Epaper_22-12-17 LHR

Investor-frIendly polIcIes devIsed to promote busIness: pm

pRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the government would extend facilitation to foreign investors in a bid to promote investment in the countr y

“ Pakistan is fol owing investor-friendly policies to encourage the foreign businessmen explore nvestment opportunities in the countr y

PM Shehbaz Sharif was talking to naguib Saw r s, a prominent businessman

from Egypt, who called on h m along with a delegation here at the PM House

The prime minister said Pakistan was fol owing investor-fr endly policies to encourage the foreign businessmen explore the investment opportunit es In this regard he mentioned the fields of information technology telecommun cation energy, agriculture, food processing, ivestock tourism and natural resources

Sawir s expressed his interest in investing in more sectors in Pakistan especially in the mining sector

The business group of naguib Sawiris

has made successful nvestments in te ecommunication and real estate sectors in Pakistan

Housing societies and modern resdential bui d ngs for overseas Pakistanis

Meanwh le, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Fr day directed the authorities concerned to develop housing soc eties and modern residential buildings for overseas Pakistanis n the federal cap tal

The prime m nister, chairing a h ghlevel meeting on the investment of overseas Pakistan s in the housing sector of Islamabad, said the experienced and well-reputed f rms should be engaged for the construction of res dential buildings for the expatriates

The senior off cers of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) br efed the pr me minister on the prospects of investment by overseas Pakistanis in the housing sector The prime minister also directed for proper marketing of the CDA s pro ects which had the potent al to attract investment

He said the government would make no comprom se on the quality of deveopment projects in federa capital and called for projects completion before the deadl ne

Federa m nisters Ishaq Dar and Azam nazeer Tarar Advisor Ahad Cheema, Special Assistant to PM Tar q Bajwa and senior CDA officers attended the meeting

Re ko D i q : We ’ r e i n t h e c l e a r

pakistan reser ves right to act against cross-border ter rorism, says bilawal

s ta

Pakistan on Friday said that it would not tolerate cross-border terror sm by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pak stan (TTP) or other terrorist groups and that the countr y reser ved the right to take direct action against them

“ Pakistan wi not tolerate such cross-border terrorism by the TTP or other terror st groups, l ke the BLA, wh ch are a so receiv ng f nancia and other support from host le quarters We reser ve the r ght to take direct action against them the foreign m nister sa d addressing an event to commemorate the 8th ann versar y of the terrorist attack on Army Publ c School n Peshawar held here at the Un Headquarters

Hosted by Pak stan the event was held as part of the Un ’s Office of Counter Terrorism s Remembrance of the victims of Terrorism campaign

Started with one-minute si ence the commemorative event brought together the Un member states, vict ms experts academics civi society organ zations and representative of law enforcement agencies

However Fore gn M nister Bilawal sa d unfortunately the TTP and some other terrorist groups found safe havens and even more frequent attacks have been conducted against Pakistan s mil tar y and civilan targets

He said the brutal nature of the TTP and its callous target ng of children n the APS attack, and other crimes should also reinforce the world community s determ nat on to combat and defeat the TTP, along with other terrorist organizations like ISIL-k, operating in Afghan stan

He told the partic pants that Pakstan s intelligence agencies had “ solid proof ” of f nancial and organizat onal support and direct on provided to the TTP

“ We have shared a comprehensive dossier with the Secretar y-Genera and the Security Council conta ning concrete ev dence of such external support to the TTP and other terrorist groups operating against Pakistan

The conc us on of the legal procedures, according to Barrick Pres

was a critical step in developing Reko Diq

a world-c ass, long-life mine that wou d signif cantly increase the company ’s “ strategically significant copper portfolio and benefit its Pakistan stakeholders for generations to come n a press release from the company B strow further stated that we are currently updating the project s 2010 feasibility and 2011 feasibility expansion studies This should be completed by 2024, with 2028 targeted for f rst production With its unique comb nation of large scale low strip and good grade, Reko D q is expected to have a l fe of at least 40 years We envisage a truck-and-shovel open pit operat on with processing facilit es producing a high-quality copper-gold concentrate We expect t to be constructed in two phases with a combined process capacity of 80 mil ion tonnes per annum

Apart from the economic benefits it wou d prov de the mine wil also create emp oyment support the expansion of a regional economy, and nvest in development initiat ves in the undeve oped Balochistan province

Ful funding of the province’s stake in the mine will allow Balochistan to profit from its 25% ownership’s d vidends royalties and other benefits without having to contribute financially to its deve opment or operation

Barrick stated in ts press release that we re mak ng sure that Balochistan and ts people will see these bene-

fits quickly Starting early next year Barrick will implement a range of social deve opment programs prior tising the mprovement of healthcare education, vocationa tra ning, food security and the provision of potable water Our nvestment in these is expected to amount to around $70 million over the feasibility and construction period In addition, Reko Diq will advance royalties to the government of Baloch stan of up to $50 mill on until commercial production starts ”

The numbeRs speak foR Themselves

Using the figures provided by Arif Habib L mited report “ Revival of Reko Diq Project the scope and earnings this project would generate are massive to say the east and rightfu ly subtitled The Home Run

The project is divided nto two phases with a total projected capex cost of $7 bi lion w th the f rst phase requ ring $4 bill on and the second phase requ ring $3 bill on In addition the project ’s tota entr y amount is $2 2 bi lion, bringing the ent re pro ect size to $9-10 bill on

Annual copper output is predicted to be between 650 and 700 m lion pounds per annum for the f rst ten years, ncreasing to 800 to 850 mill on pounds per annum when phase 2 is completed Furthermore, gold production is estimated to be 300,000 to 350 000 ounces on yearly basis for the first ten years (first phase) before increasing to 450 000 to 500 000 oz folowing the planned expansion

To estimate the overal value of the pro ect we ll assume constant pricing for both go d and copper taking the average price of the commodities over the period of the last ten years

If we were to only ook at the first phase of the project keep ng in mind the numbers above it wou d generate an estimated $ 14 bil ion for the government n only the f rst 10 years of its operation

The s gnificant portion of the revenue would be dominated by the sa e of Copper and would account for 83 25% or $11 67 bil ion of the revenue in the first phase, whereas Gold would account for the remaining 16 75% or $2 35 b lion Likewise with the expansion envisioned for the second phase the output of the mine wou d increase and with it the revenues generated would also rise An accumu at ve revenue amount of $62 bi lion s expected to be generated over the course of the second phase that has a stipulated time period of 35 years

In terms of the revenue mix, Copper aga n would account for the bulk of the revenue n this case 80 6% or $49 9 bilion Whereas the mining of Gold wou d amount to 19 4% or $12 b llion of the total revenue expected to be generated in the second phase

To sum it al up the Government of Pakistan would be ab e to generate an average of $1 4 bil ion annually over the course of the first phase and an additional $1 7 billion over the next 35 years during the second phase of the project This would amount to a whopping $76 billion over the next 45-50 years

A though these estimates and calculations provide a simpl stic understanding of the monetar y returns expected to be generated by Reko Diq, these are still estimates nonetheless The considerations taken to keep the number crunching consistent do not account for the var able pr ce of copper and gold in the internationa market as wel as other d rect and indirect factors ConCeRns

A key concern that st ll requires attent on is the logistical aspect of this mega pro ect cons dering the remoteness of the pro ect site, and consequently the logistics requ red to make this a feasible project have to be further developed

In h s address the foreign minister said 132 ch dren and eight teachers and staff at the Schoo had died in that attack and severa others were njured

The attack was claimed by the socalled Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an entity listed as a terrorist organization by the Security Council and many Member States, he added

This terrorist attack was particularly he nous because the clear aim of the terrorists was to kil chi dren In this sense t was a targeted attack des gned to deal a grievous blow to the morale of the people of Pak stan ”

He told the gathering that nstead, the shock of the APS massacre mobi ized the Pakistani nation and motivated t to eliminate al terrorists from their soil as massive mi itar y operat ons were undertaken to cleanse the frontiers of the TTP and associated terrorist groups

Pakistan s operations were successful Our terr tor y was cleared of terrorists We paid a heavy price –80 000 civi ians and soldiers k lled or injured and the economy set back by $120 bil ion he remarked

The foreign minister sa d Pakistan h a d ? e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e n e w a uthorities in kabu would be able to convince or constrain the TTP from conducting cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistan as they had prom sed to do in the Doha Agreem e n t a n d n s u b s e q u e n t p o l i c y declarat ons

“ However, endeavours towards this end appear to have failed The TTP seems to have been emboldened to declare a “ war ” aga nst Pakistan Its attacks have intensified

H e e x p r e s s e d t h e h o p e t h a t t h e r e m e m b r a n c e o f t h e A P S a tt a c k w o u l d s e r v e t o m o b i l i z e t h e U n ’ s c o u n t e r - t e r r o r i s m m a c h n e r y t o a d d r e s s t h e t h r e a t o f t e r r o r i s m w h i c h p r e s e n t y e m a n a t e d f r o m A f g h a n i s t a n a n d a d a c e n t r eg i o n s i n a c o m p r e h e n s i v e a n d e ff e c t i v e m a n n e r “ We need to e iminate the “ safe havens of these terror sts; to cut off the sources of their financing and sponsorship; and to target and hold accountable ndividuals and entities responsible for the terror st attacks or for sponsor ng and financing such attacks,” he commented and assured Pak stan’s support to the Un and the international community n realizing the said objectives

UNiteD NAtioNS

f f r e p o r t

iSLAMABAD s ta f f r e p o r t

Barrick Gold Corporation hav ng won a favourable rul ng from Pakistan’s Supreme Court and the necessar y aws hav ng been enacted has declared that it has finished reconstituting the Reko D q project

dent and Chief Executive Mark Bristow

into

R e ko D i q D e a L : S e n at e L i m i t S S C o p e o f f o R e i g n i n v e S t m e n t L aw i n B a Lo C H i S ta n

ISLAMABAD T LT p

tHE Senate has passed a bill for amendments to a recently approved foreign investment law limiting the legislation’s scope in Balochistan to “qualified investment” for the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project

The law, titled the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act, 2022, was passed by both houses of parliament and

paved the way for a settlement deal between the government and Canadian company Barrick Gold for the reconstitution, and eventually revival of the long-stalled mining initiative in Balochistan’s Chagai district

The TLTP learnt that it aims to protect investors from unnecessary court proceedings and other hassles and has been a cause of discord within the ruling coalition, with several parties including key allies BNP and JUI-F, raising objections that it is against the rights of people of Balochistan

To placate the allies ministers from the PML-N, which leads the ruling coalition, assured first during the National Assembly (NA) session on Tuesday and later after a cabinet meeting the same day that the law would be amended to address their grievances

Subsequently, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the bill for amendments to the law in the Senate The bill stated that the law which “extends to the whole of Pakistan”, be amended to specify that “for Balochistan,

it should only apply to the qualified investment of Reko Diq project as mentioned in schedules and annexures of this act

The amendment bill added: “The purpose of the subject amendment is to clarify the scope and application of the Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection Act), 2022 ”

The amendment has to be approved by the NA before it is finalised

The bill for the amendment was passed

amid the opposition s uproar in a repeat of Senate proceedings from Tuesday when the original Foreign Investment (Promotion and Protection) Bill, 2022 was approved by the upper house of parliament

Lawmakers from the opposition mainly the PTI shouted slogans, demanding the release of arrested party Senator Azam Swati and the issuance of his production order, as the finance minister presented the bill

Senator from the opposition also surrounded Senate Chairperson Sadiq Sanjrani s podium while security personnel encircled the house

After the bill was passed, Dar congratulated Pakistan and Balochistan and said the bill was of immense importance for the Chagai district “It will protect business,” he added Later the session was adjourned for an indefinite period

D a r h i g h l i g h t s n e c e s s i t y to s to p c ro s s - b o rd e r s m u g g l i n g a ffe c t i n g e c o n o m i c g row t h

ISLAMABAD

S

US CentCom chief concludes pakistan visit to reaffirm securit y ties

ISLAMABAD S Ta f f R e p o R T

Commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) General Michael E Kurilla concluded his two-day visit from December 14-16 and held meetings with Pakistani military leadership to reaffirm security ties between the two nations General Kurilla met with Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, to conduct a review of troops and discuss bilateral security cooperation and efforts to promote regional stability, said a news release issued here from the US Embassy on Friday During his visit, General Kurilla met Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza at the Joint Staff Headquarters to reaffirm the bilateral commitment to partnership and address shared security challenges General Kurilla also visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to discuss the security situation along the border with Afghanistan For 75 years, the United States has valued its long-standing bilateral partnership with Pakistan, including by providing more than $97 million this year to support flood relief food security, and disaster preparedness in Pakistan As Pakistan continues to recover from the floods, US government support will remain steadfast, it added

SHC seeks repor t on encroachment , infrastructure issues from DSJ Dadu

HYDERABAD a p p

The Sindh High Court has directed the District and Session Judge of Dadu district to submit a report in the SHC about the state of encroachment and other infrastructure issues in the city by December 22 The Hyderabad circuit bench comprising justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro and justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon on Friday recalled that at the last date of the hearing the District and Session Judge was ordered to submit the said report However no report had been submitted The SHC gave one more week to the district, judge for compliance

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Friday highlighted the necessity to stop cross-border smuggling of foreign currency and other valuable items, affecting economic growth in the country and expressed satisfaction over the progress made by the agencies concerned Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar was chairing the follow-up meeting of inter-ministerial committee on antismuggling measures Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, SAPM on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Tariq Pasha, the SBP Governor, the Finance Secretary, Secretary Interior, DG I&I Customs, Member Customs, ADG FIA, and senior officers from Finance Division participated in the meeting, said a press release issued here

On the occasion the participants reviewed the

progress on anti-smuggling measures and roadmap to strengthen anti-smuggling regime in the country

The meeting was apprised that strict and vigilant operations have been initiated against the illegal cross border movement of foreign currency, urea, wheat and other items by the Customs, law enforcement and intelligence agencies

It was informed that large quantity of foreign currency and other valuable items have been confiscated at various points between 9 to 15 December, 2022 period due to these strict measures

The representatives of Pakistan Customs, FIA and Interior have updated the meeting on their progress and suggested pragmatic measures to curb the menace of smuggling He further stressed upon the need of coordination among all the concerned agencies for this purpose and directed them to take comprehensive and combined action against those involved in the smuggling activities and currency speculation Dar directed the relevant authorities to speed up

Reduc tion in POL prices challenged in LHC

LAHORE ag e n c e S

The federal government’s notification of price reduction in petroleum products was challenged in Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday with a request to set it aside as it did not reflect the pace at which the prices were being decreased in the international market

The petition was filed by an NGO, Judicial Activism Panel (JAP) via its head advocate Azhar Siddique

It was implored in the petition that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar recently announced slashing prices of petroleum products by up to Rs10 per litre for the next fortnight Petrol and diesel will now be available at Rs214 80 and Rs227 82 per litre, respectively after a reduction of Rs10 and Rs7 5 per litre, it added

Advocate Azhar Siddique contended that the decline comes amid a drop in international oil prices

“As of December 15, Brent crude futures were down 33 cents or 0 4% at $82 37 a barrel by 1453 GMT and US crude futures lost 43 cents or 0 6% to $76 85 while chairing a meeting on fuel prices,” he said

Azhar said that the people endured a difficult time, and now they had the right to receive full relief “At present, the petroleum levy on petrol stands at Rs10 per litre and Rs5 per litre on HSD, kerosene oil and LDO each However, the sales tax on them is zero The National Assembly approved a rise in the

maximum limit of the petroleum levy from Rs30 per litre to Rs50 per litre to achieve the budgetary target of Rs750 billion in the Finance Bill 2022-23,” the petition stated

The prices of HSD, petrol, kerosene oil and LDO have skyrocketed by 92% (Rs132 39), 66% (or Rs99) 95% (Rs111 95) and 80% (Rs100 59) respectively since May 26, when the government introduced the first of a series of fuel price hikes

The petition stated that there is no justification behind the aforementioned increase in prices of the POL products as there is no mechanism in place to decide the rate of increase in price

“NEPRA law and rules/regulations have provided a mechanism for the deciding of tariff, however, OGRA does not have such a mechanism in place Even otherwise, the state is responsible to protect the lives of citizens of Pakistan under the umbrella of fundamental rights as enshrined under Articles 9, 14, 25 and 4 & 5 of the Constitution being custodian of its citizens under its constitutional obligations

Azhar prayed to the court that the recent and abrupt decrease in international markets of petroleum, the fixation of prices of petroleum products by the federal government is prima facie without any legal justification

He requested the court to accept the petition and the notification with regards to the petroleum products may kindly be set aside as the prices of petroleum products are reducing rapidly in international markets

their operations to curb cross-border smuggling

It was also decided that a regular review meeting on anti-smuggling operations will be held on weekly basis Later, the participants thanked and appreciated the Finance Minister for taking appropriate and active measures for tackling the current economic situation and ensured their support for ensuring smooth and sustainable economic growth

Last week, the Inter-Ministerial meeting, chaired by the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, had reviewed the economic situation; current mechanism of foreign currency and wheat and urea smuggling

Various measures were discussed to strengthen antismuggling regime according to press statement issued by the finance ministry

On the occasion, the finance minister highlighting the economic situation in the country stressed upon the need of coordination among all the necessary platforms for this purpose

LHC rejects petition against selling of embassy building in US

LAHORE T LT p

The

Rana

The TLTP learnt that LHC

the objections raised by the registrar ’s office and termed it inadmissible for hearing The court in its ruling said that the plaintiff is the aggrieved party in the case The plea was turned down by the LHC against selling the Pakistani embassy building in the US Pakistan has decided to sell its old embassy building located in the United States (US) The Foreign Office has given nod to the Pakistani embassy in Washington to sell its old building, which was lying vacant for the last 15 years The building located at the prime location of Washington is worth $5 to 6 million dollars, the sources familiar with the development said and added that the building is being sold due to the crunch economic situation of Pakistan Earlier it emerged, the Foreign Affairs Division moved to the cabinet the case of two old Chancery buildings, located on 2201 R Street and 2315 Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, which have been lying vacant since the Pakistan Embassy there was relocated to a purpose-built Chancery Building in April 2003

Zia Bajwa

Interim govt should not allow Afghanistan become hotbed of ex tremism: Bilawal

NEW YORK a p p

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday urged the interim Afghan government to demonstrate its will to take on terrorist groups within their soil and ensure that Afghanistan does not become a hotbed to extremism The foreign minister, in an interview with Newsweek during his visit to New York, said since the fall of Kabul, Pakistan had witnessed an uptick of terrorist attacks within Pakistan

He viewed that the events around the fall of Kabul emboldened religious extremist groups particularly in Pakistan even though the country had defeated them

“We have broken the backs of terrorists, the visuals coming out of Afghanistan did obviously empower that mindset,” he added

The foreign minister said Pakistan had come a long way from having terrorist

attacks every week, with thousands of casualties to a relative calm as a result of its military operations in South Waziristan and North Waziristan

We really got a handle on this issue not only domestically, more recently we’ve managed to demonstrate internationally within the rules-based order with the FATF [Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering] requirements that we completed two action plans counter-terrorism and on money laundering, no small feat ”

“Pakistan has concerns with the TTP The international community has concerns with al-Qaeda and other groups, we also have those concerns The Chinese have concerns about ETIM [East Turkestan Islamic Movement] and we share those concerns,” Bilawal Bhutto said

He maintained that the Taliban government would be able to deliver in one year or two years what all of NATO was

unable to deliver in 20 years I m not undermining the efforts that are made against them, but they were there And it’ll take time for the new government And I want to give them that chance to demonstrate that they can take on this issue, that they can deliver on their commitment The alternate scenario is not something that I think is in anybody’s best interest ”

To a question, the foreign minister said in the context of the COP27 negotiations the G77 played an important role on getting the necessary consensus of loss and damage added onto the agenda The agreement for a financial arrangement and a loss and damage fund is a step in the right direction, he added He told the interviewer that Pakistan experienced an almost-apocalyptic climate catastrophe in the form of flooding

But we weren t alone during the course of our presidency Across the planet, we’ve had extreme weather events, from here in the

United States, with the forest fires, as well as in South America and the extreme weather events in Europe, from flooding, droughts in the U K to the extreme, prolonged and extended droughts in China and to the monster monsoons that significantly impacted Pakistan ”

In order to combat these challenges particularly for the developing world, he said the fundamental reforms were needed to make the international system serve all of us and not just some of us ”

“That’s what we’ve been advocating for We have a document coming out of our Ministerial Conference of the G77, which is a consensus document that addresses a lot of these issues Asked about the removal of Imran Khan through the vote of noconfidence, Foreign Minister Bilawal said it was an incredibly important moment in Pakistan’s democratic transition and significant development of Pakistan’s

democratic journey Anybody who’s been following Pakistan s long struggles through dictatorship and democracy can’t underplay how significant that development is

That reaction is what we re seeing in the manifestation of Mr Khan His extremist positions, his very narrowminded populism, his politics of hate his politics of division his politics of fiction ”

He urged Imran Khan to have faith in democracy to return to parliament to do his job as the democratic opposition from within parliament Coming to the Kashmir issue, the foreign minister mentioned the Indian outrageous actions of August 2019

“It is not only blowing up multilateralism, blowing up bilateralism, it is a unilateral solution, an insult to the United Nations and an insult to the United Nations Security Council, the violation of not only international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention,” he remarked

Lahore High Court (LHC) has turned down a petition against selling of the Pakistani embassy building in the United States (US) The petition was moved by a resident named Asmatullah Khan through his lawyer

Sikandar advocate

Justice Ali

upheld

pakiStan faCeD woRSt kinD of fLooD DiSaSteR: aHSan

ISLAMABAD a p p

tHE Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan faced worst kind of flood disaster in the history of the country which badly affected over 325 million people of the country and the government was toiling hard to rehabilitate them

But, unfortunately, Imran Khan and his party is continuously destabilizing the country politically and economically with its negative propaganda He said this while talking to a private TV channel on Friday

He asserted that the incumbent government was engaged in stabilizing country’s economy and as we drew out the country from the brink of default and safeguarded the country

Ahsan said that UN is holding an international conference in Geneva on January 9, 2023, where economic powers of the world are collecting to help Pakistan to compensate its flood victims but on the contrary IK was engaging to destabilize the country and the incumbent government which gives the wrong signal to the international community at this sensitive event, he said

While responding to a question, he said that “IK should fulfill his choice to dissolve KPK and Punjab

Assemblies and we will hold elections and defeat comprehensively to PTI ”

He said that PTI witnessed its worst position in AJK, that was the reflection for IK he said

He observed that Shaikh Rashid himself had admitted the worst economic performance of PTI government and our allied government accepted the challenge to draw out the country from the economic crises and we succeed to do so to some extent in this regard, Ahsan maintained

To a question, he said that we are engaged with Russia to have a good deal to import petroleum products and give relief to the masses

ECP links polls on schedule to census results’ availability by March- end

ISLAMABAD a p p

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday expressed its inability to conduct general elections as per the schedule if the final results of the seventh census are not provided to the body by March 31, 2023

In a letter to the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives secretary, ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal Hussain wrote: "It would be difficult for the ECP to undertake the exercise of fresh delimitation of constituencies as per Article 51(5) of the Constitution complete other electoral activities mentioned above and conduct of General Election-2023 in time as per Constitutional mandate in case official results are not provided on or before March 31 2023

He maintained that a meeting between the chief election commissioner and chief statistician was held on December 8, wherein the latter informed the former that the Council of Common Interests approved the timelines for the conduct of the seventh Population and Housing Census

digitally in its 49th session

As per the initial plan the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) had to provide the provisional results of the census by December 31 2022 to the ECP, read the letter “In the meeting, PBS took the stance that initially PBS engaged NRTC for provision of software, hardware and allied services, however, NRTC pulled out and showed an inability to provide the services resultantly four months delay occurred,” said the special secretary Afterwards NADRA was engaged for the above services Further, the

transition of government and the economic situation of the country caused further delays, read the letter

The commission was informed that as per revised timelines the PBS would be able to provide provisional census results to the ECP by April 30, 2023

During the meeting the PBS has been informed that the ECP time and again took the matter with the ministry of planning and other concerned authorities with the request that the final results of the census be published by December 31 to enable the commission to complete key electoral activities for

Pakistan summons Afghan envoy to condemn cross-border shelling

Pakistan on Friday summoned Afghanistan s chargé d’affaires in Islamabad and “strongly condemned” the recent unprovoked cross-border shelling by its border security forces

“Pakistan’s strong condemnation over recent incidents of unprovoked cross-border shelling by Afghan Border Security Forces in the Chaman-Spin Boldak area resulting in loss of life injuries and damage to property, was conveyed,” said Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a statement Islamabad reiterated to the Afghan side that the protection of civilians remained the responsibility of both countries and that the recurrence of these incidents must be prevented

“It was agreed to use established institutional

mechanisms in this regard Pakistan remains committed to maintaining fraternal relations with Afghanistan Peace along the Pak-Afghan border is intrinsic to this end,” said the spokesperson Normalcy returNs to chamaN border: A day after clashes the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman was operating routinely amid a high-security alert, security officials told Geo News Friday, adding that a ceasefire is in place with border crossing open at the Friendship Gate

On Thursday, one person was killed and 15 people were injured when Afghan border forces opened indiscriminate fire on a civilian area on the Pakistani side after which security forces responded befittingly, Levies and hospital officials had shared

According to local administration, the border area was evacuated after clashes and an emergency was declared in DHQ Chaman

Establishment D ivision notifies over 350 officers ’ promotions to grade 20, 21

ISLAMABAD

The Establishment Division has notified the much awaited more than 350 promotions of the officers of different cadres from grade 19 to 20 and grade 20 to 21

Sources said that the promotion recommendations though statedly underwent PM office’s protracted scrutiny and were further supplemented by intelligence agency’s reporting on the civil servants considered for promotion, yet the bureaucrats finally carried the day in securing promotions based on arbitrariness and violation of law Be it promotion to BS 20 21 or 22 sources said that arbitrariness rules and the rule of law recedes in these promotions, enabling many [ineligible] civil servants to enjoy the powers and privileges of high grades in civil service An expected high powered board meeting on the eve of retirement of principal secretary to PM shows that the bureaucrats themselves have captured the driving seat in the promotion process and it is they who seem to be deciding when they will rise to which grade in their service career

Sources said that the promotions to BS-22 are presently governed by the Civil Servants Act 1973, Civil Servants (Appointment Promotion and Transfer) Rules, 1973 and the Civil Servants (Promotion to the

post of Secretary, BS 22 and Equivalent) Rules, 2010 Section 9(2) of the Civil Servants Act 1973 permits promotion to BS 22 exclusively on merit while Section 9(1) of this Act defines merit in the form of certain qualifications for promotion to be prescribed in the rules Meanwhile, Rule 8-A of the Civil Servants (Appointment, Promotion and Transfer) Rules, 1973 enumerates three qualifications for BS 22 promotions namely, a performance evaluation merit achieved during the minimum required service in BS 21, merit earned in promotion related trainings and the merit secured in promotion related departmental examinations to be administered by the Federal Public service Commission to the various occupational groups of civil service These legal provisions in the Act and the Rules had accomplished that which the high powered promotion boards inattention and arbitrariness and the government’s rules framed in 2010 to regulate promotions to BS 22 seem to have altogether destroyed

Sources disclosed that the legislature empowered the federal government through section 9(1) to prescribe in rules of 2010 the manner in which and the conditions subject to which the officers of different occupational groups promoted to BS 21 and BS 22 could be appointed respectively to the posts of Additional Secretary and Secretary to the federal government

the conduct of the general election

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal had also last month ruled out the possibility of general elections in Pakistan before August 2023

"As far as elections are concerned, even PTI knows that early elections aren't possible in the country as it will take around 6-8 months for rehabilitation works to complete in Sindh and Balochistan the provinces hit hard by floods," the minister said while speaking on Geo News' programme "Naya Pakistan"

"Also, in March or April, the results of the new census will be released The Sindh government and the [people of the] province have a clear stance: next elections will be held on the basis of the new census "

In case the new census is out by March or April, then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will take at least four to five months for delimitation and the country will ultimately move towards polls in August

"This is an administrative and natural timetable that might not change," the minister said as he strongly opposed holding country-wide elections

pakistan to impor t 20000 tons gas cargo from a zerbaijan: musadik

ISLAMABAD

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The State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik has said that the country is going to import 20 thousand ton of additional Gas cargo from Azerbaijan in the month of January and February 2023 to meet the demand of the masses who suffer from acute Gas shortage He expressed these views while talking to a private TV channel on Friday Responding to a question, he said that Imran had talked about the pipeline not about the petroleum oil products during his visit to Russia and informed that Russian Petroleum Minister is visiting Pakistan in the second week of January 2023 to hold further negotiations with Pakistan and enter into an agreement to import crude oil from Russia Musadik observed that our government is expecting Russia will export crude oil to Pakistan on a discount as compared to rest of the world, as it had expressed its persuasion during my visit to Russia and things would be settled when Russian Energy Minister will visit to Pakistan To a question regarding the contradiction of statements between the ministers on Russian oil trade issue, he clarified and said that foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto probably was not aware about the technicalities and wouldn t have proper information in this regard The state Minister apprised that we are working on TAPI pipeline to import 1300 billion MF Gas yearly from Azerbaijan to Meet the Gas crises in the country and said that access of Furnace oil import is being stopped to maintain the balance

'Audio leaks won' t harm Imran Khan': Fawad on Bushra Bibi's latest clip

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After another purported audio of former first lady Bushra Bibi in relation to Toshakhana gifts got leaked, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Senior Vice-President Fawad Chauhdry Friday shrugged off the negative impact of such leaks on party s chairman Imran Khan

“ T h o s e w h o t h i n k s u c h a u d i o s w i l l h a r m [ c r e d i b i l i t y o f ] I m r a n K h a n s h o u l d s t e p o u t o f t h e i m a g i n a r y w o r l d , F a w a d s a i d s p e a k i n g w i t h j o u r n a l i s t s i n L a h o r e ’s Z a m a n P a r k E a r l i e r t o d a y a n o t h e r a l l e g e d a u d i o l e a k o f K h a n ’s w i f e , o v e r t h e Toshakhana gifts came to the fore in which she could

b e h e a r d t a l k i n g t o I n a a m K h a n , t h e f o r m e r a d m i n i s t r a t o r o f t h e e x - p r i m e m i n i s t e r ' s r e s i d e n c e a t B a n i G a l a I n t h e a u d i o , B u s h r a B i b i c o u l d b e h e a r d yelling at the staff for allegedly making photographs o f t h e g i f t s b r o u g h t i n s i d e t h e p r e m i e r ’s p r i v a t e r e s i d e n c e C o m m e n t i n g o n t h e a u d i o o f t h e f o r m e r prime minister s wife, the ex-PTI minister claimed that it is a manipulation of different audio clips “Different audios were recorded and then spliced together All the audios which are coming now have been joined after being cut and pasted,” the former minister said claiming about audio’s inauthenticity

The minister said that the government brought forward “ridiculous scandals and discussions”

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CAme to Power witH SloGAnS oF ProSPerit y, ‘imPorted rUlerS’ wiPinG oUt Poor: KP Cm

lA S H I N G out at the imported rulers, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Friday said that the “cabal of corrupt” rulers who came into power by raising slogans against inflation and poverty were actually wiping out the poor

“The imported conglomerate has nothing to do with national interest or welfare of common citizens rather these people, came into power through regime change conspiracy, have solely aimed abolition of corruption cases against them To succeed in their nefarious intentions, they have jeopardized the credibility of accountability institutions and have put its role at stake,” Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan said while addressing media persons and a public gathering during his visit to district Swat and Malakand here on Friday

The KP CM threatened to stage a protest in front of the Parliament Building if the “imported federal government” failed to pay the long-due Rs189 billion in arrears to the province We will not come back until funds of the province’s share are paid,” he warned, adding that the federal government wants to sabotage the ongoing development process in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by withholding the rights of the province, described it as “undemocratic and heinous action ” He maintained that since the regime change

at center the law & order situation across the country has deteriorated

Earlier, the KP CM arrived in swat on a day long visit to Malakand division where he inaugurated sub campus of the University of Swat at Dargai along with performing the groundbreaking of seven development projects in Swat and Malakand which would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs11 billion cumulatively

According to details, the Chief Minister formally performed the groundbreaking of 23km long Mankyal-Bada Sarai Road, which would be rehabilitated at a cost of Rs5 70 billion The project also includes the construction of four bridges and two rest areas at different sites The Chief Minister termed the project of great importance for the area

and said that the provincial government was going to establish an Integrated Tourism Zone at Mankyal, which, on completion, will promote tourism activities and generate livelihood opportunities for the locals Mahmood Khan also laid the foundation stone of 2 5km long Chaprial Bypass road and 10km long Baryam to Wanai road project Both the roads would be rehabilitated at a cost of Rs1 16 billion cumulatively Similarly, the formal groundbreaking of 57km long S h o m o z a i - K a b a l - K a n j u - M a t t a - B a g h Dheri road was performed, which will be completed at a cost of Rs3 94 billion Later, the Chief Minister during his visit to Dargai district Malakand formally inaugurated a University Campus at Dargai He also laid the foundation stone of upgradation of Government

Technical Vocational Centre Dargai to the level of Government Polytechnic Institute and the establishment of Rescue Services 1122 Station at Dargai Both the projects will be completed at a total cost of Rs60 million

Talking to the media persons at Swat, the KP CM made it clear that they will oppose the imposition of taxes on Malakand division, adding that the newly-merged tribal districts and Malakand division should be declared as tax free zone for the next 10 years He said that presently, people of these areas were unable to afford the burden of taxes

Touching upon the self-centered policies of the political figures related with PDM, the CM regretted politicising of development projects, adding that PDM leaders should come up with new projects in the larger interest of the people

Addressing the public gathering at Dargai the KP CM said that the incumbent provincial government had presented a historic budget of Rs1,300 billion for the current fiscal year Revolutionary initiatives like Sehat Card, Education Card and Monthly Honorarium for Aaima Karam have been reflected in the budget Mahmood Khan said that the PTI government believed in the investment in human capital, saying the welfare initiatives taken by his government during the past four years had started yielding positive results The Chief Minister on the occasion also announced a new Tehsil Utmanzai in district Malakand, which was the long-standing demand of the people

PM L- N t o s p a re n o e f fo r t fo r d eve l o p m e nt : M u q a m

branded Pakistanis as thieves

Pakistan urges G-7 7’s lead role to promote systemic changes for revival of developing economies

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Pakistan on Thursday said that as the developing countries endeavored to recover from multiple crises, the Group of 77 and China must take the lead in promoting the systemic and structural changes needed to revive sustainable global growth

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, also the host of the G-77 and China Ministerial Conference held here in his opening statement urged the body to induct equity in international economic relations and restore the developing economies on a path leading to realization of the SDGs and environmental objectives

The ministerial meeting is being held with an aim to agree on the “urgent and emergency measures required to enable the developing countries to overcome the immediate challenges of food, fuel and finance which they confront at present; and systemic measures and structural changes needed to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs ”

The foreign minister emphasised that the developing countries which continued to suffer from the severe impacts of climate change must be assisted, urgently and generously, to recover from these impacts, “even as we start work on operationalizing the loss and damage fund agreed at CoP-27

Mission Director for United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Reed Aeschliman and Sindh Minister for Health and Population Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho launched a new family planning, maternal, newborn, and child health program

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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 PMLN 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

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 He said that in order to save his own politics, Imran Niazi had innocent Pakistanis misbehave

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The Punjab cabinet accorded principle approval to complete the underground mass transit system for Lahore and approval was also granted to incorporate underground blue-line and purple-line and mass transit project in the Annual Development Programme (ADP)

Approval was also accorded during the meeting to decrease 50 percent in the unit rates of ownership rights for giving land to the landless farmers in Cholistan The landless farmers of Cholistan and agriculture will be greatly benefited with this step of the Punjab government Approval was also granted

Underground mass transit system will be built from Valencia to Kalma Chowk, Liberty Chowk, Data Darbar up to Airport Eight big stations of the orange line will also be developed

The cabinet also granted approval to the P&D Board and Transport Department to hold negotiations for getting technical assistance and financing with the ADB The Punjab cabinet accorded approval to make inductions in the Health department from grade 5 to grade 15 and make contract inductions in the PKLI Lahore

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US gov t-funded $40 million BHFA to enhance primar y healthcare across countr y

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PunjaB, China REsolvE to EnhanCE Coll aBoRation foR RaPiD inDustRializ ation

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PUNJAB and China have resolved to enhance the collaboration for rapid industrialization in the Province, especially for encouraging B2B level engagement of Chinese investors and businesses with their local counterparts from Punjab

According to details H E Zhao Shiren the Consul General of People’s Republic of China to Lahore during his visit to Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT) held discussions on different areas for increasing the mutual cooperation between the two sides The Consul General was received by

Pakistan reser ves right to act against cross-border terrorism: Bilawal

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The foreign minister also read out the last word of APS Principal Tahira Qazi They are my children and I am their mother” she uttered before being burnt alive by the terrorists in front of her pupils as she struggled to protect them He also showed the picture of a student Sher Shah Khattak who sacrificed his life while tryign to save his classmates

The foreign minister told the gathering that he had also lost his mother in a terrorist attack carried out by the same terrorist organisation

Deputy Under-Secretary-General and Representative of United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism Raffi Gregorian said the APS attack had shocked the world

He said there was no justification of attacking children particularly when they were there to learn

He said the United Nations stood in solidarity with the victims and families whose lives were changed after the terror attacks

He said the UN took multiple measures for the rights of terror victims like the observance of an annual day and adoption of two UN Assembly resolutions

He said the member states needed to be more inclusive and make the victims’ associations part of the anti-terror efforts and strategies

Among notable speakers included Ahmed Nawaz , a survivor of the APS terrorist attack, President of Oxford Union, Dr Fatima Ali Haider, a therapist whose husband and son were killed in a sectarian incident in 2013 In the aftermath of Peshawar ’s Army Public School massacre in December 2014, she cofounded The Grief Directory in 2015

Other speakers included Sallie Lynch, Consultant for Tuesday s Children and Muhammad Khalid Khan Khattak Member-Policy on Counter Terrorism Extremism and Financial Terrorism of NACTA

A short video was also played developed by the Pakistan Mission Brochures were also distributed amongst the member states to apprise them of the horrific incident Ambassador Munir Akram, the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN gave his concluding remarks and thanked the member states and other representatives for showing solidarity to the terror victims

Secretary Industries Punjab, Sohail Ashraf, Chairman PBIT Fazeel Asif Jah Chairman SEZA Punjab, S M Naveed and CEO PBIT, Jalal Hassan Both sides deliberated upon a multifaceted strategy to enhance the collaboration between Punjab and China for rapid industrialization in the Province, especially for encouraging B2B level engagement of Chinese investors and businesses with their local counterparts

The Consul General deeply appreciated the efforts of the former and current Secretary Industries for promoting the relocation of labour intensive industries from China to Punjab by leveraging a strong network of Special Economic Zones across the Province

both in the public and private sectors

Jalal Hassan CEO PBIT who is also the Secretary of Punjab SEZ Authority, apprised the participants about effective facilitation by PBIT for promoting private sector led growth model which entails the recent grant of three new SEZs licenses to private sector developers in Punjab two of which are a result of direct investment and cooperation by Chinese business enterprises

The Secretary Industries emphasized that Punjab must develop its capacity to train a strong pool of skilled labor force as per modern industrial demands for local as well as international markets

A strong consensus was also developed

Centcom chief should be told clearly of India-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan: Mazari

Reacting to Centcom chief ’s visit to PakistanAfghan international border PTI Senior Vice President, in a statement on Friday, stated: “We now confront a two-front India-US military alliance: QUAD and US Israel India

She said that the interesting timing of visit and epically being taken to Pak-Afghan international border Dr Mazari stated: “With repeated attacks by Afghan security forces on Pakistan forces and civilians Pakistan's Western border remains destabilised and imported government seems to have no cohesive Afghan policy ”

She raised question: “Is this how it has been planned to bring US military back into Afghanistan and Pakistan by giving them the bases they desperately seek and for which they became part of regime change conspiracy?” “Also let us not forget India's deep incursions into Afghanistan at all levels over a long period of time,” she added Dr Shireen Mazari said: What can one say - we have failed our children; terrorism continues from across our international borders and from within; we lost half our country but have learnt no lessons State and society increasingly militarized and polarised so unwilling to realise our strength is our people and their diversity, she added

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Minister for Planning Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Friday directed to expedite the work on Special Economic Zones under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for their early completion

He was chairing a meeting here at the Ministry of Planning and Development to review the implementation status of CPEC projects

The meeting was attended by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi officials from the ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Energy, Communication, Commerce and Aviation; Board of Investment Embassy of Pakistan – Beijing National Highway Authority, Transport Department – Government of Punjab, and Lahore Electric Supply Company; and chief executive officers of Central Power

Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G), Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC), Peshawar The planning minister said the prime minister s visit to China and 11th Joint Coordination Committee (JCC ) had infused a new lease of life in CPEC

He directed the departments and ministries concerned to ensure review progress on the implementation of the decisions taken in the 11th JCC meeting

The minister also the relevant officials to expedite the development process of the 1000 acre Islamabad Special Economic Zone, while advising the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing to follow up the matters pertaining to the CPEC projects

Ahsan Iqbal expressed displeasure over the inaction on the part of departments concerned on the matters relating the uninterrupted power supply to Orange Line Project

€43.76m loan agreement signed for construction of 500kV Chakwal grid station

MD NTDC, Engr Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan thanked the KfW team for extending consistent financial support to NTDC as well as in other sectors of Pakistan

between the two sides to further strengthen the technical education and vocational training canvas of Punjab by benefiting from the Chinese experience, especially to uplift the on-going partnership between TEVTA Punjab and Tianjin consortium of technical universities for Punjab Tianjin University of Technology (PTUT) in Lahore

The Consul General assured of complete support for reinvigorating the PTUT project and other steps to encourage Chinese investors to relocate to Punjab and form JV based partnership with local investors Other areas of mutual collaboration including visa facilitation for Pakistan businessmen, also came under discussion

Electoral reforms, vibrant democratic nurseries critical for political system: Grand Dialogue

Improving the electoral system, empowering local governments, and revitalizing democratic nurseries – local governments, student and trade unions, etc – are imperative to ensure the quality of representation and efficient working of legislators in parliament This would lead to better governance, provided the instructions and guidelines given by the Constitution of Pakistan are followed in letter and spirit at higher as well as grassroots levels These insights emerged during the third phase of the Grand National Dialogue on ‘Pakistan’s Political System and Governance’, held with students at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Islamabad by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Islamabad in collaboration with Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI) and NUST s Department of Government & Public Policy The youth interaction session was addressed by Khalid Rahman, chairman, IPS, Dr Syed Tahir Hijazi, former vice-chancellor, Muslim Youth University and former member (governance) Planning Commission of Pakistan, and Farzana Yaqoob, cofounder, Mantaq, and former minister of AJ&K, while Sana Maqbool broadcast journalist at PTV World moderated the session

Reko Diq: We’re in the clear

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The National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) on Friday inked 43 76 million Euro loan agreement with KfW Bank for financing the construction of 500 kV Chakwal Grid Station Apart from this, another grant agreement amounting to 2 4 million Euro was also signed which was provided by the Government of Germany for capacity building in NTDC, said a press release

Mr Sebastian Jacobi, Director KfW, Islamabad, Dr Kazim Niaz, Secretary (Economic Affairs Division) and MD NTDC, Engr Dr Rana Abdul Jabbar Khan signed the agreements

The construction of 500 kV grid station Chakwal will be done on a swathe of land measuring 715 13 Kanal in district Chakwal

The land has already been acquired and the contractor has been mobilized for the construction of grid s boundary wall

The grid station would not only help in the development of industries by meeting the growing electricity demand but also improve the power supply position in

surrounding areas of district Chakwal including Chowah Saidan Shah, Gujar Khan, Dandot, Pinanwal, Talagang, Tamman, Padshahan and Chakri Moreover it will also strengthen the associated NTDC and IESCO networks The voltage profile improvement would be beneficial, especially for the cement industries in Chakwal and would also help generate employment and business opportunities in the area

It is worth mentioning that $ 189 million loan under Second Power Transmission Enhancement Investment Program (Tranche-4) was also inked by Secretary (Economic Affairs Division) and Dy Country Director, Pakistan Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank, Islamabad for power infrastructure enhancement, including transmission lines and grid stations

The said loan will be utilized for the procurement of transformers, circuit breakers, and other allied equipment for the expansion of four 500 kV grid stations and four 220 kV grid stations to remove the system constraints in the transmission network for Summer 2023 thereby providing relief to the associated DISCOs and the end consumer

Similarly a 220/132 kV grid station Jamrud New and its associated transmission lines for evacuation of power from Mohmand Dam will also be financed under the same loan NTDC team KfW representatives and officers from Economic Affairs Division Islamabad were also present during the ceremony

Taking the example of the Saindak silver mine located in Chaghai, the silver ore extracted from the mine has to be transported 1 127 km from the site to the port in Karachi by trucks That is absolutely ridiculous, as the costs associated with using trucks would have an adverse effect on the bottom line and overall feasibility of the project If a similar plan is on the table for Reko Diq, the margins of Barrick and the Government would significantly diminish Water was highlighted as the project s most critical” issue in the Risk Assessment Report pertaining to Reko Diq published by Behre Dolbear in October 2007, and Pakistan underlined it during the ICSID hearings whilst examining the feasibility of ensuring water supply Water is most commonly used in mining to process ore and to water mine roads to reduce dust Aquifers, surface water, collected precipitation, and even water from the mine itself, provided the mine is actively dewatered, are all possible sources of water for mining Naturally due to the remoteness of the site location, developing infrastructure and building a sustainable water source for the next 45 years for the mining operations is a monumental challenge Historically as Pakistanis all of us have been witness to unsuppressed corruption, inefficiencies as well as plain and simple stupidity on part of the decision makers and various government entities The country has a chequered past of poorly executed projects and pitiful government oversight next to little or no support to investors To compound all this bureaucrats and politicians in positions of power never fail to get their kickbacks from projects like these

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Dr Shireen Mazari said Friday that US Central Command (Centcom) chief General Michael Erik Kurilla should be told clearly that its strategic ally India is the major sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan so US should act on this as first confidence building measure (CBM) viz Pak

direc ts to expedite work on CPEC SEZs

F u e l p r i c e s g o d o w n

TH E latest fortnightly review has seen a decline of Rs 10 per litre in the price of petrol for Rs 214 80, as well as a decline in the price of all other fuel products, which should indicate to the Pakistani consumer that the worst of the price hike due to the Russian invasion of Ukrainse may well be over However, the war itself is not showing any signs of being over as it approaches its first anniversary The Ukrainian and Russian armies may not have settled down into trenches, but the apparent stasis on the battlefield bodes ill for the future It is not just the war alone forcing up oil prices A renewal of the covid-19 scare has brought China to curb demand, while it seems that winter has been relatively mild, with the result that demand for heating oil has not been so much as to drive up the price of oil Domestically, the factor of Russian oil has not kicked in, and even before a representative from Russia has arrived in Pakistan, the Foreign Office is getting could feet, with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto saying that Pakistan has not imported any discounted Russian oil

With international oil prices likely to decline further, as the USA and its allies try to enforce the Rs $60 cap on Russian oil cargoes (and thus impose a cap on oil prices generally, the consumer will experience more relief However, with the IMF package still stuck, the government will be sorely tempted to increase its sales tax receipts, which are presently zero, from oil Apart from personal and vehicular transport, the decline in oil prices will mean the cheaper transport of goods

The real test of the government will be to ensure that any recent price hikes because of fuel price increases are reversed quickly The ‘invisible hand’ of the market cannot be left to do that automatically, because that will take time, and time is what the government does not have At best, it has 10 months to the general election and if PTI chief Imran Khan makes good on his dissolution threat, may have to go to the polls in over two-thirds of the country as early as March It will work hard to explain the intricacies of the international oil market, but it will find him unwilling to listen

Subduing social media platform

of Pakistan

The government was saying that social media companies had to open functional offices in Islama b a d a n d f o l l o w l o c a l l a w s A p p a r e n t l y, t h e r e should no problem with these five aspects Howe v e r t h e r e a r e a p p r e h e n s i o n s t h a t t h e s e r u l e s a r e meant for misuse by the government There are two main sources of suspicion

mainstream controlled media This was why social media appeared as a platform giving vent to the suppressed and even unorthodox thoughts of society

Another point is that who would judge if any post or online content is removed judicially or not Both kinds of rules (2020 and 2021) are silent on this aspect It means that the government of Pakistan would enjoy discretionary powers to decide on the matter

Yousaf Nizami Editor

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

On D e c e m b e r 9 , F e d e r a l M i n i s t e r f o r I nf o r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y a n d Te l e c o m m un i c a t i o n S y e d A m i n - u l H a q u e a n n o u n c e d t h a t G o o g l e , t h e w o r l d ’s l a rg e s t s e a r c h e n g i n e a n d v i d e o - s h a r i n g p l a t f o r m , w a s s e t t o o p e n a l i a i s o n o ff i c e i n P a ki s t a n G o o g l e h a d a l r e a d y r e g i s t e r e d i t s e l f a s a c o m p a n y i n P a k i s t a n Registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is the first step tow a r d s t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e o ff i c e a r e q u i r em e n t u n d e r t h e R e m o v a l a n d B l o c k i n g U n l a w f u l O n l i n e C o n t e n t ( P r o c e d u r e , O v e r s i g h t a n d S a f eguard) Rules 2021 The rules made on 13 October 2021 by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority require that the social media platforms should h a v e t h e i r s e r v e r s i n P a k i s t a n t o e n s u r e t h a t t h e data were secure Currently, the data of all the platforms are stored outside the country H a q u e a l s o d i s c l o s e d t h a t Ti k To k h a d a g r e e d to establish a liaison office in Pakistan However, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube were still reluctant to follow suit The effort is that after gett i n g r e g i s t e r e d a n d o p e n i n g o ff i c e s , t h e s o c i a l media platforms should abide by the laws and the norms of Pakistan

The objective of the Rules was to have an authority as a handle on these social media companies, which would have a representative and an office in Islamabad If the government required, the companies would be bound to remove or block access to any post or online content from 12 hours (in emergency) to 48 hours (in routine) from the time of the receiving of directions In case of non-compliance, the company would be fined up to Rs500 million

Wi t h i n t h e d o m a i n o f f r e e d o m o f s p e e c h a n d expression, as enshrined in Article 19 of the Constitution, the Rules concerned intend to protect five things: glory of Islam, security of Pakistan, public order, decency or morality, and integrity or defence

First the previous government which was the g o v e r n m e n t o f t h e P a k i s t a n Te h r i k I n s a f ( P T I ) , t o o k c e r t a i n s t e p s w h i c h m a d e p e o p l e s u s p i c i o u s of the intention of the government On 21 January 2020, the previous government notified new social media rules and, on January 28, the federal cabinet a p p r o v e d t h e C i t i z e n s Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020” In its A r t i c l e 2 ( 1 ) ( d ) e x t r e mi s m ” w a s d e f i n e d a s t h e “ v i o l e n t , v o c a l o r a c t i v e o p p o s i t i o n t o f u n d a m e n t a l values of the State of Pakistan including the security, integrity or defence of Pakistan, public order, decency or morality, the rule of law, i n d i v i d u a l l i b e r t y a n d t h e m u t u a l r e s p e c t a n d t o l e rance of different faiths and beliefs

In the West, the acts of the army and the judiciary are not out of bounds of social reaction. Political reaction may or may not follow social reaction. These institutions which have erected an iron cur tain around them should come to terms with the realities of the modern age and modern Pakistan. Change yourself, instead of changing the whole world

T h e q u e s t i o n i s t h i s : How can extremism be defined in this way? With this d e f i n i t i o n a s t h e m a i n s t a y of the rules, it became obv i o u s t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t w a n t e d t o u s e t h e s m o k es c r e e n o f t h e w o r d “ e xt r e m i s m t o i t s b e n e f i t t o suppress the freedom of exp r e s s i o n a n d s p e e c h T h e r u l e s w e r e a c r a c k d o w n a g a i n s t d i s s e n t a n d n o t a g a i n s t e x t r e m i s m P r e s e n t l y, t h e m a j o r c h a ll e n g e c o m e s f r o m f a k e n e w s , d e f a m a t i o n c a mp a i g n s , h a t e s p e e c h , a n d i n c i t e m e n t t o v i o l e n c e However, even such genuine challenges and concerns have become questionable Second, in Pakistan, the law of terrorism is misused Any political opponent or dissenter is subjected to an FIR on the allegation of terrorism By the time the receiver gets exonerated of the charges, a lot of time is wasted

The major problem is with the exploitation of rules to one s benefit After 2008, the rise of social media saw the rise of freedom of speech and freedom of expression, though these remained unchecked On several occasions, limits were crossed both intentionally and unintentionally From 2014 to 2018, the Pakistanis, especially the educated urban class, got engaged in participating in politics and social issues through social media which emerged as a platform alternative to the

Modi’s worst nightmare: Clash with China

come a disaster

On December 12, the news of the clash between Chinese and Indian soldiers broke The recent clash happened in the Tawang sector of India s Arunachal Pradesh on December 9

According to the Indian Army, soldiers from both sides sustained injuries during the clash However, the matter did not get prolonged, and local commanders of the Indian Army held a meeting with their Chinese counterparts The most conspicuous element in this news was that the Indian Foreign and Defence Ministries declined even to comment on the situation When it comes to China, the Indian government, even Prime Minister narendra Modi, remains dead silent India does not try to threaten China as it tries to threaten Pakistan and adopt an escalatory and offensive posture The Indian leadership remained silent even on the incident where 20 soldiers died It showed that Modi feared China because they understood that the Indian Army was not ready to face China Secondly, facing China will puncture Modi’s narrative of a strong nationalistic leader providing security It will threaten Modi s rule because even though the Indian economy is booming it’s not presenting an accurate picture of the whole of India

India s army is unable to face China and its army After 2020 India reoriented six of its army divisions from its northern borders with Pakistan to Chinese borders This force was reoriented to stop any embarrassment or loss of territory To pursue its aggressive agenda India had already increased its defence spending 50 percent According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) the Indian defence budget increased from $49 6 billion in 2011 to $76 6 billion last

year It passed the UK and Russia to become the third largest spender on the military However, this defence spending could not show substantial results due to corruption in the Indian Army In 2012, India’s army chief Gen VK Singh was offered a bribe and revealed that a lobbyist offered him a hefty bribe for the approbation of a deal A middle man always existed in defence deals, and India s defence contracts were always mired in corruption Moreover, in March 2021, the news broke of corruption in the recruitment process of the Indian army Many officers from different ranks accepted bribes from the candidates coming for a cull In addition, in 2019, a significant general was involved in a corruption case

Furthermore, corruption cases emerged in a housing project for the military The previous Indian Army Chief, Gen Bipin Rawat acknowledges this corruption in a military housing project In August 2022 Lt Col Rahul Pawar was injunctively authorizing 7-8 percent, and Subedar Major Pardeep Kumar asked for 45-55 percent of the total value of contracts awarded to contractors Dinesh Kumar and Pritpal Singh In May 2022, a lieutenant colonel of the Indian army and his five other partners were involved in corruption in procurement of rations for the armed forces With these corruption cases in the army and defence procurement India s weapon indigenization process has be-

Hence , poor economic performance , corruption in the Army and failure of the indig enization initiative leaves Modi to sell his imag e of a nationalistic leader tough on security to the public. Any clash with China completely exposes this strongman imag e of Modi and can become a challeng e to his rule in India

India is striving to indigenize the military industry, but its domestic industry has empty slogans to show They are unable to provide the vweapons systems that are required to compete with China The Indian Air Force was even unable to compete with the Pakistan Air Force It lost an aeroplane, and a pilot was apprehended in Pakistan By 2023, the IAF will have 30 squadrons; however, according to the IAF itself, it requires 42 squadrons to safeguard India

The Indian defence industry is unable to engender quality products Recently, India s helicopters, indigenously built in India, have crashed many times Consequently, facing China can expose a hollow version of the nationalistic vision of the Indian Prime Minister and the people can fixate on his domestic susceptibilities because, despite the pomp and show of the Indian economy, it is not authentically growing for the impoverished people

Many commentators point out that India s economic magnification and India’s GDP remained huge factors in India Indian GDP faced contraction after the pandemic Relative to 2019, India’s GDP is just 7 6 per cent larger, while China s GDP is 13 1 perCent larger and 4 6 percent in the USA which has slow economic growth Furthermore, India’s annual growth rate over the past three years is just 2 5 percent Like the debacle of defence indigenization the promulgation of

Given the existing rules, it is feared that social media may degenerate from being an instrument of free speech and expression to a medium of controlled discourse Intelligence agencies want to have full access to the data and activities of both social media companies and their clients For the youth, who are deprived of student unions to vent their feelings, may feel the squeeze Unfortunately, intelligence agencies which are not free of political influence, have their own measure of judging dissent

It is apparent that there is present mistrust between citizens and the state The s o c i a l m e d i a c o m p a n i e s a r e a l s o a w a r e o f t h e w e d g e o f s u s p i c i o n T h e y a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n h a v i n g c l i e n t s t o e a r n m o n e y a n d run their system and not int e r e s t e d i n p l e a s i n g t h e Pakistan government Further the social media comp a n i e s b a s e d i n t h e We s t a r e a w a r e o f t h e l e v e l o f freedom of expression and speech in developing countries such as Pakistan

They may not be interested in becoming a tool in the hands of Pakistan’s government to suppress sociopolitical discord Terms like glory of religion and in-

tegrity of a country lose relevance outside Pakistan Decency and morality are relevant terms changing their definitions from society to society The East cannot ban the West With the inflow of technology from the West, western ideas and norms are bound to invade the East nevertheless, every Pakistani knows where the rub lies In the West the acts of the army and the judiciary are not out of bounds of social reaction

Political reaction may or may not follow social rea c t i o n T h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h h a v e e r e c t e d a n i r o n c u r t a i n a r o u n d t h e m s h o u l d c o m e t o t e r m s w i t h t h e r e a l i t i e s o f t h e m o d e r n a g e a n d m o d e r n Pakistan Change yourself instead of changing the whole world

The writer can be reached at qaisarrashid@yahoo com

incipient projects has decelerated after the growth of the post-pandemic bounce

In integration, there needs to be more evidence that foreign firms are genuinely locating their business in India Overall, foreign direct investment is stagnant in India Many firms that commenced investment in India had many unsuccessful experiences Firms such as Google, Walmart, General Motors, and Amazon are examples Amazon commenced closing three ventures in India With these economic realities economic indicators withal remained poor in India

India has an indigent education system In 2018, a few rural children in India in class fifth could not read or write More than a third of children under the age of five were stunted Other human development indicators additionally worsened in Modi s era There is massive inequality in India The top ten per cent gets 57 percent of the national income

Hence poor economic performance corruption in the Army and failure of the indigenization initiative leaves Modi to sell his image of a nationalistic leader tough on security to the public Any clash with China completely exposes this strongman image of Modi and can become a challenge to his rule in India

The writer is Research Officer in the CISS AJK He is working on Nuclear Politics & Disarmament, Emerging Technologies and New Trends in Warfare

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

Waiting for due justice

I belong to a lower middle-class family and have six siblings My father, who is a primary school teacher has to bear all the expenses of the family As he is the only breadwinner, it sometimes becomes difficult for us to meet the daily expenses

However we had reasons to look forward to a better life when my younger brother, Dr Salahuddin, after graduating from Khairpur Medical College (KMC), started his house job at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Hyderabad with the permission of the Sindh health secretary His house job was a ray of hope for our family, for we expected that our hard days would soon be behind us with an additional source of income

But to our disappointment KMC officials not only refused to accept the order of the health secretary, but also categorically refused to release the salary My brother performed his duties with full dedication, working for straight 36-48 hours He performed his duties even when the coronavirus disease (Covid) was at its peak He served hundreds of Covid patients by putting his life at risk The government gave risk allowance to all health-sector employees but my brother did not receive a single penny of his salary, leave alone any allowance, even after working for a whole year

Currently the Sindh ombudsman s regional office in Hyderabad is looking into the matter, but, unfortunately, we are yet to get justice and my brother ’s case has been pending for the last many months

The government should look into the matter so that we may get some relief in these tough times when inflation has made lives miserable

AISHA DADU

Terrorism: The greater threat to the distorted socio-economic structure of Balochistan

The rest of Pakistan must realise that terrorism in B alochistan costs them dearly as well

TH E nature and definitions of terrorism vary from the use of the word use in an academic economic political or military context However, the common meaning of the word terrorism could be perceived as the spread of fear for a motive Since the terrorist incident of 9/11 and the USA s invasion of Afghanistan, the world has changed drastically

The structure of international politics and policies towards Muslim countries has been greatly impacted But in the case of Pakistan, the security conditions changed differently as Afghanistan is Pakistan’s immediate neighbour and shares a porous border with two of its provinces, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The events of 9/11 disrupted peace in the region in general and Balochistan in particular The security threat from the sociopolitically disturbed neighbour after the incident could not be ignored

Although corruption mismanagement and poor governance have a role in disrupting the socioeconomic structure of the region, terrorism stands prominent among them Terrorism in the province of Balochistan not only boosted sectarianism, but also harmed its socioeconomic structure

Furthermore, the unstable environment has provided ground for foreign conspiracies which in return has enhanced terrorism that added to the exploitation of the social and economic structure of the region not only this, but also due to Balochistan’s strategic location enemies of the state started mobilizing militants and terrorists by funding them for anti-state activities The consequences of terrorism in Balochistan how it might be dealt with, and what possible solutions could be taken to prevent youth from being radicalized Must be highlighted

It is more important to deal with terrorism in Balochistan first, as there are countless reasons behind the acts of terrorism including political gains and an ideological struggle Yet, the major cause is poverty, and, the poverty rate in Balochistan is 40 percent and according to a psychological survey, poverty leads to criminal acts

Moreover, the predictability of terrorism increases when the poverty and unemployment

rates stand highest at 9 13 percent Furthermore, according to a report, most terrorist and suicide bombers are either minor beggars or those from Madrassas, the majority from poor backgrounds They become easy targets and due to illiteracy and poverty, it becomes easier for the militants to mould their brains and convince them for suicide bombing In such cases, when multidimensional terrorism and fragmented socioeconomic and socio-political status are found, the security of Balochistan stands equally important As the security of the provinces is directly proportional to the national security of Pakistan, it cannot be compromised However, the worsening of security is not only due to social and distributive injustice in Balochistan but also because of the easy movement of people across borders, making it far more difficult for the authorities to operate and capture the disturbers of the peace Thus, it not only worsens regional and national security but also it turns the environment fearful Consequently the spread of terrorism has affected the educational system and employment in the province Resultantly, human capital is greatly affected According to a report, in 2009 increase in terrorist activities resulted in the closing of educational institutions for 245 days whereas in the rest of the Pakistan they were closed for 145 days Furthermore, many mainstream professionals have become targets of terrorism for different reasons which also contributed to the instability of the educational and social system

Terrorism is a by-product of bad governance and flawed policies yet, with a shift in policies, Balochistan can develop economically, and policymakers should invest in countering the causes, such as pover ty, in order to counter the security threat for Balochistan and ultimately Pakistan

and the killing of people who form a productive human resource, such as, doctors, teachers, lawyers and many other trained and productive people, further burdening the provincial government and its resources As the province is not an industrial zone, these professionals were important for the creative economy and their deaths further burdened the economy of the province The death toll in Balochistan since the War On Terror has risen to 45% which is alarming from both the socio-economical and socio-political status of the province not only this but also the disturbed peace caused by terrorism is promoting the concept of no investing in the region which would not only impact Balochistan but also Pakistan as a whole However, a major step towards countering terrorism can be taken by lifting the economy In the case of Balochistan and Pakistan as a whole, the disturbed peace has created multiple hurdles for economic uplift Balochistan in particular needs economic uplift because a declined economy provokes many other social problems and disruption in a social structure which could be dealt with by economic uplift

As Afghanistan is an immediate neighbour to Pakistan and shares a long border with Balochistan, establishing peace in Afghanistan is directly linked to durable peace in Balochistan Pakistan should keep on supporting Afghanistan on both economic and political fronts as far as Afghanistan s stability is concerned

Double-faced politics

I T is strange to observe a dual personality syndrome found in our political strata Almost all politicians in the country suffer from this syndrome

First take the example of our former finance minister who has recently stepped down I have read his two articles in the last few weeks Both pieces reflect intellect But this intellectual side of his personality came out only after he was replaced by another former finance minister

When he was in office, his brilliance could do no wonder It is a typical case of the same person having different personalities But he is surely not alone In fact there are many to give him company in this club like say a former prime minister who wants to reclaim power even while conceding that he could not understand for more than three years in office what was going on around him and how the system worked

These are just two examples of the dual personality representing the whole class of politicians This is high time the citizens took their destiny in their own hands Politicians simply make promises Till we find a cure for this dual personality syndrome, we should stop trusting politicians

SAGHEER ABBAS LAHORE

Irresponsible priorities

I n S T E A D of spending on the rehabilitation of life in the flood-affected villages through infrastructural development the government once again is spending on projects in the big cities Such unnecessary, or at least untimely, development had made the underprivileged vulnerable to the calamity in the past and now the state s pursuit to spend in big cities in the form of towers and mass transit is not a good omen

Had there been a planned development of towns close to every cluster of 20-30 villages, there would have been less inequality and poverty in the country People could easily access modern hospitals, better colleges, advanced technology and better employment opportunities closer to their homes Had the governments spent on the development of dams and preparation for mitigating disasters, we would not have been through such huge losses People move to urban areas not because they want to, but because they have to Opportunities in their own areas are all but non-existent

If the government even today starts planning towns closer to village clusters in different areas, people will get employment and country will grow economically Besides the government should pursue a climateintensive development model When it allows the installation of an industrial plant, it should ensure that the said plant has mechanism to take care of the element of environmental pollution through any suitable mean including plantation Such development is really what we should be targeting rather than towers and plazas

MUHAMMAD MOHTASIM MANDI BAHAUDDIN

The real oppor tunist

Moreover the attacks not only caused the death tolls or disrupted the infrastructure and social structure, but also advanced the other indicators of terrorism in the region like sectarianism and extremism This sectarianism has significantly impacted the religious perspective, leading to religious extremism, which is also used as a political tool

As a result, it has caused disputes on a sectarian basis, disrupting the peace across the province For instance, the killing of 11 Shias in Balochistan and the intended target of the Shia girls of Sardar Bahadur Khan University, and many reactions on a sectarian basis The responsibility for these acts was proudly accepted by the sectarian group of Lashkar e Jhangvi, a Sunni extremist group

Balochistan, on the other hand, is a vast land and could be used for multiple economic purposes due to the availability of the land However, this sponsored or unsponsored terrorism has cost the deterioration of the infrastructure

However, the only way to get rid of terrorism permanently is to adopt strict policies and impose checks and balances on the migration of human capital, trading commodities and the passage of ammunition and weaponry across borders to stop any unlawful activities Pakistan should rather issue refugee identity cards or visas for traders and non-traders to legalize their movement Furthermore, lasting peace in the region would encourage foreign investment, and in generating economic opportunities, ultimately diverting the youth, and creating a constructive environment that would eventually discourage them from engaging in terrorist activities

Terrorism is a by-product of bad governance and flawed policies yet, with a shift in policies, Balochistan can develop economically, and policymakers should invest in countering the causes, such as poverty, in order to counter the security threat for Balochistan and ultimately Pakistan

The writer is Assistant Research Fellow, Balochistan Think Tank Network, Quetta

T H E useless war in Ukraine is now being desperately extended to Poland by those who badly failed in getting the desired results of their planned involvement in Ukraine to expand nato and bring it right to the Russian border despite decades of warnings by Vladimir Putin

In view of the coming harsh winter and the prevailing energy crisis in western Europe, the United States has now resorted to throwing in the den another sacrificial goat Poland a nato member to pit Russia against the Western alliance with the hope of being able to ‘punish’ Moscow under the ‘attack on one is an attack on all’ slogan

The people to suffer most will be west Europeans while the Americans will be comfortably sitting thousands of miles away, watching the brutal game of politics in Europe, much like the Romans sitting in the Colosseum leaving almost all European countries profusely bleeding economically from the wounds of this unnecessary war that is going badly out of control

On the other hand President Joe Biden has also utterly failed in his policies of containing China and its economic growth with or without sanctions He now appears to be willing to eat the humble pie as was evidenced recently when he extended a half-hearted hand of friendship towards China, meeting its president at the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, for the first time in the two years of his presidency

The economies of Germany and Britain are already in tatters postCovid, and the silly idea of Russia-Ukraine war has made things worse Somebody is having fun somewhere

SYED IJTABA HUSAIN ZAIDI KARACHI

samra hamiD

KOV K AT Z

Th e voting in the Knesset on Tuesday night was historic for two reasons The first was the most obvious: the Knesset was passing a series of personal laws for different ministers so they can join the government The laws were not for the benefit of the people or even a specific party Rather, they were about individuals like the bill for Arye Deri that is meant to allow a convicted criminal and someone who months ago promised in court to leave politics to serve as a senior cabinet minister

The second reason the voting was historic was that the legislative changes being debated were taking place before the establishment of a new government This was strange When Benjamin Netanyahu carried the Likud and his right-wing religious bloc to electoral victory on November 1 it seemed at first that the coalition talks would be a walk in the park The parties were ideologically aligned, agreed on the national hot-button issues and had walked arm-in-arm through five elections and almost four years of campaigning

Instead, the coalition talks have been one long and painful headache for Netanyahu and sadly for the Likud leader, he has no one to blame but himself his future partners knew that if they first swore in the government and then tried to pass the laws they asked for Netanyahu would likely find a way to stall After all, that is what he has done countless times in the past Due to this lack of trust the partners – Religious Zionist Party Otzma Yehudit, Shas and United Torah Judaism – all insisted that the laws be changed first Only once they are legislated, will the parties agree to enter the government

While strange, the partners are not wrong Netanyahu has made promises to coalition partners in the past that he very quickly violated The most recent example was when he publicly promised “no tricks and no shticks” when establishing a government with Benny Gantz and then refused to adhere to the agreement so he could remain in office

And if the coalition talks weren’t tough enough,

Tackling online abuse

i s T h e n eTa n ya h u g o v ’ T l e a d i n g i s r a e l T o wa r d a r e l i g i o u s wa r ?

then came the news, on Sunday night, that the Likud and UTJ were discussing a series of religious reforms that, if implemented, would alter the character of Israel and turn it into something of a Jewish version of an Islamic Republic The demands varied and included stopping the use of power plants producing electricity on Shabbat, increasing the number of separate beaches, funding the genizah (proper burial) of holy books and establishing institutes dedicated to answering halachic questions The haredi party also asked to increase the study of the Bible in secular schools and to begin teaching Talmud there, as well

WILL ISRAEL BECOME A HALACHIC STATE?

While Netanyahu declared on Monday that he would not allow Israel to become a halachic state, one has to wonder how these politicians even thought they could ask for all of these religious reforms

What gave them the feeling that it was legitimate to assume that they could grossly interfere in the education of secular children? Why did they think that they could decide – because of a minority of haredim – that the entire national electrical grid needs to be changed or that the state should have to spend hundreds of millions of shekels to accommodate this extreme way of life?

Sadly, there is no real way to describe this situation other than calling it a brewing religious war within the country

There are forces here that seem to believe that because they have political power now, they can do whatever they want They claim that this is the definition of democracy when what it really is, is a misunderstanding of the system of democracy Yes, democracy is about the people electing their leaders and in this case, Israelis have done so But, it does not mean the elected officials can do whatever they want harming the rights of citizens is not democratic, weakening the courts is not democratic and trampling religious rights is not, as well

What these ultra-Orthodox politicians fail to realize is that what they do not only harms the country but also harms and weakens the Jewish religion They have politicized Judaism and they are turning people away from our

ancient traditions As Zvika Klein wrote this week, just look at marriage rates through the Chief Rabbinate which have dropped by about 10% in the last decade People are staying away and they have good reason to

It doesn t have to be this way Judaism can be an open free market Netanyahu knows about privatization and he still takes great pride in the economic reforms he instituted 20 years ago when he was finance minister he broke up government monopolies, privatized government-owned companies, and cut welfare and government subsidies Opening up the market was Netanyahu s brand The haredim want him to go backward hopefully, he will know how to stand his ground

On Wednesday The Jerusalem Post ran an ad on its front page with a picture of the Moroccan national team and the words “We are all Moroccans” ahead of the match that evening between Morocco and France

It was an ad placed by a supporter of the team and it was almost entirely well-received There were, however, a number of people who were upset at the paper and by extension the Moroccan team, which has players who dare to wave Palestinian flags after their games

Some Israelis and Jews have taken great offense at the waving of Palestinian flags, calling it political, inappropriate and a backstabbing of the normalization between Jerusalem and Rabat

While it is unclear what the purpose is behind the flag waving and whether, as some reports indicate, the hamas-supporting Qataris are behind it, Israelis need to understand that Qatar is an Arab country, Morocco is an Arab team and the Palestinians are a cause they care about While Israel might like to pretend that the conflict with the Palestinians does not exist, the rest of the world is not going along with the charade There is a Palestinian people who live in cities and towns just 15 minutes from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and find themselves almost daily under Israeli military control, whether when embarking on a West Bank highway to get to a different town or when the Israeli military enters their cities at night to hunt down suspected terrorists All of these measures are needed for Israel s security but we should

not pretend that they do not undermine the quality of life in the West Bank and do not impact regular Palestinians

The flags are a reminder that the public in the countries with which Israel has normalized relations, like Morocco has not forgotten the Palestinians The waving of the flags is a reminder that this is a conflict that is unresolved and should not be ignored

Israelis should not be afraid of the flags They are not hamas flags or hezbollah flags Yes, they represent a desire for Palestinian self-determination but it wasn’t that long ago that a two-state solution was the declared policy of all Israeli political leaders, including Netanyahu The Likud leader even put Palestinian flags on display when he hosted PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the official prime ministerial residence in Jerusalem, a few years ago

The obsession with Palestinian flags has led Israel to make mistakes in the past In May, for example, when the funeral procession for Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh left St Joseph hospital in eastern Jerusalem the district police chief ordered his men to stop the march and confiscate the flags everyone remembers the images of Israeli policemen beating pallbearers with their batons and almost knocking over Abu Akleh’s coffin It was a disaster and completely unnecessary

A smarter move is to ask ourselves why Palestinian flags were being displayed on the pitch in Doha and why members of the Moroccan team draped over their shoulders the green, red, black and white symbol of Palestinian independence The answer is not that they are necessarily against Israel but rather that they support the Palestinians

Considering that the games are in an Arab country and the flags are being hoisted by Arab players, this should not be a surprise and instead of seeing it as a move against us, we should view it as an opportunity to ask why this is happening Maybe the answer will surprise us

Yaakov Katz is The Jerusalem Post s editor-in-chief He previously served for close to a decade as the paper ’ s military reporter and defense analyst

Myanmar’s ‘neutral’ intellectuals are poison

irrawaddy B A N YA R AU N G

oN C e prominent opposition figures who fought the military dictatorship, some former activists are indirectly helping the current military regime in Myanmar But this is not unusual in this Southeast Asian nation Its political history is littered with such opportunistic political scoundrels

thoughts with the public, and were appointed to international organizations, international news agencies and Myanmar-focused organizations funded by Western countries From revolutionaries, they became political intellectuals

Tribune

Th e grant of sanction by Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor to prosecute the creator and mastermind of the Sulli Deals mobile application sends the right signal of zero tolerance for malicious cyber activities The app and Twitter handle of a 25-year-old computer applications student had created a major uproar last year for targeting Muslim women ‘Sulli Deals’ had taken publicly available pictures and created profiles, describing the women as ‘deals of the day’ The purpose the Delhi Police said was to humiliate and degrade the victims Arrested from Indore in January, the accused was granted bail in March by a Delhi court which said that being a first-time offender his prolonged incarceration would be detrimental to his wellbeing Nothing but the pursuit of justice should prevail in such crimes ‘Sulli Deals’ is a test case

The ‘Bulli Bai’ app, too, targeted women, a sign of the online harassment and sexualised trolling they are routinely subjected to and how unsafe Internet can be Women face abuse not just for their opinions, but also for various identities, be it gender, religion, caste or marital status Cyberbullying increases against those who are politically articulate The more vocal a woman, the more likely she is to be targeted The delay in content moderation allows a free run for misogynist and communal posts Social media sites have to be pressed for stricter norms for platform transparency and accountability The widespread toxicity in the online space requires urgent intervention The delayed and inadequate responses to online abuse and crimes highlight the sad state of cyberpolicing The lack of an overarching data protection legislation has been flagged for leaving a gaping hole in the legal measures to be taken in case of personal data usage violation More robust laws would count for little unless accompanied by massive capacity building A systemic upgrade is the only way to tackle the pressing law and order issues of the day

When the enemy is too strong to defeat, they opt to cooperate with it They betray their political principles and commitments, and willingly serve the interests of the enemy in exchange for some entitlements granted to them

In the post-independence period, politicians contested for highly paid seats in the government and parliament with the pledge to serve the interests of the people But they forgot their words after they were elected to office They betrayed the public’s trust in them

When General Ne Win seized power in 1962 and subsequently introduced his economic ideology the “Burmese Way to Socialism,” which finally pushed Myanmar into grinding poverty, many rose against his rule But then some opponents obediently worked to advance the general’s “socialism” dream after bravely fighting the military on the front line for years They betrayed themselves

Similarly, those who once advocated loudly for democracy and federalism in the country are serving the current military regime today Some dissidents who bravely fled life imprisonment from notorious Cocogyun Island are now submissively working for the junta

Once they fought bravely for the cause of democracy and human rights in Myanmar, but today, they are cooperating with those whom they once called the enemy While some are publicly collaborating with their former enemy, some are not The way they are helping the regime is so subtle that it is difficult to notice

After the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, many went into exile and some reached Western countries where they were trained by international agencies in democratic norms, and conflict resolution Some of them obtained master s degrees and doctorates

Some got familiar with political theories of Western countries though they did not obtain degrees They tried and worked out solutions for Myanmar ’s conflicts They also shared their

A f t e r t h e d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n p r o c e s s i n 2 0 1 0 , there were louder calls for dialogue and national r e c o n c i l i a t i o n , f o l l o w i n g s o m e p o l i t i c a l r e f o r m s initiated under U Thein Sein s quasi-civilian government Inevitably, the political intellectuals and organizations backed by Western countries played a part in this trend

Their theories and perceptions of democracy, federalism, human rights, gender equality and environmental conservation commanded considerable attention from the educated Citing the interesting examples of Colombia, South Africa, Indonesia, Nepal, and India s federalism, they promoted themselves as the political know-how in Myanmar ’s peace process

It must be noted that the notion of national reconciliation was at the time centered around the commonly held belief that Myanmar ’s military, as the strongest institution in the country, couldn t be left out of the country’s politics if Myanmar ’s prolonged political problems were to be solved

This notion grew stronger when the previous government dominated by ex-generals accepted the electoral victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and handed over power to it in 2016 With that notion growing in popularity people did not care about which side those political intellectuals supported

The military coup on Feb 1 last year forced a drastic change in Myanmar ’s political landscape The political bubble of national reconciliation burst, and the notion of military-centered problem solving was thrown into question

The coup has also forced politicians and those involved in politics to choose one side It is also impossible for political intellectuals to hold a neutral stand because they must have a firm stance and view in order to judge a political problem

Most of them still uphold the military-centered approach and call for dialogue to solve political problems in Myanmar They condemn the armed resistance ignoring the fact that Myanmar people were only peacefully demanding democracy until many of their friends and relatives were deliberately shot dead in brutal crackdowns And they have not spoken a word in criticism of the military putsch

They have advocated ceasefire and dialogue, and try secretly to promote ceasefires between the regime

and ethnic armed organizations (eAOs) They fail to stand by the Myanmar people and make no effort to understand their plight They are tight-lipped about the regime’s faults, and its countless atrocities, and fail to objectively assess the changing situation

In other words, they are serving the interests of the regime in the name of peace and political dialogue, while ignoring the fact that the Myanmar military has never had a genuine desire for peace

They ignore the need to recognize and engage with the parallel National Unity Government and the People s Defense Force, which represent democracy forces from Bamar-majority central Myanmar, if Myanmar ’s crisis is to be solved

Instead, they have only engaged with eAOs, and urged them to observe a ceasefire Their action contributes to the regime’s strategy to make a temporary truce with eAOs, and focus its efforts on crushing the democratic forces in central Myanmar

Unlike the political scoundrels of previous eras, political scoundrels of today do not publicly cooperate with the regime As they enjoy fat remuneration packages from their foundations funded by Western countries, they don t need to ask for entitlements from the regime and don’t need to risk their image by openly supporting the regime

They are not as noticeable as political scoundrels from previous eras But they are still a major obstacle to Myanmar ’s prospects of achieving genuine democracy

Citing their personal experience of armed struggle in the past, they argue the ongoing armed resistance is hopeless, and will finally end up at the dialogue table If the military had a real desire for dialogue and genuine peace in Myanmar, there might be something to what they say

Using their image they are promoting the idea of dialogue But they are ignoring the regime’s violence against the Myanmar people They have not mentioned a word about the thousands of people who have died at the hands of the Myanmar military since last year ’s coup They are silent about the regime torching many villages in central Myanmar

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

It is important for people to be aware of their thoughts and actions They are poison to both the country and the people

Jerusalem PosT YA A

THE FL AGS ARE A REMINDER THAT THE PUBLIC IN THE COUNTRIES WITH WHICH ISR AEL HAS NORMALIZED REL ATIONS, LIKE MOR OCCO, HAS NOT FOR GOT TEN THE PALESTINIANS. THE WAVING OF THE FL AGS IS A REMINDER THAT THIS IS A CONFLIC T THAT IS UNRESOLVED AND SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED

Banyar Aung is a political and military analyst

Women face abuse not just for their opinions, but also for various identities, be it gender, religion, caste or marital status Cyberbullying increases against those who are politically ar ticulate

CORPORATE CORNER ‘Punjab encouraging setting uP Private agri markets to facilitate farmers’

LAhOrE

S tA f f r e p o r t

PUNJAB Agriculture Minister Syed Hussain Jahania Gardezi presided over a meeting of the Punjab Agricultural Marketing Regulatory Authority (PAMRA) Board in Lahore Director General PAMRA Mohsin Abbas Shakir and other board members were also present on the occasion Addressing the meeting, the provincial agriculture minister said that the Punjab government was following the policy of reforming the system of agricultural markets, encouraging the

establishment of new private markets for the convenience of the farmers H e s a i d t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t i s f o c u s i n g o n f u n c t i o n a l i t y o f t h e u ni n h a b i t e d m a r k e t s s o t h a t b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t i e s c o u l d b e i n i t i a t e d i n t h e s e markets The Provincial Minister dir e c t e d D G PA M R A t o i m p r o v e t h e g r a d i n g , p a c k a g i n g s y s t e m o f B a d a m i B a g h M a n d i a n d m a i n t a i n cleanliness on a daily basis

The affairs of the market should be run under a financial model so that it can become a source of income He i s s u e d o r d e r s t o s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m s related to management receipts and A r t i y a a n s o f t h e m a r k e t b y f o r m i n g

Balochistan to set up e -facilitation centres

QUETTA

A p p

The Balochistan government has planned to set up e-facilitation centers to provide up-to-date information and guidance to local and foreign investors about business opportunities in various sectors of the province

The investors would be encouraged to benefit from business-friendly policies and opportunities an official of the Balochistan government said “The provincial government is providing all possible assistance to industrialists for the promotion of business in the province which would provide spacious employment opportunities for youth in various sectors he said

sub-committees All the arrangements should be completed to keep the agricultural markets free from illegal enc r o a c h m e n t s a n d t h e s c h e d u l e o f m a r k e t f e e s , c o m m i s s i o n a n d d a i l y rates should be displayed at obvious places he added 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 further stated that new fruit and vege t a b l e m a r k e t s a r e b e i n g s e t u p p r e f e r a b l y n e a r t h e v i l l a g e s o t h a t farmers do not face any difficulty in selling their produce

Earlier, DG PAMRA gave a detailed briefing to the meeting on the legal marketing auction and receipts issues of agricultural markets

He said the economic development of the province was a top priority of the Balochistan government for which provision of a business-friendly environment was being ensured in the province

He said tourism was being introduced as an industry in the province while the development of tourism as well as other industries would further boost the revenue of the province while further stabilizing the economy

Under the leadership of Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, a major step has been taken to promote local and foreign investment by implementing a comprehensive strategy to attract and make them aware of investment opportunities in the province

Industr y exper ts take steps to fight climate change for a sustainable future

"Climate Change and Karachi – Building Coastal Resilience” Conference was held In Karachi, which aimed to highlight the impacts of climate change on the city and the measures that can be taken to mitigate its effects through a series of presentations by keynote speakers followed by panel discussions

The event started with opening remarks by Racha Alkhawaja, CEO, TPL Investment Management Abu Dhabi emphasizing the role of our country’s business and government fraternity towards sustainable development “We have gathered here to contemplate possibilities pledge towards sustainability and commit our efforts to the generations ahead ” The conference included professionals from both private and government sectors who could play a vital role in encouraging sustainable practices to steer the city towards building coastal resilience

tation, methods to combat the shifting climate, and key initiatives that need to be taken to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate change through sustainable solutions We have a series of milestones ahead Development initiatives of the future should encompass sustainability goals

Keeping our environment as a prime factor, restoring mangroves to mitigate climate change should be considered on a national level across both government and private sectors,” said Tariq A Qaiser Principal Architect TAQ Associates, an architect, environmentalist, filmmaker, and former faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health Boston

Hamdard Pakistan organizes session on ‘Philosophy of Hikmat ’

KARACHI: Hamdard Pakistan organized a session on Friday at Hamdard's Corporate Head Office on the topic: "Philosophy of Hikmat", presided over by Ms Sadia Rashid, President Hamdard Foundation Pakistan Prof Dr Abdul Wahab Suri, head of the Philosophy Department, University of Karachi was invited as a guest speaker Dr Arshad Saleem explained the aims and objectives of the initiatives taken by Hamdard Pakistan to promote the philosophy and vision of Hikmat He said that in order to further strengthen our relationship with Hikmat, it is imperative that people become aware of the basic concept of Hikmat This will enable them to effectively convey and spread the message of Hamdard in society In order to keep pace with the modern fast-paced world, the wider meaning of wisdom and thoughts should be defined in line with current needs He further said that Hamdard was primarily a healthcare organization However, the focus of our business was to promote a healthy lifestyle with awareness of general health among the masses "The modern allopathic healthcare system is actually the Sick care system that we use only when we are sick, whereas, an ideal healthcare system should be that which you can refer to in the state of health or infirmity to get useful health advice for yourself It is also worth mentioning that health is not a state of wellness alone in its literal sense In fact it is wellness and wellbeing If wellbeing is not available, then health does not exist in its entirety That is why Hamdard Pakistan adopted a new theme: Aafiyat Se Jeetay Raho! Which clearly reiterates our commitment to health and wellness of our country," he said Prof Dr Abdul Wahab Suri said: "Spirituality has not been taken into account in the presentday healthcare system, due to which diseases are increasing continuously It would be unfair not to acknowledge the value of modern medical sciences in understanding details about human body parts p r

Syeda Aisha Altaf and Zunaira Naveed Mr Wajid Kamran, Deputy Registrar CUI presented the vote of thanks on behalf of Prof Dr Muhammad T Afzal, Rector COMSATS In his address Mr Wajid Kamran expressed gratitude to the participating artists and said the CUI will continue to patronize arts through its Department of Art & Design, Architecture as well as a dedicated Art Gallery pr

“This conference has allowed us to move in the right direction,” said Nazifa Butt, Senior Manager Climate and Energy Programme WWF “Climate change has ravaged our current ecosystem and if not addressed, will devastate our future generations The planet s future is at stake Nazifa has been associated with the organization for the past 12 years and has more than 18 years of experience in areas like Climate Change Sustainable Living & Healthy Urban Lifestyles She heads Corporate Partnerships and Fundraising at WWF-Pakistan where she has carried out various corporate and citizen engagement activities The presentations discussed areas for adap-

Each session showed the reality of climate change effects in the future, and what needs to be done to restore the ecosystem Man has trifled with nature, in its own greed, and now nature is having its say We need to restore the balance disturbed by us if we plan for our generations to have a brighter future” Said Masood Lohar, an award-winning climate change adaptation and mitigation expert with over two decades of experience in ecosystem restoration and promoting urban forests/wetlands

The panel discussions included notable personalities such as DG Environment-Naeem Mughal, Shah Murad Aliani, Nazifa Butt, Riaz Wagan Nadeem Mirbahar Farhan A Mehboob Tariq A Qaiser, Masood Lohar, and Tofiq Pasha Mooraj The discussion prompted the provincial authorities and corporate fraternity to revisit and strengthen the climate change adaptation strategies for 2023, as well as accelerate efforts to adopt renewable energy options and phase out inefficient fossil fuel dependency

Three - day Future Fest 2023 on Jan 6

lAHORE: A r z i s h A z a m , C E O o f F u t u r e Fe s t 2 0 2 3 –a n n o u n c e d t h e Pa k i s t a n s l a r g e s t t e c h c o n f e r e n c e a n d e x p o w i l l b e h e l d a t E x p o C e n t e r L a h o r e f r o m J a n u a r y 6 T h e 3 - d ay e ve n t w i l l b r i n g t o g e t h e r l e a d e r s f r o m m o r e t h a n 5 0 i n d u s t r i e s t o f o s t e r d i s c u s s i o n o n t h e f u t u r e o f l i f e i t s e l f T h i s e ve n t w i l l h o s t 5 0 0 0 0 a t t e n d e e s 2 0 0 e x h i b i t o r s , 5 0 0 s t a r t u p s , 3 0 0 i n t e r n a t i o n a l s p e a ke r s f r o m 3 0 + c o u n t r i e s T h e F u t u r e Fe s t 2 0 2 3 i s h o s t i n g a h i s t o r i c d e l e g a t i o n o f S a u d i s t a r t u p s & V C s i n c l u d i n g U n i f o n i c N o o n , S a l a s a , M o z n , Q oyo d , [ a t m ] , N a n a , A Z M , E l m , A l G o o r u , H a l a , S a l l a , M oya s a r, C l a s s e ra , S q u a d i o, N a m a Ve n t u r e s M e ra k C a p i t a l a n d s e n i o r r e p r e s e n t a t i ve s f r o m D i g i t a l C o o p e ra t i o n O r g a n i z a t i o n ( D C O ) , S a u d i M i n i s t r y o f C o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d I n f o r m a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y ( M C I T ) a n d S a u d i M i n i s t r y o f I nve s t m e n t ( M I SA ) T h e S a u d i d e l e g a t i o n h a s a m a j o r p r e s e n c e a t F u t u r e Fe s t a n d w i l l m e e t Pa k i s t a n i c o m p a n i e s a n d ke y s t a ke h o l d e r s t o e x p l o r e i nve s t m e n t s p a r t n e r s h i p s a c q u i s i t i o n s a n d t a l e n t r e c r u i t m e n t p r

COMSATS Q uetta c ampus to play vital role in promotion of higher educ ation in Balochtan

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An Inaugural Ceremony for the Establishment of COMSATS University Islamabad Quetta Campus was held in the premises of PCSIR Campus, Mastung Road, Quetta Agha Hassan Baloch, Federal Minister for Science & Technology was the Chief Guest of the inaugural ceremony Dr Shahnaz Naseer Baloch, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Science & Technology Dr Syed Hussain Abidi, Chairman PCSIR, Dr Muhammad Tabassum Afzal, Rector CUI, Mir Farooq Langove JS MoST Dr Jan Muhammad Baloch, VC Turbat University,

The Federal Minister while delivering his speech highlighted that the promotion of Scientific & Technical education is one of the most priority agenda of the present government, particularly for the Baluchistan region The establishment of CUI Campus at Quetta is indeed an implementation of one of the visionary agenda of our dynamic leadership Sardar Akhtar Jan Men-

The establishment of CUI Campus at Quetta will play a vital role for our younger generation to compete at national and international level in the field of science & technology The Federal Minister appreciated the efforts of the Chairman PCSIR and Rector CUI for extending their full cooperation for implementing this noble cause

The Federal Minister also assured his full support for budget allocation so that the Campus could be functional by March, 2023 He also highlighted his recent initia-

tives after taking the charge as Federal Minister, for the progress and prosperity of Baluchistan community especially educational scholarship scheme

At this occasion, the Federal Minister announced the house hiring facilities for the employees of PCSIR & PSTC Quetta and a special budget amounting to Rs 20 00 million will be allocated for the purpose Moreover fee concession for the students of PSTC, Quetta shall be considered at an appropriate level and shall be announced in due course of time In addition the Honourable Minister announced the installation of Solar Tube Well in the premises of PSTC Campus

from his own grant T h e P a r l i a m e n t a r y S e c r e t a r y, i n h e r speech, also highlighted the role of higher education and hoped that with the implem e n t a t i o n o f t h i s m e m o r a b l e s t e p , t h e B a l u c h i s t a n i y o u t h w i l l b e a b l e t o p r o v e t h e i r a b i l i t i e s i n t h e f i e l d o f s c i e n c e & technology, in general and development of the country, in particular The Chairman PCSIR in his welcome speech assured his full cooperation for the p r o g r e s s o f B a l u c h i s t a n p r o v i n c e , whereas Rector CUI also assured that this Campus will be at par with other campuses of the country

Dr Sajida Noreen VC Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Dr Shafiq ur Rehman, VC Baluchistan University, Prof Naeem Shahwani Dean BUITEMS and several official, political and social dignitaries were also present at this auspicious occasion

Baluchistan province

‘Beaming Fur turesc apes ’: A digital ar t exhibition begins at COMSATS

A digital Art Exhibition titled “Beaming Futurescapes” opened at COMSATS Art Gallery on Wednesday 30th November 2022 The exhibition was jointly organized by Department of Computer Arts (Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi) and COMSATS Art Gallery (COMSATS University Islamabad) The exhibition displayed art work prepared by emerging artists of the Department of Computer Arts, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi These art works included VR projects animations, illustrations, digital paintings and textile art The participating artists included Aimen Khan Tajik, Amna Bibi, Amna Syed, Aqsa Nadeem, Areena Amir, Arooj Raza, Esha Malik, Fatima Azher, Hunna Sajid, Kashmala Qazi, Laiba Mobusher, Momina Iqbal, Muqaddus Zulfaraz , Noorulain Shahzad, Rabia Waqar, Ramsha, Rimsha Fatima, Sarah Ghazi Sitara Sumama Shakeel Sumiya Rizwan

KArAchi p r

IslAmAbAd: Mr Mubashir Hassan, Principal Information Officer giving shield to Mr Adnan Manzoor, Deputy Director Information Group upon permanently joining Office Management Group after competitive exam DDGs Ms Tahira Syeda and Ms Raisa Adil are also present pr

Syngenta Pakistan joins hands with TCF to provide education to flood-affected children p r

Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce, Industry in a group photo with Fouzi Altahir Rahoumah Salim, First deputy Speaker of Libyan House of Representatives and his delegation members during a dinner reception hosted in their honor Senator Afnan Ullah Khan, Faad Waheed Senior Vice President ICCI, Ajmal Baloch Amir Hamza Akhtar Hussain Dr Muhammad Usman, Raja Imtiaz, Humayun Kabir, Khalid Chaudhry, Saifur Rehman Khan and others are also in picture p r

PacIfIst JaPan UnveIls bIggest MIlItaRy bUIldUP sInce WoRld WaR-II

Ja pa n on Friday unveiled its biggest military build-up since World War Two with a $320 billion plan that will buy missiles capable of striking China and ready it for sustained conflict, as regional tensions and Russia’s Ukraine invasion stoke war fears

The sweeping, five-year plan, once unthinkable in pacifist Japan, will make the country the world’s third-biggest military spender after the United States and China, based on current budgets prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who described Japan and its people as being at a turning point in history”, said the ramp-up was “my answer to the various security challenges that we face ” His government worries that Russia has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack Taiwan threatening nearby Japanese islands disrupting supplies of advanced semiconductors and putting a potential stranglehold on sea lanes that supply Middle East oil

“This is setting a new heading for Japan If appropriately executed, the Self-Defence Forces will be a real, world-class effective force,” said Yoji Koda, a former Maritime Self-Defence Force admiral, who commanded the Japanese fleet in 2008 The government said it would also stockpile spare parts and other munitions, expand transport capacity and develop cyber warfare capabilities In its postwar, american-authored constitution, Japan gave up the right to wage war and the means to do so Russia s invasion of Ukraine is a serious violation of laws that forbid the use of force and has shaken the foundations of the international order, the strategy paper said

“The strategic challenge posed by China is the biggest Japan has ever faced it added also noting that Beijing had not ruled out using force to bring Taiwan under its control a separate national security strategy document that pointed to China, Russia and north Korea, promised close cooperation with the United States and other like-minded nations to deter threats to the established international order “The prime minister is making a clear unambiguous strategic statement about Japan’s role as a security provider in the Indopacific,” US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a statement He has put a capital D next to Japan’s deterrence,” he added

Meeting Japan-Taiwan Exchange association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi in Taipei on Friday, Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen said she expected greater defence cooperation with Japan “We look forward to Taiwan and Japan continuing to create new cooperation achievements in various fields such as national defence and security the economy, trade, and industrial transformation,” the presidential office cited Tsai as saying China

accused Japan of making false claims about China’s military activities in the new security strategy, according to a statement from its embassy in Japan

Putin, Modi discuss situation in Ukraine, Russia-India ties

Russian president Vladimir putin held a phone call with Indian prime Minister narendra Modi about the situation in Ukraine and ties between Moscow and new Delhi, the Kremlin said on Friday putin and Modi “expressed satisfaction” with the high level of bilateral cooperation developing based on a particularly privileged Russian-Indian strategic partnership,” the Kremlin said in a statement

The leaders discussed in detail the prospects for practical cooperation in such areas as mutual investment, energy, agriculture, transport, and logistics,” it added

They also pointed out the importance of continuing close coordination within international organizations, including taking into account India’s chairmanship in the Group of 20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation the statement said “at the request of narendra Modi, Vladimir putin gave principled assessments in the context of Russia’s line on the Ukrainian direction,” it added putin and Modi also agreed to continue personal contact

MoSCoW

tokyo

A z h A r A l i A n n o u n c e s r et i r e m e n t f r o m t e s t c r i c k et

KARACHI S ta f f R e p o R t

Pa k i s ta n batsman azhar ali on Friday announced he was retiring from test cricket after the third and final test match against England in karachi the last match of the three-game series will begin in karachi on saturday

With 7,097 runs in 96 matches at an average of 42 49, ali is Pakistan’s fifth leading test run-scorer after Younis khan (10,099), Javed Miandad (8,832), inzamam-ul-Haq (8 829) and Mohammad Yousuf (7,530), according to the PCB azhar ali also captained Pakistan in nine tests in two separate tenures from 2016 till 2020

“My heart and my mind felt that this is the right time and i would like to call it a day after this game [third test],” said a visibly-low azhar at a press conference while announcing the decision ali, however, noted that he was available for the final match of the unlimited-overs series against the English side “Every youngster has the wish to represent its national side and it was an honour for me to lead Pakistan in both formats tests and ODis but, every

beginning has an end,” he said the ex-captain recounted that he had several good memories while playing for Pakistan i want to thank the PCB and selectors for supporting him i must name Mohsin Hasan khan who selected me for the first time and my first captain shahid afridi who also encouraged me throughout my career ”

i retire from international cricket as a fulfilled cricketer who ticked most of the goals he had set for himself not many cricketers go on to lead their coun-

fifA chief announces plans for 32-team club World cup

D o h a: FiFa chief Gianni infantino announced plans on Friday for a 32-team Club World Cup from 2025, despite reported opposition from Europe s biggest clubs an expansion of the competition has long been a pet project of infantino’s a 24-team event, featuring eight sides from Europe, was planned for 2021 in China but was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic infantino said the new-look tournament would be even bigger than first planned “We had agreed a few years ago to have a new 24-team men s Club World Cup the FiFa president said at the World Cup in Doha on Friday “it should have taken place in 2021 but was postponed because of Covid the new competition will take place in 2025 and will feature 32 teams, making it really like a World Cup Reports in the British media this week said European clubs had rejected FiFa’s proposal to launch the new-look competition ag e n c i e S

tries, and that i was able to captain Pakistan is a matter of great pride for me From being a kid who started as a legspinner to becoming a mainstay in the test batting line-up, i had the loveliest moments of my life that i will cherish forever he told reporters

Later addressing a press conference, skipper Babar azam heaped praise on ali for his great career and services for Pakistan cricket “i congratulate him on his career and it has been inspiring for all of us When we joined the team, he was

a senior player and we learned from him We have seen him perform really well in difficult situations ”

When asked whether ali will play the final test, the skipper said the final Xi will be decided later today so let s wait”

Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja hailed ali as “the most committed and loyal servant of Pakistan cricket” His grit and determination have been an inspiration for many young cricketers and he is a role model for up-and-coming cricketers the PCB head said in a statement

“While it is sad that Pakistan will not have a player of his experience in the dressing room to draw upon, it only reflects the circle of life i hope to see azhar continuing to play a role in the development of Pakistan cricket and sharing his vast knowledge and experience with budding cricketers ”

the former test skipper retired from One-Day internationals in 2018 a year after helping Pakistan win the iCC Champions trophy 2017 in that tournament, azhar s contribution was instrumental in taking Pakistan to the final where he also scored 59 against arch-rivals india

Fra n ce p l aye r s s i d e l i n e d a h e a d o f Wo r l d Cu p f i n a l

DOHA ag e n c i e S

France’s World Cup final preparations were rocked as three more players were forced to miss training with cold-like symptoms on Friday just two days before their showdown with argentina Raphael Varane, ibrahima konate and kingsley Coman were all sidelined as Les Bleus prepare to take on Lionel Messi and argentina in sunday s final at Doha s Lusail stadium the trio of absentees sparked further fears of a mystery virus in the French camp after two players adrien Rabiot and Dayot

Upamecano were ruled out of the semi-final win over Morocco Rabiot and Upamecano both returned to training on Friday

Coman, the Bayern Munich winger, had already been forced to miss a training session on thursday because of a light viral syndrome the French Football Federation (FFF) said

France forward Randal kolo Muani sought to play down the illnesses on Friday

“there is little bit of flu going around but nothing serious,” he said Earlier this week France coach Didier Deschamps suggested frigid air conditioning might be to blame

for the illnesses in the French squad

“the air conditioning is on all the time and so we have had a few cases of flu-like symptoms but we will try to avoid it spreading, Deschamps said

“the players put in so much effort on the pitch and so their immune systems suffer Your body is weakened and you are more prone to getting infected ” France are aiming to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil achieved the feat in 1962 as argentina captain Messi looks to crown his glorious career with the one major title that has eluded him

Gill, Pujara hit tons as india set Bangladesh mammoth target

Chittagong, Bangladesh: shubman Gill struck a maiden century as india declared their second innings at 258-2 to set Bangladesh a daunting 513-run target to win the first test in Chittagong on Friday skipper kL Rahul called back his batsmen after Cheteshwar Pujara also brought up his 19th test hundred with a four off taijul islam in the third session of the third day Pujara who scored 90 in india’s first-innings 404, was unbeaten on 102 having smashed 13 fours when the declaration came, with former skipper Virat kohli 19 not out at the other end the 23-year-old Gill, playing in his 12th test match, earlier completed his maiden century before he was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan for 110 Gill, who hit 10 fours and three sixes, shared 113 runs for the second wicket with Pujara after Rahul holed out to taijul islam at fine leg off khaled ahmed Rahul had decided not to enforce the follow-on after india bowled out Bangladesh for 150

Left-arm spinner kuldeep Yadav led india’s bowling attack with career-best figures of 5-40, his third fivewicket haul in tests

india needed barely an hour of the third day to mop up the Bangladesh tail after the hosts resumed on 1338 axar Patel took the last Bangladesh wicket of Mehidy Hasan, who offered some late resistance before being dismissed for 25 in the 12th over of the morning Fast bowler Mohammed siraj took 3-20 as india dominated Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored for the deflated hosts with 28 before he became one of kuldeep’s victims, out lbw in india s first innings shreyas iyer and Ravichandran ashwin also scored 86 and 58 runs respectively

Off-spinner Mehidy claimed 4-112 for Bangladesh while left-arm spinner taijul took 4-133 ag e n c i e S

Argentinian fans demand World cup final tickets be sold at official prices

BUENOS AIRES ag e n c i e S

Dozens of argentinian nationals have surrounded a hotel in Qatar, which accommodates the argentine Football association (aFa) staff, to demand that the tickets for the FiFa World Cup final match be sold at official prices instead from second-hand dealers, media reported on Friday

On sunday argentina will play against France for the first place of the championship argentinian fans said that the profiteers had been selling the tickets at a price varying from $3,000-4,000, while the official price was $600, argentine broadcaster tn reported the report said that there had been offers to buy tickets for $14,000 and that about 1,500 fans were unable to buy them it added that a meeting between the aFa staff and the argentinian football fans would take place later on Friday

Punjab govt floats tender for Private jet amid national financial ruin

nance Minister, announced that the Government of Punjab had been denied of its rightful Rs 176 4 billion by the Federal Government

tH E Government of Punjab announced a tender notification for the lease of an executive jet The tender was announced on Wednesday 15 December with the bidding set to end at 3 PM on 30th December The tender comes two days after Mohsin Leghari, Punjab Fi-

The tender outlines the jet to be leased as a super mid-sized executive jet no older than 2016 that can accommodate eight to ten passengers at a time The tender also requests the jet to come with a complete air crew The jet will be leased by the Punjab Government for a total of three months or 50 fifty hours

‘

The timing of the tender reflects poorly as it comes not only when the Government has decried the Centre for withholding funds but has also brought the Public Finance Management Act (2022) into effect to improve its fiscal management and increase its fiscal space It is prudent to highlight that the Punjab Finance Department announced last month on November 18 that it would be enacting austerity measures to observe financial discipline The austerity meas-

ures included a sweeping set of limitations on both the activities of the provincial government and the money that it could disperse for personal expenses Furthermore, the Federal Government is expected to announce a national contingency energy-saving plan in the coming days in collaboration with the provinces to reduce Pakistan’s forex outflow One of the key items that this contingency plan seeks to eliminate is Pakistan s overall fuel expenditure

Tac tic al Move’: Attaullah

Tarar made SAPM on Interior, legal affairs

Islamabad

nation remembers aPs mar t yrs on 8th anniversar y amid tears, prayers

PEsHaWaR s ta f f r e p o r t

The 8th anniversary of the callous terrorist attack on the Army Public School Peshawar that left around 150 people martyred was observed on Friday

On December 16, 2014, at least 149 people including 132 students and 17 staff members were martyred and many others injured when terrorists attacked Army Public School Peshawar After this tragic incident, the government chalked out the National Action Plan (NAP) to eliminate terrorism from the country A number of activities and functions are being held across the country to remember the sacrifices of innocent children

C o n d o l e n C e s p o u r i n Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated Pakistan’s firm resolve to completely eradicate the menace of terrorism In his tweets on Friday on the occasion of 8th anniversary of Army Public School tragedy, he said this day gives a message to the whole world that Pakistan has rendered immense sacrifices to eradicate terrorism He said our struggle is continuing and it will continue with the same iron will and perseverance until the complete elimination of this menace Shehbaz Sharif said the 16th December reminds the entire nation of the pain and agony of the terrorist act that took place in Army Public School, Peshawar Even after several years, this pain has not been forgotten The Prime Minister said this is the day to pay tribute to the martyrs of the tragedy and share the grief of their families He said Pakistani nation will never forget the sacrifices of its martyrs Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb stated that the day of December 16 will always be remembered for the great sacrifices of the martyrs of Army Public School, Peshawar In her message on the 8th anniversary of APS martyrs, the minister said that martyrs of APS tragedy united the nation against terrorism

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday appointed PML-N leader Attaullah Tarar as his Special Assistant on Interior and Legal Affairs – a move bring described as tactical to shield Tarar from the JIT probing into assassination attempt on Imran Khan wherein Tarar is an accused and he along with Marriyum Aurangzeb, Rana Sanaullah and Javed latif have been summoned for questioning

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted to probe the attack on the PTI chairman, has summoned Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Attaullah Tarar and other federal ministers on Saturday (today) in connection with Wazirabad shooting incident

A notification was also issued by the Cabinet Division in this regard Tarar was earlier serving as Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Narcotics Control Earlier on July 28 the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) leader was appointed as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister which is equivalent to the status of a Federal Minister

Tarar is the Deputy Secretary General of PMLN and had served as the Home Minister and the Spokesperson of the Punjab Government in Hamza

Shehbaz’s shortlived cabinet J i T s u m m o n: A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), constituted to probe the attack on former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, has summoned Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Attaullah Tarar, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and PML-N leader Javed Latif in relation to attack on Imran Khan during PTI’s Long March in Wazirabad

The PML-N leaders have been summoned to the office of the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore on Saturday (Dec 17)

A day earlier, the JIT recorded statements of three people including Punjab Minister Yasmeen Rashid The investigation team headed by CCPO Lahore Ghulam Mahmood Dogar is probing the case

The JIT recorded statements of Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Zubair Khan Niazi and Umer Farooq and were also cross-examined

It is pertinent to mention here that Imran Khan and several other PTI leaders were injured after a man opened fire near the PTI reception camp at Allahwala Chowk during party’s long march

According to details, unidentified assailants opened fire on PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s container near the Allahwala Chowk in Wazirabad, injuring six people and killing one

Another alleged audio leak of Bushra Bibi emerges

leader Zulfi Bukhari about selling the watches gifted to Khan as "they were of no use to him"

‘no compromise on self-respect’: mustafa nawaz Khokhar says goodbye to PPP

PPP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar Friday declared he had decided on quitting the party

During talks with Dawn com and interview on Geo News show ‘Naya Pakistan’, Khokhar confirmed his decision to leave the PPP and elaborated on his reasons for leaving the party

He said that he had a good run with the party but to continue further “is compromising on my self-respect” However, he refused to provide any specifics, saying it was no use delving into the past

Talking about the reason for resigning as a senator, he said that the PPP leadership could provide a better answer He said he suspected that the positions he took on certain issues were not well-received by the party

“That is why maybe some people in the party may have questioned him (PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari) so he may not have liked it and he thought it felt appropriate to ask for my resignation

He said that PPP Senator Farooq Naek had called on him and relayed the party’s instructions seeking his resignation Khokhar further said that he was not “disappointed” with how the events unfolded “My heart is content over the positions I took and I will raise my voice and will not compromise on my independent thinking if there are more issues in the future ”

He said that political parties needed to give space for criticism If there is no room for dialogue, then they become less like political parties and more like fiefdoms he said

Asked why the PPP would have a problem with his political takes, Khokhar said that the establishment’s influence in the country s domestic politics had grown with each decade

“Before, there was a debate on boundaries not being crossed But then we saw parties taking decisions which they thought would be liked by them (establishment) ” When asked about his thoughts on the incumbent coalition government, the former senator said: “Hybrid regime 2 0 absolutely The kind of decisions being taken since Shehbaz Sharif was made the prime minister, those decisions were maybe not even taken in Imran Khan’s time ”

After the PTI government’s tenure, the current government “should’ve responded to Imran Khan’s wrongs in a democratic manner Today we have pushed the country back to the 90s If Imran Khan comes back in power, then he will want to take revenge,” he said Continuing his line of thought he said the current government was in the wrong “See, there are many things in Islamabad that we can’t discuss on TV What is happening with Azam Swati? Why is Ali Wazir still in jail? He is not a politician’s prisoner ”

He condemned the victimisation of politicians, saying the government had become a “mouthpiece” and was taking ownership of such actions “Amid the bitterness of today s political atmosphere we have become a spokesperson and are taking ownership of all those things which we perhaps are not even related to ” Khokhar also held political instability responsible for the country’s economic woes, adding that “fresh elections were the only solution”

“We are politicians, what fear do we have of going among people? They (the government) fear that if elections happen then Imran Khan will win

“There is no other solution except for fresh elections

The economy is the biggest challenge, you have to fix it

The former first lady can be purportedly heard talking to the ex-administrator, identified as Inam Khan for taking photos of the Toshakhana gifts coming into Bani Gala

This is the former first lady's second audio related to Toshakhana that has surfaced In the first one, she could purportedly be heard speaking to PTI

Bushra could be allegedly heard chiding Inam and instructing him to not take photos of the "things" coming inside their house and to only snap pictures of the "things" that are being taken out "From now onwards, you will not enter [my] house and stay where you are with those pictures," the ex-first lady told the ex-Bani Gala administrator Talking to Geo News, the former administrator confirmed that this was his audio "Yes I was the one who spoke to Bushra Bibi about the Toshakhana gifts "

Audio leaks of prominent figures from the government and the opposition have been surfacing in the last few months and have shaken the country

The government can t take the decisions which our economy needs,” he said Khokhar had formally resigned as a senator on November 10, two days after announcing plans to vacate his seat in the upper house of parliament At the time, he said a senior party leader had conveyed the leadership s unhappiness with his political positions” He further said that as a political worker, he cherished the right to express his opinions on matters of public interest In December 2020 Khokhar had resigned as the official spokesperson for Bilawal but stated that he would continue to be a part of the PPP He had said he would be able to comment and express his thoughts more freely, without any compulsions and responsibility that came with the position of spokesperson of a party head

S upremac y of rule of law key to get countr y out of financial quagmire: Imran

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Former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan Friday said that supremacy of the rule of law was key to get Pakistan out of quagmire

Addressing a lawyers’ convention via video link, Imran Khan accused former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa of controlling the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) saying he blocked the conclusion of corruption cases against “thieves” during his government’s tenure NAB would tell us that the cases were

matured but they were not being allowed to conclude them,” the deposed premier said General Bajwa was not allowing them [NAB] he was sitting behind and would decide who should be released [from NAB custody] or suppressed he added

Imran said the then opposition leader and incumbent prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif ’s money laundering case was an “open and shut” case “His [PM Shehbaz] case was not listed for hearing I was prime minister but I was completely helpless ”

The former PM said law of jungle was prevailing in the country as all the thieves have gathered and now shutting down their

corruption cases”

Imran reiterated his allegations that his government was toppled by buying conscience” of the lawmakers

“All segments of the society are scared and the most concerning figure is that 750,000 people have left the country as they have become hopeless and lost confidence in the system after what happened in the last seven months,” he remarked

Imran said only the rule of law can lift the country out of prevailing “quagmire” without which the country’s economy can never prosper and neither can we become an Asian tiger overnight”

Islamabad s ta f f r e p o r t