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Wednesday, 22 June, 2022 I 22 Dhul-Qadah, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 353 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition

PM resolves to steer country out of current econoMic crises

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RIME Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday said that they had inherited severe economic crises from the previous government, but with hard work and dedication, the collation government would steer the country out of the current challenges.

Speaking to media after chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister, in an apparent reference to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, said that it had left behind a backlog of worst and faulty economic policies, tainted with poor performance.

Criticizing his predecessors, he said the previous government reduced petroleum prices at the time of their exit from power corridors which smack of conspiracy and based upon ill-will.

“If they had any concerns and felt pains for the people, they ought to

leave behind a precedent of serving the masses by providing any relief, so that it can be said that they had worked for the people,” the prime minister regretted.

The prime minister said that these were hard times, and they had taken difficult and bold decisions and hinted that if required in future, they would take such like steps for the economic turnaround.

“We will not budge from taking the necessary steps to set country’s economy on the right track with hard work and nation’s prayers,” he stressed.

The coalition government was determined to steer the country out of the current economic crises by striving day and night. Expressing his optimism, the prime minister said it was his strong conviction that the good times were in store for the country.

About the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement, the prime minister observed that the previous PTI’s

government had promised to increase prices and impose taxes, but they retracted and violated the pact which they ought to abide by.

He said that due to such ploys by the previous government, today, the country was facing difficulty with the IMF. He also mentioned that global economic situation was complicated as the prices of petrol and grains were spiraling.

The government had decided to increase prices of petroleum products with heavy heart, he said, adding, under a decision in the budget, about 70 million people were being provided financial support worth millions of rupees through activation of a helpline.

The prime minister further explained that in the budget, they had decided to divert burden from the poor and levy tax upon the wealthy people.

In addition Finance Minister Miftah Ismail asserted that the increase in prices of petroleum products has nothing to do with International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) conditions. Miftah Ismail expressed his views while briefing the federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. During the meeting, he rejected the notion by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) that fuel prices were increased to revive IMF programme.

The federal minister said that the global lender had not demanded to increase the fuel prices, but it was a result of global inflation.

He claimed that the Budget 202223 was the first in the country’s history that provided relief to the poor and taxed the rich. Meanwhile, Miftah said that the next round of talks with the Fund will be held today (Tuesday) and tomorrow.

Bilawal says Imran Khan’s narrative on corruption is a lie LARKANA Staff RepoRt

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Tuesday accused former premier Imran Khan for telling lies to the nation on corruption of politicians.

Bilawal made these remarks while addressing a public gathering in Larkana on the occasion of the 69th birth anniversary of the slain PPP chairperson and former prime minister. Bilawal said that Benazir Bhutto bravely fought military dictators and her activists have kept her message alive in today’s Pakistan.

He also blamed Khan for being ‘power-hungry criminal’ who, he said, was responsible for the current inflation and is now accusing others of causing the issues.

“It was because of the struggle of PPP jiyalas that Imran Khan was ousted from power via a no-trust move,” he told the participants gathered at the venue. Imran Khan’s narrative against corruption is a lie, he added. The PPP chief further said his party ousted the “selected” after waging a struggle along with two other political parties.

“Imran was causing this damage to the people just to stay in power and the burden of it is now being born by the commoners.”

Bilawal asserted that the former premier must be told to respond to his performance, including the cases of corruption emerging now.

Referring to the Tosha Khana case, he said the PTI chief and the former first lady will have to provide answers

Imran Khan vows to challenge NAB law amendments in top court ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said his party would challenge the recent amendments to the National Accountability (NAB) law in the Supreme Court.

Addressing a press conference here at his Banigala residence, Imran Khan expressed hope that the top court would take notice of the development, adding that if such moves were allowed then it would be detrimental for the country.

Imran said laws formulated in the country should not be specific to any one person but instead be applicable to the collective whole.

Earlier this month, a joint session of parliament had passed three bills, including those related to electoral reforms and the accountability law. Amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) (Amendment) Bill were aimed at preventing the “misuse of law for political engineering and victimisation of opponents”.

The changes were criticised by Imran and his party, with the PTI chairman saying the move would destroy the country as the amendment would protect white-collar criminals from accountability.

Continuing the criticism in the presser, Imran said the assembly session where the amendment was passed was a “mockery and a joke with the country”.

“Those who passed the NAB amendments should be thrown into jail due to their shame-

about their corruption.

He said that Imran Khan has sold a watch gifted to him by a foreign country and also brought a bad name to the country.

“People now know that the slogan of change wasn’t for change, but for the destruction of the country.”

Imran Khan, he added, begged other countries for funds and is now resorting to mudslinging against his political rivals. Likewise, he added, the government will eventually succeed in retaining the GSP+ status for the country and bring more glad tidings for exports. “These are the things that we achieved by focusing on our work, instead of resorting to mudslinging, he said,” while taking a veiled jibe at the PTI chief.

He ensured that the government is working day and night to ensure that the country was put back on the path of stability and progress.

“It was because of the struggle by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Pakistan was saved from going bankrupt.”

The PPP leader, who is also the foreign minister, maintained that he had been visiting several countries. “Our policy is not to beg but to trade with other countries.”

“We put immense effort into taking Pakistan out of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and it is hoped that by October, when an onsite visit is due, we will achieve this objective.” He went on to say that Pakistan was facing two “FIRs” against it in FATF; one related to money laundering while the other related to terror financing.

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CEC takes notice after Qureshi calls out Punjab govt for violating ECP’s code of conduct STORY ON BACK PAGE

Imposition of 17pc ST: 10 life-saving drugs disappear from markets STORY ON PAGE 02

lessness,” he added.

Tackling the major amendments one by one, Imran explained how they would be used to allegedly eliminate a number of cases against leaders of the coalition government.

The PTI chairman alleged that he was pressured throughout the entire duration of his government and blackmailed to provide a National Reconciliation Ordinance-type deal to major political figures of the present coalition government but he did not give in.

“It should be clear now their return [to power]

was not to reduce inflation.”

He said if the present government remained in power then Pakistan would be on its way to a situation similar to the one in Sri Lanka.

“What they have done today (passing and implementing the NAB amendment law) is [give a] licence to [commit] corruption.”

Imran said he would issue another public call to show where the nation stood on the issue, adding that history would not forget those who abetted and supported the present government in coming to power.

World Bank team appreciates KPRA performance STORY ON PAGE 02

ECC may approve withdrawal of subsidy on HSD by power sector STORY ON BACK PAGE

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Wednesday, 22 June, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

IMPoSItIon oF 17PC St: 10 lIFe-SavIng dRugS dISaPPeaR FRoM MaRKetS LAHORE

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ShAhAB omer

he ongoing tussle between the federal government and Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) over imposition of sales tax has led to a shortage of 10 life-saving drugs in the market across the country, Pakistan Today learnt on Tuesday.

According to details the medicines including: Thyroxine, Paracetamol, Ceftriaxone, Cephradine, Cefixime, Aspirin, Amoxicillin, Co-Amoxiclav, Alprazolam and Bromazepam were not available in the

market. The well-placed sources in the Pharma sector informed this scribe that due to the imposition of 17 percent sales tax on pharmaceutical raw materials, the pharma industry has completely stopped import of raw materials.

They further said that if the government does not take the stakeholders into confidence in this regard, then in the next few days 80 percent of the drugs will be completely removed from the market.

They also informed that in a meeting chaired by Saleem Mandiwala on behalf of the government, Shaukat Tareen had expressed support for abolition of 17 percent sales tax from raw materials,

Chairman FBR seeks 150pc increase in salaries SHAHzAD PARAcHA Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has urged the incumbent government to increase employees salary by 150%. Chairman FBR has written a letter to Finance Minister Miftah Ismail with regards to enhancement of the existing “Fixed FBR Incentive” in lieu of performance allowance for FBR employees to remove the disparity with federal secretariat and other organizations. He requested the minister for finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail to move summary to the Prime Minister seeking enhancement of the existing “Fixed FBR Incentive” of FBR employees to 150% of their running basic pay in lieu of the FBR performance allowance, to bring their compensation package at par with organizations like NAB and FIA. Recently, the Federal Cabinet approved in principle to give an Executive Allowance equal to 150% of the basic salary to government officials of grade 17 to 22 working in the Federal Secretariat on the pattern of the provinces.

Officers of FBR were excluded on the ground that they were already receiving a special allowance, it mentioned in the letter. He further informed that representations have now been received from many FBR employees requesting for a review of this decision on the ground that the FBR Performance Allowance has been frozen since 2015, to a level which has now become about 20% of the basic pay. In comparison, employees of many other organizations are receiving special allowance/incentives which amount to 100 to 150% of their basic pay. This disparity is resulting in the demoralization of the FBR employee, which may negatively affect their vital revenue collection efforts. In order to remove the disparity in the salary structure, it is proposed to move the enclosed Summary to the Prime Minister seeking enhancement of the existing -Fixed FBR Incentive” of FBR employees to 150% of their running basic pay in lieu of the FBR Performance Allowance, to bring their compensation package at par with organizations like NAB and FIA.

CM KP announces regularization of ad-hoc teachers PESHAWAR StAff report

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has announced regularisation of all teachers working on ad-hoc basis from the date of appointment.

According to details, the provincial chief executive announced the decision during a meeting with a delegation of Young Teachers Association in Peshawar.

During the meeting, CM Mahmood Khan announced to maintain the seniority of permanent teachers from the date of appointment. “The annual increment of these teachers will also be included in the basic salary,” the KP CM announced. Mahmood Khan said that he has signed the summary for regularisation of ad hoc teachers. “After the approval from provincial cabinet, the bill for regularising ad hoc teachers will be sent to the KP assembly,” he told the delegation. The Chief Minister further said that the provincial government had already completed all the formalities to regularise all teachers who are working on an ad hoc basis. However, he said, the teachers protest in this regard was unjustified. He pointed out that the education sector has been a priority of the provincial government from day one. “Along with other educational reforms, thousands of teachers were recruited on merit basis,” he said, adding that the ultimate goal was to improve the quality of education in the province. Giving details about the provincial Budget 2022-23, the chief minister noted that the government had decided to regularise 63,000 ad hoc employees. Meanwhile, the young teachers delegation has acknowledged the Chief Minister’s announcement for regularisation of ad hoc teachers.

meant for manufacturing of medicines.

When contacted Qazi Dilawar, Chairman, Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA), informed that the imposition of 17 percent sales tax has resulted in 20 percent shortage of daily-use medicines, including life-saving medicines, across the country.

“At present, patients across the country are in a state of crisis as the pharmaceutical companies have run out of raw materials and if this situation continues, there will be a 50 per cent reduction in medicines from next month,” he said.

Dilawar further informed that PPMA

has demanded immediate increase in prices of medicines from 20 percent to 25 percent from the government and this includes elimination of 17 percent sales tax on raw materials and refund of Rs 40 billion from Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

“Our sector has been suffering from a severe crisis for the last 6 months but the government is constantly showing lack of seriousness. In this regard, sales tax was levied and promised to be refunded. Both the governments have so far collected our 40 billion refunds which the government is not ready to repay due to which we did not have any more resources to import raw

materials. On the other hand, increase in prices of gas, electricity and petroleum products and labor costs have led to a 45 percent increase in production costs.

About 95 percent of the raw materials for pharmaceuticals come from abroad and the tariff per container has increased from US $ 1,000 to $ 9,000,” he added.

He further added that prices of locally manufactured goods were increasing on a daily basis, contrary to the medicines prices, which are not being increased proportional to this hike.

“Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry is not only exporting medicines but also meeting 90 percent of the country’s needs.

If the industry is not taken into confidence, it is feared that Pakistan will have to import the medicines annually worth $8 to $10 billion, which will be 500 percent more expensive for the average patient than domestic medicines,” he pointed out.

Dilawar also warned that the PPMA would go on strike after June 22 if their demands are not met.

Maryam Nawaz accuses Imran Khan of ‘blackmailing’ outgoing NAB chief LAHORE StAff report

PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz has said that “strict action” should be taken against former prime minister Imran Khan for “blackmailing” former NAB chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal through objectionable videos.

In response to PTI’s criticism over amendments to NAB law, the ruling party leader said those who were raising hue and cry over the changes in the accountability laws targeted their political opponents by blackmailing the former NAB chief.

“He [Imran Khan] tricked Tayyaba and kept her at Prime Minister House for weeks. Took videos of chairman NAB from her then blackmailed him through these videos to get verdicts of their choice,” she wrote on her official Twitter

handle on Tuesday.

In May 2019, the audio and video clips relating to the alleged conduct of the then NAB chairman with regard to a woman identified as Tayyaba Khatun facing investigation by NAB authorities had taken politico-media by storm. The anti-graft watchdog had rebutted the allegations.

InformatIon mInIster joIns the chorus: Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Tuesday said Imran Khan and the former National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman should be behind bars for trampling upon the law and justice of the country.

Responding to PTI chief’s statement, Marriyum said, “Imran’s corruption had been exposed for the entire country to see and he could no longer harp on false narratives and accusatory politics. The

four years of incompetence and corruption were now known to people who had figured out Imran’s false narrative of accountability to persecute his political opponents. He went to insane lengths to file false cases against the opposition, But even after abusing all resources and power, Imran could not prove a single penny of corruption on the opposition leaders. He embarrassed himself in front of UK’S National Crime Agency and Broadsheet where his false allegations were dismissed.”

The minister said after crushing the masses under inflation for four years and misleading them over false conspiracy narrative, Imran now wanted to deceive the nation over NAB laws. This was because he wanted to use NAB for political victimisation so that he could imprison political opponents in death row cells once again, she added.

KP foreign loans stand at Rs330b, says Jhagra PESHAWAR Aziz Buneri

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Health and Finance Taimur Saleem Jhagra, while concluding the budget proposals for the financial year 2022-23, said that the burden of foreign loans on the province is Rs330 billion.

The minister claimed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the only province where the domestic debt is zero.

Jhagra said that the budget includes all “gamechanger” projects and loans are 25% of the Rs1,332 billion budget. “We have built infrastructure and increased revenue,” the minister said during his address in the KP assembly. He lamented that the dollar has reached the highest level in the history of the country which is affecting every individual.

The finance minister said that from now onward the Executive Allowance will be provided to civil servants on the basis of their performance and will be called a “performance allowance” which he termed “real” reforms. He said funds have been earmarked in the budget for transgender persons and the promotion of technical education. He added that new units have been set up in hospitals. The finance minister said that new parks have been established and the beautification projects are also in progress.

The finance minister said that KP government has

increased provincial resources in the past three years. He said that oil and gas are the province’s resources but the province is dependent on the federal government for it.

The Finance Minister informed that shops owned by the endowment department have a rent of just Rs5,000 while their market value is up to Rs100,000 per month which needs to adjust according to the current situation.

“We have raised our voice at every forum for the province’s rights,” The minister said, adding that no opposition members in the KP Assembly are criticizing the federal government for not providing the province its rights. He said that for the first time, the local government elections were held in the tribal districts during the PTI government. He admitted that the tribal people did not get the promised 3% NFC share but KP has given up to Rs130 billion in tribal employment schemes in tribal districts and billions of rupees have been given to tribal youth.

Jhjagra said the provincial government has given Rs6 billion from the current budget to the tribal districts while other provinces have not paid a single penny for the uplift of the tribal districts as promised at the time of the merger.

He said that the federal government has now reduced the development budget of the tribal area and also said that the health card scheme will not get funds from 30 June but the province will not compromise on the health of tribal people.

PM Shehbaz sympathizes with Chinese people amidst flood-caused evacuations ISLAMABAD StAff report

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday expressed sympathies and solidarity with the people of China amidst massive evacuations caused by the floods and landslides, following heavy rains.

“Hearing about the massive evacuations in wake of heavy floods & landslides in southern China. We express our sympathies for and solidarity with our Chinese brothers and sisters in this time of hardship,” the prime minister tweeted.

According to the media reports, the Chinese province of Guangdong and other southern parts of the country were hit by the heaviest downpours in 60 years over the weekend, affecting almost half a million people.

Flooding caused by the torrential rain has forced 177,600 people to relocate, destroyed 1,729 houses,

damaged 27.13 hectares of crop and caused losses of more than $250 million, according to Guangdong’s Department of Emergency Management.

She pointed out that Imran should have been in jail but instead Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was appearing before courts over these political cases.

“The truth was that even after abusing NAB, FIA, and Prime Minister’s Office, Imran could not prove anything but he continued violating the human rights of political opponents.

Maryam Nawaz too was dragged to courts over these false allegations and made up cases,” she said.

Imran’s hoopla over NAB was nothing but an attempt to hide his own corruption, she added.

Marriyum clarified that the recent amendment in NAB law would have no bearing on the cases already in process.

But even after knowing this, Imran continued to lie to the people of Pakistan because he could only misguide them, she said.

Financial system performs well, remains resilient, reports FSR 2021 APP The Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) remained resilient and continued to perform efficiently without any major disruption, said the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) flagship publication the Financial Stability Review (FSR) for the calendar year 2021 issued on Tuesday. The Review presented the performance and risk assessment of various segments of the financial sector, including banks, non-bank financial institutions, financial markets, financial market infrastructures and non-financial corporates.

The FSR indicated that the banking sector – the major part of the financial system – posted a strong growth of 19.6 percent (CY20: 14.2 percent), which was particularly aided by a surge in private sector advances. The expansion was well supported by healthy deposits growth of 17.3 percent, while banks also increased reliance on borrowing from the banking system. Encouragingly, credit risk of the banking sector remained contained as gross NPLs (non-performing loans) ratio declined by 130 bps to 7.9 percent, while provisions coverage ratio improved by 291 bps to 91.2 percent. Accordingly, net NPLs ratio declined to 0.7 percent, indicating lower residual risk to the solvency from delinquent loans. On the performance front, the earning indicators observed improvement as ROA (return on assets) stood at 1 percent and ROE (return on equity) improved to 14.1 percent.

Due, in part, to the improved earnings, banks’ solvency remained strong as reflected in the high Capital Adequacy Ratio of 16.7 percent that stayed well above the minimum domestic regulatory benchmark of 11.5 percent and international benchmark of 10.5 percent. The Islamic banking segment also posted strong performance with a 30.6 percent increase in its asset base during CY21, extending their share by 160 bps to 18.6 percent in the banking sector.

Microfinance Banks, which exhibited a reasonable growth, observed an inch up in infection rate and deterioration in earning indicators. From the demand side perspective, the FSR revealed that the Non-Financial Corporate sector showed a marked improvement in profitability, business turnover, efficiency and debt repayment capacity.

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Wednesday, 22 June, 2022 | KARACHI

NEWS

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exPoRtS InCReaSe 40PC to RS5.066tR In 11 MonthS

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INP ONTAINER loading in a Cargo freight ship with industrial crane.

Container ship in import and export business logistic company.

Industry and Transportation

concept.

The exports of the country in rupee term witnessed an increase of 40.12 per cent

during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

According to PBS provisional figures, exports during July–May (2021–2022) were recorded at Rs5,066,656 million as against Rs3,615,847 million during the corresponding period of last year showing an increase of 40.12 per cent, according to

Miftah assures relief for real estate sector

provisional data released by PBS. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports during the month of May 2022 increased by 100.49 per cent as compared to the exports of same month of last year.

The exports in May 2020 were recorded at Rs513,475 million as compared to exports of Rs256,105 million during May, 2021.

On month-on-month basis, the exports increased by 3.92 when compared to the

exports of Rs.534,423 million in April 2022.

The main commodities of exports during May, 2022 were knitwear (Rs83,728 million), readymade garments (Rs62,887 million), bed wear (Rs55,008 million), cotton cloth (Rs45,215 million), rice others (Rs.32,065 million), cotton yarn (Rs.20,835 million), towels (Rs.18,035

Two die in roof collapse: Cold returns to Swat after rain, snowfall

INP

Sikh yatrees arrive to mark death anniversary of Ranjeet Singh LAHORE StAff report

Over 450 Sikh yatrees on Tuesday arrived here through Wagah Border crossing to observe the 183rd death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh was known as the first ruler of the Sikh empire who came to power in the Indian subcontinent in the early 19th century. Deputy Secretary Shrines Imran Gondal, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Pardhan Sardar Ameer Singh, former Pardhan Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Sardar Satwant Singh and ETPB board officials received the yatrees. On the occasion, Deputy Secretary Shrines Imran Gondal said that under the directions of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Habibur Rehman Gilani, all arrangements including security and accommodation have been made to facilitate the yatrees. Arrangements for filtered cold water, clean washrooms, comfortable sitting arrangements, besides others have been made available for the Sikh yatrees, he added. He said that a plan to restore Sikh heritage was being evolved, adding that ETPB had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Walled City of Lahore Authority for the conservation of Haveli Bhuman Shah Dipalpur, Haveli Maharaja Ranjeet Singh Gujranwala, Haveli Bakhshi Ram Gujar Khan and Gurdwara Bhai Karam Singh Jehlum.

Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Pardhan Sardar Ameer Singh said that ETPB and the government of Pakistan put in place special arrangements including travelling, accommodation and security for the yatrees. Addressing on the occasion, Sikh leader Gurmeet Singh said that Sikh pilgrims came to Pakistan with the message of love, peace, friendship and harmony.

Syed ShAhABuddin

The intermittent rain on the second consecutive day on Tuesday, coupled with a light snowfall in some of the hilly areas, brought back cold wave in the scenic Swat valley, whereas not only locals but tourists are also enjoying the pleasant weather.

Moreover, two minor brothers were killed and the mother sustained severe injuries when roof of their house collapsed during heavy rains at Cheena village of Gagra Tehsil in the neighboring Buner District on Tuesday. According to details, June turned into December in Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the severity of cold has increased due to snowfall in the mountains including Desan Banda of Kalam valley on Tuesday.

The snowfall began in Desan Banda, a few kilometers away from Kalam Valley, on Tuesday after four days of heavy rains. The tourists from across the country enjoyed the snowfall and captured beautiful scenes through their cameras and cellphones.

Mudassir, a tourist from Lahore, said that he had heard about Desan Banda, and found the same, adding he suggests everyone to come and enjoy in this valley, because the weather and the views are very

beautiful.

Snowfall was also witnessed on Spin Ghar in Ajmer hill of Shangla district in the month of June. The weather is cold due snowfall in the mountains and rain in the plains areas.

The Meteorological Department has forecast more rains in the next 24 hours. tWo Brothers DIe In roof coLLaPse: Two minor brothers were killed and their mother sustained severe injuries when roof of their house collapse during heavy rains at Cheena village

of Gagra Tehsil in the neighbouring Buner District here on Tuesday, a local police official confirmed.

According to SHO Altaf Hussain, two children of the same family five-year-old Suhail and three-year-old Tufail were killed while the mother thirty-year-old Shazia, wife of Nizar Ali, sustained multiple injuries the roof collapse.

Rescue 1122 team reached the spot and retrieved two bodies and the wounded woman from the rubble. The injured was shifted to the DHQ Hospital Daggar.

Pakistan denounces fresh killing spree by Hindutva-inspired forces in IIOJK ISLAMABAD StAff report

Pakistan Tuesday strongly condemned extra-judicial killing of four more Kashmiri youth as result of continuing state terrorism by Indian occupational forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

“Pakistan strongly condemns extra-judicial killing of four more Kashmiris in fresh acts of statesponsored terrorism by Indian occupation forces in Pulwama and Baramulla Districts of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019, more than 636 Kashmiris have embraced martyrdom in fake ‘encounters’ and so-called ‘cordon-and-search operations’. This year alone, 113 extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris

have been recorded,” the foreign office spokesman said.

He said that the intensified military crackdown and the rising numbers of extra-judicial killings in IIOJK are part of the extremist antiMuslim designs of the “Hindutva” inspired BJP-RSS combine in India. Ironically, Kashmiri youth have been a specific target of the 900,000 strong Indian military occupation force stationed in the IIOJK, he added.

“India must realize that use of brutal force against the Kashmiri people, extra-judicial killings, custodial torture & deaths, forced disappearances, incarceration of Kashmiri leadership & youth and other methods of subjugation have failed in the past and will not succeed in the future,” he added.

The spokesman said that through a Dossier unveiled last year, Pakistan has provided to the

world, incontrovertible evidence of the gross and systemic oppression and human rights violations by the Indian occupation forces in the IIOJK. “Pakistan reiterates its call for investigation of extra-judicial killings in IIOJK by establishing an Independent Commission of Inquiry as recommended by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in its Kashmir reports of 2018 and 2019. Pakistan also urges the international community to hold India responsible for its brazen suppression of innocent Kashmiris and play its due role in ensuring a just and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people,” the statement concluded.

Punjab IGP assures envoy of ‘foolproof’ security for Chinese LAHORE StAff report

Punjab Inspector General of Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan on Tuesday assured newly appointed Chinese Consul General Lahore that foolproof security of all foreign nationals working in private and government sectors, especially those residing in all districts of the province was among top priorities of Punjab police.

He expressed these views during a meeting with newly-appointed Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren at Central

Police Office here. Chinese Deputy Consulate General and other officers were also present on the occasion.

During the meeting, issues of mutual interest including security of Chinese citizens, experts, investors, working sites and mutual cooperation were discussed.

He said that security measures were initiated on the arrival of Chinese nationals at the information desk of the Special Protection Unit at the airports and implementation of SOPs issued by the Home Department for the security of Chinese nationals was being strictly

Shahid Khaqan lashes out at President arif alvi’s conduct NEWS DESk

SWAT

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail here on Tuesday assured real estate stakeholders that their proposal about capital gain tax would be considered by the government. The minister was talking during a meeting with a delegation of DHA Estate Agents Association headed by Chief Patron Mian Irfan, according to press statement issued by the finance ministry. The minister assured the delegation to consider the relief in term of capital gains tax. He directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to formulate a separate mechanism for facilitating the non-filer oversees Pakistanis to revive business activities in the economy. Highlighting the proposed taxes on the real estate, he minister emphasized the real estate sector to contribute in the economic development of Pakistan. The Finance Minister assured the delegation that government would consider their proposals for the economic betterment of the country. The delegation thanked the Finance Minister for cooperation and support.

million), made-up Articles, excluding towels & Bedwear (Rs.13,756 million), rice Basmati (Rs.11,868 million) and plastic materials (Rs.9,199 million).

On the other hand, imports during July–May, 20212022 totaled Rs12,671,120 million as against Rs7,990,528 million during the corresponding period of last year showing an increase of 58.58 per cent.

ensured.

Rao Sardar Ali Khan said that a safe environment was being provided to all foreign nationals coming for investment across the province and foolproof security was also being provided to offices, working sites as well as residences.

The IG Punjab said that the Special Protection Unit was diligently carrying out the security duties of the Chinese nationals while setting up a 24/7 centralized monitoring system to monitor the security arrangements.

Chinese Consul General Zhao Shiren appreciated the performance of

Special Protection Unit and Punjab police for protection of Chinese people and said that bilateral cooperation should be made more effective for enhancing capacity of Punjab police officers and personnel and providing technical assistance.

During the meeting, the IG Punjab said that training programmes and refresher courses were being carried out under a comprehensive strategy to further enhance capacity of the police force. Later, souvenirs were also exchanged between the IG Punjab and Chinese Consul General.

Lashing out at the conduct of President Arif Alvi, former prime minister and senior Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday accused him of refusing to accept the supremacy of parliament. Speaking to the media outside an accountability court in Islamabad, Khaqan Abbasi said it was hard to comprehend as to what fault he had found in the National Accountability Bureau-related bill passed by the parliament and sent to him for signatures. “If president of the country will act like member of a political party, how the system will run,” he wondered. Abbasi said mockingly that if former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan had received any threats, the government would take an appropriate action. “Conspiracies were hatched against him in the past as well, but these were not supported by any evidence,” he said, adding, “I wish the conspiracy he is talking about right now should be similar to the ones he had alleged in the past.” “This is all figment of his imagination,” former premier opined. He further said that NAB has destroyed the economy of Pakistan. He said that this country cannot prosper till this bureau is still operational. Talking about load shedding, he said that there has been a decline in the load shedding. While he assured that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah will protect Imran Khan. He said that Imran Khan had also received threat in the past but no proof had been found in this regard. Earlier, the court allowed him to go after marking him present in the LNG reference when he told the judges that his lawyer was about to reach shortly.

Writer withdraws from german moot over dis-invitation of Palestinian writer AgENcIES British-Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif has announced that he will no longer participate in a conference held by Goethe Institute in Hamburg, Germany after the conference disinvited Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian writer and poet. According to the writer, Kurd was invited and then disinvited from the “Beyond the Lone Offender – Dynamics of the Global Right” summit, scheduled to be held from June 23 to 26 in Hamburg, because he was not “respectful enough towards Israel.” In another tweet, Hanif wrote, “Mohammed El Kurd’s house was taken over by settlers when he was eleven. Kurd and his sister Muna have been protesting since they were children. Haven’t read much Goethe but I don’t think he wanted the world to be respectful towards a ruthless apartheid regime.” Hanif said that he was supposed to speak about the dynamics of right wing structures and asked how one could have a conversation after silencing a key witness like Kurd. He also suggested that Goethe Institute should have a “good look” at themselves. In a tweet he also attached a link to read Kurd’s poetry collection and asked the public to decide who’s being “disrespectful” in this case. Kurd has been raising his voice against the apartheid for years. Last year, his story about Sheikh Jarrar, his hometown, went viral online when protesters staged a demonstration against the planned expulsion of Palestinians. The Institut announced that it was disinviting him on June 17. The 24-year-old has about 790,000 followers on Instagram and almost 249,000 on Twitter.

WB appreciates KPRa performance APP The World Bank (WB) team on Tuesday visited the office of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) to review the progress on the joint activities. The team was led by Raymond Muhala, the team leader for the Governance of Policy Programme of the WB. The officers of KPRA gave a detailed presentation on the progress the authority had made with the support and assistance of the WB. Raymond appreciated KPRA for its achievements and growth. KPRA Director Admin and Human Resource Aftab Ali Ghazi presented him with a shield.

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04 NEWS

ReScue-1122 Put on high ALeRt to tAckLe LooMing thReAt of fLASh-fLoodS

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NEws DEsk

HE emergency service, Rescue1122, which is fully equipped to cope with the possible flood in Nullah Lai, has been put on high alert to cope with emergencies.

According to a Rescue-1122 spokesman, the rescuers deployed in lowlying areas particularly in Katarian, Gawalmandi, Sowan and other low-lying areas would remain on high alert round the clock

to provide timely emergency response, medical treatment and transportation facilities to possible flood victims.

The Rescue-1122 has also requested people not to stand on the banks in low-lying areas along Nullah Lai during flood and follow instructions given by the flood control room. However, City District Government Rawalpindi has also completed all the arrangements to cope with the flood situation.

According to a district administration spokesman, Deputy Commissioner (DC)

Sindh to amends ‘markets closure at 9pm’ policy NEws DEsk The Sindh government on Tuesday decided to make amends to the policy regarding markets and businesses closure at 9 pm. The policy was implemented to save power amid a severe energy crisis. According to details, the government has exempted some sectors from the closure, which will be able to operate as usual. The exempted sectors include Tire repair shops, Software developers, Ambulance services and Bus stations.

Customer support officers, Call centres and courier services have also been exempted from the early closure policy. However, all other markets and businesses will be shut down at 9 pm. While, milk shops, bakeries and carriage vehicles for dairy products were already exempted from time restrictions. On June 17, in an attempt to save energy, the Sindh government announced to close all markets including shopping malls by 9 pm across the province. A notification was also issued by Home Department in this connection. According to a notification, markets will be closed by 9 pm, marriage halls at 10.30 pm and restaurants at 11 pm.

Pakistan reports 113 coronavirus cases, 1 death in 24 hours NEws DEsk

Rawalpindi, Tahir Farooq visited different areas of Rawalpindi city to monitor the situation after the rain on Monday. The DC also checked the teams of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) working in the field to clear stagnant rainwater.

The spokesman said that the DC during a visit here the other day had also inspected machinery of WASA including de-watering sets, jetting and sucking machines and water boozers.

Tahir Farooq had visited Gawalmandi area to review ongoing dredging and de-silting work started by WASA to clean Nullah Lai. On the occasion, the DC was briefed that WASA had completed overhauling of all the operational machinery.

He said that the cleaning work of Nullah Lai would also be completed soon as the Punjab government had provided a grant of Rs30 million for Nullah Lai’s cleanliness work.

WASA Rawalpindi was working to clean Nullah Lai from Katarian bridge to Gawalmandi area, he said.

The obstacles in the flow of water under and around the bridges were being removed.

The silt and solid waste dumps in Nullah Lai were also being lifted utilizing heavy machinery, he added.

The spokesman said that the cleaning work of Nulla Lai would be completed before the start of the monsoon.

He further said that WASA Rawalpindi had finalized the monsoon 2022 plan like every year which included cleaning of sewerage lines, annual cleaning of Nullah Lai as well as inspection of WASA machinery.

The DC Rawalpindi while instructing the authorities concerned said that the work of cleaning the drains should be completed on time, so that Rawalpindi city could be saved from floods devastation.

Health, nutrition must be part of national uplift agendas: Speakers IsLAMABAD NewS DeSk

The experts on Tuesday underscored that health and nutrition must be the top priority on national development agendas to cope with the future pandemics and health emergencies.

The experts were speaking at the inauguration of a two-day training course on health and hospital management commenced at COMSTECH here on Tuesday. World Health Organization Representative Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala was the chief guest at the inaugural session. Speaking on the occasion, he said health system management was important, we needed to have disciplined health sector management, curriculum and trained personnel to manage the health sector.

He suggested that health sector managers should manage in an effective and ef-

ficient way by looking at the resources available. “The world is in transition: demographic, lifestyle, and economic transition, which warrants us to manage health systems well in compliance with the changing world, he said.”

Dr. Mahipala appreciated the response and management of COVID by the government of Pakistan and said it was unified, outstanding and unique and many countries can learn from that.

He informed that coordination and governance, science and epidemiology and communication are the three pillars to respond to any emergency effectively.

“Going to hospital is riskier than climbing Mount Everest. He mentioned that people go to hospital to get treatment of one disease and unfortunately come back home with another infection, Dr. Mahipala said.”

He stressed that patient safety and

equity was most important and said when it came to healthcare delivery we needed to talk and care about it.

The keynote speaker of the session, Professor and Executive Director, Institute of Global Public Health, University of Manitoba, Canada, Dr James Blanchard said that academic institutions were doing more in research and training but not necessarily thinking about the vital role of leadership in the public health system.

He said it was important to think about the importance and strengthening of health systems which was going to be the critical aspect of the success and challenges for sustainable development goals (SDGs).

He said to achieve SDGs health goals, access, quality and utilization of key health services were essential.

Dr. James said that to achieve greater equity, clinical services need to be acces-

Medical board set up for Amir Liaquat autopsy tomorrow

Health Dept prepares advisory for protection from Congo ahead of Eid

Pakistan has reported one death in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases has surged to 1,532,260. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 30,384 on Tuesday. According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 113 persons were tested positive for COVID-19 across the country in the past 24 hours. Pakistan has conducted 9,406 tests in the past 24 hours out of which 113 persons were tested positive for the disease. The COVID Positivity Ratio was recorded at 1.20 percent.

NEws DEsk Amid apprehensions of Congo Virus spread ahead of the Eid ul Adha the federal health experts have prepared an advisory for protection from the disease.

According to media repotrs, the experts of the National Institute of Health have prepared the special advisory with regard to the Congo hemorrhagic fever, to pro-

vide information to medical professionals as well as general public.

Possibility of Congo Virus infection increases in Eid ul Adha days, owing to countrywide transportation of cattle and increasing human contact with animals, according to the federal advisory.

Concerned departments should take timely precautionary measures in cattle markets and

sible to socially and economically marginalized people. He informed that the planning of health systems and distribution of resources was critical.

He concluded by mentioning that effective coverage of hospital-based clinical services was a key element of reaching SDGs, and organization and strengthening of the hospital sector required both health system planning and clinical quality improvement.

Vice Chancellor, Health Services Academy, Prof Dr Shahzad Ali Khan said in his remarks that Polio, Dengue and COVID have shifted our focus towards public health which was not a priority for a long time.

These diseases created the demand for public health care, which the government responded to.

It resulted in improvement in the public health system in Pakistan, however, it still needs a lot more to be done in this sector. He said that the area of management was missing, and public health sector managers needed a diversified skill set. Coordinator General COMSTECH, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary welcomed the participants.

He said that this training course was extremely important to improve healthcare delivery in OIC member states.

other places across the country for protection from the Congo virus.

The health officials have advised general public to ensure that their sacrificial animals have been free from the tick causes the virus infection. They also advised people to use germicides after consultation with the livestock department.

The health authorities have alerted the people with precautionary instructions who used to visit cattle farms.

The disease is caused when a tick attaches itself to the skin of cattle and when that infected tick or animal comes in contact with people, the highly contagious virus is transmitted into the human body and the person falls ill.

The initial symptoms of Congo hemorrhagic fever include headache, high fever, rashes, back pain, joint pain, stomach pain and vomiting.

The death rate of Congo hemorrhagic fever patients has been 10 to 40 percent, according to the federal health advisory.

kARACHI NewS DeSk

A six-member medical board has been formed for the exhumation of Aamir Liaquat’s body and conduct an autopsy on court’s orders.

According to details, a six-member medical board headed by surgeon Samiya Syed has been formed on the court’s orders to exhume Aamir Liaqat’s body and conduct an autopsy. The team would exhume Amir’s body on June 23 and conduct an autopsy to confirm if he died of natural reasons or was murdered. Additional Police surgeon Shahid Nizam, HOD forensic medicine Jinnah Pervez, Forensic expert Dr Hariram Lohana, Dr Gulzar Ali Solangi and MLO Dr Areeb Baqai are also part of the medical board. On June 20, a local court in Karachi ordered the formation of a medical board for the post-mortem examination of former TV host and politician Aamir Liaquat Hussain. Judicial Magistrate East Wazeer Hussain Memon had written a letter to the provincial health secretary to constitute a medical board and fix a date for the exhumation of the body. The station house officer (SHO) of the Brigade Police Station was told to make necessary arrangements in this regard. A police report was also presented that stated that they could not identify the reasons behind the death without an internal examination of the body.

Regulate Murree hotel rents to benefit tourists, Punjab CM tells officials LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed that a comprehensive policy should be evolved to regulate hotel rents in Murree during peak season to avoid any catastrophic situations, like the one that occurred in January 2022.

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz Sharif was speaking at a meeting of “Dilkash Murree‘project” held to review progress on the project.

The Punjab CM said that the regulation of rents would benefit the tourists who wish to visit Murree in peak season.

The CM ordered implementation of the “Dilkash Murree” project as soon as possible.

It is to be recalled that over 20 people had died after being stuck in snow amid heavy snowfall and overcrowding of the city in January 2022.

CM Hamza stressed the need for enhancing efficiency of the Tourism Police through modern training to enable them handle emergency situations. Incoming traffic to Murree should be monitored via CCTV cameras, he ordered.

The chief minister also ordered formulation of a final plan to run a trial of the motorbike ambulance. Hamza Shehbaz also ordered the formation of a fire safety plan in case of an emergency.

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Geneva reverberates with freedom for iioJK

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Kashmir, Gilgit baltistan budget revised: Kaira News Desk

AgeNcIes

HE second generation young Kashmiri diaspora from across the European continent gathered in front of United Nations in Geneva to support freedom for Kashmiris on Monday. Scores of people from various cities of Europe and United Kingdom (UK), including human rights activists, social worker, academicians and large number of second generation Kashmiri millennial living in EU and UK unequivocally condemned the recent spree of killing of innocent people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) and urged international community to take notice of violation of human rights, and systematic killing of Kashmiri youth in the occupied Kashmir valley, says a message reaching and released to the media here on Tuesday. ” By referring to Human Rights Council, these young people made emotional appeals that world must understand pain, agony and sufferings of Kashmiris.

Every other day wails of Kashmiri mothers reverberate and echoed in the valley when their sons are targeted in fake encounters and buried without the permission of performing last rites”, the message said.

“This must end – International conscience should not be so oblivious and blinded by size of Indian economy that it forgets fundamental of democracy and value system.

Protestors demanded uninterrupted access of United Nations fact finding mission to occupied Kashmir to assess the on ground situation. We will stand through thick and thin with our Kashmiri brethren for their freedom and would always raise our voices against repression and occupation internationally, said a young lawyer who travelled all the way from UK to at-

tend this protest”, speakers categorically said. The second generation of Kashmiri diaspora is deeply attached with the struggle of people of Jammu and Kashmir against Indian occupation, and their active participation is manifestation of how millennial have taken up the freedom mission and this intergenerational shift has generated lot of hope for Kashmiris said one of the first generation Kashmiri diaspora leader.

Protestors while speaking to the media stated that the political space has shrunk, people face severe restrictions and freedom of speech is virtually absent under the current Bhartia Janta Party

regime in Kashmir. One of the students stated that we had high expectations from international community to hold BJP Government accountable on human rights violations, pelleting of Kashmiris, and on muzzling dissent through force. There is a deliberate effort by Indian forces to exterminate youth of Kashmir by increasing their alienation, squeezing their social and political space thus forcing them to tread to violent path as a last resort to resist state oppression.

People criticized the rising Islamaphobia in India and feared BJP would further fuel the fire by creating communal

tensions in Kashmir to further their exclusive political ideology which is Hindu dominated Kashmir. Demonstrators while criticizing Indian courts demanded the free and fair trial for jailed and convicted Kashmiri freedom leader, Yaseen Malik.

They also demanded the release of political prisoners including Shabir Shah, Asiya Andrabi, Masarat Alam, Naeem Ahmed Khan, Merjaudin Kalwal, Peer Saifullah Alta Ahmed Shah, and rights activists Khurum Pervaiz and Ahsan Unto and urged international community and United Nations to intervene before it gets too late.

President orders refund of erroneously deducted amount IsLAMABAD newS deSk

President Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday directed the Pakistan Post Office (PPO) Department to refund the pension amount of Rs502,272 that was wrongly deducted from the service dues of a retired employee in March 2020.

The president termed the act of Pakistan Post as “maladministration” on its part.

The president gave these directions while rejecting a representation of the Pakistan Post Office Department against a decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, ordering the department to refund the deducted amount from the pension dues and report compliance within 45 days.

The president in his decision held that the pensioner’s hard-earned income constitutes a fundamental right to livelihood under Article 9 of the Constitution of

Coal mines turning into graveyard for miners Pakistan is the leading country in the world, where most coal mines are located. The number of registered coal mines in Pakistan is around 186 but the number of unregistered and illegal mines is in the hundreds. The Shangla District, which is one of the most undeveloped districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, has been providing skilled laborers to the coal mine industry throughout the country since the 1980s. In returned, what has been awarded- a huge human casualties of laborers, where 30 thousand wives of coal mine workers were spending their lives as widows while more than 80 thousand of their children were become orphans, mainly as a result of non-safety measures and lack of proper training to the coal mine workers in privately owned industry.

This information was revealed by the founder president of the Coal Mines Workers Welfare Association(CMWWA), Mr. Ali Bash Khan, a resident of Shangla district, to this scribe during an interview.

He said that there is no industry and no employment opportunities are available to the people here in Shangla district, “compelling above 70 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 55 to work in the coal mines of Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab” he lamented, adding that the number of these miners belonging to Shangla is more than one Lac who are working in different mines in Pakistan. Syed Shahabuddin

the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 and depriving him even a part of this amount, cannot be countenanced except in accordance with the law.

He observed that the Pensions Act 1871 envisaged that no pension shall be liable to seizure, attachment or sequestration, and the department had unjustifiably recovered an amount of Rs502,272/- from the complainant.

As per details, the complainant approached the Wafaqi Mohtasib claiming that the amount of Rs.502,272 had been unjustly deducted by the Agency from his service dues. The Mohtasib in its decision announced on April 2021 referred the case back to Pakistan Post Office Department to provide relief to the complainant within 45 days.

Instead of implementing the decision, the Pakistan Post Office Department filed a representation with the President against the decision of the Mohtasib.

The president in his order upheld the decision of the

05

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Qamar Zaman Kaira Tuesday said that the budgetary allocations for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have been revised as per the directives of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif. “The Planning and Finance Divisions have revised the budgetary allocations for Kashmir and GilgitBaltistan and made enhancements to meet their demands and completion of the developmental projects”, Kaira said while speaking at a press conference along with the Federal Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal. A meeting was held with the stakeholders from Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan in this regard The federal minister said that the impression was being created that the federal government has made a cut in the budget of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir where Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf is in power which he conveyed to the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif after which he took notice of it. Kaira said that the present government realizes that Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are lagging behind in development and have lack of resources and would continue taking all possible steps to improve the living standards of people of Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.

“We will continue to give preference to the progress and development of Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan not only at par with the rest of the country but even more than that”, he said. The broad based and consensus based government took difficult decisions of increasing petrol and electricity prices owing to the ineffective policies of the previous government but also imposing taxes on the rich class, transferring ultimate relief to the masses. “Our basic aim is to bridge the gap between rich and poor through transferring relief from rich to poor which is one of the basic responsibilities of the present coalition government”, he said. Kaira also condemned the killing of ten to twelve innocent civilians in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIoJK) during the last three days. He said that a new wave of violence is being imposed on the people of Kashmir again however all such tactics of India cannot defeat the courage of Kashmiri brothers and sisters and God willing they will achieve their goal of independence.

review plea filed against sC opinion on article 63-a News Desk

Wafaqi Mohtasib and directed the Pakistan Post to refund the amount along with the applicable bank interest rate within 30 days of the order.

A review petition was filed in Supreme Court against the apex court opinion on Article 63-A of the Constitution which is related to the status of defecting lawmakers. The petition was filed by de-seated Punjab MPA Ayesha Nawaz. The petitioner urged the top court to review its May 17 verdict on interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution. The petitioner pleaded with the apex court to restore de-notified lawmakers by withdrawing its verdict. The federal government and law ministry have been made respondents in the petition. The plea comes after the SC had announced its verdict on the interpretation of Article 63 (A), declaring that defective votes will not be counted in the Parliament. The decision was made with a majority of 3-2, Justice Jamal Mandokhel and Justice Nazeer Alam dissented from the decision. CJP observed that changing loyalties in the parliament damages the integrity of democracy. The verdict by the larger bench of the apex court was a 3-2 split decision, with a majority of the judges not allowing lawmakers to vote against party line in four instances outlined under Article 63-A.

China, Pakistan should promote joint degree programs: Prof. Tan Biyou News Desk “A group of high-level talents with strict professional and cultural training is critical for the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China and Pakistan should strengthen cooperation and promote joint degrees to meet the needs of the two countries.

This was stated by Prof. Tan Biyou from Hunan Normal University, according to Gwadar Pro on Tuesday.

On the 2nd South Asia Forum with the theme of “Pakistan in social transition” hosted by China-Pakistan Educational Cultural Institute (CPECI), Prof.

Tan said that if engineers at all levels involved in management and operation do not truly understand the people at the bottom of Pakistan and do not know how to interact with them effectively and safely, it will bring great risk to the multibilliondollar investment and pose a threat to the

personal safety of Chinese managers.

In fact, talent is the scarcest resource for the Belt and Road Initiative, including CPEC. Prof. Tan emphasized the need to expand the scope of joint degree programs and cultivate more talents.

He explained that, “A group of highlevel talents proficient in Chinese and Pakistani culture, including masters and doctors, in the joint degree program jointly engaged by Chinese and Pakistani universities is a must.”

CPEC is a new development in the history of China-Pakistan exchanges. It not only promotes economic cooperation, but also brings about broad cooperation in education and culture. In this context, the joint degree was put on the agenda.

China-Pakistan cooperation in education has gone through a long period of exploration and has been continuous since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan in 1951.

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Nevertheless, due to the different national conditions of the two countries, in the long historical period, China-Pakistan friendship is mainly limited to political and military cooperation, and the development of educational cooperation is relatively slow.

Since about 2003, the number of Pakistani students studying in China has been increasing. However, further collaboration between universities is generally limited.In 2005, when China and Pakistan exchanged the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, education was listed as a separate section for the first time.

The Confucius Institutes, which were widely established in Pakistan, were an important result of the treaty. The Confucius Institutes mainly carry out language teaching, not degree education.

In the Joint Statement on Strengthening China-Pakistan All-Weather Strategic

Cooperative Partnership, Building Closer China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the New Era issued in 2018, China and Pakistan agreed to encourage respective universities to develop bilateral linkages including through joint degree and exchange programmes.

On March 2022, China and Pakistan signed an agreement on mutual recognition of higher education certificates and degrees, providing study guarantee for international students from both countries and dispelling their concerns.

In terms of the future development direction of the joint degree, Prof. Tan believes that it is necessary to reinforce the confidence of the cooperation.

“We should decentralize the cooperation projects, minimize the number of projects, tilt the cooperation center toward the universities in Islamabad, and establish a regional center of appropriate size.”

Prof. Tan added.

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The impact of Russia-Ukraine war

Ignoring the masses Courting the establishment

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he extraordinary rise in the price of petroleum products has escalated inflation, further reducing the purchasing power of the common man. With power and gas charges also being hiked, inflation would reach an all-time high, pushing millions below the poverty line.

Parents who are unable to pay school expenses have been forced to suspend the education of their children.

With flour prices rising, poverty-stricken families have reduced bread intake affecting their work efficiency. With prices of medicines becoming unaffordable to lower income groups, this is likely to reduce life expectancy.

People want to know how long it will take their suffering to end. For this they look up to the coalition government in power.

One had expected PM Shehbaz Sharif to take the population into confidence as he occupies the most cherished seat of the Chief executive of the country and his son hamza has finally attained the prized post of the CM of Punjab. Mr Sharif has held several meetings with economists, businessmen and agriculturists. he has however yet to address the people to tell them what the government is doing to improve their lives and how long it will take to bring the economy out of the doldrums. It is the task of a leader to show that as a result of his policies there is light at the end of the tunnel.

With the PTI accusing leaders of the ruling alliance of involvement in mega corruption it was imprudent on the part of federal minister Ahsan Iqbal to claim that corruption doesn’t impede economic development while instability does.

The PM and his government seem to be more interested in seeking the goodwill of the establishment than the support of the people. On Sunday Shehbaz went out of the way to lavish praises on the Army chief over the country’s withdrawal by FATF from its grey list, something the ISPR had already done. It appears that the ruling alliance is willing to hand over its turf to the establishment by ignoring parliamentarians’ demands to present a report on talks with the TTP and failing to issue the production orders of MNA Ali Wazir.

While millions of people lack access to basic necessities, the announcement of brand new cars for Punjab ministers amounts to rubbing salt in people’s wounds. even if the order for the cars had been placed by the PTI govt., its announcement should have been withheld at a time when the govt is preaching austerity.

Pakistan must make a choice

Jawad ahMed

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he war in Ukraine, in all of its aspects, is having a dangerous cascading impact on a world economy that was already been hammered by COVID-19. As well as climate change, with particularly dramatic results consequences for emerging nations. According to UNCTAD predictions, the global economy will grow by a full percentage point. GDP growth is less than predicted as a result of the war, which is already causing significant disruption of already tight food, energy, and financial markets.

Ukraine and the Russian Federation are breadbaskets of the globe. They supply over 30 percent of the world’s wheat and barley, one-fifth of its maize, and more than half of its sunflower oil. At the same time, Russia is the world’s greatest natural gas exporter and second-largest oil exporter. Together, Belarus and the Russian Federation export over one-fifth of the world’s fertilizers.

As a result of the war, commodities prices are reaching new all-time highs. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued its third straight record food price index on April 8; 2022. Food prices are 34 percent higher than this time last year and have never been this high since the FAO started measuring them.

Almost 50 nations rely on the Russian Federation and Ukraine for at least 30 percent of their wheat imports. 26 nations rely on these two countries for more than half of their wheat imports. In that context, this war will have many consequences for global markets

Dollars run out Banks have started turning away LCs

MuhaMMad hayat Lak “We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution” —Abraham Lincoln

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hIS perversion has been on a high for the last three months which has displayed a very horrific picture of the value of the constitution in our society. April 3 was the last date for the speaker of the National Assembly to call a vote on the motion of no-confidence but this did not happen; the deputy speaker gave an unconstitutional ruling, and what followed was a chain of unconstitutional acts Now we may consider that unconstitutional, lawyers and law professors all over the country may consider that unconstitutional, even the Supreme Court may consider that unconstitutional, but a considerable section of the country still does not care.

They see these acts as ‘divine’ which were necessary to thwart a ‘foreign conspiracy’ and by providing a pathetic logic they justify that when it comes to the defense of the country any action can be taken, be it an unconstitutional one. This way of thinking shows that for them the constitution is nothing but just a piece of paper that can be used in frying samosas and pakoras (not actually, it costs more than Rs 700 to buy a decent copy nowadays).

It seems like a blind ultra-nationalist wind is slowly (but surely) intoxicating every other person it finds out in the open. People forget that the very idea of having a law and constitution in the first place is to provide a system and order through which institutions and different organs of the state can operate.

Those supporting these unconstitutional ideas are quick to advocate for their rights and liberty but turn a blind eye towards the words of the ‘green book’ that secure these rights and prevens them from being coerced by ‘foreign powers’ or those who are ruling them at home. even children are not protected from these villainous ideas. Their schools and colleges have be-

Arif Nizami (Late) Founding Editor

Yousaf Nizami Umar Aziz

Joint Editor

Joint Editor

Executive Editor

Lahore – Ph: 042-36300938, 042-36375965

Unlike Islamabad’s fear that taking such a stance would bind it to Western policies, condemning the invasion on the basis of its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity would help elevate its diplomatic standing in the world and restore it to a more balanced position, which its recent actions have shifted away from.

The constitution is no underwood, let alone valued

Dedicated to the legacy of late Hameed Nizami

M. A. Niazi

the values expressed in the UN Charter. In an age of unilateralism and pre-emptive strikes, Pakistan must take a stand based on fundamental norms of interstate relations.

The position is far from ideal for Pakistan, which wants to strengthen ties with Russia without compromising relations with Western nations. Caught between a rock and a hard place, the administration declared a neutral stance, refusing to support any side. however, this “no camp politics” stance is not a response to the Ukraine issue. Pakistan has previously attempted to manage its relations with the USA and China; Russia and the european Union are just new weights in this balancing game.

Pakistan’s neutrality policy accords nicely with the region’s developing geopolitics and national interests. The majority of Islamabad’s recent actions indicate a bias toward Moscow rather than a neutral posture. A few words in favor of Ukrainian sovereignty and asking Putin to address the issue diplomatically are insufficient to balance this. If Pakistan genuinely desires a neutral position, it would require a substantial scaled-up plan to repair its ties with Western countries.

The problem for Pakistan is to strengthen connections with Russia, preserve ties with China, and avoid alienating itself from the USA. Pakistan must recognize that its recent actions and rhetoric are moving it towards the Sino-Russian camp. If it truly believes in a no-camp politics, it must re-establish relations with Western nations by taking a firm stand against Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Unlike Islamabad’s fear that taking such a stance would bind it to Western policies, condemning the invasion on the basis of its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity would help elevate its diplomatic standing in the world and restore it to a more balanced position, which its recent actions have shifted away from.

The writer is a freelance columnist

Constitutional worth

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OT a pretty picture on the international trade front. hot on the heels of the exclusive news report of the business magazine of this very publication, Profit, about how the interbank market has run out of dollars, the banks have, predictably, started turning away international Letters of Credit. There just isn’t enough foreign exchange to entertain them anymore.

The central bank is denying that it has issued any instructions to the effect, but the seemingly coordinated way things are playing out in the banks, there seems to be some regulator instructions.

News like this leads to more panic-buying. The dollar is already trading at 213 rupees. Barring remittances and perhaps international IT-enabled services, a huge number of other exports rely on imports that are value-added out of the country, in some cases, even to the very same countries that we imported the raw material from. The current state of affairs is going to be, therefore, tough for the exporters; compromised exports are going to make the currency situation even worse. A classic negative feedback loop. Things seem more than dire.

There is a short term solution for this. Much like the withdrawal of the fuel subsidies, the incumbent government has to rip off the bandage, and make some tough decisions. Principal of which is going to the IMF and acquiescing to some of their unpalatable demands.

We didn’t get in this mess in the first place, they might say; why should we pay the political price? even if that is true, it is they that are in government. Those at the receiving end of these allegations were gleefully removed through a no-confidence motion. They knew better than others what the economic situation was, specially the League, which fashions itself as an authority of matters economic.

As they say, if you can’t stand the heat, you must get out of the kitchen. The finance minister knows his way around the kitchen, but does he have a stomach to grit out a tough stint?

Editor Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

and food security, posing a challenge to many countries, particularly low-income food import dependent countries and vulnerable population groups.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine raises issues of national sovereignty, democracy versus autocracy, human rights, and the global international order. This implies that, whatever happens, it might be a defining moment in the world’s security environment. The current security architecture as we know it, established after World War Two, could be overthrown. This might also have an impact on the global economy.

According to UBS, global markets have grown increasingly volatile as investors assess the impact of the Ukrainian conflict, anticipated interruptions in commodity flows, and the tightening of global sanctions against Russia.

This conflict has also impacted the national policy of Pakistan. As soon as the invasion started, Pakistani politicians had to take a stand– and quickly. There were two opposing points of view. The first stated that because Pakistan had just established a strategy of maintaining relations with every major world power, it made pragmatic sense to pursue a policy that would not jeopardize this opening with Russia. Proponents of this argument would argue that the USA had engaged in aggression against sovereign countries and was an untrustworthy friend. Much in line with this thinking, Pakistan’s response included two crucial elements: de-escalate the situation and resolve it peacefully.

According to the second school of thinking, Pakistan had prolonged periods of close engagement with the USA, and it remained its top trading partner even now, while political and economic collaboration with Russia was almost non-existent. When Pakistan elected to abstain from voting at the UN, supporters of this viewpoint were quick to question why Pakistan’s action seemed to be upsetting the USA and europe.

But, in the end, it should not come down to whose side Pakistan should back. After all, Pakistan has strong bilateral relations with both the USA and Russia. What matters is whether Pakistan adheres to

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Karachi – Ph: 021-35381208-9

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come a hotbed for such volatile notions, as they are forced to support a political party’s narrative to prove their patriotism. Then these same kids are being exposed to disinformation campaigns and fake news, which is not only widespread on social media but also on mainstream television channels. In such a society one must not be surprised to come across blatant constitutional violations every other day.

Normally, countries that have been able to draft a constitution have usually done so after waging a war and bringing a revolution against their autocratic authorities/monarchies, The USA and France are two key examples. Their constitution-makers were envisaged as heroes, and the act of making the constitution was considered an act of glory. however, in Pakistan, the first two constitutions did not survive for long and the promulgation of the third constitution did not follow a victory or a successful revolution, but rather a setback in the 1971 war.

The people involved in drafting our constitution were either executed or have been stamped as traitors. This perception about the framers of the constitution has been floating around in our society ever since and has severely damaged the legitimacy of the constitution. A large section of the population does not view the act of constitutionmaking as a moment of victory or splendour, but as the preparation of a document that was drafted by ‘traitors’ to meet their political purposes.

Then, after its promulgation, there has been no whole-hearted attempt made by the political parties

Islamabad – Ph: 051-2204545

to connect with the people based on the constitution (except when they are not rejoicing in the pleasures of Islamabad), which has left the constitution as a plant without any roots. even in schools and colleges, students are exposed to tainted Pakistan Studies textbooks and most of them are not aware of the existence and significance of the constitution even after their graduation. This practice should now end, and be replaced by teaching constitution in schools, starting from the preamble and the basic structure in primary schools to more advanced parts in Secondary and high Schools.

It is high time that political parties also realize that the only way forward is the path construed by the constitution. They should take the lead by withdrawing their support from any unconstitutional ideas or approaches.

This will set an example for the rest to follow and will gradually enlighten the masses about the value and worth of following the constitution.

The job is not an easy one and it may take years, but if we are somehow able to achieve this, there will be no flagrant constitutional violations. If someone still finds a way to dump its provision, they will not be seen as liberators or heroes but as traitors. There will be no need for legal experts to sit in primetime shows and explain how the constitution has been murdered. The people will find their own way.

It is high time that political parties also realize that the only way forward is the path construed by the constitution. They should take the lead by withdrawing their support from any unconstitutional ideas or approaches. This will set an example for the rest to follow and will gradually enlighten the masses about the value and worth of following the constitution.

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Web: www.pakistantoday.com.pk

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The Writer is a student at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and serving as the Assistant Director of the Law and Politics Society.

The views expressed are his own.

Email: editorial@pakistantoday.com.pk

06-07 Comments - 22nd June 2022_Layout 1 6/22/2022 12:22 AM Page 2

Wednesday, 22 June, 2022

COMMENT 07 Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan.

E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively

Preventative measures against pollution

A look at India’s defence Budget Fuelling the arms race

aMJed Jaaved

P

AkISTAN Army says the 2022-23 defence budget for has decreased from 2.8 percent of GDP to 2.2 percent.

India’s GDP is $2.95 trillion for 2021 while Pakistan’s is $347.743 billion.

With Gross Domestic Product in trillions, India’s the volume of defence outlay becomes much greater than Pakistan’s Pakistan does not showcase its defence outlays on websites like India. Pakistan mentions them in one line in the demands for grants. The legislators are apathetic to knowing the details. parliamentarians lack the ability to scrutinise the budget. Most legislators lack acumen to analyse the numerical rigmarole. So they themselves do not wish to be bothered with the job being done by competent professionals in various ministries and parliamentary committees.

Pakistan’s defence outlays barely cover essential requirements, Whenever demanded, the details of the defence budget for the current, as well as for the coming, financial years were placed before the parliament. even the expenditure on Zarb-e-Azb appeared more than once in media.

Pakistan should separate expenditure of forces to defend China Pakistan economic Corridor and key installations including Parliament from normal demands for defence grants.

A bitter lesson of history is that only such states survived as were able to strike a balance between constraints of security and welfare.

Garrison or warrior states vanished as if they never existed.

India disguises military expenditure. Take military pensions. They are clubbed under provisions of “civil ministries”, or separately. Many provisions of quasi-military nature are excluded from the defence outlay. examples of such provisions are border and strategic roads, public sector undertakings mentioned under the Defence Ministry separately. The provisions in MoD have capital outlays. They are not classified under military expenditure of the three services. The nuclear research (bomb making) expenditure is not treated as a military expense.

After a tiff with China, considerable money was spent on infrastructure in Ladakh, and Arunachal Pradesh. This expenditure is military.

India has several para military forces like the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, as good as the “regulars”. expenditure on them is military.

At US prodding, India revised its maritime

strategy in 2015 to “ensuring Secure Seas” from “Freedom to Use the Seas.” For the new strategy, India took up the development of the Sittwe Port in Myanmar as part of the kaladan multimodal transit transport project for shipment of cargo from the eastern ports of India to Myanmar through Sittwe India upgraded its existing listening post in northern Madagascar. India has obtained access to the US naval base in Diego Garcia, and to the French naval bases in Mayotte and Reunion islands, besides the Australian naval base in Cocos. Robert kaplan, in his Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and Future of American Power, argues that the geopolitics of the 21s century will hinge on the Indian Ocean. Its waters reach 28 countries together accounting for 35 percent of the world’s population and 19 percent of its GDP. Sixty percent of the world’s oil shipments, from the Gulf countries to China, Japan and other Asian countries, pass through these waters which host 23 of the world’s busiest ports.

India has emerged as the US proxy against rising China, which is determined to surpass the USA in GDP by 2027.

India is opposed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Besides, it uses its aid, trade and border contiguity to obstruct Chinese influence in Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

In 2005, Washington expressed its intention to help India become a major world power in the 21st century. This resolve later translated into modification of domestic laws to facilitate export of sensitive military technology to India. The Nuclear Supplier Group also relaxed its controls to begin exports to India’s civilian nuclear reactor (enabling India to divert resources to military use).

Raj Mohan, Shyam Saran and several others point out that India follows kautliya’s mandala (concentric, asymptotic and intersecting circles, inter-relationships) doctrine in foreign policy. It is akin to henry kissinger’s `spheres of influence’. According to this doctrine ‘all neighbouring countries are actual or potential enemies’. however, short-run policy should be based on common volatile, dynamic, mercurial interests, like the intersection of two sets.

There was a 73-day India-China standoff on the Doklam Plateau near the Nathula Pass on the Sikkim border last year. Being at a disadvantage vis-à-vis India, China was compelled to resolve the stand-off through negotiations. China later developed high-altitude “electromagnetic catapult” rockets for its artillery units to liquidate the Indian advantage there, as also in Tibet Autonomous Region. China intends to mount a magnetically-propelled high-velocity rail-gun on its 055-class under-construction missile destroyer 055.

The Indian navy wants a 200-ship strong fleet by 2027. The Navy wants to procure six new conventional submarines and 111 Naval Utility helicopters to replace the vintage fleet of Chetaks. The IAF wants to procure 114 new fighters besides the 36 Rafales ordered in 2015.

During COVID 19 surge people dumped the dead bodies of their kith and kin in rivers.

They could not afford to buy costly wood to arrange a decent cremation.

Nearly half of India’s 1.2 billion people have no toilet at home. Yet more people own a mobile phone, according to the latest census data. Only 46.9 percent of the 246.6 million households have lavatories while 49.8% defecate in the open.

The survey found that only 38% families have water. The tapped water supply, besides being erratic, is generally unhygienic. Water is supplied for only a few hours, four hours at the most. About 62 per cent of the families, that is 118 million households; do not have access to drinking water at home. In rural areas, about five million families still fetch drinking water from nearby ponds, tanks, rivers and springs.

About 88 percent urban families and 44 percent rural areas have access to electricity. Almost half of rural houses are still lit with kerosene.

Over 22 million Indian families (12 percent households) still cook under the sky. But, 76 percent of urban households have separate kitchens in their homes. kitchen or not, firewood is still the most widely used fuel with over 52.5 percent Indians depending on it. even 23 percent urban families use firewood for cooking.

About 10 per cent rural households use crop residue as fuel. Besides, cowdung cake as fuel is used by 9.8 percent.

About 23 percent urban families have phones as compared to only four percent rural. Cars are, practically, an anathema for the rural population. As for urban families, only six percent have a car.

Majority of the Indians live in a Sahara of subhuman conditions. There are oases of affluence, unnoticed and un-taxed. For instance, 11 percent of Delhi’s 3.3 million houses are vacant.

Gujarat has 14 per cent houses vacant.

For about a third of even urban Indian families, a house does not include a kitchen, a bathroom, and a toilet. And, in many cases, no power and water supply “260 million people below poverty line,60 million of under fouryear-olds are moderately or severely malnourished, 87 % women are anaemic,60 % children are anaemic,25 million are without shelter,171 million have no access to safe drinking water, 290 million adults are illiterate, 53 % of below five-year-olds are underweight, 4.4 doctors per 10,000 people (Source: Planning Commission)”.

The colossal increase in India’s military budget is untenable in light of its teeming millions living below the poverty line. Rise in India’s military expenditure compels Pakistan to ratchet defence expenditure.

The colossal increase in India’s military budget is untenable in light of its teeming millions living below the poverty line. Rise in India’s military expenditure compels Pakistan to ratchet defence expenditure

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

POLLUTION is toxin that mix in the natural environment and harm both human beingd and animals. Plants also get affected by ppollution. There are many forms of pollution, like air, water, soil and noise pollution. however, there are other forms of pollution, light pollution, radioactive polution, light pollution and so on. Natural and human activities both contribute to pollution. Volcanic erruptions or oil and gas leakage can cause pollution.

According to experts, human activities cause most of the pollution.

It is because of the commercialization of natural things. human turn many natural things into human made things to satisfy their needs. We use more than our needs, which adversely effect nature. The gases from vehicles and factories pullute the air. The land and water are polluted by solid garbage from factories, households and so on.

In rural areas, agriculture wastes, pesticides cause pollution. The noise pollution is caused by the massive sound of music, vehicles and machinery. The pollution also leads to global warming. We cannot completely remove pillution but we can surely reduce it by implementing a few preventative measures. To increase oxygen in the air and make the air pure, we must plant trees on a large level. We should use natural things judiciously. We have to understand the difference between need and want. To decrease the level of land and water pollution, we must avoid using plastic bags we should use vehicles less to decrease air pollution and noise pollution.

We should maintain a proper drainage system to protect the water from getting polluted. We cannot stop natural activities but we can control our actions. If we do so, we can minimize the impacts of pollution in nature.

SUMAirA ALi BAkSh TUrBAT BALoChiSTAn

Feudalism in Sindh FeUDALISM has been gradually eliminated in a number of countries, but somehow it still exists very strongly in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh, although not in its original sense.

It is one of the intricate and grave issues of Pakistan, particularly in Sindh, where landlords, called feudalists or Waderas, quash the paramount and basic rights of people living there. It is undoubtedly a humongous deterrent which is hampering and barricading the development of Pakistan. Since the dawn of Pakistan on the world map, it has been enduring lethal and exquisite degree of attacks of feudalists.

Feudalistic mentality was first portrayed by British colonists in the subcontinent in order keep eye on the movement of citizens by deploying Military or police personnel. Ironically, after the independence, Pakistan could not exterminate the clutches of feudalism in the country. It spread rapidly among its provinces where Sindh remained miserably under its domination.

People in interior Sindh are still strangled with this pathetic subsystem of government. Due to colossal power of feudalists, no one can dare to raise voice again them. Thus, it is trampling and usurping their right to choice and freedom in sindh. People are made subordinate to the orders of landlords without any decent wages. They are made helpless and destitute to work below their feet.

They barely fill their empty bellies for one time. Broadly speaking, Feudalism is the apple of discord in interior Sindh for many other skirmishes. It makes people deprive of their daily breed including right to education, right to freedom of expression and right to express public opinion. These all miseries and grievances of people are corollaries of Feudalistic set-up. Such a chaotic state of affairs rapidly culminates into intertribal conflicts.

This system not only snatches daily breed of its citizens but also keeps them away from accomplishing their academic career in Sindh. The forlorn peasants working under lavish feudalists hardly send their children to educational institution because of constant threat by feudalists. This fear is so strong and peasants so terrified that they seem to have accepted the domination, which goes totally against the basic human rights. The situation also creates hurdles in the democratic process in the province as the freedom of vote is suppressed. Feudal perceive that if a son of peasant start to flourish in education, he will construct a gigantic barricade to our set-up. Regardless to this, landlord keep people backward and uneducated, economically dependent and rule them blindly to consolidate their power over the area.

World has progressed significantly and people of sindh are still under the influence of feudalists. It is time to erode the influence of feudalism in Sindh in order to make sure development and betterment of the province.

There is need of pragmatic strategies which can make people of sindh cognizant of their political, social as well as economic freedom. hence, the concept of feudalism needs to be curbed on a priority basis in order to achieve progress and prosperity in our beloved country. nASrULLAh khADiM kAnDhkoT, SinDh

Taxing empty plots YeSTeRDAY, I watched a news channel which reported that Mr Miftah Ismail, Pakistan’s current finance minister has said that empty plots of land where possession can be taken from the concerned housing society are going to taxed. This will be disastrous for the real estate market of the country. The long term investors who keep the plots of land for longer period of time include a lot of overseas Pakistanis who normally build the house on their plots when they finally return home which makes perfect economic sense. Now the respectable finance minister is saying that if these empty plots are not built , he is going to tax such plots. This will create a very difficult situation for the overseas Pakistanis who made immense investment in Pakistan’s real estate market with their hard earned foreign earning and it is not easy for them to return to country to build their empty plots of land. I would request the government of Pakistan to reconsider the proposal to tax the empty plots because this will discourage investment in real estate sector and will result into loss of tax revenue for the government instead of increasing the tax revenue from county’s real estate sector.

EjAz AhMAD MAgoon LAhorE

08 WORLD VIEW 22nd June 22_Layout 1 6/21/2022 10:01 PM Page 1

Wednesday, 22 June, 2022

08 WORLD VIEW

PUTin dEclarEs End of ThE ‘UniPolar World’ national intereSt MArK epiSKopoS

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USSIAN president Vladimir Putin used his address at the International economic Forum in St. Petersburg on Friday to sharply denounce the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “A year and half ago, speaking at the Davos forum, I once again emphasized that the era of the unipolar world order is over — I want to start with this, it is an inescapable fact. It [the unipolar world order] is over, despite all of the attempts to save it, to preserve it by any means possible. Change is the natural course of history…” Putin said. “When they won the Cold War, the US declared themselves God’s own representatives on earth, people who have no responsibilities — only interests. They have declared those interests sacred. They seemingly have not noticed that new powerful centers have arisen and are getting louder and louder. each of them develops its own political systems and social institutions, realizes its own models of economic growth, and, of course, has a right to its defense, to guarantee its national sovereignty.”

Putin reiterated his position that the Kremlin was “forced” to initiate the invasion of Ukraine—referred to in Russia as a “special military operation”—by the West’s refusal to address Russia’s legitimate security concerns.

“The West has fundamentally refused to fulfill its earlier obligations,” he said. “It is simply impossible to reach any new agreements with them. In the current situation, in the face of growing threats and risks for us, Russia’s decision to conduct the special military operation was forced. Un-

AS VLADIMIR PUTIN DECLARES THE END OF THE “UNIPOLAR WORLD” OVER THREE MONTHS INTO RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE, CRACKS BEGIN TO WIDEN IN THE WEST’S MAXIMUM-PRESSURE CAMPAIGN AGAINST MOSCOW questionably difficult, but forced and necessary.”

“Our colleagues do not simply deny reality,” Putin added. “They are trying to resist the course of history.

They think in terms of the last century. They are in captivity of their own delusions about countries outside of the so-called golden billion, they see everything else as the periphery, their backyard, they treat these places as their colonies, and they treat the peoples living there as second-class citizens, because they consider themselves to be exceptional. If they are exceptional, it means everyone else is of a second sort.” Putin was referring to the theory, popular in the Russian-speaking world, that Western elites—referred to as the “golden billion” —amass and maintain their wealth through the systemic exploitation and domination of the non-Western world.

Putin denounced the Western sanctions regime that emerged in the aftermath of Russia’s Ukraine invasion as “crazy” and “thoughtless.” The West’s “economic blitzkrieg,” argued Putin, has not only failed to cripple Russia but is inflicting “comparable, and even greater damage,” to europe and the United States.

Some Western policymakers appear to tacitly agree with Putin’s assessment. Bloomberg reported earlier this week that several “…Biden administration officials are now privately expressing concern that rather than dissuading the

Kremlin as intended, the penalties are instead exacerbating inflation, worsening food insecurity and punishing ordinary Russians more than Putin or his allies.” Buoyed by soaring energy prices and deepening financial ties with key countries that have refused to go along with Western sanctions, Russia has spectacularly defied the Biden administration’s predictions of imminent economic collapse. experts say the effects of Western sanctions on Russia could take years to fully materialize. “The problems for Russia’s economy will increase over the summer and into the autumn, but only gradually,” Janis Kluge, Senior Associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told the Wall Street Journal. even then, there is no guarantee that any future economic pain will be felt on such a scale as to produce changes in the Kremlin’s strategic thinking or to make the war in Ukraine prohibitively expensive for Russia.

Citing consistently high oil prices, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said it will take up to four years for Russia to feel the full brunt of sanctions. “The question is if we (Ukraine) are still here in three or four years to enjoy the show,” Arakhamia said, per Axios.

As the collateral damage from sanctions becomes increasingly stark and hopes for a decisive Ukrainian counter-offensive fade amid slow but steady Russian ad-

vances to the country’s east and south, some Western leaders and members of President Joe Biden’s foreign policy team are cautiously revisiting the long-term prospect of a negotiated settlement. U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday that the United States will continue to support Ukraine “through the steady provision of weapons and intelligence,” but added that Washington has been in talks with Kyiv about what a settlement with Russia could look like.

“At some point, when we will have done our maximum to help Ukraine resist — when, as is my wish, it will have won and the firing has ceased — we will have to negotiate,” said French president emmanuel Macron.

“The president of Ukraine and its leaders will have to negotiate with Russia and we europeans will be around that table, bringing security guarantees.”

“This is up to Ukraine to decide,” Macron said during a television interview when asked what concessions, territorial or otherwise, Ukraine should consider.

But there currently does not appear to be a meaningful space for compromise between the belligerents as the war drags on into its fourth month. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, emboldened by historically unprecedented Western military support, has repeatedly insisted that Kyiv will not support any peace deal involving territorial concessions. Yet there is a growing body of circumstantial evidence to suggest that Russia will not consider proposals to cede the eastern-southeastern Ukrainian territories that it currently occupies and could seize in the future.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Will Biden’s visit reassure The right way to fight global hunger allies and prevent another UP TO 811 MILLION PEOPLE — MORE THAN 10 PER CENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION — GO TO BED HUNGRY EACH NIGHT Project Syndicate AlexAnder Müller, Violet ShiVutSe And JeS Weigelt

T

he global food system is broken.

Although it produces more than enough calories to feed everyone, up to 811 million people — more than 10 per cent of the world’s population — go to bed hungry each night. Sadly, effective governance to ensure access to food for all is still lacking. A globally coordinated effort to address both the short- and long-term aspects of the hunger crisis must therefore be the top priority.

Today, all four dimensions of food security — availability, access, stability, and utilisation — are threatened by the combined negative effects of climate change, conflict, COVID-19, and cost. By disrupting global trade and pushing up food prices, these four “Cs” are creating a short-term challenge of increasing hunger. At the same time, the man-made climate crisis poses a medium to long-term threat.

Climate change has already started to affect the environment in which food can be produced. exceptional droughts, heat waves, and floods are undermining farming in regions as different as the horn of Africa and the Midwest of the United States. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent Sixth Assessment Report leaves no doubt: The climate crisis will have increasingly damaging consequences for food systems around the world.

Russia’s war against Ukraine is aggravating this already dire situation. Armed conflicts have long been major causes of hunger, usually at the regional level. But the Ukraine war, involving two of the world’s largest producers of agricultural commodities, is distorting global trade. As a result, the Food Price Index compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations hit an alltime high in March.

Prices of basic commodities such as flour or vegetable oil have tripled in some regions since the war began. Food producers also face skyrocketing prices for fossil fuel-based fertilisers, of which Russia is one of the biggest exporters. In severely affected countries, rising food prices may threaten social stability. When food prices soared in 2008, more than 20 countries reported social unrest and instability.

Then there is COVID-19. According to the UN, the pandemic has caused tens of millions of people to go hungry. And lockdowns

aimed at combating the virus have disrupted supply chains, adding to the upward pressure on food prices.

Our food systems face further challenges. Overconsumption of cheap calories, enabled by global trade in commodities and fossil fuel-based inputs, has led to widespread obesity and caused severe environmental problems. But the negative effects of production systems on the environment have often been treated as economic externalities and thus ignored.

More generally, and notwithstanding last September’s UN Food Systems Summit, there have been very few holistic approaches to food-system transformation. Industrialised agriculture continues to hold sway.

That means there is much to be done.

But threats to global food security will increase if policymakers trying to stem the immediate hunger crisis continue to ignore the climate and biodiversity crises and delay necessary steps to make food systems more sustainable. For example, postponing the implementation of the european Union’s Farm to Fork Strategy, as some have proposed, will not provide the amount of food needed in the coming months and will further undermine the resilience of european agriculture.

As risks to food security mount, we cannot exclude the possibility that agricultural production from the food, feed, fiber and fuel sectors will be insufficient to meet demand.

Scarce supplies and disruptions to global trade will force us to make choices.

Countering the effects of the Ukraine war and the four Cs will require a globally coordinated response. The key question is whether the multilateral system will be able to provide an active platform where states and all stakeholders can manage these challenges effectively. If existing multilateral mechanisms are not up to the task, global solidarity demands a swift response by the G-7.

In fact, the G-7 has started to address the situation, and new pledges are being made to equip multilateral financing mechanisms to support countries in need. Furthermore, G-7 countries should make a firm commitment to share grains currently used as animal feed and biofuel with poorer economies.

Such a step would demonstrate that the rich world has learned its lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic, when it shared too few tests, vaccines, and other supplies with poorer countries. A G-7 agreement would provide a fast solution, create trust, and thus could spur the multilateral system to act, both now and to avert future food crises.

war in the Middle East?

SAUDI ARABIA, THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND EVERYONE ELSE KNOWS THAT THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE US PRESIDENT’S VISIT IS TO CONVINCE RIYADH TO BOOST ITS OIL PRODUCTION Middle eaSt Monitor dr AbdullAh KhAlifA Al-ShAyJi

U

S President Joe Biden’s first visit to the Middle east is scheduled for 13-16 July after he has already made five overseas trips elsewhere. This illustrates the declining position of the region in US foreign policy, compared with his predecessor Donald Trump, whose first foreign visit as president was to Saudi Arabia in May 2017.

This was a break from all US presidents who preceded him.

The White house and the Saudi Royal Court confirmed last Tuesday that Biden will make an official visit to the Kingdom at the invitation of King Salman, who he will meet on the first day along with de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is also Minister of Defence. Biden will participate in a joint summit on the following day at the invitation of the Saudi monarch alongside the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.

This will be the largest Arab-American summit since the start of Biden’s presidency in January 2021.

The agenda for Biden’s meeting with King Salman and his son will focus on security, military and commercial cooperation, investments, the Yemen war, energy security, oil production and environmental challenges. however, Saudi Arabia, the Biden administration and everyone else knows that the main objective of the US president’s visit is to convince Riyadh to boost its oil production. In the process, Biden also hopes to convince the Saudis and the Gulf states to reach a rapprochement with Russia, and to reassure his allies about Washington’s commitment to their security. Initiatives covering investments, cooperation, Iran’s nuclear programme, the houthis, and Iran’s allies and proxies in the region may also be thrown into the mix.

In reality, the visit is a victory for Saudi Arabia’s approach, supported by the challenges and pressures within the US, which is expressed by popular anger at the high level of inflation and commodity prices, especially fuel, that stretch the average American family budget. It is no coincidence that the US president’s popularity ratings have fallen to their lowest level since he took office.

Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the subsequent US and Western sanctions, with the boycott of Russian oil and gas being a major part of the sanctions, have contributed to the rise in fuel prices to record levels. For the first time, the price of a gallon of petrol in the US is more than $5 — as much as $6 in some states — which is a red line for US consumers.

This difficult reality has forced Biden to change his position on Saudi Arabia from not dealing with it directly and only communicating with King Salman, to planning to visit Riyadh and meet with Bin Salman, who he has avoided since the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Biden has had to bend after being reassured by the Saudis that they are willing to cooperate with Washington.

The Deputy Defence Minister in Riyadh is Prince Khalid Bin Salman, the crown prince’s brother. he confirmed to the American news site Politico that the Biden administration realises the strategic importance of Saudi Arabia as an important ally and that

it is difficult to achieve security and economic development in the region and globally without Saudi Arabia playing a cooperative role. Washington also realises that Saudi-American relations are the cornerstone of regional stability and a stable global economy; and that Saudi Arabia is interested in defining the relationship with the US in this century.

The dilemma in the Gulf’s relationship with the US over the past 80 years is that it is not balanced between two rivals; it is a connection between the most powerful military and economic power in the world at the head of a liberal-democratic axis that believes in the free market, civil freedoms, democracy, political participation and domination over the global system, and a group of monarchical regimes in the Gulf which believe in very few, if any, of these liberal ideals.

The US gives due consideration to the influence and effects of foreign issues on domestic affairs, despite political changes between Democratic and Republican incumbents of the presidency. To understand US policies and any developments we must also understand the famous American concept that “all politics is local”. Thus, to understand the development of US foreign policy we must look at its impact on America and its citizens. The current inflation rise and unprecedented increase in the prices of commodities, especially fuel, is a case in point.

The Gulf States, meanwhile, have limited military and economic capabilities compared with the US and other influential world powers. They need protection, cooperation and a US military presence, providing reassurance that America’s political and military retreat and transformation intended to contain China’s expansion and Russia’s interventions and wars will not be at the expense of its security presence and commitments elsewhere, especially in the Middle east. This is the most important thing that Gulf and Arab leaders need to hear from President Joe Biden, as a serious commitment and not simply a slogan. That is how the summit, and Biden’s visit, will achieve its realistic goal.

The US president will visit Israel and the occupied West Bank before going to Saudi Arabia against the backdrop of an escalation that is reminiscent of the atmosphere prior to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in July 2006. There is a shadowy war taking place between Israel and Iran, with killings in Tehran and a fierce cyber war from the Mediterranean, Syria and Lebanon to the heart of the Iranian capital. The target is Iran’s nuclear programme and reactors, scientists and senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers.

There have also been threats to level Tel Aviv and haifa to the ground, and fears of Israelis being kidnapped and killed in Turkey.

The threats issued by the Secretary-General of hezbollah to stop Israel from drilling for oil and gas in a Lebanese maritime zone were followed by a response from the Israeli Chief of Staff, General Aviv Kochavi, who said that his forces are “dealing with six fronts in six dimensions in the face of large and diverse threats.” Kochavi named Iran’s nuclear programme as the greatest threat. he added that Israel will hit military and civilian targets that help to support “terrorism”; its plans cover the potential destruction of thousands of targets. The real challenge remains for US President Joe Biden to succeed in his visit to the region by reassuring his sceptical allies, defusing such escalation and both silencing the war drums and preventing open conflict.

Translated from Al Quds Al Arabi.

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Wednesday, 22 June, 2022 | KARACHI

09 Safety of commuterS to be enSured at any coSt on Hakla-d I kHan motorway: aSad maHmood NEWS

CORPORATE CORNER

ISLAMABAD

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Pacra maintains entity rating of the bank of Punjab to ‘aa+’ LAHORE: In recognition of Bank’s strong financial position, the Pakistan Credit rating agency (PaCra) has maintained the long-term entity rating of The Bank of Punjab (BOP) to “aa+” and short-term rating to highest scale of “a1+” with a stable outlook. These ratings denote a very high credit quality, very low expectation of credit risk and indicate very strong capacity for timely payment of financial commitments. as per the rating notification issued by M/s PaCra; the Management of the Bank, led by sound leadership, is poised to build on strong foundations with a vision and defined roadmap to make a place for BOP among the top banks of the country. during the year 2021, pursuing an aggressive strategic plan, the Bank has achieved phenomenal growth in all facets of operations. In 2021, first time in its history, as of december 31, 2021, the Bank’s deposits also crossed the level of rs.1.0 Trillion mark; registering a growth of 20%, which is higher than the industry’s growth. The Bank posted after Tax Profit of rs.

12.4 Billion as against rs. 6.9 Billion during year 2020; showing a significant increase of 79%, which is the highest profit surge in the banking industry. pReSS ReleaSe

nine criminals, drugs and weapons recovered ISLAMABAD: Capital police during a drive against anti-social elements arrested nine outlaws in last 24 hours, informed a police spokesman on Tuesday. He said that, following directions of IGP Islamabad dr. akbar Nasir Khan, a massive campaign had been launched in the city to curb the criminal activities. Following these directions, a police team of Bhara Kahu police station arrested four accused namely Waseem ahmed, Muhammad Khan, Waseem Javed and Shakeel alias codo and recovered 150 litters alcohol, 2150 grams heroine, four 30 bore pistols along with ammunition and a dagger from their possession. Similarly, Sabzi Mandi police arrested three accused namely Qari Zahid, Javed and dolat Khan and recovered two 30 bore pistols along with ammunition, one dagger from their possession. Khanna and lohi bher police teams arrested two accused azher Khan and Zaheer abbass and recovered two 30 bore pistols along with ammunition from their possession. pReSS ReleaSe

Staff RepoRt

ederal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Mr. asad Mahmood has said that all the possible measures should be taken for the protection of life and property of passengers on Hakla-d.I. Khan Motorway. He said this while presiding over a high level meeting held in the Ministry of Communications today, in which issues related to accumulation of rain water and traffic congestion on Hakla-d.I. Khan Motorway were reviewed.

Federal Secretary Communications and Chairman National Highway authority Capt (r) Muhammad Khurram agha, and senior officials of the Ministry of Communications and National Highway authority also attended the meeting. during the meeting, Federal Min-

ister for Communications and Postal Services asad Mahmood was informed that as soon as water accumulation was reported on the motorway, immediate action was taken for its drainage to ensure smooth flow of traffic. He directed to inquire into the incident and submit a report within four days. Protecting

lives and property of commuters is our top priority. He said that the causes of danger to human life would not be tolerated at all. He said, that effective management of drainage on the motorway should be ensured so that such unpleasant situations could be avoided in the future.

On this occasion, the officials of National Highway authority informed the Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services, Mr. asad Mahmood that the design of Hakla-d.I Khan Motorway will be reviewed in detail and any defects found will be rectified immediately.

Faysal Islami introduces hotel booking services in partnership with Ascendant KARACHI pReSS ReleaSe

Faysal Bank limited, in partnership with Pakistan’s largest hospitality technology company – ascendant, has launched a hotel booking platform for its customers that enables them to conveniently book hotels online through their website: www.faysalbank.com The website offers 1600+ hotels and guest houses in 50 cities across Pakistan. This initiative by Faysal Islami, a leading Islamic Bank of Pakistan and winner of Best Islamic bank for Transformation and innovation at the Global Islamic Finance awards (GIFa), marks an integral step towards the promotion of domestic tourism. In addition, the bank also plans to introduce international hotels to this service to facilitate customers who wish to travel abroad.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch ceremony, Mr. aneeq Malik, Group Head Consumer Finance and Payment Services Faysal Bank said:

“We always aim to bring the best banking services to our customers at their fingertips. Faysal Bank has always believed in innovation and digitalization of services for the ease of customers.

With ascendant by our side, our customers can now not only check the rates of any hotel rooms across Pakistan but also book the hotel and pay online using their bank accounts, debit

or credit cards through our website.”

CeO of ascendant, Mr. andre Privateer said: as the only hospitality tech provider able to offer real time rates and availability at more than 80% of Pakistan’s hotels, we serve the tourism sector by making the online booking experience better for the consumer.

Through this strategic alliance with Faysal Bank, individuals can now book

and pay with ease through this platform on Faysal Bank’s website and soon to be launched on their mobile app as well.” Head of Unsecured Business and Payment services Faysal Bank, Mr. Feroz Khan further added: “This business alliance is a testimony of our commitment to our customers.

We at Faysal Bank, continue to strive to build loyalty by offering innovative products and benefits for our valued customers. This collaboration aims to make travel and tourism across all corners of Pakistan more accessible for our customers.”

Faysal Bank is one of the most progressive Islamic banks in Pakistan and has concentrated on growth through improving service quality, investment in technology, people and utilizing its extensive growing Islamic branch network. ascendant is a specialized hospitality technology company revolutionizing the tourism landscape in Pakistan by unlocking exceptional value for travel suppliers and customers.

PARC develops Ispaghol Processing Plant at NARC ISLAMABAD pReSS ReleaSe

agricultural engineering Institute, NarC, ParC has designed and installed a demonstration unit of Ispaghol (Psyllium) processing plant at NarC. The plant was inaugurated by the Chairman, ParC on June 20, 2022. a large number of senior management of ParC, directors and scientists of ParC/NarC participated in this inauguration event.

The machinery was locally designed and manufactured by the engineers of agricultural engineering Institute (aeI).While talking to the participants, the Chairman ParC told that Ispaghol is a herb with different medicinal and industrial uses. Ispaghol seed husk is used for treatment of various stomach ailments. It is also being used in food industry. In

Pakistan, this crop is grown in Umerkot, Mirpurkhas and parts of Sanghar district in Sindh province and some areas of Cholistan and Thal desert in Punjab.

This crop is currently grown on 3,000 acres.

The demand of Ispaghol husk has been increasing day by day in the country. To meet the local consumption demand, Pakistan imports a large amount of Ispaghol from other countries despite the fact that the country has a great potential to produce this crop more the 30,000 acres to meet the domestic need and to export to the world.

Chairman ParC appreciated the work done of engineers of aeI. Scientists and technical staff of the institute, ParC stressed that on use advanced technology, we cannot make much progress in agricultural mechanization and postharvest processing machinery. He also suggested to link machines with computerized control systems & artificial in-

telligence (aI) for better visualization and controlling processes.

The director General (aed) told the participants that conventionally, Ispaghol is being processed using traditional methods. Hasilpur area of the Punjab province is the hub of local Ispaghol processing and its marketing. large numbers of families of this area are involved in Ispaghol processing at domestic level. The first version of the technology was demonstrated in Hasilpur in 2018, where a large number of farmers, manufacturers, Ispaghol processors, policy makers, and scientists participated and witnessed the performance of the plant. director (aeI), NarC, dr.

Hafiz Sultan briefed the Chairman and participants that aeI has designed and developed indigenous Ispaghol cleaning, de-bearding, de-husking and classifying machines. The complete Ispaghol processing plant can process one tonne Ispaghol seed per day.

ANF seizes 1,553kg drugs valuing US$68.453m ISLAMABAD pReSS ReleaSe

The anti-Narcotics Force (aNF) seized 1553.274 Kg drugs valuing US$ 68.453 million internationally, arrested 54 culprits including 5 women and an afghan National and impounded 22 vehicles while conducting 43 counter-narcotics operations throughout the country.

The seized drugs comprised 193.974 Kg Heroin, 984.566 Kg Hashish, 139.2 Kg Opium, 3.054 Kg amphetamine,65.31 Methamphetamine (Ice), 145 Kg Ketamine, 5540 x alparazolam Tablets, 46200 x diazepam Tablets ,26400 x axi-

max Tablets, 30180 x rivotri Tablets, 48000 x Stilonex Tablets, 4000 x Zolpidem Tablets and 12.400 Kg suspected substance. aNF Balochistan recovered 708 Kg drugs in 6 operations while arrested 3 accused and seized four vehicles. The seized drugs comprised 166 Kg Heroine, 411Kg Hashish, 90 Kg Opium and 41 Kg Methamphetamine (Ice). aNF Punjab recovered 20.44 Kg drugs in six operations while arrested five accused including one woman and seized one vehicle.

The seized drugs comprised 6.6 Kg Heroin, 8 Kg Hashish, 4.800 Kg opium, 1.040 Methamphetamine

(Ice).aNF KPK recovered 302.146 Kg drugs in 9 operations while arrested 9 accused and seized five vehicles. The seized drugs comprised 13.3 Kg Heroin, 258.976 Kg Hashish, 19.2 Kg Opium, 2 Kg Methamphetamine (Ice), 5540 x alparazolam Tablets, 30180 x rivotri Tablets and26400 x aximax Tablets. aNF Sindh recovered 253.31 Kg drugs and in 6 operations while arrested 12 accusedincluding 2 women and seized 2 x vehicles. The seized drugs comprised 0.500 Kg Heroine,78.4 Kg Hashish, 3.51 Kg Methamphetamine (Ice), 145 Kg Ketamine,

46200 x diazepam Tablets, 48000 x Stilonx Tablets, 4000 x Zolpidem Tablets and 12.400 Kg suspected substances. aNF North, recovered 281.778 Kg drugs in 16 operations and arrested 25 accused including 2 women and an afghan National and seized 10 x vehicles.

The seized drugs comprised 7.574 Kg Heroin, 228.19 Kg Hashish, 25.200 Kg Opium, 3. 054 Kg amphetamine and 17.760 Methamphetamine (Ice).all cases have been registered at respective aNF Police Stations under CNS act 1997and further investigations are under process.

Pakistan navy observes world Hydrography day ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt

With an aim to accentuate the significance of Hydrography, to create awareness on the importance and its role towards rendering our waters safer to support maritime trade and accident free marine environment, Pakistan Navy observes the World Hydrography day. World Hydrography day (WHd) is celebrated worldwide on 21 June every year to appreciate the work done in the field of hydrography in support of safe navigation at open seas and ports. Theme of World Hydrography day for this year is "Hydrography – Contributing to the United Nations Ocean decade'’. The Theme is designed to highlight the relevant contributions of hydrography as a discipline of applied sciences to the United Nations decade of Ocean Sciences for sustainable development (2021-2030). annual celebration of this day emphasizes importance of hydrography as it underpins almost every activity associated with the sea including safety of navigation, economic development, security and defence, scientific research, environmental protection, ports and harbour construction, resource exploitation, integrated coastal zone management, disaster management maritime boundary delimitation between neighboring countries etc.

Furthermore, this year World Hydrography day celebrations highlighted the efforts to bring together ocean actors across the world to foster the partnership and generate the knowledge needed to support a well-functioning, productive, resilient, sustainable and inspiring ocean. Pakistan is a responsible coastal state blessed with over 1000 kms of coastline and around 290,000 Sq Km of sea area.

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10 FOREIGN NEWS

China test–fires ‘defensive’ missile–interCeption system BEIJING Agencies

C

HINA has successfully conducted an antiballistic missile test in a move experts said on Monday is a crucial part of the country’s national defense development that is defensive in nature, demonstrating the reliability of China’s antiballistic missile umbrella amid US attempts to blackmail China with modern, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles and deploying intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region on the doorsteps of China.

China conducted a land-based, mid-course antiballistic missile interception technical test within its borders, China’s Ministry of National Defense announced in a press release. The test reached its desired objective, the press release said, noting that the test is defensive in nature and not aimed at any other country.

A similar test was held in February 2021, according to an announcement of the Chinese Defense Ministry at the time. The flight of an intercontinental ballistic missile usually consists of three phases. First is the boost phase in which the rocket booster powers the missile. Second,

the mid-course phase in which the booster stops as the missile travels outside the atmosphere. Third and last, the reentry or terminal phase in which the missile reenters the atmosphere and dives on its target.

Intercepting an intercontinental ballistic missile during its mid-course is very challenging because during this phase, the missile, usually equipped with nuclear warheads, travels high outside of the atmosphere at very high velocity, experts said.

It is technically easy to intercept a ballistic missile in the boost phase because the missile is still close to the ground and accelerating, but it is difficult to get close to the launch site which is usually deep in hostile territory.

In the terminal phase, the interception is also challenging because the speed of the diving missile is very high, analysts noted.

Countries are developing hypersonic missiles with wave-rider gliders that can adjust their trajectories midflight when they reenter the atmosphere, which makes terminal interception even more difficult, and midcourse interception has become even more important, analysts said.

A mid-course antiballistic missile system consists

of two parts – a booster and an interceptor as its warhead, and moves to intercept the ballistic missile in the second phase of its flight where it is traveling outside the atmosphere, an expert familiar with the technology told the Global Times on the condition of anonymity.

One of the key challenges for a mid-course antiballistic missile system is the miniaturization of the warhead, making it light enough without compromising its flight precision as well as sensitivity, the expert said, adding that it is preferred to use a rapid combustion

rocket as the booster for the system so that it can send the antiballistic missile to the atmosphere as fast as possible.

Although small in size, the mid-course antiballistic missile has a complete set of combat systems, including power, tracking, target-identifying systems and the killer part, the expert explained.

The mid-course antiballistic missile interception also has a network of support systems with an early warning and monitoring function. The centerpiece of the warning and monitoring systems is the missile early warning satellite, and support from long-range monitoring radars and a highly efficient and rapid command system are also playing crucial roles in the interception process, the expert said.

The latest test brings the number of publicly announced Chinese land-based ABM technical tests to six.

According to media reports and official statements, other known ABM tests were carried out by China in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2021. It was not revealed in which interception phase the test in 2014 was carried out, while all other five were carried out in the mid-course phase.

All of those Chinese tests ended successfully.

China strongly condemns US ‘Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act’ BEIJING Agencies

Biggest rail strike in 30 years brings UK to standstill

The enactment and enforcement of the “Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act” by the U.S. serve to escalate American suppression against China under the guise of human rights, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said. The U.S. law banning imports from China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region takes effect on June 21.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular press conference the ban came from a lie and that imposing sanctions on individuals and entities over Xinjiang is an attempt to perpetuate the lie.

He said the U.S. action wantonly disrupted international trade order and undermined the stability of global industrial and supply chains.

The Americans’ attempt to create forced unemployment in Xinjiang in a

so-called legal form and to promote decoupling from China globally fully exposes the hegemonic essence of the U.S. to undermine human rights in the name of defending it and to break the rule in the name of preserving it.

China strongly condemns and resolutely opposes this, the spokesperson said, adding the country will take strong measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and citizens.

“The U.S. side’s move goes against the trend of the times and is doomed to fail,” Wang said.

He reiterated that the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang is a big lie made by anti-China forces, adding it is completely contrary to the fact that the cotton and other industries in Xinjiang are mechanized on a large scale and the labor rights of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are effectively protected.

South Korea space rocket launch puts satellites in orbit

loNDoN

SEoUl

Agencies

Agencies

Britain’s biggest rail strike in 30 years kicked off on Tuesday as tens of thousands of staff walked out in a dispute over pay and jobs that could pave the way for widespread industrial action across the economy in the coming months. Picket lines appeared at dawn and will be lined by some of the more than 40,000 rail workers who are due to strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, bringing the network to a standstill. The London Underground was also shut due to the strike. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, under pressure to do more to help British households who face the toughest economic hit in decades, said the industrial action would harm businesses as they continue to recover from the pandemic. Unions have said the rail strikes could mark the start of a “summer of discontent” with teachers, medics, waste disposal workers and even barristers moving towards industrial action as surging food and fuel prices pushes inflation towards 10 percent. The prime minister said the unions were harming the people they claimed to be helping. “By going ahead with these rail strikes, they are driving away commuters who ultimately support the jobs of rail workers, whilst also impacting businesses and communities across the country,” Johnson will tell his cabinet later on Tuesday, according to his office.

South Korea said Tuesday it had successfully launched its homegrown space rocket and placed a payload into orbit in a “giant leap” for the country’s quest to become an advanced space-faring nation.

Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle II, nicknamed Nuri and emblazoned with the South Korean flag, lifted off at 4:00pm (0700 GMT) from the launch site in Goheung on the southern coast, trailing a column of flame. All three stages of the rocket worked, taking it to its target altitude of 700 kilometres (430 miles), and it successfully separated a performance verification satellite and put it into orbit, Seoul said.

South Korea’s space program “has taken a giant leap forward,” said Lee Jong-ho, minister of science and technology, adding he declared the mission a success. “South Korea has now become the seventh nation in the world to launch a space vehicle with homegrown technology,” he said, adding the government would continue its quest to become “an advanced space-faring nation”.

South Korea will launch a Moon orbiter in August, Lee added. The Tuesday test, South Korea’s second test launch of its homegrown space rocket, comes eight months after the first test failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit.

In the first test last October, all three stages of the rocket worked with the vehicle reaching an altitude of 700 kilometres, and the 1.5-tonne payload separating successfully. But it failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit after the third-stage engine stopped burning earlier than scheduled. In Tuesday’s test, in addition to a dummy satellite, Nuri carried a rocket performance verification satellite and four cube satellites developed by four local universities for research purposes.

The three-stage Nuri rocket has been a decade in development at a cost of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion). It weighs 200 tonnes and is 47.2 metres (155 feet) long, fitted with a total of six liquid-fuelled engines.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes, and the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea was the most recent entrant to the club of countries with their own satellite launch capability.

LUNAR AmBITIONS: Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang put a 300-kilogram (660-pound) satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

South Korea becomes the seventh nation — not including North Korea — to have successfully launched a one-tonne payload on their own rockets.

The South Korean space programme has a mixed record — its first two launches in 2009 and 2010, which in part used Russ-

ian technology, both ended in failure.

The second one exploded two minutes into the flight, with Seoul and Moscow blaming each other.Eventually a 2013 launch succeeded, but still relied on a Russian-developed engine for its first stage. “The fact that we now have our own space rocket means we will be able to test and verify technologies needed for space exploration projects down the road,” Bang Hyo-choong, professor of aerospace engineering at KAIST, told the Yonhap News Agency.

Russia captured Donbas frontline village Toshkivka: Ukraine KYIV, UKRAINE Agencies

Russian forces pushed deeper into Donbas Tuesday with Ukraine announcing the capture of the frontline village of Toshkivka near the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the site of fierce weeks-long fighting.

“As of today, according to our information, Toshkivka is controlled entirely by the Russians,” Roman Vlasenko, the head of the Severodonetsk district told Ukrainian television, adding that the battle for Donbas is “now in full swing”.

Toshkivka, with a pre-war population of around 5,000 people, is approximately 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Severodonetsk, where Russian troops and have been battling for weeks against Kyiv’s.

“The entirety of the Lugansk re-

gion is now the epicentre of fighting between Ukraine and the Russian army,” he said.

‘SERIOUS’ CONSEQUENCES OVER LITHUANIA RAIL

TRANSIT BAN: Russia’s security council chief Nikolai Patrushev on Tuesday warned EU and NATO member Lithuania of “serious” consequences over restrictions on the

rail transit of EU-sanctioned goods to Moscow’s exclave of Kaliningrad.

Moscow accused the Baltic nation of banning the rail transit of goods subject to sanctions imposed

by the European Union over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine.

“Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions,” Patrushev said at a regional security meeting in Kaliningrad, a Russian region bordering Lithuania and Poland.

He added that “appropriate measures” are in the works and they “will be taken in the near future”.

“Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania,” he said in remarks reported by Russian news agencies.

Also on Tuesday, Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the EU ambassador to Moscow, Markus Ederer, over the “anti-Russian restrictions” on cargo transit between Kaliningrad and mainland Russia.

“The inadmissibility of such actions, which violate the relevant

legal and political obligations of the European Union and lead to an escalation of tensions, was pointed out,” the ministry said in a statement.

Speaking after the meeting, Ederer said he called on the Russian side to “remain calm” and “resolve this issue diplomatically”, TASS news agency reported.

Moscow has demanded that Lithuania immediately lift the restrictions, which Vilnius says were taken in compliance with European sanctions over Ukraine.

Wedged between EU and NATO members Lithuania and Poland, the heavily militarised exclave of Kaliningrad does not share a land border with Russia.

The region on the shores of the Baltic Sea is the base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet and Moscow says it has deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles there.

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AnCelotti key to ReAl MAdRid Move: RudiGeR MADRID

A

Agencies

NTONIO Rudiger said on Monday Carlo Ancelotti was instrumental in his decision to join Real Madrid from Chelsea this summer.

Rudiger has moved to the Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer after choosing not to extend his Chelsea contract. The 29-year-old defender has signed a four-year deal with the reigning Spanish and European

champions.

Rudiger, speaking at his presentation ceremony at the club’s training ground in Valdebebas, said he made his decision in April, after a conversation with the Italian coach.

“The first time I got in contact, not really me, my agent, was early September. The second time, I spoke with Mr Ancelotti, that was in April,” Rudiger said.

“That was the most important moment, to speak with Mr Ancelotti. That was when I made my

choice, that I wanted to play for this club under him.

“He said he wanted me, trusted in my abilities, that I could be very helpful to the team, and at my age, that’s enough. At the end of the day, it’s Mr Ancelotti. You always know at Madrid that nothing is guaranteed. You have to fight for your place. I’m ready to do that.”

As well as turning down the chance to stay at Chelsea, Rudiger said there was also interest in him from Barcelona. “There was interest

SPORTS 11 from Barcelona but I told my brother, it’s Real or nothing,” Rudiger said.

The German will be competing with Eder Militao and David Alaba for a spot in Madrid’s central defence next season, although Ancelotti could also switch to a back three in defence to accommodate an impressive trio of options.

After the departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane last year, Militao and Alaba formed a superb partnership, becoming an essential part of Madrid’s success last term.

“Real Madrid is stacked with very, very good players, also in my position,” said Rudiger.

“But I’m looking confidently going into this. What do I bring?

Competition, which is healthy for everyone. It keeps everyone going

and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Rudiger became known at Chelsea for his combative style and dynamic displays in the Premier League. He pledged to be a leader in the Real Madrid dressing room.

“With me you never know what to expect off the pitch. I like to laugh, I like to dance,” said Rudiger.

“But on the pitch I’m serious. I don’t like to joke around. I hope what I can bring is my fighting spirit, leadership. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I have to come here, adapt, speak Spanish. I will do my best.”

Asked if there were any Real Madrid defenders he particularly admired, Rudiger said: “There have been a lot of top centre-backs but one I liked a lot was Pepe. Apparently off the pitch a very nice person, but on the pitch, a monster. I

like that,” Rudiger said.

Rudiger was on the pitch, and scored, as Chelsea led 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in April, only for Real Madrid to pull off an incredible comeback to reach the Champions League semi-finals.

“It was a very intense night, it was my first time at the Bernabeu,” Rudiger said. “What Madrid did last year in the Champions League, that was… I don’t know how to describe it, unbelievable.”

Madrid defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the final in Paris, to lift the club’s 14th European Cup. “In the final, I knew I was going to be a Real Madrid player and I was rooting for them,” Rudiger added. “I lost two finals against Liverpool with my former team so I was very happy that Real beat them.”

South Korea to bid for 2023 AFC Asian Cup

seOUL Agencies

South Korea has announced it will bid to host the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. “The Korea Football Association is promoting the bid for the ‘2023 AFC Asian Cup’ hosted by the AFC in Korea,” the association said in a notice on its website.

According to Yonhap, South Korean cities interested in holding Asian Cup games can send their applications to the association from Monday.

The AFC has set a deadline of June 30 for submitting bids.

One of the traditional football powerhouses of the AFC, South Korea won the Asian Cup in the first and second editions in 1956 and 1960 and have been runner-up four times since.

The last time the team reached the final was in Australia in 2015, losing to the hosts 2-1 in overtime.

South Korea’s best hope of breaking their championship drought is striker Son Heung-min of the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur. The 29year-old was the top scorer in the English top league in the 2021-22 season with 23 goals. Transfermarkt.com values him at 75 million euros (about

$78.9 million).

The 2023 Asian Cup will take place between June 16 and July 16 next year.

The original host was China but the tournament was relocated in May due to COVID-19. Japan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are reportedly also potential bidders.

Son Heung-min of South Korea dribbles in the game against Egypt at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, South Korea, June 14, 2022. /CFP According to the bid standards released by AFC for the 2023 Asian Cup, the host country must have at least five stadiums, each of which must have a seating capacity of 20,000. The stadium for the opening ceremony and the final game must be able to host 40,000 spectators.

At least two practice fields must be available for each group that contains four teams. The host must have multiple four-star or five-star hotels that meet international standards. Free traveling inside and free access to international flights both into and out of the host country must be assured.

Domestic flights must be assured between host cities that are over 200 kilometers away from each other. A specific project to ensure the safety of spectators attending the games and the security of the competitions is required.

As the co-host of the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan, South Korea has good infrastructure.

The AFC will announce the winning bid in October.

Wimbledon bonus after Dzalamidze becomes Georgian LONDON Agencies

Russian-born tennis player Natela Dzalamidze said her decision to change nationality to Georgian was motivated by her desire to play at the Olympics and that being able to compete at Wimbledon was a bonus.

In April, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) banned Russian and Belarusian players from competing at Wimbledon due to the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Belarus has been a key staging area for the invasion. Dzalamidze’s nationality is Georgian in Wimbledon’s entry list, allowing her to partner Serbian Aleksandra Krunic in the women’s doubles at the Grand Slam.

The WTA Tour said in a statement Dzalamidze had complied with the reg-

ulations for changing nationality.

“In Natela’s case, she submitted a Georgian passport and ID as she has dual citizenship, and, as a result, her nationality has been officially changed within the WTA system,” it said. “This took place prior to the finalisation and release of the Wimbledon entry lists.”

Dzalamidze, whose father is Georgian, said the depth of Russian tennis and the country’s suspension from the Billie Jean King Cup, which players have to compete in to fulfil ITF participation requirements for the Olympics, led to the switch.

“My decision was made because I am focusing on my career and would like to have the chance to compete at the Olympic Games,” the 29-year-old told the Times.

“The first discussion I had with the WTA was during Indian Wells at the beginning of March. If I made the decision

to play for Georgia and have a chance to play Wimbledon, why not?

“At the moment I have my best ranking and my perspective is now much better in Georgia.”

Wimbledon, which begins on June 27, has been stripped of its ranking points by the ATP and WTA Tours over its decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus.

Goetze likely to sign for Frankfurt beRLIN Agencies

Mario Goetze, who scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final for Germany, is reportedly set to return to the Bundesliga by signing for Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt. After two years playing in the Dutch league for PSV Eindhoven, the 30-year-old is set to undergo a medical Tuesday in Frankfurt, according to German media reports. Eintracht are said to be ready to meet the buy-out clause, said to be four million euros ($4.2 million), in Goetze’s contract at Eindhoven, who finished runners-up to Ajax in the Dutch league last season. Goetze sat out the start of pre-season training with Eindhoven on Monday as the club said the attacking midfielder was busy “finalising a transfer”. It was Goetze’s stunning volley as a replacement against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final which sealed victory for Germany in Brazil.

Goetze burst onto the scene in the 2010/11 season as a fresh-faced teenager whose goals helped Dortmund win the first of back-to-back Bundesliga titles. However, he quit the German league in 2020 for the Netherlands after an unsuccessful return to Dortmund having failed to nail down a first-team spot at Bayern Munich, who he joined in 2013. Goetze’s arrival would boost the attack of Frankfurt, who beat Rangers in the Europa League final last month and finished 11th in Germany’s top flight.

PCB honors Pakistan cricket team for their 2009 World Cup triumph on this day Web Desk On this day, Pakistan dismantled Sri Lanka in the final and registered an 8-wicket victory, and lifted their first-ever ICC T20 World Cup trophy. The Men in Green chased down the 139-run target in the 19th over as Shahid Afridi starred with an unbeaten 54-runs inning. Boom Boom Afridi was named as player of the match for his superb innings as well as his contribution with the ball – the leg-spinner picked up 1-20 from his four overs. Pakistan had a stable run throughout the tournament. However, the Men in Green were beaten by Sri Lanka early in the competition by 19 runs in the 15th match. The only other defeat Pakistan faced apart from that was against England in their opening match, where England registered a comprehensive victory by 48 runs. Pakistan beat Netherlands, New Zealand, and Ireland before facing a tough South Africa’s side in the semi-finals.

Mendis likely to play as Sri Lanka look to break 30-year drought Web Desk It’s been a busy few days for Kusal Mendis but the in-form batter is expected to be passed fit to take on Australia as Sri Lanka looks to break a 30-year drought in the fourth game of their ODI series in Colombo on Tuesday.

Mendis was suffering from bad cramps when he had to retire hurt on 87 at a crucial point of Sri Lanka’s successful run chase in

the third match of the series on Sunday, but the right-hander has made solid progress physically since that game.

The 27-year-old even recovered quickly enough to make it to Colombo Private Hospital on Monday morning to meet his first child, after his wife Nishell had given birth to a baby girl on Sunday night.

With the news of a new family member put on hold for the time being, Mendis is likely to play a pivotal role in helping Sri

Lanka clinch their first bilateral ODI series victory over Australia at home since 1992 when the two teams meet again at R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday.

Mendis is the leading run-scorer of the series with two half-centuries and a total of 209 runs to his name and Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka knows what is at stake in Tuesday’s match. “It is a great chance for this team to pull out a series win,” Shanaka said.

“It was 1992 the last time we beat Aus-

tralia in a bilateral ODI series at home. They are one of the best sides in the world and we hope we can take the next step.”

It looks likely that Sri Lanka will resist the urge to tinker with a winning formula and stick with the same XI that defeated Australia by six wickets with a record-run chase on Sunday.

That means star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be watching on as he recovers from his groin injury, with spinning du-

ties likely to remain with in-form duo Jeffrey Vandersay and Dunith Wellalage.

The pair combined for four Australian wickets on Sunday, while opposing spinner Matthew Kuhnemann failed to pick up a Sri Lankan scalp during 10 expensive overs.

Australia are likely to re-shuffle their playing XI slightly as they attempt to level the series at two games apiece, with star quicks Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in contention to return.

Fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood may be rested ahead of the two-match Test series commencing later this month, while Steve Smith is still battling a quad complaint and is unlikely to be risked.

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CEC takES NotICE aftEr QurEShI CallS out PuNjaB govt for vIolatINg ECP’S CodE of CoNduCt

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nEws dEsk

TI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday claimed that the Punjab government was violating the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) code of conduct ahead of the by-elections on 20 seats of the provincial assembly, prompting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja to take notice.

The 20 seats had fallen vacant after the electoral watchdog had de-notified PTI lawmakers for not following party directions during the Punjab chief minister election. The by-polls will be held on July 17.

Earlier today, the former foreign minister

addressed a press conference in Lahore and accused the Punjab government of being in violation of the ECP’s code of conduct. He also questioned the commission’s ability to conduct the by-elections smoothly.

“The commission could not even conduct a smooth by-election in Karachi as all parties, except the MQM-P, are challenging the results,” he said, referring to the recent poll in the metropolitan city’s NA-240 constituency.

He said the people’s confidence in the ECP was shrinking by the day.

Qureshi alleged that PML-N candidates had been informed that Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz would ensure their victory in the by-polls in order to protect his own seat.

PM Shehbaz summons NSC meeting today isLAmABAd STAFF REPORT

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned an in-camera meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Wednesday (today). The NSC session will be held at 3:00pm on Wednesday (today). The meeting will be attended by the services chiefs, intelligence officials and civilian leadership. It is believed that the army chief and the DG ISI will brief members of the parliament about the progress so far made in talks with the outlawed TTP group. On Monday, Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi moved a motion in the National Assembly for summoning the PCNS in-camera session.

Punjab govt, opposition to hold separate assembly sessions News Desk: The Punjab government and opposition on Tuesday will hold two separate sessions of assembly once again. According to details, the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) led government will hold its session in Iqbal Hall while the opposition’s sessions will be commenced in the Punjab Assembly. It will be a private members’ day in the Punjab Assembly session. The opposition’s session will be chaired

by Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Illahi while the government’s session will be chaired by Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari. The agenda of the opposition session, to be commenced at 1 pm, includes Punjab free education amendment bill, while the government session will be focused on budget 2022-23.

He cited unidentified reports as saying that 18 of the 20 seats would go to the PMLN while the remaining two would go to the PTI in the upcoming by-polls.

Deputy commissioners and district police officers were transferred in districts where the by-elections are taking place, Qureshi said. “They have been told that if they fail to deliver the desired results, they will not be allowed to remain there.”

He also talked about his experience of canvassing prior to the polls.

“In PP-217, where Zain Qureshi is contesting from the PTI, an official of the Special Branch follows us and records footage of us talking to voters. If the voter is a PTI supporter, a team is then sent to their residence

which persuades them to vote against the party in exchange for incentives,” the exminister claimed.

The PTI leader warned the provincial government of “street agitation and public reaction” if it attempted to manipulate the byelections.

Shortly after Qureshi’s press conference, CEC Raja took notice of the PTI leader’s claims and sought a report from the Punjab election commissioner within 24 hours.

He also directed ECP officials to look out for poll code violations in all 20 constituencies and to take stringent action against them. “The CEC should be informed of all actions taken in this regard,” the statement said.

Sans president’s sign, govt decides to notify NAB, election bills into law isLAmABAd STAFF REPORT

The government has decided to issue gazzette notifications of the election and NAB Ordinance amended bills, passed in the joint sitting of the Parliament and not signed by the president.

The gazzette notification, which will be notified in 10 days, will make these bills into law.

President Arif Alvi had returned back the election amendment bill and the NAB amendment legislation without signing on two bills to the government.

“I have an affiliation with the issues of electronic voting machines and the overseas voting,” the President said. “I have followed these issues in governments, the Parliament and the Supreme

Court,” Alvi further said.

“I know the constitution will enact the bill into a law despite my avoiding to sign on it. As President it is painful for me personally over not to sign on it,” President commented.

Former prime minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, while criticizing the President’s refusal said,” How the system will run if the President of the state will become a party worker”. “The President who was promulgating one of another ordinance, now seeing flaws in every piece of legislation. During the PTI rule the bill were even signed in the darkness of the night,” he said.

It is to be mentioned here that the president had earlier also refused to sign the bills seeking amendments in the NAB and election laws, and returned them back

to the Parliament.

The National Assembly had passed bills to abolish the PTI government’s election reforms giving overseas Pakistanis the right to vote through i-Voting and electronic voting machines (EVMs), as well as the NAB laws.

After the president’s refusal to sign the bills, the joint session of the Parliament had passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2021 and Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

After the joint sitting’s approval, the bills were sent once again to the President for approval. The bills passed from the joint sitting of the Parliament could turn into law within 10 days despite not being signed by the President. It will be considered that his assent has been given under Article 75(2) of the Constitution.

Pakistan, Iran sign agreement for supply of additional 100MW to Gwadar QUEETA STAFF REPORTER

Pakistan and Iran signed on Tuesday an agreement for supply of additional 100 megawatt of electricity to fulfil the daily power needs of Gwadar.

As per details, the agreement for the supply of additional 100MW of electricity to Gwadar was signed by Pakistan’s National Transmission and Despatch Company and Iran’s power generation

and distribution company known as TAVANIR on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, in a statement, said that this project will be completed within a shortest possible time to provide relief to the people of Balochistan.

Iran has been supplying electricity to Gwadar, Kech and Panjgur districts in southwestern Balochistan since 1999. It supplied 35MW daily until 2013, after which the quota was increased to 100MW

due to the growing needs of Gwadar. Iran, during the month of May 2022, had supplied 54.52 Gigawatt hour (GWh) which was 0.37 percent of the total power generated from different sources and the cost of one unit of Iraniain electricity is Rs18.9673 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan had reached Tehran on June 19, 2022 on a four day visit to ensure enhancement in the energy cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

ECC may approve withdrawal of subsidy on HSD by power sector AhmAd AhmAdAni The Federal cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) scheduled to be held on Wednesday is likely to approve the withdrawal of subsidy on the consumption of high-speed diesel (HSD) by the power sector.

As per details, the ECC meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday under Federal Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail to consider a 13 point agenda of various divisions and ministries which include cabinet, defence, foreign affairs, housing & works, information technology & telecom, interior, Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit-Baltistan, petroleum, and revenue.

According to a copy of the ECC agenda, the ECC meeting will consider a summary of petroleum division seeking withdrawal of subsidy on the consumption of diesel (High Speed Diesel) by the power sector.

According to sources, diesel prices in the international oil market have surged to a record high level and the petroleum division, through a summary, has proposed the ECC to give an end to the subsidy on the consumption of diesel by the power sector as this sector can use alternate fuels for power generation purposes.

“Withdrawal of subsidy on the consumption of diesel by the power sector can reduce the fortnightly import of high-speed diesel by

approximately 10,000 million tons,” said sources. They added that by abolishing the subsidy on consumption of diesel by the power sector can reduce the burden of Price Differential Claims (PDC) of Oil Marketing Companies/ refineries by Rs712 million on the national exchequer as the government had allocated approximately Rs218.22 billion for making payment of PDC to the oil marketing companies /refineries through supplementary grant for the period of March 1 to May 31, 2022.

It is relevant to note that the former government of Imran Khan in order to provide relief to the consumers had earlier decided to keep the oil prices stable till the end of cur-

rent financial year, effective from March 1, 2022. However, this decision of the government had resulted in the generation of heavy Price Differential Claims of Oil Marketing Companies/refineries.

It is also learnt from the ECC agenda that the meeting will consider cabinet division’s summary seeking technical supplementary grant (TSG) of Rs125,819,029 for various requirements of 6 Aviation Squadron, Cabinet Division (custom duties and payment of clearing agent). Similarly, the meeting will also consider payment of Rs40 million to the Ministry of Defence for the media publicity campaign by NCOC through a technical supplementary grant.

Cabinet approves issuance of Ijara Sukuk bonds APP The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday approved issuance of the Ijara Sukuk bonds in the domestic and international markets to support the government’s budgetary position and promote Islamic banking industry in the country. Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal said the information regarding assets and other details about the programme would be available on the website of Finance Division soon. Flanked by PM’s Advisor on Kashmir Affairs Qamar Zaman Kaira, he said the cabinet also discussed the matter of shortage of edible oil in the country and acknowledged the efforts of minister for industries and his team for setting sail an edible oil ship from Indonesia for Pakistan. He said the prime minister thanked the Indonesian president, and congratulated the industries minister, who went to Indonesia himself and talked to the Indonesian president in that regard. As regards the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar briefed the cabinet that Pakistan had met all the requirements of the FATF and hoped that soon after the visit of FATF team to Pakistan, the country would be out of the grey list.

PM pays tributes to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto nEws dEsk Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday paid rich tributes to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and said the void created by her martyrdom would never be filled. On his Twitter handle, the prime minister, on her 69th birthday, said democracy without her was poorer.

Praying for her eternal peace, he further recollected that the former prime minister fearlessly and staunchly advocated the causes, she believed in. “I pay my rich tributes to Shaheed Mohtarama Benazir Bhutto on her 69th birthday. Our democracy is poorer without her; the void left by her martyrdom will never be filled. She fearlessly; staunchly advocated the causes she believed in. May Allah rest her soul in peace,” the prime minister posted a tweet.

Balochistan govt unveils budget for FY2022-23 QUETTA STAFF REPORT

Balochistan Finance Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran unveiled the province’s budget for the fiscal year 202223, with a total outlay of more than Rs612 billion.

In his speech at the Balochistan Assembly, the finance minister said that over Rs191 billion have been proposed for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

Khetran said Rs28.3 billion have been proposed for the Federal Funded Projects

(FFP) and Rs14.6 billion for foreign project assistance (FPA) — apart from the proposed development funds of the province.

The finance minister added that 3,367 development projects are currently underway for which the province has proposed Rs133 billion and for the 3,470 new projects, it has proposed a total of Rs59 billion.

He said that the proposed budget is Rs612.79 billion, while the expenditure for the next fiscal year will be Rs539.94 billion, therefore, the budget deficit will clock in at Rs72.85 billion.

Khetran added that the government has approved a 15% hike in the basic salaries of public-sector employees in line with the pay rates of 2017. A 15% raise has also been made to pensions. He added that the minimum wage for laborer has been set at Rs25,000.

The finance minister said the budget for health has been proposed at Rs43 billion, education at Rs83 billion, while Rs56 billion have been proposed for the maintenance of law and order in the province. The government has also allocated Rs1.75 billion for food security, he added.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 66-C, 1st Floor, 21st Commercial Street, Phase-II (Extension), DHA Karachi and printed at Ibn-e-Hassan Printing Press, Hockey Stadium, Karachi, for PT Print (Pvt) Limited. Ph: 021-35381208-9. Email: newsroom@pakistantoday.com.pk