Robert Irwin says, “There’s no way to really mock-up or simulate what I’m doing until I’m there. An exhibition for me is not a statement but an experiment.”

The experiment for the firstever retail summit, held in Karachi in March 2022, went quite successful. The event recorded an excellent footfall of thousands of trade visitors, whereas a good number of exhibitors displayed their innovations and provided an incredible platform to enhance the networking and size of the business basket. This trend-setting event

effused the organisers to expand the spectrum and quantum of the 2022 edition. Being the 5th largest nation of 250 million people and 3% of the world’s total population, is enough to justify the potential for future retail growth in Pakistan. Only 5 % of online users constitute 12 million people, which exceeds 125 countries’ individual populations. The urban population is consistently growing and touching new heights of 37% in Pakistan. The population growth of urban areas is approximately 2% with a matching percentage of in-fluxing, which reflects 4% aggregated generic growth. A slight political and economic stability could open up enormous avenues for international brands in Pakistan.

The retail market is the backbone of the agricultural economy, constituting about 18% of GDP and providing job opportunities to millions of families. Complemented with the IT revolution, the ecosystem is rapidly evolving in Pakistan with the

help of centralised Omni channels to regulate inventories. Discounting, a worldwide retail phenomenon, is also working equally well in Pakistan. Despite the economic uncertainties and COVID inertia, it’s still paced up to about US$ 58b. During 20202021, it registered about 24% growth. During the last decade, we witnessed the mushrooming of many retail brands in the economic fabric of Pakistan. Currently, eCommerce’s global growth is about 20% in Pakistan, close to India and China’s 21.2%. If we want to benchmark the world, unethical practices, transactional issues, payment methods, and trust deficits are the podiums that should be removed. A money-back guarantee and eCommerce consumer courts can build lifelong loyalty with consumers.

As we all know, money alone doesn’t guarantee business success. Social and cultural capital does! The vertex of the event is a summit attended by the top-notches of the fashion

industry, internationally recognized academics, designers, creatives and business people. It will harbour opportunities for face-to-face meetings, marketing, sales, and knowledge about Pakistan’s industry, and consequently close deals worth billions of rupees.

The summit will also correct another general misperception about the industry that Pakistan is not at par with the West in retailing. In fact, the growth potential in Pakistan is exponential due to the low threshold of unsaturation. Lahore is emerging as the fashion hub of the region. The retail sector alone has the potential to pull the country out of economic uncertainties if the Government coordinates the efforts to transform the retail sector in Pakistan. At this point, the government must play its role to strengthen the industry and work towards the eradication of smuggling and tax evasion and formalise the sector for revenue collection. Currently, 86% of the tax burden is only on three cities which is hampering the overall growth of the sector.

With summits as such, other industries such as tourism and crafts also face a domino effect. Retail alone can bring a lot of business to the country and be a soft power that potentially places Pakistan in the global economic map.

The writer is a freelances on economy and business.

The service was inaugurated here at ZTBL Farm by Federal Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha in a ceremony that was attended by bankers, professionals and agriculturists. Speaking on the occasion, the minister lauded the effort of ZTBL and said the mobile van service was a step towards financial inclusion policy of the government. She said agriculture was still the backbone of economy and also regretted that despite an agro economy, we have to import wheat and other food items. However, she hoped that the way ZTBL was launching farmers friendly initiative, the time is not far when the country will be selfsufficient in food production. Acting President ZTBL Asadullah Habib on the occasion said that ZTBL was the only bank that was catering to the financial needs of 78 percent farmers of the country adding the bank was introducing modern scientific agriculture technology for boosting food production. Senior board member Zaigham Mehmood Rizvi on the occasion said that traditional agriculture methods were not yielding enough insisting that modern agri techniques will be applied for the real change in agriculture sector.

FaiSaLaBaD staff report

Chairman Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) Board of Directors (BODs) Malik Tahseen Awan and Chairperson Alveer Airways Syeda Huma Batul held separate meetings with Omani Minister of Health Dr Hilal bin Ali bin Bilal Al-Sabati and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Salam Air Captain Muhammad Ahmed in Oman. During the meetings, detailed discussion was held regarding the jobs of Pakistani labour class and paramedical staff in Oman.

The new COAS’ tasks

NeW COAS Gen Asim Munir has now visited both the Western and eastern borders of the country in his first visits after taking charge on November 29. his tenure will be devoted to these frontiers not just because they are there, but because they are active. While his experience as a corps commander, at Gujranwala, was of confrontation along the Working Boundary, and his earlier experience as Force Commander Northern Area put him in charge of the Siachen Glacier, he is now also responsible also for the LoC. Currently there is a ceasefire in place, and General Munir would want that to stay in place, though with a fanatical RSS pracharak as Indian PM, he can prepare for turbulence like the Pulwama incident, if not outright conflict. General Munir also visited the troops on the border with Afghanistan. While he dealt with Afghanistan and the Taliban while DGMI and then DG ISI, he would have found that much has changed since, and that the Taliban have come to power. however, that has not stopped terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The most recent upsurge cannot be blamed on the USA, as was done when the Taliban took over. Guarding that border is also a major responsibility for the new COAS, as will be the ending of terrorism. The Army is exposed both directly to attacks, and indirectly, through its officers on secondment to the civil armed forces like the Frontier Constabulary.

however, also to prove a test is the involvement of the Army in politics. True, the Army has been at pains to claim that it is no longer involved, but the PTI’s attempts to drag it back in have to be resisted. A salient feature of developed democracies is that politicians do not ask for intervention, not so much because they are not willing to try, as because they already know it will be useless. General Munir must create that kind of belief in politicians during his tenure. It is only by firm resistance to temptation that he can play a strictly constitutional role.

General Munir was awarded the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) along with the new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Shamshad Mirza. The award goes with the post, but it will gain meaning, as an award by a civilian government to a service chief, if the service is kept on the path of strict constitutionalism.

Testing the limits of seniority

At Penpoint

ONe of the effects of the recent promotion of the Chief of Army Staff and the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee has been the fulsome praise of the seniority principle. however, that principle was only observed if its assumed that the COAS job is senior to that of Chairman. It is not a matter of reality: it is a matter of which officer is senior to the other.

According to the higher Defence Organisation concept, according to which the office of CJCSC was created back in 1972, the occupant of this post would also act as Principal Staff Officer to the Commanderin-Chief (the PM) in time of war. The services were sold the idea because of failures of communication during the 1965 and 1971 Wars. In both wars, the two smaller services said they had no idea of what the Army was up to. This was particularly serious for the PAF, which was supposed to provide air support for the Army’s operations.

Part of the decision was to shift all three service headquarters to Islamabad. The Navy, which had to make the biggest shift, moved from Karachi, then the PAF moved from Peshawar, and the Army has not just failed to make the move from Rawalpindi to Islamabad, but divided the sector it was allocated, e7, into plots for senior officers, and now the biggest obstacle to its shifting is its lack of land in Islamabad. Meanwhile, e8 and e9 have been developed as Naval headquarters and Air headquarters respectively.

It must be remembered that the higher Defence Organization was developed in the wake of the 1971 debacle, and was borrowed from the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee system. however, the US Committee, though it started in World War II, developed as a command authority for a nuclear power. The Chairman is PSO to the President in wartime. he is not the Commander-in-chief, but is pretty close to that position.

One hidden purpose of the hDO in Pakistan was to prevent a future martial law That it signally failed to do. One reason was a compromise, and a deviation from the original concept.

As conceived, the CJSC slot was supposed to have rotated among the three services. Only President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, while President, tried to resume the original concept. (he had been Defence Secretary when it was being formulated, and had discretionary powers of appointment.) The result was that Adm Iftikhar Sirohey and ACM Farooq Feroze Khan became Chairman. They also provide the only examples of a service chief becoming CJSC. Neither was promoted, already having four-star rank.

officer, who has under him a three-star Army officer who is commanding general of all CeNTCOM troops, a three-star admiral who commands all of CeNTCOM’s ships, and a three-star USAF officer commanding all its planes. These officers, and the forces under their command, are not operationally under their service chiefs’ command; the service hQs will insytruct them on training doctrine, equipment and even uniforms, but orders to deploy, and shoot, come from the Commander CeNTCOM or the President. They cannot come from the CJSC, though he will be in the room if the President is giving the orders.

In Pakistan, however, the three services insisted on their respective chiefs retaining the command of their respective forces. That has made it impossible to form tri-service commands.

It also meant that the Army’s ability to implode Martial Law remained as before. It must also be noted that only the Army can impose military rule, because neither of the other services have any troops.

however, in the Musharraf years, Pakistan had to adjust to its nuclear status, and also allay foreign concerns about the safety of nuclear weapons, that led to the formation of the Nuclear Command Authority, and of the Strategic Plans Division. The SPD is part of Joint Services headquarters, and can be headed by a threestar officer from any service, but so far the Army has maintained a stranglehold on the post. With a major general commanding the SPDF, the Army controls the nuclear arsenal, and provides the world community that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear power.

India’s also taking that path, and the creation of the position of Chief of Defence Staff is necessitated only because of the need of a higher organization to handle nuclear issues. Russia and China have placed their armed forces under military commissions, and in China, the Secretary General of the Party is Chairman of the Commission.

the General-Officer-Commanding-in-Chief east Pakistan. An Army lieutenant-general, the naval and air force commanders reported to him for operational purposes, not their service headquarters. As the name reveals, it was an Army preserve. having a three-star officer from either of the two smaller services would have meant having a three-star officer in addition to the service chief.

Whether or not the present COAS looks at it as a priority to get the Army out of politics, the country’s reputation is one with the military playing a major role. A quote from The Concepts and Theories of Modern Democracy is typical: “There were examples of rule by the military, and Pakistan has been a modern example for much of the period since 1947. These were all selfserving ruling groups who adjusted their policies to pressures from the wider society they governed only when prudence dictated it.” The book is an academic study. Pakistan cannot be proud of its reputation.

It must be remembered that the Higher Defence Organization was developed in the wake of the 1971 debacle, and was borrowed from the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee system. However, the US Committee, though it started in World War II, developed as a command authority for a nuclear power. The Chairman is PSO to the President in wartime. He is not the Commander-in-chief, but is pretty close to that position.

An apparent innovation has been that the apparent extension of the concept of supersession. Lt Gens Azhar Abbas and Faiz hameed have opted for retirement. They are both junior to General Asim, but stand no chance of succeeding him, as they were to retire before his tenure ended. Previously, officers retired only when a junior is promoted and they are not. however, under the up-or-out policy of the USA< which has been introduced in the Pakistani armed forces, if one misses promotion, one is retired. In short, if you don’t move up, you move out. Normally, this has not applied to lieutenant-generals, but the retiring officers seem to have applied it to themselves.

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

That was the deviation, but the compromise was more serious. When moving over to a Joint Chiefs system, the service chiefs are supposed to stop being commanders of their forces, and serving purely as chiefs of staff. The forces are to be placed under triservice commands.

For example, the USA’s CeNTCOM (Central Command) is generally headed by a Marine four-star

The Zia years saw the rotation principle jettisoned, and the post became a sort of consolation prize for one lieutenant-general who didn’t make COAS. The Army opposes rotation, because it has more three-star officers than the other services. Before the hDO, the Navy and Air Force Commanders were designated Deputy Commanders-in-Chief, the head of the Army being the Commander-in-Chief, and were three-star officers.

At this time, there was one tri service command,

One of the dangers of the seniority principle is the tendency for it to degenerate into Buggins’ Turn (Buggins being someone of the right seniority, but wildly unsuitable). True, by the time an officer reaches three-star rank, he has been through reviews at each rank, and anyone is probably suitable for the job, but the system depends on rigorous selection at each rank from major upwards. Seniority is already a consideration, and if it creeps in much further, the process could result in Buggins’ Turn prevailing. After all, one of the causes of the 1857 Indian Mutiny was a senile officer corps, in which promotion went too much by seniority.

Why does Pakistan compromise its own peace for untrustworthy Afghans?

prehend that all are those who were directly or indirectly by-products of the Afghan Jihad of 1979-88, of course, that Pakistan handled as the frontline runner of the USA. My discussions on this topic with retired diplomats and military generals could be summed up as that Afghanistan has always been a source of “bad news” for Pakistan and our perception of Afghanistan being our strategic depth backfired ruthlessly.

There is a long history of what we sacrificed for Afghans, but we should give room to the claims of Afghan writers and academicians as well. They are propagating that Pakistan always fought wars on Afghan soil for protecting its own (Pakistan’s) interests and those of foreign entities.

Shanty. he explains the nature and the extent of involvement between international criminal drug traffickers, particularly of drugs originating from Afghanistan, and international terrorist networks with global reach.

The second book is Seeds of Terror—How Drugs, Thugs, and Crime Are Reshaping the Afghan War written by Gretchen Peters. This critical reading explains the history of the USA’s involvement with Afghanistan that explains the devastating consequences of the alliance between the US government and radical Islam. essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the current international crisis.

show which resulted derisively, in the perilous claim of herding untrustworthy Afghans creating an even bigger void? Over 40 years’ disasters continuously come from Afghan soil in the form of drugs, weaponization, radicalization, polio virus, heavy food smuggling, and three million refugees who are no more refugees now but over 20 to 30 million Afghan-Pakistanis. Do we need more?

The latest dreadful attack on the Pakistan Mission in Kabul was unprecedented. Fortunately, the Pakistani Ambassador was saved by his guard who was critically injured. Afghanistan has always been a mess for Pakistan and Taliban rule has become a nightmare for us as Afghan soil is used against Pakistan ruthlessly.

The latest report of Bertelsmann Stiftung’s project ‘Shaping Change – Strategies of Development and Transformation’ for 2022 about Pakistan confirms that the state’s monopoly on the use of force is contested by terrorist organizations, sectarian groups, ethno-nationalist insurgencies, and criminal gangs involved in the smuggling of goods and narcotics. The report says that much of the violence committed by these non-state actors is concentrated in the province of Balochistan as well as the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.

It is important to mention that the project “Shaping Change – Strategies of Development and Transformation” collaborates with around 300 country and regional experts from leading universities, and think tanks worldwide while working under Bertelsmann Stiftung.

If we examine the list of non-state actors (users) sharing the state’s right of the monopoly of violence, we will com-

I believe that we had allowed the trade of sectarian terrorism, drugs, weapons, and radicalization with war dollars, which certain strata of our society had been enjoying.

Powerful strata injected a sense in the society that connecting with Afghanistan was a must for our strategic survival. One of the reasons for selling lies to the public was deep-rooted strategic, private, and personal interests in Afghanistan, hence billions of dollars’ kept engulfing the reality. We know that war is one of the biggest businesses around the globe, as are drugs and smuggling; interestingly all three factors you can find in the Afghan war.

We understand that an economic meltdown in Afghanistan would lead to a mass exodus of refugees and will promote extremism, terrorism, and instability. It will be a tangible threat to the peace and stability of neighboring countries.

The third one is Unholy Wars—Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism by John K. Cooley, and is also interesting reading to understand how drugs are linked with everybody who had stakes in the Afghan war irrespective of nationality and social status.

Now terrorism is again breeding in Pakistan after we initiated dialogue with TTP on the recommendations of the Afghan Taliban and we are facing the consequences of this “strategic move” in the shape of attacks on our soldiers almost every week.

Recent events have testified that Afghan Taliban are harbouring terrorists and the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri in August 2022 in the Afghan capital Kabul confirmed that Afghan Taliban are hosting terrorists as they had been in their first tenure. Moscow Format Consultations on Afghanistan held on November 2, expressed concerns that the Taliban are not working to eradicate terrorism and drug trafficking that is emanating from Afghan territory. The Taliban were advised to take more visible steps against all terrorist organizations, and to firmly fight, dismantle and eliminate them, so as to ensure that Afghanistan would never again serve as a breeding ground, safe haven or source of proliferation for terrorism. Participants reaffirmed their readiness to assist Afghanistan in this regard.

I can quote readily available three references. The Nexus—International Terrorism and Drug Trafficking from Afghanistan written by terrorism expert Frank

I always believe that having a cup of tea in Serena Kabul for a picture click will keep costing us internally and externally. externally, it was a message that we were behind the failure of US-led forces, internally it was a message that all is under our control that was actually not. Many of our experts do not understand that trying to take credit for the Taliban’s triumph has expanded the trust deficit Pakistan had been facing with western countries for decades. Why should we have made a tendentious

We understand that an economic meltdown in Afghanistan would lead to a mass exodus of refugees and will promote extremism, terrorism, and instability. It will be a tangible threat to the peace and stability of neighboring countries. however, neighboring countries that are trying to help Afghanistan are immediate victims of terrorism harbored there.

The writer Shazia Cheema is an analyst writing for national and international media outlets. She heads the DND Thought Center. She did her MA in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is currently registered as a Ph.D. Scholar of Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague

Both professionally and politically, the COAS has his work cut out

The writer is a member of staff

ShAZIA ANwer CheeMA

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

Drugs, smuggling and war make money and were combined in Afghanistan

Gun violence: Dismal situation in the USA

the attack, a local police officer said that day that it was like walking through the set of a ‘horror movie’. But it was all real. It was a battlefield.

Editor’s mail

EOBI anomaly

The employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976, is one of the finest labour welfare laws promulgated in Pakistan. It was enacted and enforced towards the fag end of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s government, which was a fulfillment of his election manifesto that talked about ameliorating the lot of the workers.

A pension scheme for the retired workers of industry and establishment was introduced for the first time. Prior to July 2001, the entire monthly contribution on behalf of the insured employees was handed over to the employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (eOBI) by the employers. Since then, the employees also have to pay their share of the contribution along with that of the employers.

In 2005, an amendment was made to the relevant Act, whereby the term ‘wages’ was defined as the rate of wage as declared under the Minimum Wages for Unskilled Workers Ordinance, 1969. At that time, the minimum wage under the said ordinance was Rs3,000. Therefore, an employee would pay one per cent of this amount towards his share of the contribution, and the employer would pay the remaining 5pc. This would make a total of Rs180pm per insured employee. Thereafter, the minimum wage under the relevant ordinance was fixed at Rs4,000 in 2006, Rs4,600 in 2007 and Rs6,000 in 2008. The eOBI kept running smoothly till April 2010, when the labour laws were devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. however, the federal government kept managing the scheme after the devolution and did not transfer it to the provinces.

As the 1969 ordinance was a federal law, any amendment to it carried out by the federal government would only be applicable to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and would not extend to the provinces.

In 2015, the federal government effected an amendment in the ordinance and fixed the minimum wage at Rs13,000. The eOBI’s demand on employers to pay the contribution at 6pc of Rs13,000 was challenged by the latter in the courts. The high courts in Lahore and Peshawar gave judgments in favour of the employers, holding that the eOBI had no authority to claim contribution at this rate.

1968. Gun deaths were up 34 percent from 2019, 49 percent from five years ago, and 75 percent from 10 years ago.

The rate of gun violence is much higher than in other countries. Although a 2018 study by the University of Washington’s Institute for health Metrics and evaluation of 195 countries and territories says that in terms of such violence, several countries in Latin America outrank the USA.

The study cited 2016 as the most recent year for gun violence statistics. According to the research report, the death rate from gun violence was 10.6 percent per 100,000 people in the USA that year. Whereas in Canada this figure is 2.1, in Australia 1.0, in France 2.7, in Germany 0.9 and in Spain 0.6. But the rate is higher than in the sain countries such as el Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia and honduras. Overall, the USA ranked 20th globally for gun violence deaths in 2016.

13 people were shot in that attack. 10 died. eleven of the 13 shot were black. The FBI described the attack as an incident of “violent extremism”. The FBI was investigatingtf it as a ‘hate crime’ and racially motivated violent extremism.

Immediately after, the local police arrested the suspected gunman named Peyton S. Gendron. he was charged with first-degree’murder. Then the investigation revealed the young man had posted a 180-page ‘manifesto’ online in support of white-supremacist beliefs. he also described immigrants and black people as “substitutes” for white people. Through this, the issue of racism icomes to a new discussion.

Despite the court judgments, the eOBI displayed the amount of Rs13,000 on its portal, but a large number of employers did not pay the contribution at that rate. On its part, the eOBI could not take action against such employers. The eOBI has now changed the amount of Rs13,000 to Rs25,000 on its portal, which will almost double the rate of contribution, from Rs780 to Rs1,500pm per insured employee. The eOBI is now forcing the employers to pay contribution at 6pc of the Rs25,000. This situation is similar to the one faced by the employers in 2015.

The USA is known as the world’s leading democracy country. The question may arise whether the USA considers it its ‘right’ to inform other countries of the world about disappearances, murders or human rights violations.\

however, according to various reports, the human rights situation in the United States is worsening daily. Gun violence, murder, police torture is increasing. The justice system is dying in the country vocal about protecting global human rights, which is making citizens themselves worry.

The State Council Information Office of China published a report on the US human rights situation in 2021. According to it, it has worsened compared to previous years. Millions of people have died due to the government’s failure to control the corona epidemic due to political instability. At the same time, gun violence casualties have multiplied. “False democracy” tramples on the political rights of the American people, and aggressive behavior by law enforcement agencies makes life difficult for immigrants and refugees in the USA.

Also, of concern is the country’s growing discrimination against ethnic minority groups, particularly people of Asian descent. According to many analysts, the US administration’s unilateral actions have created new humanitarian crises around the world.

According to recently released statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2020 saw more gun-related deaths than any other year. This includes a record number of shooting deaths as well as gun suicides.

Analyzing data collected from various sources including CDC, FBI, US-based public opinion polling and research institute Pew Research Center says, in recent years, the complete data related to gun attacks in the USA is available in 2020. That year, 45,222 people lost their lives in such incidents.

For years, there have been more gun suicides in the USA than gun deaths, the CDC says. In 2020,54 percent of gun-related deaths in the country were suicides (24,292), while 43 percent were homicides (19,384). In addition, there were 535 “unintentional” gun deaths that year, 611 law enforcement-involved deaths, and over 400 “unspecified circumstances” deaths.

A total of 45,222 people died in gun-related incidents in 2020, which is 14 percent more than the year before, 25 percent more than five years ago and 43 percent more than a decade ago.

Gun violence has taken a toll in recent years. It killed 19,384 people in 2020, the highest since

What is the annual death toll in mass shootings? It is difficult to give a definite answer because there is no single definition of ‘mass gun attack’ or ‘mass shooting’. Its definition can vary depending on various aspects, including the number of casualties and the circumstances.

According to the FBI, a mass shooting occurs when one or more individuals are actively involved in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. According to this definition, 38 people (excluding attackers) were killed in such incidents in 2020.

The US Gun Violence Archive (an online database of gun violence incidents) defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot, even if no one is killed (except the gunman). By this definition, 513 people were killed by gun violence in 2020. But however defined, mass shootings kill more people each year than all gun violence combined nationwide.

According to various monitoring organizations, more than 200 people died in the USA in the first five months of this year. As the general public panics over a spate of gun attacks, new questions have been raised about the role of the US police.

According to a newspaper report, since 2015, an average of 1,000 people have been killed by police in the USA every year.earlier in 2014, after an unarmed black man named Michael Brown was killed by the police in Ferguson, USA, an investigation came out that half of the shootings or torture by police were not reported.

A newspaper analysis of more than five years of media coverage, social media posts and police reports found that the number and circumstances of fatal shootings and overall victimization rates remained relatively unchanged during that period. In 2021 also 1049 people were killed by police firing.

According to the report, an average of 1,000 people died annually in gun attacks or similar incidents across the USA. The same number of people were killed in police firing. Although half of those killed in police shootings are white, blacks account for the majority of victims as a percentage of the population. About 13 percent of the US population is black. Also, more than 95 percent of those killed by the police are men, between 20 and 40.

At 2:30 PM local time on May 14, a supermarket in Buffalo, the second largest city in New York, was suddenly shaken by the sound of gunfire. An 18-year-old started shooting indiscriminately with a semi-automatic assault rifle. he was in military uniform with body armour. The youth was also using a camera to broadcast his bloody rampage live online. Describing the aftermath of

The idea that whites are being ‘replaced’ by blacks has recently moved from far-right political ideology in the US to mainstream Republican Party politics. Many US media personalities are helping to popularize this ideology, which is seamlessly being further influenced by Republican rhetoric.

The young attacker tried to justify himself by promoting the ideology that white people are being weakened by immigrants. And his manifesto was full of racist words about black Americans.

he claimed to be inspired by the killing of 51 worshipers in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019. Christchurch attacker Brenton Tarrant was also using the camera to broadcast the attack live online. he also published his own manifesto before the attack. But the Buffalo attacker was more influenced by homegrown discontent than by the Christchurch massacre.

According to the US Gun Violence Archive, there were nearly 200 shootings or gun attacks from January to May. In addition, according to a recently published report, between 2019 and 2020, the death rate of gun attacks in the USA increased by about 35 percent overall.

But the Buffalo massacre stands out not only because of the number of victims, but also because of its political nature. Analysts say the incident must be seen in the context of the growing normalization of racism and political violence in the USA.

According to information from US-based independent media outlet education Week, 17 states have recently signed laws banning or tightening ‘critical race theory’ or racism and sexuality education, and 12 more states are considering similar legislation. Apart from this, discussions are going on about removing some books that may spread racist attitudes.

But these collective efforts have also created a mockery of the history of American racism and xenophobia. Discussions of America’s racial history have turned the spotlight on the country’s existing poverty, unemployment, and social deprivation.

According to many social scientists, centuries of neglect, neglect, and lack of opportunity have driven a large portion of US blacks to violence. As a result, many white people feel unsafe. And hate is born from that insecurity.

According to various local media, more than 200 people have lost their lives in gun attacks in the country until this May. In this situation, lawmakers and experts demand reform of the private arms control law.

Gun violence has emerged as a serious social problem in USA that cannot be stopped. Strict legislation and enforcement are needed. Instead of giving advice or advice to others, the US administration should focus on resolving its own crisis first.

The writer is a freelance columnist

To make the demand of eOBI lawful, the federal government has two options: (a) carry out a constitutional amendment to bring back the eOB Act within its fold, or (b) devolve the scheme to provinces that may fix their own minimum wage at which the eOBI contribution would be payable. Besides, it is quite unfair on the part of the eOBI to increase the amount of monthly contribution payable by the employers and the employees by around 92pc in one go. The increase should not be more than 20pc, especially when after 46 years of the scheme’s induction, the eOBI is paying a paltry amount of Rs8,500 as monthly pension to the retired employees.

PARVEZ RAHIM KARACHI

Dengue wave

ReGReTTABLY, the number of dengue patients is increasing rapidly and so is the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease. There are many reasons behind this dismal situation, such as the accumulation of stagnant water, lack of fumigation, and the ignorance of the relevant authorities.

Water stagnation persists in many areas of the city and neither conventional nor aerial spray and fumigation have been carried out by the departments concerned despite the gravity of the situation. While the numbers reported by the health department seem lower considering the overall population of the metropolis, the lack of an efficacious and prompt redressal in the form of vaccine is worrisome for people. Considering the unavailability of dengue vaccine and the burden on hospitals, everyone must take preventive measures to keep themselves safe and healthy.

The government should take immediate action to clear the stagnant water from the city and to conduct fumigation drives in all the affected areas. The citizens should also act responsibly, use mosquito repellents while going out, and ensure that their surroundings are clean and safe. Moreover, if they feel any symptoms of dengue fever, they should not go for self-medication, and should consult a doctor immediately.

MAJID BURFAT KARACHI

Society’s failure

TheRe is suddenly a lot of discussion about transgender people in the country. Being a transgender is simply one of the many defects that may take place in the process of the formation of a child inside the mother’s womb. Down’s syndrome, haemophilia, extra fingers, mental retardation, deafness, blindness and many more malformations not involving reproductive organs do not bother anyone. The moment a malformation involves the latter organs, all hell breaks loose, with the most ignorant often making the most noise.

human beings are ‘formed’ by the mixing of 1.5 billion pairs of DNA from each parent. This is a phenomenal number, and accidents are bound to occur. In fact, about half the mixings are so defective and incompatible with life that the ‘quality control’ department in every mother-to-be rejects the embryo in the shape of miscarriages.

Transgender people represent just one of the many possible ‘accidents’ or poor mixing of DNA pairs deciding the gender of a person. This has been happening since the beginning of the world, and will continue to happen till the very end. This happens in every part of the world. In a civilised society, transgender people are identified at birth or soon thereafter. They are properly counselled, educated like other children, and absorbed perfectly in society as useful citizens. Indeed, they are as intelligent as any other person.

In ignorant and poorly educated societies, like Pakistan, for instance, they are left to earn their living begging at traffic signals.

This is none of their fault. This is a failure and fault of society that for some strange and totally incomprehensible reason fails to recognise a simple fact of life.

PROF SERAJUDDAULA SYED KARACHI

SAMINA Akhter

It has become a human rights problem

WhAT doES ChinA WAnT fRoM ThE ARAbS?

DR RAmzy BAROUD

The problem with most Western media’s political analyses is that they generally tend to be short-sighted and focused mostly on variables that are of direct interest to Western governments. These types of analyses are now being applied to understanding official Arab attitudes towards Russia, China, global politics and conflicts. As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to lead a large delegation to meet with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia, Western media conveys a sense of dread.

The Chinese leader’s visit “comes against the backdrop” of the Biden Administration’s “strained ties with both Beijing and Riyadh” over differences, supposedly concerning “human rights and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Reuters reported.

The same line of reasoning was parroted, with little questioning, by many other major Western media sources, falsely suggesting that ‘human rights’, along with other righteous reasons, are the main priority of the US and Western foreign policy agenda.

And, since these analyses are often shaped by Western interests, they tend to be selective in reading the larger context. If one is to rely exclusively or heavily on the Western understanding of the massive geopolitical changes around

the world, one is sure to be misled. Western media wants us to believe that the strong political stances taken by Arab countries – neutrality in the case of war, growing closeness to China and Russia, lowering oil output, etc – are done solely to ‘send a message’ to Washington, or to punish the West for intervening in Arab affairs.

Seen through a wider lens, however, these assumptions are either half-truths or entirely fabricated. For example, the OPeC+ decision to lower oil output on 5 October was the only reasonable strategy to apply when the global market’s demand for energy is low. Additionally, Arab neutrality is an equally reasonable approach considering that Washington and its Western allies are not the only global forces that matter to the Arabs. It is equally untrue that the Middle east’s growing affinity with Asia is borne out of recent dramatic events, but a process that began nearly two decades ago, specifically a year following the US invasion of Iraq. In 2004, China and the Arab League established the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.

CASCF officially represented the Chinese government and all 22 members of the Arab League, eventually serving as the main coordination platform between China and the Arabs. This has given China the advantage of investing in a collective strategy to develop trade, economic and political ties with the entirety of the Arab world. On the other hand, Arabs, too, had the leverage of negotiating major economic deals with China that could potentially benefit multiple Arab states simultaneously.

An extremely important caveat is that CASCF was predicated in what is known as the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.” Based on the Westphalian norms of state sovereignty, the five principles seem to be founded on an entirely different paradigm of foreign relations, compared to the West’s approach to the Middle east and the Global South, in general, extending from the colonial periods to the neo-colonialism of post-World War II: mutual respect for “territorial integrity and sovereignty”, “non-aggression”, “non-interference”, and so on.

Chinese-Arab relations continue to follow this model to this day, with very little deviation. This validates the claim that collective Arab political attitudes towards China and Xi’s visit to the Middle east are hardly an outcome of any sudden shift of policies resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war of recent months.

This is not to suggest that Arab and Chinese relations with the US and the West had no impact on the nature of the speed of Chinese-Arab ties. Indeed, the Chinese model of ‘peaceful coexistence’ seems to challenge the henceforth modus operandi at work in the Middle east.

In 2021, China announced projects to build a thousand schools in Iraq, a piece of news that occupied substantial space in Arab media coverage. The same can be said about China’s growing economic – not just trade –influence in Arab countries.

China’s lucrative Belt and Road Initiative, announced in 2013, fits seamlessly into the political infrastructure of Arab-Chinese ties, which were built in

previous years. According to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Riyadh was the largest recipient of Chinese investments within the BRI during the first half of 2022.

Starting in March, Saudi Arabia agreed in principle to sell its oil to China using the Chinese Yuan instead of the US dollar. When implemented, this decision will have irreversible repercussions on the global market but also on the future status of the dollar.

Assuming that such mammoth changes in global geopolitics were an outcome of the immediate need for the Arabs to ‘send a message’ will continue to impair the West’s ability to truly appreciate that the changes underway, not only in the Middle east but worldwide, are part of permanent shifts to the world’s political map. The sooner the West achieves this realisation, the better.

Considering all of this, it would be unfair – in fact, misguided – to suggest that large political entities like China and Arab countries combined are shaping their foreign policy agendas, thus staking their futures, on knee-jerk political reactions to the attitude of a single American President or administration.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is ‘Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak out’. His other books include ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA).

Xi’s Saudi Arabia trip signals multipolarity in the Middle East The unavoidable crash

GIVEN THE GROUND REALITIES, WHETHER BEIJING WILL OUST WASHINGTON REMAINS TO BE SEEN. THE U.S. MUST STEM THE EROSION OF INFLUENCE TO PRESERVE THE RULES-BASED ORDER. THE OUTCOME OF XI-MBS MEETINGS WILL DETERMINE THE COURSE OF AMERICA’S ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ARAB WORLD

tiPPinSiGHtS EDITORIAL BOARD

ReSPONDING to the Chinese President’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the National Security Council spokesman, John Kirby, said that Riyadh remained a key ally and issued a warning on China. he said that America is “not asking nations to choose between the U.S. and China.” Still, he pointed to Beijing’s “manner” as “not conducive to preserving the international rulesbased order.” That the White house felt necessary to issue such a warning, points to the shifting geopolitical landscape.

Riyadh is extending a warm welcome and rolling out the red (in fact, purple) carpet for the Chinese President. The implication is clear –China is a valued partner, at par with or, at least, no less than America.

But the level of ease and camaraderie between President Xi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is bound to be different. The reason is that the two nations and leaders have much in common.

Beijing and Riyadh carry a blotted human right records. Yet, the two maintain a “no interference in domestic policy” rule. It means that the Crown Prince, and most likely the press, will not raise uneasy topics. There will be no criticism, condemnation, or calls for course correction. Accepting each other’s authoritarian regimes and forms of government, indeed, makes for a smooth platform.

Beyond acceptance lies the burgeoning trade relationship. Today, Saudi Arabia is China’s largest oil supplier, having replaced Russia. America is no longer the country’s largest trading partner – Beijing is. In 2021, their bilateral trade was pegged at 87 billion dollars.

In return, Saudi Arabia has bought into President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese firms are building megaprojects and setting up 5G infrastructure in the Arab country. China Mobile International has inked a deal “to advance the digital media ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.” Beijing has sold drones, warplanes, and other strategic weapons to Riyadh. The Arab state’s bountiful oil and natural gas reserves, international ports, and financial markets are a big draw for the Chinese.

But, it is almost certain that President Xi has

dreams larger than profitable trade deals and a favorable opinion. Beijing wants to cement its geopolitical presence. It intends to breach Washington’s sphere of influence. The third-term President’s visit to the Middle east signals his intentions.

President Xi is not stopping with high-level meetings with Saudi royalty and officials. Besides the bilateral summit, he and MBS will head a China-Gulf summit with the GCC. The leaders of Oman, Qatar, the United Arab emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain are expected to attend. Also on the agenda is a meeting between the Chinese leader and the leaders of the Arab League.

Strategic partnership agreements are expected to be signed during the three-day visit.

President Xi is likely to seek more favorable energy deals. Weapon sales are expected to be finalized, with the growing Chinese arms industry looking to expand its markets. Saudi Arabia used to be America’s backyard in the Middle east. The U.S. remains Riyadh’s key security partner. But, over the past few decades, cracks have appeared between the two nations.

Riyadh was miffed for being kept out of the Iran nuclear deal. The Arab world was surprised when America did not respond to the missile attacks unleashed by Iran-backed Yemeni houthi rebels on Saudi’s oil production facilities. The murder of Saudi journalist and American citizen Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul once again racked up tensions that had begun to die down since the 9/11 terror strikes. MBS-led oilproducing cartel’s decision to cut oil production, ignoring Washington’s request, led to a new low.

Despite the many challenges, Washington and Riyadh have managed to keep their relations from severing. The kingdom still needs America’s military might to keep its enemies in the region at bay. For now, Beijing cannot provide the military support the kingdom needs on land or in the Persian Gulf. But, the desert sands are forever shifting with the changing winds. China is building its military might by leaps and bounds. Arab nations are no longer docilely following Washington’s lead in foreign policy. Oil and security remain critical currencies in the region.

Given the ground realities, whether Beijing will oust Washington remains to be seen. The U.S. must stem the erosion of influence to preserve the rules-based order. The outcome of XiMBS meetings will determine the course of America’s engagement with the Arab world.

Project Syndicate NOURIEL ROUBINI

The world economy is lurching toward an unprecedented confluence of economic, financial, and debt crises, following the explosion of deficits, borrowing, and leverage in recent decades. In the private sector, the mountain of debt includes that of households (such as mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, student loans, personal loans), businesses and corporations (bank loans, bond debt, and private debt), and the financial sector (liabilities of bank and nonbank institutions). In the public sector, it includes central, provincial, and local government bonds and other formal liabilities, as well as implicit debts such as unfunded liabilities from pay-as-you-go pension schemes and health-care systems – all of which will continue to grow as societies age. Just looking at explicit debts, the figures are staggering. Globally, total private- and public-sector debt as a share of GDP rose from 200% in 1999 to 350% in 2021. The ratio is now 420% across advanced economies, and 330% in China. In the United States, it is 420%, which is higher than during the Great Depression and after World War II.

Of course, debt can boost economic activity if borrowers invest in new capital (machinery, homes, public infrastructure) that yields returns higher than the cost of borrowing. But much borrowing goes simply to finance consumption spending above one’s income on a persistent basis – and that is a recipe for bankruptcy. Moreover, investments in “capital” can also be risky, whether the borrower is a household buying a home at an artificially inflated price, a corporation seeking to expand too quickly regardless of returns, or a government that is spending the money on “white elephants” (extravagant but useless infrastructure projects).

Such over-borrowing has been going on for decades, for various reasons. The democratization of finance has allowed income-strapped households to finance consumption with debt. Center-right governments have persistently cut taxes without also cutting spending, while center-left governments have spent generously on social programs that aren’t fully funded with sufficient higher taxes. And tax policies that favor debt over equity, abetted by central banks’ ultra-loose monetary and credit policies, has fueled a spike in borrowing in both the private and public sectors. Years of quantitative easing (Qe) and credit easing kept borrowing costs near zero, and in some cases even negative (as in europe and Japan until recently). By 2020, negative-yielding dollar-equivalent public debt was $17 trillion, and in some Nordic countries, even mortgages had negative nominal interest rates.

The explosion of unsustainable debt ratios implied that

many borrowers – households, corporations, banks, shadow banks, governments, and even entire countries – were insolvent “zombies” that were being propped up by low interest rates (which kept their debt-servicing costs manageable). During both the 2008 global financial crisis and the COVID-19 crisis, many insolvent agents that would have gone bankrupt were rescued by zero- or negative-interest-rate policies, Qe, and outright fiscal bailouts.

But now, inflation – fed by the same ultra-loose fiscal, monetary, and credit policies – has ended this financial Dawn of the Dead. With central banks forced to increase interest rates in an effort to restore price stability, zombies are experiencing sharp increases in their debt-servicing costs. For many, this represents a triple whammy, because inflation is also eroding real household income and reducing the value of household assets, such as homes and stocks. The same goes for fragile and overleveraged corporations, financial institutions, and governments: they face sharply rising borrowing costs, falling incomes and revenues, and declining asset values all at the same time.

Worse, these developments are coinciding with the return of stagflation (high inflation alongside weak growth). The last time advanced economies experienced such conditions was in the 1970s. But at least back then, debt ratios were very low. Today, we are facing the worst aspects of the 1970s (stagflationary shocks) alongside the worst aspects of the global financial crisis. And this time, we cannot simply cut interest rates to stimulate demand.

After all, the global economy is being battered by persistent short- and medium-term negative supply shocks that are reducing growth and increasing prices and production costs. These include the pandemic’s disruptions to the supply of labor and goods; the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on commodity prices; China’s increasingly disastrous zeroCOVID policy; and a dozen other medium-term shocks –from climate change to geopolitical developments – that will create additional stagflationary pressures.

Unlike in the 2008 financial crisis and the early months of COVID-19, simply bailing out private and public agents with loose macro policies would pour more gasoline on the inflationary fire. That means there will be a hard landing – a deep, protracted recession – on top of a severe financial crisis. As asset bubbles burst, debt-servicing ratios spike, and inflation-adjusted incomes fall across households, corporations, and governments, the economic crisis and the financial crash will feed on each other.

To be sure, advanced economies that borrow in their own currency can use a bout of unexpected inflation to reduce the real value of some nominal long-term fixed-rate debt. With governments unwilling to raise taxes or cut spending to reduce their deficits, central-bank deficit monetization will once again be seen as the path of least resistance. But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Once the inflation genie gets out of the bottle – which is what will happen when central banks abandon the fight in the face of the looming economic and financial crash – nominal and real borrowing costs will surge. The mother of all stagflationary debt crises can be postponed, not avoided.

Middle eaSt Monitor

CHINESE-ARAB RELATIONS CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS MODEL TO THIS DAY, WITH VERY LITTLE DEVIATION. THIS VALIDATES THE CLAIM THAT COLLECTIVE ARAB POLITICAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHINA AND XI’S VISIT TO THE MIDDLE EAST ARE HARDLY AN OUTCOME OF ANY SUDDEN SHIFT OF POLICIES RESULTING FROM THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR OF RECENT MONTHS

Nouriel Roubini is the Professor Emeritus of Economics at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is a former senior economist for international affairs in the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration and has worked for the International Monetary Fund, the US Federal Reserve, and the World Bank.

CORPORATE CORNER Imran responsIble for prevaIlIng mess In country, says memon

HBL offers industry’s first digital car financing facility

Karachi: HBL has launched Pakistan’s firstof-its-kind offering in the banking industry. HBL clients can now finance a new car through the HBL Mobile App channel without visiting the branch. Through this facility, HBL’s pre-selected conventional and Islamic banking clients can now digitally apply for car finance via HBL mobile app, a paperless process through which the facility is approved instantly. Clients can also check and track real-time application status through the HBL Mobile App till the disbursement of the facility. The initiative offers ease and convenience to clients through digitalization in line with the vision of the Bank of becoming a “Technology Company with a Banking License” Commenting on the initiative, Aamir Kureshi, Head Consumer, Agriculture and SME Banking – HBL, said “HBL is proud to launch a totally digitalized HBL Car Financing facility under Conventional & Islamic Banking via HBL Mobile app. This follows our earlier successes of instant paperless loan approval of Credit Card & personal loans.” pr

Faysal Bank declared ‘Best Bank of Year 2021’

KARACHI Staff report

sInDHMinister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon on Thursday said that Bani Gala has been giving a deserted look as Imran Khan camped in Lahore ever since formation of PTI government in Punjab and enjoying free luxuries on the expenses of Punjab government.

“Even daily food is being provided by Punjab Chief Minister’s House at Zaman Park.” He said that according to his personal opinion Imran Khan would not leave the Punjab and KPK governments until the last moment. Talking to the media at Sindh Assembly Media Corner along with Provincial Minister for Food, Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla, the minister recalled that during the no-confidence motion, Imran Khan used all tactics to save his government. “Even electricity of the national Assembly was turned off. In the last nine hours, he (Imran) went to every extent. He dissolved the national Assembly unconstitutionally. So Imran Khan will not do any such thing that stops his free luxuries.”

Member Sindh Assembly Ghanwar Khan Isran was also present on the

occasion. Sharjeel Memon said that Imran Khan had caused irreparable damage to the country. At present, the country is facing the challenge of huge inflation and added that the common man was worried as inflation had hit people hard. The minister said that Imran Khan was responsible for all this mess who wasted the nation’s time due to his ego and delayed to approach for an IMF program during his government.

He said that Imran Khan himself had admitted it and called it his mistake in TV interviews. He added that the effects of Imran Khan’s government policies continued till today and the economy of the country has not been able to recover. He said that Imran Khan put the future of the nation at stake for his politics.

He said that two years have passed since the PTI minister talked about the fake licenses of pilots, but even today national airlines are not allowed to operate in many countries. It left many pilots jobless. The minister said that Imran Khan wants to push the country into a further uncertain situation. The Provincial Information Minister further said that Imran Khan should be held accountable for what he had done to the country under the law so that this person does not get another chance to deceive the people again.

The provincial minister said that no one wants to run away from the elections, we want the elections to be held tomorrow. But the economic situation of the country is not in good condition. The elections cause billions of rupees expenditure in exchequer.

The Provincial Information Minister said that the resources of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are being spent on Imran Khan and his adventures, both the provincial governments have left the people at their mercy. He added that the law and order situation in KPK and Punjab is at its worst, people are suffering from inflation. The PTI governments have completely failed to provide relief to the people. He said that traders in KPK are receiving extortion slips and threats.

Street crime has increased in Punjab. The prices of flour have crossed Rs. 100 per kg in some areas of Punjab. He said that Sindh is the only province

which is committed to its people. Despite the economic difficulties efforts are being made to provide all possible relief to the people of the province.

He said that People’s Bus Service has been launched from Karachi to provide affordable, comfortable travel facilities to the public. After its operations in Karachi, Larkana and Hyderabad, people’s bus service successful test drive was conducted in Sukkur the other day. In the current month its formal operations for the public will be started in Sukkur.

He said that Punjab and KPK are facing flour shortage and rates of the commodity skyrocket due to non-serious policies of provincial governments of PTI. He said that the Sindh government is providing flour to the public at Rs. 65per kg. The subsidized flour is being provided to the public through 1100 stalls and mobile shops in every city and area of the province. The minister said that discussion on the recent rains and floods is under way in Sindh assembly so as to highlight the disaster caused by natural calamity and make effective policies for the rehabilitation phase.He said that the Sindh government is making every possible effort to rehabilitate the flood victims, all the resources of the provincial government have been diverted to complete the gigantic task.

Karachi: CFA

Bank Limited (FBL) was

“Best Bank of the Year 2021” amongst mid-size banks of the country. Mr.

Jameel Ahmed -

Hussain

the award

Chairman HMR Group hosts lunch in honor of Sindh Governor

Limited

Bank of Pakistan who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Hussain said, “Alhamdolillah, we at Faysal Bank are honored and thankful to Allah Almighty for this coveted award. Our recognition today is a culmination of our journey of belief, planning, commitment and dedication, supported all the way by our Sponsors, Board of Directors, State Bank of Pakistan, employees and above all our customers.” FBL carries the highest local Sharia rating of SCFR1 by the International Islamic Rating Agency and provides the best and widest range of Shariah compliant banking products and services to meet their customer’s Halal banking needs with convenience. With an expanding network of almost 700 Islamic branches, Faysal Bank has a footprint in 253 cities/towns across Pakistan. pr

Costa Coffee sets foot in Pakistan

at

provide customers the chance to relax and unwind with friends and family in a warm and welcoming environment, offering signature Flat White and a range of Costa Coffee drinks made with the brands famous Mocha Italia Signature Blend coffee beans. As well as a range of hot and cold drinks, the store will also serve a passionately crafted local assortment of savoury and sweet treats. For those on the go, to store will offer a wide range of Grab and Go products. “We are truly delighted to be partnering with Gerry's Group in bringing Costa Coffee to Pakistan. Coffee lovers in Pakistan can now enjoy a great cup of coffee, one that's captured the heart of our coffee fans in the UK and globally for the past 51 years,”said Mr. Vinay Nair, Head of Emerging Markets, Costa Coffee. pr

Bank Islami receives inclusion award on International Day for PWDs

Karachi: BankIslami, Pakistan’s leading Islamic bank, has received an Inclusion Award for its significant contribution towards Financial Inclusion in the BINAE Inclusion Awards 2022 held on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The ceremony was organized by the BINAE Education Foundation as part of a full-day event for the Sindh Culture Family Festival held at Maritime Museum in Karachi. The award was presented to BankIslami as an acknowledgement and appreciation of its significant contribution for the cause of Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) with the aim to empower and assimilate them in the mainstream social and economic activities. pr

Chairman HMR Group, Haji Rafiq Pardesi welcomed Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori who was invited by him for lunch at his head office. Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori thanked Mr Rafiq Pardesi and his team for hosting lunch in his honour.

Speaking on the auspicious occasion, Sindh Governor Sindh Muhammad Kamran Tessori said that all of us have witnessed Dubai transforming into a beautiful city out of a desert, so why can't we beautify the city of ours? The basic thing is your intention. When there is a will, there is a way. Make commitment and efforts to change this city into a modern town, and soon you will be able to show this city to others with a pride. The government's job is to reward those who want to do good things and make efforts to bring out positive change in the society. Unfortunately, instead of reward, we take them

to task. We must keep on doing good things with positive intentions. If this city develops, then the province and the country will develop. The construction industry plays an important role in the economic prosperity of the country. The doors of the Governor House are open to all for 24 hours. Governor Sindh Kamran Tessori pointed out that if the countries who got freedom after us, may grow to a developed nation, why cannot we? I am sure that the project like HMR Waterfront would be a useful venture for the country's economy, enhancing its financial status.

PVC market growing with wide array of downstream applications

KARACHI pr

With growing consumer awareness about new construction materials and sustainability, the PVC downstream market in Pakistan is expected to witness an upward trend in the coming years. A recent report by PACRA expects the local construction industry to record growth of 6 percent this year. Over the next seven years, the sector is expected to grow by a whopping 92 percent as Pakistan enters the rehabilitation phase in the aftermath of catastrophic floods and CPEC-related activities revive as well. As a result, the demand for PVC applications and other construction materials is also likely to gain traction.

According to Muhammad Idrees, Chief Commercial Officer of Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited (EPCL), “The PVC market in Pakistan has undergone a phase of growth and diversification in the last few years. To meet the market requirements, we have continued to scale our operations and completed Plant expansion to 295,000 tons annually. Last year, we contributed USD 165 million in import substitution through local PVC & VCM production and generated USD 28 million in foreign exchange through exports.” He further mentioned that due to Pakistan’s inherit advantages and claose proximity to growing regional markets, there is huge export potential for PVC downstream products, which should be capitalized by local manufacturers.

CORPORATE CORNER

Green budgeting in public sector essential to tackle climate change

Karachi: ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) backs green budgeting for the public sector everywhere to implement climate commitments and achieve their environmental goals. In Green budgeting: a toolkit for public sector finance professionals published today, ACCA sets out the reasons for considering green budgeting and the methods that can be adopted. It highlights the crucial role that finance professionals must play in making action on climate change a reality. John Lelliott, OBE, FCCA, chair of ACCA’s Global Forum for Sustainability and former finance director at the UK Crown Estate, wrote a foreword to the toolkit. He says: ‘Action to address the climate crisis requires change across the entire public sector. Climate considerations must be central to public sector organisations’ decisionmaking processes. The budget cycle is at the heart of the way organisations implement their objectives.’ Green budgeting supports progress towards national and international climate commitments and goals; promotes environmentally responsive policy making; fosters transparency and helps investors as they look to fund sustainable activities through financial instruments such as green bonds. pr

KiK pushes for stronger safety programs in Pakistan

Karachi: During inspections in Pakistan this week, the CEO of textile company KiK, Patrick Zahn, announced a stronger engagement of his company towards more safety for workers and buildings. In this context Zahn emphasized that it remains his goal to bring the successful initiative Accord to Pakistan. The Accord is an independent, legally binding agreement between companies from the textile industry and trade unions in Pakistan and aims to create a safer, more socially responsible, and healthier garment and textile industry. KiKs engagement in Pakistan

Thanks to the Building Safety Initiative that KiK launched in 2017, the company already has significant experience in Pakistan. For the CEO of KiK, Patrick Zahn, it is also personally important to initiate a strong agreement for Pakistan with the Accord to be able to achieve further improvements: "In the last five years, we have already achieved a lot in the areas of fire protection and electrical safety with our 'Pakistan Building Safety Initiative'. pr

Bayer's playing key role in promotion of agricultural sector: Gardezi

LAHORE pr

Head of Regulatory Science Asia Pacific Buyer Company, Dr Bjorn Roepke and Head of Regulatory Science South East Asia and Pakistan of Bayer's Company, Ms Maria Luisa Pahuyo called on Punjab Minister of Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi in Lahore.

They discussed matters of mutual interest during the meeting. On the occasion, Provincial Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahania Gurdizi appreciated the role of Bayer's Pakistan in the

process of discovery, manufacturing, development and commercialization of new products in the agricultural sector.

The Minister reiterated Punjab Government's commitment to create an enabling environment for the adoption of modern agriculture technologies essential for food security and environmental sustainability.

On the occasion, Dr Bajorn Roepke appraised about Bayer Pakistan's contribution in particular through the introduction and mass adoption of highyielding hybrid maize seed, allowing for average yields to increase five-fold.

Society Pakistan hosted the 19th edition of its prestigious Annual Excellence Awards in Karachi to recognize the outstanding performances of financial institutions, corporates and professionals. Faysal

declared

Yousaf

– President & CEO, Faysal Bank

received

from Mr.

Governor, State

LahOrE: London’s favorite coffee shop comes to Lahore, starting with opening the first retail store in December and the second store planned for 2023 in Karachi. The store, located

DHA Lahore Phase 6, Raya Commercial will

KARACHI pr

ChIna’s XI Meets saudI Crown prInCe on hIGh-stakes vIsIt

RIYADH AFP

CHINESEPresident Xi Jinping met Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince on Thursday on an Arab outreach visit that will yield billions of dollars in deals and has earned a rebuke from Washington.

About $30 billion in agreements will be signed on Thursday, Saudi state media said, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.

Xi, who flew in on Wednesday, was greeted with a handshake by 37-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the world’s biggest oil exporter, at Yamamah Palace.

Arab leaders also began to converge on the Saudi capital ahead of a summit with Xi, the leader of the world’s number-two economy, who will hold separate talks with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council before leaving on Friday. China, the top consumer of Saudi

oil, has been strengthening its ties with a region that has long relied on the United States for military protection but which has voiced concerns the American presence could be downgraded.

After Xi’s arrival on Wednesday, with formation jets flying overhead, Saudi state media announced 34 invest-

Modi’s party set for landslide election win in India’s Gujarat state

AHMEDABAD ReuteRs

The

The BJP led in more than 80 percent of seats out of a total 182 in the early counting of votes and was on its way to wrest a larger majority than in 2017, when it won 99 seats in the last state assembly elections.

The party was also set to surpass its best results in Gujarat when it won 127 seats in 2002.

Modi remains widely popular in the country, partly due to economic growth and also because of his strong base among India’s Hindu majority population, despite critics pointing to rising inflation, unemployment, and growing religious polarisation. He is eyeing a third term as prime minister in 2024 and campaigned extensively across the state in the runup to the Gujarat vote.

The BJP’s main opposition in Gujarat came from the Indian National Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which emerged in 2012 out of an anti-corruption movement.

The 137-year-old Congress party led in 26 seats, far below the 77 seats it won in 2017, while the AAP was ahead in nine seats having won none the last time.

In another state election in the small northern state of Himachal Pradesh, the BJP was also hoping to ride on Modi’s aggressive campaigning to retain power. The BJP and the Congress were neck and neck for seats in the 68-seat assembly.

Victories in both Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will come as a welcome boost for the BJP, which lost control of the municipal corporation in the national capital Delhi to the AAP, in results announced on Wednesday.

ment agreements in sectors including green hydrogen, information technology, transport and construction.

The official Saudi Press Agency did not provide details but said two-way trade totalled 304 billion Saudi riyals ($80 billion) in 2021 and 103 billion Saudi riyals ($27 billion) in the third

quarter of 2022.

State broadcaster Al Ekhbariya said another 20 agreements worth 110 billion riyals ($29.3 billion) were due to be signed on Thursday.

Riyadh-based diplomats said Thursday was expected to be devoted to meetings including with King Salman, the 86-year-old monarch, and his son, Prince Mohammed.

‘Raising Pace’ of cooPeRation: The crown prince sees China as a critical partner in his sweeping Vision 2030 agenda, seeking the involvement of Chinese firms in ambitious megaprojects meant to diversify the economy away from fossil fuels. Key Saudi projects include the futuristic $500 billion megacity NEOM, a so-called cognitive city that will depend heavily on facial recognition and surveillance technology.

Saudi investment minister Khalid al-Falih said this week’s visit “will contribute to raising the pace of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries”, offering Chinese companies and investors “rewarding returns”, according to SPA.

UK turns to army as crippling strikes loom

Britain on Thursday said it was preparing to enlist the army to cover ambulances and border security before a wave of strikes this month as workers demand higher wages.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman warned the public against flying over Christmas, after passport control officers voted to walk out, joining many sectors which have gone on strike this year as decades-high inflation erodes the value of earnings.

“If they go ahead with those strikes there will be undeniable, serious disruption caused to many thousands of people who have holiday plans,” she told reporters. The Border Force agency is training 2,000 soldiers to back up its personnel, officials said.

The Ministry of Defence is also in talks with the National Health Service, Downing Street said, after ambulance drivers voted to join nurses in going on strike this month.

“These sorts of rolling strikes will cause disruption for everyone,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman told reporters, reiterating the government’s refusal to countenance inflation-busting pay deals.

“And that does also include our military personnel who will be required, unfortunately, to have to step in and backfill some of these vital roles that we need to help keep the country moving.”

Sunak on Wednesday hinted that ministers were preparing new legislation to outlaw strikes in critical sectors.

Currently, only Britain’s police, military and prison guards are barred by law from striking.

“What we’re looking at is, are there other areas that we should include in that?” Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told BBC radio Thursday.

“Health would be one to look at and other areas of critical infrastructure,” she said, while adding that the government had yet to look at banning strikes by teachers, who have gone on strike in Scotland.

us denounces ‘despicable’ afghan public execution; presses taliban in talks

WASHINGTON AFP

The United States on Wednesday said the Taliban’s “despicable” public execution in Afghanistan showed a return to the group’s dark past as it pressed on rights during a fresh meeting. “We’ve seen despicable videos that have circulated online in recent days,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “This indicates to us that the Taliban seek a return to their regressive and abusive practices of the 1990s,” Price said. “It would be an affront to the dignity and the human rights of all Afghans,” Price said, calling it a “clear failure by the Taliban to uphold their promises.” The execution was announced just as the US point man on Afghanistan, Thomas West, met in Abu Dhabi with a Taliban delegation led by their defense minister Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of the group’s founder Mullah Omar. West said he raised the “deteriorating human rights situation” including the treatment of women and girls, who have been deprived of education since the Taliban swept back into power. “The country’s economic and social stability and the Taliban’s domestic and international legitimacy depend enormously on their treatment of Afghanistan’s mothers and daughters,” West wrote on Twitter. The Taliban have said they plan to fully enforce aspects of Islamic law including stonings, floggings and the amputation of limbs from thieves. The United States starting under former president Donald Trump’s administration negotiated with the Taliban to seek security guarantees for the withdrawal of US troops, who left in 2021 after two decades on orders of President Joe Biden. US mediators had initially sought assurances on rights from the Taliban but a tentative dialogue with a range of Afghans and the Western-backed government collapsed as the insurgents swiftly captured the country.

putin vows more strikes on ukraine energy infrastructure

MOScOW Agencies

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday vowed to continue attacking Ukrainian energy systems despite global criticism of strikes that have left millions without electricity and water at the start of winter. “There’s a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. Yes, we do that. But who started it?” Putin said at an awards ceremony in the Kremlin, adding that the criticism would “not interfere with our combat missions.” He presented the strikes as a response to a blast on Moscow’s bridge to annexed Crimea and other attacks, accusing Kyiv of blowing up power lines from the Kursk nuclear power plant and not supplying water to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. “Not supplying water to a city of more than a million people is an act of genocide,” Putin said. He accused the West of “complete silence” on this and of bias against Russia.

Civil society wants voice heard at COP15 biodiversity meeting

MONTREAL

Protests, public debates and film screenings: this is the other side of the COP15 summit, where NGOs are mobilising to raise awareness of the need to protect biodiversity and lobbying for a major deal to do just that.

To coordinate and amplify their voices, over a hundred organisations recently banded together to create the “COP15 Collective” ahead of the December 7-19 conference in Montreal.

“It’s no longer just a question of environmentalists. Everyone is around the table, everyone wants to do something and it’s super encouraging,” the group’s spokeswoman Anne-Celine Guyon told AFP, calling it a “historic” moment for Canada’s Quebec province.

And they’ve vowed to be heard: inside the convention centre where delegates are meeting, participating in the negotiation

process, and marching in the streets.

Meetings that are open to all, humorous and artistic workshops, an immersive wall projection on the impacts of oil drilling on whales — some sixty events are planned around the conference in Montreal.

The top event will arguably be a “great march for the living” planned in the city’s downtown on December 10. Organisers expect thousands of participants, but acknowledge that it’s far fewer than the half a million who came out to march with climate activist Greta Thunberg in September 2019.

‘Political momentum’: After the pandemic disrupted student gatherings over the past two years, COP15 will be “an important meeting to reconnect, to renew relationships”, says 20-year-old Albert Lalonde, a project manager with the David Suzuki Foundation.

Due to exams though, students — usually on the frontlines of climate protests — may not be as present at COP15, Lalonde adds.

Despite the fact that no government

leaders are planning to attend except Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, all are hoping the COP15 summit achieves “a political momentum similar to the Paris agreement” with the adoption of an “ambitious global framework,” says Eddy Perez, another spokesperson for the collective.

A recent Greenpeace poll showed that, in Canada, eight out of ten people believe the government should lead by example by making strong commitments to protect nature.

“People are getting the message that this is important, that we are going through a crisis, that there are thousands of species that are in danger on our planet,” believes Marie-Josee Beliveau of Greenpeace’s Canadian branch.

Full of hope for this “crucial meeting,” she said negotiators should know “a very mobilised civil society” is closely following the talks.

There is “a lot of interest, all of a sudden, for the issues of protecting biodiversity, probably as we have never felt,” suggests

Anne-Sophie Dore, an environmental lawyer and lecturer. She adds that real educational work re-

mains to be done, as “most people didn’t even know that biodiversity COPs existed compared to climate COPs.”

LONDON Agencies

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was headed for a landslide victory in his home state of Gujarat on Thursday, a big boost to the Hindu nationalist party ahead of general elections due in 2024.

western industrial state is a bastion of the BJP, which has not lost state assembly elections there since 1995. Modi was Gujarat’s chief minister for 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014.

Amid criticiSm, BABAr AzAm confidEnt of tEAm mAking A comEBAck

MULTAN Staff RepoRt

PakiSTanSkipper Babar azam has said that efforts would be made to play cricket game as per planning and conditions to win the second test match against England, saying mistakes of the previous game would also be overcome.

addressing a press conference on Thursday at Multan Cricket Stadium, Babar azam said that the pitch looks dry which would be helpful for spinners.

He said that discussion was underway and processed for the announcement of the final eleven in the second test match. He said that planning could not be changed after a single match or inning but the team would play the game with full confidence.

He said that players were committed and devoted to performing at their best by learning from the mistakes of the previous game.

“The Rawalpindi Test was in our

hands but due to our own mistakes we failed to win the Test match because back-to-back fall of wickets cost us the match,” he said.

He said that the fast bowling combination was being discussed after the injury of Harif Rauf.

To a question, he said that four main

765,000 World cup visitors fall short of Qatar’s expected 1.2m influx

DOHA ReuteRS

Qatar received just over 765,000 visitors during the first two weeks of the World Cup, according to an organisers’ report obtained by Reuters, falling short of the country’s expectations for an influx of 1.2 million during the month-long event. a huge surge in visitors at this stage is unlikely with only eight teams staying on in Doha, and eight games left out of the 64 in the tournament that began on november 20. Organisers had previously identified the peak period for international visitors to be november 24-28 during the busy group stage, when 32 teams were playing four matches every day. The December 7 report was prepared by the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC), which organises the tournament, and said that the first 17 days of the World Cup saw 765,859 international visitors, more than half of whom have now departed. The report registered 1.33 million match ticketholders and 3.09 million tickets sold across the eight stadiums in Qatar for the tournament that ends on December 18. a Qatari official, who did not wish to be named, confirmed the figures. The SC did not respond to Reuters‘ requests for comment. The tournament in Qatar, the first to be held in the Middle East, is considered one of the most expensive in terms of tickets, hotels and alcohol, sales of which are restricted. Fewer international visitors than originally forecast led to an unexpected glut of accommodation but has also averted major over-crowding or traffic headaches in Qatar, the smallest country by both population and area to host the World Cup.

The influx of visitors represents a 25 percent boost to the country’s resident population of three million, of which only about 10-12 percent are Qataris.

fast bowlers played the game of all three formats but now we have decided to take care of the main bowlers by keeping in view the upcoming important matches and series.

He brushed aside the notion that he is under any sort of pressure ahead of the second Test against England in Multan.

He reiterated that he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, “i am under no pressure and always try to give my best on the field,” he added.

“i don’t have to prove anything regarding my credentials as a player as i always tried to enjoy my cricket and learn from my mistakes,” Babar said. “i don’t focus on what people say about me, my only aim was to help Pakistan win with my performance,” he added.

Pakistan has made comebacks in the past and can do the same in the future as well,” he said. The Pakistan skipper also spoke about the future of veteran batter azhar ali, who has struggled for runs in the recent domestic season.

“azhar ali is a senior player and i will support him as captain but it is up to azhar ali himself to decide his future,” he said.

He said that planning for all formats of the game was different and added that Pakistan would enter the ground with the best strategies and best playing eleven with an aim to win the match.

England recall Wood, Pope retains keeper’s gloves for Multan Test

MULTAN ReuteRS

England replaced injured all-rounder Liam Livingstone with fit-again fast bowler Mark Wood in the only change to their squad for the second Test against Pakistan, with Ollie Pope retaining the wicketkeeper’s gloves.

Livingstone has returned home after sustaining a knee injury in his debut Test in Rawalpindi, where England pulled off a remarkable 74run victory for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Wood missed the first Test as he continued his recovery from a hip injury. Ben Foakes, who missed the opener with illness, is now fully recovered but England skipper Ben

Stokes confirmed that Pope, who made 108 in the first innings in Rawalpindi, will continue behind the wicket because of his superior batting.

“i’ll still keep saying that he (Foakes) is the best keeper in the world,” Stokes said on the eve of the match, which begins on Friday.

“it must sound silly to not be picking him but you’ve got to see the conditions we face here. Pakistan is a very hard place to come and win.

“adding Mark Wood into the side gives us the best opportunity to take 20 wickets.

“That’s what we came here to do. We came here to try and win the game of cricket and not be conservative.”

While light faded early in Rawalpindi, morning fog may fur-

ther reduce the playing time in Multan which is why Wood’s return could prove crucial for the visitors.

Off-spinner Will Jacks, who claimed six wickets on his Test debut in Rawalpindi, was also retained.

Skipper Babar azam predicted a dry pitch in Multan with a lot more assistance for the spin bowlers.

“Looks like it will assist the spinners, and you can expect some reverse swing too,” Babar told reporters.

“We’ve nearly finalised the 11 players for the match but we need to take a look at the pitch first.

“We were in charge of the game in Rawalpindi but our batsmen could not finish it. We’ve learnt from our mistakes and will try not to repeat them.”

Ballance leaves Yorkshire amid Rafiq racism row fall-out

LONDON agencieS

Former England batsman Gary Ballance is to leave Yorkshire in search of a “fresh start” following his part in the azeem Rafiq racism row that sent shock waves through the English game.

Ballance, 33, has agreed a release from his Yorkshire deal but will not return to county cricket until 2024 at the earliest.

The Zimbabwe-born left-hander, who represented England in 23 Tests and 16 one-day internationals from 2013-2017, did not play for the White Rose county last season, with his career derailed by racism allegations and mental health struggles.

He was named by Rafiq as one of the Yorkshire team-mates who used racially discriminatory language, something Ballance admitted to and apologised for in a

meeting between the former friends earlier this year.

Ballance is also facing an England and Wales Cricket Board disrepute charge. He subsequently requested the final two years of his Yorkshire contract to be cancelled, with the Headingley-based club agreeing on the understanding he would not play for a rival English county in the 2023 season.

That still leaves open the possibility, however, of Ballance returning to Zimbabwe and making an international comeback with the land of his birth.

“it has been a privilege to play for this great club (Yorkshire),” said Ballance in a statement issued Thursday.

“On a personal level, i have gone through a challenging period — and after much discussion i decided, together with my family, that it would be right to make a change.”

Ballance thanked Yorkshire for their “understanding” and “support” but added: “i hope that my decision will mean that my career can have a fresh start.”

Aqeel, muzammil, Shoaib, mudassar move into semis in national ranking tennis c’ships

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

aqeel khan, Muzammil Murtaza, Muhammad Shoaib and Mudassar Murtaza have moved into semifinals of 35th Federal Cup national Ranking Tennis Championships here at S Dilawar abbas PTF Tennis Complex on Thursday. Top seed aqeel khan faced little resistance from 8th Seed Barkatullah. in the opening set, aqeel served and returned well to finish the set comfortably at 6-1. in the second set which was marked with aces and long rallies and the score went up to 5-5 all as both players held their respective serves, aqeel broke the eleventh game of Barkat by hitting some winners down the line forced out Barkatullah in 7-5. The 4th seed Muzammil Murtaza conveniently won his encounter against upcoming proficient abdullah adnan 6-2, 6-3. in his pursuit of victory he added his foot speed and top spin making him a force to be reckoned with. The 6th Seed Mudassar Murtaza qualified for the semi final when 3rd seed Muhammad abid retired hurt due to injury at 5-0 in the first set. in another men’s singles quarterfinal Muhammad Shoaib toppled Yousaf khalil in a onesided affair 6-2, 6-1. Shoaib served and returned well easing his way to move into the semifinals.

England to continue aggressive strategy: Ben Stokes

MULTAN Staff RepoRt

England Cricket Team’s Captain Ben Stokes said that the team would continue the same aggressive strategy in the second test match against Pakistan as it remained successful in the previous game.

Holding a press conference here at Multan Cricket Stadium after a training session on Thursday, the England cricket team skipper said that the team would enter the ground with one change as Livingstone was being replaced Mark Wood in the playing eleven. He said that after Livingstone’s injury, the Mark Wood would be in and it has been to take advantage of Wood’s bowling speed.

He said that the world-class keeper was the main focus but the recent condition makes it difficult to add him in the playing eleven.

Stokes said that the pitch of Multan Cricket Stadium was looking dry and it would be helpful for reverse swing and for the spinners too. He said that the defending team was being expected to fight back as they have the ability to change the situation and also the cricket was an unpredictable game.

He said that the England team would enter the ground with the same aggressive strategy which remained successful in the previous game.

World Cup braces for quarter-finals as Spain sack coach

DOHA agencieS

Brazil were gearing up for a showdown with Croatia while argentina prepared to face the netherlands as anticipation mounted on Thursday on the eve the World Cup quarter-finals.

after three weeks of pulsating action, just eight teams are left standing as the 32nation tournament heads into the final rounds of the knockout competition after a two-day break.

a blockbuster set of quarter-finals gets under way on Friday when five-times champions Brazil face 2018 runners-up Croatia. That clash is the appetiser for another heavyweight World Cup collision between Lionel Messi’s argentina and three-time losing finalists the netherlands.

On Saturday, Morocco will carry the flag for african football in their quarter-final clash with Portugal before holders France face England in an eagerly anticipated showdown.

Wins for argentina and Brazil on Friday would set up a titanic semi-final between the two South american heavyweights.

For now though Brazil are looking no further than Friday’s assignment against Croatia at the Education City Stadium in Doha. “They have individual quality and collective quality as well as a resilience and persistence,” Brazil coach Tite said of Croatia.

“We are aware of their virtues but my focus is on maintaining our standards and whoever plays best will go through.” Croatia captain Luka Modric said Thursday that his side were determined to progress beyond the last eight. “We did a great thing by going to the quarter-finals, but regardless of that we would like to do more,” the Real Madrid midfielder said. “We have to play our best match. and if we do that we have a chance of winning.”

– Ronaldo bust-up denied –

On Saturday, all eyes will be on France and England’s battle at the al-Bayt Stadium,

the Bedouin-tent inspired structure located in the desert outside Doha.

England said Thursday that forward Raheem Sterling is set to return to the squad after initially leaving the team’s World Cup base following a break-in at his family home.

Sterling did not feature in England’s squad for the 3-0 last-16 win against Senegal, and it would be a major surprise if the 28-year-old starts against France. in Saturday’s other quarter-final, buoyant Portugal will be looking to end Morocco’s fairytale run to the last eight.

Portugal produced one of the most scintillating displays of the tournament by dismantling Switzerland 6-1 in the last 16 after coach Fernando Santos opted to drop Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo’s replacement, 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, fired a brilliant hat-trick as Portugal ran riot.

according to reports in Portugal, Santos’s bombshell decision to drop Ronaldo

prompted the 37-year-old superstar to threaten to walk out of the team camp. But the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) issued a statement denying the reported bust-up with the former Real Madrid

and Manchester United star. “The FPF clarifies that at no time did the captain of the Selecao, Cristiano Ronaldo, threaten to leave the national team during the stay in Qatar,” said the federation.

PM aPPeaLs to PhiLanthroPists to ‘adoPt’ fLood victiMs by setting uP 100-unit Prefab viLLages

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

PRIMEMinister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday appealed to philanthropists including industrialists, and expatriates to support the government’s flood rehabilitation efforts by replicating the model of building100-unit prefabricated houses for flood victims.

Addressing here at the launch ceremony of prefabricated residential units in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan, the prime minister urged the affluent to ‘adopt’ the flood-hit people of Balochistan and Sindh by providing them the infrastructure equipped with necessary facilities.

The prime minister in September had announced to construct residential units for the people of Tank and Dera Ismail Khan, who were displaced by the massive flashfloods in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa. The project worth Rs140 million was carried out as a gesture of philanthropy by Menzies Aviation and former special assistant to prime minister on aviation Captain

Shujaat Azeem.

Shehbaz Sharif, who handed over keys of the residential units to flood victims, expressed satisfaction that the accommodation comprising two rooms, a kitchenette and a toilet would provide relief to the displaced people.

He said the post-flood damages needed more people to come forward and contribute towards replicating the same model villages and assist the government in amplifying its rehabilitation efforts.

The prime minister mentioned that the recent floods inflicted huge damage to around two million houses, infrastructure and roads, however, he expressed satisfaction that the federal and provincial governments along with private sector put their best efforts to provide relief to the affected people.

He lauded National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the provincial disaster management authorities for carrying out relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood-affected areas.

He said the federal government disbursed Rs 70 billion to the floodstruck people in the provinces through

‘Leaked’ audio reveals exchange on sale of watches

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

A “leaked” recording of a conversation purportedly between Bushra Maneka, spouse of former prime minister Imran Khan, and Zulfi Bukhari, a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to discuss the potential sale of watches surfaced on Thursday.

In the brief, 20-second clip, which appears to be a recorded phone call, the two are heard discussing the sale of watches that apparently are not in Khan’s use, with Bukhari saying he would handle all the arrangements.

The recording was first shared by Hina Pervaz Butt, a lawmaker of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party. It remains unclear how she acquired it. The conversation begins with an exchange of greetings, before Maneka informs Bukhari of the purpose of the call. Maneka begins by telling him “there are some watches […] not in Khan’s use [anymore] that he wants [you] to sell.”

“There a few watches of Khan sahib. He said to have them delivered to you so you can sell them,” she purportedly says.

At this point in the recording, Bukhari agrees to offload the watches. “Sure. I will do it,” he is heard saying. The date on which the conversation occurred remains unclear, with neither of the speakers saying anything to suggest the watches they are seeking to sell were part of the foreign gifts that Khan received from world leaders. However, members of the PML-N were quick to link the two. In a tweet accompanying the recording, Butt accused Maneka of indulging in the “business of watches” at the Prime Minister’s House.

“Bushra Bibi has established Niazi sahib as a confirmed thief,” she declared.

Previously, Khan’s alleged sale of a wristwatch gifted to him by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has drawn much controversy, and was partially responsible for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualifying him from holding public office during the current parliamentary term.

The case centres on a government department known as Toshakhana — which during the Mughal era referred to the treasure houses kept by the subcontinent’s princely rulers to store and display gifts lavished on them. Government officials must declare all gifts to the Cabinet Division, but are allowed to keep those below a certain value.

Benazir Income Support Programme.

Shehbaz Sharif said the armed forces played an important role in reaching out to the people stranded in floods.

He also mentioned the support of friendly countries in extending assistance to Pakistan to help overcome the challenge of flood.

Federal Minister for Planning Dr Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan faced the huge catastrophe of floods, however mentioned that the government’s federal and provincial departments, and civil and military personnel demonstrated collaborative effort to overcome the challenge.

Through corporate social responsibility, he said, the government encouraged the private sector to contribute towards public welfare.

He said Pakistan would hold an international conference aimed at seeking support from the international community for post-flood rehabilitation.

Member Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Assembly Mehmood Ahmed Khan Bhittai lauded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for early implementation of the residential accommodation for the

flood-hit people. He said Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam would support the development endeavours of the government in the interest of people.

Captain Shujaat Azeem said the initiative was significant to accommodate the people in distress affected by the worst impacts of climate change. On PM’s desire, he said, the model village would be replicated in other parts of the country.

CEO Menzies Aviation Moetesum Khurshid said the objective of the project was to handover the residential units to the flood victims before the advent of winters.

He said after NDMA allocated land on September 3, his company completed the project in one month as announced by PM Shehbaz Sharif.

He said the prefabricated houses could sustain harsh temperatures and were equipped with solar panels. A medical centre with available paramedic staff and a school have been set up in the premises.

The residential village has tubewells for clean water, where 9,000 indegenous trees have been planted.

Govt likely to remove Aamir Khan as SECP chairman: sources

report

The government is likely to remove Aamir Khan, Chairman Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) while Akif Saeed is expected to be the next Chairman of SECP, it was learnt on Thursday.

According to sources, the Finance Ministry has paved the legal path for the change of SECP chairman and federal cabinet, through circulation of summary, has granted its approval to appoint three new commissioners of the SECP.

Sources said that the federal cabinet has approved to appoint Akif Saeed, Abdul Rehman and Mujtaba Ahmed Lodhi as new commissioners of the SECP. They added that Akif Saeed had worked as SECP commissioner during the former government of Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) while Abdul Rehman worked as Director General (Debt).

As per sources, the federal government shall appoint one of the Commissioners to be the

Chairman of the Commission, and no Commissioner shall be appointed Chairman for more than two consecutive terms.

It is pertinent to mention here that three posts of the Commissioners of SECP were lying vacant for quite some time and the incumbent government has been trying to fill these positions with suitable candidates. And, Finance Ministry in order to fill the vacant positions of three Commissioners had earlier issued interviews letters to Bilal Rasool, Raheel Ahmed, Muhammad Imran, Akif Saeed, Javed Ahmedjee, Vadiyya Khalil, Khalida Habib, Syed Aamir Bukhari, Siraj Ahmed, Khalid Mehmood Bhatti, Imran Inayat Butt, Abdul Rahman Warraich, Abid Hussain, Mian Aamir Mumtaz, Ziaul Mustafa, Abdul Majid Alvi, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Javed Qureshi, Mujtaba Ahmed Lodhi and Jahanara Sajjad Ahmed. Moreover, the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar-led committee had reportedly completed the interview process of the shortlisted candidates to fill the posts of the Commissioners in the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Pakistan ‘disappointed’ over inclusion in religious violators list by us

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

Pakistan on Thursday called Washington’s decision to designate Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) “detached from ground realities” and expressed concern over the exclusion of India from the list.

“I would now like to express Pakistan’s deep concern and disappointment on the US State Department’s unilateral and arbitrary designation of Pakistan as a “Country of Particular Concern (CPC),” said Foreign Office

Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch during the weekly briefing. The spokesperson highlighted that Pakistan had a “multi-religious and pluralistic society with a rich tradition of inter-faith harmony”.

She added that religious freedom and protection of the rights of minorities are guaranteed in the Constitution and enforced through a range of legislative, policy, and administrative measures.

“We have also noted with deep concern and disappointment that India, the biggest violator of religious freedom, has once again not been included in the State Department’s designation list despite a clear recommendation by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF),” deplored the spokesperson.

Baloch said that New Delhi’s “conspicuous omission raises serious questions about the credibility and transparency” of the process. She added that the “omission” also makes the list a “subjective and discriminatory exercise”.

The spokesperson reminded Washington that New Delhi’s treatment of religious minorities has been the “subject of several hearings of the US Congress and reports of UN high commissioner for human rights, the special procedure mandate holders of the UN Human Rights Council, and reputed international NGOs”.

“We have conveyed our concerns to the US government regarding this designation,” said the spokesperson.

‘Countries of concern’

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States has designated Pakistan, China, Iran and Russia, among others, as countries of particular concern under the Religious Freedom Act over severe violations. Blinken in a statement said those designated as countries of particular concern — which also include North Korea and Myanmar — engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Vietnam were placed on the watch list.

Several groups, including the Kremlin-aligned Wagner Group, a private paramilitary organisation that is active in Syria, Africa and Ukraine, were also designated as entities of particular concern. The Wagner group was designated over its activities in the Central African Republic, Blinken said. “Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs,” Blinken said in the statement.

“The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses.” He added that Washington would welcome the opportunity to meet with all governments to outline concrete steps for removal from the lists.

New team to probe journalist’s killing in Kenya

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The government has set up a new, specialised team to investigate the killing of Arshad Sharif, the prominent investigative journalist who was shot dead in Kenya, the Supreme Court was informed on Thursday.

Sharif, 50, a fierce critic of the military, died in a suspected police shooting near Kenya’s capital Nairobi on October 24, which triggered condemnations and calls for an independent probe.

Nairobi police later expressed regret over the incident, claiming it was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in a child abduction case.

However, an initial probe revealed the killing was a “planned assassination,” a team of investigators said in a report released Wednesday. The Kenya Union of

Journalists (KUJ) has also cast doubt over the police’s version of events.

After it read the contents of the report, the chief justice of Pakistan ordered the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to notify the panel by Thursday and investigate the event afresh, 43 days after the grisly assassination.

During the proceedings, Aamir Rehman, additional attorney general (AAG), presented to the court the notification announcing the formation of a fivemember team.

He said the team consisted of five members: Sajid Kiani from Intelligence Bureau, Waqar ud-Din Syed from Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Murtaza Afzal from Military Intelligence, Muhammad Aslam from Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, and Awais Ahmed from Islamabad police.

The court was further informed that if necessary,

authorities would contact Interpol to arrest the suspects in the case.

Rehman said the team was launching the investigation immediately and would first record the statement of the slain anchorperson’s mother who has, in a letter to the chief justice, accused top military brass of “planning” the killing. “The JIT will probe all the relevant persons in Pakistan and then start investigations in Kenya,” he added.

The official, when asked how long it would take the team to conclude its investigation, replied the investigation would be dependent on the government of Kenya. He, however, added the team would make all possible efforts to complete its task at the earliest.

The court then directed the team to submit a progress report to the court every two weeks. In addition, the Islamabad police were directed to cooperate with the team.

Court prevents FIA from arresting PM’s absconding son on return

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

The high court of Islamabad stopped the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from arresting Suleman Shehbaz, one of the two sons of the prime minister, in a money laundering case against him, paving way for his safe return on Sunday after spending four years in London in self-imposed exile.

Since 2018, Shehbaz has been residing in the British capital with his family apparently to escape multiple corruption and financial embezzlement investigations launched against him by the National Ac-

countability Bureau (NAB) ahead of that year’s general elections.

He was declared proclaimed offender the following year after he refused to appear before the dirty money watchdog in the Rs16 billion scandal involving members of his family, including Shehbaz Sharif, despite repeated summons, and issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him.

Following his designation as an offender, the watchdog agency made repeated attempts to bring him back but remained unsuccessful for one reason or the other.

Subsequently, on Wednesday, he sought protective bail from the high court that

would enable him to “surrender” before an accountability court.

During the proceedings, Aamer Farooq, chief justice of the high court, asked the petitioner to surrender before the court by December 13, before barring the central probe agency from arresting him until then.

Justice Farooq said it was necessary for an applicant to be present in the court to be eligible to seek protective bail. At this, the counsel for the defendant told the court Shehbaz was expected to return to Islamabad on Sunday.

“He wants to appear before the authorities,” he added, noting the court had granted

similar protective bail in the past as well.

Following the arguments, the court approved the request for protection and directed Shehbaz to appear before it in person by December 13.

The money laundering reference mainly accused Sharif of being a beneficiary of assets held in the name of his family members and benamidars, who had no sources to acquire such assets.

It said the members and benamidars of his family received fake foreign remittances of billions in their personal bank accounts.

In addition to these remittances, the bureau said, billions of rupees were laundered by

way of foreign pay orders, which were deposited in the personal bank accounts of Sharif’s two sons.

The reference further said the Sharif family failed to justify the sources of funds used for the acquisition of assets.

It said the suspects committed offences of corruption and corrupt practices as envisaged under the provisions of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, and money laundering as delineated in the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

The agency also asked the trial court to try the suspects and punish them under the law.

profIt

ahmad ahmadani