Epaper_22-12-16 KHI

G o v t s l a s h e s p et r o l p r i c e s b y r s 1 0 p e r l i t r e

g diesel price also reduced By rs7.5 per liter and kerosene By

g Bilawal contradicts Musadik ’s claiM of Buying russian oil

the russ an energy minister to islamabad by m d-Januar y, but rates would be similar to the discount be ng given to other countries or even cheaper

t h e M n i s t e r s a i d t h e p r i c e o f l i g h t d i e s e l h a s b e e n f i x e d a t r s 1 6 9 w i t h a r e d u c t i o n o f r s 2 8 2 8 p e r l i t r e h e s a i d t h a t t h e a p p l i c at i o n o f t h e s e p r c e s i n p e t r o l e u m w i l l b e e ff e c t v e f r o m m i d n i g h t o f d e c e m b e r 1 5 t o d e c e m b e r 3 1 2 0 2 2 ishaq dar said that the decrease in the pr ces of petroleum products is due to the last quarter of th s fiscal year which started on october 1st and continues t ll december 15th he said that the reduction in petroleum prices is a part of prime Minister shehbaz sharif ’s campaign to prov de rel ef to the people and in this regard the government s focusing ts attention on provid ng relief to the people Min str y sources earlier reported that petro is current y being purchased at $76 to

he federal government on thursday announced to f x the new pr ce of petrol at rs 214 80 per l tre with a reduction of rs10 n the pr ce of petrol while announc ng a sign ficant reduct on in the pr ces of petroleum products in pakistan television news finance Min ster ishaq dar said that the new price of high speed d esel is rs 227 80 with a reduction of rs 7 50 per liter, and the new price of kerosene oil is rs171 83 with a reduct on of rs 10 per itre$77 per barre levy charges on petro are rs50 per litre while sales tax on all petroleum products rema ns zero sources said that the profit margin of oil marketing compan es m ght also be increased from december 16 on petrol and diesel Dr Mus aDik, Bil awal Make contraDictory cl aiMs on Buying cheaper russian oil: earlier th s week fol owing a pakistani delegation vis ted Moscow petroleum Minister dr Musadik Malik told med a that russia has confirmed the crude o l availabil ty of 100 000 barrels per day to pakistan and that a delegation from Moscow would vis t islamabad in Januar y to set the terms of a deal including rates and mode of payment follow ng his russia v sit, Minister of state for petroleum Musad k Malik who led the pakistan delegation, told a news conference that russia had confirmed the supp y of petroleum products at a discounted rate however, the state minister did not give any indication of the pr ce russia has conf rmed the availability of 100,000 barre s per day of crude oi supply but has not confirmed the rate yet wh ch wi l be discussed in Januar y,” a source in the petroleum ministr y also said adding that the visit was scheduled to take p ace on Januar y 23 2023 he had said that detai ed terms and conditions of the discounted oil commodities would be settled during the upcoming vis t of

Before that visit the two sides would cr ystallize proposals to a stage where an execut ve summar y or an agreement could be s gned and suppl es start flowing Ma ik had added pakistan struggles to meet domest c gas supply needs as winter approaches while battling to contain a current account def cit swelled by energy payments, mostly for o l the countr y has been unab e to procure l quefied natural gas from the nternat onal market because spot prices rema n out of ts range and shipments under long-term deals remain nsuffic ent to match ris ng demand dr Musadik Ma ik on thursday again said the government held negotiations with the russian government to purchase crude petro eum o l products he added that Moscow had even expressed ts desire to sell out its petroleum products to pakistan at cheaper rates as compared to the international market talking to a private news channel the state minister said that coalition government was much concerned about the rising nflation adding that efforts were being made to provide relief to the masses the state minister ma ntained that after receiving the petroleum crude oil products from russia the inflation would decrease Bil awal s ays pakistan not pursuing russian oil: contrar y to petroleum Minister dr Musadik Ma ik foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who is in the us for a seven-day vis t has announced that pakistan “ s not pursuing or rece ving any discounted energy from russia in an inter view with journalists amna nawaz and Judy woodruff on pBs newshour on december 14, the ppp chairman said: “as far as russia s concerned we aren t pursu ng or receiv ng any d scounted energy but we are facing an extremely difficu t economic situation inflation pump prices he, however, adm tted that pak stan was facing energy insecur ty we are exp oring various avenues to expand our areas where we can get our energy from fM Bilawal said adding that any energy from russ a will take a long time for us to develop ”

to achieve his ‘ulterior

ISLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Minister for interior rana sanaullah on thursday said that pakistan tehreek-e-insaf (pti) chairman imran khan was planning attack on the parliamentar y system and democracy under his foreign agenda to ensure his return to power ”

imran khan attacked the federal capital w th armed groups in a bid to blackmai the government but he m serably fa led to mplement his nefar ous po tica agenda and now he s bent on attacking the parliamentar y system and democracy in pakistan rana sanaul ah said in a news statement

the min ster said imran khan wanted to achieve h s u terior motives and implement his fore gn agenda by “attacking ” the democracy wh ch had no lega and con-

stitut onal justification “ if we et the attack on the democracy succeed once it will be repeated again and again,” he added

he said the parl amentar y democracy, national and provincial assemblies and the constitution of 1973 were part of the system on which pakstan s stability relied rana sanaullah feared that the pti may make an anti-democratic attempt to return to power and achieve ts political agenda imran khan could opt for any “ unconstitutional and undemocratic act to ensure h s return to power ” , he added

he warned the pti chief aga nst his alleged ulterior mot ves wh ch were aimed at ruin ng the economy “ we will democratica ly foil ever y plot of imran khan which aims to destabilize pakstan pol tically and economca ly he said

t i s t h e s e a s o n f o r h a w a l a a n d h u n d i : g a p s p r e a d s b e t w e e n i n t e r b a n k a n d o p e n m a r ke t

g w h y w o u l d a n y o n e u s e o f f i c i a l M e a n s to s e n d M o n e y B a c k h o M e i f t h e y ’ r e d i s a d va n ta g e d t h r o u g h a s i g n i f i c a n t ly lo w i n t e r B a n k r at e ?

remittances fall by a whopping 14% over last year, clocking in at $2 1 bil ion during november 2022 – the lowest monthly inf ow s nce august 2020 fa ling ever y month since august 2022; remittances dropped 5% compared to october 2022 during the first five months of this fiscal year remittances are down 10% for the same period last year; cumulatively equal to $10 bi lion “ the major reason for a dec ine in remittances s the 10% different al in the open market and interbank exchange rates expats are getting 10% higher value for the same amount of remittances be ng sent v a unofficial chan-

nels eading towards a dec ine in offcia remittance figure says tahir abbas head of research at arif hab b limited exporters are ho ding back usd proceeds amid this widening currency gap the governnment needs to crush this gap [ nterbank and open market] on war footing basis to aid exports as wel as remittances says abbas while interest rates around the world are r sing and there is r sing global inflat on; it is important to note that the macroeconom c env ronment in the middle east is currently resil ent to such adversaries despite rough y 600 000 new immigrants to saudi arab a and uae in the past one year; pakistan is witnessing a 20% decline in remittances from both the saudi arabia and uae respectively these countr es [uae and saudi arabia] are not witnessing economic chal-

lenges as such which ndicates that the gap between off cial and hawala/hundi rate is the major factor behind the decline says fahad rauf head of research at isma l iqbal secur ties hawala and hundi are used nterchangeably they are an a ternat ve remittance system that operates outside forma banking channe s hawa a is an arab c term wh le hundi is its indian and pakistani variant last year the econom c coordination committee of the cab net also approved the national remittance loyalty programme (nrlp) in order to incentivize inflows of remittance through documented channels remitters would get points based on how much they send back home and are classif ed as green gold and plat num users any money sent home through for-

ma channels is eligible for the loya ty program this ncludes funds received through rda and spent in pak stan this means if you re using rda for schemes such as roshan apni car you re not only getting a cheaper deal than ocals but you re also going to be getting loya ty points for it when launched the estimated financ al impact that had been budgeted was based on the assumption that remitters equivalent to 25% of the remittances as of fy 21 will register for nrlp, s rs 13 107 billion for fy22 why is the spread so high between the open market and interbank? the growing div de n the interbank and open market rates penalizes people for using official channe s to send money to pakistan hawa a and hundi operators offer a better rate based off

the open market rate as opposed to the interbank rate as the open market s in a crunch for dollars; the hawala and hundi operations in the countr y further aggrevate the supply shortage faced by it a r e a s o n f o r t h e g r o w i n g d i v i d e b e t w e e n t h e t w o r a t e s i s p r i m a r i l y b e c a u s e i n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s p e o p e o n l y g o t o e x c h a n g e s w h e n t h e y a r e t r a v e l i n g a n d n e e d t h e o t h e r c o u nt r y s c u r r e n c y pe o p l e d o n t r e a l l y b u y a n d h o a r d p h y s i c a l n o t e s o f o t h e r c u r r e n c i e s logically the open market rate goes up when there is a demand for foreign exchange this could be when people are traveling more going abroad to study, or even when people are tr ying to dol arize their savings

motives’: sanaullah

g n o lo ya lt y p r o g r a M M e o r lo v e f o r t h e c o u n t r y i s M o r e t h a n lo v e f o r M o n e y

ISLAMABAD M i a n a b r a r

t

S o m o n A i r r et u r n S t o PA k i S tA n A f t e r S i x y e A r S

r o u t e w a s s e e n a s a d i p l o m a t i c b r e a k t h r o u g h b e t w e e n P a k i s t a n a n d Tajikistan at the time but the operations did n o t l a s t F l i g h t s w e r e r e d u c e d t o o n c e a w e e k i n J u l y, a n d t h e n t h e c o m p a n y ultimately ceased its operations entirely in August of that year difference between scHeduled and non-scHeduled fligHts

e a w e e k f r o m D u s h n a b e t o Lahore in 2016 The Lahore to Dushnabe

fSC asks Hr ministr y to set up protection unit for transgender children

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Thursday directed the Ministry of Human Rights to constitute a child protection unit for transgender children to ensure provision of due rights to them A two-member bench of the FSC, comprising Chief Justice Dr Syed Muhammad Anwer and Justice Khadim Hussain Shaikh issued the directives while hearing a set of petitions challenging the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 During the hearing, the FSC chief justice remarked that the Human Rights Ministry appeared not to be sincere in the provision of rights to transgender children He asked the counsel for the ministry to come prepared while attending the case hearings The FSC judge directed the Human Rights Ministry secretary to come in the next hearing with a complete report in connection to the case “Where will these children go when the government is not fulfilling its responsibility? he asked The court also formed a special committee to devise the standard operating procedures for the special unit The committee will finalise the SOPs and submit a report to the court in the next 24 days ” The chief justice also praised Pakistan Sweet Homes Patron-in-Chief Zamurud Khan for doing incredible work” The court adjourned the hearing till January 10 The National Assembly enacted the law to provide legal recognition to transgender persons and ensure that discrimination against transgender persons in various walks of life shall be punishable in May 2018 The law also enabled trans-people to be recognized as they perceive themselves and register with government institutions as transgender Hailed as a landmark law that offered protection to a marginalized community the legislation however was embroiled in litigation scrutiny since it was passed by the two houses of the parliament A set of petitioners challenged the law in 2021 on grounds that it was “repugnant to Islamic injunctions” In September 2022, a fresh set of petitions were filed against the law in the FSC

Scheduled flights are those that operate regularly and are planned well in advance

Subsequently, flight schedules are drawn up to cover several months or even years at a time Airlines are thus committed to flying the planes for the specified periods on the routes, whether they are filled or not Conversely non-scheduled flights operate irregularly and require smaller periods between being planned and the flight actually taking off Non-scheduled flights generally operate only at peak periods on specific routes “We

are informed prior to each non-scheduled flight Subsequently, an airline operating non-scheduled flights can have a nontraditional and variable schedule It will depend on them and whenever the need arises for them to conduct flights They will inform us accordingly ”

Non-scheduled flights generally occur when the airline is anticipating a full load or is able to create a full load through preselling tickets Therefore you could have one to two flights a month or even one to two flights a week depending on the demand for the routes

M i l l a t Tr a c t o r s s w i t c h e s t o f o u r - d ay - wo r k- we e k d u e t o wo r s t s t a r t t o f i s c a l ye a r i n f i ve ye a r s

Millat Tractors notified the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that it will, henceforth be observing a four day work with Fridays being declared nonproduction days This decision will be in perpetuity, until the company decides otherwise

The company will implement this d e c i s i o n f r o m D e c e m b e r 1 6 I t h a s attributed the decision to the decline in d e m a n d f o r t r a c t o r s R a h e e l A s g h a r, C E O M i l l a t Tr a c t o r s , r e a ff i r m e d t h e explanation given in the circular as the main reason for the decision stating to Profit that The demand of tractors has r e d u c e d t o t h e p o i n t t h a t w e c a n n o longer produce for the whole week ” Millat Tractors has seen the worst start to a fiscal year in the past five years Five month sales, based on the data provided by the Pakistan Automotive

Manufacturers Association, currently stand at 5 800 units This is a 58% yearon-year decrease from the 13,954 units sold over the same period last year

In an earlier conversation Asghar told Profit, “We (Millat Tractors) have seen a reduction, and so have our competitor (Al-Ghazi)

There are a number of factors affecting the market The most evident one is the flash floods of 2022 that rampaged across Sindh, Balochistan, and lower Punjab and directly hit the purchasing power of farmers Other than that, the government had previously exempt tractors from the sales tax We were able to obtain refunds from the government for our input costs We will not receive this refund now, and subsequently we had to increase our prices to cater to this”

Court sends Swati on 14-day remand hours after release in Sindh cases

ISLAMABAD

A local in the federal capital on Thursday sent PTI Senator Azam Swati to jail on 14-day judicial remand hours after he was shifted to Islamabad after cases registered against him in Sindh were disposed off as ineffective on the Sindh High Court orders

Judicial magistrate Shabbir Bhatti heard the case filed against the senior politician over controversial tweets against the army top brass The court also warned an investigation officer in the case to submit challan of the case on next hearing or his salary would

Wa s t e t o E n e r g y ?

The Punjab cabinet has authorised the expression of interest for a waste-to-energy project, according to Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi who claims that the industry will receive inexpensive electricity through this waste-to-energy initiative

Speaking to a group of investors led by Carsten Wenske, chief executive officer of the German company Innovative Techno Plussaid: The generated electricity will be directly supplied to the industrial estates and the project will be taken forward on a fast track ”

In a meeting with the chief minister the CEO of the German company, Carsten Wenske, indicated interest in investing in the production of solar panels as well as establishing a waste-to-energy project in Lahore The China National Electric Engineering Company has also expressed interest in the waste-to-energy project, joining firms from Norway and Germany

The chief minister further claimed that the project will result in a more than 50% reduction in the cost of producing electricity However no evidence is available to corroborate this claim H o w d o e s i t w o r k ?

Landfill and incinerators are the two conventional methods for handling waste Although neither is ideal, there was an attempt to make things better in the 19th century

Engineers in Europe recognised the potential for energy recovery in a variety of waste streams and instead of just burning

trash to get rid of it, they discovered that the heat from waste incineration could be used to drive turbines This was the beginning of waste-to-energy

Similar to how conventional power plants burn coal oil or natural gas to produce electricity, waste-to-energy facilities also use domestic waste as a fuel Burning the garbage warms the water and the steam from the water powers a turbine to produce electricity

Waste is brought in and thoroughly mixed in a closed-off receiving area in order to be burned After this a timed moving grate brings mixed garbage into the combustion chamber and regularly rotates it over to keep it exposed and burning

In the filter baghouse tiny airborne particles (fly ash) are eliminated Lime or sodium hydroxide is injected to neutralise the acidic combustion fumes

Magnets and eddy current separators are used to separate ferrous (steel and iron) and other metals, such as copper, brass, nickel, and aluminium, from the unburned combustion byproducts, or “bottom ash,” for recycling The residual ash can be utilised as aggregate for rail embankments and roadbeds

The generator for a steam turbine is powered by superheated steam The condenser cycles the cooled steam back into water, or it can be diverted and used as a heat source for structures or businesses To finish the steam cycle, the cooled stream is reheated in the economiser and superheater

To absorb and remove heavy metals like mercury and cadmium from the hot gases,

be suspended Swati attended the hearing through video-link when he was allowed by the court to meet his legal team SHC orders no more FIRs’ against Swati Earlier in the day, the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the provincial authorities that no cases should be registered against the PTI leader in the controversial tweets case The SHC conducted hearing on plea of the PTI senator s son against registration of cases against his father Sindh IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon and Prosecutor General Faiz Shah appeared before the court At the outset of the hearing the prosecutor general informed the SHC that cases against the PTI

activated carbon (charcoal that has had its porosity increased by oxygen treatment) is fed into the mixture By injecting ammonia or urea, nitrogen oxide in the increasing combustion gases is neutralised Flue gases are heated to extremely high temperatures to render dioxins and furans harmless P r o s a n d c o n s o f wa s t e - t oe n e r g y

When compared to the wasteful incineration procedures of the past wasteto-energy is frequently marketed as “clean energy In this way, it reduces the quantity of waste burned while still using energy that would otherwise be wasted

However, this argument only applies if incineration is the only choice, and the majority of responsible waste management strategies are currently focusing on less harmful, more circular solutions that have a smaller impact on climate change

The traditional method of handling waste has been through landfills, that is burying waste into the ground When it comes to waste disposal, landfills are the last choice that come with a number of drawbacks, including the release of greenhouse gases, the need for substantial amounts of land the possibility of contaminants seeping into the ground and groundwater, and more Specialised incineration facilities can significantly minimise the amount of waste that is landfilled by converting waste-toenergy The US Energy Information Administration estimates that waste-toenergy facilities can reduce waste volume by around 87% by reducing 2,000 pounds of trash to ash that weighs between 300 and 600 pounds

Possibility of post-incineration resource recovery, including of rich materials like metals is another advantage of waste-to-energy versus landfilling They

senator had been categorised as “C class” and he had been shifted to Islamabad “All applications are now ineffective he said adding that the cases were registered by private citizens Justice Karim Khan Agha appreciated the Sindh government and the IGP for resolving the issue and the court then directed that no further FIR should be lodged against Azam Swati in the case The court also directed that the C class report should be submitted to the courts concerned in three days and then disposed of Usman Swati’s petitions

During the case proceedings, Sindh Police Inspector General (IG) Ghulam Nabi Memon told the court that all FIRs against Swati had been quashed

can then be recycled and used to support the economy

Waste-to-energy offers the chance to recover some resources, such as metals, but it typically destroys a lot more In consequence the process of creating energy from garbage can deplete resources including minerals, wood, plastic, and other materials that could have been salvaged This is especially true if municipal solid trash is not strictly separated before being burned

Additionally, when garbage is burned for energy production, approximately all of the carbon content is released as carbon dioxide, one of the most prominent greenhouse gases

The ability to discourage recycling or other more environmentally friendly waste management techniques is another disadvantage of waste-to-energy As part of a larger waste management strategy that strives to increase recycling rates, many wealthy countries now export their waste to underdeveloped nations for processing

Although garbage is occasionally recycled it is frequently just burned or used in facilities that turn it into energy Unfortunately, despite the fact that Western nations claim that this activity counts toward their recycling goals, the uncontrolled nature of this waste trade frequently results in inappropriate disposal with waste-to-energy playing a significant role d o e s Pa k i s ta n e v e n n e e d i t ?

P a k i s t a n a t t h e m o m e n t i s g o i n g t h r o u g h o n e o f i t s t o u g h e s t e c o n o m i c c y c l e s , i n t e r e s t r a t e s a n d i n f l a t i o n i s a t historic highs Any decision involving long t e r m a g r e e m e n t s a n d s i g n i f i c a n t c a p i t a l investments needs to be well thought out before we bog ourselves down in another quagmire of our own making

The cost element involving any major project such as this one dictates whether there’s any potential benefit of the project As far the public benefit aspect goes, comprehensive studies by environmentalist and other stakeholders is necessary

The price of a 40,000 tpa (tonnes per annum) facility is $41 million or $1 026 per tonne of annual capacity, according to a calculation from Waste to Energy International Whereas a medium-sized facility with a capacity of 250,000 tpa should cost $169 million, or $680 per tonne These figures provide an initial estimation of the amount it would cost for converting waste-to-energy

These figures give a brief overview into how much it might cost to set up a waste to energy plant, but however it must be noted these are estimates and actual costs can only be determined when discussions between the government and the private sector move forward

Another essential thing to consider is the fact that we already have excess capacity in terms of electricity, and is setting up another power plant really what the country requires at the moment Although a power plant is built with long term objectives and strategy in mind, mismanagement and inadequate planning are the cornerstones of our country From a climate change perspective, Pakistan has been severely hit with flooding and other forms of extreme weather It is evident that the advantages of waste-to-energy as a waste management strategy only apply when compared to conventional landfilling or incineration However when taken in isolation the issues are so serious that it is difficult to see how it might be a useful component of any green economy

A J I K I S TA N S private airline Somon Air, restored its operations in Pakistan after six years The airline is headquartered in the capital city Dushanbe and had its maiden voyage from Dushanbe to Islamabad on December 13; a day prior to Tajikistan’s President visiting Pakistan on an official two day visit The airline is now the only one to provide a direct route between Tajikistan and Pakistan

Pti deCideS to moVe SC AGAinSt ACquittAL of SHArifS in CorruPtion CASeS

by former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi

PA K I S TA N Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced on Thursday that it would move Supreme Court against the acquittal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz and others in corruption cases

The PTI has decided to file an application in the top court under Article 184 against the bail and acquittal of the Sharif family in various cases The court has taken a suo motu notice and we want to become a part of the case,” PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said during a media talk, flanked

Saying that the Sharif family have committed many robberies on Pakistan s treasury, Fawad said that cases against Maryam, Shehbaz and Hamza should be opened and the top court should review the decisions

He urged the Supreme Court to hear these cases at the same pace it heard cases against former prime minister Imran Khan regarding his disqualification letter to na sPeaker to reconfirm resignations: Qureshi, on this occasion, said that PTI had handed over 123 resignations to thenspeaker Qasim Suri, but the current National Assembly speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf

showed favouritism in accepting the resignations on the government’s request and only chose resignations from 11 constituencies

“If you wanted to accept [the resignations], you should have accepted all of them or you shouldn t have accepted a single one Despite this, PDM candidates were defeated in these constituencies and we got 75 per cent of the seats he added

He said that the party has decided to resign from the assemblies and he, as vice chairman of the party, has written a letter to NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf to agree upon a time in the coming week for the verification of the resignations of the party members

Fawad said that PTI has announced its

resignation from NA seats that they should be accepted, and that general elections be held as soon as possible “Assemblies will be dissolved in any case whether on December 17 or 23 The date will be decided by Imran Khan,” he maintained Fawad said that after the dissolution 70 per cent of the country would go into election mode The country should go towards general elections as we re heading towards destruction under the present government’s rule, he added The former information minister said that PTI has appealed to all the respectable circles of the country for elections “It is common knowledge where interference is happening in politics and where it is not, he added

He said that there were high hopes from the new leadership of the armed forces to take

Pakistan Navy effectively safeguarding Pakistan’s maritime interests: Alvi

S ta f f R e p o R t

P r e s i d e n t D r A r i f A l v i h a s s a i d t h a t P a k i s t a n N a v y i s p l a y i n g a c o m m e n d a b l e r o l e i n s a f e g u a r d i n g a n d p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y ’s n a v a l a n d m a r i t i m e i n t e r e s t s , d e s p i t e r e s o u r c e c o n s t r a i n t s i n a c h a l l e n g i n g m a r i t i m e s e c u r i t y p a r a d i g m a n d o v e r a l l s e c u r i t y s i t u a t i o n

He appreciated Pakistan Navy’s role for the flood victims during the recent global climate-induced devastating floods, providing them with medical services and relief supplies

President Dr Arif Alvi expressed the views while addressing the concluding ceremony of 5th Maritime Security Workshop 2022 (MARSEW-5), held at Pakistan Navy War College, Lahore Chief of Naval Staff Admiral

uoG VC opens rs15m smar t classroom at mandi campus

GUJrAt S ta f f R e p o R t

Vice Chancellor University of Gujrat Prof Dr Shabbar Atiq visited the sub-campus in Mandi Bahauddin where he inaugurated a state-of-theart Rs15 million smart classroom and attended a welcome ceremony for freshers at the start of new academic session Director sub-campus Mian Zahiruddin Babar and his team welcomed the vice chancellor upon his arrival Dr Shabbar Atiq expressed his satisfaction with the educational activities and progress of the subcampus Muhammad Abrar coordinator Smart Classroom Project, in his briefing on the occasion said that the HEC-funded smart classroom had cost Rs15 million Mian Zahiruddin Babar, Col (r) Attaur Rahman, principal District Jinnah Public School & College Mandi Bahauddin, Director IT Services Zahid Raza, focal person Smart Classroom Project Hasan Anwar and heads and teachers of various departments were also present Dr Shabbar Atiq expressed his resolve to utilize all available resources to provide the students with the latest facilities

The president underlined the need to enhance the pace of decision-making, taking right and timely decisions and their implementation on timeline basis to remain abreast with the rest of the world in all sectors including the global

The president highlighted that the strong economy was a must for gaining regional and international recognition a n d m a i n t a i n i n g a b a l a n c e t o m o v e forward with dignity and respect in the i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s T h e r e f o r e , h e a d d e d , i t w a s i m p e r a t i v e t o e x p l o r e n e w a v e n u e s t o r a i s e c o u n t r y s p r o d u c t i v i t y i n a l l s e c t o r s i n c l u d i n g d e v e l o p i n g q u a l i t y a n d p r o d u c i n g h u m a n r e s o u r c e s u p s c a l i n g o u r b u s i n e s s , t r a d e , i n v e s t m e n t , i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n a n d e m p o w e r i n g t h e work processes with digitalization and i n f u s i n g o f a r t i f i c i a l i n t e l l i g e n c e , i n v e s t i n g i n q u a n t u m c o m p u t e r r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t t o s u s t a i n r e a s o n a b l e e c o n o m i c o u t l o o k a n d t o improve it on perpetual basis

S tudents ’ concerns: NA body bars PMC from issuing MDC AT exam’s merit list

arrest warrant for the PMC president and present him to the committee in case of the absence of the President and Secretary General PMC in the next meeting

Pakistan towards stability “We hope that all institutions would play a role in taking Pakistan towards stability

To a question Qureshi said that the government was not at all serious about negotiations and wanted to escape elections They only want complete relief from the cases against them Some of their cases are closed and some are pending Until all the cases are over the government will not want elections or the dissolution of the assemblies,” he said In the letter, Qureshi pointed out that 123 PTI MNAs submitted written resignations to former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri on April 11, 2022 “The lawmakers had submitted resignations as per constitution and assembly rules”, the letter added

“The resignations were accepted by the then Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly on April 13, 2022,” it noted, adding that Secretary National Assembly Tahir Hussain had also issued a notification in this regard However, he said that in a clear attempt by the current government to avoid general elections in the country the clear order of the former Deputy Speaker was not implemented

mazari lashes at impor ted gov t , nA Speaker for politicizing resignations

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior Vice President Dr Shireen Mazari said that imported government and Speaker National Assembly was playing politics and deliberately causing confusion on resignations of PTI MNAs as none of them received any pay after midApril Dr Shireen Mazari, in a statement issued here on Thursday, said that Speaker NA was playing politics on resignations He said: For the record and information of dispensers of Justice, I have checked with a no of PTI MNAs who had resigned and none of them received any pay after mid-April She said that meanwhile Speaker accepted 11 resignations without reaffirming so de facto validated Dr Mazari said: Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri ruling of acceptance of all resignations – especially since pays were not being given either ” Therefore, she stated that in principle all resignations effectively stand validated but imported government and Speaker National Assembly were deliberately causing confusion and spreading it to SC also Reacting over Faryal s acquittal, she said that all part of the grand NRO2 design to whitewash the political mafias while targeting PTI ad nauseum especially Chairman Imran Khan because all the regime change conspirators know in fair and free elections Imran Khan will sweep the polls She went on to say that ECP bias revealed with each passing day

The National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services Regulations and Coordination on Thursday barred the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) from issuing merit lists of the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) exam conducted recently across the country

The committee meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Dr Muhammad Afzal Dhandla, Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination, issued these instructions keeping in view the concerns of students and parents over the performance of PMC regarding the results and conducting the MDCAT exam of the current year

The committee members expressed displeasure over the negligence of the PMC and the absence of the Secretary-General and President of the PMC in the meeting

MNA Dr Zehra Wadood Fatemi from Pakistan Muslim League (N) suggested the chairperson to issue

She added that students and parents are under great stress due to the irresponsible and non-professional conduct of the PMC on the issues related to the MDCAT exam

The chairman committee also endorsed the recommendation of a committee member Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema to stop the authorities concerned from adopting further legal procedures on SRO to legalize the heated tobacco products in the country as these products are equally harmful as conventional cigarettes

Discussing the malpractices and irregularities in Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC), the Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services and President of PNC, Dr Shazia Sobia Soomro informed the committee that she received threatening calls on asking to submit the data of registered nursing colleges and other related information

Dr Shazia said that being the President of PNC, she suspended the registrar of PNC on the charge of malpractices and not providing official record

UN officials raise alarm about drying up funds for flood relief, rehab

ISLAMABAD S ta f f R e p o R t

The officials of the United Nation in Pakistan on Thursday feared that the paucity of funds was hampering the flood relief and rehabilitation efforts in the country Addressing the journalists here, the officials said Pakistan needed $816 million in funding to cope with the challenges faced by the floodaffected people in different areas

However funds amounting to only $2 623 million had been received so far which created a gap of $553 7 million in funding, they added

They said up to 9 1 million people may be pushed below the poverty line due to the recent flood in Pakistan and more funding was required to rebuild the affectees homes and restore their livelihoods in different sectors like agriculture and livestock during the winter

Humanitarian Coordinator of UN Julien Harneis said world community did not respond to the appeal of the UN in a proactive way as the countries were already facing a host of challenges such as grim

economic situations, energy crises and others

“There is a chaotic situation in flood-affected areas where two hundred thousand people are homeless, the school remains inaccessible for two million people, risk of exploitation and violence against women and transgender mounting and rising inflation pose serious humanitarian crises in Pakistan,” he added

He urged the humanitarian partners and donors to keep the aid continued by donating more funds to ensure the rehabilitation of flood affectees The existing funds would dry up by January 15, he added

The Chief Field Operations at UNICEF, Scott Whoolery said the situation was extremely worrisome which required immediate actions as there was serious shortage of food for lactating mothers and children under two years were facing acute malnutrition

We c a n n o t t u r n a b l i n d e y e t o t h e s i t u a t i o n World community needs to come forward for the help of millions of children who need special attention,” h e a d d e d T h e H u m a n i t a r i a n R e s p o n s e a n d Operations Advisor of Save the Children, Ambreen N i a z i I n t e r n a t i o n a l s a i d t h a t i t w a s a h i g h t i m e t o

further improve communication with global partners to ensure more funding which would help one third of the flood affected women who were suffering from A n e m i a a n d c o n t r a c t i n g d i ff e r e n t d i s e a s e s d u e t o stagnant water in flood affected areas

The UN officials also shared an analytic report with the media persons on aid distribution among the flood affectees which showed that out of 4 million people some 3 4 million received the aid in the food and agriculture sector

It said health support was provided to 3 million p e o p l e a g a i n s t a n e e d f o r 6 4 m i l l i o n , w h i l e 1 5 million people against a need for 3 9 million got the nutrition assistance S o f a r, 1 9 m i l l i o n p e o p l e g o t w a t e r, s a n i t a t i o n and hygiene support, while shelter & NFI assistance was given to 1 5 million people against a need for 3 5 million Education support was provided to 135,000 p e o p l e a g a i n s t 7 0 0 , 0 0 0 , w h i l e 0 9 9 m i l l i o n p e o p l e a g a i n s t a n e e d f o r 8 5 m i l l i o n r e c e i v e d p r o t e c t i o n assistance, including for women and children at risk The document showed that agricultural and livestock assistance had benefitted 151,000 people so far

PmL-n to spare no effor t for development: muqam

SWAt

S y e D S h a h a b u D D i n

Adviser to Prime Minister on Political & Public Affairs and PML-N Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President, Engineer Amir Muqam welcomed thousands of people into Muslim League (Nawaz) at a workers’ convention held in Shangla The PML-N will play an active role in the development of this region and will leave no stone unturned in the service of the nation and will try to come up expectations of the people ” These views were expressed by Advisor to the Prime Minister Engineer Amir Muqam while addressing a workers convention held in Shahpur, Shangla The Workers Convention was part of a series of rallies held to celebrate “the apology tendered by British Newspaper Daily Mail from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif On the occasion, a large number of people joined PML-N, including former Tehsil Nazim (Alpuri) Mohib Bacha and the entire family of Subedar Alamzeb Khan (deceased) along with thousands of companions The adviser while commenting on the ongoing situation in the country, said that the incompetent rulers imposed in the province for nine years and on the federal government for four years have nothing to their merit except for lies hypocrisy corruption and looting He said that Imran Niazi and his party have wasted time and only made false accusations against political opponents, but they are thankful to Allah for Pakistani as well as international courts have declared the leadership of PML-N as “Saadiq and Ameen” Amir Muqam further said that Imran tried to degrade the prestige of Pakistan around the globe and branded “Pakistanis as thieves ” He said that the major newspaper from London i e Daily Mail’s apology to Shahbaz Sharif is a cause of pride for the entire nation The advisor said that on one hand, there was no money for salaries in the treasuries of our province, still the resources of the province were squandered on a long march, Imran and his party will be held accountable for this abuse of resources He said that Imran took advantage of the sincerity of Pathans first he promised the resignation of Shehbaz Sharif but then announced his own resignation but that too turned out to be a lie The advisor added that he had hoped that the people would get rid of these incompetent rulers through the latter ’s resignations

LAHore S ta f f R e p o R t

LAHore

Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi along with civil and military officials were also present on the occasion In his address, the president said that regional countries including Pakistan were facing challenges due to changing regional and global situation, new alliances were in the making and readjustment of priorities and preferences in multiple domains including in the maritime domain

which necessitated the country to remain alert and adjust itself in the emerging situation with dignity, honour and preserving its sovereignty in decision making

maritime security environment to fully harness potential of Pakistan’s human natural and maritime resources

ISLAMABAD

BaloCH yoUtH entHRalled to leaRn fiRSt-Hand KnoWledge of HoW CPeC HaS PoSitively imPaCted BaloCHiStan

PA K I S TA N -China Institute is hosting 12 students from University of Gwadar in Islamabad as a part of youth engagement program in collaboration with Chinese Embassy The goal of this initiative is to inform youth in Balochistan about the benefits of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and to counteract negative stereotypes about China and the CPEC that have been spreading in the province They met with Chinese officials at the embassy in Islamabad where they posed questions about CPEC and its prospective benefits

Two documentaries titled ‘Dividends of CPEC for Balochistan’ and How Shenzhen emerged as global industrial hub’ were screened In the former documentary, students were shown how CPEC is benefiting the people of Balochistan The documentary gave a deep insight into the economic, social, and political impact that CPEC has had on the people of Balochistan They were made aware of the different job opportunities and infrastructural improvements that have come as a result of CPEC in the region These students were also made aware of the measures taken to ensure the safety and security of those living in Balochistan as well as a better life for everyone in the region They learned of the tremendous potential that CPEC can bring to Balochistan, including an improved standard of living and a strong economic base for generations to come

The later documentary showed how

Shenzhen went from a small fishing village to one of the most influential economic hubs in the world This transformation was remarkable, and the documentary highlighted the key aspects of Shenzhen s development such as its strong connection to the global economy, its introduction of special economic zones, and its eagerness to embrace technological innovation The documentary showed the significant role the Chinese government played in driving the transformation of Shenzhen, including providing generous tax incentives for businesses, funding education and infrastructure improvements, and relaxing regulations to allow for rapid economic growth

Bao Zhong, Counselor of Political and Media Section, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Pakistan, in her welcome remarks stressed the need for continued engagement with youth to deepen the understanding and increase people-to-people ties She said the visit

of students was very timely and it would initiate a constructive dialogue aimed at bringing the concerned stakeholders on the table so that synergies can be generated in regards to reaping the opportunities being provided by the CPEC She also highlighted the significance of China-Pakistan relationship for the betterment of both the countries, adding that CPEC is a flagship project not only for bilateral cooperation but also has significant importance in regional connectivity and development

Mustafa Hyder Sayed Executive Director, Pakistan-China Institute stated emphasized that Baluchistan’s youth must be involved in the decision-making processes related to CPEC and also be engaged in training programs to equip them with the necessary skills and expertise to benefit from the project He further added that these efforts must be complemented with a well-planned, strategic outreach program that aims to ensure that Baluchistan s youth are empowered to

participate in and benefit from the opportunities presented by CPEC He pointed out that such an outreach program should address the need to provide accessible information and resources create learning environments that are inclusive of Baluchistan’s youth, and support local entrepreneurs who can bring meaningful changes to their communities To this end, Mustafa Hyder Sayed called for collective efforts to implement concrete strategies that would ensure that Baluchistan s youth have access to the resources, knowledge, and skills they need in order to be part of the CPEC project

The students were gifted souvenirs and detailed reports on how the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has positively impacted Baluchistan’s economy published by Pakistan-China Institute The souvenirs were greatly appreciated by the students, and they received a better understanding of how CPEC has improved the economy in Balochistan The students were enthralled to learn how CPEC has managed to bring in significant foreign investment and infrastructure projects, as well as create thousands of jobs in the region While many of the students were familiar with the facts, it was through this field trip that they truly gained a greater appreciation of how the projects and initiatives have positively impacted Balochistan Moreover the students were impressed to see first-hand how CPEC has enabled Balochistan to join the global market and benefit from foreign investment This experience was invaluable for the students giving them an understanding of positive and vast implications that CPEC has on Baluchistan s economy

UK to extend technical suppor t for economic improvement in Pakistan

FAISALABAD

Counsellor and Group Head (Economy & Trade) British High Commission Islamabad Maheshwar Mishra Thursday said that mainstreaming of the female population could help Pakistan take a quantum jump towards economic improvement and the UK is ready to extend technical support for the purpose He was speaking during his visit to Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) He had a detailed discussion with President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) Dr Khurram Tariq on this occasion Maheshwar underlined the importance of bilateraltrade between Pakistan and UK and said that Britain was one of the major trading partners of Pakistan Pakistan is included among the top five countries getting maximum financial assistance from the UK,” he said and added that Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was extending a technical support to Pakistan so that it could graduate from developing to the developed countries H e s a i d t h a t U K s u p p o r t e d f o u n d a t i o n s a n d i n s t i t u t i o n s a n d h a d l a u n c h e d m a n y p r o j e c t s i n P a k i s t a n t o i m p r o v e i t s e c o n o m y H e s a i d t h a t “ K a r a n d a a z ” h a d b e e n f l o a t e d t o s u p p o r t t h e S M E s e c t o r t h r o u g h m i c r o - f i n a n c e s u p p o r t T h i s f o u n d a t i o n h a d u t i l i s e d a g r a n t o f 1 4 0 m i l l i o n e u r o h e s a i d a n d a d d e d t h a t t h e p r o g r a m m e c o n t i n u e d f o r t e n y e a r s a n d n o w m a n y m o r e s i m i l a r i n s t i t u t i o n s h a d e m e rg e d t o s u p p o r t t h i s s e c t o r M a h e s h w a r s a i d t h a t t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r o f d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s m u s t f o l l o w t h e p a t t e r n o f d e v e l o p e d c o u n t r i e s b y t r e a d i n g o n t h e g r o w t h t r a j e c t o r y i n i t i a l l y b y c o p i n g a n d u t i l i s i n g t h e t e c h n o l o g i e s H e s a i d t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t m u s t p r o v i d e a p r e d i c t a b l e p o l i c y e n v i r o n m e n t a n d t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r s h o u l d t a l k t o t h e i r g o v e r n m e n t t o c a t a l y s e i n d u s t r i a l g r o w t h

C M E l a h i a p p rove s s t at u s o f d i s t r i c t t o Ta u n s a S h a r i f

s ta f f r e p o r t Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi gave final approval to give district status to Taunsa while taking another big step regarding South Punjab

The chief minister took immediate action for the status of district to Taunsa on the demand of the members of National and Provincial Assembly of Dera Ghazi Khan

Khawaja Shiraz Mahmood,

Muhammad Khan Leghari Saifuddin Khosa, Sardar Muhammad Mohiuddin Khosa, Javed Akhtar Lund, Makhdoom Raza, Ali Raza Dareshak and Roy Zahoor were also present

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said he had announced the status of district to Taunsa in 2005

“In 2005, the announcement of making Taunsa a district was announced in a big public gathering of MNA Khawaja Shiraz Now Taunsa had been given district status”, he said

I t h a n k A l l a h T h e A l m i g h t y, f o r f u l f i l l i n g t h e p r o m i s e s m a d e t o p e o p l e o f Taunsa and in a short period of a f e w m o n t h s , Ta u n s a i s t h e f i f t h new district he added He said t h a t M u r r e e , Wa z i r a b a d , Ta l agang and Kot Addu had already been given district status

The members of the assembly expressed their gratitude to the chief minister for granting the statusof district to Taunsa and said people of Taunsa would always remember the decision

S o l d i e r, c i v i l i a n m a r t y r e d i n s u i c i d e a t t a c k i n N o r t h Wa z i r i s t a n

RAWALPINDI

One security personnel and one civilian embraced martyrdom in suicide attack in Miran Shah area of North Waziristan District

According to the ISPR, nine innocent civilians were also injured in the incident

President Dr Arif Alvi has vowed to continue efforts till the remnants of terrorism are extirpated

In a statement denouncing the suicide blast in Miranshah area of North Waziristan the President said the entire nation stands united in fight against terrorism

He condoled with the bereaved families of those martyred in the incident and prayed for speedy recov-

ery of the injured

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has hailed the services of people and security forces for the elimination of terrorism in the country

In a statement, strongly denouncing the suicide blast in Miranshah area of North Waziristan on Thursday, the Prime Minister said terrorists are playing in the hands of our enemies who want to destabilize Pakistan

Shehbaz Sharif expressed commitment to punish these criminals for rendering the blood of Pakistani people

He expressed grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of one security personnel and a civilian and also condoled with the bereaved families He paid tributes to the martyrs for laying down their lives for the country

King Salman Relief Centre completes distribution of Winter Relief project in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has started a project to distribute 25,000 winter kits among recent flood affected and deserving people living in Pakistan in collaboration with NDMA The winter relief package were distributed in 14 districts of Pakistan (Ganche, Skardu, Nagar, Astor Ghizer Chitral Swat Upper Dir Mansehra Dera Ismail Khan, Dadu, Jamshoro, Badin & Qamber Shahdakot) The package includes 50,000 Polyester Quilts and 25,000 winter kits including warm shawls for men and women and warm clothes for children and adults This relief package of King Salman were distributed in a transparent manner with the help of NDMA and provincial government, which will benefit more than 175 000 people in these districts

PHC stays land acquisition for Peshawar housing project

PESHAWAR

The Peshawar High Court has issued a stay order temporarily stopping the provincial government and Peshawar Development Authority from acquiring land for the New Peshawar Valley, one of the largest government residential schemes in the province A bench consisting of Justice Syed Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Syed Arshad Ali declared that action on the December 14, 2020, notification issued for the housing project by the land acquisition collector under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act would remain suspended until further orders

It issued notices to the respondents, including the provincial housing secretary, Provincial Housing Authority and the PDA, for response to the petition against the housing project observing that the case was about a very crucial issue of public importance

The TLTP learnt that the bench set a one-month deadline for respondents to respond to the petition jointly filed by several residents of different villages, including Gul Fama and others, who claimed that the government had issued the impugned notification for arbitrarily acquiring their land for the New Peshawar Valley housing scheme

The petitioners claimed that there were two other old projects, including Regi Model Town Peshawar and Jalozai Housing Scheme Nowshera work on which were launched many years ago but had yet to be completed

They, however, said the government had initiated the new scheme due to ‘vested interests ’

The bench ordered the fixing of the petition for hearing in the third week of next month It also directed the respondents to address issues raised by it on their comments

The bench wondered how and for what purpose the idea of the New Peshawar Valley was conceived and on what purpose the provincial government had approved the housing scheme

It ordered the placing of the summary submitted to the cabinet on record

The bench also wondered whether any physical survey was conducted regarding the suitability of soil whether the concerns of the residents were considered and how they would be addressedbefore the housing scheme s launch whether the project s impact on the agriculture was considered, whether its environmental approval had been obtained, and what the project’s impact would be on the province’s exchequer

It also asked respondents if it would be expedient to launch the housing scheme after the government “abandoned” two such projects, including Regi Model Town Peshawar and Jalozai Housing Scheme Nowshera

Mohammad Tariq Afridi, lawyer for the petitioners, contended that his clients were residents of various villages and owned considerable agricultural land at the site of the proposed housing project

He said the respondents, including the provincial government with mala fide and dishonest intention, had launched the New Peshawar Valley just to benefit certain influential persons including bureaucrats

F S T d i r e c t s M o H R t o e s t a b l i s h C h i l d P r o t e c t i o n C e n t e r exc l u s i ve l y fo r t r a n s c h i l d r e n

t i v e s t o t h e c o u r t

Curiae (expert)

Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court Justice D r S y e d M u h a m m a d A n w e r d i r e c t e d t h e Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR) to establish Child Protection Center equipped to d e a l w i t h e x c l u s i v e n e e d s o f t r a n s g e n d e r c h i l d r e n C h a i r p e r s o n N a t i o n a l C o m m i ss i o n f o r H u m a n R i g h t s ( N C H R ) R a b i y a Javeri Agha joined the hearing as Amicus

I n t h e c o u r t h e a r i n g h e l d o n T h u r s d a y, C h i e f J u s t i c e a l s o o r d e r e d e s t a b l i s h i n g a m o n i t o r i n g c o m m i t t e e w i t h t h e r e p r e s e nt a t i o n o f C h a i r p e r s o n N C H R R a b i y a J a v e r i A g h a , C h a i r p e r s o n S w e e t H o m e s Z a m u r d K h a n a n d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f Akhwat Foundation and transgender comm u n i t y t o s u p e r v i s e t h e p r o c e s s T h e C o u r t a l s o d i r e c t e d t h e M o H R t o s u b m i t t h e p r o g r e s s r e p o r t o n b o t h t h e s e d i r e c -

As per Court s notice issued on December 13, 2022, Chairperson National Commission for Human Rights Rabiya Javeri Agha, Chairperson Sweet Homes Zamurd Khan and representative of Akhwat Foundation participated in the court proceedings as Amicus Curiae

NCHR Chair Rabiya Javeri Agha gave detailed briefing on the existing child protection mechanism She acknowledged the

proactive initiative of MoHR in setting up the Child Protection Center and explained that Center is already functional in the capital In the past half a year, the Center has already housed a transgender child in this Center Inclusive education of transgender children is essential and the Commission will help set up SOPs and TORs if need be However, when a child especial child comes to child protection center the child needs proper counselling

In the court hearing held on December 13, Nadeem-uz-Zafar alias Kashish raised t h e i s s u e s f a c e d b y t r a n s c h i l d r e n b e f o r e the Court Responding to that, the Court ordered MoHR to submit report on existence of any center for children born with some d e f e c t s i n t h e i r s e x u a l o rg a n s T h e c o u r t e x p r e s s e d c o n c e r n o v e r t h e f a c t t h a t i n most cases, these children are abandoned by their families and fall prey to pedophiles and other predators

LAHORE

LG poLLs in capitaL to be precursor to victory in ‘Haqeeqi a z adi MoveMent’: asad

LG polls in Islamabad

construction and development

pA K I S TA N Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)

Central Secretary General Asad Umar said that the forthcoming local government elections in the federal capital would prove to be a precursor to the victory of the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi Movement , as the PTI would easily trounce the 13 parties’ alliance

Presiding over a high-level meeting held here on Thursday, Asad Umar said that the PTI fielded a large number of hardworking loyal and capable workers for the LG polls in the federal capital territory However, he added that the 13-parties corrupt group was struggling even to find a candidate for the

corporate corner

The meeting was attended by PTI Islamabad Region President Ali Nawaz Awan and other party’s local leaders and office-bearers

During the meeting, they held detailed discussion on the preparations of local body elections in Islamabad, the modus operandi of the election campaign and other important issues including PTI s election manifesto

The meeting also reviewed the formation of mobilization committees at the level of Union Councils in the three constituencies of the National Assembly in Islamabad Speaking on the occasion, Asad Umar said that PTI was the center of people s hopes, because Imran Khan was the only leader

He said that the success in local elections would lay the foundations of a new era of

NEEC A, QESCO, and BUITEMS sign MoU to wrok for dealing with energy crisis

During the meeting, they also discussed preparation and planning for effective media campaign for local body elections in detail

T h e y d i s c u s s e d s t r a t e g y t o h i g h l i g h t and educate people about the manifesto of P T I t h r o u g h s o c i a l m e d i a w a s a l s o d i sc u s s e d i n t h e m e e t i n g , b e s i d e s a p p r o v i n g t h e s t r a t e g y t o p u b l i c i z e t h e h i s t o r i c d ev e l o p m e n t w o r k s d o n e b y t h e P T I i n I sl a m a b a d

They also finalized schedule of public g a t h e r i n g s a c r o s s I s l a m a b a d i n t h e m e e ting Party office-bearers were instructed to r u n a ff e c t i v e e l e c t i o n c a m p a i g n o f l o c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a n d s p e c i a l i n s t r u c t i o n s were issued for campaigning of candidates at all levels

Tis the season for Hawala and hundi: Gap spreads between interbank and open market

CONtINuED fR Om pAgE 01

the

the

Speaking

Science and Technology Agha Hassan Baloch said that we are trying to take effective measures to deal with the energy crisis in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan The introduction of solar system will help to overcome the difficulties faced by the land owners and agriculture department of Balochistan He said that the purpose of the MoU with BUITEMS University is to conduct research using the skills of the students here and to tackle the energy related challenges While internships will also be offered to university students Solving the problems of Balochistan is our top priority Vice Chancellor Bitems Engineer Ahmed Farooq Bazai said that effective measures need to be taken to overcome the energy crisis The establishment of COMSATS University is welcome, it will help to raise the educational standard of the province MD NEECA Dr Sardar Moazzam Chief Engineer QESCO Naeem Kakar also addressed the event p r

Pakistan’s first 5G Innovation Lab at NUST

Islamabad: In a breakthrough development, the groundbreaking of Pakistan s first 5G Innovation Lab was held at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) This historic achievement is the result of strategic partnership between NUST and Jazz, Pakistan’s leading digital operator The groundbreaking witnessed an overwhelming number of senior dignitaries, including Secretary IT Mr Mohsin Mushtaq; SAPM on Youth Affairs, Ms Shiza Fatima; Rector NUST, Lt Gen (Retd) Engr Javed Mahmood Bukhari; and CEO Jazz Mr Aamir Ibrahim to name a few By leveraging its high bandwidth, low latency, and advanced security, the 5G Innovation Lab will help researchers to work on potential use cases for 5G in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, Augmented/Virtual Reality and Cloud-edge Computing Possessing Applications in Education, Healthcare, Industry 4 0, Agriculture, Security, Disaster Management, Entertainment, etc Congratulating NUST and Jazz, Mr Mohsin Mushtaq, Secretary IT said, “This lab will play a pivotal role in helping us build an ecosystem to explore 5G-enabled use cases in Agritech EdTech etc while serving as a conduit for the interplay of technologies like Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Internet of Things, and Cybersecurity p r

The demand in the open market these days is primarily driven based on making a quick buck in the foreign exchange market when the rupee depreciates The demand is further amplified by savers dollarizing their savings However, because travel has picked up, people are rushing to currency exchanges for foreign currency The rate in the interbank, however, has calmed down as the controls on outflows such as LC restrictions closing down open accounts, etc have worked Moreover, with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar s persistence on the Rupee being Rs 200 to a dollar; the artificial controls on outflows have helped strengthen the rupee W h y a r e i n t e r b a n k a n d o p e n m a r k e t r at e s d i ff e r e n t?

You might be thinking why there are two different rates To understand this let s look at what the interbank and open market really are and why they’re two different markets

As the name suggests the interbank market is a market between banks On an international level, it is a network used by financial institutions to trade currency and currency derivatives with each other These transactions can be on behalf of third parties done through banks; however, they are primarily done for the banks themselves Since May 1999 Pakistan has been following a market-based flexible exchange rate system As a result, the interbank rate is applicable to all foreign exchange receipts and payments

This is for the private and public sectors The exchange rate depends on the demands and supply conditions in the domestic interbank

The interbank is fed by inflows such as imports remittances grants aid, donations, foreign direct investment, and repatriation of profits Any money that comes into the country through these official channels comes in through commercial banks for their clients This feeds the interbank

At first glance, you’re probably thinking that these two markets are vastly independent and do not rely on each other That is not entirely true Foreign exchange companies deposit or surrender their net inflows to the interbank at the end of trading days That makes them a part of the system

There is usually a differential or spread between the two rates This is primarily because the exchange companies, while not always charging a commission, charge a margin so that they make money

As a result, the interbank and open market are two different rates In normal circumstances, the difference between the two rates is small, however, in times of volatility, the spread may grow Sometimes, however, the interbank rate is higher than the open market rate This is very rare but has happened Similarly, outflows are also made through this category Depending on the need of the market the SBP can inject liquidity by selling foreign currency in the interbank It can also wipe up liquidity by buying

As a retail buyer, you do not have access to the interbank rates Instead,

you go to the open market for all your foreign currency needs The open market in Pakistan or kerb market primarily consists of Foreign currency exchanges where individuals can go buy and sell currency

The open market, however, gets its inflows through remittances, travelers exchanging notes, and sometimes savers exchanging the currency they ve held on to You may be confused about remittances being an inflow in both the interbank and open market This is because customers have an option to decide which channel to send their remittance from a d e c l i n e i n c o n f i d e n c e?

Remmittances are not the only inflow or asset seeing a decline The Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) that had seen net inflows up until March 2022 have seen $659 million withdrawn in the past six months Introduced as a fixed income security offered digitally by the Government of Pakistan the certificates saw great popularity but have seen more withdrawals than inflows since June

Overall outflows surpassed inflows leaving $763 million in September 2022 This means that more withdrawals have been seen in the last six months than net inflows in the previous three quarters

There are possible reasons behind this net outflow One could be that investors chose not to reinvest in NPC upon maturity This could be because they found another lucrative avenue of investment, needed the funds, or had any personal reason

“With the soaring inflation globally, we are witnessing aggressive mon-

RUDA

u l a t i o n We l f a r e D r A z r a P e c h u h o o n T h u r s d a y s a i d t h a t t h e S i n d h Government has always taken sincere efforts for the provision of bett e r h e a l t h f a c i l i t i e s t o p e o p l e , e s p e c i a l l y i n f a r- f l u n g a r e a o f t h e province, saying quality healthcare i s t h e f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t o f e v e r y Pakistani irrespective of race, religion, political & social status S i n d h M i n i s t e r f o r H e a l t h & P o p u l a t i o n We l f a r e D r A z r a P e c h u h o w a s s p e a k i n g a t i n a u g u -

r a t i n g t h e d a y l o n g c a m p o f C l e f t Lips & Cleft palate patients” at old b u i l d i n g o f D i s t r i c t H e a d q u a r t e r s C i v i l H o s p i t a l B a d i n o n We d n e sd a y T h e c a m p w a s o rg a n i z e d b y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f C l a p p G e n e r a l H o s p i t a l L a h o r e D r P e c h u h o s a i d t h a t d e s p i t e f u n d s s h o r t a g e , t h e S i n d h G o v e r n m e n t w a s t a ki n g a l l o u t m e a s u r e s t o p r o v i d e q u a l i t y h e a l t h f a c i l i t i e s t o t h e m a s s e s , a d d i n g t h a t a l l i n s t i t ut i o n s a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n s c o nc e r n e d m u s t c o m e f o r w a r d t o a s s i s t t h e g o v e r n m e n t e f f o r t s b e i n g m a d e t o p r o v i d e q u a l i t y h e a l t h f a c i l i t i e s t o t h e p u b l i c

Aeroponic tech key to achieve self-sufficienc y in potato seed: C heema

IsLAmABAD p r

T h e t h i r d l a t e s t a e r o p o n i c g r e e n h o u s e f o r p r o d u c t i o n o f v i r u s f r e e s e e d p o t a t o e s h a s been inaugurated in Pakistan at the National A g r i c u l t u r a l R e s e a r c h C e n t e r ( N A R C ) i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h t h e K o r e a n P r o g r a m o n

etary tightening by the majority of the central banks Accordingly, the returns offered on NPC are not competitive anymore and the political instability is also dampening the investors sentiment leading towards withdrawal from NPC, says Abbas

Another possible reason for the net outflows could be a change in the government While a preference for a political party may be the reason behind the withdrawal it is important to note that changes in government bring instability which hurts investor sentiment With Pakistan s shaky fundamentals and struggles with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) review, investors may be reacting

However, in the past, former governor Dr Reza Baqir in response to a question by Profit explained that advertising was an important factor influencing RDA account openings and inflows He said “When TV ads and overseas means to advertise are used, more accounts are opened, when stopped the pace slows down

Previously, sources at commercial banks working on RDA product development said that the SBP is pushing banks to engage customers more than ever and are encouraging banks to dedicate more resources to the marketing of RDA The same sources are now claiming that the push from the central bank on the matter has moved to more serious topics such as foreign exchange-related issues

With the government and SBP in firefighting mode; it is likely that development on RDA and remmitance products like the NRLP are just not important enough

H e s a i d t h a t h e a v y r a i n s a n d f l o o d s i n the country have caused a loss of 30 billion U S d o l l a r s t o P a k i s t a n s a g r i c u l t u r e A g r iculture is the guarantee of prosperity in Paki s t a n T h e a g r i c u l t u r e i s t h e g u a r a n t e e o f prosperity in Pakistan, but the sector is facing numerous challenges such as supply of quality seeds and climate change It is that p o t a t o i s f o u r t h m o s t i m p o r t a n t a n d c a s hgenerating crop, but due to the lack of good quality seeds, it is facing problems like reduction in production

An enforcement operation was conducted in an illegal housing society with the name of Theme View Park falling in between the vicinity of Mohnalwal and C h u n g a r e a , a l o n g w i t h t h e d i s t r i c t a dm i n i s t r a t i o n w h e r e t h r e e o ff i c e s o f t h e

It is pertinent to add that for the interest of general public, be aware notices and caveat emptor were published in print media

including

government

Municipal

and RUDA in their respective areas of responsibility Furthermore, WASA, LESCO, SNGPL were informed by RUDA for the suspension of civic facilities

RUDA in the best interest of public once again accentuate that this not only tantamount to illegal development but investing or buying property by public will create a inconvenience for both the buyers and the authorities, for which RUDA will be left with no other option but to have a recourse through legal measures

Quetta: A memorandum of understanding on energy efficiency conservation was signed between National Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority (NEECA), Quetta Electric Supply and Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering and Management Sciences Senior officers of NEECA, QESCO and faculty members of BUITEMS were present on

occasion

at

MoU ceremony, Federal Minister

IsLAmABAD

International Agricultural (KOPIA) Federal Minister for National Food Securityand Res e a r c h , C h a u d h r y Ta r i q B a s h i r C h e e m a , Ambassador of South Korea, H E Mr Suh S a n g p y o , C h a i r m a n , PA R C D r G h u l a m M u h a m m a d A l i a n d D r C h o G y o u n g - r a e ,

Director KOPIA Pakistan Center and inaugurated the event On this occasion, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Res e a r c h C h a u d h r y Ta r i q B a s h e e r C h e e m a said that Government of Pakistan is grateful to the Korean government for the transfer of

latest aeroponics technology to Pakistan and the training of scientists

LAHORE p r

R a v i U r b a n D e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y (RUDA) has started working to take act i o n a g a i n s t i l l e g a l h o u s i n g s c h e m e s within its territorial limits Ensuring the o n g o i n g i s s u e o f i l l e g a l h o u s i n g s o c ieties and encroachments within its jurisdiction

The Authority has reiterated that all such transgressions will be demolished where no construction is allowed as per the RUDA Act and government orders

said society were sealed for which earlier the notices were also served

from time to time by concerned

authorities

LDA,

Authority,

S indh committed to proving quality healthc are to public: D r Pechuho

launches ac tion against illegal housing schemes within its limits

B o r d e r t e n s i o n

T h e r e t u r n o f t h e K i n g

tH O U G H the firing on thursday at the Chaman border crossing was less deadly than that four days before, as only one person was killed and 12 injured, as opposed to the four killed earlier, when 16 were also injured, the latest incident made nonsense of Defence Minister Khwaja Asif ’s claim that the Afghan government had apologized for the incident and had assured that it would not be repeated Well, it has What does the Pakistan government plan to do about it?

All sorts of doubts are raised the biggest doubt is whether the Kabul government is on board, or whether the local authorities have found the freedom to act on their own in contradiction to the centrally determined policy with respect to a neighbour In either case, the implications are frightening In the first case, the hostility of the Afghan government rudely belies the triumphalist rhetoric witnessed in Pakistan when the taliban returned to power last year In the second, Pakistan would find that it is pointless talking to the taliban, because sitting in Kabul, they are unable to influence events in Chaman fAtA MNA Mohsin Dawar has said that the incident is the result of a gradual escalation If that is the case, then clearly no one on the Pakistan side was successful at preventing the escalation A befitting reply must be given, but the consequences of engaging in gunfire on the Western border can only prove a morale-booster for the enemy on the eastern where disputes the main being Kashmir, remain the reports of crossfire between the two armed forces can only be disquieting Both sides have engaged in a blame game with both armed forces claiming that the other fired first

the influence of smugglers cannot be ruled out the crossings are rendered all the more crucial because of the recent fencing of the Durand Line However, the closing of the crossings cannot work in the smugglers’ favour, who have long used the Chaman crossing to bring goods across the border Pakistan has done enough handwringing, and must proceed to a solution It will not do merely to extract another apology, so it must study the matter objectively, and resolve the issue, even if it means bruising some egos on its own side the object must be to stop more people dying, and bringing back the Chaman crossing to its place as a crucial entrepôt, instead of the war zone it seems in danger of becoming

Nizami Editor

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

At Penpoint

TH I S is not the first time that the PML(N) has expected party Quaid and three-time PM Mian Nawaz Sharif to return from the UK where he is in self-exile (or has overtsayed his bail, depending on your point of view), but now it is serious the reason is that the clock is ticking in the countdown to the next general election, which is now less than a year away If there is to be any point of returning, he should return now, so that he can campaign in the next general elections this has nothing to do with PtI chief Imran Khan s demand for fresh elections, or the manner in which he is trying to get them Along with other parties, the PML(N) also faces the prospect of 2024 being a year of double elections, because if Imran carries out his threat of dissolving the Punjab and KP Assemblies, where he has governments, they will have elections early next year, not later than March (the exact date will depend on that of the dissolution) However if the federal government holds out to the end of term, national elections will take place in October therefore if the (PML(N) wants Mian Nawaz back for the provincial campaign, if there is one, it would like him to come back soon

It should be remembered that Mian Nawaz will have to be back not just for the three weeks of campaigning allowed by law before the election, but for the preliminary process of awarding tickets It will stretch him, because he is a septuagenarian with two bypasses, but if these provincial elections are held, they will be in provinces where he has more electoral appeal, and where he has historically campaigned more It is also worth noting that his daughter Maryam, who only recently went to see him has not returned home that is a strong indication that she will return with him even if Imran does not get his CMs to dissolve the only way to keep Mian Nawaz away would be put off the National Assembly election that is possible only if Parliament passes a law, and emergency is composed there is however no constitutional provision which allows the provincial assemblies’ elections to be put of, even though the emergency may be imposed in a province which will enable Parliament to legislate in addition to the provincial assembly

However because any contradiction will be resolved in favour of Parliament’s legislation, the provincial assembly is ousted the provincial government may be assumed by the federal government and handed over to the Governor, or anyone else this is done by an Order However, there is nothing about postponing provincial elections However if such elections are held, and if the province is under emergency, the federal government may prevent that Assembly anointing a provincial government this can only last so long as the federal government avoids a dissolution of Parliament

It must also be kept in mind that Proclamations

of emergency are subject to judicial challenge, and it will be up to the federal government to show that conditions existed for the imposition of an emergency, like war or internal disturbance beyond the ability of the provincial government to control Mere political expediency is no longer a sufficient cause, though it seems to have been in the past the federal government may try to use the reasoning given in 1988 in Haji Saifullah’s case, that elections had to be held late because they had been announced, and the country was ready for them then not earlier and argue that the emergency precluded the provincial governments from continuing, and elections were to be held anyhow Of course matters would be even more complicated if two provinces were under caretaker governments

Whatever the situation, there will be elections in 2023, at least for the four provincial assemblies, even if there is no early dissolution, even if Parliament extends its life by legislation under a Proclamation of emergency However, it does not seem that Imran will get early dissolutions the threatening noises he has made have not had the result of the federal government coming up with a date for elections He should also remember that Mian Shehbaz can only dissolve the National Assembly on his own His party, the PML(N) does not control a single provincial government to dissolve the Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies

He would need two coalition partners, the PPP snd the Balochistan Awami Party, to come on board

It should be remembered that Mian Nawaz will have to be back not just for the three weeks of campaigning allowed by law before the election, but for the preliminary process of awarding tickets. It will stretch him, because he is a septuagenarian with two bypasses, but if these provincial elections are held, they will be in provinces where he has more electoral appeal, and where he has historically campaigned more

However, while Imran apparently has two provinces, the CMs have been hemming and hawing While the KP CM is a party man, the Punjab CM is not However, the KP CM has made the Punjab’s dissolution a condition of dissolution Punjab CM Ch Pervez elahi has demurred Saying that dissolution should not take place until March If Imran was to withdraw its MPAs,the Punjab government would collapse Or would it? the PML(N) governor could ask Ch Pervez to take a vote of confidence, for which he could not produce the requisite numbers without the PtI or the PML(N) could bring a vote of no-confidence, for which it would have to produce the needed numbers

It could support Ch Pervez from outside voting

for his budget but not accepting any ministries which would probably be distributed among the miniscule PML(Q) parliamentary party It would also be possible after April to induct non-members as ministers, on the pretext that theft they were finding a seat (Not their fault if the Assembly s tenure lapsed before that) While such an arrangement would be ridiculous, it would be possible Its main advantage is to the PML(N), which will not be tainted with having joined a Pervez ministry the big advantage of the PML(N) is that this would pave the way for Mian Nawaz to return there have been two returns recently which seem to be paving the way for Mian Nawaz, that of Ishaq Dar and Salman Shehbaz Both had been declared proclaimed offenders Both got transit bail to the trial court, Dar surrendered and got bail in the case he was facing Salman is also expected to get bail after he surrenders Similarly Mian Nawaz would prefer not to be arrested by the Punjab Police at the airport, taken into custody and then produced before the Lahore High Court, which had granted him bail to get treatment abroad Mian Nawaz was not under trial, but was a convict and his custody would be accordingly there are also the logistics of his return ever since Benazir Bhutto’s triumphant return to Pakistan in 1986 politicians have used that as a standard Mian Nawaz himself has staged two such returns, once when he was turned back, and the next time to stay, with the 2013 elections looming Again, with elections looming, Nawaz needs a comeback of titanic proportions, and the PML(N) is doing its best to ensure this Punjab President rana Sanaullah has organised the party down to the umnion council-level, which will also stand the party well in coming elections even if the Punjab Assembly and national elections occur on the same day, thew local body polls are overdue, and will be held separately Meanwhile, the party organisation is geared towards welcoming Mian Nawaz Whether or not Imran opts for dissolutions 2023 is an election year While there is no guarantee that dissolving two provincial assemblies will guarantee national elections (and this is an argument used by the two baulking CMs), there will have to be four provincial elections in November, and perhaps national polls as well Mian Nawaz has played the Ishaq sqDar cvard, which has not really worked He will have to come back personally to minimize the damage caused by the sputtering economy to his party at the hustings

Af t e r the Cold War a shift is observed in the world politics and system But the primary actor in the international system is still the state because all the activities of world politics and affairs revolve around it to ensure its survival and security a state enhances influence and control over its neighbours and region through economic activities and military equipment today these activities and measures are creating a highly complicated situation the new trends of economic activities, mutual trade and the access to resources like coal, oil, gas, and coal as well as to control geo -economic instruments are being introduced the physical entrances into a certain region or state are referred to as routes, which are both a topographical and a tactical concept the domestic growth impacts by routes or in areas of security and development routes are also a key instrument for revealing the qualitative relationships between the states and for providing open doors to greater economic efficiency, safety, rural growth, and access to urban or international markets Having easy access to markets is the most important of all these benefits since without it, a state cannot maintain its economic and commercial events

the boundaries of Pakistan particularly the province of Baluchistan, have historically been crucial for gaining control of influence, pursuing development, and attracting attention from the globe In the contemporary world the position of Gwadar is highly appealing to regional and global powers who are interested in the South, West, and Asia from a strategic and economic standpoint Gwadar lies at the entrance to the Persian Gulf in the south while being adjacent to the Chinese region of Xinjiang in the north the proximity of its harbour to the Hormuz Strait, a route for nearly 17 million barrels of oil per day, makes it the ideal location between three important regions: South Asia, the Persian Gulf (rich in oil), and Central Asia (resource-rich in oil and gas), which further increases its strategic value

Moreover, powerful states like China, United States russia and regional states are willing in extending economic dominance in this region due to its terrestrial and strategic value Gwadar stands out in the global maritime scene as an alternative to Dubai (beyond the Strait of Hormuz s choke point and shallow seas), due to its closeness to important SLOCs and its importance to the new great game as a member of the so-called String of Pearls

China is Pakistan’s main partner in commerce inv e s t m e n t , a n d d e f e n c e r e l a t i o n s C P e C , t h e c e n t r ep i e c e p r o j e c t o f C h i n a s l a rg e r B e l t a n d r o a d

I n i t i a t i v e i s b e i n g v i g o r o u s l y p u r s u e d a s i t m o v e s f o r w a r d w i t h e c o n o m i c p r o j e c t s i n t h e a r e a C h i n a h a s a n a l t e r n a t i v e f o r t h e S t r a i t o f M a l a c c a b e c a u s e o f G w a d a r w h i c h s h o w s t h a t a l l t h e p a r t i c i p a t i n g n at i o n s m a y b e n e f i t s t r a t e g i c a l l y f r o m u s i n g t h e c o a s tl i n e s o f G w a d a r a n d M a k r a n o w i n g t o t h e a c c e s s t o t h e c o a s t l i n e t h a t c a n p r ov i d e e c o n o m i c a n d s t r a t e g i c goals in the region It can increase access across the Horm u z S t r a i t s a n d t h e n o r t h e r n I n d i a n O c e a n , e n a b l i n g a dm i s s i o n t o m a r i n e c h a n n e l s f o r C h i n a furthermore, in comparison to Iran (4500 km) and turkey (5000 km), Pakistan gives the CArs the quickest land route (2600 km via Afghanistan) to the Arabian Sea for trade Additionally, the CPeC route has been operating since 2004 under a Quadrilateral trade Agreement between China, Kyrgyzstan tajikistan and Kazakhstan It also extends to tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan tKPI (termez Kabul Peshawar Islamabad) is an alternative project to tAPI with a length of 750 km (almost half of tAPI: 1700 km) to reach Islamabad the majority of Afghan trade which includes everyday necessities and critical foods, passes through Pakistan After US and NAtO withdrawal, Pakistan would unavoidably need help throughout the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase of Afghanistan Pakistan continues to be the most practical choice for

regional connection with Afghanistan, notwithstanding Indian investment or desire for alternatives like Chabahar Port of Iran

the geopolitical interests of the main countries converge in Pakistan two Muslim and two non-Muslim states are positioned on either side of a vast body of water It is situated between three nuclear-armed states and also possesses nuclear weapons of its own Due to its geostrategic and geopolitical significance, it has been and continues to be the focus of the desires of the great powers According to academics, the benefits of the 21st century economic progress are being felt throughout the Asian continent the Asian continent may benefit from this evolution in terms of both affluence and the scope of power However, some academics also assert that political instability and personal vendettas are promoted by economic development slogans Political unrest results from economic growth because it disturbs the regional and international power dynamics

Stephen Cohen rightly stated that Pakistan’s geography has been its greatest benefit Owing to the fact that Pakistan can gain extreme economic benefits by utilizing its geographic location intelligently, however, Pakistan is facing internal and external security issues that give rise to a less productive economic environment for neighbourhood states and superpowers the government s role to deal with internal stability issues related to terrorism and insurgency specifically in Balochistan and in the north of Pakistan, is crucial

furthermore, without comprehensive planning and infrastructure for international trade and transportation it is almost impossible to achieve the benefits of our transit routes On the international level, Pakistan, being a littoral state must develop its positive relations with the rest of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean rigorous efforts to meet international maritime standards will further add up in our efforts in becoming a transit economy

writer can be reached at guleayeshabhatti@gmail

The second firing in four days at the Chaman crossing means things aren’t working

The writer is a member of staff

Fur thermore , without comprehensive planning and infrastructure for international trade and transpor tation, it is almost impossible to achieve the benefits of our transit routes

Yousaf

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

Mian Nawaz Sharif ’s return is tied to elec tions

Bitter truths about the 197 1 Indo-Pak war

across east Pakistan from about January 1971 until March 1972 She gives eyewitness accounts of the survivors of the incidents as well as the accounts of the kin of those killed and of the Pakistan Army officers who had served in east Pakistan at that time She approaches the subject with the élan of a journalist and the seriousness of an academic

She discredits the Indian and Bangladeshi claim that the Pakistani Army committed genocide of three million Bengalis She calls it the ultimate word-number combination and a gigantic rumour” She deflates the figure to between 50,000 and 100,000 It is not unusual to play with numbers of vested interests for instance there is a lot of confusion about the numbers of Jews killed in the Holocaust

IN his final public statement as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa stated that “the number of soldiers fighting [in erstwhile east Pakistan] was not 92 000 but 34 000 He added, “these 34,000 soldiers were confronted by an Indian army of 250,000 soldiers and 200 000 members of the Mukti Bahini Against these heavy odds, our army fought bravely and gave exemplary sacrifices which were acknowledged by Indian Army Chief field Marshal Manekshaw ”

His statement immensely irked India each year India celebrates Swarni Vijay Parv (goldenvictory festival) to commemorate its “victory” against Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak War India s Defence inister rajnath Singh said that this victory is even greater than the two world wars fought It was “the most decisive” as the Indian Armed forces in the 1971 War changed the history and geography of South Asia ” the Tribune reported “India rightly claims credit for her politico-military midwife role in the creation of an independent Bengali-speaking state in 1971 rajnath Singh also claimed, “India’s partition on religious grounds was a historic mistake’’ He added “India has never invaded any country, nor has it ever captured an inch of the land of any other country He lies true, in a war the truth is the first casualty the truth about the casualties, strength of the Pak forces, and several other aspects is well exposed by Sarmila Bose in her book DEAD RECKONING Memories of the 1971 Bangladesh War Bose says, Many facts had been exaggerated, fabricated, distorted or concealed Many people in responsible positions had repeated unsupported assertions without a thought; some people seemed to know that the nationalist mythologies were false and yet had done nothing to inform the public I had thought I would be chronicling the details of the story of 1971 with which I had been brought up, but I found instead that there was a different story to be told

She points out that Mujeebur rehman’s landslide electoral victory did not certify people’s desire to secede from Pakistan She suggests that the people voted for Mujeeb as they were alienated by neglect of their welfare by the then government In any case, a huge chunk of the population, over 40 percent did not vote they certainly were not enamoured of Mujeeb’s tactics

Bose examines specific incidents of violence

Bose questions the figures like 300,000 deaths of Bengalis and 200 000 rapes of Bengali women She says that there were more villains and one cannot single out the Pakistan Army in the whole episode of violence which resulted in the creation of Bangladesh Indian involvement, Bengali forces and Sheikh Mujibur rehman were equally responsible She has questioned the figure of 93,000 prisoners of war in Indian custody, when the total Army was not 93,000 in east Pakistan She has challenged the facts with the records; she had conducted the interviews of people who lived the war

She highlights individual acts of kindness of Pakistani soldiers, narrating them with poignancy She shrugs off generalisations about or demonisation of rivals epitomized by “Shaala Panjabi” or “Khan sena ”

At 11 15 pm on 14 December 1971, Indian Air force pilots bombed the Government House Dacca At that time, east Pakistan’s Cabinet had begun an emergency meeting to discuss the political measures to avoid the looming surrender of their army at Dacca A M Malik, head of the then east Pakistan government, survived the bombing along with his Cabinet but resigned

India’s Chief of Army Staff issued a secret order to the General Officer Commanding, eastern Command, intimating the campaign that would end with the dismemberment of Pakistan the eastern Command was to ensure that the guerrilla forces were to work towards tying down the Pak [Pakistan] Military forces in protective tasks in east Bengal,” “sap and corrode the morale of the Pak forces in the eastern theatre and simultaneously to impair their logistic capability for undertaking any offensive against Assam and West Bengal, and, finally, be used along with the regular Indian troops “in the event of Pakistan initiating hostilities against us” (Praveen Swami, India s secret war in Bangladesh The Frontline 26 December 2011)

field Marshal Manekshaw makes no bones in a Youtube interview that Indira Gandhi compelled him to attack east Pakistan; He initially delayed the attack in view of the impending monsoon But he later complied with her order He admitted “the Pakistani forces fought extremely well”

In a published letter, rAW officer r KYadav made a startling revelation that India s prime minister Indira Gandhi parliament rAW and the armed forces acted in tandem to dismember Pakistan s eastern wing the confessions in his letter are corroborated by B raman’s book The Kaoboys of R&AW He reminds Indian parliament passed resolution on March 31, 1971 to support insurgency Indira Gandhi had then con-

fided with Kao that in case Mujib was prevented from ruling Pakistan, she would liberate east Pakistan from the clutches of the military junta Kao through one rAW agent got a fokker friendship, the Ganga, of Indian Airlines hijacked from Srinagar to Lahore Indian army chief Manekshaw initially refused to carry out Indira Gandhi’s order because of the impending monsoon when rivers flooded in east Pakistan and troops’ movement became difficult Not only intelligence officers but also officers of armed forces are employed to carry out subversion and sabotage inside Pakistan there are several other myths and bitter truths (exposed by Sarmila Bose and others) about the 1971 War take the Jesssore massacre “It turns out that the massacre in Jessore may have been genocide, but it wasn’t committed by the Pakistan Army the dead men were nonBengali residents of Jessore, butchered in broad daylight by Bengali nationalists” (Sarmila Bose from her article T h e Tr u th Ab o u t T h e Jessore Massacre” published in The Telegraph on 19 March 2006

India s renowned investigative journalist Praveen Swami writes, ‘the role of irregular forces, though, needs a more nuanced assessment they were also however responsible for large-scale human rights abuses targeting Pakistani sympathisers and the ethnic Bihari population there is no moral equivalence between these crimes and those of the Pakistani armed forces in 1971, but the fact also is that the irregular forces bequeathed to Bangladesh a militarised political culture that would have deadly consequences of its own’

Sarmila Bose writes Many Bengalis supposed to be fighting for freedom and dignity, committed appalling atrocities; many Pakistani Army officers, carrying out a military action against a political rebellion, turned out to be fine men doing their best to fight an unconventional war within the conventions of warfare the Bengalis splintered into many fragments, those who wanted an independent Bangladesh, those who supported a united Pakistan, those who desired autonomy but not secession, those who actively fought for whichever side they supported and those who like Doctor Zhivago wanted to ‘just live’ but got caught up in the upheaval nevertheless there were combatants and non-combatants, victims of violence and its perpetrators’

India’ role in stoking insurgency is obvious to tarnish Pakistan s image India has propagated many myths Some of these myths have been exploded by Sarmila Bose and Praveen Swami India officially authorised invasion of east Pakistan Yet it was not declared an aggressor by the United Nations the situation in occupied Kashmir is worse than it was in east Pakistan (custodial deaths fake encounters, rapes, arson, and so on) even children and women are rounded up and held incognito during cordon-and-search operations Pakistan is a convenient scapegoat to blame for indigenous insurgency Orphaned Kashmiri babies are being sold in Indian states to destroy traditional Kashmir shawl industry, pashmina wool is being exported from Ladakh to Uttar Pradesh

The writer is a freelance journalist, has served in the Pakistan government for 39 years and holds degrees in economics business administration, and law He can be reached at amjedjaaved@gmail com

U r b a n i s a t i o n h a s e a t e n a w a y p l a y g r o u n d s

H O W badly hockey in Pakistan has been destroyed can be judged by the fate of a playground that has lost its existence unceremoniously becoming a victim of urbanisation, apathy and the greed of a few A death that has gone unsung for the young today it is downright impossible to even imagine what hockey and its following meant back in the day the game lost its shine in the country when the national team stopped shining It became a vicious cycle with one leading to the other on the loop Gone are the bustling stadiums packed with capacity crowds, as can be seen in the accompanying image of an international match at the Hockey Club of Pakistan stadium in Karachi today urbanisation has eaten away whatever grounds were there in Karachi

More than the game, however, these lines are meant to be in remembrance of a ground that was one of the many that used to work as nurseries for the national team It all started with the construction of the Green Line bus project Situated in Nazimabad No 1, Mujahid Ground was known as a venue for national hockey events with excellent facilities and even had a stadium, which is now in a dilapidated condition

It used to be a lush green facility the ground had hosted matches in the early 1980s between star-studded teams of PIA and Pakistan Customs that together comprised almost the entire national team And, my God, what a team it used to be! the ground is surrounded by Chawla Bazaar, a market known for second-hand clothes though illegally established, the bazaar has been there for almost four decades, and has harmed no one in any sense of the term there is an old government school across the road from where a large number of spectators, mainly schoolchildren, would come to watch the hockey matches that were a routine at Mujahid Ground those were excellent times and it was a treat to watch children supporting their favourite teams rather vociferously the vicinity had excellent talent Not only top hockey players, but some test cricketers, who lived nearby, would also visit the ground to boost the morale of the hockey players things have now changed drastically especially after the construction of infrastructure for the Green Line bus there is a pile of garbage next to the school the walls of the ground have been destroyed by the builders involved in the Green Line project, while Chawla Bazaar vendors have started using the ground as their warehouse I wish the next generation could enjoy the lovely afternoons we used to have in a densely populated area like Nazimabad I know it would be fairly difficult to maintain the ground due to the large population that lives in illegal dwellings and slum areas adjacent to it but this can be ensured by launching an operation to clear the area, and cleaning the ground of debris or anything which is now preventing children and area residents from visiting the ground

If the authorities concerned are not ready to wake up from their deep slumber, big brands should take up the project under their lofty corporate social responsibility (CSr) banner they may adopt the ground and get it cleaned to make it useable, in the process reviving hockey activity at the venue there is no harm day-dreaming, I guess

BAQAR RIZVI KARACHI

Complacent Pemra

I t is presumed that Pakistan electronic Media regulatory Authority (Pemra) has laid down certain rules to regulate electronic media to keep it within limits of civilised and healthy entertainment But it seems that the authority has forgotten or ignored the purpose of its establishment

One may point out a few aspects that need immediate attention of Pemra One aspect is the publicity material aired between television programmes and even before and during news bulletins the frequency of these advertisements has increased to such an extent that watching programmes or listening to the news has become a nuisance

the next problem pertains to the cable channels that air content from outside Pakistan and the language used in such movies and comedy shows is simply unbearable raw violence bloodshed and other objectionable scenes and storylines are the key characteristics of such content Pemra needs to censor these movies before allowing them for mass viewership

Besides there are certain programmes that are in a language that is perhaps understood only by the ‘embassy staff ’ of that country, because the public cannot comprehend a single word of such alien languages there are several entities working actively and may help Pemra in bringing about changes in this regard

ABID MAHMUD ANSARI ISLAMABAD

A quadrilateral issue

A S usual India is infuriated at China s reference to India-occupied Jammu and Kashmir during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s recent visit to Beijing

In a Pakistan-China joint statement China reiterated its stance that solution to issues, including that of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is essential to regional stability China added that the Kashmir issue should be resolved on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and ‘bilateral agreements’ India jumped to its feet, as is its wont, describing occupied Jammu and Kashmir as its internal matter India is free to repeat its claim on Kashmir, but the world does not believe India’s interpretation, or, should I say, distortion, of historical facts and events the people of Jammu and Kashmir believe that it is not a bilateral but quadrilateral issue Jammu and Kashmir as the area affected is the first party to the conflict therefore, it cannot be resolved through bilateral agreements made without the representation of Jammu and Kashmir as the primary party

Since China also occupies a portion of Jammu and Kashmir territory, it should also be involved in any future negotiations rather than leaving the matter to the two nuclear-armed neighbours who have failed to make any progress over decades

AMjed jAAved

Today is the 51st anniversar y of 1971 War

t e n l e s s o n s f r o M t h e r et u r n o f h i s t o r y

Pr oject SyndicAte r I C h a r d h a a S S

fe W will miss 2022 a year defined by a lingering pandemic, advancing climate change, galloping inflation, slowing economic growth, and, more than anything else the outbreak of a costly war in europe and concerns that violent conflict could soon erupt in Asia Some of this was anticipated, but much of it was not – and all of it suggests lessons that we ignore at our peril

One thing we learned in 2022 is that war between countries thought by more than a few academics to be obsolete, is anything but And that is far from the only expectation or assumption about international relations that has not survived 2022 First war between countries thought by more than a few academics to be obsolete, is anything but What we are seeing in europe is an oldfashioned imperial war in which Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to extinguish Ukraine as a sovereign, independent entity his goal is to ensure a democratic market-oriented country seeking close ties to the West cannot thrive on Russia’s borders and set an example that might prove attractive to Russians

Debt increasing in MiDDle east countries

Of course, rather than achieving the quick and easy victory he expected, Putin has discovered that his own army is not as powerful and that his opponents are far more determined, than he – and many in the West – had anticipated Ten months later, the war continues with no end in sight Second the idea that economic interdependence constitutes a bulwark against war, because no party would have an interest in disrupting mutually beneficial trade and investment ties is no longer tenable Political considerations come first In fact, the european Union’s heavy dependence on Russian energy supplies likely influenced Putin’s decision to invade by leading him to conclude that europe would not stand up to him

Third, integration, which has animated decades of Western policy toward China has also failed This strategy, too, rested on the belief that economic ties – along with cultural, academic, and other exchanges – would drive political developments rather than vice versa leading to the emergence of a more open, market-oriented China that was also more moderate in its foreign policy

None of this happened although it can and should be debated whether the flaw lies with the concept of integration or with the manner in which it was executed What is clear however is that China s political system is becoming more repressive, its economy is moving in a more statist direction, and its foreign policy is growing more assertive

Fourth, economic sanctions, in many instances the instrument of choice for the West and its partners when responding to a government s violations of human rights or overseas aggression, rarely deliver meaningful changes in behavior even aggression as blatant and brutal as Russia s against Ukraine has failed to persuade

most of the world’s governments to isolate Russia diplomatically or economically, and while Western-led sanctions may be eroding Russia’s economic base they have not come close to persuading Putin to reverse his policy

Fifth, the phrase international community needs to be retired There isn’t one Russia’s veto power in the Security Council has rendered the United Nations impotent, while the recent gathering of world leaders in egypt to contend with climate change was an abject failure

There is, moreover, little in the way of a global response to COVID-19 and few preparations in place to deal with the next pandemic Multilateralism remains essential but its effectiveness will depend on forging narrower arrangements among likeminded governments All-ornothing multilateralism will mostly result in nothing

Sixth, democracies obviously face their share of challenges, but the problems authoritarian systems face may be even greater Ideology and regime survival often drive decision-making in such systems, and authoritarian leaders often resist abandoning failed policies or admitting mistakes lest this be seen as a sign of weakness and feed public calls for greater change Such regimes must constantly reckon with the threat of mass protest, as in Russia, or the real thing as we have seen recently in China and Iran

Seventh, the potential for the internet to empower individuals to challenge governments is far greater in democracies than in closed systems Authoritarian regimes such as those in China, Russia, and North Korea can close off their society, monitor and censor content, or both

Something closer to a splinternet – multiple separate internets – has arrived Meanwhile, social media in democracies is susceptible to dissemination of lies and misinformation that increase polarization and make gov-

erning far more difficult eighth, there is still a West (a term based more on shared values than geography) and alliances remain a critical instrument to promote order The United States and its transatlantic partners in NATO have responded effectively to Russian aggression against Ukraine The US has also forged stronger ties in the Indo-Pacific to address the growing threat emanating from China, principally through an invigorated Quad (Australia India Japan, and the US), AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom, and the US), and increased trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea

Ninth, US leadership continues to be essential The US cannot act unilaterally in the world if it wants to be influential but the world will not come together to meet shared security and other challenges if the US is passive or sidelined American willingness to lead from the front rather than behind is often required

Lastly, we must be modest about what we can know It is humbling to note that few of the preceding lessons were predictable a year ago What we have learned is not just that history has returned, but also that, for better or worse, it retains its ability to surprise us With that in mind onward into 2023!

Richard Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations previously served as Director of Policy Planning for the US State Department (2001-2003) and was President George W Bush’s special envoy to Northern Ireland and Coordinator for the Future of Afghanistan He is the author most recently of the forthcoming The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens (Penguin Press January 2023)

J u d g e s a g a i n s t t h e r u l e o f l a w

h e World Bank released last week its latest annual end-of-theyear external debt stocks report, assessing that egypt, Iran and Turkey’s debt rose significantly last year The following is a break of Middle eastern states and their debt at the end of 2022, according to the World Bank report external debt stocks refer to the portion of a country’s debt that was borrowed from foreign lenders:

EGYPT: egypt s external debt stocks amounted to $143 3 billion, up from $129 8 billion in 2020 egypt has spent much of its borrowed money on infrastructure Some analysts believe egypt has strong potential to pay back its debt, Al-Monitor reported last year

IRAN: Iran’s external debt stocks stood at $10 4 billion This is nearly double the $5 4 billion in 2020 The Iranian news outlet Financial Tribune reported Sunday that Iran’s foreign debt is going down again citing central bank data The outlet noted that US sanctions are a big impediment to foreign investment in Iran, along with cumbersome laws and economic instability

IRAQ: Iraq’s external debt stocks were $25 3 at the end of 2021 In 2020 they were $26 3 thus indicating a decrease Iraq finally swore in a new government in October One of the government’s first moves was to sign a $4 billion engineering agreement with Iran

JORDAN: Jordan’s debt was $41 8 billion, up from $38 billion in 2020 In addition to loans from abroad, Jordan regularly receives economic aid from its wealthy neighbors in the Gulf to help fund its budget One positive piece of news on the Jordanian economy is that tourism revenue is on the rise

LEBANON: Lebanon’s debt was $66 9 billion, down from $68 9 billion in 2020 Lebanon is in the midst of a devastating economic crisis Despite debt going down slightly many entities are reluctant to loan Lebanon money until it implements governance and anticorruption reforms

SYRIA: Syria’s external debt stocks were $5 billion at the end of 2021, up from $4 8 billion in 2020 Syria’s economy is in tatters due to the ongoing civil war Some observers have also said in recent years that US and european sanctions on the country are harming civilians

TURKEY: Turkey s external debt was $435 5 billion a decrease from $441 2 billion in 2020 In June, the New York-based credit rating agency S&P Global reported that Turkey is vulnerable to a liquidity crunch due to its high debt and economic issues extremely high inflation in Turkey in particular is a problem

YEMEN: War-torn Yemen s debt was $7 6 billion, up from $7 1 billion in 2020 The World Bank did not include information from several regional states, including Israel and Gulf states

And liberty

iT is seldom said hume that we lose our liberty all at once: rather, it is nibbled away as a mouse nibbles cheese Perhaps the same might be said of the rule of law especially in countries such as Britain where it has been long established and people take it for granted as if it were a natural rather than an achieved phenomenon

One of the enemies of the rule of law is sentimentality Both a jury and now a judge have found that if protesters break the law for what the jury or the judge considers a supposedly good cause they can be rightfully acquitted in the name of freedom of protest

In 2020, young protesters in Bristol toppled a fine century-and-a-quarter-old statue of edward Colston, a late seventeenth and early eighteenth merchant of the city, and threw it into the city’s harbour Colston endowed institutions in the city and at least some of his money came from the slave trade The action of the protesters was clearly criminal but they were acquitted by a jury because their action was supposedly idealistic Vandalism in the name of ideals has always been a popular pastime of course and the aesthetic contribution of the statue to the city was not mentioned in the subsequent debate on the matter

More recently six doctors and a nurse have been acquitted by a judge of obstructing the highway after they were arrested for blocking Lambeth Bridge in London The judge who acquitted them said “I was impressed by the integrity and rationality of their beliefs Their evidence was deeply moving

The doctors and nurse were demanding that the use of oil be halted, and no more exploration for it and other hydrocarbons be carried out Of course, they believed that they were helping to “save the planet,” but what they did was clearly illegal and likely to prevent their fellow-citizens going about their business in a normal fashion

The Lancet, a medical journal that frequently exudes self-righteousness despite the fraudulent papers that it is sometimes fooled into publishing claimed that “There is some evidence that disruptive or radical non-violent actions are successful

in garnering public attention for a cause ” There is nothing there with which a Nazi could disagree Protest, like this one, is like attempting to shock a failing heart, in the hope that it will change its rhythm,” said one of the doctors involved in the protest after the acquittal Thankfully, today the court recognised that right to protest ”

One can only hope that the doctor is more precise in his thinking about his patients Blocking a highway is nothing like shocking a patient for a clear and definable reason even if the cause were a good one, it is possible that the “shock” applied would have the opposite effect from that intended, namely a hatred of the cause which had so inconvenienced the public

The judge was impressed by the integrity and rationality of the beliefs and intentions of the protestors: but did he hear arguments against their point of view? Did he hear that in the present context, they and people like them might have contributed to the danger this winter of old and poor people dying of cold because they could not afford heating that is, if such heating were still available? (Some years ago, the Lancet published an article suggesting that seventeen times as many people died of excess cold as of excess heat ) Did he hear of the fact that Britain contributes very little to the anthropogenic warming of the atmosphere supposing that such warming were an established fact and that to add to the financial burdens of British industry increased the risk of it relocating elsewhere, to the detriment and impoverishment of the country? Did he learn how the electricity was to be generated for tens of millions of batterypowered vehicles, and the environmental costs of providing batteries and the infrastructure to make it possible and so on and so forth?

Besides, it was obviously not the right to protest that was at issue There are many public spaces in London where protests can be held without blocking the highway No one would deny the doctors and nurse their right to protest even if they were entirely in the wrong about what they were protesting about The right to protest was not at issue: it was the illegal obstruction of the highway

Moreover, it is easy to imagine a protest that

the judge would not have allowed Suppose instead of protesting against oil, the protestors had protested against the arrival of half a million immigrants into Britain in a single year (as has happened) Suppose that they had alluded to the pressure this put on an already overcrowded housing market; that if they found work, they might very well depress wages, or if they failed to work they would in effect exact forced labour from the rest of the population to pay for their upkeep; that the health service would face an additional burden that it could ill-afford to face; that communities in which the immigrants gathered might not welcome their arrival and would be changed without anyone having wished it, an affront to democracy even if these arguments were wrong or only onesided, they would be rational and might be advanced with perfect sincerity Is it likely that the judge would have acquitted those who used them of obstruction of the highway? even if he wanted to do so, he would have been too afraid because of the reaction of right-thinking people

In other words, the judge saw his role not as enforcing the law as it (quite reasonably) stood, but as licensing certain people to be exempted from its provisions It was his job to decide what a good or a bad cause was, and how good a cause had to be before protestors might illegally inconvenience their fellow-citizens with impunity By claiming to be moved by the criminals evidence he was removing the blindfold from the statue of justice and putting weights in her balance: one law for the people he liked and another for those that he didn t

The Lancet is in accord with this view of the law, which is no law at all Probably a good proportion of the intelligentsia is in accord with it too, which means that the hold on its mind of the rule of law, by which all people are held to the same standard is very loose if it exists at all In the long run, if this trend continues, the result can only be a war of each against all

Theodore Dalrymple is a retired prison doctor and psychiatrist, contributing editor of City Journal, and Dietrich Weissman Fellow of the Manhattan Institute His most recent book is Embargo and other stories (Mirabeau Press, 2020)

ONE THING WE LEARNED IN 2022 IS THAT WAR BET WEEN COUNTRIES, THOUGHT BY MORE THAN A FE W AC ADEMIC S TO BE OBSOLETE, IS ANY THING BUT. AND THAT IS FAR FR OM THE ONLY EX PEC TATION OR ASSUMPTION ABOUT INTERNATIONAL REL ATIONS THAT HAS NOT SURVIVED 2022

T H E J U D G E S AW H I S R O L E N OT A S E N F O R C I N G T H E L AW A S I T S TO O D, B U T A S L I C E N S I N G C E RTA I N P E O P L E TO B E E X E M PT E D F R O M I T S P R O V I S I O N S . I T WA S H I S J O B TO D E C I D E W H AT A G O O D O R A B A D C AU S E WA S B Y R E WA R D I N G FAV O R E D P O L I T I C A L C AU S E S , J U D G E S A R E R E M O V I N G T H E B L I N D F O L D F R O M L A DY J U S T I C E A N D P U T T I N G W E I G H T S I N H E R B A L A N C E

E G Y P T, I R A N A N D T U R K E Y ’ S D E B T R O S E S I G N I F I C A N T LY L A S T Y E A R

Al Monitor

corporate corner

Punjab govt to use all resources to set uP new fruit, vegetable market in ruDa: garDezi

lahore S ta f f R e P o R t

aD E L E G AT I O N of Punjab Fruit and Vegetable Artiyaan Association called on Provincial Minister for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi here today Chairman Artiyaan Muhammad Amin Bhatti, Vice Presidents Hafiz Tahir, Khurram Munir and General Secretary Haji Rehman were also present in the meeting

S p e a k i n g o n t h e o c c a s i o n , P r o v i n c i a l M i n i s t e r for Agriculture Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi said t h a t t h e P u n j a b g o v e r n m e n t w o u l d u s e a l l r es o u r c e s f o r t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a n e w m a r k e t i n t h e a r e a o f R a v i U r b a n D e v e l o p m e n t A u t h o r i t y

( R U D A ) a n d t h i s m a r k e t w i l l b e d e v e l o p e d through a modern s ys tem that w ill directly benefit t h e f a r m e r s a n d t h e y w i l l g e t a f a i r c o m p e n s a t i o n f o r t h e i r h a r d w o r k H e s a i d t h a t t h e m a r k e t w i l l o p e r a t e a c c o r d i n g t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s a n d t h e s t a k e h o l d e r s w i l l b e o n b o a r d T h e l a t e s t m o nitoring system of auction, schedule of market fees, c o m m i s s i o n a n d d a i l y r a t e s w i l l b e d i s p l a y e d i n better way at obvious places Wide roads, entrance a n d e x i t g a t e s , g r e e n b e l t , R E S C U E 11 2 2 s e r v i c e , dispensary and mosques will be constructed

Engro, Punjab govt organize ‘Grow More Wheat ’ campaign

K a r ac h I P R

Engro Fertilizers, Pakistan s premier seed-toh a r v e s t s o l u t i o n s p r o v i d e r, h a s o rg a n i z e d mega farmer seminars in Bahawalpur, Kabirwala, and Hafizabad, to support the Governm e n t o f P u n j a b ’ s “ G r o w M o r e W h e a t ” i n i t i a t i v e f o r e n h a n c e d f o o d s e c u r i t y a n d f a r m e r p r o d u c t i v i t y i n t h e c o u n t r y T h i s i s t h e t h i r d c o n s e c u t i v e y e a r t h a t

Engro Fertilizers has hosted these high-prof i l e s e m i n a r s U n d e r t h e G r o w M o r e Wheat” campaign, Engro Fertilizers is supporting the provincial government by training farmers to improve harvesting and adopt b e s t c r o p a n d f e r t i l i z e r m a n a g e m e n t p r a ct i c e s , w i t h “ S e e d t o H a r v e s t ” s o l u t i o n s o ffered by the Company These solutions help e n h a n c e t h e w h e a t c r o p p r o d u c t i v i t y a n d earnings of the farmers, thus, ensuring higher wheat cultivation to ensure greater food security of Pakistan The events were graced by Syed Hussain

Jahania Gardezi (Minister of Agriculture Punjab), Dr Muhammad Anjum Ali (Director General, Agricultural Extension & Adaptive Research, Punjab), Ahmad Aziz Tarar (Secretary Agriculture, Punjab) and Dr Faisal Zahoor (Secretary Agriculture, South Punjab), among other key officials of the Punjab Agriculture department More than 1,000 progressive farmers, dealers and senior representatives of Engro Fertilizers, including Khusrau Nadir Gilani (Chief Commercial Officer) attended the events as well Speaking at the occasion, Khusrau Nadir Gilani emphasized the role of innovative farming methods for increasing wheat production to fulfill local demand and creating an exportable surplus S y e d H u s s a i n J a h a n i a G a r d e z i a p p r e c ia t e d E n g r o F e r t i l i z e r s f o r l a u n c h i n g t h i s i n i t i a t i v e p a r t n e r i n g w i t h t h e P u n j a b D ep a r t m e n t o f A g r i c u l t u r e t o i m p r o v e c r o p p r o d u c t i v i t y f o r t h e f a r m e r s H e u rg e d t h e f a r m e r s t o u s e c e r t i f i e d s e e d s a n d a p p l y b a l a n c e d m i x o f f e r t i l i z e r s f o r e n h a n c e d w h e a t o u t p u t

HEC in par tnership with Microsof t launches largest Free S kills Initiative for students

Islamabad P R

Temenos par tners with NdcTech to expand market reach in Pakistan, Gulf

K a r a c h i: Temenos (SIX: TEMN) today announced that it has signed an agreement to grant license rights to NdcTech, a wholly owned subsidiary of Systems Limited and one of its largest regional system integrators partners, to develop further and market the Temenos Country Model Banks on top of Temenos open platform for financial institutions in these seven Middle Eastern countries NdcTech is committed to invest and develop regulatory and business specific localized functionality to enhance these Model Banks for banks of all sizes in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates As part of this agreement, NdcTech will become a trusted partner for upgrade services in those countries to enable customers to seamlessly upgrade their technology stack and offer them a modernization path to a SaaS model on the Temenos Banking Cloud Temenos holds a leading position in the region and boasts a raft of clients across these seven countries including some of the largest and most innovative institutions in the Middle East from Al-Rajhi Bank, to First Abu Dhabi Bank to stc pay All Temenos clients will be able to work with NdcTech and Temenos to enhance the Model Banks and contribute to the product roadmap P R

Descon aims for greener pastures with launch of agric ultural division

Descon, one of Pakistan s leading conglomerates, has officially announced its intentions to diversify in to agriculture by setting up a division called Descon Agri Businesses (DAB) This new venture seeks to innovate and improve upon the existing farm productivity and agriculture value-chain, helping provide the nation with nutritious produces and sustained economic growth Over the decades, Descon has led numerous large-scale projects in Construction, Powergeneration, Oil-Refining, Chemicals and other diverse economic-sectors in Pakistan and abroad Its entry in to the agriculture sector is not entirely without expertise, as the company acquired shareholding in two innovative agriculturebased enterprises – Vital Agri Nutrient (VAN) and Vital Green’ (VG) at the start of this year VAN is a manufacturer of specialty fertilizers, soil amendments and bio-fertilizers working with farmers and corporate customers to deliver value-added farming solutions P R

Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Microsoft renewed the Education Transformation Agreement (ETA) in Pakistan with a magnanimous launch announcing 100 000 free Technology certifications for University Students across Pakistan Microsoft and HEC collaboration reimagines the education landscape, empowers the next generation of students and bridges the gap between knowledge and employability

Under the umbrella of this academic alliance the goal is to enable the next generation of computer science/IT experts on state of art technologies including but not limited to, Cloud Computing Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Business Applications, Office Automation / Productivity tools etc as per the directions from Prime Minister’s Office This partnership will ensure that Microsoft will be providing several services to all HEIs in leveraging new technologies to make learn-

AKUH,

ing inclusive, personalized, and student-centric through knowledge transfer workshops and training on trending Microsoft technologies like Dynamics 365 Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Azure

The event was attended by several renowned Vice Chancellors, educators, students, academicians, and partners where accomplishments of previous years of partnership were highlighted and the next vision of the digital transformation of education system in Pakistan was shared Mr Rana Tanveer, Education Minister graced the event as the Chief Guest whereas the event was opened by Chairman Higher Education Commission, Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and Jibran

Jamshed, Country Lead for

and Pakistan Mr Rana Tanveer expressed his thoughts saying “Such partnerships with companies like Microsoft empower the students to use their creativity in addressing real societal problems using Modern Technology and helps us bring them at par with the rest of the world, the future of our economy does not lie in just plans and politics; it lies in the hands of well-educated and prepared student workforce “Microsoft has been very helpful in nurturing creative minds through its Global Competition of Imagine Cup where e participants practically implement their ideas into successful startups and turn it into companies

corporate corner

Trade delegation from USA looks for collaboration with local auto par ts industr y

A business and trade delegation of America Pakistan Business Development forum (AMPAK) led byFarooq Mughal, who is a first Pakistani elected for Georgia house of representative (DDacula) the state of Georgia, USAvisited a local auto parts manufacturing company as part of their mission to collaborate with local industry The delegation was briefed by Director Mehran Commercial Enterprises & expert auto sector Mashood Ali Khan on how to increase trade in engineering between the US and Pakistan Honourable Farooq Mughal was the chief guest at the meeting He is making efforts to develop cooperation with Pakistani entrepreneur in the state of Georgia He added that they are looking for establishment of business growth opportunities in both countries and to launch and take active participation in projects P R

UMA pays rich tribute to veteran ar tiste Neelofer Abbasi

United Marine Agency (UMA) organized a grand celebration in the honour of the famous veteran TV and film artiste Neelofer Abbasi at Marriott Hotel Karachi Chief Executive Officer (CEO), United Marine Agency, Sohail Shams along with the guests and participants gave standing ovation to the legendary artiste Neelofer Abbasi who ruled an era Addressing the ceremony, CEO United Marine Agency, Sohail Shams said that it is quite difficult to carve a niche in the entertainment industry in Pakistan and Neelofer Abbasi was one who achieved a great success with her outstanding performance in cutthroat competition Her famous TV serial Shahzori had a great impact on our films P R

CDA chief direc ts acceleration of uplift works in S ec tor E-12

iSLaMaBaD:

basis P R

Masterc ard, foodpanda par tner to provide vital funding for flood affec tees

hospitals first in Pakistan to receive SafeCare certification

dle-income countries leads to millions of preventable deaths each year

The Aga Khan Hospital for Women in Karimabad Karachi and Aga Khan Maternal and Child Care Centre in Hyderabad, part of the Aga Khan University Hospitals (AKUH) network; and Aga Khan Medical Centre in Gilgit, part of the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) network have become the first hospitals in Pakistan to receive the Level 5 SafeCare certification Poor healthcare in low- and mid-

However, these countries historically have a shortage of institutions that rate, improve and incentivize healthcare quality

This is the gap where SafeCare steps in to intervene and innovate An initiative of PharmAccess, Joint Commission International (JCI) and Council for Health Service Accreditation of Southern Africa (COHSASA), SafeCare is a methodology with international accredited standards, aiming to

improve quality care in low- and middle income countries, where 3 6 million people die every year because of low quality care Level 5 status is given to institutions that demonstrate highquality standards across the SafeCare Service Elements

“SafeCare certification is an endorsement that a health facility has met certain internationally recognized quality and safety standards for patient care,” said Dr Farhat Abbas, interim Chief Executive Officer of Aga Khan University (AKU) Health Services in

Pakistan “In addition to the SafeCare certification, AKUH is also accredited by JCI, and its clinical laboratories are accredited by the College of American Pathologists for fast and accurate testing These accreditations are a true testament to the high-quality of healthcare and patient safety we provide ”

The French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children (FMIC) in Kabul hasalso become the first hospital in Afghanistan to receive the SafeCare certification The facility is managed by AKU

in the m a n d i , M i n i s t e r a d d e d Earlier, the office -bearers of the Artiyaan Ass o c i a t i o n s u b m i t t e d t h e i r d e m a n d s t o t h e P r o v i ncial Minister to allot 300 acres of area instead of 200 acres for the new market in good location, fi-

nancial assistance to the Artiyaan who are facing shortage of funds and issue of licenses only to the working Artiyaan The Provincial Minister assured the delegation members of resolving their issues

the needs of millions of consumers across Pakistan, to offer a robust portfolio of digitally innovative financial products and solutions to individuals as well as Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Mobilink Microfinance Bank is part of the VEON group, a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services across seven countries As part of its digital operator strategy VEON is transforming people’s lives, creating opportunities for greater digital inclusion, and driving economic growth across countries that are home to more than 8% of the world’s population P R

KarachI

P R

LahOrE: Lesco CEO Ch Muhammad Amin addresses a workers meeting Labour leader Khurshid Ahmed, Haji Younus, Naveed Ashiq Dogar, Usama Tariq, Rana Shafique, Rana Abdul Shakoor, Zafar Mateen and others are also present on the occasion Staff Photo

Jordan, Lebanon

Chairman Capital Development Authority Captain (R) Muhammad Usman Younis, after reviewing the development works in new sectors, expressed displeasure over the slow pace of work in Sector E-12 He issued instructions that the development activities on the tenders issued in Sector E-12 should be expedited to ensure immediate possession to the allottees In this regard, he further said that in order to solve the long-standing problem of the residents on an emergency basis due to the proportion of population in the city, the desired results are not being achieved He issued instructions that the speed of work on the ongoing projects in Sector E-12 should be accelerated as possible and the performance should be informed on a daily

Fauji Fertilizer Company Ltd awarded as ‘Largest National Tax Payer’ from Manufacturing Sector’ for year 2022 in the “Second Taxpayer Recognition Awards 2022” organized by Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce & Industry Representatives from various multinationals and corporate blue chip companies participated in the event The award was presented by His Excellency Mr Arif Alvi, President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in a ceremony arranged at Aiwan-e-Sadr Company Secretary Brig (R) Asrat Mahmood, FFC received the award

This is second consecutive year where FFC was declared as Largest National Tax Payer in Manufacturing Sector PR

R u s s I a ‘ d I g g I n g I n F O R lO n g W a R ’ a s b O t h s I d e s R u l e O u t C h R I s t M a s t R u C e

KYIV Ag e n c i e s

aUkrainian general said on Thursday that Moscow was digging in for a long war and still wanted to conquer the whole of Ukraine, as Russian forces pounded two strategic cities while Kyiv’s troops shelled Russian-controlled Donetsk in the east Both sides have ruled out a Christmas truce and there are currently no talks aimed at ending the nearly 10-month-old conflict, Europe’s largest since World War Two

Russian shelling killed two people in the centre of Kherson, the southern city liberated by Ukraine last month said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office The shelling also knocked out the city’s electricity officials said

Russian forces also attacked critical infrastructure in the northeastern city of Kharkiv causing several explosions its mayor, Ihor Terekhov, wrote on the Telegram messaging app

The Kremlin is seeking to turn the conflict into a prolonged armed confrontation,” a senior Ukrainian officer, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a news briefing “The main strategic objective of the enemy remains seizing all the territory of our country (and) not allowing Ukraine s EuroAtlantic integration,” said Gromov, who also dismissed the possibility of a truce over the festive period

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said a Christmas ceasefire was not on the agenda

Earlier on Thursday, Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk, said Ukraine had fired 40 rockets from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers at the city, in what he said was the heaviest attack there since 2014 when Russian-backed separatists wrested it from Kyiv’s control

There were no reports of deaths in Donetsk, though Kulemzin said five people

Russian oil sold to India below price cap in buyers’ market

neW DeLHI Ag e n c i e s

R u s s i a ’s f l a g s h i p U r a l s c r u d e h a s b e e n s o l d a t d e e p e r d i s c o u n t s t h i s m o n t h f o l l o w i n g a E ur o p e a n b a n o n R u s s i a n o i l i m p o r t s a n d d o m in a n t b u y e r I n d i a h a s b o u g h t b a r r e l s a t w e l l b e l o w a $ 6 0 p r i c e c a p a g r e e d b y t h e We s t , f o u r m a r k e t s o u r c e s s a i d T h e E u r o p e a n U n i o n b a n o n i m p o r t s o f R u s s i a ’s s e a b o r n e o i l f r o m D e c 5 h a s d r i v e n M o s c o w t o s e e k a l t e r n a t i v e m a r k e t s , m a i n l y i n A s i a , f o r a b o u t 1 m i l l i o n b a r r e l s p e r d a y A l s o o n D e c 5 , t h e G r o u p o f S e v e n l e a d i n g e c o n o m i e s i m p l em e n t e d a $ 6 0 p r i c e c a p o n R u s s i a n s e a b o r n e o i l t o t r y t o l i m i t M o s c o w ’s a b i l i t y t o f i n a n c e i t s w a r i n U k r a i n e R u s s i a h a s s a i d i t w i l l n o t a b i d e b y t h e c a p e v e n i f i t h a s t o c u t p r o d u ct i o n T h e We s t e r n a c t i o n s h a v e l e f t R u s s i a n p r o d u c e r s i n f i e r c e c o m p e t i t i o n w i t h e a c h o t h e r a n d w i t h s u p p l i e r s f r o m A s i a , E u r o p e a n d t h e M i d d l e E a s t , m e a n i n g t h e i r b e s t h o p e o f f i n d i n g b u y e r s i s t o l o w e r p r i c e s , t w o t r a d e r s s a i d S i n c e R u s s i a b e g a n i t s i n v a s i o n o f U k r a i n e i n F e b r u a r y I n d i a h a s b e c o m e t h e m a i n o u t l e t f o r s e a b o r n e c a rg o e s o f U r a l s c r u d e F o r s o m e d e a l s t h i s m o n t h , t h e p r i c e f o r U r a l s i n I n d i a n p o r t s i n c l u d i n g i n s u r a n c e a n d d e l i v e r y b y s h i p , h a s f a l l e n t o a r o u n d m i n u s $ 1 2 - $ 1 5 p e r b a r r e l v e r s u s a m o n t h l y a v e r a g e o f d a t e d B r e n t d o w n f r o m a d i s c o u n t o f $ 5 - $ 8 p e r b a r r e l i n O c t o b e r a n d $ 1 0 - $ 11 i n N o v e m b e r, t h e s o u r c e s s a i d T h e d i s c o u n t s m e a n o i l i s i n s o m e c a s e s b e i n g s o l d a t b e l o w o v e r a l l p r o d u c t i o n c o s t i n c l u d i n g l o c a l l e v i e s , i n d u s t r y s o u r c e s s a i d

had been hurt, including a child

Reuters footage showed firefighters dousing smoking embers in a Donetsk apartment building struck by a missile and also a woman clearing shattered glass in a hospital ward also hit

Ukraine’s military General Staff said Moscow’s main focus remained on the eastern cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka but that it was also shelling Kherson daily and trying to get a stronger foothold in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia

“The Russians fired at different areas along the entire front line all night and in the morning ” the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on Telegram, adding there had been two air strikes on Avdiivka

One person was killed and four injured near Bakhmut, he said Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield accounts from either side (The Russians) are crawling like zombies on our positions in Bakhmut creating pressure in the south of the Donetsk region,” Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office wrote on Telegram

“They understand that if they do not stretch the front now, then this winter will be a disaster for them

In a move that would significantly bolster Kyiv’s air defence, U S officials told Reuters a decision on providing the Patriot missile system to the Ukrainian military could be announced as soon as Thursday

The Kremlin said the United States was getting “deeper and deeper into the conflict in the post-Soviet republic”, and that U S Patriot systems would be legitimate targets something that Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday applied to all weapons supplied to Ukraine by the West

Asked about the possibility of Ukraine getting the U S Patriot systems, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: It hasn t been confirmed yet but it will show quite how concerned people are by Russia’s delib-

Development should be a priority in international cooperation: Wang Y i

Development should be a priority in international cooperation and it is important to adhere to a people-centered development approach Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in his written speech at the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 and China

Developed countries should deliver on their official development assistance and climate financing commitments, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, adding that multilateral development banks and commercial creditors have the obligation to participate in debt suspension for developing countries

The foreign minister called for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and jointly striving for important deliverables of the 2023 SDG Summit, the Third South Summit, and the High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development

We should continue to urge the World Bank the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions to increase the representation and voice of developing countries And we should continue to support the African Union in

joining the G20,” he said

The population of the G77 and China accounts for over 85 percent of the world’s total Our modernization will be the most significant event that will change the history of mankind and steer the world in a more stable, balanced and prosperous direction We should actively en-

gage in exchanges and cooperation in economic development, deepen economic and trade ties, and better coordinate our development,” he added

The Group of 77 and China is the world’s largest cooperative organization for developing countries, with more than 130 member countries

U N High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a speech to the Rights Council following a visit to Ukraine that Russia’s strikes were exposing millions to “extreme hardship”

Russia denies deliberately attacking civilians Ukraine says Russian strikes constitute a war crime

On Wednesday, Kyiv suffered the first major drone attack in weeks Two administrative buildings were hit, but air defences largely repelled the attack Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 13 drones had been shot down

Tens of thousands of people have been killed millions more displaced and cities reduced to rubble since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 in a “special military operation saying it needed to protect Russian speakers from Ukrainian nationalists Kyiv and its allies call it an unprovoked war of aggression

“We and the world should not relax, because the ultimate goal of the Russian Federation is to conquer all of Ukraine and then it can move on,” said Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar, speaking at the same Kyiv briefing as Gromov

Russia has fired barrages of missiles on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October disrupting power supplies and leaving people without heating in freezing winter conditions

Over 120 arrested as Moroccans face

‘racist violence’ in France after

World Cup clash

PARIS Ag e n c i e s

O v e r 1 2 0 p e o p l e w e r e a r r e s t e d o n We d n e s d a y n i g h t f o r w h a t l a w m a k e r s d e n o u n c e d a s “ r a c i s t v i o l e n c e i n P a r i s a n d o t h e r F r e n c h c i t i e s a f t e r F r a n c e ’s Wo r l d C u p s e m i f i n a l w i n o v e r M or o c c o S o m e 1 0 , 0 0 0 p o l i c e o ff i c e r s w e r e m o b il i z e d a c r o s s F r a n c e o v e r f e a r s o f p o s s i b l e r i o t s , i n c l u d i n g 5 0 0 0 f o r P a r i s a n d t h e s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a a l o n e D e s p i t e t h e m e a s u r e s , M o r o c c a n f a n s f a c e d v e r b a l a n d p h y s i c a l a t t a c k s f r o m s o m e f a r- r i g h t g r o u p s a s r a u c o u s c e l e b r a t i o n s e r u p t e d a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y a f t e r F r a n c e w o n t h e g a m e 2 - 0 A t l e a s t 11 5 p e o p l e w e r e a r r e s t e d i n t o t a l i n P a r i s a n d i t s s u r r o u n d i n g a r e a s l o c a l m e d i a r e p o r t e d A m o n g t h e m w e r e 4 0 f a r- r i g h t s u s p e c t s w h o w e r e t r y i n g t o r e a c h t h e C h a m p sE l y s e e s t h e c a p i t a l ’s b u s i e s t s p o t t h a t w a s p a c k e d w i t h f o o t b a l l f a n s , t h e r e p o r t s s a i d Vi ol e n c e w a s a l s o r e p o r t e d i n m a j o r c i t i e s s u c h a s Ly o n N i c e a n d M o n t p e l l i e r A t l e a s t s i x p e o p l e i n c l u d i n g t w o m e m b e r s o f a r i g h t - w i n g g r o u p , w e r e a r r e s t e d a f t e r a f i g h t b e t w e e n r i v a l f a n s i n Ly o n a c c o r d i n g t o r e p o r t s F r e n c h l a w m a k e r T h o m a s P o r t e s c o n d e m n e d t h e “ p l a n n e d a tt a c k s ” a n d “ r a c i s t v i o l e n c e ” a g a i n s t M o r o c c a n f a n s We a r e c l o s e t o a t r a g e d y We m u s t r e a c t , ” h e w r o t e o n Tw i t t e r A n t o i n e L e a u m e n t , a n o t h e r p a r l i a m e n t a r i a n , s a i d “ f a s c i s t s s h o u ti n g r a c i s t r e m a r k s a t t a c k e d M o r o c c a n f a n s i n N i c e “ R a c i s m i s a c r i m e , ” h e s a i d i n a t w e e t , c a l l i n g f o r t h e p e r p e t r a t o r s t o b e p u n i s h e d a cc o r d i n g t o F r e n c h l a w

Japanese FM eyes China visit amid ties overshadowed by ‘aggressive defense strategy

AgencIeS

Japan s foreign minister is reportedly eyeing his first visit to China in about three years, which Chinese observers believe will be a good sign for managing the differences on major and sensitive topics, including the Diaoyu Islands issue and Taiwan question

However considering Japan s recent provocations, including calling China a “challenge” in its defense strategy, they remain cautious over the prospect of bilateral relations

On Wednesday, Japanese media outlet NHK learned that arrangements are being made for Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to travel to Beijing late this month to meet with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi

The development came after Japan s ruling coalition on Monday agreed on a National Security Strategy update that calls China an unprecedented strategic challenge, laying the groundwork for bolstering the nation’s defense capabilities, Nikkei reported

Against this background of an aggressive defense strategy that will soon be approved, Japan releasing the news of Hayashi s possible visit to China is intended to lower the tone of China’s protests Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times on Thursday

However, the so-called pro-China Hayashi is bound to draw criticism and opposition from conservative forces in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as they regard the possible visit as a concession ges-

ture to China This means the release of the news also has the aim of testing the reaction of conservative forces in Japan, Da believes

During the possible meeting, Hayashi is expected to convey to Wang that Japan wants to continue dialogue with China and build a constructive and stable relationship through the efforts of both sides NHK cited sources as saying

The foreign ministers are also expected to exchange views on revitalizing privatesector exchanges, which have significantly decreased due to the pandemic, according to the report

Hayashi is expected to explain Japan’s key defense policy documents, including the National Security Strategy which are scheduled to be updated this week and list China as an “unprecedented strategic challenge Kyodo News reported This is the

first revision since Japan formulated its current security strategy in 2013 and it is also a major change in Japan’s security policy after World War II, which is undoubtedly very dangerous ”

If this visit can be made amid the conservative swing in Japanese society, it will help activate the China-Japan ministerial meeting mechanism, implement the emergency maritime and air consultation and liaison mechanism and prevent conflicts on maritime issues, which will play a positive role in improving bilateral relations, Da said

At the same time this visit would be a good sign that will help to carry forward the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Japan in their meeting last month ease tensions in the atmosphere of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of ChinaJapan relations and build stable and

On

consensus

’

countries

threats

Given that ties between the two countries have been chilly after Japan provoked China intensively on the Taiwan question, Diaoyu Islands issue and other sensitive issues while hyping the so-called China threat under the US-led Indo-Pacific Strategy, observers warned that although Tokyo is trying to ease tensions with Beijing through Hayashi’s visit, Beijing should be highly alert to their provocative moves

erate targeting of civilian, critical national infrastructure

MIAn AbRAR

constructive relations that meet the requirements of the new era the observer noted

November 17, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held the first face-to-face bilateral summit in about three years in Thailand, where the two leaders reached a five-point

on stabilizing and developing bilateral relations, stressing that the two

should be partners, not

W I l l I a M S o n S T e P S D o W n a S n e W Z e a l a n D

T e S T C a P Ta I n , S o u T h e e Ta k e S o V e R

“Captaincy comes with an increased workload on and off the field and at this stage of my career I feel the time is right for this decision ”

kANE Williamson has stepped d o w n a s N e w Z e a l a n d Te s t c a p t a i n a n d h a s b e e n r ep l a c e d b y Ti m S o u t h e e , t h e c o u n t r y ’s c r i c k e t b o a r d ( N Z C ) s a i d o n T h u r s d a y A f t e r t a k i n g c h a rg e i n 2 0 1 6 Wi l l i a m s o n c a p t a i n e d N e w Z e a l a n d i n 4 0 Te s t s w i t h 2 2 w i n s , 1 0 d e f e a t s a n d e i g h t d r a w s a n d l e d t h e t e a m t o v i c t o r y o v e r I n d i a i n t h e i n a ug u r al Wo r ld Tes t C h amp io n s h ip f in al in 2 0 2 1 “ F o r m e , Te s t c r i c k e t i s t h e p i nn a c l e o f t h e g a m e a n d I v e e n j o y e d t h e challenges of leading the side in the form a t , ” s a i d Wi l l i a m s o n

Williamson will remain New Zealand’s white-ball captain and he said he will continue to play in all three formats Southee, who stood in as captain for 22 Twenty20 internationals between 2017-21, will lead the Test team on their next assignment – a two-match series in Pakistan starting later this month

“It’s been a surreal few days and it’s just a massive honour to be appointed as Test captain ” Southee said “I love Test cricket, it’s the ultimate challenge and I’m really excited by the opportunity to lead the team in this format ”

Majorit y of Pakistan cricket team players fans of Cristiano Ronaldo

LAHoRE s tA f f R e p o R t

An outright majority of players of Pakistan’s men’s cricket team are fans of Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo According to opener Imam-ulHaq, only Saud Shakeel is a fan of Argentine star Lionel Messi The left-hander revealed this in a presser at the National Stadium in Karachi He also said that few of Messi’s fans don’t talk to fans of Ronaldo They were also sad about how Ronaldo left the field in tears after Portugal was eliminated in the quarter-final It must be noted that the craze of football across the globe is because of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar Messi has been performing exceptionally and has cruised Argentina to the final Ronaldo’s Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarter-final by 1-0 This is the last football World Cup for these star players

Saud makes big leap as ICC announces latest Test Rankings

NZC also announced their squad for the tour of Pakistan on Thursday, with spinner Ish Sodhi returning to the Test team four years after his last appearance in the longest format

Batsman Glenn Phillips, whose only previous Test match appearance for New Zealand came against Australia in 2020, was also included in the squad while fast bowlers Trent Boult (unavailable) and Kyle Jamieson (back injury) missed out New Zealand squad: Tim Southee (capt), Michael Bracewell, Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham Daryl Mitchell Henry Nicholls Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson Will Young

All-rounder Kuldeep puts India on top in first Bangladesh Test

CHIttAgong

Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav shone with both bat and ball as India plunged Bangladesh into serious trouble on the second day of the first Test in Chittagong on Thursday Bangladesh collapsed to 133-8 at stumps, with Kuldeep picking up 4-33 after his 40 made a vital contribution to India s first innings total of 404 runs Mehidy Hasan, 16 not out, and Ebadot Hossain, 13 not out, survived the day but Bangladesh still needed 71 runs to avoid a follow-on

“Losing eight wickets is disappointing ” admitted Bangladesh spin coach Rangana Herath, insisting nonetheless that the game was not over “But you know this is Test cricket three days to go we need (to) hang in there and we need to fight hard,” he said Mohammad Siraj ripped the hearts out of Bangladesh’s top order with 3-14 before Kuldeep playing the series as a late replacement for Ravindra Jadeja mesmerised the home side with his left-arm spin Siraj dismissed Najmul Hossain on the first ball of the Bangladesh innings as the hosts made the worst possible start in reply to India s total Umesh Yadav complemented his efforts by bowling Yasir Ali for four three overs later “Red ball is my favourite format,” Siraj said after the day s play

“It is where you have to maintain a consistent line

Tennis superstar Boris Becker snared by financial, personal woes

London Ag e n c e s

dUBAI s tA f f R e p o R t P a k i s t a n m i d d l e - o r d e r b a t t e r S a u d S h a k e e l m a d e a s i g n i f i c a n t g a i n i n h i s b a t t i n g r a n k i n g s a s t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C r i c k e t C o u n c i l ( I C C ) r el e a s e d t h e l a t e s t Te s t r a n k i n g s T h e l e f t - h a n d e d b a t t e r, w h o m a d e h i s Te s t d e b u t i n P a k i s t a n ’s f i r s t Te s t a g a i n s t E n g l a n d i n R a w a l p i n d i , a nn o u n c e d h i m s e l f i n t h e l o n g e s t f o r m a t i n s t y l e a s h e s m a s h e d t h r e e h a l f - c e n t u r i e s i n j u s t f o u r i n n i n g s S a u d , h a s t h u s f a r, a c c u m u l a t e d 2 7 0 r u n s i n f o u r i n n i n g s a t a h e f t y a v e r a g e o f 6 7 5 0 a n d i s c u r r e n t l y P a k i s t a n ’s t o p - s c o r e r i n t h e h i s t o r i c s e r i e s F o l l o w i n g h i s r e m a r k a b l e s t a r t , t h e l e f t - h a n d e d b a t t e r j u m p e d 3 2 p l a c e s t o s ec u r e h i s c a r e e r - b e s t 6 1 s t p l a c e w i t h 4 8 8 r a n ki n g p o i n t s M e a n w h i l e , P a k i s t a n c a p t a i n B a b a r A z a m w h o s m a s h e d h i s e i g h t h o v e r a l l Te s t c e n t u r y i n t h e R a w a l p i n d i Te s t , m a n a g e d t o h a n g o n t o h i s t h i r d s p o t , w h i l e w i c k e t k e e p e r b a t t e r M o h a m m a d R i z w a n w h o i s g o i n g t h r o u g h a r o u g h p a t c h , s l i p p e d f o u r s p o t s a n d d r o p p e d d o w n t o t h e 2 1 s t p l a c e P a k i s t a n a c e p a c e r S h a h e e n S h a h A f r i d i o n t h e o t h e r h a n d w h o m i s s e d t h e h i s t o r i c h o m e Te s t s e r i e s a g a i n s t E n g l a n d d u e t o i n j u r y, m a n a g e d t o r et a i n h i s f i f t h s p o t i n t h e Te s t b o w l i n g r a n k i n g s a n d i s c u r r e n t l y t h e o n l y P a k i s t a n b o w l e r i n t h e To p 1 0 A u s t r a l i a ’s s t a r b a t t e r M a r n u s L a b u s c h a g n e c o n t i n u e d t o r e i g n s u p r e m e i n t h e Te s t b a t t i n g r a n k i n g s a n d a d d e d a n o t h e r f e a t h e r t o h i s c a p e a s h e d r e w l e v e l w i t h I n d i a s t o p b a t t e r Vi r a t K o h l i s Te s t r a t i n g r e c o r d o n t h e a l l - t i m e l i s t

Boris Becker became an overnight sensation when he won Wimbledon as an unknown teenager but personal and financial troubles have dogged him since he hung up his racquet Becker, 55, was released from prison in London on Wednesday, after serving eight months of a two-anda-half-year prison sentence for financial misdemeanours

He was originally required to serve at least 15 months but reportedly received an early release as part of a programme designed to ease pressure on Britain’s overcrowded prisons

Vi c t o r y f o r t h e 1 7 - y e a r- o l d G e r m a n a t t h e A l l E n g l a n d C l u b i n 1 9 8 5 m a d e h i m t h e y o u n g e s t m a l e p l a y e r e v e r t o w i n t h e t o u r n a m e n t a n d w a s t h e s t a r t o f a n e n d u r i n g l o v e a ff a i r w i t h t h e C e n t r e C o u r t c r o w d

Nicknamed Boom, Boom for his ferocious serve, he won Wimbledon again the following year and lifted four more Grand Slam trophies in a sparkling career that brought him 49 singles titles and career earnings of $50 million

Becker retired from playing in 1999 but remained a high-profile figure in the game with a commentary job for the BBC before switching paths to coach Novak Djokovic to six Grand Slam titles between 2014 and 2016

But despite the riches he earned during his career he was declared bankrupt in 2017

In April, Becker was found guilty of concealing £2 5 million ($3 million) worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts

Born in Leimen in south-west Germany in November 1967 Becker took up tennis as a child when his father built a tennis centre in the town

The teenager turned professional in 1984 and caught the world s imagination a year later by beating Kevin Curren in the Wimbledon men’s final at the ten-

der age of 17 years and seven months

The towering red-headed phenomenon captivated crowds with his explosive serve-and-volley tennis, not afraid to dive full-length for the ball on the Wimbledon grass He retained his title the following year, beating Ivan Lendl in the final, and added a third Wimbledon crown when he defeated Stefan Edberg in the 1989 final Becker also won the US Open in 1989 and the Australian Open in 1991 and 1996, while twice leading Germany to Davis Cup glory

He became world number one following his 1991 triumph in Melbourne

His former manager, the moustachioed Romanian businessman Ion Tiriac described Becker in his early years as “the most natural, crystal-clear youngster I ever saw

“He didn’t know how to lie didn’t need to lie didn’t need to find excuses or hype, or cry when he was losing, he said That s what made human beings around the world identify with him ”

Some observers say his separation from Tiriac in 1993 deprived Becker of the firm hand that had guided his early career

The German’s first autobiography “The Player”, released in 2003, made global headlines with its boozesoaked tales of luxury hotels and a string of female conquests

Becker s tangled private life has kept him in the headlines including a daughter conceived in a brief but now famous encounter with a Russian woman at a London restaurant in 1999 while his then wife, Barbara was pregnant

He divorced Barbara in 2001 and married Dutch model Sharlely ‘Lilly’ Kerssenberg eight years later in a high-profile event in Switzerland that was broadcast on German television, but the couple separated in 2018 His financial woes also kept him under the media spotlight

In 2002, a court in Munich sentenced Becker to a two-year suspended prison sentence and fined him for tax evasion

and length and that helps me in white-ball cricket also

Liton Das offered some counter-punch with five fours, including three off consecutive balls from Umesh, before Siraj bowled him for 24 The paceman also claimed the wicket of debutant opener Zakir Hasan for 20 Kuldeep struck off his second ball, forcing Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan to give Virat Kohli a catch at slip for three reducing Bangladesh to 75-5

The 28-year-old spinner then removed Nurul Hasan (16), Mushfiqur Rahim (28) and Taijul Islam (0) to put India firmly in control

India were all out in the second session after adding 126 runs to their overnight 278-6, with Bangladeshi offspinner Mehidy finishing with 4-112 and left-arm spinner Taijul taking 4-133

Ravichandran Ashwin defied Bangladesh s attack to hit 58 the third half-century in the India innings after Cheteshwar Pujara’s 90 and Shreyas Iyer ’s 86

Ashwin received invaluable support from Kuldeep as the duo added 92 runs for the eighth wicket

Iyer resumed on 82 but missed out on a hundred as Ebadot bowled him in the eighth over of the morning

Ebadot could have dismissed Iyer in his previous over had Liton not dropped the catch at fine leg

Iyer, who was dropped on 67 and miraculously survived being bowled by Ebadot on 77 when the bails failed to dislodge on the opening day, hit 10 fours in his 192-ball innings

Volleyball tournament organized for inmates in District Central Jail

A volleyball tournament was organized in District Central Jail Dera to promote healthy and positive activities among the inmates The tournament was organized on the instructions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Prisons Inspector General Saadat Hussain in which the jail staff also participated said a press release issued here on Thursday The Chief guest of the event was Superintendent Jail Samiullah Khan, while Deputy Superintendent Jail Zafarullah Marwat and other jail officials and inmates were also present on this occasion All the participants took great interest in this competition and applauded to encourage both teams The prizes and trophies were distributed among the two top teams of the event On his arrival, chief guest Samiullah Khan was introduced to the players one by one Speaking at the conclusion ceremony, Superintendent District Central Jail Dera Samiullah Khan said that due to the special interest of IG Prisons Saadat Hussain the sports galas were being organized in all prisons of the province to provide healthy activities to the prisoners He said holding these games were aimed at reducing the mental stress of the prisoners

AUCKLAnd s tA f f R e p o R t

Pa k i s ta n ’ s a u t o m o t i v e i n d u s t r y c o n t i n u e s s t e a d y g r o w t h i n n o v e m b e r

in November 2021

in FY 2021-22

tH e Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) released the sales data for November on Monday, December 13 Overall

automotive sales clocked in at 130,502 units sold Despite a 0 28% monthon-month (MoM) increase from October ’s 130,138 units sold, there is a massive 31 72% year-on-year (YoY) decline from last November ’s 190,594 units sold

Jeeps & Pickups and Tractors were the only vehicle categories to have seen MoM declines with contractions of 34 49% and 3 4% On the other hand, cars were the only category that experienced 0 61% YoY increase in November

With the addition of November ’s sales, five month FY 2022-23 volume stood at a total of 601 971 units sold This is a 31 52% YoY decrease from the 879,401 units sold

Within just the cars category, the 1000cc car segment was the only one to have seen a MoM decline However, on a YoY basis only the below 1000cc segment recorded an increase The increase, at 114 99%, is significant and possibly indicates customers’ diminishing purchasing power reacting because of the stringent prudential requirements put in place by the State Bank of Pakistan

Looking across car models, the Suzuki Alto recorded the greatest number of sales in November Conversely, BAIC’s BJ40L recorded the lowest sales with just four units sold On a MoM basis most cars have recorded volumes similar to those in October Honda’s joint figures for the BR-V and HR-V recorded a 759 26% MoM increase This is likely attributable to the HR-V Honda s recent launch in November Furthermore, Hyundai’s Sonata recorded a 86 88% YoY decrease with monthly sales falling to 44 compared to the 320 units sold

On a MoM basis, the results for November 2022 were mixed Many companies such as Honda and Suzuki were able to continue growing from October whereas other companies such as Toyota, Al Ghazi, and Atlas Honda saw their fortunes turn for the worse Finally, on a YoY basis, all companies, with the exception of BAIC and Hino, saw significant declines in their volumes

BAIC’s YoY growth is only due to its negligible volume when compared to the rest of PAMA s members Hino in contrast has volume that is comparable to its competitors in the commercial vehicle segment Its growth is the silver lining to the misery seen afflicting the rest of PAMA’s members

In terms of YoY declines, Suzuki and Sazgar were the only companies not affected by significant drops in volume The former benefits from the sustained success of its Swift and Alto in FY 2022, whereas Sazgar has benefited from the introduction of its Haval line of vehicles as part of

Centcom chief c alls on COAS, discusses regional securit y

interest The US general laid a floral wreath at the Martyrs Monument in honour of the martyrs of Pakistan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said The military s media wing also revealed that a contingent of the Pakistan Army presented a guard of honour to the visiting dignitary Later, the US commander called

on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir followed by a delegation-level meeting According to the ISPR, the matters of mutual interest regional stability and the security situation, defence and security cooperation particularly military-tomilitary ties were discussed during the meeting The commander acknowledged Pakistan s achievements in the fight against terrorism, flood relief and contributions to regional peace

The delegation will also visit Torkham on Thursday where he will be apprised of counterterrorism and border management mechanisms in place along the PakistanAfghanistan border

earlier this month, the US had threatened to take action against the Taliban regime if it observed international terrorists regrouping in Afghanistan In a press briefing US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, while responding to a question regarding the Taliban’s inability to fulfill their commitments regarding safe havens for terrorist groups had stated that the militant group was “either unable or unwilling to live up to the commitments that they ve made in a number of areas”

“One of those areas is the commitment they have made to counterterrorism, to seeing to it that Afghanistan does not once again become a haven for international terrorists, a launch pad for attacks against countries well beyond its borders,” he had stated, adding that this was an interest of the US

Pakistan, ADB sign $475m flood loan deal

pr ofit report

P a k i s t a n h a s s i g n e d a $ 4 7 5 m i ll i o n l o a n a g r e e m e n t f o r f l o o d r el i e f w i t h t h e A s i a n D e v e l o p m e n t B a n k ( A D B ) , t h e c o u n t r y ’s e c on o m i c a f f a i r s m i n i s t e r s a i d o n T h u r s d a y, t a k i n g t h e t o t a l f o r t h e y e a r t o $ 2 7 b i l l i o n w i t h t h e a g e n c y F l o o d s c a u s e d b y a b n o r m a l m o n s o o n r a i n s a n d a m e l t i n g g l ac i e r s u b m e rg e d h u g e s w a t h e s o f t h e c o u n t r y e a r l i e r t h i s y e a r a n d k i l l e d n e a r l y 1 , 7 0 0 p e o p l e , t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e m c h i l d r e n a n d w o m e n M i n i s t e r Ay a z S a d i q s a i d t h e c o n c e s s i o n a r y A D B l o a n w a s s i g n e d a t t h e r a t e o f 1 % f o r a p er i o d o f 4 0 y e a r s T h e i m p r e s s i o n t h a t ’s b e i n g

s p r e a d i s t h a t G o d f o r b i d , P a ki s t a n i s g o i n g t o b e b a n k r u p t , o r i t i s i n f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s T h e r e i s n o t h i n g l i k e t h a t , S a d i q s a i d i n a r e c o r d e d m e s s a g e “ H a d t h e r e b e e n s u c h a s i t ua t i o n t h e A D B w o u l d n t h a v e s i g n e d t h e s e l o a n s w i t h u s t o d a y ”

P a k i s t a n i s s t r u g g l i n g t o m e e t i t s e x t e r n a l f i n a n c i n g o b l i g a t i o n s i n t h e f a c e o f l o w f o r e i g n e xc h a n g e r e s e r v e s t h a t a r e b a r e l y e n o u g h t o c o v e r a m o n t h o f i mp o r t s I t i s a l s o b e s e t b y d e c a d e sh i g h i n f l a t i o n T h e c o u n t r y h a s b e e n t r y i n g t o a p p r o a c h a l l i e s t o s e e k f i n a nc i a l s u p p o r t , a n d a n i n t h r e v i e w o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l M o n e t a r y F u n d f o r a 2 0 1 9 b a i l o u t p r og r a m m e h a s b e e n p e n d i n g s i n c e S e p t e m b e r

Oilseeds vessels stuck at Karachi port carrying cargo worth $350 million, have not been released despite a release order issued by the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) an issue that has seen various government departments pitted against each other According to reliable sources, concerned ministries and departments are hesitant to allow the release of the Soybean seeds, which are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), fearing repercussions of such a move in terms of Pakistan international commitments

On Friday, the FTO had ordered the Ministry of Climate Change to issue a onetime approval for the release and treat it as a special case under Rule 27 of the Biosafety Rules, 2005 But authorities remain hesitant keeping in mind Pakistan’s international commitment to implement the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed in 2001 and rectified in 2009

“We are one of the over 100 non-GMO countries which have signed the agreement In case we allow the release of a few vessels (of GMO oilseeds) our agriculture exports

and trade with the non-GMO countries will be undermined,” said an official at the Ministry of Food Security and Research, requesting anonymity He added that concerned departments should keep international obligations in mind while deciding the fate of a few vessels According to him, until there is a policy for GMO products duly approved and in accordance with the spirit of the international agreement signed by the country, it is difficult to deal with the case of imported oilseed

When contacted, a member of the All Pakistan Solvent extractors Association (APSeA) confirmed that the imported Soybean vessels worth over $350 million have not been released so far According to him no reason was being given by the government

Insiders say there is also some confusion in the text of the FTO order pertaining to exactly what the importers are allowed to do in this case with the GMO products

Under the existing Biosafety Rules 2005, any commercial import of genetically engineered products for the purposes of food feed, or processing, requires an approval from the National Biosafety Committee (NBC), an inter-ministerial body with representation from ePA, commerce, food security, health services, climate change and others

Pakistan is signatory to, and has ratified,

various multilateral environmental agreements, conventions and protocols Consequently, it is mandatory for the state to ensure the implementation of the agreements Pakistan’s regulations and guidelines for biosafety will also have to show compliance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which Pakistan has ratified

However both the government bodies and importers are fully aware that GMOs have been imported As per experts, there are proper systems of checks and balances in place in countries using GMOs whereas Pakistan did not have a proper mechanism policy, or the expertise for this

As per available documents, at least 257 vessels of oilseed have arrived in the country from 2017 to February 2022 The concerned department of the food ministry, the Department of Plant Protection (DPP), has simply been fumigating the vessels to avoid any pest-related risks

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another It was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on 11 September 2003

rAWALpiNDi

Commander Central Command (CeNTCOM) General Michael erik

Kurilla on Thursday visited General Headquarters (GHQ) and discussed the security situation in the region as well as other related matters of mutual

PAMA s data set If BAIC was to be coupled with the rest of Sazgar ’s sales volume

then it too would have overall contributed to Sazgar ’s declining YoY volume

E S P I T E F TO O R D E R, CO N C E R N E D AU T H O R I T I E S H E S I TA N T TO A L LOW G M O S E E D I N T H E CO U N T RY