Epaper_22-12-29 LHR

PM orders to sPeed uP iMPleMentation of agriculture stiMulus

food security in pakistan at all costs. he stressed paying special attention to the cultivation and production of wheat, cotton, canola, and olives for food security in the country.

he emphasised ensuring the supply of better seeds to increase the production of other food grains including pulses. the meeting was informed about the implementation of the package, youth loan scheme, interest waiver for small farmers and provision of interest-free agricultural loans to small farmers in flood-hit areas through the state bank of pakistan (sbp) notification to banks for which instructions have been issued. in the current fiscal year until november, agricultural loans of rs664 billion have been distributed to farmers, a 36 percent increment compared to the same period in the last year.

Corps Commanders Conference: Military top brass vows to come up to public expectations

sories asking their nationals to prohibit their movement.

the top military brass on Wednesday resolved to fight against terrorism without any distinction and eliminate the menace as per the aspirations of the people of pakistan.

iSLAMABAD staff report

shehbaZsharif said the development of the agriculture sector is the guarantor of food security as he directed his administration to accelerate the imple-

mentation of the uplift package to help the farmers.

the prime minister expressed these views during a meeting to review the socalled Kisaan package introduced by the government for the development of the sector.

sharif stressed the need to ensure

finance minister ishaq dar, minister for national food security and research tariq bashir cheema, and industries minister syed murtaza mehmood were among those present in the meeting.

sbp governor Jameel ahmed, prime minister’s coordinator rana ahsan afzal and senior officials also attended the meeting.

Ishaq Dar rejects rumors about

vive all challenges.

the federal finance and revenue minister senator muhammad ishaq dar virtually spoke to a ceremony that marked the listing of pakistan’s first development reit. earlier this month arif habib securities announced that grr is going to be listed on the pakistani stock market. a reit, or simply a real estate investment trust, is a way to raise public money, into real estate projects, through the stock market. talking to the ceremony on Wednesday, mr. dar, rejected the rumors about pakistan’s risk of defaulting. he assured that pakistan has “resilience” and will sur-

he was addressing (through a video link) an audience of capital market players including chairperson psX dr. shamshad akhtar, md, mr. farukh Khan and mr. arif habib.

the finance minister condemned that certain elements involved in dirty politics were active in disinformation about the country’s economic condition and created chaos where the people had started buying gold and dollars.

he expressed his satisfaction with the listing of a development riet at psX. however, he observed, pakistan could not progress much on this account since the ahdrml (a rental reit)

was listed in 2015. he referred to india who, compared to pakistan, had a high reit portfolio.

he said when he took over as the federal finance minister on september 28, 2022, he identified the areas with a special focus on the corporate sector, the security exchange commission of pakistan and the pakistan stock exchange.

he regretted that secp, which is the regulator of the capital market of the country, performed non-satisfactorily over the last couple of years. however, he ensured that he had taken certain concrete steps.

PTI says it will ‘resist’ technocratic setup

iSLAMABAD staff report

the pakistan tehreek-i-insaf (pti) will oppose any attempt to impose a technocrat government in the country, announced its senior vice president fawad chaudhry, as journalists considered close to the establishment float wordy proposals for an administration made up exclusively of non-aligned experts.

his statement came as some sections of the media, widely understood to be sympathetic to the military, demanded to suspend democracy and replace the pakistan democratic movement (pdm) government with a cabinet of experts, tasked with stabilising the collapsing economy before new elections could be held.

chaudhry observed that attempts

were being made to form an interim government with a limited programme and a fixed lifespan from six months to two-and-a-half years instead of holding general elections.

in a tweet, he said the idea of a technocrat government was “foolish thinking”, and added that political instability was more severe than economic turmoil. he said that such schemes were being designed at the cost of the nation’s interests, and just to prevent former prime minister imran from coming to power.

“We will oppose this kind of technocrat government,” he vowed.

pti has been demanding snap elections since the ouster of Khan through a contentious no-confidence vote in april. to force the government to do so, the party has announced its intention to dis-

solve the legislatures in punjab and Khyber pakhtunkhwa.

pakistan’s economy is facing a balance of payment crisis. the central bank reserves have fallen to $6.1 billion — barely enough for a month of imports. the fiscal deficit has already touched 1 percent of the gross domestic product (gdp) in the first quarter of the current financial year against 0.7 percent of the gdp agreed with the international monetary fund (imf).

With the lender’s ninth review pending since september, pakistan has desperately been scrambling to secure financing to meet external payment obligations for the current financial year. ahead of the review, pakistan has been trying to approach allies to seek financial support.

the two-day corps commanders conference, presided over by army chief general syed asim munir, took a “comprehensive review of professional and organisational matters” of the security situation and preparedness of the armed forces.

“the army top brass reiterated the resolve to fight against terrorists without any distinction and eliminate this menace as per the aspirations of people of the pakistan,” read a statement issued by the inter-services public relations (ispr).

this was the second corps commanders conference presided over by gen asim but the military’s media wing didn’t issue any statement after the first meeting he chaired soon after being appointed as the army chief.

though statement of the 254th corps commanders conference was brief and confined strictly to professional matters, it clearly indicates the new approach under gen asim munir. though no further details were available, it is understood the top brass discussed and reviewed the internal security with focus on the spike in terrorist attacks.

as many as 420 terrorist attacks took place since the afghan taliban returned to power in august last year. in the last three months alone, the banned ttp claimed responsibility for 141 attacks. last week a suicide attack happened in islamabad. it was the first such incident since 2014, raising specter of another wave of terrorism.

islamabad’s security has since been put on a high alert with certain diplomatic missions issuing advi-

the us, uK, australia and saudi arabia have advised their respective citizens to avoid visiting a five star hotel in the capital due to a possible threat of a terrorist attack. the hotel came under one of the worst terrorist attacks in september 2008 when a dumper laden with explosives struck in front of the luxury hotel located in a high security zone.

the security situation, nevertheless, has improved significantly as terrorist attacks in islamabad were rare in recent years.

the increase in ttp sponsored attacks has compelled the civil and military authorities to review the strategy pursued by previous dispensation.

a meeting of the high-powered national security committee (nsc) is expected to take place soon to take a decision in this connection.

the military commanders’ huddle also came amid a spike in terrorist attacks across the country claimed mostly by the outlawed tehreek-e-taliban pakistan (ttp) which unilaterally scrapped a ceasefire in november effectively ending a startstop negotiation process brokered by the afghan taliban.

the ttp, which was comprehensively defeated in a decisive kinetic operation by the military, has found safe havens across the border in afghanistan from where the group has been directing its terrorist operations in pakistan.

islamabad has called these ttp sanctuaries “red-line” and pressed Kabul’s new rulers to take action against them. experts believe pakistan’s patience is running thin due to Kabul’s reluctance to crack down on the ttp bases as foreign minister bilawal bhutto Zardari said during his recent us visit that “all options are on the table” to deal with a resurgent ttp.

rAWALpiNDi staff report

Pakistan’s default

g suggests that disinformation about economic condition led to panic buying of gold, dollars

PM sEts uP body to CuRtAIl ElECtRICIty usE In govt offICEs by 30PC

approved the Government-to-Government Commercial Transaction Act 2022 (G2G Commercial Transaction Act 2022).

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

PRIMEMinister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed to set up a committee to work on reducing electricity consumption in the government offices by 30 percent.

The committee will comprise of the Federal Minister for Energy, Federal Minister for Planning, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Resources and relevant secretaries. The prime minister gave the direction while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet.

The meeting was apprised that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the National Energy Efficiency and Conversation Authority (National Energy

Efficiency and Conversation) have also prepared an awareness campaign about energy-saving and austerity.

The federal cabinet discussed the Proposed Energy Saving Plan presented by the Power Division. The meeting was briefed on the consultation conducted so far with the stakeholders regarding the energy saving plan. In this regard, the prime minister said that the consultation process with all the stakeholders including the provincial governments, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan governments should be completed as soon as possible to ensure the implementation of the Proposed Energy Saving Plan.

The prime minister emphasized that the nation needed to adopt austerity measures with regard to energy and urgently required

change in attitudes. He said the implementation of the energy saving plan and the use of alternative energy was indispensable to reduce the import bill in terms of fuel.

The federal cabinet condemned the arrest of senior parliamentarian Chaudhry Ashraf by the Punjab government in a 53year-old case as a step of political vendetta.

The cabinet offered Fateha for those martyred as a result of the incidents of terrorism in different parts of the country. The federal cabinet paid tribute to the security forces for their continuous fight against terrorism.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing by the Ministry of Industries and Production regarding the generalization of the use of electric bikes across the country.

It was highlighted that currently 90 companies were manufacturing motorcycles and auto rickshaws in the country with a capacity to manufacture 6 million motorcycles annually.

It was informed that 22 companies had been issued licenses to manufacture electric bikes in Pakistan. The meeting was further informed that the promotion of electric bikes would save a lot in terms of fuel. The use of electric bikes will not only save fuel, but will also prove eco-friendly by reducing carbon emissions.

The Prime Minister issued instructions to submit a detailed plan regarding electric bikes to the Economic Coordination Committee. The federal cabinet accorded final approval to the report of the Cabinet Committee on Soybean. The federal cabinet

After two-month-long Mexican Standoff, cabinet okays release of oilseed vessels

As time went on, more shipments joined the two original shipments that had arrived on the 20th of October. According to both the importers and industry associations, the requirement has never been implemented before, and that the application has been submitted to the ministry for more than four years. Why do we import oilseeds?

When most people hear the term oilseed, they think it is a seed that is to be sown in the ground and harvested for the production of edible oil. Oilseeds is actually a term for the seeds or ‘fruit’ that certain crops produce that are then pressed to get edible oil. One of the most widely used oilseeds globally are palm oilseeds.

In fact, palm oil is some of the most used edible oil in Pakistan and is almost entirely imported. Pakistan relies heavily on imported oilseeds to meet its caloric demands. According to a report of the central bank, Pakistan’s palm and soybean-related imports stood at US$ 4 billion in FY21, rising by 47% year-on-year, compared to compound average growth of 12.3% in the last 20 years.

These, however, are the regular shipments that Pakistan gets. Palm oil is actually used to make ‘vanaspati ghee’ which is the most used form of edible oil in Pakistan. However, the consignments that have been stuck at Port Qasim are soybeans, most of which have been imported from the United States. What is particularly unique about these oilseeds is that they

are the result of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). A GMO is an animal, plant, or microbe whose DNA has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. For thousands of years, humans have used breeding methods to modify organisms. Corn, cattle, and even dogs have been selectively bred over generations to have certain desired traits.

GMO oilseeds like the ones stuck at the port are resistant to weather and other climate disasters such as floods. They are also modified to provide higher yield, and to contain more oil per seed. Now, the important thing to understand here once again is that the oilseeds that are stuck at the port are already harvested and are simply imported to be pressed and converted into edible oil. In fact, the importers in this entire time have been represented by the All Pakistan Solvent Extractors’ Association (APSEA).

The way ouT: According to reliable sources, concerned ministries and departments were hesitant to allow the release of the Soybean seeds, which are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), fearing repercussions of such a move in terms of Pakistan international commitments.

On December 9, the FTO had ordered the Ministry of Climate Change to issue a one-time approval for the release and treat it as a special case under Rule 27 of the Biosafety Rules, 2005. But authorities remain hesitant keeping in mind Pakistan’s international commitment to implement the Cartagena

People suffering due to Imran’s wrong policies: Marriyum

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said people were suffering due to the wrong economic policies of Imran Khan-led government which had resulted into extreme inflation and massive unemployment.

The minister, in a news statement, said Imran Khan was a “thief and foreign agent”, whose four-year stint had turned a prosperous Pakistan into a ruined state. His was the worst experiment in the country’s history. The group of “incompetents and foreign agents”, imposed on Pakistan in 2018, was thrown out of the Parliament in April, she added. Marriyum alleged that Imran Khan had traded off national interests, including the Kashmir cause, in return of foreign funds, and malicious campaigns against the martyrs of army and the institutions were launched at his behest. She said ironically Imran Khan had the audacity to blame those for economic woes who inherited him the national economy with 6.3 per cent growth rate. The minister dared the PTI members of the National Assembly to appear before the speaker for acceptance of their resignations. It was astonishing as to why the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was not dissolving assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, she added.

On the recommendation of the Board of Investments, the Federal Cabinet approved, in principle, the One Stop Service Act to provide facilities to investors in Special Economic Zones established across the country.

On the recommendation of the Petroleum Division, the Federal Cabinet declared Taj Field (Mirpur Khas Block) for commercial status, covering an area of 14.11 square kilometres on commercial basis and to M/s United Energy Pakistan Limited (UEPL) of this block for five years.

The federal cabinet approved the decisions taken in the meetings of the Economic Coordination Committee held on Dec 21 and Nov 15, 2022. The federal cabinet also approved the decisions taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization held on Dec 26, 2022.

PM invites President Erdogan to Int’l Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan

Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, signed in 2001 and rectified in 2009.

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

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

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

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

PTI MNAs to meet Speaker NA for verification of resignations today

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

The National Assembly (NA) spokesperson said on Wednesday that a meeting between PTI lawmakers and Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has been scheduled today (Thursday) for the personal verification of party MNAs’ pending resignations.

The PTI had announced mass resignations from the National Assembly in April, a day after party chief Imran Khan’s ouster as the prime minister through a no-confidence vote and shortly before Shehbaz Sharif was elected as his successor. On July 28, the National Assembly speaker accepted the resignations of only 11 PTI lawmakers who had resigned after the vote of no confidence against the former PM.

The PTI had first challenged the move in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 1, contesting that it was “unsustainable”. The IHC, however, had dismissed the petition on September 6. The party then approached the Supreme Court, praying it to set aside the IHC order, terming it “vague, cursory, and against the law”. A decision on the PTI’s plea in the apex court is still pending. However, Ashraf had repeatedly said that he won’t accept the resignations without “confirming their genuineness”. Earlier this month, in a letter addressed to PTI Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he invited the party MNAs for verification.

In an update on the matter today, the NA

spokesperson tweeted that former PTI chief whip Malik Amir Dogar and Ashraf spoke via the telephone today.

“The speaker told Dogar that both he and the deputy speaker were present in their offices and were waiting for PTI MNAs,” he said. “After mutual consultation, it has been decided that PTI lawmakers will meet the speaker in his chamber at 11:30 tomorrow (Thursday)”.

During the phone call, the speaker also remarked that all the parties should play their role in the parliament for the betterment and welfare of the country, the spokesperson added.

This is the second telephonic conversation between Dogar and Ashraf this week. A day earlier, the former chief whip of PTI called Ashraf — who was in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh for a PPP power show — and requested a formal meeting to deliberate upon the issue of the confirmation of resignations of 124 PTI MNAs.

Dogar told the NA speaker that a delegation of PTI leaders consisting of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak and others wanted to meet him. However, later on Tuesday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry told journalists in Lahore that when party leaders called on Ashraf today, he was “nowhere to be found”.

“[We were] told that the speaker has gone to Larkana,” Chaudhry had claimed. “We’re getting information that he’s going to Australia afterwards”.

“The speaker told Dogar that both he and the deputy speaker were present in their offices and were waiting for PTI MNAs,” he said. “After mutual consultation, it has been decided that PTI lawmakers will meet the speaker in his chamber at 11:30 tomorrow (Thursday)”. During the phone call, the speaker also remarked that all the parties should play their role in the parliament for the betterment and welfare of the country, the spokesperson added. This is the second telephonic conversation between Dogar and Ashraf this week. A day earlier, the former chief whip of PTI called Ashraf — who was in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh for a PPP power show — and requested a formal meeting to deliberate upon the issue of the confirmation of resignations of 124 PTI MNAs.

Dogar told the NA speaker that a delegation of PTI leaders consisting of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak and others wanted to meet him. However, later on Tuesday, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry told journalists in Lahore that when party leaders called on Ashraf today, he was “nowhere to be found”. “[We were] told that the speaker has gone to Larkana,” Chaudhry had claimed.

“We’re getting information that he’s going to Australia afterwards”. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic of Türkiye, H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Wednesday. The Prime Minister invited President Erdoğan to the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan being co-hosted with the United Nations in Geneva on January 9, 2023 in the wake of the recent devastating floods in Pakistan. The Prime Minister expressed gratitude on behalf of the people and the government of Pakistan to the brotherly government of Turkey for the provision of prompt humanitarian assistance in the wake of the unprecedented catastrophic floods. Highlighting the daunting challenge faced by the country in terms of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected areas in a climate-resilient manner, the Prime Minister underscored the importance of continued international support and solidarity for Pakistan’s plans to build back better. The two leaders also exchanged views on various bilateral matters and international issues, and agreed to remain in close contact.

Chairman PAC writes to CJP, requesting information sharing on ‘dam funds’

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Noor Alam Khan has sent a written request to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday for sharing details of the Supreme Court dam fund created by his predecessor Saqib Nisar. “Money collected in the dam fund is public money and it is inevitable for the supremacy of the apex court and ensuring transparency to make the details public for information,” wrote the PAC chief. Noor Alam Khan said that the CJP is therefore requested to ask the principal accounting officer of the Supreme Court to provide details of the fund collected. He said denying the record of funds by the principal accountant officer of Pakistan for audit was against the Constitution of Pakistan. The PAC Chairman said, unfortunately, breaking the law and disrespecting the Constitution had become a fashion for few who prioritized personal interest over the national interest to avoid accountability.

iSLamaBad Staff RepoRt

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bAloChIstAn CAbInEt APPRovEs RulEs And REgulAtIons of ACCEss to InfoRMAtIon ACt

Quetta Staff RepoRt

The Balochistan cabinet on Wednesday pproved the rules and regulations of Access to Information Act during a meeting held at CM Secretariat chaired by the Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo.

The provincial cabinet during the course of the meeting accorded approval to a number of projects, bills and rules of various departments.

The cabinet agreed to the issuance of the letter of intent for the housing project under the Public Private Partnership managed by the Department of Urban Planning and Development while it also approved bulldozer hours for restoration of flood affected land in Gwadar district.

The provincial cabinet consented to the agenda presented by the Department of Secondary Education regarding the future role of the National Commission for Human Development and Basic Education Community Services while it

also approved the policy framework for Laptop Scheme 2022-23.

A handout issued by the DGPR further noted that the provincial cabinet consented to the Balochistan Public Private Partnership Rules 2022.

Likewise, the provincial cabinet approved the increase in the estimated cost of the Polkariz District Ziarat Repair Project. The provincial cabinet also approved the proposal to amend Balochistan Human Rights Policy 2022 and Balochistan Drugs and Therapeutics

Goods Rules 2021.

The draft Bill on the Use of Plastic Shopping and Flat Bags Act, 2022 also got approved while cabinet also agreed to the wheat procurement plan and policy presented by the food department.

The cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister Balochistan approved the budget of PDMA Balochistan for the financial year 2022-23. Moreover, it also agreed to regularization of contract employees of Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority.

After scams worth tens of millions, SBP disallows paying phone tax online

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“If banks simply strengthen their internal compliances when it comes to situations like these, the situation can be alleviated,” the source said.

A banker agreed that strengthening compliance needs to be done anyway but the there are certain challenges that need to be overcome before accomplishing a greater degree of compliance.

Compliance challenges in this regard include putting the burden of compliance on the bank customer, for instance only allowing one such transaction in a month. “In such cases, however, legitimate phone sellers, who collect cash from customers and pay on behalf of the customer at the time of sale, get affected,” said a source in the banking industry.

There are certain other technicalities that need to

fbR reduces additional customs duty on tractors as part of Kissan Package

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The Kissan Package is a Rs1,800 billion support package that the Government of Pakistan announced on October 31. The package was part of a series of measures that the Government had taken on the backdrop of the terrible flooding across the summer in Pakistan that had cost the economy roughly $40 billion. Under the package, the government will give Rs10.6 billion loans to small farmers across the country while small farmers of flood-hit areas would get loans worth Rs 80 billion. In addition to the interest-free and subsidised loans, subsidies will also be given on farm imports such as fertilisers, electricity, seeds, and even tractors.

Now what is SRO 693, and what does it have to do with the Kissan Package?

SRO as mentioned earlier stands for Statutory Regulatory Orders which covers all kinds of government regulations carried out by FBR and different ministries through delegated powers. These include SROs in the health sector, in taxes, in commerce, in energy, in the auto sector, among others. SRO 693, alongside SROs 655 and 656 form the policy framework that Pakistan adopted after moving from its Deletion Program/Compulsory Localization Policy to the Tariff Based System in 2006 as part of its World Trade Organisation membership. The aforementioned SROs cumulatively comprise the overarching mechanism for levying duties upon automotive imported parts. SRO2305(I)/2022 has thus reduced the additional customs duty that is levied upon both CBU and CKD imports for agricultural tractors. What is the impact of this decision

The most immediate impact of the measure will be that it will provide a lifeline to the domestic tractor industry whose current five month sales volume is 52% lower compared to the same period last year. As to how much of this tax relief the companies pass on to the customers is debatable, particularly given how Millat Tractors, one of the two major tractor manufacturers in Pakistan, is currently embroiled in a conflict with the Office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman over tax fraud as part of a previous Government scheme aimed at the agricultural industry.

be worked before rules in this regard can be amended. For instance, compliance rules are implemented for an entity and not a certain segment that the bank is working with it on. For instance, FBR could have multiple taxes collected digitally from bank customers.

Changing compliance rules would mean changing rules for all sorts of tax payments instead of a single cell phone import levy. The source added that until an alternative framework is established, a complete restriction should be in place. Once there is a better alternative, banks would be willing to open the mobile and internet banking channels for import payments.

Another mechanism, which is reportedly in the works and proposed to the SBP, pertains to how the transactions are settled.

Najeeb Aggrawala, CEO of 1Link which is the entity that settles these transactions between banks

and the FBR, says that the current measure is in the interest of people that were being scammed. There could, however, be an alternative to this approach where the settlement time for such payments is increased to a day.

The settlement between the banks and government entities such as the FBR happens on the same day a transaction is executed. If the settlement from a bank to the FBR is moved to T+1 settlement, which is the next day’s settlement, the customer has a longer time to complain that a transaction on his/her account was fraudulent and the settlement would be stopped. The FBR would not receive the import tax money and money deducted would be reimbursed to the customer.

This would help alleviate the situation whereby some of these scams could be caught out but the entire service is not suspended.

Nishat Chunian to partially close production

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The announcement of partial closure comes after a number of companies across various sectors announced closures in the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, Kohinoor Spinning Mills temporarily shut down citing the worst crisis faced by the textile industry. Fauji Fertilizer also closed its Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) Plant temporarily last week. Suzuki announced its first plant shutdown for 2023 after a string of nonoperational days last year. Similarly, Toyota also shut down production in December for the remainder of the year.

Similarly, Balochistan Wheels and Millat Tractors have also had non-operational days. At the start of this week on Monday, the patron-in-chief of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Dr. Gohar Ejaz, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan detailing the challenges faced by the textile industry and the exports sector.

According to the letter, the textile industry was already operating at less than 50% capacity utilisation across the country. The letter further said, “A substantial number of jobs have already been lost and many more are to follow if remedial measures are not urgently undertaken.”

Just last week, the APTMA, in another letter to the Prime Minister, also said that textile exports are expected to drop below $1 billion per month from January 2023. The expected decline was due to supply-chain disruptions, liquidity constraints, energy shortages, and the nonfunctioning of new projects.

finanCials: According to the unconsolidated financial statements of the 1st quarter of FY23, NCL’s sales revenue increased by 3% compared to the same period last year to Rs. 15.25 billion. However, the company made a loss after

tax of Rs. 130 million against a profit after tax of Rs. 2.03 billion in the preceding quarter. This is a huge decline of 106% which suggests the severity of the conditions faced by the textile industry in general.

The losses translated into a negative Earnings Per Share (EPS) of Rs. 0.54 as compared to a positive EPS of Rs. 9.23 in the same period of the last financial year.

In the last quarter ending September 30, 2022, NCL generated negative cash from operations of Rs. 4.34 billion against a positive cash of Rs. 265 million in the same quarter last year. The cash flow generated from operations is one of the most important indicators of liquidity available in the business.

The quarterly directors’ report said, “This period has turned out to be a difficult one, with reduced profit margins and the high cost of borrowing being the primary reasons for the loss. On the domestic front, fluctuations in the USD exchange rate and the recent surge in political instability are turning out to be very challenging for the industry.” On Wednesday, the share price of NCL opened at Rs. 22.11 and went to a high of Rs. 22.9. After the PSX notification in the afternoon, however, it dropped to a low of Rs. 21.30 and finally closed at Rs. 21.53. The stock price registered a day decline of 5.86%.

Nishat (Chunian) Limited is a public limited Company incorporated in Pakistan and listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited. Its registered office is situated at 31-Q, Gulberg II, Lahore. The Company is engaged in the business of spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, stitching, processing, doubling, sizing, buying, selling and otherwise dealing in yarn, fabric and made-ups made from raw cotton, synthetic fibre and cloth, and to generate, accumulate, distribute, supply and sell electricity and steam.

Agri-loans worth Rs663.9bn released under Kissan Package

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He said the package comprised 15 main points to restore and revive the agriculture sector in the country in order to ensure food safety and security in the country, adding that significant progress has been made in all the points.

Kissan paCKage: On October 31st this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a Rs1,800 billion subsidy package for farmers affected by this year’s catastrophic flooding. It was a splashy announcement that promised among other things loans, sufficient availability of fertilisers, cheap financing for tractors, and a reduction in electricity tariff to a fixed rate. The issue of agriculture, however, is pressing and beyond solving by a single subsidy scheme. The details are already public knowledge. Under the package, the government will give Rs10.6 billion loans to small farmers across the country while small farmers of flood-hit areas would get loans worth Rs 80 billion. In addition to the interest-free and subsidised loans, subsidies will also be given on farm imports such as fertilisers, electricity, seeds, and even tractors. If implemented correctly, the package will have a wide-reaching impact in helping farmers affected by this year’s floods back on their feet. But that is as far as it can and should go. The scale of the problem faced by our agricultural sector will not be fixed by any subsidy package. At most, any subsidy will provide temporary relief. For too long the state has allowed the country’s agriculture to suffer and have offered only stop-gap solutions such as subsidy packaged. We have been papering over the cracks for so long that our entire agrarian economy has grown dependent on subsidy packages.Already dogged by these problems, our beleaguered farmers now face a serious threat from climate change as well.

Weather patterns are wild and erratic, going from drought to flood within a matter of months. If Pakistan is to move forward on the agricultural front, which it must if it wants to maintain food security, we will have to shift our focus from subsidies to actual research and development.

Agriculture is still the largest component of our economy, and fixing it will take persistent, daily, dedicated, single-minded focus. It is the need of the hour, and with the effects of climate change knocking on our doors there has never been a more urgent moment in time to try and fix it.

minisTer’s sTaTemenTs: Cheema further informed that for the first time in history, the Prime Minister Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme was introduced to engage youth in the agriculture sector to get maximum dividends for the young population, besides providing them employment opportunities in this sector. He said despite the fiscal and financial crunch, the SBP has issued notifications of all the above-mentioned schemes, and prices of fertilisers were also brought down under markup and risk management scheme, adding that prices of DAP fertiliser came down from Rs 13,000 to Rs 9,000 per bag and sufficient quantity was also available for local farmers.

Besides, he added, Rs 30 billion was also allocated for the subsidy on imported urea and it would be provided in a transparent manner in collaboration with the provincial governments. Under the package, an amount of Rs 4.787 billion comprising 75 percent of agro-based small and medium enterprises were also disbursed, besides the government has also initiated interest-free loan for landless farmers and the central bank has also issued a circular to commercial banks to disburse Rs 5 billion to all eligible farmers, he added. The minister said that under the special directives of the prime minister, the value of PIU was enhanced from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000, adding that the Finance Division has already notified that it would equally benefit the large and small-scale growers.

Change-up in management, investments at Shifa Hospitals

Continued from BaCk Page

The company announced the change in management following the retirement of Dr Qazi saying that the company was accepting his retirement with a heavy heart after 35 years of constant service. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) will now be held seeking approval of the shareholders for the execution of the decisions including the appointment of the new CEO and a change in subsidiary investments.

CruCial Time: Just last week, on December 20, the company also announced that its subsidiary company Shifa medical center Islamabad (Private) Limited (in which it holds 56% shareholding) decided to discontinue the hospital project at Sector F-11 Markaz, Islamabad, a project that only started in the last fiscal year of the company

ending June 2021.

Instead, the investment from this project will go towards the Faisalabad hospital project that is being developed by another subsidiary of the company, namely Shifa National Hospital Faisalabad (Private) Limited (in which SHFA holds 60% shareholding).

The construction work for the Islamabad and Faisalabad hospital projects was started in the last fiscal year of the company ending June 2021. For now, it appears that the Faisalabad hospital project, which spreads over 49.5 kanals of land, will go forward while the Islamabad project is temporarily stopped.

The company was facing some financial issues related to the two projects during the year due to rising construction costs and rupee devaluation in 2022, which was also foreseen in its latest annual report ending June 2022, “The projects are facing

a cost escalation due to high inflation, rupee-dollar parity etc. The Company is contemplating and exploring different options to fund the cost escalation and will revert to the shareholders at an appropriate time for their approval as and when required.”

In its first quarter for the fiscal year 2023, Shifa Hospitals reported a Profit After Tax (PAT) of Rs 367 million against a PAT of Rs 395 million in the same quarter last year. hisTory and founders: The idea of Shifa International Hospital was conceived by a team of expatriate healthcare professionals in 1985 in New York, USA, to provide international standard medical care to the people of Pakistan.

The initiator was Dr. Zaheer Ahmad (late founder and President) along with four other professionals who discussed the

idea and approved it. The participants included Dr. Manzoor H. Qazi (current CEO), Mr. Muhammad Zahid (board of director), Mr. Samiullah Sharief from Brooklyn, New York, and Dr. Sabir Ali from Palm Bay, Florida. Dr. Zaheer Ahmad was asked to prepare the feasibility report and the action plan. Subsequently Dr. Zaheer Ahmad moved to Islamabad on December 17, 1985 to start the work on this project.

The principal activity of Shifa International Hospitals is to establish and run medical centers and hospitals in Pakistan. The Company established its first hospital in 1993 in H-8/4 Islamabad, second hospital in 2011 in Faisalabad and another in 2014 in G10/4 Islamabad. The Company is also running medical centers, pharmacies and Lab collection points in different cities of Pakistan.

Pakistan-China EduCation CooPEration PromotEs CPEC dEvEloPmEnt: ExPErt

ISLAMABAD Xinhua

tHEeducational cooperation and exchanges between Pakistan and China are playing an important role in promoting the high-quality development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a scholar from Pakistan said.

“BRI is a framework for multi-national economic development. It is providing a window of opportunity that will bring socioeconomic stability for countries around the globe including Pakistan,” Safdar Ali Shah, director general of the CPEC cell at the Higher Education Commission (HEC), told Xinhua.

With CPEC entering an advanced stage, Shah said the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in higher education have been reaching a new level over the past few years, adding that further collaboration in higher education is crucial to the building of CPEC and the development of the country.

“Pakistan needs to produce young talents that meet the requirements of Chinese companies who want to invest in the country and are in desperate need of skilled people acquainted with the local conditions and languages … so there is a need to ramp up educational cooperation for providing strong intellectual and talent support to Chinese companies,” he said.

According to Shah, 18 universities from China and Pakistan established the CPEC Consortium of Universities in 2017 to promote academic exchanges for the high-quality development of CPEC, now the number of member universities has increased to over 110, indicating a substantial rise in academic and educational exchanges over the years.

The academic collaboration under the CPEC Consortium of Universities included the establishment of China study centres at various universities across Pakistan, joint research projects, language training and talent cultivation, cultural activities and joint conferences, workshops and exhibitions, he added.

“The number of Pakistani students learn-

First polio vaccination drive of 2023 from January 16

ABBOTTABAD app

Tariq Salam Marwat, deputy commissioner of Abbottabad, said all arrangements should be completed on time for the five-day campaign against polio which would commence from January 16 and continue until January 20. He expressed these views while chairing a meeting of the polio eradication committee at his office. Health department officials while briefing the meeting informed that during the campaign, more than 233,000 children of district Abbottabad under the age of 5 years will be vaccinated against polio. A total of 1,316 teams would be formed for the antipolio campaign. Marwat directed the completion of campaign preparations and stressed that all measures should be taken to make the drive a success and provide foolproof security to the polio teams. He emphasised that all departments and District Price Control Magistrates should ensure surveillance and vaccination of teams in their area. In his message to all the citizens, especially all the parents, he requested support administration and vaccination teams for ensuring in giving polio drops to their children. He issued instructions to the Health Department, and Local Government Department to remain in touch with the Ulema to educate people and highlight the importance of polio and drops during sermons in the mosques. Apart from this, Health Department also issued instructions regarding awareness among the people through print, social and electronic media. The campaign will be monitored by the District Polio Control Room to maximize its effectiveness of the campaign.

Capacity building workshop for ECP staff concludes

ing Chinese language and the number of Chinese students learning Pakistan’s national language Urdu have also increased considerably over the years, bringing the people of the two countries closer and closer,” he noted.

Under the educational cooperation programs between the two neighbours, Shah said thousands of Pakistani students are studying in China, learning Chinese culture, language and majors, adding that most of these students are studying on Chinese scholarships.

Besides providing opportunities to Pakistani students, Chinese universities are going the extra mile to improve the education quality for the students to meet the needs of the two countries’ major projects like CPEC and other vital fields, he said.

“Measures such as transforming the talent training concept to cultivate applied and compound talents, improving the teaching level by assembling a team of teachers with high professional standards, and designing tailored textbooks, are being taken for Pakistani students in Chinese universities to en-

hance the standard of education and training,” he said.

The

Alvi upholds order to grant Covid risk allowance to health ministry staff

ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

President Arif Alvi has upheld the orders of the federal ombudsman to grant coronavirus health risk allowance to 37 employees of the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine (NIRM) and Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH) who have been deprived of the money after being declared members of non-clinical staff.

The president gave this decision while rejecting a representation of the Ministry of National Health Services against the order of the ombudsman recommending it to move a fresh summary to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for the grant of allowance.

The president in his decision ob-

served that in August last, the ministry had provided funds to federal healthcare institutions to grant allowance to clinical staff, and that the Post Graduate Medical Institute in Islamabad was also among the beneficiaries.

He observed that in 2020, all employees were given the allowance, however, in 2021, 37 members of the staff were deprived of the allowance as being declared non-clinical.

He noted that the executive director of the hospital had recommended the ministry to grant the allowance to the said people as all clinical and non-clinical staff worked in the same risky environment and therefore were equally vulnerable and exposed to disease without any exception.

The president, in his decision, fur-

ther highlighted it was a reality that both clinical and non-clinical employees in the hospital were vulnerable and performing duties within the same premises and environment without any exception.

He rejected the ministry’s view the hospital staff had to work in a vulnerable environment usually, that it was the nature of their job, and that they were already drawing some exclusive allowances.

He also rejected the view that only the clinical staff were actively engaged by the hospital administration in various Covid-19 units during the pandemic.

The complainants had lodged a complaint with the ombudsman that during the Covid-19 pandemic, they kept on performing their duties despite

Maulana Tariq Jameel recovering in Canadian hospital after cardiac arrest

Maulana Tariq Jamil, renowned religious scholar and preacher who suffered a cardiac arresta day earlier in Canada, is “recovering” and will be “discharged from the hospital soon”.

The scholar is under treatment for his heart problem and shared an update about his improving Maulana Tariq Jamil, renowned religious scholar and preacher who suffered a cardiac arresta day earlier in Canada, is “recovering” and will be “discharged from the hospital soon”.

The scholar is under treatment for his heart problem and shared an update about his improving health status.

PESHAWAR

app

A first-of-its-kind capacity-building workshop for the employees of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) ahead of the installation of a result management system (RMS) during the coming general elections concluded in Peshawar, the tribunal said. The polling station-wise regime for the elections is aimed at improving the accuracy, efficiency, and transparency of the result tabulation process. The system was first used by returning officers (ROs) in pilot projects during by-elections in 2017 at the time of preparing unofficial results and for consolidation of election results. The system has the capacity to store scanned pages of Forms- XIV, XVI and XVII along with data stored in the database permanently for audit trail accountability purposes. According to a press statement released on Wednesday, Javed Afridi, joint provincial election commissioner for administration, distributed certificates among the participants. In his address, Afridi congratulated the trainees on the completion of the programme and appreciated the cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its conduct. Nine such training workshops have been planned until December 31, the tribunal said.

A tweet from the preacher’s official Twitter handle, along with his smiling photograph, was shared in which he could be seen sitting on a hospital bed covering himself with a shawl and a woolen cap on his head. “By the grace of Allah and prayers of you friends, [my] health is a little better now. Will be discharged after staying under the care of doctors in the hospital for three more days,” the tweet read, requesting for more prayers.

It was also learnt that Maulana received an angioplasty on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack during his stay in Canada, according to his family sources.

A day earlier, the scholar’s son Yousaf Jamil informed his followers on the microblogging networking site about his father’s condition and that he had been shifted to the hospital. “He is feeling better now, Alhamdulillah!” Yousaf said, asking the followers to pray for his father’s health. “May Allah grant my father complete health.” Maulana Tariq Jameel was in Canada to attend an event organised by IslamicRelief Canada which is an international charity.

Taking to Twitter, IslamicRelief Canada announced: “Unfortunately, today’s event with Molana Tariq Jamil has been postponed to December 28th due to Maulana’s health.” It further said that all the will be valid for Wednesday. “You may request a refund directly through Eventbrite if you are unable to attend,” the statement

added. A tweet from the preacher’s official Twitter handle, along with his smiling photograph, was shared in which he could be seen sitting on a hospital bed covering himself with a shawl and a woolen cap on his head. “By the grace of Allah and prayers of you friends, [my] health is a little better now. Will be discharged after staying under the care of doctors in the hospital for three more days,” the tweet read, requesting for more prayers.

It was also learnt that Maulana received an angioplasty on Tuesday after suffering a heart attack during his stay in Canada, according to his family sources.

A day earlier, the scholar’s son Yousaf Jamil informed his followers on the microblogging networking site about his father’s condition and that he had been shifted to the hospital. “He is feeling better now, Alhamdulillah!” Yousaf said, asking the followers to pray for his father’s health. “May Allah grant my father complete health.”

Maulana Tariq Jameel was in Canada to attend an event organised by IslamicRelief Canada which is an international charity. Taking to Twitter, IslamicRelief Canada announced: “Unfortunately, today’s event with Maulana Tariq Jamil has been postponed to December 28th due to Maulana’s health.” It further said that all the will be valid for Wednesday. “You may request a refund directly through Eventbrite if you are unable to attend,” the statement added.

their vulnerability and risk of lives on the directions of the heads of their departments.

According to them, the allowance was paid to a number of employees who performed the same duties as them but they were discriminated against by being declared as non-clinical staff.

Feeling aggrieved they approached the ombudsman who passed the orders to grant the allowance to the complainants.

The ministry then filed a representation to the president against the ombudsman’s decision. The president rejected the representation of the agency and upheld the orders as maladministration on behalf of the ministry was established on the above-mentioned grounds.

Punjab skills agency says it’s uplifting rural women

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) said it has trained more than 8,600 women since January this year in 27 districts across the province under its Women Training in Livestock Management (WTLM) programme. A spokesperson for the agency said it continues its communitybased skill training program, empowering the women in rural towns in livestock management skills. The project is executed across key agricultural districts, and engages women on a community level to increase their knowledge and skills in managing livestock for better yield. Under this programme, the agency has trained more than 8,600 women across 27 agriculture-reliant districts for employment and household income, training them in skills to improve milk yield, animal health, prevention of disease and introducing them to modern livestock practices, he said. This project is part of Haryali project aimed at developing the skills of people for a prosperous agricultural and abundantly green future. The economy is still heavily dependent on agriculture and women play a critical role in this sector, the spokesperson said. The agriculture sector is vulnerable due to climate change, making it essential nationally to equip farmers and dairy-stock managers to be knowledgeable with modern methods. The training not only improves the technical skills of women but also gives them the opportunity for mobility, encouraging the participation of women in public life, and their self-development. It also acknowledges the significant role the rural woman plays in Pakistan’s economic success, he added.

scholar believed that as Pakistan and China are closely bonded as a result of CPEC, the two countries should further explore and promote more exchanges and cooperation in higher education to achieve

quality education sharing and achieve winwin and mutually-benefited friendly relations. Launched in 2013, CPEC is a corridor linking Gwadar Port with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

CANADA Staff RepoRt

BAloChIStAn government SAyS lAw, orDer UnDer Control In gwADAr

Quetta app

gOvERNMENTof Balochistan Spokesperson Farah Azeem Shah on Wednesday said the law and order situation in Gwadar was under control as effective measures were put in place to maintain peace in the port city.

“The establishment of peace in Gwadar and the protection of lives and property of the people are among the top priorities of the provincial government,” she said in a statement issued by DGPR here.

Spokesperson said due to the efforts of the administration and personnel of the law enforcement agencies, protester’s sit-in at Kashti Chowk, Gwadar was dis-

JUI-F governor sends back helicopter legislation to KP government

peSHaWar INp

The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Haji Ghulam Ali, a leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), returned legislation authorising the use of the helicopter of the chief minister, Mahmood Khan, for political purposes to the provincial government for reconsideration. Ali also urged the Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf (PTI) government for new legislation on the matter. “According to the bill, the chopper can be used by ministers, advisers and special assistants,” the governor said. “I have advised them to review the contents of the bill.” “What was the need for the new legislation on the helicopter,” he wondered. “A chopper has been out of work and another under the use of the chief minister,” he further said. “We are clearing the dirt of the past,” Ali said.

persed and Marine Drive Port Road was reopened whereas the sit-in on Syed Zahoor Shah Road near AlJawhar School had also been ended.

About the security measures, the spokesperson noted that as many as 500 personnel of LEAs were deputed on Expressway Sarbandar Cross, and some 400 personnel had been deployed at Hashmi Chowk, Gwadar. “Officials have also been deployed at Pasni Zero Point, Fazil Chowk, and Gwadar Jetty Gate,” she maintained.

Expressing her concern over the law and order situation in Gwadar, she said attempts were being made to sabotage the peaceful atmosphere in Gwadar under the garb of the sit-in of ‘Haq do Tehreek’ and the incitement of the protestors.

Ishaq Dar rejects rumors about Pakistan’s default

the PML-N government turned around the sinking economy.

He added that, during his previous tenure, Dar along with his team worked hard and brought many amendments to the SCEP laws including its outdated Act, which continued giving a boost to the capital market of the country.

He recalled the challenges in the merger of the Karachi Stock Exchange, Lahore Stock Exchange and Islamabad Stock Exchange into one entity branded as the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), which helped the Pakistan stock market to emerge as the fifth leading market in the world. “I wish those golden days would come back.”, said the finance minister.

He assured Arif Habib and PSX’s Managing Director Farrukh Khan that Commissioner SECP Abid Saeed along with his team would sit with them and work out the proposals submitted by them to a logical conclusion.

Ishaq Dar said that, because of the defective policies and non-professional approach by the previous government, today Pakistan’s economy has serious challenges, mainly financial stress.

“Today, we are knocking on doors for even a little amount of one billion dollars,” he said, adding that today Pakistan had reached the point that it did not deserve.

Senator Ishaq Dar also shared the details of a session with Governor State Bank of Pakistan Jameel Ahmed, on prioritizing imports in the country. The Central Bank issued a guideline to the commercial banks yesterday, to facilitate the imports of essential items like food, medicine, industrial raw materials and machinery, especially for the exported units.

which were provided to the people at a very subsidized price. This cost the government of Pakistan a lot. Our law enforcing agencies are showcasing a tough reaction to the smuggling and would control it, he said. He said that recent floods had also left serious challenges for the government.

He assured that the agreement with the IMF would be successfully signed. It was only the PML-N governments who always successfully dealt with the IMF. “We have brought the IMF back in six months,” he commented.

PU awards PhD degrees to five scholars after approval of thesis

LaHore staff report

Punjab University on Wednesday awarded PhD degrees to five scholars in different subjects after approval of thesis. According to details, Sohaib Afzaal S/o Muhammad Afzaal was awarded PhD degree in the subject of Agriculture Sciences (Food Science & Technology) after approval of his thesis entitled ‘Screening and Characterization of Potential Probiotic Strains(s) From Indigenous’, Shabnum Gull D/o Dafter Khan in the subject of Kashmiryat after approval of her thesis entitled ‘The Rise and Fall of The Mughals in Kashmir: Research And Critical Review’, Yasmeen Ahmed D/o Ahmed Mehmud Wathra in the subject of Art & Design after approval of her thesis entitled ‘Rural Settlements and Institutional Management of Disaster Resilience in Punjab Pakistan’, Khalid Hussain S/o Muhammad Hussain in the subject of Commerce after approval of his thesis entitled ‘Ethics And Audit Quality; A Multi-Perspective Approach’ and Malka Samra Malik D/o Azhar Ijaz Malik was awarded PhD degree in the subject of Chemisty (Bio-Chemistry) after approval of her thesis entitled ‘Biological and Molecular Investigation of Synthesized Oxicam Metal Complexes’.

Policemen admit killing Karachi youth

KaracHi staff report

BeiJing staff report

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has offered a big discount to passengers travelling on BeijingIslamabad route with immediate effect.

The new fare from Beijing to Islamabad is now RMB 4,681 including all taxes, which will greatly facilitate those passengers who plan to travel to Pakistan to meet their families during the Chinese New Year holidays, a senior official told media here on Wednesday. The national flag carrier has also announced a cut in the existing fare of Beijing-Islamabad-Beijing round trip and the new price is now RMB 12,050 including all taxes. PIA is currently operating weekly passenger flights on Islamabad-Beijing-Islamabad and Islamabad-Chengdu-Islamabad routes on Sunday and Wednesday respectively. In addition, PIA has also been granted approval to start weekly flights on Islamabad.

He would also ask Federal Board of Revenue authorities to join and work on these proposals.

The Finance Minister thanked the business community of the country for their support to the government’s policies and their decisions which were aimed at strengthening the national economy. He mentioned that in 2013, it was the same business community, with the support of whom,

The Finance minister is hopeful that soon, Pakistan’s forex and remittances portfolio would improve. He clarified that Pakistan’s debt-toGDP ratio was 72 percent which was lower than many countries and this suggested a comfortable situation. A situation that would most likely not lead to a default.

As per Ishaq Dar, the main reasons behind the pressure on the availability of dollars is that dollars, wheat and fertilizers are being smuggled to a neighboring country. Meanwhile big stocks of wheat and fertilizers were being imported

The Government was trying to provide possible relief to the people. Soon the Inflation would start to come down and the balance of payments would also be rectified, along with taking steps to bring down the current account deficit of the country. He showed his confidence that Pakistan’s capital market would progress.

The Finance and Revenue Minister said instead of looking outside sources like the Paris Club, “Our ultimate goal should be strengthening our domestic capital market and making the best use of indigenous resources.”

He said the government was also working on launching more Special Economic Zones and strengthening the agriculture sector to keep intact the food security of the country, rather than going for surplus.

Customs foils foreign currency trafficking bid

KaracHi staff report

Pakistan Customs officials on Wednesday foiled an attempt to smuggle foreign currency and recovered more than 46,605 Saudi Riyals at Jinnah International Airport here. According to spokesman for Customs, the Airport Collectorate of Customs at Jinnah International Airport (JIAP) Karachi intercepted a passenger identified as Muhammad

Ahmed Siddiq. During search, the customs officials recovered 46,605 Saudi Riyal hidden under the clothes.

The spokesperson informed that besides Saudi Riyals, Pakistani currency worth more than Rs3 million was also recovered from him.

He was traveling to Medina, Saudi Arabia. Legal action was initiated against the passenger under Customs Act and further investigations were underway.

KP directs preparation of ADP worth Rs124b for FY 2023-24

peSHaWar azIz BuNerI

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has directed the administrative departments to prepare a development program worth Rs124 billion from their own resources for the next financial year, 2023-24.

The Planning and Development (P&D) Department directed administrative departments to prepare proposed ADP of 2023-24 and have send details of allocated funds. The provincial government plans to setup an ADP

of Rs100 billion for settled and Rs24 billion for tribal districts.

The P&D documents show that for multi-sector a fund of Rs18.65 billion has been proposed, Rs15.96 billion for roads construction, Rs11.8 billion for health, Rs7.91 billion for tourism, sports and culture, Rs7.25 billion for primary and secondary education, Rs7.19 billion for irrigation, Rs5.98 billion for urban development, Rs3.77 billion for agriculture and livestock, Rs3.71 billion for higher education, Rs2.15 billion for forests, Rs1.54 billion for rehabilitation and resettlement.

Three policemen, facing charges of murdering a young man in Karachi in a purportedly mistaken case of identity, have confessed to gunning down the unarmed man, investigating authorities said on Wednesday. According to the investigating team, Shahryar fired two shots at Amir Hussain. They added that when they found Hussain unarmed, the police put a government pistol on him to claim he was carrying weapons. The cops also told the probing team they thought Hussain had pulled out a pistol of them when he had waved them. They also added the three policemen were deployed on a motorcycle on Karachi’s Rashid Minhas Road. Shahryar, the cop who fired the shots, and officer Nasir were appointed in 2018. The third man, Faisal, was recruited in 2012. Investigation authorities were also unable to find any criminal record of Hussain. A case has been registered against the three police officials at Shahrah Faisal police station.

CS reviews plan for digital census

staff report

PIA offers ‘big discount’ to passengers on Beijing, Islamabad flights

LaHore

Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal on Wednesday directed the authorities to complete security and other arrangements for digital census in the province. He issued this directive during a meeting of the Provincial Coordinating Committee for Digital Census held at Civil Secretariat.

Getting it wrong

Leaving the monsters behind

Pti chief imran Khan has claimed that audiotapes alleged to be of a phone conversation between him and an unnamed woman, were released to blackmail him. he has also claimed that those releasing the audio-clip were acting against islamic injunctions by making public lewd material. he has not so far come out with a categorical denial, not even to endorse party spokesman Fawad chaudhry’s claim that the leaks were a cut-paste job. Mr Khan has often before invoked religion, which is politically risky, but this defence served little purpose, for it digressed to a side-issue, and left the main issue unaddressed, of whether Mr Khan had abandoned his playboy past, or whether he remained the same as before.

Similarly, President arif alvi’s disclosures about the way he claimed then coaS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa helped the Pti, do not mesh well with his demand that the army under present coaS Gen asim Munir should remain neutral. the only beneficiary, by his own statement, of this interference, was the Pti. one of the consequences of this interference was his own election as President, and his call for neutrality has an element in it of wistfulness, a regret that the sort of help the Pti previously got, was no longer available. With elections due in less than a year’s time, and with Mr Khan leading his party in a call for fresh elections, the desire for that level of assistance, now apparently no longer available, will only grow.

it may be that Mr Khan and President alvi are speaking to the base. Even then, the base of Pti supporters, unless they lack any ability to think for themselves, cannot help but see through these arguments. Mr Khan has so far offered no defence for the tapes, but has instead made the counter-accusation that they are merely meant to blackmail him. he has refused to see that he needs to prove that he is not the person those tapes show him as. he will also have to act fast, if he wishes to avoid the political damage they are inflicting on him. Similarly, President alvi’s attempts to exert pressure on the new coaS, by maligning the previous one, are likely to fall on barren ground. While the Pti may have conceded to elections in april, it should also be clear that whenever it faces elections, it will probably have to do so without any crutches.

ToDaY, the USa leads the world in creating international monsters followed by the armies of the Muslim world who follow the same path within. the islamic Republic of Pakistan has repeatedly suffered from this menace. there have been 16 army chiefs, with the incumbent being the 17h.

the first Desi Sipah-e-Salar Gen ayub Khan crossed the line. Starting with the assassination of Prime Minister liaquat ali Khan to the imposition of Martial law in october 1958 and abrogation of the 1956 constitution, these proved to be major blows against our freedom struggle. his misrule continued for over a decade before he had to resign in March 1969. he lacked the courage to follow his own constitution, and handed over power to the army chief instead of the Speaker of the National assembly. Gen Yayha Khan then presided over the dismemberment of Jinnah’s Pakistan. Bangladesh emerged on the world map after the surrender of the armed Forces in December 1971. the unanimously agreed 1973 constitution was a major effort in ensuring civilian authority. Beaten and bruised, the balance in the civil-military relationship was redefined. the army was confined to the barracks where it rightfully belonged. the focus shifted to nation building. Elected representatives of the people were in control of the republic. the dismissal of the two provincial governments (NWFP/KPK, Balochistan) followed by military action in Balochistan in 1975 brought the Khakis back into the mainstream of power. a tribunal was set-up in hyderabad to try the dissident political leadership. in early 1977, Zulfikar ali Bhutto surprised everyone by dissolving the assemblies ahead of their term to seek fresh mandate. Within hours an alliance of the nine opposition parties (Pakistan National alliance) emerged. a trap had been laid to corner the most popular leader of his times. on 5 July 1977, Gen Zia-ul-haq clamped the third Martial law. in october 1958, General ayub Khan sent home the entire civilian leadership of the country. Zia went after ZaB with the active support of the alliance that the establishment had carved. Pop-

ular founding fathers like Khan Qayyum Khan and hussain Shaheed Suharwardy survived the onslaught in the 1950s while ZaB was eliminated through the judicial process in april 1979.

When in the same year Zia decided to indulge in the afghan War i, ZaB warned against the consequences from his death cell. though the USSR was made to bite the dust the republic had to pay a heavy price. While the islamic Republic of iran remained neutral in the conflict and confined the influx of refugees to the border camps only, they were allowed to operate all over the land of the pure where they spread their impurities like wildfire. then there was a U-turn after the threat from the USa post- 9/11. the fourth usurper sheepishly caved in, abandoning the tehreek-taliban Pakistan (ttP) in afghan War ii, friends became foes overnight.

With sleeper-cells all over the country, Pakistan had to suffer blatant acts of terrorism. it was never our war yet we were made to pay a heavy toll due to the misadventure of the dictators. With loss of human life close to 50,000 and collateral damage of over $100 billion, the republic has still not recovered from this misadventure. Zia and Musharraf have gone, leaving the monsters behind to add to the list left behind by ayub, the self-proclaimed Field Marshal.

Nations must learn from history to correct their future course of action. Unfortunately in the republic those who created monsters just walked away free of any consequences. General Pervez Musharraf, the fourth usurper got away once in 1999 but was tried for treason when he crossed the line the second time in the year 2007. he was tried for treason under article 6 of the constitution; fearing for his life he first reported sick to a Military hospital from where he was smuggled out.

Defence who went to war in Viet Nam. it was an aimless war in which over 50,000 americans lost their lives. after it was all over, he tendered a written expression of remorse in his autobiography titled My Apology. he admitted his fault and sought forgiveness from his countrymen. Perhaps he wanted to die in peace. in Pakistan it’s the other way around; not only the monsters, but even the heirs of these dictators continue to remain in the arena with no remorse or apology for the misdeeds of their forefathers.

Recently the Punjab chief Minister chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi clearly came to the defence of the retired Sipah-e-Salar. he called him his ‘ Mohsin ’. these Mohsins over the years have produced several Rehzans ’ (thieves) who continue to rob the nation years after the demise of their designers. ayub was the Mohsin of the chaudhrys of Gujrat, Zia continued with them while creating the Sharifs of lahore. Musharraf got rid of the Sharifs, continued with chaudhrys. No wonder the chaudhrys remain Ehsanmand (grateful) to the men in uniform. the Pir of Sindh is no different and so is our friend from lal haveli. in the peak of the PNa movement that brought ZaB down he said that Pakistan had three political forces; PPP, PNa and PMa (Pakistan Military academy). in the 1990s it has been PPP, PMl-N and PMa. currently it is Pti, PDM and PMa, though the latter is now claiming to be neutral.

Neutrality is welcome but not without the cleanup of the created monsters, you cannot just walk away. Please take your dirty laundry with you. Just open the files and uncover the truth for the sake of the motherland.

The writer is ex-Chairman, Pakistan Science Foundation. He can be contacted at:fmaliks@hotmail.com.

Ethical values and moral traditions could vary from place to place as social norms and traditions change with the change of region. things morally acceptable in the USa might not be socially acceptable in china or Russia. For example, leering or staring at a woman is a serious crime in the USa but in india such actions are treated as “routine matters” and in afghanistan the culprits involved in such ‘routine matters’ have to face beheading. in the Western countries, we see that morality is considered the center of gravity and axis around which the whole system revolves; and this is the basic ingredient of all their success and all their achievements. Be it President Bill clinton or anyone else; people in the West never forgive any kind of moral misconduct. they consider negation of ethical values as well as denial of moral traditions, the first step to the deterioration process of any society. that is the reason that they never compromise on ethical values and

moral traditions.

You all must be remembering George Floyd, a black man who was brutally killed by a police officer in the last week of May 2020 in Minneapolis, USa. this brutality was strongly condemned by the whole nation. the moral values of the american people did not let them stand with a murderer though he was a white man. after that murder of a black man, the streets of Minneapolis thronged with thousands of protesters who were raising slogans in favour of the murdered black man and demanding strict action against the culprit. it was no doubt the public pressure that the Minneapolis government agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd’s family on 12 March 2021. Moreover the police officer chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on 25 June 2021.

the same moral values you would find followed by Jacinda ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand and her people, when in two consecutive mass shootings on two mosques in christchurch more than 50 people were killed and 40 injured. the horrible incident occurred on 15 March 2019. Jacinda, in spite of being a christian, not only condemned this cruelty but also stood with the Muslim community. She did all her best to trace the culprit and to send him behind the bars. the whole nation also accompanied her in this journey to justice and impartiality. this all could have been possible only because a set-pattern of ethical values and moral traditions is always there to be followed by everyone from the USa to New Zealand.

Unfortunately the situation of human rights, justice and impartiality is not very much praiseworthy and appreciable in the third World countries, particularly in the South asian countries like india and afghanistan. Recently the news of the afghanistan government’s putting

a ban on higher education of females in afghanistan has mentally tortured not only the international world but specifically the Muslim world also. how could the followers of a religion which again and again emphasizes the need of education for all men and women, create hurdles for those yearning for education; it is no doubt a very valid question. though the international peacemakers and care-takers of human rights are trying all their best to ease the situation, it is not easy to waive off the instant mental impact of such policies. it is the same type of impact which the people of Gujarat had to face in 2002 after the well planned massacre of the Muslims by the BJP hooligans under the ‘kind’ leadership of Narendra Modi, the present Prime Minister of india.

More painful is the fact that this year (2022) in the month of June, the Supreme court of india handed over a clean chit to Mr Modi, who was then the chief Minister of Gujarat. the National human Rights commission (NhRc) of india, had filed a petition for seeking an independent probe into the 2002 Gujarat riots cases; unfortunately that petition was also ‘flatly’ turned down. By showering blessings on the BJP and Mr. Modi, the Supreme court of india intentionally ignored the bitter fact that Mr Modi had been banned till 2014 from entering countries such as the United States because of his direct involvement in

Gujarat

as the chief Minister of Gujarat. the bitter fact of the matter is that not only the indian Muslims but almost all minorities are living in an inferno of human rights violations in india.

apoorvanand, a well-known analyst on minority affairs, is a professor at the Delhi University of india. Recently The Wire published his article with the title ‘the Escalating attacks on christians’. the writer says, “the insistence of india being secular does not change the reality for the violated christians. their houses have been broken if not demolished, their belongings looted or destroyed and they have been driven out of their habitats. they have been turned into internally displaced people pleading for relief. they want to return to what was and continues to be their homes.”

the BJP government is struggling to reshape india as a ‘minorities-free” country. Recently ‘the Maulana azad National Fellowship’ given to minority students for higher education has been discontinued by the government. the Muslim community has expressed serious reservations on this act of the BJP government. all this unfairness rather injustice is only because of negation of ethical values and moral traditions. Where have gone the morality orated in the holy Gita and sacred Rig Veda; where have gone the lesson of humanity preached by the gods and goddesses; that is really a million dollar question.

PTI chief Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi present unconvincing defences

Now he resides in the safety of Dubai. in the USa, Robert McNamara was Secretary

the

massacre

The writer is an Associate Professor of English at Govt College of Science, Multan

ali SUkHaNVEr

The BJP government is struggling to reshape India as a ‘minorities-free” country. Recently ‘The Maulana Azad National Fellowship’ given to minority students for higher education has been discontinued by the government. The Muslim community has expressed serious reservations on this act of the BJP government.

Neutrality is welcome but not without the clean-up of the created monsters, you cannot just walk away. Please take your dirty laundry with you. Just open the files and uncover the truth for the sake of the motherland

Dr

FariD a. Malik

Dedicated

to

06-07 Comments - 29th December 2022_Layout 1 12/29/2022 12:30 AM Page 1

Diplomats ‘melting nose’ in Bangladesh for how long?

fere in internal affairs, they should also remember that the solution to political problems is through mutual discussion and systematic protest. there is no democratic solution in complaining about the country’s internal affairs to foreigners.

it is mainly because of their complaints that foreigners are getting an opportunity to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. and the Election commission (Ec) is responsible for conducting the election around which there are so many complaints. the Ec has constitutional and legal powers to conduct free and fair elections. conducting fair elections and institutionalizing democratic systems requires coexistence between the government and opposition political parties in the interest of the country and democracy.

there is no such precedent anywhere else. it may have arisen because the two main political parties want to take the blessings of foreigners to come to power. it is not unusual for ambassadors to meet them. ambassadors talk to everyone in their country’s interests. But it does not fall under their jurisdiction to comment on any internal matter.

Editor’s mail

Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

Rising dengue cases

thE disastrous flooding in Pakistan earlier in the year has led to an increase in a number of diseases. according to the Sindh health Department, more than 9,500 cases of dengue fever have been confirmed this year so far. of the total cases, more than 6,000 confirmed cases were reported in Karachi alone. health experts say the city’s hospitals are under constant pressure as the number of dengue cases has increased in the last few years. according to the United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (UNocha), more than 200,000 houses have been destroyed due to monsoon floods in Pakistan. as a result of rains and floods, about 7.9 million people were displaced, about 13,000 people were injured and around 1,600 people died. the Food and agriculture organisation (Fao)of the United Nations estimates that 37 per cent of the crop has been affected by floods and many areas are still under feet of water. While various diseases have been reported after the floods, dengue is the most dangerous and deadly of them all. according to the World health organisation (Who), 25,930 dengue cases have been reported in the country since June 1, and 75pc of them were reported in September alone. the reasons for its rapid spread include stagnant rainwater in several areas, contamination of drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and accumulation of garbage in the streets.

Dengue fever has claimed many precious lives due to the shortage of beds and medicines in government hospitals, and the government response to the situation has been anything but satisfactory.

the government needs to expedite the process of floodwater drainage, start a dengue awareness campaign, set up dengue response centres and helplines in high-risk areas, meet the shortage of beds and medicines in public hospitals, and to fumigate the affected areas to save lives.

NABEEL AHMED SOOMRO SUKKUR

Investigations and the rule of law

iN our country, the conviction rate of criminals is rather poor, which has created frustration among the law-abiding citizens, and has tarnished the national image around the globe. the country is continuously faring badly in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of law index every year, and that is not good news; not even acceptable.

AFtER the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, foreign diplomats’ noses in Bangladesh’s politics became shamefully public for the first time. What should the government do, how to do it - these instructions keep coming from abroad. With time, there has been some change, but there is still interference even after 50 years of independence. as for the second time, the ‘over-enthusiastic and over-active activities’ of some ambassadors in the run-up to the 12th general elections are often reported in the media. Now, they start to interfere in the coming 2024 national election. all sides should think deeply about how and why foreign diplomats are poking their noses into the internal affairs of a free, sovereign country without following the internationally prescribed etiquette.

the Ministry of Foreign affairs sent a letter to all foreign embassies, UN offices and international organizations in Dhaka last July, calling for adherence to the 1961 Vienna convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Principles of consular Relations.

all diplomats in Dhaka must know that their conduct is governed by the Vienna convention. What they can and cannot do is clearly stated there. Foreign diplomats posted in india do not go beyond the convention.

according to it, ambassadors shall speak, work, and assist in the development of the countries’ mutual relations. this is diplomatic etiquette at its finest. they have no way of going beyond it. Not talking about the internal affairs of other countries is certainly part of the prescribed and universally practised diplomatic etiquette.

Foreign ambassadors posted to an independent state must inform its Foreign office where they will go, who they will talk to or whom they will invite. Sad but true, it is sometimes not accepted.again, the kind of comments that the diplomats of some countries posted in Dhaka have been making recently about the internal political affairs of this country are without a doubt unseemly and out of line with international etiquette.

We live in an age of multilateral relations, globalization, technological advancement, diplomatic rapprochement and constant media surveillance. Diplomats should keep this in mind. among the political parties and politicians of this country who invite foreign ambassadors to inter-

Bangladeshi politicians country have a strangely knee- ` jerk mentality towards diplomats. When they see foreign diplomats, their enthusiasm increases several times. if something happens, these foreigners are called and complained to. they don’t do much to complain to the people, to the voters of the country. they feel comfortable complaining to foreign diplomats. Which shouldn’t be the case.

the responsibility of our journalists is not less in this regard. Journalists get confused when they see foreign diplomats. he was anxious to hear something from their mouths. “how do you think the next election of Bangladesh will be?” “is there a fair election environment?” “What is the future of democracy in Bangladesh?”

Journalists of our country are bombarded with such questions whenever they see any foreign diplomat. this is a major weakness of our country’s journalism profession. Many people don’t know who to respect, what to ask, how to ask the right question and get the answer.

in no other country in the world do foreign diplomats pay so much attention to journalists. our politicians are mainly responsible for this. they are the ones who have allowed foreign diplomats to talk about politics and internal affairs.

When elections come, foreign ambassadors themselves become active, so again different political parties make them active. the open activity of foreign diplomats is still going on, and may continue in the future. leaders of the party in power don’t like diplomats running around much; But if they are in the opposition, they again protest to the0.

Foreign diplomats are making various comments about the mutual distrust of the political parties. Recently, the US ambassador to Bangladesh, has expressed doubts about the fair elections in Bangladesh. Which usually involves unwanted snooping on the internal affairs.

however, in fact, the political weakness of the country gives diplomats an opportunity to increase activity. Details of what they discuss when meeting politicians are not known. Parties meeting them did not divulge details.

there are various crises in the politics of our neighbouring country india. there are many types of disagreements, including on human rights violations. But they are one on the country. they do not allow anyone outside to talk about it. Bangladeshis should learn. Bangladesh is an independent country. it has an elected government. there is a consistent direction in its governance. We will decide how the election will be held in Bangladesh, who will monitor it and how. the intervention of foreign representatives cannot be accepted.

Just a few months ago, Bangladesh and the USa celebrated half a century of diplomatic relations. the USa wants to develop multilateral democracy in Bangladesh. it is one of the pillars of its foreign policy. the other two pillars are human rights and counter-terrorism. Whether it really wants to expand democracy and human rights, it has said this many times. But words and deeds are not the same. if they were, their position would have been different on the issue of israeli aggression in Palestine, or iin relations with Saudi arabia or other Gulf countries.

in an article in Foreign Policy last year, Wilson center’s South asia expert Michael Kugelman commented, “the Biden administration has made expanding democracy a major goal of its foreign policy.”

the current US-Bangladesh relationship is excellent. they have a good understanding on most questions. after china, the USa is Bangladesh’s main trading partner. Both are interested in increasing this relationship. they have been building strategic relations for years to prevent terrorism, with the aim of annual ‘partnership dialogues’ this year too, there have been 16 bilateral meetings. the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister also viewed the USa’s measures regarding RaB positively.

Foreign diplomats are becoming more involved in the approaching parliamentary elections daily. all diplomats are still discussing the election. Elections are a matter of national interest. it is terrible that foreign diplomats have meddled in our nation’s domestic issues.

the situation in Bangladesh is the subject of a “strategic” discussion between Russia and the USa. Moscow claims the USa is using human rights as a tool to meddle. Washington, on the other hand, has voiced worries about the safety of its ambassador and other diplomatic personnel. the US is also making comments about wanting free and fair elections.

Bangladesh maintains constant contact with the USa to improve ties US. Every day, communication takes place on some level. Bangladesh’s stance of “friendliness with all, animosity with none” has not changed.

Bangladesh doesn’t want a discussion about our nation’s internal politics among the superpowers. Bangladesh opposes this type of heat. itneed to tell both parties to stop talking about it. Bangladeshis must find solutions to their own issues.

the people of Bangladesh, support free and peaceful elections as well. a fresh, unbiased election commission has already been established. Everyone needs to trust that the Election commission is independent. there is no reason to worry about the remarks of foreign envoys beforehand. it’s not new for other nations to meddle in Bangladeshi politics, especially after Bangabandhu’s murder, when all of the directives for what to do and how to do it came from overseas.

The writer is a freelance columnist

all this is happening because we never paid attention to the investigation process carried out by law-enforcement agencies. instead of improving the process and structure of investigation, we solely focus on security measures that have made the country a security state. We have enough law-enforcement agencies to fulfil these security purposes.

however, an unfortunate reality is that we often deploy investigating officers (ios) or other officials on security duties, which is why the investigation process never concludes in the given timeframe. after joining the investigation wing of Sindh police, i observed the scarcity of amenities for ios to monitor and draw concrete walls around the criminals.

Some instant apparatus/reformative measures are needed to improve the standards, such as the services of crime record office (cRo), call data record (cDR), tracking of accused, and ‘talash’ app. these should be provided to the ios. investigation kit should be provided to them free of cost, as cited in Police Rules, 1934, chapter 25, Section 58-3. the minimum cost of investigation should be Rs3,000 as the cost of legal papers and stationery have increased due to inflation. the concept of mutual coordination is the primary object to tackle the situation with other agencies, such as the operations Department, Forensic Experts Unit, crime Scene Unit, and technical experts, like geo-fencers. a special cadre should be established to appoint ios and to frame recruitment rules wherein MSc criminology should be made mandatory for such appointments. at least two police vehicles should be provided to each police investigating unit. the ios and prosecutors put in hard efforts to scrutinise, support and strengthen the effects of the first information report (FiR). if any FiR is authorised by the io, he/she has to visit the crime scene as soon as possible, capture the crime scene on camera, draw out site inspection, and write a memo of site inspection, according to the relevant rules and their respective clauses. later, he/she releases the crime scene as deemed appropriate. the ios must read and understand chapter 25 of the Police Rules, 1934, Sections 154 to 176 of the criminal procedure code (crPc) and the criminal law Book. last but not least, in case of bailable offences, the ios must mention a suggestion note in the last paragraph of the remand (under Section 167 crPc) letter that the offence is bailable and compoundable. however, it is the discretionary powers of the court to deem appropriate and pass orders on the io’s suggestions so that the burden of cases of under-trial prisoners (UtPs) is relaxed.

ASI AAMIR ALI KARACHI

Misuse of power

thiS is with reference to the report “cops suspended for ‘stopping judge from using foggy motorway’” (Dec 1). lawyers, judges and law-enforcers (police) are expected to be more law-abiding than the common man. this puts more responsibility on them to be role models for all citizens. however, according to the news, an anti-terrorism court judge not only violated the law blatantly, but showed arrogance and highhandedness when confronted by law-enforcement officials. the judge, along with his police squad, crossed the barrier forcibly at Muridke interchange to get on to the Sialkot-lahore Motorway, which was closed for traffic owing to fog. two officials of the National highways and Motorway Police (NhMP) stopped the judge at the next interchange and challaned him for crossing and entering the closed motorway. instead of apologising and admitting his mistake, according to the said report, the judge threatened the two officials that he would hold “the court on the motorway and start proceedings against the patrolling officers under terrorism sections for stopping him”. No doubt, vehicles that perform emergency duties, like police, judges, ambulances and fire brigade can jump red light, overspeed or use the wrong lane in an emergency situation, but when a road is closed due to fog, one can only endanger one’s own life and that of the others. to make matters worse, the judge wilfully disobeyed the law-enforcers and threatened them with action under terrorism charges. Such an action cannot be justified.

Under section 81(c) of the National highways Safety ordinance, 2000, police officials are also empowered to arrest any person who wilfully disobey or obstruct any lawful order. on the contrary, the two police officials were suspended for performing their duty as per orders.

SAIRA AHMAD TOBA TEK SINGH

kaMalUDDiN MazUMDEr

Are the geopolitics of the Middle eAst chAnging?

plished U.S. “pivot” of attention away from the Middle east and toward east asia. another part is the moribund state of diplomacy concerning the restoration of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of action (JCPOa), otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal.

iNterest Paul R PillaR

several developments in recent months have raised questions about whether the Middle east is undergoing a sea change in patterns of cooperation and conflict among states in the region and with outside powers. Chief among these was the visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping to Saudi arabia and his meetings there with arab leaders. especially noticed was a joint statement by China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states that many interpreted as evidence of China taking the side of the United arab emirates in its dispute with Iran over the possession of some small islands in the Persian Gulf.

Meanwhile, an apparent deepening of ties between russia and Iran has featured a partial reversal of the normal flow of arms in russia’s relationships, with Iranian-made drones having become part of russia’s aerial assault on Ukraine. Israel is installing its most extreme right-wing government ever, raising questions about the future of Israel’s upgraded relations with some arab states, but without visible effects on those relations so far. and a soccer tournament in Qatar got the attention not only of sports fans but of observers of the political sideshow and its possible implications regarding relations between Gulf arab states and others.

Part of the backdrop for all the above is the much-invoked but never really accom-

The tendency to overinterpret recent events is universal. The tendency arises partly from what psychologists call the recency effect. It also arises from commentators needing to comment on something, and items in the news giving them hooks on which to do so.

In this case, overinterpretation of those items can lead to questionable assertions about how China supposedly is taking sides in a Middle east rivalry, russian-Iranian relations are becoming a deep strategic alliance, Israeli-arab relations will continue to develop swimmingly, and the United States is the biggest loser in much of this.

any hypothesis about a major realignment in the region being in progress quickly runs into inconsistencies—like a mistaken move in solving a tangram puzzle, in which an apparent fit on one part of the playing surface leads to a lack of fit in another part. For example, a vision of an alignment in which an Israeli-GCC camp faces off against a russian-Iranian camp must still explain a strong Israeli desire to maintain good relations with russia. That desire is motivated chiefly by Israel wanting to continue to attack targets in Syria with impunity, and it underlies Israeli reluctance to provide any significant support to embattled Ukraine.

Short-term considerations, events outside the region, and sometimes domestic political considerations have been playing at least as much of a role in news coming out of the Middle east as anything that could be described as a fundamental revision of the region’s geopolitics. Xi’s visit to Saudi ara-

bia was part of an effort by China to deepen relations with the Gulf arabs, but it also was a welcome opportunity for the Chinese president—who had been China-bound for most of the Covid pandemic—to display statesmanship abroad amid the Covid-related protests and problems back home.

That Chinese-GCC statement was, on the face of it, mild and impartial regarding the Persian Gulf islands, saying only that the dispute should be settled through bilateral negotiations in accordance with international law. Iran objected to the statement because, like many other countries in control of a disputed territory, it claims as a matter of propaganda that there is no dispute and the islands are rightfully Iran’s. There is every reason to believe that China still wants extensive relations with both sides of the Persian Gulf. Iran has been a major supplier of oil to China and importer of manufactured Chinese goods. It was just last year that China and Iran signed a twenty-five-year “strategic agreement.”

For russia, almost everything these days revolves around its war in Ukraine, and the war will not last forever. The shape of its relations with Iran, including the purchase of those drones, is currently an epiphenomenon of russia’s effort to rescue its ill-fated military campaign and not of any strategic rethinking of Moscow’s policy toward the Middle east. The russian-Iranian relationship always has been a complex mixture of conflict and cooperation and is likely to remain so.

as for the JCPOa, nuclear nonproliferation, and related U.S. diplomacy, here is where short-term moves and domestic politics have been the main influences. None of what is happening today on the Iranian nuclear front—which is approaching a proliferation crisis—would be happening if Donald Trump, determined to undo anything

significant that Barack Obama had done, had not reneged on the agreement in 2018.

The overall geopolitics of the Middle east have not changed appreciably during the last several years and are not poised to change fundamentally in the months ahead. The regional picture features rivalries that are partly based on ethnic and religious divisions but also reflect the sometimes destabilizing ambitions of individual leaders (such as Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman) or past conflicts (such as the Iranian-Syrian alliance that is partly a legacy of each side’s earlier rivalries with the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein).

There continue to be significant disconnects between rulers and people who are being ruled. recent popular protests in Iran have gotten the most headlines in this regard, but such disconnects exist on the other side of the Persian Gulf too, such as between the Sunni regime and subjugated Shia majority in Bahrain, with other authoritarian Gulf arab states either turning a blind eye to the subjugation or taking forceful actions to maintain it.

Then there is the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite the best Israeli efforts to push that conflict out of the consciousness of the world (with the cooperation, suitably incentivized, of some of the Gulf arab regimes), the popular resonance of that issue continues. The strong expressions at the World Cup tournament of solidarity with the Palestinians provided recent evidence of this.

The picture of involvement by outside powers also is not fundamentally changed. russia, despite the sanctions and opprobrium associated with its aggression against Ukraine, continues to demonstrate proficiency in working all sides of Middle eastern conflicts, from Israel to Iran and much that is in between. Xi’s recent trip is part of China’s effort to emulate the russians with

how to change the world

EXCERPTED FROM INEQUALITY KILLS US ALL: COVID-19’S HEALTH LESSONS FOR THE WORLD BY STEPHEN BEZRUCHKA

MOVEMENTS ALL START SMALL, AS RENOWNED ANTHROPOLOGIST MARGARET MEAD SAID, “NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL, COMMITTED

STEPHEN BEZRuCHKa

AS I write this final chapter, COvID-19 has killed more than a million americans. It didn’t have to be this way—hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved. But political decisions prevented that from happening. Given our ineffectual response to COvID-19, how can americans respond to future health threats? What can we do? What are you going to do with your one and only precious life? You’re only one person, so you can’t do that much. But so is everyone else. Don’t be one person! People working on critical, timely issues as individuals, and then together with those others, is how social movements begin. These phenomena have influenced how our culture evolved.

Movements all start small, as renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” largescale efforts to address our increasing mortality are beginning. We’ve not yet had deniers of our health decline. The dead (mortality statistics) don’t lie. at this point, increasing mortality is mostly an american phenomenon; before COvID-19 we were about the only industrialized country seeing increased death rates. There is no “Make america Healthy again” action cry yet.

recall the Hawai‘i Department of Health mountainside graphic; the first approaches that come to mind for improving health are aimed at downstream effects: promoting health care and getting individuals to modify personal behaviors. That is where the river’s current has taken us. But such work has been carried out for decades, and our current state of health status decline shows these efforts have by themselves been grossly inadequate. at the waterfall are the social determinants, focusing on improving conditions that produce health. Finally, at the upstream source of root causes, are the political issues that affect those social determinants. an active, relevant, and effective social movement for health must include this level, while not minimizing the more downstream factors.

The climate crisis response presents approaches that may be effective in fostering a social movement for health equity. efforts to create awareness of global warming have been ongoing for more than twenty years.

Former vice President al Gore drew attention to the crisis in the 2006 Oscar-winning documentary, an Inconvenient Truth, depicting his lecture circuit efforts to raise awareness on climate disruption. Many of the early ideas on how to respond, however, focused downstream, such as urging individuals to use more efficient lightbulbs. In the intervening years, greater awareness and activism around the world have moved the focus far upstream.

For example, many countries signed onto the Paris agreement in 2016 to voluntarily mitigate global warming by reducing its primary causes. Most nations have made efforts, with some progress . . . . Young people, such as Greta Thunberg, will be the most impacted by global warming. They have mobilized in major ways. read books on organizing movements. The climate justice movement, albeit with a slow start, is now well under way as a result of youth activism. learn their techniques and transfer them to population health issues.

Past social movements have used a variety of techniques ranging from protests and blockades to the mass mobilization seen in the abolition and civil rights movements. In the 1700s, women in New england, concerned about slavery, wanted to draw attention to its brutality. They formed “sister societies,” speaking at community gatherings about the ills of slavery. Their efforts spawned the abolition movement that long afterward ended slavery.

The social movement for suffrage grew out of the abolition movement. Suffrage for women was limited to white women. a formerly enslaved person, Sojourner Truth, spoke out publicly in 1851, saying, “ain’t I a woman?” Some of the key leaders had also fought against slavery, such as Susan B. anthony and alice Paul, both Quakers.

To draw attention to their cause, the suffragettes launched fashion trends. Some ran for political office— despite not being allowed to vote. They also joined forces with similar movements in other countries. Success came in 1920 when women gained the right to vote in the United States. Black people were guaranteed the right to vote after 1965. Some fifteen states had already granted women voting rights before it became federal law. States can lead the way.

Social movements are becoming more visible each year. a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage following grassroots action for gay rights. Other efforts have provided a range of protections for lGBTQ+ people that were unthinkable just a few decades ago. The history of progressive social change is inspiring, and not the work of individuals. Progressive change requires a social movement for success.

audio cassettes catalyzed the Central american political uprisings that produced massive physical protest. The arab Spring in 2011 prompted a series of protests, movements, and rebellion against oppressive governments in the Middle east and North africa, organized on social media, that led to massive numbers protesting in public, especially at Tahrir Square in egypt. It birthed an effervescence of rebellion which was suppressed by the powerful few. The movement will rise again.

a single event involving one person can catalyze a global movement, just as rosa Parks’s refusal to give up her seat on a bus propelled the civil rights movement forward, the killing of Matthew Shepard fueled gay rights movements, erin Brockovich spearheaded legislation protecting consumers from exposure to industrial toxic

an all-azimuths foreign policy in the Middle east. Turkey is another active outside power, although its policy is constrained by not being entirely on the outside and having special concerns about Kurdish activity in Syria and Iraq, as well as by ideological considerations related to the ruling party’s connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. The United States has been, and continues to be, probably the most self-constrained outside power in its dealings with the region. The self-constraint is related to domestic politics and the legacy of past conflicts, and is manifested especially in unqualified support to Israel and unqualified hostility toward Iran.

Prudent U.S. policy toward the Middle east in the months and years ahead need not be based on projections about changing geopolitics in the region. It instead can entail implementation of lessons that could have been learned years ago. One of those lessons is that to broaden U.S. influence, the United States should emulate the russians (and now the Chinese) in doing business with everyone rather than viewing the Middle east as rigidly divided into friends and foes. another lesson is that while there are good reasons for the United States to stay engaged in the region, that engagement need not take the heavily militarized forms that have entailed huge resource drains and the kind of setbacks that have left people longing for a “pivot” out of the place. The Chinese are not coupling their active and wide-ranging diplomacy with an assumption of heavy security burdens in the Middle east, and neither should the United States.

Paul Pillar retired in 2005 from a twenty-eight-year career in the U.S. intelligence community, in which his last position was National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia. Earlier he served in a variety of analytical and managerial positions, including as chief of analytic units at the CIA covering portions of the Near East, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. Professor Pillar also served in the National Intelligence Council as one of the original members of its Analytic Group.

waste, and George Floyd’s murder galvanized the Black lives Matter movement.

Charity or solidarity? The rich and powerful create philanthropies to throw crumbs at us, and they decide which scraps to toss. Philanthropy exerts power over public life. Meanwhile the wealthy enrich themselves rapaciously, as we have seen with COvID-19. activism and solidarity must become a normal activity throughout society, rather than something only a few engage in.

Numbers matter. If 1 percent of the american public focused on our staying alive longer, that would compel the powerful to acquiesce, especially once they recognized they would live longer. This would lead to interdependence rather than hyperindividualism, reciprocity rather than dominance, and cooperation rather than hierarchy. This challenging goal will be politically realistic after a few more catastrophes. Major economic shifts are essential to address our health decline. Those changes will require a broader awareness of the effects of upstream factors on our health. The groundwork is being laid: Public resistance to our increasing inequality is growing, with disaffected americans recognizing they are being exploited by the sick system. Our future work needs to focus on exposing the ways in which rampant social injustice affects not just our economic well-being but also our prospects for a healthy life. Inequality kills!

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by what you did. What matters is not to know the world, but to change it. Start doing new things, and share your good ideas with me. Don’t be missing in action. We must organize or die.

Stephen Bezruchka is associate teaching professor in the departments of Health Systems and Population Health, and of Global Health, at the University of Washington in Seattle’s School of Public Health.

Progressive MagaziNe

CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. INDEED, IT’S THE ONLY THING THAT EVER HAS”

“IF 1 PERCENT OF THE AMERICAN PUBLIC FOCUSED ON OUR STAYING ALIVE LONGER. . . . THIS WOULD LEAD TO INTERDEPENDENCE RATHER THAN HYPERINDIVIDUALISM, RECIPROCITY RATHER THAN DOMINANCE, AND COOPERATION RATHER THAN HIERARCHY”

NatioNal

SEVERAL RECENT DEVELOPMENTS HAVE RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THE MIDDLE EAST IS UNDERGOING A SEA CHANGE IN PATTERNS OF COOPERATION AND CONFLICT AMONG STATES IN THE REGION AND WITH OUTSIDE POWERS

corporate corner

Jazzcash partners with National Savings to provide ease of payment solution for four million pakistanis

IHC ISSuES NoTICES To ECp, oTHErS ovEr ISLaMaBad LB poLLS poSTpoNEMENT

ISLAMABAD sTaff rePorT

THEIslamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notices to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and others in a petition challenging its notification to postpone the local bodies elections in the federal capital.

IHC Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir conducted hearing of the petition moved by Ali Nawaz Awan through his counsel Sardar Taimoor Aslam Khan Advocate.

in Islamabad Capital Territory scheduled for 31-12-2022, have been postponed.

The counsel for the petitioner while explaining the brief back ground of the matter has stated that earlier in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of section 6 of the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015 (“Act of 2015”) issued notification, dated 19-05-2015, whereby determining the number of Union Councils as 50. The said notification was subsequently withdrawn on 18-05-2021 without issuing a new notification.

Thereafter the Commission announced the election schedule for 31-12-2022 and on 18-12- 2022, a summary was forwarded to the Federal Cabinet mentioning that the Administrator Local Government has informed that the number of UCs has been determined on the basis of census 2017 and recommended increase of UCs to 125 on the ground that the population of ICT has been increased.

tended that the Commission cannot retract from its earlier commitment which was recorded in the order passed in W.P. 2235/2022. He further argued that the Commission vide order, dated 20-12-2022, had decided to continue with the election process on cogent reasons and no new development has occurred after passing of the said order.

IsLAmAbAd: JazzCash, Pakistan’s leading Fintech, and Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS), Pakistan’s largest investment and financial institution, signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for Disbursement and Collection solutions. Through this partnership JazzCash, a subsidiary of Jazz, and a part of VEON Group and CDNS will ease payment solutions for more than four million people, including widows and senior citizens, under the ambit of digital financial inclusion. JazzCash users will be able to receive profits in their mobile wallets and buy national saving certificates digitally through the JazzCash App. Pr

Musa Tanveer to amuse fans with his new song

The IHC bench said in its written order that the points raised in the petition need consideration. It added that the office is directed to issue notices to the respondents for Thursday (today).

The court order said, “Notice to the learned Attorney General for Pakistan is also directed to be issued. The respondents are also directed to assist as to why the amount incurred on the process so far, for conduct of elections, may not be recovered from members of the Federal Cabinet. The respondents are also directed to satisfy this Court as to why the impugned order should not be suspended, pending final disposal of the instant petition.”

The counsel informed that almost 600 million have been incurred on arrangements for the scheduled elections.

In this matter, the petitioner assailed order of the ECP dated 27-12-2022, whereby the Local Government Election

He added that in compliance with the judgment, dated 15-03- 2021, of the august Supreme Court, the Election Commission of Pakistan (“ECP”) on 02-06-2022 announced the election schedule relying on the earlier notification of 50 UCs.

He further said that a writ petition i.e. W.P. No.2235/2022 was filed before this Court wherein the ECP expressed willingness for conducting elections and filed a report categorically stated that direction may be issued to the Federal Government not to bring out further changes in law and number of councils. The said petition was disposed-of with the observation that the Commission will complete the process of delimitation of 101 Union Councils within the period specified under section 7 of the Act of 2015.

The petitioner said that after fresh delimitation exercise, the number of Union Council was increased to 101.

He continued that based on the said summary, the number of UCs has been increased to 125 vide notification, dated 19-12-2022. A copy of this notification was endorsed to the Commission. On 20-12-2022, the Commission in exercise of powers under Article 140-A(2), Article 218(3), Article 219(d) and Article 222 of the Constitution read with section 219 of the Election Act, 2017 and all other enabling provisions decided to continue with the election process on the ground that notification dated 19-12- 2022 was issued without concurrence of the Commission as required under section 4(4) of the ICT Local Government Act, 2015.

However, to the utter surprise of the petitioner, the Commission while affording an opportunity to the applicants/petitioners in W.P. No.4787/2022 and 4809/2022 decided to postpone the elections scheduled for 31-12-2022 without mentioning any timeline for conducting election through the impugned order.

The counsel for the petitioner con-

He argued that any Bill proposing amendments in any law cannot be termed as an Act of Parliament unless assented to by the President under Article 75(3) of the Constitution, however, the Commission in the impugned order has placed reliance on the proposed amendments, which has not yet attained the status of a law of the land.

The counsel argued that determination of 101 UCs was based on the census of 2017 and no new census has been conducted thereafter, therefore, the proposal that population in the ICT has increased after the census is hypothetical and not based on actual facts and the notification issued on such basis is without lawful authority and jurisdiction.

He further argued that election schedule was announced, ballot boxes and ballot papers were distributed, orders relating to elections duties were passed, however, the election schedule was postponed at the verge of the elections, which is violative of judgment of the august Supreme Court and this Court and the rights of the inhabitants of ICT.

LAHORE: The first song, Yaram Yaram, is going to be released worldwide on December 31 with Musa Tanveer in the leading role. Shot in different and beautiful states of Gulf, this song will be is unique and full of interest like Musa Tanveer's other videos. The song has been produced by Musa Production. Using modern resources and under the supervision of the best foreign talented professionals, the director of this song is Tanveer Riaz and the name female actress UJ World is also performing with Musa, while the composer and singer of this song is famous singer Waqar Ali. Musa Tanveer, in this regard, said that this song would be a New Year gift for his fans. It is worth-mentioning that Musa Tanveer has the honor of Pakistan's first diamond play button holder on YouTube. Pr

Working class pays glowing tribute to Quaid

LAHORE: Working class celebrated the 146th birth Anniversary of the Founder of Pakistan Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah by holding special meeting of trade union representatives and workers at Bakhtiar Labour Hall here under the aegis of All-Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU). On the occasion, speakers paid rich tribute to the dedicated service and devotion of the father of the nation and prayed to Almighty to help make success the establishment a society based upon equality and social justice. Khurshid Ahmad, General Secretary of the Federation, highlighted the services of the Founder of the nation who played a leading role to strengthen trade union movement by introducing Trade Union Act 1926 and leading the Post Office Union in the Sub Continent. Quaid was model in character drawing only Rs1 as Honoraria and devoted all his property for the education of the children, he added. Mr Ahmad urged the political leader and elites to follow their footsteps and get ridden the society from heavy foreign debts and develop it by adopting National Economic Self Reliance Policy. The meeting was also addressed by Osama Tariq, Khushi Muhammad Khokhar, Nosher Khan, Hassan Munir Bhatti, Haji Muhammad Younas and other representatives of trade unions. Pr

PHC moves to protect inheritance rights

been empowered to sell such disputed land or property in which women, especially widows, have been deprived of a share in the inheritance.

However, he said that the decision posed a threat of violation of the basic rights of the parties as in some cases the disputed property is the only source of income for a family.

Launch of BopE-Business Qarza Scheme

PESHAWAR TLTP

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has said that the provincial government should amend the provincial ombudsman law to protect the rights of women in inheritance and disputed properties.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad issued a decision on the writ petitions moved by two women pertaining to the deprivation of equal share in inheritance and the sealing of disputed properties.

The TLTP learnt that the court regretted that in spite of being an Islamic country,

women were being deprived of inheritance, adding that it was important that the provincial government took steps to allay the grievances and amend the existing laws in this regard.

Subsequently, the court referred the matter to the law department for necessary steps in this regard.

During the hearing, the lawyer of the petitioner, Ghulam Mohiuddin Malik, told the court that the provincial government enacted a law in 2019 called the Enforcement of Women’s Property Rights Act, 2019, under which the provincial ombudsman has

He further informed the court that in the case at hand, the provincial ombudsman issued a decision on June 18 2021 in which the disputed property was ordered to be sealed.

After the completion of the arguments, the bench declared that the said act did not prescribe a clear procedure regarding the share and distribution of the disputed inheritance.

The decision noted that the law of the provincial ombudsman was silent on certain legal matters.

Therefore, the court sent the matter to the law and justice department with instructions to take appropriate steps in this regard.

The Bank of Punjab (BOP) held

e-Business

Ceremony

e-Business

Via this digital product, BOP aims to offer a Revolving Collateral Free credit facility up to Rs. 3,500,000/- to its customers. This program

Intelligence (AI)

decision is made on the basis of a Digital Scorecard. This program is in line with the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) vision to use relevant cash flow estimation techniques and other proxies to assess repayment capacity of SME Borrowers. This unique proposition is an addition to our SME Products Suite, which has not only set new industry standards but is also expected to help our small enterprises to meet their immediate financial needs without any hassle. Mr. Zafar Masud, President & CEO of BOP emphasized that the banking industry should come forward with products focusing on ease of finance for SMEs who usually suffer a lot on this front. He added that such initiatives would help lead towards socio economic uplift of SMEs particularly our small enterprises. He also said that BOP has recently won the PBA’s prestigious award for “The Best Bank for Small and Medium Businesses” which is a result of our bank’s overall SME strategy and effort towards Financial Inclusion by way of efficient utilization of modern day tools. Pr

IHC grants custody of two kids to Polish mothers

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered to hand over the two children to their Polish mothers in a petition with regarding to the kids custody.

IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani conducted hearing of the petition filed by the Polish women Iza Nowak & Joanna Rycharska in the matter related to the custody of the children.

The TLTP learnt that during the hearing, the Polish women, Muhammad Saleem their Pakistani husband, and the Polish Embassy officials appeared before the court while the bench ordered to keep the two children in the Polish Embassy and deferred the further hearing of kids’ custody case till Wednesday (today).

The counsel for the petitioners prayed the court to hear the children inside the chamber. He said that the father of kids brought them here to spend vacations but he didn’t get back to Poland. The father had illegally detained the kids for fourteen months and deprived the children from mothers.

He said that the family court of Pakistan couldn’t decide the kids’ custody dispute.

The lawyer also gave the reference of top court’s verdict in similar cases in which children were handed over to the mothers. He prayed the court to grant the custody of kids to his clients.

The lawyer said that one of his client woman had embraced Islam in 2005 before her marriage. However, the other woman told the court that she had not married the said Pakistani citizen and she had not em-

braced Islam. She said that the children were studying at a Poland school.

The court was told that the children were also going to school in Rawalpindi. Muhammad Saleem, the father, adopted the stance that the court could take the opinion of children who were more than seven years old.

On the occasion, Justice Kayani interviewed the children inside his chamber.

The AAG said that it had to be viewed with whom the children were staying at last time. He requested the court to decide on the legal guardian of the children. He said how the religion of six-year-old children could be changed.

To a query of the bench, the father said that the women could meet their children anytime and he was ready to bear their travel expenditures. The woman also said that the father could meet anytime if they were

granted the kids’ custody. After listening to arguments from both sides, the court ordered them to hand over the children to the mothers and instructed them

to remove their names from the ECL. The court said that the children could meet their father anytime in Pakistan and women had to ensure this. The court disposed of the case.

ISLAMABAD TLTP

the launch

of BOP

Qarza for SMEs today at BOP’s Head office, in Lahore. BOP

Qarza is an End to End (E2E) Digital Lending Program for Existing BOP customers.

is based on Artificial

and

RUSSiA SAyS ‘ACtivE woRk UndERwAy’ to EStAbliSh gAS hUb in tüRkiyE

MOSCOW Agencies

RUSSIANEnergy Minister Alexander Novak said active work is underway for the establishment of the gas hub in Türkiye. ‘Currently, active work is underway with the countries that will participate in the implementation of this project, as well as with consumers in need of Russian gas,’ Novak said in an interview with the Russian state-run TASS agency on Monday.

The European gas market remains ‘relevant’ for Russia, and there are means for delivering additional volumes there, including through the Yamal-Europe pipeline, closed ‘based on political motives,’ the minister added.

The TurkStream currently works at full capacity, the Ukrainian route supplies to Europe one-third of the volume, stipulated in contracts, despite all contradictions, and deliveries of Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) to Europe grew up to 19.4 billion this year.

Asked about the restoration of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that were blown up in the Baltic Sea, Novak said it demands time and money, and the full assessment of such a possibility can be only made after the end of the investigation.

Novak named China, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan as potential consumers of the Russian pipeline gas, adding that there is also ‘a deeper prospect’ of gas deliveries to Pakistan and Afghanistan either through Central

Asian infrastructure or from the territory of Iran on swap basis — an agreement under which Russia will receive Iranian gas in the south of the country, and in exchange supply gas to the north for Iranian consumers. He also said there is an agreement to temporarily increase supplies to Azerbaijan.

Novak called sanctions a ‘de-facto ban’ for supplies of Russian energy resources to the Western countries, adding that many decisions, including the price cap on oil and gas, are made to get political profit, and ‘provoke a deep longterm crisis, destabilization in Europe.’

The energy minister said Russia is building new logistics for transporting its oil and gas but until it is settled, the European embargo may lead to a de-

crease in oil production of 7-8% in 2023.

Novak thinks there may be some exceptions for deliveries of oil and oil products in the European embargo, noting that even Germany and Poland requested oil deliveries in 2023 without specifying the origin of the fuel, although earlier German officials said they meant Kazakh oil. ‘When consumers start interfering in the market economy, it only leads to an imbalance,’ Novak stressed.

The official said Russia did some preparatory work to oppose sanctions — expanded possibilities of sea oil supplies and developed insurance companies. He also praised the transfer to payments in national currencies, saying this practice stabilized the market.

‘Gazprom, for example, has completely converted the payment for the gas of the ‘Power of Siberia’ into yuan and rubles on a parity basis. Trade in Indian rupee, Turkish lira, and Russian ruble is also increasing,’ he said.

About the prospects of the Russian energy sector, Novak said: ‘Russia is the largest energy player (with 20% of the world’s gas exports and over 20% of oil) and is the third in the world in terms of coal supplies. … Obviously, energy consumption will only grow in the future, so I can’t imagine how the world economy will manage without our energy resources. There is no one to replace us. … In this regard, we are optimistic and set ourselves only ambitious goals,’ he said.

Putin prohibits supplying Russian oil to countries using oil price cap

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree prohibiting supplies of oil and petroleum products to countries which imposed a price cap on Russian fuel. The decree, published on the governmental portal, comes into effect on Feb. 1 and will be valid until July 1, 2023.

The ban is applicable to contracts which ‘expressly or indirectly’ contain either the term ‘price cap’ or a mechanism for setting a price limit at any stage of supply from the producer to the end buyer.

Supply of Russian oil and petroleum products to countries that have introduced a price cap will be possible only on the basis of a special resolution from Putin, the decree said. Russia’s Energy Ministry has also been instructed to monitor compliance with the decree on retaliatory measures. ‘This decree implies a ban on the supply of oil and oil products to those countries and those legal entities that will require compliance in contracts with the price ceiling introduced by the European Union,’ Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Russian state TV.

Last Friday, Russia vowed such a move, taken in the wake of the EU and Group of Seven countries introducing a price cap of $60 per barrel for Russian oil, seeking to restrict the money Russia can earn from oil amid the 10-month-old war in Ukraine. The price cap applies to oil supplies by sea and does not affect supplies via pipelines. Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Croatia are temporarily exempted from the need to introduce the price limit.. Agencies

US considers imposing new Covid rules for travellers from China

WASHINGTON ReuteRs

The US government may impose new Covid-19 measures on travellers to the United States from China over concerns about the “lack of transparent data” coming from Beijing, US officials said on Tuesday.

The move comes after Japan, India and Malaysia announced stepped-up rules on travellers from China in the last 24 hours, citing a rise in infections there.

Japan has said it would require a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival for travellers from China.

Malaysia put in place additional tracking and surveillance measures.

“There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing Covid-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data, being reported from the PRC,” the officials said, using the initials of the People’s Republic of China.

Some hospitals and funeral homes in China have been overwhelmed as the virus spreads largely unchecked across the country of 1.4 billion people.

Official statistics, however, showed only one Covid death in the seven days to Monday, fuelling doubts among health experts and residents about the government’s data.

The numbers are inconsistent with the experience of much less populous countries after they re-opened. China said on Monday it would stop requiring inbound travellers to go into quarantine starting from January 8 in a major step towards easing curbs on its borders, which have been largely shut since 2020.

Kim sets out new goals for N. Korea military; hinting at continued weapons tests

SEOUL AFP

Kim Jong Un announced new goals for North Korea’s military in a report to party leaders, state media reported Wednesday, hinting that sanctions-busting weapons tests will continue next year.

Kim is currently presiding over a major party meeting in the capital Pyongyang, during which the top leader and other senior party officials outline their policy goals for 2023 in key areas including diplomacy, security and the economy.

Kim “set forth new key goals for bolstering up the selfreliant defence capability to be pushed ahead with in 2023,” the official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday, without giving any details.

The report “analysed and assessed the new challengeable situation created in the Korean peninsula,” KCNA said, in an apparent reference to the recent sharp escalation in tensions between North and South.

Kim made clear the “orientation of struggle against the enemy to be adhered to by our

Party,” KCNA added.

North Korea has conducted a record-breaking number of weapons tests this year, including firing intercontinental ballistic missiles, which it is banned from testing by UN sanctions.

Pyongyang has also ratcheted up tensions with Seoul, including firing artillery into maritime buffer zones and this week sending unmanned drones into South Korea’s airspace.

The incursion by the five drones — the first such incident since 2017 — prompted Seoul to fire warning shots and deploy

fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot them down. North Korea’s end-of-year plenary meetings are typically used by the regime to unveil the country’s priorities both domestically and overseas for the year ahead.

Full details of the current ongoing plenary are expected to be announced when it concludes later this week.

While Kim focused on the domestic economy at the 2021 event, analysts are widely expecting a shift in tone to highlight the military front this year, in light of the nuclear-armed North’s increasing belligerence.

Jobs for Emiratis: UAE pushes work for own citizens

DUBAI AFP

With foreign workers making up the vast bulk of private sector jobs in the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf’s second-largest economy wants to boost opportunities for its own citizens.

The UAE — like other oil-rich Arab Gulf states — has often used the public sector as an employment vehicle for its nationals.

But times are changing, said 34-year-old Emirati researcher Khalifa al-Suwaidi, who has himself been looking for a private sector job since quitting a government post in June.

“We’ve reached a point where we have a diversity among Emiratis in terms of skill sets and expertise,” said Suwaidi. “The public sector can no longer accommodate many of those talents”.

Just 12 percent of the country’s more than nine million residents are UAE nationals, with over 90 percent of private sector jobs taken by foreigners, according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) figures.

Suwaidi, the author of a forthcoming book titled “UAE after the Arab Spring”, said he believed some employers overlooked his application because they presumed an Emirati would demand the high wages often paid in lucrative government posts.

“The private sector needs to be more accommodating,” he said. “I’ve been applying for jobs for a while to no avail.”

‘Larger push’

The government is now strong-arming private firms into hiring local talent, with the aim of ensuring Emiratis make up 10 percent of the private sector workforce by 2026.

Next month, firms with more than 50 employees that fail to fill two percent of their skilled jobs with Emiratis face being fined.

That has sparked a hiring drive, with recruiters noting a “flood of vacancies” from companies — many of which won’t be able to meet their targets.

“It’s going to be a tough run,” said Hamza Zaouali, the founder of recruitment agency Iris Executives, but noting it was “not possible” for the UAE government to keep growing and hiring.

“The more sustainable way is to make sure the economy continuously absorbs, trains and works with Emiratis,” Zaouali said.

It is part of a wider trend, said Eman Alhussein, a nonresident fellow with the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

The UAE is joining “a larger push in the Gulf to change the dynamics of state-society relations” and wean citizens away from government jobs, she said.

“Gulf states want citizens to alter their expectations, give back to the state and accept jobs with longer hours and perhaps reduced income,” Alhussein said.

In November, the UAE’s Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Abdulrahman Al Awar, said that more than 14,000 Emiratis had entered the job market in 2022, with an average of 100 finding jobs each day.

The government also announced a salary support scheme that provides Emiratis in the private sector with up to AED 7,000 ($1,900) extra if monthly wages are less than AED 30,000.

There is no national minimum wage for Emiratis, but in Sharjah, one of the country’s seven emirates, they are entitled to a monthly minimum of AED 25,000.

China denounces ‘distorted’ Western reports about China’s optimized COVID-19 response

contain rounds of outbreaks and tiding over the most difficult period where the virus runs rampant.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday denounced Western media’s “distorted” reports about China’s optimization of its COVID-19 response measures.

The ministry’s spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on such reports that they are full of biased hype and smear and driven by political calculations, which neither stand up to the examination of facts nor conform to the truth.

Wang noted that since the pandemic began, the Chinese government has put the people and their lives first. It has mobilized all resources and made every effort to protect people’s life and health, managing to

He said China has the lowest rate of COVID-19 serious illness and death compared with other countries, and its average life expectancy, a basic measure of national well-being, increased from 77.3 years in 2019 to 78.2 years in 2021.

As Omicron’s pathogenicity and virulence have decreased and China has continued to improve its medical treatment, pathogen detection and vaccination, China optimized its COVID-19 response measures, introducing the 20 refined measures and the 10 new measures in sequence and downgrading management of COVID-19 to ClassB infectious diseases, Wang said.

He added that what China did is scien-

tific, timely and necessary in order to ensure people’s life and health and minimize the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development.

All countries will go through an adaptation period when adjusting their COVID19 response policies, and China is no exception, he stressed, adding China’s COVID situation is on the whole predictable and under control.

He pointed out that several Western media agencies deliberately hyped up and distorted China’s COVID-19 response policy, while ignoring the chaotic COVID-19 control situation and the heavy price paid by it in their own countries.

“This is a complete double standard and a serious violation of journalistic ethics,” said Wang.

BEIjING Agencies

LAThAM, WILLIAMsON TONs TAke NZ PAsT PAkIsTAN TOTAL IN kArAChI TesT

KARACHI stAFF RePoRt

TOMLatham and Kane Williamson smashed hundreds to help New Zealand eclipse Pakistan’s first-innings 438 in the opening Test in Karachi’s National Stadium on Wednesday.

Middle order batters Daryl Mitchell (42) and Tom Blundell (47) fell short of half-centuries but New Zealand still ended day three on a commanding 440-6 and optimistic of a handy lead.

Williamson was batting on 105, his 25th Test hundred, with Ish Sodhi on one at the other end.

Earlier, Devon Conway fell for 92 but Tom Latham could not be denied his century

after New Zealand resumed on 165 for no loss at the National Stadium.

Nauman Ali spun one past the bat and into Conway’s pad to remove the opener who was initially ruled not out but had to go after Pakistan reviewed the decision by umpire Aleem Dar.

Latham took a single off Abrar Ahmed to bring up his 13th Test hundred, the most by a New Zealand opener, in his 69th match.

Latham used his feet against the spinners and ooked confident until an attempted reverse sweep against Abrar brought his downfall. Latham managed to glove the ball which ballooned behind the wicketkeeper and the slip fielder had plenty of time to move across and pouch it.

Henry Nicholls (22) dragged a Nauman delivery onto his stumps but Mitchell’s ar-

rival provided no respite for Pakistan’s tiring attack. Mitchell reverse swept the second ball he faced, from Nauman, for a four and in the spinner’s next over hit him for a six.

Mohammad Wasim was treated with equal disdain with Mitchell hitting the seamer for four successive fours.

Mitchell’s entertaining knock was cut short when he fluffed his reverse sweep against Abrar.

Williamson got an lbw decision against him overturned and survived a stumping opportunity before reaching his hundred with a single off Wasim.

While their bowling lacked firepower, Pakistan’s fielding was sloppy too, which was best illustrated when Imam-ul-Haq and Abrar ran chasing a skier from Blundell only for both to pull out at the last moment.

ICC AWARDS 2022

World cricketing body set to celebrate outstanding cricketers of calendar year

ISLAMABAD stAFF RePoRt

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the upcoming program for the ICC Awards 2022, which seeks to celebrate the outstanding cricketers who excelled on the world stage during the calendar year.

28 December sees the shortlists for ICC Emerging Men’s and Women’s Cricketers of the Year revealed. 29 December sees nominees announced for the Men’s and Women’s ODI Cricketers of the Year, and the Men’s and Women’s T20I Cricketers of the Year.

Pakistan names 21 probables for New Zealand ODIs

LAHORE stAFF RePoRt

The Pakistan Cricket Boards Interim Selection Committee has named 21 probables for the three ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches against New Zealand, which will be played here at the National Bank Cricket Arena on 9, 11 and 13 January. The selectors will announce the 16-player squad following the conclusion of the Pakistan Cup and during the second Test, which will also be played here from 2-6 January. Opener Sharjeel Khan has been named after playing his 25th and final ODI in January 2017, while Shan Masood, who played against Australia in five ODIs in the UAE in 2019, has also been included in the probables list. The selectors have included six players who are yet to make an ODI appearance. They are: Abrar Ahmed, Aamer Jamal, Ihsanullah, Kamran Ghulam, Qasim Akram and Tayyab Tahir. Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi (injured) and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the squad for the ODI series against the Netherlands, have not been named in the probables list. Pakistan Squad : Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed, Aamer Jamal, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Qasim Akram, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Sharjeel Khan and Tayyab Tahir.

Pakistan Wheelchair Cricket team beat Afghanistan counterparts

PESHAWAR

stAFF RePoRt

Pakistan Wheelchair cricket team proved its ability by defeating Afghanistan wheelchair cricket team by 30 runs after a great match played under the aegis of Directorate of Sports Agriculture University Peshawar at the campus ground on Wednesday. Dean Faculty of Animal Health, Agriculture University Peshawar Professor Dr. Sarzameen Khan was the chief guest on this occasion who witnessed the match. Director Ehsan Ullah, Director Sports Agriculture University Peshawar and former first class cricketer Bilal Khan Marwat, officials of the Pakistan and Afghanistan Wheelchair Cricket Association and Youth and Education Department Afghan Commissionerate Peshawar, players and spectators were also present and witnessed the match. Pakistan Wheelchair Cricket team while batting first scored 192 runs and in response the Afghanistan team bowled out for 162 runs. Batting first Pakistan Wheelchair team made 192 runs in 15 overs with Karam hammered a cracking 75, Gulzar was prominent with 54. Afghanistan wheelchair cricket team was out by scoring 162 runs.

The year saw many memorable moments and performances across the global game, including the thrilling action which characterised the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, and the incredible drama of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia, the ICC said in a press release.

The ICC Awards 2022 will comprise a total of 13 categories, with awards honouring individuals who shone in specific formats, and also across multiple formats in the overall categories – the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year, and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

ShortliSt AnnouncementS: Shortlists for nine of the 13 categories will be revealed between 28 – 30 December on ICC official channels. Each shortlists will feature four names.

30 December will see the final shortlist revealed, the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year, and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year.

Shortlists for these categories have been determined by a specialist panel of cricket writers and broadcasters, who identified the star performers based on statistics and overall achievements in international cricket throughout the calendar year.

VotinG: Voting in the ICC Awards 2022 will then commence in early January 2023, where a wider selection of global media representatives, the ICC Voting Academy, will submit their selections alongside global cricket fans, who will once again be encouraged to vote at icc-cricket.com for their winners.

Results of the ICC Voting Academy selections and the fans’ votes will be combined to determine the winner

in each of these nine categories.

ICC Men’s and Women’s Associate Cricketers of the Year will also be announced from the action in 2022. These categories will not feature shortlists and will be determined solely by the ICC Voting Academy.

Also announced as part of the ICC Awards is the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award. This accolade honours an action, moment, gesture, or decision on the field of play in international cricket during the year which best reflects the Spirit of Cricket, with the winning entry selected by the ICC.

Finally, the ICC Umpire of the

ICC Awards 2022 – categories:

Year Award will celebrate the outstanding umpire from the calendar year. This award is determined by votes collected from the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Referees, as well as playing captains from ICC Full Member nations. In addition to the individual awards, five ICC Teams of the Year will be also decided by the ICC Voting Academy, identifying the standout XIs from the international stage in men’s and women’s cricket.

Following the conclusion of the voting period, winners of the ICC Awards 2022 will be announced later in January 2023.

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year

ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year

ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year

ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year

ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year

ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year

ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year

ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year

ICC Spirit of Cricket Award

ICC Umpire of the Year

Australia eye victory after Carey century in 2nd South Africa Test

MELBOURNE Agencies

Australia closed in on winning the second Test and the series against South Africa on Wednesday after Alex Carey struck a maiden century to leave them in a commanding position.

The hosts declared at tea on 575-8 on day three with an ominous lead of 386 after South Africa were bowled out in their first innings for 189. In reply, the Proteas were 15-1 when play was abandoned early at the Melbourne Cricket Ground due to persistent drizzle.

Their bid to save the Test, and the threematch series after losing the opener in Brisbane, got off to a horror start with under-pressure skipper Dean Elgar caught by Carey off Pat Cummins without scoring in the second over.

Theunis de Bruyn, who was dropped by David Warner on three, was not out six alongside Sarel Erwee on seven.

Wicketkeeper Carey, playing in his 14th Test, was superb in reaching three figures for the first time before he was caught and bowled by Marco Jansen for 111.

At the declaration, a battling Cameron Green was not out 51 despite a fractured finger, alongside Mitchell Starc on 10.

“It was nice to be able to consolidate from our start from yesterday,” Carey, only the second wicketkeeper to make a Test century at the MCG after Rod Marsh, told reporters.

“This one’s really special, obviously it’s a big moment. But it’s also great to help the Australian cricket team be in a strong position. That’s what we play for, to win games.”

Carey and Green piled on the misery in a 117-run partnership after South Africa gave themselves a glimmer of hope with early wickets, including Warner first ball after he resumed on 200. Australia began on 386-3 with Travis Head on 48 and Carey on nine after a herculean unbeaten double century from Warner in his 100th Test in gruelling heat on day two.

The veteran opener retired exhausted with severe cramp after making his third Test double ton, but he returned to the crease when Head was out for 51.

He told host broadcaster Fox before play begn that he had a “rough night’s sleep”. “I probably woke up six or seven times,” he added, and was bowled first ball by an Anrich Nortje yorker as Australia lost three wickets for five runs.

Green ruled out of bowlinG: Temperatures were much cooler than the 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, with conditions overcast and humid — generally favourable to the bowlers.

And the ever-dangerous Anrich Nortje took advantage, bowling Head in the third over before snaring a bewildered Warner next ball. “In general it has been a tough three days for us as a bowling unit,” admitted Proteas bowling coach Charl Langeveldt.

Tennis star Murray astonished by British-Iranian hostage’s ‘incredible’ support

LONDON AFP

Andy Murray revealed his amazement Wednesday at how a British-Iranian citizen watched his 2016 Wimbledon singles triumph while in solitary confinement in a Tehran prison. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent six years in jail before being freed in March after Britain agreed to pay a longstanding debt to Iran. She was imprisoned for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Iranian government and for propaganda against Iran, charges she has always denied. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 44, was asked to be one of the guest editors of the Today programme on BBC Radio Four during the Christmas and New Year period and in that capacity interviewed British tennis great Murray in an edition broadcast Wednesday. She recalled how she was given access to a TV with two channels in 2016. Matches at that year’s Wimbledon were shown with Murray triumphing in the grass-court major by beating Milos Raonic in the final at the All England Club. “I think what you’ve told me is by far the strangest, most incredible story that I have been told about someone watching me. Nothing has come close to that, so that’s incredible,” a tearful Murray told the Today programme. “We all have our own problems, but after listening to you and speaking to you I’ll certainly make sure I’m a lot more grateful for everything that I’ve got.” Zaghari-Ratcliffe said watching Murray’s victory was “joyful” and made her feel “ecstatic” a couple of months on from her initial detention in Iran. “I was always a big fan of you, but also there I was in solitary confinement watching the match that you actually won in the end,” she told Murray.

AFteR scAms woRth tens oF mIllIons, sBP dIsAllows PAyIng Phone tAx onlIne

INa recent development, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has disallowed banks to process mobile import levy payments through internet banking and mobile phone banking channels because of a surge in fraudulent transactions.

Certain taxes, such as the mobile phone imports levy collected by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) can be paid through the Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs) of the banks. ADCs are mediums of making payments through channels such as mobile banking, internet banking, ATMs and over-the-counter (OTC) at a bank branch. According to the new instructions given by the central bank on December 20, mobile phone imports levy can now only be collected through ATMs or through OTC channels.

What has brought about this policy that now stops two major digital channels of payments altogether for mobile phone imports levy? Firstly, the level of scam was big in which scammers would get access to customer bank accounts and then use their money to make payments for import tax for mobile phones.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the amounts that people were defrauded ran in tens of millions of rupees, but was short of a billion rupees.

This not only led to monetary losses for the bank since according to a banker, who commented anonymously, it is difficult for the banks to recover this money from the FBR because of government’s struggles with taxation, in case customer files a dispute, it is also an image problem for the bank if it is not able to protect its customers’ money.

Bankers that we spoke to agreed that just like the government suspends cell phone service for everyone fearing a violent attack by a certain someone, the

nishat chunian to partially close production

“The Company has an installed capacity of 219,528 spindles and 2880 rotors in its spinning division. Company has decided to temporarily close 51,360 spindles after one month, due to current market conditions. However, the remaining units are operating normally. Company will restart these spindles as soon as market conditions improve”, read the notification.

Agri-loans worth Rs663.9b released under Kissan Package

FBR reduces additional customs duty on tractors as part of Kissan Package

measure also reflects a similar thinking of “if you can’t control it, suspend it”, some also said that blocking digital modes has a good rationale behind it.

A CEO of a mobile phone manufacturing company told Profit that the restriction is tough but necessary. “For the time being, since Pakistan is struggling with taxation, until that is not sorted such a restriction makes sense,” he said, adding that “cyber security should be enhanced to avoid such scams as online payments is an excellent feature and helps in technology drive to modernization.”

Certain others also held an opinion that banks could strengthen controls at their ends to prevent such frauds. “People in the compliance department of banks asked for such payments to be stopped through internet and mobile phone banking,” a source said. “Because the compliance departments themselves are also questioned by their respective banks in case of frauds.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 03

after two-month-long mexican standoff, cabinet okays release of oilseed vessels

After two months of a stalemate, the federal cabinet has finally approved the release of nine vessels containing soybean oilseeds stuck at Port Qasim in Karachi. The nine vessels have been carrying oilseeds worth $350 million that are vital to Pakistan’s food security as well as its livestock sector.

Officials have remained tight lipped about what legal procedure will be followed to get out of the conundrum, but the official statement issued after the federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday claimed that it has the approval report of the concerned cabinet committee. “The federal cabinet gave final approval to the report of the Cabinet Committee on Soybean,” the statement said without sharing further details.

However, an importer of the oilseed, when contacted, claimed that the cabinet has approved the proposal made by the cabinet committee regarding release of imported vessels. After the cabinet’s nod, the concerned authorities and department would complete the release process, he said.

Background

On the 20th of October this year, two shipments were stopped at Port Qasim in Karachi. The shipments contained GMO oilseeds worth some $100 million on board. And despite the very vocal protestations of the importers that had paid for the consignments, they stayed stuck at the port pending a single certification from the ministry of climate change.

The requirement for a certificate from the climate change ministry had been introduced four years ago, and importers had applied for the certificates back then. Because GMOs and the introduction of seeds into agriculture falls under environmental protection and is a key element of the country’s biosafety, the ministry of climate change is supposed to have oversight over such imports. However, issuance of the certificates fell prey to bureaucratic red-taping and an arrangement was made on a temporary basis to continue the import of oilseeds until the certificates could be issued. This year, however, it seems the ministry has decided to finally implement the requirement.

As time went on, more shipments joined the two original shipments that had arrived on the 20th of October.

profit report

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) passed Statutory Regulatory Orders (SRO) 2305(I)/2022 on December 28 to reduce the additional customs duty levied on both completely built-up (CBU) agricultural tractors and their completely knockeddown (CKD) kits. The additional customs duty has been revised downwards from 35% outlined in SRO 693 (I)/2006 to 15%.

“Its part of the Kissan Package,” says Asim Ayaz, General Manager (Policy) at the Engineering Development Board (EDB). “The aim is to increase the affordability of existing locally manufactured tractors, and any new ones that may enter the market,” Ayaz continues.

What is the Kissan Package?

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Change-up in management, investments at Shifa Hospitals

Shifa International Hospitals is set for a change in the top-management with the retirement of CEO Dr Manzoor H Qazi, who will step down from his post on the 30th of March next year. Dr Qazi was part of the original team of expat doctors that founded Shifa back in 1985 and is retiring at a time when Shifa is undergoing an awkward financial stage.

A founding member of Shifa International Hospital and a board member since its inception, Dr Qazi was appointed as Chief Executive of the company on 10th October 2011, shortly after the passing of the founder and CEO Dr. Zaheer Ahmed. He will be replaced by Shifa’s current Chief Medical Officer Dr Zeeshan bin Inshtiaque. The decision was taken in the board of directors (BoD) meeting of the company held on Saturday, December 24. The announcement was made by the company to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) through a notification on Monday. In the same notification, the BoD also decided to divest its investment in its subsidiary Shifa Medical Center Islamabad (Private) Limited and invest more equity in its other subsidiary Shifa National Hospital Faisalabad (Private) Limited. The approval for these investment decisions will need to be taken at the next Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the company.

Nishat (Chunian) Limited (NCL), one of the leading textile companies in the country, is going to close almost a quarter of its production capacity after a month due to unfavourable market conditions. The company made the announcement to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

profit report

banks ordered to stop processing mobile import levy through phone and internet banking

cabinet okays proposal on soybean clearence from port

govt aims to kill two birds with one stone through this step

dANiyAl AhMAd

MuhAMMAd

The Prime Minister’s Kissan Package has managed to disburse agricultural loans worth Rs 663.9 billion in the month of November to flood-hit farmers in dire need of recuperation. The amount of loans disbursed is expected to go up to Rs 800 billion by the end of December. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Minister for Food Security and Research Tariq Bashir Cheema said that the agriculture loan was the component of Prime Minister Kissan Package of Rs 1,819 billion to revive Pakistan’s agriculture sector, particularly restoring the agriculture of areas affected by catastrophic floods during monsoon season.